Heroine Hunts Heroines

Chapter 27

With a slight squint, I slowly opened my eyes, surveying my surroundings. I was lying on the ground, and Choi Siwoo was also unconscious. Did he collapse during the panic earlier? Looking at his state, it didn’t seem like he’d be able to win.

“Why hasn’t support arrived yet?” I muttered.

“Fools. Maybe Yoo Jinseok could break through, but he’s currently deployed overseas. Besides, my subordinates and I have set up a new barrier around the academy, so it appears perfectly normal from the outside.”

Did he even have subordinates?

Considering how many hunters defected from the association to join Kim Jaesoo, thanks to Yoo Jinseok, it made sense. Some must have wanted revenge. If he turned them into monsters, they would follow him without question.

“What? Then we...”

“Troublesome pests. This means you’ll get no reinforcements, you idiots.”

I couldn’t listen any longer. Reina and Hansooji seemed injured, and with the miasma filling the academy, it was practically a battlefield designed for monsters. This wouldn’t be a long fight.

I decided to start by absorbing the miasma. As I reached my hand out, thick black smoke, visible even to the naked eye, streamed into my palm. This alone would make it easier for the remaining hunters to battle the monsters.

“Huh? The miasma...”

“What’s going on? Yoon Eunha?”

“Kim Jaesoo. Thanks to you, I broke my seal. I suppose I should be grateful.”

Even after hundreds of iterations, if that bastard hadn’t brought an SS-class core, I’d have been stuck at mere “Steam Pack” Yoon Eunha levels.

“What... what did you say?”

“Anyway, I’ll handle you now.”

I couldn’t let my injured comrades face him.

“What’s with those golden eyes? Your pupils... they look like a snake’s.”

“Snake, yes, but let’s call it a dragon, you idiot.”

Did he think everyone was like him?

“What? You... you look like Azhdahak!”

True, the bestiary does say that Azhdahak’s eyes are similar to golden serpent eyes.

“Eunha, you...”

Hansooji and Reina stared at me in shock. I must have looked strange to them. But now wasn’t the time for girl talk.

“Reina, take Choi Siwoo to the infirmary. Senior has potions there, so go and heal him. Hansooji, help take down the monsters and villains attacking from the north.”

“What... what about you?”

“I’ll take care of this trash.”

Not appearing particularly strong, I confidently pointed my finger at him.

“Trash? You arrogant little—”

He didn’t even give Reina and Hansooji time to retreat. Apparently, he didn’t know what “ladies first” meant.

Whoosh—thud!

As he tried to kick me, I grabbed his leg and threw him aside. His speed was decent, but he was weak compared to me. Then I noticed the black spear in his hand.

“Oh, a spear made from a dragon’s scales.”

It looked strong enough—probably comparable to the Flame Spear in durability. Kim Jaesoo seemed intent on compensating with skill, considering he’d passed the Flame Spear on to his disciple.

“So you thought becoming a monster would make a difference? Big mistake!”

Oh? He’s coming again?

“It works for me.”

In an instant, as though purging the world.

The same pure white flames that once burned people alive now saved the cadets by incinerating the monsters.

“We’re saved! We’re saved!”

“All hail Yoon Eunha!”

I could see the cadets clapping from the academy windows, cheering. Had they had proper defenses in place, things wouldn’t have gotten this bad.

It seemed the villains were Kim Jaesoo’s subordinates, while the monsters were likely supplied by the Black God Cult. Some Black God cultists were known to summon monsters. In the city, they couldn’t act freely, but Kim Jaesoo’s disabling of the barriers allowed this attack.

“Eunha, look over there!”

Hansooji pointed. Behind the academy’s back gate was a portal—a man-made gate. Strewn around it were the bodies of hunters, monsters, and villains. Beyond them were hunters from the guilds and the association, prepared to enter the academy. They held their weapons, watching in awe as White Flame swept through the main building’s monsters.

Thus, Kim Jaesoo’s raid ended. But the damage was severe.

The association’s D- to F-rank hunters had suffered near-total casualties. Even the guilds that sent reinforcements lost many hunters.

---

### Korean Hunter Association

The day of Kim Jaesoo’s betrayal and the attack on Hanseong Academy left President Choi Chulshik and Vice President Jung Nayoon in despair.

“The death toll among hunters has surpassed 300. We can no longer rely on the association’s combat authority.”

The association’s combat authority allows it to deploy hunters without government approval during a national crisis, such as a monster outbreak or war. But this raid left many hunters dead. Not only was the association without force to wield, but Kim Jaesoo’s betrayal went undetected, allowing monsters and villains to brazenly invade the city.

“What about the guilds?”

“Rose Guild lost ten D-rank hunters, and Iron Guild’s deputy guild master, Choi Joono, took a critical hit from Kim Jaesoo and is currently in intensive care. He may never hunt again.”

The losses were staggering for both the association and the guilds. Choi Joono was a well-known A-rank, once famed for escaping Py

ongyang alongside Yoo Jinseok. Who could have guessed he’d betray humanity so openly?

“Who was it that killed Kim Jaesoo?”

“It was Yoon Eunha, Yoo Jinseok’s sister. Here, take a look.”

Jung Nayoon pulled up a video file sent by second-year cadet Lee Yoojung. On the monitor, Yoon Eunha ruthlessly pummeled Kim Jaesoo, an S-rank villain, with the Divine Sword, spirit arrows, and the Flame Spear.

“Was it a second awakening? How is she that strong? Even setting aside those white flames, she overwhelmed Kim Jaesoo with just her physical prowess.”

It wasn’t even her main skill. She overpowered him with raw skill alone, completely breaking his dragon-scale spear. It was almost miraculous.

“Yes, she’s fully ready for field deployment whenever needed.”

“Won’t that make the team events unfair?”

“Well, the current cadets are all exceptional.”

Still, could anyone else among this generation reach a level like Yoon Eunha’s? The academy’s vulnerability had been exposed, and promoting Yoon Eunha would be beneficial.

“Yoo Jinseok would be proud.”

To think his sister had become this strong. She was even stronger than he had been as a cadet. After graduating, Yoo Jinseok grew stronger gradually, but if Yoon Eunha was this powerful as a cadet, she might eventually join the Twelve Apostles, the elite hunters among the strongest in the world.

“Shouldn’t the association give her an honorary title?”

“We should?”

“Yes, if only to make it seem like Yoon Eunha is helping us out. After all, Yoo Jinseok is part of the association too.”

They didn’t need to forcefully involve her. Just bestowing an honorary title would imply a link between Yoon Eunha and the association.

“She uses a sword, and she controls white flames, right?”

“Yes.”

“How about calling her ‘The White Flame Sword Princess’?”

The White Flame was similar to the one Azhdahak supposedly used in ancient photos, but Yoon Eunha’s regal appearance made it fitting. Thus, Azhdahak was reborn as the White Flame Sword Princess, Yoon Eunha.