Dungeon & Commander (90)
He gripped his trembling right hand with his left.
Collecting himself, Yi Yeong lunged at Kim Jun again. His strikes weren't as sharp as before. The doubt lodged in his mind was dulling his movements, tormenting him.
Has he ever experienced Amcheonjang before? Or was it just luck?
Yeah, he dodged it by sheer coincidence!
Yi Yeong pressed the attack fiercely. He planned to unleash Amcheonjang once more. This time, he'd bring the bastard down for sure.
Kim Jun's movements suddenly slowed dramatically.
His stamina's hit rock bottom. It's over now.
Yi Yeong unleashed Amcheonjang.
Surprisingly, Kim Jun barely escaped the spark's range.
Amcheonjang, usable three times a day—only one left now.
Yi Yeong hounded Kim Jun until his breath came in ragged gasps, then deployed the final Amcheonjang.
The sparks erupting from his palm seeped into Kim Jun's arm as he stumbled away.
Kim Jun's body shuddered violently before he collapsed.
"This fucker was tough to catch. Let's see your face. Who the hell are you?"
Yi Yeong yanked off the helmet and froze in shock.
...Kim Jun. The carrier from Pink Team, Choi Muhyun's squad. No doubt about it.
Kim Jun slowly opened his eyes and looked up at Yi Yeong.
"W-Who... who are you?"
His voice trembled with fear.
Yi Yeong savored the thrill. He'd taken down the guy the world treated like a hero.
"Yeon Ga's second shadow, Yi Yeong."
"What... what was that just now?"
"Amcheonjang."
"...Felt like getting hit by lightning."
"Haha, spot on. It's got that Pulgoerudium flavor."
Pulgoerudium was the core extracted from Pulgosaurus monsters that attacked with flashes or electricity.
Yi Yeong excitedly showed off his palm. In the center of the tattoo-like magic circle was a white, rice-grain-sized core, surrounded by tiny crackling sparks.
Kim Jun's questions were answered.
The man wasn't a Raider. Just an ordinary guy making aggressive use of cores. Not that he was ordinary.
"Wh-Why... why'd you take Muhyun?"
Kim Jun deliberately rasped the words like a dying man.
His body had been repeatedly exposed to the intense sparks generated by Yeon Chung-jae's vast inner energy. Subtly, it had grown accustomed to electric shocks, building resistance.
Moreover, Amcheonjang's power had noticeably weakened.
The first one had been strong enough to drop him, but the second was less than half as potent, and the last was just a brief paralyzing tingle.
Kim Jun had simply put on a convincing act to extract the truth.
"Obviously, because of the Cheonroegeom."
"...Cheonroegeom."
"You're one hell of a guy. No other carrier's as famous as you. But you're on the wrong path. If you'd joined Yeon Ga and walked the shadow's way, you might not be this popular, but you'd be a lot closer to the life you truly want."
Yi Yeong drew a dagger from his belt.
"The shadow's path?"
"Farewell, carrier."
As Yi Yeong thrust the dagger toward his chest, Kim Jun shot out a hand, seized his wrist, and scissored his raised legs around Yi Yeong's neck, flipping him over.
Yi Yeong dropped the dagger and ended up pinned under Kim Jun.
"...You?"
Yi Yeong's eyes bulged.
"Where's Muhyun?"
Kim Jun stared down at him with clear, unwavering eyes.
In that moment, Yi Yeong realized he'd been played. He clamped his mouth shut and avoided Kim Jun's gaze.
"Yeah, you're a loyal Yeon Ga man. We'll talk details later. Right now, I've got urgent business."
Kim Jun snapped his right arm.
A scream nearly escaped his lips, but Yi Yeong's cheek twitched as he bit it back.
Next came the left arm.
A groan slipped out. Yi Yeong glared at Kim Jun with bloodshot eyes amid the surging pain.
"K-Kill me!"
"Where's Muhyun?"
"I don't know."
Kim Jun stomped down, shattering his shinbone in one go. The agonized scream echoed brutally through the forest beyond.
Blood trickled from his split lip.
Yi Yeong hung his head, panting. He feared meeting Kim Jun's eyes would mean more broken bones.
A cold sensation touched his palm.
Yi Yeong went speechless.
The tip of the dagger he'd meant to kill Kim Jun with now pressed against the outer edge of the Amcheonrae-jin etched into his palm.
Kim Jun sliced into the fleshy spot between his wrist and thumb.
"No!"
A more violent reaction than when his arms and legs were broken.
"Choi Muhyun."
"......"
Yi Yeong's eyes shook fiercely.
Kim Jun stared him down as he maneuvered the dagger. It carved into the flesh, crossing the complex magic circle's boundary and moving inward, leaving a wound.
"P-Please!"
Tears streamed from Yi Yeong's eyes.
To him, the Amcheonrae-jin was his life's achievement and the foundation of his future. If it was ruined, he'd be useless even to Amyeon, and ultimately cast out.
"Last chance."
"...It's in my phone."
Kim Jun rifled through Yi Yeong's pocket and pulled out the phone. He didn't touch the leather pouch on the belt.
The phone was locked.
Sensing Kim Jun's gaze, Yi Yeong blurted the passcode. Hesitation would destroy the Amcheonrae-jin.
From the incoming texts, Kim Jun pinpointed Choi Muhyun's location.
Yi Yeong eyed him anxiously.
"Mind if I borrow the phone?"
"...You'd take it anyway."
"Right. And what was that bomb you threw at me earlier?"
"Hwato-tan."
"Need gloves to handle it?"
"...It's dangerous."
Yi Yeong noticed the conversation's odd turn but was powerless.
Kim Jun grinned and smashed his fist into Yi Yeong's jaw, knocking him out cold.
He unbuckled the limp Yi Yeong's belt, taking the leather pouch and dagger sheath too. It was tough material with multiple holes for hanging various items.
Inside the pouch: special gloves and three grape-sized hwato-tan explosives that detonated on impact.
Kim Jun shoved Yi Yeong into the roadside woods and pulled out the phone.
Two antenna bars. Battery was ample.
He called the Master.
"It's Kim Jun."
―Where are you? Why hasn't your phone been working? What's this number?
"Muhyun's been kidnapped."
A stunned silence followed.
Kim Jun gave a quick location rundown and texted the address to Yoo Min-jeong.
Then, a text arrived on Yi Yeong's phone.
Why so late? Hurry up.
Sender: 'Il-yeong'.
Kim Jun broke into a run.
Sweat-soaked from running, Kim Jun left the asphalt road for a dirt path.
As he moved away from the sparse streetlights, darkness deepened until he could barely make out the rocks. When clouds fully obscured the moon, it was pitch black—he had to wait.
A sound came from behind.
Kim Jun turned.
Two lights approached.
He ducked into the roadside woods and watched a rattling bus pass by.
Inside: thugs with buzz cuts, necks and arms covered in garish tattoos. Empty seats were piled with dozens of steel pipes and bats.
Moments later, a second bus rumbled past, packed with equally menacing gangsters.
Up ahead, he sensed people.
Kim Jun crept up the steep slope, through dense woods, to a hilltop ridge.
At the entrance to a clearing stacked with dozens of containers, three buses were parked. Burly men were disembarking.
Drum barrels around the clearing burned with torches. Lights were set up too, making the space glow like a night baseball game amid the darkness.
Scanning around, Kim Jun vaguely spotted a building about a kilometer north of the clearing. Otherwise, just mountain shrouded in night.
First, head down to the container yard and search for Muhyun.
Kim Jun slid carefully down the slope.
A few thugs had wandered behind the containers to piss in the grass.
"Hey, bro, where you from?"
"Bulkwang-dong."
"Ah, you know Dorai-ba hyung?"
"How do you know Dorai-ba hyung?"
"Same class in school."
Meaning they'd shared a cell in prison.
"Ah, let's introduce ourselves then. I'm Bulkwang-dong's Mad Dog."
"Cheonho-dong's Complete Chi."
They shook hands without washing.
"You here for the summons too?"
"Who wouldn't come when Yeon Ga's elders call?"
The thugs headed toward the lit clearing.
Yeon Ga summoned these gangsters. Muhyun must be here somewhere.
Kim Jun slipped into a container's shadow, then scaled the outer wall. After conquering Yeongun Island's cliffs, the stacked containers were child's play.
Atop the fourth layer, the entire clearing came into view.
Over a hundred thugs clutched meat cleavers, steel pipes, bats, wooden swords, gathering near the drum torches.
Some brawled, cursing and swinging pipes after a dispute.
A car pulled into the clearing—black, foreign luxury.
A neatly suited man stepped out.
The thugs swarmed around him.
Kim Jun descended and blended into the crowd.
"I'm Yeon Mu-jin. I called you here. Your job is simple: eliminate anyone who comes this way. Do that well, and you'll get fat rewards. From me, Yeon Mu-jin, and from Yeon Ga."
The thugs raised their pipes and bats, cheering.
Kim Jun mimicked a shout.
A nearby thug grabbed his shoulder.
"Hey, you little shit—are you a high schooler?"
Kim Jun nearly flipped him on reflex. He held back, body twitching.
"Who called you? Speak straight."
The thug glared.
"...Cheonho-dong's Complete Chi."
Kim Jun parroted the name he'd overheard.
"Oh, that punk? Ha, calling up high school kids now. World's gone to shit when brats like you run around. Take this and hang back. Just pretend to fight and grab the cash later. Got it?"
The thug handed over a bat wrapped in blue cloth tape at the grip.
"Y-Yeah."
Kim Jun took it, stunned.
He retreated to the back and tracked Yeon Mu-jin with his eyes.
Moving behind the lights, Yeon Mu-jin pulled out a radio and spoke into it, hand over his mouth.
As Yeon Mu-jin scanned the thugs sharply while talking, Kim Jun ducked his head and pulled his cap low.
Another vehicle entered—a truck.
Its passengers unloaded gear from the bed and started building something at the clearing's far end, opposite the entrance.
Bored thugs gathered there.
Kim Jun slipped in among them.
That's a screen.
As expected, a projector sat before it.
Yeon Mu-jin approached, scrutinizing the setup and pointing out errors.
Seeing Yeon Mu-jin's face up close, Kim Jun frowned.
Similar, but not him.
Having studied the real Yeon Mu-jin's face on his laptop at dawn, he was certain.
Did Yeon Ga have two Yeon Mu-jins?
Or...?
Kim Jun pulled out his phone and filmed Yeon Mu-jin focused on the projector.
Moments later, the projector beamed an image onto the screen.