Ch.66Chapter 66 – Factory (2)

“Huff, huff, I’m really sorry, but could we take a short break?”

Jessica, the CIA agent following Kim Jae-min, asked with difficulty. Unfortunately, Kim Jae-min, who was walking ahead, couldn’t see Jessica’s exhausted state, nor could he hear her pitiful request due to his deafness. He continued searching diligently for terrorists, completely unaware that Jessica had even spoken to him.

“Damn it… I need to awaken soon too. Huff, huff.”

Jessica grumbled at the cold treatment as she trudged along after Kim Jae-min. She desperately wanted to grab him and make him stop, but Kim Jae-min was a highly valued guest of the state, not someone a mere agent could control.

‘Damn, what am I going through all this trouble for because of Henry…’

Kim Jae-min and Jessica had been walking the streets of New York for half a day.

At Skyscraper’s request, Kim Jae-min had chosen a simple but effective method to find the awakened terrorist whose fate was unknown. He was personally touring various parts of New York, using his vast ki-sensing ability to identify potential suspects—specifically, awakened individuals with A-class level mana who might be the Korean terrorist they were looking for.

His S-class stamina was truly remarkable; Kim Jae-min had been combing through every corner of New York for five hours straight without rest.

Jessica had been assigned as his assistant due to Kim Jae-min’s deafness. As Skyscraper’s dedicated agent, she was now regretting, for the first time, that she had learned Korean in the past.

‘From what I can tell, they’re both probably dead… One suffered fatal injuries, and the other was swept into a gate? Henry Clark just worries too much…’

The search continued, regardless of the agent’s complaints. Jessica was beginning to regret introducing Skyscraper to Kim Jae-min when suddenly, Kim Jae-min stopped. Was he finally thinking of taking a break? Jessica’s face brightened. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

Abruptly, Kim Jae-min looked up at the distant sky and muttered.

“-Is it there? …[Teleport]”

Jessica could understand the words “Is it there?” but what followed didn’t sound like Korean. While she was wondering what it meant, Kim Jae-min’s figure suddenly vanished.

“Ah?!”

Jessica rubbed her eyes, but the disappeared Kim Jae-min didn’t return.

Though it would have been natural to panic when a national guest suddenly vanished, Jessica remained calm. This was a situation she had experienced many times while working with Skyscraper. The muscle-brained hero who would spot a robber from afar and fly off at invisible speeds had simply been replaced by Kim Jae-min…

‘Is disappearing without warning an S-class trait? Am I some kind of babysitter?’ Jessica complained inwardly as she called her subordinate.

“Hello? This is J. Hunter Kim Jae-min has just disappeared. It seems he’s found the culprit’s location.”

– Finally found them! Which direction?

Jessica looked up at the sky where Kim Jae-min had last gazed. In the distance, faint black smoke was rising.

“There’s smoke rising near the ruins on the outskirts of the city destroyed by Deathworm. It might be a fire. Have fire trucks on standby and position the awakened suppression units around the area.”

– Understood. Should we contact Skyscraper as well?

‘Hmm…’

After a moment’s consideration, Jessica replied.

“No. He’s not in perfect condition, and if he gets involved in Hunter Kim Jae-min’s fight and gets injured, who would take responsibility? He’s the only S-class in America. Hunter Kim Jae-min can handle it on his own. Don’t deploy additional personnel; just wait and arrest the culprit once they’re caught. And keep the journalists away. We don’t need news of Skyscraper’s injury getting out—that would be a headache.”

***

The entire interior of the building was hazy, as if covered in smog. It seemed that Kwak Tae-woo had set off smoke bombs everywhere while escaping.

With limited visibility, Shin Jae-hyuk rushed forward, relying solely on the energy he sensed through his ki perception.

‘Is he giving up the fight and trying to escape? No! If I lose him here, things will get more complicated..!’

Letting Kwak Tae-woo go would only worsen the situation if he had to chase him all the way to Korea. He needed to capture him here, interrogate him, and resolve this matter.

‘I need to ask what your purpose is, who you really are, what Mr. B is thinking… I have so many questions..!’

As he ran with gritted teeth, he suddenly felt resistance against his protective barrier. His gaze immediately shifted to the source.

There was a wire stretched across his path. One end was tied to a pillar, and the other connected to some strange device—

BOOM!!!

Flames erupted, engulfing his protective barrier. Thanks to the barrier, Shin Jae-hyuk remained completely unharmed, but he could feel the intense heat through the air. Having experienced similar situations in FPS games, Shin Jae-hyuk understood exactly what this was.

“A trap wire!”

Only then did Shin Jae-hyuk grasp Kwak Tae-woo’s intention. He wasn’t simply running away; he was luring Shin Jae-hyuk into a trap.

‘A trap? No, maybe he’s trying to buy time to escape..!’

Even as he was delayed by the explosion, Kwak Tae-woo’s energy signature was moving further away. There would undoubtedly be more elaborate traps ahead. Knowing this, Shin Jae-hyuk still couldn’t stop.

‘Whether he’s just escaping or luring me somewhere, it doesn’t matter. I’ll catch him first!’

Shin Jae-hyuk started running again. He hadn’t even advanced ten meters when a landmine buried beneath his feet exploded.

BOOM!!!

“Ah, shit!”

While there was no direct damage from the flames, the heat wave that passed through his barrier caused indirect harm. As he healed his burned feet, Shin Jae-hyuk thought:

‘Since my barrier prevents any serious damage anyway, and even if I do get hurt, I can recover quickly, I’ll just ignore the traps and keep pursuing!’

With his protective barrier extending five meters in diameter, his contact range was large, making him prone to triggering traps.

Traps popped up from the most unexpected places. Step on the floor, and it collapses to reveal a hidden hydrochloric acid pool; be careful of the floor and step on the wall, only to have machine guns fire from within the stone walls…

These traps, made purely with technology, explosives, and poisons without any special abilities, were impossible to detect and avoid in advance, and there were far too many of them. It was clear they had been prepared beforehand; there was no way Kwak Tae-woo could have set them all up while escaping.

Despite Kwak Tae-woo’s thorough preparations, Shin Jae-hyuk advanced steadily like a heavy tank, crushing everything in his path. Nevertheless, there were too many traps triggering against his barrier, constantly slowing him down. Meanwhile, his target’s energy signature was gradually moving further away. Growing impatient, Shin Jae-hyuk changed his strategy.

‘If I just destroy everything in my path, I’ll neutralize the traps too!’

Shin Jae-hyuk summoned a lightning spear in mid-air and shot it along his path. While it had been useless against Kwak Tae-woo with his lightning rod, now he could use lightning spears freely in Kwak Tae-woo’s absence.

CRASH! BOOM! KABOOM!

As the lightning struck, explosives hidden in walls and floors detonated from the sparks. The entire abandoned factory shook violently as if it might collapse. While Shin Jae-hyuk was appalled at the number of deadly devices installed, Kwak Tae-woo, running ahead, felt dismayed.

The explosions behind him were relentless, and the intervals between them were getting shorter. Initially, they occurred about a minute apart, but now they were happening every five seconds.

“Damn it! All those traps I set up overnight after risking capture by raiding a gun store…!”

Kwak Tae-woo could sense his enemy approaching with unstoppable momentum. Though he wanted to deny the situation, the dust and stone fragments falling from the ceiling reminded him that this was reality.

Shin Jae-hyuk’s pursuit was occasionally delayed when he encountered unexpected traps that his lightning spears hadn’t destroyed, but the fundamental speed difference between them was clear. The gap between S-class and A-class was that significant. Without his power suit to enhance his strength, Kwak Tae-woo’s physical abilities were only mid-A-class at best.

At this rate, he would soon be caught. The situation had reversed from the previous night, and Kwak Tae-woo let out a sigh.

‘It’s okay. I never expected to kill Shin Jae-hyuk with hastily set traps. Those were just to make him lower his guard. Let’s bet on this final move..!’

Kwak Tae-woo took out a flame-resistant guardian charm from his subspace and wrapped it around his wrist as he sprinted toward where his final move awaited.

The sounds of pursuit grew louder and louder.

***

‘—! Did he stop?’

While eagerly pursuing Kwak Tae-woo’s energy signature, Shin Jae-hyuk realized that his target had finally stopped moving and slowed his pace.

Had he given up on escaping? Or was he making one last stand? Keeping both possibilities in mind, Shin Jae-hyuk flung open the door.

Inside was a dead-end room. Kwak Tae-woo was glaring at Shin Jae-hyuk from the opposite wall. Seeing that face made Shin Jae-hyuk’s blood boil.

“You bastard! If you’re going to set traps, at least set a reasonable number! That’s just inhumane. Before I interrogate you, let me beat you up a bit…”

Shin Jae-hyuk advanced to the center of the room, menacingly swinging his spear shaft toward his opponent, who remained tight-lipped despite the provocation. Though he feigned a relaxed attitude, Shin Jae-hyuk wasn’t letting his guard down.

Kwak Tae-woo was an A-class awakened. For A-class individuals, even iron bars couldn’t serve as proper prison cells. The fact that he had stopped meant he intended to fight…

‘Be wary of surprise attacks. He can summon objects from thin air. No telling what strange artifact might appear.’

Shin Jae-hyuk walked forward, paying close attention to Kwak Tae-woo’s hands. Just as he reached the center of the square room, the previously motionless Kwak Tae-woo suddenly made his move.

“Hup!”

Kwak Tae-woo stomped his foot. The floor sank with a thud, pressing a hidden switch. Shin Jae-hyuk caught the faint click sound hidden among the noise.

‘A mine?’

Shin Jae-hyuk was surprised but not particularly alarmed. He had become accustomed to these surprise “gifts” on his way here. Thinking his barrier would protect him from any impact anyway, he watched the floor, expecting metal fragments or flames to burst forth.

But contrary to his expectations, the flames poured down from the ceiling.

“?!”

A flamethrower installed in the ceiling released a waterfall of fire. Like a dragon’s breath, fierce streams of flame flowed over the surface of his barrier, burning the air. Shin Jae-hyuk momentarily flinched at the intense heat he could feel through the barrier.

‘Now’s my chance while he’s pinned down!’

Kwak Tae-woo, who had been silent as he drank a potion, activated his flame-resistant guardian charm and leaped into the sea of flames. In his hand, he held Arondight, a sword that could cut through energy.

Kwak Tae-woo thought to himself: The regenerative ability of his opponent couldn’t be overcome with ordinary landmines. If he could regenerate even after losing his head, he would recover from lost limbs as well. He needed to either mince the body beyond regeneration or burn it completely.

‘If I can just slice through his barrier once and let the flames in, it’s over..! Even he won’t be able to regenerate if his entire body is reduced to ashes!’

Mindful that this was his last chance, Kwak Tae-woo swung his sword. The flames hitting him head-on were so hot that despite using the flame-resistant charm, his clothes melted and his skin burned. The potion healed his burns, but the pain of being engulfed in flames remained.

Kwak Tae-woo endured it. The more painful the flames, the more certain the flamethrower’s effectiveness. Those flames would surely lead Shin Jae-hyuk to his death…

Under the flames, Shin Jae-hyuk stepped back in confusion. Inside his isolated barrier, he couldn’t block Kwak Tae-woo’s sword strikes. But if he lowered the barrier, he would be directly exposed to the ceiling’s baptism of fire. He needed to escape the room.

Shin Jae-hyuk jumped backward. However, it’s naturally much slower to jump backward than forward. The blade Kwak Tae-woo swung seemed to advance steadily through the flames in slow motion to Shin Jae-hyuk’s eyes. And when the tip of the sword finally made contact with the barrier, Kwak Tae-woo exulted.

“Time to settle this old grudge, Dark Knight—!!!”

“—That won’t do.”

A third voice. Kwak Tae-woo turned with a start.

“Who—?”

A man who had somehow been present all along casually flicked the sword in his hand. With that simple movement, the flamethrower split in two and burst. As the stream of fire ceased, Shin Jae-hyuk collapsed, coughing from the pain of his scorched lungs.

Combining his anger at the failure of his final move with his shock at the intruder, Kwak Tae-woo glared with wide eyes. It wasn’t difficult to recognize the intruder—a face frequently appearing in recent news.

“—Hero, Kim Jae-min—!!”

Kwak Tae-woo let out a tearing scream. First Skyscraper last night, and now Kim Jae-min was interfering with him. It was an unbelievably unlucky situation, as if the goddess of fortune herself loved Shin Jae-hyuk.

Though the situation was desperate, Kwak Tae-woo knew he had no time to remain shocked. Kim Jae-min was a powerhouse in the upper ranks of S-class. Even Skyscraper couldn’t defeat him one-on-one; beating Kim Jae-min was impossible. Having made this assessment just 3.3 seconds after recognizing Kim Jae-min, Kwak Tae-woo pulled out a teleport scroll from his subspace. He had to escape.

Kim Jae-min recognized it.

“A teleport scroll? How shallow.”

Kim Jae-min waved his finger. With overwhelming mana control, the natural spirits around the teleport scroll reacted. Incredibly dense mana fog crackled like a storm, causing interference with the scroll—a kind of magical EMP that disrupted the magic circle inscribed on the scroll…

This was a feat only possible for an archmage, and Kwak Tae-woo, not being an archmage, had no way of understanding the principle. But he realized his opponent had done something when tearing the scroll didn’t transport him to safety.

‘Grrr! I can’t even escape?’

After casually performing a feat that would astonish any magic-type hunter, Kim Jae-min surveyed the scene indifferently before speaking.

“I was looking around New York at Skyscraper’s request when I heard explosions and came to check. So the culprits from last night are gathered here? And moreover…”

Kim Jae-min’s gaze turned to the figure who had been under the flamethrower.

“They said the culprit was Korean, but I never dreamed I’d meet you here. Isn’t that right, Shin Jae-hyuk?”

Kim Jae-min was truly surprised by this unexpected identity. While Shin Jae-hyuk was relieved to have escaped danger, he sighed at this unwanted reunion.

“Ha, ha… It’s been a while.”

‘Damn… He remembers my face.’

Unfortunately, Kim Jae-min remembered his face. From the mention of Skyscraper’s request, Shin Jae-hyuk could sense that Kim Jae-min had come to capture him and Kwak Tae-woo. Was he going to be arrested by the police without any chance to resist?

While he was worrying about this…

Kwak Tae-woo discreetly stroked his ring. Instantly, the Dagger of Dragon’s Roar appeared in his hand. Kwak Tae-woo activated the artifact while Kim Jae-min’s attention was diverted from him. Sound waves that could paralyze living bodies spread out. Simultaneously, Kwak Tae-woo charged.

“AAAAAAHHHHH—!!!”

Kwak Tae-woo swung Arondight with a battle cry. With escape no longer an option, there was only one choice left. Blue light rippled around his body as he channeled his mana to its fullest.

‘It might work! Even if it’s Kim Jae-min, in a paralyzed state—’

Kwak Tae-woo, stupidly forgetting that he shouldn’t kill Kim Jae-min, one of humanity’s greatest assets for the future, swung his sword desperately. His mind was focused solely on escaping the immediate crisis. Because of this, Kwak Tae-woo forgot one more crucial fact.

Kim Jae-min is deaf.

“Tsk.”

Kim Jae-min, unaffected by the dragon’s roar, moved his lips. Blink.

Kim Jae-min’s figure vanished from the path of Arondight. The sword cut meaninglessly through empty air, having lost its target.

“Wha—”

Kim Jae-min suddenly appeared behind Kwak Tae-woo. He casually swung his holy sword, and in an instant, seven slashes severed the tendons in Kwak Tae-woo’s legs and shoulders.

“—t?”

Kwak Tae-woo collapsed without even realizing he had been cut. Belatedly, the burning sensation from his wounds informed him of his injuries. A futile defeat.