Chapter 64
Jo Se-hyeok's pupils trembled as if an earthquake had struck, faced with an unbelievable, hard-to-accept reality.
What could have been considered a master stroke had come to nothing.
But the shock didn't last long.
To be precise, he wasn't even given time to be shocked.
Tap.
Lee Seong-jun kicked off the ground and charged at Jo Se-hyeok once again.
In an instant, anxiety and urgency flashed across Jo Se-hyeok's face.
He saw his fate in the near future.
'...I'm going to die.'
Stirred by the desire for life that all living beings possess, Jo Se-hyeok immediately summoned his strength.
Crash!
He tried to protect himself by raising pillars of ice using Thousand Year Ice Bird, but it wasn't enough to stop Lee Seong-jun who was rushing in with Extreme Speed Run.
After shattering all the rising ice pillars with powerful wind pressure, Lee Seong-jun stretched out his tightly clenched fist.
Crack!
With the sound of breaking bones, Jo Se-hyeok's face contorted.
"Urgh-!"
Jo Se-hyeok's body was about to collapse as he cried out in pain.
But even that didn't go as intended.
Lee Seong-jun's knee struck Jo Se-hyeok's chin with a sound that tore through the air.
Bang-!
The falling body soared into the sky once again, then crashed into the barrier surrounding the area, causing a massive impact.
Jo Se-hyeok's body, eyes unfocused, collapsed to the ground like a puppet with cut strings.
Lee Seong-jun looked down at him with a cold gaze.
"I had some expectations since you're SS-rank... but you're disappointing."
Lee Seong-jun shook his head and was about to take a step towards Jo Se-hyeok's sprawled form to finish him off when—
"...It's not, it's not over yet."
In Jo Se-hyeok's eyes, as he muttered while lying on the ground, a desire that could only be called madness was blooming.
'I can't... die so pathetically like this.'
It could be considered an understandable defeat given the unexpected variable and the overwhelming difference in power.
But the opponent shouldn't be someone called a rookie.
Because if a rookie defeated him, the one called the Rookie Slayer, people would surely talk about it, and that rookie's fame and name would become widely known.
In other words, they would grasp high honor and success.
'This absolutely must not happen.'
Of course, he hadn't been hunting only rookies without any reason.
'In this country called South Korea, no one called a rookie should ever succeed.'
Only then would the Reaper Guild deeply regret their past mistake of trying to punish him, Jo Se-hyeok, a promising talent who had been called a rookie, for killing a bug-like human who couldn't even become a hunter, and come to apologize.
'Until that day comes... no rookie should achieve success.'
He must stop it, no matter what.
No, he will stop it.
Even if his body crumbles in the process.
"Aaargh-!"
With a scream bordering on a roar, Jo Se-hyeok forcibly raised his body.
He knew he had no chance of winning, having felt the clear difference in their previous exchanges.
But there was still a way to achieve his dream.
Rumble-!
Sharp pillars of ice continued to rise with a thunderous noise.
Having chosen mutual destruction, there was no need to consider his own safety anymore.
This meant he could draw out the true power of the Thousand Year Ice Bird that he had sealed away, thinking he couldn't handle it even himself in such a confined space.
'Thousand Year Ice Bird, ultimate technique, Absolute Zero.'
Crackle-!
It wasn't just the dirt floor, scattered construction materials, and trash-like objects and terrain that were freezing.
Everything around, including the user himself, Jo Se-hyeok's body, was freezing over, his skin turning blue with frostbite.
But Jo Se-hyeok didn't stop using the Thousand Year Ice Bird.
"Lee Seong-jun, let's perish together here!"
If he died together with Lee Seong-jun, who could be called not just a super rookie but a monster, everyone would realize how foolish their past decision was to turn Jo Se-hyeok into an enemy.
Although he wouldn't be able to receive an apology while alive, it meant he could achieve his life's goal even in death.
"I will fall here for the sake of my lifelong wish!"
Just as Jo Se-hyeok, having kindled a madness willing to throw away even his own life, spread the power of the Thousand Year Ice Bird's ultimate technique, Absolute Zero, throughout the confined training ground—
Lee Seong-jun's gaze, which had been rigid, lowered slightly.
"...You disappoint me to the very end."
Although he couldn't know what kind of story or dream Jo Se-hyeok had,
it was clear that he had been killing people unrelated to him for the sake of what he called his lifelong wish or dream.
It meant he was nothing more than a madman, and Lee Seong-jun's brow furrowed with disgust at Jo Se-hyeok's behavior, which could be called worse than that of a beast.
"I'll make sure that dream of yours never comes true."
As Lee Seong-jun narrowed his eyes and took a deep breath, the blood energy he had stored exploded, spreading an alluring red light throughout the area.
On the surface, it was a sight beautiful enough to be mesmerizing.
But the power contained in that red light was the destructive force wielded by a being like an Asura, a blood demon.
Lee Seong-jun, standing at the center of this destructive power, stretched out his right arm wide. As if on cue, the blood energy began to surge.
Boom-!
With a short but intense sound as if the earth's axis was shaking, the blood energy gathered in the air to form a small sphere.
This small and ordinary-looking red sphere contained the power of an Asura, praised as a blood demon and evil god.
It was the ultimate condensation of overwhelming power, the strongest Lee Seong-jun could currently unleash.
It was a force that a novice who couldn't even properly handle their own ability couldn't possibly withstand.
'Ten Thousand Forms Blood Demon Release, First Form: Blood Sky Martial Might.'
The martial art of the blood demon, unleashing everything with full power.
Among them, as the first form, opening the sky of blood, was completed, the red sphere floating in the air exploded.
Boom-!
With a thunderous explosion, as the world filled with red light, the ice pillars that were the foundation of the Absolute Zero, which had been freezing everything, lost their original form and crumbled.
And it wasn't just the Absolute Zero.
The confined training ground within the influence of the Blood Sky Martial Might couldn't escape unscathed either.
The barrier surrounding the area tore like paper, and in an instant, the training ground began to collapse and lose its form.
Rumble-!
Naturally, Jo Se-hyeok's body, having taken the Blood Sky Martial Might head-on, couldn't possibly remain intact.
"Gack-!"
He barely managed to save his life thanks to the ice of the Thousand Year Ice Bird covering his entire body.
But his physical condition was like a candle in the wind, to say the least.
His limbs were twisted into strange shapes, making it difficult to find bones still in their proper places.
This meant the fight had been decided.
* * *
Wee-woo wee-woo-!
Dozens of vehicles blaring emergency sirens came to a stop around the abandoned factory as security officers disembarked en masse.
To arrest the SS-rank villain Jo Se-hyeok and protect Hunter Lee Seong-jun, they needed to approach quickly, but the situation was far from simple.
Boom-!
Two monstrous auras were clashing at the abandoned construction site, their target location.
"What on earth is happening...?"
Hong Min-gi's brow furrowed as he looked up at the sky.
The ice pillars shooting up - he was well aware of the villain Jo Se-hyeok, so that wasn't too surprising.
But the problem was the red energy that followed.
'Judging by the aura, it's at least SS-rank or higher.'
It meant they had power rivaling the masters of the 5 great guilds.
They possessed abilities worthy of making a name for themselves in the world.
But the red energy spreading throughout the area now was a power he had never encountered before.
The sudden appearance of an unknown powerhouse - an unexpected variable had emerged.
"...What are we going to do?"
Hong Min-gi couldn't easily answer Cho Kang-hyun's question from beside him.
He couldn't help it.
The red energy undulating throughout the area now gave off an overwhelmingly powerful aura reminiscent of facing the Association President, once called the strongest.
'If the owner of that red energy is a villain who snuck in from overseas...?'
Gulp-
Just imagining it brought such tension that he swallowed dryly. He could tell without seeing the result.
'We would surely meet a terrible death.'
But as security officers, they had to confirm the identity of the unknown powerhouse in the situation unfolding before their eyes.
"We'll enter. Avoid engagement as much as possible, and focus on confirming the identity of the unknown powerhouse fighting Jo Se-hyeok and securing Hunter Lee Seong-jun."
Just as the security officers began to step towards the construction site where the massive auras were felt, following Hong Min-gi's instructions—
"W-what is this...?"
As if on cue, all the security officers stopped in their tracks.
"What are you doing?!"
Hong Min-gi frowned at the suddenly halted officers and stepped towards the front.
Immediately after, he could understand the officers' reaction.
Rumble-!
Not only was Lee Seong-jun, who should have surely been defeated, standing on his own two feet, but the alluring red light enveloping him was exploding, shattering Jo Se-hyeok's ice along with the transparent barrier that had formed the confined training ground.
"Good heavens... Did Jo Se-hyeok lose?"
Who was Jo Se-hyeok?
An SS-rank villain nicknamed the Rookie Slayer.
Moreover, even his unique skills were optimized for hunting rookies who hadn't completed their growth.
And this Jo Se-hyeok had been defeated by Lee Seong-jun, who had only become a rookie a few days ago.
"This can't be."
He rubbed his eyes in disbelief, but the sight of Jo Se-hyeok sprawled on the ground and Lee Seong-jun standing proudly didn't change.
He could no longer deny it.
'Super Rookie Lee Seong-jun has defeated Rookie Slayer Jo Se-hyeok.'
And it wasn't just a simple victory.
It was overwhelming, to the extent that they had clearly felt the red energy since arriving at the abandoned construction site.
He had even cautioned the security officers to avoid engagement as much as possible.
But now, only one person was visible before their eyes - Hunter Lee Seong-jun.
'Which means...'
As Hong Min-gi was cautiously glancing around at the surrounding red energy—
Whoosh-!
The red energy floating in the air disappeared with a slight gesture from Lee Seong-jun.