Chapter 53 : Thinning Out (5)

“Kh, ugh.”

Yasuri Yaiba, slammed back-first into a tree, let out a pained groan while clutching her shoulder.

She had instinctively twisted her body and blocked the incoming punch with her shoulder the moment it entered her field of vision, but unlike before, she couldn’t maintain her usual emotionless expression.

“Oh, you managed to take it with your shoulder. Still, just because you blocked it doesn’t mean you’re fine.”

Just as Yang Woobin said, the shock from the impact and explosion had dislocated her shoulder.

The shoulder and arm muscles reinforced with mana had been shattered with a single punch.

The power far exceeded her expectations, and Yasuri Yaiba immediately revised her assessment of Yang Woobin.

‘He’s far stronger than I thought. His strength and reflexes are both dangerous. My shoulder’s dislocated, and my arm muscles are torn. Realistically, I can’t use my left arm… I need to retreat.’

From a target she thought she had to capture with full force, he had become a mysterious threat she needed to escape from with everything she had.

Whoosh—

Yasuri Yaiba quickly turned and sprinted in the opposite direction of Yang Woobin.

Her legs, trained through special organization training since childhood, let her move silently and swiftly, almost like a feather dancing on the wind.

‘I countered as if he knew what I’d do, but there’s no way he can match my speed when I’m running.’

With steps so light it seemed she had no weight at all, Yasuri Yaiba darted through the forest path without pause.

‘After I escape and endure for a day, once the culling is over, I’ll put Yang Woobin on the surveillance list. For someone that strong to appear… another target I need to deal with…’

Boom…

“…?”

A heavy sound from behind cut off her thoughts.

The sound one would expect to hear when something incredibly heavy falls from a great height.

Boom… Boom.

KABOOM…!

The booming grew closer, and the more the distance shrank, the clearer the sound became.

KABOOM!

When the explosion was too close to ignore, Yasuri Yaiba could finally recognize what it was.

The source of the sound was an explosion.

The powerful blast that had wrecked her shoulder was now following her, steadily closing the distance.

KABOOM—!!!

And at an incredibly fast speed.

“Kh…!”

Yasuri Yaiba prided herself on being among the top five first-years in terms of speed.

She was confident in her ability to outrun anyone.

But the fact that someone was closing the gap this quickly was beyond anything she had expected.

Gritting her teeth, she tightened her grip on her dagger and spread her aura within striking range.

BOOM!!!!!!

At that moment, a deafening explosion rang out so close she could feel the heat of it.

Immediately afterward, she sensed a bold presence entering the range — someone who wasn’t even trying to hide.

Yasuri Yaiba reflexively spun her body and swung her dagger with her right hand.

Whoosh—!

But all the blade managed to slice were a few strands of golden hair.

Still, because she turned, Yasuri Yaiba was finally able to face the man who had chased her down.

“Hoo, you really are a tough one. You don’t let your guard down at all.”

Raising his head after ducking to dodge the dagger, Yang Woobin curled one side of his lips into a smirk.

“But hey, at least you stopped. You can’t run anymore. Honestly, your chances are better if you fight.”

“…Tch.”

Yasuri Yaiba clicked her tongue softly, acknowledging that Yang Woobin’s words weren’t wrong, and reversed her grip on the dagger.

Her best fighting condition was using a dagger in both hands, but since her left arm was out of commission, using only her right was the best she could manage.

“He easily blocked my surprise attack, countered, and even caught up to me while I was running… Can someone who was in the general class up until the entrance exam really become this strong so suddenly?”

As she took her stance, Yasuri Yaiba tensed her entire body while looking at Yang Woobin, who stood still with an air of leisure, as if telling her to do whatever preparation she needed.

“…Could it be that this guy, like him, is also a mutant with two mana cores?”

Yang Woobin’s overwhelming strength and rapid growth reminded her of a man she knew.

“I’m not certain yet, but from the circumstances, the chances are high. If Yang Woobin is also a mutant with two mana cores like him…”

“Hoo…”

Yasuri Yaiba stopped thinking for a moment, exhaled the breath she had been holding, and emptied everything from within her.

It was a breathing technique she had been forced to learn while being raised as a weapon in the organization—one that returned the heart to a state of nothingness.

With everything emptied, she filled the void with killing intent.

“This man, I must kill him. Here and now.”

That was the true reason she had come to Daecheon—to eliminate mutants with dual mana cores like him.

“Wow.”

As Yasuri Yaiba, who had perfectly concealed her presence and aura until now, began to emit open killing intent, Yang Woobin let out a small exclamation.

Seeing her final phase in person—something he had only seen in the game—moved him as a seasoned veteran of Hero of Reversal.

“She’s letting out that much killing intent, and yet he’s impressed? What the hell is this guy…?”

Not knowing who Yang Woobin truly was, Yasuri Yaiba couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat at his reaction to her deadly aura.

It was the first time someone had reacted to her killing intent not with wariness, but with relaxed admiration.

And in that moment of distraction—when her mind wavered ever so slightly—Yang Woobin seized the chance and kicked off the ground.

Bang—!

Unlike the first exchange, this time Yang Woobin charged in first.

He didn’t use an explosion to propel himself, but even without it, he was incredibly fast.

“…!”

Fast enough to close a ten-meter gap in a single breath.

“That bloodlust… If I slip up, I might lose my head.”

He said that as if he was wary of her killing intent, but his movements showed no such hesitation.

He moved through the space between Yasuri Yaiba’s daggers like it was his own home, entering without a hint of caution.

Naturally, like a machine, Yasuri Yaiba tried to swing her dagger to strike him, but she couldn’t.

Whoosh—!

Yang Woobin’s punch came flying toward her faster than she could swing.

Aiming for her damaged left side, his right fist forced her to twist her body and dodge.

“Hngh…!”

At the same time, she tried to rotate and swing her dagger in counterattack, but once again, she couldn’t carry out the motion she had imprinted in her mind.

Bang—!!

Yang Woobin’s left first followed immediately after.

Yasuri Yaiba’s usual pattern was to deflect and counter with a spinning motion, but failing to deflect came with a high risk.

“Tch…!”

So instead, she chose to spin backward and create distance.

Her agile backward somersault, like that of a gymnast, was a versatile technique combining evasion with offense—able to both dodge attacks and slash with the blade at her toes.

Whoosh—.

“…”

But even that unorthodox technique couldn’t scratch Yang Woobin.

As if he knew exactly what she was going to do, he effortlessly dodged all of her sharp surprise attacks.

Bang—!

Bang!

“Huh?! Guh…!”

Not only did he evade her attacks, but he also seamlessly continued his offense by exploiting every unavoidable opening between her movements.

Normally, when a human faces an opponent, there are always inevitable gaps in their judgment and actions.

That’s because enemies are usually unfamiliar beings, and humans instinctively remain wary of the unknown.

However, Yang Woobin showed no signs of such wariness or hesitation whatsoever.

“Kh, ugh?! Kuhut!? Hup!”

Even though he was unarmed, and even though he could be decapitated with a single slash from her dagger, he threw punches without the slightest trace of fear or hesitation, maintaining relentless momentum.

Yasuri Yaiba tried to counter his aggressive, all-out offense, but each time she attempted it, he evaded her strikes with ridiculous ease—and his counters were always dangerously swift and precise.

Having already lost the use of one arm to a single punch, Yasuri Yaiba couldn’t afford to let even one more hit land.

Bang bang bang bang bang bang!

“Huh, ah, grk. Grhht…”

Eventually, Yasuri Yaiba gave up attacking altogether and focused all her attention on evasion.

But a fight doesn’t end with evasion alone, and even someone as highly trained as she was had limits to her concentration.

Bang bang bang bang bang bang!!!

“Hi?! Heut. Kuh. Huu?! Haht!”

As she gritted her teeth and desperately dodged the flurry of heavy, powerful bronze fists, her attention slipped just once from anything other than his punches.

“You little opening!”

CRACK!

Spotting that gap like a predator, Yang Woobin stomped down hard on Yasuri Yaiba’s foot—something he’d been targeting from the very beginning.

“Kyaaah?!”

A sharp groan escaped her lips from the searing pain and crushing impact that felt like her foot had been shattered.

But that was nothing compared to what followed.

“Finally got you.”

“Huh?!”

Crippled by the stomp and unable to escape or dodge, Yasuri Yaiba instinctively raised her right arm to guard as soon as she saw Yang Woobin’s tightly clenched fist.

And then—

CRACK!!!

“Ahgh…”

Even with her right arm reinforced by mana, his punch had enough force to fracture her bones.

But that wasn’t the real danger of his fist.

“Go.”

BOOOOM—!!!

It was the explosion that followed the punch that made it truly terrifying.

Crash! Thud! Roll roll roll—BOOM!

Caught in the point-blank blast, Yasuri Yaiba was hurled backward, rolling along the forest path before slamming back-first into a tree.

“Guh…”

The impact caused her lungs to spasm, leaving her unable to breathe.

Both arms were broken, her left foot was crushed, and she was completely unable to flee.

She felt the murderous intent that once filled her chest scatter and disappear.

Her body and mind had been completely consumed by the feeling of utter defeat.

‘I… I never had a chance… I should’ve run the moment I realized who Yang Woobin was…’

But it was too late for regrets now.

Step. Step. Step.

“Ugh…”

As the sound of footsteps approached through the smoke of the explosion, Yasuri Yaiba began to tremble.

Step. Step. Step.

“Hhhhhh…”

When the massive man with golden hair and bronze skin emerged through the smoke, her trembling grew worse, and uncontrollable fear slipped out in a quiet whimper.

Faced with the icy red eyes of a predator advancing solely to hunt her down, Yasuri Yaiba was overwhelmed by terror.

She wanted to cover her face and turn away from the oncoming fear—but with both arms broken, she couldn’t.

“P-please… Please spare me…”

With nothing else she could do, she began to beg, her body shaking and her teeth chattering as she pleaded in a faint voice.

But Yang Woobin simply pulled his fist back again.

“Don’t pretend to be weak. Just get lost!”

And just like before, he threw his punch, aiming to shatter Yasuri Yaiba’s face.

Whoosh—!

But that punch never landed.

Clang! Shraaang—!!

A sharp blade of energy flew in from the side and perfectly cleaved the space between Yang Woobin’s fist and Yasuri Yaiba’s face.

His punch halted mid-motion, and Yang Woobin turned his head to the side.

“…Ha. So this is a timeout, huh.”

Letting out a small sigh, he shifted his body toward the source of the sword energy.

“What the hell are you doing to my friend Yasuri?!”

The man who had stopped Yang Woobin’s punch with his sword energy shouted.

“Baek… Baek Woojin…”

He was not only Yasuri Yaiba’s original target—a rare variant with two mana cores—

“The protagonist finally shows up.”

—but also the main character of the game Reverse Heroic Tale.