The Power of the Black Cube (3)
In the northern reaches of the Elnot Kingdom, the fortress city of Talion stood firm against the border with the Exis Kingdom. Located not far from the Northern Borderline, where summoners and kingdom forces clashed fiercely with monsters, it was so impregnable that it was called a heaven-sent fortress.
The city bustled with guilds and parties active on the northern frontlines, forming a massive commercial district. Headquarters of several major guilds dotted the area.
One of them—the Light Shield Guild, sixth among the top guilds—had its base right there in Talion. A massive four-story mansion adorned with a gleaming white shield embroidered in golden patterns hung at its entrance.
Situated in the outskirts, far from the city center where few people passed, the Light Shield Guild headquarters lurked in seclusion. There was one simple reason why a sixth-ranked powerhouse hid here like this.
The filthy dealings they conducted in the shadows were scandalous enough to tarnish any other guild's reputation.
Human trafficking, kidnappings, illegal gambling dens, and managing brothels—they dabbled in nearly every crime a powerful group could commit.
In the lawless continent of Ernoir, where human rights were a faint concept, few could stand against them. Their business only flourished with each passing day.
Inside the Light Shield Guild headquarters, men with grave expressions sat around a table.
"Where the hell is Brother Cheol-ho?!"
A skeletal, emaciated man slammed the table and bellowed. His name was Yoo Seok-woo, the guild's second-in-command.
"He took the elite forces with Branch Chief Hong Seung-geol, and we haven't heard from him since."
Another man at the table replied cautiously to Yoo Seok-woo's words.
"Shit."
Yoo Seok-woo clutched his head in frustration. The Light Shield Guild's situation was dire enough to warrant the word "despair" without exaggeration.
With high-level guild members and the guild master—who held it all together—vanished, this catastrophe was inevitable.
They'd evaded other guilds' scrutiny amid their crimes thanks to their top-six might. But now, with the core forces evaporated, the guild couldn't function normally.
Five days into Han Cheol-ho's disappearance, minor incidents erupted nonstop at their managed businesses. It was obvious worse would follow if time dragged on.
"Where the hell are you...?"
Han Cheol-ho had left without saying where or why, just taking his troops. Yoo Seok-woo knew he'd gotten info from Hong Seung-geol, so digging into that might reveal the reason—but right now, quelling internal chaos was all he could handle.
"Haa... At this rate, we need to figure out what that bastard Hong Seung-geol used to lure Brother away, fast..."
BAM!
"B-Brother!"
Before Yoo Seok-woo's mutter ended, the door burst open violently as a man rushed in. Yoo Seok-woo frowned at him.
"What?"
"I-Intruders!"
"...What?"
His frantic voice twisted Yoo Seok-woo's face in rage.
* * *
KABOOM!
A deafening blast echoed. The guild house door exploded outward, revealing a hulking figure clad head to toe in full plate armor.
"W-What the hell is that guy?!"
"Stop him!"
The sudden assault threw the waiting Light Shield guild members into chaos. They grabbed their weapons and charged the intruder.
The giant raised a greatsword as tall as a man and muttered in a deep bass.
"Storm Slash."
"Aaaagh!"
With his low murmur, the massive blade swept the area. Fierce winds erupted from it, hurling the Light Shield guild members backward.
"Ugh... S-Sorry about that."
Jeong So-rim stepped forward from behind Park Cheol-tae—the assailant—with her spear in hand. She bowed apologetically to the men rolling on the floor from his attack.
Then her body blurred into a gust of wind, shooting forward.
SHUNK! THUNK!
"Gahk!"
Two swift thrusts pierced two men's throats in an instant. Crimson blood poured from the wounds.
Seeing blood, So-rim's expression twisted savagely.
"Heehee. What, all that's left are losers?"
No trace of her former timidity remained. Grinning maniacally, she thrust her spear wildly.
"B-Block her!"
More Light Shield guild members rushed in at the commotion, charging So-rim.
"Hahaha! That's it, come at me!"
So-rim cackled wildly and stomped the ground.
"Thousand Needles!"
Her shout split the spear tip into dozens, unleashing a storm of spear thrusts that engulfed the Light Shield guild members.
"Gahk!"
"Aaaagh!"
The one-sided massacre began. These low-tier summoners—far from the guild's elites—couldn't hope to stop So-rim and Cheol-tae.
"Eek!"
"Call the higher-ups!"
More summoners poured down from upstairs at their desperate cries. Mid-level executives with some rank in the guild.
"Wait, those guys..."
"Park Cheol-tae and Jeong So-rim from Salvatore? Why the hell are they...?"
The experienced executives recognized them instantly. But recognition changed nothing.
Cheol-tae and So-rim slaughtered the Light Shield guild members mercilessly.
"Eek!"
"Those bastards dare...!"
Furious at being attacked by just two, the executives snarled.
"Kill them!"
"Whoever brings their heads gets 1,000 gold!"
The executives' urgent shouts ignited the terrified guild members' eyes. 1,000 gold—a thrilling sum that stirred their greed.
"Waaaah!"
"There are only two of them anyway!"
They roared and charged. That's when it happened.
"Arrow Shower."
FWIP FWIP FWIP!
"Aaaagh!"
Over ten arrows rained down simultaneously. The Light Shield guild members whipped around in panic.
Off to the side of the guild house stood an old man with a bow and a black-haired youth.
"Shit! All of them survived?!"
An executive who recognized them twisted his face in rage.
Cheol-tae's four-man party had been infamous even within Salvatore for their strength.
"It's still just four! Kill them!"
The fight dragged on. Though one-sided slaughter in pure combat terms, over a hundred Light Shield guild members resided in the house—it wouldn't end quickly.
"Shit!"
Yoo Seok-woo's face contorted as he received battle reports. Just four intruders, but each too strong to subdue easily.
First, I need to escape.
With a tense expression, he thought so and slipped out the back door with his personal guard.
"Knew you'd slink out the back like rats."
As Yoo Seok-woo emerged, a red short-haired woman smirked. Beside her stood a cold-faced youth and a twin-tailed girl.
Yoo Seok-woo's face twisted savagely at the sight.
"Choi Yu-na, Lee Chae-rin, Yu-jin..."
He swallowed hard. Each had been renowned summoners in the old Salvatore Guild.
"Why the hell are you bitches here...?"
"Don't make that innocent face. You struck first."
Yu-na snapped sharply, drawing her twin blades from her waist. They blazed, scattering the thick darkness.
Seeing her, Yoo Seok-woo's face filled with despair.
* * *
"...It's one-sided."
Yeong-sik muttered hollowly, watching from outside the guild house. Bae Han-seong chuckled.
"All that's left are ragtag mobs anyway."
"Even so, nearly ten-to-one, and they're dominating like this. Impressive."
Yeong-sik admired, overlooking the battle. Han-seong gave him a look of disbelief.
"What are you saying, the man who soloed Light Shield's elites? This is nothing compared."
"...Urk."
Yeong-sik swallowed at the piercing words. True, what he'd done before dwarfed this.
"But with this strength, couldn't we have raided before Cheol-tae arrived?"
A-ra, beside Yeong-sik, asked Han-seong. He shook his head.
"We might've won somehow, but not caught the fleeing ones."
"Ah."
"Can't leave a single summoner who knows our identities."
Han-seong stood, saying that.
"Alright, shall we?"
He stepped forward. Yeong-sik's group nodded and followed.
Yeong-sik's party and Han-seong infiltrated the Light Shield Guild amid the fierce battle.
They headed to the fourth floor, Han Cheol-ho's room. It felt barren—no items anywhere.
"Didn't he collect items?"
Han-seong swallowed, scanning the sparse room beyond basic furnishings. A-ra searched too, but found nothing.
"Wait a sec."
Yeong-sik spoke, activating his Scan ability.
Tchiiik.
Attempting to scan surrounding terrain.
Scan successful. Displaying scan results as visual data.
The guild house blueprint floated in Yeong-sik's mind. Seeing it, he smirked.
"Here."
He shoved Han Cheol-ho's desk aside and turned to Han-seong.
"Right here."
"Here...?"
Han-seong stared dubiously. Yeong-sik extended his hand.
"Give me the key from Han Cheol-ho's corpse."
"Ah, yes. Here."
Han-seong handed over the silver key. No visible keyhole under the desk.
Yeong-sik inserted it into a faint seam in the floorboards.
Click.
A clear sound rang from what looked like a wood crack, revealing stairs to the third floor.
Han Cheol-ho had designed a third-floor room without an entrance, accessible only via this fourth-floor secret door.
Yeong-sik's group and Han-seong descended.
"Whoa."
"Incredible."
Gil-su and A-ra gasped at Han Cheol-ho's warehouse. The floor brimmed with glittering gold coins; neatly shelved rare items gleamed.
"So this is where he stashed his collection."
Han-seong marveled, looking around.
Yeong-sik brushed past to a dim corner piled with worthless oddities—mere curios by shape.
He scanned the junk for one item.
"Found it."
A thick smile crept across Yeong-sik's lips as he rummaged through the heap.