Little Rats

It was one of Yeon Si-mun’s few memories of defeat.

A very painful memory.

3 years ago.

It happened when Yeon Si-mun was a first-year student at the academy.

A dark, confined room.

A dark chamber.

The only thing clearly visible was an old light fixture dimly illuminating from the ceiling.

The white-haired man with narrowed eyes stroked Yeon Si-mun’s head and said:

“Student Si-mun. I am the leader of a place called the New Humanity Society, the leader. My name is a secret, you see.”

The leader, who had inexplicably controlled Yeon Si-mun’s body, murmured softly.

“We want to be with new humans like you. We’re not enemies at all, you see.”

Yeon Si-mun’s shoulders twitched.

Even if she tried to raise her forcibly kneeled knees, her body wouldn’t move at all as she wished.

“It’s a spell. Because my level is far superior to Student Si-mun’s, you can’t take any action.”

It was disgustingly unpleasant.

The reality of not being able to do anything.

“When you grow a little more, this spell won’t work on you either. You have that talent.”

The leader’s hand stroked Yeon Si-mun’s head once more.

“But now, you can’t make any struggle. Because you’re still weak. So you get kidnapped by senior brothers like this, and like this-“

A knife was held to the neck of her senior brother Moon Cheol-woo, whom she had called uncle since childhood.

“You can only watch your senior brother die.”

Yeon Si-mun blankly muttered while looking at the face of her gagged senior brother.

“…Why are you doing this?”

The narrow-eyed leader sneered.

“It’s a warning to the upper echelons of hunters. It’s a somewhat rough way of expressing our position. As Student Yeon Si-mun knows, dungeons and monsters no longer pose a great threat to humanity. The frequency of dungeon occurrences has decreased significantly.”

The leader continued speaking.

“And as the stable hunter training system has solidified, the number of A and S-rank hunters has become quite large, not fitting their title. Yet why don’t the monsters in this world completely disappear?”

To Yeon Si-mun’s ears, it could only be dismissed as nonsense.

“I think the reason is because of the existence of the old humans. If we great new humans who have awakened our abilities kill all the foolish old humans who haven’t manifested any abilities, monsters will no longer appear. That’s when the end will be completed. Creating that end is the purpose of our society’s establishment.”

Yeon Si-mun spewed anger even in her fear.

“…Crazy talk.”

The New Humanity Society leader smiled bitterly at those words. As if he was truly regretful.

“Yes, other high-ranking hunters dismiss our words like that too. As crazy talk. So we have no choice but to protest like this. We have no choice but to continue expressing our presence by killing one by one you precious new humans and hunters.”

Yeon Si-mun’s body trembled.

“If, if I join the New Humanity Society, will you spare my senior brother?”

The leader firmly shook his head.

“No, there’s no sincerity, is there?”

“What?”

“It’s meaningless unless you sincerely dedicate yourself, moved by our beliefs.”

“Th-then why…! You’re saying you’ll spare me! Just kill my senior brother! Kill me too!”

Yeon Si-mun’s face twisted in agony.

Her anger at her powerlessness was greater than her fear.

“No, I won’t kill you. Not yet.”

The leader smiled with an eye-smile through his narrowed eyes.

“You will be added to our death list 3 years from now. If we kill you, this year’s freshman representative Yeon Si-mun, now, too many superhumans’ gazes will be focused on us. We’re too scared to kill you.”

The leader stroked Yeon Si-mun’s head again.

“Your role now is to report in detail to the high-ranking hunters what happened to you by us. To vividly show the anger filled with resentment at losing your senior brother without being able to do anything. With that, our opinion… our belief will be expressed once again.”

Yeon Si-mun felt madness.

Rather, she felt more fear at the leader’s words that he wouldn’t kill her now.

“We’ll give you 3 years. If Student Yeon Si-mun comes to find us within 3 years and becomes our family member, you’ll disappear forever from the New Humanity Society’s death list. Of course, it should be in a state where you’re sincerely moved by our beliefs.”

With those final words, the leader nodded to the man holding a knife to Yeon Si-mun’s senior brother’s neck.

The man raised his sword high.

The leader whispered in Yeon Si-mun’s ear.

“Feel it. The terrible powerlessness. And that fear. That anger. Turn it towards the old humans of this world. Because those foolish ones still remain, Comrade Si-mun’s senior brother is dying.”

A streak of blue light fell.

Slash!

The head of her senior brother, who had been like a father to the parentless Yeon Si-mun, whom she called uncle, and who had learned martial arts under the same master, rolled on the floor.

A long scream tore from Yeon Si-mun’s mouth.

**

Fist and sword met.

Scattering energy in all directions, they both flew far apart.

Yeon Si-mun was certain.

“You’re that swordsman who cut down my senior brother.”

The man holding the snake-belly sword.

“7th Seat of the New Humanity Society, Baek Hyun-su.”

That he was the swordsman who cut her senior brother’s neck 3 years ago.

“I told the leader 3 years ago that it would be better to kill you on the spot. Your venom was not ordinary.”

Baek Hyun-su of the snake-belly sword, who confirmed Yeon Si-mun’s deduction was correct with that answer, continued speaking.

“But the magnanimous leader gave you a 3-year grace period. But you didn’t come to find us in the end. Today, this place is indeed your grave.”

Yeon Si-mun smiled bitterly.

“That leader is not magnanimous. He’s just crazy.”

The New Humanity Society leader, that guy thinks of confronting the hunter world…

No, this world itself as a game.

Yeon Si-mun was certain of that.

“You’re just that madman’s dog.”

Yeon Si-mun stomped the ground.

Red fighting energy concentrated in her fist.

No more words were needed. Yeon Si-mun extended her fist.

Chwarararak!

Baek Hyun-su’s swung sword struck down like a snake towards Yeon Si-mun’s shoulder.

Red energy surged through Yeon Si-mun’s entire body.

Jeouk!

She infused her entire body with protective strong energy.

She deflected all the blades with fist strikes.

She stepped forward.

Her enemy had come on his own feet.

One of the two she had vowed to devour someday.

Inner energy boiled in Yeon Si-mun’s dantian.

**

Lee Dojin glanced at the battle between Yeon Si-mun and Baek Hyun-su.

‘Help… is not needed?’

Yeon Si-mun’s movements were tyrannical yet elegant.

She was avoiding all the snake-like sword strikes and landing effective hits.

Lee Dojin’s eyes turned green for an instant.

[5 movements detected.]

[Identifying locations.]

Mistilteinn in Advice Ego state identified the locations of New Humanity Society members hiding throughout the forest.

“One guy, jumping out from the right.”

“What?”

Already in a sudden situation.

Park Hyung-jun of the swordsman class hurriedly asked back at Lee Dojin’s incomprehensible words.

A spear shot out from the bushes on the right.

Lee Dojin swung his sword without hesitation.

The spear shaft was cut.

And a diagonal line was drawn on the neck of the man holding that spear.

“Keureuruk!”

The guy slumped down, foaming blood at the mouth.

It was instant death.

“We have to kill them. It’s the New Humanity Society.”

Lee Dojin said indifferently.

It was a thought that had settled since encountering the New Humanity Society in the city before and hearing their doctrine.

“I’ll keep just one alive. I’ll kill the rest.”

At Lee Dojin’s indifferent words, the four hidden New Humanity Society members walked out laughing hollowly.

“You foolish little brat, who are you to talk about who to spare or kill?”

One of the four’s expression hardened rapidly.

“…Isn’t that guy the one the vice leader directly ordered not to kill carelessly? This year’s freshman representative.”

“Why is that guy here? He wasn’t here last week?”

Lee Dojin had no intention of answering their questions.

Nor did he have the mind to wait quietly.

Colorless heat rippled from his wooden sword.

The muscles of his entire body writhed. To create a sword path aiming for a single point.

Kwang!

Lee Dojin’s body shot out.

Along with the wooden sword emitting a strange heat.

Lee Dojin extends his arm straight out.

An extreme thrust unfolded.

No one could clearly see the sword path.

There was only a flash of light for an instant.

Reverse Heaven Sword 1st Form

Soul Pursuit.

Two New Humanity Society members were swept up in Soul Pursuit.

One had his right arm completely disappeared without a trace up to the shoulder.

One had his chest emptied out.

Two corpses fell to the ground.

The New Humanity Society members looked over their dead comrades with hardened faces.

And only then did they realize.

That things had gone terribly wrong.

“Are you not coming?”

Lee Dojin asked softly.

“Little rats.”

Borrowing the words Yeon Si-mun first called them.

“Then, I’ll go.”

Was it because it had been a while since real combat?

It seemed like he could hear his teacher’s voice after a long time.

-All fights are about seizing the initiative.

-And they should end quickly.

Lee Dojin rushed towards another one.

The man swung a dark-colored sword while creating distance.

“Light.”

“What?”

The man who questioned soon understood what Lee Dojin’s words meant. A rain of dark-colored blades scattered. The sword made of material sturdier than steel fragmented.

The sensation in the hand holding the sword disappeared.

The right arm was flying through the air.

Lee Dojin’s sword path didn’t end there.

Swish!

The neck of the former hunter who had been officially recognized as A-rank and current New Humanity Society member flew off.