These Lunatics are Obsessed With Me-Chapter 168

"Stop…!"

Max Bryan’s hand reached for Yong-sik, but I couldn’t move an inch. At this rate, he would take Yong-sik away from me.

“Huh?”

“…?”

But then Max Bryan abruptly halted, his hand stopping halfway. He frowned and turned his head to the side.

“What are you?”

“Ugh…”

It was Do-gyul. Struggling, he raised one arm, seemingly using a skill on Max Bryan. I didn’t know what he had done, but Max Bryan had stormed in here alone, and no one had been able to stop him.

Even now, every hunter who had been guarding me lay helpless on the ground. It seemed like only Do-gyul and I were still conscious.

"Ah, so you’re the hunter with a mental-type ability?"

"Kugh…"

"Don’t push yourself. You might end up losing your ability for good."

What was that supposed to mean?

I frowned, not understanding what Max Bryan meant.

He slowly raised one foot, then stomped down hard. That simple motion triggered something huge that crashed over me like a wave.

「System Channel AA-123. A critical error has occurred!」

「Fortune Pouch (B) failed to activate.」

「You are afflicted with the status ailment ‘Incompetence.’」

「The effect of Oily-tongued (C) has weakened.」

「You are afflicted with the status ailment ‘Incompetence.’」

「Cat’s Movements (C) has been disabled.」

“…!”

System windows kept appearing before my eyes. I wondered if I was under a status ailment. Could it be because of the skill Max Brian had used? Still, there was no way this many system windows would appear just from blocking my passive skills. The moment doubt crossed my mind, even more windows filled my vision.

「You are afflicted with the status ailment: ‘Incompetence.’」

「Trick or Treat (B) failed to activate.」

「You are afflicted with the status ailment: ‘Incompetence.’」

「The effect of Shake the Catnip (S) has been restricted.」

“…!”

Damn, so it’s not just my passive skills but even my main skills are locked? That’s basically shutting down my entire ability. Is that even possible?

–Is it because you’ve got an S-grade skill? You’re holding out better than I expected.

“Ah…!”

If one had an S-rank skill, it was harder to nullify. I had an S-rank auxiliary skill, and all of Do-gyul’s skills were S-rank. But unlike me, who had been clearing dungeons and steadily honing my proficiency, Do-gyul had still been short on experience. That was why, even with S-rank skills, he had seemed to struggle against Max Bryan’s. ṙＡNO͍ВÊ𐌔

“S-rank skills are a bit harder to nullify.”

“Ugh… Urgh…”

“When I force my skill to nullify like this, the rebound knocks them out, which makes things really convenient for me.”

I couldn’t see it, but it felt like Max Bryan and Do-gyul’s mental skills were clashing fiercely.

No—calling it fierce wasn’t quite right. Do-gyul was being completely overwhelmed, and Max Bryan wasn’t affected by his skill at all.

“Huh? If you waste time, problems will come. Just give up already, kid.”

“Shut… up…!”

“Oho?”

Max Bryan paused briefly. He looked at Do-gyul with a hint of interest.

“You’re pretty interesting too, huh? But I’m not interested in people.”

“Ugh…”

As soon as he finished speaking, Do-gyul stopped moving and collapsed to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

“Do-gyul-ah!”

“Hmmm.”

Max Bryan looked down at the fallen Do-gyul for a moment, then turned his gaze to me. His eyes locked on mine as I fought to stay conscious, and he slowly dragged his fancy shoes across the ground, closing the distance.

“People always get the wrong idea. Since everyone ends up collapsed after I pass by, they assume I’m leading a squad and wiping everyone out. But as you can see, I’m always alone.”

“Gasp…”

“Until now, hardly any hunters have actually witnessed my power, so the rumors about me never really spread. But today… there are two of you. Should I kill you?”

Max Bryan’s ability was shrouded in mystery. He never registered with the Awakener Center, and he never revealed his powers to anyone. No one knew what rank he was or what kind of ability he had.

Still, rumors spread that, backed by the villain guilds, he mercilessly crushed other hunters and took their items and summons. After all, how else could you explain him defeating so many hunters and making a name for himself as a Collector?

But that wasn’t the case at all. He had been single-handedly defeating them with his nullifying ability. It hit me like a punch I never saw coming. I was left stunned.

“Hmm… I wonder what Raisu would say if I killed you.”

“…”

“Should I just take you both with me? What a hassle.”

Max Bryan stood before me and muttered in a low voice before tilting his head and looking down.

"First, I should secure this one."

"No…!"

Max Bryan reached for Yong-sik again. Slumped beside me with his head drooping, Yong-sik seemed to have been hit by his nullifying skill as well. At this rate, that bastard would take him away. What should I do?

The backlash from the skill left me unable to move even a finger, let alone use any items. Gritting my teeth, I forced my body to budge, even just a little—but Max Bryan’s hand got to him first.

"Now, you’re coming to your new owner, right?"

"…!"

Max Bryan was holding something in his hand—an item. He was going to use a contract termination item on Yong-sik. If he did, the summoning contract between Yong-sik and me would be broken, allowing a new hunter to register with him.

There was a high chance the contract would bind to the first person Yong-sik encountered after it was broken—and that person was probably Max Bryan, standing right in front of him. I gritted my teeth. It was then.

"Then… huh?"

"…?"

Crunch.

The contract termination item slipped from Max Bryan’s hand when someone bit him. I could only stare, stunned.

“Y-Yong-sik-ah…?”

“Grr…!”

A low, beast-like growl rumbled from Yong-sik’s throat. Though he had been unconscious and collapsed moments ago, he was now biting down on Max Bryan’s hand. Max Bryan tried to pull away, but it wasn’t easy.

“This…!”

“Grr…!”

So Yong-sik hadn’t been unconscious after all—and he could move like that.

“Ah!”

I snapped out of my daze just in time. Yong-sik had given me a chance, and I couldn’t waste it. I moved my hand. Max Bryan was caught off guard by the sudden turn of events, and even that brief moment of distraction was enough.

“Yong-sik, back off!”

As soon as I shouted, Yong-sik let go of the hand he’d been biting and quickly stepped back.

Bang!

"Kugh…!”

The bullet narrowly grazed Max Bryan’s face. As expected, he couldn’t activate his passive skills—his nullification was so strong that it even suppressed them. His passive skills were useless and would only get in the way of his nullification.

Since he could completely shut down other hunters’ abilities, he had no need for them anyway. But now, the situation had changed. His nullification wasn’t all-powerful. With his focus shaken, it was much easier for me to move, and the longer this went on, the more my body would adapt.

Hunters had strong bodies, after all. Right now, Yong-sik and I were locked in hand-to-hand combat with Max Bryan—a fight we could manage, especially with a weapon still in my grasp.

"Your aim’s terrible."

Max Bryan wiped the blood from his cheek with his fingers. I glared at him and leveled my gun at him.

“This time, I’ll blow your head off for sure.”

My hand trembled a little, so I took a deep breath to calm down.

I knew he couldn’t be left alive—he would keep coming after Yong-sik. I had to kill him here and now.

“Have you ever killed a person?”

“…!”

“You probably enjoyed killing monsters like it was a game. But what about people?”

“…”

Max Bryan’s words kept running through my mind, bothering me. That reminded me of something from not long ago, the time I threatened the hunter who was monitoring me on Eden’s behalf. In the end, I didn’t kill that watcher.

He had no choice but to cooperate with me because of Kang Soo-hyun’s skill. But I really meant to kill him. Whether it was my own will or the will of the body’s owner, Han Yi-jin, it didn’t matter much now. Because in the end, I’m the kind of person who would do anything to survive.

“Fuck you.”

I gave a cold smile and pulled the trigger. My hand was no longer shaking.

Bang!