VSP 156

His head hurt.

He wondered if chewing and swallowing some painkillers would help, just like he’d done the past few days, but there was no way he’d find anything like that right now.

Cha Dogyeong pretended to be fine on the outside, but his physical condition was actually at its worst. It was likely the worst it’d been in years. He hadn’t caught a single cold or body ache after he became a hunter, nor even before then, but his current state felt just like that. His whole body felt heavy, as if he’d stepped into water with actual mass, and his head ached. An ordinary person would’ve diagnosed themselves even before they went to the hospital.

However, if his body couldn’t catch such things, what was this? Maybe stress?

Something massive approached him right as that silly thought crossed his mind. Cha Dogyeong kicked off the ground and jumped up lightly, as if he’d never even thought about his body being heavy.

Boom!

A giant club swept through the spot where Cha Dogyeong was just standing. It should’ve been slow with a body that big, but it unleashed incredible power at a speed that would leave only afterimages to an ordinary person’s eyes. The surrounding buildings couldn’t withstand it. Everything near Asura’s position, except for one or two buildings, had already turned to dust. Since he’d blown the buildings away, maybe it’d be easier to restore them later, if they could win this battle, that is.

According to the original plan, Asura’s arms shouldn’t have remained, but unfortunately, the other five arms were vigorously attacking the hunters, except for one. The creature’s arms were much sturdier, stronger, and faster than the ones they’d faced in the past. It was as if to support Seo Sejun’s words. His three heads tormented the hunters by spitting acid or fire between the five arms’ attacks. The attacking hunters couldn’t rest for even a second because the monster tried to pull his body out of the ground whenever they stopped.

Cha Dogyeong saw an arm reach out to grab him again, so he struck the giant arm with a blade he’d created by condensing mana.

Thwack!

The blade slammed into the forearm with a bursting sound. It should’ve been sliced off, but the arm only recoiled once and left only a shallow mark on its skin. Cha Dogyeong clicked his tongue. Asura’s lower body continued to crawl out of the ground while they fought. Cha Dogyeong could guarantee one thing: the moment that lower body fully emerged and the monster gained total freedom, South Korea would be finished, at the very least.

Everyone knew that.

“-The lower body is slowly…ing.”

“-Attack… get out…”.

Incomprehensible words drifted through the artifact, which had been in poor condition for a while now. He couldn’t tell for sure, but they were being pushed back. It wasn’t a good sign. However, just as Cha Dogyeong had that pessimistic thought, a giant dragon’s shadow cast over Asura’s arm as if to prove him wrong. A person jumped down from above, and blood geysered up with a massive roar.

Clang! One of Asura’s arms was severed and rolled on the ground with a sound like a giant hunk of metal hitting the floor.

“Graaaaagh!”

The three heads screamed in unison. One of Asura’s enraged heads spat acid at the human who’d dealt the fatal blow, but it couldn’t pierce the dragon’s scales as the beast moved down instantly to protect its summoner.

“Wow, that was close.”

Seo Sejun returned to Cha Dogyeong’s vicinity while he rode the dragon calmly. He said things like, “Yeah, yeah, I get it,” as if he were listening to the dragon’s grumbling, which Cha Dogyeong couldn’t hear.

Was it a manifestation?

It was only for a moment, but Cha Dogyeong saw it clearly. Seo Sejun was the one who’d cut Asura’s arm, not the dragon. Cha Dogyeong had never seen such a method before, where someone wrapped a part of a dragon’s physical body around themselves to attack. He’d never seen a summoner who fought like that.

Seo Sejun turned his head toward Cha Dogyeong, perhaps because he felt the gaze. Cha Dogyeong didn’t avoid his gaze, but he felt restless when he saw the man’s grinning face. He had no choice but to look away first.

“Phew.”

Asura’s lower body would emerge if the attacks stopped. Cha Dogyeong tried to continue his assault without rest, but at that moment, a large hole was punched through one of Asura’s fast-moving arms. A figure jumped into the air while Asura flinched and swung a sword, slicing off all his fingers. Then, another figure that seemed giant for a human pounded Asura’s relatively weak wrist relentlessly, as if they were tenderizing meat.

And then, another cut.

Thud! Asura didn’t even have time to scream again as he watched his wrist fall to the ground. One of the faces on the right was riddled with holes and lost its eyes in an instant. Red fluid sprayed from countless holes like a fountain and soaked the entire face. Meanwhile, another face took a direct hit from a giant flame, and its skin bubbled as if it had suffered severe burns. Flesh melted with a sizzling sound, and the smell of burning meat filled the air. Smoke rose from the face, which was distorted beyond recognition. Pus and fluid from burst blisters trickled down the jawline.

“Oh, they’re S-ranks after all.”

It was just as Seo Sejun marveled. Asura’s three heads began to shout and heave his body, as if it knew it couldn’t go on like this. He covered his face with his three remaining arms and curled up.

Hiss

Dark red energy swirled around his body, and the holes and wounds began to close slowly with a crackling sound. Cha Dogyeong frowned. He knew exactly what this signal meant because he’d experienced it before. In game terms, it was Phase 2, or a sort of Phase 3 if they considered the “Egg” stage.

It was the stage where the creature gave up on escaping the ground and instead used his full power and every possible means. In the past, every S-rank had almost been wiped out by the energy the monster unleashed immediately after he finished his recovery. Now that the monster was much stronger than before, it was right to feel anxiety rather than joy that the battle had finally passed the halfway point.

“It’s not too bad yet, but we’ll be wiped out at this rate,” Seo Sejun said nonchalantly as he stood by Cha Dogyeong’s side. His voice lacked emotion, as if he were talking about something that had nothing to do with him.

Cha Dogyeong’s eyebrow twitched.

“Ha.”

Why did Seo Sejun have to be the one next to him right now? He was the person who currently disturbed his peace the most. He saw someone attack Asura while he covered his face in the distance, but the monster didn’t receive a single scratch since he was using all its energy for defense, recovery, and a new leap forward.

“Stop the attack. It won’t work.”

He didn’t know if the message would go through since the Artifact was in such poor condition, but the attacks stopped as soon as Cha Dogyeong said it.

“Ha.”

Cha Dogyeong sighed and relaxed his tense body. He felt his poor physical condition once the tension left the muscles he’d kept tight with constant alertness. His whole body ached. However, he had to recover and save his strength too, just as Asura increased his power while he healed.

Seo Sejun also came and sat quietly by Cha Dogyeong’s side. Cha Dogyeong’s eyebrow twitched at the movement. If he had to wait, it was a minor misfortune that such an unwelcome person was beside him.

No.

Cha Dogyeong decided to change his mind. If there was a chance to talk, it was now. He took a deep breath and spoke.

“…Let me ask you one thing.”

“Hmm?”

Seo Sejun’s eyes widened, as if he hadn’t expected Cha Dogyeong to speak first. However, his bright, smiling face became sly again, as if he’d never been surprised.

“Our Cha Dogyeong finally learned how to make small talk with the person next to him. Sure, what do you want to ask?”

Cha Dogyeong felt uncomfortable with the overly welcoming attitude, but he closed and opened his eyes before he asked, “Why did you come here? To this world. I don’t think there’s anything here that would help you.”

According to his words from last time, he only came to this world as a reward… but he hadn’t heard the reason why he chose to come to this world as a reward.

“Hmm.”

Seo Sejun sat with his chin in his hand at the unexpectedly direct question. He looked like he was contemplating how to answer rather than being troubled by the question. He didn’t seem to want to hide anything or avoid the answer. To be precise, he looked like he didn’t care anymore.

“This is my only lifeline. You wouldn’t understand.”

The answer came after a long silence and was brief. Cha Dogyeong shook his head.