Misunderstanding (2)

"Who is that?"

"Isn't that a hunter?"

"But they look way too young to be a hunter..."

At the sound of the people around murmuring, Yeon-ji frowned.

'If you have the energy to chatter, you should be running away. What are you doing?'

Because she rushed over in such a hurry, she hadn't been able to properly conceal her identity.

And it was all Jung-woo's fault.

He had brought everything he needed to hide his own identity but hadn't brought anything for Yeon-ji.

'Don't tell me this was intentional?'

Recently, ever since her dark magic had reached 4th-circle, Jung-woo had started asking if she had any plans to return to hunting.

But even if it was intentional, that was a stretch.

First of all, thanks to Jo Chang-woo's help, she'd managed to clean up her identity, but the age written on Yeon-ji's newly made ID was currently seventeen.

Even that was a serious exaggeration compared to her actual appearance, but it was still underage, so being a hunter was impossible.

The minimum age required for hunter activity was eighteen.

But that was only according to the law; in practice, you usually had to be an adult.

But as always, exceptions could happen if something caused a big enough stir.

She thought perhaps Jung-woo was aiming for that by making use of the situation.

"Keuuu... You..."

Shim Chun-hoo, who had been kicked by Yeon-ji, slowly got up.

He couldn't believe that a young girl like that had sent him flying.

"I have to go. I have to..."

"What are you mumbling about?"

Yeon-ji asked Shim Chun-hoo, her voice full of irritation, but he didn't even look at her.

He was still engulfed in madness and not capable of coherent thought.

"Don't even think about going wild. You'd better just get caught quietly."

There had already been a victim—Lee Hyun-sung.

Yeon-ji had no intention of allowing further casualties.

Ssshhhaaa!!

"!!"

Black chains shot out from her shadow, instantly restraining Shim Chun-hoo's body.

Only then did Shim Chun-hoo turn his eyes to Yeon-ji, looking at the chains binding his body.

'What is that?'

Choi Seung-chul, who had been watching everything right next to them, was shocked.

He had been surprised when she sent Shim Chun-hoo flying with a kick but was even more shocked by the magic Yeon-ji had just used.

'Magic? No way. There's no way a magic like that exists.'

The last time Choi Seung-chul had been this shocked had been when he saw Shin Ah-yeon's new-type magic during her broadcast.

Wasn't it called circle magic? A completely different system from the existing elemental framework.

If what the girl just used was magic, it was on par with that circle magic.

'Where in the world did she learn something like that?'

He couldn't think a girl that young could have developed a new magic herself.

Shin Ah-yeon was a once-in-a-generation genius and a great mage, so developing something like circle magic made some sense, but this girl was different.

"But you..."

Crack!

When Shim Chun-hoo exerted his strength, cracks began to appear in the chains restraining him.

Yeon-ji realized that Shim Chun-hoo's strength far exceeded her expectations.

'Of all times, he had to devour another A-rank hunter's mana hall just now.'

Shim Chun-hoo had always been one of the top among A-rank hunters.

He wasn't quite at Ji Yeon-hwa's level in her heyday, but he was just a tier below.

And now, he had been especially strengthened by a demon and had devoured several B-rank and A-rank hunters' mana halls.

Calling him over-A-rank was no exaggeration.

A monster nearly at S-rank level.

He was an opponent Yeon-ji could barely handle, as her own power didn't work properly.

"... Are you related to those guys? Why do you smell similar?"

A faint light returned to Shim Chun-hoo's eyes, previously clouded by madness.

Having encountered demons several times himself, he seemed to be reacting to the demonic energy he felt from Yeon-ji's body.

"And you seem familiar. Have we met somewhere before?"

"..."

Yeon-ji bit her lower lip and gripped the chains emerging from her shadow forcefully with both hands.

Then, as Shim Chun-hoo was about to break the chains, his body was pulled from the ground and sent flying towards Yeon-ji.

"Don't talk nonsense, you piece of trash."

Bang!!

As Shim Chun-hoo was pulled forward by the chains, Yeon-ji's fist came down on him vertically with a thunderous roar, slamming him into the asphalt.

The sheer force of the impact left the onlookers in shock.

"Incredible! Where's all that strength coming from?"

"Can you do that with a punch? No matter how much you reinforce your body with magic power, isn't that too much? She still looks so young too..."

Everyone frantically took out their smartphones to record what was unfolding before their eyes.

Since they were standing at a reasonable distance, they seemed to think it was safe.

"What are you doing? Why aren't you all running away? Do you want to die?"

Yeon-ji shouted sharply at them, but the people paid her no mind.

It was unclear whether they really couldn't hear her or were just pretending not to.

"So, you're not one of those people after all."

At that moment, Shim Chun-hoo, who had been slammed into the ground by Yeon-ji's punch, let out a small laugh and spoke.

Maybe it was the shock from the blow, or maybe devouring the A-rank hunter's mana hall was just now taking effect, but his face seemed a bit more rational.

"What?"

"Then getting out will be easy."

Shim Chun-hoo spun his body and kicked Yeon-ji's ankle while she was standing.

He simultaneously grabbed her ankle as she lost her balance and floated upward.

"You're not a hunter who specializes in physical combat, are you?"

"...!!"

"Then you shouldn't be attempting close combat carelessly."

He grinned, then swung Yeon-ji by the ankle and threw her toward the area where people were gathered.

Yeon-ji's body, sent flying toward the crowd, looked just like a cannonball.

'This is... dangerous...!'

The problem wasn't her own safety.

Ever since becoming a half-demon, her body had become incredibly sturdy, so even crashing down after flying like this was fine for her.

The problem was the people who would collide with her body.

'What do I do?'

Should she use her magic power to change her trajectory in midair?

No, that wouldn't work either.

There were simply too many people and too many buildings nearby. No matter what she did, people would get badly hurt.

Crash!!

At that moment, Yeon-ji felt herself being caught by someone.

A man wearing a black mask with his hood pulled deep over his face.

Park Jung-woo had appeared and caught Yeon-ji head-on.

Crack, crackle!

So great was the force that Park Jung-woo, who caught Yeon-ji's body, was pushed back several meters before he finally managed to stop right before colliding with the crowd.

"... That was close."

If he hadn't, the people who collided with Yeon-ji's body would have literally been torn to pieces, and Jung-woo felt his blood run cold.

Shim Chun-hoo was now stronger than when he and Jung-woo had first met.

Not just because he had devoured an additional A-rank hunter's mana hall, but because his consciousness, once drowned in madness, was now awakened.

"Why are you only showing up now!!"

"I was looking for those guys. But you knew that too, didn't you?"

"Well... Yes, but still!"

Yeon-ji had rushed to stop Shim Chun-hoo for another reason.

She had sensed the presence of another demon in Sillim, other than Shim Chun-hoo himself.

It was probably a demon sent to monitor Shim Chun-hoo's actions.

She had thought it might be a demon who knew something, so she went looking, but it was a wasted effort.

It really had just been a demon watching over Shim Chun-hoo, nothing more.

"Still, you did well. It couldn't have been easy."

"Hmph."

At Jung-woo's praise, Yeon-ji turned her face away, pretending not to care.

'Huh?'

Then, suddenly, she realized she was being held by Jung-woo.

Her shoulder was pressed against Jung-woo's chest.

Because her body had shrunk so much, being held by Jung-woo meant being completely cradled in his arms.

"W-what are you doing! Put me down already."

"Ah, right."

When Jung-woo released his grip, Yeon-ji, who had been held like a princess, hurriedly jumped down.

Caught off guard by the sudden situation, her heart hammered in her chest for no reason.

"Hey, don't you know who that is?"

"Who?"

"Jeju Island—the Jeju Island Gate! The person who closed the S-rank gate!!"

Suddenly, an uproar started in the crowd around them.

Jung-woo, who had suddenly appeared and caught Yeon-ji, looked exactly as he had when he closed the Jeju Island Gate, so many recognized him.

"... If you were going to disguise yourself, you could've done it differently, you know?"

"I wanted to make myself identifiable this time. Who knows when I'll need to use it again?"

The sounds of people taking pictures of Jung-woo rang out around them.

It was certain that Jung-woo's image would be on the news tonight.

"You..."

Shim Chun-hoo quietly stared at the suddenly appearing man.

With his madness faded, he immediately recognized that the man in front of him was Park Jung-woo.

He could sense the same aura as when they had met before.

Magic power, demonic energy, and a few other things all mixed together—a strange energy.

It was similar to his own, yet distinctly different.

"... I've found you."

Murmuring this, Shim Chun-hoo bent over, clutching his throbbing head.

The consciousness he had barely recovered began to blur again, drowned in madness.

It had been the same the first time he faced the man.

The moment he confronted Jung-woo, he found it impossible to think clearly.

Shim Chun-hoo believed it was related to the changes in his body.

"If I just devour your heart—your heart—"

He could feel his life draining away in real time.

Even after devouring an A-rank awakener's mana hall, his limit was near.

Pouring water into a broken jar never fills it up.

If anything, the cracks only grew larger the more water was forced inside.

"Keu, keuaaaa!!"

Shim Chun-hoo, drowned in madness, roared like a beast and charged at Jung-woo.

His intensity was nothing like when he'd faced Yeon-ji.

Some in the crowd, overwhelmed by the killer intent emanating from Shim Chun-hoo, fainted on the spot.

Roaring, Shim Chun-hoo drew a sword from his waist and brandished it.

Only then did Yeon-ji realize that he hadn't used a weapon against her all this time.

Despite being clearly a swordsman, he had fought her bare-handed until now.

"...!!"

Engulfed by madness, Shim Chun-hoo swung his sword, black sword energy radiating from the blade.

The sword felt like it would pulverize anything it touched, but Jung-woo met it bare-handed.

"They said it to me."

Drowned in madness, Shim Chun-hoo continued to swing his sword at Jung-woo, eyes gleaming, voice rasping.

Waves of black sword energy crashed like a storm, smashing through the asphalt road just from the shock.

But regardless, Jung-woo's body didn't budge, batting them all away.

If he gave ground even a little, people would get hurt.

"They said my life was on a time limit."

"... Did you know?"

"Of course I did. What kind of idiot doesn't know they're dying?"

When their gazes met as Shim Chun-hoo brought his sword down vertically, he grinned, baring his white teeth.

He had been swallowed by madness, but he hadn't completely lost his reason.

"You're in a similar situation, aren't you? Though you seem a bit better off than I am."

Jung-woo didn't answer, only watching him silently.

'I'm not, though.'

He wanted to say that, but Jung-woo was perceptive.

At least for now, showing a bit of empathy seemed like the approach that would get the most out of this conversation.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=It seems Jung-woo will take action whenever the demons appear.And oh yeah, it seems 300 years on the other world is only 3 years on earth.【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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