NOVEL NEXT Chapter 59
Chapter 59
It didn’t stop. If he halted his steps, he would sense something odd. Even while moving, Si-hyun continued to think quickly.
Should I just hit?
No. The opponent was definitely watching. A sudden attack would throw them off guard, allowing for a delayed response, but they would still manage to react somehow. He needed something more decisive to maximize the effectiveness of the ambush.
That was…
Si-hyun quickly found his answer.
The thunderous shout of the terrifying guard. There was no better way to confuse the enemy all at once than this. Moreover, shouting without large movements would sharpen the surprise attack even more.
Shout and then strike the opponent to his left first.
The moment he decided in his mind, Si-hyun sprang into action without delay. He couldn’t afford to hesitate any longer. If the enemy attacked first, everything would become futile.
“Uwaaaaaah!!”
Si-hyun shouted at maximum volume.
The shout echoed throughout the previously quiet garden. Without a moment’s hesitation, he turned his body and lunged towards the enemy at the 7 o’clock position with his sword. Everything he had thought in his mind played out smoothly like never before.
There’s no way to dodge this!
That conviction struck him even before his attack connected.
Thunk!
A sensation hit his hand gripping the sword.
It was Rebecca. Her gaze, a complex mix of shock, disbelief, and pain, locked with Si-hyun’s.
The sharp blade of Acureruts easily pierced her chest and exited her back. A torrential rain of crimson blood fell rapidly, staining the ground as if it were blood-soaked cloth.
“…Cr… Co…”
Having been stabbed in the lung, she couldn’t even let out a proper scream.
Si-hyun felt that she had sustained a wound from which she would never recover. There was a strange tremor, but surprisingly, he wasn’t as shaken as he thought he would be. Perhaps it was because it was his second murder, or maybe he was just focused on successfully executing the ambush.
But regardless, he had accomplished his plan.
“Cough.”
Han Kyung-jin groaned with a grim expression. It was a sudden noise that pierced through his eardrums. He flinched, grimacing at the unexpected sound. His ears were still ringing painfully.
And in that moment, the enemy moved. He had stabbed Rebecca with his sword.
“Damn it… Rebecca…”
It was already too late to save her. He wasn’t a healer. No, even if he were a healer, that kind of wound looked impossible to mend.
Kyung-jin tried to judge calmly. He was reluctantly involved with the Black Cross, but he had no particular loyalty or faith. He had no sense of duty that would compel him to risk his life to fulfill a mission.
He had thought he was perfectly concealed, yet the enemy had pinpointed his location too easily and had taken the initiative. And that move— It was far beyond the E-rank.
Now he understood the meaning behind the statement that Hee-seung was dead. Then, what was the situation now?
Kyung-jin dashed toward Si-hyun with rapid pace.
Si-hyun hurriedly pulled back the sword he had plunged into Rebecca, preparing to defend against the incoming attack.
Thud.
“…”
Rebecca clutched at her wound, collapsing onto the earth. As the red blood escaped her body, her life force seemed to evaporate along with it. Gazing vacantly at the sky with fading focus, she thought to herself.
Damn it…
That was her final thought.
“Hah!”
Kyung-jin, having reached Si-hyun, let out a loud battle cry. He gripped a sharp dagger, overflowing with the intent to strike decisively.
Si-hyun assumed a defensive posture, ready to counter the attack.
However, Kyung-jin’s strike was a feint. No, he didn’t even strike, merely bypassing Si-hyun and rapidly darting away.
That was Kyung-jin’s judgment. He believed that engaging Si-hyun one-on-one was risky. There was no reason to continue the mission at the cost of taking such a risk.
“Running away?”
When he was so boldly kidnapping him, now he was trying to flee? Si-hyun momentarily wore a look of disbelief before launching himself into pursuit after Kyung-jin.
Pat, pat, pat.
A rather unexpected chase unfolded in the night.
Kyung-jin ran toward where their van was parked.
Si-hyun could easily predict the direction he was escaping.
Yet he couldn’t close the distance. No, it was actually starting to widen. True to his assassin profession, the opponent was more agile and quicker than Si-hyun.
“Stop right there!”
Without thinking, he blurted out the clichéd line. He found it ridiculous how such phrases were uttered in movies, yet in this situation, it felt natural. Of course, no one would stop just because he said so.
Kyung-jin occasionally glanced back to check the distance while continuing to run. He was steadily increasing the distance to the vehicle.
What to do.
Letting one of them slip away was a very unpleasant situation. And more importantly, there was something he wanted to ask. How do you stop an assassination? If even killing the assassin wouldn’t stop their endless arrival, then nothing could be worse than that.
He needed fundamental ways to halt this. He had thought of dealing a minor injury in the ambush to extract information before everything slipped away.
But if he let that slip as well, it would be in vain.
Squeak!
The sound of Kyung-jin pressing the button on the car key to unlock his vehicle rang out. He felt that once he got in the driver’s seat, it would be impossible to catch him.
With an exasperated expression, Si-hyun bit his lip as if he had made a decision. He extended Acureruts in a straight line. Then he shouted.
“If you don’t want to die, get out of the way right now! I warned you!”
Si-hyun intended to use the magic of Hellfire. He had already discovered that the activation phrase inscribed on the item was the name of the magic itself.
However, he had never used it before. He couldn’t carelessly call on a legendary item due to others’ eyes, let alone the inscribed magic. So he was unsure of its power.
But it was certain that it would be enough to obliterate a van.
“Hellfire!”
Si-hyun shouted the activation phrase.
◈ ◈ ◈
‘What nonsense.’
Kyung-jin tried to ignore Si-hyun’s warning echoing from behind. As long as he could just open the car door and get in the driver’s seat, there was no way that kid could catch him.
Yet, a strange, ominous feeling nestled deep in his gut. It wavered his judgment. His rationality was telling him there was no need for concern. Normally, he would have acted accordingly.
But this time, an impulse arose to act on that instinct that warned him of the impending danger. Ultimately, he dove sideways rather than towards the car. His eyes, glancing back, filled with utter horror.
“Ugh!!”
In a frantic attempt to distance himself, he leaped in a scramble, nearly on all fours. It expressed his desperation.
The flame of white fire surged forward, quickly chasing away the surrounding darkness. Even before it reached its destination, he could already feel the suffocating heat creeping in.
Whatever stood in its path—wood, stone, anything—was all incinerated, turning to ash, as hellfire moved forward.
“Uh-oh!”
Struggling to run, Kyung-jin stumbled and, with a desperate expression, flattened himself to the ground, rolling sideways desperately to gain distance.
In the meantime, the flames of Hellfire closed in on the car. Then it collided with the ground next to the vehicle.
KABOOM!!
With a deafening roar that could burst eardrums, an enormous explosion erupted with a force that seemed like it would swallow everything around. The van was engulfed in the blast, soaring into the sky before the engine exploded, giving way to a second explosion.
A ferocious pillar of fire shot up towards the heavens, incinerating the darkness. In an instant, the once quiet area in front of the villa transformed into a hellish expanse, waves of flames undulating wildly.
“Hak… Hak…”
Kyung-jin gasped heavily, frozen like ice. He was barely coherent. If he hadn’t dodged, he would have turned to ash without a trace.
Even now, had he been any closer, he would have been swept away in the explosion. He had barely survived, clawing his way back from the brink of death.
How could something like that exist…
With a dazed expression, Kyung-jin shook his head in disbelief. He understood magic. But he had never encountered magic with that kind of power before.
The thought that such insane magic truly existed…
If a sorcerer could wield that kind of magic, they could probably massacre hundreds or thousands of monsters.
“….”
Si-hyun was equally astonished. His expression reflected disbelief at the power he had just cast. He had anticipated the significant power of the magic inscribed by the Great Sorceress Hyris.
However, it exceeded even that expectation.
It was terrifying. If such a magic were used in a crowded place, sure disaster would ensue. It seemed it should never be used carelessly, especially outside of the Gates.
Nevertheless, Si-hyun managed to calm his startled heart. It was time to do what needed to be done. He approached Kyung-jin, who was slumped in the dirt as if his legs had given out beneath him.
Kyung-jin showed no signs of trying to escape as Si-hyun approached. He merely gazed at the roaring flames with a blank expression.
“Hey.”
Si-hyun brought the blade close to Kyung-jin’s neck.
“We don’t have time to dawdle. We need to get out of here.”
Since it was magic-generated flames, he couldn’t be sure whether they would extinguish naturally over time or spread to become a greater blaze. Thus, escaping was the best course of action. Of course, he didn’t say this out of concern for Kyung-jin. He simply needed someone to extract information from.
“…Who the hell are you?”
Kyung-jin asked the very same question Rebecca had posed in the underground.
“Correctional Officer.”
Si-hyun replied as he bound Kyung-jin with restraints.
◈ ◈ ◈
“I have something I want to ask.”
Si-hyun said.
They had moved away from the villa and were deep within a forest. It was clear that someone would report seeing the flames of the villa, and firefighters would soon arrive, but they wouldn’t get entangled here. It was a desolate area.
“Do I have any obligation to answer?”
Kyung-jin glanced at the ground rather than looking at Si-hyun, replying. He seemed indifferent, almost resigned. Having been bound in restraints, he appeared ready to give up the will to escape.
“If you answer my questions well, I might spare you.”
A cliché line often spoken by villains slipped from Si-hyun’s lips. Of course, the other person wouldn’t believe him.
“Really? Heh, you certainly can kill well for a correctional officer. Are you really a correctional officer? Ah, I’m not blaming you. I would’ve killed too. So what I’m saying is, you’ll probably kill me anyway.”
“…Well, seeing you run away earlier, it seems you have quite the will to live.”
“And?”
“Besides, don’t you remember my warning earlier? If it weren’t for me, you’d be dead. If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it then.”
“Isn’t it better to hear information and then kill?”
“It seems you’re mistaken. If you guys hadn’t created this sh*tty situation, I wouldn’t have had to kill anyone. Ever. You bastards.”
Si-hyun spoke with a cold expression.
“Make your choice. Either die now or answer my questions and live. The former means certain death. But if it’s the latter, you’ll only die if my words are false. If they’re true, there’s a chance you might live. You need to make a decision with even the slightest possibility for survival, don’t you?”
“…”
Kyung-jin looked up, meeting Si-hyun’s gaze.
Si-hyun understood. This man valued his life above all else. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have made a run for it right after his companion’s death. Thus, in the end, he had no choice but to answer.
“Hah… What do you want to know?”
Kyung-jin finally said.
It wasn’t because he trusted Si-hyun. He had merely chosen the option with a 0.1% chance of survival.
“How do I stop the assassination against me?”