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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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Cho Se-hyeok’s eyes trembled, unable to comprehend the situation. His trump card had failed. But his confusion was short-lived. He didn’t have time to be confused.
Tap.
Lee Seong-jun lunged again. Panic flickered across Cho Se-hyeok’s face. He saw his fate.
‘…Death.’
The primal urge to survive kicked in. He channeled his power.
Crash!
He tried to defend himself with ice pillars created by Thousand-Year Ice Sculpting, but they were no match for Lee Seong-jun’s Storm Sprint.
The ice shattered under the intense wind pressure, and a fist slammed into his face.
Crack!
Cho Se-hyeok’s face contorted in pain.
“Ugh—!”
He stumbled, about to fall, but a knee to the jaw sent him flying upwards, crashing against the barrier.
Thud!
His eyes lost focus as he crumpled to the ground like a rag doll. Lee Seong-jun looked down at him coldly.
“I had some expectations for an SS-rank, but… you’re disappointing.”
He shook his head and was about to finish him off when,
“…It’s… not over yet.”
A crazed glint appeared in Cho Se-hyeok’s eyes. He couldn’t die here, not like this. It was an unexpected defeat, a humiliating loss against a superior opponent.
But that opponent was a rookie. The rookie who defeated the Rookie Slayer. His name would be on everyone’s lips, his fame spreading far and wide. He’d achieve fame and glory.
‘That must never happen.’
He hadn’t been hunting rookies for no reason.
‘No rookie in Korea should ever succeed.’
Only then would the Reaper Guild, who’d punished him, a promising rookie, for killing a “worthless” non-Hunter, realize their mistake and apologize.
‘Until that day… no rookie will succeed.’
He had to stop Lee Seong-jun, no matter the cost. Even if it meant his own destruction.
“Raaaagh—!”
He roared and forced himself to his feet. He knew he couldn’t win, not after their previous exchanges. But there was one way.
Rumble!
Sharp ice pillars erupted from the ground. He’d already chosen self-destruction. He no longer needed to hold back.
He unleashed the true power of Thousand-Year Ice Sculpting, a power he’d sealed away, fearing he couldn’t control it in a confined space.
‘Thousand-Year Ice Sculpting, Ultimate Technique, Absolute Zero.’
Crackle!
The ground, the debris, everything around him began to freeze. Even his own body, his skin turning blue and necrotic. But he didn’t stop.
“Lee Seong-jun, let’s perish together!”
If he died with Lee Seong-jun, the monster they called the Super Rookie, everyone would understand how foolish they’d been to make an enemy of him, Cho Se-hyeok.
He might not receive an apology in life, but he’d achieve his goal in death.
“I will fall here, for the sake of my ambition!”
As he unleashed Absolute Zero, filling the Binding Martial Stage with its power, Lee Seong-jun’s eyes narrowed.
“…Disappointing, to the very end.”
He didn’t know Cho Se-hyeok’s story, his dreams, but he knew he’d been killing innocent people for his own selfish ambition. He was a madman, a monster. Lee Seong-jun frowned in disgust.
“I will never let you achieve your dream.”
He took a deep breath, and his blood energy surged, bathing the area in a captivating red light. It was a beautiful, mesmerizing sight.
But the power contained within that red light was the destructive power of the Blood Demon, a being of pure carnage. Standing at the center of that power, Lee Seong-jun extended his right arm, and the blood energy coalesced around it.
Boom!
A short, powerful shockwave reverberated through the ground as the blood energy formed a small sphere. A small, unassuming red sphere containing the power of a Demon God, the Blood Demon.
A concentrated mass of overwhelming power, the strongest attack Lee Seong-jun could currently unleash. A power a mere rookie, unable to control his own abilities, couldn’t possibly withstand.
‘Myriad Blood Demon Dissolution, First Form: Blood Sky Martial Might.’
The Blood Demon’s ultimate technique, unleashed with his full power. As the first form, the technique that opened the blood sky, was completed, the red sphere exploded.
KABOOM!
The world was painted red as the deafening explosion shattered the ice pillars of Absolute Zero, its foundation collapsing. And it wasn’t just Absolute Zero.
The Binding Martial Stage couldn’t withstand Blood Sky Martial Might either. The barrier cracked and shattered, the arena crumbling.
Rumble!
Cho Se-hyeok, caught in the blast, barely survived thanks to his ice armor. But he was in no condition to fight. His limbs were twisted at unnatural angles, his bones shattered.
The battle was over.
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Wee-ooh! Wee-ooh!
Dozens of vehicles with flashing sirens screeched to a halt around the abandoned factory. PSS agents poured out, rushing towards the building where the two powerful auras had clashed.
They had to apprehend Cho Se-hyeok and secure Hunter Lee Seong-jun.
Rumble!
“What’s going on…?”
Hong Min-gi frowned, looking up at the sky. He wasn’t surprised by the ice pillars; he knew about Cho Se-hyeok’s abilities. But the red energy that followed was unfamiliar.
‘Judging by its intensity, it’s at least SS-rank or higher.’
A power comparable to the Five Guild Masters. A force to be reckoned with. But this red energy was unlike anything he’d ever encountered. An unknown powerhouse. An unexpected variable.
“…What should we do?”
Jo Kang-hyun asked, but Hong Min-gi couldn’t answer. The red energy felt overwhelmingly powerful, reminiscent of the former Association President, considered the strongest Hunter.
‘What if… this red energy belongs to a villain who illegally entered the country…?’
The thought sent a shiver down his spine.
‘We’ll all die.’
But as a PSS agent, he had a duty to investigate.
“Enter the building! Avoid combat if possible. Focus on identifying the unknown combatant and securing Hunter Lee Seong-jun.”
As the PSS agents moved towards the factory…
“Wh-What is…?” They stopped abruptly.
“What are you doing?!”
Hong Min-gi frowned and ran towards the front. He immediately understood their reaction.
Rumble!
Lee Seong-jun, who should have been defeated, stood tall, the captivating red light around him exploding outwards, shattering Cho Se-hyeok’s ice and the barrier of the Binding Martial Stage.
“Good heavens… Cho Se-hyeok lost?”
Cho Se-hyeok, the SS-rank Rookie Slayer, with unique skills perfectly suited for hunting rookies… had been defeated by Lee Seong-jun, a rookie barely a few days old.
“Impossible.”
He rubbed his eyes, but the sight of Cho Se-hyeok lying on the ground and Lee Seong-jun standing tall remained unchanged. He couldn’t deny it any longer.
‘Super Rookie Lee Seong-jun defeated the Rookie Slayer, Cho Se-hyeok.’
And it wasn’t just a victory. It was a complete and utter domination. He’d sensed the overwhelming red energy the moment they arrived. He’d even ordered the PSS agents to avoid combat.
But the only person standing was Hunter Lee Seong-jun.
‘That means…’ He looked around, sensing the lingering red energy.
Whoosh!
The red energy swirling in the air vanished at Lee Seong-jun’s casual gesture.
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