Chapter 42

That was why Siyoon channeled the Wind of Horus.

The moment the bullet left the barrel, he condensed the surrounding wind around it.

Imbued with the wind, the bullet shattered the sound barrier and hurtled toward Kwon Chan.

The result.

Peogeok―!

“Kuaaaagh!!”

The bullet punched straight through Kwon Chan’s fist, which had been heavily reinforced with concentrated defense.

A single shot.

It was a miracle forged by Siyoon’s gun, its penetration, speed, and attack power amplified by the wind.

“Damn it, you insect!!”

Kwon Chan’s face contorted as the bullet pierced his fist.

He clearly hadn’t expected to sustain such an injury.

But Siyoon had already observed exactly when he bolstered his defenses.

The absurdly destructive power of that fist.

The sensation of solid steel that lingered even after merely deflecting it.

Kwon Chan likely wove his defense-boosting skill into his attacks, enhancing the fist’s durability to amplify its strike power.

One might wonder how increasing defense could result in a stronger attack.

But the answer was remarkably simple.

Between a wooden stick and a steel rod, which would hurt more?

Obviously, the steel rod.

Kwon Chan’s fists operated on the same principle.

‘But Baek Euntae knew that one of Kwon Chan’s skills was related to defense.’

Which meant the information was already widely circulated.

Most likely spread by those who had survived encounters with him in combat.

However, they didn’t know he applied his defense-boosting skill directly to his attacks.

That implied Kwon Chan might have been weaponizing that very information gap in reverse.

Drawing attention to his overwhelming defense so that no one would suspect his offensive capabilities.

“You little rat―!”

Kkak.

Kwon Chan clenched his bleeding fist even tighter.

Veins bulged and tendons snapped taut beneath his skin.

But the method to break him had already been exposed.

The one-sided thrashing from earlier wouldn’t happen again.

Seupat!

The instant he thrust an attack toward Siyoon, Baek Euntae swung his sword.

Kwon Chan instinctively raised his arm to block it.

As a result, the cut wasn’t deep, but it definitely drew blood.

This also worked to Siyoon’s advantage.

Unlike earlier, when merely grazing those fists felt like striking solid iron, Siyoon could now parry them with his knife-hand strikes.

It meant his defense was no longer concentrated in one spot but dispersed.

‘Good.’

Ultimately, the answer was to not get caught up in his attacks, but to strike simultaneously.

However, this was easier said than done.

Jjeojeojeok, kung!

Even without his hardened defense, Kwon Chan’s attacks were devastatingly powerful.

The shockwaves alone were enough to shatter the warehouse’s outer walls.

Kkadeudeudeudeut.

The moment Kwon Chan planted his foot in a fighting stance, the surrounding ground split apart, sending debris flying.

The sheer force of his presence was overwhelming, but Siyoon didn’t flinch.

Instead, he calmly read the trajectory of Kwon Chan’s strike.

What they needed to aim for now was the opening created by leveraging their two-person advantage.

At the precise moment, Siyoon stacked Enhancement on his forearm.

Boosting both his defense and physical strength, he deflected the blow.

He tilted his head back to dodge the uppercut rising from below, then ducked low, accounting for the pivot of a roundhouse kick.

Then, Baek Euntae would swing his sword.

Seupat.

“You little shits…!”

Far more precise and faster than before, the sword strikes sliced through his skin.

If Kwon Chan’s attention wavered toward the ensuing blade strikes, it became Siyoon’s turn to attack.

Kung.

Stepping on crushed debris, Siyoon lowered his stance.

Just as he prepared to leap, he Enhanced his feet and knees, securing extra distance and speed.

Udeudeuk.

“Keugh!”

The fist slammed into his ribs, shattering the bone.

Kwon Chan’s eyes darted as his aggro shifted entirely to Siyoon.

In that split second, Baek Euntae, who had swiftly sheathed his sword, drew it again in a flash.

Seogeok―

A cold, gleaming blade traced a silver arc, deeply slicing into Kwon Chan’s shoulder.

A sudden spray of blood erupted, twisting his brow in pain.

He might have effortlessly blocked such an attack earlier, but things were different now.

They were exploiting his vulnerabilities, relentlessly assaulting him from both sides.

They had been caught off guard by his astonishing defense earlier, but not anymore.

Siyoon and Baek Euntae possessed more than enough capability to handle dozens of hunters.

The moment a gap appeared, they clung to it with vicious tenacity.

Chwak.

While Kwon Chan’s focus was locked on the sword, Siyoon closed in from the flank.

That was when it happened.

“Do you think I’ll fall for the same trick forever!”

Kwon Chan’s body whipped around.

It left his back completely exposed, but perhaps he had anticipated this very situation.

Kakang!

“Damn it…!”

Because his defense was densely concentrated, the strike didn’t inflict a fatal wound.

In that brief window, Kwon Chan closed the distance to Siyoon.

There were no cliché parting lines telling him to die or cursing him.

Huuuuung!

He simply threw his fist.

He intended to kill Siyoon first, deeming him the most irritating of the two.

But this was a mistake.

Since the battle began, Siyoon had been continuously analyzing Kwon Chan.

That was how he discovered the gaps in his defense in the first place.

This was, ultimately, a kind of obsession born from his past foolish mistakes.

Thus, even this current situation fell perfectly within Siyoon’s range of predictions.

Beonjjeok―!

“Heok…?!”

An intense light suddenly flashed from Siyoon’s chest.

The blinding flare filled the entire space, causing even Baek Euntae to falter for a moment.

It was an item Siyoon had kept in his pocket as a reserve.

[ You have used ‘Anti-Magic Beast Flash Grenade +5’. ]

[ The vision of enemies exposed to the flash is temporarily blocked. ]

[ Enemies exposed to the flash are stunned for a set duration. ]

It was the same flash grenade that had incapacitated numerous hunters at the research lab.

“Keu-eu-euk!!”

Exposed to the flash at point-blank range, Kwon Chan’s eyes turned bloodshot.

Yet, unlike the hunters before, he didn’t collapse.

He must have been wearing equipment somewhere to counter such measures.

The problem was that the flash grenade was powerful enough to pierce right through his equipment’s resistance.

Proof of that lay in Kwon Chan’s significantly slowed attacks.

Tukkwak!

Siyoon took a wide step forward.

Simultaneously, he struck up Kwon Chan’s arm with a knife-hand strike, then violently snapped it in the opposite direction.

“Kuaaaagh! You bastard!!”

Kwon Chan’s eyes bulged as capillaries burst from the intense pain.

Even though his body should still be sluggish, he clenched his opposite fist, determined to kill Siyoon.

“Do you have a rag in your mouth? You haven’t shut up since this started.”

Udeudeudeuk.

Siyoon instantly deflected Kwon Chan’s remaining arm.

It would have been an impossible feat if Kwon Chan were in perfect condition.

But with a portion of the stun effect still impairing him, Kwon Chan was clearly weakened.

Capitalizing on this, Siyoon drove a powerful punch into his solar plexus.

“Keok!”

The sensation of bone shattering beneath the skin was vivid.

Having suffered internal injuries, Kwon Chan spat out blood.

Siyoon grabbed a stone he had prepared in advance and shoved it into Kwon Chan’s mouth.

Kwak!

“That’s better.”

“Eu-eup, keu-eu!!”

“Let’s get rid of that useless mouth first.”

Muttering coldly, Siyoon rapidly Enhanced the stone.

Sensing something amiss, Kwon Chan’s eyes trembled like reeds in the wind.

At that moment.

Kwaaaaang!

The Enhancement failed, and the stone shoved into his mouth exploded.

“Keo-eo-eok…!”

Surprisingly, Kwon Chan didn’t die.

This was despite the explosion occurring inside his mouth, right next to his brain.

Instead, his jaw had been completely obliterated by the blast.

In that split second, he had funneled every ounce of his defense into his mouth to survive.

But there wouldn’t be a second time.

Kwaduk.

“Keuk, kkeok…”

Siyoon drove his fist directly into his throat.

And then, he Enhanced it.

[ Enhancement successful. ]

[ Enhancement successful. ]

[ Enhancement succeed… ]

[ …You have acquired ‘Stone +8’. ]

By sheer luck, the bastard survived up to Enhancement +8.

But that merely postponed his death.

Siyoon continued Enhancing without a flicker of emotion.

And finally.

[ Enhancement failed. ]

Kwaaaaang!

The Enhancement on the stone failed, and the resulting shockwave blew his head clean off.

Amidst the pitch-black smoke rising from the blast, the giant man who had been standing so rigidly collapsed to the side.

Kung.

Siyoon looked down at it.

Kwon Chan.

The vice-captain of Haind’s bodyguard unit, who had blocked their path, had finally met his end.

* * *

Siyoon let out a sigh as he stared at Kwon Chan’s corpse.

He had been a formidable opponent, but victory belonged to them.

It was the result of fierce thinking and strategizing.

Confirming that his plans and methods were effective was a good thing.

However…

‘I’m exhausted.’

He had been fighting continuously from the previous day up until now.

His stamina had recovered, but his mental fortitude had not.

Moreover, Enhancement was a task that consumed a considerable amount of mental fortitude.

His mental fortitude had grown alongside his physical body over time, but he was slowly reaching his limit.

Above all, the Special Vitamins and Hot Sevens he had brought had run out at the worst possible time.

Special Vitamins enhanced mental fortitude, while Hot Sevens reduced fatigue and provided other effects.

He had taken them whenever he had a moment to spare to let the effects kick in.

But the ones he took just before this battle were his last.

“Phew, what a monster. Still, thank god we killed him quickly.”

Baek Euntae said as he wiped away the sweat pouring down his face like rain.

“Let’s get out of here first. We stay any longer, and we’ll be crushed by the building.”

“Agreed.”

The place they had been fighting was still inside the warehouse.

The flames had grown fiercer than before, already licking near the entrance.

That was when it happened.

Jjeojeok…

Siyoon’s senses, sharpened by combat, caught the sound of something cracking.

The sound came from straight ahead. From the door.

Simultaneously, a terrifying presence stretched out, feeling as though it could sever their necks at any moment.

It was none other than killing intent.

‘Danger…’

It felt as if time itself had slowed to a crawl.

His cognitive processing accelerated instantly in the face of the killing intent that detonated like a bomb.

In that fraction of a second, Siyoon made his decision.

Kkak!

He grabbed Baek Euntae and threw them both flat to the floor.

Just as Baek Euntae was about to express his confusion at the sudden action—

Kwakwakwakwakwakwakwa!!

A single strike cleaved the entire building in two, instantly engulfing the blazing interior.

The attack was like a massive tidal wave.

“What the—”

“It’s you.”

Baek Euntae’s body froze mid-sentence.

A voice that seemed to echo throughout the entire space.

It mingled with the killing intent, viscously pressing down on both of their bodies.

Ttubak.

At that moment, dress shoes lightly tapped against the ground through the settling dust.

Neat, flawless footsteps.

A sudden gust of hot wind swept away the rising debris.

Huuuuung!

Siyoon lifted his creaking neck and looked straight ahead.

Beyond the completely severed building, the night sky was pitch black.

But within that jet-black darkness.

A middle-aged man in a suit stood, bathed entirely in the crimson glow of the flames.

‘Don’t tell me…’

The moment his eyes met the man’s, the hair on his body stood on end.

A physique that was solid and upright, as if he had forged his body with a sword his entire life.

Falcon-like, sharp eyes with a cold gaze.

He held a sword emanating a red aura that flickered like a flame, but for some reason.

His surroundings appeared even darker despite the presence of light.

As if he were devouring the light itself.

“You’ve played quite an amusing prank.”

“……”

“A rather cunning one, at that.”

At that moment, the man’s eyes sank into a deep crimson.

Simultaneously, the killing intent crushed down on their bodies with even greater force.

Siyoon gritted his teeth and endured it.

He didn’t need to be told the man’s identity.

He was the very reason they needed to kill Kwon Chan quickly and escape.

‘The President of Haind, Seo Jinhwan…’

His thoughts sporadically fractured even as he tried to process them.

His breath caught in his throat.

The killing intent that swallowed the entire surrounding area felt as if it were piercing right through his body.

He felt as if he would be consumed by the surging heat.

‘To hide a presence this massive and approach us…’

Siyoon hadn’t let his guard down.

Even after killing Kwon Chan, he had maintained his senses and stayed vigilant of his surroundings.

Because he never knew when the president Baek Euntae had warned him about would arrive.

And yet, he hadn’t detected the man’s approach until he was within arm’s reach.

That fact meant he was a powerhouse far superior to Siyoon.

This was dangerous.

Every nerve in Siyoon’s body stood on end.

He was the mastermind behind Haind’s plummeting stock prices.

It wouldn’t be strange if the man swung his sword to behead him right this instant.

It was a truly hair-trigger situation.

A crisis.