I Opened the Final Boss with My Own Hands – Ch. 29

I Opened the Final Boss with My Own Hands

Chapter 29

“Is it, by any chance, the Nine Yin Severed Pulse?”

“It’s similar, but… do you know about it?”

“It’s from martial arts novels, isn’t it?”

It was a disease Yeon-hwa hadn’t even known existed until recently.

She had only seen it mentioned in passing in a passage she read when she was reading *Heavenly Demon Hwasan* thanks to Hwayangseon.

‘I think it was described as an incurable disease that leads to an early death if you catch it… so it’s a real disease after all.’

Then again, in a world where a Heavenly Demon from a martial arts novel had popped out, it wasn’t particularly strange that such a disease existed.

“You are correct. Though, to be precise, it was called the Five Yin Severed Pulse.”

Yeon-hwa nodded vaguely.

The number had dropped from nine to five, but she had no idea what the actual difference was. Still, she figured that a smaller number probably meant it was less serious.

“Since it’s a disease from martial arts novels… a martial artist would know it well, right?”

“Where would I even find something like that?”

“Hmm.”

I actually have something like that at home.

Regardless, there was something else she had meant to ask.

“Turning yourself in and facing the consequences is the right thing to do, but are you sure about this? You won’t be able to cure your younger sibling’s illness in the end.”

Why had he suddenly decided to give up? That was the part Yeon-hwa wanted to know.

It wasn’t out of pity, but pure curiosity. Had there been some kind of catalyst?

“I know I’ve already crossed the line….”

He had carefully selected and offered up people who deserved to die, but that was really just for his own peace of mind.

It wasn’t as if he had agonized over weighing the value of lives; it was just that it made him feel less guilty.

“But I realized that if I kept going like this, I truly didn’t know how far I would fall.”

“…….”

“It’s right to end it here. I feel like my head is going to explode before I even manage to save my sibling.”

After hearing the threat from Kang-young that time was running out, a sense of futility had washed over him.

He realized that even after doing all this, he wouldn’t be able to save them.

So….

“That’s really pathetic.”

Yeon-hwa’s words shattered the Puppeteer’s sinking thoughts.

“As if you’ve done something so great.”

A sullen expression.

She didn’t seem angry, but her gaze, devoid of any goodwill, swept over the Puppeteer’s face.

Hmm….

Yeon-hwa took her hand off the doorknob as if she had made up her mind.

“I can help you.”

Instead, she placed a hand on her hip and said it with confidence.

“…What did you say?”

The Puppeteer used his handsome face to look utterly dim-witted as he asked again.

“I said I can help you cure the illness. I know an expert, and while I can’t guarantee it, I think they would know the treatment.”

If it was the Heavenly Demon, even if he couldn’t treat it himself, he would at least know the method. That was what Yeon-hwa thought.

“Really, is that true?”

The Puppeteer spoke with a look that suggested he was on the verge of tears.

“In exchange, tell me who that person is—the one who lured you into this.”

Of course, Yeon-hwa wasn’t planning on arranging this for free.

‘Why didn’t he say it?’

Yeon-hwa hadn’t yet heard that the person who orchestrated the kidnapping was Kang-young.

Whenever the Puppeteer explained the situation, he had desperately avoided mentioning that name.

Thinking about it, it was an unnatural reaction.

Usually, if someone had been used like this, wouldn’t they spill everything out of spite, especially since they were turning themselves in anyway? Like, ‘I’m not going down alone!’

“That is….”

But even in this situation, the Puppeteer only broke into a cold sweat and lowered his eyes.

“Why? Is your sibling being held hostage?”

Had he been threatened that he would be killed if he spoke?

Yeon-hwa prayed that it wasn’t some cliché, frustrating plot development.

“My sibling is in the basement further down. They can’t get out of bed, but for now, they are safe in this house.”

Thankfully, that wasn’t it.

“Then why on earth are you….”

Just as Yeon-hwa was about to ask again.

Beep!

A piercing sound, like the doorbell of a rich family’s house in a drama, echoed through the room.

‘A warning alarm?’

The Puppeteer blinked his left eye once.

His green eye returned to a normal light brown, and a video visible only to the Puppeteer played within his vision. It was the CCTV feed of the workshop entrance.

Kang-young was tearing the door off its hinges and coming inside.

They were in the basement, so they wouldn’t run into him immediately, but if he kept breaking through at that speed, they would encounter him within seconds.

“That crazy bastard!”

The Puppeteer panicked and threw his body toward Yeon-hwa.

* * *

A short while later.

“What are you doing!”

“Just trust me once and hide here! You must not make a sound!”

It was a split-second difference.

Just after he hurriedly buried Yeon-hwa under a pile of doll parts, the iron door opened and Kang-young walked in.

Kang-young looked around, then crushed the head of a doll he had brought with him using his pitch-black fingernails and threw it to the floor.

It was the head of the combat doll used to raid Yeon-hwa’s house. It seemed he had been countered while trying to eliminate an intruder.

“What on earth are you doing? Why did you suddenly show up?”

A tone of voice that sounded absurd and annoyed.

Including his posture, which looked as if he had just stood up from a chair, the Puppeteer put on a performance that wasn’t half bad.

“…….”

But what returned was silence.

Kang-young kept his eyes fixed on the Puppeteer as he circled the room.

She picked up a puppet arm that was rolling on the floor. She held it to her nose and sniffed it for a moment.

“I’m asking what this outrage is about, are you not listening?”

Watching Kang-young’s bizarre behavior, the Puppeteer said, acting as if he were offended.

But Kang-young, who seemed focused on something else, appeared to let his words go in one ear and out the other.

‘Does he know something?’

Kang-young tossed the puppet arm behind her and stood in front of a certain spot.

It was in front of the pile of doll parts where Yeon-hwa was hiding.

‘Oh, boy.’

Yeon-hwa couldn’t see what was in front of her, but she could feel through her senses that something was standing there.

‘I don’t know who it is, but should I launch a surprise attack and stab them with the key?’

She gripped the key tightly as she pondered.

Kang-young reached her hand out toward the pile of doll parts.

In that critical moment, where one second felt like ten years.

Clang!

A clear sound, like a bell being struck, rang through the room.

Something like a chunk of plastic had hit Kang-young’s head and bounced off.

It was a doll foot part that the Puppeteer had thrown.

“…….”

“…….”

If Yeon-hwa had seen it, her jaw would have dropped at such an impulsive act.

Kang-young remained in the position where she had been reaching out, only tilting her head to stare at the Puppeteer for a long time.

With unfocused pupils, without a single movement, just staring right through him.

“What.”

The Puppeteer reacted as irritably as he could.

‘I’m terrified.’

In truth, he was already regretting his actions from a moment ago.

“Who told you to ignore people when they’re talking?”

‘I’m definitely going to die.’

“Why did you break down someone else’s door to get in? Did you trade your manners for scraps?”

While his brain and mouth were acting like they belonged to two different people.

Kang-young still remained still.

Or rather, she seemed to be still.

[Movement Technique - Shifting Forms and Changing Positions]

“…….”

His head was grabbed. The wind blew, trailing behind the movement.

The Puppeteer looked up at the owner of the hand that had seized his life.

Kang-young, who had moved so fast she left an afterimage, leaned down and whispered in a volume only the Puppeteer could hear.

“You were the one who killed the monster. Thanks to you, my subordinate died a dog’s death.”

“…….”

“I know you’re barking because you’re a dog backed into a corner… but it’s not fun if you keep pretending to be a good person. This is the last time.”

I’ll let you live because you still have some use.

Kang-young finished speaking, slowly pulled her upper body back, and then vanished just like that. Once again, the Puppeteer’s clothes fluttered belatedly.

“Ha….”

He had cleared one hurdle.

The Puppeteer sighed and checked the CCTV with his eyes. Kang-young was already heading out of the house.

“I think you can come out now.”

Clatter, crash.

“Was that the person? The one who threatened you?”

Yeon-hwa, who had emerged from the pile of parts, said while dusting off her clothes.

“That’s right.”

“I couldn’t even hear his voice.”

“He probably did that intentionally.”

There was no reason to whisper in his ear, but he had done so, likely because he was conscious of the possibility that there might be someone else in the room.

“Where should I start explaining… First of all, those people can open Gates.”

What was this now?

Yeon-hwa tilted her head.

“Those ‘people’? No, they open Gates?”

“I’ll just call them crazy bastards for convenience. I don’t know the name of their group or anything.”

Compared to the difficult start, the explanation wasn’t long.

The side that proposed the deal to cure his sibling belonged to some group of unknown size, and those crazy bastards could open Gates by offering people as sacrifices.

‘People become Gates?’

So it wasn’t some kind of movement skill.

Yeon-hwa let out a groan, remembering the man in the robe who had turned into smoke and vanished.