Chapter 9
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: The Legend Returns...?
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Recently, the atmosphere at Moonlight Sword House had been anything but normal.
Sinister rumors were spreading everywhere.
"They say Cheok Yunhwa is done for."
Countless top counselors had tried to treat her trauma, but all had failed.
Predictions that she would soon announce her retirement had even led to speculation that the guild itself would disband.
And trailing right behind that was another ominous harbinger.
The young guild members dubbed the "new generation," who had been leading Moonlight Sword House—they were prophesied to be purged the moment Cheok Yunhwa vanished.
Of course, the guild executives didn't give a damn about such nonsense.
Most of them were "reformists" who had joined of their own accord, resonating with Cheok Yunhwa's convictions, determined to upend the stuffy old guard of the hunter world that reeked of outdated bullshit.
"All that's left in this game is resolve."
That was their mindset, and they were the ones who had chosen to stand by her side.
But the problem lay lower down.
With the rookies.
It had been three months since Cheok Yunhwa vanished from sight.
In that time, the executives hadn't breathed a word about her condition, and the guild master's seat remained empty.
"Sh-should we really stay in this guild...?"
"If we join another guild, the vets'll just snatch all our achievements because of seniority! That's why we came here in the first place..."
"I... I joined Moonlight Sword House because I wanted to be recognized for my own strength..."
"Still... it's been three months without even seeing her face. Doesn't it make you a little uneasy...?"
The unrest brewing inside was far more terrifying than any war raging outside.
The Moonlight Sword House executives instinctively knew the root of all this anxiety.
The three guild masters who had trespassed into the Hunter Association's top floors last time.
Ever since that incident, the rumors had spread unnaturally fast—and mixed in with the bullshit were grains of truth.
"The newbies are getting shaken."
"Th-then let me go explain the situation...!"
"No. Trying to clear things up like that will just make us look even more suspicious. Right now, all we can do is trust the guild master and hold our positions."
Cha Yunha, dressed in military fatigues, cut her off firmly.
Even as she restrained the flustered Yoo Soyun beside her, her own insides were burning black with worry.
And understandably so—being executives didn't mean they had any brilliant solutions.
Moonlight Sword House revolved entirely around one person: Cheok Yunhwa.
The moment she fell, the guild was like a body without a heart, barely clinging to its shape.
And then.
"A-attack!! We're under attack!!"
"What... what did you say?!"
"An attack?!"
BOOM—!!
With a massive explosion, the front gates of Moonlight Sword House headquarters shattered to pieces.
A ultra-luxury hunter-exclusive building in the heart of Seoul, chosen purely for its prime location.
That headquarters was under assault by unidentified attackers—not in broad daylight, but in the dead of predawn.
"What the hell kind of crazy bitches are these...?"
Hunter Law Article 3, Section 2.
"Private armed conflicts between hunters are prohibited."
This was a blatant violation.
But.
The moment they saw who had kicked down the door, Cha Yunha, Yoo Soyun, and every guild member froze in shock.
"Ha~ So this is it? Heard some upstart guild had planted their flag smack in the middle of Seoul, so I figured I'd swing by and take a look."
"A guild that's barely a decade old dares to set up shop? These young punks these days—can't even build a proper foundation before slapping up the roof."
"Paid your seat tax yet? Hell, you should've at least come say hi first. You have no idea who we are and you're strutting around Seoul like you own the place?"
"You...!"
Korea's undisputed four great guilds.
The guild masters of three of them, along with their underlings, had banded together into an invasion force.
"Iron Mountain Unyielding, White Tiger Alliance... and Azure Dragon Pavilion..."
"Aren't those Korea's four great guilds, same as us?!"
"'Same as us'...?"
At those words, the White Tiger Alliance guild master's lips twisted upward.
An eerie silence.
And in the blink of an eye, a strand of qi shot from her fingertip.
Thwack!!
"Guhk?!"
"Yoo, Yoo Soyun!"
A sonic boom that tore through the air.
That single strike landed squarely in executive Yoo Soyun's abdomen, launching her body into the air, smashing straight through the wall, and hurling her several meters back.
Her words had just struck at their pride.
"Wh-what the hell do you think you're doing?!"
Attacking another guild's executive with qi out of nowhere.
Cha Yunha rushed to Yoo Soyun, cradling her abdomen.
A deathly pale face, hot blood soaking her palm.
Her gut was pierced clean through, and she was barely clinging to consciousness.
"Hang on... you're okay...!"
Cha Yunha yanked an emergency medical kit from her gear bag and stanched the bleeding.
At the same time, she whipped her head back, swallowing her boiling rage as she shouted.
"Do you even know what you're doing right now?!"
This was tantamount to war.
And those three guilds.
Iron Mountain Unyielding, White Tiger Alliance, and Azure Dragon Pavilion had launched an open assault without even a formal declaration.
A meticulously planned "raid" that threw even the barest pretense of face-saving out the window.
But.
"Against a Moonlight Sword House without Cheok Yunhwa... can you really call this a war when three guilds have teamed up?"
The Azure Dragon Pavilion guild master spat those words with a cruel smile.
"Exactly. This isn't war—it's a purge. Or, put another way... a massacre."
A chill raced up Cha Yunha's spine.
Only then did she grasp the true nature of this raid.
United, these three guilds commanded over 70% of Korea's hunter influence.
They'd stayed quiet under Cheok Yunhwa's shadow, but they were top-tier guild masters with ties to media, politics, and the association.
Which was why.
With Cheok Yunhwa absent, this was the perfect moment to wipe out Moonlight Sword House for good.
In the wee hours before dawn, when no reporters were watching—strike like lightning, slaughter everyone, vanish without a trace.
Clean up everything without leaving a shred of accountability.
"We won't let a single one of you walk away alive. Of course, if you switch sides now, that's another story."
A final "mercy" wrapped in sweet temptation.
But the executives knew exactly how hypocritical it was.
They had joined Moonlight Sword House to fight this very injustice—they wouldn't waver at such honeyed words.
The issue was that not everyone felt the same.
The rookie guild members who had come for achievements, rewards, and fair competition.
With Cheok Yunhwa gone, their supporting convictions and hopes had vanished too—faced with the massacre about to unfold, that "choice" was all too alluring.
"I... I don't want to die..."
"Yeah... me neither...!"
"Cheok Yunhwa isn't even here anyway... what's the point of us staying...?"
"Hey, snap out of it! You guys!"
The executives' cries scattered into the void.
They'd cherry-pick the "useful talent" and take them away, while executing the remaining executives and loyalists.
This wasn't mere disbandment.
It was a warning to the entire hunter world.
"This order will never change."
A brutal execution ceremony to etch that terror into memory was about to begin—right here, right now, at Moonlight Sword House.
At that moment.
"Pathetic. 'With no tiger in the cave, the fox becomes king,' huh? Probably born from seeing this exact mess."
Thud!
Dust and moonlight poured through the shattered ceiling.
Amid it all, a figure descending from the heavens.
Hair white as snow.
A blue-and-white uniform evoking royal knights.
The ornate gold-trimmed ceremonial garb gleamed beautifully—yet menaced.
A black sword at her waist emanated subtle energy; light and shadow intertwined behind her.
Flowing silver hair, an aura of dominion.
It wasn't an entrance—it was myth incarnate.
Moonlight Sword House members held their breath in unison; the invading trio's leaders, convinced of total victory, drained of color.
"I-is that... Cheok Yunhwa?"
"We heard she was in no shape to fight...?"
"No, Azure Dragon Pavilion Master—that time, you said she barely lifted a finger! So why the hell is she showing up in full battle gear?!"
The two flustered guild masters turned to her.
The Azure Dragon Pavilion guild master, who had orchestrated the entire plan.
She glared silently at Cheok Yunhwa, then slowly curled her lips.
"...Heh. Haa... I see."
"See what?"
"Look. This is blatant proof. Cheok Yunhwa clearly knew about our raid. So why didn't she budge until now?"
"...?"
"Only one answer. She couldn't move. That's why she shows up at this exact timing—right before battle erupts, the moment we'd be most rattled. It's a performance."
The two guild masters listening intently wore expressions of "What bullshit is this?" at first.
"Kuh... Fair point. If that woman were truly battle-ready, she wouldn't bother with this theatrical entrance..."
"Right. It's all bluff. Posturing. Hoping we'll get spooked and back off!"
Their eyes shifted.
Pupils quaking with unease hardened into self-deluded certainty.
"...Hah. Good. We're not the ones hooked—she is."
"This time, we end it for sure. That illusion."
But.
Moonlight Sword House A-Rank executive hunter Cha Yunha saw differently.
She had served closest to Cheok Yunhwa all this time.
So she knew better than anyone.
This was no performance.
The moment she appeared, the air's density changed.
Not mere intimidation from raw power—but something purer, like a crystal refined to higher purity.
The sword's essence sharpened to perfection, no longer a blade but slaughter incarnate.
Overwhelmed, Cha Yunha could only instinctively realize.
'The guild master isn't just recovered... she's transcended to a realm beyond, like a woman shedding her virginity!'