Chapter 43

Chapter 43

Meanwhile, Eunseong’s family had also received the news that a large-scale Transference Crisis had occurred around Jebudo.

It was because the news had reached Eunseong’s father, who happened to be resting at home, through the military communications network.

“What should we do, honey?”

“There is no need to worry too much. Fortunately, the Defense Strategy Department deployed its forces quickly, so nothing serious should happen.”

Eunseong’s father calmly reassured his wife.

“But…….”

Eunseong’s mother, Park Yeongyeong could not bring herself to feel reassured in the end.

She had grown used to sending her husband off to the battlefield every day, but having her son placed in danger was unfamiliar to her.

“I spoke with Sangeung, so there should not be any need to worry too much.”

“Mr. Sangeung?”

“Yes.”

“Oh my, it seems Mr. Sangeung was at the Special Force Training Center.”

Park Yeongyeong said this after remembering Kim Sangeung, her husband Cha Geunwoo’s junior.

If it was Kim Sangeung, he was someone she had often seen and shared meals with in the past, back when Cha Geunwoo was serving in the Naval Special Forces…….

“It has been about two years since he said he wanted to rest from work that involved hunting people and entered the SFTC.”

“If you say work that involved hunting people…… ah.”

Park Yeongyeong understood what Cha Geunwoo meant and nodded.

The work that Cha Geunwoo referred to as hunting people meant special missions specializing in anti-Hunter warfare.

By nature, Hunters were beings who were difficult to control.

If such Hunters fell into a life of crime, it was impossible to stop them with ordinary public authority.

That was why countries all over the world had no choice but to deploy Hunters against Hunters who committed crimes.

An eye for an eye.

A tooth for a tooth.

It was a response based on the principle of Hunter against Hunter.

Kim Sangeung was one such case.

While serving in the Naval Special Forces, he had Awakened and gained an ability specialized in one-on-one duels.

His ability had been recognized, and he had a history of carrying out special missions against Hunters under the Defense Strategy Department.

In other words, that meant he had silently disposed of countless Hunters…….

“Sangeung actually called me first, so there is no need to worry too much.”

“He did?”

“He said he would make sure to take responsibility for getting Eunseong out safely, so we should wait a little.”

“Ah.”

“So let us trust him and wait.”

“A-All right.”

Park Yeongyeong could not fully hide her anxiety, but it was clear that she was trying hard to steady herself.

In truth, Cha Geunwoo felt no differently.

‘Please come back safely. Please.’

Cha Geunwoo desperately prayed for his son Eunseong’s safe return.

It was not that he felt nothing.

He was merely standing firm because, as a husband, he was in a position where he had to soothe his wife’s anxiety.

The large-scale Transference Crisis currently unfolding around Jebudo was, in principle, under the jurisdiction of the Defense Strategy Department, so even Cha Geunwoo, an active-duty Colonel, had no room to intervene.

‘I am counting on you, Sangeung. You are the only one I can trust.’

Cha Geunwoo thought of Kim Sangeung, his junior and old comrade-in-arms.

Since there was nothing he could do right now, he had no choice but to trust Kim Sangeung and wait.

***

Instructor Kim Sangeung was.

No, the enemy whose identity I did not know seemed quite surprised that I had seen through him.

“How did you know?”

“Who knows?”

I deliberately did not answer.

There was still something I had to confirm.

“Hmm.”

The enemy narrowed his eyes and glared at me before speaking.

“Is it because you resemble your father after all? Well, your father was rather quick-witted too. Enough that the National Intelligence Service did not scout him for nothing.”

“Ah?”

“It is such a shame. For such an extraordinary man to fail to Awaken and remain an ordinary person. This is what one would call a national loss. Is it fortunate that at least his son turned out usable? Heh heh heh!”

For some reason, the enemy found it amusing and laughed with a snicker.

His laughter was so chillingly eerie that it truly seemed as though he had been possessed by an evil spirit.

“Hmm. I suppose that gives me some breathing room.”

With a pleasant smile, I lowered my muzzle.

“H-Big Brother! How can you lower your gun?”

Startled, Oh Taegwon shouted.

“It does not matter. Lower your muzzles. This is not an opponent we can deal with using guns.”

“B-But…….”

“It is fine, so just watch the surroundings.”

Then Kim Seunghye asked me,

“Um, Mr. Eunseong? What is that person? Is he a monster?”

“No.”

“Then…….”

“He really is Instructor Kim Sangeung.”

“What?!”

“A Tongue Parasite.”

“A Tongue Parasite……?”

“Yes. It is a marine monster. It attaches itself to the host’s tongue and seizes control of the nervous system.”

“Th-There is a monster like that?”

“As you can see.”

With my eyes, I pointed toward the enemy, or more precisely, toward Instructor Kim Sangeung, who had been taken over by a [Tongue Parasite].

Tongue Parasites were monsters occasionally discovered in people whose living radius was close to the sea, such as Naval Special Forces personnel, Marines, fishermen, or haenyeo, so they were not well known to the public.

They appeared during large-scale Transference Crises that occurred at sea, wandering around the coast at roughly palm-size before latching onto a host once they found one.

In the past, when the existence of Tongue Parasites had not been known, there had apparently been a commotion because people thought a new virus had appeared after hosts suddenly went mad and committed murder.

‘If it is a Tongue Parasite, that is actually better.’

It was good news.

If he had become a host of a Tongue Parasite, it meant there was still hope.

The reason I had chosen conversation instead of immediately pouring bullets into him was to confirm Instructor Kim Sangeung’s condition.

If I exchanged a few words with him, I could roughly tell whether he had become the host of a Tongue Parasite or not…….

“Phew.”

I let out a short breath and slung my gun behind me.

Slowly, I took out the [Butcher of Madness] hanging from my waist and gripped it.

“Oh.”

Instructor Kim Sangeung smiled as if he found it ridiculous.

“Are you saying you want to try? Blade against blade?”

“It is an honor.”

“Heh heh. Our Eunseong has grown a lot. You are even taking out a blade against your uncle. Heh heh heh.”

Instructor Kim Sangeung summoned his Spirit Sword.

It was a dagger with a finger ring attached to the end of its handle.

Ugh.

The blade gleamed with oiliness.

How much blood had it soaked up……?

“Can you handle it?”

“I will have to try.”

I truly felt tense for the first time in a long while.

There was a good reason for that.

Instructor Kim Sangeung was a master of knife fighting.

From what I had heard from my father, he had been famous for his skill with daggers when he served as a special forces soldier.

Apparently, he was always deployed for operations that had to be carried out covertly without gunfire.

That was something I could tell just by looking at the fact that Instructor Kim Sangeung’s Spirit Sword was a dagger.

And on top of that, I had the restriction of not being able to inflict a fatal wound while engaging in close-quarters combat with blades against such a person.

But I also had something to rely on.

And…….

‘I cannot turn Uncle into a beehive.’

At the same time as that thought, I gripped my axe and approached Instructor Kim Sangeung.

“Come.”

“Yes, I am coming.”

SWIIISH!

Without hesitation, I took the first strike.

Because that was probably the respect due to Instructor Kim Sangeung.

***

 

SWISH, SWISH!

CLANG, CLAANG!

THUNK!

A dull sound rang out as the axe and dagger collided.

‘Ugh.’

The hand gripping my axe felt as though it would tear apart.

How could a mere dagger be this heavy……?

SWISH!

“Ugh!”

I did not even have the time to continue grumbling inwardly.

“Not bad.”

“Ugh.”

“You must have practiced a lot, our Eunseong.”

Instructor Kim Sangeung was overflowing with composure.

It was only natural.

I was 3-Star, and Instructor Kim Sangeung was 4-Star, so there was a difference in weight class.

Of course, combat ability between Hunters could not be judged purely by grade.

For example, a Mage like Ra Sihyeon would never be able to defeat an Assassin-Type Hunter like Instructor Kim Sangeung, even if she died and came back to life.

Only after reaching at least 5-Star could one somehow manage to deal with a class with an unfavorable matchup, and only at 7-Star would one finally gain the ability to resist properly.

On top of that, Instructor Kim Sangeung was someone specialized in Hunter-versus-Hunter combat. In other words, he was specialized in dealing with humans rather than monsters.

Even before becoming a Hunter in the first place, he had been a person who hunted spies, industrial spies, and the like while being deployed on special operations, so how much more would that be the case now?

To put it bluntly, it would not be an exaggeration to say that he was thoroughly experienced in killing people.

SWISH!

Instructor Kim Sangeung’s dagger flashed.

‘My wrist!’

Reflexively, I twisted the shaft of my axe and knocked the dagger away.

CLAAAAANG!

The dagger scraped across the axe blade and slid away.

A chill ran down my spine!

If I had been just a little late, the tendon in my wrist would have been severed and I would have dropped the axe, and in the blink of an eye, my vital spots would have been stabbed several times.

“You think you can go up against your uncle with only that much? Heh! I will start for real now, so you had better keep your wits about you.”

WHOOOSH!

Instructor Sangeung’s Spirit Sword was enveloped in blood-red Ether.

“Is it not beautiful?”

Instructor Sangeung said this with something like awe as he showed me the dagger stained red.

The dagger was so red that it even created the illusion that it had sloshing blood inside it.

“It is called Blood Energy. This Spirit Sword absorbs the blood of those who have died by my hand.”

“…….”

“The more people I kill, the stronger it becomes. Why did I hate this ability so much that I sat around teaching fledglings? There is nothing easier than killing people.”

Instructor Sangeung’s eyes began turning as red as blood.

“Senior will be quite furious if he finds out I killed you, but that does not matter. Heh heh. I will kill that senior too after I kill you anyway. Heh heh heh!”

This was also a characteristic of someone infected by a Tongue Parasite.

Their memories and skills remained intact, but the person changed completely.

They did not hesitate to spit abuse and cruel remarks they would never normally say, and they committed murder indiscriminately.

“Then prepare yourself. The moment you slip, your guts will spill out. Heh heh.”

Instructor Sangeung, wrapped in red Ether, no, Blood Energy, slowly approached.

‘As expected, it will be difficult to end this moderately.’

I did not panic.

There was no need to.

Instructor Sangeung might be a specialist focused on duels between Hunters, but I was also someone who did not lose to anyone in experience.

If we compared only the sheer amount of experience, mine was overwhelmingly greater, and I had confidence as well.

It was a slightly embarrassing, and on the other hand, humiliating story, but during my past days as a Supporter, I had once received this evaluation.

[The strongest among the Non-Awakened.]

It was a half-joking, half-serious comment that if the Top Rankers fought each other without using Ether and clashed only with pure skill, I might be the strongest.

It seemed the time had come to show why I had received such an evaluation.

FWOOOSH!

I drew up my Ether.

FLICK, FLICK!

With my left hand, I drew three cards and cast Enchant on my axe.

[Windfall] Critical Hit Chance increases by 120%!

[Full Moon] The Spirit Sword’s Slashing Effect increases by 50%!

[Enhancement] Weapon attack power increases by 30%!

“I am coming.”

“Heh! Come as much as you like!”

The next moment.

The distance between Instructor Sangeung and me vanished.