Against the Clock: The Team Leader’s Pursuit of Glory

"Strangely?"

"All in all, it seems the raid will be successful."

"And the poison?"

"It seems the poison part has been solved too. According to the observation team's report, there is a Hunter who can control poison."

"Poison control? That's quite a rare skill, isn't it? Did the Tsar Guild have such personnel?"

"It's probably that female Hunter. The Korean Hunter you released."

Igor, who had just entered the hotel room, answered Darden's question.

Despite being the Guild Master, Darden did not blame his brother's irresponsible behavior for disappearing on his own at the harbor, but he became very agitated over the fact that Igor didn't share such important information with him.

Nikolayev, noticing his displeasure, excused himself from the room.

"Did you know that there's a Korean Hunter who uses poison?"

"I had a run-in with one at the hotel. Judging by its potency, it wasn't something like a poison potion. It's probably a trait or type of skill."

"Why would you tell me this only now..."

"It wasn't even a dangerously powerful ability, and I didn't care because I didn't think they'd prepare another card to play against Oopoomangbawoo, other than the guy with the giantification ability. You probably would have come to the conclusion that she was incapable of neutralizing Oopoomangbawoo's poison even if you had known that."

Igor interrupted Darden, making an excuse.

Darden couldn't argue with his brother's words. Indeed, he had never thought that there could be someone in Korea, a country on the edge of the Hunter world, who could restrict Oopoomangbawoo's poison.

Or rather, he hadn't even thought such a method could exist in the first place.

"You can make up for the lack of ability with items. There must be some good item to control poison. I don't know about Korea, but that is certainly a possibility for the Federation."

"You seem quite calm given the situation for someone who stormed out in anger. Did you cool your head somewhere?"

"I've done some thinking for a change."

At Igor's calm voice, a sudden anxiety overtook Darden.

"I thought you and I shared the same goal. Revenge."

"Of course, I'm thinking of revenge."

"But that's not your priority, is it?"

"What are you implying by saying that?"

"Vladivostok. Isn't controlling this city under the guise of revenge your real priority?"

"That is our revenge, Igor."

"More like your ambition."

Darden felt breathless up to his chin. He had to say something, but he just couldn't open his mouth. Despite Igor not making any particular threat, Darden felt a heavy weight pressing down on his shoulders.

Darden soon realized why. It was because of the look in his eyes. His brother's disappointed gaze made him feel insignificant.

"It's not your fault. I'm grateful enough for your merits in raising the guild in place of your incompetent brother, and negotiating with the government to help me escape the status of a fugitive. But don't deceive yourself. Wasn't revenge a tool to justify your ambition? I don't like that part."

"Igor... Do you think we are strong? Do you think there's nothing to fear because you are an S-ranker? In the end, those without power get trampled, just like our father did, just like the day our sister Elena died. To overcome all this, we need to become stronger. You, me, and the guild."

Darden ranted, but Igor's eyes remained full of disappointment.

"It seems you've already forgotten the resentment from that time."

"Igor!"

Igor turned away. Darden grabbed his shoulder, but a murderous aura passed through the moment he touched it. Darden flinched and inadvertently let go of Igor.

Igor left the hotel room.

Left alone, Darden stumbled back and slumped into a chair.

"Ambition? What's so wrong with that? Our family broke precisely because we lacked ambition... Igor."

Kang Mu-hyuk handed Makar over to the Tsar Guild and joined Anton waiting in the command vehicle.

"How is the situation?"

"Fortunately, it's going according to plan. A load off our minds."

Kang Mu-hyuk looked around at the monitors mounted on the vehicle's wall.

From the equipment checking the vitals of the Hunters deployed on the mission to the monitor that was live-streaming the Oopoomangbawoo raid, it was fully equipped.

'It's not some remarkable technology, but for some reason, the introduction of such technology seems to be delayed in Korea. Is it a difference in awareness? Or is it due to the conservative tendencies throughout the Hunter community?'

The raid was entering its final stage.

Yeom Soo-hyung, who had transformed into a giant, forcibly pushed Oopoomangbawoo back, and Ju Se-ah cut off the monster's resistance at every point, driving it into the containment box. During the process, Pyo Beom-hee quickly handled the leaking poisonous energy.

Soon the Oopoomangbawoo was put into the cubic containment box measuring 20 meters in width, breadth, and height. The Tsar Guild's hunters were deployed without delay.

Anton shook his head as he looked at the containment box.

"This is made of a special material to create a space that won't leak poison outside. The guild's coffers are empty because of this. Haha."

Anton half-joked with a bit of whining, but Kang Mu-hyuk was genuinely admiring it.

'Considering the amount of special material that goes into a facility of that size, our guild wouldn't even attempt it. And yet, a mere local guild in Russia has such financial power. We're still far behind.'

While Kang Mu-hyuk was engrossed in various thoughts watching the raid process of the Tsar Guild, the video suddenly turned off. Thinking it was a simple malfunction, he switched to another camera, but they were all dead as well.

"What's going on?"

Anton urged the operator, but there's no way the broken machine could be repaired.

Kang Mu-hyuk had a bad feeling. Anton quickly sent a message using his skill to the Vice Guild Master, but received no response.

"Can you not get through to him?"

"No one else is responding either. Rather, the message skill isn't reaching them at all. This usually happens only when they're too far away or in a special terrain within a Gate...!"

Anton suddenly stopped as a thought struck him. Kang Mu-hyuk spoke out loud what he thought.

"S-rankers can manipulate space, right?"

"No way..."

"It seems the Tyrant has arrived."

Ju Se-ah was standing in front of the containment box, facing Igor. She had been trying to send a message using the skill to Kang Mu-hyuk to inform him of the situation here, but couldn't get through.

'They said S-rankers are known for their little tricks like these. Is this what it meant?'

Pyo Beom-hee and Yeom Soo-hyung, who had already been brutally defeated once, shrank back at the murderous aura emanating from Igor.

Ju Se-ah pushed them back and stepped forward.

"Guild Master, should we just run? This is a disaster."

"That's similar to my nickname."

"No, you shouldn't be going on about nicknames or whatever. That is an outrageous opponent we really can't do anything against."

When Ju Se-ah showed no signs of backing down, Pyo Beom-hee urgently tried to stop her.

"Don't worry. It'll work out somehow this time, too."

"This time... What?"

Ju e-ah drew her sword. Igor took out a gauntlet-shaped claw from his waist and wore it on both hands. The long, sharp, hook-shaped blades, three on each hand, gleamed.

"We're not exactly here to chat over vodka, are we?"

"Let's finish the fight we couldn't finish earlier."

"I'm not one for chit-chat, but I'm curious. What are you going to do after you finish?"

"I'm going to release Oopoomangbawoo. And it's time to end the bad karma from 14 years ago, too."

"I've heard the story. But isn't there forgiveness, reconciliation? Something like that?"

"I'll think about it after killing them all."

Igor charged. The blade of the right claw aimed for Ju Se-ah's face. Ju Se-ah placed her sword between the blades to block it. Then, the remaining claw sprung from the ground. Ju Se-ah did not dodge; instead, she moved closer to Igor to avoid it.

In an instant, as their foreheads almost touched, both pulled their heads back without precedence and then headbutted each other.

Bang!

With a collision sound hard to believe to have come from human heads, surprisingly, it was Igor who was pushed back.

"Ugh! Damn stonehead..."

"Phew. You're not so easy either."

Ju Se-ah blew a stray lock of hair out of her face with her breath. She tapped her forehead, pretending to be relaxed, but she couldn't hide the tension.

Igor, infuriated by being pushed back, swung his claw. It seemed a thoughtless swipe, but the force tore the ground as if a backhoe had been used.

"Our Guild Master is clashing with the Tyrant, right? The S-ranker."

"Uh, yeah..."

As Ju Se-ah displayed herself to be on par with Igor, Pyo Beom-hee got overly excited. Yeom Soo-hyung was equally shocked. They were unaware that Ju Se-ah had surpassed the barrier to S-rank.

"How annoying!"

Ju Se-ah, who had been retreating from Igor's attacks, attempted a counterattack. Though it was too fast for an ordinary Hunter to see, Ju Se-ah successfully wedged her sword between the blades of Igor's left claw.

She tried to break the blade.

Sensing her intention, Igor rapidly drew out his mana. Ju Se-ah responded in the same manner. The clash of mana resulted in an explosion. Both the sword and the claw's blades shattered.

Ju Se-ah and Igor simultaneously kicked at each other's diaphragms. Igor was sent skidding across the asphalt, and Ju Se-ah was slammed against the wall of the containment box.

The impact was severe, prompting her to quickly check the box's condition to ensure no poisonous energy had leaked.

"Phew, fortunately, it's intact... Argh!"

As she regained her posture, Igor charged and threw a punch. It wasn't aimed at Ju Se-ah. She barely managed to block it before he could hit the box.

"Look, you Russian nutcase, let's at least protect what needs to be protected."

"That should be fun. You protect, I destroy."

"This crazy─"

When Igor made another move to attack the box, Ju Se-ah threw herself to block him. But this attack was a feint by Igor.

The next moment, the mana-infused claw pierced Ju Se-ah's abdomen.

"Guild Master!"

"Guild Master Ju!"

Pyo Beom-hee and Yeom Soo-hyung shouted as they attacked Igor.

With a single gesture, Igor shook them off. Unlike before, he did not hold back, and the two Hunters were knocked down in one blow, unable to move.

"Those who try to protect others are always the first to die, whether they're strong or weak. They don't realize it's better to look after themselves first... huh?"

Suddenly, Igor felt that his right hand was light. It wasn't the feeling of piercing flesh. Looking down, he saw broken blades. His claw was shattered.

【Iron Skin】

【Dragon Scale】

"Disappointed, right? Since I'm tougher."

"You......"

Before Igor could finish speaking, Ju Se-ah's right hook struck his left temple. As he staggered to the side, her left fist struck his cheekbone as if not to let him go.

Igor barely regained his balance. He tried to counter the next attack but lost sight of Ju Se-ah. As he turned around looking for her, a chilling sensation surged from below.

By the time he realized, it was already too late.

Ju Se-ah had placed her hands on the ground and stretched out her leg straight up towards the sky. Igor's jaw jerked upward as his head snapped back as if it had been pulled to the back.

Ju Se-ah picked up the broken blade from the ground and sharpened it with mana. A blade of mana surged forth, aiming for Igor's throat.

【Avatar】

"Damn it!"

Igor, who had grown to nearly half the size of the box in an instant, raised his hand high. His giant palm came crashing down like swatting a fly.

Ju Se-ah employed all her defensive skills to block it.

Crash!

"This... rascal, to the very end..."

Igor's strike hit the box. He retreated in his giant form and turned his back.

"It'll be better for you to clean up this place."

"Are you running away?"

"A duel is fine, but there are things I still need to finish first."

"Scared, aren't you? Yeah you. If you're scared of me, just say so."

"Childish provocations. You'd better spend that time waking her up. To stop that poison."

Igor pointed to where Pyo Beom-hee lay unconscious.

Ju Se-ah checked the wall of the box where Igor's palm had struck. Poisonous energy was leaking. Reluctantly giving up on attacking Igor, she rushed to Pyo Beom-hee.

After checking on both Pyo Beom-hee and Yeom Soo-hyung, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Phew, that's a relief. They're just unconscious. Team Leader Pyo, wake up! Come on, wake up!"

Ju Se-ah shook Pyo Beomhee to wake her, but when she didn't regain consciousness, Ju Se-ah rummaged through the ampule kit strapped to Pyo Beom-hee's waist.

She pulled out a laser-injection ampule and inserted it into Pyo Beom-hee's shoulder. As soon as the potion in the ampule was fully absorbed, Pyo Beom-hee opened her eyes.

"Ugh! Cough cough! I was just unconscious, why give me a stimulant... Cough! More importantly, are you okay, Guild Master?"

"I'm a bit battered, but I'll manage."

"Guild Master, are you an S-ranker? How... And what about Igor?"

"I know you have a lot of questions, but the most important thing right now is that."

Ju Se-ah pointed to the leaking poison from the broken box.

The poisonous energy had turned a deeper color than before.

"Guild Master Ju Se-ah, this is Dmitry. Can you hear me?"

Just then, Dmitry's message came through.

"Yes, I can hear you."

"I was inside and the box suddenly broke and took me by shock. The message skill isn't working. What's going on?"

"The Tyrant attacked. He smashed the box."

"The Tyrant? Where is he now?"

"He broke it and left."

"Where to... No, that's not the issue right now. We just subdued Oopoomangbawoo, so the poisonous energy is at its peak. But the box is broken..."

"Can the box be repaired? Is it difficult?"

"It's made of special material, so we can't fix it quickly. It's also not easy to find the materials."

"We'll have to find a way to manage on our own."

"Please do."

Kang Mu-hyuk, along with No Song-rin, drove towards the box at full speed.

On the way, they saw Igor, who had turned into a giant, crossing the park.

"Wow, that guy is unbelievably huge. Just the thought of an S-rank giant is horrifying, but it's even worse in person."

"Let's go faster. I'm worried about the Guild Master and the two team leaders."

Upon arrival at the box, the scene was chaotic. One wall of the box was also broken, allowing the poisonous energy to escape.

Realizing the danger, No Song-rin stopped Kang Mu-hyuk from getting out of the car.

"It's okay. Team leader Pyo is absorbing it with her poison well skill."

Pyo Beom-hee was in front of the box, controlling the poison.

The Poison Well was ferociously eating at not just the poisonous energy that had already escaped from the box but also that which continued to flow out. However, Pyo Beom-hee's condition did not seem good. Her skin turned black and then returned to its original color repeatedly.

"Guild Master!"

"Guild Leader Kang, why are you here? It's dangerous."

"We saw the Tyrant passing by. What happened?"

"As you can see, he smashed the box and left."

Kang Mu-hyuk was puzzled by Igor's intention. If he had just come to settle the score with Ju Se-ah, he wouldn't have left so easily.

There were a few suspicious aspects, but he couldn't delve deep into it. The situation at hand didn't allow for it.

"How about Team Leader Pyo? Is she okay?"

"It might be difficult."

"Can't she stop it with her Poison Well?"

"The Poison Well is fine, but... things aren't looking great for Team Leader Pyo."