Chapter 39: The Second Desire Quest (6)
The man glanced back over his shoulder as he spoke. Suddenly, his expression twisted with frustration.
"Damn it, this pisses me off. I was supposed to finish the job, but these bastards keep interfering!"
The man who had been smiling wickedly suddenly screamed. His emotional instability was far from normal. His face flushed so red it looked like it might burst from the intensity of his rage, and he suddenly swung a saw at Seo Juhwan with a mad charge.
Seo Juhwan countered by swinging an iron pipe to block the man's attack.
CLANG!
"What? You're blocking? You're actually blocking?!"
CLANG, BANG, BANG, BANG!
"Why, what the hell! You think you can fight me with that?!"
BANG BANG BANG BANG!
"I'm a 3rd dan in kendo!"
BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!
"Die, die, die, di—!"
A kick shot upward from below, striking the man's abdomen.
THUD!
The man staggered backward with the dull impact. He seemed unable to believe he'd been hit, staring at Seo Juhwan with shocked eyes. His face soon twisted into something grotesque and vicious.
"You! You! You hit me? You, you pig bastard!"
The man charged forward shrieking spasmodically.
Seo Juhwan sidestepped fluidly, avoiding the jagged blade. His trained combat talent instinctively guided his body to make the right moves. He twisted his wrist and thrust the iron pipe forward.
CRACK!
"Gaah—"
The breath escaped from the man's mouth as the pipe struck his solar plexus. He stumbled backward, and their eyes met. Despite being unable to breathe and coughing violently, the man continued swinging the saw in all directions.
Meanwhile, Seo Juhwan approached with a cold, emotionless face.
The man's movements were completely transparent to him. He could instinctively tell that the boasts about being a 3rd dan kendo master were complete nonsense. It was awkward, unskilled movement—someone who had never even had a proper fight, let alone practiced kendo seriously.
Perhaps terrified by Seo Juhwan's relentless approach despite the weapon being swung at him, the man's face turned pale blue as he screamed.
"Who... who are you! Why did you suddenly appear and interfere!"
Speaking such pathetic words. Seo Juhwan swung the iron pipe at the man while shouting.
"I'm a sergeant in the Republic of Korea Army! You bastard!"
KAAAAANG!
A sharp metallic ring!
The iron pipe, swung from below to above, struck the saw hard.
The saw flew from the man's grip.
CRASH!
The iron pipe swung again, this time striking the man's shoulder.
The man screamed and clutched his shoulder.
THUD!
A punch was delivered to the right side of the man's face.
His face twisted grotesquely and his head snapped to the side. When Seo Juhwan struck the other side, the man could no longer resist and collapsed.
"Gaah..."
"You're worse than a beast."
SMACK!
"Cough..."
Seo Juhwan kicked the fallen man's abdomen one more time. Even after that, the rage burning within him didn't subside, and he raised his fist again.
[Master, no! You must stop!]
THUD! SMACK!
[Master!]
"...Damn."
If it weren't for that voice in his head, he wouldn't have stopped. He would have punched down several more times.
Seo Juhwan lowered his fist with a twisted expression.
[Good stop. If you continue, your situation could become difficult.]
'...Right. Thanks, Lucy.'
While part of him wanted to beat the man to death, thinking about reality, Lucy's words were correct. This trash of a country gave human rights even to criminals worse than garbage.
Seo Juhwan left the unconscious man behind and approached the woman lying on the floor. Her hands and feet were bound, and blue tape was stuck over her mouth.
"Are you okay? It's all over now, so you can relax."
Seo Juhwan spoke in the gentlest voice he could muster to reassure the woman. As he looked at her face, the image of Han Soo-ah overlapped with it, and surging emotions threatened to overwhelm him.
How terrified must she have been to have so many tear stains on her face? Her reddened eyes were heartbreaking.
'Soo-ah must have suffered and been so much more afraid.'
He clenched his lips tightly to suppress the rising emotions. In this life, Han Soo-ah was safe. This woman also didn't appear to have any serious injuries. Everything had been resolved well.
He untied the woman's hands and feet and removed the blue tape from her mouth.
"Th-thank you. Sob, sob. Sniff, waaaaaah!"
The woman threw herself into Seo Juhwan's arms, crying her heart out.
Seo Juhwan gently patted the back of the woman in his embrace.
Wee-woo~ Wee-woo~ Wee-woo~
The sound of police sirens arriving late into the night seemed cruel.
*
Although the police arrived late, the incident was safely concluded thanks to Seo Juhwan's efforts.
[Desire Quest, 'Save Han Soo-ah!' reward: 20,000 LP has been awarded.]
[Hidden additional completion condition for the Desire Quest, 'Overcome Trauma' has been satisfied: 20,000 LP has been awarded.]
[Achievement, 'Brave Citizen' completion reward: 10,000 LP has been awarded.]
The criminal was arrested by the late-arriving police, and a message appeared confirming the quest's completion. With the hidden additional quest condition and achievement rewards, Seo Juhwan obtained a total of 50,000 LP. Perhaps because it was a reward earned through experiencing danger, the LP acquisition was more than double that of before.
"Thank you so much. Here's my number. Please contact me once you're discharged. I'd like to buy you a meal."
"Ah, there's no need. I was just doing what was natural..."
"I'm so grateful that I have to say it."
"If you insist that much... very well. Be careful on your way home."
"Thank you so much!"
The woman thanked him repeatedly before leaving.
'Caught the criminal, overcame trauma, and both Soo-ah and the woman are safe. Good.'
It really was a fortunate conclusion.
There was nothing lacking in calling it a happy ending.
- Juhwan, I'm sorry, but could you return to the unit?
If only this call hadn't come.
"My leave..."
That was the moment when his final leave disappeared.
- 175 Advanced Chapters of {The Desire System: Reincarnated with a Demon God's Gift}: patreon.com/aristo0_0