The Spy and the Night Ahead
When he came to, the first thing that met his eyes was a pure white ceiling.
A hospital...?
The last thing he remembered was collapsing as if he had fainted, just after confirming that there were no more enemies.
The others...
He forced his body upright with effort.
"Ghk..."
Medical technology for traumatic injuries had advanced with the emergence of recovery-type hunters, but his wounds still seemed far from fully healed. Even the slightest movement sent his body screaming in protest.
"Mmm..."
At the sleepy voice, he turned his head and saw So-jin there. She was lying on a folding bed, dozing in short bursts.
"Thank God..."
Hyun-jun let out a breath of relief. If So-jin was here and looked perfectly fine even after he had collapsed, then the other kids at the orphanage must be safe too. Still, just to be sure, he planned to ask once she was awake.
"What time is it..."
He looked for his smartphone, but it was nowhere to be found. He checked the clock instead. It was 2:00 p.m.
At least a day has passed.
He had hoped not much time had gone by while he was unconscious. With Echo Guild already having his personal information, and with the enforcement team they had sent lying dead at his feet, they would not sit still.
"You're awake? How do you feel?"
So-jin slowly sat up and asked. It seemed she had woken up when he started searching for his phone.
"Sis, I can explain..."
"It's fine. I won't ask anything."
So-jin said it calmly. Not asking anything was a relief. He had been struggling with where to even begin.
"I promise. Nothing will happen to you or the kids."
"All right. That's enough."
So-jin gave a faint smile and nodded. Just as he was thinking that he had at least gotten past the most troublesome issue, he sensed someone approaching the room.
Who is it?
There was no warning from Hashashin, and the person wasn't hiding their presence at all, so it didn't seem like an enemy. Even so, he couldn't relax.
No weapon either...
He checked his subspace pouch, but there was nothing there. He realized a beat late that there was no way he would have recovered his gear after losing consciousness.
I can still fight without equipment.
The instant Hyun-jun's eyes glinted with something cold, there came a light knock.
Knock, knock, knock.
The gentle sound loosened the tension that had frozen the room.
"Come in."
"Excuse me."
At Hyun-jun's permission, the door opened and a familiar man stepped inside. It was Tae-min, the executive chief of Wraith Guild. The appearance of almost the only ally available in this situation made Hyun-jun breathe out in relief as well.
With Tae-min here, Hyun-jun could roughly piece together what had happened after he lost consciousness.
"Are you all right?"
"Yes. Thank you for bringing me to the hospital."
"Kang Hyun-jun, you saved our guild. On the contrary, we're the ones who should apologize for not arriving in time."
Tae-min lowered his head slightly. His voice carried genuine sincerity.
"No. It's fine."
Hyun-jun answered with a smile, and Tae-min seemed to relax as he cautiously lifted his head. He was getting ready to get to the point, but So-jin was still in the room. Naturally, his gaze shifted to her.
"Ah! I'll go buy a drink for a moment."
"I'll have security escort you."
She was quick on the uptake. The moment she sensed that a conversation was about to start that she probably shouldn't hear, she hurriedly made herself scarce. Two hunters from Wraith Guild's enforcement division, who had been waiting outside the room, moved to escort her.
"You can relax. Most of the enforcement personnel our guild can mobilize are stationed inside and outside this hospital right now. I don't know how formidable Echo Guild's backer is, but they won't be able to launch a large-scale attack in broad daylight."
Wraith Guild was considered weak even among Bronze-tier guilds, but if they had deployed most of the enforcement hunters they could spare, then Echo Guild would need to commit a considerable number of at least second-string hunters to make a fight of it. However, a force of that size battling in a hospital in the middle of the city would inevitably draw attention, so unlike their attack on the orphanage on the outskirts, Echo Guild would feel the pressure too.
"Tell me what happened while I was unconscious."
"First, Han So-jin underwent a brief police interview. She testified about the enforcement hunters' attack, but unfortunately, by the time the police arrived at the scene, there was no evidence left behind. We had to prioritize your safety, Ms. Kang, and Han So-jin's, as well as the children's, so we couldn't leave any hunters behind to secure the scene. I apologize."
"It's fine. You did your best, Mr. Kim Tae-min."
He didn't know the details, but the situation at the time must have been desperate. It was dangerous enough trying to split forces when Echo Guild might have launched additional attacks. Hyun-jun understood that much perfectly well.
"My little brothers are safe, right?"
"Yes. They're at our guild office right now."
"Good."
That answer let him breathe a little easier. Weak as Wraith Guild might be, even within the Bronze tier, the guild office saw a steady flow of not just enforcement personnel but regular and non-regular guild members as well. Echo Guild would probably want to avoid striking the guild office directly. In other words, his little brothers were safe for the time being.
"Setting that aside for now... how exactly did Echo Guild get hold of my information? I think I need a proper explanation for that."
It was good that Tae-min had taken care of So-jin's and the kids' safety, but the matter of the information leak had to be addressed.
"It seems there is a spy inside. I'm truly sorry."
"Because of that, not only I but my sister and the kids were put in danger too. What are you going to do about it?"
"We'll provide full security protection ourselves until the situation becomes safe."
"And you can protect us from Echo Guild's enforcement team?"
At the sharp question, Tae-min bit his lip slightly. Echo Guild's enforcement division was on the verge of promotion to the Silver tier, and they were an enemy Wraith Guild's enforcement force alone would struggle to handle.
"We'll suspend all guild enforcement activities and focus entirely on protecting Han So-jin and your siblings."
"Then I'll trust you for now."
If they were even suspending enforcement activities, there was no choice but to trust them for the moment.
"What about Echo Guild's movements?"
He had wiped out the enforcement hunters they sent. There was no way back now. War had already begun, and Hyun-jun had been swept into its current.
"We haven't confirmed anything exact, but it looks like they're preparing a second attack."
Of course they were. From Echo Guild's perspective, they had not only been interrupted several times already, but their enforcement division had also taken heavy losses. They wouldn't just sit there and accept it.
"From this point on, I'm joining the war against Echo Guild too."
Once things had come to this, Echo Guild's enforcement division had to be wiped out if he wanted to protect So-jin and the children. Besides, it seemed the thing Ripper wanted was in their possession as well, so joining the fight was the only real option.
"Y-you really will join us?"
"Nothing's free."
"Of course. We'll spare no support from the guild side."
"You should, naturally."
As he finished speaking, he loosened the bandage a little and checked the wound beneath it.
I won't be moving for three days.
With Echo Guild's enforcement team preparing a second attack, being unable to move properly for three days was unacceptable. If it were up to him, he'd have moved this instant, but pushing his body in its current condition could get him killed instead.
Can I win against Echo Guild's enforcement division?
If he thought about it coldly, the answer was no, not with his current strength. So what should he do? There was only one answer: get stronger. Fortunately, Hyun-jun had a means of doing that quickly.
The Chamber of Reincarnation.
The Chamber of Reincarnation was the room where he met his past lives while falling asleep, a name Hyun-jun had given it himself. Time did not pass there, and because he could train under the strongest among them, he could grow stronger at a rapid pace.
"Can you deal with the spy for sure?"
"I will root them out by any means necessary and make sure they're dealt with."
"I'll trust you."
If they couldn't even control an internal spy, then they couldn't use Wraith Guild at full strength. With a mole planted inside, information would keep leaking, and they wouldn't be able to act properly. Tae-min must have understood how serious the situation was too.
"Just to confirm again, getting help from the police is impossible, isn't it?"
Ideally, he wanted help from the Special Police Bureau, the branch of the police created specifically to crack down on hunter crimes.
He wasn't even asking for the Hunter Mobile Unit. If a few special police officers armed with assault rifles and armored vehicles were deployed to the hospital, Echo Guild would have a hard time going through with an attack. Unlike ordinary hunters, they were the state power. Of course, major guilds that acted recklessly would even mock public authority, but Echo Guild was not that large yet.
"It'll be difficult. I don't know who is behind Echo Guild, but it seems they're blocking any intervention from public authority."
"Looks like some powerful bastard is backing them."
It was common for influential people to stand behind promising or powerful guilds.
"Yes. It seems there's someone with considerable influence on the police side."
Tae-min answered. Apparently they hadn't managed to figure out who it was. Watching Tae-min bow his head, Hyun-jun let out a short sigh and spoke.
"Understood for now. I want to rest, so go and deal with the spy."
To enter the Chamber of Reincarnation, he needed to sleep.
"My men are stationed all throughout the hospital, so don't worry and rest easy."
"Thank you."
Tae-min nodded at Hyun-jun once before leaving the room. One of the enforcement hunters waiting outside fell in behind him.
"I've found the internal spy."
"Lead the way."
From Tae-min's eyes, a cold killing intent seeped out.
In front of the warehouse guarded by two men in black suits, a black sedan came to a stop. The man who got out was Tae-min. The two enforcement hunters who recognized his face bowed their heads.
"Is he inside?"
"Yes. We've restrained him."
"Good."
At his subordinate's answer, Tae-min nodded with a satisfied look and stepped into the warehouse. In the middle of the dusty warehouse, where boxes were piled in a messy heap, a bloodied man had been tied to a chair, while a hunter holding a spear watched him closely.
"Wake him up."
Tae-min said. The hunter assigned as guard stabbed the spy's thigh with the spear.
"Kraaaah!"
With a scream full of pain, the spy woke up. Tae-min's cold gaze settled on him.
"How much did you take?"
"...Does that matter?"
"No. Not at all. I just asked because I was curious."
Tae-min answered. He took a torture tool out of a small subspace pouch.
"What matters is that the night is long, and no one's coming to help you."
At the voice soaked in killing intent, the spy shuddered all over.