Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Heavy Rain (2)
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After leaving the Valhalla Guild.
I texted the contact number of the whistleblower Lee Woo-hyeok had given me and set up a meeting place.
Of course, to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances, I had naturally obtained a suitable burner phone through the Association to make contact.
Since this wasn't something I could afford to delay, the meeting was arranged quickly.
Three hours after accepting Lee Woo-hyeok's request.
I called the whistleblower to a café near Banghak Station.
'Is that him?'
The man who appeared at the café was middle-aged, with a hat pulled down low.
He looked to be around forty.
His clothes were shabby, his face etched with fatigue.
Melancholy and sorrow bloomed on his wrinkled skin.
Upon arriving at the café, he looked around as if searching for Oh-jin.
It went without saying.
I had no intention of meeting him without any precautions.
'Veil of Darkness.'
Oh-jin, who had arrived at the café thirty minutes early, sipped his coffee while concealing his presence.
Veil of Darkness was an attribute that could even deceive Vega's eyes.
As long as I didn't make a move first, I could hide my body whether there was an ambush or a tail nearby.
"Um... the person who came in earlier asked me to give this to you."
After a short wait, a café employee approached the middle-aged man and handed him a note.
Fifty thousand won just to hand over a note.
For the employee, it must have been a request worth welcoming with open arms.
"..."
The man gave a small nod without a word and left the café.
Oh-jin activated Canes Venatici and followed the man.
'Doesn't seem like he's being followed.'
At least, no one was tripping my senses.
But I couldn't fully trust the effectiveness of the Stigma of Canes Venatici, as it wasn't a representative Stigma.
-*Thud, thud.*
The man walked toward the location written on the note.
Just as he entered a deserted, secluded alley.
"...Mmphh!!"
Oh-jin deactivated Veil of Darkness and ambushed him from behind.
I clamped a hand over his mouth and bound his limbs with wire.
"Mmmphh!! Mmmphh!!"
"Quiet."
After muttering like a kidnapper making a death threat, I shoved him into the back seat of a nearby parked car.
*Vroooom!!*
I immediately started the car and sped down the road.
"Pfft!!"
"Talk like that."
The middle-aged man, his limbs bound, narrowed his eyes.
"...Quite a rough greeting."
"This isn't exactly a situation where we can leisurely chat over iced Americanos, is it?"
Oh-jin grinned and turned his head.
The man, who had been squirming like a caterpillar in the back seat, could be seen struggling to sit up.
"The name's Jang Seok-ho. I'm in charge of Sacred Relic development for the Black Star Society."
"Kwon Oh-jin. Well... you know who I am, right?"
"Who wouldn't know of the Lightning Wolf?"
Jang Seok-ho studied Oh-jin with a calm gaze.
"I hadn't heard that the Lightning Wolf had ties to the Valhalla Guild."
"That's why I'm here. Because you hadn't heard."
If it were common knowledge, Lee Woo-hyeok would never have made such a request, and I would never have accepted it.
"So, what is it you know about the Black Star Society?"
"...I can't tell you right now."
"What?"
Oh-jin's brow furrowed fiercely.
"Then why did you come out?"
"I came to propose a deal."
"A deal?"
Jang Seok-ho nodded.
"If you grant my request, I'll give you information on the Black Star Society."
Ha.
I thought he was just a simple whistleblower, but it turns out he had another motive.
"And if I refuse?"
Is there any reason to grant his request?
Now that I've caught him, there are plenty of ways to make him talk.
"I'll die."
"I'm not the type to die so easily."
"No. I'm the one who will die."
"What?"
I slowed the car and turned my head.
Jang Seok-ho was calmly biting his lip.
"I came here with a Sacred Relic strapped to my chest that automatically explodes if I channel mana into it. The explosion isn't very powerful, but it's enough to kill me, at least."
Come to think of it, he did say he was in charge of Sacred Relic development for the Black Star Society.
"Of course, if that happens, your chance to get information about the Black Star Society will disappear as well."
I stared intently into Jang Seok-ho's eyes.
There was no need to verify whether it was a simple bluff.
His eyes were shining with resolute determination.
"Heheh!"
He's got me.
"What's the request?"
"My son is being held captive by the Black Star Society. Rescue him, and I'll give you the information."
His son is a captive, huh?
"Was that why you were following the Black Star Society?"
The Black Star Society can grant Stigmas to ordinary people who haven't awakened them.
It was unknown how they performed this miracle, something only a Constellation should be able to do, but they were rapidly expanding their influence through it.
After all, people who wanted to become Awakeners were as numerous as grains of sand on a beach.
'I thought he was one of them.'
So he was being forced to follow the Black Star Society.
If so, it was understandable that he harbored hatred for them.
"Yes."
Jang Seok-ho nodded, his expression stiff.
"That was... three years ago now."
Three years.
It wasn't easy to imagine the despair he must have felt, forced to obey the Black Star Society's orders for all that time.
"...Was it really necessary for them to go to such lengths to keep you?"
Holding his son hostage to force compliance was effective, but it was a costly method for an organization.
They'd have to manage the hostage and keep a close eye on Jang Seok-ho, never knowing when he might betray them.
Was he valuable enough to warrant such an effort?
"Personnel who can professionally develop Sacred Relics are valuable. It's a bit much to say it myself, but... I'm quite competent in this field. Though perhaps not as much as that kid at the Association."
Kid?
'Ah, could that be the same kid Mr. Han Jun-man mentioned before?'
Oh-jin glanced down at the wire shooter on his wrist.
He was making exceedingly good use of the gear made by some kid whose name he didn't even know.
So, does that mean Jang Seok-ho is supplying the Black Star Society with gear made from Sacred Stones, like the wire shooter?
'He's definitely a talent worth the trouble.'
Oh-jin nodded.
He understood why the Black Star Society had kidnapped Jang Seok-ho's son.
But one thing bothered him.
"But is it really okay for you to come and meet me like this?"
If they were holding him for that reason, it was obvious the Black Star Society would be monitoring him thoroughly.
"It's fine. The atmosphere has been chaotic since the attack on the Valhalla Guild. And after three years, their surveillance has gotten lax."
"Hmm."
Oh-jin narrowed his eyes.
It was suspicious, but since the man himself said it was fine, I had to let it go for now.
'He wouldn't have come to meet me without thinking, not when his son's life would be on the line if he got caught.'
He must have come out because he was confident it was okay.
"So. You'll give me the information if I rescue your son?"
Jang Seok-ho gave a small nod.
"What kind of information?"
"I'll tell you after you rescue my son."
"Are you kidding me?"
Oh-jin scowled viciously.
He wants me to shut up and rescue his son without even knowing what information he has?
This wasn't some high-priced mystery box I could buy on a whim.
"I need to know what kind of information you have before I can decide whether to make a deal."
"..."
Jang Seok-ho bit his lip, a look of anxiety on his face.
The look of someone who didn't know what he'd do if the information he possessed wasn't valuable enough for a 'deal'.
It was only natural for him to be anxious, as the value of that information was tied to his son's life.
"There are a total of seven factions in the Black Star Society. Each faction is divided by country, secretly growing its power."
Does that mean the Black Star Society faction that was recently expanding in Italy is different from the one in Korea?
Well.
I'd already considered the possibility that there wasn't just one Black Star Constellation.
Factions forming around different Constellations wasn't a phenomenon unique to the Black Star Society.
"The information I have is about the Apostles of Noctua, one of those seven factions."
"That's the Black Star Society active in Korea, right?"
Jang Seok-ho nodded.
"Executor Rank 6. The faction led by Cheon Do-yoon, the King of Owls."
"...Rank 6?"
The powerhouse who single-handedly wiped out the Valhalla Guild is only Rank 6.
'Shit.'
Does that mean they really have as much power as the Seven Stars combined?
"...How has an organization of that scale remained unknown until now?"
"Because most of them were hiding in the Magyeong. It hasn't been long since they came out of the Magyeong and started their activities in earnest."
The Magyeong.
The place known as humanity's final frontier.
A colossal gate, fifty kilometers in diameter, located at the North Pole.
And beyond it, the 'Land of Monsters'.
Even now, nine years after the gates opened on Earth, the Magyeong was an unknown land, less than five percent of which had been explored.
'If they were there... it's no wonder their name isn't known.'
The Magyeong was on a completely different scale from the common gates seen everywhere else.
Current estimates suggest it's comparable in size to Earth, so saying it's on a different scale is an understatement.
"So you're saying you know the Owl faction inside and out?"
"I don't know everything. Information about the headquarters where Cheon Do-yoon is located is a top-level secret, so a grunt like me can't even get close to it."
"Then what do you know?"
"...I know the general locations of their branches and information on some of the high-ranking Administrators."
"Hmm."
That's not bad.
No, in a situation where information is completely cut off, I can't afford to miss even the smallest clue.
'It's enough, but.'
Should I push for more?
"Anything else?"
"..."
"Seems a little lacking for the price of your son's life."
"...Ugh."
Jang Seok-ho let out a groan and clenched his fists.
"I do have... information about the Black Star Society's plans. I don't know the specifics, but I know why they left the Magyeong and started their activities."
"Hoh."
That was one of the things I was most curious about anyway.
"Do you have a picture of your son or something?"
"...Can you untie this?"
"Ah, hold on."
Jang Seok-ho asked, looking down at the wire binding him.
-*Screech!*
Oh-jin pulled the car over to the side of the road and untied the wires binding the man.
"It's a video I took with my son... three years ago."
Jang Seok-ho held out his smartphone.
-*Hehe! Daddyyy!! Hurry up!!*
A boy who looked to be in the lower grades of elementary school could be seen running with a bright smile.
"*Sob!*"
Watching the video, the rims of Jang Seok-ho's eyes turned red.
"P-please!!"
Did watching the video stir up his emotions?
Jang Seok-ho got out of the car and knelt.
"Please... please save my son!! I'll give you all the information I have, please!!!"
*Thud!*
He slammed his forehead against the ground.
Desperately, despairingly.
He poured out his plea.
"..."
Oh-jin stared at the brightly smiling child in the video.
As if he knew nothing of the world's darkness.
Such a pure smile.
Can all children with parents smile like that?
'I wonder.'
I wouldn't know, since I've never had any.
"Name."
"Hmm?"
"What's your son's name?"
"Hyun-woo. Jang Hyun-woo."
"Age?"
"He would be ten now."
"When's his birthday?"
"...Why are you asking that?"
"Just answer."
"March 12th."
"Favorite food?"
"He used to like oranges."
"Height and weight? Based on three years ago."
"Well. I don't know his exact height, but his weight was around 25 kilograms."
"Is that so?"
Then.
"Answer what I asked in reverse. Weight, favorite food, birthday, age, name."
"...?"
Jang Seok-ho opened his mouth, his expression asking what I was doing.
"Didn't I just answer all that? 25 kilograms, oranges, March 12th, ten years old, Hyun-woo."
He answered without hesitation.
Oh-jin grinned and nodded.
"Get in the car."
The deal is on.