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Chapter 29
‘Would an Awakener ever come here? There are no dungeons, nothing at all?’
Kang Shin-hwa began walking towards the source of the sound with a face full of questions. Partly because the entrance and exit were the same, and also because he didn’t want to hide in fear.
His business here was done. He came to get the Magic Ball, and now that he had it, his purpose was accomplished.
“This is one of our Black Cross organization’s hideouts. What kind of fly dared to sneak in and leave a dirty stench?”
‘Black Cross, huh.’
His memory quickly scanned and searched for all information about the Black Cross. From the voice, it wasn’t Ju Cheon-ho, known as the No. 1 or the leader of the Black Cross.
‘It’s unlikely for a high-ranking officer to come here. It’s either someone from the branch in Gangwon Province or the person responsible for creating these skeletons.’
Kang Shin-hwa walked steadily.
He didn’t even hide his footsteps. He intentionally made his presence known. To let them hear, to show someone was here.
As Kang Shin-hwa walked quietly without saying anything, the man in the darkness asked again.
“Can’t you hear me?”
“I hear you. I just can’t be bothered to respond, so why are you so persistent about getting an answer?”
At that moment, Kang Shin-hwa’s reply was filled with annoyance.
He was being sincere.
‘These guys always spout worthless words and then want a reaction. How annoying.’
It was almost like a trademark of villains, such a common characteristic.
Anyway, as he got closer and the blind spots disappeared, the man’s figure came into view.
At that moment, Kang Shin-hwa immediately recognized the man’s identity.
‘It’s Jang Seong-yeong. Damn it.’
Curses welled up inside him.
Jang Seong-yeong.
An Awakener known as No. 3 in the Black Cross, currently ranked A+.
With this level of ability, he could easily occupy the top position in any guild. However, he has been following Ju Cheon-ho as his big brother since the Black Cross was first established.
But there was a problem.
Unlike the relatively rational leader Ju Cheon-ho, who sometimes was called a Robin Hood by people, Jang Seong-yeong was a living piece of human trash.
He was famous as a heartless murderer who would kill even his subordinates without hesitation if they didn’t please him.
Most of the terrorism targeting unspecified masses in subways or trains were Jang Seong-yeong’s work.
‘This bastard is a vampire.’
Jang Seong-yeong had two notable characteristics.
First, he was an ability user who could amplify magical power and release it like a shockwave.
Second, he had a vampire trait of replenishing physical strength through blood-sucking.
His ability to drain blood was exceptional, and even the most talented Awakener could be drained to the brink of death when he bit them.
‘Is fate like this, pre-connecting our bad blood?’
Jang Seong-yeong thought this way.
Jang Seong-yeong would go on to kill many talented Awakener.
He killed many talents who would have stood out in events like the Sindorim Battle of 2030 and other major and minor incidents.
His jealousy and envy towards young, talented prospects were almost pathological.
Because of this, many young promising individuals who made it to the media were kidnapped and died tragically at his hands.
From 2022 onwards, it became customary to omit reporting even when contracting top-tier prospects or rookies.
To avoid becoming his target.
‘I can’t overwhelm Jang Seong-yeong, but I can at least find a way to counter him.’
Kang Shin-hwa organized his thoughts on how to deal with Jang Seong-yeong.
He was someone who couldn’t be reasoned with anyway.
He was someone who acted on mood, and since he already seemed irritated, Kang Shin-hwa saw little chance of being let go peacefully.
‘Delivering justice isn’t my purpose, but if this guy is going to become even more trash, it might be good to nip it in the bud.’
He decided to invest in the future.
If he handled Jang Seong-yeong appropriately now, it could prevent the deaths of those who would die later.
Those people would become even more outstanding talents and more easily prevent incidents and accidents compared to his previous life.
Even if he retired, there would be more guardians prepared for the great disaster alongside Nicholas.
A Grand Picture for Eternal Retirement!
Kang Shin-hwa saw the virtuous cycle.
“By the way you’re talking, you seem to have lost your mind. Who are you? Which organization? Namhae Group?”
Jang Seong-yeong, who didn’t know Kang Shin-hwa’s identity, casually speculated.
Namhae Group.
While Black Cross was a criminal organization operating in the Seoul and Gyeonggi area, Namhae Group was an organization active in the Busan and Gyeongnam region.
They were rivals, so he wondered if this might be an assassin sent from the other side.
“Don’t these names like Black Cross and the South Sea Corps make you embarrassed to even say them?”
“I’m asking who you are!”
“Kang Shin-hwa. Satisfied?”
“Kang Shin… What? I’ve never heard of such a name.”
It was 100% true, but having it confirmed through Jang Seong-yeong’s mouth made him feel disgusted.
In any case, looking at Jang Seong-yeong loosening both hands, it didn’t seem like the conversation would end well.
Kang Shin-hwa immediately raised his magic circulation to the maximum and began changing the properties of his blood.
To prepare his strategy for dealing with Jang Seong-yeong.
‘Toxic blood.’
In an instant, the blood circulating around Kang Shin-hwa’s upper body changed from normal to toxic.
‘Come to think of it, Jang Seong-yeong used to have a bracelet that promoted recovery from accumulated fatigue and overload.’
He remembered.
If he had that bracelet, it would be of great help to himself, who would still need to modify many body parts in the future.
‘I’ll fight and receive the artifact as compensation. Good.’
He made a plausible calculation.
His body’s warm-up was complete.
“Kang Shin-hwa or X Shin-hwa. You there, do you know who I am?”
“It’s a precious name given by my parents. Don’t mess with it.”
“Oh, is that so? Are you angry?”
“Can’t you fix that buzzing voice? Oh right, do you know Awakener calls you a mosquito? You suck blood well, and your voice sounds exactly like a mosquito.”
“What?”
Kang Shin-hwa deliberately provoked him.
Seeing Jang Seong-yeong, a notable figure, came here alone suggested he had something he wanted to do secretly.
Glancing over his shoulder, he saw blood dripping from the car trunk.
It seemed murder, or something equivalent, had already occurred.
“Please save me!”
Fortunately or unfortunately, the trunk moved, and a man’s voice pleading for help was heard.
“Complete trash,” Kang Shin-hwa pointed at Jang Seong-yeong, hurling insults.
It was an intentional provocation.
“How dare you point a finger in front of Jang Seong-yeong? You fearless madman! Today, I’ll chew your bones and flesh joint by joint!”
“Why are you so long-winded, you mosquito bastard!”
Boom!
As soon as the words ended, a circular shockwave spread from the mine’s entrance.
The result of Jang Seong-yeong releasing a massive amount of magic in an instant and Kang Shin-hwa blocking it.
Screech.
After being pushed back quite a distance, Kang Shin-hwa checked his position and smiled.
‘Yes, this level of power is enough to make me tense.’
Facing an A+ rank opponent after dealing with C or D ranks, he felt the battle’s level had truly risen.
He successfully blocked the magic chunk without damage using steel reinforcement, but its power was tremendous.
If it were an ordinary D- rank Awakener, they would have been bloodied on the spot.
The mine cart’s steel frame was completely crushed by its strength.
“Oh?”
Jang Seong-yeong tilted his head.
He had released a considerable amount of magic not to play, but to crush Kang Shin-hwa in one blow.
It was a myth that he received his magical power without any wounds, without any damage at all.
It was an uncommon occurrence.
Upon reviewing all my experiences so far, there had been no cases among awakened individuals below B-rank who could block an attack without sustaining any damage.
“Why, what’s not working?”
“You have some tricks, Kang Shin-hwa.”
“Right. Let me show you some skills. What are you doing? I’m D- rank. If you just stand there with that dumbfounded expression, I’ll feel embarrassed.”
“You bastard!”
Skill and reason should be proportional, but unfortunately, Jang Seong-yeong was not like that.
Provoked by Kang Shin-hwa, Jang Seong-yeong’s eyes widened as he quickly charged towards Kang Shin-hwa.
The brawl had begun.
* * *
In an instant, numerous concentrated attacks flew back and forth.
Jang Seong-yeong continuously launched magical shock waves at Kang Shin-hwa, using both his left and right hands without hesitation.
It was a fierce attack intended to completely explode and tear apart everything about Kang Shin-hwa.
An A+ rank was definitely different.
Kang Shin-hwa was precisely tracking Jang Seong-yeong’s movements from start to finish.
This was because he had fought him in a previous life, and his enhanced eyes were capturing his movements in minute detail.
The problem was his body.
Although he had quickly tried to improve his physical condition after returning, there were still objective limitations.
It felt like having only the latest CPU while other software and hardware were outdated, making his movements feel out of sync.
‘At least I won’t die.’
However, while fighting, Kang Shin-hwa quickly regained his previous life’s sensations, and he became certain of one thing.
He could definitely handle an A+ rank like Jang Seong-yeong.
Although the A+ rank position meant high attack power, his defense was certainly sufficient.
Meanwhile,
‘I thought he was just a naive young man, but his reactions are as sharp as a veteran Awakener individual who’s received high-level training.’
Jang Seong-yeong was impressed by Kang Shin-hwa’s skills, skillfully blocking his attacks and occasionally counterattacking.
The gap felt too large to be considered a D- rank Awakener individual’s ability.
This seemed like the skill of a top-level executive who had been seasoned in an organization like KSA.
What greatly surprised Jang Seong-yeong was Kang Shin-hwa’s ability to freely transform his right hand.
Kang Shin-hwa’s right arm would become a long spear, then a sharp sword, and in an instant, turn into a mace.
In short, it was extremely versatile.
Typically, Awakener individuals with transformation abilities require a certain amount of time to attempt transformation through magical power.
Usually, the mental intention and actual physical change are not instantaneous.
But not Kang Shin-hwa.
Spear, sword, mace, staff, sickle, and so on.
The transformation into various forms occurred in an instant. It happened in the blink of an eye.
‘Who on earth is he?’
That was his question.
Normally, most Awakener individuals would either flee or beg for their lives just by making eye contact.
But Kang Shin-hwa was not intimidated at all, and instead fought back aggressively. He didn’t even easily give ground!
The longer the battle continued, the more Jang Seong-yeong’s pride was naturally wounded.
“Interesting. But this playfulness ends here.”
Jang Seong-yeong didn’t want to invest too much time in an unknown D-rank awakened individual.
Swish.
Jang Seong-yeong revealed his claws.
Sharply trimmed fangs.
His unique talent, ‘blood sucking’, was ready.
At that moment.
“…….”
A confident smile that Jang Seong-yeong couldn’t see rose in Kang Shin-hwa’s heart.
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