Chapter 39: Skirmish (3)
Most of the Dark Horse organization members who had been rapidly frozen died instantly.
Even among the executives, half of them tried to block it but ultimately froze solid, while the remaining half barely managed to defend themselves.
However, due to the extreme cold, their nerves were severely dulled.
Only Ma Du-hwan, who had momentarily released mana to push back the chill, remained completely fine.
Jeong, the president, clicked his tongue as he looked at the hundreds of frozen Dark Horse members.
“What the hell kind of biological weapon is that?”
There were more than a few hunters in the country with ice abilities, but he had never seen one on the level of Eun Ji-eun.
Moreover, the red mana she possessed felt extraordinarily ominous.
For a moment, he even wondered if she might be some kind of monster born from human experiments in a secret lab under the National Intelligence Service.
But with Jin-young right next to him, he couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud.
“You did well. Just keep doing it like that from now on.”
Jin-young pulled Eun Ji-eun, who was floating in the air, back down toward him.
It seemed she had released all the mana she possessed; the ferocious intensity of the red mana was barely detectable now.
She stared blankly at the people frozen solid.
“…Is that really something I did?”
“Yeah. From now on, it would be good if you learn to precisely control the amount of mana you release and distinguish between the ones you should freeze and the ones you shouldn’t.”
At Jin-young’s words, Eun Ji-eun just blinked her large eyes in confusion.
She probably wouldn’t understand it right away, but he figured Hong Jun-su would be able to teach her properly.
In the meantime, Ma Du-hwan, who had gathered back the mana he had released, stepped forward.
Even though all his subordinates had been taken out, he showed no sign of backing down.
Crack—crunch—
He crushed the empty glass bottle he had been holding in his left hand into powder.
“You think drinking that’s going to change anything?”
Of course, Jin-young had seen with his own eyes exactly what the man had consumed.
Bloody Rose.
A higher-grade enhancer than the Black Rose distributed by Dark Horse.
It was said to have been developed by the Red Flower Society, one of the Chinese triads, and it wasn’t circulated overseas.
Since mass production was impossible to begin with, it was sold only to a select group of VIP clients.
Of course, tiny amounts sometimes leaked out, but compared to Black Rose, the price was astronomically higher, so hardly anyone could touch it.
“Huu… Definitely tastes better than Black Rose.”
Ma Du-hwan grinned so widely his mouth seemed to reach his ears.
Black-polluted mana leaked out of his body little by little because he couldn’t fully control it.
But to him, the mana leaking away was nothing.
Far more mana than that was being generated inside him.
“In this state, Yoon Soo-ho is nothing.”
“Delusions of grandeur. Maybe if you chugged another bottle or two.”
From Jin-young’s perspective, Ma Du-hwan had certainly become stronger, but he still fell short compared to Yoon Soo-ho.
Even if his physical abilities and mana output had become roughly equal, talent was something that couldn’t be replaced with mere drugs.
“You must be that secret agent who purified the Byeonsan Contaminated Zone together with Yoon Soo-ho. Right?”
“Who the hell keeps spreading those ridiculous rumors?”
“Deny it all you want. You’ll spill everything soon enough anyway.”
Ma Du-hwan readjusted his grip on the massive greatsword and charged toward Jin-young like lightning.
Swoosh—
The air vibrated from the sheer speed.
Yet his body came to a complete stop before he could even reach Jin-young.
“……?”
The moment a bewildered expression appeared on his face—
Shuuu— Crackcrackcrack!
He was sent flying backward, smashing through the frozen organization members in his path.
“There’s this great option called talking, so why does everyone just rush in and start swinging? Do I look that easy to you?”
As Jin-young spoke, he glanced back at President Jeong.
President Jeong flinched and hurriedly waved his hands.
“N-no way! In my opinion, it’s just that the ones charging in don’t know their place.”
“President Jeong. I have some business with Ma Du-hwan. Take your friends and step outside for a bit.”
“Y-yes, of course. That makes sense. Hey, everyone, let’s go.”
Even as President Jeong said that, his face looked like he was about to cry.
This place was undoubtedly the headquarters of the Black Society and also President Jeong’s private villa, but no one could defy Jin-young’s order to leave.
More than anything, the thought that it might soon be reduced to ruins filled them with rage.
Yet the moment they imagined the Dark Horse disappearing like this, all that frustration seemed to wash away in an instant.
“Ji-eun, you go with that uncle too.”
“But aren’t those uncles gangsters? They’re scary…”
“If they try anything stupid, just freeze them. They’re the type who value their own lives, so they probably won’t.”
At Jin-young’s words, President Jeong, who had been walking away, flinched and his shoulders jerked up guiltily.
“Got it.”
Eun Ji-eun replied innocently.
After experiencing real combat just once, she already seemed to have gained quite a bit of confidence.
As the Black Society members and Eun Ji-eun walked away, the executives who had barely survived the freezing began trembling as they pulled out Bloody Rose.
The swirling red liquid looked perfectly intact even against Eun Ji-eun’s ice ability.
Jin-young considered snatching it away with psychokinesis but stopped himself.
If their mana became black-polluted too, it would only give the tentacles more to feed on.
The moment one executive finished drinking the Bloody Rose and regained his strength—
Sssht—
A portal opened behind him, and black tentacles shot out.
“What the hell is this…?”
Splat—
The tentacles wrapped around his body in an instant.
But the executive’s resistance was no joke.
“GRAAAAAH!”
As he let out a monstrous roar and unleashed a shockwave from his body—
BOOM!
The black tentacles burst apart, splattering sticky black flesh in every direction.
The executive tried to continue his attack toward Jin-young, but—
Squelch—
“Guh…!”
A sharp, beast-like claw pierced straight through his abdomen.
It was a tentacle that had already regenerated thanks to its super-regeneration ability. Even its appearance had changed.
The executive, skewered through the body, had all his mana completely absorbed by the tentacle.
Thud.
He collapsed face-down and died.
The fates of the other two executives who had drunk Bloody Rose were the same.
While Jin-young was dealing with the executives, Ma Du-hwan secretly moved among the frozen organization members.
He shattered some of the ice covering one member’s body and placed his hand on it.
Sssss—
The member’s blood transformed into a form of energy and flowed into Ma Du-hwan’s body.
Unique ability: ‘Blood Absorption’.
By absorbing another’s blood, he could recover not only his injuries but also his stamina.
Fully restored, Ma Du-hwan searched the three frozen executives, found their Bloody Rose, and quickly downed them.
Increasing the dosage would undoubtedly put his life in serious danger, but now wasn’t the time to worry about that.
One bottle alone wouldn’t be enough to beat that monster.
The moment he consumed all three bottles at once, black mana began to fill his body to the brim.
Swoooosh—
A pitch-black vortex formed centered on Ma Du-hwan and soared upward into the sky.
“Ooooh… This is it. The power I’ve been craving…!”
Surprisingly, his mind remained quite clear as he examined his own body.
His muscle size didn’t seem any different from before, but he could clearly feel that his physical abilities had improved dramatically.
The biggest change he felt was, without a doubt, his mana.
The black mana filled his body so completely that it was practically overflowing.
And it wasn’t just an increase in quantity.
When he infused the black mana into his greatsword and swung it once—
Crackcrackcrack!
The frozen organization members in front of him turned to powder and scattered.
BOOM BOOM BOOM—
The ground split and shook with tremendous force.
The qualitatively enhanced black mana continued to be generated without end.
“Kuahahaha! How’s that? Don’t you regret it now?”
Ma Du-hwan shouted triumphantly in a booming voice.
He thought to himself that perhaps his body was perfectly optimized for Bloody Rose.
Just like Jeon Su-yong had been perfectly suited for Black Rose.
As the dust settled, Jin-young appeared with a bored expression.
“You’ve turned into a Mine, yet you still talk so clearly.”
Ma Du-hwan himself didn’t realize it, but to Jin-young’s eyes, it was plain as day.
Right now, the man’s entire body was dyed pitch black.
It wasn’t covered in Creep; rather, black mana was enveloping him completely.
Jin-young had been curious what would happen if someone overdosed on Bloody Rose.
Sure enough, he had become incomparably stronger than with Black Rose.
Of course, the time until self-destruction had also been drastically shortened.
But to Ma Du-hwan, drunk on power, such details were invisible.
“I’ll kill you here and earn GODS’s recognition.”
At Ma Du-hwan’s words, Jin-young gave a sly grin.
“Shall we talk about that in more detail?”
But Ma Du-hwan swung his greatsword without hesitation.
The speed was so fast it was impossible to follow with the naked eye.
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—
The area ahead was torn apart as if a typhoon had swept through.
Tap—
Ma Du-hwan lightly kicked off the ground and soared dozens of meters into the air.
Then he descended at terrifying speed toward the dust-covered area.
Sssssss—
The band of black mana wrapped around Ma Du-hwan’s body flowed into his greatsword in an instant.
The size of the greatsword suddenly doubled, then grew to five times its original size.
His other unique ability: ‘Enlargement’.
Not only could he increase the size of objects he held, but they also became far more durable.
Now, amplified by the power of Bloody Rose, the effect was pushed to the extreme.
In terms of strength alone, even black steel couldn’t compare, and it was at a level where it could shatter Lee Cheol-ho’s ‘Indestructible Vajra Body’ like glass.
“Die!”
It looked like a massive missile plummeting down.
That was the moment.
Cracklecracklecrackle—
Ma Du-hwan’s descending figure came to a complete halt in midair.
The black sparks pouring from his greatsword were merely scratching at empty air.
“What the hell…?”
What was this enormous force that could even suppress him in his Bloody Rose–amplified state?
As Ma Du-hwan’s expression hardened—
Sssht—
Black portals opened on either side of him, and tentacles shot out, seizing both his arms.
“Let go of me!”
Ma Du-hwan violently released black mana, but it was simply absorbed by the tentacles.
He couldn’t deliver a shockwave-like impact.
Then Jin-young flew right in front of him.
Crunch— Crack— Sssss…
Ma Du-hwan’s ‘enlarged’ greatsword crumpled in an instant, turning into iron powder that scattered in the wind.
“…….”
Ma Du-hwan was rendered speechless by the sheer destructive power.
Jin-young extended a tentacle from his chest and spoke.
“Why so quiet all of a sudden? We’ve got a lot to talk about from here on out.”
***
“So… in my opinion, rather than forcibly purifying the North Korean contaminated zones, maintaining the status quo would be more beneficial for both countries.”
One of the hunters from China spoke up.
He was a member of the delegation from the China Awakened Association visiting Korea.
Yoon Soo-ho’s expression had been sour throughout the entire meeting.
Part of it was because they’d already been discussing utterly pointless topics for half a day.
But the bigger reason was that they had only been notified four hours ago that a Chinese delegation would be visiting.
Fortunately, the Intelligence Department had obtained intelligence the day before and passed it along, allowing them to prepare a little earlier.
In any case, China’s brazen gunboat diplomacy was far from pleasing.
Korea might be smaller in national scale than China, but in terms of hunter power, they were already being overwhelmingly outmatched.
Compared to Korea’s two 1st-grade hunters, China had as many as six.
Moreover, the existence of Zero-grade hunters—who could even overwhelm 1st-grades—could not be ignored.
But Yoon Soo-ho did not easily bend to the Chinese hunters.
There was simply no reason to anymore. Now they, too, had a joker card in their hand.
‘…Thinking of him as an ally does make me feel reassured.’
Though he was an uncontrollable, unpredictable figure, his ability alone was undeniably real.
Just thinking of him calmed Yoon Soo-ho’s mind.
“North Korea is unequivocally Korean territory. Deciding what to do with the contaminated zones is also Korea’s prerogative. Do you really believe China has any room to interfere here?”
The interpreter faithfully conveyed Yoon Soo-ho’s words to the Chinese hunter.
The Chinese hunter’s brow furrowed upon hearing it.
Just as he was about to open his mouth to reply, the delegation leader, Xu Mingzhao, spoke up.
“President Yoon. It seems you’re under some misunderstanding. Korea is not in a position to refuse China’s demands.”
“…….”
Yoon Soo-ho simply stared at Xu Mingzhao in silence, as if daring him to keep talking.
Xu Mingzhao’s lips twitched for a moment at that expression, but he soon wore a sneer.
“Do you think the International Awakener Federation will protect Korea? Or perhaps America? Absolutely not. The one you should serve is us—China. Thousands of years of history prove that…”
Before the interpretation could even finish, Yoon Soo-ho cut Xu Mingzhao off.
“Blah blah blah. Stop spouting useless nonsense and just tell me the ‘real’ reason you came here.”
There had to be a purpose behind this surprise visit by the Chinese hunters and their attempt to waste time with drivel.
Even the Intelligence Department had only learned of the visit in advance; they hadn’t uncovered the actual objective.
The interpreter, sweating profusely, softened Yoon Soo-ho’s words as much as he could while translating.
Even so, Xu Mingzhao’s eyes widened.
“What kind of insolence is this! Do you truly wish to make an enemy of us?”
“You’re the ones who seem desperate to pick a fight with us.”
Xu Mingzhao and the other four Chinese hunters hid their growing unease.
By now, they should have received word that Ma Du-hwan had taken over the Black Society and was advancing toward Seoul.
The eerie silence was unnerving.
The elite members of Crystal Guild, including Shin Soo-jeong, were away in Vietnam on raid support, and Yoon Soo-ho was tied up here.
There was no one left who could stop Ma Du-hwan after he consumed Bloody Rose.
Could Ma Du-hwan have betrayed them with ulterior motives?
Or had he been captured by some third party even he couldn’t handle?
The only way to find out was to contact Ma Du-hwan directly.
Xu Mingzhao casually took out his smartphone and said,
“President Yoon. Regardless, aren’t we neighboring countries? Are you really going to join hands with those wicked Japanese? A small nation like yours has only one reliable ally—our great power.”
At the same time, he attempted to call Ma Du-hwan.
The ringing continued, but no one picked up.
That was when—
Ring ring ring—
A phone ringtone echoed from outside the conference room.
Xu Mingzhao didn’t think for a second that it could be Ma Du-hwan’s ringtone.
But as the sound grew louder, clearly approaching the meeting room,
Finally, the door opened, and the ringtone pierced everyone’s ears.
Xu Mingzhao’s smirk froze mid-formation, replaced by a look of utter confusion.
A body floated in—battered and covered in blood, drifting lazily through the air.
It was impossible to tell whether the person was alive or dead from the severity of the injuries.
“Ma Du-hwan…?”
Xu Mingzhao unconsciously muttered upon recognizing the ringtone coming from the mangled figure.
And then the man who followed behind him.
“Raise your hand if you hate the Chinese Communist Party.”
The Chinese delegation stared in bewilderment before turning to the interpreter.
The interpreter, who had been stunned by the sight of the bloodied Ma Du-hwan, finally snapped out of it.
“Who the hell are you?”
Xu Mingzhao, having heard the translation, raised an eyebrow and spoke aggressively.
“So you’re all part of this plan and connected to GODS, huh?”
“What? You must be completely insane. If you lay a hand on us—official envoys of China—it’s no different from attacking China itself. Do you think you can handle the consequences?”
At Xu Mingzhao’s words, the man simply shrugged.
“Me? I’m not the one who has to handle it. That’s our Guild Master’s job.”
At that, Yoon Soo-ho slowly turned to look at the man.
The man met Yoon Soo-ho’s gaze and tossed out a single line.
“How about the headline: ‘Entire Chinese Delegation Mysteriously Disappears’?”
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