Chapter 88
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: Aftermath Cleanup
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Reaching S-rank meant he'd grasped the tail end of the Heavenly Knight.
Of course, the problem was that even the lowest stat for a Heavenly Knight started at S.
But even that tail-end stat made it a simple matter to tear an enhanced human with B-rank durability apart with his bare hands.
Sizzle—crack, crunch.
The artificial skin and reinforced skeleton shattered, spilling out the various monster organs that had been surgically implanted.
Mixed in among them were metal parts.
“Aaah—”
Damo pulled the trigger with a vacant expression.
But the empty chamber just clicked futilely.
Gonghyeok crushed his wrist underfoot as he spoke.
“I saw the bullets you fired earlier. You didn’t reload.”
“Re□load?”
The word came out mangled from his mouth.
“Whatever. Even B forgot how to use his own body.”
“B?”
Damo reacted to the word.
A faint light returned to his eyes.
“Bergoglio! My comrade!”
“Yeah. Your comrade.”
“Why won’t you step up! Comrade!”
Damo looked around, wailing.
“Our target is here! Ju□ Gonghyeok! We have to kill him! Come out, comrade! Come out! Come out and fight with me!”
‘Comrade! Be like □□ me!’ He cried out endlessly.
But no one stepped forward.
Brown fluid leaked from D’s eyes, and his words devolved into beastly howls, losing all language.
But still, no one stepped forward.
“□□ trap□ □□□......”
The incomprehensible howls faded, and D’s functions shut down completely.
[You have killed the future human ‘D.’]
[As reward, you receive 1 white coin.]
Gonghyeok picked up the fallen white coin.
In that spot lay a man who had come from the past to save the world and met his end crying out for his comrades.
Gonghyeok found himself smiling without realizing it.
“Perfect.”
Bergoglio and Damo.
‘Both of you were a blast.’
Fighting them had sent shivers down his spine every time.
Assassins facing him with transcendent future weapons and unyielding resolve.
Every time they fought with all they had and died wretchedly, Ju Gonghyeok felt an indescribable ‘thrill.’
‘Honestly, after the tenth one, everything got boring no matter what.
But this time was different. They were interfering in an obvious scripted scenario using their own knowledge.’
And their grand cause that Gonghyeok didn’t know.
‘For the sake of the world, Ju Gonghyeok, we will kill you.’
It elevated their deaths from a mere assassin’s end to the final stand of nameless heroes.
‘I wonder how many are left. Twenty-one? If that many came at me at once, even I’d be in trouble. I’d have to take them out one by one.’
Goosebumps rose.
What weapons, what strategies would they bring against me?
At what point would they interfere to ruin my scenario?
He meticulously planned strategies against these unknown foes.
For Ju Gonghyeok, who had lived hundreds of years in a predetermined world, this was the ultimate pleasure.
“Haha, hahaha! Nice. This is good stuff!”
Drunk on euphoria, Gonghyeok picked up D’s belongings.
Ki-Shin Tribe Type 3 combat weapon. Automatic Gauss Pistol.
A unique model modified and improved by ‘Williford Hoover,’ the owner of the avatar Hephaestus, based on that foundation.
It was the Type 2 combat weapon. Corroder Kohzion.
‘Material is the 45th floor boss, Erosion Tree.
For a Type 2 weapon, that’s about SS-rank by human standards. Ki-Shin Tribe has wide range, so it’s effectively SS- or so.’
Its power was weaker than the Type 1 weapon, the Photon Mana Cannon.
But it was useful in that it could be used without body modifications or batteries, like Bergoglio’s.
‘If I make a holster and strap it to my waist, it’ll look good.’
He even pried off the matching bullet generator and stored it in his inventory.
‘Fun stuff’s mostly sorted. Not much time left, so time to clean up.’
This wasn’t the time to leisurely appraise rewards.
The sole rule of the ‘Goseong Mission.’
Rule 1. Survive until dawn the next day.
[20 minutes remaining until dawn.]
The mission end time was drawing near.
Step, step. He stood before Jeong Hyeondo, sprawled like a rag amid the crumbled bricks.
A light soccer kick to his abdomen.
Thud!
“Section Chief Jeong. Wake up.”
“Urk!”
He jolted awake in a spasm, looking up at Ju Gonghyeok in confusion.
“You, what the hell are you...”
“Jeong Hyeondo.”
Not Team Leader Ju Gonghyeok, but the murderer Ju Gonghyeok asked him.
“We don’t have much time right now.”
“Time?”
“The mission ends in 20 minutes.”
“What?”
Jeong Hyeondo jumped in shock and checked his watch.
Already a minute had passed—19 minutes left.
“No time, so I’ll explain fast.”
Ju Gonghyeok held up a finger.
“Die here? Or become my subordinate?”
“You’re sparing me?”
“Depends. You’ve got a lot to do.”
He ticked off the first finger.
“First, when we get back, I’ll slaughter the apostles who came looking for me and burn all the necromancers.”
“B-burn them?”
“Then you and I become the Company’s new apostles.”
“......!”
“Next, I take over the Company.”
“......?”
“Case closed.”
Jeong Hyeondo stared in bewilderment at the bombshell dropped without context.
“What the...”
Crack!
Ju Gonghyeok’s steel boot slammed into his cheek, expressing he was done listening.
As proof of this physical communication, Jeong Hyeondo’s mouth tore open, and shards of broken teeth sprayed downward.
“I said no time? Gotta clean up.”
“Mm.”
Jeong Hyeondo swallowed his pain in silence.
Ju Gonghyeok glanced at the surrounding refugees.
Sensing something, the refugees backed away.
“Jeong Hyeondo. Finish the cleanup in 10 minutes. Fail to kill them all, and you die.”
“10 minutes.”
“Not a warning or a joke. You’ll end up like those vampires whose heads I just smashed. I’ll specially pulverize you with my bare fists.”
“......”
“Ever seen a person’s head explode from one punch?”
Ju Gonghyeok looked down at his fist and murmured lowly.
“The people you spared will get to see what that’s like. 8 minutes left, Jeong Hyeondo.”
“8 minutes.”
Jeong Hyeondo slowly rose.
He would have killed them anyway, even without Ju Gonghyeok’s order.
Having revealed himself as a demon contractor and Company traitor, he couldn’t leave a single witness.
For that, he’d scattered teleport markers everywhere in advance.
“Ju Gonghyeok, is that what I call you?”
“Whatever.”
But one thing nagged at him.
Jeong Hyeondo eyed his weapon, the mace, and spoke.
“Can you lend me a sword? I don’t want to bludgeon them to death with a mace.”
“Ugh, ugh!”
“Run!”
The remaining people screamed and fled beyond the broken castle walls.
Ju Gonghyeok tossed the ‘Holy Sword Lumen Doct’ he’d just received as a reward.
“Begin.”
[Godly Steps Great Art (A-) final ability ‘Earth Contraction Technique’ activated]
At Ju Gonghyeok’s signal.
Jeong Hyeondo vanished the instant he gripped the sword.
Screams echoed throughout Goseong.
Teleporting to hundreds of locations, Jeong Hyeondo subdued the refugees.
“Kh, Jeong Hyeondo! You think this body will go down easy?!”
“Damn you! Do you know who I am? Billhoffer Fixer Guild’s...”
A few seasoned mercenaries banded together to resist.
But Jeong Hyeondo glanced at his watch and gripped the contractor’s necklace around his neck.
[Demon Contract ability activated – Space Expansion/Contraction]
[Restriction time: 90 seconds]
The mercenaries’ avatars and attacks stretched infinitely far away, while Jeong Hyeondo’s strikes targeted vitals from untouchable distances in a single blow.
An ability to freely expand and contract space at will.
“Don’t collapse from losing one leg! Get up with grit!”
“Whether it’s your neck or gut, grab the sword with your hands when it stabs!”
“Damn it! Easier said than done!”
Hardened mercenaries who had survived dire situations.
But the injured ones couldn’t hold out against Jeong Hyeondo, who had unleashed his contractor powers.
“Huff, huff!”
Jeong Hyeondo breathed raggedly.
Blood from those he’d slain dripped from the holy sword.
Clap, clap, clap.
“Not bad? Done in 5 minutes.”
Ju Gonghyeok clapped in praise.
Jeong Hyeondo hid his tormented heart behind a blank expression.
Gonghyeok stacked three layers of vampire corpses and sat on them.
“Alright. 13 minutes left. Shall we start the detailed negotiations?”
“What do you plan to do with me?”
“What else? Obey well, and I’ll promote you.”
“Promote?”
“Yeah. Section chief or vice section chief level? I’ll hand over one of the Company’s eight departments.”
The Company was a coalition of various businesses like escort services, alchemy, food production, and more.
In other words, he’d make Jeong Hyeondo a Company director.
It sounded good, but in this life-or-death situation, Hyeondo felt no trust.
“How can I believe that?”
“If you want, we can put it in a contract. Ra-Djehuty.”
= The time of oaths has come.
Ra-Djehuty appeared in midair and unfurled a massive papyrus.
[Ra-Djehuty’s 1st ability ‘365 Days Oath’ activates.]
= Hunter Ju Gonghyeok and Hunter Jeong Hyeondo. State the oath’s contents.
“I, Ju Gonghyeok, will not kill Jeong Hyeondo for the next 3 years. Within 3 months, I’ll promote him to vice section chief, and after he fulfills the contract, I’ll protect him to the utmost so neither the Reaper Church nor demon contractors threaten him.”
= What is the price?
“If I break it, all my stats drop by 500 points.”
A quill raced across the papyrus.
= It is recorded. What is Hunter Jeong Hyeondo’s oath?
“Jeong Hyeondo will obey my commands absolutely for the next 3 months. Refusal incurs the same penalty as Ju Gonghyeok.”
“W-wait!”
Jeong Hyeondo hurriedly interjected.
“Hm? Not done yet. Ju Gonghyeok will not issue sexual harassment, pointless torture, suicide orders, or commands certain to kill.”
= Do you agree? Oath-taker Jeong Hyeondo.
Ra-Djehuty, having written the full oath, looked down at the human.
Jeong Hyeondo forced out the words.
“If it’s as you say, it’s not 100%, but you could still send me to a deadly place and wash your hands of it, right?”
“Jeong Hyeondo.”
Ju Gonghyeok giggled atop the pile of corpses.
“Refuse, and you die here 100%.”
This was blackmail disguised as negotiation.
Life or death—all choice lay with that demon.
Accepting the reality that he couldn’t refuse even harsher terms, Jeong Hyeondo nodded.
“Fine. I agree.”
= The oath is declared. This oath proceeds for 90 days between parties, with some clauses remaining valid after.
This oath becomes a law of the world and is strictly enforced.
[180 days deducted from 365 Days Oath.
- 2 contractors, contract duration 90 days.
- Recovery consumes 180 days.]
Ra-Djehuty vanished once the oath ended.
Gonghyeok pulled out a cigarette and lit it.
“Good. Welcome as my business partner, Section Chief Jeong.”
“Business... partner?”
“Or call it temporary slave.”
Downgraded from partner to slave, Jeong Hyeondo fell silent.
“So, temporary slave. Time to kill the rest?”
“The rest? You mean your team members underground?”
“Nah, not them. One’s still left.”
Ju Gonghyeok pointed to the straw mat in the corner.
There was someone Jeong Hyeondo had hidden.
Jeong Hyeondo’s breath caught in shock.
“Wait! I drugged him with sleeping pills! He hasn’t heard anything, no need to kill him!”
“If I say kill, you kill.”
Ju Gonghyeok exhaled a plume of smoke.
“Sesk. Bring him.”
Jeong Hyeondo’s face twisted indescribably.