Ch.157Chapter 157 – Abandoning a Loyal Subject After Using Them (3)

“Your Excellency. It seems the operation is going to fail…”

“…Execute Plan B. Tell Adriano we’ll accept all his demands. But also tell him to make sure Kim Jae-min is dealt with properly.”

“…Understood. Then I’ll also deliver the ‘supplies’ as usual.”

***

Despite his fame, the Sword Demon’s skill remained unknown to the public. People wondered about his abilities, with the prevailing theory being some form of swordsmanship enhancement. Skills that augmented weapon techniques were fairly common, and the Sword Demon’s extraordinary bladework seemed impossible to explain without such a skill.

But the reality was different. The Sword Demon called his skill “Simulation.” It was the ability to foresee the future using available information and receive feedback on the consequences of his actions.

Takehashi’s talent was merely that of a gifted individual, at best a prodigy, but people saw only the results and thought him a genius. After countless failures and innumerable attempts to find just one possibility of success, those unaware of his methods could only attribute the results to the Sword Demon’s natural talent.

The Sword Demon had a habit of using Simulation whenever he encountered a powerful opponent. Within the simulation, he would attack his opponent in a hundred different ways. By counting how many attacks failed and how many attempts resulted in his own death, he could gauge both his opponent’s strength and his own.

Usually, the possibility of the Sword Demon’s defeat was extremely low. Even S-class hunters couldn’t defeat him one-on-one under most conditions. They merely relied on their skills, unlike the Sword Demon who was a natural-born fighter.

However, there was one person who maintained overwhelming superiority against the Sword Demon under any condition.

“The Hero, Kim Jae-min…”

The last time he had tested, the results showed that out of a hundred attempts, he would lose ninety-four times and Kim Jae-min would win six times. He had thought he could secure victory by choosing one of those six scenarios, but now the results had changed.

‘No… possibilities?’

The Sword Demon swallowed his shock. In thousands of simulations, there wasn’t a single future where he could defeat Kim Jae-min. Even now, in the continuing simulations, the Sword Demon was repeatedly torn apart, burned, and shattered to pieces.

According to his simulations, there was one reason for this overwhelming gap.

‘My chances disappeared after he summoned that ominous sword.’

The hunters tried to stop Kim Jae-min by deploying their skills, but Kim Jae-min with his corrupted holy sword was unstoppable. Though he couldn’t demonstrate the same delicate mana control as before now that his mana had transformed into malevolent energy, the destructive power characteristic of dark mana maximized the potency of his spells.

The Sword Master’s blade energy was cut through like paper by Kim Jae-min’s sword energy, and the mage’s spells were disrupted by the dark mana Kim Jae-min emitted.

“Mana neutralization phenomenon…!”

“Damn it, just shoot him! Even Kim Jae-min can’t drink a potion with a bullet in his brain!”

Changing tactics yielded no different results. Kim Jae-min was someone who had single-handedly defeated numerous special forces units. He wouldn’t show any openings against this ragtag group that hadn’t even received joint combat training. The hunters’ clumsy firing formation was merely toyed with by Kim Jae-min’s teleportation, resulting only in friendly fire.

The Sword Demon’s expression hardened as he watched their numbers dwindle. Beneath Kim Jae-min’s rabid-dog-like behavior lay frighteningly cold calculation. He deliberately avoided confrontation with the Sword Demon while methodically taking down the weaker ones first.

‘So you want me to come to you first.’

“Fine, I’ll give you what you want.”

The Sword Demon downed a doping potion and focused on the energy within his body. Following his sword intent, his mana circulation formed wave patterns, boosting his physical abilities to several times their normal level.

‘I have no chance in a direct confrontation. I’ll use the hunters as sacrificial pawns.’

The Sword Demon charged forward with his katana still sheathed. The scabbard was deliberately made longer than the blade to conceal the sword’s existence and length.

‘When he takes the bait, I’ll end this with a surprise draw attack.’

The Sword Demon activated his skill. He analyzed Kim Jae-min’s movement patterns and predicted his next blink location. To identify the most vulnerable point in his defense, ten thousand sword paths appeared in the Sword Demon’s mind. As he drew closer to Kim Jae-min, the paths disappeared one by one until only one possibility remained.

‘The path to victory! …It’s here!’

Following the only possibility of victory predicted by his simulation, the katana was drawn. Like a master’s sword that extends an inch longer at the critical moment, the sword energy protruded slightly beyond the blade’s tip.

0.5 seconds before the katana cut through the air, Kim Jae-min blinked to the exact spot the Sword Demon had predicted. The sensation of the blade cutting into flesh was vivid at his fingertips.

“Success—?!”

Slash—

The Sword Demon’s right wrist flew into the air. Kim Jae-min casually mocked his attempt.

“How naive. I’ve known all along that you excel at analysis and prediction. That’s why I deliberately showed you patterns to guide your actions.”

“You saw through my skill and used it against me…!”

After neutralizing the most troublesome attacker, Kim Jae-min teleported. The places where Kim Jae-min appeared were remarkably precise, striking the hunters’ blind spots and allowing him to sever their necks with minimal movement.

Immediately after teleporting, the tip of his sword moved about 8 centimeters, slicing through an artery, and then Kim Jae-min disappeared again via teleport. The slaughter process never exceeded ten seconds. Every ten seconds, without fail, another hunter lost their life.

The hunters, now less than half their original number, felt extreme terror. They had never experienced such helplessness before. Though classified as S-class like Kim Jae-min, the gap was too enormous. Amidst their lost fighting spirit, one hunter cried out convulsively.

“Why are you doing this, Hunter Kim Jae-min?!”

“…I want revenge for my mother. But no matter how much I torture those involved, they refuse to reveal the culprit.”

Even the puppet spell was useless. The spell doesn’t work on those already brainwashed. In a situation where he couldn’t identify the culprit no matter how many he killed, the conclusion Kim Jae-min reached was extremely simple.

“So I decided to destroy humanity. If I kill everyone, the culprit will be among them.”

While no one could respond to this insane declaration, a voice came from above.

“That won’t be necessary, I think.”

Kim Jae-min looked up at the unexpected presence. The teleporter Adriano, who had joined via spatial movement, was aiming a transfer gate at him.

“Hey. Remember this attack?”

A metal projectile, too fast for even Kim Jae-min’s dynamic vision to track, pierced through his cheek. Kim Jae-min licked his healing wound while drawing up his dark mana.

“…So it was you.”

With those words, Kim Jae-min’s reason snapped. The Sword Demon and other hunters vanished from his mind, leaving only murderous intent toward the teleporter. And Kim Jae-min made no effort to suppress that killing intent.

“I’ll kill you.”

The space between Kim Jae-min and Adriano distorted. Kim Jae-min’s blink spell trying to close the distance and Adriano’s skill interfering with the blink collided every 0.3 seconds, warping and crumpling space.

Adriano opened a prepared transfer gate. Metal projectiles burst out all at once like a shotgun blast. Each projectile, engraved with penetration formulas, broke through Kim Jae-min’s barrier and pierced his body.

Puzzled by how easily the attack succeeded, Adriano muttered:

“How did you dodge the sniper shot back then? My ballistic calculations were perfect, it shouldn’t have failed.”

Kim Jae-min used his dark mana to heal his body. Though fallen ones cannot use holy spells, they possess demonic regenerative abilities instead. Flesh filled the holes throughout his body, closing the wounds.

Adriano widened the distance while firing bullets like a machine gun, and Kim Jae-min followed with blinks. They continued their exchange while steadily gaining altitude.

An ordinary hunter would have been killed by Kim Jae-min within a few exchanges, but a teleporter’s skill excels not only in offense and defense but also in evasion and escape. By dodging spells or sending them to random spaces and disrupting coordinates to interfere with blinks, Adriano prevented Kim Jae-min from even touching his clothes while one-sidedly attacking him.

Meanwhile, Adriano was growing concerned about running low on bullets and mana. He should have crushed the bastard’s skull earlier, but Kim Jae-min was charging in recklessly with his head thoroughly protected, relying solely on his regenerative abilities.

‘Should I use that now?’

Adriano recalled Park Ju-gwan’s request. Park had handed over a nuclear weapon supposedly secretly obtained from North Korea, asking him to kill Kim Jae-min.

A nuclear weapon would certainly be effective against him. It was well-known that he had suffered from radiation during his fight with Lucifer.

But knowing the dangers of nuclear weapons, Kim Jae-min wouldn’t easily let himself be hit. So Adriano had prepared one more thing. With a smirk, he brought out his “supplies.”

“Look here. Can you recognize who this is?”

A human body emerged from the transfer gate. The peculiar thing was that it had no head above the neck. Despite not being able to see the face, Kim Jae-min recognized the corpse. The body was wearing clothes familiar to him.

“YOU BASTARD───────!!!!”

The moment Kim Jae-min lost his composure, an opening appeared. Everything was going according to Adriano’s plan. A secret transfer gate opened, and an elongated metal object appeared before Kim Jae-min. A yellow and black pinwheel symbol was attached to it. In the midst of his rage, Kim Jae-min flinched.

‘A nuke?’

“Trying to escape? It’s already too late.”

Just before the ignited nuclear weapon detonated, Adriano’s skill enveloped Kim Jae-min. A spherical manipulated space trapped Kim Jae-min and the nuke. It was a prison that isolated the inside from the outside, a measure to concentrate the nuke’s heat and energy solely on Kim Jae-min.

“A technique you can neither evade nor defend against. I’ve isolated the space itself, so teleportation is impossible too.”

***

Terrifying heat engulfed Kim Jae-min. Even with ice spells operating at maximum around his body, he couldn’t block the heat that burned his skin and melted his bones. Like Icarus melting in the sun, Kim Jae-min slowly dissolved in this man-made sun.

Eventually, his mind was filled with horrific pain. Pain so severe he wondered if dying would be easier. The regenerative power of Mein forcibly revived his melting cells, and his undying sensory organs relived the agony.

It was truly pain that made him want to give up on life. But he couldn’t. There was a pain greater than physical suffering.

‘Mother, during those 10 years I was lost, did you feel this kind of pain every day?’

Looking at his mother’s melting corpse in his arms, Kim Jae-min dwelled on the pain, over and over.

Until he could make that bastard feel this pain too, he couldn’t die.

***

Satisfied with how things had gone according to plan, Adriano smiled contentedly. Last time, he had immediately left the scene after the sniper shot to avoid leaving a trail, so he couldn’t confirm Kim Jae-min’s survival. But this time was different. With the justification of eliminating a villain, he had plenty of time to confirm Kim Jae-min’s death.

Adriano maintained the space prison for thirty minutes, remaining still. He was certain Kim Jae-min was dead, but he waited for the nuclear explosion’s aftermath to settle inside the space.

“That should be calm enough by now. Let’s see how well our dish is cooked.”

Adriano withdrew his skill. Steam billowed out from the opened space.

‘…Steam? Is this normal for a nuclear explosion?’

Just as he sensed something ominous, Kim Jae-min burst through the steam. His entire body was charred black, without a single intact spot. The nuclear weapon’s power had been lethal, but having experienced it once before, he had barely managed to preserve his life.

“Haha… You survived that?”

Genuinely dumbfounded, Adriano let out a hollow laugh. What now? He hadn’t anticipated this.

‘I should retreat and wait for another opportunity…’

Before Adriano could implement his escape plan, Kim Jae-min approached and gripped his shoulder to prevent him from fleeing. Bloodshot eyes with burst capillaries met Adriano’s. A harsh voice like scraping metal emerged from his throat.

“…I swear here. I will never let you die easily.”