episode_0011

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-four, no, twenty-one…”

I pour tequila into a shot glass with trembling hands.

“What’s up, sis? Speak freely, sis.”

Siwoong drapes his arm over the sofa.

And that arm slowly inches closer to my shoulder.

“I’m sorry for scaring you earlier. You were so intense, I thought you had some amazing ability.”

“…”

“I never thought you’d be powerless. But at least you’re cute, so you shouldn’t have any problems living.”

His rough hand envelops my shoulder.

The sensation makes my stomach churn as if I might vomit.

I want to smash my head with the tequila bottle right now, but if I do…

I’ll be crushed by this giant fist, leaving nothing behind.

“Tell me your number.”

Absolutely not.

My body instinctively sends signals.

“I don’t have my phone…”

“No phone? Does that make sense?”

“I couldn’t pay the bill, so it got cut off…”

“Oh, that was the issue? I thought I was being rejected again.”

Siwoong gestures to the male student who came with him.

The guy retrieves a backpack from the floor.

He arrogantly unzips it.

When the bag opens, it reveals an amount of cash that far exceeds what I’ve ever seen in a cash register.

“Take one of these.”

He places a wad of bills on my thigh.

It’s clearly an amount well over 5 million won.

But at that moment, I felt a greater fear than the money in front of me.

How did these kids come by such a large sum of money?

And I didn’t know what they would demand from me with this money.

“Oh, don’t worry about it. Just think of it as a gift because I like you.”

He chuckles and drinks the tequila I poured, then snorts the white powder on the table through his nose.

Wait, isn’t that salt?

Why is he snorting it…

Normally, with tequila, you lick salt from the back of your hand after taking a sip or lick it off your hand after a shot.

Siwoong, having snorted the powder, shivers as if in ecstasy.

It’s drugs.

These guys definitely made money selling drugs.

“Just think of it as payment for hanging out with me today.”

His hand now starts moving further inward along my thigh.

My heart pounds like crazy.

What’s going to happen to me now?

Am I really going to be subjected to something unbearable?

“I have the ability of physical enhancement. That’s why I prefer things soft unlike me.”

I can’t even imagine the future as my whole body trembles.

I focus my mind at my fingertips.

Instead of facing disgrace, let’s knock him out with Angelic Hand.

He thinks I’m powerless.

As his hand reaches the inside of my thigh, I reach for Siwoong’s neck.

“What are you doing?”

The moment my fingertips almost touch him, he withdraws his arm.

It’s because we heard a car stopping outside the inn.

“Is this from the Association Security Division?”

Other students look uneasy.

“Sehee, you said it would be safe here, right?”

Siwoong squints at Sehee.

She vigorously shakes her head.

“No way… How could they know we’re here.”

I immediately retract my hand.

My body relaxes, involuntarily crouching down.

Tears gush from my reddened eyes.

Those tears fall to the ground following my bowed head.

“For now, hide the bag, and you, go check who it is.”

Siwoong commands the students with a serious tone.

They act as one, following the orders of an A-class Hunter like an organized unit.

“Why are you shaking and crying, sis… It’s worrying.”

After they leave, the guy casually runs his fingers through my hair.

“Don’t worry. If there’s a problem, we’ll just change locations. There’s a much better place than this crappy place. A softer place…”

He dusts his finger with powder.

Then he pushes it towards my nose.

Wasn’t that salt?

“Drink up. We’ll be there after a good rest.”

“Just a moment…”

The moment I drink this, it’s over.

I tried to resist by turning my head somehow.

But his slippery arm soon grabs my head and leads me towards the powder.

“—!”

It was the moment when the pellet was about to touch the tip of my nose.

The screams of a student who went out to meet their doom make Siwoong’s hand pause.

Soon, familiar footsteps are heard from the store entrance.

I knew that sound.

The dull and cold sound of work boots.

Soon, a woman with a carbon sword in hand strides into the store.

Her sword is already dripping with young and fresh blood.

Contrasting with that, her elegant silver hair flutters.

Why is it?

Her murky eyes, which usually felt eerie and frightening, strangely seem welcoming today.

“Ha.”

Siwoong chuckles as he rises from the couch.

He knows well who his opponent is.

“Anna Danilova.”

He leans his shoulder and stretches his body.

A dull sound resonates as gravel hits his body.

“I wanted to spar with a Ranker at least once.”

“…”

Anna doesn’t react to his words at all.

Instead, her eyes turn towards me, small and hunched over.

Anna approaches me and asks, “You… Are you a mental type ability user?”

Why is she suddenly asking about abilities?

When I can’t give any response, she grabs my wrist and opens the system window.

“Incompetent…?”

Anna’s eyebrows furrow as the result is different from what she expected.

Understandable.

My ability was inherited from a past life, not included in the registered titles’ information.

“So, was that drink just a coincidence…?”

She slowly lowers her head and looks at me.

“Let go…”

As I groan in pain, Anna releases my hand as if indifferent.

“Hey, Anna. Are you ignoring me right now?”

Siwoong asks the killer behind him.

“…”

But even to Anna’s second question, she doesn’t respond.

Dark shadows creep over her face.

Siwoong’s fist descends towards Anna.

I thought her delicate figure would crumple under that brutal fist.

However, her form remained unseen as the fist struck only the empty ground.

She had subtly moved to Siwoong’s side, raising her sword towards him.

Without hesitation, her sword strikes Siwoong’s neck.

“—!”

Gray energy envelops the A-rank Hunter’s body as the sword makes contact.

He tightly contracts his muscles to deflect Anna’s sword.

“He blocked a Ranker’s sword! As expected of Siwoong…!”

Other students exclaim in amazement.

Indeed, impressive physical enhancement.

To easily block a sword that has cut through enemies in one stroke.

“Your reputation exceeds your skill? Quite disappointing.”

Siwoong roars triumphantly.

Then, Anna’s counterattack, previously aimed at him, rebounds towards its owner.

Siwoong barely dodges it, stepping back from her shoulder.

The cunning Siwoong swiftly charges as Anna lands on the ground.

Seizing her vulnerable moment.

His massive fist hurtles towards Anna’s face, cleaving through the air.

“—!”

Yet, Anna stands tall as if daringly ready to take the blow head-on.

“Ha, do you think you can withstand my punch?”

Siwoong shouts in discomfort.

Soon, his fist reaches the tip of Anna’s nose.

In that awaited moment, Anna’s eyes flash.

She swiftly bends her body as if collapsing.

And dives beneath Siwoong’s exposed action.

Her crimson sword aims for his Achilles tendon, slicing through it sharply.

Half man, half god Achilles fell with a single arrow, just as the massive body of Siwoong staggered under her blow.

“This woman…”

Struggling to rise again, Siwoong faltered.

But due to the severed tendons, his body simply refused to obey its master.

It was like watching a calf thrash about, unaware that its leg was broken.

Anna gazed emotionlessly at the giant beast.

Then she approached slowly.

How a hunter would deal with a captured animal.

Usually by separating flesh and bone during butchering.

Siwoong raised his guard, arm flexed, making his body firm to deflect Anna’s sword, just as before.

He deflected and deflected again.

Yet each time the sword rebounded, Anna promptly brought it down once more.

The shop was filled only with the clang of metal on metal.

“Stop… please stop…”

A voice unfamiliar to him.

Siwoong’s once booming voice now quivered like that of a child.

Despite drinking both medicine and alcohol, he was ultimately just a young boy.

But Anna’s blade did not cease.

There is a difference between acting tough and being strong.

Someone pretending to be crazy and someone truly insane are not the same.

Soon blood spurted from Siwoong’s arm like a fountain.

Anna’s fair face gradually stained with that blood.

“…”

Eventually, Siwoong’s arm fell lifelessly to the ground.

His defenseless neck met the blade.

Initially, the blade bounced off like hitting a hard wood, but after several attempts, a crack formed.

Gradually, white bone peeked through the flesh, eventually snapping.

I couldn’t bear to watch the sight and turned my head away.

Her work was done when Siwoong’s head rolled to Sehee’s feet.

The young girl clutched her face in a state of mental collapse.

Teenage boys and girls could never endure such a gruesome sight soberly.

The children who witnessed the fate of their leader they trusted and followed began to retreat.

They instinctively felt what was coming next—themselves.

“Just a moment…”

I reached out to Anna to prevent further tragedy.

But it was already too late.

She turned her head towards the next prey.

And in an instant, she sprinted towards them, swiftly cutting the throats of one child after another.

Even the child hiding under the table.

The one kneeling and praying.

The one frantically turning the front door handle.

All fell victim to her blade.

Finally, Anna turned towards the trembling Sehee alone.

It felt like a scene seen somewhere before.

That uncomfortable familiarity jolted me awake.

As Anna raised her sword,

I ran towards Sehee with all my might.

And just as Anna’s blade was about to strike Sehee’s forehead,

I embraced the girl.

“Stop… please stop killing!”

“I can’t understand. Those who betray you. Why do you want to spare them?”

“Since when is killing the only way to deal with mistakes?”

As I shouted, Anna turned her face towards mine.

Her breath tickled my cheek.

“All threats. Are most efficiently eliminated. By killing.”

As if choked up, her voice barely came out.

But I managed to push through and ask the killer.

“Then… why did you spare me?”

“The drink you made. Helped me.”

Anna’s eyes narrowed.

The killer only spared those who had been of help to her.

“Then… spare this child too.”

“That child. Is of no. Use to me.”

“If you don’t spare her…”

“If I don’t?”

“I won’t give you any more drinks ever again.”

With teary eyes, I stared straight at Anna.

This was all I had to offer her.