Chapter 88
Chapter 88
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: Kang Inhyeok (2)
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Hero Guild's top floor.
"Who's the culprit?"
Baek Jincheon asked in a flat tone.
The headquarters chief replied with an apologetic bow of his head.
"...I'm sorry."
The analysis team had scoured CCTV footage and every angle possible, but there were no traces of any suspicious intruders in the Hero Guild over the past few weeks.
On top of that, the guild master's office was guarded around the clock by rotating shifts of secretaries.
No one outside a select few had even approached, and the entry and exit logs for all visitors were airtight.
'And yet, no one saw the intruder, and no traces were left behind.'
They had no idea who it was or what abilities they possessed.
But while the leak of classified information was a problem, the real issue was something else entirely.
It was the massive blow to Baek Jincheon's pride and authority.
An uninvited intruder breaching Baek Jincheon's domain was tantamount to saying they didn't consider him a threat at all.
That was the true reason for Baek Jincheon's rage.
'And...'
The culprit hadn't stopped there.
They had brazenly leaked the data to provoke him.
As if daring him to catch them if he could.
"You don't know?"
Baek Jincheon's voice rose slightly.
'...This is driving me insane. For real.'
Cold sweat trickled down the headquarters chief's back.
He had to say something.
Even if it was a ridiculous guess.
Anything to redirect that fury away from himself.
The chief racked his brain furiously.
Hunter Association president, the president, Pentagram.
The ruling party, opposition, chaebols—they all flashed through his mind and vanished just as quickly.
For a fleeting moment, even Kim Gunja.
'But...'
They didn't even know how the intruder had gotten in.
There was zero evidence to pinpoint a suspect.
In the end, all the chief could do was bite his lip and bow deeply once more.
"......I'm sorry."
A chilling smile curled at Baek Jincheon's lips.
"Can't even make a guess? How amusing."
Baek Jincheon's fingers drummed on the desk.
Then, moments later, they stopped.
He had made his decision.
"They've set the stage, so they won't just sit idle."
The chief looked up at Baek Jincheon's words.
"What a shame. Who would've thought Kang Inhyeok was pulling strings like that behind our backs? Wouldn't you agree?"
It was earlier than planned, but this was an order to cut off the tail.
Publicly frame it as Kang Inhyeok and a few insiders acting on their own, and quietly clean up those involved.
"I'll handle it immediately."
They had prepared for this contingency thoroughly.
"If issues arise, hand it to Team 4."
The hunting specialists.
A directive to eliminate any obstacles decisively if they appeared.
"Yes, sir."
"As for you, take Teams 3 and 5 and head to the Association."
"The Association...? You mean meet the president?"
"Exactly. There are always fools who see opportunities like this and act rashly."
The chief understood instantly.
Monitor the Association and anyone who shows up to ensure no funny business.
And demonstrate that the Hero Guild was still very much in control.
"Understood."
As he replied, a question arose.
Normally, Baek Jincheon handled Association matters personally, no matter the hassle.
'But assigning it to me means...'
He has other business.
And the chief's hunch was spot on.
"What's the situation on the artificial island?"
"All communications linked to the island are down. No way to assess without going there in person."
Which meant they'd have to head there directly to check on the duel between Kim Gunja and Kang Inhyeok.
"Calculated move."
"Yes, signs point to a high probability of signal jammers in place."
"Prepare a helicopter."
The chief's eyes widened in shock.
"You're going... yourself?"
Baek Jincheon smiled coldly.
"Even a colt deserves a proper send-off, considering our history."
The chief's face hardened.
He knew exactly what "final send-off" implied.
'He's planning to kill Kang Inhyeok...'
It was the cleanest solution.
You never knew where a cornered rat might bolt.
And the dead don't talk.
"Yes, sir. Right away."
At Baek Jincheon's command, the Hero Guild sprang into action.
Artificial island ruins.
Kang Inhyeok's blood-red sword extended long and swept horizontally toward Kim Gunja.
A crimson trail etched beneath Kim Gunja's leaping feet.
Abandoned buildings caught in the arc sliced like tofu and collapsed in heaps.
"You filthy rat...!"
Kang Inhyeok looked up to track the airborne Kim Gunja, but his words cut off.
Kim Gunja was nowhere in the sky where he should have been.
"Pathetic."
An icy voice rang from behind, followed by—
Crack!
A crushing hammer blow bent Kang Inhyeok's leg grotesquely.
"Gaaahhh!"
Kim Gunja, who had whipped Kang Inhyeok's leg, spun gracefully.
His elegantly raised left foot slammed into the unbalanced man's temple.
Crunch.
A bone-chilling crack erupted from the skull as Kang Inhyeok crashed into a building on the opposite side.
Boom!
A deafening roar kicked up thick dust clouds like thunderheads.
The event staff watching from afar couldn't close their mouths.
"M-My God..."
It was unbelievable.
The initial evenly matched duel now felt like smoke and mirrors amid this overwhelming dominance.
'It was neck-and-neck at the start...'
Gunja Sword was calm, but their power and speed seemed equal—no quick resolution in sight.
No.
'Considering Kang Inhyeok's unique trait lets him regenerate stamina...'
He should gain the edge as time wore on. Yet the reality was the polar opposite.
The staff's shock was understandable.
Even Kim Gunja, the one responsible, hadn't anticipated this lopsided result.
"...I didn't expect him to be this worthless."
The words slipped out involuntarily.
Their physical and mana levels were identical—Kim Gunja had tuned them that way on purpose.
Yet this outcome stemmed from one thing: experience.
Kang Inhyeok had zero fights against equals or superiors.
Kim Gunja, by contrast, had constantly battled the strong, dancing with death like it was routine.
His trials with Ma Ilcheon, Stein.
Homunculus, Slayer.
The gap manifested in devastating fashion.
Bang!
Kang Inhyeok burst from the concrete rubble, wounds already healed.
"Not a mad dog—a zombie, huh."
Kim Gunja said it expecting another berserk charge.
But,
"......"
Kang Inhyeok didn't rage this time.
He just glared with bloodshot eyes.
Then, shoulders heaving, he began to chuckle.
"Heh, heh heh, hehehe..."
The atmosphere shifted.
His sneer turned to a bared-grin glare at Kim Gunja.
"Hah... Can't hold back anymore. This is on you, you son of a bitch."
He pulled out a ring.
Kim Gunja's pupils dilated slightly.
'No way...?'
As Kang Inhyeok slipped on the ring, an alien energy emanated, warping the ruins.
Rumble—
The ground quaked.
The energy reacted with the earth, making it undulate like thick syrup.
A mighty roar echoed across the island.
Crack!
Asphalt split as the ground around Kim Gunja and Kang Inhyeok surged upward.
"Haha, hahaha!"
The distant staff shouted in panic.
"Wh-whoa!"
"Get back!"
Rock pillars rose, devouring the surrounding earth to form a colossal dome arena around them.
A space sealed on all sides except the open sky materialized in seconds.
Kim Gunja calmly observed before murmuring,
"...Master Ring?"
Kang Inhyeok's eyes flickered with surprise at the words.
Then he grinned wickedly.
"Heh, picked up some trivia, huh? Yeah. Mythic-grade artifact. Power you can't possibly escape. Don't dream of walking out alive."
Kang Inhyeok, already intent on killing, answered freely.
This confirmed it for Kim Gunja.
'Like Illya's storm control, his Master Ring must govern earth and rock...'
With Kang Inhyeok's high mana level, the changes were massively scaled.
But.
'...About time.'
Kim Gunja welcomed this setup.
He'd noticed the drones go dark ages ago, but the staff's eyes had been a minor annoyance.
No need to hide his power now.
Oblivious, Kang Inhyeok bellowed with gleaming killing intent.
"I'll grind you to unrecognizable pulp!"
With his shout, massive rock spikes erupted from the floor.
Thud!
Kim Gunja launched skyward before they impaled him.
"Hahaha! Dodge this too!"
Countless rock spears spawned from the dome walls.
They fired like machine-gun bursts toward Kim Gunja.
Rat-tat-tat!
Every direction but above—Kang Inhyeok's playground.
He eyed Kim Gunja with his blood sword, ready to pursue and cleave wherever he fled.
But Kim Gunja had no intention of dodging.
"Illya."
Kim Gunja's Master Ring glowed fiercely.
A fierce gale whirlwind engulfed him.
Riiip!
The storm shredded the incoming rock spears.
Kang Inhyeok gaped at the raining debris.
"Wh-what...? N-No way...!"
A mythic artifact, no less.
Impossible for a punk like that—Kang Inhyeok denied reality.
Kim Gunja landed lightly, smiling.
"You're not the only one."
"I-Impossible...!"
Ignoring him, Kim Gunja slowly drew Dragon Slayer Spear from his coat.
"One thing I've been wondering."
Dragon Slayer Spear
Golden sparks crackling
Kang Inhyeok's face twisted in horror at the golden sparks.
The aura was utterly alien.
"You bastard! You hid your unique trait too!"
Kim Gunja ignored him.
"Your self-regeneration. I wonder if it works after I cut or cauterize you?"
Using Illya, he deployed Shadow Walker via the tossed Zarathustra.
Leaving a black afterimage, his form slid above Kang Inhyeok's head.
Right hand: Blood Moon Sword.
Left: Dragon Slayer Spear.
Red flash and golden lightning plummeted simultaneously onto Kang Inhyeok's head.
"Don't underestimate me!"
Kang Inhyeok countered with an enlarged blood sword and rock spears.
A thunderous clash erupted, far beyond anything before, blinding with white-hot incandescence.
Awakener Association headquarters.
The headquarters chief dispatched here per Baek Jincheon's orders wore a twisted scowl.
Team 3 leader Black Rock Jin Boseong and Team 5 leader Crimson Flower Jo Yugyeong looked equally grim.
They couldn't even enter the building because of one man.
Hunter world's living legend, Hong Gyuhyeon, and Infinite Guild's Team 1.
"Why are you here...?"
"Hoho, isn't it normal for a hunter to visit the Association?"
Something was off—the chief sensed it.
Black Rock Jin Boseong addressed him.
"Hmm. What now?"
"Honestly, against Mountain King... Even ganging up, no guarantees."
Jo Yugyeong was right.
Mountain King Hong Gyuhyeon.
World rank 19 wasn't just from age.
Baek Jincheon could change that, but he was already en route to the island.
As the chief pondered the standoff, his phone buzzed.
'PR chief...?'
He'd ordered the announcement framing Kang Inhyeok's actions as solo before leaving.
Assuming a status update, he answered casually.
"Yeah. How's it go—"
The PR chief cut in frantically before he finished.
— Ch-Chief! Big trouble! You need to see this now! Where are you?!
The chief's brow furrowed deeply.
Hong Gyuhyeon, now PR chief—irritation boiled over.
"At Association HQ for now. What's wrong? Did you execute my orders?"
The PR chief caught his breath.
— Yes, sent the materials to media. But that's causing... Whew, better see for yourself. Sending link now.
Everyone a headache.
Irritated, the chief clicked the PR chief's link.
His eyes bulged.
"...H-how is this...?"
The link detailed every Hero Guild scandal and tie.
Public opinion plummeted to rock bottom.
The chief's hand trembled violently.
It felt like possession by a ghost.
'This is... It's like they anticipated us ditching Kang Inhyeok...'
The uncontrollable backlash made his mind reel.
"What the hell is...?"
He caught sight of Hong Gyuhyeon smirking leisurely.
Gritting his teeth, the chief snapped back and desperately dialed his phone.
White Flame Baek Jincheon.
Their last hope.
'If it's him, he'll fix this somehow...!'
But.
— Unable to connect. The party is...
Even that hope was denied.
The hand holding the phone drooped limply.