Chapter 131
A strange atmosphere.
Sustained silence.
The bizarre figure in golden armor stood motionless, staring at Kim Jong-su.
Why was he acting this way? Earlier, he had tried to bewitch people with words and exuded a suspicious aura. So why was he just standing there now?
Kim Jong-su remained tense, his sword drawn. Instead of focusing on the golden armor before him, he spread his qi sense in all directions. He prepared for any sorcery that might come flying from anywhere. But the sorcerer either aimed to make him waste his mental energy or had no intention of causing harm. He simply stood there, staring blankly.
After some time passed, a helicopter appeared with a thunderous noise. It approached the well, its engines roaring. When it was close enough, the door swung open. A man grabbed a hanging rope and descended to the ground.
The man had a massive build reminiscent of a bear. He wore only shorts and a simple t-shirt. Yet, his body radiated heat, and with each step he took, an inexplicable pressure spread in all directions.
Demon Bear Seong Min-hyeok.
A martial artist belonging to the Patriotic Association, he was an ability user who had played a significant role in the Somali pirate eradication operation. Specializing in boxing and jujitsu, he was a martial artist known for using his unique superhuman strength to subdue and kill opponents.
Just like Ghostblade Kim Jong-su, whose nickname from the Vietnam War became his title, Seong Min-hyeok's nickname from the pirate eradication operation had stuck as his title. He was called Evil Bear or Devil Bear because his bare-handed strikes and bone-crushing embraces resembled those of a bear. As his exploits spread widely, his title changed to Demon Bear.
"Brother, is that him?" Seong Min-hyeok asked as he approached Kim Jong-su with large strides.
"Yes."
"Is this the bastard who killed the loan shark last time?"
"Yes, it's certain. I confirmed the serial numbers on the banknotes."
Seong Min-hyeok grinned at Kim Jong-su's confirmation. He drew up qi in his body and strode towards the figure. Kim Jong-su watched him with a look that said, 'This idiot's at it again.' He kept his mouth shut, not bothering to stop him.
Jinseong, too, didn't react despite clearly seeing Seong Min-hyeok approaching with qi surrounding his body. He didn't move the spider legs to escape, didn't leave the well, and didn't even turn his head. He just kept staring blankly at the approaching man, like a sick insect.
"Hehe. Hey, sorcerer."
Seong Min-hyeok finally reached Jinseong's face. He showed a fierce smile and asked.
"What kind of bastard are you?"
At this question, the bizarre figure changed the human form it was barely maintaining. Its face transformed into something that looked like a mix between an insect and a human. But the human face wasn't Jinseong's original face. It was Seong Min-hyeok's face, the one standing right in front of him.
"The question is wrong."
"What?"
"Ask the right question. Hehe."
Seong Min-hyeok frowned, seemingly angered by the mocking tone. But Kim Jong-su behind him had a serious expression, as if something was bothering him. Suddenly, as if realizing something, he rushed to Seong Min-hyeok and grabbed his shoulder.
He urgently signaled with his eyes not to say anything and took Seong Min-hyeok's place. When Seong Min-hyeok looked at him with an expression that said, 'What are you doing?', Kim Jong-su mouthed silently:
Sor.
Cery.
"Sor, cery?"
But Seong Min-hyeok, lacking tact, read aloud what Kim Jong-su had mouthed.
At this, Jinseong changed the shape of his mask, as if he had been waiting for this moment. The appearance was incredibly bizarre, like a monster overjoyed and not knowing what to do.
"Finally, you've asked the right question. Yes, this is sorcery. However, this is not the correct form, but a reversal. No matter how much you ponder with your minds, you won't find the solution. Don't resist my sorcery, but follow it. If you do, you'll gain great benefits."
Kim Jong-su quietly pondered something at the sorcerer's words, then asked, "What are the rules?"
"The rules are simple. Just remember this: The right question, the right answer."
Kim Jong-su pondered these words. He drew his sword again, infused it with qi, and spread his qi sense to find the sorcerer. But no matter how hard he looked, nothing caught his qi sense. Despite his ability to detect even a single mouse, he couldn't find the sorcerer's true body.
He couldn't find it. With his ability, he couldn't find it. Kim Jong-su acknowledged the limitations of his ability.
"The law has aspects that are both strict and lenient," he muttered, opening his eyes. "For example, crimes with 'special' attached to them. Special robbery, special theft, special assault... Crimes committed with weapons. And these 'special' cases come with appropriate rights, which is self-defense..."
Carrying a weapon meant ‘special’ and led to harsher punishments. As it should.
But here was the question:
Where did the scope of a weapon begin and end?
What was considered a weapon, and what wasn’t?
The lawmakers had to consider carefully about the range of 'weapons'.
The standard they settled on was 'an ordinary person with no special training'.
If an object could harm an ordinary person, it was a weapon.
If an ability could harm an ordinary person, it was a weapon.
If a technique could harm an ordinary person, it was a weapon.
This meant that ability users were essentially always carrying weapons, and would inevitably receive harsher punishments for violent crimes. Kim Jong-su's actions were based on this interpretation.
With a criminal in front of him, using an ability that legally qualified as a 'weapon', he felt justified in attacking in self-defense. Of course, it seemed excessively harsh for self-defense, but that could be easily dismissed using social status and powerful financial resources.
In other words, for Kim Jong-su, an 'ability user who committed a crime' was prey that could be legally killed, a heaven-sent opportunity to legally bloody his sword.
But...
"However... if we destroy this entire village just to catch you, would that still count as self-defense?"
At this muttering, the officer watching from afar was horrified. With a pale face, he shouted from a distance, "No! Absolutely not!" He even contacted his unit via radio, frantically announcing that the village might be destroyed.
"Is that a question?"
"No."
He stabbed his sword into the ground, raising qi. A colorless, transparent qi enveloped the area around the well like a bubble.
Then, he quietly glared at the sorcerer before turning around. He patted Seong Min-hyeok's shoulder, who was standing blankly behind him, and said, "I'm leaving."
"What? Brother, didn't you say he was a murder suspect?"
"I've lost interest. You handle it."
Kim Jong-su, with his years of experience, could tell that getting entangled with this being would not end well. It would slip away like a fox, mocking attempts to catch it. It would disappear like a mirage when seemingly caught, only to reappear mockingly. Talking to it felt like conversing with a snake, and before you knew it, you'd find yourself on its game board.
Yes, this being was like a swamp.
A swamp that would swallow you whole the moment you carelessly extended your foot.
"I'm too old to get involved with something like this. You're young, you handle it."
"But brother, if you say that..."
"Hey! When you're young, you should have various experiences. Try to catch him yourself."
Kim Jong-su recalled his time in Vietnam, wandering through dense jungles filled with unknown dangers. Snakes sprung up with every step he took, and the vines hanging from above would actually be a snake at times. Spears smeared with feces would burst from leaf-covered grounds, and when they slept where they thought was a safe area, some Viet Cong came out of nowhere and cut off the heads of his comrades.
The jungle. A place like the Viet Cong's home, a game board operating entirely by rules they had set.
When they got caught in the conventional traps set by the Viet Congs, they’d get stabbed by the feces-covered spears and die after suffering from it, have their foot blown off by stepping onto tin-can explosives, and would be hit by a curse or burn up in a fire due to a sorcerous trap after following rising smoke thinking food was being cooked.
The only way to avoid falling victim to this unfair game was not to participate at all. Just as they had sprayed chemicals, set fires, and used biochemical weapons in the Vietnam jungles, one had to overturn the game board they had set up to avoid falling victim to it.
"I'll buy you a hefty drink later, so you take responsibility here. Ah, it seems like it might be too much for you alone, so I'll call some others for you."
Kim Jong-su looked at Seong Min-hyeok with eyes full of trust.
Trust.
Trust in his incredibly sturdy physique that wouldn't fall for cheap tricks. Trust in his physical abilities that far surpassed his not-so-bright mind. Trust that he would safely catch the murder suspect with the help of other ability users who would soon arrive. And trust in his tenacity to track down and capture the sorcerer even if he escaped now.
"Ahem. Well then, I'll be going now. Contact me if there's any problem."
* * *
"Ah, that old man's dumping his work on me again."