Chapter 89
Kim Seo-Yeon, the leader of the Spec Force’s Pursuit Team 5, frowned once the man in the scary mask said her name.
“You know me?” she asked.
“Haha, your beauty is highly acclaimed throughout the Capital, Team Leader Kim. He’s a man, too,” a brown-haired man with blue eyes said craftily next to Seo-Yeon.
He was Roman Duris, a Frenchman wearing plate armor. He was the leader of Suppression Team 8.
Seo-Yeon clicked her tongue and looked around. There was nowhere to escape from the encircling net created by the collaboration of Pursuit Team 5 and Suppression Team 8.
She continued, “Why don’t you remove that ridiculous mask, Cheon Seong-Hwi? The owner of the item store you visited cooperated with us and provided a sketch of what you look like.”
Seong-Hwi shrugged and replied, “Is that so? I thought the mask looked pretty cool. It gives off a dark hero vibe.”
Seo-Yeon snorted. “Hah! In your fucking dreams, you licenseless murderer.”
“You’re as foul-mouthed as always.”
“What?”
Seong-Hwi removed the Myriad Cheoyong Mask and revealed his face under the moonlight. One couldn’t see the bottom of his abyssal black eyes. His hair was roughly trimmed, and he had well-defined facial features that made him look incorruptible. However, Seo-Yeon had no memory of him.
“I-I can’t believe it! It’s the same Cheon Seong-Hwi!” Sang-Sik, standing behind Seo-Yeon, shouted.
Seong-Hwi turned to him. “Chief Inspector Ma Sang-Sik? Oh, come to think of it, you were Lost, too.”
“You’re Cheon Seong-Hwi, twenty-seven years old, raised in the Calasanz Home for Children! You murdered Kang Hyun-Tae to avenge Shin So-Eun, who you grew up with at the children’s home!”
Sang-Sik lost his cool from the fact that the criminal, whom he had sworn to his dying wife that he would catch, was before him. He stepped forward, forgetting he was a newcomer in the Mirror World.
Seong-Hwi’s expression hardened. He did not expect to hear about the Calasanz Home for Children, Shin So-Eun, and Kang Hyun-Tae from someone else. It wasn’t a good feeling.
He remarked, “Who knows? Are you sure I killed him? My only sin is that I pressed a remote control button. The smart home and the Earth’s air killed him.”
“Enough sophistries!”
“It was Christmas that day, and I was Santa who went to give him a gift. I merely played Go-Stop with him because he loved the game so much.”
“Bullshit! We got the evidence after you went missing! Your prints were pulled from the hair tie you mailed Seo Dong-Hyun!”
“Hah! Good for you.” Seong-Hwi smirked and continued mockingly, “That’s right. I killed Kang Hyun-Tae. What are you going to do about it? Shall I hire a lawyer who used to be a chief judge? I’m terrified of employment restrictions and being forced to do community service.”
“Son of a—”
Roman, who had been listening in dissatisfaction, cut Sang-Sik off and said, “It looks like Pursuit Team 5 lacks discipline. Why are you chatting with the criminal during a mission?”
He flamboyantly unsheathed his custom-made C-rank sword, for which he had paid five hundred thousand Coins.
He continued, “There’s no need for you to hire a lawyer. You’ll die here, after all.”
“We must capture him alive, Team Leader Duris! I would have requested reinforcements from an Extermination team instead if I wanted him dead,” Seo-Yeon clarified.
Roman smiled as he turned around and said, “Oh, no need to worry, Team Leader Kim. You can take all the credit for tracking him down. I will put in a good word with the captain so that we can both—”
“Watch out!” Seo-Yeon shouted.
Roman quickly turned around to see that Seong-Hwi had already closed in.
[Activating Trait: Thousand-Man Killer.]
AHHH—!
A thousand vengeful spirits screamed once Seong-Hwi activated the trait, instilling fear into Roman.
“Urgh!” Roman groaned.
In his eyes, Seong-Hwi was like a tiger with gleaming crimson eyes, aiming to bite off his neck. His survival instincts forced him to jump backward, saving his life. The Zanaka Karambit had no choice but to be satisfied with slicing Roman’s sword instead of his carotid.
“What?! How?!” Roman screamed as his C-rank item was instantly destroyed.
However, he had no chance to be shocked. Seong-Hwi extended his left hand, shining blood-red, toward Roman.
“Argh!” Roman grunted as he activated his unique skill.
[Activating Unique Skill: Air Guard.]
It was a tank skill that formed a layer of air around his D Weapon, the plate armor he was wearing, to boost his defense. Seong-Hwi’s red hand smashed into the plate armor, ripping through the Air Guard. Seong-Hwi’s hand touched the plate armor and slightly deformed it, but failed to penetrate it due to its shock absorption capabilities.
“Haha! That didn’t even tickle—Huh?” Roman boasted, but his eyes widened after checking the sudden Akasha Message.
[Thousand-Man Mark stamped.]
[Drastically reducing the physical and magical resistance of Elegant Plate Armor.]
[The Thousand-Killing Aura permeates the target’s body.]
A red flower, its petals resembling a thousand faces screaming in agony, bloomed on Roman’s chest.
“GAAAH!” Roman screamed, clenching his chest as if having a heart attack.
The Thousand-Killing Aura, the physical manifestation of one’s formless bloodlust, had a simple effect: to condense the agony that the thousand people Seong-Hwi killed, and transfer it to a target.
Roman was left disoriented, tears and snot running down his face, as he experienced excruciating pain he had never felt before. Seong-Hwi thrust his arm through Roman’s chest. His hand easily penetrated Roman’s D Weapon after its defenses were drastically reduced due to the effect of the Thousand-Man Mark.
Seong-Hwi mercilessly pulled out Roman’s heart.
[92,566 Karma obtained.]
[82,420 additional Karma obtained as per the effect of the Thousand-Man Mark.]
Roman’s death did not even take ten seconds after Seo-Yeon warned him to watch out.
“I can’t believe you’d take your eyes off of someone you threatened to kill,” Seong-Hwi mumbled, looking down at Roman’s pathetic corpse as he wiped the blood off his cheek.
Many morons often misunderstood that they were invincible because they were members of the Union, or a renowned clan.
“Attack! I exact my right to execute Cheon Seong-Hwi!” Seo-Yeon shouted after witnessing Roman’s death, abandoning her desire to capture Seong-Hwi alive.
***
[Activating Skill: Slingshot.]
[Activating Skill: Crush Arrow.]
[Activating Unique Skill: Auto-Aim.]
...
Various ranged skills flew at Seong-Hwi, but fifteen floating golden pentacles blocked all of them.
“What’s he planning?” Seo-Yeon mumbled as she stared at Seong-Hwi, who had been on the defensive for a while.
Seong-Hwi did not attack even once, using his golden shields to block all attacks. Considering he killed Roman without hesitation, Seo-Yeon believed he did not seem to fear going against the Union. However, unlike Seo-Yeon’s thoughts, Seong-Hwi deeply regretted killing Roman.
Tsk, I shouldn’t have killed him, he said inwardly.
His opponent was so defenseless that he had charged in and killed him without realizing it, just like a predator charging at prey with their back to it. Thinking about it now, nothing good came from going against the Union. Although he did not believe in the power of many, the Union represented all humanity. Not only could he not kill them all, but there was no need to.
Anyone could see that avoiding a fight altogether was the best option, so why did I kill him? Seong-Hwi wondered.
“They must be judged! They must be punished!”
“Kekek! What’s wrong? It feels good, doesn’t it?”
Two voices echoed inside Seong-Hwi’s head.
Unabomber and Richard Ramirez, he thought.
The Unabomber demanded that those who infringed on one’s autonomy be eliminated, and the Devil of Los Angeles desired to feel the ecstasy of murder. Seong-Hwi’s psyche might have been more corrupted than he had expected.
He shook his head and inwardly said the words he recited whenever he suspected his psyche was being taken over, recalling Mother Maria’s warm voice and her wrinkly hand on his head.
My name is Cheon Seong-Hwi. My name means brilliant splendor. That is all I am.
His eyes became clear once he breathed in the clear night air and immediately grasped the situation.
I’ll run!
Seong-Hwi dashed toward the rear, where the encircling net was relatively thinner.
“Here he comes!”
“Tanks! Attackers! Forward!”
An iron wall of shields blocked Seong-Hwi’s path, and the eyes of the attackers with swords and spears glinted from behind the wall.
“Get out of the way if you don’t want to end up penniless,” Seong-Hwi warned.
“What the hell is he talking about?”
“He’s obviously talking shit! Don’t listen to him! Activate your tank skills!”
The tanks ignored Seong-Hwi’s warning and resolved not to let their wall be penetrated.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Seong-Hwi said.
A card flew out of the Tarot Deck of Destiny. It showed a tower on a cliff, burning after being struck by dark blue lightning.
[Activating Unique Skill: Symbol Embodiment.]
[Catastrophic Thunder, one of the symbols of No.16 The Tower]
A dark blue lightning mark appeared on his right temple like a teardrop, and the Catastrophic Thunder enveloped his body. He activated another skill.
[Activating Skill: Rust of Ruin.]
The dark blue Catastrophic Thunder mixed with the dark red Rust of Ruin, turning into magenta lightning.
“Hup!” Seong-Hwi grunted.
The Catastrophic Thunder fell like rainfall from Seong-Hwi to a span of 180 degrees directly in front of him.
“Urgh!”
“H-he has a lightning element skill!”
“This is... different from what... Gurgh!”
According to their debrief from a few hours before the attack, the target was assumed to use the three categories: enhancement, emission, and conjuration. He was frighteningly adept with the karambit, used a giant scythe, and possessed several sticks that emitted fire. However, they were not told that their target could also use the lightning element.
[Applying Debuff: Electrocution.]
[Applying Debuff: Nightmare.]
[Applying Debuff: Despair.]
...
“Gaaah! A-a ghost!”
“Mom! Mommy!”
“N-no, I can’t do this. I can’t bear... to survive in this place... any longer.”
Several debuffs befell the tanks and attackers, but Seong-Hwi’s attack did not end there.
“M-my shield is rusting!”
“Ahhh! My armor! This is a D-rank item!”
The gear with even the tiniest bit of iron corroded due to the Rust of Ruin’s effect. The chaos from just one attack broke the formation. Seong-Hwi took his next action.
[Activating Exclusive Skill: Shadowless Plum Blossom Branch.]
[Activating Unique Skill: Symbol Embodiment.]
[Hermit’s Robe, one of the symbols of No.9 The Hermit]
Seong-Hwi disappeared without a trace after borrowing Iljimae’s destiny and embodying Hermit’s Robe.
“You’re not going anywhere! Miho!” Seo-Yeon, who had been observing the situation, called her D Weapon, Miho.
Yip!
The small, white fox shone white and grew as large as a tiger. It sprouted three more fluffy tails, totaling four tails wagging in the air. Miho’s tails gently enveloped itself and Seo-Yeon, creating a fluffy ball.
[Activating Unique Skill: Mythical Beastification.]
[Four Tails.]
Seo-Yeon used Beastification, the universal rule that transformation D Weapon users mainly used. However, her Beastification was different from regular transformation humans. Her D Weapon, Miho, was not an ordinary fox but a mythical beast with several tails.
The four fluffy white tails opened like a flower blooming, and revealed a transformed Seo-Yeon. Her short black hair was now white and reached her waist, and her pupils were now black vertical slits over shining golden irises. Her skin was so pale that it was almost see-through, making her blood vessels highly visible, and her lips were so red that it was as if blood was on them.
Seo-Yeon extended her arms. Her veins bulged grotesquely, and her nails extended like blades. She sniffed to detect a specific scent, and the fox ears on her head moved like an antenna. She stomped on the ground with strength far transcending that of a human, and flew like a meteor with four tails toward an open space on the edge of the encircling net.
“I can sense you easily at this distance, you motherfucker!” she shouted as she swung her fist.
It looked like she was swinging the air, but two long furrows appeared on the ground as the air blocked her attack.
[Canceling Shadowless Plum Blossom Branch.]
[Canceling Hermit’s Robe.]
However, that was not the case; Seong-Hwi had blocked her attack with the Zanaka Karambit as he canceled his two stealth skills.
“Use pretty words, young lady,” Seong-Hwi said.
Seo-Yeon snorted. “Heh! Fuck you!”
She attempted to scratch him with her ten blade-like fingernails. Seong-Hwi held the Zanaka Karambit in a reverse grip and blocked every attack, making it look like he had a hundred hands.
Seo-Yeon’s four fluffy tails moved simultaneously and pointed at Seong-Hwi.
“Gotcha!” she shouted.
[Activating Unique Skill: Thousand Needle Hairs.]
A thousand hairs harder than steel shot from the white tails, leveling the ground. Anyone caught in the attack would turn into a beehive in an instant. However, Seo-Yeon frowned and swung her tails to make a dust cloud.
“I know you’re not dead!” she shouted.
Just then, Seong-Hwi activated the item skill built into his Bucephala Hoodie.
[Activating Item Skill: Bucephala’s Steps.]
Seong-Hwi instantly reached Seo-Yeon using the steps of Bucephala, known as the Black Pegasus. Seo-Yeon was shocked to see Seong-Hwi’s shadow suddenly extending and him instantly reaching her.
I’m too late! Seo-Yeon shouted inwardly.
She could only watch as his fist, covered in a blood-red aura, swung toward her solar plexus like a cannonball. His fist slammed into her stomach, but it did not make the flesh-tearing sound she had expected. Her organs were also undamaged.
He didn’t infuse his fist with mana? Then what was that red aura? Seo-Yeon wondered.
The subsequent Akasha Message answered her thoughts.
[The Thousand-Killing Aura permeates the target’s body.]
A thousand kinds of pain—one’s neck being severed, one’s heart being pulled out, one’s limbs being severed, being burnt alive, one’s skin being peeled, and more—engulfed her simultaneously.
“KYAAAH!” Seo-Yeon screamed, her blood vessels throughout her body bulging.
Seong-Hwi held her in his arms and looked down at her. “I’m sorry, Seo-Yeon.”
“Rescue the Team Leader!”
“You’re dead if you lay a hand on her!”
“Get away from her this instant!”
Seong-Hwi stared at the humans sprinting at him. He lowered his head to bring his mouth to her ear and whispered, “And...”
However, it looked like something else from afar.
“W-what the hell do you think you’re doing?!”
“How dare you do something so envi—I mean, obscene to our Team Leader?!”
“Cheon Seong-Hwi! I will kill you, even if I must chase you to the ends of the Mirror World!”
Seong-Hwi gently lowered the unconscious Seo-Yeon to the ground and mumbled, “I don’t know if you understood what I meant, but... stay safe.”
He fled from Seo-Yeon’s charging team members.