Chapter 617: PAID

Childhood Friend of the ZenithWords: 1943

A sound reached my ears.

It was right beside me.

By the time I registered that thought—

Whoosh—!

My arm was already moving.

Woom—!

I felt a vibration in my soul.

I was preparing to use the Heart Fist (Sim-gwon, 心拳).

There was no hesitation.

I had used the Heart Fist earlier as well.

I would have to deal with the recoil that would come later,

But for now, that didn’t matter.

Someone had approached me so closely without me noticing.

Whether they bore hostility or not wasn’t the issue.

And so, just as I was about to unleash the Heart Fist—

Crunch—!

A strange sound came from my arm.

When I turned my gaze toward it—n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“!”

Splurt—!

The arm I had extended was torn off, leaving only the shoulder.

Thud—!

The arm fell to the ground.

Fwoosh—! Blood gushed from my shoulder.

“Yangcheon!”

Woo Hyuk widened his eyes and shouted as he saw this.

He bit down hard on his lip.

Then he quickly used his footwork to retreat, increasing the distance between us.

Drip.

Blood flowed from the shoulder I was clutching.

Pain surged immediately after.

“Huff… huff….”

Yet instead of groaning, all that escaped me was heavy breathing.

‘What the hell just happened?’

What had just taken place?

Ignoring the pain, I looked straight ahead.

Standing beside where Woo Hyuk and I had been facing each other was someone new.

A young man with white hair.

“Well, well.”

The young man looked at me, a smile on his face.

The moment I saw that smile, I felt chills all over my body.

“What a rough greeting. I’m not a fan of that sort of thing.”

Disgusting.

Just looking at him made me feel disgusted, nauseated.

I felt a deep-seated urge to rip his throat out.

A primal hostility that surged from deep within my core.

—Kill him immediately.

That voice, born of instinct, urged me to act.

I had to suppress it with all my might.

I couldn’t win.

That much was clear from just a single exchange.