Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: A Night Without a Perpetrator (1)
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“…That's all the information I have on Yujin.”
Oh-jin sketched a composite of Yujin and handed it to Team Leader Han.
He was quite confident in his dexterity, so drawing the sketch wasn't difficult.
“Thank you. I'll deliver this to the Valhalla Guild myself.”
Team Leader Han took the sketch and let out a short sigh.
“What a strange coincidence. For the Valhalla Guild to be urgently looking for the Awakened who got into a dispute with you, Mr. Oh-jin.”
“Did you hear why they're looking for him?”
“No. I wasn't told the reason.”
So they're keeping Lee Shin-hyeok's kidnapping a secret.
Well, it makes sense.
Even for allies, it's not something you can easily talk about.
“Oh, right.”
Clap.
Team Leader Han clapped his hands.
“Besides this, a direct request for support came in as well.”
“A request for support?”
“Yes. They didn't give me the details, but... they said they needed the Association's help to establish a perimeter around all of Mount Baekun.”
A perimeter.
‘Looks like they're going all out.’
Lee Woo-hyeok was acting more decisively than I'd expected.
“You're not obligated to participate, Mr. Oh-jin, but...”
“I'll participate.”
He answered without hesitation.
I had to go to Mount Baekun myself to manage the situation anyway.
Accepting the support request would give me a legitimate reason to be there.
On top of that.
‘If I play my cards right... I might even be able to squeeze out a sweet reward.’
My mouth is watering already.
* * *
A dark basement.
In the gloomy, dust-filled space, a pair of narrow eyes glinted menacingly.
“...You still haven't found him?”
A low, sunken voice.
The men in black robes, bowing low before the gentle-faced young man, trembled.
“W-well.”
“It's not 'well.' It's been over a week... Does it make sense that you can't find one measly Awakened?”
“W-we've checked the records of other guilds and the registration review board, but we couldn't find him...”
“So.”
Fwoosh!!
As the young man flicked his hand, black feathers shot through the darkness like bullets.
“Gyaaaaaaah!!!”
Arms and shoulders, thighs and calves.
Sharp feathers pierced his limbs.
A terrible scream echoed.
“You still haven't found him?”
“Kk-heuk... Heuk.”
The man, his limbs instantly shredded, writhed like an insect.
Thud, thud.
With heavy footsteps, Yujin approached the man.
-Crunch!!
“Aaaaaaaaargh!!!”
He brutally stomped on the already mangled arm.
“S-sorry!! I'm sorryyyyy!!”
“There's something else you should be saying besides 'sorry.' Right?”
“A clue!! We found a clue!!”
“Hmm.”
Yujin's narrow eyes opened slightly.
“What kind of clue?”
“W-we thoroughly searched the area a member was investigating before he went missing three days ago and back-traced the nearby CCTV footage.”
“And?”
“We confirmed that the target left a building accessible only to Association employees and headed for Mok-dong.”
“Hoh. So he belongs to the Association?”
Yujin licked his lips with interest.
“Well... we're not sure if he's with the Association.”
“...What did you say?”
“We staked out the Association building afterward to check for him commuting, but he never showed up.”
“What about the possibility he belongs to a branch office?”
“We checked all of them, too.”
“……”
Twitch.
Yujin's expression twisted violently.
‘Not an Association employee, but he came out of an employee-only building?’
No matter how much of a pushover the Association was, an outsider couldn't just waltz in and out of an employee-only building.
‘...Who the hell is that bastard?’
He recalled the face of the young man who had proposed the deal with a friendly smile.
Ominous.
He felt an unpleasant sensation, as if something sticky and viscous was clinging to his body.
“Hoo. For now, keep investigating.”
“Yessir!!”
Yujin pressed a hand to his forehead as if nursing a headache.
He looked down at the fifty or so subordinates prostrated at his feet.
‘It's not enough.’
He had no intention of being satisfied with his current position as a low-ranking Jeongmugwan.
Someday, he would climb through the ranks of mid- and high-ranking Jeongmugwan to the position of Jiphaenggwan.
‘I will rise.’
A fierce desire surged within him.
For that to happen.
‘I have to find that bastard and get the real Black Star's relic.’
Cheon Do-yoon, the King of Owls, was a cold-blooded man who did not tolerate mistakes.
The only reason he hadn't been executed on the spot this time was that he was given a chance to redeem himself.
If he didn't retrieve the real relic soon, he would become a cold corpse at Cheon Do-yoon's hands.
“Lord Yujin.”
“What is it?”
“Perhaps... we should ask Lord Ashad for help?”
“...What?”
Ashad Khan.
A Jeongmugwan from India, he was both Yujin's contemporary and his superior.
They had become Apostles of Noctua at the same time, but he had already risen to mid-ranking Jeongmugwan while Yujin was still stuck at the low rank.
Certainly.
With twice as many subordinates as Yujin, his help would make finding the target much easier, but.
-Bam!
“Don't talk nonsense.”
Yujin's narrow eyes flashed fiercely as he spoke in a low voice.
“S-sorry!”
The subordinate hurriedly bowed his head and backed away.
“Tsk.”
Yujin clicked his tongue in disdain and turned away.
“Three days. I'll give you exactly three days.”
He held up three fingers and continued.
“Within three days... catch that son of a bitch and bring him to me. Is that clear?”
“Yes!”
A thunderous cry echoed through the basement.
Just then,
“Lord Yujin!”
A subordinate who had been on lookout on the first floor rushed down.
“What's wrong?”
“Someone is approaching.”
“...What?”
Yujin frowned.
He turned on his smartphone to check the time; it was already past 8 p.m.
‘Someone's hiking in the mountains at this hour?’
Even though Korea was relatively safe from monsters, it was by no means safe enough to wander the mountains alone this late at night.
If someone was roaming the mountains alone at this hour—
“Is it a forager?”
After the Gates opened, their power had affected Earth's ecosystem.
From fauna and flora to the very terrain.
Beings imbued with the 'power of the stars' had begun to appear, albeit rarely.
Among them, foragers were people who scoured the deep mountains for herbs or spiritual creatures imbued with the power of the stars.
They were similar to the ginseng hunters of old.
“Yes. He's carrying a large pack on his back, so he looks like a forager.”
“Hahaha, what an unlucky fellow.”
Yujin clapped and shrugged.
“Should we dispose of him right away...”
“No, my mood was already sour, so this is perfect. I'll handle him myself.”
Yujin turned with a wicked smile.
He thought seeing some blood might improve his foul mood.
“Ah, but just in case, everyone get ready for battle.”
“Yes!”
He walked out of the observatory with light steps.
The brilliant starlight embroidered the night sky.
He stood under the shower of starlight.
“Hm?”
On his way out of the observatory, something leaning against the wall caught his eye.
“...A spear?”
A spear was propped diagonally next to the entrance.
It was a high-quality item, with a faint blue light gleaming on its blade.
‘Where did this come from?’
Did my men bring it?
But I didn't receive any report about it.
“Hmm.”
Yujin stared at the spear for a moment before turning his head away.
‘I'll have to ask about it when I get back.’
Right now, an unidentified person was approaching their hideout.
He didn't have time to be distracted by trivial things.
Of course, it was likely just a lost forager, but there was also the possibility it was an intruder targeting their hideout.
-Thud, thud.
As he descended the mountain a little, he saw a young man walking toward their hideout.
A young man with a ruthless air.
His gaze, cold as ice, glinted in the darkness.
“Are you lost?”
Yujin approached him with a sly smile.
“Haha. It's quite dangerous to be wandering around alone this late at night, you know.”
“……”
No response.
‘What's this?’
Yujin narrowed his eyes, staring at the handsome young man.
Something.
The atmosphere was wrong.
A chilling fear crept up his spine.
“...It's you.”
Lee Woo-hyeok muttered in a low voice, glaring at Yujin.
The face matched the composite sketch he'd received from the Association.
‘He's the one who kidnapped my brother.’
He wanted to rush forward and tear him to shreds right then and there, but.
‘It's not certain yet.’
As long as it wasn't confirmed that he had kidnapped Lee Shin-hyeok.
He couldn't attack rashly.
This could all be someone else's scheme.
‘A little longer... I'll wait.’
Lee Woo-hyeok observed Yujin, his lips sealed shut.
Then.
[Guild Master.]
A clear voice echoed in his mind.
Kim Seon-yeong.
His aide and the Vice Guild Master of Valhalla.
While he drew the Black Star Society's attention, she had secretly approached their hideout.
For definitive.
Undeniable.
Decisive proof.
And.
[I found Mr. Shin-hyeok's spear.]
“……”
The proof he had been looking for.
Had appeared.
-Ruuuumble!!!
A violent surge of magical power erupted from Lee Woo-hyeok's body.
The Stigma of Leo, engraved on his left chest, blazed brightly as a fierce gale swirled around him.
“Huh, heok!”
Yujin's face turned pale.
‘This is insane!’
He wasn't some forager.
He was—an intruder targeting the Black Star Society.
‘Th-the Black Lion, Lee Woo-hyeok?’
I thought his face looked familiar.
Isn't he the Guild Master of Valhalla, who's even being mentioned as a candidate for the Seven Stars?
‘Why would a high-ranking Awakened like him be here?!’
It was true he'd committed many evil deeds, but he had never messed with an exceptional powerhouse like that.
He had only ever unleashed his desires on the weak, those who couldn't even touch the tip of his toes.
—Some might call him a coward, but.
Isn't that just how the world works?
The weak exist to be trampled.
And because he knew that better than anyone.
‘A monster like that should have no reason to target me!’
He always bowed his head thoroughly before the strong.
“You said you wanted this money?”
Thud!
Lee Woo-hyeok violently threw the trunk he was carrying on his back to the ground.
The lid burst open, and banknotes poured out like snow.
“I prepared it all in cash.”
“……?”
Yujin stared at him, his expression one of utter confusion.
To suddenly show up and throw a huge sum of cash at him?
What in the world was going on?
“If you want it—come and get it.”
But before his question could linger.
-Kwaaaang!!
“Keoheok!!”
A powerful gust of wind slammed into Yujin.
“Kk-heuk! Dammit!!”
A harsh curse escaped Yujin's lips as he narrowly dodged the attack.
He had no idea what was happening, but.
“That bastard! Kill that bastard!!”
To survive against this monster, he had to call his subordinates.
Fortunately, he wasn't far from the hideout.
His shout would easily reach them.
‘He's alone!’
If he threw his fifty subordinates at him, he should be able to create a small opening.
“Did you think I'd walk right into your trap?”
“...What?”
Lee Woo-hyeok bared his teeth ferociously.
Kim Seon-yeong and his other guild members had already infiltrated the area near the hideout.
Before they could use Lee Shin-hyeok as a hostage to threaten him.
‘We'll strike first.’
-Rooooar!!!
He stomped his foot hard.
An explosive torrent of magical power swept through the area.
“Everyone—!!!!!”
The lion's roar echoed through the darkened forest.
“Move in!!!!”
-Crash!! Crack! K-boom!!!
Simultaneously with the roar, a dozen Awakened burst from the forest and charged toward the observatory.
Every single one of them a high-ranking Awakened with fearsome physical abilities.
“Leave this to us, Hyeongnim!!”
Kwaaang!!!
A young man wielding a massive hammer shouted as he shattered the observatory's tightly shut doors.
“Th-this is insane!”
Yujin's face turned deathly pale.
The Black Lion, Lee Woo-hyeok, was already too much to handle, but there were others too?
“What, surprised I'm not alone?”
Lee Woo-hyeok glared at Yujin and continued.
“Where is he.”
“...What?”
Yujin frowned.
Where was what?
“My brother—where is he?”
“……?”
Wait.
‘Why are you asking me that?’