Resurrection Chapter 9 - Me? Kim Yitae!

At my words, neither Heesoo hyung nor Kang Cheoljun seemed surprised.

Couldn’t they at least pretend to be shocked?

Feeling a bit slighted, I continued speaking.

“If I’m the target, it’d be better for me to move separately. For now, we’ll draw their attention, so Kang Cheoljun, you and the others can take the chance to…”

Kang Cheoljun cut me off sharply.

“No way. We can’t be sure you’re the target, and I can’t take these people through a sanctuary crawling with monsters on my own.”

“With your abilities, even if fighting monsters is tough, you could easily avoid them and…”

“I used up a lot of mana blocking those attacks earlier. I only have a few skills left to use.”

At Kang Cheoljun’s words, I found myself in a difficult spot. Since I survived thanks to him earlier, I couldn’t just ditch him and slip away with Heesoo hyung. Well, I could, but Heesoo hyung would never agree to it.

Inwardly, I clicked my tongue.

Is the only option a frontal assault?

Then I’d have to use Levateinn.

I glanced down at the sword in my hand.

As a magic sword, it was usually dormant, its power reduced to a tenth of its full potential. Even in its dormant state, it exuded a dark aura so intensely that its presence was overwhelming, but to use it properly, I needed to perform an Offering to awaken it.

The offering was none other than blood.

That’s why my forearm was covered in scars, like those of a self-harm addict.

Normally, a first-class apostle like me, blessed by divine protection, wouldn’t get hurt easily. But since the magic sword was a divine artifact, it easily left wounds on my body, and those wounds didn’t heal well either.

Above all, it’s way too edgy!

In the middle of a heated battle, putting on a self-harm show often brought on a heavy sense of cringe. Earlier, I was so angry that I didn’t have time to feel embarrassed, but now, in my right mind, the thought of doing it again really didn’t sit well with me. I also felt uneasy about letting Heesoo hyung see me wielding Levateinn and cutting people down…

At that moment, Heesoo hyung spoke quietly.

“No Offering.”

I smacked my lips.

“…I know, I know. Even if I end up using Levateinn, I’ll try my best not to kill anyone.”

Heesoo hyung shook his head at my words.

“That’s not what I mean.”

“Huh?”

“I’m not saying it because I’m worried about those people. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

Heesoo hyung gestured with his eyes toward my forearm, still exposed through the open sleeve.

When I went to rescue Heesoo hyung, I had no choice but to unleash Levateinn multiple times. Saving him from the demonic lair was harder than conquering any dungeon. It seemed the fact that I repeatedly harmed myself for Offerings still weighed on his mind.

Feeling touched, I called out to him.

“Heesoo hyung…”

In the tender atmosphere, Kang Cheoljun urged us with a hint of discomfort.

“Your tear-jerking bromance is great, but those guys are coming this way. What now?”

I sighed.

“We fight, what else?”

I replied half-heartedly and looked at the stragglers lying flat behind Kang Cheoljun.

“I’ll do my best, but once the fighting starts, I can’t take responsibility for all your lives. Fight for yourselves. Can you do that?”

The stragglers exchanged glances and didn’t respond immediately, despite the fact that the enemies were human, not monsters. Heesoo hyung encouraged them in a calm tone.

“Don’t worry. I’ll cover for you.”

At that, the stragglers rolled their eyes.

No longer a holy warrior and without any abilities, they must’ve wondered how he could cover for them. But even past his prime, Heesoo hyung was far superior to them.

Everyone was used to relying on divine powers, forgetting the essence of combat. In an era reverting to cold weapons, personal skill was crucial for fighting well.

As far as I knew, Heesoo hyung’s swordsmanship was world-class.

If the opponents were monsters, it might be different, but against humans, he could more than hold his own.

Of course, trusting him and worrying about him were two different things. Ideally, Kang Cheoljun and I would need to reduce the enemy numbers as much as possible.

To conserve mana, we rummaged through our equipment and tools. Picking out a few useful items and sharing our remaining skills, we devised a plan.

Since the enemies were scattered, searching for us, we decided to engage in hit-and-run skirmishes centered around these ruins.

While Heesoo hyung and the stragglers held this position, Kang Cheoljun and I crawled out of the ruins. As planned, we moved about 100 meters without stopping and immediately set off smoke bombs.

Poof!

Kang Cheoljun was slightly faster. As expected of a public servant, he was adept at crawling. I also sprang up and threw a smoke bomb.

Poof!

The surroundings were engulfed in thick smoke, obscuring visibility. Panicked shouts erupted from all directions, and I chased the sounds, fiercely swinging my magic sword.

“Aaagh!”

“Urgh!”

The enemies outnumbered me, unable to single me out, but I had no such problem. I stabbed anyone who appeared through the smoke.

I wanted to slit their throats, but thinking of Heesoo hyung, I settled for stabbing their stomachs or slicing their hamstrings.

Kicking the screaming, fallen enemies who were crying out in pain, I glided through the thick smoke like a ghost. Then, I nearly stabbed Kang Cheoljun by mistake.

“Argh!”

Startled, I shouted, and Kang Cheoljun shouted back.

“You scared me! I told you to go right, why are you here?”

“Oh, I was stabbing enemies and ended up…”

As the smoke cleared, visibility returned. The cunning enemies had grouped up at the rear to avoid getting caught in the fog.

As I’d expected, I smirked. They pointed at me.

“There he is!”

“It’s Kim Yitae!”

“Where’s Seo Heesoo?”

“Who cares, attack!”

Wait, what? I’m not the target?

Are they after Heesoo hyung?

In the midst of my confusion, the enemies charged en masse. Before they could scatter, Kang Cheoljun used a skill.

“Heavy Netting!”

A wide net descended over the enemies’ heads, and they collapsed in place as if a boulder had fallen on them. Seizing the moment, I leaped forward and stabbed my magic sword into their shoulders as I saw them.

“Aaagh!”

Shiiiik!

Where the blade met flesh, dark aura steamed out like vapor.

Unlike normal swords, the magic sword drained people’s vitality. Even a small wound, if not blessed, would lead to a slow, wasting death. And, well, blessings aren’t cheap, to say the least.

Perhaps out of fear, one of them dropped his weapon and surrendered.

“Surrender! I surrender!”

Instead of stabbing him, I aimed my magic sword at him and asked.

“Why are you here? Who were you targeting when you attacked us? Who hired you?”

He didn’t answer, just trembling his lips, so I mercilessly slapped his cheek with the flat of my blade. The guy, his face stinging, screamed and shouted.

“I don’t know! I don’t know! I don’t know who the client is! The payment was just too good…”

“Skip what you don’t know and tell me what you do know! Who’s the target?”

“Seo Heesoo! Seo Heesoo is the target! The target! They told us not to touch you!”

“Not to touch me, but you attacked me earlier, why?”

“Damn it! It’s obvious you’d get in the way, so what else could we do? We thought as long as we didn’t kill you, it’d be fine!”

Something was off. Fine, Seo Heesoo was the target, but why were they told not to touch me? They couldn’t have missed that they’d need to deal with me to get to Heesoo hyung.

By then, Kang Cheoljun’s skill wore off. As the net vanished, the trapped enemies groaned and looked up.

I stepped down to continue the interrogation, but the guy clutching his slapped face, sweating profusely, grinned unsettlingly.

“Anyway, our target is Seo Heesoo.”

Raising an eyebrow, I whipped around. From the ruins where Heesoo hyung and the stragglers were hiding, I heard the sound of metal clashing.

No wonder he answered so readily—it was to distract me.

I knew their numbers seemed too few!

I thrust my magic sword into the guy’s shoulder and chanted the incantation.

“Teleport!”

👑

When I landed back at the ruins, the area was filled with smoke. It seemed Heesoo hyung had set off smoke bombs to disorient the attacking enemies. That made it hard to find him. I couldn’t call out either. What now?

With my ears perked, I waded through the thick smoke. Stumbling over rocks from the ruins, half-collapsed walls, and uneven ground was bad enough, but the enemies popping out of the smoke were worse.

If I encountered someone with their face covered, I stabbed without hesitation. None of our people were wearing face coverings, after all.