Chapter 2017 – 2017. Newtype
“Who’s that?”
I pointed to the man who was keeping a strange distance from the Manipulator and the Mind Breaker. He was wearing a protective coat and had a sniper rifle on his back. It was surprising. It wasn’t easy to get a gun in South Korea.
“Heavy Bullet. He’s an official Guardian like you.”
An official Guardian.
A Guardian who had a contract with an angel, worked with government agencies, and operated openly. They were given privileges and a salary. However, in return, they were the first to be called out to deal with monsters that couldn’t be handled during the Erosion Phenomenon.
They could also be called out for other things, such as chasing unofficial Guardians and handling crimes.
In my case, I had the Cheonil Group as my backing, so I mostly just enjoyed the privileges.
“They don’t seem to be on friendly terms.”
“They probably teamed up temporarily. This isn’t reality, it’s the Erosion Phenomenon. Surviving is the top priority.”
[02:13:51]
There were still over two hours left before we could return to reality.
Objectively speaking, it was better not to get involved with those guys. I only needed to kill one Wolta to return to reality. There was no need to make things complicated. I didn’t have any grudges against them, nor did I have any business with them.
Unlike me, Jung Suyeon’s eyes were shining coldly.
“Heavy Bullet has the ability to control the weight of the bullets he fires. For example, a bullet that’s flying well can suddenly become heavy and fall.”
Her eyes were shining as she explained. It seemed like she was already planning to kill them.
“You’re going to kill Heavy Bullet too? He’s an official Guardian?”
“Even if he’s not as bad as you, Heavy Bullet’s reputation isn’t good. There are rumors that he’s a womanizer and a hitman.”
Jung Suyeon seemed almost certain of those rumors.
I quietly agreed. A sniper rifle was good for assassinations, and the vibe I got from him was similar to those kinds of guys. Or maybe not.
“The most dangerous one is the Mind Breaker. There might be conditions for activation, but you can die instantly just by being hit by his ability. Draw their attention. I’ll sneak in and kill the Mind Breaker.”
She was telling me to be the bait.
It was the right way. She was too weak to be the bait. More than anything, she had the ability to have a faint presence.
“I don’t want to. Those guys look more dangerous than the Wolta. Let’s go deal with the remaining Wolta.”
“One week of exclusive rights added.”
“I didn’t like those guys the moment I saw them. Let’s kill them.”
“…If possible, don’t kill them. I’ll finish them off.”
She let go of my hand and moved to the side.
Was his nickname Heavy Bullet? He was the first to react. He sensed my presence and turned his head sharply. The other two men also tensed up and became wary of us.
“Who is it? Come out.”
He aimed his sniper rifle at me and spoke. I stepped forward, carrying the Hwaryeon Blade on my shoulder.
“Cheonil Group’s youngest, Seong Yujin?”
“That crazy, messed-up Seong Yujin?”
As soon as they saw my face, my name popped out. It didn’t feel good to hear my name from the mouths of these kinds of guys.
‘I guess I’ve become famous.’
It was inevitable. Instead of apologizing at the drug party press conference, I beat up a reporter. By the way, that reporter had a nerve problem and couldn’t move his body below the neck. Of course, this fact wasn’t known to the public.
“What business does the young master of the Cheonil Group have with us?”
The Manipulator said. He was full of hostility towards me. In my experience, it was jealousy. The Manipulator looked like he had a life of misfortune and poverty.
“Hey, are you an orphan?”
The Manipulator’s face crumpled. He started emitting blatant killing intent.
“Did you come here to pick a fight? It’s true that you’re not just rude, but your manners are dead. Hey, young master. This is the Erosion Phenomenon. Even if you die here, reality can’t uncover the truth. From the looks of it, you don’t have any guards either…”
“Don’t.”
Heavy Bullet stood in front of the Manipulator and said. He lowered his gun and then spoke to me.
“I apologize for this guy’s nonsense. I’m Heavy Bullet, an official Guardian. I’m active in Incheon, and I have no intention of being hostile to Seong Yujin. It would be uncomfortable for us to be together, so let’s part ways. If you have business in this place, we’ll step aside.”
He knew his place well. If it were my usual self, I would have nodded and told him to get lost. But I needed to draw their attention.
‘How do I pick a fight?’
I didn’t have any ill feelings towards these guys. Or at least, I was trying to think that way, but then I saw the Manipulator behind Heavy Bullet.
“Damn it. Didn’t that orphan understand what I said to him? I have to kill that bastard here. Hey, Heavy Bullet. Kill that bastard.”
“I apologized to Seong Yujin on his behalf…”
“If you kill someone and apologize on their behalf, can you be forgiven?”
“I, I’m sorry!”
The Manipulator quickly came to his senses and bowed his head in front of me.
“That apology. I’ll accept it.”
At the same time, I swung the Hwaryeon Blade.
Clang!
Heavy Bullet’s sniper rifle blocked my Hwaryeon Blade. It wasn’t an ordinary sniper rifle after all.
“What are you doing?”
“That’s what I should be saying. Didn’t you say you accepted the apology?”
“Accepting an apology and compensation are different concepts. Are you an idiot?”
“……”
Heavy Bullet opened his mouth as if he was dumbfounded.
“But why are you interfering? Are you dating this guy? Gays should be killed…”
“I have a promise with him. I have something to get from him. So let’s end this here. Let’s do it nicely.”
Heavy Bullet’s voice was full of confidence. He seemed to think he could take me down anytime.
“Nicely? Okay. It seems like what I think of as nicely is a bit different.”
I put my hand in my pocket.
Guardians become stronger the more they resolve the Erosion Phenomenon. However, they don’t just get stronger by surviving. In this world, Seong Yujin was a third-generation chaebol and had great talent, but he had lived a dissolute life without training. As a result, his combat ability was below average.
‘These guys are stronger than the chairman’s secretaries I killed.’
I couldn’t win if I fought head-on.
I opened my cigarette case and put a drug cigarette in my mouth. I lit it with a spark and took a deep drag.
Heavy Bullet narrowed his eyes. He aimed for my head with a dagger hidden in his sleeve. I quickly dodged, but the drugs were cut and fell to the ground. I hadn’t even finished half of it, what a shame.
“…Drugs. Is that a coping drug? Kill this bastard.”
Heavy Bullet, who had quickly made a judgment, stepped back and aimed his gun at me. A bullet was fired, aiming for my head. I, who had been watching the gun barrel, tilted my head and dodged the bullet.
‘It’s not good to give a sniper distance. I have to stick to him even if I have to force it.’
I followed Heavy Bullet and swung my sword, trying to kill the Manipulator. The Manipulator also seemed to be no ordinary guy, as he blocked my sword with a wire he created with his ability and created distance.
‘This isn’t good.’
The Manipulator was mid-range. Heavy Bullet was long-range. If I chased one, the other would be a problem. It was scary to kill the Manipulator first because of Heavy Bullet’s long-range sniping. Especially since the current Erosion Phenomenon was not an open space without obstacles.
‘I’ll kill Heavy Bullet first. That’s the best way.’
Four wires with sharp edges flew like whips from behind.
‘It’s much better than long-range sniping.’
At least, I could clearly feel their movements with my current senses.
I pretended to swing my sword at Heavy Bullet and reached out towards the wires. The wires were wrapped around the blade of the Hwaryeon Blade.
Pzzzzzzzzzz!
Red lightning surged, traveling along the wires towards the Manipulator. The Manipulator, startled, cut the wires extending from his fingers. Instead, he used another method. He stuck the wires into the ground.
A clay doll made of gray soil rose. There were five of them.
I could see why he was called the Manipulator. He wasn’t called the Manipulator because he manipulated wires, but because he manipulated something with wires. The dolls approached me. They weren’t particularly threatening. I could feel all their movements.
‘Drugs, they’re amazing!’
I started to get excited. The hand holding the sword tightened. Even though I hadn’t even finished half of it, the effect was enough.
Kwakwakwang!
Lightning struck him. But he read the direction of my force and dodged to the side. As expected. I knew the lightning wouldn’t work. I dropped the lightning to create an opening.
Thunder Heaven Style (雷天流) Thunder Flash (雷光).
Swish!
Heavy Bullet’s right arm fell off. I was planning to cut him in half, but he dodged.
“Mind Breaker!! What are you doing! Use your ability now!!”
Heavy Bullet shouted.
The Mind Breaker, who had been watching from a distance and enjoying himself, was startled and started running towards us.
‘I guess he has a range.’
I was about to send a sword aura towards the Mind Breaker, but I stopped. Jung Suyeon appeared behind the Mind Breaker with a blank expression. Her sword was aimed precisely at the back of the Mind Breaker’s head.
Kwaaaang!
A shockwave occurred. Jung Suyeon was thrown back weakly, and the Mind Breaker flew towards me due to the recoil of the shockwave. I saw the bracelet on the Mind Breaker’s wrist break.
‘An item! He had a crazy item.’
It was an unforeseen variable. No, since I was seeing him for the first time today, I couldn’t have anticipated such a variable.
It was hard to create distance. He was flying faster.
“Stop! Don’t use your ability!!”
Heavy Bullet shouted at the Mind Breaker. From the looks of it, Mind Break was a kind of area-of-effect attack.
‘Sword aura… Damn it. Too late.’
The Mind Breaker’s eyes were glowing bright red. An invisible wave swept around him, centered on him.
