novelraw Chapter 123 : Chapter 123
Chapter 123 : Chapter 123
Chapter 123. Remnants of Evil (4)
"……!"
A dizzying pain burrowed into his flank.
Johnny's mouth, which had been wide open, stopped in that state.
And thanks to that, Knox was able to stop right before the threshold of death.
Riman said to the flustered Johnny.
"You shouldn't have forgotten that I was behind you."
"This bastard……!"
That single moment when Knox dug in swinging his sword, and consequently Johnny's vision was blocked.
Riman had launched a black whip and stuck it into Johnny's flank.
SPLASH!
Johnny bounced back and widened the distance from Knox.
His hand was clutching his flank, where blood was flowing profusely.
However…….
"…Shallow."
Riman's attack, too, was shallow.
Although it cut Johnny's flank, that was all.
Riman's attack barely grazed the peritoneum beneath Johnny's belly skin.
Of course, the pain was terrific thanks to that, but it also failed to reach a fatal wound.
The reason Riman's attack missed.
It was because Johnny twisted his body right before Riman's attack touched him.
Even though it was a surprise attack launched while his vision was completely blocked, he succeeded in dodging.
What made that possible was the existence of Chae Hong-gyu.
An existence capable of grasping the entire battlefield in real-time by sharing senses with Johnny and Sven, and issuing immediate instructions.
So Chae Hong-gyu noticed Riman's attack in advance through Sven's vision, and by transmitting that information to Johnny, he made him dodge Riman's whip.
Knox's sword strike, Riman's whip.
These two opportunities flew away cleanly like this.
Chae Hong-gyu said mockingly.
"It was a decent trick. Well, although meaningless."
A difficult enemy.
It couldn't be helped.
Even in war, the side that controls the information and communication of the battlefield seizes the victory.
Right now, Chae Hong-gyu was occupying that role here.
Because immediate communication was possible through the blood link, and all variables of the battlefield could be grasped through sensory sharing.
He was a perfect commander.
The best commander capable of handling two human weapons as if they were his own limbs.
A battlefield artist realizing an ideal that a joint attack can reach thereby.
However.
'A mistake blooms when one thinks they are controlling all variables.'
Riman turned his gaze to look at Johnny.
No, to be exact, he looked at the ground where Johnny was standing right now.
And.
SNAP-
He snapped his fingers.
KABOOOOM!!
At that moment, the ground beneath Johnny exploded.
A pillar of black fire soared, the ground rumbled, and torn smoke scattered in all directions.
Johnny's scream rang out amidst it.
"Aaaaaaaack!!"
At the unexpected situation, both Chae Hong-gyu and Sven froze in place.
Soon the smoke cleared, revealing Johnny's figure.
A figure where both legs had disappeared completely due to the explosion just now.
He could do nothing but crawl on the floor and scream.
"Aaaaaaa……!"
"W-What……!"
Chae Hong-gyu could not understand the situation before his eyes at all.
A sudden explosion without any omen.
Chae Hong-gyu absolutely couldn't know why Johnny's feet suddenly exploded.
"How on earth……."
"You must have thought you were controlling all variables."
"Leman……?"
"So you couldn't even think of preparing for hidden variables."
"Hidden variables……?!"
The single variable Chae Hong-gyu failed to discover on this battlefield.
That was exactly the identity of the explosion that burst beneath Johnny's feet.
That identity was [Flame Seed].
Mine-type magic planting condensed seeds of fire beneath the ground.
Earlier, when fighting Kim Eun-tae, or precisely 'Simryugwi'.
Riman had planted [Flame Seed]s here and there under the ground and detonated them in a chain to attack Simryugwi.
But he hadn't detonated all the [Flame Seed]s planted back then.
In other words, a few [Flame Seed]s were still buried under the ground.
This was the 'hidden variable' Riman spoke of.
A hidden variable whose location Chae Hong-gyu absolutely couldn't know since he hadn't witnessed the planting scene.
Riman guided Johnny toward this hidden mine while confronting and dodging their joint attack.
And finally, the moment Johnny stepped onto the planting point of [Flame Seed].
BOOM, he detonated it.
As a result, Johnny was rolling around with both legs cut off.
Riman said.
"Anyway, it is fortunate."
SWISH-
Saying so, Riman turned his head to look at the fallen Johnny.
Although his legs were blown away, his face, upper body, and life were intact.
Sentences like 'Save me' and 'I'll kill you' mixed wildly and flowed from his mouth.
It was an amusing sight.
Considering what he did to his victims.
Riman muttered while looking at Johnny writhing in pain like that.
"With that appearance, there shouldn't be any problem claiming the bounty."
"This bastard……!"
"Don't move recklessly. How can you treat your steps so carelessly without knowing where mines are planted?"
"……!"
Mines.
The moment that word came out of Riman's mouth, Chae Hong-gyu's legs froze.
And he could understand why Johnny ended up in that state.
That the identity of the explosion beneath his feet was a mine, or a technique comparable to it.
And that it wasn't an accidental accident, but a trap by Riman's guidance.
Therefore, he could no longer step anywhere recklessly.
Because he absolutely couldn't know where Riman's mines might be planted.
And this was exactly the reason Riman specifically mentioned information about 'hidden variables' and 'mines' to Chae Hong-gyu.
'Now your head will be filled with all sorts of variables that might be hiding anywhere. And because of that, you won't be able to command properly.'
In fact, controlling the battle situation while considering hidden variables was the basics of command.
Because grasping all information of the battlefield was originally impossible.
But Chae Hong-gyu was the one for whom it was possible.
Therefore, as soon as his conviction that he was controlling this battlefield broke, panic began to strike him.
Furthermore…….
"Johnny……."
A tear flowed from Chae Hong-gyu's eye.
A clear sign that his mentality was shaking.
Watching those tears, Riman thought.
'Crying as if his lover died.'
Well, it wasn't entirely wrong.
Of course, it absolutely didn't mean Johnny and Chae Hong-gyu were lovers.
To be precise, Chae Hong-gyu harbored one-sided romantic feelings toward Johnny, and further, toward the prisoners of Mugan.
Hybristophilia.
A paraphilia feeling sexual attraction toward those who committed felonies such as serial murder, arson, massacre, etc.
This was exactly the mental illness Chae Hong-gyu possessed.
He loved criminals.
And not just ordinary criminals, but only those who committed major crimes capable of causing huge social indignation.
He saw a certain boldness in the cruelty and audacity of those crimes, and felt admiration, attraction, and excitement from it.
And that emotion soon developed into a twisted form called love.
He wanted to help.
He wanted to keep them by his side.
He wanted to be with them.
So the job he chose was a police officer.
Not to catch criminals, but he chose the profession of a police officer because he wanted to be by the side of criminals.
Immediately after becoming a police officer like that, he began to help criminals around him.
Using his innate telepathy ability, providing information and hideouts to criminals was basic.
Sometimes he participated in criminal acts, and unhesitatingly drove interfering fellow police officers or fixers to death.
Gratitude, contempt, or suspicion received from criminals in that process.
All of that excited Chae Hong-gyu, so he devoted his all to this work.
Concealing numerous violent criminals, forming networks to share information, shaking public order organizations from the inside to create an environment where crime could run rampant.
Although there weren't many crimes he committed directly, it was Chae Hong-gyu who laid the board so that countless violent crimes could prevail.
So when he was arrested, people had no choice but to be quite surprised.
They weren't surprised that a police officer helped criminals.
Because that was common.
The core was the fact itself that he supported criminals purely due to a twisted fetish.
Therefore, eventually, Chae Hong-gyu was sent to Mugan.
It was a measure taken because a major criminal with telepathy ability couldn't be sent to a regular prison.
Anyway, in front of such a person, Johnny became a half-corpse.
The accumulated affection was entirely replaced by hatred, and that hatred was directed at Riman.
Chae Hong-gyu's eyes flashed crimson.
He said to Sven.
"…Save Johnny."
"What?"
"Bring Johnny back. Only his legs were blown off, he is still alive!"
"Are you crazy?! Why would I save that bastard?!"
"…Are you scared?"
"What?"
"Are you scared? jumping into enemy lines to save a comrade?"
"Fuck. He's a comrade only to you, you perverted bastard!! I've never felt anything like camaraderie for that bastard… Aaaack!"
At that moment, Sven suddenly clutched his head.
A fierce severe pain began to burrow into his head.
Chae Hong-gyu said.
"…Please do not forget that my blood flows inside your body."
"This bastard……!"
"Do not resist. This power using blood, it is power bestowed by the Red King. It is a power you cannot overcome with your class."
"Keuuu……."
"So go. Show me your boldness."
"This……!"
He had no choice.
WHOOSH!
Sven extended mana forward.
And grabbed his White Flame burning everywhere with mana.
"…Then I'll burn those bastards first and bring Johnny."
FWOOOOSH!
The White Flames on the ground began to burn bigger, reacting to Sven's will.
He intended to roast Riman and Knox even if it meant burning this entire area.
Of course, for Sven too, this act was half a gamble.
Because controlling such a massive scale of fire at once was dangerous even for him.
Since there would be no answer if it backflowed by mistake.
But nevertheless, he pushed ahead.
Because he felt he couldn't deal with those two at once without an attack of this magnitude.
FWOOOOOOSH!
Pure white fires flew toward Knox and Riman.
Knox froze for a moment.
"Oh damn it……!"
"Don't fall away from my side."
Riman, having approached at some point, stood right next to Knox.
"Hey, this……!"
"From now on, we break through this fire."
"Are you crazy?!"
"Using wind magic can open a gap."
"Then what about the heat?! Even if we avoid the flames, we'll cook in the heat?!!"
"Heat is no problem for us."
Saying so, Riman looked down at Saya wrapping around his body and said.
"Saya, fix temperature at 30 degrees Celsius within a 1-meter radius."
"Shaa!"
As long as they didn't touch the White Flame directly, the heat could be dealt with by Saya's temperature manipulation ability.
And-
WHIP!
Riman bound Knox with the black whip.
Knox, startled, said.
"W-What is this?!"
"Thinking about it, it seems better to just carry you."
"Hey……!"
"Going."
WHOOSH!
Pouring flames.
Riman extended his hand forward.
'Rolling waves, transparent pillars, cloud's falling water.'
[Crushing Whirlwind (Swaeseonpung)]
ROAAAR!
A tornado began to race along the ground.