Chapter 39

“You lunatic!”

As the battle continued, Yu Changshin grew increasingly flustered.

He knew this opponent wouldn’t be easy.

From the first clash, their strength and reflexes exceeded most S-rank Hunters.

But that was precisely why he couldn’t gauge their true skill.

Despite wielding no weapon, in these ten seconds of combat, neither had managed even a scratch.

But that wasn’t the issue.

‘The problem is that the fight is still ongoing.’

“What the hell is your goal?!”

If his purpose was to protect candidate Kim Namjoong, there was no need to keep fighting.

He could have just triggered the alarms to summon security.

Yu Changshin could kill them all, but reinforcements would arrive, and he couldn’t handle them alone.

Yet the man did nothing but silently continue their duel.

Why? To avoid disturbing the candidate’s sleep? Afraid of harming guards?

Instead of answering, the man smirked.

“Typical monkey, talking too much.”

“What? Have we met before?”

“I’ve seen someone like you. Not quite a slave like you, though.”

“How dare you treat China’s top Hunter like a slave?!”

“Aren’t you? You can’t even defy your government. That’s your kinkoa. Fits you well.”

Grit.

Unable to refute, Yu Changshin ground his teeth.

“And you?! Aren’t you just another slave to that man?! Whether it’s a contract for money or a soul contract like me, you’re just capitalism’s dog!”

“No difference.”

“What?”

“I also signed a soul contract.”

“What…?”

“Not your business anyway…”

His moment of shock left an opening.

Lee Woo-jae’s fist smashed into Yu Changshin’s face.

“Focus on the fight.”

“Damn it!”

Rolling across the floor, Yu Changshin roared.

Since inheriting Sun Wukong’s power, he hadn’t felt such an immovable wall – not even against America’s strongest Hunter, Kyle.

‘Is this person V in disguise?’

Not on the candidate list, but such strength… it made sense.

All public S-rank Hunters were accounted for, and the recently emerged Kim Yooyeon was female.

If this was V, it was a problem.

V’s known powers were black mana, swordsmanship, and magic.

Yet this man showed none of them and still overwhelmed him. If he unleashed everything, how strong would he be?

‘Five S-ranks might not be enough to capture him alive.’

‘No. We’ll just kill him.’

He claimed not to be V, and wasn’t a candidate.

Better to kill and feign ignorance later.

He no longer needed to probe.

Stalling until allies arrived was enough.

Especially since the man seemed to avoid waking the candidate.

“What’s wrong? Stalling for time? Think you’ll win when your friends arrive?”

“Running away, coward?”

Yu Changshin deliberately provoked him to prevent escape – revealing Chinese involvement would be disastrous.

But the man simply grinned.

“Scared? Of a monkey like you? Pathetic.”

Shoo—

Before his words finished, he closed the distance instantly.

It was the same move he’d used to strike Yu Changshin at the start.

‘Block it!’

Staff fighting relied on distance.

He shortened his staff with mana, preparing to defend.

But instead of an impact against his staff, he felt a sharp pain in his leg.

“Kugh!”

A plant root had pierced his foot, binding his leg.

“Men are all about their lower body.”

Then came a frontal attack.

Now wielding a longsword, he swung down.

Yu Changshin extended his staff to block, but with his balance broken, he couldn’t absorb the shock.

“Kuhak!”

“Stop coughing and fight back. Hunters these days have no sense.”

His tone was casual, but the attacks never stopped.

Their strength and reflexes were roughly equal, yet Yu Changshin was being completely dominated.

Heavy strikes from the front, swift slashes from all sides, illusory blades confusing his vision.

He blocked desperately, but wounds accumulated rapidly.

“Why… why am I losing like this?!”

He couldn’t believe it.

Both were S-rank.

His equipment was superior. The opponent wore no armor, only an S-rank sword.

And his trait was Sun Wukong, among the strongest mythical powers.

‘I should be stronger overall… then why?!’

“Why? It’s called sense. There’s a difference between a five-year-old swinging a sword and a grandmaster doing it.”

He wanted to smash that mocking mouth.

To compare China’s top Hunter to a child… unbearable.

Yet he couldn’t refute it.

Just like a child being toyed with by an adult.

“Kuh…”

He realized he was dangling like slaughtered livestock, held by the throat once more.

He regretted provoking him.

Given his personality, he might have kept toying with him until allies arrived.

But it was too late.

Blood filled his throat from overusing mana.

“Kuk… who… are you…”

“Why do you care?”

“At least… let me know the name of the one who kills me.”

“Not my problem.”

“…No mercy, huh.”

“Didn’t I say? Not my problem.”

Even in death, his taunts continued.

His skill was godlike, but his words were nothing but vile.

Dying to such a creature… humiliating for China’s top Hunter.

But Yu Changshin chuckled bitterly.

“As you say, at least I’ll be free from Kinkoa. You, however, will remain trapped by yours forever.”

At least he would be free from the Party’s chains.

He had lived enviably as a Hunter, gaining everything he desired – except freedom.

The man before him would scoff, but these were his final words of defiance.

Yet the reaction he got was unexpected.

“Trapped? Did you just say I’m trapped forever?”

“…Huh?”

“You son of a bitch. Are you mocking me? Should I throw you in there forever? I recently found a way.”

His stunned mouth hung open.

Why such anger at the word ‘trapped’?

Where was he talking about throwing him?

Was this man trapped somewhere himself?

“…No way.”

Suddenly, scattered puzzle pieces in his mind aligned.

He thought it was a translation error, but the odd sentence endings with ‘im,’ the mocking tone, the swordsmanship, magic, strategy, flawless combat sense, and now this hypersensitivity to the word “trapped.”

It matched perfectly with the Korean mad dog he once saw in Tower news – Lee Woo-jae.

“Wait… Lee Woo-jae?”

“Yeah, that’s me. Anything else?”

“H-how…?”

He’d heard Lee Woo-jae had been stuck on the 90th floor for 25 years.

Had he cleared it?

But his power didn’t match a top-tier tower clearer.

The gap between advanced and top-tier towers was like earth to an endlessly expanding universe.

This man didn’t feel that strong – just overwhelming in skill.

“Not your business. Now die—”

“Yu Changshin!”

As Lee Woo-jae prepared to kill him, four Hunters landed from the sky.

Four of China’s top six Hunters, arriving to assist.

“Did you find V or Midas? Wait… what happened to you?”

“Ha, China’s strongest Hunter getting beat down by some random freak. You call yourself the best?”

One worried, another mocked.

But Yu Changshin had no time to explain or be angry.

If Lee Woo-jae was hiding his true power, they had no chance.

He gathered the last of his strength and shouted.

“Run!”

But these were China’s elite.

Not a single one would heed his plea.

“What nonsense?”

“Orders from the Chairman. No matter what, we can’t retreat.”

“If you die, it will be harder to handle the S-rank gate.”

He almost went mad with frustration.

They weren’t wrong, but this was Lee Woo-jae.

From what little they had just seen, at least two of them would die.

If he was truly holding back, all would die.

“Just… run…!”

“Too late.”

Lee Woo-jae tossed him aside.

As Yu Changshin rolled, clutching his throat, he saw him pulling something from thin air.

“Myangmyang, come here.”

“Myang?”

“Time to earn your keep. Oh, don’t tell mom, okay?”

“Mung… myang!”

“Here, tickle tickle~.”

“Mya, mya, mya…”

What the hell was he doing?

The Hunters froze, confused.

A large, winged baby lizard-like creature emerged, sneezing cutely as he tickled its nose.

“What’s that?”

“No idea. Is he mocking us?”

Yu Changshin’s mind raced.

Lee Woo-jae would never act like this without reason.

Wait.

A large, winged baby lizard?

That’s… a dragon – creatures only found in S-rank gates.

But it was too late to speak.

The dragon, still suppressing its sneeze, opened its mouth.

Then Lee Woo-jae activated his pre-prepared spells.

“Rapid Growth, Mana Sharing, Area Amplification, 12x Mana Amplification Array.”

The dragon swelled unnaturally, flames gathering in its maw.

The mana it radiated was easily S-rank or higher.

“Try to survive. I need at least one alive for interrogation.”

Kwooooom!

The sky turned crimson.

“Wow.”

“That could make a great flamethrower, huh?”

“Please don’t speak of such inhumane things… turning a living creature into a machine…”

Chris and I whispered as we watched the scene unfold.