LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 82
Dooook.
Dduk.
The call ended, and I blankly turned my head to check the calendar in the living room. It was indeed Monday.
Wait, wasn’t the execution supposed to be on Tuesday night?
It seemed like Shin Do Yoon couldn’t wait any longer and charged in a day early, only to be helplessly taken down by Lee Ji Cheol.
Di ring!
As I stood there with my arms crossed, lost in thought, another call came in from Shin Do Yoon’s phone.
I quickly composed myself and answered it.
“…What?”
[I already know who you are. No need for lengthy explanations. If you don’t come to the specified location tonight, I will kill this bastard.]
A message arrived under Shin Do Yoon’s name.
Ding!
“……”
After verifying it, I pondered for a moment and replied to Lee Ji Cheol.
“You’re way too far. Just kill him.”
At this distance, there’s no way I could make it back in time. Seo Ha would definitely notice and start interrogating me. I really wanted to avoid that.
[…What are you talking about?]
Lee Ji Cheol sounded annoyed, as if he couldn’t understand what I was saying.
He then said to me,
[Come to think of it, you’re in the same guild, aren’t you?]
“What?”
[If you don’t come, I’ll kill this bastard to draw out Baek Eun Ha.]
It’s true that Shin Do Yoon is now part of the Clear White Guild. If he keeps threatening, Seo Ha might indeed go after Lee Ji Cheol on her own to save Shin Do Yoon.
A plan with a high possibility of success.
And it was making me really annoyed.
“…You’re a lost cause.”
Sure, I had previously told Shin Do Yoon she was grounded, but the real reason for my refusal was that I thought it wasn’t the right time to provoke Lee Ji Cheol.
However, now that was no longer relevant.
I returned to my room, grabbed my outerwear, and declared to Lee Ji Cheol.
“I’ll be there in two hours, so think it over in the meantime.”
[…….]
“I’ll let you choose how you want to die.”
With that, I accepted Lee Ji Cheol’s invitation and headed toward Incheon.
#
Lee Ji Cheol, one of the only three S Rank Hunters in South Korea and known as the tyrant of Incheon, threw his phone aside and began to speak softly.
“I never thought this would entangle me like this, but now I get to clean up some annoying things all at once.”
And he smiled, turning his gaze to the injured and bound Shin Do Yoon.
“Thanks to you.”
“……”
I had already known that Shin Do Yoon was digging into his backstory. But I had no reason to worry until he took action.
However, from the phone of the ambushing Shin Do Yoon, I found something rather interesting.
It was a contact log with one of the two individuals reported as targets by Hades—Baek Eun Ha.
‘…I didn’t expect they were brazenly targeting me.’
However, from the conversation content, it didn’t seem like they had noticed the connection with Hades. There was clearly some other reason, but the captured Shin Do Yoon wasn’t saying anything.
In that case, I would just have to interrogate Baek Eun Ha when she arrived.
“I thought you were just some useless pest, but you turned out to be a pretty decent bait. Don’t you think?”
Dooook.
“Ugh…”
As I carelessly touched his wounds, Shin Do Yoon let out a pained groan.
But resistance was futile. Shin Do Yoon had already deeply felt the overwhelming gap between him and Lee Ji Cheol.
‘…This guy has been hiding his real power all along.’
The magic I had prepared based on Lee Ji Cheol’s data didn’t work at all. Even though his wounds hadn’t fully healed, his strength was on a different level.
“…Who is it that injured you, a monster like you?”
“……”
At Shin Do Yoon’s question, Lee Ji Cheol frowned slightly, recalling what happened not long ago.
It was the S Rank Hunter from the UK, Helena, who went to hold him down at the request of Hades’ founder to prevent interference with the ceremony.
Lee Ji Cheol had been quite shocked by that fight.
‘I never thought there’d be such a monstrous girl.’
In fact, this wasn’t the first time Lee Ji Cheol had fought an S Rank Awakened One. He had earned the title of tyrant by turning another country’s S Rank Hunter into mush.
But Helena was different. Although they shared the same rank, she was definitely a tier higher than the current Lee Ji Cheol. He couldn’t be sure, but she was probably among the stronger S Ranks.
‘…Even so, it doesn’t matter.’
In the end, the ceremony was successful, and he acquired the shard. Helena failed to get involved.
So, from a results perspective, it was a victory for Hades.
After closing his eyes and steadily recovering his depleted magic power for several hours, a strong presence began to stir from a distance.
And when Lee Ji Cheol opened his eyes, he saw a girl gazing up at him with an emotionless expression. It was Baek Eun Ha.
“You’re here.”
Baek Eun Ha glanced at Shin Do Yoon, who was cornered in the back, then spoke to Lee Ji Cheol.
“You still haven’t killed him?”
“You can’t kill a hostage before the target arrives.”
But Baek Eun Ha scoffed at Lee Ji Cheol and continued,
“I didn’t come for that.”
She began chanting a spell and summoned the Book of Death into her hands.
Fwoosh!
Shhhhaaa!
“We don’t have time, so let’s finish this quickly.”
And thus, the battle began.
#
As I opened the Book of Death, Lee Ji Cheol took out an ominous-looking orb from his pocket and shattered it.
Boom!
Swoosh.
“Smoke screen?”
“I’d prefer it if things don’t get overly noisy.”
The explosively released black fog enveloped both me and Lee Ji Cheol, as well as Shin Do Yoon.
It seemed like they were trying to conceal the traces of the battle from leaking outside.
“Nice preparations.”
After all, this was a battle between high-rank Hunters. If they went all out, it would cause chaos all around.
There was no downside for me, so I didn’t mind and immediately began chanting my spell.
Whoooosh,
“Extraction.”
After the battle in Italy, my level finally surpassed 40.
“Materialization.”
Fwoosh!
Currently, my level was 41. Now I could maintain the simultaneous summoning of High-Ranking Undead.
Thock.
Rumble.
In my hands, two objects appeared: a split skull and a broken statue.
I summoned Hans, the Undead Dullahan, and Khan, the Totemist.
A classic combo considering the front and rear positions.
“Undead Call.”
A strong surge of death energy emanated from my body as Hans and Khan appeared with a loud noise.
Thud.
Thud.
Boom!
“…Oh, it seems like you’ve regained quite a bit of power.”
“The great Lord of Death greets you. Just give me any command.”
Hans waved his arms a few times, quickly showing a satisfied expression.
That was understandable. Compared to the first time I summoned him, he must feel incredibly light now.
The two high-ranking undead exuded overwhelming pressure, yet Lee Ji Cheol showed no excitement whatsoever.
“That’s it? I’m rather disappointed. I expected at least half the strength of that woman.”
“I don’t know what you mean, but you’ll change your tune once you get beaten up.”
I wasn’t just bluffing. I was solidly strong now. If it wasn’t for Seo Ha, I was likely unmatched among A Ranks.
“Come forth.”
Fwoosh!
Swoosh.
“…This opponent seems quite strong.”
Following my command, Gordon materialized, striking the ground with his staff as he cast his spell.
Boom.
“Ring of Devouring.”
Whoooosh.
Gordon’s signature magic that continuously absorbs the life force of enemies within a certain range.
Additionally, I activated a curse I had prepared, putting pressure on Lee Ji Cheol.
“Breath of Decay.”
Crack!
Lee Ji Cheol wasn’t in peak condition either. This level of debuff would certainly burden him.
However, Lee Ji Cheol still remained expressionless, quietly looking down at me.
As I felt a strange sense of unease, the restrained Shin Do Yoon, still lying down, warned me.
“…It’s futile.”
“What?”
His previously unwavering aura had disappeared. Shin Do Yoon, seemingly devoid of spirit, continued quietly.
“I was mistaken.”
“……”
“If you want to live, you should run. It’s unnecessary to make sacrifices.”
Just as I was about to respond, Lee Ji Cheol, who had been silently observing, sighed as if annoyed and began to speak.
“Waiting around is getting to be a pain.”
Whoooosh.
In an instant, a dense magic aura surged from Lee Ji Cheol’s body.
He gathered it to his legs and stepped forward, pressing down on the ground.
Thock.
Boom.
He had only taken a single step forward.
Yet, soon a chilling wave of power and intense vibrations enveloped his entire being.
And then.
“Ugh.”
Boom!
Crack—!