Chapter 29

Kade stood atop his guild building, looking at the now-ruined city. Below him were the millions of infected spread around the city. These infected weren't dirty, they all looked like normal people. If not for the blank gazes and robotic movements they made, you'd mistake them for normal people. This was the reason the hunters couldn't just go and kill them—they believed they could still cure them once they found the cure.

Kade made a telepathic order, making everyone spread even more throughout the city and, surprisingly, put out the burning fires that were still ablaze all over the place. Kade's goal was nearly achieved. Now, the only thing missing was the rest of those who fled, but Kade wasn't in a rush. He knew they would come back, and when they did, that would be the day he took control of the entire country. He'd send all the S-ranks on missions to infect all the other people living in different parts of the country.

While Kade was busy thinking of his future plans, he felt someone coming. He looked out his window and saw Sung Jinwoo standing atop the neighboring building's rooftop, looking at him. Kade smiled as he stared back at Jinwoo. He guessed the cat was out of the bag by now, which he didn't really care about. When he was confident of protecting himself from everything that came his way, it was the day he stopped hiding anything.

Kade then saw Jinwoo jump towards him, aiming to kick him. With minimal movement, Kade dodged it, but Jinwoo wasn't done. After he landed, he immediately spun around, and out of nowhere, a dagger materialized in his hands as he tried to cut Kade's neck. Seeing this, Kade just smiled and, with quick reflexes, parried Jinwoo's attack by grabbing his wrist and punching his elbow with a powerful blow, bending it in an unnatural way.

Jinwoo jumped back, and again, a red potion materialized in his hand. He drank it, and his whole body seemed to heal.

"You couldn't say hi first before attacking me? That was quite rude," Kade said playfully as he watched Jinwoo get ready for round two.

Jinwoo didn't respond as he disappeared from his spot and appeared behind Kade, with both daggers aiming to stab him. As Kade was about to intercept the incoming attack, he felt another presence appear out of nowhere. He looked up and saw a knight with a huge sword, seemingly made out of shadow.

Jinwoo and Igris didn't waste this opportunity to attack Kade, successfully stabbing him in the chest while Igris managed to cut him in the shoulder. Jinwoo looked at the standing Kade, surprised to find that Kade was still staring at Igris with a creepy smile.

"Ah, so it was you, I see," Kade said, slowly figuring out Jinwoo's ability. "So you control shadows, huh? Neat powers that you have there, Jinwoo."

Jinwoo wasn't sure how to respond, so instead, he deepened his dagger into Kade's chest and tried to cut him sideways. To his surprise, he couldn't budge his dagger. He looked and saw small black tendrils holding both his daggers in place.

Jinwoo regretted getting distracted as he received a powerful punch in the gut from Kade. His whole body folded and flew away, hitting the window and falling out of the building. Kade didn't waste a moment as he grabbed the knight's head and crushed it with ease, surprised to find out he could not consume him.

"So just an empty husk powered by Jinwoo's magic, huh?" Kade said as he jumped down from his guild building, following where Jinwoo fell.

As Kade landed, he noticed Jinwoo had already healed and was coming towards him with just his fists, as his daggers were left on top of the building. Kade smirked as he punched back, meeting Jinwoo's fist. The two collided, making a shockwave, but Jinwoo's arm bent backward again.

"So, Jinwoo, what's the plan here? You can't seriously think that you can beat me, right?" Kade stated, aiming to provoke Jinwoo.

"Don't worry, I will beat you here," Jinwoo responded shortly before he jumped and used his ruler's authority to call back his daggers.

"Seeing that you like to fight with weapons, it's only fair that I do so too, right?"

With that said, both of Kade's arms turned into claws, and without hesitation, he flew towards Jinwoo. Jinwoo blocked Kade's attack with his daggers, creating a spark.

(A.N: image of Kade's claw)

The two continued exchanging attacks, but over time, Jinwoo was losing. Blood was coming out of his mouth, and hundreds of cuts covered his body. Jinwoo jumped back and knelt down, trying to catch his breath. Kade, on the other hand, was just watching him, as if waiting for him to recover to continue fighting.

Jinwoo used his last health potion, restoring his HP to full, but his stamina was still a problem. He knew now that he couldn't beat Kade alone. He thought he'd be able to handle this without anyone's help, but it seemed that he would need to fight Kade with numbers now.

Kade, watching Jinwoo, was curious. He wanted to see more of Jinwoo's ability, whether to consume him or make him his puppet. Kade wasn't disappointed as he saw Jinwoo stand up, and with just one word, hundreds of shadows, including the knight he killed, emerged from the ground.

"Oh, that's a good amount. I wonder how you obtained this power," Kade said, remembering Jinwoo was the weakest hunter without noticeable abilities.

"You still think you have the advantage with all my soldiers here?" Jinwoo said, trying to buy time to recover his stamina.

Kade, hearing this, couldn't help but smile. He turned to Jinwoo. "What makes you think you have the upper hand?" With that, hundreds of his guild members appeared. They were all hidden within the buildings, watching the fight and waiting for their master's order.

"Now, let the siege begin."