82. Reunion

Fluttering!

A few seconds after a massive explosion in the power plant. The shockwave hit the road. The trees staggered, the car trembled, and the windows vibrated wildly. It looked like a strong typhoon was coming.

Ko Byeong-gap opened his mouth and looked at the scenery outside the window. Wasn’t it often said that accidents leave people paralyzed? It was just now that a pillar of fire soared high in the sky. Did a missile drop?

‘No way.’

A thought flashed through his mind. It was a very natural stream of consciousness for him to recall the attack on the power plants. What should he do? He picked up his cell phone habitually. He dialed 119, canceled it, dialed 112, then dialed 119 again, repeating the stupid thing twice or thrice.

‘No.’

The report would take a long time. So what could he do now? Was it right to go home after this? His hand that held the cell phone trembled slightly.

“Gah!”

Ko Byeong-gap turned the handle to the right. He stopped on the shoulder of the road, picked up the sword from the trunk, and started running straight toward the flames.

It wasn’t the time to think of rational or practical judgments. It was time to leave his body to its instincts. Every time his legs stretched out, the fire got closer. He ran like crazy and was able to reach the front of the barrier surrounding the power plant.

He jumped up to the wall about five meters high. At that time, the flames soared from another power plant as if they had been woven together.

Bang!

“Argh!”

He covered his ears reflexively at that terrible bang. A hot shock wave followed it like a tsunami.

“They had guards, but what the ** is this?”

He spat out insults as he glanced around. All he could see were the dome-shaped concrete buildings. This time, he focused on his senses instead of his eyesight.

‘The other way around.’

He detected a presence on the opposite side. Well, it was where the flames were going up. As soon as he tried hard to kick the ground, he stopped and turned his head eastbound unconsciously. There was nothing to be seen there, but something caught his attention.

‘That’s a pretty fast presence.’

He could feel its faint touch. The number of heads was at most one or two. They ran away to the opposite side of the riot at a very fast pace. Ko Byeong-gap somehow appreciated that the assailants showed their tails, so he turned away from all complicated thoughts.

‘Damn it, what if they’re monsters?’

Such hesitation occurred late. According to reports, the assailants were at least S-class, meaning they were no idiots or clumsy terrorists.

‘But they’re not brutal, right? So I won’t die.’

Paradoxically, the assailants who raided the power plants didn’t hurt people despite their outrageous goals.

Of course, some people were injured in combat or after getting caught up in the explosion or destruction of the power plants. However, he had never heard of anyone who was stabbed to death by the mysterious attackers.

The presence grew closer and closer while he thought of those things.

‘What? You’re not avoiding me?’

If the assailants were as strange and powerful as he heard, they would’ve recognized Ko Byeong-gap’s presence from far back there, but he didn’t want to run away regardless.

The corners of Ko Byeong-gap’s mouth rose bitterly. He drew his sword violently and dug his soles on the floor. The presence was getting closer and closer. It was just around the corner, but once they crossed…

Pot!

“Huh?”

It happened in an instant. A person in a black cloak approached in the blink of an eye and fired their sword. It was an unrecognizable fast, silent attack.

If the attack were to kill him, he wouldn’t even know why he died. However, Ko Byeong-gap wasn’t an easy boy either. He quickly defended with his own that he had pulled out in advance and defended with it.

A heavyweight ran through his arms. His eyes quickly looked at his opponent. He couldn’t see their identity due to the mask that covered their face. Soon, his eyes turned to the sword.

‘… Is that the sword’s backside?’

They used the backside of their sword. By this point, it became clear.

‘You’re ignoring me?’

“Ahhhh!”

He heaved the sword hard, and the assailant bounced off helplessly. The person, who somersaulted, calmly landed and adjusted their posture. Their body trembled while Ko Byeong-gap tilted his head as if he didn’t understand.

‘Why are they so small?’

Ko Byeong-gap frowned. Despite the full-body cloak that they wore, it couldn’t hide how small they were. The assailant was almost as small as the little ones. On the other hand, the single-edged sword they held was so big it couldn’t be ignored.

“500 million killed. 1.5 billion captured.”

“…?”

“Please don’t die.”

What were they saying? As long as it was an enemy, it didn’t matter if it was a baby or an old man. In Ko Byeong-gap’s eyes, it just seemed like a bundle of money.

His sword fell like a predator’s forefoot. The assailant hurriedly raised his sword. They competed for power, but they were equal. No, it leaned to the person’s side.

The arms of the attacker that held the sword also vibrated as Ko Byeong-gap spread out more aura.

“Gasp!”

“Why? Do you think I’m different?”

“Pfft!”

The mysterious person artistically dropped their sword. They pulled themselves out and moved as smoothly as water. From Ko Byeong-gap’s perspective, it felt like the enemy in front of him suddenly disappeared. Seeing them pull away, it seemed like they were going to run away.

“Who sent you?”

Ko Byeong-gap ran like lightning and kicked his front foot. The assailant managed to block it with their sword, but they flew in the opposite direction.

“Agh, gosh…”

A mysterious person flew into a wall and groaned. The voice was young, and on top of that, it was very thin.

‘That’s a girl’s voice, isn’t it? No, can they be that weak, or have I become incredibly strong?’

To be honest, the last kick he did was to keep his enemy in check. He prepared for a series of attacks because he thought the enemy would withstand it, but it overshadowed the attempt.

He wasn’t even using 100 percent of his power at that time. Thinking it was something suspicious, the mysterious person staggered to their feet, and suddenly, they vomited blood.

“Cough!”

A lump of blood fell from under the mask and pooled under their feet. There was no way they caused a fuss just because of a single kick. If so…

‘They’ve been through quite a lot already.’

How many hunters were mobilized to protect the power plant? Everyone must’ve been desperate to catch the assailants.

‘I’m sorry for those who hit first, but I’ll take the last hit.’

Ko Byeong-gap breathed aura into his sword, which took on a shape and created a huge hammer. He was going to break their legs since it was practically impossible to capture them if he didn’t do it.

He narrowed their distance immediately and swung his hammer loudly. The assailant, of course, tried to avoid it, but it was an attack calculated to get their trajectory. The person tried to defend themselves again, but the result was disastrous.

Bang!

“Agh!”

The person flew away like a baseball bat had hit them. They barely stopped even after being smashed into a concrete structure.

“Cough!”

The person limped like a half-dried squid. It was smaller and messier up close, and their scarred body was revealed through the gap in the cape. Being alive in this state was unforgivable.

Did he have sympathy for them? In the first place, the people who committed the crazy act of attacking the power plants were wrong. Ko Byeong-gap broke the person’s leg and lifted the hammer again, and it was at that moment…

Bang!

“Oh my God!”

A nearby power plant exploded. As the red pillar of fire soared, the shock wave hit.

“Oh, damn it!”

He spread his energy and protected himself from the heat. His eyes continued to observe the mysterious person. If he left them that way, would they heal? They would refuse to die.

He didn’t have to worry about it for a little bit, but then, a second stranger appeared and hugged the weakened one.

“What? Where–ugh!”

Suddenly, a third man appeared and kicked Ko Byeong-gap, who plunged in the opposite direction.

‘Damn it. My sword…’

His sword slipped when he flew. He tried to get up quickly, but the mysterious person stepped on his arms and chest.

‘Huh! This one’s a kid too, but this power…!’

It was embarrassing to say, but he couldn’t move. He felt like a mountain crushed him. They raised their sword, and the tip of the sword aimed for Ko Byeong-gap’s neck. The giant sword fired without any hesitation.

‘No, I can’t die–’

“You can’t kill him!”

Suddenly, an angry shout rang out. The owner of the voice was the girl he faced the first time. The blade stopped close to touching his Adam’s apple. The person drew back the sword in a displeased manner and relentlessly shot his fists instead.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Gasp!”

It wasn’t a fist. Rather, it was like an iron club. Ko Byeong-gap’s eyes turned upside down like he was beaten by the fists. Only then did the indiscriminate beating stop.

“…”

The attackers, who confirmed that Ko Byeong-gap had fainted, turned around without delay. It was enough for them to disappear before his eyes. Ko Byeong-gap was left alone.

They moved because they thought he fainted, but he murmured and waved his rattling arms in the air.

“Ancient… Shop.”

***

The three masked attackers quickly ran. They took the winding mountain road away from the power plant.

“Ugh…”

“Hang in there, Alpha. The Master will be here soon.”

Omega, carrying Alpha, said in a worried voice. Alpha didn’t even have the energy to answer due to the pain, so she put the hem of her cloak in her mouth and swallowed a groan.

Beta, who ran ahead, muttered in a deep voice, “We should’ve killed him earlier.”

“Don’t you know you’ll be in trouble if you kill an unspecified person? Master won’t stay still.”

“But, he made Alpha like that!”

“Alpha was already badly injured. She was caught in a trap.”

Beta groaned before changing the subject.

“By the way, doesn’t he look familiar somewhere? I’m sure I’ve seen him somewhere.”

“I don’t care. I only know of the Master and you… Huh?!”

“Gasp!”

Omega and Beta turned their heads at the same time. Something was chasing them at great speed. Master? No, she wouldn’t appear this way. Moreover, this wasn’t their rendezvous point.

“What? Are you sure you didn’t leave a trail? Could it be that man?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I made sure everyone’s passed out.”

“Faster. They’re going to catch up.”

Beta pulled his sword out of his back.

“Take Alpha and go first. I’ll handle it.”

“We have to hurry.”

“I got it.”

Beta wanted to answer that they didn’t need to worry, but something flew from the dark before that. It was a huge mass of energy.

“Ugh!”

Beta narrowly hit it with the sword. A formidable shock was transmitted along with his sword handle. Sadly, that was only the beginning. In the dark in the distance, a man flew with a flash of light.

“You’re going to punch people and just leave them? Even if you go, you’ll pay for it!”

“Ugh!”

“Give me 4.5 billion!”

That was the guy from before! He approached at an incredible pace and began to pour out a barrage of ferocious sword attacks from the top, middle, and bottom. Such a distinction was meaningless. With just one swing of his sword, the blade extended out in all directions.

“Ugh!”

In an instant, Beta defenselessly exposed his openings. It was just a moment, but the man didn’t miss the opportunity. Five relentless slashes flooded Beta’s body.

“Kuh!”

The man put in a kick to finish him off. Beta flew more than 30 steps in the opposite direction, and blood was everywhere. Omega stopped walking and looked at the scene with empty eyes.

‘He… He defeated Beta easily?’

He couldn’t believe it at all. He had never seen anyone with such overwhelming power except their Master.

‘Is it really the guy from earlier?’

It was strange since he looked the same, but his atmosphere was completely different.

“G-Ghost…”

The unidentified aura the man exuded was terrifying. That was exactly what ghosts would look like if they existed. At that moment, the man flashed his golden eyes and shot his gaze at their side.

“You pea-sized bastards. I spent 700,000 crystals on you, so you’d better not think about being nice.”