10화
‘That one won’t even be able to regenerate.’
The artifact in the man’s possession had the ability to freeze the surrounding air using mana.
Just as Seung-chan’s special technique, which utilized fire, weakened regeneration abilities, ice—its opposing element—did the same.
With such a vast disparity between the man’s magic power and the mana, it was clear as day that the infiltrated artifact’s power would shatter the demon’s regenerative capabilities.
Even though his arm had been blown to pieces.
As if his very senses had been frozen, the man no longer screamed.
“I—I just ran away from Venom!”
He simply begged for his life, looking at the Hunter with fearful eyes.
“Venom? What about Egrit?”
“I don’t know anything about a guy like that……!!”
“Hmm.”
At the demon’s words, the Hunter’s expression turned peculiar.
“I…… see.”
As the Hunter moved his foot toward the man’s other arm, the man shouted urgently.
“I really don’t know anything! I’m telling you, I don’t know!!”
“Saying you don’t know doesn’t end it.”
“……!!”
“Why don’t you start by telling me about that high-and-mighty Venom?”
“Th…… that is…….”
As the demon hesitated, the Hunter’s foot moved.
It happened in an instant—or rather, it was simultaneous.
*Crunch!*
The demon’s remaining arm was blown away.
“If you spill the beans, I’ll let you keep your head.”
“O, okay…… Venom is…….”
*Thud.*
A dagger, thrown at a right angle, embedded itself into the demon’s head.
And then.
*BOOM!!*
The dagger lodged in his head began to spew out magic power.
“……!!”
The Hunter had excellent reflexes.
He didn’t just stand by and watch the dagger’s magic power explode.
A shield made of ice protected his body from the blast.
Beyond the hastily conjured shield, blood flowed from various tears in his suit.
“You’ve decided you want to die, then. Frost Nova.”
*Ssssss.*
For a moment, mana condensed into the artifact held in the Hunter’s hand.
*Whoosh!*
The blue mana that had gathered around the artifact as its core spread out in a circular wave.
*Crackle.*
The artifact’s mana, spreading outward, began to freeze everything around the Hunter.
That range included the spot where Seung-chan was hiding.
‘Are you insane?’
The Hunter’s mana was at least B-rank.
If Seung-chan were to take a hit like that without proper preparation, he wouldn’t come out unscathed.
*Slide.*
His red eyes dyed his vision crimson.
Seung-chan, having activated his Demon Transformation, quickly escaped the forest.
While he could have sufficiently neutralized the power by using a special technique, he judged that there was no benefit to revealing his position for no reason.
‘He used an area-of-effect attack to find the owner of the dagger that might be nearby.’
Now that it was certain the Hunter was hunting him, there was no need to get unnecessarily entangled.
*Hiss.*
The raised magic power clashed with the artifact’s mana.
*Hiss—*
A temperature change occurred, creating water vapor.
Just then, another explosion erupted from the Hunter’s direction.
‘Did he find the one who threw the dagger?’
Seung-chan was concerned about the other demon who must be engaging the Hunter, but he did not slow his pace.
‘I’m getting out of here.’
Fighting a high-ranking Hunter without any information was dangerous, and getting caught in the middle of a chaotic mess with a new demon intervening was even more dangerous.
It wasn’t just because of the danger of combat.
‘If I can’t cut ties cleanly, I’ll have to shoulder the risk of my identity being exposed.’
Hiding a demon was a grave crime in the eyes of Hunters.
The fallout would inevitably reach Hyun-ah.
It wasn’t hard to imagine how they would treat Hyun-ah, whom he had lived with as family for decades.
‘This should be far enough.’
Having moved far enough away that the convenience store was in sight, Seung-chan deactivated his Demon Transformation.
In his hand, he held a bag containing two frozen cans of beer.
“That was close.”
He muttered to himself as he headed home.
A demon who had lost its reason to gluttony.
If he could just save Kim A-rang from that damn thing, it would have been a clean resolution.
But then the Hunter tracking Egrit appeared, and a new demon intervened, complicating everything.
‘I need to ask Kyle for information.’
Every time he bought information, it cost a significant amount of money, but it couldn’t be compared to his life.
‘No, the Hunter’s movements are too fast to begin with.’
It hadn’t even been 50 hours since he hunted Notorious in the arena.
‘Where did things start to go wrong?’
He weighed various possibilities.
In the meantime, he had arrived in front of his house.
Seung-chan opened the door and stepped inside.
“Oppa?”
Hyun-ah was waiting in the entryway, as if she had heard him come in.
“Where have you been?”
“To buy beer.”
“You seemed to be heading out earlier.”
‘I thought I left quietly, but she heard me?’
He felt a pang of guilt for disturbing her studies.
But that was only for a moment.
“The beer in the fridge.”
Precognitions rarely missed the mark.
“…….”
He didn’t miss Hyun-ah’s flinching reaction.
“Are you very tired?”
Seung-chan asked as he took off his shoes and stepped inside.
With her bobbed hair and sweatpants, Hyun-ah was a quintessential nineteen-year-old high school student.
To Seung-chan, she was just his little sister.
But once she went to university, she would start wearing makeup in earnest, and she was pretty enough that many men would likely suffer quite a bit, falling for her appearance.
‘Is this how parents feel raising their children?’
He had been with her since she was crawling, and after their foster parents passed away, he had practically raised her himself.
The relationship between them was more of a parent-child bond than that of an older brother and younger sister.
“Who actually likes studying?”
“There are people who do.”
“…….”
“I thought you liked it.”
Seung-chan said with a low chuckle, teasing her.
He knew Hyun-ah had no interest in academics.
She lived her school life diligently, and her grades weren’t bad, but.
‘She’s not the scholar type.’
She was simply doing her best to receive a scholarship to lighten Seung-chan’s burden.
He didn’t bother to stop her.
‘If money is the problem, I can solve it with what I earn in the arena.’
He had told Hyun-ah that she had a small inheritance left by their foster parents.
But her living her life diligently was a different matter.
A life without even the minimum amount of effort.
He didn’t want to be the one to step in and limit her potential.
That was why he didn’t tell her the truth, even though he was financially comfortable.
“I’m going to get into Chamberlain University, too.”
“You know how many times I failed before I got in, right?”
Even for Seung-chan, who was called a prodigy during his school days, it was a place he only entered on his fourth attempt.
‘Though I couldn’t study properly because I was active in the arena.’
At this point, it didn’t matter.
Hyun-ah seemed to have a firm resolve despite Seung-chan’s words.
“They say the younger sibling is usually smarter.”
“Oh ho.”
“I’m going to be a doctor.”
“You, the one who gets scared even if you see a single drop of blood?”
“That’s…… something I can overcome. And my grades are good enough for medical school even now, you know?”
‘A doctor, huh…….’
It wasn’t a bad profession.
If he were to disappear one day, she would have no trouble living on her own.
“I’ll cheer for you.”
“Oppa.”
“Don’t go anywhere, and please stay by my side.”
“…….”
Hyun-ah’s expression was serious.
Just like six years ago, when he returned home after finishing their foster parents’ revenge.
He didn’t want to be such a bad brother that he couldn’t grant his sister’s wish.
Just as he had done until now.
‘I don’t intend to get caught easily in the future, either.’
To ensure that, incidents like today’s must not happen again.
‘I need to deal with that guy as soon as possible, too.’
He met Hyun-ah’s eyes with a relaxed expression.
“I’ll stay by your side until you get married.”
“I’m going to keep living with you, Oppa?”
“That’s a bit creepy.”
Real-life siblings.
They weren’t connected by blood, but they were siblings who cherished each other more than anyone else.
For now, that was enough.
“You can worry about medical school on your own. How are you going to explain this?”
Seung-chan, having stopped laughing, held up the bag with a serious expression.
The two cans of beer inside clinked together, making a cheerful sound.
“Huh? Beer? What are you talking about?”
He gave Hyun-ah, who was clumsily trying to make excuses, a light rap on the head.
“Don’t you know you’re supposed to learn how to drink from an adult? Come here.”
Seung-chan led Hyun-ah to the dining table and sat down.
Then, he handed her a beer can.
It was the beer that should have gone to Kim A-rang.
“Today, this Oppa will specially teach you how to drink.”
“If you were going to do that, you should’ve taught me how to drink soju.”
“Don’t tell me you’ve already had soju?”
“…….”
Hyun-ah averted her gaze.
“…….”
As Seung-chan shook his head and prepared to nag, Hyun-ah quickly changed the subject.
“But this is frozen solid?”
“Ah…… right.”
Seung-chan thought that he would have to deal with the Hunter who used ice first.
* * *
“P, please spare me…… please…….”
“Don’t be too afraid. The pain will only last for a moment.”
Jo Logan, his red eyes manifested, calmed the woman who was backing away.
In the woman’s hand was a sharply honed paring knife.
“D, don’t come closer…… don’t come!”
The woman swung the knife clumsily with trembling hands.
“Pfft.”
He couldn’t help but let out a dry laugh at an object that was no better than a toy.
It was because he remembered the woman who had been actively flirting with him just a moment ago.
“In that case, I’ll tell you an interesting story.”
“What……”
“Do you know about Venom?”
The woman looked at him with an expression that asked what kind of nonsense he was spouting.
“Venom, you see. It’s not actually just a simple club.”
The largest club in Seoul.
Venom had started its success in Seoul and was walking a smooth path, expanding into major bustling districts across Korea.
Its true identity was a front business run by demons, and Jo Logan was the demon at the very top of that Venom.
His title as chairman and his appearance, which one could believe was that of a Hollywood actor, always drew people’s attention.
“Who is that?”
“Isn’t he an actor?”
“He looks like a foreign tycoon. Should I try talking to him?”
Many women, unaware that he was a demon, tried to win his favor by approaching him first.
‘I like this place because it’s easy to procure food.’
In Korea, the power of wealth is beyond imagination.
This also leads to ways of legally getting one’s hands on humans.
Although Korea is renowned for its excellent public safety, that reality is merely a set of regulations that apply only to those without money.
Joe Rogan’s office was located at the first Venom branch near Hongik University Station.
Thousands of people passed through that place every day.
Humans flocked there like moths to a flame, eager to indulge in their youth.
Generally, the younger they were, the more they clung to the feeling of being "chosen."
While many humans approached him first, if he found someone he liked, he would send a subordinate to hand them a business card.
"The Chairman would like to speak with you."
Man or woman.
Gender did not matter.
Some came out of the expectation of being chosen.
Some out of curiosity.
Some out of sexual attraction.
They all accepted Joe Rogan’s offer for their own reasons.
Unlike ordinary demons who put effort into hunting according to their feeding cycles, it was natural for him to personally select his prey and invite them into his private space.
Just like the woman before his eyes right now.
"Hnnngh..."
When he told her the truth about Venom, the woman’s expression went half-blank.
She had come here of her own volition, drawn by a single business card from Joe Rogan, and had even feigned drunkenness over a few glasses of wine to reveal her cleavage.
"It’s time now."
His red eyes flashed.
"Th-the police! They won't let you get away with this!"
The woman shouted a threat, but Joe Rogan didn't care.
This was a room specially designed for his meals.
In a room with soundproofing this thorough, one could not expect help from anyone.
Everything moved solely according to his will.
'Seeing her struggle only makes my appetite grow.'
From the moment she caught Joe Rogan’s eye, her life was effectively over.
This Asian woman, with her long, waist-length hair dyed blonde, was destined to be his meal tonight.
Ignoring the woman’s warning, he took a step forward.
"Ah... Augh...!"
Along with the woman’s scream.
A blade struck Joe Rogan.
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