16 – On the subway

“I couldn’t believe it when I first saw it. Because it made me feel good.”

Sujeong Choi recalled the first time she met Jihoon Lee at the Hunter Association.

Kang Hyeon-seok kept chatting needlessly, so he was randomly introduced as his disciple.

At the time, he approached me warmly and greeted me politely, but I didn’t like the first impression because he was a guy who was always looking at me momentarily up and down and having pretentious conversations that I didn’t even have in my heart.

“Secretary Kang. Call Hyeonseok Kang.”

“Are you talking about the guild leader Kang Hyeon-seok?”

“Oh, since I am a disciple of that man, I should know where he went. Besides, he suffered damage, so he has to be held accountable.”

“Yes, then I will connect you.”

Kang So-young touched the tablet that was handed to Choi Soo-jung again and informed her that she had been contacted.

“You are contacted now.”

As I pointed the tablet at Choi Soo-jung again, a man in his 40s who seemed to be in his 40s and looked like a warm and friendly person was captured on the screen.

[Hey, it’s been a while, Mr. Choi. How are you? What happened? Did you contact me first?]

“Are you pretending not to know what the situation is, or are you really not?”

[Huh? What are you talking about don’t know what It’s been a while since we haven’t had a sparring match. Shouldn’t we do it again soon? Give me a chance to take revenge.]

Choi Soo-jeong grabbed her own forehead. Humans who are serious about this fight are begging us to fight in this situation as soon as we start talking.

“Ha…. I really don’t know this guy. Now is not the time for that. Our item storage has been robbed. And that to your disciple.”

[…] Ay no way Do you think there are some mythical items in Mr. Choi’s warehouse? Do you have anything useful for an S-class hunter?]

“I left everything else intact and took only the ‘Blooded Sword’.”

A moment of silence came at Sujeong Choi’s words. Kang Hyeon-seok, who was laughing on the screen, also loses his smile and turns into a serious expression.

[Are you sure Jihoon is right?]

When Hyeonseok Kang asked after breaking her silence, Sujeong Choi nodded her head and said,

“I’m used to swordsmanship, so I looked at it, and even pulled out the old man’s unique habits.”

[…] I can trust the best teacher who has been fighting with me all day. Looks like this kid ended up having an accident.]

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“What, do you have any guesses?”

To Choi Soo-jung’s question, Kang Hyeon-seok gave her a small nod.

[I don’t know the details, but he’s strangely obsessed with that sword. The sword is calling or something. That’s why I gave it to the best student to keep him away.]

“I heard it smelled when I was forced to recommend it.”

[hahahaha, sorry about that. But it was also true that I wanted to give you something. I’m indebted to you, but I can’t just let you go. Also, I thought that if I was the best student, I would be able to use it well enough.]

“I just caused a lot of trouble right now, right? If you don’t find it sooner than that, big trouble could happen. Just looking at it, if you see that you’re doing this because of a sword, doesn’t that mean your apprentice is still insane?”

Kang Hyeon-seok frowned and replied as if Choi Soo-jung agreed with her.

[If the murderer’s ego completely dominates Ji-hoon’s body, a huge incident will happen.]

I can’t even imagine what kind of massacre the murderer who controlled the body of an S-class hunter will commit. Because he will endlessly try to kill even before he collapses.

Besides, it’s the host’s body that disappears anyway, it won’t be you.

If things happen as expected, the reason is that somehow the Crystal Guild and the Hero Guild will not be able to avoid great criticism.

Moreover, it was a problem that trust in the Hunter world could collapse overnight.

“Then you have to catch it. Less than a day has passed yet, so we can separate them enough.”

[But I don’t know where it went. He’s a guy who’s been everywhere. For now, I’ll tell our guild kids to search for it.]

“Yes, I understand. We’ll look for it together. Let us know the scope of the investigation through our secretary Kang. I’ll make sure they don’t overlap.”

[Okay. That… And I have a request.]

As he hesitated with a cautious expression on his face, annoyed Choi Soo-jeong asked urgently.

“What is it? Tell me quickly.”

[It would be nice if Jihoon could keep his body as normal as possible.]

“You say that now? Even if you break your leg, it won’t be much better.”

[I fully understand what that means…. But no matter what anyone says, I raised him like a child. Please, please.]

Choi Soo-jeong scratched her soft silver hair and looked at Kang Hyeon-seok. In her determined eyes, her sincere heart for Lee Ji-hoon can be seen.

“I’ll try as far as I can. However, if there are casualties or if there is danger, they will not be able to see you, so be aware.”

[That’s enough. Thank you, best student.]

“Oh, I’m busy now, hang up.”

[Okay. I’ll be in touch if I find out anything.]

The screen of the tablet goes black and the contact is lost.

Choi Su-jeong sighed lightly and said Kang So-yeong.

“After… , Let’s get started quickly.”

“I already instructed you in advance during the conversation.”

At Soyoung Kang’s words, Sujeong Choi gave a light smile as if she was satisfied.

“It’s nice to get things done quickly.”

– Diri-ring

At that time, the sound of a phone ringing somewhere.

“Excuse me for a second.”

Kang So-young took out her cell phone and answered her call.

After a few conversations, she hung up the phone and she said to Choi Soo-jung.

“Lee Ji-hoon was found threatening civilians at a transit station near here.”

“Really? Haven’t you gone far yet? Let’s go right away.”

Ugh

“You’re busy. What else?”

Choi Soo-jung heard her cell phone vibrate indicating that her message had arrived, and without thinking, she opened her cell phone to check her message.

At that moment, Choi Su-jeong’s eyes widened and she spoke to Kang So-young in an excited voice.

“Get the tea ready right now!”

“What are you doing?”

Choi Soo-jung holding her cell phone in Kang So-young’s eyes. She wrote something that seemed incomplete.

[Support Request]

And you can see that it was saved as ‘Wonwoo♡’ in the sender.

Due to Lee Won-woo’s personality, he would have sent it meticulously, but he sent it as if it were bitter.

In other words, it means that the situation is so urgent, and the last thing written after the situation is probably the subway.

If the request for assistance is referred to as the subway, there is a very high probability that it is related to Lee Ji-hoon.

“I will prepare it quickly.”

Kang So-young, who grasped at once, answered and called the vehicle team.

‘Please stay calm, Wonwoo.’

Choi Soo-jeong prayed earnestly in her heart.

*

After breaking up with Sujeongi, she took the subway to go home.

It was a little cumbersome because I had to transfer once at the transfer station to go home, but it was a waste of money to take a taxi.

Of course, it has become more generous than before, but people change so easily. The person who used to be extravagant does it well.

Besides, I was so busy training that I didn’t have time to write.

[The door opens. Please come to a complete stop before getting off.]

As the subway doors open, people like me who want to transfer pour out. I got down next to him.

There seemed to be a lot of people inside the subway station, probably because it overlapped with work hours.

“Should I go and buy a Burger King for the first time in a while?”

Since I was hungry, I thought that there was nothing like this to eat instead of dinner.

After going up the long escalator with such excitement, I checked the route and walked toward the subway to go home.

At that time, everyone was busy moving, but I could see a person standing alone in a daze.

A person wearing a gray long hooded hat covering his entire body.

Looking at his physique, he seems to be a man, but he could see that he was wearing a white mask on his slightly exposed face.

In addition, he had two swords on his waist instead of one.

Looking at the mana flowing out little by little, it seems to be a hunter.

‘Is something wrong here? Why are you doing that?’

I stopped and looked at my feet, which had been moving in curiosity for a moment.

If you look closely, you can see that the body is shaking as if something is happening.

I was going to ask what was going on, but I thought that I might be in the way while I was working on something, so I decided to go back the way I was and passed by.

– Kyaaah.

At that time, a high-pitched scream suddenly resonated inside the subway station. And the wave of magical power felt in the back of the head.

Everyone’s eyes were focused, and I, too, turned my head away, wondering what was going on.

What I could see was the sight of the man I had been looking at earlier drawing a sword and aiming it at a woman who was presumed to be a passer-by.

[aaah! I got a sword! What is that crazy guy!]

[Every murder. A killer appeared!]

People around are in a panic and move quickly to avoid the masked man and run away first.

After a while, the people disappeared in an instant, as if everyone hid in a place full of people.

A man with a large hood and a mask exposed in a large, empty space and a woman trembling in fear.

And only I remain.

‘I don’t have any equipment for this, so a head-to-head match won’t work at all.’

Looking at the mana that just spewed out, it seemed to be at least the level of an A-class hunter.

If I had any equipment, I would try to rub it through the battle somehow, but today I was wearing a shirt and pants that Sujeongi coordinated, so there was nothing prepared.

In that case, the best way is to delay the damage until the other hunters arrive.

“Hey, put down the sword and let’s talk, talk.”

I spoke to divert attention from the frightened woman.

At the same time, he turned one hand behind him and slowly wrote down a message of support for Sujeongi.

But there was no reaction from the masked man.

Even the trembling from earlier had disappeared, and just like a mannequin, the sword body was still aiming a blood red sword at the woman in front of him.

“Four… Help me.”

“Shh, it’s okay if you stay still.”

The woman calls out to me for help in a barely squeezed rescue voice.

However, I was afraid to provoke the opponent, so I made it quiet.

A man who still has no reaction after a very short time of about one minute has passed.

In the meantime, there were few requests for support in the message.

Now, all you have to do is tell the location.

He suddenly raised his sword, as if he had a change of heart at that time.

After sending the hurried message without completing it properly, he stretched out both of his hands, raising his mana.

Then he used [Psychokinesis] To stop the sword.

Fortunately, the tip of the sword barely came to a stop before reaching the woman’s heart.

The woman who came back to life from the brink of death was unable to scream as if she was terrified, but only shed tears.

However, the power to shoot down is too strong to handle, so it is difficult to block it for a long time, and it is only at the level of not reaching it.

“Run now! Hurry!”

When I shouted at the woman who was sitting down, fortunately, as if she had come to her senses, she got up from the spot and ran away with all her might.

At that moment, the masked man doesn’t give any more strength and just stares at it.

The pattern I was most worried about was throwing away the sword and following him, but fortunately I didn’t take that action.

As the woman gradually moves away, the masked man’s head suddenly turns towards me.

It’s hard to see because it’s covered by the mask, but the gaze sends chills down the spine.

He lowered his hand, quickly released [Psychokinesis], And then stepped back little by little, vigilantly. As if other people’s interest in the mask is me now, he moves slowly with a sword in his hand.

Every time the masked man moved little by little, he moved little by little.

However, the movement got faster and now they openly run towards you.

He stopped walking while looking back at that figure, turned around, looked forward, and started running with all his might.

‘How can I only meet these kinds of people every person I meet!’

As soon as Hunter returns, he starts with an A-rank boss monster and a psycho with a sword that looks at least A-rank.

It’s not easy to meet people like this, but it’s crazy to appear as if it’s natural.

‘But I just need to hold out for a bit.’

Guild building and 10 minutes to here. Considering the commute time, it won’t take too long.

As long as you hold on to it, it will come. I have no choice but to believe that now.

Fortunately, I don’t know why, but the speed wasn’t that fast, so the gap didn’t close.

Did he run for such a long time?

As soon as I saw the subway gate in front of me, I thought it would be better to go to the ground and hide.

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After jumping over the subway gate, I ran towards the stairs leading to the ground.

As I ran up the stairs two or three at a time, I glanced back and saw the masked man standing still in front of the stairs holding a sword in both hands.

‘Did I give up because I was tired?’

Just as I was about to feel a bit relieved, the red swordsman swung forward a sword stained even more red.

In an instant, the mana emanating from the sword transforms into a huge sword and cuts through the front.

“Damn it. Isn’t that S-class? What kind of sword skill is that big!”

I couldn’t help but scream at the biggest-looking sword I’ve ever encountered.

That’s at least a serious injury even if you just brush it.

As I ran up the stairs in a zigzag, I blew my body away to avoid flying swords.

– Bang. Bang.

As if proving their destructive power, the sword spirits embedded in the stairs were destroyed so terribly that they didn’t even leave the shape of the stairs.

Despite such destructive power, the sword blades continue to fly incessantly.

So far, it has been dodging well and is heading towards the ground.

The last five steps.

I jumped up the two stairs while twisting my body to avoid the sword flying precisely at me, then threw myself to go up the remaining stairs.

“Ugh.”

At the end, the sword skill finally passed through the calf.

Can’t stand up and collapses on the spot.

Blood oozes little by little from the calves cut by the black air that tore his pants.

It is not a major injury, but it is a fatal injury that blocks movement.

I tried to get up as quickly as possible and stand up on one leg, but it was impossible.

I can’t even move with my legs that I can’t even stand on.

The masked man starts climbing the stairs slowly as if he noticed that he can’t move.

It’s slowly approaching, but even with that one movement, the pressure is like strangulation.

The masked man, who had approached me before I knew it, looked down at me from above.

In the meantime, a golden dragon pattern stood out on the black scabbard at the waist.

In that moment, I knew at once. That this red sword now is the ‘sword of fresh blood’.

And the fact that Sujeongi went back in a hurry was because of this sword.

Mask Nam slowly reverses his sword and aims it at his heart.

‘Will this happen in the end?’

I wonder if things are getting better now, but when I see this kind of ending, I think it’s rather like me.

It’s rather strange that he doesn’t have to go through something like this because he’s out to save someone even though he’s weak.

Some would say it was stupid, others would say it was a noble sacrifice.

But the stories of others are not really important to me.

After watching my mother get killed by monsters right in front of her eyes, she promised herself that she would never stand by and watch her die in front of me, at least if she wasn’t evil.

I have no regrets. I kept my faith.

No, actually, there is only one.

For the first time, I realized that being truly loved and understood by someone is such a happy feeling.

Now that I know how I feel about that person, I try to get closer, but suddenly the end has come.

Actually, maybe I should have been a little more active.

The tip of the sword in front of my eyes approaches my heart.

I didn’t have the courage to look at it, so I quietly closed my eyes.

Prepare for the pain that will soon come.

– Chaeng!

However, contrary to expectations, there was no pain, and I woke up to the sound of something sharp colliding with each other.

A huge blade shining in silver is blocking the bloody sword.

“Haa… , ha…. Do you dare to kill my man? You son of a b*tch!”

When I opened my eyes, what I saw was Sujeongi, who was out of breath, blocking the masked man with her silver hair flying.

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