The Regressed SSS-Rank Supporter Who Turned Dark - Chapter 43

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#Episode 43
Meanwhile, Eun-seong’s family had also received word of the massive dimensional rift that had erupted around Jebu Island.
The news had reached Eun-seong’s father through military communications while he was resting at home.
“What should we do, dear?”
“There’s no need to worry too much. Fortunately, the Defense Strategy Department deployed forces quickly, so everything should be fine.”
Eun-seong’s father reassured his wife with composure.
“But….”
Eun-seong’s mother.
Park Yeon-gyeong could not find peace of mind.
Though she had grown accustomed to sending her husband to the battlefield day after day, the thought of her son facing danger felt unfamiliar and terrifying.
“I spoke with Sang-eung, so there’s no reason to worry greatly.”
“Kim Sang-eung?”
“Yes.”
“My, it seems Kim Sang-eung was at the Special Armed Forces Training Institute.”
Park Yeon-gyeong recalled Kim Sang-eung, her husband Cha Geun-woo’s junior, and spoke.
Kim Sang-eung was someone she had seen frequently and shared meals with during the time Cha Geun-woo served in the Navy Special Forces….
“He wanted a break from the work of dealing with hunters, so he transferred to the Special Operations Bureau about two years ago.”
“Dealing with hunters… ah, I see.”
Park Yeon-gyeong understood what Cha Geun-woo meant and nodded.
The work of dealing with hunters that Cha Geun-woo spoke of referred to specialized operations targeting rogue hunters.
Hunters, by their very nature, were beings difficult to control.
Should such hunters fall into a life of crime, it would be impossible to stop them with ordinary law enforcement.
Thus, nations around the world had no choice but to deploy hunters themselves to confront criminal hunters.
An eye for an eye.
A tooth for a tooth.
It was a method of response: hunter against hunter.
Kim Sang-eung was such a case.
Having awakened while serving in the Navy Special Forces, he had developed an ability specialized in one-on-one duels.
His ability was recognized, and he had a record of performing specialized operations against hunters under the Defense Strategy Department.
Which meant he had quietly and without fanfare eliminated countless hunters….
“Besides, Sang-eung called me first, so there’s no need to worry too much.”
“He did?”
“He said he would take full responsibility for Eun-seong and bring him back safely, so to wait a little longer.”
“Ah.”
“So let’s trust him and wait.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Park Yeon-gyeong could not hide her lingering anxiety, yet it was clear she was making a conscious effort to steel her heart.
In truth, Cha Geun-woo’s heart was no different.
‘Please come back safely. Please.’
Cha Geun-woo prayed earnestly for his son Eun-seong’s safe return.
Yet it wasn’t as though he was unaffected.
He was simply holding firm in his role as a husband, soothing his wife’s anxieties.
The large-scale gate rupture occurring around Jebu Island fell under the jurisdiction of the Defense Strategy Department, so even active-duty Colonel Cha Geun-woo had no room to intervene.
‘Please, Sang-eung. I trust only you.’
Cha Geun-woo recalled Kim Sang-eung, his junior and former comrade-in-arms.
Since there was nothing he could do at the moment, all he could do was trust Kim Sang-eung and wait.
* * *
Instructor Kim Sang-eung was—
No, the enemy of unknown identity seemed quite surprised that I had seen through their true form.
“How did you figure it out?”
“Who knows.”
I deliberately didn’t answer.
There was still something I needed to confirm.
“Hmm.”
The enemy narrowed their eyes and glared at me before speaking.
“Ah, you must take after your father. Come to think of it, he was quite perceptive too. The National Intelligence Service didn’t scout him for nothing.”
“What?”
“It’s truly unfortunate. Such a remarkable man never awakened and remained an ordinary person. That’s what we call a national loss. At least we managed to salvage his son, so I suppose that’s fortunate? Kekekeke!”
The enemy laughed, apparently finding something hilarious, their chuckles echoing eerily.
The laughter was so chilling it sounded like the cackle of an evil spirit.
“Ah, I’ve caught my breath.”
With a pleasant smile, they lowered their gun barrel.
“H-hey, hyung! If you lower the gun barrel, what will we do!”
Oh Tae-kwon cried out in alarm.
“It’s fine. Lower the gun. This isn’t an opponent we can handle with bullets.”
“B-but….”
“It’s okay, just keep watch around the perimeter.”
Then Kim Seung-hye asked me.
“Um, Eun-sung? What is that person? Is it a monster?”
“No.”
“Then….”
“It’s Instructor Kim Sang-eung.”
“What?!”
“Giseolchung.”
“Giseolchung…?”
“Yes. It’s a marine monster that attaches to the host’s tongue and takes control of the nervous system to manipulate them.”
“There’s a monster like that?”
“As you can see.”
I gestured with my eyes toward the enemy—more precisely, toward Instructor Kim Sang-eung, who had been dominated by Giseolchung.
Giseolchung was a monster occasionally found among Navy Special Forces members, Marines, fishermen, or divers whose daily lives were closely tied to the sea, so it wasn’t widely known to the general public.
These were creatures that appeared during large-scale rifts in the sea—palm-sized parasites that lurked along the coastal areas before latching onto a host once discovered.
Back when Giseolchung’s existence wasn’t yet known, hosts would suddenly go berserk and commit murders, which led to quite the commotion when people thought a new virus had emerged.
‘If it’s Giseolchung, that’s actually fortunate.’
It was good news.
If Kim Sang-eung had become a Giseolchung host, there was still hope.
I chose conversation over immediately unleashing bullets to assess Kim Sang-eung’s condition.
A brief exchange would tell me whether he’d become a Giseolchung host or not.
“Hah.”
I exhaled a short breath and slung my gun over my shoulder.
With a smooth motion, I drew the [Madness Butcher] from my waist.
“Oh ho.”
Kim Sang-eung smiled with amusement.
“You’re going to try? Blade against blade?”
“It would be an honor.”
“Kekeke. Look how much you’ve grown, our Seung-hye. Drawing steel against your uncle. Kekekeke.”
Kim Sang-eung summoned his spirit blade.
It was a short dagger with finger rings attached to the pommel.
Ugh.
The blade gleamed with an oily sheen.
How much blood had it drunk?
“Can you do this?”
“We’ll find out.”
It had been a long time since I felt genuine tension.
There was good reason for it.
Kim Sang-eung was a master of knife fighting.
According to Father, he’d earned a reputation during his time in the Navy Special Forces for his exceptional skill with the dagger.
He was deployed so frequently for covert operations that required silence that his expertise was legendary.
The fact that his spirit blade was a short dagger alone proved this truth.
And then there was the constraint: I couldn’t inflict a fatal wound during close-quarters combat with such a master.
But I had my own confidence.
And…
‘I can’t turn Uncle into a sieve.’
With that thought, I gripped my axe and advanced toward Kim Sang-eung.
“Come.”
“Yes, I’m coming.”
Shing!
I didn’t hesitate and took the initiative.
It was a matter of respect toward Kim Sang-eung.
* * *
Whoosh whoosh!
Clang, clang!
Thud!
The dull sound of the axe and dagger colliding reverberated through the air.
‘Ugh.’
My grip on the axe felt like it was tearing apart.
How could a mere dagger be so impossibly heavy….
Whoosh!
“Ugh!”
I didn’t even have the luxury to continue my internal complaints.
“Quite impressive.”
“Ugh.”
“You’ve trained hard, haven’t you, our Sang-eung.”
Instructor Kim Sang-eung exuded composure.
It was only natural.
I was a 3-Star, and Instructor Kim Sang-eung was a 4-Star, so there was a clear difference in rank.
Of course, combat prowess among Hunters couldn’t be determined solely by rank.
For instance, a mage like Ra Si-hyun could never defeat an assassin-class Hunter like Instructor Kim Sang-eung, even if she tried a thousand times over.
She’d need to reach at least 5-Star to barely manage unfavorable matchups, and would require 7-Star to truly stand a chance.
Moreover, Instructor Kim Sang-eung specialized in Hunter-versus-Hunter combat—fighting humans, not monsters.
Even before becoming a Hunter, he’d been deployed in special operations, hunting spies and industrial saboteurs.
To put it bluntly, he was seasoned in the art of killing.
Swish!
Instructor Kim Sang-eung’s dagger flashed.
‘My wrist!’
I reflexively twisted the axe shaft to deflect the dagger.
Clang!
The dagger scraped against the axe blade and slid away.
A chill ran down my spine.
Had I been even a moment slower, my wrist tendons would have been severed, I’d have dropped the axe, and he’d have pierced my vital points multiple times in the blink of an eye.
“You think you can stand against your uncle with just that? Heh! Now I’m going to get serious, so you’d better stay sharp.”
Whoooosh!
Instructor Sang-eung’s spirit blade became enveloped in blood-red ether.
“Isn’t it beautiful?”
Instructor Sang-eung showed me the crimson-stained dagger, speaking as if in awe.
The dagger was so deeply red that it created an optical illusion—as if actual blood were sloshing inside it.
“It’s called Blood Qi. This spirit blade has absorbed the blood of everyone who’s died by my hand all this time.”
“….”
“The more people I kill, the stronger it becomes. Why do you think I’ve been stuck teaching greenhorns? Killing people is the easiest thing in the world.”
Instructor Sang-eung’s eyes began to stain blood-red.
“Your senior will be furious when he learns I’ve killed you, but it won’t matter. Heheheh. After I kill you, I’ll go kill your senior too. Hehehehe!”
This too was a characteristic of those infected by Giseolchung.
Their memories and skills remained intact, yet their personalities underwent a complete 180-degree transformation.
They unleashed profanities and vulgarities they’d never dare speak in normal circumstances, committing murder indiscriminately without hesitation.
“So, steel yourself. One moment of carelessness, and your entrails will spill out. Kekeke.”
Kim Sang-eung, enveloped in crimson ether—or rather, the aura of blood lust—approached me slowly.
‘This won’t be easy to end cleanly, it seems.’
I wasn’t alarmed.
There was no reason to be.
Though Kim Sang-eung was said to be a specialist in duels between hunters, I was hardly someone who need bow to his experience.
In terms of sheer accumulated experience alone, I held an overwhelming advantage, and my confidence was justified.
It was somewhat embarrassing to admit, and in another sense, rather humbling, but during my supporter days, I’d heard such an evaluation before.
[The strongest among non-awakened individuals.]
It was half-jest, half-earnest—a running joke among top-ranked hunters that if the highest rankers were to clash using pure skill alone without drawing upon ether, I might very well be the strongest.
It seemed the time had come to prove why I’d earned such an assessment.
Whoooosh!
I drew forth my ether.
Snap snap!
With my left hand, I drew three cards and enchanted my axe.
[Windfall] Critical hit probability increased by 120%!
[Full Moon] The cutting effect of the spirit blade increased by 50%!
[Reinforcement] Weapon attack power increased by 30%!
“I’m coming.”
“Kekeke! Bring it on!”
The next instant.
The distance between Kim Sang-eung and me vanished.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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