Chapter 6

Chapter 6

What did I just see?

Haeseong nodded in a daze, as if spellbound.

"Y-Yes......"

Sahyeon, having finished speaking, turned to the siblings.

"What are you standing around gawking for? Get moving before that bird-brain gets back up."

"Y-Yes! Thank you so much!"

The sister nodded emphatically, grabbed her brother's hand, and sprinted toward the subway station entrance.

Meanwhile, Haeseong was staring at Sahyeon with his soul half-departed.

'Did he just...... attack the Falcon bare-handed? He doesn't look like a physical-type Awakened......'

Just then, Sahyeon took a step toward where the Monstrous Bird had been sent flying.

Haeseong panicked and tried to stop him.

"W-W-Wait?! Where are you going, Mr. Sahyeon!! It's dangerous!!"

He had no idea how the attack had succeeded, but landing one hit didn't mean the whole fight was won.

Even an ordinary Falcon was an A-rank monster — it took a raid party of at least five hunters B-rank or above to take one down. On top of that, aerial combat was essential, making it impossible to even approach one without a flight skill.

And that wasn't all. After that hit, the monstrous thing was surely furious. Getting close now would mean not even having bones left to collect.

But Sahyeon was unfazed.

"Gotta take care of that thing."

Where Sahyeon pointed, the monster had already regained its senses and was flapping its wings, heaving itself upright.

Even from a distance, its rage had clearly peaked.

"You can't go near it! Do you have a flight skill, by any chance? Or at least a ranged attack skill?!"

"No."

"Then how?! You don't even have a weapon!"

Sahyeon answered with perfect calm.

"I'll just make one now."

"What? How on earth would you make a weapon out here......"

Just as Haeseong trailed off in bewilderment—

Sahyeon picked something up from the ground.

"Borrowing this."

Haeseong's eyes widened when he identified the object.

The metal skewer from the fast-food restaurant kitchen.

The very one Haeseong had tossed aside carelessly while shielding the siblings.

"You're going to use my weapon...... I mean, the skewer?"

Apparently too embarrassed to call it a weapon, Haeseong corrected himself immediately.

The metal skewer was nothing more than a pointed lump of metal.

No matter how strong someone was, there was no way this flimsy piece of rebar could so much as scratch the Falcon's tough hide.

WHOOSH—

"Ack!"

Just then, a sudden gust of wind staggered Haeseong.

Sahyeon, who had been giving the skewer a few test swings in the air, looked toward where the wind had come from.

The Creature Falcon, already recovered.

It was clearly furious — flapping its wings and glaring straight at Sahyeon.

"Got a head the size of a house and it's just for decoration. No learning ability whatsoever."

Sahyeon scoffed.

The monster's relentless wingbeats sent Haeseong swaying dangerously, but Sahyeon stood utterly motionless and upright.

If not for his black hair whipping violently in the wind, one might have mistaken the air for perfectly still — that was the degree of his composure.

BUZZ— BUZZ—

A strong vibration pulsed from his wrist.

Sahyeon and Haeseong simultaneously looked down at their watch screens.

[Guardian Corps Team 1: deployment complete.]

[Estimated arrival at scene in 3 minutes]

"Three minutes isn't bad."

Sahyeon raised an eyebrow.

"Mr. Sahyeon, let's take cover until the hunters arrive!"

When Haeseong shouted, Sahyeon waved his hand as if swatting away a fly.

"Pipe down. When the Guardian Corps gets here, clear the area around the intersection."

The Creature Falcon crouched, looking ready to charge again at any moment.

"This should be enough."

Sahyeon locked eyes with the monster and readjusted the skewer in his hand—

[Phantom Blacksmith (SS) skill has been activated!]

A new window appeared before his eyes, and his grey irises began to shift red. Pupils dyeing blood-crimson, as if drops of blood were spreading through them.

Haeseong, watching as if entranced, soon let out a stunned gasp.

"......Huh??"

HISSSSS—

Black smoke rose around the metal skewer in Sahyeon's grip.

By the time the smoke had spread so quickly that neither his hand nor the skewer was visible—

The smoke gradually cleared.

"N-No, that's—"

And when the shape reemerged, Haeseong's eyes nearly popped out of his skull.

What Sahyeon held was no mere skewer.

A blade gleaming sharp and silver. A long, extended shaft.

"......A spear?!"

The thin, flimsy piece of rebar had transformed into a long spear in an instant.

[Phantom Blacksmith (SS) skill in use]

A new window appeared in Sahyeon's vision.

Phantom Blacksmith.

A skill that could turn any object into a weapon of his choosing.

It was single-use, so its duration wasn't particularly long, but thanks to its high grade, the result rivaled any decent A-rank item.

Sahyeon gave the spear a light test swing, as if gauging the weapon.

SWISH—

With the sound of air being split, the spear traced a clean arc as it rotated.

"Good enough."

The moment he muttered that, he hurled the spear one-handed without hesitation at the Falcon, which was just about to charge.

SQUELCH—! SCREEEEECH!

A wet, sickening sound of tearing flesh accompanied the monster's shriek.

The spear tip had lodged squarely in the monster's left eye. Thick, red liquid trickled down the shaft.

Sahyeon pulled the spear embedded in the eye back out in one smooth motion.

SCREEEEECH—!

A shriek like an awl driven into the eardrums.

"Agh!"

Haeseong let out a short scream and clamped his hands over his ears.

"You going to pay attention or what? You need to watch properly if you're going to use this in a real fight."

When Sahyeon raised his voice, Haeseong's body jolted.

"...What? What?!"

Me? That house-sized monster? In a real fight?

"With large monsters like this, just cutting off half their field of vision doubles the success rate of the takedown. Understood?"

Just as Haeseong stood there speechless, his lips flapping—

VROOOOM—!

A heavy engine roar sounded in the distance.

A convoy of black vans was racing toward the intersection.

"Looks like the Guardian Corps is here!"

Haeseong said, face lighting up.

The Hunter Association emblem stamped on the hoods. It was the arrival they'd been waiting for, but Sahyeon's face was stained with irritation.

"What a noisy entrance."

The growing engine noise had split the Creature Falcon's attention. Its one remaining eye, dripping a long trail of blood, swiveled toward the vehicles. Just as its massive wings began to beat—

"Eyes on me. We're in the middle of a lesson here."

Sahyeon planted one foot and shoved the Creature Falcon's body away.

WHOOSH— CRASH!

The monster flew without resistance.

Its massive body slammed into the building across the road with an enormous boom.

Right on cue, the Hunter Association vehicles skidded to a stop in front of Haeseong. Hunters piled out.

They were all dressed identically.

A shield emblem on the chest — the mark of a defense-type hunter. Vivid orange lines running from shoulder to sleeve.

The official uniform of the Hunter Association Guardian Corps.

"Hunter Haeseong, are you all right? ...You're standing upright, so I'd say so."

A man with a bob cut and a gold badge on his shoulder jogged toward them.

Behind him, other squad members were already organizing the scene in efficient formation.

Judging by the situation, this bob-cut hunter appeared to be the team leader.

Then the bob-cut hunter spotted the monster twitching where it had been embedded in a building, and his eyelids fluttered rapidly.

"Wait, how did a Falcon end up......"

He looked back and forth between the monster and Haeseong, his voice shaking.

"Did you do that to the Falcon, Hunter Haeseong......?"

The squad members behind him were exchanging stunned glances.

"N-No, not me!"

Haeseong waved his hands frantically.

Then politely gestured toward Sahyeon with both hands, who was standing with an insolent lean.

"I didn't do it — it was Mr. Sahyeon here."

The bob-cut hunter's gaze shifted to Sahyeon.

"Took on a Falcon alone......?"

He scanned Sahyeon with a bewildered expression.

A man standing with a casual slouch, weight on one leg.

A face he'd never seen before.

If this person was skilled enough to single-handedly demolish a Creature Falcon like that, there was no way the team leader wouldn't know him.

"I did hear there was combat personnel on-site, but......"

A gaze scanning Sahyeon from head to toe.

His face said he was suspicious of this stranger who'd appeared out of nowhere.

'A newly Awakened hunter? I haven't seen that face among the rookies.'

He tilted his head, then decided to change the premise entirely.

'Nah, no way...... That Falcon must've just been a particularly weak specimen.'

The odds of a rare A-rank Awakened suddenly appearing were far lower than the odds of a weak monster.

Seeing a complete stranger and a scrawny desk-jockey hunter standing over a monster pathetically lodged in a building, the team leader underestimated the situation and spoke again with a generous air.

"Hunters dispatched on guild raids are on their way as backup. They'll arrive within ten minutes, so you can rest easy and head out."

"Must be nice having nothing to do."

A biting criticism came right back.

The bob-cut hunter blinked blankly.

"E-Excuse me?"

He looked confused, as if he'd misheard.

"Your trait?"

"...You're asking about my trait right now?"

The bob-cut hunter's brow furrowed at Sahyeon's blunt question out of nowhere.

Given the unfamiliar face, the man seemed to be a fresh Awakened — and yet here he was, asking a senior's trait first. His offense was written on his face.

"I'm asking."

When Sahyeon fixed him with a steady stare of grey eyes, the man shuddered involuntarily.

"Ha."

He cleared his throat, then spoke with affected nonchalance, as if mocking.

"Barrier. And yours?"

Sahyeon ignored the follow-up entirely and looked the bob-cut hunter up and down.

"Figured as much. This one's useless."

"Wh-What?"

When the bob-cut hunter snapped back, Sahyeon waved him off dismissively.

"Stop standing around chatting and go help with the rescue."

"What, what did you just—"

The bob-cut hunter let out a disbelieving scoff.

Sahyeon couldn't care less.

His eyes were already locked back on the Creature Falcon, which had begun to stir.

"Hey, you!"

The hunter pointed a finger at Sahyeon and kept raising his voice.

"Looks like you Awakened with a pretty decent trait, but keep acting cocky and you'll get burned, got it?!"

The hunter's face flushed crimson as he delivered his tirade. The crease between Sahyeon's brows deepened steadily.

"Team Leader, sir. That's enough."

Haeseong grabbed the bob-cut hunter's arm to hold him back, but the man roughly shook Haeseong off and shouted.

"Where does a rookie get off being this arrogant?! You think the hunter world is that easy?!"

"Seemed pretty easy to me."

"What'd you say, you bastard?!"

He bristled and took a threatening step forward.

Haeseong planted himself in the way with an uncomfortable look.

"Team Leader, please calm down—"

"Enough."

Sahyeon cut Haeseong off.

He finally turned the gaze he'd kept fixed on the monster toward the bob-cut hunter.

And spoke in a low voice.

"I didn't like you from the moment you rolled up making all that noise in a field with a sound-sensitive monster......"

Sahyeon closed the distance with one long stride. A full head taller. The bob-cut hunter stumbled backward at the sudden proximity.

"And then screeching like this just because you're pissed. No wonder you're easy pickings, strutting around with that title pinned on."

"...! Did you just—"

The team leader was about to blow a gasket when—

SCREEEEECH!

The Falcon's eyes locked precisely on them. It had caught their commotion.

"Urk!"

The team leader's body froze, his blood running cold.

The monster launched itself at them like a bullet. Fierce wind carried shattered debris their way.

"!!"

"Everyone, dodge!"

The team leader shouted and deployed a transparent barrier skill.

But Sahyeon was faster.

He sprinted forward as if folding the ground beneath him.

In moments, Sahyeon and the monster met head-on.

He kicked off the ground, launched into the air, swung his leg up, twisted his body, and brought his foot crashing down onto the massive skull.

CRAAAASH—!

A violent tremor ripped through the ground.

The Creature Falcon was driven straight into the road.

A crater the size of a meteorite impact appeared.

"......"

The team leader slowly swallowed.

PATTER, PATTER—

In the silence, the only sound was debris bouncing off the barrier.