Chapter 232 – Strike Back (10)
Even if you are in S rank, your heart beats in your chest. Blood flows in the veins, and thoughts eventually come to the brain. You need to rest when your stamina is low, and you have to eat when you are hungry. Even an S-class will eventually die someday, and it will be painful when it bleeds.
Even S-ranks tend to become weak when tired. When I heard that Lee Hyeon-woo was on the run, Almighty Emperor and I had the same thoughts. If it wasn’t now, I wouldn’t be able to catch Lee Hyun-woo with my own hands. Of course, the possibility of meeting Lee Hyeon-woo in this vast Seoul was slim, but my heart raced at the thought that I could at least cooperate.
Even his tired body from dealing with the monsters was energized. It must be now or not. Now I catch and kill the S-class Hunter with my own hands.
Motivation jumped out of his eyes and he looked at Lee Jun-hyeok burdenedly. Lee Joon-hyeok avoided my gaze and said. He spoke in a very low voice so as not to attract the attention of other hunters.
“There are no rank restrictions. Are you going alone?”
I looked around at Lee Jun-hyeok’s question. Senior Yoojung was lying on the car seat, and Ichie was intermittently dozing while leaning against the car wall. Who is the right person to take? I’m tired, but wouldn’t it be right to take Misaki with me?
Seeing me looking at Ichie and Yoojung, Hunter Lee Junhyeok suddenly said in a loud voice.
“It makes sense! Yoojung! You two wake up now!”
Ichie used her sword as a staff and stood up from her place. Senior Yoo-jeong, still lying on the car seat, only rolled over her body and raised her hand. Immediately after becoming a C-class, he suffered from the aftereffects of using his abilities excessively. Junhyeok Lee Hunter said.
“Hey, Yoojung. Would you like to drive now?”
“Ah yes. What… As far as driving…”
Senior Yoojeong blurted out the end of her words. With one snap of her foot, I lifted her up, grabbed her driver’s car seat, and tried to move her body. She moved her body a few times before speaking again in a confident tone.
“Yes. I think it will be driven now.”
“Then, I was exhausted anyway, so I couldn’t even walk to the guild. Get Ichie and a few D-class people and send them to the guild first. I’m going to call Ha-yeon right now and ask Ha-yeon to drive the car. Just go home or rest right after you arrive at the guild.”
“Ah yes. How about Suhyun?”
Senior Yoojeong looked at me with her worried face. I laughed out loud to show off my health, then raised her shield and spear and said:
“Because of this equipment, I will ride with it when a big car comes later.”
“Ah yes. Then, I’ll leave first.”
Lee Jun-hyeok and I first saw the D-class hunters getting into the car. They waved their hands with humble faces or bowed their heads in greeting. Ichie also got into the passenger seat clutching her knife, but she was very tired and as soon as she got into the passenger seat, she closed her eyes and lay down.
The vehicle pulled away with its red taillights flashing.
Junhyeok Lee Hunter said as he patted me on the shoulder.
“Are you going alone?”
“Because of Misaki. I’m not doing it alone, I’m participating in the search team. What.”
Other hunters might not know, but in my case, since Misaki was present, it was better to go alone. Even if I got caught up in a dangerous situation for no reason, I was able to escape by using Misaki.
“Okay. Don’t run too risky. Do you have any flares?”
“No. I didn’t bring it today. It’s a mission to wait in front of the gate.”
“Take this. If you see Lee Hyeon-woo while walking around the city center with a flare, they tell you to pull it.”
“Oh, thank you.”
Lee Jun-hyeok passed me a flare that looked like red dynamite. I tied the signal flare tightly to my waist and tried to shake my body once. I felt a sense of satisfaction when I confirmed that it did not fall to the floor. Lee Jun-hyeok said while sending the notifications on his cell phone to my cell phone.
“There is no separate meeting place, and we can search within 500m around the gate bridge right now. Watch it and read it once in a while. If you install that file, your current location and search range will be displayed. Understand?”
“Ah yes.”
“After all our guild members go back, I will also participate in the search. First of all, don’t push yourself too hard. If you ever encounter one, just run away. It’s S-class, dude. No matter how broken it is, it’s S-class.”
“Do not worry.”
I said that and squeezed the window tightly. It was a way to know how long and short it was. There were too many things attached to Lee Hyeon-woo to just run away because he was S-class. In fact, there were many things to ask. Why the hell did you do this? What the hell were you wanting?
Was it worthwhile to accomplish by driving so many people to their deaths?
I carved a lot of questions into my heart that would only hurt to say them. As the power of the Almighty spread throughout his body, he felt his blood circulate quickly again. Misaki clenched her fists in front of me and smiled as if telling me to do my best. Lee Joon-hyeok waved his hand for me to leave and figured out the number of resting guild members.
*****
“The gate is closed!”
Hunter, who was fidgeting with his phone in front of the gym with a bored and nervous face, let out a shout. No matter who said it first, they cheered. A sense of relief came to his pale face at the sound of monsters howling and vibrating. The band members of the hunting season and the FT Blue band members all smiled brightly and prayed to the sky.
In the meantime, Oh Min-young stuck her hand in her pocket and thought she was very lucky. The expressions of the hunters guarding the gym were bright yet complex. That expression, which was uncomfortable and somehow disliked, must have appeared on Oh Min-young’s own face as well.
She found various excuses to give the reason for this expression. The person sitting next to me didn’t wash up, so people gathered in the gym and it started to smell musty. The gym was filled with cries because of a person carrying a newborn baby.
The reason she cites all her crap is that she herself felt like a sin to be here. If she was a hunter, she couldn’t go to the gate she should have gone through. Even though she had the power, being lazy in this position had tightened her heart.
“Are you okay. Huh? It’s okay. Like this?”
So, Oh Min-young took care of herself. The Hunters who finished their work were preparing to return to the guild. Oh Min-young looked at her band members. After the evacuation was over, she had to go back home.
Are you really okay with that? Oh Min-young frowned at her.
****
He barely stepped on the cracks in the smashed road and avoided getting sprained. Lee Hyun-woo took a breath while standing on one leg, like a statue standing in an aristocratic mansion. The heart of the city. After running at random, the place I arrived at was still a forest of buildings.
He was a fugitive and a miserable criminal, Lee Hyeon-woo, where he should have stood as a hero. There was no one in the street where cheers should have been heard. People who have fled must be crowded in the shelter. Lee Hyun-woo wanted to get out of this city as quickly as possible. Because everything in the city made him shudder. The huge skyscraper seemed to be laughing. The collapsed landmark seemed to resent him.
There were many buildings, but no place to hide him. The deserted streets seemed unfamiliar even to him. The street lamps came on one by one, and the sky was turning from light blue to blue. Every time the street lights flashed on, Lee Hyeon-woo, wondering if he was human, trembled slightly and hid himself in a structure repeatedly.
He was struggling to get out of the humiliation and Seoul.
The corner of a large building was the place he was most afraid of right now. It was because he couldn’t see at all, so he would get in trouble if he ran into a hunter after turning around the alley. What if you encounter a group of hunters returning to the guild or civilians returning?
“Fuck…”
Lee Hyun-woo spat out curse words and put his hand on the wall. Then he turned around and looked out into the distance. The relatively broken streets seemed to have met the aftermath of the gate intact. Lee Hyun-woo sighed deeply, thinking that the closer the distance, the less likely someone would wander around.
“Huh?”
Then, hearing a sigh, someone sitting in front of the car got up. A sharp spear and a thick shield. A bloody face with dried monster blood.
“Uh?”
Lee Hyun-woo was also surprised and pointed with his finger. Jeong Su-hyeon threw down the canteen and shouted.
“Lee, Lee Hyeon-woo!”
“Fuck you!”
Jeong Su-hyeon shouted and asked Almighty Emperor at the same time.
[How is it? Can I win?]
[Enough! You’re right next to me and I can’t even notice. That’s enough.]
Almighty Emperor’s boiling voice made even Jung Soo-hyeon shake. He stopped trying to draw the flare and shouted as he struck his shield with his spear.
“Come on, you bastard!”
Lee Hyun-woo, who was about to run away, tried to ignore the words.
“Ugh, don’t run away bastard! I’ll fuck you today!”
He kept gritting his teeth and trying to escape.
“You bastard!”
But when the canteen hit the back of his head, something snapped in his head. He was unable to make rational decisions.
Lee Hyun-woo opened his eyes and gnashed his teeth. Jeong Su-hyeon was a little surprised at the gruesome face he faced up close. Hyunwoo Lee shouted.
“This bastard… !”
“Come on like a man!”
Lee Hyeon-woo felt Jeong Su-hyeon’s cry really groundless. He was full of confidence. Isn’t Jung Soo-hyun a C-class hunter? He was a C-rank Hunter, even if he was strengthened with a shard of the Almighty. He wasn’t in a good state either, so there was no reason for Lee Hyun-woo to lose. He was so confident
Even if you run away when you run away, this bastard’s face will be crushed. Lee Hyeonu rolled up his sleeves with that thought.
And Jung Soo-hyeon raised his spear toward the sky and shouted.
“Summon Misaki!”
A light shimmered in the distance, and Misaki suddenly appeared in front of Suhyeon’s eyes. Jeong Su-hyeon pointed his finger at Lee Hyeon-wu, who was frozen by Misaki’s appearance.
“Come on!”
Lee Hyun-woo, who was dazed for a moment, laughed and shouted.
“Yes! Both of you, come on!”
