Chapter 93

Chapter 93

Looking like he was caught off guard by the whole situation, Olive scratched the back of his head and pulled a book out of his Inventory. It was a green-covered book with a design very similar to the purple-covered one Hunter Lee Yoomyeong had been using.

“Fable activation, ‘Hunter’s Pigeon’…!”

Olive’s incantation never finished. A silver sword suddenly shot toward his throat. *Bang!* The clash of metal rang out sharply through the air. Andres, who had somehow moved in front of Olive as if to protect him, was blocking Jeong Seojin’s strike with a beautiful blue-tinted sword.

“Go, now.”

“Fuck… Ah, got it. Fable activation, ‘Hunter’s Pigeon’!”

Once again, Jeong Seojin’s sword aimed for Olive. The blade in his right hand targeted Olive’s neck, while the four silver swords he summoned in midair aimed for Olive’s heart.

But this time, too, Andres wedged himself between Jeong Seojin and Olive. His water-glimmering sword blocked Jeong Seojin’s blade with every movement, and the four wolves he summoned in the air were pierced by the swords in Olive’s place, dying instead.

A flash of green light flickered. Just as the silver blade swung toward Olive again and was about to reach his throat, Olive’s form vanished. It seemed he had escaped using a spatial movement skill.

“Tch… He’s quick to run, at least.”

“There’s someone right here willing to face you, so I wonder why you’re so intent on catching a man who’s trying to flee.”

*Swish.* The sword in Andres’s hand traced a circle in the air before slamming into the ground. The blue tassel at the end of the hilt swayed with the rough motion.

“Ah, sorry. Compared to a guy who’s only ever second place, a rat scurrying away pathetically catches the eye more.”

“…I suppose all the so-called number ones in their own countries are like that. Rotten with arrogance.”

Whether it was because Jeong Seojin’s taunt angered him, or because of the *content* of that taunt, Andres was showing an unusual emotional reaction. He stared at Jeong Seojin with cold eyes, like someone who had been gravely insulted.

“Hmph. Guess that really got under your skin, huh?”

“Watch your mouth, Jeong Seojin.”

“Well, I suppose so. When you’re stuck as permanent second place because of that S+-Rank bastard in your own country, I guess an S-Rank hunter’s pride can’t take it.”

After saying that, Jeong Seojin stared at Andres in silence for a moment. But anyone with even the slightest awareness could tell.

That Jeong Seojin was openly mocking Andres right now.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you were nursing such a pathetic inferiority complex toward that S+-Rank knight guy?”

With those words, *thud*, the ground where Andres had been standing caved in, and his form vanished. Moments later, Andres appeared right in front of Jeong Seojin, his water-blue sword swinging toward Jeong Seojin’s neck.

*Bang!*

A thunderous roar erupted, one that was hard to believe came from metal clashing against metal. Jeong Seojin stared at the man who had swung the sword at him with an impassive gaze.

“Look at this. Guess my words really stung your pride, huh?”

“Shut up, Jeong Seojin. Especially if you’re someone who claims to wield a sword.”

“What, are you going to prattle on about chivalry just because you’re British? But what can I do? I’m a swordsman, not a knight.”

As he spoke, Jeong Seojin lightly deflected the sword aimed at his neck. Andres was knocked backward by Jeong Seojin’s movement, but quickly recovered his stance.

“Ah, let me say this in advance.”

But Jeong Seojin didn’t seem inclined to give Andres enough time to fully recover. In an instant, he was right in front of Andres, his silver sword aiming straight for Andres’s heart.

“You were the one who kidnapped Yoon Seohee first.”

*Clang.* Andres, barely managing to adjust his stance, knocked Jeong Seojin’s sword away. He was staring at Jeong Seojin with a flustered expression I’d never seen before. He seemed genuinely surprised that Jeong Seojin was stronger than he had thought.

“And you’re the one who charged at me first, aren’t you?”

At those words, an uncountable number of silver swords filled the air in an instant. Sunlight streaming through the long-shattered window crack glinted sharply off the edges of the silver blades. A brief, precarious silence hung in the air, as if the swords themselves were floating. A stillness so deep you could count every breath.

And then, the silver flashed.

“Come forth, Rupa!”

Unlike when he had been fighting Hunter Joo Minju and Hunter Lee Yoomyeong for a while, Andres’s voice was much more urgent this time as he called for “Rupa.” The translucent wolf summoned by his call let out a great howl and protected him as if clutching him close. But the protection of the semi-transparent wolf couldn’t shake off the sharpness of the silver swords.

“Kugh!”

Most of the swords failed to fully pierce Rupa’s protection and lodged partway through, but a few blades tore through the wolf’s transparent hide and finally scratched Andres. His left eye area, right arm, left ankle, and finally his left thigh. Andres knocked away the silver sword that had nearly pierced his heart and glared at Jeong Seojin with eyes as sharp as a beast’s.

“You bastard…!”

“What.”

Unlike Andres, who was burning with genuine hostility, Jeong Seojin looked not just unfazed but actually disappointed as he flicked the silver sword again.

*Pwaat.* A bright light burst once. And then the same situation replayed itself. An uncountable number of swords were aimed at Andres in midair. The sight was like a conductor meticulously tuning hundreds or thousands of notes one by one.

“Is this all you’ve got?”

“Stop your pathetic provocations.”

“…Hah, fine.”

Jeong Seojin’s fingertips flicked once. The hundreds of swords floating in the air rippled like waves, following the conductor’s touch.

“I was a fool to expect even a speck of that guy Adam Rogers from you.”

*Bang!*

In that instant, I felt a vivid killing intent flash in Andres’s deep blue eyes, and at the exact same moment, his sword was thrown straight for Jeong Seojin’s heart.

*Clang!*

With a sound that made my neck feel cold, the blue sword aimed at Jeong Seojin’s heart was sent flying into the air. But that wasn’t the end. At the same time the blue sword was deflected, massive black wolves lunged at Jeong Seojin from both sides. Dazzlingly sharp white fangs flashed between the wolves’ jaws.

“Now I get it.”

Two silver swords, swung from who knows when, precisely pierced the wolves’ mouths and throats. The two wolves, impaled from the roof of their mouths through their throats and out the backs of their necks, let out a thin *kiiing* sound and scattered into magical energy. Right after that, Jeong Seojin knocked away three daggers thrown at his neck, then stomped on one of the daggers that had fallen to the floor.

“So it’s you? The role of ‘Lancelot.’”

“…You, how do you….”

“Since my mas… the escort target is involved in this, I looked into a few things beforehand.”

*Though the Gardener brat helped with the details,* he muttered quietly. Jeong Seojin took another step forward. *Crunch.* Following his movement, the dagger under his foot began to shatter, unable to withstand his strength.

“Regarding this Britten Dungeon raid… seems like there’s been quite a bit of talk in England, huh?”

“……”

Andres didn’t answer. Instead, he summoned the silver wolf again. A clear declaration of his will not to answer the question.

Then, suddenly, the space pressed down.

“Kkuh?!”

“Gyaaah?!”

*Bang!* A pressure comparable to gravity itself violently crashed down, centered on Andres. The aftermath even reached where I and Hunter Joo Minju were standing. It wasn’t as violent as what was crushing Andres, but it was enough to make me scream in surprise from the pressure that suddenly grabbed and pushed down on my shoulders.

“Ah, sorry. I’ll adjust it right away.”

Had my scream startled him? Jeong Seojin, looking a little flustered, immediately lifted the pressure around me. I took a much easier breath and looked at Andres across from me. Andres was groaning softly, completely crushed under the pressure created by Jeong Seojin’s earth-attribute magical power.

“Don’t die yet. There’s still a long way to go.”

“You, what is this….”

Andres seemed genuinely flustered. His urgent gaze swept over Jeong Seojin, then over to me. Was it a look asking for help? I thought about it for a moment, then shook my head. Andres’s gaze was far sharper and clearer than that. As if he was measuring something, searching for the cause.

“You… this, this kind of thing couldn’t possibly work on an S-Rank—”

The agile wolf caught the scent of the answer and raised its head. The blue beast’s eyes searched for the truth.

But the answer the wolf found was cut short before it could finish.

A flash of silver. Was it a sword, or a blunt weapon? Before I could even make out the shape of the weapon swung at Andres, his body was already flying far backward. Only after Andres was sent flying into the distance could I confirm the weapon’s form. It was a blunt-edged blade, something you could hardly call a sword.

Bang!

Jeong Seojin’s swung weapon sent Andres’s body flying backward, and it only stopped after crashing into the wall. But the wall, struck directly by an S-Rank hunter’s body, couldn’t withstand the impact and began to crumble. As Andres coughed from the blow that landed squarely on his abdomen, chunks of broken stone fell down with a crash onto his head.

‘Is, is he going to be okay?’

I doubted she’d die from that, and I worried she might get seriously hurt, but then again, considering what happened to Hunter Joo Minju, I figured she had it coming.