I Picked Up the Greatest Villain in the Story – Chapter 117

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117.

Even Keum Heon-jung didn’t know much about the gender and age of the Jeongho Association’s chairman. He could only vaguely guess that they were around his own age.

There had been someone who acted as the chairman’s errand runner. The problem was, that person had died half a year ago. Since then, the chairman had completely disappeared.

Though the organization was established based on the chairman’s precognition ability, since the chairman didn’t take center stage, they were merely a symbolic figure while Keum Heon-jung was the de facto leader of the Jeongho Association.

Everything about them was shrouded in mystery. There was no way to immediately determine if that man was the Jeongho Association chairman.

“It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t work. We just need to check the tattoo on his body. A DNA test will confirm exactly who this guy is.”

It wasn’t completely fruitless, though. Keum Heon-jung had not only informed them that the chairman had the mark of the Jeongho Association engraved on their body, but he also wore a bracelet made from a clump of the chairman’s hair on his wrist.

“Let’s subdue him and take him with us.”

“Yes.”

At Hyunwoo’s words, Jian immediately activated his attack skill. As soon as he set his target, the man suddenly began to twist his body.

“I’ll attack too!”

Hyunsu, who had been in panic, regained his senses just in time. After swallowing his dry saliva, he immediately opened his skill window. He first deprived the man of his hearing and then used an additional skill to put him to sleep.

The man frowned deeply and hit his head with his clenched fist, making audible sounds.

Sehun took out a dagger and cut his palm. The drops of blood gathered in mid-air and soon transformed into a long whip.

The blood-colored rope flew like an arrow and bound the man’s limbs.

“Kheek, eet, kiheek…!”

The man screamed bizarrely as he struggled. The insects that had escaped control scattered in all directions.

Jian ducked his head to avoid the insects rushing toward him. A few winged insects brushed past his ear.

“30 seconds left on the attack skill duration!”

Jian checked his skill window and raised his voice. Trying to regulate his strength just enough to not kill the man, his back was damp with cold sweat.

Since the man wasn’t an ordinary person, his resistance was considerable. Jian gritted his teeth, afraid he might use excessive force if he wasn’t careful.

“Sehun, can you use this too?”

Hyunwoo handed Sehun a binding artifact. It was an S-grade artifact specifically obtained from Yoonjae to use when they encountered the Jeongho Association chairman.

The artifact, which looked like a dog collar, flew toward the man. At that moment, the man bent his back backward.

“…Is that even possible?”

Hyunsu muttered in a disbelieving voice. The movement was so violent that an ordinary person would have died instantly.

Sehun raised an eyebrow and tried again to put the artifact around the man’s neck. Each time, the man evaded skillfully like a loach.

To make matters worse, the duration of Jian’s attack skill had ended. Although Sehun’s blood whip was constricting the man’s body, it couldn’t completely stop his movements.

“He’s really good at dodging. And the insects are coming back too.”

Hyunwoo frowned as if troubled. The man, who had only been on the defensive, attempted to counterattack.

The insects that had scattered in all directions suddenly returned in unison toward the man.

The insects gathered behind the man, merging into one and wriggling to form a shape. In an instant, a human figure nearly 2 meters tall was created.

“Ugh… Is that thing coming toward us?”

Hyunsu pointed at the black mass while shuddering. Every time the human form made of insects moved, there was a sound of the insects colliding with each other.

Rustle, rustle.

The sound of crushing insects gradually drew closer. Sehun was already using telekinesis to try to fasten the restraint artifact on the man, so it seemed difficult for him to use more power.

Jian made eye contact with Hyunwoo. After using his stealth skill, he took out a long sword from his inventory.

It was one of the weapons he had prepared just in case, though he wasn’t confident in close combat. Hyunwoo took out numerous artifacts with attack skills and held them in his hands.

“Take this!”

Hyunwoo threw a marble containing an ice storm skill at the mass of insects. The marble shattered with a pop, and a blizzard swirled.

Crackle, crackle.

Parts of its face and torso froze instantly. Jian approached from behind and swung his sword. The sensation of cutting through the insects was spine-chilling.

The blade dug from the shoulder diagonally down to the lower back before suddenly stopping. With an ominous feeling, Jian looked up.

A head rotated 180 degrees was looking down at him. A beetle attached to the eye area flapped its wings.

Swoosh.

When it opened its mouth, hundreds of flies shot out like a snake’s tongue. Jian dropped the sword and quickly used a defense skill. He dismissed the stealth skill that had become useless.

Flutter, flutter.

The insects struggled against the transparent barrier. Meanwhile, Hyunwoo threw another marble, this one containing a flame skill.

Whoosh!

The mass of insects struck directly by the skill was engulfed in flames. The frozen insects burned quickly.

A terrible smell wafted over. Jian retreated backward, covering his nose and mouth with his sleeve, while Hyunwoo and Hyunsu also jumped inside the barrier.

“Sehun, come over here too!”

Jian called out to Sehun, who was standing alone outside the barrier. Sehun looked alternately at the man and Jian, then stretched his arm forward.

As his outstretched fingers closed, the rope binding the man’s body dug into his flesh. The more the man twisted his body, the more persistently the rope tore into his skin.

“Argggh…!”

The man screamed in agony as his muscles became exposed. Though he was an enemy, Hyunsu turned his head away from the horrific sight.

The more the man writhed in pain, the weaker the power of the insects became. The insect formation was still hitting the barrier, but the insects comprising its body flowed down to the floor like water.

The body, which had been nearly 2 meters tall, shrank by 30 centimeters in the blink of an eye.

“Hyung, how many attack artifacts do you have left?”

Jian asked Hyunwoo while checking the remaining duration of the barrier. It seemed they needed to get rid of the insect mass before the barrier ended.

“Three.”

Hyunwoo showed the marbles in his hand. Jian took one, and Hyunwoo gave another to Hyunsu.

“Let’s throw them simultaneously. That way, they’ll be more powerful.”

There was no point in attacking half-heartedly—it would only waste artifacts. Despite Hyunwoo having already used two artifacts, the insects were still intact.

Hyunsu, who had been holding his trembling legs, nodded firmly.

“The barrier is about to disappear. Get ready. I’ll count down, and we’ll throw them at the same time. Can you do it?”

“Don’t worry.”

“I’ll time it well too!”

Jian took a deep breath to calm his ragged breathing. His palms were sweaty from tension. He rubbed them against his pants to prevent the marble from slipping.

“10 seconds left.”

After announcing the remaining time, he positioned himself to throw the marble. He moved closer to the insects, afraid he might miss if he threw from too far away.

Hyunwoo and Hyunsu also came to stand on either side of Jian.

“3, 2, 1. Now!”

Jian swung his arm after counting down. The three marbles flew in parabolic arcs and hit various parts of the insect body.

Boom! Bang! Bang!

Flames and electric shocks burst like sparks. The human form staggered back and forth before the insects making up its body poured onto the floor.

Thousands of insects were burned black. Some survivors frantically moved their legs, driven by survival instinct.

After defeating the insect mass, Jian quickly looked for Sehun. Sehun was standing alone in front of the man. He brushed back his hair with his bloodied palm and then lightly tapped the man’s shoulder with his toe.

The man’s body fell backward. The restraint artifact that Hyunwoo had brought was now fastened around his bony neck.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

Jian rushed to Sehun. He grabbed Sehun’s hand covered in blood from using the Bloody skill and examined his body.

“I’m fine. Just a small cut here.”

Sehun grinned and embraced Jian. It had been a bit tricky, but they had succeeded in subduing the man.

Apart from a slight throbbing at his temple from using quite a bit of magical power, he was fine.

“Let’s treat that wound first.”

Jian, escaping from Sehun’s embrace, took out a wound healing potion. He applied the potion to the open wound and used a recovery skill.

After using about 100,000 life force, he staggered slightly. Sehun supported him with drooping eyebrows.

“I told you not to overdo it.”

“This much is fine. You used the most energy, Sehun, so your hyung should at least do this much.”

Jian stroked Sehun’s hair as he pouted.