Ch.58Chapter 58 – The Attacker

“How ironic.”

Kwak Tae-woo muttered as he looked down at the body with its head blown apart. To read a Post-it note without any suspicion. Was it still a lack of experience?

In the future, carelessly saying “status window” aloud was taboo. Demons who had learned human common sense by collaborating with Mains would cunningly ambush when one’s vision was blocked. In most cases, letting your guard down directly led to death. Just like now.

Blood gushed from the wound where Shin Jae-hyuk’s head had once been. He had brought plenty of artifacts and holy relics in preparation for the worst, but they weren’t needed at all. Just one claymore mine. It was pathetically anticlimactic for the final moments of a Main who had slaughtered S-rank Hunters—humanity’s beacons of hope in the face of extinction—and plunged the world into fear.

It was truly ironic considering this technique became famous when the Dark Knight assassinated Zeus, an S-rank lightning mage. Even a Dark Knight would be helpless against an unfamiliar tactic experienced for the first time.

‘Ah… finally, I got him.’

A complex mix of emotions crossed his face—relief at eliminating one of humanity’s most threatening Mains, and a hollow satisfaction at completing his revenge for Cha Eun-kyung. But true to his nature as humanity’s final survivor accustomed to relentless battles, Kwak Tae-woo quickly regained his composure.

‘The police will soon arrive responding to the explosion… I need to dispose of the body and escape before—’

Kwak Tae-woo’s face froze as he turned toward the corpse.

‘—?!’

The body was regenerating. Blood scattered on the floor gathered around the head, flesh and muscle weaving together over the skull to form dermis. And the speed was alarmingly fast. The eyeballs had already regenerated more than halfway.

“How—?”

His reflexive outburst sounded almost like a scream. For once, even Kwak Tae-woo couldn’t maintain his composure. This was unexpected. Regeneration after having his head blown off? He’d never heard this was possible. Understandably so—no one had ever blown off a Dark Knight’s head before… or if they had, they were promptly killed afterward.

Despite his shock, Kwak Tae-woo sprang into action.

‘At this rate, he’ll completely regenerate! I have to stop him before that!’

Kwak Tae-woo stroked the silver ring on his left hand. The artifact recognized its user’s mana and opened a subspace, producing the item he desired.

*Ding*

Kwak Tae-woo grabbed the talisman that appeared from thin air and shook it. A clear bell sound rang out as the talisman glowed with a soft golden light. Immediately after, Kwak Tae-woo was greatly alarmed. The Dark Knight’s regeneration didn’t stop.

‘What! The holy relic that suppresses demonic energy has no effect? Is he not corrupted yet? Then I’ll use another artifact—!’

At that moment, Shin Jae-hyuk thought with half-clouded consciousness: What’s happening? My vision is blurry. Am I under attack? The sense of danger snapped him fully awake. Having had his head blown off several times in his previous life, he recognized the situation immediately. His judgment was swift. He needed to grab a weapon.

“AAAAARRRGGHHH!!!”

With a monstrous roar, he forced his unresponsive legs to move. Kwak Tae-woo hadn’t expected the half-corpse zombie to suddenly stand up and charge. Interpreting this sudden movement as a counterattack, Kwak Tae-woo quickly jumped backward. But Shin Jae-hyuk wasn’t counterattacking.

Rushing toward the luggage box storing his weapons, Shin Jae-hyuk tore it apart and grabbed a spear and helmet. While keeping his opponent at bay with the spear, he quickly put on the helmet. His intention was to protect his regenerating head. Trying to buy time, Shin Jae-hyuk shouted:

“Wh-who are you?! Why did you attack me-e?!”

His pronunciation slurred through tattered lips. Fortunately, his brain had recovered enough for his thoughts to flow quickly.

The Post-it above the door? Clearly this guy’s doing. Was I targeted? The characters on the Post-it were Korean, and coincidentally the word was “status window.” How many Korean awakened ones could be staying in this hotel? In other words, the man had specifically targeted him…

But there was still a puzzling question. Why would an assassin come after him? No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t find the answer within himself. Shin Jae-hyuk stared at his opponent with suspicion and wariness.

‘Neither before the attack nor now does the Dagger of Parma in my pocket react. The opponent is neither demon nor Main. Then who?’

Shin Jae-hyuk looked at the attacker’s face. Visual information seemed to enter his eyes, then blurred away.

‘What? I’m looking but can’t see… If I don’t concentrate intensely, I don’t even feel the dissonance.’

Shin Jae-hyuk frowned at the strange sensation. The more he tried to look closely, the more the opponent’s features blurred and faded from his consciousness. His eyes had clearly completed regeneration, yet…

Shin Jae-hyuk didn’t know this phenomenon was due to the “Recognition Inhibition Ring” Kwak Tae-woo wore. However, he didn’t dwell on it further. He had an ability useful for this situation.

Shin Jae-hyuk concentrated mana into his eyes. Insight Vision displayed his opponent’s status window.

「===

《Name》 Kwak Tae-woo

《Level》 457

《Achievements》

<Philia>

<Vermin Slayer>

<Holy Grail Knight>

<One Who Remembers the Sixth Heaven>

===」

‘Kwak Tae-woo? The Chopstick Killer Kwak Tae-woo! Why is he in New York? And why target me?’

Shin Jae-hyuk was startled by the unexpected identity, causing his spear tip to waver. Kwak Tae-woo didn’t miss the opening. He stroked his silver ring, and immediately his desired item appeared. A strange dagger with a dragon head-shaped ornament on its pommel.

Kwak Tae-woo immediately flicked the blade of “Dragon’s Cry” with his fingernail. The blade seemed to vibrate, then sent vibrations through the air in the room. The humming sound grew louder with the vibrations.

──────!!!!

“Kugh!”

The sound resembled a beast’s roar. The dragon’s cry that paralyzes enemies and destroys their fighting spirit with just a roar. Shin Jae-hyuk’s body froze at the infrasonic waves piercing his eardrums. It was an involuntary physical reaction that even a master couldn’t avoid.

“—Got you!”

Confirming the artifact was effective against his opponent, Kwak Tae-woo happily charged forward. Not knowing how much more the opponent could recover, he needed to prevent any increase in combat power first. Kwak Tae-woo extended his hand and channeled mana into his silver ring. The box containing armor and maces disappeared into the subspace that only its owner could access.

‘Damn! My equipment..!’

Shin Jae-hyuk bit his lip, having lost his possessions in an instant. The situation was extremely unfavorable. Fighting back or holding out for reinforcements would mean being one-sidedly beaten due to that paralyzing dagger. He needed to flee. Shin Jae-hyuk struggled to relax his muscles to break free from the paralysis.

‘I thought I was in big trouble… But I can’t miss this rare opportunity.’

Meanwhile, Kwak Tae-woo was confident. He had confiscated all the opponent’s equipment except the spear and helmet, the Dragon’s Cry paralysis worked, and now he just needed to kill or kidnap the target before the police arrived… Kwak Tae-woo leisurely closed the distance.

Here, Kwak Tae-woo made a misjudgment. Shin Jae-hyuk was wearing a helmet, which prevented his ears from being fully exposed to the Dragon’s Cry. Moreover, holy power aided his body’s recovery. The paralysis wore off faster than Kwak Tae-woo had anticipated.

‘Damn it, move, move… Got it!’

Feeling he had regained control of his body while his opponent was being complacent, Shin Jae-hyuk kicked off the floor without hesitation. Kwak Tae-woo’s reaction was delayed by the unexpected movement. Moving faster than the dragon’s cry, Shin Jae-hyuk immediately threw himself at the window.

*CRASH!* *THUD!*

“Kugh!”

Despite strengthening his body, the impact of falling from the 20th floor made his knees ache. While enduring the pain and regenerating his knee cartilage, Shin Jae-hyuk looked up at the building. He couldn’t let his guard down. The level he had glimpsed through Insight Vision was 457—comparable to a high A-rank Hunter…

Sure enough, his opponent jumped down without hesitation. Kwak Tae-woo had no intention of missing this golden opportunity. Though the target didn’t seem corrupted yet, Shin Jae-hyuk would cause a catastrophe in the future. He needed to eliminate the threat while it was still weak.

The moral dilemma of ‘whether it’s right to hold someone accountable for crimes they haven’t yet committed’ was meaningless to Kwak Tae-woo. He had already killed countless humans for that very reason. This prey was particularly vicious among them.

While using the “Holy Grail,” Kwak Tae-woo had made a vow: to prevent the apocalypse, he would kill even half of humanity if necessary.

“Yes, keep running! I’ll follow you to the ends of the earth and kill you—!”

***

‘Damn it, what’s going on? What should I do?’

Shin Jae-hyuk pondered as he ran through the empty New York streets at night. His opponent wasn’t a Main, so holy incantations wouldn’t be very effective. His available spells were limited. While defensive techniques were one thing, his offensive capabilities were limited to Lightning Spear at best.

Moreover, the fact that he had entered the U.S. with a forged identity added to his hesitation. Though the helmet would prevent CCTV from immediately identifying him, recklessly using holy incantations would make investigators desperately search for “an unprecedented awakened one who can use multiple skills alone”…

And that wasn’t what Shin Jae-hyuk wanted.

‘For now, I’ll have to deal with him while escaping..!’

Deciding to save holy incantations as a last resort, Shin Jae-hyuk fled. His opponent’s level was in the 400s while his own was in the 800s—nearly double—so he could afford that handicap.

But he couldn’t be careless. His opponent possessed strange artifacts. Shin Jae-hyuk glanced back while running.

‘Shit! Why is he so fast?!’

Kwak Tae-woo was pursuing him ferociously. He had donned armor that looked like something from a sci-fi novel. A power suit with mana rods emitting a soft blue light enhanced the pursuer’s leg strength. His running speed was not at all inferior to Shin Jae-hyuk’s, who was using both mana and holy power to enhance his body.

‘Is that an artifact too? How does he have so many artifacts when even the wealthy can barely afford one..!’

While the escapee silently marveled, the pursuer tried to stop his target. He flicked the dagger blade. The humming vibration seemed to momentarily paralyze the opponent, but Shin Jae-hyuk regained his freedom in less than a second. The distance was too great for Dragon’s Cry to fully paralyze him.

‘If I keep using it now, Shin Jae-hyuk will adapt. Once he gets used to Dragon’s Cry, he won’t be paralyzed anymore. I should save it for a decisive moment.’

Kwak Tae-woo put the dagger back into subspace and focused on not losing track of Shin Jae-hyuk.

‘Damn, I can barely keep up. So he was formidable even before his corruption..!’

He had thought the target was a regeneration-type awakened one based on earlier events, but his running speed was too fast—as fast as himself, an A-rank awakened one wearing a powered suit. Was his opponent S-rank? Surely not…

‘Focus on the current situation. Such thoughts can wait until after I catch him!’

Shaking off ominous thoughts, he pondered how to close the distance. Shoot him? Due to subspace size limitations, the only gun he brought was a sniper rifle. Considering Shin Jae-hyuk’s regenerative abilities, it wouldn’t be enough for a fatal blow. At this distance and with the target’s agility, he might dodge, and the gap would widen during reloading.

The risk was too high for the potential return. He hesitated to gamble. The wary opponent was fully prepared to flee. One mistake could mean losing him completely—the worst possible outcome for Kwak Tae-woo. Once attacked, finding an extremely cautious Shin Jae-hyuk again might take years.

But was he just going to chase endlessly? Kwak Tae-woo made his decision.

He took out a spear from subspace. It was an ordinary supply spear any Hunter could buy. But in the hands of a high-rank awakened one, it was anything but ordinary.

“Haap—!”

The superhuman in SF armor, running at 150 kilometers per hour, threw the spear like a javelin. Hearing the air tear, Shin Jae-hyuk reflexively jerked his head. The chilling blade grazed past his helmet.

*CRASH!!!*

A sound like dynamite exploding rang out. Through his limited vision due to the helmet, he saw the spear shaft embedded halfway into the concrete floor. It was terrifying. If it had hit his head, his brain would be mush even with the helmet, and he’d be caught while regenerating…

Shin Jae-hyuk immediately changed his mind. Fuck it. He needed to use holy incantations.

“To my hand!”

With his greatly improved control over holy power, he could now abbreviate arias, summoning Lightning Spear with just two words. Lightning flashed in the direction Shin Jae-hyuk’s finger pointed—toward Kwak Tae-woo, who had just taken out a new spear.

‘Lightning! That attack!’

Kwak Tae-woo noticed the counterattack. This was a familiar pattern—a technique the Dark Knight often used. Though it lacked the ominous red-black color, the form was similar. Kwak Tae-woo had prepared a countermeasure. He quickly manipulated his ring and drew out the Lightning Rod Spear.

The approaching lightning strangely curved and was drawn into the Lightning Rod Spear like iron to a magnet.

‘Without any damage—?!’

Shin Jae-hyuk was shocked. Among holy incantations effective against demons, Lightning Spear was most suitable against non-demonic opponents. And he had just witnessed it rendered ineffective.

Out of desperation, he fired six more lightning bolts in succession, but all were nullified. The armored knight charged forward with fierce momentum, erasing all the lightning.

‘This is really troublesome..!’

It seemed impossible to shake off the pursuer lightly. Judging by his momentum, he intended to fight to the death.

‘I don’t know why he’s after my life, but I have to fight!’

Running along roads destroyed and split by Death Worm, Shin Jae-hyuk kept thinking. Fighting here was problematic because of the dagger’s ability. If he gave his opponent an opening, he’d be paralyzed. And expecting an A-rank awakened one to miss a paralyzed target was as hopeless as a fisherman releasing a fish caught in his net.

He needed a wide open space where he could freely maintain distance. But where in this urban center? Suddenly, he recalled a conversation from the airplane—information broker Mephisto’s repeated stories about New York tourist attractions.

‘—Central Park! Mephisto, you’re actually being helpful!’

He recalled the explanation he had heard to the point of boredom.

Central Park. Wide enough to fight, and empty of people at night. Having decided on his destination, Shin Jae-hyuk gritted his teeth and kicked the ground. Kwak Tae-woo followed.

In the middle of the night in the city, a deadly game of tag unfolded.

***

And someone was watching this game of tag that disturbed New York’s night.

From the top of a skyscraper, four hundred meters above sea level.