Chapter 71

I landed as lightly as a cat and gazed beyond the path illuminated by a faint light.

A voice echoed from somewhere.

Unlike the stench-filled outside, the air here was relatively clean.

Do they clean every day?

Or did they spray some chemicals?

I couldn’t tell which.

But at least the unpleasant smell was gone, so my head wouldn’t hurt as much.

Using my ability, I minimized my presence and walked forward.

The path was a single route, so there was no risk of getting lost, but because it was a single path, I couldn’t let my guard down.

If someone came out this way, I’d have no choice but to face them.

If the ceiling had been higher, it might’ve been better… but unfortunately, it was just within arm’s reach, so clinging to the ceiling wasn’t an option.

Who even dug this tunnel?

Of course, it was probably Quaker’s underlings, but to have the skill to create such a neatly finished passage…

If Quaker weren’t a villain, the world might’ve been a better place.

But with heroes, there must be villains, so this is just wishful thinking.

Even if Quaker were killed, I’m skeptical peace would come to this land.

Since I haven’t seen the end of the original story, there might be villains worse than Quaker.

Though, it wasn’t that popular of a work, so they probably wouldn’t revive it.

Anyway… it’s almost the end.

I stared at the end of the tunnel and prepared for combat.

Nails, spears, and a pistol.

If I had a gas mask, I’d look like a wasteland agent.

I covered my face with a hood and mask, but…

Unless my opponent was a crazy ability user spewing biochemical gas, a gas mask would just be a shackle.

…Anyway, this is literally a hideout.

I rolled my eyes, scanning the surroundings. A clean lobby. Several doors. A large round table with three men sitting.

I couldn’t tell if the doors led to more tunnels or rooms, but if they were rooms, there were probably more than just these three.

Maybe a high-ranking officer was guarding this place.

Underlings wouldn’t be able to achieve much on their own.

“Ugh, damn it. Why did I even bet…”

“Shut up and hand over the money.”

“Here. I’m done.”

“Why isn’t Min-su here? Did he die smoking?”

“He’s probably slacking off somewhere, that bastard—”

Aim.

Fire.

Dozens of nails pierced the terrorist gambling in the corner.

The sound of wind escaping filled the lobby, along with bloodstains.

Half the lobby was painted red, but I didn’t feel disgusted or horrified.

Have I become too accustomed to this world?

Snapping out of my thoughts, I scanned the blood-soaked table.

Nothing useful.

I turned my gaze to the tightly closed doors.

What’s behind these doors?

More tunnels? Or rooms?

Maybe rooms for various purposes scattered around.

I quickly checked the ordinary furniture and weapons piled in the corner before heading to the nearest room.

I pressed my ear against the door.

Silence.

Is no one there?

I turned the doorknob, and the door opened smoothly.

A regular living quarters.

The smell of a bachelor mixed with alcohol created a nauseating stench.

Nothing important here, so I’ll move to the next room.

Like a slasher in a horror movie, I opened each door one by one.

Out of the eight doors I entered, I found three people.

I killed all three.

Two were sleeping, and one took a combat stance upon seeing me, but as soon as he showed resistance, I fired a barrage of nails, silencing him instantly.

Seeing sparks, he must’ve been an electricity user. With that ability, he should’ve done something decent instead of joining a terrorist group.

Then he wouldn’t have met such a pointless end.

But there’s nothing useful in this room either…

Is there anything in the last door?

Feeling skeptical, I left the room.

And then,

As a loud noise echoed, I immediately tilted my head back.

“You dodged that?”

“That’s one hell of a greeting.”

“You psycho bastard—”

“Not something a terrorist should say—”

“We’re not terrorists, you fool.”

“People still use that word?”

I prodded him, testing his patience.

It wasn’t necessary, but it was a cheap trick to shake his rationality.

If I’m right… that muscular man with the eyepatch is the one who created this space.

“Arrogant, aren’t you?”

“Is that what I get for coming to clean up?”

“…Now I see you’re insane.”

Realizing he couldn’t win the argument, he clicked his tongue and stomped the ground.

The ground vibrated.

Simultaneously, the lobby began to writhe like slime.

“Die, you idiot.”

“No thanks.”

Is he trying to crush me with the entire lobby? I glanced at the tunnel.

“You think I’ll let you escape, trash?”

“You’re Kang Woo-seong, the top-tier ability user, right? The one who caused the mart collapse—”

“That wasn’t me!”

The ground surged.

I immediately leaped to dodge the attack.

I fired nails, but the rising ground blocked them.

Not an easy opponent, huh.

The bigger problem is the field is too advantageous for him.

Can I break through his interference and get outside?

Considering the depth when I came down, breaking through the ceiling to escape isn’t feasible.

I used repulsion to push myself sideways.

A pillar rose where I had been standing.

Seeing how quickly it appeared, one hit would be fatal.

I can dodge attacks like this.

The problem is… when he seriously tries to tear me apart.

But he’s not safe from his own ability either.

He still needs oxygen, and he could get hit by his own attacks.

So—this isn’t a fight I can’t win.

But it’ll likely be the toughest fight I’ve had so far.

Because he’s the opponent whose weakness is hardest to exploit.

He stomped the ground again.

A prelude to an attack.

Above?

Below?

Behind?

One mistake, and I’ll have a hole big enough for my head to pass through.

A sinister sensation from behind.

I immediately rolled sideways.

“Lucky.”

As I barely got up, I heard him stomp again.

I dashed toward Kang Woo-seong.

About 20 meters.

Not too far, not too close.

But to land a hit, I need to get closer.

From a distance, he can just raise the ground to block my attacks.

All I have left is one spear.

I gripped the spear without nails.

This spear is my only weapon and lifeline.

I won’t get a second chance.

Just one.

I have to end him in one shot.

Even in the original, heroes struggled to take him down.

But I have to do it.

Not for the world.

Because I have a place to return to, I have to do it.

I poured all my energy into the spear and leaped.

Using repulsion, I bounced up like a rabbit, rising about 5 meters. I locked eyes with Woo-seok looking up at me.

“Futile effort.”

“We’ll see…”

I aimed the spear.

But I didn’t throw it.

Throwing it hastily would only cost me my life.

As my body began to fall back to the ground, a small cocoon formed around Woo-seok.

A thick-looking cocoon.

It’d take explosives to break through that.

And as if to ensure my attack wouldn’t work, spikes sprouted from the cocoon.

A bundle of thick, meter-long spikes.

Like a sea urchin protecting itself. I couldn’t help but laugh.

Getting impaled by those spikes would be a nightmare.

As I fell, I used gravity to stick to the ceiling. It was uneven, but I could stand.

I looked down at the cocoon from the ceiling.

An immediate reaction followed.

“Huh. Quite a convenient ability.”

“Well, it’s something.”

“But what can you do? My cocoon can’t be easily broken, even by top-tier ability users! And—”

“You can still use your abilities in that state, right?”

“Arrogant brat. Interrupting me—”

“Then stop rambling. That’s why the mart collapsed.”

“You little—!”

“Whoa, watch your language.”

The ceiling shook.

I immediately moved away from the ceiling, which was starting to collapse—or rather, shake as if it would.

As I moved, the ceiling protruded like icicles.

The space is shrinking fast.

I need to end this quickly.

“Let’s wrap this up.”

“I’ll crush your limbs—wait, you…?”

A bewildered reaction.

I kept my guard up, watching him.

A brief silence fell between us.

“What… are you?”

After a long pause, he spoke with genuine confusion.