The First Attacker's Shocking Confession

"The elite raid team of Mad Dog that I led, 'First Attacker,' tried to kill the members of Black Lion, and they actually went through with it."

"But they got the tables turned on them, and every member of 'First Attacker' except me ended up dead. I played dead and hid somewhere in the field until the gate was cleared."

"Due to my foolish negligence, I lost my precious team members. I no longer have the will to live. With this, I confess with a clear conscience."

"Yes, this wasn't some scheme plotted by my raid team on their own—it was planned and executed at the guild level. Go to the guild and investigate for yourselves if you want the details."

Each bombshell statement landed like a uranium atomic bomb, and the reporters' jaws dropped wider with every word.

The journalists who had been hounding me for even one more comment now swarmed Kang Tae-sik en masse.

The area around me cleared up a bit, but I wasn't upset at all. Hell, it was a relief—they'd been getting annoying anyway.

That's when the sly reporters turned their barrage of questions back toward us.

"I-Is everything Kang Tae-sik just said true?!"

Lee Il-ho answered the question. He glared at Kang Tae-sik with eyes full of resentment and said,

"It's true. Not even a few hours after we entered the gate, they surrounded us and tried to kill us outright. If Jae-min hyung hadn't been there, our raid team would've vanished along with the gate without even leaving corpses behind."

In the lawless world inside a gate, where rule of law doesn't exist, killing in self-defense isn't even a crime worth taking to court.

So the reporters weren't shocked at all that Black Lion had killed Mad Dog members. No, they didn't care about that.

What mattered was that Black Lion had confirmed Kang Tae-sik's testimony.

"A guild-level private sanction... and from Giant at that...."

"This isn't something you can just brush off lightly."

"This is a massive scandal."

"They're completely out of their minds...."

As the reporters buzzed in shock over the successive bombshells, Kang Tae-sik slipped away from the rooftop like a ghost.

No, I can't keep calling him Kang Tae-sik.

Why? Because the real Kang Tae-sik is a cold corpse inside that gate.

So who was the one who just dropped that bombshell in front of the reporters?

Ice Mask. What a gem of a skill.

I recalled the details of Ice Mask, the skill I'd acquired after catching the 'Ice Fairy,' right there in my mind.

This was the exact skill the 'Ice Fairy' had used earlier to disguise itself as an injured person.

If it weren't for that red dot, even I wouldn't have noticed.

The disguise created by this skill was that meticulously perfect.

I had slipped an Ice Mask onto one of the Black Lion members and had him play the role of Kang Tae-sik.

And he pulled off exactly what I'd told him to do, brilliantly.

Right then.

"A-Arrest him on the spot—that's the order!"

"Hurry and grab him!"

Whether it was an emergency detention order from above or not, the military police came rushing out to nab the fake Kang Tae-sik.

Futile effort, of course. I'd already instructed him to ditch the Ice Mask the moment he left the scene.

***

"Kang Tae-sik, you crazy bastard!"

A teacup flew straight into the center of the TV mounted on the wall.

With a crash, sharp shards scattered everywhere.

One of them grazed Hong Seok-gyu's cheek as he stood in front of the TV.

Blood trickled from the torn flesh, but in his extreme rage, he didn't even feel the pain.

"Huff... huff..."

Shoulders heaving with ragged breaths, he muttered,

"...I need to hide."

As the fury subsided, a heart-sinking despair washed over him.

Kang Tae-sik's sudden exposé.

Thanks to it, Mad Dog's dirty backroom dealings had been laid bare for the whole world to see.

No need to wait until tomorrow—the storm would hit the guild starting today.

"This isn't something we can pin just on that bastard Kang Tae-sik and call it a day..."

Even scapegoating had its limits.

After all, hadn't he himself ordered Kang Tae-sik to wipe out the Black Lion raid team?

As the guild's representative, Oh Chae-rin would surely say:

Atone with your death.

"Hic...!"

By the time his thoughts reached that point, Hong Seok-gyu's feet were already hurrying toward the office door.

No time to pack his things.

He had to escape this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠building and go into hiding as fast as possible. Overseas, anywhere.

That was the only way he could survive...

"-Where do you think you're going?"

The woman's voice came from behind him, from a distance—but it rang in his ear as clearly as a whisper right next to him.

"......"

A chilling prickling sensation, like needles stabbing his nerves.

Hong Seok-gyu halted and slowly turned around.

"It's still a ways off from quitting time, isn't it, Section Chief Hong Seok-gyu?"

There sat a woman in a black suit, her long legs stretched out elegantly on the desk, crossed at the ankles.

Her face wasn't clearly visible.

Even in the bright daylight, an unnatural black shadow draped over her like a curtain.

As if she existed in a different time altogether. Staring at her, Hong Seok-gyu moved his lips.

"G-Guild Leader..."

The office had definitely been empty except for him. Where the hell had she come from?

How long had she been there?

Terror gripped him so completely he didn't even have time to wonder.

"N-No, I mean, this is... um..."

"What's 'no'?"

From the darkness, a single gleaming eye curved into a crescent moon.

The woman who represented Mad Dog, one of Korea's S-rank players.

Oh Chae-rin.

She stared at the TV screen, cracked like a spiderweb, and said,

"Oh, that?"

"K-Kang Tae-sik's just spouting nonsense on his own! D-Don't worry! I'll handle this quietly, no matter what it takes! I'll fill the lost manpower ASAP! So...!"

Thud!

Screaming like a madman, Hong Seok-gyu dropped to his knees and slammed his forehead into the floor.

He hit so hard that blood streamed down over his nose bridge.

"So please, just spare me this once...!"

Blood streaking his face, he begged like a dog.

Promising the impossible—that he'd handle everything himself.

If it could soften Oh Chae-rin's wrath, the one who held his life in her hands, he'd say anything, do anything.

But,

"Someone as clever as you is totally barking up the wrong tree."

"...Pardon?"

"I don't give a damn that First Attacker got wiped out. Sure, that trash Kang Tae-sik's exposé will give us a headache, but it's fine. There are endless ways to tamp down public opinion."

Oh Chae-rin's next words completely shattered Hong Seok-gyu's expectations of a reprimand.

"I'm not so merciless that I'd kill you over losing a few hunting dogs."

"Th-Then...!"

"Ah, of course. I'm not such a pushover that I'd forgive the bastard who shoved a friend I cherished like a clone into the gutter."

Hong Seok-gyu's face, which had lit up with hope for a moment, turned ashen.

Oh Chae-rin's pupil gleamed from within the shadows, fixed on the TV.

Or more precisely...

"Hunting dogs can be replaced."

It was aimed at Lee Ji-yoon, standing blankly amid the Black Lion members in the interview, looking uneasy.

"But friends? You can't replace those. Right?"

Crackle—!

The TV screen, already cracked, shattered completely under the menacing mana emanating from her body.

"......"

Hong Seok-gyu's eyes, fixed on the floor, slowly lifted toward her.

The next instant, his breath caught.

Right in front of his nose, Oh Chae-rin's single eye stared at him chillingly.

"To get what you want, you have to pay a price."

She fiddled with the black eyepatch over her right eye.

"The price you need to pay for my forgiveness..."

"U-Uwaaa...!"

"Shall I tell you now?"

The death knell rang in his mind.

Hong Seok-gyu tried to bolt without looking back.

Whoosh—!

"Guhk... guh...?"

If only the blade hadn't erupted from the writhing shadow at his feet.

His face skewered by the black spear-like protrusion, Hong Seok-gyu's body went limp.

"...Tch."

Oh Chae-rin wiped the blood droplet from her cheek in disgust and snapped her fingers.

Black hands stretched from the shadows around her, dragging Hong Seok-gyu's corpse into the darkness.

Click, click, click.

The sharp sound of high heels echoed through the vast basement.

As Oh Chae-rin walked forward, massive test tubes tangled with wires brushed past her.

Inside the tubes, filled with orange solution, were impeccably preserved monster specimens.

A grotesque, apocalyptic sight.

But Oh Chae-rin paid it no mind, striding calmly toward the depths of the basement.

Soon, she stopped in front of the far wall.

Swoosh.

The seemingly ordinary wall touched her palm, and—

Vmmm—!

A dazzling array of multicolored magic circles enveloped her body.

When the light faded, she stood in a different space.

"Oh? What brings a high-and-mighty one like you to this dingy hole in person?"

In the pitch-black chamber without a single light, a man wearing only yellow shorts grinned, baring yellowed teeth.

His name: Oh Hyuk-cheol.

Oh Chae-rin's younger brother.

Wrinkling her nose at the foul stench filling the room, Oh Chae-rin said,

"Brought food."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"No way. Getting weirder by the day? My pretty ones' meal delivered personally by big ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sis?"

"Wanted to check on your 'pretty ones' after a while."

"Ah, they're doing great. Of course they are."

Slither...

The shadow at Oh Chae-rin's feet writhed.

Soon, Hong Seok-gyu's corpse floated up onto the rippling shadow surface.

Oh Hyuk-cheol tilted his head at the sight of the body.

"Whoa? Uncle Seok-gyu? You kill him, sis?"

"There were circumstances. Enough pointless questions—show me already."

"Sheesh, touchy as ever."

Oh Chae-rin crossed the cavernous space with her brother, who dragged the corpse along.

The fishy stench grew stronger the deeper they went.

When the nose-stinging odor peaked—

"Dinner time, kids!"

Oh Hyuk-cheol hurled the cold corpse into the darkness beyond.

"Grrr..."

"Grk! Grk..."

Beastly growls rose in chorus.

Grinning, Oh Hyuk-cheol pulled a flashlight from his shorts pocket.

As the faint light spread and the darkness receded...

"See? They're fine."

Children huddled inside iron-barred cages.

Children laden with restraints all over their bodies.

"Kik... keek..."

"Grrrk..."

They weren't normal kids.

Horns protruded from foreheads, claws like a beast's extended long—bodies that looked half-human, half-monster.

"Ah... ahh...?"

From within the bars, the children let out pitiful monstrosities, staring at Oh Chae-rin and Oh Hyuk-cheol.

"Hm, the 'soldiers' are improving day by day, but..."

Meeting their fearful gazes head-on, Oh Chae-rin calmly licked her lips.

"Without Lee Ji-yoon, it's all pointless. Tch. Extra hassle because of one piece of trash."

Irritated, she kicked Hong Seok-gyu's cooling corpse.

Then, gazing up into the abyss-like darkness, she sighed.

"Don't worry. I'll set everything right."

***

"......"

After the rooftop press conference wrapped up.

I'd ducked into the bathroom to wash the battle grime off my clothes with water when Mom suddenly asked that.

It seemed out of left field at first glance, but

"Ah, that... well..."

I instantly knew what she meant.

She was talking about what I'd seen in Kang Tae-sik's memories.

The kids grotesquely modified and locked in iron cages...

Damn. Even thinking about it again makes me sick.

Why hadn't I exposed that scene through the fake Kang Tae-sik's mouth? That's what Mom was asking.

"Even if I had exposed it, outsiders couldn't get anywhere near that basement. You saw it too, Mom—their headquarters basement has a barrier only specific people can dismantle."

That was reason one.

And reason two...

"Plus, the Disaster Egg is down there too, right?"

One of the evil divine machines that would later bring catastrophe, true to its name.

I didn't want it falling into the government's or the association's hands.

"It has to be in my possession."

"That way, in the future war against the 'Demon Legion,' I can gain even a slight edge."

And finally...

The biggest reason of all.

"Above all, even if the stuff in their headquarters basement gets exposed to the world... would those bastards really face proper punishment?"

Those scum would grease every palm and slither out of the law's grasp.

Could I really get the clean, karmic justice ending I wanted?

No way in hell.

"I've seen it countless times in my past life—those filth turning the justice system to their side with their sleazy tricks. Even if I got Tae-ho uncle to move the association, there'd be nothing I could do."

"Mom. I have zero expectation that the law will punish them. No. Even if it could, I wouldn't want it to."

"Scum like that need to get beaten half to death before any lofty judgment from the law."

Exposing their attempt to kill Black Lion this time? Just a light jab.

Nowhere near a straight punch.

So...

"The Disaster Egg matters, but before that, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I need to pummel those bastards with my own hands to feel satisfied, Mom."

From now on, I'd rain straight punches on them like a madman.

Until Oh Chae-rin, that crazy bitch, was left dazed and punch-drunk.