The Returnee Wants to Live Comfortably

Repaying Kindness (2)

"Get lost."

A single word delivered coldly.

Choi Suyong doubted that he had heard correctly.

It was not something that could have come out of the mouth of that little kid who used to be shunned, always stuck in a corner, unable to mingle with the others.

Moreover, considering the class SNS witch hunt he had led, she should have lived in shame forever.

"What... What did you just say?"

Unable to believe it, he asked again.
And he was able to confirm it wasn't just his ears playing tricks on him.

"Disappear right now. Before I kill you."

Her attitude was a full 180 compared to before. That made it even more absurd.

Even for a kid, this was way beyond being disrespectful.

"Haha... Did you say you'll kill me? You? Puhahaha!"

A girl who couldn't do anything before now acting so arrogant, her attitude pierced the sky.

He was angry, but at the same time, the absurdity made him let out a hollow laugh.

"Ah-rin, didn't you hear what the teacher just said?"

"..."

"I told you, just confess where that prosecutor's house is!"

Choi Suyong threatened loudly, his words filled with anger.

Back when he had been her homeroom teacher, he had called Kang Ah-rin somewhere with no one around and lashed out at her like this.

Because it was the same method, he thought she would be traumatized and obey quietly.

"And you're not even my teacher anymore."

"What?"

Choi Suyong was flustered by the unexpected response.
Kang Ah-rin glared at him, her face filled with venom rather than fear.

Her attitude was like, 'So what are you going to do about it?'

"You little brat, how dare you...!"

He hadn't seen her in a while, and now her arrogance pierced the sky.

Enraged, Choi Suyong amplified his magical power with all his might.

Zzzzt—

The sparks flickering in his hand grew more violent.

Electricity began to course from his hand up his whole arm.

"Just like her mother and father, of course."

Surrounded by lightning, he slowly approached her menacingly.

Even as he took step after threatening step, Kang Ah-rin didn't blink.

He bit his lip in frustration at her composure.

"Should I make you end up just like your parents five years ago?"

Crackle—!

He put on a vicious face and drew in closer.

But he didn't actually plan to kill her. He was already branded a 'Murderer Awakened'.

If he added another crime, the pursuit would only get worse.

And if he actually killed someone, government-affiliated Awakened like 'Gungi' would hunt him down personally.

Unlike five years ago, this wasn't inside a gate.

He couldn't kill someone and cover up the evidence as before.

"Or should I kidnap you at the same time, too?"

Choi Suyong grinned darkly.

Now that it had come to this, he thought it might be better to just kidnap Kang Ah-rin, too.

Dragging it out wouldn't help. It was at the moment he reached to grab her neck with the hand not covered in lightning.

"Huh?"

Choi Suyong's face, twisted in an evil laugh, suddenly froze.

A chilling aura emanating from Kang Ah-rin swept over his entire body.

Even his magic-charged arm trembled for a moment.

It was unmistakable killing intent.

"You're saying... you'll kidnap Seongjin?"

Crunch—

Kang Ah-rin, her eyes losing focus, bit into the hand Choi Suyong had gripped her neck with.

Blood began to seep out from the tooth marks.

"AAAGH!"

The force of her bite made Choi Suyong grimace and scream.

It felt like being bitten by a wild beast, the sensation cutting through flesh and reaching bone.

Even if he was an Awakened he was, it wasn't a child's strength.

"This little brat!"

But Choi Suyong gritted through the pain and threw Kang Ah-rin aside.

Long ago, he'd awakened to the trait 'Strength Enhancement' when he'd been promoted to C-class Hunter.

With that strength, Kang Ah-rin crashed into the merry-go-round stage.

"She's not even a fucking dog..."

Blood trickled down from the distinct bite marks on his hand.

If he hadn't been Awakened, his bones would have been crushed by her teeth.

He didn't know what had happened, but she was no longer the feeble kid he knew.

At that moment, Kang Ah-rin's overwhelming killing intent surged again.

Creak— kreekreekreek—

The sound of metal bending sent chills down his spine.

Kang Ah-rin, thrown by his strength, was ripping the handle off the merry-go-round stage.

"What the—!"

His jaw dropped as Kang Ah-rin detached the handle, intending to use it as a weapon.

Mutamits are physically different from regular people.

Sometimes, they're born with exoskeletons that surpass ordinary Awakened in toughness.

So it was no surprise she was unscathed after colliding with the merry-go-round, nor that she could display such brute strength even without magic.

'I thought she was just a crybaby without any power. Who would've guessed she had such talent?'

He felt surprise at the hidden power, but only for a moment.

Kang Ah-rin now charged toward him.

Where the handle had detached, steel jutted out in a sharp point.

She aimed that cold, blue-gray weapon at him and charged with the ferocity of a berserker from a video game.

Grab—

But Choi Suyong seized the sharp end of the handle easily.

Magic flowed over his hand, allowing him to ignore the weapon's sharpness.

No matter how strong Kang Ah-rin was, it was nothing he couldn't counter with 'Strength Enhancement'.

"Huh...?"

Kang Ah-rin's attack was entirely blocked, and she became utterly bewildered.

Seeing the murderous intent drain from her, Choi Suyong curled his lips in a smirk.

"Just a kid after all."

—Bzzzt!

At that moment, electricity surged from Choi Suyong's arm.

The current traveled through the handle he was holding and surged directly into Kang Ah-rin.

"Kyaaaaah!"

Struck by the 'Spark', Kang Ah-rin screamed and collapsed.

No matter her fierce spirit, this was the obvious result.

Compared to the barely-awakened Kang Ah-rin, Choi Suyong had once been a true B-class Hunter.

No matter the hidden power she pulled out, there was no way to close the gap with a veteran Hunter.

"You need to die just like your parents for you to snap out of it, huh?"

Choi Suyong grinned again, taunting the fallen Kang Ah-rin.

A kid's a kid, he told himself, pressing down on her with his foot.

While Kang Ah-rin groaned in pain, Choi Suyong whispered to her like a demon.

"Do you know how stupid your mom and dad were? They trusted me completely and got betrayed like idiots. And because it was in a gate, there weren't any witnesses."

Choi Suyong kept jeering, as though his spirit was liberated.

Kang Ah-rin, assaulted by that stench of a soul, shed tears.

She was paralyzed from the electric shock and couldn't move.

Knowing she could no longer stop this man, Kang Ah-rin sobbed.

Before long, seongjin would arrive. If she stayed like this, seongjin would be captured, and all her efforts would be for nothing.

'Seongjin...'

She had vowed to become the pheasant that saves the young man, even at the cost of her life.

But now, even that life-sacrifice seemed unable to protect her benefactor.
Feeling utterly powerless, crying was all she could do.

"I'll ask one last time. That prosecutor's son, his name's Ma Seongjin, isn't it?"

"..."

"Answer me!"

Choi Suyong threatened, pressing down even harder.

But Kang Ah-rin kept her mouth closed, determined to resist until the end.

She even bit back the scream of pain, clenching her teeth and enduring.

Pathetic as it was... this was the only way she could repay the grace given to her friend.

"This little brat's really going to keep resisting till the end?"

Choi Suyong recharged his hand with lightning.

She really wouldn't talk, so now he intended to torture her.

Kang Ah-rin closed her eyes.

"Let's see if—guh!"

Just then, something flew at Choi Suyong's face with a bang!

It was a blue can, the kind that would contain a sports drink. When it struck Choi Suyong's face, the can instantly crumpled and its contents spilled out.

"AGH!"

It hadn't been an empty can; it had been full of drink.
The direct hit broke Choi Suyong's nose and sent him rolling on the ground.

"Turns out you're the psycho I saw on the news."

A voice came from the direction the can had come flying.
At the same time, an intensely pleasant scent wafted to Kang Ah-rin's nose.
There was no need to ask whose scent this was.

"Se—Seongjin..."

Seeing Ma Seongjin, who had reappeared at the playground, made Kang Ah-rin reflexively call out his name.

"Seongjin? So that punk's Prosecutor Ma Jun-sang's son?"

"Gasp...!"

She had made a huge mistake.
But no matter who that child was, Choi Suyong had no intention of letting this go.
He'd just had his nose broken by this kid after all.

"Seongjin! Run away!"

Kang Ah-rin got up and ran toward Ma Seongjin.
She hurried, determined to run away and call someone for help.

"Right! If you see anyone dangerous, call 112!"

"Hold on, Ah-rin."

Ma Seongjin stopped her from pulling out her phone. Then he removed the security bracelet from her wrist.

"This is the time we need this bracelet."

"This isn't the time for that. We should call the police... eh?"

Kang Ah-rin suddenly lost her balance as she spoke.
As if falling under hypnosis, she closed her eyes and collapsed.
As she was about to hit the ground, Ma Seongjin gently helped her lie down.

****

I used the sleep skill, 'Sleep,' to put Ah-rin to sleep.
It's triggered through eye contact and only works on those below my rank.
Then, gripping the bracelet I'd taken from Ah-rin before going for drinks, I looked at Choi Suyong.

"Ah-rin's body is tingling. Did you do that to her, mister?"

I could feel static electricity from her.
According to the news, the guy used 'Spark' as his secondary trait.
It was a four-star-grade ability, said to rival modern weaponry.
In other words, it was no different from shooting a child with an assault rifle.

"Yeah, you little shit. She wouldn't listen, so I gave her a little lesson."

He declared his psycho-level actions without an ounce of shame.
I wondered how many layers of iron he had on his face.
If she hadn't been Awakened, she'd have been fried by that 'Spark'.

"You're Prosecutor Ma Jun-sang's son, right? Then come quietly, and I'll forgive you for breaking my nose."

Did he not feel anything about this?
Choi Suyong walked toward me as if it were nothing.

"Hey."

"What? Hey?"

As I spoke, he stopped in surprise.
I'd called an adult 'hey.' Anyone would find it ridiculous.

"Haha! I've heard it all today. Did you just call an adult 'hey?'"

"Adults deserve respect when they act like adults. Why should I use honorifics for a guy like you, who's just big and hasn't even matured?"

"You brat!"

Choi Suyong grabbed the detached merry-go-round handle from the ground.

He charged at me, wielding it like a club.

But right as he reached me, my figure vanished.

"Huh?"

Choi Suyong was surprised to see that Ah-rin, too, had disappeared.

And before he knew it, I was over by a distant bench, laying Ah-rin down.
I'd used my speed skill, 'Rapid'.

"Putting her there again."

It was the same place she had lain down dizzy from the merry-go-round earlier.
Choi Suyong, startled, muttered in disbelief as I did it again.

"Wha—how did you get all the way over there..."

Even as a B-class Hunter, he couldn't track it with his eyes. He couldn't fathom a kid moving at such speed.
Looking at him, I said:
"You were Ah-rin's old homeroom teacher, right?"

"Huh?"

"Be honest. You really killed Ah-rin's parents, didn't you?"

At the blunt question, Choi Suyong let out an exclamation.

"Ha! So what if I did? It happened inside a gate—do you think there's any evidence?"

"..."

"And what are you gonna do with that knowledge, kid? If you don't want to get hurt, just come along quietly."

He was right—there was no evidence.
And no matter how much I claimed he was the real culprit, there was no way to prove it.
But it didn't matter.

"Who says there's none? I'll just make it then."

I pressed a hidden button on the security bracelet.
From within the bracelet, a voice began to play.

[Or should I kidnap both that prosecutor's son and you at the same time?]

"What?"

Choi Suyong was shocked to hear his own voice coming from the bracelet.

Everything he had just done and said in the playground, every noise, was inside the recording.

[You need to die just like your parents to snap out of it, huh?]
[Do you know how stupid your mom and dad were? They trusted me completely and got betrayed like idiots. And since it happened inside a gate, there were no witnesses.]
[Ha! So what if I did? It happened inside a gate—do you think there's any evidence?]

The most shocking, of course, was his own confession to the crime.
Besides location tracking, it had a recording function to capture events for just such a situation.

"It's not a security bracelet for nothing. Anyway, thanks for the confession."

"You little brat... Hand it over!"

Scowling, Choi Suyong approached me.

As he reached out to grab the bracelet and destroy the evidence, I narrowed my eyes and focused on his hands.

Whoosh—

"Huh...? What the hell!"

Suddenly, both of Choi Suyong's hands were engulfed in black flames.
As his hands burned with pain, Choi Suyong screamed once more.
It was the skill 'Hell Flame', which controls the inextinguishable flames of hell.
Just by focusing my gaze, I could generate enough firepower to reduce a person to ash.

"Nice hands. Are you raising a black dragon on your arms?"

"Arrrgh! Water! Get me some water!"

Water? Useless.

Unless I willed it, not even an ice bomb could put those flames out.

After all, this guy abused a child without batting an eye.

I had no intention of letting him off easy.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】