CHAPTER 229: MIDNIGHT RENDEZVOUS (8)

NECK.

Shoulders.

Torso.

Thighs.

Legs.

Yejun could feel the spikes piercing his body from the neck and everything down.

There were actually two spikes aiming for his closed eyes.

Fortunately, he could still use his ice despite his Status Window being a mess. He failed to cover his physical body in ice. But it was because he focused on protecting all his five vital organs with his Mana.

And oh.

Physically, he protected his private part.

As he should.

[After all, I need to protect little Won-jun, Ye-hee, Hee-jun, and Ye-won.]

Yejun was obviously losing blood because, despite protecting his vital organs, it didn’t change the fact that his body was stabbed by several spikes.

Those weren’t ordinary spikes, of course.

[Unfortunately, these stupid spikes are absorbing my Mana.]

And since he was running low in Mana, his wounds were healing very slowly.

Fuck.

[I can’t die here— not until I catch whoever messed with my Status Window.]

Since Yejun couldn’t move his body, he just used his brain to think.

[My Status Window was probably corrupted by the Virus. The Virus didn’t possess me, but it somehow got a hold of my Status Window. It means the Virus beat the System since I’m pretty sure the System was supposed to be protecting me.]

Bride said she needed a literal "divine intervention."

Divine.

Was it a god?

[Is the Anti-System Faction being backed up by a literal god? Or is it just someone or something the enemies worship, just like how there are new religions out there that treat the System as a god?]

If it was really a god, then it would explain how the System couldn’t protect his Status Window from getting corrupted.

[I’m glad I didn’t bring Wonhee with me.]

Ah, Chu Wonhee.

[I can’t die here. Wonhee is waiting for me. If I die, she’d cry.]

"Hwang Frost, are you ready to succumb to me now?"

When Yejun opened his eyes, he found himself inside a bedroom that looked like a middle schooler emo’s bedroom.

Everything was black.

But the creepiest thing there was the array of life-sized dolls.

There were dolls that looked like the dungeon monsters that almost all Hunters had seen during a raid.

But there were also dolls that looked like ’chibi’ men.

It was as if those men were drawn like chibis, then someone made a huge plushie out of their chibi drawings.

[Creepy.]

Yejun was aware that everything he was seeing at the moment was all just in his head. How could he be there when he was stuck inside the iron maiden while bleeding to death? There was only one answer: he was in an illusionary word created by the crazy woman.

Dammit.

[This lunatic even has a mental torture ability on top of the ability to turn her body into a punishment tool? That’s OP. No wonder she’s a Top 10 World Ranker.]

"Amazing," Bride said, clapping her hands. "You realized right away that you’re trapped in an illusion. Even Hunters from the Top 20 take a while before they realize that they’re under my spell."

"Sounds like a skill issue to me."

"Right?" the woman laughed as if she was amused. "The victims inside the Iron Maiden usually lose their minds because of the physical pain they feel while being stabbed by several spikes. Worse, those spikes absorb their Mana— preventing them from using their abilities. Those factors are normally enough to break their minds. Obviously, not yours."

[It’s probably because I’ve already lost my mind once— nothing else can make me go insane again.]

"This is why I know I’ll have a good time breaking you, Hwang Frost."

Yejun just rolled his eyes. "Let’s see if you can..."

He trailed off when he noticed the shadow moving on the floor.

Then the shadow stopped beside Bride, emerging from the ground while starting to take the form of what seemed like a human...

... oh.

It was Chu Wonhee.

[The older one.]

"Our liege showed me how the Chu Wonhee in the previous world was brutally murdered," Bride said cheerfully. "Let me show you how the Favored Child died pathetically back then."

Ah.

Yejun realized that his mind wasn’t as tough as he thought it was.

***

BLERGH.

Soobin internally clicked his tongue when the Administrator coughed up a huge chunk of black blood.

Again.

[Can he really do it?]

The Administrator was obviously working on a Status Window because his fingers were busy scrolling and pressing invisible keys in the air.

"Are you fixing Hwang Yejun’s Status Window?"

"That’s right," the Administrator said weakly. "Right now, Hunter Hwang Yejun can’t use his abilities granted by his Status Window. He only has three things to protect himself at the moment: his basic ice manipulation techniques, his supernatural strength and speed as a Hunter, and his basic healing and regeneration ability."

Damn.

[Yejun is going to die if he only has those basic skills when fighting a World Ranker.]

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I need to focus on fixing Hwang Yejun’s Status Window," the Administrator said, his fingers working faster on the invisible keyboard in the air. "Can you guard me and make sure no one stabs me while I work?"

Soobin nodded firmly. "Yeah, I can do that."

***

THE BLACK CAPE.

As cheesy and corny as it sounded, Song Moonho’s Black Cape was S-Grade equipment that was both fire and water/ice-resistant.

Unfortunately, it worked even against Graham’s flame.

[This old man is so freaking strong.]

Graham had always known that, though.

[Song Moonho is hiding his strength all this time.]

"Graham, if I were Hwang Yejun, I’d be insulted to have you as my replacement," Song Moonho said in a fake empathetic voice. "People claimed you were Korea’s #1 Hunter after Hwang Yejun snapped. But look at you now. The only thing you can do to me is give me a few burns and scratches. If it was Hwang Yejun fighting in your place, he would have blown off my arms before I could even grab the Black Cape from my Inventory."

It hurt that it was true.

Hwang Yejun had always kept Song Moonho in check before he snapped.

[And Song Moonho had avoided pissing off Hwang Yejun for that reason.]

But Graham wasn’t Hwang Yejun.

[I’m nowhere near Yejun’s strength, especially during his prime.]

Song Moonho looked a bit ragged, but it was obvious that the old bastard didn’t suffer any major injuries.

[Am I really weaker than that old bastard?]

"Song Moonho, we need to go."

Who the fuck was that now?

A square-headed villain who seemed stronger than the ones Graham had killed earlier appeared beside Song Moonho.

[That guy is probably a boss in the Anti-System Faction.]

"We should proceed with Plan B," the square-headed boss-like villain said, putting a hand on Song Moonho’s shoulder. "Miss Bride has already caught Hwang Frost."

To say that Graham was shocked would be an understatement.

It was just really hard for him to believe.

The Hwang Frost lost to a new World Ranker?!

***

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