Chapter 54 - Hit and Run
Jin's eyebrow twitched.
A chilling sensation stiffened his entire body.
His instincts sharpened, and his Polar Radiance opened its eyes in response to the threat.
Pajijik!
A streak of violet lightning crackled along Jin's face.
It was as if the lightning had a will of its own, baring its fangs at its enemy.
Naturally, Jin's gaze did the same.
"······"
It was the stare of a beast.
Unlike those half-breeds with only their heads swapped for that of a beast, this was the piercing gaze of a true predator.
Jin didn't know where that difference stemmed from.
All he could do was clench his fists.
The only reason he didn't charge immediately was because of Fenrir's voice beside him.
"···Taha···!"
The bridge of his nose, visible above his goblin mask, contorted in a deep grimace.
His expression, his tone—none of it felt like he was meeting someone for the first time.
And sure enough, the man responded.
"So it was you."
Then came an emotionless remark.
"Traitor."
At that moment, Jin glanced at Fenrir.
Not because of the word 'traitor,' but because of the cracking sound that accompanied the growing presence beside him, drawing his eyes instinctively.
In that brief moment, Fenrir had completed his transformation.
With his massive hands, he grabbed his loosened mask and yanked it down.
Grrrrr—
A deep, bestial growl escaped his elongated snout.
As the werewolf cracked his neck from side to side, he spoke.
"'Traitor' is a bit dramatic, don't you think? All I did was leave because I hated your pathetic camaraderie bullshit."
Pathetic camaraderie.
A remark that trampled on TB, now a rising warlord faction.
Yet, the response was surprisingly calm.
"Don't reject the voice inside you, Fenrir."
The man, Taha, took a step forward.
Stretching his arm back, he grasped the handle of the massive hammer resting on the ground.
Then, he added,
"This is the fate given to us."
"Bullshit… Your beast affliction's gotten real bad."
Fenrir curled his lips, revealing sharp teeth against his blood-red gums.
Jin glanced behind them.
The three resistance fighters had frozen like prey before a predator.
Among them, Albus was in the worst shape—his face pale as if all his blood had rushed to his abdomen.
Despite the tourniquet, his bandages were soaked, the blood now seeping onto Den's back.
Judging by the cold sweat pouring down his face, he was on the verge of shock from blood loss.
Jin made his decision.
"Run!"
At his shout, Ocia and Den snapped back to their senses and turned to flee.
The moment Taha's gaze landed on their retreating figures—
Jin yanked Fenrir's shoulder.
"We're getting out of here!"
"…What?"
"The client has to survive!"
It wasn't that Jin hadn't considered fighting.
He had been ready to charge in.
But thinking it over, this wasn't the place for it.
If they fought here, not only would Albus be in danger, but the encirclement they had barely broken through would tighten again.
All their effort would go to waste.
He wasn't about to let that happen.
So, Jin turned and ran.
Whoever said a wound on the back was a swordsman's disgrace…
Well, Jin wasn't a swordsman.
So he felt no shame!
If baring his back meant surviving, he'd do it as many times as needed.
And if he got wounded?
So what.
He'd heal quickly, and no scars would remain anyway.
But Fenrir, with his twin dragon swords at his waist, clearly thought differently.
"Damn it! Why the hell did I transform if we're just running?!"
"Did I tell you to? Just move!"
That's when it happened.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The sound of heavy footsteps shattered the ground behind them.
Then—
BOOM!!
A thunderous impact echoed.
A massive shadow leaped into the sky, hurling something toward the two as they sprinted.
Whoooosh!
The sound of something spinning through the air tore toward them in an instant.
A chilling sensation ran down his spine.
In the next instant, Fenrir leaped sharply, while Jin blinked forward a short distance.
The ground flipped over right after.
Jin, his stance momentarily broken, tilted his head back to check behind him.
Beyond the scattering concrete debris, he saw a hammer embedded in the ground.
His eyes widened instinctively.
What the hell?
Did someone throw that?
The sheer size of the metal monstrosity suggested it weighed at least several hundred kilograms.
Its crude, seamless design, with the handle integrated into the hammerhead, looked like something straight out of a bygone era.
Even with his current abilities, Jin couldn't imagine leaping into the air while wielding such a thing and then hurling it down with such force.
As he barely processed the realization that his opponent's strength clearly surpassed his own, a white-haired man descended from the sky, reaching behind him.
Then, in one swift motion, he snatched the hammer's handle and swung his arm wide—
The hammerhead, rising as if propelled from the ground, carved a massive arc with a radius of three meters.
Whoosh!
Jin instinctively rolled as the hammer came flying at him, obscuring his vision.
In martial arts novels, this kind of evasive maneuver was called Naryeo Tagon—the ultimate dodging technique.
If you could endure the embarrassment, it was supposed to help you avoid almost any attack.
But maybe that only worked in those stories.
Boom!
Although he dodged a direct hit, the shockwave from the impact at such close range sent him flying.
At the same time, concrete fragments shot toward him like arrows.
His vision was completely blocked.
This meant he couldn't use Blink.
He had no way to determine a safe landing coordinate.
Out of desperation, Jin crossed his arms in front of him.
Fist-sized debris pounded against them, shattering on impact, as he stretched his legs backward.
Something touched the soles of his feet.
He didn't have time to check whether it was the ground, a wall, or something else—he just used it to stop his momentum.
And then, the sound of rushing wind reached his ears again.
Jin instinctively ducked.
Whoosh!!
A massive hunk of metal barely skimmed past the top of his head.
Lowering himself so far that his palms nearly touched the ground, Jin slammed his foot down.
Crack!
His rotating body collided roughly with Taha.
The impact was clear—his opponent furrowed his brows and staggered backward.
But Jin couldn't follow up.
The recoil from the collision was worse than expected.
It felt like slamming full speed into a chunk of solid metal.
His entire body buzzed—ziiing—and for a moment, he couldn't move his legs.
If this were a game, he'd be stunned—facing a crisis.
Before the enormous hammer could come crashing down on his head, someone yanked him by the collar.
His breath caught, and he scowled as he turned his head.
"…Are you a Zahad?!"
Fenrir exclaimed in shock.
But Jin couldn't respond.
Understandable, considering he was being strangled.
"Gah! You bastard…!"
Dragged along the ground, his heels scraping against it, Jin struggled against the 210cm-tall werewolf's sprint.
Feeling strength return to his legs, he began kicking off the ground, twisting away from the grip on his collar.
"If you pull—on my damn—clothes—what the hell—are you trying to do?!"
His voice came out in broken gasps, punctuated by dry coughs.
Fenrir, of course, didn't care.
"What, you wanted me to just watch you get your skull crushed?!"
…Fair point.
Accepting that, Jin glanced toward the corner where Ocia and Den had disappeared and shouted.
"Why the hell is that guy so strong?! No other beastkin was that ridiculous!"
"That's because Taha… has achieved Shedding!"
"Shedding… what?"
"Shit, he's coming!!"
Fenrir yelled urgently.
At the same time, Jin sensed a razor-sharp gust behind his shoulder.
Whirrrrrr!
Neither he nor Fenrir needed to say anything.
They both instinctively split to the sides.
The hammer whooshed between them, striking the ground at an angle.
A deafening explosion ripped through the air, sending out a powerful shockwave.
Fenrir stabbed his sword into the ground to brace himself—
Jin, on the other hand, said, screw it and let the blast propel him forward.
Using the force pushing against his back to accelerate, he drove his fist straight into Taha's face.
Crunch!
Taha's head tilted slightly backward, but his predator-like gaze remained locked on Jin.
The next moment.
Fists grazed each other midair, landing squarely on their opponents' faces.
A cross-counter.
Jin staggered heavily.
It was nothing compared to Killgit's sonic boom punch, but Taha's fist still carried the force of a metal club crashing down.
Then, Fenrir rushed in, swinging his sword.
A sharp ambush.
The massive sword, over a meter long, grazed Taha's neck.
It should have been a fatal cut... but no blood flowed.
The skin was visibly sliced, yet not a drop was shed.
"…What the hell did you do to your body?"
Fenrir asked, but Taha remained silent.
He simply pressed his hand against the wound and lifted it away—only for the cut to vanish as if it had never existed.
Then, at last, he spoke.
"Come back while you still can, Fenrir. I'm giving you a chance."
"What?"
"We are the chosen ones. The descendants of an ancient race revived beyond time. You must hear it too, right? The voice of the wild."
Fenrir raised his sword.
"Cut the crap. We just got injected with some damn serum. That so-called 'voice' is just another shitty side effect."
"…You're impossible to talk to."
Taha shook his head and took a step forward.
[Gravity]
A low activation command echoed from somewhere.
Suddenly, Taha's left knee buckled.
"...?"
Losing balance for a moment, he slammed his right foot down with a heavy thud to keep himself from collapsing.
Crack—!
Fractures spread beneath him, as if an invisible force was crushing the ground.
Yet he refused to fall.
Slowly, he began to lift his head—
At that moment, a new voice rang in Jin and Fenrir's ears.
"This way! I can't hold him for long!"
At the end of a narrow alley, a man was waving urgently.
Behind him, a boxcar was parked.
Inside, Ocia, Den, and Albus—who had fled earlier—were leaning against the vehicle.
There was no time to hesitate.
Jin and Fenrir saw the white fur beginning to sprout on Taha's face and immediately sprinted toward the boxcar.
As soon as they climbed in, the man jumped into the driver's seat and slammed the accelerator.
Vroooom—!
As the car sped up, Jin rubbed his throbbing nose and asked toward the front seat.
"Resistance?"
"…"
The man didn't answer.
Why wasn't he responding?
Sensing something off, Jin's hand crept toward his waist—
Click.
Suddenly, the barrel of a gun pressed against the driver's headrest.
Ocia, her voice low, demanded,
"…Who are you?"
The man let out a small chuckle.
"I save your asses, and this is how you thank me?"
"State your identity."
"That a threat? Gonna pull the trigger?"
"You think I won't?"
Jin frowned at the exchange.
What the hell was going on now?
He had assumed the Resistance had come to help, but apparently not.
Then why the hell did they get in the car?
…Well, arguing about it wouldn't help.
Albus was in terrible shape.
No, worse than that—
Unconscious, body convulsing violently.
Even Jin, clueless about medical matters, could tell his life was hanging by a thread.
The driver glanced at him through the rearview mirror and spoke.
"Shouldn't saving your friend be your first priority? Got anywhere to go if you blow my head off?"
"There's a place."
"A safe house?"
"…"
"Just so you know, you might not wanna go there. TB's already turned it inside out."
Who the hell was this guy?
Jin and Fenrir exchanged looks before turning back to the driver.
Judging from how things were unfolding, he was neither Resistance nor TB.
But for someone like that, he sure knew a lot.
And he had used magic—Gravity, no less.
A magic commonly seen in novels and games.
Noticing the suspicious stares through the rearview mirror, the man spoke again.
"Relax. You'll figure it all out soon enough."
With that, he focused back on driving.
A silent night drive, without even the headlights on.
Amidst Albus's labored groans, the group gazed out the windows at the city's nightscape.
Gunfire echoed in the distance.
Shrieks scattered into the night like fading echoes.
And the buildings, cloaked in darkness, seemed to avert their gaze from it all.
At some point, the boxcar began to slow down.
"Get out."
The man spoke first and stepped out, followed by the others, who climbed out one by one.
Den, who had been supporting Albus, was the last to disembark.
He glanced around and muttered under his breath.
"...Bunker Hill?"
To Jin, it was just a desolate residential area.
Not a single sign of life could be felt.
"This is the place."
The man ahead motioned with a small gesture.
As the group began to move, Fenrir approached Jin's side.
Having returned to his human form to ride in the boxcar, he now leaned in close, the lower half of his face obscured by a mask, and spoke in a hushed tone.
"It could be a trap. If anything seems off, attack immediately."
"Got it."
Before the entrance of a building.
The man pressed the doorbell firmly.
A voice crackled through the old intercom.
["Fate whispers to the warrior, 'A storm is coming.' To which the warrior replies—"]
"Cut the nonsense and open the door. We've got an injured person here."
[...Then why even bother making a passphrase?]
A buzzing sound followed, and the door unlocked.
Once inside, a narrow corridor greeted them.
It was dimly lit, almost eerie, but after passing through, they emerged into a living room where a fireplace flickered warmly.
The people gathered around the fire rose to their feet as they entered.
One of them, upon seeing Albus, spoke up.
"Bring the injured over here."
"I'll be back."
"No, Den. I'm coming with you."
Concerned about letting Den go alone, Ocia accompanied him somewhere deeper inside.
That left only Jin and Fenrir behind.
As the man briefly glanced at them, he turned his attention to someone still sitting by the fire, downing alcohol straight from the bottle.
"Colonel, we've returned."
"Yeah. Good work."
A short response.
Then, with a hiccup, the older man drained the bottle in one go and turned his head.
Jin, who had been scanning the situation, suddenly widened his eyes.
Without thinking, he pointed and shouted.
"The hit-and-run driver?!"