Ch.126Red Snake 6

A gentle light emanates from Siho’s hands.

Following that radiance, my cut wound begins to heal.

But if this much light flickers in such a dark place…

It’s like advertising my presence to the enemies.

I need to turn off the light before those damn hunters swarm in.

“That’s enough now. Stop…”

“But the cut hasn’t fully healed yet.”

“We’ll be discovered because of this light!”

I shouted without meaning to.

Startled, Siho quickly pulled her hands away.

She clutched her own hands, looking dejected.

I’m sorry, but there’s no choice.

Survival comes first.

“T-then… as long as it doesn’t glow, it’s fine, right?”

“What…?”

Siho hesitated for a moment, then grabbed the sleeve of her white shirt.

And then, as if to show me, she tore it completely.

Her soft skin is revealed through the now sleeveless white shirt.

As I stared blankly at that skin,

She began wrapping the long strip of fabric tightly around my side.

Thanks to her, the open wound was soon firmly secured.

“There, done.”

Siho treated me with determination despite her pouty expression.

And with her fox ears still drooping, she walked toward the counter.

She grabbed the corner with both hands and peeked out with just her face.

With a somewhat sulky expression.

“I treated you, so don’t lose.”

“…”

I kept my lips tightly sealed and turned my head away.

Toward where I could hear the footsteps of the wasps.

After I kill them all.

Maybe then I’ll apologize.

As the wound heals, I feel my mind becoming clearer.

Thanks to that, I could immediately calculate the number of approaching enemies.

At least five.

They’re coming…

Men with lights attached to their guns illuminate me all at once.

Beyond the light, they quickly notice Siho’s fox eyes as well.

“Rookie, you take the hostage. The rest of us will catch Ilsim’s dog first!”

One of their gun barrels targets Ms. Siho.

At that sound, her fox ears perk up alertly.

Soon Siho takes her hands off the counter and hastily backs away.

The rookie wasp rushes in, not missing the opportunity.

I immediately reach out to prevent him from approaching Siho.

But he leaps with nimble movements.

And instantly approaches Siho.

“No…!”

It’s only a matter of time before Siho, who only knows how to use buffs, gets caught by an A-rank hunter.

I turned my head, hurrying to chase after him.

But I was soon surprised by Siho’s response.

The woman I thought was slow instantly put distance between herself and the A-rank hunter.

With truly fox-like agility, she begins to flee.

“Mr. Heuksa! Don’t worry about me, just make sure you win!”

Even as she runs, she casually worries about me.

The A-rank hunter stares at her blankly.

“What are you doing! Catch her quickly!”

At his seniors’ shouts, the rookie member finally starts running.

But Siho’s figure has long disappeared into the darkness.

Thanks to that, I could breathe a sigh of relief.

Those fox ears weren’t just for show, it seems.

I let out a small chuckle and raised my head again.

And focused on the arrogant hunters before me.

“What… are you trying to take us on?”

“Must be a ranker-class, huh?”

The gun barrels of the masked men focus on my head.

The red laser points targeting my forehead are quite unpleasant.

“Well, I am a ranker.”

In a situation where bullets might pierce my head at any moment,

I fiddle with the stolen gun, feigning composure.

“You must not know, but we’ve already hunted several rankers.”

“So why don’t you just become our hostage quietly?”

They seem quite frightened.

Trying to avoid personnel losses at all costs, it seems.

But what to do.

I prefer confrontation over negotiation.

The Vice Chairman originally forbade killing in society.

But if someone troubles us for unjust reasons…

He said to kill without mercy.

I raised the gun.

And shot the fire extinguisher standing next to the counter.

“—!”

Startled by the sound, the wasps all fire at my head at once.

But they didn’t find me falling.

Thanks to their shooting, powder dust scattered throughout the area.

In an already dark place, now filled with smoke.

They seem confused, starting to point their guns in random directions.

“Don’t shoot! If we fire randomly here, we’ll all die!”

The one who seems to be the captain shouts.

Indeed, a good judgment.

But…

I instantly approached behind the captain.

And pressed the gun barrel against his sunken forehead.

The width of the gun barrel matches his forehead perfectly.

Just right for firing.

“If you can’t even shoot, how do you expect to defeat me?”

I whispered softly in his ear.

At that moment, the captain turned his head, trembling.

And he shouts.

In a pitiful voice…

“Over here…!”

His last words became “over here.”

As I fired the gun, all the wasps immediately began firing toward “over here.”

“—!”

“—!”

“—!”

Sparks fly in the darkness here and there.

With each spark, glimpses of falling wasps flash.

And soon…

The tool section covered in fog fell silent.

Rough breathing.

Coughing sounds from the fire extinguisher powder echo.

The last surviving member.

He looked around frantically with bloodshot eyes.

No matter where he looked, he couldn’t see her.

The ranker with the black suit, black hair, and black eyes.

On the floor, only his colleagues lay sprawled, making pitiful groaning sounds.

“Damn it… where are you?!”

His hand on the trigger trembles.

Ready to pull it the moment I appear.

With his entire body on high alert, he desperately prayed for the fog to clear.

But…

Soon, he begins to hear movement behind him.

Did I think he wouldn’t notice?

A miscalculation.

The corner of his mouth twitches.

He turned around with a wide smile and frantically fired his gun at the ranker he thought was approaching him.

“—!”

However, his smile soon fell limp.

Because the person he shot…

Was not the ranker but his senior wasp colleague.

The man collapsed lifelessly with a hole in his forehead.

Shocked at the sight, the member sat down on the floor in despair.

To have shot his own colleague…

He trembled with a terrified expression.

And then…

The sound of dress shoes comes from behind his fallen senior.

“How stupid.”

“How could you be so sure that the person approaching from behind was an enemy?”

I carelessly kicked the head of his fallen senior.

“What if the one you shot was your colleague?”

The man, who had already lost his will to fight, shook his head blankly.

Standing in front of him, I kindly explained.

“Don’t worry too much. The senior you killed was already a corpse.”

“W-what…?”

He stammered as if he couldn’t understand.

I smiled brightly at him.

“I used him as a shield when I approached from behind.”

“So you correctly caught that the one approaching from behind was an enemy. Good prediction for a hunter.”

I pointed the gun barrel at his forehead, having no more business with him.

And before pulling the trigger, I casually said,

“Though terrible as a colleague.”

“—!”

The gun barrel spat fire.

Soon the last member’s forehead was pierced, just like the senior he had shot.

The sound of him collapsing lifelessly.

With that sound, the tool counter finally fell silent.

The mart entrance in the distance also seems quiet, as if the situation has been resolved.

Are there no more approaching enemies?

Thanks to the quiet surroundings, I could gather my thoughts again.

And suddenly remembered someone I had forgotten.

“Right, Ms. Siho…!”

No matter how fast she is, her opponent is an A-rank hunter.

She’s in danger.

As I was about to leave, I stumbled over the corpse I had killed.

“Aish… really…”

I immediately ran into the darkness, stepping over the man.

No matter how big the mart is, it’s still a confined space.

Dairy section. Meat section.

I ran around searching every corner of the vegetable section.

But no matter how much I searched, I couldn’t find Siho or the hunter chasing her.

“What the… where on earth…”

I looked around with an urgent expression.

Then suddenly my eyes fell to the floor.

“This is…”

A trap made of scrap metal.

Step on it and your ankle would definitely be severed.

Is this a trap set because he couldn’t catch Siho with speed?

The thought of her stepping on it and suffering is horrifying.

“Damn…”

Surely she’s not already dead?

I carefully walked through the fish section that I hadn’t searched yet.

“There’s a trap here too…”

I bent my knee to disarm the vicious trap.

At that moment,

The hunter suddenly jumps out from the honey almond section.

He immediately raises his dagger and swings it toward my nape.

0.5 seconds until the dagger reaches my neck.

It would take me at least 1 second to pull out the gun from my pocket…

This is death…!

I instinctively crouched down at the oncoming attack.

I successfully avoided the first attack, but I can’t avoid the second one coming.

I prepare to twist my body and roll.

But…

“—!”

A black shadow loomed over the head of the attacking hunter.

And soon, over his head…

A massive frozen tuna collides.

The tail of the tuna was held by someone’s small hand.

I know that hand.

It’s the hand that was healing me just a little while ago.

“Ms. Siho!”

Siho had been hiding in the dried fish section on the opposite side.

Seeing the hunter jump out, she immediately counterattacked with the blunt weapon she had prepared.

“Now’s your chance!”

The hunter, his head struck by the tuna, staggered.

Taking advantage of the opening, I quickly pulled out my gun.

And pulled the trigger aimed at his head.

“—!”

Steam rises from the gun barrel.

Soon the last wasp dropped his dagger and collapsed.

Onto the trap he had set.

The sound of something being severed erupts.

I looked down at him, not even needing to check if he was alive.

Only when I saw his black blood filling the floor could I finally feel at ease.

“Haah…”

“Are you okay…?”

Siho looks down at me, still holding the frozen tuna.

I wonder where she found such a weapon…

It’s a cute idea, just like Ms. Siho.

“I’m fine.”

“But I did well, didn’t I?”

The fox-like woman narrowed her eyes and smiled brightly.

Her ears flap happily.

“Geez… if you hadn’t been hiding, this would have happened much sooner.”

“Hey, it’s hard to just run away all day! Plus, that person set up scary traps everywhere…”

I kept my mouth shut and grabbed the hand she extended.

The fox tried to help me up but ended up falling into my arms.

Her soft flesh touches my abdomen.

She looks up at me while in my arms.

“Yes, you did very well.”

I absentmindedly stroked the crown of her head.

I know such skinship with a protection target isn’t good.

But looking down at her, she was quite fatal, so I couldn’t help it.

Soon Siho shook her head like a puppy and frowned.

Her disheveled appearance is somehow peculiar.

“S-stop that… my ears are sensitive…”

My hand froze at the mention of sensitivity.

Damn…

Now I completely understand why Senior Jeoksa likes this supernatural being.

Perhaps she is a much stronger opponent than I thought.

An inexplicable sense of defeat welled up, leaving me bitter.