The Way of Life for a Terminal S-Class Hunter - C106
“Aim for the head! No matter how strong he is, it’s over if his head is cut off.”
The man at the front shouted crudely, not seeming very bright. It was a claim no different from saying to put a bell on a cat’s neck.
Over ten people poured attacks on Seo-heon as if they had been waiting. In a battle with A-rank hunters, he should have been able to win cleanly regardless of numbers. So if Seo-heon had been in perfect condition, the ambush would have ended in a one-sided massacre without even needing to look.
Fortunately for the enemies, Seo-heon had not only failed to rest properly since Woo-hyun collapsed, but had also continued forced marches without recovery after using up almost all his magic in battle with a dragon. Moreover, even the one deep sleep he had was not long, and after that he had pain throughout his body as if suffering internal injuries.
Just enough for his body to become dull, Seo-heon received shallow cuts from swords, had his flesh corroded by poison, and sustained minor wounds. Even amid this, the other pain floating through his body was so great that he barely felt the newly received injuries.
“Die! You ungrateful bastard.”
“He’s not much compared to the rumors.”
Whether the enemies made such noise or not, the scales did not take long to tip in Seo-heon’s favor. Even weakened, that was only by Seo-heon’s standards, and his strength was still like a disaster to others, so it was the natural course. Seeing their comrades fall one by one, the frightened hunters, ashamed of having trembled in fear even for a moment, deliberately spewed viler insults and acted recklessly.
“Kang Seo-heon!”
A Korean voice emerged among the various foreign languages. A young boy who called Seo-heon’s name was spewing fire from his staff. For a moment, Woo-hyun’s image flashed by. Dark, murky flames rushed to engulf Seo-heon.
Strictly speaking, there were more differences than similarities to Woo-hyun. Nevertheless, Seo-heon couldn’t move his feet. Just the faint shadow of his loved one was enough to helplessly draw him in. Having learned over the past few days that emotions were not an area that could be rejected or denied, he simply yielded his body.
“Huh…? Oh!”
Surprised that Seo-heon had taken his attack, the youth approached with a startled cry. It wouldn’t have been difficult to stop him approaching as if in slow motion, but Seo-heon had no desire to stop him at all. Combat should be carried out with near-instinctive senses, but sentimentality kept intruding.
His entire right arm was stained with burns. It was clear severe scars would remain as time passed. Seo-heon chuckled even looking at his own arm. Things he had hated and failed to understand were happening to him.
“You… you crazy bastard.”
Seeing him laugh, the youth retreated trembling. Seo-heon mocked himself for trying to find even a fragment of Woo-hyun in such small fry.
“I’ll let you go, so run away.”
Seo-heon opened his mouth for the first time. Seeing all his comrades fallen, the youth no longer acted recklessly and turned to flee.
“Are you alright?”
“I’m fine.”
People from the airport belatedly came running. It was natural for them to rush out in a fluster, having allowed an attack inside the airport by not properly managing the barrier.
“We’ll transport you to the hospital.”
Trying to respond as quickly as possible, they attempted to take Seo-heon to the hospital. Seo-heon calculated in his head. He didn’t particularly feel a sense of crisis needing treatment.
‘What’s the most efficient way to use this incident?’
He pondered how to ensure the incident would spread and become news. Both quietly going to the hospital or refusing could be covered up if desired.
‘It would be better to escape while en route to the hospital. That way, they’re more likely to report it widely out of fear of what I might do.’
Seo-heon hoped his news would reach Woo-hyun’s ears that way. If only his news could slow Woo-hyun’s steps even a little, that would be enough.
“Where are you most uncomfortable?”
A healer in the emergency vehicle asked. With a healer already present, they were trying to take him to the hospital when simple treatment would suffice. In other words, it was a show to signal they were taking the best measures.
“There’s no major injury.”
“Do you know who the attackers were?”
“It’s likely they were hired for political revenge.”
When Seo-heon answered thus, the atmosphere noticeably relaxed. They seemed relieved their fault had decreased. Seo-heon pretended to cooperate, then created ice on the road as the hospital came into view.
Screech.
“Ugh!”
The car skidded noisily due to the deliberately slippery ice. Meanwhile, Seo-heon forcibly opened the car door and came out.
“Mr. Kang Seo-heon?”
“What are you doing?”
Everyone looked at Seo-heon with dumbfounded eyes.
“I’ve ensured there are no injuries. Please don’t search further.”
Leaving only these words, he departed swiftly. Moving at a speed ordinary people couldn’t follow with their eyes, Seo-heon stopped when he thought he had put enough distance. While other wounds didn’t bother him, the burn mark left a throbbing pain.
Seo-heon deliberately pressed hard on the vivid burn. The stinging pain that followed made him feel alive that much more. It was unhealthy to recognize oneself through self-harm. Seo-heon was broken to the point where such obvious judgment didn’t occur to him.
In that state, Seo-heon crossed the border and entered a rural restaurant with few people to contact Mi-yeon.
“Yes, I understand. Then please contact Southeast Asia next.”
The information team was diligently carrying out their work. It was subtly probing guilds where Woo-hyun might have taken refuge.
[I will inform you if there’s anything unusual.]
“Yes. Please focus on whether the guild’s voice or response is different from usual, or if they accidentally mention information we haven’t leaked.”
The investigation net was narrowing calmly according to plan. In contrast, most of the bounty-related information Mi-yeon received was scattered and useless.
‘If we exclude the clumsy fake information, there’s basically no trace at all.’
As expected, it was clear he was hiding his body somewhere. Judging by the lack of any information about Shin Ihan, it was reasonable to assume they were still traveling together.
‘Which guild would be the first to offer help when hearing news that Woo-hyun was in danger?’
He carefully examined the list of guilds Woo-hyun had contacted over the past 5 years.
‘Whatever help was given, it wouldn’t be from long ago. While resentment might linger, feelings of gratitude tend to corrode easily with time.’
If rumors spread that Seo-heon was rampaging through the guild where Woo-hyun was hiding, they would immediately prepare to leave, so Seo-heon only had about two chances.
‘Narrowing it down to places owning teleporters that leave few traces, these two guilds remain.’
As Seo-heon was analyzing, blood dripped onto the map. It wasn’t freshly from a wound, but flowing from his mouth.
‘I look ridiculous.’
His insides, which had been crying out in pain as if slashed by a knife, finally spewed blood. There was no reason for his formerly robust body to collapse other than mental anguish.
“Your order is ready. Gasp, is that blood?”
The server bringing the food he had ordered out of courtesy asked in surprise. Seo-heon forcibly raised his facial muscles and waved his hand. It meant he was fine.
“It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it.”
Seo-heon roughly wiped away the blood, pretending not to notice the server who kept looking back worriedly. Then he turned his eyes back to the map and documents.
‘One of the candidate guilds gained wealth and expanded thanks to a subjugation Woo-hyun participated in. The other saved the guild master’s life.’
Seo-heon gauged whether all guild members would cooperate to protect Woo-hyun just because he saved the guild master’s life.
‘My former self would have thought it wasn’t this one and not even checked.’
It would be inefficient to give up one’s interests for saving the life of a guild representative, not even one’s own. However, if the guild master was that precious to the members, it’s a different story. This was something he wouldn’t have considered if he hadn’t lost Woo-hyun this time. Seo-heon’s animal-like intuition focused on Fiesta.
***
While moving, numerous stray thoughts intruded into Seo-heon’s mind. Moving his feet busily, he suppressed things interfering with his thoughts, focused on pain when negative sentiments tried to arise, and struggled to concentrate solely on the goal of meeting Woo-hyun.
Arriving like that, there were sentries in front of Fiesta’s guild building. There were two more than previously reported.
Goosebumps rose all over his body. He exploded his remaining magic in the air as if bursting it. Sentries ran out at the provocative doorbell sound.
“Do you know what you’re doing? Using power at someone else’s guild is prohibited except in emergencies.”
The sentries weren’t flustered. It was the reaction of thoroughly prepared people, and Seo-heon couldn’t miss that.
‘Woo-hyun is here.’