Chapter 115
Chapter 115
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 115
Chapter Title: Owl Hunt (6)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
After returning from the Black Star Guild's headquarters.
Oh-jin began leaking the information from the USB to the guilds that were frantically hunting the Black Star Guild.
Of course.
He did it while carefully concealing that he was the source of the information.
'It would be a problem if they asked where and how I got this information.'
He couldn't reveal his ridiculously overpowered ability, Domination, to others.
In any case.
The information that began to spread through Oh-jin disseminated in an instant, like ink bleeding across paper.
Even the guilds that were initially skeptical and suspicious pounced on the Black Star Guild the moment one or two of its branches were exposed, tearing into them.
'The real owl hunt has begun.'
It wasn't hard to predict the fate of a terrorist organization whose hideouts had all been revealed.
To make matters worse, the core members of the Owl Faction were away, following Cheon Do-yoon.
Unable to withstand the tidal wave of Awakeners, the Owl Faction began to crumble in the blink of an eye.
'The Cheonhye Guild's contribution was the greatest.'
Cheon Sang-gil, the Tamrangseong, one of the Seven Stars, had made a move himself.
It would have been a difficult force to withstand even if Cheon Do-yoon had been there; there was no way a mere rabble of Owls could handle a member of the Seven Stars.
━It was a rout.
Exposed to the light of day, the Owls were helplessly caught in the hunters' grasp.
[This is a breaking news report from Cheonrian News! An alliance of major guilds, including the Cheonhye Guild, Hwarang Guild, and Starlight Lake Guild, has just announced the complete subjugation of the Black Star Guild's headquarters!]
The announcer's voice boomed.
[The number of captured Black Star Guild members is nearly three thousand, a figure comparable to the combined membership of the top ten major guilds.]
[Where could such a large number of Awakeners have come from? It's unprecedented for a single Constellation to create thousands of Awakeners.]
[A special team has reportedly been formed to investigate the Constellation of Noctua.]
The male and female announcers continued the conversation with the most serious expressions they could muster.
As the news, which had captured the attention of not just Korea but the entire world, was being broadcast...
-*Crunch*.
Oh-jin was lying with his head on Ha-eun's lap, munching on popcorn.
"Wow... The Black Star Guild went down just like that."
"I know, right?"
Watching the news, Ha-eun playfully pinched Oh-jin's cheek as he lay on her lap.
"Aren't you going over there?"
"It didn't seem like I needed to."
"True. I heard the Tamrangseong made a move this time, right?"
"Yup."
In fact, Oh-jin had initially planned to participate in the operation and hunt the Owls himself.
But his plans changed when the alliance of the ten major guilds—or more accurately, the eight guilds excluding Valhalla and Cheonhye—refused the Association's participation.
'Well, they must be feeling the heat.'
Since the Association and the Valhalla Guild had resolved all the recent incidents, like the civilian terror attacks and the Cheon Woo-seong case, public opinion was boiling over, questioning what the other major guilds were even doing.
For the major guilds, which had always considered the Association beneath them, it was an incredibly uncomfortable situation.
'They must have wanted to change public opinion by taking down the Black Star Guild this time.'
Outwardly, they talk about punishing the Black Star Guild's atrocities as if burning with a sense of justice.
But there's no way it's not intertwined with their own interests and calculations.
'There's no better justification to exploit than justice.'
Well, whatever.
For Oh-jin, it was news worth welcoming with open arms.
'Of course I should be happy when they're spoon-feeding me without me having to lift a finger.'
If the Black Lion, Lee Woo-hyeok, was a loyal hound, this time it felt like he had acquired a swarm of ants.
A pleased smile spread across his face, feeling like a queen ant who just had to accept the food brought to her without lifting a single finger.
"Anyway, with this, the Black Star Guild is finished."
"It's not over yet."
"Because of Cheon Do-yoon?"
"Yeah."
Even if the Owl Faction has effectively collapsed.
As long as the King of Owls remained, it wasn't truly over.
'I have to find out what that bastard is up to.'
Only after killing Cheon Do-yoon could he say that the Owl Faction was finished.
"Well... Won't the Tamrangseong take care of that?"
"I wonder."
Even if that were the case.
He had no intention of handing over such a delicious prey like Cheon Do-yoon to him.
'It's still too early to go after Cheon Do-yoon, though.'
Someday.
No, soon, he would gain the power to hunt him.
'That's why I started this whole thing.'
Oh-jin watched the news on TV and smirked.
"So, how long are you planning to lie there?"
"Goo goo."
"Goo goo, my ass."
Ha-eun let out a disbelieving laugh and stretched Oh-jin's cheek.
"Honestly, seeing you like this makes me wonder if you're the same Oh-jinnie from back then."
"When are you talking about?"
"That was..."
Ha-eun's cheeks flushed red as she lightly tapped his forehead.
"I don't know, you jerk."
"Hey, what is it? Now I'm even more curious."
"Even if you're curious, I'm not telling."
She stuck out her tongue and sat up.
"Well, this noona is going grocery shopping. Let's have dinner together in a bit."
"What, you're going to cook?"
"Huhu. I'm trying a new recipe today, so look forward to it, okay?"
"No."
What the.
She definitely kissed me when she got back then.
Why wasn't the curse broken?
'Is it because it was on the cheek?'
He recalled Ha-eun pouting as if she was disappointed about something.
"You have to consider nutrition when you eat. You'll get tired of eating the same thing every day."
*Please consider the taste too, noona.*
"Well, I'm heading out~!"
*Thud.*
Ha-eun went outside.
"Alright then."
He sat on the sofa and watched the news.
On the news, the two announcers' conversation continued.
[There are also reports that the captured Black Star Guild members are the same criminals who were imprisoned during the Cheorwon Prison disappearance incident three years ago.]
[Yes. According to identity checks, approximately 70% of the captured members were indeed the criminals who disappeared at that time.]
[That's horrifying. How are the captured Black Star Guild members being managed now?]
[According to the Guild Alliance's official announcement, the members confirmed to be the former Cheorwon Prison inmates are being held separately in a prison, while the rest are being investigated to determine why they joined the Black Star Guild.]
[That makes sense. It's possible some joined the organization against their will.]
[Even so, it seems unlikely they will escape punishment.]
Just as the announcer said.
Even if they were forced to join the Black Star Guild, it would be difficult to completely avoid punishment.
There would be some extenuating circumstances taken into account, but...
[So, are the Black Star Guild members currently being identified under the Guild Alliance's management?]
[Yes. The Association reportedly offered its cooperation, but was refused.]
[The war of nerves between the Association and the major guilds is fierce.]
The two announcers continued their discussion with serious faces.
"They're scrambling to take all the credit."
Oh-jin shrugged as he watched the news.
'But what are they going to do.'
*Swoosh.*
He leaned back against the sofa and crossed his legs.
"The one who's going to monopolize everything... isn't you, but me."
A sharp, predatory smile formed on his lips.
* * *
An Awakener-exclusive prison located in Paju.
The Owls of the Black Star Guild, whose identities had been confirmed, were incarcerated there.
The criminals who had vanished during the Cheorwon Prison disappearance incident three years ago.
Having received the Stigma of Noctua and become members of the Black Star Guild, trampling on countless lives, they were now locked in cells, bound in special restraints made for Awakeners.
"Damn it! Untie these things right now, you bastards!"
"I told you! We were only forced to follow the Black Star Guild!"
"We're innocent!"
The captured Black Star Guild members screamed at the prison guards.
"...Sigh."
The prison guard watching them frowned and let out a sigh.
"Innocent?"
He approached the man who had just shouted about being innocent.
Flipping through the thick file in his hand, he stopped at the section listing the man's criminal record.
"Three counts of aggravated robbery, two counts of rape and murder, plus numerous other priors for theft, assault, and so on."
"...Th-that's."
"What do you mean, innocent, you son of a bitch."
And that was just his record from before he joined the Black Star Guild.
It was impossible to even fathom what other horrific crimes he had committed under the Black Star Guild for the past three years, and yet he claimed to be 'innocent'.
"You're all the same kind of bastards. Got it?"
The guard glared fiercely at the restrained Black Star Guild members.
There were only differences in degree.
Most of the criminals who had been incarcerated at Cheorwon Prison had similar records.
For them to now claim they were forced to follow the Black Star Guild or that they were innocent was just absurd.
"Keep talking and I'll gag you all, so shut your mouths. Huh?"
"......"
The guard scanned the now much quieter prison and glanced up at the clock on the wall.
'It's almost time for the shift change.'
Deep fatigue was etched around his eyes as he looked at the clock.
Watching over nearly two thousand criminals was no easy task.
Especially when the Guild Alliance had given orders to monitor them as thoroughly as possible.
As he was staring blankly at the ticking clock.
-*BEEEEEEEEEEP!!!!*
A loud siren blared throughout the entire prison.
"Wh-what?"
"What's going on?"
The guards, who had been eagerly awaiting the shift change, looked around with urgent expressions.
-*CRASH!*
"The siren is going off, what are you idiots doing?!"
"W-Warden?"
Just then, the door burst open and a man rushed in.
The prison warden, Jeong Jae-cheol.
He was the man in charge of the prison currently holding the captured Black Star Guild members at the request of the Guild Alliance.
"There's been a mass breakout in Wing B!! Hurry! Get out there, now!!"
Jeong Jae-cheol bellowed, his thick, caterpillar-like eyebrows furrowed.
"Yes, sir!"
"W-We'll deploy immediately!"
Startled by the warden's roar, the guards rushed outside in a flurry.
"......"
Warden Jeong Jae-cheol watched the backs of the hastily departing guards and slowly walked into the prison block.
The interior of the prison resembled a chicken coop.
Inside the tightly packed rows of cells were the Black Star Guild members, bound in special restraints.
"Let's see."
Warden Jeong Jae-cheol picked up the thick file a guard had been holding and scanned through it.
"A total of 2,192 people."
A predatory smile formed on the warden's lips as he looked over the captured members' criminal records.
"Shall we get started?"
*Drrrrrg.*
Warden Jeong Jae-cheol dragged a large gas canister inside.
"Wh... what?"
"What are you trying to do?"
The restrained Black Star Guild members scowled menacingly as they watched the warden's bizarre actions.
"What am I doing?"
*Thump.*
Warden Jeong Jae-cheol sat down on the large gas canister and licked his lips.
"The hunt is over, so isn't it time to start cooking?"
"━What?"
The Black Star Guild members stared at the warden as if he were spouting nonsense.
Warden Jeong Jae-cheol shrugged lightly and turned the valve on the gas canister.
-*Hiiiiisssss!!*
Purple smoke began to pour out of the canister, filling the prison.
"C-cough! Wh-what is this?!"
"P-poison gas?"
"Y-y-you crazy bastard!!!"
The restrained Black Star Guild members glared at the warden with horrified expressions.
"Are you trying to kill everyone in here?!"
"S-stop, you crazy son of a bitch!!! N-no. Please, stop!!!"
The prison interior descended into chaos.
Warden Jeong Jae-cheol scanned the wailing Black Star Guild members and stood up.
"You've heard 'please stop' a lot, haven't you?"
"...Wh-what?"
"You've heard 'quit it' and 'spare me' until you were sick of it, right? Huh?"
"......"
"Did you ever stop when you heard those words?"
"...Th-that's."
The Black Star Guild members' faces turned pale.
"Phuhu! Then again, if you had stopped, you wouldn't be here."
Warden Jeong Jae-cheol spread his palm wide and brought it to his face.
*Crack, crunch!*
With the sound of twisting bones, Warden Jeong Jae-cheol's face began to distort.
His face changed shape like crushed clay.
From within it.
"See? I knew we had something in common."
Oh-jin's brightly smiling face appeared.
"Because I've never stopped either━"
Jinx.