The Genius Assassin Who Takes it All

“Takashi, how have you been?”

• Me? I’ve always been fine on my own, you know? But it’s nice of you to check in.

“Are you working out at all?”

• Why would I do the most pointless thing in the world…? No, I’m not.

“Handling your clones still requires your body to be in good health, right? You’re being too complacent.”

• Every time you say things like this, Yu Cheonghwa, it makes me think of you as my mom or older sister.

At that moment, Yu Cheonghwa was video calling with Takashi.

There wasn’t any particular reason—she just thought of him and decided to check in.

Usually, when she called, his voice would be pretty low-energy, but today, he seemed lively.

It could just be because of the voice modulator Takashi used, which altered his tone.

Of course, the person on the video screen wasn’t actually Takashi but an image he put up.

Even Yu Cheonghwa, who considered herself close to Takashi, had never seen his face.

Once, she asked him to reveal his real voice just once, but he firmly refused.

“What have you been up to?”

• Just been running a few dungeons, organizing info where pattern analysis is needed.

And I met an interesting hunter… we’re scoping out a dungeon to tackle together.

“Interesting? There’s someone who caught your interest? You, who finds meeting people boring?”

• You might know him too. Hold on—I’ll put up a picture.

Soon, Kang-hoo’s face appeared on the screen.

Naturally, Yu Cheonghwa recognized him.

They first met at Seoul Station.

She remembered being intrigued by this stranger when her mental scan didn’t work on him.

And there was also the time he bought an item from a special market she operated—an unforgettable face.

Recently, she’d seen news of his activities in Japan on Huntergram, so she immediately recognized him.

“Shin Kang-hoo?”

• Yep, figured you’d know. I’ve taken an interest in him lately. He’s totally my type. Like a Takashi 2.0.

“Oh? Really?”

If even Takashi, notorious for his selective social circle, was this interested in him…

Then it was clear that something about Kang-hoo had captured both Takashi’s and Yu Cheonghwa’s attention.

• This guy, you see…

And then Takashi launched into a long story.

Meanwhile…

Emilia was sipping Shackleton whisky alone in a penthouse overlooking the Eiffel Tower.

She hadn’t had a drink in a while—the last time was when she met Kang-hoo.

“The night view of Paris is beautiful, no matter how many times I see it.”

Emilia loved her homeland, France.

But as a Hunter, it was one of the worst places to base her growth, so she didn’t stay long.

Hungry for growth, Emilia was actively involved in overseas activities when she joined Justice.

With skilled Hunters like Jang Si-hwan, Justice was a whole new world.

It was an elite group with perfect conditions for expanding her network and taking advantage of it.

Justice provided access to dungeons filled with rewards and experience points that she couldn’t access alone.

That’s why she stayed with Justice—she could always feel the thrill of growth, with constant stimulation.

But lately, she had doubts about the group’s true purpose.

It was too diverse in its members to just be a social club.

Take Vincent Mayer, for instance—he’s a serial killer. He openly admits it himself.

The only reason Emilia didn’t show distaste or scorn toward Vincent was simple.

She didn’t want to lose the benefits of being in Justice. And she couldn’t afford to upset Jang Si-hwan.

“We’re not exactly playing heroes here, but we’re not outright villains either…”

That was Emilia’s dissatisfaction.

Clearly, this group wasn’t about friendship. But Jang Si-hwan always kept its purpose vague.

He’d said he was gathering people with vision to pave the way for the future… but what kind of vision was that?

Of course, he’d never asked Emilia about her personal beliefs or ideas.

But once, she’d accidentally used her psychic abilities on him and managed to see into his mind.

It was then that Emilia discovered something peculiar: Jang Si-hwan wasn’t alone.

She distinctly felt there was another persona—another presence hidden behind a veil.

Since then, she’d sensed that Jang Si-hwan had reasons for concealing things from this group.

She wanted to understand what that was.

While she, too, pursued power and honor, she had strong reservations about Vincent’s borderline actions.

On top of that, Jang Si-hwan was a complete hypocrite.

She’d never genuinely trusted Jang Si-hwan.

This wasn’t just her own opinion—her close friend Yu Cheonghwa had thought the same for a long time.

At that time…

Kang-hoo was locked in fierce combat with the Queen of the Swarm.

It was an intense battle with no chance to even catch his breath.

He’d already chewed up the Mad Solarkium and was holding the Gakshin Pill between his lips, ready to swallow at any moment.

The one-on-one fight with the Queen of the Swarm was manageable for now. They exchanged blows in a challenging but balanced skirmish.

But the problem lay elsewhere.

‘This is a nightmare.’

The Queen of the Swarm’s offspring emerged from her body and crawled into the corpses of the hunters who had just died.

The last hunter who had stabbed his greatsword into the Queen of the Swarm also died, and he was no exception as a target.

As a result.

“Grrahhh…”

All of the deceased hunters were being reanimated as hybrids.

Moreover, ever since a purple aura began emanating from the Queen of the Swarm, the surroundings changed.

The hybrids that had been still in the village began converging on this location.

In a situation where even facing the Queen of the Swarm alone was a struggle, the addition of the hybrids was like a death sentence for Kang-hoo.

‘In that case…’

Kang-hoo made his move.

Anything other than one-on-one combat here would be reckless.

From the beginning, the Queen of the Swarm was a monster far beyond Kang-hoo’s level.

If the hybrids, retaining the abilities of the hunters they had once been, joined in, his death was certain.

So, he moved laterally behind the Queen of the Swarm and immediately activated teleportation.

【Would you like to teleport?】

【Teleporting with more than one person may fail. Success rate: exactly 50%.】

If successful, he would escape the battlefield with her; if he failed, his plan was to at least leave the village.

After all, his own life mattered more than the Queen of the Swarm’s heart.

In the next moment.

Pah!

【Teleportation complete.】

He had succeeded.

Upon suddenly transporting to a different battleground, the Queen of the Swarm looked startled.

The hybrids who would have assisted her were gone, and the surroundings—plants, atmosphere—had completely changed.

But only for a moment; as long as Kang-hoo was still in front of her, the Queen of the Swarm continued her assault.

Her sharpened arms flew toward him with the intent to pierce his body.

【Qi Blast】

Kang-hoo used the Qi Blast to halt her movement.

Since the Qi Blast immediately flew from Kang-hoo’s fingertips, the Queen of the Swarm had no choice but to block it.

Boom!

The shockwave pushed the Queen of the Swarm back a step.

But she quickly raised her heels, putting pressure on her toes, and charged forward again.

Swish! Swish!

She swung her arms menacingly.

Had Kang-hoo not retreated while blocking with dual daggers, his hands—or even fingers—would have been severed.

‘She’s relentless, pushing in like an infighter… she’s even harder to handle.’

The Queen of the Swarm’s attacks, as if she had erased the concept of defense from her mind, were exceedingly tricky.

If he had to estimate her level, it would be around 500 at the very least, likely not under 450 even if he were being generous.

With such an opponent, a drawn-out battle was certainly not in his favor.

The intense exchange from the start drained him, taking a toll on his stamina despite the absence of mana usage.

The Queen of the Swarm’s breathing had faltered as well, but he felt his own rhythm was more disrupted.

‘Let’s finish this before we both grow too accustomed to each other’s patterns.’

He made his decision.

Due to the intense skirmish, he had already exposed more of his attack patterns than initially planned.

Before his every move became predictable to the Queen of the Swarm, he decided to make his final gambit.

And so.

Crunch!

He bit down on the Gakshin Pill he had been holding between his teeth.

The pill shattered, its fragments sliding down his tongue, through his throat, and into his esophagus.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

In that moment, three consecutive attacks from the Queen of the Swarm came at him, and Kang-hoo barely managed to fend them off as he retreated.

The relentless pressure made it hard to defend from his spot.

The Queen of the Swarm fought as if she were living only for that moment.

The various wounds on her body didn’t seem to bother her at all, and she didn’t let out even a single groan.

Right then.

“…!”

Kang-hoo sensed everything around him transforming into something entirely different.

This change began the moment the effect of the Gakshin Pill, now dissolving in his stomach, started stimulating his senses and nerves.

The previously dark and dreary sky now radiated a brilliance as if shrouded in light.

In the direction of the sun, it glowed so intensely it felt as if a portal to heaven had opened.

Moreover, he could see every minute detail: the Queen of the Swarm’s skin, fine hair, eyelashes fluttering, and the slight blinks of her eyes.

Everything appeared as if magnified under a microscope, finely split into frames.

Not only that.

Even the way her fine hair and eyelashes swayed in the breeze seemed divided into frames.

His movements remained unchanged, but it felt like the world around him had slowed down.

‘I can see it.’

The Queen of the Swarm’s two incoming arms, the sharp spikes—he could predict exactly where they were aiming.

【It’s possible to process all enemy attacks and movements at once.

Even solving complex math problems becomes feasible, as well as experiencing a slowed perception of time.】

The effects of the Gakshin Pill were just as described in the original notes.

It was like a feeling of unlocking and breaking past limits. A dramatic transformation had taken place.

Of course, the duration of this effect was only about ten seconds. Considering the time it took to chew, swallow, and feel the effects, it would last a maximum of seven seconds.

【Acceleration】

He maximized his movement speed, closing in aggressively on the Queen of the Swarm while simultaneously evading her.

Normally, such a bold combination of approach and evasion would have been nearly impossible.

Kang-hoo twisted his body.

Without using skills like Swift Evasion or Leap, he relied solely on pure bodily movement.

This resulted in a narrow but precise escape from the Queen of the Swarm’s swinging arms.

While it wasn’t unprecedented for her attacks to miss during previous exchanges…

The difference now was that he had evaded forward rather than backward.

This meant that at the moment her attack missed, the Queen of the Swarm had exposed a critical opening.

Just as expected.

Thud!

Kang-hoo’s lethal strike landed directly on the Queen of the Swarm’s side.

The strike was so powerful that, instead of pulling out the dagger, he had to reach for a spare one in his gear.

“Gyaaaah…!”

For the first time, a high-pitched scream tore from the Queen of the Swarm’s mouth.

The tables had turned.