Ch.128The Thing I Cannot Give Up – 4

The spear imbued with an eerie energy shoots straight toward the heart.

Shadows rising from the ground fly toward the body, poised to pierce through it.

Each attack could instantly kill an ordinary ability user.

Even among the Elders, facing Hyuk Kwak’s spear head-on was something to be avoided.

Even S-rank ability users, while disgusted by his arrogance, admired his spear technique.

It’s no exaggeration to say that Hyuk Kwak’s spear was renowned as the best in the world.

But Rina Lee brushed them away with a single gesture, as if shooing away flies.

The Spear Wraith’s spear—known to pierce through anything—lost all its power in the woman’s hand.

Immediately after, a flash of golden light erupted and flew toward Hyuk Kwak.

He hastily raised his spear, but the flash was much faster, and Hyuk Kwak was slammed into yet another building.

Crash! Bang!―

“Hyuk Kwak! You idiot!”

“Come here, you bitch. You need a beating too.”

Sujin Hyun, who had slightly bitten her lip, quickly retreated into the shadows.

An ability that until now, no one had dared to chase or attempt to capture.

But the problem was that her opponent this time was none other than Rina Lee.

No matter how well she hid in the shadows or scattered decoy shadows everywhere,

The golden flash detected Sujin like a ghost and followed her relentlessly.

It was like watching the sun devouring darkness.

“Tch!”

Finally, realizing she would be caught anyway, Sujin unleashed her best attack.

As she was caught, she released all the shadows she had been hiding within her body.

Countless shadows, each becoming sharp thorns, poured toward Rina Lee.

At this rate, she would meet a gruesome end with holes pierced all over her body.

Yet Rina, facing this threat, didn’t slow down at all and continued to charge forward.

Slash! Slash! Slash!―

The shadows swept over Rina’s body all at once.

A devastating blow that damaged even the highest-grade S-rank uniform.

However, the damage to Rina’s body was virtually nonexistent.

Her skin merely turned red as if something had grazed it.

Even the wounds that did draw blood were just scrapes, not cuts or stabs.

Crash!―

Buildings caught in Sujin’s shadow attack collapsed, unable to withstand the force.

An attack that easily shattered concrete, steel bars, and even highly durable materials.

Yet against Rina, it proved less effective than a needle prick.

“Are you finished?”

“Kugh!”

Rina, who had easily broken through the countless shadows, grabbed Sujin by the collar.

She was supposed to be an Elder, formerly an S-rank who had supported an entire country.

Yet those titles meant nothing against the opponent before her, who was truly a “monster.”

“Is… it over? You crazy bitch!”

A blade-like shadow suddenly protruded from Sujin’s wrist.

She slashed it hard against Rina’s wrist that was gripping her collar.

Normally, this would have severed the wrist or at least inflicted a deep wound.

Hadn’t that other Elder’s throat been cut by this very dagger?

Stab!―

It penetrated. Yes, it managed to break the skin.

But that was it. There was nothing more. It just cut the skin slightly, drawing a little blood, and that was all.

“Are you done?”

“…You really are crazy… This is why we shouldn’t let non-Koreans in.”

“What an anachronistic thing to say. In today’s global world.”

Crack!―

She crushed the shadow with her left hand in one go.

The black fragments of the dagger scattered in the wind and disappeared.

“Ah, right. There were two of you.”

As she slightly turned her head, a spear blade grazed past Rina’s face.

Seizing the moment, Sujin broke free from Rina’s grasp and counterattacked.

Since Hyuk Kwak targeted the upper body, she would aim for the lower body to break Rina’s balance.

With that thought, she was about to target the thigh when Rina’s reaction proved much faster.

“Kuhuk!”

Rina’s merciless downward strike landed directly on Sujin’s stomach.

With that single attack, dark red blood spilled from between Sujin’s lips.

While she was still recovering from injuries sustained in the fight with the Elder,

The impact was truly monstrous considering her physical durability.

Swoosh!―

Using Sujin as a diversion, Hyuk Kwak swung his spear once more.

Tearing through the air at a speed too fast to follow with the naked eye.

A rapid attack where one hit would inevitably lead to the next, and then the next.

An attack reeking of condensed hatred and arrogance.

“You crazy bastard! Are you trying to kill me too?!”

Even Sujin, who wasn’t directly in the path, backed away in horror.

His spear hadn’t seemed this powerful before.

Fighting Rina wasn’t just about revenge or recklessness, it seemed.

There was a strong intuition that one direct hit would mean death.

That’s how much more powerful Hyuk Kwak’s spear was compared to before.

“Oh. Ohh. Ohhh!”

Yet Rina, facing this spear, appeared completely unfazed.

Her movements, tone, and even her aura remained relaxed.

And she was evading all the attacks that made even fellow Elders break into cold sweat.

“Kid. At least you put in some effort? So what’s your conclusion? To stab quickly so I can’t hit you? Is that all? As long as I can’t approach you, it doesn’t matter if your attacks don’t land properly?”

A blue gleam flashed and disappeared in Rina’s eyes.

And immediately after, an unbelievable scene unfolded before Hyuk Kwak and Sujin.

Rina, who had been easily avoiding all those attacks, suddenly stretched her hand forward.

Slash!―

Even Rina couldn’t keep withstanding Hyuk Kwak’s spear indefinitely.

A long line of blood formed from her wrist to her shoulder, and blood flowed down.

But thanks to that, Hyuk Kwak, who had been blocking Rina’s approach, was caught by her.

Sujin immediately targeted Rina’s back, but her situation wasn’t much different.

She wasn’t the type to insist on a frontal battle like Hyuk Kwak in the first place.

And unfortunately, her compatibility with Rina was extremely poor.

“Congratulations. Between the two of you, you managed to leave a wound each. Impressive? You must have prepared a lot.”

As Rina said, red blood was flowing from her wrist and forearm.

Until now, she hadn’t even had a scratch when clashing with Elders.

She wasn’t taunting or joking—this really was a remarkable achievement.

“But this can’t be the end, right? I’m just getting started.”

Rina, holding an Elder in each hand, giggled.

Just as she was contemplating how to kill them…

‘…Ah. These bastards. This wasn’t all?’

Stab!―

A blue blade pierced through one of Rina’s shoulders.

Red blood flowed through the wound, and the affected area immediately turned black.

“You idiot! You should have aimed for the heart!”

“I did! This crazy woman twisted her body at the last moment!”

Another Elder who had been hiding all this time.

Alexei, who controlled the Far Eastern region of Russia.

A figure who had previously suffered at Rina’s hands.

Alexei quickly drew his sword and moved to attack again.

But Rina had already slammed Hyuk Kwak to the ground and was delivering a lethal high kick to Alexei’s face.

Crack!―

“Kheuk!”

With a single blow, Alexei spun through the air and fell.

And behind him, Sujin met a similar fate, rolling on the ground.

“Cough, cough!”

Her body, already wrecked from the previous life-or-death battle with an Elder, was battered once more.

If she took a couple more hits like this, she could really die.

Nevertheless, Sujin smiled. While they all suffered heavy damage, they had succeeded.

They had created a significant gap in that damnably solid woman’s body.

“…I see. I thought you two went down too easily.”

Rina clicked her tongue and glanced down at her arm.

Her entire arm, stabbed by Alexei’s sword, was turning black.

It looked like a rotting corpse. Like it might fall off from necrosis.

Elder Alexei, also known as “The Mole.” A master of poison that even S-ranks couldn’t withstand.

It was said that just one hit gave him over a 50% win rate.

That’s how dangerous Alexei’s attacks were—they should never be allowed to land.

The normal Rina could have easily avoided such an attack.

Alexei didn’t possess the extreme stealth that Sujin had.

But this time, she didn’t notice him until he was right behind her.

Unfortunately, both Hyuk Kwak and Sujin had diverted her attention with their fierce resistance.

While these two had a connection—same country, same betrayal—

She had thought there was no reason for the other Elder to act with them.

‘I took a hit. My left arm won’t move at all.’

She tried to apply some force, but the poisoned arm wouldn’t budge.

It was only because the victim was “Rina” that the damage stopped at this level.

She quickly used her magical power to prevent the poison from spreading throughout her body.

However, as a result, her left arm was completely “out” of commission.

“…Let’s start again.”

Despite his battered appearance, Hyuk Kwak’s aura remained as vicious as ever.

He gripped his spear and slowly approached Rina.

“Haa. This pervert. When he couldn’t do it alone, he decided to gang up on me.”

“Talk all you want. I just need to kill you. Then finally…”

“Stop talking nonsense. Come on. One arm is enough for me.”

Despite facing three Elders.

Despite suffering a serious injury that rendered one arm useless.

Rina merely wiggled her fingers, taunting them with composure.

The Elders responded by spreading out and taking their stances.

Their determination to kill Rina at all costs was palpable.

If they failed, they would be the ones to die, so by any means necessary…

“You’ve really made quite a mess here.”

At the sudden voice from an unknown source, all four turned their heads.

A man was clicking his tongue while looking around.

Upon seeing the man’s face, both Rina and Sujin let out a gasp.

“Huh? Seojin oppa? No, why are you here?!”

“Seojin Baek? Wait, wait. How did you get here? I blocked everything with my shadow…”

“I blocked it all. And then, I came in through that shadow.”

Speaking as if it were nothing, Seojin Baek continued.

“Just like you did.”