Ch.65Chapter 65 – Factory (1)

“Are you sure Kwak Tae-woo is here?”

Shin Jae-hyuk asked glumly in front of the dilapidated factory building. The day after Shin Jae-hyuk had asked Mephistopheles to find Kwak Tae-woo, the place they arrived at by car was clearly not somewhere habitable.

Mephistopheles replied nonchalantly.

“I told you he is. You might doubt who would live in a place like this, but it’s precisely because it’s a ruin that the police haven’t tracked him down.”

At those words, Shin Jae-hyuk looked around.

The earthquake caused by Deathworm had turned most of the land near New York upside down like batter in a mixer. Even the outskirts, a forty-minute drive from downtown New York, hadn’t escaped its effects.

The open space in front of the factory split in half, the building partially collapsed with its interior exposed like a beehive… Even this was mild compared to other areas. The land near the giant worm tunnels left by Deathworm had weakened ground that frequently collapsed, and several buildings had sunk completely into sinkholes.

No water, no electricity—an environment far too harsh for human habitation. But then again, no one would pay attention to such a place. Shin Jae-hyuk nodded in understanding and casually asked:

“What are you planning to do now?”

“I’ll wait nearby. There’s no need for me to meet Kwak Tae-woo personally. You’re not asking me to fight alongside you, are you? I’m just an information broker with zero combat ability.”

“That’s not it… If you have time, I have one request.”

“A request?”

“My conversation with Kwak Tae-woo will likely devolve from verbal dialogue to physical confrontation, and even in an isolated ruin like this, the police will surely notice the commotion caused by two Awakened. By the time the combat and interrogation are over, police attention will be focused here, which means fewer forces at the airport.”

Shin Jae-hyuk voiced what he had been thinking—a plan for what to do after the fight with Kwak Tae-woo. Mephistopheles understood perfectly and asked:

“Ah, so you want me to arrange a flight so you can leave New York immediately after you’re done?”

Shin Jae-hyuk nodded. Despite the sudden request, Mephistopheles accepted readily. He even seemed pleased when Shin Jae-hyuk mentioned returning to Korea without hesitation.

“No problem! Let’s meet back here in about two hours.”

“Sounds good. Oh, and if possible, please book a seat with no one next to me. I’d like to travel comfortably alone.”

Shin Jae-hyuk added, as if making an excuse for feeling guilty. Mephistopheles reluctantly agreed.

“…? Sure. Anything else?”

“No. Thank you for your help.”

“Alright. Call me if anything happens. Good luck…”

Mephistopheles drove away in his car. As the sound of the engine faded, Shin Jae-hyuk stepped into the abandoned factory.

***

Shin Jae-hyuk moved forward in a state of extreme tension.

His opponent was a madman. Setting bombs in hotel rooms, attacking in the middle of the city rather than at a gate. Who knew what unexpected trap he might have prepared now.

‘First, I need to locate him.’

Shin Jae-hyuk’s expanded spiritual sense detected a life form. Judging by the mana quantity, it was undoubtedly Kwak Tae-woo. Shin Jae-hyuk cautiously advanced toward it. Suddenly, he felt a chill. A premonition of death. Shin Jae-hyuk jerked his head to the side.

Bang-!

“-!”

A burning sensation spread through his ear. Shin Jae-hyuk shouted urgently:

“Protect me-!”

The celestial barrier deployed at the same moment the second gunshot rang out. Shin Jae-hyuk watched as the bullet created ripples in the barrier before falling powerlessly to the ground. He concentrated his energy on his bleeding ear, which quickly healed with sacred healing power.

‘Shit, if I hadn’t instinctively turned my face, my skull would have been blown off…!’

Feeling disturbed by the unexpected sniper attack, Shin Jae-hyuk knew that hesitating would get him nowhere. He had to catch the bastard. With that resolve, he immediately pushed off with his feet.

Shin Jae-hyuk ran with the barrier deployed. This was something he couldn’t do before, but it was now possible thanks to the sacred spell that had evolved through his status window achievements.

Gunshots continued to ring out as he ran, but all the flying metal fragments were blocked by the sacred barrier and deflected away.

‘In my previous life, I had to stay still until the attacks stopped! Being able to move while blocking everything is seriously overpowered….’

While appreciating the broken nature of his evolved spell, Shin Jae-hyuk finally reached Kwak Tae-woo. Realizing that further gunfire would be useless, Kwak Tae-woo threw away his sniper rifle and stood holding a lightning spear and a longsword.

“Shin Jae-hyuk..! So you were alive after all!”

As Kwak Tae-woo growled and was about to charge, Shin Jae-hyuk shouted:

“Wait-! Let’s talk first!”

Predictably, Kwak Tae-woo ignored him and charged forward. However, it soon became clear that he had no choice but to comply with Shin Jae-hyuk’s suggestion.

Five sword strikes delivered in three seconds all bounced off the barrier. The protective shield wasn’t just unharmed—it was completely intact. The celestial barrier deployed by Shin Jae-hyuk’s divine power was so sturdy that someone of Kwak Tae-woo’s level couldn’t even scratch it.

Kwak Tae-woo felt dismayed but then realized with relief that Shin Jae-hyuk wasn’t counterattacking.

‘Does it block physical interference from both sides of the barrier? I can’t attack him, but he can’t attack me either….’

Kwak Tae-woo realized that in this state, neither had any means of attack. All his attacks were blocked by the barrier, and his opponent likewise couldn’t thrust his spear through it. Even his lightning spear was neutralized by the lightning rod spear, creating a perfect stalemate.

Thus, the battle was inevitably suspended, and the two men found themselves at an impasse. As Kwak Tae-woo racked his brain trying to remember if he had any artifacts that could break barriers, Shin Jae-hyuk shouted:

“Kwak Tae-woo! Why did you attack me? Were you hired by Mr. B?”

“Hired? Ha, what nonsense!”

Taken aback by the absurd misunderstanding, Kwak Tae-woo answered reflexively:

“You think I’d commit murder just for money? What rubbish! You must die here because you need to die.”

Kwak Tae-woo’s tone was full of conviction, as if asking why Shin Jae-hyuk would question something so obvious. Shin Jae-hyuk could sense the intense emotion hidden behind that tone. Suffocating anger and hatred… directed at him.

‘What is he talking about?’

Shin Jae-hyuk was bewildered. The only time he had met Kwak Tae-woo face-to-face was when he visited him in prison. Had he done something so wrong in that brief time to warrant such hatred? Shin Jae-hyuk felt confused by the inexplicable source of these emotions.

“You must die because you need to die? What does that mean—”

“Of course you wouldn’t know now. And you’ll never know—!”

As Shin Jae-hyuk was about to ask what he meant, Kwak Tae-woo cut him off and took action. In his hand was the familiar dragon-headed dagger. Strange sound waves emanated from its vibrating blade.

Shin Jae-hyuk hesitated momentarily. Then, less than 0.01 seconds later, he regained his freedom. Shin Jae-hyuk’s body had already been exposed to the sound waves countless times during the previous day’s fight and had adapted to the dragon’s cry, and moreover, his divine power aided his recovery. The paralysis attack was now meaningless against him.

Kwak Tae-woo clicked his tongue and put the dragon’s cry back into his subspace. He too didn’t expect the same attack to work twice. It was fine. He had another move….

Confident that Kwak Tae-woo couldn’t penetrate his barrier, Shin Jae-hyuk was at ease. Instead of focusing on Kwak Tae-woo who was slowly approaching, Shin Jae-hyuk was recalling his status window—specifically, the section that indirectly revealed his opponent’s life.

‘In more detail… Insight.’

「===

《Achievements》

<Philia> – Love thy neighbor as thyself.

<Bug Slayer> – Walking the path of killing. Stomping all the little ones to death. Those who walk this path will be stomped to death by a bigger foot at the end of the road.

<Grail Knight> – Collected the keys to qualify for using the Holy Grail.

<One Who Remembers the Sixth Heaven> – The universe rewinds. For just one person.

===」

There were many unusual achievements. While achievements are typically unique, Kwak Tae-woo’s were particularly strange.

When he had checked the status window earlier, he had been too busy escaping to ponder these. But now, facing the person with unclear motives, questions began to surface again.

‘Philia and Bug Slayer aside, what does it mean to remember the sixth heaven? The universe rewinds?’

It seemed vaguely familiar. “The universe rewinds.” Wasn’t that a common cliché in fiction? The meaning was—

Kwak Tae-woo didn’t wait long.

“You are a seed of evil that shouldn’t exist. Vermin like you would benefit the world by disappearing. That’s why I’ve come to eliminate you, nothing more, nothing less-!!”

As he finished speaking, Kwak Tae-woo charged forward. While running, he stroked a ring and gripped a new weapon in his hand—a plain double-edged longsword. He swung it down at the barrier. Shin Jae-hyuk was confident.

“It’s useless..?!”

Clang-!

The blade cut through the barrier as smoothly as slicing cake, and Shin Jae-hyuk hurriedly moved his spear to deflect the attack. Terrified at how easily the celestial barrier had been breached, Shin Jae-hyuk deployed another barrier. But the second wall was also shattered by a single sword strike.

“What the hell!”

“Arondight is a sword that cuts energy. Your barriers are useless! Fight me head-on-!”

Kwak Tae-woo attacked with Arondight in one hand and the lightning rod spear in the other. He didn’t attack recklessly with the spear hand, seemingly wary of potential lightning spears.

Shin Jae-hyuk readjusted his grip on his spear. Losing the barrier didn’t mean he couldn’t win.

“Haap-!”

“Heuup-!”

Kwang-!

The two blades clashed in midair, sending sparks flying. The collision of the two superhumans created a shockwave and a thunderous sound. As the spear was deflected, Shin Jae-hyuk swung his arm again. Kwak Tae-woo did the same.

Spear and sword danced. Dodging, deflecting, wrapping around, thrusting. Lethal strikes were exchanged between feints. Both sides precisely parried each deadly blow while launching new attacks. Both were skilled fighters, and the situation appeared evenly matched at first glance.

However, the standoff where each sought the other’s weakness didn’t last long. After exchanging a few moves, Shin Jae-hyuk realized he had a significant advantage.

Though Kwak Tae-woo had two weapons to Shin Jae-hyuk’s one spear, Shin Jae-hyuk found the encounter much easier than their first battle. His opponent’s strength was inferior to before.

‘I don’t see his armor artifact—did it break during the fight with Skyscraper? That’s fortunate!’

The skill gap was also evident. A master martial artist’s weapon technique is perfected through the optimal blend of instinct and calculation. Shin Jae-hyuk could achieve this; Kwak Tae-woo could not.

After all, it’s nearly impossible for a hunter with just a few years of training to defeat a holy knight who has honed his spear skills for a lifetime…

Initially, Kwak Tae-woo charged at Shin Jae-hyuk with fierce momentum, but within minutes, the situation reversed. With just one spear, Shin Jae-hyuk dominated and advanced.

Kwak Tae-woo struggled to deflect the master’s spear thrusts that targeted vital points from bizarre angles, and he retreated step by step. Without the power suit to enhance his strength, the lightning rod spear he carried to counter lightning attacks actually hindered his sword movements.

‘Damn it, how is this possible..!’

While his sword strikes were efficient, his opponent’s spear work was even more so. Movements that seemed more like sorcery than technique. Kwak Tae-woo couldn’t even comprehend how such movements were possible with his level of skill.

Even while pressuring his opponent with his mysterious spear technique, Shin Jae-hyuk also fired lightning spears, making things even more difficult for Kwak Tae-woo. Shin Jae-hyuk could freely summon and launch lightning spears within a 10-meter radius around himself, meaning he could shoot lightning even from Kwak Tae-woo’s blind spots.

Kwak Tae-woo could sense attacks coming from behind through his spiritual perception and defend with his lightning rod spear, but he couldn’t cover the openings this created. Shin Jae-hyuk targeted precisely these gaps with his spear.

The spear moved with centimeter precision, severing Kwak Tae-woo’s tendons and ligaments. Feeling his left leg suddenly lose strength, Kwak Tae-woo staggered. He barely avoided falling by using the lightning rod spear as a cane.

‘No… The gap is too great..! S-rank, or maybe even beyond..!’

Kwak Tae-woo’s face contorted. Facing him directly, he now understood. It was impossible to defeat Shin Jae-hyuk in a head-on battle.

Therefore, he needed to use other means.

Kwak Tae-woo turned around and started running away.

“Huh?”

While Shin Jae-hyuk was bewildered, Kwak Tae-woo took several items from his subspace. He threw smoke grenades and tear gas canisters behind him, and uncorked a potion bottle to drink its contents.

“Protect me!”

Shin Jae-hyuk raised his barrier, wary of the projectiles flying his way. The smoke grenades and tear gas exploded, obscuring his vision.

“Cough, cough! Ah, shit-.”

The celestial barrier could block physical attacks from sufficiently large objects, but it didn’t prevent the air necessary for the caster’s breathing from entering.

As tear gas filled the inside of the barrier, making Shin Jae-hyuk cough and suffer, the spiritual presence of Kwak Tae-woo that he sensed was moving further away.

‘I can’t let him escape….’

Shin Jae-hyuk held his breath and moved his legs.