A Blood-Stained Counterattack
[Specific Guild Terrorism?
Dozens Dead. Is the Special Police Bureau Keeping Silent?
The Corrupt Special Police Bureau: Is This Really Acceptable?]
The city had erupted. Whether it was luck or fate, one of the reporters Seok-gyu knew happened to work for a major newspaper. Once that paper raised the banner first, online outlets flooded in one after another, and by evening even the broadcasters finally moved.
"The Special Police Bureau has dispatched a Hunter Mobile Unit."
Taemin delivered the report. In the end, even the Special Police Bureau had entered the fray. With major newspapers and even terrestrial broadcasters reporting the matter, it was impossible for them to keep standing by as mere observers, no matter how much pressure they were receiving from those behind the scenes.
"How many men?"
"Two companies and one platoon."
That meant at least 120 people. Corrupt and weakened though they might be, power backed by the state was still power.
"The platoon-sized unit has been deployed to the guild office, and the two companies have been split into squads. They've been posted along the routes our guild members mostly use, as well as around dungeon gates. Patrols have also been reinforced."
Honestly, 120 men could not completely stop indiscriminate terrorism, but what mattered was that they were state power. If Andersen touched that power, things would grow far too large, and they would have no choice but to halt their attacks.
But I can keep moving.
Andersen still had not made a major mistake. There was no evidence left behind, but that did not matter. The Special Police Bureau was a troublesome opponent for a Silver Tier guild to face, so Andersen would stop its attacks, and Hyun-jun could continue sniping their executives from the darkness.
"Executive Chief."
Hyun-jun rose from his chair and straightened his clothes.
"Speak."
"I'll be staying home for a while. You understand what that means, yes?"
"Yes. I'll secure people who can testify to your alibi."
He meant that the hunt for the executive branch would continue. Fortunately, Taemin, sharp as he was, seemed to have grasped the hidden meaning and gave the answer Hyun-jun wanted.
"I'll head home first."
"I will escort you."
Taemin took the lead. Hyun-jun rode in the car he drove and returned home. On the way to the third floor, where his own space was, Sojin cautiously approached him on the second floor and spoke.
"Hyun-jun."
It was a voice he felt he had not heard in a long time. She had improved a great deal compared to right after her second awakening, but over the past few days she had still been struggling badly.
"Are you feeling a little better?"
Hyun-jun naturally turned toward the second-floor living room. Sojin followed after him. The two sat facing one another.
"I think I am a little better now."
Sojin said with a faint smile. Though she had still been in pain, she had taken part in the recent attack on Andersen's mansion. She had wanted to help, and so she had forced herself to be brave. Hyun-jun liked that about her. Even when things were hard, if it meant helping someone, she found the courage. That was who she was.
"If it's hard, say it's hard."
"Mm. I will. I promise."
Watching Sojin nod with a smile at her lips, Hyun-jun let out a short, almost unnoticeable sigh. He knew very well that, by her nature, she would swallow the pain inside rather than become a burden to anyone.
"Don't push yourself too hard."
Sojin said it, but it was the very thing Hyun-jun wanted to say.
"I saw the news too."
This outrageous, indiscriminate wave of terror had gone well beyond the level of an unofficial guild war, so of course Sojin would know about it. Especially since this morning, about five members of the Hunter Mobile Unit had even been stationed at Hyun-jun's home, making the situation feel all the more immediate.
"If you ever need strength... I'll help. So don't force yourself if it's too much. Tell me, okay?"
Not long ago, through a re-examination, she had been confirmed as A-Class, and Sojin knew very well how much power she now possessed. Especially since she had experienced not only the dungeon immediately after awakening, but also the recent battle at the mansion against Andersen's executive force, she must have felt the weight of that strength in full.
"Honestly, it's a little scary having this kind of power appear all at once. Still, I'm happy because I think I can be of help to you. I'm just a little confused, that's all."
"Noona..."
"You know I'm always on your side, right?"
"Thank you."
Trying to comfort her, he instead found himself the one being encouraged. Sojin returned to her room with a clear smile left behind, and Hyun-jun shot a glance at the door, which had not quite closed, before heading up to the third floor.
He sat in the living room and drank tea while waiting about five minutes. Then he sensed movement from the staircase. Soon after, Taemin came up.
"We secured CCTV footage showing the guild leader getting out of the car. We also confirmed the vehicle's entry with the guards on the first floor and the neighbors. Your alibi is solid."
"Good work."
Hyun-jun finished speaking, took out his gear, and checked it over. Seeing this, Taemin pulled a sheet of paper from inside his jacket and handed it over.
"This is Andersen executive force's assembly plan for this dawn."
"You secured it faster than I expected."
"You provided the basic information, Guild Leader, so it wasn't difficult to figure out."
Reis may have lacked information-gathering power, but since the shadows Hyun-jun sent out were recovering most of the pieces, it was possible to find the remaining fragments.
"Are you planning to move out immediately?"
"It seems that would be best."
Ending the brief conversation with Taemin, Hyun-jun drew up his mana.
-Hashashin's merciless darkness guides you into its veil. So long as darkness remains with you, you become a shadow.
Hyun-jun's body melted into the dark. Watching him become perfectly one with shadow, Taemin marveled inwardly and returned to the guards' area on the first floor.
*
The office door of the Andersen Guild Leader was thrown open roughly, without even a knock.
The man who stormed in with an urgent voice was Lee Gyu-hwan, the chief of Andersen's executive branch. His expression was not only frantic, but also brimmed with obvious dissatisfaction.
"Guild Leader! Are you seriously planning to use that?"
"So even you have heard of it?"
"I am the Executive Chief. And my men were the ones managing it. It would have been strange if I hadn't known."
"Is that so? I suppose I failed to consider that."
Despite the sharp protest, Seong-jin only let out a sly smile and stroked his chin. Seeing that expression directly, Gyu-hwan felt as if his anger might explode. Right now, Seong-jin was trying to handle the executive force's business without the executive chief even knowing. It was impossible not to be furious.
"Guild Leader. Didn't you promise me we would not use that?"
At Gyu-hwan's question, Seong-jin slowly curled the corners of his mouth.
"The situation has changed since then."
At that absurd answer, Gyu-hwan was momentarily at a loss for words. But he quickly gathered himself and spoke again with a composed expression.
"Have you seen the news? They may not have named us directly, but we're practically being pointed to as the force behind the indiscriminate terror. And if you commit a massacre just to use that... this can never be..."
"That's not a thought befitting an executive chief. We can simply kill all the witnesses."
"Then you mean... even children and the elderly...?"
"I will not explain myself further. Go on and leave."
Seong-jin said this as he brought his liquor cup to his lips.
"Guild Leader!"
"Leave."
Gyu-hwan was about to protest again, but when Seong-jin waved a hand with an annoyed look, three men in black suits appeared from nowhere and surrounded him. In the end, he had no choice but to swallow his frustration and leave the office.
*
From within the darkness, Hyun-jun quickened his pace. Having left the city center, where CCTV cameras were thick on the ground, he released his concealment and boarded a car prepared in secret, arriving at a slum somewhere in Gyeonggi Province. Taemin's report had clearly said people lived here, yet it felt as though the village had been abandoned long ago, with almost no trace of life. At first he could not understand it, but Hyun-jun soon learned why.
Corpses...
Drawn by the smell of blood, he entered a small building where bodies were piled high like a mountain. They were unmistakably the village residents.
Did they kill everyone...?
Since he sensed no life nearby, it seemed they had all been killed. Even though he had witnessed a massacre, Hyun-jun's breathing remained calm and the emotions in his eyes were cold. The brutal training methods in the room of his past lives, together with the side effects of rising synchronization, had made him numb to ordinary emotion.
This might be useful if handled well.
Hyun-jun's eyes glinted. Concealing himself in the darkness, he kept moving forward. Before long, he sensed a large number of presences gathered somewhere ahead.
Someone's there.
At least twenty people.
"P-please, spare me..."
"Please..."
As he drew closer, voices soaked in fear rode the wind toward him. He could not delay any longer. He could wait until they all died, but Hyun-jun's humanity had not yet faded to that extent. Wearing the executive force's mask, he hid in the darkness and slipped inside the building like a whisper.
"Crack his head open."
"U-uhh..."
An executive force Hunter wearing a mask was holding a child, and another Hunter carrying a club was approaching. Hyun-jun hurled Ripper's dagger, Butcher, at the Hunter with the club even as he swung his sword.
"Ghk!"
"Aaaaah!"
The Hunter holding the child collapsed, spraying a fountain of blood. But the Hunter with the club did not go down even after the dagger Hyun-jun had thrown lodged in his abdomen.
"A berserker...?"
His eyes had gone red. Hyun-jun knew of Madness. It was a special status ailment granted by some kind of equipment or magic. Since it dulled pain and let someone continue fighting past their limits, it was an annoying buff.
"Damn it! Madness has triggered!"
"Move, now!"
The two executive force Hunters guarding the entrance tried to flee, but Hyun-jun had no intention of letting them.
"Recall."
By then, the hilt of the dagger Butcher had already returned to his left hand. Hyun-jun hurled it with force.
"Kgh!"
One fell. Hyun-jun drew another dagger hanging from his belt and threw again. The flying blade pierced the throat of an executive force Hunter who had hurriedly raised his shield. He slumped against the wall, painting it with blood, then sank to the floor.
One left...
Only the berserker remained. Hyun-jun's cold gaze landed on him. The berserker lifted his blood-soaked club and let out ragged breaths.
"A doping state...?"
Hyun-jun calmly closed the distance and drew a shield from his subspace pouch.
-Carthago's righteous shield protects you. So long as the great guardian stands with you, nothing can threaten you.
-Sidenmiller's valiant sword stands with you. So long as righteous courage does not break, the blade shall not shatter.
The aura gathered in sword and shield shone vividly.
"Come."
He spoke with blatant provocation. The berserker's reason had been completely dulled, and with no mage to restrain him, he charged in at terrifying speed, raising his club high. The instant that club met the shield, Hyun-jun invoked Carthago's blessing and counterattacked.
-Carthago's protection unfolds a righteous reprisal. The unwavering shield becomes a sharp spear, seeking out your enemy.
A storm of razor-like aura fragments engulfed the berserker.
"Kraaaaagh!"
With a scream of agony, red blood burst forth. Hyun-jun drove his aura-laden sword into the berserker's staggering heart. Even a berserker dies if the heart or brain is destroyed. Struck through the heart by Hyun-jun's blow, he collapsed lifelessly.
-Durendal, the one who speaks for justice, praises your righteous judgment. Should you ever need aid, he will gladly step forward.
Another presence responded.