episode_0162

162.

“Hehe~.”

Yoo Dahee scratched the back of her neck awkwardly.

“You followed us all the way here? Men who are too persistent aren’t popular, you know~.”

She tried to act nonchalant after throwing a sarcastic remark, but the current state of Yoo Dahee and her companions was not good at all.

They were nearing their limits after numerous battles.

Facing off in their current condition could be quite dangerous.

‘One, two, three… Around seventeen or so?’

Yoo Dahee discreetly scanned Lee Jinhyuk’s group and realized that the numbers were more than she had anticipated, including SL, Heukyeong, and church members.

Ah, it’s quite a daunting number.

Did they really mobilize this many people to chase us?

They must have been busy rescuing the countless monsters and citizens that were pouring in.

‘At least I don’t see figures like Jin Soyeon or Han Inchul.’

That’s a relief.

If we had to face single rankers in our current state, we would have been in big trouble.

But maybe we can handle this number somehow?

“What’s this? No Hong Daye or Baek Namil? You got scared for nothing. Hey, Lee Jinhyuk, what are you going to do with those losers?”

“….”

Although she wanted to bring Hong Daye and Baek Namil, they were preoccupied with dealing with the monster horde that had taken over Gwanghwamun.

Moreover, they had exhausted a lot of energy fighting against the crawling fear and engaging in unnecessary battles.

Bringing them here wouldn’t be of much help in this situation.

“You must be so desperate to die.”

“Huh?”

“Eh?”

Suddenly, when Lee Jinhyuk sneered, Yoo Dahee furrowed her brows.

“Hey, Yoo Dahee. Seems like you’re quite scared too?”

“What do you mean?”

“You talk too much. Since when have you been so sarcastic?”

Lee Jinhyuk said mockingly.

“Don’t waste your breath. We’ve reached our limits.”

“….”

“How messed up must your condition be that you can’t even run properly? Well, thanks to that, it was easy to catch you.”

“….”

Although they received emergency treatment, it was just that – emergency treatment.

The accumulated damage so far still lingered in their bodies.

“It seems like not only you, but Ryan, Seong Baeksan, and Isabelle are also at their limits, right?”

Lee Jinhyuk glanced briefly at the villains beside Yoo Dahee.

Due to our struggle against them, our bodies were in shambles.

Of course, in the end, our team was defeated, but pushing Ryan, a single ranker, and Seong Baeksan, who was very strong even among high rankers, to that extent was something to be proud of.

Honestly, rather than defeating them, our focus was on holding them back until we could harm Yoo Dahee.

Originally, if Ryan had been as in the original, he would have been an enemy we could defeat in the latter part.

And that would have been mostly done by the protagonist’s growth.

“Other Rebellion members have also been completely wiped out.”

Many Rebellion members, including Isabelle, who had moved to retrieve the beads summoning monsters, fell into traps set by the church, Gaon Nuri, and the Oseong Group, and were almost completely wiped out.

Thanks to that, we could take a breather.

If they had been unharmed, they might have come to help Yoo Dahee by now.

Dealing with them wouldn’t have been easy.

It seems like the Rock Mountain group really put in a lot of effort.

Ah, of course, it’s a bit disappointing that Isabelle and the spatial pocket were taken away.

But they did their job well enough.

On the contrary, it could be said that the ones who failed to fulfill their roles properly were Lee Jinhyuk and Jin Soyeon, who couldn’t even take down Yoo Dahee in tens of minutes.

“I mean, can you really hold out against this level of troops when the topic is already dying? Do you know your legs are shaking right now? Have you relaxed the tension in your legs?”

Lee Jinhyuk managed to gather the relatively unscathed members.

Although they weren’t powerful heroes, they had almost no injuries relative to the enemy, and they had quite a bit of magic and physical strength to spare.

In the current situation, this much was enough to be formidable.

As Yoo Dahee’s group now, it would be quite difficult to deal with them.

“Yoo Dahee…”

Isabel cautiously whispered.

“We’ll try to buy you as much time as possible, so you can escape in the meantime…”

“Hah.”

Yoo Dahee snorted as if there was nothing more to hear.

“Useless chatter.”

“Excuse me?”

“I can’t escape properly with this body anyway. And even if I manage to escape by some stroke of luck, I’ll be caught soon.”

Since Yoo Dahee’s body was almost at its limit, it was better to make a decisive move while there was still some strength left rather than foolishly trying to escape and getting caught.

Yoo Dahee clenched her fist tightly and stared straight at Lee Jinhyuk, channeling her energy.

“It seems like the other heroes are busy dealing with monsters… If you guys take us down, there shouldn’t be any further pursuit, right?”

“Well, who knows?”

“Tsk. Annoying.”

Yoo Dahee took a slow breath.

Her physical condition was truly at its worst.

It was difficult to even move a finger.

But despite that, she had confidence.

She had stepped into a completely different realm through her fight with Jin Soyeon and her group.

And among those heroes, there weren’t many who were as threatening as her.

At most, Lee Jinhyuk, who had only gained fame as a B-ranker, and Baek Yurin, who had grown to the level of a high-ranker?

‘Wait a minute.’

But how skilled was Lee Jinhyuk really?

Thinking back to the rumors of B-rankers that circulated in the streets, he might be at the level of a high-ranker.

However, a considerable amount of time had passed since then, so he might have grown even more.

Now, he might even be considered quite strong among the high-rankers.

Well, it’s better to underestimate the opponent rather than overestimate them.

I don’t want to get a big hit on my nose by being careless.

‘Come to think of it, I’ve never seen that guy, Lee Jinhyuk, fight properly today.’

Even when they were overwhelmed by about thirty heroes earlier, Lee Jinhyuk only gave orders from the back.

That meant Lee Jinhyuk was almost unharmed and in full condition.

Oh, it’s quite annoying, really.

I probably need to deal with him first.

Because leaving him alone could be dangerous for the other members.

“Alright, there’s no need to delay any longer. Let’s go quickly before more obstacles come.”

Just then.

A monster that had been hiding between the buildings growled and crawled out, sniffing the scent of Yoo Dahee.

In an instant, the monster leaped towards Yoo Dahee and swiped its claws at her.

But Yoo Dahee just lazily waved her hand as if it was bothersome.

And then, splat!

The monster’s head was smashed into pieces like a squishy watermelon, and its brain matter scattered into the air.

Yoo Dahee looked at Lee Jinhyuk with a grim expression as she was splattered with blood and brain matter falling.

“Well, that worked out well. You were planning to kill me anyway. Since it turned out like this, I might as well make sure to kill you this time.”

“I mean, I…”

Jinhyuk tightly gripped the blood-stained sword and cube-shaped barrier artifact.

“I never had any intention of sparing you.”

“Oh, really? But you can kill me, right?”

Yudahee sneered sarcastically, glancing sideways at her companions as she muttered.

“Mr. Ryan.”

“…Yes?”

“Sorry. I know you’re not in good shape, but I’ll need some help dealing with that guy while I’m at it.”

“…Got it.”

“And Isabelle and Roksanne, please provide support from the rear.”

“Understood.”

“Well, given the situation, there’s no choice. I understand, Yudahee.”

Jinhyuk also addressed the other heroes.

“We’ll stick to the plan we discussed earlier. Just hold on a bit longer.”

“Yes.”

This time, he looked at Siwoon and Kangdaehan.

“And Siwoon, Kangdaehan.”

“Yes?”

“Why?”

These two had grown into top-tier heroes after much effort.

Considering they were only second-year academy students, it was quite impressive.

Although they might be at a disadvantage against the Rebellion members, they could certainly handle the foot soldiers.

Moreover, there were many other heroes besides them.

“Can we trust you this time?”

“Of course.”

“Hmph. Useless worries.”

“Rocksan and the church members, I’ll ask for support from the rear.”

“Yes, Jinhyuk. I’ll do my best.”

With Cynthia and Aisha absent, recovering from injuries sustained in battle with the Rebellion members, Jinhyuk continued.

“Well then… activate the barrier.”

Jinhyuk immediately activated the cube.

A white curtain melted into the surroundings, blanketing the world in white.

As if coated with white fluid, the world melted into whiteness. Eventually, an endless expanse of empty space unfolded.

“A barrier? It’ll be released if you kill only you anyway. What’s the point of this barrier?”

“It’s not specifically to confine you.”

The reason Jinhyuk set up the barrier was simple.

The barrier was essential to use the trump card.

Without it, the damage could spread uncontrollably.

“Well, shall we see your skills? The power that turned countless villains into fanatics?”

“…Ah, well, whatever.”

It wasn’t actually Jinhyuk’s doing, but at this point, what difference did it make?

If Yudahee saw him as a villain, he could very well become one.

That was Jinhyuk’s unique superpower.

***

Heroes and villains clashed.

While the heroes outnumbered the villains, the villains had the upper hand in quality.

Despite this, the fierce battle continued because the heroes were in relatively good shape, while the villains had reached their limits.

Several heroes, including Siwoon, Kangdaehan, and Roksanne, were diligently drawing the aggro of Ryan, Seongbaekhan, and Isabelle.

With that level of distraction, they could probably hold them off for at least ten minutes.

Yudahee would likely be able to engage in a one-on-one fight with Jinhyuk for a while.

She seemed eager to kill him first without interference from other heroes.

But Jinhyuk had the same intention.

He also planned to face her one-on-one without interference from other villains.

“Haah!”

As Yudahee charged forward with a battle cry, Jinhyuk watched her.

Yudahee was truly strong.

There was no doubt about that fact.

An opponent who only grew stronger the more they fought was truly terrifying, wasn’t it?

And with her genius combat sense and animal-like instincts, she was undoubtedly worthy of being called the strongest villain.

No matter how much stronger Lee Jin-hyuk becomes through his extraordinary abilities, imitating innate combat sense is difficult.

And perhaps in a normal situation, even a hero like Lee Jin-hyuk, a martial artist, wouldn’t be able to defeat her by force.

However.

Nevertheless, Lee Jin-hyuk at this moment had his own conviction.

It wasn’t just because Yoo Da-hee was struggling with serious injuries.

Observing the fight between Jin So-yeon and Yoo Da-hee, Lee Jin-hyuk clearly realized one fact, which allowed him to have confidence in himself.

Oh, what did he realize?

That is…

“Ugh?!”

Swoosh!

A splash of blood splattered slightly.

Lee Jin-hyuk’s diagonally swung scythe narrowly passed by Yoo Da-hee’s forearm.

The murky liquid splattered in all directions, and Yoo Da-hee, biting her lower lip slightly, took a step back.

“You? You read my movements…?!”

“You seem tired. Your movements are sluggish. And well, nothing much has changed from before.”

Interrupting Yoo Da-hee, Lee Jin-hyuk glanced at the blood-stained scythe and thought to himself.

Indeed, not much had changed.

Her habits and quirks.

No matter how much Yoo Da-hee had grown, the subtle habits and quirks that clung to her body like gum couldn’t be erased.

Having memorized various moves for a long time in preparation for a fight with Yoo Da-hee, Lee Jin-hyuk could predict certain attacks in advance.

Come to think of it, during the midterm exams, Lee Jin-hyuk had blocked attacks using Yoo Da-hee’s unique quirks.

Not only that.

Back then, when Lee Jin-hyuk was powerless, he had even inflicted minor wounds on Yoo Da-hee in peak condition.

If he was much weaker back then, how would he be now?

Currently, Lee Jin-hyuk had obtained the strength of a high ranker.

Thanks to his extraordinary abilities.

Lee Jin-hyuk’s ability was to become stronger as the opponent believed he was strong and weaker as they believed he was weak.

As Yoo Da-hee, already injured and tired, didn’t underestimate Lee Jin-hyuk and held him in high regard, it only made him stronger.

“Kuh! If my body was in better shape, you wouldn’t stand a chance!”

Yoo Da-hee immediately retaliated.

Her magic-infused fist twisted like a snake.

With just a blink of an eye, she was right in front of Lee Jin-hyuk. What kind of movement was this?

Lee Jin-hyuk marveled briefly in his mind.

Indeed, Yoo Da-hee was still Yoo Da-hee. He couldn’t let his guard down.

“Hah!”

Suddenly, Yoo Da-hee struck Lee Jin-hyuk’s chin forcefully.

Thud! The powerful impact of the blow reverberated in his ears. If it were an ordinary hero, their skull might have shattered from such force!

“How does that taste?”

However, it was fine.

Why?

Well, you see.

Lee Jin-hyuk was a master of skills.

“…What? Is that all you got? You’re really tired, huh.”

Lee Jin-hyuk appeared perfectly fine.

Or rather, Yoo Da-hee’s punch seemed to hurt more.

At the moment, Yoo Da-hee’s fist was blocked by a translucent defensive barrier.

Ah, damn it. Yoo Da-hee suddenly remembered. That guy had an artifact that could block attacks.

“It won’t be as easy to break through my defenses as when you ambushed me in Busan. Back then, I couldn’t set up proper defenses due to the surprise attack. And now, I’ve brought plenty of other artifacts as well.”

“Ugh!”

Guardian Barrier, Shadow of Darkness, Aegis Shield, Tears of the Moon, Blood of the Reaper, Heavenly Horse, and so on.

Jinhyuk was armed to the teeth with all sorts of fraudulent artifacts.

‘If I keep getting pushed back like this, that guy Yudahee might grow stronger again, but oh well, it doesn’t matter.’

Whether she grows or not, there’s almost certainly one way to finish this off for good.