Chapter 24
As with most guilds, Echo Guild also had its office in the center of the city. With the age of dungeon raids upon them, even the city center was no longer a place one could call safe. That was why guild offices and major government buildings were often ringed by armed personnel. Echo Guild’s office was no exception.
Hunters and armed guards alike were always stationed inside the office and around it. Some of the hunters assigned to guard duty were regular guild members, not even from the executive division.
“Something feels off.”
“When does it ever feel right?”
The colleague who heard the executive hunter muttering under his breath shot him an irritated look and grumbled in return.
“This time I’m sure of it. Someone’s infiltrated the guild office.”
“The office should have a magical barrier running. If someone broke in, the alarm would’ve gone off right away.”
“My mana is warning me. Something’s about to happen.”
“It’s not mana. It’s just your chuunibyou acting up.”
He started to snap back, but the words died in his throat. He had seen the dagger piercing his colleague’s neck.
“Ghk, k-kheuk!”
As the blade was yanked free, the magic-type hunter spat a mouthful of bright red blood and collapsed limply to the floor.
“Damn it! That bastard’s intuition was right!”
It was the moment the combat-type hunter hurriedly drew his longsword. A bad feeling crawled up from below, and when he looked down, he saw his own abdomen gushing blood like a waterfall.
“W-when did he...?”
It was a perfect ambush so complete he had not even sensed a trace of presence. Three vital points had been struck in an instant.
No way... an A-class hunter...?
That thought did not last long. A dagger buried itself in his forehead. The assassin who had disposed of the two executive hunters in a heartbeat emerged from the point where the darkness ended. With a smile so chilling it raised goosebumps, he was Kang Hyun-jun.
So this is Hashashin’s blessing? More impressive than I expected.
As long as he remained in darkness and shadow, hunters and even magical barriers failed to register Hyun-jun’s presence. Thanks to that, he had slipped into the guild office without a single fight against the guards or hunters outside.
According to Kim Tae-min’s information, all the hunters guarding the office at night belong to the executive division...
If they were executive division members, he could kill them all without hesitation.
The sweet scent of blood excites Ripper. Your awakened instincts will turn you into a slaughterer specialized in massacre, if only for a moment.
Ripper seemed excited as well.
Kill every last one of the executive division.
He raised the bloodstained dagger and melted back into the darkness. He had no intention of leaving any future trouble behind. By annihilating the executive division hunters, he meant to cut off Echo Guild’s arms and legs, then blind and deafen it.
Found it.
He found the power control unit. A cold sneer touched his lips as he smashed it to pieces. He severed every line and hacked the device apart.
They’ll realize this was an ambush soon enough anyway. If that’s the case, it’s better to reveal myself from the start and fight where the darkness favors me.
The entire five-story building Echo Guild used as its office went dark.
“What’s going on all of a sudden?”
“Call the department in charge and find out.”
The Echo Guild members treated it as nothing more than a simple blackout and moved at a leisurely pace. They never imagined anyone would dare attack a guild office in the middle of the city. If they had called in a security company or special police right away, the situation might have been different. But they didn’t, and in the end they invited disaster in.
“Ghk!”
A hunter from the executive division who had moved to check the power system gave a short scream and collapsed, blood spurting from his throat.
There isn’t much time left in the executive office.
His eyes gleamed in the darkness with murderous intent as his lips curled upward. The building map he had seen on the first floor had said the executive office was on the fourth floor, and he was now on the third. The thought that only one flight of stairs remained made it impossible to keep his excitement hidden.
I’ll kill every night shift hunter at least.
Finding and wiping out every single executive division force scattered throughout the building was, frankly, impossible. But he intended to sweep away the night standby unit at the very least. Because the executive division had many people on night duty by nature, killing them all would still deal a serious blow to Echo Guild.
I’d love it if the division chief were here.
If he could eliminate the mastermind who had ordered everything, that would be the best possible outcome. As the thought flashed through his mind, he reached the fourth floor.
The instant Hyun-jun crossed onto the fourth floor, Jeong Seong-min, the executive division chief who had been working late in his office, sensed something wrong.
“Hey. Why the hell is the guy who went to check the power unit taking so long?”
Seong-min asked while looking at one of his subordinates. The power unit might be in the basement, but the fact that there had been no contact at all until now was strange.
“I’m not sure. Someone from the power unit team should’ve reported back already, but...”
The subordinate trailed off. Seong-min bit his lip lightly.
“Something’s wrong. Everyone, arm up and stay on alert!”
By then, a sword taken from his subspace pouch was already in Seong-min’s right hand. The other hunters in the executive office also drew their weapons. They had no time to pull out and don armor, but they all thought that would be enough. That was a mistake.
“Kkeugh!”
“Ghk!”
Two people collapsed with short cries. A magic-type hunter urgently summoned a cluster of light to illuminate the darkness, but all he could see were the two bodies lying on the floor and the executive hunters thrown into confusion. The assassin who had attacked was nowhere to be seen.
“Assess the situation!”
“Two C-class hunters have been taken out!”
“I can’t find any trace of presence!”
The executive hunters reported in. Even Jeong Seong-min, the executive division chief and an A-class hunter, could only catch a faint presence for an instant and failed to track it after that.
Where the hell are you...?
Seong-min’s lips had gone dry. Hyun-jun watched from within the darkness. The magic-type hunter had summoned lights, but he still had not managed to drive the darkness out completely.
That leaves six...?
His eyes moved quickly.
Is that bastard the division chief...?
His gaze landed on Seong-min. More mana and far more restrained killing intent flowed from him than from the others.
I’ll deal with the magic-type hunter first.
He drew his dagger. The larger the movement, the greater the risk of his stealth breaking, but he was confident he could slip back into concealment immediately. Thanks to Hashashin’s blessing, his mastery of hiding in the veil of darkness had risen to near its peak.
Whoosh.
“Ghk!”
The dagger sank into a throat. The man coughed up blood and fell helplessly. If he had been a B-class magic-type hunter, he might have been able to block it with a defensive spell, but unfortunately his level was not that high.
“It’s an ambush!”
“Form up!”
Seong-min gave his orders calmly, and instead of the magical light that had vanished, he launched a drone. He decided it was better than fighting in the dark with a flashlight.
Light.
If it touched light, his stealth would be broken. That was information mixed into Hashashin’s knowledge and memories, passed along with the blessing. Hyun-jun calmly avoided the lights, approached in formation, and swung his sword.
“Ghk!”
“Agh!”
Two more went down.
That makes three left.
He readjusted his grip on the dagger.
“D-damn it! Where the hell is he coming from?”
“Chief! I think this is an A-class hunter!”
“Shut up and focus! At this rate we’re all dead!”
Seong-min raised his voice on purpose to shake off the tension. In truth, even he, an A-class hunter, could barely read any presence at all except for the brief moments when his subordinates fell.
He’s a monster...
His eyes trembled with tension. He felt as if cold sweat were running down his back.
An A-class? No... he might be S-class...
Before he could finish organizing his thoughts, the remaining two subordinates collapsed soundlessly.
“Damn it!”
As Seong-min slashed out with a curse, red light scattered in every direction. The instant it hit the wall and floor, searing flames burst up. It was an area skill he had been unable to use because of his subordinates.
“You’re not entirely clueless, at least.”
The storm of flames sweeping through the executive office burned away all the darkness and revealed Hyun-jun. Seong-min frowned at the sight.
“What? Kang Hyun-jun? It was you?”
Rather than sounding like he was taken by surprise, his voice carried relief. He had expected an S-class hunter skilled in stealth and assassination, so it was only natural that he reacted this way when the one who appeared was a C-class hunter.
“You know me?”
“Of course. You’re the bastard who killed Hye-jin.”
From the way he put it, it seemed the man Hye-jin had cheated with was this bastard.
“Good. I’m glad it’s you. You must’ve gotten yourself an S-class stealth item from somewhere, but in a place this bright it’s worthless. So you’d better start thinking of yourself as dead.”
At Seong-min’s confident attitude, Hyun-jun let out a laugh of disbelief.
“That’s rich.”
“What? I’m the one who finds this absurd. I don’t know what you’re counting on, but you won’t be able to handle what comes next.”
With a light flick of his sword, Seong-min created more than ten fireballs around him. They were smaller than proper fireballs, about the size of an adult male’s fist, but they carried a considerable amount of mana.
Is he looking down on me?
Then he would have to be beaten until he understood.
Here I go.
The instant Hyun-jun’s eyes gleamed coldly and murderous intent spilled out, the dagger was already gone from his hand. In its place, a shield and a longsword now rested in both hands.
Carthago’s righteous shield protects you. So long as the great protection is with you, nothing can threaten you.
Sidenmiller’s valiant sword is with you. So long as righteous courage does not crumble, the blade will not break.
The sweet scent of blood excites Ripper. Your awakened instincts will turn you into a slaughterer specialized in massacre, if only for a moment.
No sooner had he begun circulating mana than the three blessings manifested in succession. Armed with Aura Blade and Aura Shield, Hyun-jun’s eyes now saw Seong-min’s weak points and openings, stained red before him.
“Y-you’re an aura user? That’s impossible! How can a C-class...”
Seong-min stared in shock at Hyun-jun, who was using aura.
Well, there wouldn’t have been anyone to report it.
Anyone who might have filed that report was already dead. There was no way Seong-min could have obtained information that Hyun-jun was an aura user. There was nothing strange about his shock now.
Hyun-jun checked the time. He didn’t have much left. Since a fire had broken out, the authorities were likely to intervene. He had to kill Seong-min as quickly as possible and leave the scene.
“Sorry, but I’m short on time.”
With his shield raised toward Seong-min, he burst through the flames and charged.
“Damn it!”
By the time Seong-min snapped to his senses, Hyun-jun had already closed in to point-blank range. Seong-min swung his sword, coated in blazing flame-attribute aura, and struck Hyun-jun’s shield.
Bang!
Flames and aura collided, sending fragments of mana spraying in every direction.
“Flames!”
At Seong-min’s shout, the dozen or so floating fireballs moved to strike Hyun-jun’s blind spots. He blocked the barrage with shield and sword, but it was not over yet.
“Goodbye, you brat.”
The storm of flames that whirled up before his eyes swallowed Hyun-jun whole.
“This is what an A-class hunter is.”
Thinking it was all over, Seong-min lifted the corners of his mouth and slid his sword back into place.
“Weak.”
“W-what did you say? Impossible!”
At the voice that came from somewhere beyond the fire, Seong-min shook his head in denial. But in that instant, the chilling killing intent he felt behind him told him Hyun-jun was still alive.