CH 480

Kang Jin-Ho's voice was cold, uncaring. Even so, Elena believed there was hope. That intense pressure from the last time she met Kang Jin-Ho? She couldn't feel it right now.

'Just a little more push...!'

Elena's head shot up. Just a little more persuasion, and Kang Jin-Ho might turn around! “Whatever it is... As long as it's something within my power, I'll do it!”

“Whatever it is, you say...?” Kang Jin-Ho's expression was strange, to say the least, as he stared at Elena.

She flinched momentarily at that weirdly provocative expression, but determination quickly returned to the light burning in her eyes. “Yes! Whatever it is! I will gladly do it!”

“Hmm. That's not so bad,” Kang Jin-Ho slowly nodded away.

Elena bit her lower lip and got back to her feet. Although it was great that Kang Jin-Ho was more or less satisfied with the offer, she now had to deal with what was about to happen. Probably something deeply humiliating involving her body, no doubt!

She took a deep breath and asked, “...Should I do it here?”

Kang Jin-Ho wordlessly stared at her before annoyance filled his expression. He pointed to the side with a casual flick of his chin. “Step aside.”

“...Sorry?”

“I said, step aside.”

Elena confirmed the annoyed expression on Kang Jin-Ho's face and immediately did as told. Without a doubt, the negotiation was a success. If Kang Jin-Ho was going to kill them, he wouldn't have bothered to tell Elena's step aside. He'd just chop her head off right there and then. So, he must be interested in something else now...

After making Elena step out of his way, Kang Jin-Ho pointed at Vincent. “You. Stand up.”

“Huh?” Vincent tilted his head and dazedly stared back since he didn't speak Korean.

Elena hurriedly acted as the interpreter. “He wants you to stand up. Hurry!”

Vincent shot up to his feet. Kang Jin-Ho narrowed his eyes and intensely peered at the Frenchman before pointing at the latter's sword. “You. Put that sword away.”

Vincent heard Elena's translation and, although confused, put the longsword away in his subspace.

Kang Jin-Ho's eyes narrowed even further. “Take it out again.”

“...”

For some reason, the atmosphere of this blood-soaked beach had become similar to a dog behavioral training center. But... What could Vincent do about it other than quickly taking his longsword out from his subspace again?

Kang Jin-Ho intensely stared at the process, then asked Vincent. “How did you do that?”

“...”

“Do it again.”

The atmosphere kept getting weirder.

***

“Hah…” Elena was currently boiling some water in a pot. Her expression was so hollow and lifeless that it resembled a dried husk of a fish.

A portable gas stove was doing its intended job by boiling the water. The water filling the pot contained packets of instant rice and curry, the latter promising rather energetically on the packaging that it'd be “Ready to Eat in Three Minutes!”

Elena quietly turned her head and stared at a certain spot in the distance.

'What is this... hollow feeling?'

She had steeled her resolve. Elena really was ready to do anything. But now... How did she get demoted to a cook?

In the distance, she could see Vincent diligently repeating the action of taking his longsword out before putting it back in his subspace in front of Kang Jin-Ho's curious gaze. As for the other Chevaliers, they were nervously watching this scene from slightly far away, looking confused about what they were supposed to do.

“Hah...” Elena sighed again.

It seemed Kang Jin-Ho was quite amazed by the concept of storing one's weapon in subspace and taking it out only when required. Still, they succeeded in attracting Kang Jin-Ho's attention through Vincent's noble sacrifice, so there was that. Wasn't this reminiscent of tossing a goat in front of a T-Rex's eyes to divert its attention away?

Since Elena thought Vincent repeating his actions over and over again was pitiful, she tried to act like an interpreter and divert just a little bit of Kang Jin-Ho's attention toward her, but the only reward she got was his cold-sounding order.

“Go make me something to eat.”

So, here she was. Since he told her to jump, she had to do as told, no?

Elena couldn't tell whether Kang Jin-Ho really wanted to eat something or simply wanted to get rid of her annoying presence. However, she was still prepared to do her best in whatever he told her to do.

Then again, maybe some warm food in his system might improve that lunatic's mood somehow!

Elena almost teared up at the sight of the sweaty Vincent repeatedly taking out his longsword only to put it back in his subspace. That man was not a spring chicken anymore, yet he had to perform the same motion repeatedly until he was about to keel over from exhaustion. That wasn't an exaggeration on Elena's part, though. Vincent might really collapse if this "torture" continued on like this!

'Still... What a relief that I can worry about stuff like this...'

Not too long ago, the situation hung on a delicate balance, with the question of whether everyone would die or only one person would sacrifice himself still to be answered. Compared to that intense situation, the current one where Elena was worried about an old knight keeling over in exhaustion seemed like heaven on earth.

'I know that, but why do I still feel like crap?'

Indeed, Elena couldn't explain why she felt so bitter and unhappy. It was as if she lost out to something as plain and un-amazing as subspace.

'...You blind-as-a-bat man!'

What would a stiff-upper-lip East Asian man know about Western beauty standards, anyway! No wonder Kang Jin-Ho was more interested in learning some sundry skill from a sweaty old man instead of this wonderful opportunity to... get to know her... better.

'Kuh-hum. No, hang on... That woman he was with the last time was also shockingly beautiful, wasn't she...?'

That woman, Choi Yeon-Ha, was so stunning that rather than being an example of perfect Asian beauty, she could've easily trampled on the entirety of Hollywood with utmost ease. As a matter of fact, if she was in Europe, Choi Yeon-Ha could've brought an entire city block to a halt with her looks alone.

“...Dammit. The more I think about it, the more pissed off I get!” Elena suddenly yelled even before she could stop herself. She flinched grandly when Kang Jin-Ho glanced in her direction.

Nothing good would happen by attracting Kang Jin-Ho's attention now. After collecting herself, Elena's shoulders drooped as she stared at the ground. A long groan lazily leaked out of her mouth.

'Yup, what a sad fate this is...'

Did the soldiers in the middle of a warzone feel this way while having supper as the bodies of their comrades lay nearby? Elena was making instant curry in a location where dozens of men were ruthlessly slaughtered not too long ago, so she couldn't help but be weirded out by this experience.

'Now's not the time to joke about this, though!'

The speedboat was out of commission for good. Thanks to how she deliberately crashed it on the shore, the hull had a large crack at the bottom, while the motor seemed to have broken down, too. Which meant they had to wait until someone else came to fetch them... But who could tell when that would be?

Didn't that mean Elena and the Chevaliers now had to stay on this island with Kang Jin-Ho? If something displeased him, Kang Jin-Ho was amply capable of cutting everyone's head off in an instant.

Elena was freshly reminded of this scary fact and tensely stared at Kang Jin-Ho in the distance. However, he suddenly shot up to his feet with zero warning!

'Heok?!'

Then, Kang Jin-Ho thrust his hand into the empty air.

“N-no way...?” Elena freaked out and stared agog at this scene.

Several small ripples could be seen in the space near Kang Jin-Ho's hand. However, the phenomenon didn't sustain itself for long before disappearing.

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“Hmm...” Kang Jin-Ho glared at his hand in dissatisfaction. On the other hand, Vincent and Elena's jaws were hitting the ground, their hearts stuck somewhere near their throats.

'What the hell?! He almost managed to pull it off after watching the process a few times?!'

Elena rubbed her disbelieving eyes before staring at Kang Jin-Ho again. What could be the best way to describe her shock? In Asian fantasy novel terms, it'd be like a Western wizard, with zero experience in handling swords, one day grabbing a saber and suddenly coating it with a super-sharp layer of sword qi!

This mysterious force called mana was not something anyone could learn to wield in a couple of days. An average person would need at least five years before they could sense mana and utilize it to some degree.

However, Kang Jin-Ho somehow managed to manipulate mana after watching someone else do it for around one hour!

Even if Kang Jin-Ho had reached a godly realm in Eastern martial arts, it was still unthinkable for him to understand techniques founded upon a totally different framework so quickly.

“H-how did he...?” Elena gasped in shock before finally calming down somewhat. That was when she became dead-certain about something.

Kang Jin-Ho was someone they must never antagonize, no matter what! It didn't matter how, they must foster a healthy, friendly relationship with him. If the Round Table had to suffer some losses in the process, so be it!

Elena cautiously approached Kang Jin-Ho. “Uhm, excuse me?”

Kang Jin-Ho stopped staring at his hand and turned his attention to Elena. She couldn't help but flinch a little at how emotionless his eyes had become in that brief moment.

“I, uh... If you want, I can try to explain it to you.”

Kang Jin-Ho cocked an eyebrow. “Explain what to me?”

“Using mana, of course. And about magic, too.”

“Mm? Is that the technique you people use?”

Elena quickly nodded. “Yes, that. You'll quickly reach a limit of what you can understand by watching and observing as you have until now. So, let me help you gain a better understanding.”

“Hmm...” Kang Jin-Ho rubbed his chin. 'That... doesn't sound like a bad idea.'

He only had one reason for sparing the lives of these people. They... didn't seem all that fun. That was about it. It was the same principle as... Eating heavily-flavored food first would make it harder to appreciate a not-as-seasoned dish.

Kang Jin-Ho had already slaughtered Nanahoshi-gumi's men, so the weaker Chevaliers didn't seem all that fun to kill. However, since these foreigners were in his way, they had to be disposed of. That was the extent of Kang Jin-Ho's feelings toward them. However, Elena butting in the middle and negotiating with him helped Kang Jin-Ho realize something.

'I need to master this thing, too.'

Kang Jin-Ho absolutely needed to use both the Crimson Destiny and Azuremourne. Unfortunately, the modern era had far too many eyes watching at any given moment. Walking around while carrying weapons would attract far too much attention.

For instance, look at what he had to do this time. Not wanting to attract the public's attention, Kang Jin-Ho had to deal with the annoyance of sending his weapons to the island ahead of time.

If he could learn this... subspace technique for the initial down payment of sparing these "boring" foreigners' lives, that seemed like a fair trade in his book.

Of course, it was nothing more than a down payment. Kang Jin-Ho had no plans of letting these people off the hook that easily. Targeting his life alone was a sin deserving of death, after all. Kang Jin-Ho's life was far too valuable to be exchanged with just one technique.

Elena, still oblivious to Kang Jin-Ho's thoughts, cautiously spoke up. “So, when the boats arrive, can you let us...”

“Here's the thing,” Kang Jin-Ho tutted.

“...Sorry?”

“When trying to fool someone, you should choose your target more carefully. Do you honestly think I'm a nice-enough man to let you all walk away from here?”

Elena immediately clamped her mouth shut. Of course Kang Jin-Ho wasn't a nice-enough man.

Even now, this beach felt warm. All the heat dissipating from the dead bodies buried under the sand still could be felt on Elena's skin, so how could anyone think Kang Jin-Ho was a nice-enough man?!

Kang Jin-Ho stared at Elena with narrowed eyes, greatly unnerving her.

“I will let you live. However, will keeping your lives something to celebrate about?” Kang Jin-Ho smiled faintly. “It's funny to hear you say you'd teach me out of the goodness of your heart. You better remember the situation you're stuck in. Unless you tell me everything you know... And before you give up everything you own... None of you will walk out of here in one piece. Besides, I needed practice dummies, anyway. What a perfect timing, then.”

“...!”

“I spared your lives. However, that means you'll have to survive from now on.”

Elena stumbled back in fear. She was suddenly reminded of something just then. There was no way Kang Jin-Ho would be so amiable. It seemed Elena had let her guard down because things seemed to be working out in her favor. “W-wait. I...”

Before Elena could finish, Kang Jin-Ho suddenly turned his head to look away. He could see a ship in the distance lazily approaching the island.

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled helplessly after noticing Bang Jin-Hun standing on the ship's bow, enthusiastically waving his hand.

The ship eventually stopped near the island, and Bang Jin-Hun unhesitantly dived into the water before swimming straight toward Kang Jin-Ho's location.

“Hah. That guy and his short temper…” Kang Jin-Ho chuckled again.

Elena noticed that Kang Jin-Ho's expression had completely transformed. That creepy and chilling expression while glaring at the Chevaliers was gone for good, replaced by a smile that could be described as somewhat warm.

“Holy cow, Mister Jin-Ho!” Bang Jin-Hun cried out while setting foot on the beach. “How could you do this without me?!”

Kang Jin-Ho shrugged his shoulders. “I wasn't deliberately trying to leave you out of it, you know. I was merely sticking to what he told me.”

“Lee Hyeon-Su, that bastard! One of these days, Imma drag his sorry ass up a steep mountain somewhere and roll him down the cliff or something! What a thoughtless bastard he is! I'm still the Assembly Master, aren't I!”

“Don't you think your tendency to react this way is the main reason why you were left out?”

“Kuh-hum. No need to kick a fella who's already down, you know,” Bang Jin-Hun muttered sheepishly. He scanned the surroundings before loudly tutting at the sight of all those sand mounds. “Dumb sons of b*tches. I knew this would happen. Hah... By the way, why are these punks still alive, Mister Jin-Ho?”

...To think Bang Jin-Hun would ask that while the punks were right in front of him and listening to every word he said. That was all the proof one needed to confirm that Bang Jin-Hun was missing a few screws in his head.

“Well, they were using an interesting technique, you see,” Kang Jin-Ho leisurely replied. “Let's drag them all to the Martial Assembly and let Lee Hyeon-Su play with them for a bit. See what we can extract.”

“...Wowsers. I'm telling you, you sure have a rotten personality.”

Kang Jin-Ho chuckled at Bang Jin-Hun's playful jab, then turned his head to look at the sky. The moon in the distance was quietly staring back at him. Without taking his eyes away, Kang Jin-Ho quietly muttered, “The opponents we'll meet from now on won't be on the same level as our previous foes, after all...!”

That was what his gut feeling warned him. Perhaps a premonition of the ominous future.