Under Creature Chapter 15.2

“Yoon Yigeom.”

“Uh… yeah.”

Seo Dohyun took a step back, wary of Choi Baekgil, and asked.

“Did you get a good look?”

“I looked, but I’m still not sure.”

“When he extends his right arm, a blind spot opens up on his left waist. And it seems he hasn’t adapted to losing sight in one eye, because his posture falters when an object suddenly approaches. It’s just for a moment, but you should be able to see it.”

He figured out a lot in such a short time. Now that Seo Dohyun said it, it seemed to be the case, but he felt he needed to watch a bit longer to see it clearly.

In the meantime, Choi Baekgil wondered, Did I do that? and tried to act as Seo Dohyun described, tilting his head. Not that he would remember it anyway.

“Watch closely this time.”

Then, time rewound. Yigeom watched their fight intently.

‘Left waist, left waist…’

At that moment, Choi Baekgil’s posture broke. Seo Dohyun had struck Choi Baekgil’s temple with the back of his knife.

Seizing the opportunity, Yigeom quickly moved to his right. He said a weakness appears when he extends his right arm. It was much faster to induce it than to wait for it.

“…Cough!”

Choi Baekgil raised his right elbow and struck Yigeom’s Adam’s apple, and in that opening, Seo Dohyun plunged his knife into his waist and twisted.

The attack was a success, but an enormous burst of flame erupted with a blast of wind, sending them flying back.

Choi Baekgil grimaced as he pulled out the knife, and with the resilience of a Blood Hunter, began to heal rapidly.

Yigeom was sick and tired of the sight.

“Gack… Cough!”

“Are you okay?”

“More or less? But how on earth did you subdue him back then? Is it even possible?”

“After you experience it a few times, he’s simple enough to figure out.”

With those words, time rewound once again.

And they fought again and again. Yigeom also gradually began to get used to their tempo.

‘He turned his body to the left here.’

Yigeom witnessed Seo Dohyun naturally bring his blade to that direction. Then, he spun his body and struck Choi Baekgil’s shoulder with a roundhouse kick.

The knife sank deeper into Choi Baekgil, whose center of gravity had shifted to the left, and Yigeom, to press the attack relentlessly, immediately struck his right eye.

“Keuk!”

Just as Seo Dohyun had said, he was gradually getting used to his attack patterns.

Choi Baekgil was a typical ability-dependent type. Because he had an absurdly strong ability, he compensated for his lack of combat sense with it. In other words, his attacks were simple.

His reaction of cloaking his entire body in flames when he felt threatened was also the same. Yigeom fluently stepped back and observed the blazing flames.

The fact that he wasn’t always cloaked meant that his ability consumption was that severe, and it seemed his own skin couldn’t withstand his strong ability, as he repeatedly suffered burns and then recovered.

‘It’s an amazing ability, though.’

The surrounding air grew hot, and even just brushing past Choi Baekgil made his skin sting.

Yigeom’s clothes were tattered, and the back of his hands, his arms, and his calves that had come into contact with him throbbed with burns.

Seo Dohyun, as if he couldn’t feel the pain of the burns, rushed forward like an arrow and aimed the tip of his knife at the nape of his neck.

It was then. For a moment, it looked like Choi Baekgil’s lips curled up, and at the same time, the ring on his middle finger shattered into pieces.

Yigeom was suddenly reminded of the exploding suicide ring he saw at Iryeon.

“…Seo Dohyun! Dodge!!”

And a giant blade of wind, slightly different from an explosion, engulfed both Yigeom and Dohyun.

“…Cough!”

Yigeom was thrown by the swirling wind and slammed his back into a wall with a thud. His back throbbed as if a bone had broken, and he couldn’t move an inch, busy filling his lungs with air.

But the pain of his body being torn to shreds was greater. It was more like a storm than a wind. Within the storm-like attack, there was something sharp and invisible. Deep cuts, as if grazed by blades, appeared all over his body. Pain followed each and every wound. It was a life-threatening wind.

‘How?’

Choi Baekgil’s ability is fire. So what is this sharp wind? The ring shattered before the wind blew, is it related to that?

He had naturally assumed it was a kamikaze ring that caused an explosion, just like the one he saw at Iryeon. But Choi Baekgil, seen through the raging wind, was infuriatingly fine.

‘Does it avoid the user?’

Even so, it didn’t make much sense.

As he was dazedly trying to grasp the situation, unable to move a muscle, he was hit by something flying rapidly toward him. Pain erupted, and Yigeom couldn’t breathe for a moment.

“Ah…”

That short gasp didn’t come from his own throat. He realized now that he had collided with Seo Dohyun.

“…Seo…, Ugh. Are you…”

The wind pressure made it hard to speak. Yigeom wasn’t unscathed, but Seo Dohyun, who had been closer to Choi Baekgil, was in worse condition. His whole body looked as if it had been diced by blades; it wouldn’t be strange if he fainted, no, died right then and there.

He coughed up blood along with a light cough and lamented.

“Hah… we’re in trouble.”

His vision shifted along with Choi Baekgil’s fist, which had come within reach.

When he came to his senses, Yigeom was in perfect, uninjured condition, striking Choi Baekgil’s right shoulder. He immediately shifted his balance, spun, and kicked him in the small of his back with his leg.

It was because his previous attack had been read and blocked at the right shoulder. His body moved instinctively before any calculation could be made.

As they fought, Yigeom exchanged glances with Seo Dohyun.

That ring, the moment that ring breaks. Choi Baekgil breaks the ring when a moment of crisis approaches. Is this his trump card? But they couldn’t just not attack.

‘This is insane.’

It was a perfect checkmate.

‘What the hell is that ring in the first place!?’

A storm of blade-like wind. It was clearly someone’s ability. A ring that contains an ability? He’d never heard or seen of such a thing.

Yigeom ducked, narrowly avoiding a fist that grazed over his head, and let out a silent scream.

‘If something like that existed, I would have worn one on all ten of my fingers!’

“Yoon Yigeom!!”

“……!”

“The route! Did you memorize it?”

“What… Ah. I memorized it… Keut, but!”

He was caught off guard for a moment while talking to Seo Dohyun and got smacked in the cheek.

“Tsk.”

When he swallowed his saliva, he could taste blood. When he ran his tongue along the inside of his cheek, it felt like a molar was loose for some reason. It’s probably just my imagination, right?

“Then go exactly the same as before!”

“…What? Hey, wai-!”

Seo Dohyun didn’t even listen and charged forward recklessly, clashing his knife with Choi Baekgil.

It was a ceaseless storm of blades that dug into the entire body. His whole body had been finely chopped up.

It’s not something you can dodge just by memorizing it!

The wind wasn’t visible to the eye; he had to rely solely on his senses to dodge. And there was no guarantee it would come from the same direction as before.

‘Is he suggesting we test that?’

It was absurd.

Did Seo Dohyun not have a sense of dying? Even if he could turn back time, if it was an instant death, wouldn’t all his abilities be useless?

While Yigeom hesitated, Seo Dohyun raised his knife just like before and aimed for Choi Baekgil’s nape.

Since it had come to this, there was no other way. Figuring he should at least try, Yigeom also stood in the same position as before.

Eventually, Choi Baekgil’s ring shattered, and a blade-like wind blew and engulfed them both.

“Hoo.”

Yigeom steeled his resolve. The ring Choi Baekgil was wearing was a single one, and seeing it break, it was a one-time consumable. It was safe to assume there would be no more blade-winds after this hurdle.

‘First, the right wrist.’

If he moved too drastically, he could get tangled in the surrounding stray winds and get cut, so he moved his right arm with minimal motion to dodge. The fact that he was unharmed proved that it was coming from the same direction as before.

Then he slightly lifted his left leg and ducked his head at the same time, next he shifted his body slightly to the left, and then…

‘How am I supposed to dodge the one in the middle of my chest!’

Yigeom quickly raised his arm to defend his solar plexus. A long gash appeared on the back of his arm, and in the brief moment he stopped recalling, his entire body was hacked to pieces.

“Keut!”

Still, the wounds were definitely fewer than before. After that, Seo Dohyun came flying toward him, and Yigeom safely caught him and fell.

“Hey, are you oka-. You… crazy bastard.”

The word “bastard” came out of my mouth involuntarily. It was only natural, as unlike Yigeom who minimized his movements to avoid getting caught up in the unidentifiable blade-like winds around them, Seo Dohyun had spread his body wide like a star and accepted the attack.

It was with the intention of memorizing every single gust of wind in the vicinity. Naturally, he sustained more wounds than before, and his entire body was so covered in blood that I couldn’t even tell where I should start treating him.

“Lower right, lower left, shoulder… nape, left thigh, knee…”

Even in this state, he was memorizing the recent attack. It was as if he were chanting a prayer, determined never to forget.

The blood in my body turned cold, starting from my fingertips. It was always frightening when death came so close. It was the same now. Death always comes for the weak first.

Nothing gets better by cowering in fear, unable to do anything.

You have to struggle, try anything and everything, no matter how absurd it might seem.

Seo Dohyun had always done so, and even now, facing a life-threatening crisis, he was adapting in order to survive.

How paradoxical.

To not die, you must die.

Yigeom, who was holding Seo Dohyun, suddenly lifted his head. Just as he’d expected, Choi Baekgil was rushing toward him.

For a brief moment, as if time had stopped, many thoughts raced through Yigeom’s mind.

Is it even possible to dodge all this wind? Can I dodge the wind and Choi Baekgil’s attack at the same time? No matter how hard I try, won’t I only manage to protect my vitals at best?

Think. Figure it out. Come up with a plan to overcome this ordeal.

‘Ah, there is one thing.’

But that method was too reckless, with a low probability of success.

‘How many times did Seo Dohyun run the simulation?’

Even with Choi Baekgil’s fist right before his eyes, Yigeom didn’t bat an eyelid, sinking deep into thought and entering a state of selflessness.

This is the 5th round. Can I succeed within the remaining 5 rounds? If I succeed, I can overcome this without a single scratch. If I fail, we both die.

Perhaps the method of memorizing and dodging all the surrounding winds is the better choice.

Should I gamble, or play it safe?

With the dilemma left unresolved, time rewound.

Yigeom reflexively spun his body and kicked Choi Baekgil in the back, then exchanged words with Seo Dohyun.

“I have a good idea, but I don’t know if it’ll succeed. We could die if it fails. What do you want to do?”

Seo Dohyun tilted his head, dodging a flame that shot toward him like a firework, and answered.

“And if it succeeds?”

“It’s safer than the brutish method of memorizing everything. We might not even get a single scratch.”

“Sounds good. Why didn’t you say so sooner?”

Making a mockery of his worries, Seo Dohyun chose simply. Anxious, Yigeom spoke urgently.

“I’m telling you, we’ll die if it fails. You and me both.”

Two lives were on the line. It was impossible not to be scared.

‘Why is he so calm?’

A faint smile graced Seo Dohyun’s lips. His tone was full of conviction.

“There’s no way you’d fail.”

“…I’m only human.”

I was dumbfounded, wondering what the basis for this trust was.

“It’s fine.”

“……”

“Even if you fail, you won’t die. I’ll make sure of it.”

A sudden laugh escaped Yigeom.

I couldn’t believe he could be so composed even in this situation. Of course, I knew Seo Dohyun meant every word he was saying now.

He was a man who was far from joking in the first place.

If he said he would do something, he would do it. It had always been that way, and he had always made his words come true.

‘It’ll be the same this time, too.’

Knowing Seo Dohyun’s personality, he would save me no matter what it took. That’s what made it more burdensome. I didn’t want to lose someone again like I lost Bae Sangwoo. If that’s the case….

“I have to succeed, no matter what.”

Yigeom muttered as if making a vow and moved even closer to Choi Baekgil. This was a departure from before, when he had been a step behind before the ring shattered.

He got right up close and reached for the ring. His hand felt like it would burn from the intense heat and flames.

‘A little more, just a little more…!’

At the same time, Seo Dohyun aimed the tip of his sword at Yigeom’s nape.

“Yoon Yigeom! Get back!!”

I could hear Seo Dohyun’s voice chiding me, asking what dangerous thing I was doing. Since he didn’t know the plan, it must look like I was trying to kill myself.

But Yigeom just stared blankly, his eyes filled with nothing but the silver ring on Choi Baekgil’s finger. It’s about to break.

Like looking through water, no, it’s the same but a little different. By focusing the senses on my fingertips.

‘Did you sleep late yesterday?’

‘It just sort of happened.’

‘What were you doing?’

‘Just… this and that. There’s something I need to test, but I can’t do it alone. You need to help me later.’

I had agonized over it countless times, and recently, I’d even tried practicing alone.

But it wasn’t something I could do by myself, and practicing didn’t yield timely results, so I had asked Seo Dohyun for help.

When I fought with Kwon Sanghyuk at the shelter, the illusion suddenly broke. What was that? It was a completely unexpected development without anyone else’s intervention. Even Kwon Sanghyuk never found out why the illusion had been broken.

‘A, Kang Taeha had Geonwoo hyung ask me if I had another ability.’

I heard that even when I gave him the information that my vision expanded through water, he acted as if it wasn’t a satisfactory answer.

It’s a series of hypotheses. A ridiculous hypothesis that if someone heard it, they’d just laugh at me for having such a wild imagination.

Could it be that Kang Taeha already knew?

Even if he didn’t know what kind of ability it was. That another ability existed besides water.

Multiple abilities like illusion and invisibility, reflection and recovery, like Kwon Sanghyuk or Yeho’s Master Kim Yiseong.

‘The one I came up with is…’

Water, and… the nullification of abilities!

Clang-.

At last, the ring shattered.

Swoosh-.

Unable to stay upright and balanced, I was swept away by the wind pressure without any chance to dodge the blade-like winds.

The blade-like winds had been condensed in the ring, and as they spread out, the closer you were, the more severe the injuries. Before, it had been Seo Dohyun, but this time, Yigeom was twice as close.

It was a natural outcome, since I had approached as if to touch the ring itself.

It hurt just enough to kill me. The pain was so excruciating that I wondered if it would be better to just die like this. Had Seo Dohyun been muttering about memorizing attack patterns amidst this kind of pain earlier?

My hand was tattered by the blade-like winds, and some of my fingers were torn off by the wind. Amidst the stinging pain, my consciousness slowly began to fade.

‘A failure?’

Seo Dohyun, who had been swept away by the wind pressure, staggered to his feet and approached Yigeom. Bloody footprints marked his every step.

“Yoon Yigeom. That plan you mentioned.”

“……”

“Explain it properly. Was this the plan?”

Seo Dohyun asked, radiating displeasure, but unfortunately, Yigeom didn’t even have the strength left to answer.

Barely holding onto his fading consciousness, he was busy calculating how to execute the next chance.

It failed. Why did it fail? Why did the ability pop out during the fight with Kwon Sanghyuk? What was it? What was the situation like? What’s the difference between then and now?

No matter how I wracked my brain, I couldn’t come to a conclusion.

‘It just worked back then.’

This is going to kill me, for real.

I closed my eyes, the last thing I saw being Choi Baekgil approaching to finish off the two of us, who were already in tatters.

And when I came to, I was striking Choi Baekgil in the back. The torn-off fingers, the mangled body. All of it was cleanly restored as if it had never happened. It’s not even surprising anymore. With a clear mind, I moved to dodge the next attack.

If only the variable of the ring didn’t exist, we would have won easily.

Seo Dohyun’s voice was low and sunken, as if he were angry.

“Yoon Yigeom. Explain. I don’t like the plan.”

“…I told you. It’s a plan where we both die if it fails.”

“Change it. We’re going with the safe way of memorizing.”

“Now?”

“Yes. Now.”

Yigeom narrowed his brows. I wondered why he was acting like this all of a sudden. Even as we were having this argument, time was flowing. Every minute, every second was precious; there was no time to be fighting.

After pondering what to do, Yigeom finally shook his head.

“No. Trust me. There’s no way I’d fail.”

It was conviction, not stubbornness.

The first awakening, where physical abilities are enhanced, and the second awakening, where one gains an ability. To achieve my first awakening, I had died and died again without even remembering it when I first met Seo Dohyun, but I finally succeeded in awakening.

‘Humans exhibit superhuman strength in moments of crisis. That’s the Master’s thought.’

Cha Jewoo had explained it to me like that later.

‘Alright, I’ll admit it. You’re right about everything.’

The world is full of contradictions.

As a famous saying that represents this, I could pick this one.

He who seeks to die shall live, and he who seeks to live shall die.

‘And Seo Dohyun… I think I’m probably…’

becoming like you.

Even with death before my eyes, I’m maintaining my composure and just pursuing efficiency, wondering what method I should try next for the ability to work.

It’s truly full of contradictions.

It’s a funny thing. I, who was desperate to live, am jumping into the heart of death, and you, who kept killing me from our very first meeting, are now worried about my safety.

Seo Dohyun. You said it yourself.

‘We don’t die in this timeline anyway, so what’s the problem?’

This is how we live.

Move, and just get it done.

It’s simple.

Though some people die because they can’t accomplish that simple thing, we’re different. We have chance after chance. Just get it done within the given chances.

You can do it. You just have to get it done.

‘Trust me. I’ll do it.’

Yigeom reached for the ring once more.

Humans feel the five senses. Sight, hearing, taste, smell, touch. When you want to smell something better, you close your eyes, blocking the information going to your sight to focus on your sense of smell.

When I first tried to see my surroundings through the water falling from the sprinklers, I closed my eyes to concentrate. And then, I could see. Now I’m used to using my ability, so I don’t need to close my eyes anymore.

It’s no different now. If I want to use the ability of nullification, I need to block my other senses. I just need to turn off all my senses and focus on nullification.

For a moment, my mind grew distant. I moved purely on the sensation of success, instinctively chasing only efficiency.

I felt a jolt at my fingertips, like static electricity.

‘Something. I think it’s going to work…’

Swoosh-. 

The blade-like winds flew at me.

…It’s no good.

I was pushed back by the wind pressure. My entire body slashed by the blade-like winds, Yigeom lay on his back on the floor and quietly looked up at the Haneul. Then, he strenuously raised both hands over his eyes.

‘One, two, three…, ten.’

Haha, this time all ten fingers were completely attached. Did my ability work to some extent? I had fewer wounds than before.

Just then, Seo Dohyun trudged over. He too had fewer scratches.

‘This is worth a try.’

“Gyeom-ah.”

Seo Dohyun asked, drained of energy.

“How many times, how many more times until you can do it?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll finish it within the remaining chances.”

Seo Dohyun turned his gaze to look straight at Choi Baekgil, who was charging at them wrapped in flames. Realizing it was about time to turn back time, he muttered softly.

“That’s not what I was worried about.”

This time, Yigeom was the one to comfort him.

The same comfort Seo Dohyun used to habitually give the frightened Yigeom.

Don’t worry, you’ll be safe. You’ll live. I’ll make sure of it.

“Whatever you’re worried about, don’t worry. We’ll be safe. We’ll live. I’ll make sure of it.”

I spin my body to strike Choi Baekgil in the back, then wait a beat for Seo Dohyun, who attacks by striking the right temple, and attack together.

In the midst of the battle that flowed like water, Yigeom suddenly realized.

Could the fact that I can remember Seo Dohyun’s ability also be an indirect effect of the nullification ability? If so, couldn’t I also break this timeline at will?

I marvel at, and lament, the infinite uses of this ability.

It’s a shame. Truly a shame.

The fact that I can’t handle it properly.

Choi Baekgil considered using the ring his trump card, but with Seo Dohyun’s ability, it might actually be a shoddy, predictable attack.

If only Seo Doa were here, she could have easily dodged the blade-like winds by making a shield of blood or something. No, even if only Cha Jewoo were here. He might have been able to create a massive tree to form a protective barrier.

But I’ve only just awakened to a new ability and am still at the baby-steps stage, unable to even block the blade-like winds, so it all felt like my fault.

The more I felt that way, the more a sense of urgency to quickly master the ability washed over me.

‘There is no hunter who has not discovered their own talent. Each is endowed with a talent suited to them and will inevitably be able to develop it. You who have opened this book, do not worry too much about developing your talent. All talents will be used according to the natural order.’

In that moment, a phrase written in a book I had borrowed to train my ability flashed through my mind. It was so absurd that an untimely laugh burst out of me.

‘What? Don’t worry too much? All abilities are used according to the natural order?’

So when is that natural order supposed to be?

‘If you do not fall to the path of evil and fulfill your duties, everything will flow according to reason, and it will finally be the will of Haneul?’

Pure nonsense. Just specious bullshit. It got to the point where I’d sometimes have the ridiculous thought that I’d rather drink creature blood and have an easier time than face a crisis at every single moment like this.

‘Don’t fall to the path of evil?’

I wanted to fall to it so badly. This is why Blood Hunters are rampant.

God? Haneul? Yigeom didn’t believe in such beings.

But now, the foolish thought that they might actually exist comes to mind. There are creatures, and I use abilities that can’t be scientifically proven, so why wouldn’t there be a god?

If, if there is one. If there really is.

Yigeom extended his arm toward the ring, concentrating all his senses on his fingertips.

Whether it’s fate or the natural order, now is the time…!

Finally, the ring shattered, and a sharp, fierce wind pressure burst forth. Despite this, Yigeom did not pull his hand away.

The pain is for later. For now, I forgot everything and focused, and focused again, only on locking down the ability emanating from the ring.

The heat of the flames? I couldn’t feel it anymore. I couldn’t tell yet if it was because I was deeply focused, or because the nullification was working properly.

But one thing was for sure: enough time had passed that I should have been sent flying far away long after the ring broke.

Yigeom sensed an unparalleled success.

🦅࿐

A, wearing a mask, discovered a cabin in the woods. The cabin, only a few pyeong in size, was so flimsy it looked like it could collapse at any moment, like a temporary house built by someone with no knowledge of architecture.

There was no way it had a proper lock. When I pushed the door with my fingertips, it opened with a creak, revealing the inside of the cabin.

Photos were plastered all over the walls under a flickering light. It was the mark of someone’s diligent investigation.

Someone’s traces, where they lived, their favorite places, the vigilante group, his acquaintances.

Small pins were stuck in related photos and connected with thread. And at the end of it all, one person always remained. A secretly taken photo and his name written above it.

[Kang Taeha]

‘So the investigation got this far.’

As A was calmly examining the photos, the entrance door closed.

I didn’t even need to turn around to guess who it was. I had been briefed beforehand.

“What are you doing here? Mr. A.”

“……”

Noh Jeonggyu entered with a slick look on his face.

🦅࿐

…It hurts!!

Yigeom coughed up blood.

Feeling something strange, Choi Baekgil immediately kicked Yigeom in the abdomen, and the blades mixed with the wind pressure slashed the two of them sharply.

“Hah…”

This is driving me crazy. Why on earth isn’t it working? The ability definitely activated successfully, and the power of the blade-like winds was weaker than before. But for some reason, I couldn’t block it completely.

“Gyeom-ah. It’s a new ability, right?”

“…Yeah. But it’s not working well. I thought I could block it with this.”

Was I wrong after all? What’s the problem? As Yigeom lay there dejectedly, Seo Dohyun threw him the answer he had been searching so desperately for.

“Isn’t it a difference in rank?”

“…A difference in rank?”

“Yeah.”

Yigeom blinked blankly. A difference in rank… That certainly makes sense.

What if the blade-like wind ability is ranked A, while my other ability, nullification, is B-rank or lower? Then it would be impossible to block it completely.

The more I try to block it, the more I feel like I’m falling into a dilemma. I had only focused on succeeding with the new ability; I never imagined a difference in rank would create such a wall.

How many chances were left? Probably two. Considering all the calculations, it was best to leave one to spare. I had to end this in the next round, no matter what.

‘How can I…’

Yigeom pondered all sorts of methods. After much agonizing, something flashed through his mind like lightning.

‘If I keep trying but don’t get the expected results, doesn’t that mean the initial premise was wrong? Sigh, I guess I have to redesign it from scratch.’

It was something Namgoong Sanha had muttered to himself while experimenting on his own research project. Yigeom found a clue in this.

‘From scratch…’

Don’t think about blocking everything. I won’t be able to block all of those blade-like winds anyway. Whether the reason is the difference in rank or the difference in ability mastery, it’s impossible for me right now.

Could you cover the Haneul with the palm of your hand? The difference in ability rank was like that.

But even so, I could at least cover my own two eyes.

Just like you use an umbrella when it rains, or a parasol when the sun beats down, when blade-like winds blow like this….

As soon as the ring was about to break, Yigeom swiftly pulled Seo Dohyun, getting as far away as possible, and then wrapped his arms around him as much as he could.

I couldn’t block it all, but at least if it was coming for us. I focused on the sensation of spreading the ability I had gathered at my fingertips throughout my entire body this time.

Seo Dohyun flinched in surprise and glanced at Yigeom. The ring had definitely broken, yet it was as if a shield had been cast over them, and they were completely unharmed. It meant Yigeom’s ability had worked.

Due to the urgent battle, he couldn’t ask what the ability was yet, but he suspected it was either an ability opposite to wind, or nullification that erased all abilities.

Suddenly, Choi Baekgil charged at them, spewing fire. Yigeom, with his back turned to him, was concentrating solely on erasing the blade-like winds and couldn’t even dodge.

The flames were wrapped around a frame that had become even sturdier from creaturization and skin similar to a snake’s. If I faced it head-on, I’d have to be prepared to break. Without hesitation, Seo Dohyun pulled Yigeom’s head into his embrace, burying it in his shoulder, and extended his arm to block the attack.

He absorbed the attack without letting out a single groan, despite the pain that felt like shattered bone fragments were stabbing him everywhere. It was hot, numbing, and finally, the pain caused endorphins to rush out.

Yigeom, who realized the situation belatedly, hurriedly wrapped his ability around Seo Dohyun’s arm, but it was just after the deed was done. The most he could do was prevent burns.

“…Your arm!”

Finally, all the blowing wind pressure disappeared, and it became quiet.

As expected, he couldn’t block it all, so Yigeom had minor scratches on his back, but compared to his previous attempts, the injuries were so minor they could be easily ignored.

Seo Dohyun tried to clench his tattered right arm into a fist, but gave up when he realized he had no sensation in it at all. At that, Yigeom shouted urgently.

“Time!? Not yet. It’s not too late, right? Then turn it back quickly!”

“Why?”

“What do you mean, why? Your wound…”

“It’s fine. I can get it treated. Ah, Gyeom-ah, your back.”

Seo Dohyun, as if just noticing Yigeom’s wound, hurriedly checked the time.

“There’s still 1 minute left, so I’ll turn it back after that…”

“You idiot! Not my wound, your arm…! Ugh.”

Choi Baekgil must have decided to take care of Yigeom before Seo Dohyun, as he suddenly rushed in while Yigeom’s guard was down.

Seo Dohyun naturally followed all of Choi Baekgil’s movements with his eyes and tried to block him, but he clicked his tongue as he habitually tried to move his right arm and it wouldn’t obey.

In a brief instant, Yigeom was lifted into the air, one hand grabbing his neck.

My breath caught in my throat. I struggled to get free, casting the nullification ability on Choi Baekgil.

Instead of widening the range and weakening the power, I focused solely on the hand gripping my neck. I had already realized that by doing this, the effect of nullification would be stronger, even if the range was narrower.

Even when he unleashed a torrent of his flame ability, looking ready to burn Yigeom to death, not a single spark appeared, causing Choi Baekgil to mutter that he had found the answer.

“So it’s you. The one who made the ring useless.”

Choi Baekgil furiously ground his teeth as what he had considered his trump card ended in vain because of Yoon Yigeom.

The more he looked, the more he realized that Latter was full of truly peculiar people.

Seo Dohyun, whose ability he couldn’t even guess, and the one he thought was just pretty fast, having a defensive ability. In the first place, it was unclear what it was a defense against.

At first, he thought it was possible to defend because it was the opposite of the ability his brother had given him, but seeing how it prevented even fire from coming out, it seemed to be an ability that erased all abilities altogether.

Even when he tried to use it, it wouldn’t come out, as if blocked by an invisible barrier.

‘The nullification of abilities, huh.’

He had never heard of or seen such a thing. It was an ability that threatened the very reason for existence of all hunters.

His objective changed. He had come to get revenge on Seo Dohyun, but even for Choi Baekgil, whose thought process was mostly driven by instinct, he still had his reason.

If he let Yoon Yigeom live now, he would return later as a more fearsome enemy.

Even if he couldn’t catch Seo Dohyun, this one, this guy right here, had to be dealt with here no matter what.

“You’re going to have to die here.”

“Says who.”

Seo Dohyun drove his sword deep into Choi Baekgil’s forearm and slid it down to his wrist, drawing a long line of blood. The grip on Yigeom’s neck loosened, and he gasped for the breath he’d been deprived of, along with a cough.

“Cough! Keuk, haah…”

And so, the final battle between Seo Dohyun and Choi Baekgil began.

Seo Dohyun could turn back time just one more time, and Yigeom continuously blocked Choi Baekgil’s ability. He used his ability in various ways, sometimes weakening its power, sometimes in a way that protected Seo Dohyun.

He could have made it a 2-on-1 fight, but he thought it would be more helpful to block Choi Baekgil’s ability instead.

Thanks to that, a pure hand-to-hand combat without abilities ensued.

Seo Dohyun’s combat sense was far superior, but due to Choi Baekgil’s creaturization, which was a cheat that doubled his physical abilities, the two were evenly matched.

Nevertheless, it was visible that Choi Baekgil was gradually being pushed back.

If one had to be picky, it was Choi Baekgil with all his limbs intact versus Seo Dohyun with his right arm unusable. Yigeom watched them carefully, occasionally helping Seo Dohyun to fight back.

And finally, when Seo Dohyun struck Choi Baekgil on the nape of his neck, his eyes rolled back and he fainted.

It was the end of a long fight.

Drained of strength, Yigeom lay spread-eagled on the blood-stained floor. He was so tired it wouldn’t have been strange if he had fainted right then and there.

He felt even more exhausted than in a normal battle.

‘Is it because of the multiple abilities?’

Because I kept using an unfamiliar ability, I couldn’t relax, and the heat rising in my head felt like something was about to happen.

“Haah… It’s over.”

The battle concluded with one simulation left. Seeing Choi Baekgil lying unconscious in the distance, it finally sank in, and the minor scratches on his back began to throb and sting.

But more than that, Seo Dohyun…

Yigeom held onto his consciousness and shot up to check on Seo Dohyun.

“Your arm!”

Then he looked for the familiar number of the on-call healer.

“Gyeom-ah.”

“Just hold on a little longer. I’m on the phone right now. I’ll tell them to come here.”

Seo Dohyun leaned against the wall and quietly stared at Choi Baekgil. Then he said indifferently.

“Choi Baekgil. Should I kill him?”

Yigeom’s face hardened as he asked back.

“What did you just say?”

“I said, should I kill him.”

“…Why?”

“Isn’t it because we let him live that he keeps crawling back?”

Seo Dohyun muttered nonchalantly. If Yigeom gave his permission, he looked ready to press a sword to his neck right away.

“Still…”

It’s not that I’ve never killed a person. But that was only for opponents I couldn’t subdue, and I hadn’t even killed Kwon Sanghyuk, instead handing him over to the vigilante group.

It’s not like arguing about right and wrong now will change anything, but to kill an unconscious, defenseless person?

Isn’t that a far cry from being ethical?

No, of course this person is the worst kind of criminal, but…

“Why? You don’t think that’s right?”

“…Yeah.”

“What if he escapes again later and kills Doa, or Jewoo, or Sanha hyung, saying it’s for revenge? The seeds of evil must be eliminated in advance.”

“……”

Yigeom hesitated, unable to decide. Seo Dohyun’s words weren’t wrong. But do we have the right to decide whether Choi Baekgil lives or dies?