Contract Of Souls I Sung Jin-Woo

Bewitched By A Demon

'Only I'll die here now....'

Sung Jin-Woo wasn't doing this out of some noble determination to sacrifice himself or something like that. No, there was certainly an element in him calculating the best possible outcome in his decision. Even if he survived and got out of here today, he would have to live like a cripple for the rest of his life.

Obviously, continuing as a Hunter would be impossible. And it was also questionable whether he would also be able to live normally. He had only graduated from high school, and since he had no discernible job skills, he simply didn't have too many options left to put food on the table.

'Mom's hospital fees...and my sister's school fees too.'

If that were the case, then he might as well ensure that his family receives better compensation from the Association, even if it was just a penny more.

'The compensation paid to family members was 300 million won or 400, when one is killed during a raid?' That was a large amount for the worthless life of an E rank Hunter.

At last the approaching statues arrived, one climbed up to the altar. Jin-Woo glared at it and lifted the sword up.

"Come."

Unfortunately, the expected attack did not come from the front, but from his back: a long spear penetrated Jin-Woo's back and came out of his chest.

Jin-Woo spat out a mouthful of blood. An unimaginable amount of pain rushed in like a tsunami wave.

"If you were stabbed a couple of inches higher, you'd have a hole in your heart by now!" Ju-Hee's nagging he heard only a few hours ago slipped past his mind like a scene from a revolving lantern.

The stone statue raised its spear. Jin-Woo was lifted into the air, still pierced by that spear. However, he only had to struggle for a brief moment, because the statue slammed him into the altar. SLAM!! The sounds of bones breaking could be heard from every corner of his body. He shrunk away from the intense pain.

"Euh..... Euh, euh....."

As he began to tremble, the stone statues slowly surrounded him, forming a encirclement around him. Jin-Woo raised his head and looked at them, his entire being trembling nonstop.

'I... I don't want to die like this.'

Now that he was facing his final moments, tears welled up in his eyes. He recalled the faces of his family. He even remembered Ju-Hee's face, her face filled with anxiety and concern for his safety...

'I don't want to die...' He didn't want to end his short twenty-four years of life in this place.

The stone statue wielding a sword took a step closer without a hint of emotion. Then, he raised his sword high. Even though he was trembling a lot, Jin-Woo did not look away from the statue. Finally, the statue's sword slashed down, and at the same time, Jin-Woo couldn't help but think once more.

'Only if, only if I had one more chance! 'After thinking those words, Jin-Woo's eyes widened. It happened then, as if someone had pressed the "pause" button, the terrifyingly fast-moving sword suddenly stopped in midair. No, actually that was not correct; it hadn't stopped at all. It simply had slowed down so much that he ended up thinking that way.

One millimetre in one minute? It was very slow, but the sword was still definitely coming down.

'Wha-what is going on here?' Jin-Woo couldn't hide his astonishment.

It was then that a strange man that he had never seen before appeared before his eyes. A very fair, almost pale-skinned man; his body is robust and defined, being visibly quite muscular; in contrast, he is a tall man with black hair.