110. A Matter of Life and Death (6)
‘Three eyes. I knew he wasn’t ordinary, but…’
In this brief moment, whatever he had done left my body immobile from the waist down. As if mocking me, the eye on his forehead curved into a sneer. Unlike the other two eyes, which were utterly indifferent, the blue iris overflowed with mischief.
Given how he had kept it hidden, it must be his trump card or something similar. If that’s the case, it wouldn’t be wise to let him know I’ve noticed it.
“It seems I don’t need to worry too much about that one. I’ll deal with you first.”
Should I thank him for helping me avert my gaze naturally? Arajin approached Lee Kang-to and spoke with impeccable timing.
“Th-that’s not beautiful at all!”
“There’s no such thing as a beautiful death in this world, so that’s only natural.”
Arajin, deftly deflecting Lee Kang-to’s nonsense, abruptly raised his foot. Lee Kang-to, blankly staring at the leg casting a shadow over his face, suddenly rolled forward using only his arm strength. Why did he do that all of a sudden?
The question was quickly answered. As Arajin stomped his foot, an ominous energy surged up like an oil-fed flame where Lee Kang-to had just been.
Without Explorer’s Eye, Lee Kang-to wouldn’t have seen it. It was truly an animal-like instinct.
“Who’s dying? There’s a l-limit to how much you can disrespect someone!”
“Your intentions are irrelevant.”
“H-how can you be so rude!”
“You’re nothing but rats that have invaded someone else’s territory. No more, no less. Therefore, there’s no need for respect.”
For someone who likely never respected anyone in his life, he sure talks well. Thoroughly defeated in the war of words, Lee Kang-to was busy rolling left and right to avoid Arajin’s feet.
“Tsk, how annoying. You should be completely immobilized. I wonder what trick you’re using.”
“Good people are blessed, you know!”
“But Mr. Kim, if you were truly blessed, wouldn’t you have avoided this situation in the first place?”
Ignoring Lee Kang-to, who was shouting that his own side was being too harsh, the goblin climbed onto my shoulder. When he asked if there was anything he could do to help, I shook my head.
“Come to think of it, Sori, you don’t seem to have any trouble moving?”
“Yeah! I don’t know why, though.”
“That’s fortunate. Just in case things take a turn for the worse, be prepared to escape on your own.”
The goblin didn’t seem to like what I said but didn’t argue. He must also understand how important it is to report what we’ve seen and heard here.
‘He doesn’t seem to be wary of me at all. Should I try to help Lee Kang-to?’
With my upper body free, there was more I could do than I thought. Using the bow would likely be intercepted midway, right? If there’s no tooth, use the gum, as they say. Just as I was about to secretly take out an arrow and throw it, the king unexpectedly approached me on his knees.
“Now that you’ve taken off that damned grim reaper outfit, you’re quite the looker, aren’t you?”
“Your Majesty, your dignity…”
“Didn’t you just say, Arajin, that these fools are mere rats who dared to toy with me? What’s wrong with playing with animals!”
Arajin didn’t try to persuade the king any further and turned his attention back to Lee Kang-to. Excited by this silent permission, the king reached out to me with his plate-sized hand.
“Your lack of ability to learn is still evident.”
Seemingly irritated by my unflinching attitude, the king frowned intensely. But that only made him more repulsive, not at all intimidating.
“Won’t you regret this?”
“You still don’t seem to understand your position. You should stop your tantrum now.”
“Don’t bully our Mr. Kim!”
The goblin, who had suddenly transformed into human form, stood between me and the king’s hand. Despite his appearance as a small child, the king didn’t hesitate to try and use violence against him.
“What’s this fly-like thing?”
Though he might have thought he was swinging his hand fiercely, to me it was a boringly slow motion. It wasn’t difficult to block his hand before it could reach the kind-hearted goblin.
“Thank you for your concern, Sori.”
Giving the goblin a slight smile, I twisted the wrist I had caught. Unlike before, I didn’t hold back my strength, and I could clearly feel the broken wrist dangling limply.
“Argh!”
“One hand is enough to deal with the likes of him.”
“How dare you, how dare you harm the royal body!”
I had thought about letting him be, as we might be able to get more information. But at this rate, he’d only hinder our quick escape. And Arajin wasn’t an easy opponent either.
As soon as I made my decision, I struck the back of the king’s neck, knocking him unconscious.
“Finally, some peace and quiet.”
“Well done, Mr. Kim!”
Just to be sure he wouldn’t wake up, I was in the process of pinning his sleeves to the floor with arrows when I felt sensation returning to my toes. From that point, my lower body, which had been as stiff as a rock, gradually began to move.
“Naturally, Hunter Lee Kang-to should also… huh?”
Contrary to my expectations, Lee Kang-to was still rolling on the floor. Judging by his movements, far from being freed before me, his lower body still seemed paralyzed.
“Surely his magic resistance stat can’t be lower than mine.”
If that’s the case, the remaining possibility is…
“Hunter Lee Kang-to, quickly put on your mask!”
“What?”
“Hurry!”
Unlike me, who had worn the mask while pretending to be a grim reaper, Lee Kang-to had been bare-faced all this time. As a sturdy close-combat dealer, he probably didn’t feel the need to rush. Little did he know that this carelessness would become a poison from an unexpected source.
‘We’ve been dancing to Arajin’s debuff all this time.’
Thanks to the mask with purification and antidote effects, I barely managed to break free from it. To think that an item that could instantly dispel even Cheonsan’s terrible poison would only activate now. Though Arajin was said to be an estimated S-rank, I was newly amazed.
“Oh? I’m okay now?”
Fortunately, my hypothesis seemed correct. Not long after putting on the mask, Lee Kang-to regained his usual light movements.
“Mr. Kim, hurry over here and protect the black Mr. Kim!”
“D-don’t rush me!”
“…I shouldn’t have left you alone.”
Arajin, who had been ignoring me all this time, turned towards me. Naturally, I found myself face to face with his third eye, brimming with curiosity and malice.
“But it’s all futile effort. You must feel it, right?”
While my skin crawled, I also had a new realization. I remembered that just before the princess collapsed in Cheonyogun, I had caught a glimpse of something like a blue eye.
‘Is the activation requirement for the debuff related to that eye?’
I should remember this. If the eye is the medium for activating abilities, it’s likely also the center of his mana channels. This meant that the third eye was one of Arajin’s weaknesses.
It’s almost a given, but confirmation is essential. I activated Explorer’s Eye more strongly. Sure enough, a red light indicating a weakness flickered in Arajin’s eyes.
‘It’s a bit surprising that all three eyes are weaknesses.’
This was good news for us.
Since there seemed to be nothing more to confirm, maybe I should stop using Explorer’s Eye now. Despite secretly drinking potions between interactions with NPCs, my mana was running low from constantly activating the skill.
‘Wait a minute.’
Stupid Yun Gaho. Why hadn’t I noticed this until now? Or should I be praising Arajin for hiding it so well here?
‘Maybe it was so abundant that it was actually hard to notice.’
They say if you want to hide a tree, go to the forest. Clicking my tongue, I glared at the smoke slicing through the air, carrying a blue energy.
“…It seems like something can be done.”
“Something can be done? What a vain hope.”
Arajin tilted his head slightly, seemingly having heard my muttering. Judging by his leisurely behavior, he didn’t seem to be in a hurry to dispose of us.
“That’s how all hunters, no, all humans are, isn’t it? They find hope in vain places and cling to it with their lives.”
“Are you trying to buy time with riddles?”
“No. Unlike you corrupt officials, every minute and second is precious to commoners like us.”
“R-right you are!”
Lee Kang-to, who had blindly taken my side without knowing my intentions, immediately placed his hand on his scabbard.
‘Well, I was planning to ask him to cause a ruckus anyway.’
It was already too late to look for an opening to escape. The gap between us and Arajin was too great to overpower him by force.
In the end, the only option left was to confront him and find a new weakness.
As a sign of permission, I whistled, and Lee Kang-to shot out like a bullet, drawing his sword. His sword strike was so powerful that the ensuing blade wind scattered the room’s furnishings.
“Th-that wasn’t my true strength earlier!”
He must have been quite upset about being helplessly overpowered earlier. Red petals, honed even sharper than when facing Agol, flooded towards Arajin.
Taking advantage of the fierce confrontation, I threw a spare mist bead on the floor. None of the combatants would be immobilized by this mist, but…
‘I can’t let him cast another debuff.’
Generally, techniques that use eyes as a medium can’t be used when vision is obstructed.
And one more thing.
“Sori, I have a secret favor to ask.”
“Hmm?”
The quick-witted goblin immediately pounded his chest, saying he had already blocked the sound. I gently patted his head with my index finger, eliciting a clear, bell-like laugh.
“But first, let me ask you something. Do you have a good sense of smell like Hunter Cha Taeyang?”
“Yeah, not as good as Taeyang’s, but I’ve got a decent nose!”
“That’s great. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but there are incense burners in this room emitting strange smoke. Hide in the mist and extinguish all the incense burners.”
I don’t know what method he used, but Arajin’s energy could be felt from the incense burners scattered around. As the energy spread through the smoke, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that the entire room was Arajin’s domain.
‘If all that smoke disappears, Arajin’s power should weaken.’
The reason Lee Kang-to couldn’t sense Arajin entering the room earlier was probably due to this smoke. The room was already saturated with his energy, making it difficult to detect.
How would Arajin react when he loses his home ground? Despite the serious situation, a mischievous thought bubbled up. I shook my head vigorously to chase it away, then continued speaking.
“I’d like to move myself, but I think he’d notice immediately if I did.”
“Alright! Sori didn’t like that stuff either. It’s totally gross!”
“I agree. I’m counting on you.”
The goblin, making a circle with his short thumb and index finger, fluttered up into the air. He immediately flew off, cutting through the mist, but soon changed direction and returned to me.
“Sori? Is something wrong?”
“Hey, Mr. Kim! Aren’t you going to open that?”
That? What is he talking about? Seeing that I couldn’t quite grasp his meaning, the goblin started slapping my cheeks with his palms. Despite being small, his hands packed quite a sting.
“The thing the princess gave you!”