Ch.3Victory Report 3

Jisoo charged toward the unconscious ranker.

With each step she took, the wounds across her body began to glow red.

Soon, flames erupted from her wounds as if expressing her hatred.

It was true what they said—when flame swordsmen reach an extreme state of awakening, even their blood burns like fire.

Under the intense sunlight, a dark shadow fell over the ranker.

My sister’s sword rose toward the sky.

I thought everything would work out when she brought her sword down on the killer.

No matter how strong a ranker was, they couldn’t possibly withstand her blade that had torn through a wyvern.

That is, if the blade could touch their body.

Jisoo’s sword stopped just before it could split the ranker’s crown.

Strange black hands had clung to the blade.

These hands had surged up from the ranker’s shadow, binding not only the sword but my sister as well.

I still can’t forget that alien phenomenon.

It was a technique I’d never seen before, like the gravity bullet used by the red-eyed woman.

Soon, a boy—the owner of the skill—emerged from the ranker’s shadow.

“They say the first to kill claims the prize. Looks like you’ll be dying first instead.”

He clicked his tongue disapprovingly as he looked at his colleague, whose eyes had rolled back showing only whites.

The boy wearing a black shirt had the tattoo “08” clearly etched below his eye.

As the boy finished speaking, heavy footsteps echoed from between the ruined buildings.

The source was a large man wearing a tank top.

The man with a shaved head had the serial number “06” written on his shoulder.

That’s when I realized.

All these rankers had been watching us from afar while we were raiding.

“Strange. 09 has high magic resistance and rarely succumbs to status effects.”

06 looked at his colleague with curiosity.

“What kind of ability is this? It’s like she’s completely hollow inside.”

He grabbed 09’s hair, now just an empty shell, and shook it around.

“I was watching through the shadows. It was that guy’s doing. As soon as he touched 09, she ended up like this.”

“We left him alone because he’s an F-rank hunter, but it seems he had some hidden ability.”

Now I remember.

These are rankers from “Counters,” currently the top guild in Asia.

They’re fixers who handle the guild’s dirty work, known by numbers instead of names.

Their main job is to ambush independent hunters during raids.

“Hey 09, wake up!”

The muscular man lightly slapped 09’s cheek.

But she didn’t move at all.

The man tilted his head to the side and raised his arm.

Soon, flesh burst through the skin of his raised arm, covering it with grotesque spiral muscles.

When 06 swung that massive arm, 09’s neck twisted 180 degrees and she collapsed to the ground.

The sound was as magnificent as when the wyvern fell.

“Ah…”

After that merciless blow, I naturally thought the woman would die instantly.

However, 09’s focus returned as if she had just awakened from deep contemplation.

She sat on the ground cross-legged.

The cheek that 06 had hit was slightly swollen, but otherwise uninjured.

“How stupid. How could you get taken down by an F-rank worm?”

When the man mentioned me, 09 stared blankly in my direction.

Sweat ran down my back as her red, lifeless eyes fixed on me.

“I just recalled some unpleasant memories.”

09 rose gracefully and approached me, seemingly interested.

The closer her footsteps came, the more my body instinctively trembled.

“Where are you going?”

As I backed away, she followed with a smile like someone watching a small animal.

I lost my senses at her bizarre laughter and turned my head completely, fleeing.

I ran and ran.

I abandoned my sister who had always protected me, who had believed in me, and fled like a madman.

“Are you running away and leaving your companion behind?”

The killer ranker’s voice brushed against my nape.

I flinched at her words but didn’t slow down.

“…!”

As if to condemn me, a dagger dug into my side.

I collapsed to the ground, buried in squirming guilt.

“Do that thing again.”

09 looked down at me and said.

“Do it again. Come on, do it again. Here’s your hand. You just need to place it here, right?”

She lifted my arm and placed it on her shoulder.

But when nothing happened, she soon frowned and began to urge me.

“What’s wrong? Are you trembling?”

Looking at the F-rank hunter sprawled with a knife in his side, she wore a concerned expression.

09 licked her lips and shouted toward the other Counters.

“Don’t kill that one yet. I need to check something.”

They nodded halfheartedly and watched us from beside my restrained sister.

“There, see? I spared your companion. Now show me.”

“I don’t know how…”

“What? You’re speaking too quietly, I can’t hear you.”

Blood was pooling in my throat, making it difficult to speak.

What does this woman want from me?

“I said I don’t know…”

“What do you mean? You used it on me. That technique you used on me that sent me back to the past and made me recall those shitty memories.”

I have no idea what she’s talking about.

I just grabbed her shoulder thinking, ‘I need to protect my sister.’

“I don’t know, you crazy bitch…!”

Tears and snot streamed down my face.

My spit covered 09’s face.

But her dead eyes didn’t move, just silently staring at me.

“Really?”

She grabbed my arm.

“Then I have no choice.”

“…!”

09 ripped off my arm like pulling a toy apart.

“I’ll take your arm then. I need to research it in the lab.”

Blood poured from my torn arm.

The sudden pain left my mouth gaping open, unable to make a sound.

“What’s wrong? Why are you looking at me like that? You can’t even use your ability properly, so I’m going to research it for you. You should be thanking me.”

She laughed incredulously, as if she couldn’t understand me.

Turning my torn arm this way and that, 09 returned to her group.

“Are we done now? Let’s kill them and collect the items. I’m sleepy.”

The boy, 08, said indifferently.

“Oh right. My knife!”

09 came back and abruptly pulled out the knife stuck in my side.

As the knife came out, bloody foam bubbled from the wound.

“Now, which part of her should we cut first?”

The psychotic killer 09 approached my sister.

She was so excited for some reason that she placed my arm on her shoulder and even hummed a tune.

“Should I cut off her fingers first so she can never use a sword again?”

09 asked, waving my fingers like a toy.

“No. These days, prosthetic technology is too good.”

06 grabbed my sister’s hand and examined it analytically.

Just one hand wouldn’t be enough to satisfy them.

“Ah, then should we cut off her legs first? If she needs prosthetic legs, she won’t be able to use her arms either.”

09 roughly wiped the blood from her knife and slipped on the blood as she walked.

“What are you two talking about? We need to kill her properly. The guild master said to eliminate any promising talents early.”

The boy 08 pulled out a leather case from the shadows.

Inside were several vicious-looking daggers arranged in a row.

“If we stab her wrong, she’ll explode. It won’t be easy to kill her.”

06 picked up one dagger and carefully examined where to stab my sister’s body.

“Oh right, she’s a flame swordswoman? Of all people, we got a troublesome one.”

09 took the sword with an annoyed tone.

“Yeah, if 09 had stupidly fired her self-bullet at maximum power, this whole area would have been blown away.”

The boy touched the flames rising from my sister’s shoulder with his finger.

Finding it hot, he put his burned finger in his mouth.

“We would have had nothing left, not even dust, let alone loot.”

As he shook his head, 09 grumbled.

“I—that’s why I adjusted the power. It was really hard to keep her alive.”

The woman took out several knives from the case as if choosing pretty accessories.

The three top rankers in Korea gathered to kill a hunter who had just been promoted to B-rank.

They carefully inserted knives into various parts of my sister’s body, as if defusing a bomb.

Like a pirate toy game.

“Hey, not there! It doesn’t feel right. She might explode!”

Stop it…

You’re already strong enough.

Why are you doing this to us?

You have money, honor, and you could easily catch that wyvern with your own hands.

“Why are you doing this to us… to me… you psychos!”

I shouted until my throat was raw.

But in my shocked state, only a metallic croak escaped my throat.

I need to protect my sister…

My eyes wavered.

Usually in situations like this, the protagonist awakens and becomes insanely strong.

They take out all the trash in front of them at once.

Why can’t I do that…

In the distance, between their backs, I could see Jisoo’s face.

Already stabbed repeatedly, her face was hidden by tangled hair.

I think it’s better that way.

I don’t have the courage to see my sister’s mutilated face.

I wish these tears in my eyes would cover my vision forever.

“——-.”

Cold raindrops fell on my head.

I’m grateful for the pouring rain.

The loud sound of rain drowned out the sound of knives piercing my sister’s body.

The blood oozing from my side became diluted.

Eventually, the city grew quiet.

Much time has passed, but like the F-rank worm I am, I still haven’t died.

Is my worthless body, pretending to be a healer, clinging to life?

I close my eyes.

I no longer want this horrible life.

If God takes pity on me, I only hope He ends this snuff film soon.