Ch.127The Thing I Cannot Give Up – 3

The Gate, and the monsters. An unprecedented calamity that swept across the world.

Yet ironically, these two became the source that propelled the entire world forward.

The various materials and byproducts obtained from them were on a completely different level from Earth’s resources.

Stronger, tougher, lighter—truly revolutionary new materials.

Though difficult to process, once manufactured, they yielded several times the efficiency of conventional products.

Among the items created with these materials were vehicles.

They absorbed impacts better, had superior strength, and withstood various dangerous situations well.

That’s why anyone with money exclusively used vehicles made from these new materials.

Whoosh!—

Yet now, those vehicles made from revolutionary materials were all crumpled like paper and engulfed in flames.

These were supposed to withstand considerable explosions and monster attacks.

Now they lay on the ground, mangled beyond recognition.

“…”

The man who had been silently observing the scene slowly raised his spear.

Red blood was coagulated on that spear, which was filled with an extremely murky and disgusting energy.

The Elder, Spear Wraith. Once a hero welcomed by all.

But now a monster consumed by his own arrogance, Hyuk Kwak.

He had once again arrived here, leading disaster.

“Why aren’t you coming out? Don’t tell me you’re dead?”

His voice sounded the same as usual, yet somehow slightly trembling.

Whether from tension or uncontrollable excitement.

The opponent beyond the flames and smoke seemed to notice this change.

“You fucking bastard. You’re shaking like a leaf but still talking big.”

Irritably pushing aside the wrecked vehicle, Rina Lee casually stretched her body.

Despite emerging from the raging flames, she didn’t show even the slightest sign of being singed.

The attack had definitely landed properly. He had launched a surprise attack before she could notice.

Rina, who had been in the car with her security detail, hadn’t been able to react in time.

So he thought she would have sustained at least some damage, but that wasn’t the case.

“You’ve been running away from me all this time. What wind brought you out to face me now?”

“It was time to prepare to kill you.”

“Oh my. Is that so? I’m trembling with fear. How impressive, great Elder.”

Despite Rina’s mocking words, Hyuk Kwak didn’t show any angry reaction.

In the past, he would have cursed and threatened to kill her just for those words.

Now he was displaying a remarkably calm demeanor.

Seeing this change in Hyuk Kwak, Rina let out a sigh.

Of course, it wasn’t because she was surprised or impressed.

“Cut the crap. Bastards like you deserve to get your asses handed to you for your absurd arrogance. Could you stop acting like you’ve had some kind of enlightenment? You sound like a middle schooler with chuunibyou.”

Just as she said that and was about to take a step forward—

Swoosh!—

Dark shadows shot up from the space where she was about to step.

If she had moved just a little more, she would have been instantly skewered.

“Huh?”

Rina let out another sigh, as if dumbfounded.

Then, looking at Hyuk Kwak, she suddenly burst into laughter.

“Hahaha! HAHAHA! …Wow. You bastard, you’ve become even more pathetic than before. At least back then you tried to do things on your own, but now you’ve given up on that too?”

“My goal is only one thing: to kill you. The process doesn’t matter anymore.”

Right. What does the process matter? Only the result counts.

That was something he had learned while fighting that strange academy examiner, Seojin Baek.

“And don’t worry. That woman won’t interfere much.”

Hiss—

Meanwhile, the shadows gathered, slowly forming the shape of a woman.

“Hello, crazy bitch.”

Sujin Hyun. The woman who became a villain alongside Hyuk Kwak after being an ability user.

Looking at her, Rina let out a scoffing laugh.

“So you two are coming at me together. Did you get shot in the head or something?”

Whatever the circumstances, whatever the reason, it didn’t matter.

They had become villains, and it was her duty to catch and punish them.

Honestly, she had no desire or reason to follow that duty.

But since it was definitely a good way to relieve stress, she acted without complaint.

And today too, she planned to beat them all up to relieve that stress.

“Sure. I’ll put a hole in your head. Maybe some air will get in and bring you back to your senses.”

Boom!—

With a sound that tore through the air, Rina’s fist shot forward.

A tremendous shockwave blasted toward Hyuk Kwak and Sujin Hyun with a deafening roar.

The same attack was directed at both of them, but their reactions differed.

Unlike Sujin Hyun, who quickly returned to shadow form and easily avoided it,

Hyuk Kwak simply faced the attack head-on with his spear.

CRASH!—

“Oh. Tough guy. But that must hurt quite a bit, right?”

As Rina said, Hyuk Kwak wasn’t looking good.

He hadn’t taken much direct damage, but his appearance was a mess.

Covered in dust, his outer clothing had instantly turned to rags.

Considering that the material of those clothes was made from new materials extracted from monsters—

Materials that boasted extreme durability, not even scratching from ordinary impacts—

Rina’s strike into the air just now was truly beyond imagination.

“…You’re weak.”

But Hyuk Kwak countered by provoking Rina instead.

And that provocation seemed quite successful.

“What did you just say, you crazy stalker bastard?”

A blue light flashed in her eyes, along with an indescribable madness.

Clearly the Elder was on his side, but ironically, Rina looked more like the villain.

In that situation, Hyuk Kwak parted his lips once more.

“You seem weaker than before…”

CRASH!—

Hyuk Kwak couldn’t even finish his sentence before he was smashed into a building.

He had been hit by Rina’s high kick, which had reached him in the blink of an eye.

“Cough.”

From the crumbling building debris, Hyuk Kwak slowly raised his body.

She’s fast. As expected, as I predicted. Disgustingly fast.

I couldn’t even notice it. She’s not called the Flash for nothing.

I barely managed to reduce the impact at the very last moment.

“Get up, you fucking bastard. You need to get hit more.”

Approaching him again, Rina grabbed his head.

Then, telling him to grit his teeth, she swung her hand with all her might.

Slash!—

With just one strike, his lips burst and his cheek tore, causing red blood to overflow.

Even A-rank ability users have tremendous physical strength.

S-rank is beyond comparison. And Elders are equal to those S-rank powerhouses.

Yet this Elder was bleeding from a single attack.

It wasn’t from a blade, nor was it the opponent’s most lethal strike.

It was just a slap to the face, and it did this much damage.

“Hey. Say it again. You pathetic loser, you’re talking big because I’m playing along? Hey. Say it again. What did you say?”

“…I’m certain. You’re weaker than before. It hurt more back then.”

The moment those words left Hyuk Kwak’s mouth again—

“Haha. HAHA! AHAHAHAHA—!”

Suddenly, as if she’d lost her mind, Rina burst into maniacal laughter.

Then abruptly, that laughter stopped, and an eerie silence descended.

“Hey.”

Gripping Hyuk Kwak’s neck, Rina spoke in a suddenly lowered voice.

“How are those legs of yours that I shattered back then? Today I’ll break all your remaining limbs. I’ll make you roll on the ground like a worm.”

With those words, Rina suddenly made a grabbing motion toward the empty air.

Then, from the clearly empty space, a dark shadow was suddenly pulled in.

“The same goes for you. What did you think you’d gain by crawling all the way here, you traitor?”

“Urgh!”

Sujin Hyun, her neck grabbed, thrashed in mid-air and bit her lip.

She really is crazy. I was moving as stealthily as possible to attack from behind.

She knew all along. She deliberately showed an opening to lure me right beside her.

Even though one small mistake could have put a hole in her own body.

“Let’s have some individual counseling sessions today. I was already in a bad mood because some strange woman picked a fight with me. Let me know if you can’t take it anymore. I’ll snap your neck right away.”

*

EEEEEEE!—

Along with the siren, an emergency evacuation announcement is heard.

Stay as far away as possible. Do not come near this area under any circumstances.

Those who could evacuate had already left the vicinity for safer places.

But not everyone could do so. Because the roads were blocked? Too many people? No, that wasn’t it.

Sha-sha-sha!—

Black shadows completely surrounded the area, preventing any approach.

They blocked both entry and exit.

And those shadows, writhing as if alive, formed a sentence:

– Anyone who approaches, and everyone left inside dies. –

There were countless innocent citizens who hadn’t yet evacuated.

In this situation, the message was clear: attempt any external support and there would be a massacre.

Those who couldn’t accept this had no choice but to stop in front of the shadows.

As a result, not only those trying to escape from inside,

But also the support forces that had arrived from outside couldn’t move freely.

“Fuck.”

And it was no different for other S-rank ability users.

Jiyoon Han, who had rushed over as soon as she heard the news, cursed in front of the massive shadow barrier.

She wanted to just charge in, but unfortunately, this shadow belonged to Sujin Hyun.

And she was definitely capable of killing everyone left inside.

‘It’s okay. They said Rina is inside. That crazy woman should be able to handle two Elders, even if they are Hyuk Kwak and Sujin Hyun.’

If anything, she was more worried about the civilians inside getting hurt in the crossfire.

That might be the bigger concern.

‘…But why do I feel so uneasy?’

Jiyoon Han bit her lip, deciding she needed to find a way to sneak inside.