This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 638

It felt like I was slowly walking down a staircase that resembled a whirlpool in the middle of the sea, or perhaps a hurricane soaring towards the sky.

Squish—

The sound of what could only be sand or dust crunching beneath my feet echoed vividly around me.

And with each sound that rang out, the enemies’ noises began to swell little by little.

Eventually, did my sounds start to reach their ears as well?

As I was left with only a single floor to go, the already frenzied movements of the enemies started to gain a certain chaotic energy.

I still didn’t know what my identity was, but it seemed I needed to be prepared to react immediately, no matter who might jump out at me.

A rustling noise made its way into my ears through the wide-spread sensing net, as people scattered in all directions.

Regardless, I had no intention of stopping my steps.

If I had thought of stopping here, would I have even bothered to come down this far?

If anything, it would have been far more efficient to wait for the enemies to come up from above.

Thus, I kept moving.

And eventually, the moment I finally entered the floor where the enemies were waiting.

Thwip—!

Something thin and long sliced through the air towards me, striking my ears with a loud sound.

Initially, I thought I would get a glimpse of what it was, but given the target in question, it seemed they were intent on giving their all right from the start.

I couldn’t tell what was thrown, but the speed it came at was no joke.

If I hadn’t deployed my sensing net and stayed still… I might have barely noticed its existence before it embedded itself somewhere in my body.

It was a speed that felt worryingly significant.

Even as my sensing net caught it, the speed had become irrelevant.

Skreee—!

It sounded precisely like metal scraping against steel.

What had flown at me with fierce speed suddenly took on an impossibly unnatural form, hovering mid-air momentarily before falling weakly to the ground.

“!”

“…?!”

The sounds of shock and dismay began to resonate from the enemies hiding nearby, likely influenced by that very moment.

I had thought that single blow could incapacitate them, but since things did not turn out as expected, did they have no choice but to be swallowed by their own surprise?

‘Why do they seem so clumsy…?’

One could say there was no trace of the professionalism typically expected.

Realistically, how many could possibly have predicted that today’s situation would unfold as it did?

Even Dogun’s sister, who was always by his side, hadn’t foreseen his sudden actions, so surely, not a single person did.

Given that, those who rushed here determined to take Dogun and Bora would also be completely unprepared.

If that were the case, it made perfect sense for the enemies to appear so inept…

Yet, despite understanding that, it was human nature to feel a sense of disbelief.

How could they target Dogun with such skills?

Perhaps they underestimated him simply because he was a man.

True, they might have aimed for Bora instead of Dogun, but that possibility had long been erased from Seolhwa’s mind.

What was indeed important to her now was the very ‘fact’ that Dogun could have been in danger.

What would have happened if she hadn’t come down here at her sister’s request?

There’s a saying that “if only” doesn’t exist in history, and theorizing about events that never occurred is utterly meaningless, but she couldn’t help but entertain those thoughts over and over.

None other than Dogun’s safety was related to this matter, so it was unavoidable.

To put it another way, the more she thought about it, the more insufficient it felt.

In that vein, if she hadn’t been here now… perhaps Dogun would have already been kidnapped by those women.

And if, through that process, any of the powers he hid were to be exposed…

The aftermath was too dreadful to even imagine.

Given that Dogun was already a target for many due to his left arm alone, if his hidden abilities were revealed, it was abundantly clear that every country would begin hunting for him.

A power that would allow him to maintain the status of a hero indefinitely, effectively forcing him into retirement once he reached a certain threshold due to the Talent Organ.

Those in the upper echelons of various nations surely understood just how absurd an ability that was, and thus they would start eyeing Dogun even more cautiously.

In such a situation, Dogun would cease to be an individual and instead become a mere ‘battery’ for heroes.

Considering his true desire wasn’t anything grand, just to live a normal life, she could not let that happen.

“One, two… it totals twenty people.”

“…?”

“These are Hero-Class Awakened! Stop spacing out and fight!”

I didn’t know whose orders had brought them this far, but the resolve to clean up those present here was firm.

On their side, it probably didn’t feel overly unfair.

If someone was determined to come and kidnap a person, they definitely expected at least this level of danger.

Despite their clumsiness, they likely had some level of talent.

The attacks that flew from their concealed positions were sufficient to feel threatening to an ordinary hero.

And yet… that was all there was to it.

Standing here was not an ordinary hero but one destined to rise to First-Class in record time, a promising standout.

It was a little embarrassing to say that with my own mouth, but facts are facts.

Thud—!

Drawing the sword at my waist and slamming it down onto the ground made a sound that swiftly spread out, manifesting into an intangible wave.

Given where we were standing, the fiery blasts that were the most conspicuous, along with the inferior yet sinister attacks that had been hidden behind them, all vanished without a trace within mere seconds.

I had long expected them to be difficult opponents, but perhaps they hadn’t anticipated their earnest attacks would be vaporized so swiftly.

As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I finally began to see the faces of the enemies, each one wearing an expression thick with horror.

Amongst them, the most eye-catching were their eyes, now wide with disbelief, showcasing whites that could rival a full moon.

Seeing those eyes, writhing with shock as if they had no idea this would happen, made a wry smile escape my lips.

With a trembling voice, a familiar nickname drifted into my ears just then.

They thought they were muttering it quietly, but the sensing net I had stretched out easily captured even those seemingly insignificant sounds.

Thanks to their murmured address, I could more or less deduce where they were from.

It appeared they had assembled a team composed solely of those fluent in Korean, perhaps to prepare for the possible collapse of the situation… but no one outside their country would use such a ridiculous nickname to refer to us.

Now that I knew their origin, there was no longer any reason to show mercy.

And thus, once again, I slammed my sword down onto the ground.

And with the sound that echoed—

Ugh…?!

The enemies that had been hiding began to fall, one after another, as if it had been preordained.