Chapter 045
A few days later, I was watching the train that had departed from Warsaw arrive in Hamburg.
"It really is spectacular."
A train stretching for kilometers somehow forced its way along the railways of this ruined world and finally made it here.
"Not much left now."
Compared to the distance we'd already traveled, the stretch from Germany to the Netherlands wasn't that far.
"If they're going to try anything funny, they'll have to hurry."
If not now, or around the Netherlands, there wouldn't be another chance to aim for the barrier generator.
If I were the Descendants of Dangun, I'd be starting to make my move around now.
"Good work."
I caught the candy that flew toward me and greeted Lee Se-eun.
"It's been a while."
"It's only been a few days. Ah, there's something you should know, so I'll tell you now."
Lee Se-eun briefly explained what had happened in Warsaw.
"So, Han Sang-ah chopped the necks off those bastards, and then used her family's power to shut down all the complaints that could've come from it."
"That's the summary."
That razor-sharp execution, even if only effective in the short term, had clearly worked—aid distribution was completed far faster and more cleanly than planned.
That woman really is something else to watch in action. Now that Lee Se-eun and the train had arrived safely, I spotted Daniel approaching from afar and extinguished the contradictory black flames burning on his shoulder.
Daniel checked his shoulder and finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Hunter Lee Se-eun. Welcome."
"Daniel."
The two met. They probably had a lot to talk about. I stepped away and left the station.
"What's that?"
Near Hamburg Station stood a spire. With no room left for proper maintenance, it was crumbling, but its outward appearance was still more or less intact.
What caught my eye was the very top of that spire. I clearly saw a person standing there—then disappearing. It wasn't an illusion.
"Yoo Chan seok."
It seemed Han Sang-ah had noticed me. I spoke immediately.
"Follow me."
After speaking, I sprinted forward, took a few bounding steps, and leapt up, landing on the top of the spire.
"…"
There were no particular traces left behind.
"What was that all of a sudden?"
Han Sang-ah, who had also reached the area around the spire, asked me.
"Someone was there."
"It's hard to think you just saw wrong."
She was right. There was no way I'd misseen something like that. I'd put in too much effort specifically to avoid mistakes like that. Someone had definitely been here, watching the station.
It was already suspicious enough that I thought the Descendants of Dangun were about to pull something. This only made it worse.
"Can you chase them?"
"You report to Hunter Lee Se-eun."
I could chase them. After being discovered, they'd immediately hidden themselves using mana and fled. The mana traces were faint, but not so much that pursuit was impossible.
I told Han Sang-ah to report it and sprinted after the trail. Even if they used mana to hide, it wasn't teleportation. Until they completely escaped my field of vision, they'd have to keep using mana.
And all I had to do was follow those traces.
"You bastard."
The trail I'd been chasing split into several branches, each flowing off in a different direction. A kind of misdirection meant to hinder my pursuit.
"Do they think I'm some dog chasing smells?"
Each of the branching mana trails carried slightly different amounts of mana. And I knew exactly how much mana the trail I'd been following contained.
This kind of trick wouldn't work on me.
After about five minutes of pursuit, the space in front of me suddenly rippled, and a blade shot out, aiming for my neck.
"And who the hell are you supposed to be, some wandering minstrel?"
"You are so persistent that I must subdue you before proceeding."
A man wearing a bamboo hat pulled low and a straw cloak revealed himself.
"A cane sword, huh."
A weapon where a sword is hidden inside a staff. In one hand, he held the staff, which doubled as a scabbard and a club. In the other, he held a thin, long blade designed to slide back into the staff.
"This is called a changpo sword. If you are of the Korean people, you should naturally use Korean. How can you use the words of barbarians?"
I laughed as if it were ridiculous.
"You lunatic. King Sejong created Hangul, not the Korean language."
Why are there so many idiots in the world who don't even know the difference between a script and a language?
Besides, the term changpo sword itself is just a Korean reading of Chinese characters. Holding my spear, I ignited the contradictory black flames and spoke.
"Judging by the look of you, you're with the Descendants of Dangun."
At this point, you can tell those nationalism-addicted guys just by what they're wearing.
"Actually, Hunminjeongeum wasn't something King Sejong originally created," he said. "Have you heard of the Garimto script? It was made in 2181 BC. King Sejong merely modeled it and reintroduced it to the world."
"Talking with you guys really gives me a headache."
From the whole '2181 BC' nonsense, it sounded like he was about to drag Gojoseon into this too. I wasn't curious about their stories, nor did I want to be. History is something for experts in the field to analyze and research—why would people like us, who just swing blades around, need to care about it?
"To think the Japanese colonial view of history is still so deeply rooted in our people's consciousness. Even when I speak of true history, you fail to understand. My heart aches."
"Is it myocardial infarction by any chance? I really hope so."
The conversation ended there.
"We won't be seeing blood."
"That's good to hear. I was planning to take you alive too."
After capturing you here, I'll make you spill everything about what the Descendants of Dangun are planning to pull off here.
"Then, let us begin."
The thin, long blade swung with the sound of air being sliced apart.
The sharp energy bursting from the sword carved dozens of long scars into the road, slicing through streetlights and walls.
I blocked and dodged, then counterattacked with my spear.
The man evaded the strike, his body rippling once more before turning transparent. Stealth must be his specialty—but it was meaningless.
I'd already chased him this far using nothing but the lingering traces of mana. Even if he used stealth right in front of me, the mana was still perfectly visible.
"You cannot touch my body."
The moment the spear tip pierced him, his body blurred and three or four afterimages scattered.
"?!"
I moved hastily, slightly flustered by the sudden counterattack. Even so, the edge of the blade grazed my cheek as it passed.
"This is—"
After successfully nullifying my attack, the speed of his retaliating strike suddenly skyrocketed. I wiped the blood running down my cheek and glared at him.
"See? You cannot kill a man with your eyes alone."
"I know that, idiot."
You really do live long enough to hear advice from some ragged bum like this. The sword and spear clashed several times in an instant, sparks flying as the shockwaves smashed the surroundings.
Old windows in nearby buildings shattered, and crumbling structures trembled under the shockwaves, spilling clouds of stone dust.
"Something's definitely off."
At the moment he attacked, his form blurred and several clones overlapped his body. Then, in that instant, his movements gained a sharp acceleration.
"You cannot do anything to me."
"…"
When I deliberately stopped mid-attack, his body blurred—and then simply returned to normal. Originally, several afterimages should have overlapped that blurred form.
And his next attack wasn't accelerated.
I took a small step back, spun my spear a few times, and grinned.
"Hey. Try dealing with this one too."
The spear stretched straight out, aiming for his body. He dodged as afterimages formed, then rushed at me with accelerated movement.
With a metallic clang, his flurry of attacks was blocked. Then I thrust my spear out again, stabbing toward his body. Following his accelerated, afterimage-laced movement, the spear embedded itself into his chest and moved along with him.
"Th—!"
The man who had been trying to attack me hastily retreated backward. The spear extended even further, continuing to chase his body to its limit.
By the time the attack nullification ended, the spear tip had only sunk in about five centimeters—but it was barely lodged into his shoulder.
"Does it hurt?"
He clutched his shoulder tightly. Blood seeped through his fingers.
"How…?"
"Rich experience and countless brushes with death—that's where my know-how comes from."
It was the same method I'd used back in that other world when dealing with fairies. When they sensed an incoming attack, fairies would blur their forms, sending their physical bodies into the Fairy Realm.
There were individual differences, but once their bodies shifted to the Fairy Realm, they'd gain immunity to all attacks from this world for about three seconds.
The countermeasure was simple. Even if they evacuated their bodies to the Fairy Realm, you just keep pushing your weapon into that blurred form and wait.
The body that fled to the Fairy Realm has no choice but to return here—and when it does, it naturally ends up impaled on the weapon.
"But still… how did you deal with an attack that accelerates immediately after a successful evasion…?"
That must be his ability. But relying on something like that too much gets your throat slit before you even realize it. Sure, having a unique ability that only you possess gives you confidence, but—
"You still need solid fundamentals."
That guy had probably grown extremely accustomed to easily dodging attacks like that, then finishing opponents with accelerated counterattacks.
Whatever the underlying principle, it was still just momentary acceleration after nullifying an attack.
"There are quite a few people who can accelerate their bodies instantly."
And despite facing many of them, I survived. If you can't follow it with your eyes, you make up for it with experience. At this distance, with these stances and positions, what options can the opponent realistically go for?
Each and every one of them was knowledge carved into my body.
"I don't know how many people you've taken down like that."
But thinking it would work on me was a mistake. Just then, an explosion rang out from behind us.
"Looks like my luck hasn't run out just yet."
The man in the bamboo hat spoke with a voice tinged with relief.
"Looks like they had no choice but to set it off early, huh? Your leader must really value his people. To go this far just to save someone who got exposed and screwed up the plan."
At my words, he started to say something, then shut his mouth tightly. His expression was hidden by the bamboo hat, but it clearly wasn't a pleasant one.
"But look at you—happy that your subordinate survived. Usually, the cliché is a terrorist organization led by an incompetent boss with capable subordinates. You guys seem to be the opposite."
At my mockery, the tip of his sword trembled violently, as if embodying shame and rage.
So what if it's shaking? I'd love to finish him off right here, but my smartphone was ringing like crazy.
— Stop the pursuit and come immediately. The situation is really bad! A sarin gas bomb has been dropped near the northern outskirts of Hamburg!
Gas, gas, gas?! Where the hell did those bastards even get that?
It was a message from Lee Se-eun. When I looked back again, the man in the bamboo hat was already fleeing.
"Damn bastard. Count yourself lucky."
Next time we meet, I won't even let you stand properly.