“……”

Go Byeonggap shifted only his eyes to glance to the side. Jang Yongil lay sprawled on the ground, his eyes rolled back. He seemed to have passed out.

“Keok-keok! You… bastard! Who’s going to kill who?”

Jo Gwangheon staggered to his feet.

‘His neck should be broken, but he’s not backing down an inch.’

A genuine trace of admiration flickered through him.

Even in a situation that should’ve cowed anyone, her eyes stayed alive.

‘A lunatic, sure, but maybe a born warrior underneath.’

Go Byeonggap didn’t loosen his grip on tension by a single thread.

This wasn’t some stale platitude about giving your all even to catch a rabbit. The thing standing in front of him was a predator at the top of the food chain.

Letting his guard down wouldn’t just be a mistake—it would be outright arrogance.

He steadied his mind, dropped into stance. The tip of his sword swayed, soft and light as a fox’s tail.

‘End it as fast as possible.’

Pah!

“Mmph!?”

Go Byeonggap moved like a lightning bolt. In a heartbeat, he closed the distance and swung. The blade sliced straight for the throat.

Jo Gwangheon reacted half a beat too late.

‘Fast! But this kind of attack—!’

He rushed to armor himself with karma.

The energy wrapped around him from crown to sole, forming a shield harder than any plate armor.

A bare strike like that, carrying no karma of its own, should’ve been child’s play to—

“Mmph!?”

‘Shit, I’m going to get cut!’

The blade was about to reach his neck.

Jo Gwangheon knew it instinctively. That blade would split through his barrier and shear his head clean off.

He jerked back—too late. The edge had already raked across.

FSSSSSH

“Kkhakh! Kkh-gkhk!”

“Pulled your neck back at the last second to minimize damage? Nice animal instinct. But your finish was sloppy, wasn’t it?”

Jo Gwangheon’s neck was about thirty percent severed. A broken cervical vertebra and skin loss so severe his head could fall off at any moment.

“You… you!”

Gwangheon slumped where he sat, glaring at Go Byeonggap with murder in his eyes. The face that had brimmed with mockery was now a mangled mess of rage and fear.

‘My karma got pierced? By a low-rank awakener’s bare blade?’

Jo Gwangheon couldn’t believe it.

That bastard had been nothing but an ordinary porter!

‘My karma’s pathetic. Needless to say, I’m a low-tier awakener. Then what the hell is that power?’

It started with the very first ambush. No matter how off-guard I was or how unready for battle, my neck shouldn’t be shattered by a low-tier awakener’s kick.

And that strike just now was clearly high-tier.

‘Damn it! If only I hadn’t been caught off guard at the start!’

The wound on his neck was severe. Breathing was already becoming labored—if he didn’t get treatment soon, it would be genuinely dangerous.

‘I need to get out of here.’

Jo Gwangheon steeled himself and moved stealthily, concentrating his karma into his lower body.

In a split second, he shoved off the ground and broke into a sprint.

‘I don’t know what trick he pulled, but without karma’s help, there’s no way he can keep up with my speed—!’

“Trying to run?”

“What?! —Ughaaark!”

The blade tore across Jo Gwangheon’s back. Skin split without resistance, and blood geysered up in a red spray.

“Ughhh! Ugh!”

Jo Gwangheon flopped onto the ground, thrashing—a flipped turtle.

Go Byeonggap planted a foot on the bastard’s stomach to pin him, then raised his sword.

“W-wait! Don’t!”

“Unbelievable. Why the hell do you look so wronged?”

“It was a joke! Just a joke!”

“Guess it never crossed your mind that a joke-tossed rock could crack your skull open.”

“N-no. I just wanted to scare you. I never meant to actually kill you!”

“Bullshit.”

Go Byeonggap stabbed downward.

“If I die—!”

Suddenly, Jo Gwangheon screamed.

The descending sword halted mid-stroke.

“I’m not like you bastards! If I die, people will come looking for me right away! And they’ll find out you’re the killer in no time—”

“Don’t worry. Your corpse won’t be found anywhere in this world.”

“W-what?”

Go Byeonggap snorted and swung the sword again. This time, he meant to split him clean through.

“Okay, that’s enough.”

Thud!

‘…A foot?’

The strike was a hair’s breadth from severing the neck. A boot sole blocked the blade.

Go Byeonggap scowled and looked sideways. There stood Jeong Seongyeong, Song Hangil, and Sim Seungseop.

‘When the hell did they get here? I didn’t even sense them.’

Even now, standing right next to him, he couldn’t feel their presence. Like facing ghosts.

Go Byeonggap turned his head back to look at his sword.

‘That was a full-power blow, and she blocked it with just the top of her foot? Not even a scratch?’

“Ow, that stings! Fuck!”

Jeong Seongyeong flicked her foot, and the sword flew up. Go Byeonggap nearly lost his grip.

“Looks like our Byeonggap really meant to kill him, huh?”

“…When did you get here?”

“Byeonggap. You ever killed a man before?”

Jeong Seongyeong answered his question with one of her own.

A thin smile played on her lips—but there wasn’t a trace of amusement in it. Instead, an overwhelming murderous intent poured out of her.

She’d never exuded even half that killing intent when hunting monsters. Go Byeonggap instinctively backed off.

“What… are you trying to say.”

“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not mad because of you.”

Jeong Seongyeong said that and looked down at Jo Gwangheon. Her eyes were ice-cold. The same look you’d give a pest.

“Jo Gwangheon. I knew you were a piece of shit, but I didn’t know you were this level of scum.”

“Sp… spare me…”

“I’ll spare you. Yeah, I’ve got to let you live.”

Jeong Seongyeong stuck a cigarette between her lips and looked at Go Byeonggap.

“Byeonggap. You don’t just go around killing people.”

“In my book, that bastard isn’t people.”

“Whoa, that’s a bad frame of mind. You’re not the center of the world, you know.”

“…”

“And this bastard—no matter how crazy he is, he’s still family under the same roof.”

Go Byeonggap paused, then sheathed his sword.

Killing Jo Gwangheon was off the table now. Three S-rank hunters stood right there. If they decided to stop him, it’d be nothing.

Instead, Go Byeonggap asked, a hint of anger in his voice.

“How long have you been watching?”

“From the start.”

“From the start? Damn it! If you were watching from the start, why didn’t you help? Mr. Yongil almost died!”

“Calm down, Mr. Byeonggap. There was a reason.”

“What? What reason?”

“We couldn’t act on mere suspicion.”

“So you’re saying someone had to die first?”

“Hey, Go Byeonggap. We were about to step in, but you charged in and started swinging. What were we supposed to do?”

“H-huk! Huk! S-save me…”

“Aish. This punk’s about to croak.”

Jeong Seongyeong pulled a potion bottle from her pocket. It was an elixir—a top-grade potion.

She fed Jo Gwangheon a tiny bit of the elixir. She also dripped a couple of drops onto his wounds. He recovered just enough not to die.

Jo Gwangheon gasped for air like a newborn foal.

“H-heok! Heok! Heok!”

“Hey, Jo Gwangheon. You’re not out of it, so you can hear me, right?”

“Ugh…”

He nodded his head.

“Listen up. You tried to kill an ally and got caught by us. Then you resisted violently and tried to flee. We had no choice but to fight, and in the process, your neck almost got sliced. Don’t forget that.”

“What?”

“You’ll be thoroughly expelled from not just the guild and the Hunter Association, but from society itself. Attempted murder during an operation—no way around it. You’ll be thrown into a detention center.”

“D-detention center?”

“Yeah. Rot in there for about fifty years.”

Despair settled over Jo Gwangheon’s face.

No surprise there. Crimes committed by hunters—especially violent ones like murder or rape—carry insane penalties. No leniency either.

Heinous criminals sentenced to death or life imprisonment go to special correctional facilities called detention centers. Those places are inescapable hells.

Once you go in, you don’t come out until you’re a bent-over old man. Even if you do, you’re likely already a broken wreck.

“D-don’t be ridiculous! What did I do? A-and evidence! Do you have evidence?”

“This rotten bastard still doesn’t get it? Hey, do we look blind to you? How many pairs of eyes do you think are watching here?”

“Heh… hehe… I’ll just deny it. Without physical evidence, anyway…”

“Mr. Seungseop. Show him.”

Song Hangil said to Sim Seungseop.

Sim Seungseop flashed his phone with a face that said he couldn’t be more done with this. Phones were contraband during operations—strictly forbidden.

Jo Gwangheon’s eyes went wide at the sight of the phone.

A video was playing on it. The scene of Jo Gwangheon beating Jang Yongil.

“Wh—how…”

“Byeonggap.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m taking this piece of trash down myself to hand him over. So don’t worry about what happens to him.”

“…Got it.”

“S-SHIT! That bastard! HE tried to kill me too! I’m a victim here!”

Jo Gwangheon thrashed till the very end.

Right on cue, the video cut off. It didn’t show Go Byeonggap beating Jo Gwangheon to the ground.

Jeong Seongyeong let out a full-throated sneer.

“You lunatic. Throwing a tantrum with zero evidence?”

“Y-You all saw it!”

“Saw what? I didn’t see a thing. What about you?”

“Huh? No, sir. All I saw was that man trying to kill Mr. Yongil.”

Jeong Seongyeong spun her yarn without batting an eye. Song Hangil chimed in with the perfect follow-up.

“Yaaawn. Can I go now?”

“Yeah, Mr. Seungseop. You can head out. Thanks for the help.”

“Don’t call me for this kind of thing again.”

Sim Seungseop left without a shred of emotion on his face.

“Th-This is insane…”

“Go ahead and blab that a D-rank hunter nearly beat you to death. See who believes you.”

“Th-That bastard’s a D-rank? Bullshit! Bull-fucking-shit!”

“Jesus! What’s with all this barking?”

“Ghk!”

Jeong Seongyeong pressed a finger to Jo Gwangheon’s forehead. Then she let out a short burst of karma, a shockwave.

Jo Gwangheon’s eyes rolled back and he passed out cold.

The matter was closed.

Jeong Seongyeong sidled up to Go Byeonggap and playfully jabbed him in the ribs.

“Hey, this is what they call veteran vibes. You gotta handle things clean. Thought you could just lop off a head, bury it, and call it a day?”

“We’ve got the video, so Jo Gwangheon’s punishment is locked in. Don’t worry, Mr. Byeonggap.”

Go Byeonggap felt a little dazed.

When you got down to it, he and Jo Gwangheon had both tried to commit murder. But the squad members were acting like they hadn’t seen a thing.

An unbearable curiosity welled up in Go Byeonggap, and he asked.

“Why are you all taking my side? You too, Mr. Hangil.”

“Huh? Listen to this guy, talking all hurt. Hey, what’s a squad for? It’s for helping each other out in times like this.”

“That’s right. Mr. Byeonggap almost made a mistake, but in the end, it worked out fine, right? That’s all that matters.”

“This piece of trash I get — throw him in the garbage can. But you’re not trash. Can’t stuff you in there too.”

Song Hangil bound Jo Gwangheon’s limbs tight, then slung him over his shoulder. Go Byeonggap hoisted Jang Yongil onto his back.

The three of them trudged back to camp.

“Byeonggap. You’re pretty strong, huh?”

“……”

“Thought you were a weakling, but I was wrong. Heh-heh.”

“Yeah, no kidding. Never would’ve guessed Mr. Byeonggap had that kind of hidden strength.”

Two people.

No — three, counting Sim Seungseop. They’d all seen Go Byeonggap’s power with their own eyes.

Yet no one pressed him about it.

“You’re not asking?”

“Ask what?”

“How I can pull off something like that.”

“Come on. What’s the big deal? You’ve got something different about you. So? Should I be dying of curiosity?”

“No. That’s not what I meant.”

“Tsk, tsk, tsk.”

Jeong Seongyeong clicked her tongue and wiggled her fingers.

“Hey, hey. If you want this noona’s attention, try something other than flexing. That’s not how you earn it.”

“……”

“I’m a bit curious, actually. How’d you do it? From what I saw, it didn’t look like your karma was amplifying in some weird way.”

“Well…”

Now that someone asked, his mouth went dry.

As Go Byeonggap trailed off, Song Hangil quickly waved a hand.

“You don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to. If Mr. Byeonggap kept it hidden on purpose, there’s probably a good reason.”

“Thank you.”

“Ah, don’t mention it. We’re squadmates.”

Squadmates.

Go Byeonggap let out a soft laugh at that.

Three weeks into the expedition, he’d realized it: Squad C was a pretty decent team.