Chapter 45

A few days later, I was watching a train from Warsaw arrive in Hamburg.

"It really is a sight."

A kilometer-long train had somehow managed to keep running along the ruined railways of this world and had finally made it here.

"Not much left now."

The distance from Germany to the Netherlands was not that far compared to how far it had come.

"If they want to pull something, they will have to hurry."

Unless it was here or in the Netherlands, there would be no chance to target the shield generator.

If I were the Descendants of Dangun, I would start making moves right about now.

"Good work."

I caught the candy tossed to me and greeted Lee Se-eun.

"It has been a while."

"It’s only been a few days. Oh, and I should probably tell you this so you know."

She gave me a brief explanation of an incident that had happened in Warsaw.

"So, you are saying Han Sang-ah pruned the heads off some bastards, then used her family’s power to silence all the possible complaints that might have followed."

"That pretty much sums it up."

That sharp-edged execution had shown a clear effect and allowed the relief goods distribution to be completed much faster and more cleanly than scheduled, even if only temporarily.

That woman really was unbelievable sometimes. Still, now that Lee Se-eun and the train had arrived safely here, I spotted Daniel approaching from a distance and extinguished the Paradoxical Flame burning on his shoulder.

When Daniel noticed his shoulder, he 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 left the area and exited the station.

"What is that?"

Near Hamburg Station stood a spire. It had not been maintained and was falling apart, but its outward shape was still mostly intact.

My eyes were fixed on the very top of that spire. I was certain I had seen someone standing there before they vanished. It was no hallucination.

"Yoo Chan-seok."

Han Sang-ah had spotted me at that moment. I spoke right away.

"Follow me."

With that, I sprinted, took a few running steps, and leapt straight to the top of the spire.

"..."

No particular traces were left.

"What’s this all about?"

Han Sang-ah had arrived near the spire as well and asked me a question.

"Someone was here."

"And I doubt you made a mistake.”

She was right, I would not mistake something like that. I had worked too hard to avoid that kind of error. Someone had been here, watching the direction of the station.

I had already suspected the Descendants of Dangun might try something, and now something suspicious had happened.

"Do you think you can track them?"

"You go report to Hunter Lee Se-eun."

I could track them alright. After I spotted them, they had used magic to vanish and flee. The mana trace was faint, but not too faint to follow.

I told Han Sang-ah to report and dashed after the trail. Even if they had used magic to hide, it was not teleportation. Until they had completely left my sight, they would have to keep using mana to run.

And all I had to do was follow the trail.

"This bastard."

The trail split into several directions, each flowing away. It was a trick to throw off my pursuit.

"What do they think I am, some dog chasing a scent?"

Each split trace had a slightly different amount of mana. But I knew exactly how much mana was in the trail I had been following.

That trick wasn’t going to work against me.

After about five minutes of pursuit, the space before me rippled and a blade shot out toward my neck.

"What kind of Joseon hat-wearing freak are you?"

"Since you insist on chasing, I must subdue you before leaving."

A man appeared wearing an assassin’s straw hat and a robe.

"A cane sword huh."

It was a sword hidden inside a cane. One hand held the cane, which could also be used as a club, and the other hand held the thin, long blade that fit inside it.

"This is called a changpo sword. As a Korean, you must use Korean words, not barbarian ones."

I laughed in disbelief.

"Idiot, King Sejong invented Hangul, not the Korean language."

Why were there so many fools in the world who could not tell the difference between writing and language?

Besides, changpo sword was just a Korean notation of a Chinese character term. Holding my spear, I ignited the Paradoxical Flame.

"It looks like you are with the Descendants of Dangun."

At this point, those nationalist fanatics were recognizable by their clothing alone.

"Actually, Hunminjeongeum was not invented by King Sejong. Do you know about the Garimto script? It was created in 2181 BC. King Sejong merely imitated it and revealed it to the world again."

"Talking to you people always gives me a headache."

Mentioning something about BC 2181 meant they were going to drag in Gojoseon somehow. I neither cared about nor wanted to hear their theories. History was for experts to study, not for sword-wielding fighters like us to obsess over.

"To think the Japanese colonial historical view still runs deep in our people’s consciousness. It is painful to speak the truth and not be understood."

"Do you have angina? I hope so."

The conversation did not go further.

"I will not spill blood."

"That’s good to hear, I plan to capture you alive anyway."

Once I caught him, he would tell me exactly what the Descendants of Dangun planned to pull here.

"Then, let us begin."

The thin, long sword sliced through the air.

The sharp aura from the blade left dozens of long scars across the road, slicing streetlights and walls apart.

I blocked and dodged, then countered with my spear.

His body blurred again, turning transparent. He was apparently skilled in stealth. But it was pointless.

I had followed his mana traces this far. Even if he cloaked himself in front of me, I could still see his magic.

"You cannot touch me."

The moment my spearhead pierced his body, his form blurred and several afterimages scattered.

"?!"

I was startled by the counterattack and moved quickly, but the tip of his sword still grazed my cheek.

"This is..."

After nullifying my attack, his counterstrike had suddenly gained tremendous speed. Wiping the blood from my cheek, I glared at him.

"Look, you cannot kill someone with your glare alone."

"I know that, idiot."

Life really was strange, letting me take advice from nobody like him. Our weapons clashed several times in quick succession, sparks flying and shockwaves smashing the surroundings.

Old windows shattered, crumbling buildings shuddered and dropped dust from their walls.

"Something is really off."

When he attacked, his form blurred and several afterimages overlapped with it, then his movement suddenly accelerated.

"You cannot harm me."

"..."

I pretended to attack, then stopped, and his body blurred but quickly returned to normal. Normally, those afterimages should have overlapped.

And his next attack did not accelerate. I stepped back slightly, spinning my spear with a grin.

"Here, try to block this now."

My spear extended toward him. Afterimages formed as he dodged and lunged at me with accelerated movement.

The metallic clangs of his flurry of strikes rang out as I blocked them. Then I thrusted my spear again, chasing his afterimage and driving the spear into his chest.

"You...!"

The bastard that was reaching for me quickly retreated. My spear extended further, following him to the limit.

When his invulnerability ended, my spearhead was buried just 5 centimeters deep, barely lodged into his shoulder.

"Does it hurt?"

He clutched his shoulder, blood flowing between his fingers.

"How did you..."

"Rich experience and countless brushes with death, that is my source of know-how."

It was the same method I had used to deal with fairies in the other world. Fairies blurred when they were about to be struck, sending their bodies into the fairy realm.

Depending on the individual, they would gain immunity to all attacks in this world for about three seconds.

The counter was simple. Keep your weapon inside their blurred body until they return. When they came back, they would be skewered naturally.

"Still, how did you deal with the accelerated counterattack..."

That seemed to be his ability. But relying too much on a unique skill could get you killed without even realizing it.

"You still need solid fundamentals."

He had probably gotten used to evading attacks that way, then using his acceleration to finish opponents.

No matter how complicated the mechanism was, it was only acceleration after nullification.

"There are plenty of people who can accelerate their bodies for a moment."

And I had survived them all. If my eyes could not follow, experience could make up the difference. At this distance, with these stances, I knew exactly what his options were.

It was knowledge built through lived experience.

"Maybe you have handled many people like that,"

But if he thought it would work on me, he was wrong. At that moment, an explosion echoed from behind.

"Seems my luck has not run out yet."

The straw hat man spoke with relief after hearing the explosion.

"So they had no choice but to trigger it early huh? Your boss must care about his people, to pull a stunt like this just to save someone who messed up and blew the operation."

He started to reply, then shut his mouth. I could not see his face under the hat, but it was probably not a pleasant expression.

"And yet the underling is happy to be saved. Usually in terrorist groups, the trope is a skilled subordinate led by an incompetent leader. Seems like you lot are the opposite."

The tip of his sword trembled, reflecting his shame and anger.

So what if it trembled? I honestly wanted to finish him here, but my phone was vibrating violently.

— Stop the pursuit and get here now, the situation is bad! A sarin gas bomb just fell on the northern outskirts of Hamburg!

Gas, gas, gas?! Where had those bastards gotten that?

It was a message from Lee Se-eun. When I turned my gaze back, the straw hat man was already fleeing.

"Damned bastard, consider yourself lucky."

Next time we meet, I will make sure you can’t even move your body.

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