Chapter 413 – Trash VS King
Time rewinds to when Shinwoo confronted the Wolf Beastman.
At that time, Hyeji was also facing two Hunters in front of her.
The Elf from the Reaper Guild and the Bald Man.
Normally, she would quickly deal with these goons and join Kim Shinwoo.
However, this time, Hyeji had no choice but to waste time.
And why’s that?
Bang!
“Are you really that thoughtless?”
Their synergy was just too bad for Hyeji.
Even if Hyeji manifested her handgun and quickly fired bullets,
as soon as they touched the barrier created by the Elf, they fell straight to the ground.
It seemed as if every physical law, except for the force of gravity, was ignored.
Of course, this barrier was near invincible… but only against ranged attacks.
That being said, Hyeji did have a way to break this barrier.
Two options, actually.
Create a sea of fire with napalm and isolate the Elf to burn him alive
or get in close and bash him with melee weapons.
Of course, the first option was out of the question.
The Elf had maintained a distance close to Hyeji, continuously using his barrier against her.
In this case, if she attempted an area attack, Hyeji herself might get caught in it.
And that would ruin the outfit she prepared for this date.
So, the only remaining option was to approach and tackle with melee.
But that wasn’t going to be easy either.
With the Bald Hunter continuously using his abilities from a distance,
Sizzle.
“See? It’s useless!”
His ability could annihilate objects.
The catch was that it only applied to the most recent target he had looked at.
At a glance, it might seem like an all-purpose ability,
but on closer inspection, it had some flaws.
First off, he could only use this ability on one target.
It had too little utility against monsters, and it was worthless if they weren’t holding a weapon.
That said, it was quite useful in the world of Hunters.
When fighting another Hunter, he could annihilate whatever weapon they held.
And if he boasted about a valuable item, he could make that item vanish into thin air.
Thanks to this, he had previously extorted some Hunters.
“Just one time with your eyes closed, right? What’s so wrong with that?”
“Ugh… Y-Yes, I understand…”
“Ooh, a rare card.”
He even had a record of unfair gains.
However, it was pretty useless against Hunters who didn’t rely on weapons or had nothing to lose.
Of course, he never targeted those kinds of guys.
But lately, instances of pinning crimes on the Bald Hunter had increased significantly.
Such as when a single Bald Hunter, disgusted at a newlywed’s ring, made it disappear.
Or when he suddenly obliterated a precious watch inherited from someone’s deceased mother.
“Ugh… that’s too much… it’s my late mother’s watch…”
“It’s not even an heirloom, f*ck!”
“Just wait! I’ll make it an heirloom!”
“Uh…”
There was even a case of a flasher claiming he had destroyed his own clothes.
“That bastard used eye-rape on me and destroyed not only my clothes but even my hymen!”
“Shut up! When I visited the shop, you were already naked!”
“Oh, f*ck. You were a customer.”
But it was incredibly difficult to demand proof.
Due to the nature of his ability to move his gaze, he was in a considerably disadvantaged position.
The only evidence, the CCTV, would make it look all too clever—whenever he shifted his gaze, items vanished.
As if the victims had orchestrated everything.
On top of that, securing witness testimonies was tricky.
He had racked up far too many transgressions.
As a result, the only money flowing into the Bald Hunter’s bank account these days was settlement money.
Moreover, once the victims received the settlements, they would show off even more expensive items.
Valuables with a worth exactly equal to the settlement plus the amount from selling their old goods.
Indeed, in the harsh world of Hunters, the weak simply cannot survive.
Anyway, back to the original story. Hyeji’s situation wasn’t looking great.
It was worse than she had expected.
Her firearms for ranged attacks were stalled by the barrier.
If she attempted an area attack, she might get caught up in it herself.
And every weapon she manifested was immediately annihilated by the Bald Hunter.
If she tried to approach him, the Elf kept getting in the way.
In the end, Hyeji had only one choice forced upon her.
She would leave the Bald Hunter far away, and first take down the Elf bugging her right in front of her.
And all she had was her bare hands.
Cowardly and petty, yet, in a way, the most Hunter-like struggle.
This was, for Hyeji, a rather annoying and somewhat challenging trial,
But nonetheless, Hyeji accepted the challenge with enthusiasm.
“I’m not holding back anymore, so if you don’t want to die, get lost!”
“Give it a try, you b*tch!”
The true king doesn’t run from a challenge.
By this time, both the Elf and the Bald Hunter were relaxing.
They had physically felt the effects of their synergies.
Most importantly, they had manipulated the situation to ensure Hyeji would only fight barehanded.
Here, the Elf, confident in his extensive experience in one-on-one combat, faced Hyeji,
thinking that if he could just hold on for 5 minutes, the Bald Hunter’s other abilities would activate.
But there’s a saying, isn’t there?
“Clench your teeth. It’ll break.”
Crack!!!
Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.
“My arm, you fcking btch!!!!”
“I told you it would break.”
That’s right up until they get hit.
“Why did you tell me to clench my teeth!!!”
“To make you hold on.”
The Elf’s preparations for hand-to-hand combat with weapons became utterly meaningless.
With Hyeji’s smaller stature making her hard to hit, before he could swing or use a weapon, she’d snatch it from him.
Luckily, thanks to the Bald Hunter’s ability, he barely managed to annihilate it.
“I need to shave down your jaw a bit.”
“Don’t—!!!”
At the moment he got punched by Hyeji, he couldn’t think anymore.
Each fierce hit deeply engraved the word pain on the Elf’s body.
This was overwhelming power that turned countless inequities and differences into mere trivialities.
Synergies. Physique. Experience, etc.
With every hit, lights flashed before the Elf’s eyes.
Was it from the shock of pain bursting his eyeballs, or was it truly memories flashing by?
Well, either way, it didn’t matter to Hyeji.
“This time it’s a full-body anesthesia.”
“P-please!!!”
“It’s going to sting.”
Hyeji was busy pummeling the Elf before her.
However, the Bald Hunter couldn’t help her.
And why not? Because he was in the middle of preparation.
Preparing a strike powerful enough to bring a deity crashing down from the sky.
The Bald Hunter, a dual ability user, was known as the ‘Reaper of One Blow.’
That nickname originated from his other ability.
The ability to release a charge of power gathered over 5 minutes all at once.
Though he could only use it once a day, it was devastatingly powerful.
So much so, it earned him the title ‘Reaper of One Blow.’
Of course, this ability came with a lot of issues.
First off, 5 minutes is objectively short, but feels quite long in practice.
During that time, he couldn’t do anything but quietly gather his strength.
In other words, this meant he had to just take any hits from the opponent.
Naturally, he had to rely solely on his endurance.
Fortunately, he had an ability that prevented the opponent from using tools too.
If he didn’t have that, it would be the perfect ability to get him killed due to his own bravado.
Another downside was that once used, he became extremely exhausted and would collapse.
And this was generally applicable to any exertion of power.
The area where side effects manifested the most was in his sex life.
But there were ways to mitigate this.
Like having a punching bag, like the Elf in front of him, to take hits instead of him.
However, looking at the Elf’s pitiful state made anyone wonder,
“Uh, when will it end!!!”
“Just wait a bit! Almost there!”
Anyone would seriously contemplate whether she could survive those 5 minutes.
“AAAH!!! F*CKING BASTARD! Why is it boring when you’re quick to finish this time?”
“Shut your mouth!!!”
Hyeji’s strikes were just that fierce.
“Then I’ll help shut you up.”
Choke!!!
“Is it quiet now?”
“Y-you bastard!!!”
Amidst the unrelenting assault, the Elf’s consciousness began to flicker.
Unintentionally, she found herself opening her bloody mouth.
Holding back multiple purposes as words seeped out from her lips.
“Kim Shinwoo, that harmful species bastard is going to die soon!”
“Really?”
To cling onto life slowly drifting away.
To vent the frustration of the current situation.
And simultaneously, to give Hyeji any feeling of disturbance.
“Your dildo bastard is dying! Don’t you care!!!”
“I don’t care.”
But whether the Elf spoke or not, Hyeji’s tone was too flat.
To any observer, they might misinterpret that the Elf was the one worrying about Shinwoo.
“He’s really going to die! That beastman is an important member of our Guild!!!”
Still, Hyeji showed no sign of panic.
Now, she even began to smile gently.
“The thought of Shinwoo losing… I can’t even imagine it.”
Regardless of what she was saying, she threw her fist powerfully into the Elf’s face.
