With a sickening stab, Jhin's blade pierced straight through the person in front of him during Shen's brief hesitation and thrust toward him without mercy.
The unexpected attack nearly caught Shen off guard. Just as the tip of the blade punched through the armor over his chest, he caught it between his twin blades.
"AAAH!"
The person in front of him screamed in agony, the sound constantly tearing at Shen's concentration.
At that moment, Zed flashed into the fight as well, attacking Jhin from behind.
Jhin nimbly evaded him and calmly began maneuvering around the two of them.
With innocent people hanging everywhere, Shen and Zed were afraid of hitting them and couldn't fight at full strength. Restricted at every turn, even two against one, they somehow seemed to be at a disadvantage.
Jhin, on the other hand, showed no hesitation whatsoever. His close-quarters combat was far from weak, and he repeatedly used the innocent hostages as cover while launching lethal attacks at the two of them.
Clearly, this was precisely why he had lured everyone into the depths of the valley.
The area itself was large, but the sheer number of maple trees left relatively little room to maneuver.
He had covered the trees in hanging hostages specifically to restrict them. Anyone with a conscience and a line they refused to cross would naturally avoid swinging a weapon toward innocent people.
And the moment they thought that way, they were playing right into Jhin's hands.
He had gambled that every person here cared about those innocent lives.
And he had been right.
Even Zed, the feared Master of Shadows, had never been someone who slaughtered indiscriminately. He would never turn his weapon on the innocent.
He couldn't simply ignore those people and charge straight at Jhin either.
Jhin had arranged all of this precisely because he understood that.
Jhin himself, meanwhile, had no such reservations.
He could do whatever he pleased.
"What a despicable bastard!"
Akali couldn't stand watching anymore. She drew her kama and charged into the fight.
Irelia followed close behind, her eyes ice-cold.
Zed had been right.
This man was even more treacherous, despicable, and evil than people imagined.
She swept out an arm. Her blades rang crisply and flew forward together, curving around the innocent hostages as they shot toward Jhin.
"Irelia, your reputation precedes you. I've wanted to meet you for quite some time."
Watching the approaching blades, Jhin casually snapped his fingers.
Beams of light suddenly flared beneath the feet of all four combatants.
A moment later, violent explosions erupted.
At the same time, there was a fifth explosion.
Right where Luke was standing.
He had already moved the instant Akali joined the fight, intending to use Stealth Arts to approach Jhin unnoticed and land a fatal blow.
But apparently, Jhin had already noticed him.
Amid the explosions, screams of pain rang out one after another.
Although everyone managed to dodge in time thanks to their reactions, the people hanging around them had no such ability.
Some were swallowed by the explosions on the spot. Others were caught in the blast and left suffering even more terribly.
"Listen. Such beautiful music, all because of you."
Jhin stood there in delight. His expressionless mask somehow seemed filled with cruelty.
By now, everyone could see that he truly possessed no humanity whatsoever.
Human life meant nothing to him.
Even Luke couldn't simply tear through the innocent people to land a killing blow on Jhin.
Their deaths wouldn't make him grieve, but he still had his own principles. He could never deliberately harm innocent people simply to defeat Jhin.
That was what made Jhin's tactic so vile. It would have been completely useless against someone equally indifferent to human life, but Jhin had specifically chosen opponents who could never behave that way.
Combined with Jhin's already considerable strength, this place had practically become his personal domain.
"We can't keep letting him control the fight. Forget about him for now. Save the hostages first."
Luke quickly decided on a response.
Jhin was using the innocent people as cover.
Then all they had to do was take his cover away.
They would rescue everyone here as quickly as possible.
The others immediately agreed with Luke and began the rescue.
Jhin watched them as though he had expected precisely this response and smiled leisurely.
"Then let the game begin. There are exactly 444 people here. I wonder how many of them you'll manage to save in the end? Do try not to die before then."
With that, he gave an elegant bow, turned around, and disappeared into the forest.
"Did that bastard just run away?"
Akali stared in confusion at the direction where Jhin had disappeared.
"He won't escape," Shen said coldly. "I've locked onto his presence."
Something felt wrong to Zed. "With his personality, there's no chance he would leave this easily..."
Before he could finish, a deafening gunshot rang out.
Bang!
The sound echoed throughout the entire valley, as though the air itself had been pierced.
A magical bullet arrived in an instant.
Its explosive force obliterated one person on the spot, then continued onward without slowing, headed straight for Irelia.
Irelia had no time to call her blades back to block it. The projectile was simply too fast, nearly beyond what the naked eye could follow.
But in the next instant, an even faster sword strike cut across its path.
A powerful wave of sword energy split the bullet cleanly down the middle, sending the two halves crashing into the ground on either side.
Two craters exploded into the earth.
A normal human body struck by something like that would probably die instantly.
Irelia looked at Luke standing in front of her and was about to speak when he beat her to it.
"Those bullets pack a serious punch. Everyone be careful. I'll deal with him."
With that, Luke shot forward and vanished at tremendous speed.
He had nearly forgotten.
Jhin's true strength had never been close combat.
It was his deadly bullets.
Jhin hadn't left because he intended to flee.
He had left to create distance and start sniping.
Apparently sensing Luke pursuing him, Jhin immediately fired his next bullet at the rapidly approaching figure.
The roaring projectile was almost as fast as Luke himself.
Luke slashed with his sword again.
Boom!
The bullet exploded directly in front of him, and violent flames swallowed his entire body.
But in the next instant, Luke burst unharmed from the fire and continued charging toward Jhin.
It was the first time Jhin had ever seen someone insane enough to literally cut his bullets apart.
Without panicking, he calmly chambered his third round and pulled the trigger again.
The massive recoil made even his body tremble.
A delighted smile curled beneath his mask. He adored the beautiful sound at the exact moment a bullet left the barrel.
So beautiful.
So exquisite.
After firing the shot, Jhin didn't linger. He quickly moved again, widening the distance between them while chambering his fourth bullet.
This was also his strongest shot.
Jhin adored the number four.
Therefore, the fourth would always be the strongest.
"BANG!"
This time, the gunshot erupted like thunder.
The projectile tore through the air with a deafening roar and hurtled toward Luke.
Luke swung the Riftblade.
Crack!
The long blade instantly shattered into countless fragments.
Luke threw himself aside with everything he had, narrowly avoiding the bullet as it scraped past him.
The projectile continued onward without losing momentum, punching through three massive trees before finally exploding the last one into splinters.
Looking at the broken sword, Jhin smiled in satisfaction.
He truly adored his new weapon.
Its destructive power seemed capable of annihilating anything.
Meanwhile, the rescue operation wasn't going smoothly either.
Jhin had planted countless traps throughout the maple forest, some right beside the hostages themselves, dramatically slowing the rescue effort.
But even more dangerous than the traps were the people.
Shen clutched his pierced arm and stared at the man he had just rescued.
"You're one of his men?"
The man said nothing.
He simply swung his long blade at Shen again.
If Shen's reactions hadn't been fast enough, that previous attack would have gone straight through his chest.
It revealed something horrifying.
Among those 444 hostages, Jhin had planted accomplices.
"I'll find his people. Everyone be careful."
Seeing what had happened, Ahri took a deep breath and unleashed her senses, carefully examining every person around them.
Her abilities had improved enormously.
In the past, she could only vaguely distinguish one person's soul from another, but now she could perceive them much more clearly.
Before long, she identified three of Jhin's accomplices.
Meanwhile, Luke discovered that Jhin was moving absurdly fast.
Because Luke actually couldn't catch him.
After observing more carefully, he finally realized that Jhin seemed to be using some kind of item to teleport.
It worked almost like Flash, instantly moving him a set distance. That was how he kept widening the gap between himself and Luke.
No matter how fast Luke was, true teleportation still had an advantage over raw speed.
And along the way, Luke also had to watch out for Jhin's various traps and mines.
The mines had been created with magic and were extremely powerful.
The Golden Demon had prepared thoroughly for this day.
But Luke didn't believe the item could be used infinitely.
His stamina was abundant, so he continued the pursuit relentlessly.
Sure enough, Jhin eventually began running normally.
Then his speed suddenly decreased.
He stopped.
Turning around, he looked at the approaching Luke and smiled.
"You're very strong. You can reach me and kill me in the shortest possible time. But at the same moment, I'll detonate a bomb two hundred meters behind you. There's a family of five there. You have three seconds. What will you choose?"
Three seconds.
Enough time for Luke to reach Jhin and cut him down with a single swing.
But also enough time for Luke to turn around, cover two hundred meters, and save the family of five.
It was a trolley problem placed directly before him, burning away at his nerves.
Luke's step faltered.
Then he turned around.
Among all the human enemies Luke had encountered, Jhin was unquestionably one of the most difficult to deal with.
And one of the very few who genuinely disgusted him.
This man embodied the ugliest side of humanity almost perfectly.
Within three seconds, Luke reached the family and pulled all five of them to safety.
The explosion followed immediately afterward.
Had he been even an instant slower, the three children among them would have been blown apart.
When Luke turned back, Jhin had already vanished.
He had obviously used the opportunity to create distance again.
A playing card appeared between Luke's fingers.
He immediately activated Destiny and began searching from a bird's-eye perspective.
He quickly found Jhin with his sniper rifle already positioned.
Bang!
The instant the bullet left the barrel, Luke vanished from where he stood.
As though sensing something, Jhin suddenly pulled out a spirit talisman with his right hand and activated it without hesitation.
His figure disappeared instantly and reappeared two hundred meters away.
Had he been even one second slower, Luke's sword would already have come down on him.
So he really does possess perception far beyond an ordinary person.
Luke confirmed it now.
After all, normal people couldn't detect him after he activated Stealth Arts.
Just like Luke's own danger sense, Jhin clearly possessed some similar ability.
Combined with his considerable strength, it allowed him to react almost immediately whenever danger approached.
In other words, only an attack that caught him even more completely off guard could win.
So earlier, he was buying time for his teleportation item to come off cooldown?
Luke considered the possibility even as his feet carried him after Jhin once again.
"How delightful."
Jhin watched Luke approach.
The sensation of fleeing for his life filled him with incomparable excitement.
Luke was strong.
Jhin believed that in an open area, someone this powerful could crush him effortlessly.
Fortunately, this was his domain.
Here, he could toy with someone that strong.
He had filled this maple forest with traps and explosives specifically for this moment.
Originally, all of it had been prepared for Shen and Zed.
But clearly, he had received an even greater surprise.
Without hesitation, Jhin activated the talisman again.
The thing was worth a fortune, capable of instantly teleporting its user two hundred meters.
It was his most important means of preserving his life.
Every activation practically burned through a mountain of money.
Yet right now, Jhin used it without the slightest hesitation.
Teleporting again and again, he once more widened the distance from Luke.
Yet despite repeatedly retreating, he never left the maple forest containing the 444 hostages.
Because he knew that the moment he left his "domain" would also be the moment of his death.
The performance would continue.
"One, two, three, four!"
Four immensely powerful bullets came screaming toward Luke from a great distance, none having lost any of their destructive force.
With one of his weapons gone, Luke could only dodge.
But starting with the second shot, Jhin deliberately began lining Luke up with the hostages hanging from the trees.
If Luke dodged, the bullet would inevitably strike the person behind him.
If he didn't, then he had to face those monstrous rounds head-on.
The first three were manageable.
But the fourth was another matter entirely.
"BANG!"
The air shook violently.
The fourth bullet roared forward with enough power to seemingly tear through anything in its path.
Luke steadied his breathing, tightened his grip on Snowglance, and met it head-on with a full-powered slash.
Terrifying sword energy erupted.
The blade collided with the screaming projectile, and for an instant, even time itself seemed to freeze.
Then the bullet exploded.
A violent shockwave erupted and swallowed Luke whole.
Snowglance went spinning out of the explosion and flew nearly a hundred meters away.
Luke forced his way free of the blast with all his strength, now left with only the broken sword in his left hand.
He immediately launched himself toward Jhin again.
"You've lost two weapons. What can you possibly do now?"
Jhin remained completely composed.
Watching Luke swing the broken blade in his left hand, he couldn't help laughing.
"With nothing but that broken sword..."
His words abruptly stopped.
Confusion entered his eyes as he lowered his gaze.
A diagonal sword wound had appeared across his body, nearly cutting him in half.
And what had caused it was a blade nearly a hundred meters long, assembled from countless fragments.
"That weapon..."
The light in Jhin's eyes began to fade, filled with unanswered questions.
Luke retracted the hundred-meter Riftblade.
The countless fragments reassembled into its original shape.
Then Luke calmly said, "It was already broken to begin with."
"How...?"
Jhin seemed unable to comprehend that he had fallen to something like this.
So when the sword had shattered earlier, Luke had deliberately allowed him to believe the weapon had been destroyed?
Blood began pouring from beneath Jhin's mask, dripping steadily downward and staining his immaculate white clothes red.
His life was rapidly fading.
He no longer even possessed enough strength to clench his fist and raise his gun.
"Does my performance... truly end like this?"
With tremendous effort, he raised his head.
Through the beautiful orange-red maple leaves, he looked toward the sun in the sky and murmured to himself.
"My art should not end here..."
Sunlight poured down from above.
Yet it seemed to avoid him entirely, falling instead upon an empty patch of ground beside him.
Beneath the mask, Jhin's lips curled into a self-mocking smile.
Even in his final moment, would the light refuse to shine on him?
At last, all light vanished from his eyes.
His body went limp.
The two halves separated completely and fell to the ground.
Luke walked over and looked down at Jhin, making absolutely certain that he was dead beyond any possibility of recovery.
Killing this bastard hadn't actually been difficult.
He had just been a colossal pain in the ass.
Like walking down the street and stepping directly into a pile of dog crap.
Just disgusting.
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