Chapter 112

[Translator - Helga ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter 112: The Sanchez Family (2)

It looked like a scene straight out of a myth.

With every move the muscular woman made, the ground cracked and the air reverberated.

Her opponent was no ordinary figure either.

Whenever the woman in the black suit swept her hand through the air, space twisted and distorted.

"Yes! This is it!"

The muscular woman let out a shout of joy.

"I've been waiting for a fight like this! A battle only you could give me!"

The muscular woman—Maria Sanchez—charged forward with a wild yell, like someone half out of her mind.

Joo Hayun's hands moved swiftly. A massive amount of mana was consumed in an instant.

"Mm."

Gravity intensified, anchoring Maria Sanchez in place.

"Kh…!"

The force was overwhelming, enough to make even Maria struggle to break free.

Joo Hayun cast another spell. A massive spear appeared in the sky.

The same gravity that held Maria down now drew the spear downward. It plummeted at incredible speed—straight toward Maria Sanchez.

But just before it could impale her, Maria caught the spear with her bare hands. Using sheer brute strength, she stopped it—and then crushed it to pieces with her grip alone.

"Haaaaah!"

With a shout, Maria raised her leg and stomped down hard. The ground and the magic binding her shattered simultaneously. The gravity that had been restraining her vanished in an instant.

"I was worried you’d grown rusty after being out of action for so long—but you haven’t lost a step," Maria said with satisfaction.

Joo Hayun merely frowned.

Maria was right—Hayun’s skills hadn’t deteriorated. But they hadn’t improved either.

Maria Sanchez, on the other hand, had grown stronger.

Far stronger than when they last fought.

It made sense. Maria wasn’t just anyone.

She was a once-in-a-century genius—someone even the Sanchez Family, known for producing monsters, treated as a rare treasure.

"But if you keep fighting like this—half-heartedly—you won’t be able to save Kwon Hanul. Not just him. None of your bloodline will survive."

Maria’s tone was deliberately provocative. Riling up her opponent was one of her favorite ways to escalate a fight.

But contrary to Maria’s expectations, Joo Hayun only responded with a faint, enigmatic smile.

"Maria Sanchez. Do you really believe the Sanchez bloodline members you brought can kill them?"

"Of course I do."

Maria didn’t hesitate in the slightest.

"No need to even bring up the difference in power. Those fledglings you came with from Hyukcheon? They're nobodies—names that don’t even ring a bell."

In contrast, those Maria had brought with her were internationally notorious.

"There’s no way they could ever win… not in a million—"

Suddenly, Maria stopped mid-sentence. Her expression turned confused as she scanned the area.

The presence of the Sanchez bloodline—once dominating the air—had drastically diminished.

There was only one explanation for that.

"…No way."

Joo Hayun’s smile deepened.

* * *

A wide road paved with asphalt.

A perfectly round crater had formed in the middle, almost as if it had been pressed out by a giant cookie cutter.

"Whoo!"

Someone poked their head out from inside it—a young man, small-framed and delicate in appearance.

"Ha… that was close."

Kwon Hudon let out a breath of relief, clutching his chest.

He had used his Black Scale Armor just before hitting the ground, which had protected him from the impact.

"I-Is everyone else okay?"

Hudon’s first concern was the others. They were all much stronger than him, so logically, they should be fine—but he couldn’t help but worry.

BEEP!

A car horn blared. Drivers, unable to move because of him, had started honking.

It was only then that Hudon realized he had landed in the middle of a road.

"A-Ahh! I’m so sorry!"

He scrambled to get off the road in a panic.

But at that moment, the cars behind him crumpled like paper. Blood sprayed from crushed metal.

Screams followed. In an instant, the peaceful road turned into a scene of chaos.

"Wh-What…?"

Stunned by the sudden turn of events, Hudon looked up at the crumpled cars.

Standing atop them was a slender woman.

"You… you're from Hyukcheon, right?" She asked with a hesitant tone, voice shaky. "I-I’m from the Sanchez Family. I-I’m supposed to… k-kill you. I-I’m guessing you’re not going to cooperate?"

The voice was familiar—so much so that Hudon couldn’t help but ask back.

"…Miss Larisa?"

It was the same voice as the woman he met at the underground arena.

The woman tilted her head.

"Wait… Mr. Hu?"

"Y-Yes! It’s me!"

Hudon’s face lit up with recognition. Larisa reacted the same way.

"I had no idea you were from the Hyukcheon bloodline! I heard someone named Kwon Hudon was part of Hyukcheon—so that’s why you introduced yourself as ‘Hu’?"

"Y-Yeah… that’s right."

Hudon replied, looking a little bashful. Larisa clapped her hands in delight.

"I was so disappointed we didn’t get to finish our match that day. I can’t believe we’re meeting again like this—it must be fate!"

At the mention of a "match," Hudon’s face stiffened slightly.

He had forgotten in the joy of reunion. That day, Larisa had tried to fight him in the underground arena, but for some reason, had to withdraw.

"…So, Miss Larisa, are you going to fight me?"

"Of course! I’ve always wanted to see how I’d fare against you!"

Larisa Sanchez was still smiling.

But her eyes glinted with a deadly intent.

"Besides, you’re from Hyukcheon, and I’m from Sanchez. Isn’t that reason enough for us to fight?"

"B-But…"

Hudon began, hesitation all over his face—when another voice cut in.

"This is the police! Hands where we can see them!"

At some point, they’d been surrounded by officers in police uniforms.

"Try anything, and you’ll be shot on the spot!"

Strangely, the police weren’t carrying guns—they held swords and spears.

They weren’t ordinary officers. They were Hunter-Enforcers who worked in law enforcement.

"State your identity and purpose—"

The leading officer fell silent mid-sentence. His face turned ghostly pale.

"…L-Larisa Sanchez?"

The name dropped like a bomb.

The officers—along with all nearby citizens—froze in terror.

"That’s Larisa Sanchez, the Third Hand!"

"R-Run! Everyone, run!!"

The officers dropped their weapons and fled. The civilians scattered in all directions.

Even Hudon found himself overwhelmed by the dramatic shift in atmosphere.

"Now we don’t have any spectators left."

Larisa Sanchez raised both fists to her face, aligning them with her eye line.

Her stance narrowed, body angled slightly—like a boxer entering the ring.

“Stay sharp. I don’t intend to end this fight in vain.”

Larissa lunged forward, bending at the waist. In the blink of an eye, she was upon Kwon Hudon.

Her fists disappeared from view.

On instinct, Kwon Hudon activated his Blackscale Armor to shield himself. His body moved before his mind could.

Dozens of punches rained down on the armor. The Blackscale Armor shattered like glass.

In an instant, Kwon Hudon was left defenseless. Larissa swung her fist horizontally—aiming to break his jaw.

At that moment, Kwon Hudon's body moved—almost as if someone had pushed him—charging toward Larissa.

Unyielding Armor: Unbreakable Curve

His shoulder slammed into Larissa’s torso. The unexpected hit threw her off balance.

Taking advantage of the opening, Kwon Hanul shot his fists forward.

Unyielding Armor: Ten Thousand Shattering Fists

His fists, cloaked in Blackscale Armor, struck Larissa’s abdomen.

“Urgh!”

It was a ruthless blow, hard to believe it came from someone who’d been hesitating just moments before. Larissa coughed up blood as she was flung backward.

Kwon Hudon looked at her with a conflicted expression.

“I don't like this, but… I guess there’s no choice…”

His voice still trembled. But his movements were decisive.

He summoned a massive amount of Blackscale Armor, encasing his body. A towering black giant now loomed over Larissa.

Larissa involuntarily swallowed.

“Larissa Sanchez.”

The black giant raised its arm.

"The price for laying hands on Hyukcheon is a heavy one."

A fist, as forceful as a war hammer, slammed into Larisa Sánchez.

* * *

“Haha, what a coincidence life throws sometimes.”

At the same time, Mei Hong stood face-to-face with a woman.

The woman was massive, her entire body packed with thick, gnarled muscles like tree roots.

Proving that her muscles weren’t just for show, she wielded a massive greatsword nearly ten meters long.

“To think the opponent I fought in the underground arena was you.”

“I’m just as surprised,” Mei Hong replied, drawing her longsword.

“I never imagined I’d be fighting you like this.”

“That’s what makes life interesting. Oh right, I guess you don’t know my name, do you?”

Resting the greatsword on her shoulder, the woman introduced herself.

“I’m Karolina Sánchez. And you’re Mei Hong, right? The traitor of the Mei family.”

“Mind skipping that last part? It’s extremely unpleasant.”

“Fair enough. ‘Traitor’ isn’t exactly a flattering title,” Karolina Sánchez said with a nod.

“This puts me in a dilemma.”

“About what?”

“Whether I should really kill you here and now.”

Mei Hong’s brow furrowed. What nonsense was this woman spewing?

“A chance encounter like this is rare and kind of fun. Do I really need to kill you...? Besides, you're not a bloodline member of Hyukcheon, so maybe it’s fine…”

Karolina Sánchez mulled it over for a while.

“…Alright, I’ll be generous. If you run now, I’ll let you go.”

At that moment, Mei Hong drew her blade. A sharp gust of wind from the sword sliced off a single strand of Karolina Sánchez’s hair and vanished.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means: quit spouting nonsense and come at me.”

“Then die. Got it?”

Mei Hong burst into laughter—as if to say, how ridiculous.

“Don’t tell me you actually think you can beat me with a sword?”

Though the Mei family had been wiped out, they were once renowned for producing geniuses in martial weapons.

Even searching the world over, it was nearly impossible to find swordsmen who could rival the Mei family.

“In pure weapon technique, I might lose to you.”

Karolina Sánchez admitted this frankly.

“But I think you’re forgetting something…”

Suddenly, she raised her greatsword high—and brought it down in one powerful strike.

Thanks to its enormous length, the sword reached Mei Hong even without Karolina moving.

The blade sliced past Mei Hong’s cheek and came down toward her shoulder.

Just before it struck, the greatsword came to a halt.

“When people hear the name ‘Gulliver’ Karolina Sánchez, most of them wet themselves. Compared to that, what are you?”

Just a no-name swordswoman, only known as the Mei family’s traitor.

“And you think you can beat me?”

Mei Hong didn’t answer. She simply moved.

She slid her longsword underneath the greatsword resting on her shoulder—and swung upward.

The greatsword was cut in half, as if slicing through tofu, not steel.

“What the hell…”

Karolina Sánchez was thrown off by the suddenness, and in that moment, Mei Hong lunged forward.

Karolina quickly raised the broken greatsword and swung it down, aiming for Mei Hong’s skull.

But Mei Hong didn’t stop. She struck again and again with her longsword—shattering the massive blade into pieces.

Now face-to-face with Karolina Sánchez, Mei Hong slashed horizontally, aiming for her throat.

“You arrogant bitch!”

Karolina Sánchez shoved her hand into a subspace pocket.

Out came a hammer the size of a house. She swung it down at Mei Hong.

This time, it seemed even Mei Hong couldn’t slice through it. She leapt backward. The hammer slammed into the ground with a thunderous crash.

“Now do you see?”

From a distance away, Mei Hong smiled and said, “You can’t win against me.”

* * *

A deafening boom shattered the building. Two men burst out through the wreckage.

“We finally meet again! Where do you think you’re going?!”

A bear-sized man chased after a much smaller man.

“Gael García! Fight me like a man! Stop running!”

Gael García didn’t bother to reply.

Because he knew exactly how foolish it was to take that man head-on.

Mutant: Bruno Sánchez.

Thanks to their superhuman bloodline, every member of the Sánchez family possessed incredible physical strength—but even among them, Bruno was in a league of his own.

There were stories of him taking on simultaneous attacks from three world-ranked fighters—barehanded. Even Gael had heard those tales.

“Got you!”

Bruno lunged with both arms. Gael ducked and sprang away in one swift movement.

Bruno glared at him in frustration.

“Stop scurrying around like a cockroach and fight me already!”

Foolish words.

Gael had learned the hard way, during his battle with Jose del Pablo, what happens when you recklessly charge at a powerful foe.

“If I get my hands on you, I’ll twist you into a corpse!”

Bruno charged again. Gael tried to put more distance between them.

Just then, Bruno kicked up a cloud of dirt and gravel into Gael’s face.

He hadn’t expected such a cheap trick—and couldn’t dodge in time. Instinctively, he shut his eyes.

“Got you!”

Bruno took advantage of the opening and lunged, reaching for Gael’s neck.

But then—

Gael’s body moved. Eyes still closed, he batted Bruno’s hand away and drove his elbow into his gut.

“Ugh?!”

Bruno winced. Gael used the moment to retreat again.

“How did you move like that—when you couldn’t even see?”

Gael pulled back his hood. A pair of fluffy white rabbit ears popped out.

“I didn’t use my sight. I relied on hearing.”

“…You’re one strange guy.”

“I’ve got a good grasp of who you are now.”

“Oh yeah? So now you realize how terrifying I am?”

Bruno grinned expectantly.

But Gael’s reply was the exact opposite.

“You’re not much.”

“…What did you say?”

“I was wary since you’re a famous villain. But you’re no Jose del Pablo. You’re not someone I need to be afraid of.”

A vein bulged in Bruno Sánchez’s eye. His rage was palpable.

Then, Gael muttered a single word.

“Mammon.”

Demonic energy surged around him. Beast-like hide began to cover his body.

An overwhelming aura erupted.

Bruno’s expression slowly froze.

“I’m done running. Come at me as much as you like.”

With those words, Gael dashed forward.

A scream echoed in the air soon after.

[Translator - Helga ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]