Ch.205Episode 39. The End of a Fateful Connection (6)

“I already told my mom to go straight to Yeonhwa’s mother. If we arrive in time, it should be fine.”

Jung Iyeon had asked her mother to go to Mitchell’s apartment address as soon as she got in touch with Kang Sujin. It was a request she could make only because she never thought her mother would refuse.

“…Thank you.”

“What are you planning to do now?”

Yeon Muhui asked Yoo Ari while nervously tapping her kashira, revealing her anxiety.

“I think if Ha Yuri can’t move, then we should move instead.”

“But Yujin told us to stay put.”

“You and I have licenses, so we won’t face serious questioning if we use our abilities.”

“That’s true, but…”

“We can’t always stay under Instructor Yujin’s wing. We’ll be heroes next year too.”

“…You’re right.”

At Yoo Ari’s words, Yeon Muhui changed her mind. Having not yet defeated Yeonhwa-ryong, she decided to gain some practical experience.

“Still, I think it’s dangerous for you two to go alone. Since Instructor Kang Chan went to Bin Yoon’s place, I think you should head there first.”

The third-year students nodded at Jung Iyeon’s suggestion.

“Then let’s contact Instructor Kang Chan on our way.”

As the mood shifted toward taking action themselves, Bin Yoon pulled out several potions from her white coat.

“Seniors, take these. They’re healing potions. I’ve included status ailment recovery potions just in case, so drink them if you’re in danger. And if you think you might be injected with eX potion, drink this too.”

“Got it.”

“Thank you.”

The two took the potions Bin Yoon offered.

“You all stay here. We’ll be back.”

“Please be careful.”

“But… Senior Yoo Ari.”

Jung Iyeon stopped Yoo Ari as she was about to leave the room.

“What is it?”

“Is your family safe? You haven’t mentioned anything, so…”

“I’m fine. For me, family… is only Yujin.”

At Yoo Ari’s words, everyone in the special class changed their expressions. Even Yeon Muhui, who had been walking ahead, unconsciously stopped and looked back at Yoo Ari.

Yoo Ari noticed a strange glint in their eyes as they looked at her, but she simply accepted it calmly.

“W-what do you mean?”

“It’s not something I talk about with others. Please don’t ask anymore.”

With those final words, Yoo Ari left the room.

An uncomfortable atmosphere lingered among the three who remained, but none of them spoke.

The current situation with the Akcheon attack was already complicated enough.

* @ *

‘Is this the place?’

Kang Chan went straight to the address after receiving Yoo Ari’s call, but he couldn’t shake off a sense of unease.

‘Something feels off… It’s too quiet.’

He carefully entered through the open door. The students had said they would come for support, but he intended to finish everything before they arrived.

He set up a telekinetic field around the entire house while remaining vigilant. He also kept energy concentrated in his fist, ready to respond at any moment.

When he pushed open the door, a person collapsed lifelessly in front of him. It was one of the heroes guarding Kim Soyang, Bin Yoon’s mother.

His carotid artery had been cut, and he was already dead.

“!”

As Kang Chan flinched, a large silhouette swung a blade at him. Prepared, Kang Chan dodged the weapon and released the energy he had been holding in his hand.

KWANG!

As the man was slammed into a corner, villains who had been hiding around him rushed at Kang Chan almost simultaneously, as if that had been their signal.

“「Domain Control」.”

KUUNG!

“Keurgh?!”

All the charging villains fell, their heads smashing into the ground. They couldn’t withstand the crushing pressure and had to grind their faces into the dirt.

“So it’s you. The villains targeting students’ families.”

Seeing the dead hero inside, he assumed that the student’s family member he was supposed to protect had also been killed.

“Not bad.”

Even under the intense gravitational pressure, the man rose and walked forward.

“But your crushing force is weak. You seem to be imitating Lee Bangshil’s technique, but in the end, it’s just a knockoff.”

“You don’t look so relaxed for someone saying that.”

“Well, we’ll see about that.”

PING—!

With a strange sound, the silhouette disappeared. Kang Chan was confused by the sudden disappearance but calmly surveyed his surroundings.

Eventually, sensing a presence behind him, he turned to find the silhouette swinging a dagger at him, eyes gleaming.

He quickly bent backward to avoid the blade, but its tip tore his clothes and left a cut on his chest.

As he tried to use telekinesis from a distance, he staggered, hit by intense dizziness.

“Kugh…!”

“It’s poison. A deadly toxin that can kill you within minutes.”

His vision blurred, and his breathing became rough from severe dizziness. Despite his worsening condition, Kang Chan stared directly at the silhouette and reached out his hand, attempting to grab him with telekinesis.

But once again, the figure concealed himself, evading the telekinetic force.

‘What’s going on?’

“With your skills, you’ll never catch me.”

Geomun, the leader of the North Star Gang, smiled as he thrust his dagger.

PUSUK!

Kang Chan barely turned his face to avoid it, but he couldn’t prevent a deep cut on his cheek.

‘How can he move freely within this domain?’

The secret was his teleportation ability.

In combat situations, he could only teleport short distances, but right now, that was enough to launch effective attacks.

With his vision now completely darkened, Kang Chan hesitated to attack. He tried using telekinesis where he sensed a presence, but he only struck air.

“Farewell, trash.”

Just as Geomun was about to take his life with the dagger—

“Release the domain!!”

Hearing a voice that seemed somehow familiar, Kang Chan released the telekinetic effect he had set up.

The fallen villains tried to get up immediately, but—

“「Dismemberment – Heaven’s Net」.”

Yoo Ari unleashed numerous weapons, embedding them into the bodies of the fallen villains.

“ARGHH!”

“AAAGH!”

With weapons piercing their muscles and joints, they were pinned to the ground, unable to move.

“Yeon Muhui!”

“I know.”

Yeon Muhui, landing beside Yoo Ari, gripped her sword handle.

“「Lotus Flash」.”

Yeon Muhui shot off the wall like a bullet. Closing the distance in an instant, she swung her sword. Geomun avoided her strike with teleportation.

Slash.

“…!”

Geomun frowned at the stinging pain in his neck. When he instinctively touched the area, he found a wound with blood flowing from it.

‘If I hadn’t used teleportation, I would have been cut to death.’

Geomun couldn’t hide his dismay at Yeon Muhui’s strike.

‘Even I had trouble reacting to that movement… She’s quite skilled. But with the domain gone, this is my chance to escape.’

Geomun decided to flee rather than continue fighting in a situation where his subordinates had been subdued and he was outnumbered.

After all, there’s no loyalty among villains.

“The objective has been achieved. Farewell, trash.”

“What are you saying?”

Just before Geomun could activate his skill, Yeon Muhui took her stance and spoke.

“Do you think you can escape?”

Red energy seeped into the blade of Yeon Muhui’s sword.

“「Lotus Style – True Cut」.”

A red energy wave erupted from her swung sword, rushing toward Geomun. Instinctively realizing he would die if hit, he quickly attempted to teleport.

However, Yoo Ari was already waiting at his teleportation point with her dagger raised.

“!!”

‘She can predict my teleportation point?’

As long as he moved within Yoo Ari’s field of vision, she could ‘foresee’ his movements, regardless of his teleportation ability.

“「Execution」.”

Her dagger pierced precisely into Geomun’s side.

POOK!

“KUGH—!”

“Die.”

Just before death, Geomun saw Yoo Ari’s emotionless black eyes and felt a chill run down his spine.

‘Is that an expression a hero can make…?’

“ARGH!”

She mercilessly withdrew the deeply embedded dagger, stirring his internal organs and causing blood to gush out. Thus, Geomun lost consciousness from Yoo Ari’s strike and never rose again.

Kang Chan, though gasping for breath, felt relieved at Yeon Muhui and Yoo Ari’s smooth coordination. However, his condition continued to deteriorate.

“Huu…”

“Drink this.”

Yeon Muhui threw him the potion Bin Yoon had given her. He caught it awkwardly and gulped it down without hesitation. Only then could he lie down comfortably, free from pain.

“You did well. Rest now.”

“Inside… please check if Bin Yoon’s mother is alright.”

Kang Chan struggled to speak. Yeon Muhui and Yoo Ari silently turned and entered the house.

Shortly after they went inside, support from other heroes arrived, sent by the Association.

The heroes subdued Geomun and the other villains and checked on Kang Chan’s condition. Some went into the house and were shocked to discover the dead heroes.

“Are you alri—”

The hero entering the house couldn’t finish his sentence when he saw the two standing there.

The interior was already a mess of blood and flesh.

But there, Yeon Muhui and Yoo Ari were removing a dagger from the chest of Kim Soyang, who was still alive, and pouring recovery potion on her.

“Thank goodness.”

“Yeah.”

Kim Soyang had survived once again, thanks to the potion her daughter had made.

* * *

KWANG!

Debris from the exploding ground creates scratches on my face. By the time I touch my stinging cheek, it has already healed.

“You really have a tricky way of attacking.”

I click my tongue as I look at the ground that just exploded right next to me.

The pure white energy visible above Wolgwang’s shoulder was emitting a much more intense aura than before.

This is definitely not just any executive, is it?