Chapter 27
Lion Inside(7)
Over 2m tall with a sturdy build. Wild, beast-like rough fur stands bristled on his body. While watching Park Byeong-geun chew human flesh, Kang Hyeon frowned.
“Shit… This is so disgusting I can’t even look.”
Hearing the voice, Park Byeong-geun turned his head and saw Kang Hyeon’s face, then smiled.
“Kang Hyeon.”
Park Byeong-geun’s mouth was entirely red due to being stained with blood and flesh.
“Don’t you dare call my name with that disgusting mouth.”
“Keu-heuk… Keu-heuk…!”
Park Byeong-geun let out a bizarre sound, whether a laugh or a cry.
“This guy has completely lost it. Did he really eat some magic stone or something?”
Park Byeong-geun was showing symptoms similar to a human who had consumed a magic stone. Losing reason and finally transforming like a monster. The progression seemed slower than someone who had directly consumed the magic stone, but the overall process was quite similar.
“Kang Hyeon… Tell me honestly…”
“Tell you what honestly?”
“The gold… Did you take my gold? If you tell me honestly, I won’t eat you…”
Park Byeong-geun flickered his red eyeballs and made a pitiful expression.
“Did you steal it? My gold! You stole it, right?
Isn’t that right? Right?”
“Please, please return it. That’s everything I have… No, it’s absolutely necessary if I’m to become king. If done right, I might even give you a prime minister’s position. So please… If you return the gold, I’ll just kill you without eating you, so speak honestly!”
“Huh, in my life I’ve seen all kinds of crazy people, but this is something else.”
Kang Hyeon swallowed a bitter laugh at Park Byeong-geun’s insane words.
“You stole it, right? Isn’t that right!?”
“Yeah. I stole it.”
When Kang Hyeon admitted it, Park Byeong-geun trembled like someone feeling extreme joy.
Then he slowly began approaching Kang Hyeon.
“Gold… Where is my gold…?”
“Who knows?”
“Give it back. I want my gold returned.
Because of you, I became a monster… If I just had the gold, I could return to normal…”
“Old man. It’s already too late, so give up. You became a monster not because of the gold, but because of magic power.”
While approaching Kang Hyeon, Park Byeong-geun’s body was gradually growing larger.
‘This is almost the end…’
Kang Hyeon thought while watching this scene. Those who eat magic stone typically generate their strongest power in this state. Losing reason and going berserk, they die once their power and magic are exhausted.
“Return it. Return my gold…”
Park Byeong-geun muttered while staring at
Kang Hyeon with a blank look. Kang Hyeon watched the situation with arms crossed.
“Return it… Return it… Return it… Return it.
Return it. Return it.”
The speaking speed was gradually increasing.
“What? I can’t hear you well.”
“return return return return return return return.”
Now Park Byeong-geun was mumbling ‘return it’ so quickly it was hard to understand. Suddenly, Kang Hyeon with a playful look smiled.
“No.”
Kang Hyeon’s firm rejection seemed to strike Park Byeong-geun, who abruptly stopped. Park Byeong-geun stared with a terrifying face.
“What? What are you going to do?”
“I’m telling you to return it!”
Park Byeong-geun’s mouth opened wide and an enormous roar burst out. Soldiers nearby bled from their ears and collapsed. Even those far away were suffering while covering their ears from the tremendous noise. Kang Hyeon, directly exposed to the sound, was not in good shape either.
“Ah, ah. Shit. I thought my eardrums would burst.”
Kang Hyeon repeatedly opened and closed his ears, checking if he could hear.
“Give me my gold! You bastard!”
Park Byeong-geun roared like a lion and chargedat an incredible speed.
Thump thump thump thump thump!
His beast-like feet, now too large and bursting through military boots, rapidly struck the ground.
“Kya-aaah!”
Hearing Park Byeong-geun’s scream, one monster rushed towards him. A massive body that looked similar to Park Byeong-geun.
“Get out of the way!”
Despite the powerful entrance, the monster’s head was torn off by a single gesture from Park Byeong-geun, spraying black blood.
Kang Hyeon whistled watching the scene.
“How is he so strong?”
He had heard this was just an ordinary 60-year-old man not long ago. Even if transformed by magic power, he wondered if such rapid growth was possible.
“Kang Hyo-eon!”
While lost in thought, Park Byeong-geun approached and swung sharp claws at Kang Hyeon. Kang Hyeon lightly turned his head to dodge and then landed a counter punch.
Boom!
A heavy punch landing in Park Byeong-geun’s lower abdomen. Kang Hyeon’s expression darkened.
‘He’s tough.’
A slightly magic-infused attack. This would typically burst the body of most monsters. Yet it didn’t seem to properly impact Park Byeong-geun.
‘Can’t be helped. Though risky, I’ll have to use some power.’
Just as Kang Hyeon thought he must inevitably use power.
Swoosh!
Sharp bones suddenly erupted through Park Byeong-geun’s back. Bones flying towards Kang Hyeon, cleverly using the blind spot of his vision. Kang Hyeon tried to dodge but it was too late.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Sharp bones roughly penetrated various parts of Kang Hyeon’s body.
“Keu-“
Fortunately, by twisting his body, he avoided a fatal wound.
“Stinging a bit.”
Kang Hyeon laughed savagely while drawing up his magic power.
“Who taught you such cute tricks?”
Kang Hyeon grabbed the bones piercing his body. Applying force to his grip, the bones instantly turned to powder. Now free, Kang Hyeon quickly spun and landed a spinning kick to Park Byeong-geun’s jaw.
“Kya-aaak!”
Park Byeong-geun’s lower jaw shattered as he flew off like a cannon.
“This is strange. Really strange.”
Kang Hyeon muttered while walking towards Park Byeong-geun.
“Why is this so different from what Lim So-hee said?”
Consuming Magic stone and causing mutations through magical power are fundamentally different. Park Byeong-geun caused mutations through magical power, and the same applies to Lim So-hee. Lim So-hee knew a few people similar to herself and explained mutations within the limits of her knowledge.
– Like Park Byeong-geun, there are cases of becoming a magical beast, but ultimately, they are still non-ability holders. Their limits are clear, so there’s no need to particularly worry. The limits of humans who became monsters through magical power were clear. These were originally non-ability holders who caused mutations. Therefore, even when becoming monsters, they were not particularly strong, and most would end their lives being shot dead on the street.
‘Even if a whole platoon comes to kill that thing with guns, it might not be enough.’
However, Park Byeong-geun was too strong. He possessed overwhelmingly superior physical specifications compared to ordinary monsters, and an incredibly dense magical power could be felt from him. Moreover, Park Byeong-geun was becoming stronger in real-time.
“Aaaaah! P-please spare me!”
“Kyaaaah!”
Park Byeong-geun, who had been thrown, was indiscriminately grabbing and eating soldiers and monsters around him. The jaw broken by Kang Hyeon seemed to have recovered somehow.
“I’m, I’m hungry. Munch munch.”
“For now, I’ll handle this and then think.”
Battles between monsters and soldiers were still ongoing around them. Furthermore, he had been feeling uneasy for a while now. He felt he needed to deal with Park Byeong-geun quickly. Kang Hyeon climbed onto Park Byeong-geun’s back while the monster was tearing apart other monsters with both hands. Then he grabbed Park Byeong-geun’s neck and twisted it with all his might. A technique that wouldn’t strain his body but would be fatal.
Crrrrrack!
Park Byeong-geun’s neck twisted, and a bizarre sound emerged from his bones.
“Die peacefully.”
Kang Hyeon was about to break Park Byeong-geun’s neck, but had to dodge involuntarily.
Swish!
A bone that emerged from Park Byeong-geun’s body grazed where Kang Hyeon had been standing.
“Eat. Gold. Eat. Khek!”
Park Byeong-geun now seemed completely lost to reason. He swung his arms while drooling and looking at Kang Hyeon. Kang Hyeon, who had stepped back, drew magical power throughout his entire body.
‘This won’t work. The longer this drags on, the more difficult it becomes. Even if it’s reckless, I need to end this in one go.’
Pushing himself too hard might lead to fainting like last time, which would be problematic. However, continuing this ambiguous fight is equally dangerous.
Kang Hyeon decided to take the risk and end it in one swift move.
“Whew…”
He regulates his breathing.
“Bel-, belly, belly is, hungry!”
Despite having already eaten an enormous amount of meat and having a swollen belly, Park Byeong-geun still seemed hungry. Seeing Park Byeong-geun charging, Kang Hyeon clenched his fist.
“Go.”
With a softly muttered voice, Kang Hyeon’s fist stretched out cleanly.
Kwaaaaaaaaaa!
The mid-level strike flew in a straight line, blowing away Park Byeong-geun’s upper body and swallowing the monsters behind him.
“Did I use too much strength?”
Looking at his burst arm that couldn’t withstand the tremendous force, Kang Hyeon scratched his head with his other hand.
“Yaaaah! You’re really incredibly strong!?”
At the commotion from behind, Kang Hyeon turned his head.
“What?”
There was Lim So-hee, running towards him with sparkling eyes.
“How did you just do that!? I thought someone had fired a cannon!”
Kang Hyeon ignored Lim So-hee’s words and focused on recovering his burst arm.
“Hmm, this should do.”
“That monster who didn’t even flinch at grenades suddenly burst apart without even being touched by a punch!? Other ability holders can’t do that! Are you something special!? Or did you hide some explosives!?”
“Ah, I’m going crazy from the noise.”
Kang Hyeon picked his ear and pushed Lim So-hee away.
“Tell me about it too!”
This was essentially the first time Lim So-hee had seen a proper ability holder’s combat. Previously, she was too young to even get a tutorial. During the time she caused mutations and was active, the level of ability holders was remarkably low.
Ability holders were basically just shooting guns, and since she was more proficient at shooting, she had somewhat looked down on ability holders. However, with just one punch from Kang Hyeon, that perception was completely overturned.
“Like this! If I stretch out my fist like this, pak!”
“Enough. Let’s talk about Park Byeong-geun. What happened?”
“What?”
“Why is that old man so strong? It’s too different from what you said.”
At Kang Hyeon’s words, Lim So-hee made an embarrassed smile and scratched her head.
“I’m not sure… I’m seeing something like this for the first time. Hehe…”
“Sigh…”
As Kang Hyeon sighed, Lim So-hee quickly continued her explanation.
“I’m telling you, that guy is weird. Originally, their ego collapses before becoming this extreme. Moreover, his physical changes are too excessive and incredibly fast.”
“So?”
“That old man is definitely a pervert who has undergone mutation upon mutation.”
“Forget it. Let’s stop talking.”
Kang Hyeon waved his hand.
‘Perhaps he really did consume Magic stone.’
In modern times, consuming Magic stone is common sense to avoid. However, if there were reasons for consuming it, it could be understandable. This continued to be felt. A magical power more unpleasant and dense than what the wolf-like giant monster from the recent fracture had released.
“Then let’s meet later! I’m going to finish dealing with the remaining monsters!”
Lim So-hee waved her hand and moved away from Kang Hyeon.
At that moment.
“Ugh, ack!?”
Kang Hyeon quickly ran to Lim So-hee and pressed down her head.
“What are you doing…”
Simultaneously, a black magical power stream passed by, grazing their heads.
Swooooosh!
Everything touched by the black magical power was sliced and began bleeding.
Seeing this, Lim So-hee swallowed her saliva.
“Th, thank you…”
Though she didn’t know what happened, she at least understood that her upper and lower body had almost been separated.
