Chapter 253 – Even When the Sky Falls, There’s Always a Way Out

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

With a thunderous explosion, the black beam incinerated everything in its path.

[You have killed Hunter Armaan Malik.]

[You have killed Hunter Mike Austin.]

[You have killed Hunter Ronnie Salazar.]

[You have killed Hunter Carlos Bin.]

Carlos and three other hunters were reduced to ashes and disappeared.

It seemed they weren’t wearing legendary items, making them easy to kill.

‘So I couldn’t kill Adam after all.’

Judging by the absence of a death message, Adam must have escaped via teleport with David again.

‘I let him slip away right in front of me again…’

Despite using invisibility for a surprise attack, Adam’s reaction had been faster.

Carlos’s trait had played a significant role in detecting him beforehand.

[Trait – Mind’s Eye]

– Grade: S

– Description: Can sense all stealth, invisibility, traps, etc. within a 50-meter radius. Works even with eyes closed, and can distinguish objects.

‘So that was his trait.’

Min Do-jun had ridden the Ghost Wolf to catch Adam, but his ambush had failed.

All because of this Mind’s Eye trait.

‘Now that the trait is gone, he won’t be able to block my next ambush.’

Not just the trait.

His subordinates were also about to be wiped out.

Though Justin Walker and Benz still remained.

“Only you two are left.”

As Min Do-jun approached like the Grim Reaper, the two hunters raised their weapons defensively.

“What? Want to fight?”

“Even if we die, we have to put up some resistance, don’t we?”

Min Do-jun smirked at Benz’s bold words.

“For someone talking so confidently, your hands are shaking quite a bit.”

“……”

“Abandoned like stray dogs by your master, I almost feel sorry for you. Can someone who runs away to save himself really be called a master?”

“……”

“Well, what would mindless puppets like you understand?”

Min Do-jun pointed his sword at them.

“Just die.”

“Benz.”

At Justin Walker’s call, Benz turned around.

“Help me.”

“What?”

“Only I can stop him.”

Benz seemed to understand what he meant and nodded.

‘If Master Justin Walker’s one-hit skill works, we might have a chance.’

While they exchanged meaningful glances, Min Do-jun cut in.

“It seems you have some secret move. Go ahead, try it. I’ll play along for a bit. It’s nice to see you again, after all.”

“See me again? Have you met Benz before?”

Justin Walker asked, but Min Do-jun shook his head.

“I’m seeing him for the first time. It’s you I’ve met before.”

“Me?”

Justin Walker searched his memory but couldn’t recall ever meeting Min Do-jun.

“When did we meet?”

“Don’t you remember? When you went to threaten the Association President.”

“What are you talking about? I went to the Association with Heo Ji-pyeong…”

Suddenly, Justin Walker’s eyes widened as a realization struck him.

“Could it be… the one who wiped out the Black Sea Guild and transformed into Heo Ji-pyeong was…”

“Ding dong dang! It was me.”

After his cheerful response, Min Do-jun’s eyes filled with killing intent as he raised his sword.

“Now that you know my identity, I’ll kill you as a congratulatory gift.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Min Do-jun charged forward.

“Dodge!”

Justin and Benz split to either side.

Whoosh-!

Min Do-jun’s sword sliced through the air before darting toward Benz.

“Damn it!”

Benz raised his double-bladed axe to counter.

BANG-!

When the sword collided with the axe, the axe vibrated violently.

‘This guy is a monster… a monster!’

He had sensed it when watching Min Do-jun slaughter dozens of S-rank hunters, but experiencing his strength firsthand was beyond imagination.

‘But if Master Justin Walker’s attack connects…’

There might still be a chance of victory.

‘I believe in you, Master Justin Walker.’

Determined to support him, Benz whirled his axe like a windmill to push Min Do-jun back.

Then he created the situation Justin Walker needed.

‘Axe Pressure!’

A pressure in the shape of an axe blade enveloped Min Do-jun.

Though it was a slow attack and easy to dodge, it would cause fatal damage if it hit.

Min Do-jun seemed to know this too, as he moved out of the pressure’s range.

But the space to dodge was limited.

In other words, his movement could be predicted.

‘Master Justin! Now’s the time!’

As Benz had hoped, Justin made his move.

With perfect timing, he lunged forward, thrusting his sword at the exact spot where Min Do-jun had dodged to.

“One Slash, Two Pieces!”

Justin Walker’s most powerful skill was aimed straight at Min Do-jun’s chest.

‘Got it, it’s over!’

Confirming that the angle was impossible to dodge, Justin Walker’s usually expressionless face broke into a smile.

Indeed, his trait could increase a skill’s damage tenfold for one use.

It had enough power to kill even a mid-boss in one hit.

But that confidence crumbled the moment his sword tip touched Min Do-jun.

Ting-!

“Reflection.”

Min Do-jun’s body turned golden, and the skill was reflected back at its caster.

“Huh…?”

Caught off guard by the unexpected turn, Justin Walker could only stare as—

THWACK-

A massive hole appeared in his own chest.

Thud-

“Just—”

THWACK-!

Before Benz could even finish calling out, Min Do-jun created an identical hole in his chest.

[You have killed Hunter Justin Walker.]

[You have killed Hunter Benz Cohen.]

He had killed the world’s rank 1 and 2.

It was an incredible feat, but Min Do-jun felt nothing.

They had been too easy to defeat, despite their reputation.

‘Am I abnormally strong?’

Well, with his combat power reaching 14 million, there was no way two hunters with only 3 million could win.

[Trait – One-Hit Kill]

– Grade: S

– Description: For one use, increases skill damage by 10x. Activate by saying “One-Hit Kill” before using a skill. Has a 30-minute cooldown.

This was Justin Walker’s trait, and it was exactly what Min Do-jun needed right now.

‘With this, I can kill Adam more definitively.’

If he applied this trait to Soul Explosion, his strongest magic, even with 90% damage reduction, Adam wouldn’t survive.

‘Besides One-Hit Kill and Mind’s Eye, I got 14 more traits.’

A total of 16 traits acquired… not 17 because David, the twin hunter, had escaped with Adam.

Min Do-jun checked his revenge targets.

[Current targets: Monster, Adam Bishop.]

Only Adam Bishop remained on his list.

‘Wait for me, Adam. I’m coming to slit your throat and end everything.’

Once he had caught the scent, he could track Adam no matter where he went.

There was no way Adam could escape Min Do-jun’s grasp.

‘It’s only a matter of time before he’s caught.’

Min Do-jun wanted to ride the Ghost Wolf and pursue him immediately, but the 24-hour cooldown was still in effect.

‘I can’t just wait around, though. I’ll chase him by plane or train.’

The distance to Adam was about 1,400 km.

It wasn’t too far, so he might not need the Ghost Wolf after all.

‘It’ll take some time, but it’s better than waiting for the cooldown.’

Slipping-

Min Do-jun turned invisible and left the blood-soaked mansion behind.

* * *

“Damn it, f*ck! Fuuuuck!”

Having barely escaped via teleport, Adam couldn’t contain his rage.

“My subordinates… all wiped out by that one bastard…!”

All the subordinates he had carefully gathered since awakening were dead.

They had been top S-rank hunters from various countries.

“Uh, it’s not quite a total wipeout. There must be some who survived…”

“Multiple American guild members, including Justin Walker, have disappeared from the rankings. Are you still saying they weren’t wiped out?”

“But he might have spared some other guild members…”

David, who was driving, tried to offer comfort, but even he knew his words made no sense.

There was no reason for that monster, who had been slaughtering indiscriminately, to spare anyone.

“That bastard hates everything related to me for some reason. He wouldn’t have any intention of sparing my subordinates.”

Adam didn’t need to check other countries’ rankings to know.

To know that all the subordinates in the mansion had been wiped out.

“How could the subordinates I gathered so carefully… be destroyed in an instant…”

“We, we still have us.”

Though David said this, he knew it wasn’t much comfort.

What good were just twin hunters when so many had been lost?

“Is there any way we can get revenge?”

“Revenge? The last time I saw him, his combat power was 12 million. It was still rising, so it might be even higher now. Revenge against a monster like that who isn’t even human?”

Adam screamed hysterically.

“Revenge isn’t the issue right now! Min Do-jun will be coming after us soon.”

“Th-then why are we heading to Mountain instead of running away?”

“Because running is pointless.”

“Are you planning to fight again?”

“What other choice do we have?”

“But can we win with the forces we’ve gathered at Mountain…?”

“We probably can’t. But we have to fight, whether we become porridge or rice.”

Adam didn’t want to fight Min Do-jun either.

He knew it was like hitting a rock with an egg.

“We’ll lose the forces we’ve been gathering bit by bit, but what can we do? There’s no other option.”

“Um… what about this method?”

David cautiously offered an opinion.

“Those forces were meant to be released in Korea after the coup succeeded, right?”

“Yes, and?”

“What if we release them now?”

“Hmm, now…”

Adam pondered this but shook his head.

“With Min Do-jun there, wouldn’t it be blocked?”

“What if we could keep Min Do-jun occupied?”

“…!”

A thought seemed to strike Adam, and his eyes widened.

“Why didn’t I think of that? David! You’ve done well. I never thought you’d be so helpful!”

“Th-thank you for the praise.”

Though unsure if it was really praise, David was pleased to see Adam’s expression brighten.

“On our way, can we kidnap someone? It’s been a while since I fed him.”

“Oh, of course.”

As David agreed without hesitation, Adam’s lips curled into a smile.

It seems that even when the sky falls, there’s always a way out.

* * *

“We’ve arrived.”

Adam and David got out of the car.

The reason they had driven all the way to a remote mountain range was simple.

It was time to use Adam’s final forces that he had been hiding.

Clunk-

When they opened the trunk, a middle-aged man with bound hands and feet opened his eyes wide.

“Mmph, mmph!”

“Quietly follow me.”

“Mmph! Mmph mmph!”

As the man kept making noise, an irritated David tore off the tape covering his mouth.

“Ah, why!”

“Please… please save me. I’m begging you!”

“Ah, damn. I thought you were going to say something else.”

As David was about to replace the tape, the man shouted.

“I’ll give you money!”

“Don’t need it.”

“Then, tell me what you want. I’ll do anything you ask.”

“What we want?”

Adam grabbed the man by the collar.

Then he threw him in front of the cave entrance.

Thud-

“Ugh…”

“Just stay right there. That’s what I want.”

“Are you going to spare me?”

“Hehe, who knows?”

After giving an ambiguous smile, Adam stood in front of the cave.

“Come out, children.”

A moment later, strange sounds came from the cave.

Grrrrrr-

It was the sound of beasts.

The creatures that emerged from the cave with gleaming eyes were none other than Glowing-Eyed Tigers.

And not just one.

There were at least twenty of them.

“Hiiiiiek! M-monsters!”

The man tried to run away, but with his hands and feet bound, he couldn’t do anything.

The Glowing-Eyed Tigers quickly surrounded him, making escape impossible.

Grrrrrr-

The tigers salivated at the sight of prey right in front of them.

But these weren’t the only monsters that came out of the cave.

Rock Lizards, Giant Centipedes, Swamp Crocodiles, Fire Elementals, and more.

Over 100 A-rank monsters had emerged to see the human.

Adam quickly stepped in front of them.

“Hey, back off. This isn’t for you. Back away, back away.”

Amazingly, when Adam gestured for them to back off, the monsters actually retreated.

“H-how is this possible…?”

It was shocking enough that monsters had suddenly appeared from the cave, but to see monsters that obeyed human commands?

The man was stunned but also somewhat relieved… at least he had escaped being eaten.

But that relief was short-lived.

[GRRRRRR]

The predator’s roar that echoed in his head made the man involuntarily wet himself.

“Drake King. Here’s your food.”

At Adam’s voice, a dragon-like monster poked its head out of the cave.

Then.

SNAP-!

In an instant, it snatched its prey and devoured it greedily.

“Eat well. You’ll need to be well-fed to carry the children to Korea.”

[GRRRR]

As if responding to him, the Drake King growled, and Adam smiled with satisfaction.