Chapter 131 : You Shouldn't Have Said That (2)
You Shouldn't Have Said That (2)
"Kyaaaaaaaaa!!!"
"What did you just say, you bastard?"
Fury flashed in Seongjin's eyes.
Incensed, he summoned black flames and burned one of Kang Juhee's arms.
"Huh?"
"S–Seongjin...?"
Sang-ah and Ah-rin were startled by the scene.
They had never seen Seongjin's face so distorted with malice.
At that moment, the black flames slowly subsided.
Seongjin, having intentionally weakened the flames, questioned Kang Juhee.
"Aunt. Say it again. What did you just say?"
"Eek...!"
"I said, say it quickly."
Once the flames disappeared, Kang Juhee stopped screaming.
The pain had stopped, but her arm was now burnt completely black.
"No... No...!!"
It was her once-holy and precious body. Her jade-white, clear, beautiful skin had been charred like firewood.
The realization that her valuable body was damaged made Kang Juhee howl in agony.
"My... my body... how dare you...!!"
She took immense pride in her entire form, her face and body in perfect harmony.
She gave Seongjin a murderous glare for defiling her body.
'How can this be happening...!'
Just what on earth was wrong with this kid that her charm didn't affect him?
Her ability had proven itself even against S-rank hunters.
It wasn't something even other women could easily ignore.
If the opponent was a child, it should have been a piece of cake. But just what was this brat?
"What the hell... are you?"
There was no effect on something that should've obviously worked on a man.
And there wasn't any surprise even after he found out she belonged to the Sura guild.
According to her research, he should've been just some Hand's student.
"What the hell... is your relationship with that damn Sura woman...!"
Now that she thought about it, this kid did have something to do with Sura.
At first, she considered him just Sura's friend in Korea.
But now, she felt there was something more to their relationship.
As that ominous thought chilled her to the bone—
Whoosh—
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!"
Black flames flared up again. Once more, Kang Juhee screamed as her arm burned in agony.
"That's not the answer I want to hear."
"Aaaaaaaagh!!"
The flames died down once more. As soon as the pain ended, Kang Juhee scowled in anger.
"What the hell are you doing!! Do you have any clue how much this body is worth?!"
"What's that got to do with me?"
"How... how can you not be tempted by a woman like me? A bastard like you isn't even a man!!"
"You still don't get it, do you?"
A sinister smirk curved Seongjin's lips.
She kept rambling only about her looks, refusing to give the answer he wanted.
Seongjin could tell she valued her face over human life itself.
Just from the way she talked about her "worth".
"Seongjin is a man!"
At that moment, Ah-rin butted in, almost in protest.
"How is Seongjin not a man? Aunt, are your eyes broken?"
"And who are you! What would a kid like you know?!"
Some unknown girl showed up and argued with her. Kang Juhee wanted to kill her for her insolence, but her arm wouldn't move.
"I know perfectly well!"
Ah-rin shrugged her shoulders, speaking triumphantly.
"Seongjin has it. I saw it myself."
What did she just say?
Not only Kang Juhee but everyone present was dumbfounded. Especially Sang-ah who asked, bewildered,
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Exactly what I said! I saw it with my own two eyes. Seongjin is a man among men!"
"You mean, you actually saw...?"
"That's right! Seongjin's a real man. So stop spouting nonsense, aunt!"
Suddenly, Sang-ah's mind was thrown into chaos. Just when did she see it?
And why?
How?
For what reason?
She trembled as if she had confronted an unbearable truth.
Of course, the person most flabbergasted was Kang Juhee.
"What the hell is this brat talking about?"
"Brat? If you can't believe it, why not see for yourself?"
—See what, exactly?
"Seongjin! Hurry up and show them your manliness..."
Whap-!
"Kyaaaah!"
Ah-rin toppled over after Seongjin gave her a knock on the head.
No matter how proud he was of 'that place', showing it off was insanity.
Staring at the crumpled Ah-rin, Seongjin grabbed his head and thought,
'What the hell happened while I was gone...?'
How did she, once so innocent, end up like this?
What did those Sura guild bastards do to Ah-rin?
Pushing those thoughts aside for now, Seongjin looked at Kang Juhee, who had collapsed on the floor.
"Aunt. Say it one more time—call me impotent."
"He... hiiiik!"
"Go on."
She instinctively felt a tremendous fear from the boy. Her anger disappeared and was replaced by terror.
It was the moment she finally realized what she needed to do.
"I'm sorry! I apologize for calling you impotent! Please forgive me—just this once!"
She still had no idea what Seongjin's true identity was.
That's why, with no other choice, she bowed her head.
If she fought head-on, she saw only one outcome—her own defeat.
And so...
"So, please—!"
Swaaash-!!
"Die, you freaking impotent bastard!"
She swung her clawed left arm at Seongjin's throat.
If she couldn't win in a straight fight, she'd go for a surprise attack.
If you struck in an instant, even someone skilled couldn't react in time.
Kang Juhee wasn't just specialized in seduction—she'd reached A-rank and possessed formidable strength as well.
Her extended claws could slash through thick steel like it was nothing.
No need to see what would happen if that raked across his neck.
'At least my other arm isn't burnt... huh?'
Kang Juhee's triumphant expression froze.
The claws she swung at his neck had all been pulled out.
"Huh? Why...!"
Blood dripped from her now-clawless hand.
The claws' whereabouts were obvious—Seongjin was holding them in his teeth!
Ptooey—!
Seongjin spit the claws out and grinned.
"What did you call me again? Im... what was it?"
There wasn't a hint of mercy in his smile.
Only a mad aura, wondering how to kill her more flamboyantly, could be felt.
"I–I'm sorry! I take back what I said before...!"
"It's fine. Don't worry about it."
As he suddenly spoke reassuringly—
"The flames already know the answer."
FWOOOOOSH—!
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!"
This time, Kang Juhee's whole body was set ablaze.
****
Kang Juhee wasn't the only one burned at the stake.
According to Ah-rin, all the ones collapsed nearby belonged to the Sura guild.
Most of them had infiltrated Korea with fake jobs.
I gathered them all together and burned and absorbed them as well.
The sight was so horrific that Sang-ah and Ah-rin turned away. Even though it was over, my anger hadn't subsided.
"What? Impotent? Freak? That damn...!"
I ranted as they left the building.
The more I thought about what she said, the angrier I became.
If Ah-rin and Sang-ah hadn't been with me, I'd have torn her limb from limb before the flames did.
Although, the burning was no small thing, either.
"But, Seongjin. What was that about, a moment ago?"
"What?"
While I was fuming, Sang-ah suddenly asked.
"You know what I mean. What Ah-rin said just now."
Ah, that.
Now that I thought about it, Sang-ah was the only one who hadn't been in the chairman's office at that time.
Back then, only Ah-rin, the new transfer, and Eunseol had witnessed the scene.
The only thing left for me to say was simple.
"No need to dig into it. It's not good for your mental health."
"That just makes me even more curious. What exactly happened between you two?"
Sang-ah's eyes lit up, like when she went berserk.
Why was she so sensitive about this today? Then Ah-rin's eyes sparkled as she opened her mouth,
"You really want to know, Sang-ah? Do you want to hear what an amazing sight I saw that time?"
"What was it...?"
"What it was is... mmph!"
"I told you to be quiet."
I hurriedly clamped Ah-rin's mouth shut. Sang-ah, you absolutely cannot find out.
Ah-rin, being a little out of her mind from the beginning, turned out okay.
If you even learned a little, you could end up like Eunseol.
"Alright, alright, let go. I'll talk about something else, okay?"
Ah-rin shook off my hand and pouted. Then, almost grumbling, she said,
"Do you know how nervous I was, thinking that woman was seducing you?"
"So, did I fall for her?"
"Of course not. But, should I tell Sang-ah how you looked after hearing that?"
"Hey, Kang Ah-rin!"
At that, Sang-ah's face went bright red and she tried to silence Ah-rin, but Ah-rin, quick as ever, dodged her hands.
"Today, Sang-ah...!"
"Be quiet!"
"You were afraid Seongjin would fall for another girl..."
"Hey!"
"And you were going crazy..."
Whap!
"Oww!"
Once again, I quieted Ah-rin with another knock on the head.
Grabbing her head in pain, Ah-rin huffed in annoyance.
"Why am I the only one getting hit...!"
"Because you go too far."
"It hurts..."
With so much mischief, Ah-rin really was unpredictable.
At a glance, she looked just like a typical middle-schooler.
If she hadn't gotten tangled up with the Sura guild, maybe she would've turned out better.
"Anyway... what time is it now?"
"4:30 PM."
"We need to get back before six. We can't be late for the barbecue party."
At the mention of meat, Ah-rin and Sang-ah's eyes gleamed. Their hidden gluttony seemed to burst forth.
****
Lu Huikang, the secret Korean branch manager for the Sura guild, was pressing the accelerator with a doubtful mind.
Other than the nightclub he operated, he had one more branch.
The building was shabby, but at least within their organization, it was definitely their turf.
"Why aren't they responding?!"
Irritated, he arrived at the building. A small, rented place in a back alley.
Lu Huikang immediately sensed something was off when he entered.
"Why isn't anyone out to greet me?"
There should've been big guys waiting at the entrance. Nothing but silence.
He rushed inside.
As he headed upstairs, he found all his subordinates' corpses, burned to cinders.
"What... the...!"
It was too early to be shocked. Another body soon came into view.
The only female, burned even more horribly. The horns and tail on her head identified her as a succubus.
"No way..."
When he realized who it was, Lu Huikang dropped to his knees.
It was Kang Juhee, the first woman he'd ever fallen for.
He wondered how she ended up like this.
Didn't she say she was going to interrogate Ma Seongjin to draw out Sura?
After that, she never replied.
'Just who did this?!'
He couldn't easily guess the culprit.
Already infuriated, he made a quick decision.
Ma Seongjin, Sura... he would kill everyone related to them.
Once he decided, he quickly started making calls.
― Senior, what is it?
"Send our guys to Korea. Right now."
― Sir?
"Send every single guy of ours to Korea, now!"
― Please, calm down, sir.
Having lost the woman he liked, Lu Huikang had lost his mind.
But, knowing conversation was impossible in that state, he forced himself to chill.
He explained through gritted teeth:
― They're all dead? Even Juhee?!
"That's right, so round up our people."
― But they're busy. It'll take at least a month for everyone to arrive in Korea.
"What?"
― You know how it is, sir. We can't ignore the threat from that Holy Church bunch.
Since the all-out battle, the Sura guild had started to value every member.
They absolutely needed everyone to stand up to the Holy Church.
"Damn it!"
― If you're in a rush, why not cooperate with those guys?
"Those guys?"
― You know—the ones planning something against Hand. Work with them for a bit, then double-cross them later with our full force.
― How about it?
Lu Huikang pondered the suggestion. He itched for revenge, but reckless action would be suicide.
Look at what happened to the subordinates at this branch.
If he barged into Ma Seongjin's house with what few men he had left, he might suffer the same fate.
"It'll take a month for them to arrive, right?"
― That's the fastest.
First, assemble enough numbers.
While the Heaven and Earth Society gathered, he'd help the Sura guild with their witch hunt.
"A month. Get everyone here in a month."
His rage only grew, but his course was set.