116 – Auction House and Thieves (6)
115.
Whoosh.
The wind blew.
The cool summer breeze brushed against the skin.
Beyond the fluttering hair carried by the wind, a lovely girl was smiling, looking this way.
Externally, she was a charming girl, but within her lurked a sleeping monster.
A malignant, tightly coiled monster.
“….”
People remained silent without saying a word.
The sound of swallowing saliva echoed in their ears.
From the smiling girl, an unknown energy flowed thickly, making it palpable.
Aisha, Soyeon, Gaon Nuri Clan members, and others.
Everyone stared at Yudahee with tense expressions.
Shoulders trembling visibly, as if shivering.
Is Yudahee’s aura that terrifyingly overwhelming?
It seemed even stronger than during midterms.
Ah, of course.
I don’t sense an aura or anything like it.
But how did I know if Yudahee was emitting an aura or not?
Well, just by, you know, gauging reactions around me.
Everyone suddenly gets flustered, showing tense expressions.
It’s definitely a 100% certainty that she’s emitting an aura.
“Fascinating.”
Yudahee was suddenly looking at me.
“Even veteran heroes like Aisha Ilios from the Execution Squad and those from the Gaonnoori Clan seem slightly nervous around my aura.”
Interest sparked in her expression.
“You seem unaffected, don’t you?”
“…”
Well, that’s because I’m a complete moron who can’t even sense an aura…
“Come to think of it, we met before, didn’t we? During the midterms, in the forest. You were just as indifferent back then, probably?”
Encountering Yudahee during the battle survival wasn’t a pleasant memory.
Honestly, I thought I was going to die back then.
And was it really indifference, or was it more like her expression stiffened like stone?
“You cut my hand, remember? Surprised, huh? I didn’t expect a Union trainee to penetrate my defensive gauntlet.”
Half of it was luck.
At that time, Yoo Da-hee was being careless, but I had an artifact that could penetrate her defenses.
“I’ve heard a lot about you. Back then, during the ranking match, our Baek Yu… Oh, I shouldn’t say it.”
Baek Yu…?
Could she be referring to Baek Yurin?
When it comes to ranking matches, there’s no one else that comes to mind but Baek Yurin.
“Anyway, I didn’t expect to meet you here. It’s quite fascinating when I think about it. It doesn’t seem like a mere coincidence.”
Yoo Da-hee raised her head and looked straight into my eyes as she spoke.
“To be honest, I’ve been observing how you all fight outside the barrier.”
So she observed our strength with the help of Yuzabel.
“While everyone else is fighting hard, you just keep giving orders?”
That’s true.
There’s nothing else I can do.
For me, personally fighting is like committing suicide.
“It was quite interesting to see you analyzing our weaknesses, matchups, and habits, and providing countermeasures accordingly.”
I clenched and released my fist repeatedly.
“Whether it’s Joon’s weakness, or Alex’s extraordinary abilities, or the pocket dimension, I don’t know how you knew about all these things in advance…”
Yoo Da-hee’s eyes gleamed sharply.
“…If I were to interrogate you, maybe I could find out something? I think you’re hiding a lot of interesting things. Even that girl from the church, Aisha, obediently listens to you. Of course, there’s a possibility that you’re just a decoy for the fake.”
“What?”
Soyeon scowled, her expression turning heated as if she had heard something utterly absurd. She glared at Yudahee with a sinister gaze, and Yudahee chuckled.
“Kick. Full of energy, aren’t you? By the way, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
Yudahee pretended to recognize Soyeon.
Seems like she remembers Soyeon.
Well, it’s hard to forget a beauty like Soyeon, even if you’ve only seen her once.
“I tried to half-kill you back then, but the situation wasn’t favorable, so I just backed off. But here we are, meeting again. You really have bad luck, huh?”
“What are you talking about? Can’t you see the people around here? You may be strong, but what can you do alone?”
Soyeon gestured towards the people around her.
Aisha and a few heroes surrounded Yudahee.
On the other hand, Alex and John were already injured. They couldn’t fight properly and were in a situation where they could only grab Yudahee’s ankle.
“Oh~ is that so?”
But Soyeon overlooked something for a moment.
There are not only us but also many other people here.
“But aren’t you the one who can’t see the people over there? Look, over there.”
“What?”
Soyeon didn’t let her guard down and subtly shifted her gaze.
And then…
“Huh? What’s going on with those people?”
“Mom, Mom, that man is bleeding!”
“The atmosphere doesn’t seem right. Did they get into a fight or something?”
“What’s this? A brawl? Should we call the police or something?”
The sight of people muttering from a distance started to come into view.
Due to the broken barrier, our presence was exposed to the people. This situation was not favorable for us at all.
Because…
“There are so many powerless civilians, aren’t there?”
…we could use the lives of these people as hostages and exert pressure.
So, to prevent Alex and his group from escaping, I had them confined within the barrier. However, being exposed in the middle of the street like this made the situation a bit awkward.
Well, it’s not a big deal.
“So?”
“Huh?”
“So, what should we do?”
“Wow.”
I drew the dagger and pressed the blade against Soyooyoung’s neck, whom I had been holding onto.
As the sharp blade touched her skin, Soyooyoung’s body flinched and trembled.
In her eyes, raised slightly to look at me, there was a hint of fear.
On the other hand, Yudahee blinked her eyes playfully and chuckled.
“Oh~ are you trying to reverse the hostage drama? Well, this seems like a talent more fitting for us than a hero, don’t you think?”
They say an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
It’s only fair to respond to a hostage with another hostage.
Of course, being a group of villains, holding a comrade hostage might not work out well, but Yudahee had managed to look after the others quite well.
Well, even if that’s the case, I don’t expect much impact from Yoo Da-hee, who is also one of those small-time villains.
It was just an action to buy some time.
Because the moment Yoo Da-hee broke the barrier, she quickly requested help.
To Kang Dae-han and Hong Da-ye.
If there’s someone who’s been disgraced by Yoo Da-hee and has a strong sense of responsibility, it’s Kang Dae-han and Hong Da-ye. They’ll surely receive my request and come here.
Oh, well… It might not make much difference even if Kang Dae-han comes, but what I want is not just Kang Dae-han, but the escorts who come with Kang Dae-han.
I saw him yesterday.
Ju Hwa-yoon of Hwadongpa.
That guy has a really powerful ability.
“Holding people hostage? Try it.”
It was So Yoo-young who was terrified not by my threat but by the threat itself.
“Well, well! Why me?”
“I don’t care what happens to you. This one here, isn’t her ability quite useful? I don’t want to lose her in vain, you know?”
“Oh, no! Are you not a hero?!”
“Noisy.”
“Eek!”
From Noble mtl dot com
With a little more force, droplets of blood fell from So Yoo-young’s skin, and in an instant, So Yoo-young turned into a bundle.
But this guy seemed surprisingly timid.
Having lived as a villain, he must have had plenty of experiences.
Does he really think I’m going to stab him? Normally, wouldn’t he boast, saying something like, ‘Hah! Can you really stab me? Looks like a rookie who has never faced a real person!’
“I, um, Jinhuk…?”
Soyeon looked bewildered at my sudden actions, uncertain about how to react.
Given her personality, even if I were to threaten her by holding a knife to her throat, it could be awkward in many ways, no matter how much of a villain she might be.
I glanced at Soyeon with a gaze that silently reassured her everything was okay.
After hesitating for a moment, Soyeon nodded with a face that indicated she would trust me for now.
I never really intended to stab her, you know.
“If you mess up, I might actually stab you. Kick. Well, I guess it’s possible with you. You’ve made quite a few villains as a scriptwriter.”
“What nonsense are you suddenly talking about?”
Did I create villains involuntarily?
“Although I said she isn’t one… turns out, I was right about you?”
He chuckled.
“Villante.”
With that word, a thud! echoed in my ears.
Dust and asphalt fragments shot up.
Something had fallen rapidly from the sky.
A massive figure vaguely appeared through the dust.
It seemed to be Ryan, probably.
Considering how he easily broke the barrier, it was only natural, but perhaps he had been hiding for a moment.
“Ah, dang!”
Ah, my vision.
The view blurred for a moment due to dust and stone fragments.
I blinked for a moment, but Yudahee had disappeared.
Damn, seriously?
“Isn’t that too defenseless?”
She was approaching me at a much faster speed than during the midterms, almost reaching my nose.
It was a movement so fast and mysterious that even veteran heroes couldn’t react properly.
Only Aisha, with a face that said ‘Oh no!’ came out and reached towards Yudahee, but there was a sense of being a step too late.
“Show me your rumored skills.”
Yudahee wielded the technique called Poisonous Claw towards me.
Her nails, imbued with ominous magic, looked sharp enough to shred even steel.
A finishing move that I, as I am, couldn’t do anything about.
If I received it head-on, I would undoubtedly face death.
Just like that, thud!
The moment Yudahee’s nails touched my body.
“Huh?”
Pzzt, crackle!
A light yellow electric current sprang up from my body.
Alright, it worked.