Chapter 133

[Translator - Helga ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter 133: The Gap (3)

Kwon Hanul’s eyes widened at the completely unexpected response.

He never imagined—of all people—that it would be Kwon Jiseok who admitted that he was a Hyukcheon.

“Hurry up and follow me if you understood.”

Jiseok sharply turned his head. The tips of his ears were burning red.

Hanul let out a hollow laugh and followed him.

That was when it happened.

“Lord Kwon Jiseok, this puts us in quite the difficult position.”

A strange voice came from above. Two men were standing on the rooftop of a nearby building.

One was slim, while the other was so overweight that his belly bulged outward.

“How could you betray the boss? And you’re his own little brother, no less. Isn’t that right, senior?”

“Agreed. This is a no-go.”

The slim man poked the heavier one in the side. The latter nodded in agreement.

“...Black Aura Unit.”

Jiseok swallowed hard.

The two Black Aura Unit members leapt down from the building and landed smoothly on the ground.

“It’s been a while.”

The slim man spoke to Hanul, who nodded in response.

“Do I know you?”

“Tch, cheap provocations like that won’t do. For someone as famous as Kwon Hanul, acting so beneath yourself doesn’t suit you. You’ve got a reputation to uphold.”

The slim man chuckled slyly.

Hanul replied again, sincerely this time, “I really don’t know who you are.”

The man’s expression slowly hardened.

“...Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

“You don’t recognize me?”

“Nope.”

“Lee Pilseung! Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten even after hearing that name!”

Hanul wracked his memory again. Still, nothing came to mind.

Lee Pilseung’s face briefly went blank—then contorted with rage.

“That day you first met Captain Kwon Chan-seong! You and I fought, remember?!”

“Oh.”

Only then did Hanul recall who he was.

“You were that rookie with the Gift that could alter the properties of magic.”

At last, a smile returned to Pilseung’s face.

“I’ve been waiting for my chance to get revenge ever since. Never thought this day would actually come.”

Pilseung drew twin blades from a subspace pocket. A sharply honed murderous aura swept through the air.

“Impressive.”

Hanul genuinely admired him. Pilseung had grown far stronger than he had been back then.

“But what do you think you can do against me with that level of strength?”

“Don’t worry. I’m not blinded by revenge.”

Pilseung turned to the fat man.

“Senior. Mind helping me out?”

“Sure. But the credit’s mine.”

The heavy man stepped up beside Pilseung. Despite his bulk, he radiated an overwhelming sense of pressure.

Hanul sharpened his senses and assessed the man.

He was multiple levels above Pilseung in power.

“...We need to run.”

Jiseok spoke up, his face pale.

“Do you know who that is? That guy’s Full Bear. He’s the brute who always stands at the front lines when the Black Aura Unit fights monsters...”

Kwon Chan-seong’s team was only ever deployed for high-risk missions. Every monster they faced was ranked SS or higher.

“Even within the Black Aura, he’s one of the most respected. You can’t beat him. We have to retreat.”

Jiseok’s voice was filled with fear. That’s how overwhelming Full Bear’s presence was.

“Smart. You can’t win.”

Full Bear agreed with a simple nod.

“I strong. Tough. Hit hard.”

Then, Full Bear’s body began to change. His protruding belly retracted, and his body started to grow larger.

As his physique expanded, jet-black fur sprouted across his body. His snout elongated, and claws emerged from his hands and feet.

In an instant, he transformed into a bear. But not an ordinary bear—one clad in metallic fur and armor-like hide.

“How’s this? Satisfied now?” Pilseung asked smugly. “We’ve gotta bring you to the boss, so we’ll rough you up just enough to keep you alive.”

Pilseung unleashed his mana. Full Bear followed suit, their energies rising in unison.

Their combined aura encircled Hanul and Jiseok. Jiseok’s face froze.

“Damn it, guess there’s no choice. I’ll take Pilseung, so you—wait, hey! Where are you going?!”

Suddenly, Hanul began walking toward the two of them. Jiseok was so shocked he couldn’t even think to stop him.

“So?” Hanul stood before them and asked. “Is that all?”

Pilseung and Full Bear looked at each other, confused.

“That’s it? This is all you’ve got?”

Pilseung’s face twisted in anger.

“And what if it is?!”

He screamed and lunged, slashing with his twin blades. The aura that burst forth turned into a thorny net aimed at Hanul.

In that instant, Hanul dipped his waist slightly. Dragon Demon Aura erupted from him, obliterating Pilseung’s aura in one sweep.

“...What?”

Hanul straightened up and surged forward, landing a crushing kick to Pilseung’s jaw.

His jaw shattered as his body was launched into the air, eventually crashing back to the ground.

“You! Dangerous!”

Full Bear swung his massive right paw. Long, razor-sharp claws charged with aura slashed toward Hanul.

Hanul shielded his arm with the Demon Dragon Scale Armor and blocked the blow, then countered with a punch.

Black Dragon Ascension Art: Basic Form

Rhythmic Strike: Spiral Wave

Hanul’s fist drove into Full Bear’s abdomen, flooding his insides with Dragon Demon Aura.

“Pain! But okay!”

But Full Bear showed no sign of being fazed.

“Me! Angry!”

He bared his fangs and charged, wildly swinging his front paws at Hanul.

His attacks were powerful but followed predictable trajectories. Hanul dodged them all with ease.

He slipped through Full Bear’s swings and closed the distance, placing a fist against the bear’s belly.

“Huh?”

Full Bear looked down at Hanul in confusion.

“Whew…”

Hanul took a deep breath—and detonated the Dragon Demon Aura within him.

A massive amount of energy was expended all at once, triggering an explosion.

Ink Flame

A thick, gray smoke engulfed them. When it cleared, only the lower half of Full Bear remained.

Hanul retracted his fist and said, unclenching his hand:

“I told you—it wasn’t enough.”

“You…”

Jiseok was at a loss for words. Hanul’s display of power had been nothing short of supernatural.

What was even harder to believe was that Hanul’s stats weren’t even at S-rank yet.

Despite that, he had completely overwhelmed both Lee Pilseung and Full Bear.

“We need to go before we’re seen.”

Jiseok urged Hanul.

But Hanul didn’t respond. He just stared off into the distant sky.

“Come on. We don’t have time for this.”

“It’s already too late.”

“What?”

“They’ve already sensed me from over there.”

Over there?

Jiseok didn’t even need to ask.

The answer came falling from the sky.

“You’ve got to be kidding me…”

The answer, straight from the heavens.

“You always find new ways to surprise me, little brother.”

Kwon Chan-seong clicked his tongue.

“You know why I’m here, don’t you?”

Chan-seong asked.

“You’re here to eliminate me, aren’t you.”

“Good. Glad we’re on the same page. Need time for a final message or anything?”

“No. Won’t be necessary.”

“Oh? Hahaha!”

Chan-seong burst into hearty laughter, clearly pleased with the response.

“It’s always such a joy talking with you. Oh, mind if I have a quick word with my brother?”

Chan-seong turned his gaze to Jiseok. Jiseok clenched his fists.

“Why are you standing over there?”

A murderous glint entered Chan-seong’s eyes.

“Give me an answer I can accept. If not, I’ll kill you here along with him.”

“…Exactly what it looks like. I’m helping Kwon Hanul.”

“You’ve lost your damn mind.”

Chan-seong scoffed. Jiseok grit his teeth.

“No, you and Father are the insane ones. You gave away a Black Dragon Bloodline member—a true-blood heir—to another family, and now you want to kill him?!”

“You idiot. I’ve explained this to you a thousand—”

“Yes! And I still don’t accept it!”

Jiseok yelled.

“Brother! I’m following the way of Hyukcheon! I will face Kwon Hanul—”

He trailed off mid-sentence.

No—he couldn’t speak. Not when the killing intent radiating from Chan-seong was so overwhelming.

“Good. You understand. Now shut your mouth.”

Chan-seong cracked his knuckles and said:

“Time to send both of you off to the afterlife.”

* * *

Kwon Chan-seong’s presence radiated in every direction. It was an intensely domineering force.

Kwon Hanul involuntarily swallowed hard. He had bluffed, sure—but the gap between them was painfully obvious.

“Hey, hey…”

Kwon Jiseok called out to Hanul, trembling with fear himself.

“D-Do something…! Like before—y-you know, unleashing that hidden power or… or something…!”

Hanul shook his head.

Ferderance, Jose del Pablo, Maria Sanchez.

He’d faced powerful opponents while being at a disadvantage before.

But Kwon Chan-seong was in a different league.

Wasn’t he the absolute figure of Hyukcheon, mentioned alongside Kwon Seonwoo, Kwon Myung-woo, and Kwon Hyuk?

Even if Hanul summoned the full strength of his bloodline, he couldn’t possibly defeat Chan-seong.

“…We should run.”

“What?”

“When I give the signal, run in the opposite direction.”

“S-Signal?”

Hanul released Dragon Demon Aura through the soles of his feet. It seeped into the earth, then erupted aboveground.

Black Dragon Ascension Art– Basic Form

Crushing Style – Spear Stream

The Dragon Aura surged like a wave, sweeping across the nearby ground. Dust and energy clouded the field of vision.

“Now!”

“Damn it!”

Kwon Hanul and Kwon Jiseok bolted in opposite directions.

Skyborne Path

Stage One: Lone Run

A path of wind opened midair. Hanul ran with everything he had.

In the blink of an eye, he was far from where he’d started.

“…Slower than I expected.”

Chills crawled up his spine. Chan-seong’s voice came from directly behind.

“Would you pause for a moment?”

Chan-seong brought down a knifehand strike. Hanul crossed his arms to block it.

There was no magical energy. No Dragon Aura. Just a simple strike.

Yet Hanul’s body was sent crashing straight downward as if he’d been struck by something immense.

“Guh…”

He slammed into the ground and coughed up blood. His mind swam. It had been a long time since he’d taken a hit this devastating.

“Cough… cough…”

Hanul staggered out of the crater, hacking. When he lifted his head, he saw Chan-seong.

“Not bad. You blocked my hand and still have both arms attached.”

Hanul spat blood onto the ground. He wanted to retort, to be snide, but he couldn’t muster the strength.

His body wouldn’t respond. He couldn’t even properly circulate his mana. Just blocking one hit had left his body wrecked.

“Let’s finish this.”

Chan-seong raised his index finger. Dark aura began to gather at the tip.

Hanul needed to dodge, but his body wouldn’t move. Kneeling on the ground, he could only watch.

“…I suppose it’ll be a little dull without my younger brother around.”

Chan-seong flicked his finger. A bolt of Dragon Aura shot toward Hanul’s heart like a bullet.

At that moment, someone appeared—launching a kick that deflected the projectile.

Hanul’s eyes widened. Because standing before him—was a woman.

“Master.”

Rabbit spoke.

“I apologize for disobeying orders.”

Before she’d even finished, more figures appeared. Hanul shifted his gaze to check their faces.

They were all his former blood bounds—those he’d ruled over at the estate.

“We came to help you.”

In unison, the blood bounds spoke—including Rabbit.

For a moment, Rabbit’s words stunned him.

Help him? Why? For what reason?

He hadn’t had any particularly deep relationship with them. He had only taken control of them to avoid Catalina Blaga’s surveillance.

So why were they here?

“You really are strange, little cousin.”

Chan-seong’s voice snapped Hanul out of his thoughts.

“People from the Blaga family coming to your aid? Just what did you do in such a short time?”

Chan-seong ran both hands through his hair, baring his forehead.

“Curious… but I’ve got business to finish.”

He moved.

Rabbit shouted instantly, “Take Master and run!”

One blood bound picked Hanul up and started fleeing. Hanul stared at Rabbit, his face clouded in confusion.

“Buy us time! Stop him no matter what!”

The blood bounds threw themselves in Chan-seong’s path.

Their heads were torn off.

“Annoying little gnats.”

To Chan-seong, their lives weren’t even worth a fly’s.

But the blood bounds didn’t hesitate—they charged again.

Why?

Even as they grew more distant, the question gnawed at Hanul.

Why would they…?

But the answer was obvious.

Because the dominion of the Vassal bloodline was terrifyingly absolute.

They offered their lives simply because he was a true-blooded heir. They were no more than machines executing commands.

Even so—

He couldn’t bring himself to accept their actions as merely “expected.”

How could he be indifferent to people dying just to save him?

…Ha.

Only now did he feel the true weight of the Vassal Bloodline.

It wasn’t as convenient as it seemed.

“J-Just a bit further! We’ll reach the shore soon! We can escape by boat!”

One blood bound shouted to Hanul.

Then—

“So this is as far as you run?”

Chan-seong’s voice came just before the blood bound’s legs were severed.

The blood bound screamed and collapsed.

Despite the sudden attack, he fell forward—to protect Hanul. His face scraped against the ground, blood spilling out.

“M-Master…!”

Even with both legs lost, the blood bound still tried to protect Hanul.

But Chan-seong was faster. He swung and severed the blood bound’s neck.

“Guh…!”

“You’re just going to leave without saying goodbye? We’re not done here.”

Chan-seong casually shook blood from his hand.

His clothes, pristine just moments ago, were now stained with blood.

“What happened to the others?”

“They’re dead.”

Hanul wasn’t surprised. But that didn’t stop his chest from tightening.

“No more distractions, then.”

Chan-seong reached for Hanul’s throat.

“Oh my.”

Just before his hand connected, a sultry voice rang out.

Chan-seong’s face twisted at the sound. He turned toward the source.

“Well, well. Two familiar faces.”

Catalina Blaga.

She had arrived.

[Translator - Helga ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]