When the man turned around to see what it was, he froze in horror.
The heads of all the hunters who were standing behind him were missing. It was as though theyâd been rubbed out by an eraser. The fact that their bodies still stood there without any blood spilling made the scene even more terrifying.
âHi-, hiiikâŚ!â
The man collapsed. His head subconsciously turned to look at Lukas.
Lukas looked down at the man whose eyes were filled with fear and horror.
He wasnât sure how this action appeared to the man, but it caused him to immediately kowtow on the ground.
âP-, please⌠s-, spare meâŚâ
ââŚâ
He didnât have any pride in the face of death.
He was a human who wouldnât even live 100 years. Was it unreasonable to expect such a weak creature to hold onto their pride?
No.
It wasnât. Despite being human, there were those who would carry their pride to their graves.
Did they not fear death? Did they have no fear?
That wasnât the case.
Lukas was certain.
There was no human who wasnât afraid of death. There may have been large or small differences between them, but in the end, everyone was afraid of death.
There were only people who revealed this fear and people who concealed it.
This man was the former.
Lukas felt disgust well up inside him.
This man had killed people here. He had ended their lives. It didnât matter how many he had killed personally.
In the end, he had committed murder.
But now, when he realised his death was imminent, he bowed his head without hesitation and begged to be spared.
How disgusting could one human be?
Bang!
He wouldnât accept such sickening begging.
The manâs head burst open.
Even before his blood and brain matter gushed out, Lukas had already turned away from him. Just as he was about to walk away.
Kijik, kik.
Making a strange sound, a corpse rose to its feet. The body had only one eye remaining. With this one eye, it looked at Lukas.
âLetâs⌠make⌠a deal⌠Lukas.â
Even the corpseâs vocal cords seemed to have been damaged.
Lukas had seen this phenomenon once. The same thing had happened to Otsuru earlier.
This meant that Nodiesopâs consciousness had entered the corpse.
Lukas didnât answer as he swung his finger slightly.
* * *
Kim Go-hyuk wasnât fighting. After all, the only ones here were a bunch of weaklings.
The few strong hunters who guarded the base had either been subdued or killed.
âNicholas, that man wasnât bad.â
10 years⌠No. If he had been 15 years younger, it would have been a much better fight.
As he thought this, Kim Go-hyuk yawned.
Fwoosh!
A Fireball flew towards Kim Go-hyuk. He swung his dagger lazily as if it wasnât worth paying attention to.
Again, Kim Go-hyuk wasnât fighting.
He was simply accepting his juniorâs whining.
âYou, what the hell are you doing?â
He asked in a genuinely puzzled voice.
He looked at Min Ha-rin. He could see her calm temperament while objectively noticing her pretty face and well balanced body.
âThat doesnât matter.â
White Flower.
A First class Swordsman whose sword unleashed streaks of white light reminiscent of flower petals which matched her title.
That was the Min Ha-rin he remembered.
He could still remember watching her fight. Her talent for swordsmanship was remarkable. So heâd kept an eye on her.
In three or so years, another Dragon might have appeared in Asia.
Or so heâd thought.
But now.
âWhy did you learn magic?â
His voice became filled with irritation.
Min Ha-rin didnât respond as she began casting another spell.
For the first time in a while, Kim Go-hyuk became angry.
Crack!
He closed the distance between them quickly before lifting Min Ha-rin by her neck.
âKukâŚâ
Min Ha-rin struggled, but Kim Go-hyukâs hand was like a clamp around her neck that did not let go.
Sheâd seen Kim Go-hyuk move. After all, her eyes were well trained.
Nevertheless, she couldnât respond. She had barely trained her body during the last month. No, even if she had, it would be the same.
Suddenly, Kim Go-hyuk lifted Min Ha-rinâs shirt.
ââŚ!â
A white stomach with no blemishes was revealed.
Min Ha-rinâs face flushed with shame, but Kim Go-hyuk didnât pay any attention to her as he kept looking at her stomach. There wasnât a speck of lust in his eyes.
Instead, there was curiosity then anger.
âHa.â
This anger then morphed into contempt.
With a sneer, he threw Min Ha-rin at a wall. Unable to do anything, Min Ha-rinâs body struck the wall heavily.
âUrkâŚâ
Her back felt like it had broken. She didnât think it had, but the pain was immense.
She looked up at Kim Go-hyuk, who seemed to be simmering with rage as he gripped his dagger tightly.
âYou donât have a danjeon?â (TL: That one comment that mentioned using âdantianâ instead. I thought about it when I first encountered it, but since itâs a korean novel, Iâd prefer to use Korean terms)
âCough, coughâŚâ
Min Ha-rin struggled to catch her breath.
Kim Go-hyuk continued in a disbelieving voice.
âAnd you have a mana room now. I donât know how thatâs possible, but⌠Haha. Iâm not sure what to say about this.â
He laughed loudly, but anyone could see that it wasnât out of happiness. Kim Go-hyuk was visibly annoyed.
It felt like seeing someone uproot a steadily growing tree and fill the hole with dog dung instead.
No, it was even dirtier than that.
âAh⌠shit⌠that was really f**king stupid.â
Kim Go-hyuk walked up to Min Ha-rin before looking down at her.
Despite the pain, Min Ha-rin still glared fiercely at him.
If this were any other time, seeing such a gaze would have filled him with joy. He might have even derived some pleasure from it.
But not anymore. Kim Go-hyuk wasnât interested in broken toys.
Paak!
Min Ha-rinâs face suddenly turned to the side. Heâd kicked her in the face.
He hadnât put his full strength into it. Considering Kim Go-hyukâs power, this could have been considered a light slap.
If he had wanted to, Min Ha-rinâs head would have been torn off and sent flying like a football.
This was simply to vent his anger.
However, the pain was so sharp that she lost consciousness for a moment. Min Ha-rinâs lip was torn and bleeding.
Kim Go-hyuk clicked his tongue before grabbing her by the hair and slamming her head to the ground.
Paak!
âSeriously. You just did what you wanted without even trying to hide it. Who the hell do you think you are? What made you abandon the way of the sword? Huh?â
Min Ha-rinâs face looked terrible, but her voice was still firm when she spoke.
âIt was⌠my choice.â
She spat out some blood before continuing.
âYou have no right to intervene.â
This wasnât what Kim Go-hyuk wanted to hear. But it seemed that no matter what she said in this situation, he wouldnât get what he wanted.
He smiled.
âYou talk really well despite your appearance. If I had a mirror, Iâd love to show you.â
He picked her up again.
Then he kicked her in the stomach.
âKuk.â
âWhereâs the White Flower I remember? It would have been better if you drank nonstop for an entire month than do this. Look at this. You donât even have abs anymoreâŚâ
Paak!
He kicked her again. This time, he added more strength.
âGah!â
Min Ha-rinâs eyes rolled upwards.
This was a natural reaction when getting kicked in the stomach with military boots. Especially when considering the fact that Kim Go-hyuk was a superhuman being with great experience when it came to violence.
For a moment, she couldnât breathe. It felt like her guts were trying to climb through her throat.
âThis is danger-⌠ousâŚâ
Sheâd almost lost consciousness.
Min Ha-rin coughed up another mouthful of blood.
âThat shock went directly to your intestines.â
Kim Go-hyuk was genuinely sad.
He couldnât believe that his junior, who was growing up so well, had fallen so far.
His heart hurt so much that he could barely even look at her.
âMagic is garbage.â
Kim Go-hyuk spoke in a tone as though it was obvious.
Despite the pain, Min Ha-rin raised her head and glared at him.
âStatistically speaking, itâs the truth. Are there any Wizards in the Top Three Demon Hunters? No. Has a Wizard ever succeeded in defeating a high-ranking Demon Noble alone? No. The role of Wizards is just to stay at the back, as support. Thatâs all.â
That was all Wizards were.
Of course, you could only choose that path if you had the right aptitude.
But Min Ha-rin was talented. She had the potential to reach or even surpass him in the future.
And yet, this stupid girl had torn that potential apart with her own hands.
How could he not be upset?
âIn the end, I guess there are only two people in this room worth sparing.â
After saying that, Kim Go-hyuk turned his head to the duel grounds before clicking his tongue.
âNo. Heâs dead too.â
A man was standing there. He was covered in blood, as if all the blood in his body had been drained.
Gerard appeared to have died standing because of the sheer willpower in his body.
âHaa.â
He sighed deeply.
Sssng.
Kim Go-hyuk drew his dagger. Now that he was done venting his anger, he had no reason to keep her alive.
Just as he was about to approach Min Ha-rin and end her life.
ââŚ!!â
Kim Go-hyuk hastily retreated.
Fwoosh!!
An enormous Fireball passed through the spot heâd just been standing.
With a glance, he realised that it was a spell.
âWhat the hell is this output?â
If he had remained in that spot, he would have been burnt to ashes. He turned to where the fireball had come from.
But there was no one there.
Bang!
In the next moment, Kim Go-hyuk avoided âsome kind of attackâ with a transfer technique.
The reason he called it âsome kind of attackâ was because he knew he was being attacked, but he couldnât tell exactly what the attack was.
But he knew one thing for certain.
If heâd remained in that spot, he would have been dead.