098

Ryu Jinju suddenly widened her eyes at the appearance of a person wearing a puppy mask in front of her, then twisted her face and ground her teeth.

"You don't have a personal grudge against me…?"

"Yes, well. Not yet."

"…Who the hell are you?"

"Pardon?"

"…Where is the staff?"

"Well, they're probably all fast asleep, don't you think?"

"They were put to sleep… Is that so? Is that what happened…?"

Ha… Hahaha!!!!

Ryu Jinju laughed with a hearty voice. But the meaning behind it was closer to disappointment.

'Yes, the game has already begun. It was already too late.'

The whistleblower who risked his life to expose the truth of the Hunter Management Office. He had sensed something was amiss in the situation and urgently conveyed information to her.

However, everything was already in the hands of the opponent.

'The whistleblower was already under surveillance. That's why they tracked the package the whistleblower sent and came here…'

The evidence to support this speculation was solid. Otherwise, there was no way this suspicious character would have appeared as soon as she received this information.

"So, who are you?"

"Pardon?"

The person wearing the dog mask extended his tongue and tilted his head sideways.

"Who's behind you? Is it Kim Jiwon?"

"Kim Jiwon? Ah, the Hunter Management Director. That person! Hmm, I don't know much about her. I just know the name."

Ha.

Ryu Jinju let out a hollow laugh at the natural tone of voice.

'Are you pretending to be innocent…? Your ulterior motives are so obvious.'

The situation was dire.

Her subordinates had all been compromised, and the appearance of this person here meant that the situation had been conveyed to Kim Jiwon's ears.

However, if she could capture this guy, there might still be a chance.

'All the subordinates were dealt with by surprise attacks, and then he revealed himself in front of me. Did he want to see my reaction?'

Though he was raised somewhere, he was making a mistake right now.

'But he's just a man. Judging by his voice, he seems quite young.'

Yes, there was no reason for her to lose.

"Now, enough talk, let's get to it quickly. I don't have much time either."

Flick.

As Ryu Jinju moved back, the fox-masked figure behind her began to collect the documents hurriedly.

.

.

.

As Jin Yuha revealed himself and confronted Ryu Jinju, exchanging words between them,

Meanwhile, the fox-masked woman, Mine Chul-sal Unit 5,with the enemy successfully diverted attention moved behind Ryu Jinju, grabbing the papers she had been looking at.

She immediately moved to the empty space on the ceiling and handed a stack of papers to Baek Seol-hee.

"Director, these are the documents Ryu Jinju was just looking at."

Baek Seol-hee accepted the papers. Currently, her face was covered with a mask resembling a round-eyed bulldog.

"Hmm…"

Flipping…

Flipping…

Baek Seol-hee began to flip through the ledgers that Ryu Jinju had been looking at one by one.

"Director, but can our youngest catch that guy?"

The fox-masked figure looked down with a worried tone.

"Not the youngest."

Baek Seol-hee cut off her words, still fixated on the documents as if uninterested.

"No, Ryu Jinju is not someone we can ignore. It seems difficult even for a rookie member to deal with her… But maybe helping a little…"

Swish.

Baek Seol-hee looked up at the fox mask.

"My disciple can't handle that guy?"

The eyes behind the bulldog mask of Baek Seol-hee sank coolly as if displeased. Then, the fox-masked figure panicked and waved her hands.

"Oh, no. No, that's not it… It's just, don't we have no time right now? Checking the youngest's skills is good, but we can do that later. It would be difficult to move on to the next step if we delay too much…"

"We have time. The Hunter Management Office won't pay attention to this place. The timing was very appropriate."

As Baek Seol-hee flipped through the manipulated corrupt ledger list, she smirked.

"Timing? What do you mean?"

"You'll see. And who said my disciple would take a long time against that guy?"

"Well, the youngest is still in the first grade…"

"Not the youngest."

Tap. Tap.

Baek Seol-hee, who finished confirming all the information in an instant, looked down as she organized the stack of papers.

"My disciple."

.

.

.

Swoosh…

Ryu Jinju, holding the handle of the large greatsword she had leaned against, aimed it at Jin Yuha.

A ridiculously large greatsword for a person's height. Facing the hefty woman wielding it with just a thin sword, a man stood opposite her.

Within the office, a stillness settled, and a suffocating tension descended with this strange confrontation.

Breaking the silence first was Ryu Jinju.

Swing!

Crack!

Her sword struck the ceiling, smashing through it and extending down from above.

If this were a normal duel, Ryu Jinju would have conceded the initiative. Even so, she was a director of the Hunter Management Office, in charge of gate management. Despite being a frail man, she held her name and pride high enough to do her best against him.

But now, urgency was paramount, and there was no need to extend such courtesy to a suspicious figure hiding his face.

With its long length and brutishly large size, the greatsword shattered the ceiling. Despite its size, the sword tip, dispatched in the blink of an eye, descended towards Jin Yuha's face.

At that moment, when the overwhelming mass seemed like it would crush Jin Yuha's head completely, Jin Yuha's moonlight moved.

Swish!

Swinging his blue sword, Jin Yuha deflected the greatsword that was descending towards him. However, his sword seemed too thin to have any impact.

And as feared, Jin Yuha's sword merely diverted the path of the greatsword slightly, while Ryu Jinju continued to close the distance towards Jin Yuha without slowing down her speed.

Then came the change.

Clang!

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!!!!

The short, successive sounds echoed at short intervals, and at the same time, the flying sword strikes veered diagonally.

Quaaaaang!

A thunderous boom shook the ground.

Ryu Jinju 's sword dug deep into the ground, creating a long gap. However, only a few strands of Jin Yuha's hair were cut, and not a scratch was made on his body.

"…!"

Just a simple exchange of the first blows.

However, those who had been watching the first clash from hiding couldn't help but widen their eyes in amazement.

"Wow, what was that!"

"These rookies… They'll be sorted out as soon as he comes in, won't they?"

"Surely, Ryu Jinju seems to have more strength, but… he's avoiding that with his speed…"

"The director always says we are worse than Academy first graders, was that true?"

"We'll have to push ourself harder."

Admiration erupted in whispers everywhere. They were all elite members who had gone through Baek Seol-hee's hellish training as Demon Extermination Unit members.

Therefore, they had the insight to evaluate how clean Jin Yuha's counterattack was just now, and how sophisticated the method of bypassing it was.

Then, the woman wearing the squirrel mask timidly spoke up.

"But, still, winning seems difficult, doesn't it…?"

To which other animal-masked individuals nodded in agreement, responding with skeptical voices.

"It's difficult to win. Possible, but difficult."

"Well, if you seize the opportunity well, he might be able to break through… with luck…"

"Still, it seems like it'll take quite some time…"

"Hmm, let's see."

Baek Seol-hee calmly dismissed their concerns, and the Demon Extermination Unit members adjusted their postures and began to observe the two's battle again.

As the first attack failed to land, Ryu Jinju gritted her lips and swung her sword again.

Swing!

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Once again, five attacks flew her her single sword strike.

Watching the scene unfold, Ryu Jinju couldn't help but admire inwardly.

"He's skilled… The sword strikes are so precise it sends shivers down the spine. Flexible posture, clean swordsmanship, and swift movements."

It was almost like praising her opponent. But that was all.

The difference was still evident.

While she swung her sword once, her opponent swung it five times.

"Is she going to keep responding like this?"

Ryu Jinju 's lips curled into a smirk.

"I've won."

Although the outcome wasn't decided yet, she was confident.

A man's body couldn't sustain this indefinitely.

In the end, she had the advantage in stamina and strength. In other words, their efficiency differed.

Wanting to quickly end it, Ryu Jinju infused more mana into her sword.

Swish!

Crackle!

The horizontally swung sword demolished the furniture in the office as it swung towards her opponent.

Her opponent once again overlapped sword strikes in response.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

For a moment, Ryu Jinju 's brow furrowed.

Something felt different, awkward even.

And soon, she could identify the source of this discomfort.

It was the number of sword strikes her opponent was using to counter.

"It's… reduced by one?"

The metallic sound that had been overlapping five times until now was now reduced to four.

Ryu Jinju dismissed it as a coincidence and amplified the mana even further into her sword.

"Ha-ah-ap!!"

With a shout, a powerful surge of magical energy shot out from the tip of her sword towards her opponent.

It was like a mighty blow that could split her opponent's body in half.

However…

Swish!

Clang! Clang!

Three times the metallic sound rang out.

"…What the…"

Swish!

Clang! Clang!

Twice the metallic sound echoed.

"How…"

Swish!

Clang!

Now, only one metallic sound reverberated.

The large greatsword came to a complete stop in front of the thin sword.

Silence fell.

Gradually, the smirk vanished from Ryu Jinju 's face.

Her expression turned incredulous.

Her eyes, tinged with fear, fixed on her opponent.

"…Is this even possible?"

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

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