Chapter 49 :

<49>

Se-gun was running forward when he suddenly sensed something strange. He had already been on constant alert about Tetra Anax, so his nerves were tightly strung.

But from where?

And how?

Screeeeeech!

Se-gun leaned the bike and slammed on the brakes. If it were a sniper, stopping would be foolish—but a skilled sniper could easily hit a target moving at constant speed. You had to change your velocity!

‘Where are you!’

Shouting inwardly, Se-gun straightened the bike he had leaned over and shot forward in a straight line. This technique—bleeding speed with a lean and brake, then suddenly releasing into rapid acceleration—was one of his favorites.

Thud!

But in the dark of night, it wasn’t easy to spot a thinly stretched wire. Just as he accelerated, Se-gun felt something slam violently into his face, sending him flying backward. Thank God he was wearing a motorcycle helmet—otherwise his face would have been crushed.

Scrrrraaaape!

His bike, the XR-250, skidded across the road, sparks flying.

“Urgh!”

His neck had nearly snapped backward. He’d been caught just as he was re-accelerating after slowing down. If he had been riding at full speed, his neck might have broken.

“A wire?!”

Muttering, Se-gun drew his Tokarev. But lying on the road was deadly. Traffic was sparse at this late hour, which meant the cars that did pass would be speeding. If he stayed there, he would die.

“Heh! Not bad!”

Gyeong snickered at the sight of Se-gun writhing on the ground. To survive after getting caught in the trap he’d set—this one had sharp instincts.

“But you picked the wrong opponent.”

Murmuring that, Gyeong pulled out an UZI submachine gun from inside his coat. When it came to killing humans, nothing beat a human firearm.

“Ghk!”

Se-gun tried to rise, but his vision went black. A severe concussion. And in this situation, the enemy’s weapon was superior!

“Was I too arrogant?!”

He cursed himself, but it was too late for regret.

Ratatatat!

Gyeong pulled the trigger. Se-gun rolled miserably to the side and managed to tumble off the road. Every time he moved, his head throbbed fiercely—the damage was too severe. He desperately wanted to inhale Psychedelic Moon, but he didn’t have the luxury of removing his helmet.

“Damn it.”

At the roadside, Se-gun grabbed a nearly empty water bottle resting atop a traffic signal control box. He was pleased that there was only a little water left. He mixed Psychedelic Moon into it and dashed into an alley.

“Huff… huff…”

Gyeong pursued him slowly. The guy was already injured. If he chased too recklessly and got shot by the Tokarev, he’d only disgrace himself. Better to kill him slowly and carefully.

“But is he really that impressive? He doesn’t look it.”

Muttering, Gyeong scratched his head with the UZI.

Meanwhile, Se-gun slipped behind a jeep parked in the alley, shook the water bottle to dissolve the Psychedelic Moon, then poured the mixture into a blood injector.

Click.

“Ugh!”

The needle piercing his body felt disgusting, but there was no other choice. Better to absorb it via injection—faster and more effective—than to remove his helmet and get attacked. As expected, the pain faded, and his vision, clouded by the concussion, rapidly cleared.

“Damn it, where is he?”

Thinking that, Se-gun hurled the empty bottle in the opposite direction. With a sharp slicing sound, it flew backward and embedded into a roadside tree. A pure white knife had ripped through the bottle and pinned it to the trunk.

Bzzzzzzz.

The knife quivered from the sheer force of the throw.

“Why don’t you stop playing little tricks?”

Gyeong shouted that, kicked off the wall, and leapt upward, landing atop the tree—high enough to clearly see Se-gun hiding behind the car.

“Ghk!”

Se-gun aimed his Tokarev and fired. But Gyeong sprang from the tree to the rooftop of a building, easily dodging the bullet.

“What was that sound!?”

“A gunshot!”

Voices began rising from nearby buildings. Hearing them, Se-gun melted into the shadows. Using guns in the city was reckless. Unless certain conditions were met—

“Hello!”

At that moment, a voice sounded right beside him.

“Ugh!”

Thud!

Se-gun tried to pull back, but his opponent’s charge was overwhelming. In an instant, Gyeong delivered a one-two kick combination. Se-gun blocked in a cross guard, but he was still blasted back into a roadside tree, slamming into it with his back.

Thump!

The pain was blinding—sparks flashing before his eyes. But he had to evade.

“Kh!”

Se-gun ducked forward, deflecting the incoming knife with his helmet. With a sharp ting, the blade shot up into the air. Se-gun raised his pistol and glared at Gyeong.

“Ah, let’s play without guns. I’ll put mine away first.”

Gyeong suddenly said that and hooked his firearm onto his belt. To do that in front of an enemy!

“You fired first!”

Se-gun shouted and pulled the trigger. At this distance, there was no way he could dodge! But at that moment, Gyeong’s figure shattered.

“Wh—?!”

“Sorry, but it’s an illusion.”

In that instant, Gyeong darted in from the side and brought his palm down in a knife-hand strike on Se-gun’s arm. Crack—there was the sound of bone breaking as the gun fell from Se-gun’s hand. Gyeong kicked the Tokarev away and thrust toward Se-gun’s torso with a spear-hand strike.

“Kh!”

Enduring the agony of his broken arm, Se-gun forced himself to launch a kao loi (flying knee strike), smashing it into Gyeong’s jaw. To counter a torso thrust with a jumping knee—his split-second judgment was extraordinary. Even Gyeong had to jerk his head back and stumble several steps.

Crack crack!

“Damn. You’re pretty good.”

But Gyeong casually grabbed his head and rolled his neck forward as if nothing had happened. In the meantime, Se-gun was sprinting toward the road.

‘Damn it! That first hit was too heavy! I have to escape!’

He thought of the XR-250 lying on the road. If he could ride that, he could outrun even a vampire’s speed. But Gyeong wouldn’t just let him go.

“Hey. Leaving someone behind and going off alone—that’s terribly rude.”

He shouted that and charged at Se-gun. As he threw himself forward, Se-gun grabbed the Tokarev lying on the ground and attempted something close to an acrobatic stunt—firing it backward over his shoulder.

“Hyuk!”

But Gyeong was nowhere in his line of sight. Gyeong had already leapt nearly three stories high, clearing Se-gun completely.

“Hey. I do have my reputation as an assassination operative of Jeokyodang to maintain. So you’ll have to die.”

Saying that, he pulled out his submachine gun. Se-gun clenched his teeth at the sight. He had forgotten that above one who runs, there is one who flies—and now he would die miserably for that moment of carelessness.

Vrooooom!

Suddenly, a Hummer burst into the alley. The U.S. military vehicle charged forward like a crazed rhinoceros.

“Kh!”

Gyeong rolled forward once, then sprang lightly onto a roadside tree with an aerial leap. But the Hummer plowed straight into the tree.

KRAAASH!

“I heard gunshots and came to check—what the hell is this mess?!”

Sahyuk shouted as he rolled down the window. Gyeong’s eyes widened.

“Alchemist!”

“Hm?”

Sahyuk glared at Gyeong and drew a Colt Python .357 from inside his coat. Gyeong clicked his tongue.

“Lucky bastard. I’ll call it a day.”

In the next instant, Gyeong launched himself onto the rooftops and vanished.

“Tch. Damn it. Let’s clear out for now.”

Muttering, Sahyuk tossed Se-gun into the back seat. Perhaps the battle with Gyeong had been too intense—despite taking Psychedelic Moon, Se-gun couldn’t regain consciousness.

“My motorcycle…”

“I know, I know. Leave it and it becomes evidence! Wait!”

Sahyuk drove the Hummer toward the road, then briefly stepped out of the vehicle. He grabbed the bike with both hands and hoisted it up onto the top of the Hummer. The motion looked almost as casual as placing a bicycle onto a car roof.

“…… ”

“Let’s get out of here.”

Sahyuk shouted that and sped off down the street.

The first thing Se-gun saw when he opened his eyes was a large face of Bart Simpson.

“Ugh…”

Still groggy, Se-gun forced himself upright and tried to think. The questions that surfaced were: Where am I? Who am I? But they were quickly answered. As far as he knew, the only place with wallpaper this fantastical was Sylvester’s room. Then that meant—was this Arjuna?

“Right… Sahyuk saved me, didn’t he?”

Se-gun gave a bitter smile. He hadn’t had a particularly good impression of the man. The fact that Sahyuk had saved him filled him with sudden self-loathing. He couldn’t even handle a single vampire, yet he’d strutted around thinking a little experience made him something special…

‘My arm’s healed, too.’

His wrist should have been broken from that knife-hand strike, yet it had fused cleanly. They must have injected him with vampire blood while he was asleep.

Knock knock.

Someone tapped at the door. Se-gun jolted upright in bed.

“Yes! Come in.”

“Yeah.”

The one who entered wore a slightly displeased expression—Sylvester. He had on a T-shirt far larger than his frame and sat down on the sofa opposite, staring at Se-gun.

“Huh?”

“Almost dying knock some sense into you, brat?”

“Well… That vampire was pretty strong.”

“Even on the verge of death, you won’t admit you’re weak.”

“Well, it’s partly my fault for being weak. Ah—Sahyuk saved me.”

“There may be many stains on your life, but that’s probably the biggest one.”

“……”

Each of Sylvester’s words carried faint barbs. He clearly disliked Sahyuk intensely.

“It’s none of my business, but you’d better be careful. Get close to Sahyuk and I’ll start seeing you as the same kind as him. Show your face in Arjuna again after that and I’ll cut your throat alongside his and hang your heads on a roadside tree for magpies.”

“…… I only accepted help.”

With that, Se-gun left the room. In the kitchen, Kim Seong-hee, who had been preparing breakfast, looked surprised to see him.

“You’re already up? What about Sylvester?”

“I’m not sure. By the way, what did Sahyuk say?”

“Nothing much. Why?”

“I should go see him. I owe him.”

When Se-gun said that stubbornly, Kim Seong-hee gave a faint smile.

“Here, this is his business card. Go pay him a visit if you must. But you’d better keep it a secret from Sylvester. He hates Sahyuk more than insects.”

“Um… He can probably already hear this conversation.”

Se-gun said that, recalling Sylvester’s incredible hearing. She winked.

“Oh my. I wouldn’t know anything about that. Anyway, Sahyuk doesn’t seem to have a good reputation in the industry. Even the vampires seem to despise him. He’s the sort of person who earns resentment from all sides, so it’s best not to get too close.”

“Yes. I’ll be going, then.”

With that, Se-gun stepped outside.