* * *
Swallowing back a groan, I glared sharply at the man.
“Why did you bring me here?”
It was obviously because of my skill.
I had a rough idea, but I wanted to know for sure — and also why they had to mutilate me like this.
Killing me would only be a loss for them, wouldn’t it?
There was no need to go through the trouble of dragging me here and stabbing me repeatedly.
“Hah, what are you saying?”
The man with the knife sneered, twisting one corner of his mouth.
His pockmarked face crinkled.
“You should know your own value better than anyone.”
“……”
“Of course, we’re going to sell you.”
“Sell me?”
“There’s a ton of overseas requests for you. They’re offering a fortune if we can deliver you.”
He made a crude gesture of rubbing his fingers together like counting money.
That was news to me.
I had assumed they’d either use me themselves or hand me over to some underground guild within the country.
The character ‘Seo Inho’ in the movie had died too early for me to have much information.
“It’s some rich old man in Russia. Collecting rare things is his hobby. And since your skill is one of a kind, and you’re an S-rank? Say no more.”
He bent down, his eyes glinting obscenely as he scanned my body.
Fucking pervert.
Disgust twisted my expression.
But the next thing he said was even more horrifying.
“You’d better watch your ass. That old man’s got quite the perverted streak.”
The man seemed to be enjoying himself immensely, a constant grin on his face.
He chuckled while wiping the bloodied knife against my clothes before straightening his back.
“Well, shall we continue?”
I flinched involuntarily.
Continue?
As I instinctively tried to recoil, the chain rattled with a sharp clank.
The man looked down at me, twisting his waist playfully like he was warming up.
“Just so you know, this is all payback. You shattered my ribs, remember? I believe in repaying everything tenfold.”
“Hey, knock it off. If you ruin his value, are you gonna take responsibility?”
For the first time, the muscle monster who had been silently watching spoke up.
He looked at the man with clear annoyance, but the knife-wielding bastard only shrugged.
“We’re gonna use a potion anyway. What’s the big deal?”
So that’s why they kept stabbing me like this.
I learned something I really didn’t want to know.
As I coughed up blood again, the muscle guy crossed his arms and tapped his temple with a finger.
“If that part breaks, even a potion won’t help, idiot.”
“Tch… so picky. Fine. Three more times. I’ll stab him exactly three more times.”
The man raised three fingers, looking slightly annoyed, while the muscle brute frowned in disgust.
“You sick bastard.”
Ignoring him, the man bent down again, tapping my chest with the knife tip.
He also patted my cheek as I turned away to spit out blood.
“Don’t worry. I used to be a surgeon, you know. As long as I avoid the vital organs, people don’t die that easily.”
Thud!
And then, the kick I had thrown out in desperation was instantly blocked by the man’s hand.
It felt like kicking a boulder — my shin felt like it was about to shatter.
Even though my magic was sealed, I didn’t expect my strength and speed to be reduced to that of a normal person.
It was my last act of resistance.
But in the end, things took a turn for the worst.
“I told you it’s useless.”
The man smirked as he slowly drove his knife into my side.
Very slowly. With a steady pace.
“Ahh!”
It was insane.
I could feel the blade piercing my flesh with horrifying clarity.
The pain was unbearable — I twisted my body and screamed, but his hand held my shoulder firmly in place.
“See? I’ve stabbed you several times already, and you’re still alive.”
“Ugh… ngh…”
All the nerves in my body screamed toward the side where the knife was twisting inside me.
My vision went white and my head tilted back involuntarily.
Dangerous.
A sudden thought flashed through my mind—I might really die here.
“Stop…”
“Hm, where should I go next?”
But the man didn’t even pretend to listen.
Like he was picking out the best cut of meat, his eyes darted around in search of the next spot.
The knife slid out of my abdomen with a wet sound and slowly traced my body until it reached my neck.
Right where the veins were most prominent.
“Too fatal here…”
The blade moved again, stopping around my thigh.
A sharp, cold sensation ran across my skin, making goosebumps rise.
“Maybe your thigh would be better.”
He used the tip of his knife to lift up the hem of my loose shorts.
Enraged by his obvious mockery, I clenched my fists tightly.
If only I could, I would have smashed that smug face right then and there.
But in reality, all I could do was crawl backward like a helpless insect.
I’m an S-Rank Support, and yet—just because of a single Numen Stone—I ended up this powerless.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
The man chuckled and grabbed my ankle, yanking me back.
Pain shot up my broken shin, and a scream escaped my lips.
In that brief moment, the blade slipped under my shorts like a snake.
I gasped sharply as my skin was slashed open.
Expecting the searing pain to follow, I shut my eyes tightly.
“Hah… AHHHH!!”
But the desperate scream didn’t come from me.
When I cautiously opened my eyes and looked down, one of the man’s arms was disappearing in real time—disintegrating into fine dust and scattering into the air.
He flailed, desperately trying to gather the crumbling particles.
“My arm, my arm!!”
Screaming wildly, he staggered backward—then suddenly tipped over and crashed onto the ground, writhing.
Now one of his legs was vanishing as well.
“AGHHH!!”
“There you are.”
Then, from the distance, a voice—strangely familiar yet unfamiliar—rang out.
Half-dazed from the unbelievable sight, I slowly turned my head.
A tall man with dark beige hair was walking toward me at a leisurely pace, as if he was out for a casual stroll.
His long trench coat fluttered as he approached with his hands in his pockets, like a scene straight out of a movie.
No, not just any movie—I’d actually seen this exact scene in a film before.
Woo Jaehyun.
The third lead in the movie.
An S-Rank Hunter with a terrifying ability that pulverizes his targets until not even a corpse remains.
Victims of his skill vanish completely, leaving no trace.
Our eyes met, and Woo Jaehyun curved his long, fox-like eyes into a soft smile.
His features were more delicate than handsome, almost feminine, yet paired with a tall, broad-shouldered build that didn’t seem to match.
“Hello, Hunter Seo Inho. We meet again.”
I frowned slightly, my brows damp with cold sweat.
What was he talking about?
Had we met before?
I quickly searched my memory, and then froze.
No way…
“The… ghost…?”
His voice sounded familiar because it belonged to that Hunter Association staff who once visited me in the hospital.
But that man was Woo Jaehyun?
Honestly, it was easier to believe he was a ghost.
Apparently just as shocked, the muscle brute trembled under his eyes.
“Woo Jaehyun? What’s the Arion Guild Master doing here…”
“You seem to be in even worse shape than last time. Supporters should be treated with care, you know.”
Ignoring the brute, Woo Jaehyun walked over to me, casually nudging the fallen man aside with his foot like sweeping away trash.
“You’re too noisy.”
“Gah—koff!”
At his single word, blood gushed from the man’s mouth.
I could only assume something near his vocal cords had disappeared.
Watching the man silently gasp for air, I finally understood why people called S-Rank Hunters inhuman.
Once the man fell silent, Woo Jaehyun knelt beside me with a gentle smile.
“Are you alright, Supporter? You look pretty pale.”
“How…?”
I wanted to ask how he found me, but I was too weak to finish my sentence.
Woo Jaehyun seemed to understand anyway, simply continuing to gaze down at me with that soft smile.
“Shall I help you? If you grant me just one wish, I can clean all of this up for you.”
He spoke as if offering to tidy up a messy room.
The muscle brute flinched at his words, stumbling backward as if ready to flee at any moment.
Woo Jaehyun slowly turned his head, locking eyes with him.
The man froze on the spot like a statue, too afraid to move.
What kind of expression is he making…?
But when Woo Jaehyun turned back to me, his face was as calm as ever.
Whatever this “wish” was, it was better than getting sold off to that perverted Russian old man.
As my vision blurred, I weakly nodded.
And then, before my eyes, something unbelievable happened.
Still crouching next to me, Woo Jaehyun remained unmoving—while the two men behind him disintegrated into dust.
* * *
