IRNH C47

#47

A sharp rushing sound cut through the air and then vanished quickly.

“Ugh!”

Almost simultaneously, a faint dying gasp barely audible to only Sihyeon and Taewoon echoed.

The faint presence of the stranger, which had been somewhat concealed, appeared momentarily with a life signal before disappearing immediately.

Damn it.

Startled, Sihyeon grabbed Taewoon’s hand firmly, as they had maintained distance so far, and sprang in the opposite direction of the narrow alley where the suspicious figure had been hiding.

Taewoon’s eyes widened in surprise, then he smiled gently, firmly grasping Sihyeon’s hand and matching his pace.

‘Who the hell is it?’

They were not trying to run away.

Since the hostile intent was aimed precisely at Sihyeon, it was highly likely the stranger came deliberately after him.

No point in avoiding the place now; whoever it was would just find them again.

‘They must not have come alone.’

There were only two of them—Sihyeon and Taewoon.

So, surely, at least two or more adversaries were waiting nearby.

Using lightness martial arts, Sihyeon moved around leaving intentional traces as bait.

Then, silently suppressing his presence almost to the limit, he re-entered the alley where the man had been.

The body of a man, obviously suspicious with his face covered by pitch-black cloth, lay quietly on the floor as if asleep.

Sihyeon slowly bent over to examine the man’s condition.

There was only one hole in the chest, but the internal organs within were shredded and unrecognizable.

“Taewoon. Shouldn’t we check before killing?”

“Even after showing murderous intent toward Master?”

Sihyeon bit back a sigh at Taewoon’s casual reply, knowing it’s not good to sigh in front of the boy.

“Let go of my hand for now.”

“…Why? Are you going to leave me? I’m sorry…”

But the flare of anger receded at Taewoon’s lowered gaze and hesitant voice.

“No… I mean, I want to search the body for clues.”

Taewoon stayed still for a while, then slowly released Sihyeon’s hand and took a dejected step backward.

Seeing this, Sihyeon sighed deeply and grabbed the hand again.

“Sigh. Just stay here.”

After setting a protective barrier around himself, Sihyeon grabbed the corpse’s collar with his free hand and stepped into the dark alley.

Though a little uncomfortable, he managed to support the limp body with one hand, laying it down in a corner and pulled off the mask.

Screech!

“Ugh.”

However, in the end, Sihyeon couldn’t confirm the stranger’s face.

A faint aura seemed to emerge, but as soon as the face was revealed, it started melting away.

More precisely, from the head upward.

Sihyeon shot a burst of internal energy, dispersing the smoke emitting a burnt flesh stench.

‘This must be a technique usual among assassins.’

Typically in the Central Plains, when certain internal energy was severed by captivity or death, a poisonous pill hidden in the molars burst to eliminate evidence.

Though the mechanisms here were somewhat different, the end result was similar.

Sihyeon frowned at the unexpected situation and hastily activated his protective circle.

[Unknown corpse – excessive damage]

‘Tsk, useless. When does this level up anyway?’

Sihyeon clicked his tongue softly, ruffled his hair roughly, and despite his vow to remain vigilant, irritation crept as such incidents kept occurring.

Something unknown was happening, close to him.

“Taewoon, keep hiding your energy.”

He needed some trickery.

Sihyeon stripped the protective barrier to lure the corpse’s comrades nearby by releasing the hidden energy.

Though overwhelmed with work lately, he never stopped training and felt confident.

“Master! It’s dangerous!”

Taewoon hurriedly warned him late, but Sihyeon smirked lightly.

As expected, a faint presence fleeing appeared about 50 meters ahead, quickly turning to escape.

So that’s you guys?

“Taewoon, guard the corpse.”

Habitually, Sihyeon issued a brief command, increased his internal power, confirmed the fleeing suspicious figures’ backs, then leapt swiftly off the building wall.

Clack.

The sound of teeth briefly meeting filled the dark alley and then faded quickly.

Taewoon looked down at the place where Sihyeon had vanished with an emotionless gaze, raising his hand.

“Hah… maddening.”

Taewoon gently brushed his small face and smiled faintly as usual, then kicked the corpse’s scattered body behind an outdoor air conditioner, following Sihyeon, pushing off the ground.

The assassin’s corpse was gradually decomposing at the impact points struck by Taewoon.

“Taewoon.”

Sihyeon frowned at the presence closely tailing him without listening.

‘Definitely adolescence.’

Their tone and contrary behavior matched teenage rebellion perfectly.

“I finished disposing of the corpse so don’t worry. I couldn’t resist following you since I was worried, Master.”

Taewoon interrupted and continued, leaving Sihyeon speechless in surprise.

That sounded like his usual obedient disciple, but made it even harder to figure him out.

“Alright. This time don’t kill immediately; subdue first. Got it?”

“Is it okay to pull arms and legs off?”

“…That’s not allowed. They might die from shock. Follow quietly…”

A silence enveloped them.

Though Taewoon’s excuse was thin, he nodded knowingly and stuck even closer.

Feeling embarrassed, Sihyeon blushed lightly and tightened his grasp on his fingers as a wager.

Pewing!

His tightly gathered hand sliced laterally through the air.

A red streak shot out like a bullet straight toward the Achilles’ tendons of the suspicious figures approaching.

Crack!

But the energy was blocked by something with a glass-shattering sound and disappeared.

Sihyeon fired energy several more times, but it was always blocked.

‘I’ve trained hard for nothing.’

He pulled his energy up, fearing imminent death, eyes gleaming as he gathered energy thicker than ever, then flicked forward again.

“Damn it!”

As expected, the attack was blocked again, but one of the running enemies trembled and cursed, seemingly hit well.

Sihyeon jumped from one rooftop to another as the buildings lowered toward him, followed by another leap, chasing the fleeing enemies, quickly scanning the area.

‘Let’s see if they’re running or being lured.’

He recalled a spiritual presence he had failed to detect before and adjusted his speed.

Suddenly something like a ripple surged ahead.

Sihyeon overlaid his internal energy and sliced it in one strike.

A small commotion broke out ahead.

“Oh.”

The distance narrowed enough for close combat, and the opponents seemed to accept the fight, stepping down into a clearing with an unfinished construction site.

Sihyeon approached the suspicious figures with pleasure, revealing only his eyes, and spoke first.

“Alright. Whoever tells me why you attacked, I’ll spare.”

His low voice carried a hint of a smile, steady and composed.

Yet they remained silent, tense, showing no other reactions.

Generally, when taunted, such adversaries either attack in anger or flee in fear.

But these two did neither, only watching quietly, which piqued Sihyeon’s interest.

“What the hell are you?”

The words weren’t his.

Sihyeon inwardly wanted to ask why they spoke instead of him, narrowing his eyes and examining their gaze closely.

They were sincere.

“You attacked without knowing who I am?”

“We have no interest in scum like you. We just do our given task.”

“Come on, that’s ridiculous.”

Their longer reply still lacked what Sihyeon wanted.

So what was their reason?

Frowning lightly, Sihyeon shook his head as if frustrated and fell silent.

‘Ah, right.’

Then he suddenly remembered he had a somewhat unusual skill.

Still unfamiliar with its name, he summoned it and faced the one guarding him.

“Protective circle.”

Choi Younghyun [□□□]

Title [□□□□□□]

HP –□□

Strength –□□

Dexterity –□□

Intelligence –□□

Magic –□□

Status Ailment –□□(□□□)

“Hm?”

A faint reddish status window appeared before Sihyeon as usual.

But it contained a strangely familiar name alongside unfamiliar entries.

Tilting his head slightly, Sihyeon examined the eyes of the wary opponent, trying to recall a flickering memory.

‘Damn, why can’t I remember?’

The memory showed no sign of clarity, leaving a suffocating blockage like a cork.