Ch.31Catharsis 7

“—!”

The tank dummy throws a punch toward his former comrade.

Due to the massive fist made of flesh, the swordsman looks as small as a child.

However, he too is a formidable ranker at 58th place.

Barely dodging the punch, he nimbly runs up the descending arm and stands on the dummy’s shoulder.

Soon, he raises his sword toward the dummy’s neck.

Seeing this, Seokhyun gestures as if controlling the tank.

The dummy responds by grabbing the swordsman’s leg and slamming him to the ground.

Smashed into the earth, he clutches his shoulder and barely manages to stand up.

In contrast, the dummy shows no sign of pain whatsoever.

After all, it no longer possesses any sense of pain.

The tank puppet crouches low on the sunken ground.

Then it springs forward, flying toward the ranker.

Its heavy shoulder is about to make contact with the swordsman.

But instead, he begins running straight toward the dummy.

Seokhyun involuntarily frowns at this unexpected move.

He wonders if the ranker has lost his mind from the shock of witnessing his dead comrade.

Just as they’re about to collide,

the swordsman launches himself smoothly into the air.

Then, spinning in midair, he strikes down at the dummy’s neck.

Just like Senior Jisoo’s swordsmanship.

The tank’s neck, with nerves protruding everywhere, splits open.

Black oil gushes forth.

The unpleasant liquid sprays everywhere.

When the floor is completely stained black, the tank dummy ceases all movement.

“…”

The swordsman, having fulfilled his duty, looks toward his spear-wielding comrade.

She was facing off against a boxer, clutching her massive barbed spear.

The two had been especially close, having once hunted a Grade 3 monster together.

The kind of relationship where they would blush just by looking at each other.

But that innocent relationship had ended completely with the war against Ilshim.

When the boxer sacrificed himself to save the spear-wielder in her moment of crisis.

The price of that sacrifice was horrific.

His face, with half his head blown away, had been stitched together with flesh.

Not that the boxer had been revived.

Having died instantly when the back of his head exploded, he’s now just a puppet of the Necromancer.

The boxer runs madly to close the distance with the spear-wielder.

Even a dead body remembers its instincts.

Facing that familiar stance, the spear-wielder immediately raises her spear.

She skillfully backs away, maintaining distance between them.

And just as he’s about to throw a punch, she stabs at the boxer’s planted foot.

But that strategy would only work on a living fighter.

The boxer throws his punch even as his leg twists grotesquely.

He repeatedly strikes her helmet with powerful blows.

She staggers as her helmet properly crumples.

But she quickly regains her composure and aims for his side.

When legs collapse, movements naturally slow down.

The boxer, about to throw his next punch, ends up allowing that strike.

“…”

It was certainly a perfect hit.

His body was pierced through, and black blood dripped from the shaft.

But he’s not just a simple flesh puppet.

As if knowing the habits of the woman he tried to protect, he grabs the spear that penetrated his body.

Then, very slowly, he approaches her while still impaled.

The ranker’s expression is devastating as she watches.

A face full of fear and resentment, like the day she first saw a monster five years ago.

“—!”

The woman screams.

But her scream was actually closer to a shriek.

She resents the Necromancer who uses such horrific techniques.

With that emotion, the ranker pulls out her spear with explosive force.

Then she brings down the heavy spear blade on the boxer’s head.

As a result, his stitched-up head splits completely in half.

Soon the boxer puppet, like the tank dummy, spews black oil.

Covered in that oil, the spear-wielder shouts.

“Necromancer, where are you, you fucking bitch!”

With a voice as split as the lover she just cut in half.

“Come out! You coward!”

The ranker’s shout echoes throughout the inn.

The doctor watching the scene clears his throat.

The swordsman resented the Necromancer just as much.

He places his trembling hand on the dummy he killed.

He tries to find traces of his comrade in the dummy.

But the puppet merely wore the flayed skin of Kang Daehyuk.

His mangled appearance was thoroughly stabbing the swordsman’s heart.

“…”

I held my breath behind the counter.

So the Necromancer has lost…?

Anyway, all the dummies have been subdued, and only Seokhyun remains.

Even he was once cut down by Anna with a single stroke, so it’s uncertain if he can defeat them.

Anxiously, I lowered my head.

And looked down at Jaehee who was clinging to my body.

“…?”

I wondered why she was so quiet.

The idol girl had fainted coldly, as if someone had struck her.

And soon I realize who made her faint.

None other than the Necromancer.

Red eyes and beautiful features.

This time it’s really her main body.

“Nec…”

I called out her name with a feeling of relief.

But she covered my lips, telling me to shut up.

“Be quiet. They don’t know I’m here.”

I nodded repeatedly at her serious tone.

Then the red-eyed killer presses close to me.

And gently embraced me.

“Huh…?”

Now just being hugged makes my spine tingle.

After Jaehee earlier and these repeated impure physical contacts, my body has become sensitive.

I feel the Necromancer’s cold breath on my neck.

I shuddered at that chill.

“Stay still like this.”

I wanted to ask why.

But I kept my mouth shut and gently placed my hands on her back.

Soon, flesh begins to sprout around us like an igloo.

The three of us gradually disappeared into darkness.

The swordsman touches the tank dummy’s face.

The previously quiet puppet then twitches and grabs the swordsman’s arm.

The ranker is startled by the flesh sticking to his arm like clay.

He tried to pull his arm free, but the dummy clings tighter the more he struggles.

The same goes for the spear-wielder.

She was embracing the dead boxer.

The boxer dummy also embraced her, as if forgiving the ranker.

However, he gradually begins to constrict her to the point of suffocation.

Soon, the two puppets’ bodies begin to swell.

Even their somewhat human-like appearance completely inflates.

The rankers know what this means.

Even the doctor, ignorant of combat, knows.

The middle-aged man starts backing away hurriedly.

Then, remembering his gold watch, he returns to retrieve it.

The spear-wielder looks at her lover who has bound her.

His face melts, and his lips twitch.

Those lips say:

“I’m sorry, Surin.”

That’s all.

After those six syllables, a strong light bursts from inside his mouth.

Soon, the two puppets explode along with the comrades who abandoned them.

Skin bursts completely and sticks to the inn walls with a splat.

The flesh igloo also shakes violently.

Debris from the inn flies around like bullets from the explosion’s impact.

The igloo managed to block most of the debris.

But that’s not enough.

The flesh barrier gradually twists grotesquely, then begins to be pierced by fragments.

A sharp piece barely missed my ear.

I let out a moan at that chilling sensation.

The Necromancer’s expression isn’t good either.

She was pouring all her concentration into maintaining the barrier.

Her chest begins to tremble.

The sound of teeth grinding is also audible.

I wanted to help her.

Somehow.

It would certainly be dangerous if I revealed that I’m not powerless.

But I didn’t want to ignore her as she exerted herself so much for us.

Focus.

Remember the past when you wanted to help your comrades.

Remember that sensation.

I extend both hands.

My only ability, Angelic Hand.

What was its primal power?

It’s “Heal.”

Heal basically regenerates destroyed cells.

And the Necromancer’s barrier is definitely flesh made of cells.

I opened my eyes wide and breathed life into the flesh.

Even as debris tore and burst through, I kept regenerating it, over and over.

Until the Necromancer stopped trembling.

“…”

How much time had passed?

The world outside the barrier had gone quiet.

Thinking it was safe, the Necromancer withdraws the flesh.

Soon, the inn, hazy with acrid smoke, reveals itself.

My mouth involuntarily fell open as the smoke cleared.

The roof had been completely blown away, revealing the night sky.

The hall had exploded entirely, leaving it as empty as a playground.

“We’re fucked.”

Words I meant to think came out involuntarily.

The Necromancer sighs deeply at the devastating scene.

“I had a mountain of money to collect, but it’s all gone now.”

She staggers to her feet.

Then checks if the association’s rankers and the doctor are alive.

“As expected…”

She nods as if she had roughly anticipated this.

I peek out to look at where the dummies had been.

The marks where the flesh exploded remained, but there was no sign of the rankers.

“They escaped. The man cut off his arm, and the woman took the full force of the explosion head-on.”

The Necromancer speaks matter-of-factly and takes out a cigarette.

She lights it using the remaining embers from the explosion.

“You’re really something, aren’t you?”

I look up at her in amazement.

I’ve never seen such an incredible battle before.

“What, just figuring that out now?”

Their rankings were around 50, while the Necromancer is only 85th.

How can she be so overwhelmingly powerful?

“I was once ranked 7th. Well, unofficially.”

She smirks as if amused by my surprise.

“7th…?”

So, she was one of the seven strongest in Korea?

I can hardly imagine it.

“I once made a dummy from the corpse of the 5th ranked. Thanks to that, I had some fun fighting the association.”

The Necromancer exhales cigarette smoke.

Then, as if missing her past prime, she stares blankly before coughing.

With the tension gone, she gently leans on my shoulder.

I was startled by her behavior.

The red-eyed woman’s face flushes.

She looks up at me with seductive eyes.

I never thought those fierce red eyes could seem so erotic.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to eliminate that sensual feeling.

The Necromancer whispers to me:

“You did well earlier.”

“W-what…?”

The Necromancer stares at my face with half-lidded eyes.

“That healing.”

I thought it was too dark inside the barrier for her to notice…

But she knew all along.

“You had a separate ability, didn’t you?”

“Yeah, just some light healing…”

I muttered in resignation.

“Is it really just healing?”

Her reptilian sharp eyes seem to see through me.

I swallowed dryly and avoided her gaze.

And murmured quietly:

“Yes, really.”

I lied again.

I couldn’t possibly tell her that I had glimpsed her painful memories.

“I’ll believe you…”

The Necromancer rubs my cheek with her finger, as if finding my sullen expression cute.

And disliking the somewhat downcast mood, she asks intently:

“So, did you enjoy it earlier?”

“What now?”

“On the counter floor. You were hugging that idol girl and enjoying it.”

I bristle at her words.

There were definitely extenuating circumstances, but there was no way to explain from the beginning.

“I was the victim, I didn’t enjoy or feel anything at all.”

As I deliberately turned my head away, the Necromancer ran her finger down my neck.

That touch was sensual.

“For someone who didn’t enjoy it, your expression was quite lewd.”

“You should have experienced that scent yourself. It was really beyond…”

The Necromancer smiles broadly as if drugged.

I didn’t know she could make such an expression.

“Well, my body did feel hot for the first time in a while.”

“What?”

The Necromancer turns her head to check on the collapsed Jaehee.

Confirming that she’s still asleep, the killer pushes me against the wall.

I’m bewildered by her sudden change in attitude.

It’s chilling, like being completely wrapped by a red snake.

The killer’s breath draws closer.

But then it suddenly stops.

“You’re so defenseless.”

She pinched my bra strap.

Then gently pushed the fallen strap back onto my shoulder.

Soon after, the Necromancer rises as if nothing happened.

And casually dusts off her knees.

But I know.

That her breath, which had been cold until now, was hot just for that moment.

Jaehee’s ability is truly formidable.