Episode 48
“Because of the nonsense rumor that we looted special equipment from a hidden dungeon, several guilds have been watching us. If we’re going to go to war with Andersen, we need to deal with them quickly and decisively.”
Tae-min spoke calmly. An hour earlier, he had come to the guild leader’s office with Jong-seo, and since then they had been discussing the unofficial guild war with Andersen.
“As you know, the Special Police Bureau seems to be under pressure. They say it’s hard to verify the identities of the bodies taken from the guild leader’s home courtyard. There’s really no way to explain that except that someone on the ‘back end’ is leaning on them, or that the execution department selected hunters whose identities would be especially hard to trace.”
There were two possible explanations, but Tae-min was hoping the theory about pressure from the “back end” was wrong. If someone had enough influence to squeeze the Special Police Bureau that hard, it meant at least a high-ranking politician or a conglomerate chairman was involved.
“We don’t need help from the Special Police Bureau.”
Hyun-jun said it flatly. He didn’t need anyone’s help. If he wanted to, he was confident he could handle Andersen alone.
“We’re behind them in raw force. We’ve secured funding, yes, but the recent situation has been so bad that the execution department hasn’t really expanded at all. At this point, we’ve only barely recovered our previous losses.”
“Still, you recovered fast.”
“Thanks to Choi Na-young’s slush fund. Because you transferred half of it to us, we were able to invest a great deal of money into replacing our losses in manpower.”
The meeting went on. Because of the actions of the Special Police Bureau and the Guild Oversight Office, an official guild war looked increasingly hopeless. In the end, an unofficial guild war seemed to be the only path left.
“Then, regarding troop deployment...”
“Excuse me for a moment.”
The instant Tae-min opened his mouth and began pulling out the execution department roster, Jong-seo took out his smartphone and stepped back a few paces. As the intelligence chief, he couldn’t afford to turn his phone off even during a meeting. Tae-min, and of course Hyun-jun, both understood that.
“Guild leader.”
Jong-seo held his phone to his ear for a full minute. Then, without even answering, he ended the call and turned his gaze to Hyun-jun.
“It looks like we’ve got a nasty problem.”
His expression was grave.
“What happened?”
“Three of our regular guild members and one irregular member were murdered last night in a brutal fashion. This morning, the Special Police Bureau recognized it as a hunter crime, filed the case, and began investigating, but they say there’s no evidence left.”
“A brutal fashion means... what exactly?”
“We couldn’t find the arms or legs. And on the abdomen, the word ‘Warning’ was carved with a knife. It looks like they were trying to create an atmosphere of fear and stop people from joining the guild.”
Jong-seo reported the horrific details in a calm voice. Hyun-jun set his teacup down and bit his lip slightly. There might have been no evidence, but the culprit was clearly Andersen’s guild execution department. Execution departments usually went to great lengths not to leave evidence during an operation.
A mere gut feeling wasn’t enough to move the Special Police Bureau. With pressure already bearing down on them, there was no hope of relying on their help.
“Chief of Execution.”
He was angry, but his expression didn’t change. The more serious the situation, the more composed he had to be. Hyun-jun called to his loyal subordinate in a steady voice. The kind of subordinate who could be trusted in any situation, and who would dirty his own hands when the time came.
“Yes, sir.”
“It looks like Andersen is openly looking down on me. What should we do?”
“I think punishment is necessary. There’s no need for the guild leader to dirty his own hands. I, and the execution department, will ‘handle’ it.”
Tae-min looked fired up, but the Wraith Guild’s execution department was still too weak to wage all-out war against Andersen’s execution department.
“I’ll take care of the executive officers in their execution department.”
“Ah, but...”
“I’ll leave the protection of our guild members to the execution department.”
“I’ll do my utmost.”
Tae-min shot to his feet and bowed his head. He had been closely tied to Wraith for a long time, and now he seemed deeply moved by Hyun-jun’s orders. Hyun-jun looked at him and nodded. Then his gaze moved to Jong-seo.
“Intelligence chief, get me the names and photos of the key executive officers in Andersen’s guild execution department. You can manage that, right?”
Even though he had been pouring money into strengthening the execution department and intelligence division, the process was still not fully underway.
“Yes. I’ll send you the names and photos within three hours.”
At Jong-seo’s answer, Hyun-jun lifted the corner of his mouth.
With just names and photos, he could send his shadows to locate them.
“And I have one more order for the intelligence chief.”
“The intelligence division is ready. Please give the order.”
“Look into where this is.”
Hyun-jun wrote down an address on a memo pad and handed it over. It was the address his shadow, the one attached to Gyu-hwan, had brought back.
“It’s on the outskirts of Paju.”
“We need to move quietly. If we use it well, we may be able to keep Gyu-hwan tied down.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Move now.”
Andersen would be acting even now. There was no time to lose if they wanted to minimize the damage. At Hyun-jun’s order, Tae-min and Jong-seo sprang into action the moment they left the office. Each of them contacted their direct subordinates by smartphone, passed on the guild leader’s instructions, and ordered them to carry out their tasks.
Left alone in the guild leader’s office, Hyun-jun closed his eyes and drew up his mana. He was issuing a return command to the shadow he had attached to Gyu-hwan. And how long had he waited? Jong-seo came back to the office.
“Here is the list of execution department executives you requested. The photos are included as well.”
Jong-seo placed the document envelope he had taken from his bag on the desk. Hyun-jun pulled out the papers inside and skimmed them quickly. As requested, they contained photos and names, but no other information.
The execution department was an organization that moved in secret, but its executives were usually exposed to the public eye. So obtaining their photos and names was not difficult for the Wraith Guild’s intelligence division.
“Good work. You can go now.”
The instant Jong-seo left the office, Hyun-jun summoned his shadow. It wasn’t a newly created one, but the shadow that had been attached to Gyu-hwan and had returned after receiving the order. Hyun-jun pulled out one photo and showed it.
“Andersen Guild Execution Department Team 4 Leader Im Gyeong-jun.”
The moment he spoke in a low voice, the shadow slowly nodded and slipped into the darkness.
...
A man was standing on a bridge, casting his gaze toward the river below. Behind him, a man in a black suit approached slowly.
“Are you certain this order came directly from the guild leader?”
The man in the black suit spoke. The man looking down at the river raised his head. He was Im Gyeong-jun, the fourth team leader of Andersen’s guild execution department, whose name appeared on the list Jong-seo had given Hyun-jun.
“Yes. It’s certain the guild leader ordered us to hunt down Wraith Guild members. The hunt list has already been handed over to our team.”
Gyeong-jun spoke in a calm voice.
“Looks like we’ll get to stretch our bodies for the first time in a while. Heh heh.”
“Even so, it’s just picking off small fry... It won’t even count as a proper warm-up.”
When the execution department hunter gave a cold laugh and spoke, Gyeong-jun nodded along. Though they had been given the brutal task of human hunting, the two of them seemed to regard it as nothing more than a game. They were a mid-tier guild even within Silver Tier, while the other side was only a Bronze Tier guild, so they clearly considered themselves the superior predators.
“We’ve already killed one today. Around eleven this morning.”
“That would have been right after the order arrived, wouldn’t it? You acted immediately?”
The real order had gone out at around ten in the morning. If they had hunted one down at eleven, that meant they had moved the instant they confirmed the command. Gyeong-jun, impressed by his subordinate’s drive, lightly patted his shoulder.
“You must have been starving for it.”
“You know how it is, Team Leader. Things have been quiet lately.”
People joined the execution department out of loyalty to the guild or for money, but there were also plenty who wanted in simply because they liked killing people. As long as they killed the targets the guild wanted, the execution department handled the cleanup for them, so it was a fine job for anyone who enjoyed murder.
“Who did you kill? Obviously it wasn’t a Wraith Guild member, so there’s no need to explain that part.”
“A D-Class hunter. Looked to be in his early twenties, a newly awakened kid. I made sure the body was damaged enough, so once word gets out, it’ll be enough to spread fear.”
“Good. Since the war has started... it looks like things will get interesting for a while.”
Gyeong-jun finished speaking and took a cigarette from inside his jacket. He was just about to flick his lighter open to light it.
“Huh...?”
The left arm holding the lighter dropped cleanly away and rolled across the ground. Before the pain could even fully register, Gyeong-jun lost his balance and collapsed.
“Aaaagh!”
His left leg was gone. From where it had been attached, bright red blood gushed out in a violent spray.
“T-Team Leader!”
The execution department hunter hurriedly pulled a weapon from his subspace pouch. A sharp blade gleamed eerily in the moonlight. He had a weapon in hand, but he felt no relief at all. Even after drawing up his mana and sweeping the area, he sensed absolutely nothing.
“Aaaagh!”
“You were having an interesting conversation. Mind if I join?”
The one who emerged from the darkness was Kang Hyun-jun. Using Hashashin’s Protection, he had been listening to the two of them talk from within the shadows all along.
“W-Wraith Guild leader... Kang Hyun-jun...?”
“Aaagh! P-please, spare me!”
The Andersen execution department hunter recognized Hyun-jun at a glance and lost all will to fight. He was a C-Class hunter. There was no way he could win against a second-awakened A-Class. Gyeong-jun was at least a B-Class hunter, but right now he was lying there with his right arm and left leg severed.
“P-please...!”
“Shut up.”
“Guhk!”
The blade swung without mercy and tore deep into Gyeong-jun’s neck. With a short scream, his breath stopped.
The execution department hunter’s face went white at the sight.
“D-damn it! Somebody help!”
“Sorry, but no one’s coming to help you. This area is under control.”
“W-what...”
Seeing the execution department hunter’s bewildered expression, Hyun-jun let out a cold smile and opened his mouth to explain.
“The Wraith Guild’s execution department may be short on strength, but it can control a small bridge on the edge of the city.”
The execution department hunter tried to speak, but Hyun-jun moved in an instant, clamped a hand over his mouth, and silenced him. It all happened in the blink of an eye.
“Grrrrr!”
The right arm of the execution department hunter holding the sword was severed. Hyun-jun had swung his blade. He drew the weapon back with a crisp motion and stepped away. By then, a small needle had appeared in his left hand instead of a shield. At that sight, the execution department hunter felt a despair with no end in sight.
“P-please... spare me...”
“Your guild member probably said the same thing.”
He closed the distance by one step. The hunter backed away by two.
“And you would have killed him anyway.”
A short leap. Before long, Hyun-jun had taken control of the man’s rear.
“I’m the same.”
“Tch!”
He injected mana. As Fier had said, once it entered through a wound, it happened in an instant.
Dangerous cooperation with Fier has begun. While you are with him, pain is under your control.