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〈 Chapter 203 〉 Episode 200 – The Reason He Fell
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While I was facing off against the Animal Enthusiast Chief.
This time, voices echoed from the corridor.
“Kangpo, what are you doing? Stop them!”
“Just a moment! This is disappearing!”
“What does that even mean! Huh? I’m not coming out either, you know?”
“Everyone, be careful! There’s a Nullification Ability User here!”
Did my words reach Elcia beyond the wall she conjured?
At that moment, I heard joyous voices from the men.
“Finally, the Chief is out!”
“We’re about to break through! It’s coming soon!”
“I’ll kill all these bastards behind us!”
“Kill people! Rape the animals!”
Were the walls Elcia conjured gone? The sound of many people moving rushed in.
But that sound suddenly stopped, replaced by an abrupt silence.
Wondering what was happening, someone stammered in fear.
“W-why is that Demon here!!!”
“F*ck! I still haven’t had my fill with many animals! I don’t want to die!”
“Save me! I’ve only eaten two so far!”
Fear spread among the men.
It seemed they realized Hyeji’s presence.
As some panicked and tried to flee.
“Hey! Wait! If it’s the Chief’s ability, she won’t be able to use her power!”
Someone shouted urgently.
Another silence fell.
But this silence felt different from the last.
Instead of fear.
A sense that this was something they could handle began to form among them.
“Right! If she doesn’t have her powers, she’s just that useless b*tch!”
“She’s just riding on her ability! Without it, she’s nothing more than her own chest size!”
“Who’s scared of a girl with a chest smaller than a pigeon!!!”
I heard several people rushing in.
The situation was quite unfavorable.
The combat strength of the heroines stemmed from their abilities.
In a situation where they couldn’t use their powers, they were extremely vulnerable.
While I contemplated how to help,
“Those kids these days are just too distracted.”
“You can afford to be distracted, you little sh*t.”
The Chief swung a baseball bat horizontally at me.
A simple yet powerful weapon aimed at my right arm.
I quickly ducked and slid toward the wall.
“Running away? Pathetic.”
“Yeah. Counter-charge.”
For now, coming unarmed was disadvantageous.
Me too.
And Hyeji outside too.
I picked up a hammer from the scattered tools on the floor.
“Hyeji, catch!”
“Come on, Mjolnir.”
As she caught the flying noble hammer, Hyeji spoke to the other heroines.
“If you don’t want to die, get behind me.”
“Of course!”
“Thank you!”
“Got it!!!”
Hyeji’s words made everyone hurriedly drag the Chief’s Son behind her.
At that moment, a man charging at Hyeji swung a wood stick.
“Die! You small-chested b*tch!”
“This is fun.”
Hyeji effortlessly dodged the wood stick.
Instead, she swung the hammer and smashed the man’s knee.
“Ahhhhh!!!”
In the blink of an eye, Hyeji smashed the man’s genitals with the hammer, rendering him incapable of fighting.
That alone seemed impressive, as the remaining men were clutching their own genitals.
They just poured out absurd insults at Hyeji.
“You vicious bastard! That girl just got a fox wife this time!”
“Have you thought about how sad the fox wife will be!!! The rabbit kids will be sad too!!!!”
“I couldn’t even do it with my kids, and you call yourself human!!!”
Then Hyeji smirked and made a scissors gesture with her right index finger and left middle finger.
The men could no longer speak, merely squeaking around.
And thus a standoff took place between the two forces.
One side, men armed with weapons.
It was so crowded that they filled the corridor.
Even without powers, their numbers alone presented tremendous violence.
It was somewhat unreasonable to consider them mere cannon fodder.
On the other side was Hyeji, facing them alone.
No ability to use. All she had was a single hammer.
In a dead-end situation with no escape.
Moreover, behind her were Elcia, Ayeon, and Caressy.
The burden of the Chief’s Son was just a bonus.
To anyone’s eyes, it seemed Hyeji was at a disadvantage.
But it seemed Hyeji thought a bit differently.
Suddenly, she thrust the hand holding the hammer toward the men.
“Just because I’ve gotten weaker.”
She immediately rested the hammer on her shoulder.
Followed by Hyeji’s ominous smile.
“It doesn’t mean you all have gotten stronger.”
Somehow, it sounded like something out of a school city in Japan.
With those words, the angry men began to surge forward like a wave.
“Sis! Be careful!”
An urgent shout from Elcia rang out in fear.
But.
“Ughhhh!!!”
“It hurts!!!”
“F*ck! Is she truly powerless!!!”
Hyeji fought exceptionally well, making those cries sound insignificant.
She first struck the leg of the rushing man with her hammer.
As the pain made him lower his head, her hammer cleanly struck his chin.
Simultaneously, Hyeji elbowed the solar plexus of another man trying to slash her with a sickle.
Before the man could grunt in pain, Hyeji quickly hit his shoulder and ribs with her hammer.
That was not the usual Hyeji.
It was the battle style of the ‘Old Hyeji.’
If anything, at least Hyeji didn’t hammer down on their heads with the hammer.
Of course, it looked better than just dying, but still.
Despite only taking down two men horrendously, the effect was considerable.
The men couldn’t approach beyond a certain point and were merely stomping their feet in frustration.
Just then, Hyeji grabbed the sickle from the downed man and swung it over her head alongside the hammer.
The sickle and the hammer.
Plus, Hyeji’s red hair.
I had a feeling something was about to happen.
As if to seal it, Hyeji ominously whispered.
“Our Academy. Your blood. Red. Red.”
In an instant, Hyeji transformed into a revolutionary warrior.
Fear began to spread among the men once more.
[…How strong could Hyeji possibly be?]
‘They wouldn’t even dream of a domestic squabble.’
However, earlier the Animal Enthusiast bastard said Hyeji would lose in the future.
In a way, it was a natural conclusion.
The Animal Enthusiast Chief was a Nullification Ability User and specialized in hand-to-hand combat.
On the other hand, Hyeji usually fought with her abilities to eliminate enemies.
The question was who activated their power first.
And right now, the Animal Enthusiast Chief was one step ahead.
So Hyeji lost.
Still, even if it posed a problem on Hyeji’s side for now, it couldn’t be left unresolved for long.
No matter how strong one was, there would inevitably be limits to stamina.
Thus, the need to swiftly take down the Chief before me became more pressing.
I pulled out several Japanese swords from the wall and secured them to my waist.
Honestly, I had no confidence since I had never used them properly, but I had no other choice.
There was no time to be picky.
Given I was up against an opponent I couldn’t beat bare-handed, I needed something.
In that moment, a question arose.
“With that body having Nullification ability, shouldn’t you have been able to join the Ability Suppression Team? Just cut back on the steroids.”
“Oh, the Ability Suppression Team.”
The voice sounded somewhat nostalgic.
Honestly, I was half just throwing it out there.
“There was a time like that.”
It really seemed like he was once part of the Ability Suppression Team.
In other words, the person in front of me was a retired public servant.
Then the Chief paused his fighting thoughts and began reminiscing.
“I worked in the Ability Suppression Team for over ten years. Of course, I left on my own accord later.”
“Why is a guy like you doing drugs in the Animal Enthusiast Club?”
“I felt too disillusioned. With the country called South Korea. And this world.”
The weight in his last words was palpable.
If it was heavy, it was heavy; it was definitely not light.
And the following words from the Chief were quite shocking.
“I’ve tackled dungeons over a thousand times. I’ve fought against hundreds of crimes and terror acts, and in the process, I saved countless people.”
The main job of the Ability Suppression Team is, literally, to suppress ability users.
They can be seen as a special police force that prevents crimes or terror acts by ability users.
On the other hand, battling dungeons like Hunters is at best a supplementary task.
Not a requirement, merely a recommendation.
In fact, as a Nullification Ability User, they were not very useful in real dungeons.
That left the sole option of fighting unarmed.
In the end, it meant the Chief was performing the duties of the Ability Suppression Team simultaneously while working as a Hunter.
[…Isn’t this a violation of labor laws?]
‘It’s South Korea. There’s always a workaround.’
[Ah.]
Even if they were made to work, it was way too much.
Whether willingly or unwillingly, the latter seemed more likely.
Honestly, it made sense to feel disillusioned with a country like this.
“Certainly, for a national job, it was pretty rough. Just hearing about it sounds tough.”
“But it was rewarding. I felt a strong sense of accomplishment while tackling dungeons, and there was nothing more fulfilling than saving people. Normally, I would have continued that work.”
Then it made even less sense.
What on earth could make that person suddenly fall into being an Animal Enthusiast?
Even if it was hard work, if he felt satisfied and fulfilled, there would be no reason to fall.
As if to explain that reason, suddenly the Chief’s words began to grow heated.
“But! No one acknowledged me like this! I didn’t ask to be a hero!”
“Maybe the country is one thing, but even the people you saved?”
“Yeah! Everyone was too busy tearing me apart for trivial reasons!”
The Chief finally burst into fury.
Honestly, while he was the head of the Animal Enthusiast Club, I felt a bit sympathetic.
[A bit pitiful.]
‘That’s pretty severe.’
Everyone has the desire to be acknowledged.
No matter how selfless someone is, there’s likely a hint of that feeling inside.
That’s why I was even more curious.
What reason could drive the Chief to resign from a national position?
Further, how did he become an Animal Enthusiast?
At that moment, the Chief shouted with all his anger.
As if pouring out his resentment against the unreasonable world.
“Just because I got kicked during an argument!”
Let’s correct that.
He was simply a dog sh*t.
It was only right to tear him apart.
Even knowing that, they still put him on national duty was somewhat commendable.
Of course, he wouldn’t be acknowledged.
“You fcking btch! You’re just a bastard who got hit during a debate!!!”
Both sympathy and pity vanished in an instant.
What remained in my mind was just anger and disgust.
The same went for Piece.
[F*ck!!! I shouldn’t have felt pity!!! Just kill that bastard!!!]
‘That sh*t had it coming!’
There was no reason to fall.
From the start, he was a crazy Animal Enthusiast bastard.
To begin with, he was a f*cked-up guy who was already fallen.
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