episode_0104

Meanwhile, the enemy and the index chased after 08, who was moving away.

As they descend the rugged mountain slope, they are soon greeted by a ruined city.

Just like the abandoned city that killed Do-hyeon and Ji-su.

Jisoo’s eyebrows twitch at the familiar sight.

08 stopped walking when he got there.

And then, as if he had been waiting, he turned his head and faced the two people.

“Do you think you don’t have the strength to run anymore?”

The enemy asked the boy in a cold voice.

Then 08 glared at her with a furrowed brow.

Enemy.

One of the four executives of Ilsim, ranked in the 80th place.

Very weak for a ranker.

However, this is not an association ranking, but a fake ranking that has not been updated.

According to information I heard from the congressman, she has even reached a single-digit ranking.

In other words, he is not an opponent that can be defeated by someone who has just debuted as a ranker.

Then, a reddish light appears on the tattoo under his eyes that had been making him anxious.

Soon he hears the voice of the congressman just like in 06.

「08.」

“Representative…?”

“Don’t be afraid.”

Don’t be afraid.

It’s hard enough dealing with the enemy, but now I have to fight the damn Flame Inspector 2-on-1…

How could I not be afraid?

“Take your medicine.”

When I hear the word 08, I suddenly think of the pills I kept in my shirt.

He quickly takes it out and looks down at it.

I thought I took out two, but there were three.

“It will bring out your hidden strength.”

“Hidden power..?”

08 is not physically strong.

Perhaps his physical abilities were far behind those of a B-class hunter, Jisoo.

And yet, the reason he was able to become a ranker.

That’s because the boy’s shadow is special enough to offset all that.

Besides, he’s still a prospect.

You never know what might happen if you max out your abilities.

Eventually, he swallowed the pill.

As ordered by the servants.

Then the boy’s body begins to squirm as if in discomfort.

Soon he started vomiting.

It was so painful that he got down on his knees and cried out in pain with his whole body.

Jisoo’s brass eyes twitch at the unpleasant sight.

“What the heck is that…”

When Jisoo asked, Jeoksa shook his head.

She speaks to Do-hyeon’s first love in a nonchalant manner.

“I’ll take care of that, you deal with the shell.”

“Shell…?”

When Jisoo asks again, Jeoksa points to the boy’s shadow with his finger.

Black blood begins to pour out of 08’s mouth as he vomits.

As the blood spread on the ground.

The water was so dark that not even moonlight could shine through.

Absolutely pure dark matter.

The substance soon rose up on its own and took the shape of a human being.

08 stares into the darkness.

Because the shadow man had numbers carved into his wing bones.

The boy mutters the reddish number.

“02..?”

The shadow glances back at the boy.

It is a grotesque face without eyes, nose, or mouth.

A heavy man’s voice comes from his face.

“You’ve grown a lot.”

Number 02, which has not been properly known until now.

All we have is information that he was ranked 2nd in the invitation rankings when the past gates opened.

His body, which was stolen after he died while fighting off monsters, was inserted into 08’s body.

As the boy grew through the pill, the 02 that was sleeping inside him also woke up.

The awakened first ranker calmly looks at the enemy.

“There was a reason why Mother woke me up.”

The shadow man, as expected from a ranker, senses that she is no easy opponent.

He warned the boy calmly.

“That woman… is not at the level you can deal with.”

The shadow man put his palms together in a gesture of congratulation.

In that state, he stares intently at the enemy as if scanning him.

Soon his form begins to waver.

Soon 02 was transformed into the exact same appearance as the enemy.

“Go ahead. I’ll take care of it.”

02 from the previous life spoke humbly to 08 from the current life.

In the same voice as the enemy.

The boy hesitated, then began to run away.

Jisoo urgently chases after the departing ranker.

“Stand there!”

Jisoo wandered around the city following the running boy.

Turn the corner and enter a dark back alley.

A dark passageway where not even moonlight shines welcomes her.

The moment Jisoo steps into the darkness.

“—!”

She twisted her body instinctively.

Because a thorn rose from the dark shadows and aimed for her head.

Jisoo, who barely escaped, immediately draws the vice president’s sword.

And it surrounded the whole body with flames, illuminating the surroundings.

“What the heck…”

The moment I witnessed the surroundings that had been revealed.

She muttered to herself, her mind blank.

Because in all the darkness except for the flames, black hands were moving.

And between those hands the boy appeared again.

“You finally chased me all the way here?”

08 sat on the rubble of the building with a confident expression.

And gestures to the black hands.

Kill Jisoo.

The hands rush toward Jisoo as if they were alive.

Then Jisoo started to emit more flames from her body.

When the black blow touched the flames, it turned to ash and disappeared.

At that sight, 08 purses his lips.

Even if you say you are a ranker.

The index that blocks darkness through flames does not have good compatibility.

He eventually clasps his hands together again and condenses his shadow.

The giant black hand that was created like that.

It comes rushing back again, just as it had hit her in the lab.

The hand, which has grown larger thanks to the pill, attacks the index much faster than before.

but.

Jisoo wasn’t just playing around during that time.

She was originally a prosecutor.

Now, I’m not as defenseless as I was when I escaped from the lab.

Plus, there’s a sturdy sword.

Jisoo lifted Nahyun’s sword.

And with one hand, he gently strokes the blade.

In response, red flames gradually rise from the sword.

As if oil had been sprinkled on it.

“Finally we met.”

She held the sword firmly with both hands.

And he aims sharply at the enemies of his colleagues.

A giant falling hand.

Jisoo ran straight into that overwhelming palm.

Like a moth to a flame.

“You idiot, you’re going to rush in again without any sense!”

The nerve between the boy’s eyebrows stands on end.

The giant’s hand, now larger than before, crushes the moth.

“—!”

But she was no longer a moth.

Cracks gradually appear in the once pitch-black, hard hands.

A giant hand covered in flames split it in half.

Like the wyvern I killed with my comrades in the past.

The index breaks through the gap.

She, wearing a black hat, aims for the boy’s neck.

Just before the blade touched his face.

08 summons a shadow sword from the ground and clashes with it.

“Ugh…!”

Clearly, all his stats went up by 30.

But it was difficult to withstand the sword of Jisoo, who was burning with revenge.

The hand holding the shadow sword trembles.

He was shaking so much that drops of his blood fell into the dark world.

The boy swung his sword with such force that the nerves on his face burst.

Thanks to that, I was barely able to push Jisoo away.

but.

“Now it’s starting…!”

Jisoo shouted in a voice so loud that her throat almost tore.

A huge sword blade, gripped with both hands, rushes towards the boy’s side.

08 barely manages to avoid the onslaught by gritting his teeth.

Whenever our swords clashed, the overwhelming difference in strength made me groan involuntarily.

Even if you block the attack, the shock will still be felt.

“Why. Are you embarrassed?”

Jisoo’s brass eyes burn.

The boy looks into her eyes with a tired expression.

It’s clear that the medicine has made me stronger…

Why am I having such a hard time with a B-class hunter who is worse than a bug?

Jisoo took off the jacket she was wearing to finish him off.

Then her hideous arm appears.

Hands beaten and bruised from countless training sessions.

An arm tightly bandaged with torn and ruptured muscles.

The moment he sees that arm, 08 realizes.

When you rely solely on drugs and abilities.

Jisoo has trained not only her abilities but also her body.

No matter how good your ability is.

No one could beat the prosecutor who had put in years of effort and multiple abilities.

Jisoo held a huge longsword in one hand.

Like an absolute being of one mind.

And he swung it quickly, gracefully, and with all his might.

Sparks swirl along its trajectory.

The flames swirled and burned the boy’s entire body.

08 allowed the blow to hit him, covering his face with both arms.

08’s entire body was reduced to ashes by the destructive power and he flew away helplessly.

Eventually, he was struck by a pillar supporting the building.

“—.”

In the ruins, only ashes and dust are flying.

The flame inspector walked leisurely towards the dust.

I stare blankly at the fallen rubble.

Inside, 08 was lying there, his entire body burnt black.

To him, the only body part that is not black is his pupils.

Smooth eyes look up at Jisoo.

08 muttered with his mouth broken.

“I should have killed him properly back then…”

“That’s right. I should have killed you back then too.”

Jisoo looked down at him and said the same thing.

The situation is completely reversed from the past Wyvern Raid.

“If only we could have saved Dohyun…”

The inspector’s voice trembles faintly.

The longing for him soon turned to anger.

Jisoo, who had escaped from the sad past, asked 08 in a cold voice.

“Where is Siho?”

“Siho-ssi…?”

“The woman you kidnapped.”

08’s spicy eyes look straight at her.

Then, as if he realized something, his broken mouth taunted Jisoo.

“You idiot, can’t you even recognize your own colleagues?”

“What did you say…?”

“She’s definitely a waste of a sister for a girl like you to have.”

08’s voice began to fade into dust, as if he had no more energy to speak.

At that sight, Jisoo feels uneasy.

“If only there had been no such past.”

Jisoo couldn’t understand 08’s monologue.

However, I judged that it might be a clue, so I quickly grabbed his body and asked him again.

“What are you talking about, tell me quickly! Where is Siho…”

As Jisoo grabbed 08’s shoulder, his body completely fell apart.

It scattered like dust and mixed with the air.

“…”

Jisoo stared down at the remains of 08 remaining on her palm.

It’s infinitely light and unappealing.

She sat up again, clutching the powder tightly.

And then he quickly turned back towards the enemy.

Now we know Siho’s whereabouts 02.

Because that’s all.