Chapter 137: Traitors of the Reverse Heaven Sect (4)
The battle began immediately.
Choi Yu-seong was the first to draw his sword and charge toward the Apostle wielding a blade, and Ryu Jin-oh lunged forward in perfect sync.
At the same time, Ju Ha-yeon immediately fired four arrows toward the Apostle holding a bow.
WHOOSH!
The Apostle responded skillfully without any sign of panic.
Matching that move, Choi Yu-seong naturally deflected the attack rather than engaging in a contest of pure strength, twisting his body sharply to the side.
Taking such a large turn would normally be a dangerous move, as it would leave one defenseless against a follow-up strike.
However, he had faith.
"Where are you looking? I am right here."
He had faith that Ryu Jin-oh, who was following close behind, would suppress the enemy.
BOOM!
A thunderous roar erupted the moment Ryu Jin-oh’s greatsword collided with the Apostle’s unremarkable longsword.
Amidst that roar, Choi Yu-seong shouted at the top of his lungs.
"Kim Su-hyeok! Ju Ha-yeon!"
His phrasing was shortened to the point where it was difficult to grasp the full meaning.
However, Kim Su-hyeok, who had coordinated with Choi Yu-seong in a real battle before, understood the intent immediately.
"I am on it!"
Following Choi Yu-seong’s voice, Kim Su-hyeok moved instantly to stand in front of Ju Ha-yeon.
At the same time, he struck down the arrows fired in retaliation by the archer, who had already neutralized Ju Ha-yeon’s attack.
However, because the arrows were numerous and spread across a wide area, he could not block them all.
CLANG! CLANG!
Oh Jin-eon, who had been waiting in advance, succeeded in blocking the rest of the attacks.
This was possible because they were not relying on a single person to handle multiple roles; instead, everyone had their own specific part to play.
And within that fierce battle, Im Seong-cheol was able to realize his role immediately.
"What bold students. They remind me of him."
How many real battles had he experienced while working as a villain hunter in the past?
For Im Seong-cheol, it was not difficult to figure out what needed to be done based on a brief shift in positioning.
The students had set the direction of the battle toward holding their ground rather than fighting to the death.
If that was the case, there was only one thing he needed to accomplish.
WHOOSH!
Im Seong-cheol glared at the Apostle wielding daggers and ignited his Blue Flame intensely once more.
Even though it had not been said directly, he knew.
It was a request for him to eliminate the Apostle with the daggers while they bought him time.
"No. They might be much better than he was."
He thought of a junior from his past who had never listened to a word he said and insisted on acting alone all the time.
The bold attitude was the same, but the fact that these students cared for and trusted one another as they fought made them far better.
Therefore.
"It is only right for those who have gone before to protect them so they can shine."
They had come here thinking it was an ordinary villain mission, only for a life-or-death battle to break out suddenly.
Yet, rather than panicking and giving up, they had the decisiveness to calmly think about what came next.
If they were shining this brightly now, how much more would they shine in the future?
Thus, was it not his mission to protect these rising stars so they could see that future?
With that thought, Im Seong-cheol began to pour out a fierce onslaught against the Apostle.
CRASH!
CLANG! TING!
SIZZLE!
Simultaneously, the characteristic sounds of a battlefield echoed from all directions.
The sound of swords clashing, arrows snapping as they hit the ground, and daggers crumbling under the intense heat of the flames.
These were the noises of the battlefield that felt chilling just to hear.
And... unlike the others, there was one person amidst that noise who could not control her emotions.
"Ugh, huff..."
It was Ha Eun-ha.
Of course, it was not that she was doing nothing.
She was constantly watching the others and healing their minor injuries.
It was an undeniable fact that she was an indispensable presence on this battlefield.
However, separate from that, tears were uncontrollably leaking from her eyes.
"Because of me... everyone is like this because of me..."
What was the reason this battle had broken out?
Was it not because the Sect Leader’s group intended to take Ha Eun-ha’s life?
Furthermore, this had happened because they refused to back down, even though the matter could have ended with Ha Eun-ha alone if they had just walked away.
In short, it meant everyone was risking their lives to fight for her sake.
To Ha Eun-ha, this felt like an unbearable psychological pain.
If it were not for her, no one would have to suffer like this.
"Sob..."
...In fact, if one were to look closely, she had done nothing wrong.
First, the fault lay with Yu-hyeon, who had devised this plan.
And if one pushed further, the second fault lay with Choi Yu-seong, who had turned what could have ended safely into a gamble.
But there was no way Ha Eun-ha could know that.
Because of this, the agony in her heart only grew deeper.
"Why... why won't it work?!"
She wanted to stand beside her friends as a proper comrade. That was the wish she held.
But look at this mess.
Reality was incredibly cruel.
At this rate, rather than standing beside them, she was essentially just being protected.
Therefore, even though she tried to transcend the limits of her talent, it did not go as she wished.
"I know... I know the method, so why...?"
Her talent was Healing.
The Status Window clearly explained that the awakening would occur if one desired it with a sincere heart.
So, she sincerely wished and wished again to be even a little more helpful to her friends.
She wished that, through her talent, her friends would finish the battle without being hurt.
She told herself she would do anything for that to happen.
'But why...!'
Why was her talent remaining silent?
Did this mean her current feelings were a lie?
Was the heart that cared for her friends merely a facade?
'No. That is not true!'
She had lived most of her life wearing a mask to hide the person she truly was.
However, she could affirm this much.
Even if she had faced someone while wearing a mask, she had never once deceived her own heart.
'So, please...'
Yet, reality remained cold.
The talent manifesting through her was still just ordinary Healing.
There was not a single change to be found anywhere.
"Please..."
She did not know how her talent would change if it truly awakened.
However, she could feel it instinctively.
She was certain that if only the awakening of her talent occurred, she could overturn this suffocating situation in an instant.
It would definitely be a huge help to her friends, who were currently fighting while warding off the threat of death at every moment.
But all of that was only possible if the awakening actually happened.
In the end, if it did not awaken, it was nothing more than a meaningless delusion.
Because of that, Ha Eun-ha felt as if her chest were tightening, and her heart ached so much she wanted to give up every time she saw her friends looking like they were in pain.
"Even so..."
That was something that could not and must not happen.
Her friends were fighting to protect her.
In such a situation, she would give up?
Not even a mere beast would do that.
Therefore, there was only one decision Ha Eun-ha could make right now.
Awakening was one thing, but regardless of that, she had to continuously support her friends.
Unlike the past when she had turned her eyes away, Ha Eun-ha gritted her teeth and held onto her weakening heart as she supported her friends.
At the same time, she prayed inwardly.
She told herself that her talent did not even need to awaken, as long as her friends, who were fighting for her, did not come to harm.
'And if that is not possible.'
If that was truly impossible.
Then please, please give her the power to protect her friends.
***
BOOM!
The roar of battle echoed from far away.
Yu-hyeon listened to that sound, his expression hardening into a cold mask.
"It seems they have just started over there."
It would certainly be a difficult battle.
The pincer attack of the three Apostles was seasoned and precise enough to trouble even him.
Therefore, there was no room for Yu-hyeon’s expression to soften.
All of this stemmed from his own mistake.
Even though he should have acted while assuming the worst-case scenario, had he not moved complacently?
Therefore.
"I must properly atone for that sin."
Proper responsibility follows action.
And fulfilling that responsibility was the very life Yu-hyeon had lived.
Thus, Yu-hyeon erased all of his usual playfulness, leaving only seriousness in his voice as he stared straight ahead at the empty space and spoke.
"Isn't it about time for us to start as well? I need to head back as soon as possible, after all."
To whom was he speaking when no one was visible?
The answer became clear shortly after.
From the empty, open ground, the shape of a person began to shimmer and emerge.
The owner of that form was, naturally, the Sect Leader.
"H-How on earth!"
The Sect Leader could not help but be deeply flustered.
He had used all sorts of artifacts for fleeing and hiding. No matter what tricks he tried, the villain hunter continued to follow him.
By what method was the man seeing through his location and pursuing him?
However, he could not satisfy his curiosity.
The only thing that came in response to his question was mockery.
"How could I not know when you are moving while giving off such a foul stench?"
"Y-You brat!"
"How pathetic. And with your clouded judgment added on top, you are far too pathetic."
The villain hunter spoke as if he knew him.
At those words, the Sect Leader spat out a question.
"Have we met somewhere before? I have never seen a skilled person like you."
"Haha, have you become so intoxicated with power that you don't even know who the opponent in front of you is?"
"Wh-What...!"
"I thought at least your eyes had some spark in them in the past, but now they are no different from the eyes of a rotten fish."
"Who the hell are you to spout such nonsense!"
"...To think you still don't know even after I have said this much. It is utterly disgusting."
Yu-hyeon could not help but shake his head inwardly.
As he had just said, the man had not been such incompetent trash in the past.
If the head of an organization were incompetent, the organization would have been destroyed in no time.
This meant he was a human who, at the very least, possessed a minimum level of judgment, even if his actual abilities were lacking.
'But to think he has degenerated into such a foul and disgusting human being.'
Was it because he was intoxicated with power, as Yu-hyeon had said? Or had he merely gained stubbornness rather than wisdom as he aged?
...Well, it was not a particularly important issue.
In any case, the Sect Leader was destined to be held responsible for his actions in this place, and that responsibility would soon be his death.
'Still, as a final mercy.'
He could at least let the man know by whose hand he was dying.
Because, at one point, he was someone he could have called a comrade.
Reaching that judgment, Yu-hyeon placed his hand on his face.
Then, a mask—or rather, a layer of skin—came away in his hand, and Yu-hyeon’s appearance and hair color began to change.
Soon, Yu-hyeon’s form transformed into his original appearance, featuring the face of a handsome young man and golden hair, and the Sect Leader was struck with horror upon seeing it.
"Y-You, how are you here...!"
The Sect Leader reacted as if he were witnessing something impossible.
At that sight, Yu-hyeon answered in his original, slightly higher voice, rather than the deep voice he had been using until now.
"What do you mean, 'how'?"
"There is no way you could know the main plan! I hid it so meticulously!"
To the Sect Leader’s pathetic shouting, Yu-hyeon replied in a chilling voice.
"There is no such thing as 'never.' Oh, wait, there might be one thing. Like the fact that you are going to die today?"
As he said that, Yu-hyeon removed the cross hanging from his neck—no, the inverted cross—and took it into his hand.
Soon, the inverted cross transformed into a sword in Yu-hyeon’s hand.
Just like that day when Choi Yu-seong and Yu-hyeon had first met.
"Urgh...!"
At that sight, the Sect Leader gritted his teeth and had no choice but to pull out an artifact.
However, it was not the escape artifact he had been using until now, but one for combat.
He could not say he knew Yu-hyeon better than anyone else, but had he not watched him for a long time?
Therefore, the Sect Leader knew.
He knew that he could not run away from Yu-hyeon, and he knew that no matter what he said, Yu-hyeon intended to kill him right now.
Soon, a mace appeared in the Sect Leader's hand.
Seeing it, Yu-hyeon gave a mocking laugh and asked.
"It has been a long time since I've seen that mace. Just how long has it been since you held a weapon? Are you even able to swing it?"
"You..."
"Well, that's your problem to deal with. Now then..."
All that remained was to take the Sect Leader’s head.
Without a single moment of leniency, as quickly as possible.
Having made that judgment, Yu-hyeon immediately leveled his blade and spoke to the Sect Leader.
"Come at me. At least let me hold a shred of respect before you die."
He did not use his usual polite speech, which he always maintained out of consideration for others.
Instead, he spoke casually, without a single drop of respect mixed in.
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