Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Dark Shadow Squad (2)
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“This is more blatant than I expected.”
Sss!
That was when Gi So-yul, who had been watching the situation, appeared in midair.
“Huh?”
Kim Jun-seo’s younger sister, Kim Hye-rin’s eyes went wide.
In the cramped single room where only the two of them had been.
A person had suddenly appeared, so it was no wonder she was startled.
“W-Who are you?”
She panicked for a moment.
Then her pupils dilated even further.
“Ah, the Dark Emperor! Gi So-yul?”
She recognized Gi So-yul’s appearance at a glance.
“I-Is that really you? How is the Dark Emperor here?”
“Are you okay with this?”
I let out a sigh inside and asked.
Meaning, is it okay for a celebrity like her to show up in a dump like this?
“What does it matter? Someone’s been kidnapped.”
Gi So-yul’s eyes had already turned ice-cold.
“This reeks of the Dark Shadow Squad. They’re pulling this low-level kidnapping stunt because I’m stuck to your side, Dong-hoon.”
“I agree.”
I nodded.
The Dark Shadow Squad’s intentions were crystal clear.
They had business with me.
But they couldn’t come near Gi So-yul’s territory, so they resorted to this trick.
“On top of that.”
She pulled out her smartphone and showed it to us.
“This text just came in, right on cue.”
[Ki Pa-rang: Little sis.]
[Ki Pa-rang: Looks like the second team just got ambushed in the dungeon.]
[Ki Pa-rang: Stinks like those disgusting mutts—Hellhound... that bastard. Ugh, what a pain right when I’m about to clock out.]
[Ki Pa-rang: I’ll handle as much as I can myself, so don’t worry.]
[Ki Pa-rang: Just FYI. Help out if you can make it.]
A text from the Life Bow.
The Hellhound it mentioned was.
Rank 92.
Nick Jakan.
The ranker known as the head of the Dark Shadow Squad.
“Perfect timing, right? Looks like the Dark Shadow Squad went after Pa-rang too.”
“...Whoa.”
This was unexpected.
To think they’d go after a prestigious name like Pa-rang just for me?
‘Is this the power of the Thousand Arts Elder?’
It was a moment to reflect once more on the value of the opportunity I’d gained.
“......”
Silence fell over the room.
Tension hung thick in the air.
Kim Hye-rin seemed frozen in shock at how big a deal the ones who kidnapped her brother were.
Gi So-yul was biting her lip, looking furious.
‘She must be worried.’
No matter how much she claimed not to be involved with the guild.
She couldn’t deny being part of the Pa-rang clan.
And her brother Ki Pa-rang was family.
How could she not care?
‘And yet...’
I looked at her clenched lips.
‘She’s staying here.’
The promise.
The one where she vowed to protect me.
She was someone who didn’t take words lightly.
“No choice, then.”
I spoke first.
“For now, Dark Emperor, head to Pa-rang.”
“...?”
Gi So-yul’s shoulders twitched.
From her expression, I’d hit the nail on the head.
But.
“I can’t do that.”
As expected, she refused.
Her face was resolute.
“My brother’s rank 58. He’s not weak enough to fall to the likes of the Dark Shadow Squad. Plus, he’s got Pa-rang members with him. You, on the other hand, are alone, Dong-hoon. Who knows what they’ll do to you the second I leave.”
“Well, I’ll give you that.”
I glanced at Kim Hye-rin’s face.
Her eyes trembled with anxiety.
“But don’t we need to save the kidnapped guy first? The note says come alone.”
“It’s a trap.”
“I know. One hundred percent.”
But.
Sometimes you have to move even when you know it’s a trap.
With Gi So-yul protecting me, I’d be relatively safe.
But wouldn’t that give the Dark Shadow Squad a shot at beating Pa-rang?
They say Pa-rang’s true power comes when Ki Pa-rang and Gi So-yul team up.
‘Hellhound’s already gone after Ki Pa-rang anyway.’
So it’s not the worst-case scenario.
Honestly, I didn’t feel afraid.
The Thousand Arts Elder.
And the Solar Spear.
Thinking back to the trials from those two, it felt like something I could handle.
Of course, not that they’d be easy.
Just a mindset thing.
“Whew.”
I let out a deep sigh.
“Something you said to me before comes to mind, Dark Emperor.”
I turned to look at her again.
Our eyes met.
“What was it?”
“You said life is a journey that begins with connections and ends with them.”
“......”
“Request Team Leader Kim Jun-seo is someone connected to me. I can’t just sit by while he suffers because of me.”
“A sense of justice? Duty? Something like that?”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“I just don’t want to be a cowardly hunter.”
My dream is to be a ranker.
One who’s an idol to all hunters.
Would such a ranker back down from danger?
Flee in fear?
Look the other way?
No way.
“I have to give back as much as I’ve received.”
My simple code.
I didn’t want to break it.
The Dark Shadow Squad had attacked me.
I had to be the one to fight back.
“...I see.”
Gi So-yul’s expression turned complex.
Her mouth opened and closed.
Her lips twitched, like she was wrestling with inner conflict.
“Alright.”
And then.
She slowly nodded.
Her eyes resolute, as if she’d made up her mind.
“Then I’ll head to Pa-rang first, wrap things up quick, and join you.”
“Good choice.”
“But.”
She added.
“I told you before, right? I’m willing to introduce you to a lot of connections.”
“Yeah?”
“That might happen a bit sooner now.”
Sss.
With that, she vanished like smoke.
‘What was that about?’
A puzzling statement, but no time now.
“Hye-rin, was it?”
“Yes?”
“The place I have to go—Seonyu Island?”
“Y-Yes! By eight! Not much time left! It’ll take at least thirty minutes from here.”
Alright, time to move.
* * *
“The time has finally come.”
Seonyu Island’s recycling eco-park, floating in the middle of the Han River.
The assassin Go Jae-young sat on a bench there, legs crossed, smirking wickedly.
“Mmph! Mmmph!”
And in front of him.
‘Fixer’ Request Team Leader Kim Jun-seo trembled, bound and gagged.
“It’s been a whole month since then, holding back.”
Until the boss Jakan gave the green light.
Go Jae-young regretted it.
“Ju Dong-hoon, was it?”
He’d given that guy too much leeway.
Letting a fish practically in his net slip away—humiliating.
“Lucky bastard. This time, I’ll catch you for sure.”
This time was different.
The prep was airtight.
Jakan himself was out.
Plus top rankers hired by the Dark Shadow Squad.
‘Two rankers hitting Pa-rang—Gi So-yul won’t be an issue.’
Not to mention the three A-rank hunters deployed here on Seonyu Island.
And about ten B-ranks.
That’s not all.
To prevent any escape, they’d even stationed tracking-specialized hunters within 10 km of Ju Dong-hoon’s house.
“......”
Go Jae-young eyed his wristwatch with a chilling expression.
[07:55 PM]
“Soon.”
According to the tracking hunter’s report.
Ju Dong-hoon was headed this way.
They’d meet any moment now.
“Everyone, get ready.”
His voice over the radio was eerily sinister.
* * *
“Hmm.”
I smacked my lips.
On the way back after dropping Kim Hye-rin off at the Association building.
At the Seonyu Island Bridge.
I’d summoned five skeletons, squeezing out every last drop of my remaining energy.
Creeeak! Grind!
As if sensing their master’s resolve.
They gripped their weapons with stern expressions, readying themselves.
‘I wanted to call the Elder too.’
But the cooldown was still far off.
No energy left either.
“Sun.”
I called out to Sun among them.
Truth be told, Boney had been the leader so far.
But now it was Sun.
Why?
Simple.
Stronger, and better at talking.
“You called, my lord?”
“Yeah, these guys lurking around... can you sense them?”
“Indeed.”
Whoosh!
Sun shook his bone spear once.
Even in the dark night, Sun seemed to gleam.
“How are they?”
“Weak. At full strength, we could finish them before they took a breath.”
“Psh.”
I shrugged.
“That was then. I mean now.”
“Now... it’d be a slight stretch, but if you command it, my lord, we’ll handle them.”
“That much?”
I was surprised.
Sun was still technically D-rank on the surface.
Were these guys that pathetic, that even so, the power gap could be overcome?
‘Anyway.’
Time to clash.
From afar.
“Mmph! Mmmph!”
I could hear Kim Jun-seo struggling.
Whew, man.
He’d always been a handful in every way.
Step, step.
I walked straight toward the group in plain sight.
Felt a bit reckless, but no choice.
Any delay could put Kim Jun-seo’s life at risk.
Plus, I had a plan.
“You came?”
The hooded figure ahead, Go Jae-young, grinned at me.
The look of “Knew you’d show, hero.”
Did I look that righteous?
“Hey, hey, he actually came. Guy’s got guts, I’ll give him that.”
“Phew, that the Ju Dong-hoon Jakan was talking about?”
“Skeletons mean low-tier necromancer.”
“And that opportunity of his is so tempting Jakan himself hits Pa-rang?”
The A-rank hunters who looked like his crew chimed in.
‘Indeed.’
Still way out of my league?
My breath caught just looking at them.
Go Jae-young, watching, spoke up.
“Kekeke, you know why I called you here... better than I do, right?”
“Nah, just... the note said to come? Said you’d let that guy go if I did.”
I played innocent.
“Hmm, pretending not to know when you do?”
Go Jae-young’s smile deepened.
A savage killing intent poured from the dagger in his coat.
“Starting to feel insulted here.”
“......”
“Forgot already? We had a deal. Fight those backstabbers from before, and you’d spill what your opportunity was. Or... you counting on that bitch Gi So-yul?”
He raised the dagger to Kim Jun-seo’s throat.
“Mmph! Mmmph!”
Almost like [Ju, Ju Dong-hoon! Save me!] cries.
“Alright, my turn to propose.”
Drip!
A trickle of blood ran from Kim Jun-seo’s neck.
“Spill every detail on that opportunity you got... and hand it over. Or he dies.”
The bastard’s polite threat.
At the same time.
Hunters surrounded me from all sides.
Some drew weapons right in my face.
Others bared their auras from afar, like snipers.
‘Whew, heart’s racing.’
Against them, I had just five D-rank skeletons.
‘But what can you do.’
My opportunity isn’t something I can just give away.
“Alright.”
First, let’s get out of this mess.
I nodded and swallowed hard.