Chapter 73

Chapter 73

"Why'd you kill him?"

A low voice spilled from Choi Yura's lips.

"Who knows."

Jeong Mujin offered a vague answer.

"Is that supposed to be an answer? You piece of shit?"

"You won't want to hear it."

"That's for me to decide!"

CRACK--!

CRUNCH--!

Choi Yura's chain slammed into the floor.

The parking garage floor was torn to shreds, fragments flying in every direction.

"You sure about this?"

"I told you to spit it out."

"Jealousy."

"What kind of bullshit is that?"

"I fell for the young girlfriend of my closest friend."

"What......?"

Choi Yura's eyes wavered.

"So I killed him. He was getting on my nerves."

His tone was flat.

As if he felt not a shred of guilt.

"Well, I would've killed him anyway, even without that. He got it into his head to make some money doing a few Wrecker jobs, then got cold feet and wanted to turn himself in. Pathetic bastard. Hah!"

Jeong Mujin snickered, as if it were still amusing even now.

"......"

Choi Yura opened her mouth to say something, then closed it.

No words came out.

As if her mind had been emptied clean.

In that void, memories of her days with Jeong Mujin surfaced.

'Just let it go. He's dead.'

'Call me if it gets hard. I'll come running, whenever.'

'Forget about revenge. The other side is the Incheon Union. Yura, I don't want to lose you too.'

Comfort, advice, concern.

The words Jeong Mujin had spoken flashed past like a panorama.

"......Ah."

A deep sigh spilled from Choi Yura's lips as the full truth finally crashed down on her.

"Told you. You wouldn't want to hear it."

"......"

Though she didn't answer, Choi Yura agreed with Jeong Mujin completely.

She shouldn't have listened.

Anger and hatred?

Or the thirst for revenge?

No--right now, those feelings were eclipsed by a loathing directed entirely at herself.

'Mujin, I'm really struggling. I feel like I'm losing my mind.'

'How am I supposed to keep going?'

Choi Yura trembled as she recalled the version of herself that had once leaned on Jeong Mujin.

It wasn't really her fault.

Jeong Mujin had been her boyfriend's closest friend, making him the natural person to weather a hard time with.

And yet that same Jeong Mujin had been the real killer all along, entangled in every filthy operation the Nine-Tail Crew ran.......

Choi Yura clenched her jaw.

WHOOSH--!

Red Ether surged.

SHING--!

The blades lining her chains grew sharper still.

Grrrrr.......

Choi Yura advanced on Jeong Mujin, her chains dragging across the ground.

"I'll make you a promise."

"A promise......?"

"I'll give you the most painful death this world has ever seen."

SLASH--!

The bladed chain shot toward Jeong Mujin.

***

"I-if I'd known it'd be like this, I should've asked to go with them!"

Meanwhile, Oh Taegwon bitterly regretted his decision.

Ten minutes earlier.

'Why aren't you putting on a harness?'

Choi Yura had asked Oh Taegwon as she prepared to rappel.

'I-I don't know how to rappel.'

'Oh, right. You're still a baby chick. Chirp, chirp.'

Choi Yura smirked upon remembering that Oh Taegwon was a trainee at the Special Force Training Center.

'......'

Oh Taegwon's pride was stung, but he couldn't bring himself to talk back to Choi Yura.

He'd heard plenty about how foul-tempered a Hunter Bloody Mary was.

'Can't be helped. I'll just take the little baby along with me. Sigh.'

'N-no, I'm fine.'

'Fine how?'

'Please go down first. I'll follow by the stairs.'

'Be realistic. A measly 2-Star going down the stairs alone? Dream on. You'll get killed.'

'I told you I'm fine!'

'Who said you could raise your voice at me?'

'S-sorry. But I really am fine. I may not look it, but I'm a man.'

'Pfft.'

'Please go on ahead. I don't know who you're chasing, but if you let them get away, that'll be a problem.'

'Yeah? Hmm.'

Choi Yura pondered for a moment, then climbed onto the railing.

'Fine then. I'm heading down first. Don't die.'

'Yes, ma'am! I'll see you soon!'

And now.

"Get that bastard!"

"Kill him!"

BANG BANG! BANG BANG BANG!

"AAARGH!"

Oh Taegwon was being chased by roughly a dozen Nine-Tail Crew members.

BANG BANG BANG! BANG BANG BANG...... Click!

The gunfire cut off.

A round seemed to have jammed in the chamber.

"D-dammit! Dammit, dammit!"

Oh Taegwon's eyes shook.

But only for a moment.

"T-Tap-Rack-Bang, Tap-Rack-Bang......"

Oh Taegwon muttered like a man possessed.

He was trying to recall the Malfunction clearance drill that Instructor Sangeung and Eunseong had taught him.

Tap!

With trembling hands, Oh Taegwon slammed his palm up against the base of the magazine.

Rack!

He yanked the charging handle.

"You little rat bastard!"

The very instant one of the Nine-Tail Crew members spotted Oh Taegwon and raised his muzzle--

Bang!

Oh Taegwon's muzzle spat fire.

THWACK--!

The Nine-Tail Crew member's head burst open.

THUMP-THUMP-THUMP!

His heart pumped frantically, whether from the surging adrenaline or sheer terror.

But it was far too early to feel safe.

"You little shit!"

"There he is! Shoot!"

BANG BANG! BANG BANG BANG!

BRRRRRT!

The Nine-Tail Crew members poured bullets into the planter where Oh Taegwon had taken cover.

"Box him in!"

"Close the net!"

The Nine-Tail Crew members began tightening the encirclement.

"Yura told me not to die. Tsk......"

BANG BANG! BANG BANG BANG!

BRRRRRT!

There were too many enemies.

He couldn't even poke his head out to return fire.

"Even if I die...... I'm not going down easy. Hrgh!"

Oh Taegwon gritted his teeth and pulled the pin on his last grenade.

Even if he was going down, he intended to take at least one or two of them along for the ride.

Just then.

BANG--!

A gunshot rang out.

THUD!

One of the Nine-Tail Crew members dropped dead.

BANG--!

Another shot, and another Nine-Tail Crew member collapsed.

"......?"

Oh Taegwon's eyes went wide.

"S-sniper!"

"Take cover!"

The Nine-Tail Crew members scrambled for cover once they grasped the situation.

'Wh-what?'

As the startled Oh Taegwon looked around--

KZZZZT.......

Static crackled through the earphone in his ear.

- Look behind you.

Oh Taegwon turned around to find Duhyeon lying prone on the rooftop of the building across from him, waving.

A SCAR-H rifle chambered in 7.62mm shouldered and ready.

- You're Taegwon, right? I'm Duhyeon. Your hyung.

BANG--!

Another Nine-Tail Crew member dropped to Duhyeon's shot.

- Answer me, man.

"Y-yes, hyung."

Oh Taegwon pressed the radio button and responded to Duhyeon's transmission.

- I'm going to count to three. Run.

"Excuse me......?"

- If you want to live, run.

"Y-yes, sir."

- One, two...... three!

"AAAAH!"

Oh Taegwon hurled his grenade at the Nine-Tail Crew members and bolted.

KABOOM--!

BANG BANG! BANG BANG BANG!

Duhyeon's covering fire shielded Oh Taegwon.

But perfectly suppressing multiple hostiles with a single rifle was an impossibility.

"Over there!"

"Spray him!"

BANG BANG BANG! BANG BANG BANG BANG!

The Nine-Tail Crew members stuck their guns out blindly and pulled the trigger.

Blind fire.

Keep the body hidden, aim at nothing, just shove the gun out and let it rip.

But even that alone posed a serious threat to Oh Taegwon.

ZING, ZING--!

Rounds whizzed past Oh Taegwon.

But that was as far as it went.

"Oh, would you look at these guys."

Duhyeon ceased his covering fire and used the laser target designator mounted on his rifle to paint the spots where the Nine-Tail Crew members had taken cover.

He'd used an invisible infrared laser to guide friendly firepower.

WHRRR--!

BRRRRRRRRRRT--!

A Defense Strategy Department helicopter swept in and unleashed its machine gun on the Nine-Tail Crew members.

They were blown to pieces before they could so much as scream.

"Heh heh. I was a designated marksman back in my active-duty days, you know."

Duhyeon wore a smug grin.

Designated marksman.

The role within a squad responsible for mid-range precision shooting.

This moment proved that his time serving as a designated marksman on active duty had been far from wasted.

BANG--!

Duhyeon pulled the trigger.

THUD!

The last surviving Nine-Tail Crew member, who'd been lucky enough to live through it all, dropped dead.

"I-I'm alive......"

Oh Taegwon slid down the wall until he was sitting on the ground.

"Hah, hah......"

After gulping in ragged breaths, Oh Taegwon slowly raised his hand and gave a thumbs-up toward the building across the way.

"Once we make it out of here alive, let's get some pork belly and soju, hyung. My treat. Huk, hurrk."

- Fresh pork belly or frozen?

"Fresh, obviously."

- Okay, deal.

A lopsided grin spread across Oh Taegwon's face.

***

As befitting a 5-Star Hunter, Gu Taeil's combat prowess was formidable.

He may have been short and stocky, with stubby legs and a large head, but his body was packed solid with muscle.

The destructive power that compact frame unleashed was beyond imagination.

WHOOSH--!

Like a boulder rolling down a mountain, Gu Taeil curled into a ball and barreled toward Eunseong.

SLASH, SLASH--!

Six blades came screaming for Eunseong.

CLANG, CLANG--!

SHATTER--!

The shockwave from the Claws meeting the machete blew out the windows of every parked car in range.

"Ngh!"

A groan escaped Eunseong's lips.

A mere collision, yet it felt like his organs had been rattled to the core.

BANG BANG BANG!

The Desert Eagle's muzzle spat fire.

Not for an effective hit--it was suppressive fire, meant to wrest initiative in the exchange.

But......

BOOM--!

The bullets were nullified by a barrier of Ether.

"You think a 5-Star Hunter's going to fall for a bullet? Hah!"

Gu Taeil declared with smug satisfaction.

"I'll make you pay for the crime of being a 4-Star who dared to challenge a 5-Star. You fucker!"

Roll, roll, roll--!

Gu Taeil curled up again and charged at Eunseong.

CLANG, CLANG--!

CRASH--!

The exchange continued.

"Urk!"

Eunseong kept getting pushed back.

The gap was that wide.

A mere one step apart, yet the chasm between 4-Star and 5-Star was not the kind that could be bridged with skill alone.

Gu Taeil was like a rolling ball of iron.

CRUNCH--!

The floor wherever Gu Taeil rolled was crushed to rubble, testament enough to his power.

His defense, moreover, was even more monstrous.

CLANG--!

CRASH--!

Eunseong brought his machete down on the rolling Gu Taeil, only to eat a full-body tackle and go flying backward.

"Ngggh!"

Eunseong clutched his side in agony.

In the instant of collision, Gu Taeil's Claws had driven deep into his flank.

"HAAAH!"

A wheezing gasp escaped him involuntarily, and he grew more suffocated by the second.

He couldn't breathe.

The harder he tried to inhale, the more something sloshed inside his chest.

GURGLE, GURGLE--!

Scalding liquid surged up from the back of his throat.

Blood.

"Getting it now? That pretty face of yours doesn't put food on the table? Heh heh!"

Gu Taeil taunted as he closed in on Eunseong.

"Hurrk, haaaaah."

As suffocation slowly crept in--

"Ngggh!"

SQUELCH--!

Eunseong drove his fingers into the wound.

"Urk, urrrrrk!"

Gush.......

Blood that had pooled in his lungs poured out in a torrent.

"Hoo, hoo."

His breathing stabilized somewhat.

"Once I kill you, I'm going to find your family and kill every last one of them. As painfully and horrifically as possible......"

Gu Taeil's eyes blazed with killing intent.

Eunseong did not respond.

Silently, he drew the [West Wind] card from his Deck.

WHOOSH--!

A healing wind wrapped around Eunseong.

"Hah! You think that changes anything? You're just going to get beaten down and grovel again, you dumb fuck."

Gu Taeil mocked him.

"You talk too much."

Eunseong formed a cold smile and gripped the Slaughter Game tight.

WHOOSH--!

From the Slaughter Game, dark-crimson Ether like blood gushed forth in streaming tendrils.

"Wh-what."

Gu Taeil recoiled in shock.

He'd never dreamed that a mere 4-Star could be capable of that.

"......Bloom."

WHOOOOSH--!

The Slaughter Game's blade erupted in a crimson flash.