Chapter 27
Hyun-jun visited Tae-min’s office inside the Wraith Guild headquarters to receive a report on the force behind the Echo Guild.
“You’re here.”
“Any new information?”
As soon as he asked, Tae-min wore a complicated expression.
“We put additional funds into Intelligence and ran another investigation, but we didn’t turn up anything worth reporting to Kang Hyun-jun. My apologies.”
He had expected as much, but hearing that they still had nothing made the result feel bitter. Still, finding the hand behind a guild was never simple, so it was hard to blame them. If it had been easy, the Echo Guild’s backers would have been exposed to the world the moment they began swallowing up other guilds in earnest.
“Report even the small stuff. Keep it coming.”
“Yes, sir. Ah, and just now I received a call from the real estate agent. Everything’s ready, so you can move in immediately.”
“That’s good news.”
A smile spread across his mouth. So the cramped one-room apartment was finally behind him. He had rushed to buy a house for So-jin and the children’s safety, but maybe there had been a little of his own desire mixed in when he bought a three-story detached house.
After finishing his business, Hyun-jun left Tae-min’s office and went to find So-jin and the younger kids. They were staying in temporary lodging set up inside the Wraith Guild office.
“Hyung is here!”
The moment he stepped into the temporary dorm, a small boy launched himself at him. He was fairly heavy, but Hyun-jun was a hunter with excellent physical ability, so he caught him easily.
“You’ve been behaving?”
“Yeah. The hunter uncles even bought me snacks.”
“Sounds nice.”
He answered with a smile. Soon the boy grew bored, wriggled free from Hyun-jun’s arms, and ran off to wander around the dorm with the other children. Watching them, Hyun-jun let out a short sigh and lifted his head.
“You’re here?”
At the end of the hallway, So-jin was standing there.
“Noona. Can we talk for a moment?”
“Sure... I’m fine.”
“Let’s go to that empty room over there.”
Hyun-jun went in first and sat down on a chair. So-jin followed and closed the door behind her.
“What’s going on?”
Hyun-jun explained his moving plans in detail.
“Is that really okay?”
The attack by executive hunters at the orphanage still seemed to linger in her mind as a terrifying memory, so So-jin didn’t reject him outright. Instead, she carefully tested his intentions.
“Yes. It’s a three-story detached house, so it won’t be cramped.”
He had already worked out the plan. The people Wraith Guild would send, along with the guards he would soon hire, would stay on the first floor. So-jin and the kids would live on the second, and Hyun-jun himself would take the third.
“Can we really stay together?”
So-jin’s voice trembled faintly. She didn’t show it, but she was afraid of being attacked again. That was why, when Hyun-jun had suggested they stay in the same house, she felt relief wash over her.
“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you. I’m planning to install an unmanned security system and hire guards too. Wraith Guild has already agreed to send executive hunters.”
“Thank you, Hyun-jun.”
Her eyes shone with moisture. Nothing else registered. Only the single promise that he would protect her pierced clearly into her ears. She still remembered Hyun-jun’s back from that day, when he had stood in front of countless enemies and blocked them all.
“I’m sorry. Because of me.”
“No. It’s fine.”
So-jin wiped at her tears and spoke. Saying thank you was all she could do. She wanted to help him somehow, but she was too weak for that. She knew it better than anyone.
“I should get going.”
“Don’t go...”
So-jin stopped him as he checked the time and reached for the door. A vague, source-less unease had given her the courage to speak.
“Sleep here tonight.”
It wasn’t a difficult request. The dormitory in the Wraith Guild office was spacious. There would be at least one room Hyun-jun could use. He had checked with Tae-min just in case, and fortunately Tae-min said there was one more empty room in the dorm.
“All right. I’ll stay here tonight.”
“Thank you, Hyun-jun.”
So-jin gave him a bright smile, so bright she showed her dimples for what felt like the first time in a long while. She thought she couldn’t remember the last time she had smiled like this. Then night fell.
Hashashin’s sinister laughter warns you of danger. Someone is aiming for your heart.
As Hyun-jun was trying to sleep in the room next to So-jin’s, he heard Hashashin’s warning and hurled himself to the side. Two daggers flew into the spot where he had been lying only a moment earlier.
“Wind Cutter.”
Someone was in the darkness. In a calm voice, he completed the spell. He could feel the flow of mana. It was on a completely different level from a low-tier spell like Fireball.
Carthago’s Righteous Shield protects you. So long as the great guardian stands with you, nothing can threaten you.
At some point, his left hand was already holding a B-rank piece of equipment taken from his subspace pouch, the Resentment-Soaked Shield. As Carthago’s blessing manifested, an Aura Shield spread out. Wind Cutter, tearing through the air, collided with the Aura Shield.
“An aura user?”
It was a voice full of surprise. Seeing mana move again, the attacker seemed to be casting another spell for a follow-up strike.
If I draw my sword, I’m too late!
Instead of drawing his blade, he shielded himself with the shield and threw himself straight at the mage in front of him. Even though the distance closed in an instant, the mage did not stop casting. Seeing that, Hyun-jun realized there was another accomplice.
“Hup!”
As expected, with a restrained shout, a blade came from the right, aiming for his throat. He had prepared for a sneak attack to some extent, so it wasn’t hard to avoid. Of course, he didn’t stop at evasion.
Crash!
“Ghk!”
The shield he swung out without warning slammed into the attacker’s torso. With a thunderous sound, the assailant was launched into the wall and smashed into it.
“Grrk...”
Every bone in his body was shattered. He wasn’t dead, but he could only groan and fail to rise. Only then did the mage stop casting and draw his weapon.
It was a short sword, the kind easy to handle even without specialized training. But it was already too late. Hyun-jun’s shield was coming down from above, poised to smash the mage’s head in.
“Damn it!”
But he was too late. The shield was moving too fast for the mage to react. The moment he raised the short sword with a curse, Hyun-jun’s shield had already crushed his skull.
Thud!
The headless body collapsed limply. As the caster died and the perception-lowering spell broke, Hyun-jun could now clearly inspect the faint shape of his appearance. A mask covered his face, and a robe hung from his body.
Where’s the other one?
He turned his head toward the broken wall. The man buried under the wreckage of shattered stone seemed to have stopped breathing, but Hyun-jun only felt satisfied after driving his sword into the man’s heart to make sure he was dead. As soon as he stepped out of the room, the first place he went was the neighboring room where So-jin was sleeping.
The instant he opened the door, he felt a thick killing intent, and saw an assassin trying to drive a dagger into So-jin’s throat as she slept.
“Take your hand off her!”
He pulled out the dagger Ripper had left behind, the Butcher, and threw it. The dagger cut through the air and sank into the assassin’s thigh.
“T-the next room got hit?”
The assassin changed targets. Rather than reclaiming the Butcher, Hyun-jun drew a longsword from his subspace pouch and hurled himself straight forward.
Sidenmiller’s valiant sword stands with you. So long as righteous courage does not break, the blade will not shatter.
Aura Blade bloomed from the sword. The slash aimed for the assassin’s throat. He failed to withstand Sidenmiller’s miraculous swordsmanship and ended up exposing his neck. He managed to pull his body back quickly, but the wound was deep. Skin split open and a spray of blood burst into the air.
“Ghk, khh...”
As the assassin staggered, groaning, Hyun-jun drove his sword toward the man’s heart.
Fshhk!
With a horrifying sound, the assassin was pierced straight through the heart and collapsed without strength. Hyun-jun pulled the sword from the body and checked the surroundings. He even activated Hashashin’s blessing, but fortunately no other presence could be felt.
So I’m not the target.
The lights weren’t on either. The power infrastructure had been neutralized. If they were capable of taking down the power infrastructure, there was no way only three assassins had moved in. There had to be more. And if they weren’t here, that meant they had another target. If so, who was it?
Could it be the guild leader?
It made sense that, if not So-jin, then maybe the fact that Hyun-jun happened to be here today had been impossible to predict for either the Echo Guild or its backers, since it had been a sudden decision. If Hyun-jun himself wasn’t their target, despite being the most annoying obstacle from their perspective, then this was more likely a retaliatory terror attack against the Wraith Guild leader.
Is Kim Tae-min in the middle of a fight...?
He called, but no one answered. Since he had to protect So-jin and the children, Hyun-jun couldn’t move. That left only one thing he could do right now.
Report it to the Special Police Bureau.
He sent an emergency message to the Special Police Bureau from his smartphone. Crime might have gotten worse because of the Dungeon raid incident, but he had detected the ambush and reported its contents, so unlike the Echo Guild case, the police would likely respond quickly.
Until then, I hold this place.
He raised his Aura Blade and shield and made his vow. No one would cross the hallway he was guarding.
*
After last night’s attack, the Wraith Guild was in chaos. Thanks to Hyun-jun’s report, Special Police officers patrolling nearby arrived quickly, but in that short span of time the guild had already suffered significant damage. As soon as the Special Police investigation was over, Hyun-jun went looking for Tae-min. Just then, Tae-min was coming out after finishing his own questioning.
“How bad is the damage?”
He asked cautiously. Tae-min opened his mouth with a haggard expression.
“The guild leader... has died.”
Deep grief seeped through Tae-min’s voice. He had been close to the Wraith Guild leader. So the leader’s sudden death hit him with a tremendous shock.
“Who’s taking over as the next guild leader?”
If possible, Hyun-jun thought it would be best if Tae-min, someone he at least had some familiarity with, took over Wraith Guild.
“Actually, there is someone our side has already been considering.”
“Who is it?”
From the way he said it, it didn’t seem to be himself. Hyun-jun suddenly had a bad feeling and frowned slightly, but the answer that came next was different from what he expected.
“Kang Hyun-jun. Please become the guild leader of Wraith! Every executive inside the guild is in favor! There were no objections! Please, lead us!”
Wraith’s last hope was the hunter named Kang Hyun-jun.