Chapter 99
Chapter 99
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 99
Chapter Title: A Swindler's Path to Victory (1)
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A neatly organized office.
A young man with pomaded hair lowered his head, his expression devastated.
"Is there... really no other way?"
"Of course, there might be other ways. But to take control of the Association as quickly as possible..."
"You're saying... a sacrifice is necessary."
Cheon Woo-seong smiled bitterly and clenched his fist.
"You must hurry, sir."
Park Geon-woo continued to persuade the conflicted Cheon Woo-seong.
"If this continues, that old viper... Han Tae-ho will turn the tables on us."
Association President Han Tae-ho.
Although he had shown little movement on the surface recently, news had come in that he had been spotted moving with Special Officers at several Black Star Society branches.
He was clearly on the move, trying to find the link between Cheon Woo-seong and the Black Star Society.
If he found evidence connecting Cheon Woo-seong to the Black Star Society, the plan to take over the Association would be ruined.
"...I suppose so."
Cheon Woo-seong bit his lip.
"An unavoidable... sacrifice is necessary."
"It is for the will of the Black Star."
"I know. But..."
Tears welled up in the corners of Cheon Woo-seong's eyes.
His breathing was heavy with emotion.
He clenched his fists so tightly that his veins bulged.
"To think that innocent people will die because of this!"
*CRACK!!*
The table he slammed his fist on split in two.
"I don't care how many Awakened die! But... but the ones who will die this time are...!"
Deep sorrow etched itself onto Cheon Woo-seong's contorted face.
"...Sir."
Park Geon-woo looked at Cheon Woo-seong with a sympathetic expression.
He knew well how much the man hated the Awakened and, conversely, how much he cherished and loved the unawakened.
"It is a noble sacrifice for the greater good. If you succeed in taking over the Association, you will be able to save many more unawakened lives."
"......"
Cheon Woo-seong, his lips pressed into a firm line, gave a small nod.
"I know. No matter how much my heart aches... I know this is unavoidable."
He let out a deep sigh and took a black goblet from his coat.
"This is a Sacred Relic that can control the demonic beasts."
"Yes, sir!"
Park Geon-woo took the black goblet and bowed his head deeply.
"You know not to create any victims outside of Guro-dong, correct?"
"Of course."
"I trust you'll handle it well, Geon-woo."
Cheon Woo-seong gave a smile that seemed almost pure and patted Park Geon-woo's shoulder.
"Huhu. You can count on me, sir! Just give the order, and I'll begin the operation immediately!"
"An opportunity will arise soon. I'll be counting on you then."
"Yes, sir!"
Park Geon-woo exclaimed in a confident voice and stood up.
"For the grace of the Black Star."
"For the grace of the Black Star."
The two exchanged the brief slogan.
And then.
-Fshhhhhhh!!!
The view.
Inverted.
-Ting!
[A portion of the Awakened 'Park Geon-woo's' records has been successfully inherited!]
[Your understanding of spearmanship has increased!]
[Due to the increased understanding of spearmanship, 《Pyxis Spearmanship Lv7》 rises to 《Pyxis Spearmanship Lv8》.]
Familiar alarms sounded as a blue message window appeared.
"Hoo."
Having reviewed all the memories, Oh-jin let out a short breath.
Along with the message about his increased understanding of spearmanship, the techniques Park Geon-woo used flowed into his mind, but.
*'That's not what's important right now.'*
Oh-jin's eyes sharpened as he organized the information gained from this memory.
"...They attacked Guro-dong just to take over the Association?"
How on earth does unleashing demonic beasts to massacre the unawakened lead to taking control of the Association?
On the contrary, if it were revealed that Cheon Woo-seong orchestrated this, it was a dangerous gamble that could cost him everything he had built up.
*'Is he planning to frame the Association President as the culprit behind the demonic beast incident?'*
No.
If that happened, far from taking over the Association, the organization itself would be destroyed.
Imagine if the chief of police orchestrated a massacre of civilians in the heart of Seoul.
*'The entire police organization would be uprooted.'*
Even if it didn't disappear completely, most of the powerful authority the Association held, including its public power, would be stripped away.
*'Then there's no point in taking over the Association.'*
What good is taking over an organization that's been burned to ashes?
"Which means there's another way."
Oh-jin narrowed his eyes and stroked his chin.
*'Wait a minute.'*
Just then, the conversation he overheard at the tteokbokki restaurant came to mind.
-Originally, Guro-dong and Daerim-dong were supposed to get a management center together, but the Association President opposed it, so the executives had to use their own money to build the center.
The Unawakened Security Management Center.
A protection facility for the unawakened, overseen by Cheon Woo-seong.
"Aha. So that's how it is."
*Snap!*
Oh-jin snapped his fingers as if he'd figured out Cheon Woo-seong's plan.
"He's staging a false flag?"
For whatever reason.
The Association President opposed the construction of an Unawakened Security Management Center in Guro-dong.
*'It's probably a budget issue.'*
Department Head Han had mentioned before that the executives were overspending the budget, leading to a major funding shortage.
*'No matter how good the cause, you can't go over budget to do it.'*
It's like taking out a loan to make a donation when you have no money in your bank account.
Well, an individual might do that out of conviction.
*'But the head of a large organization like the Association can't make that kind of choice.'*
Besides, Daerim-dong and Guro-dong are quite close to each other.
He probably argued that since they'd opened a center in Daerim-dong, they should skip Guro-dong.
*'And Cheon Woo-seong spread that story around, making it seem like the President was just being stubborn.'*
The unawakened people at the tteokbokki restaurant, completely unaware of the Association's internal situation, were busy criticizing the President.
It was safe to assume Cheon Woo-seong had deliberately manipulated the information to put the President at a disadvantage.
*'In that situation, what if demonic beasts only rampage in Guro-dong?'*
Well, the rest is obvious.
*'Guro-dong Unawakened Security Management Center, canceled due to the President's opposition. The price of his complacency: hundreds of victims... Articles like that would pop up.'*
That's why they limited the attack to Guro-dong.
The victims had to be exclusively in the area 'where the center's establishment was canceled due to the President's opposition.'
"Ha."
A dry laugh escaped Oh-jin's lips.
"So that's why he was spouting that bullshit about a noble sacrifice?"
To take over the Association.
While trampling on hundreds of lives as if they were insects.
He was muttering about a 'noble sacrifice'?
"Phuhahaha!! These bastards are amusing."
Oh-jin raised a hand to cover his face, his shoulders shaking with dark laughter.
"So very..."
In the eyes visible between his fingers.
An eerie blue will-o'-the-wisp blazed.
"It's so fucking funny I could die, you motherfuckers."
Honestly, the deaths of hundreds of people didn't faze him much.
No matter how miserably or tragically they died.
It was none of his business.
But.
"I don't like it."
Yes.
The man named Cheon Woo-seong himself.
An unbearable sense of disgust welled up inside him.
*'A brat wearing the mask of an adult.'*
Was a guy like that really called the King's Proxy, the one who effectively led the Owl Faction?
"Seeing this, the Black Star Society doesn't seem like such a big deal."
He could understand why it wasn't them, but the Heavenly Demon who destroyed the world in the first timeline.
He didn't know about the other factions of the Black Star Society.
But at least the Owl Faction lacked the capability to achieve something as grand as the destruction of a world.
"Is this the Sacred Relic that controlled the demonic beasts?"
Oh-jin searched Park Geon-woo's clothes and took out the black goblet.
The goblet was half-filled with black demonic energy.
*'Stop the battle.'*
*Vwooom!*
When he infused his will into the goblet and gave the command, he could feel the black demonic energy ripple and spread out in all directions.
*'The demonic beasts have stopped moving.'*
Oh-jin used his wire to get to a nearby rooftop and confirmed that the demonic beasts, which had been fiercely fighting Lee Woo-hyeok, Ha-eun, and Han Jun-man in the distance, had abruptly stopped.
Everyone was looking around with bewildered expressions, staring at the suddenly motionless demonic beasts.
"A Sacred Relic that controls demonic beasts."
Just by looking at it, he couldn't tell exactly what star-grade it was.
But considering the dizzying amount of demonic energy it contained, it seemed to be a very high-grade Sacred Relic.
*'Should I absorb it?'*
He considered it for a moment.
*'No, I might have a use for it later.'*
Shaking his head, he put the black Sacred Relic away.
"Now... what should I do?"
Oh-jin returned to where Park Geon-woo's body lay, crossed his arms, and fell into thought.
*'The situation is the worst it could be.'*
In chess terms, it was already checkmate.
If Cheon Woo-seong were to step forward, say 'I knew this would happen,' and shed a few tears, the President's faction would collapse.
*'The game was over the moment victims appeared from the demonic beast incident.'*
The core of this incident wasn't how much damage was caused.
It was the fact that 'damage was caused.'
And the key was who was responsible for it.
*'If things go on like this, the President's faction will be wiped out, and the Association will fall into Cheon Woo-seong's hands.'*
A game where the winner has already been decided.
There's no normal way to overturn the outcome.
*'Right.'*
By 'normal means'.
"Phuhuhu!"
Oh-jin chuckled, his shoulders shaking.
He rummaged through Park Geon-woo's clothes and pulled out an orb slightly smaller than his fist.
It was a fairly common type of Sacred Relic.
A communication-only Sacred Relic that allowed you to contact someone freely, whether they were inside a gate or on the other side of the planet.
*'Much more secure than a smartphone.'*
Since it used specific mana frequencies for communication, it left no records.
"Well then."
He looked up toward Yeouido, where the Association building was.
He couldn't see Cheon Woo-seong.
But he was sure that up in that tall building…
…he was confident in his victory.
"You think it's all over?"
Oh-jin gave a sharp, cold smile.
"No. That won't do."
If you wanted that.
You should have killed me first.
-Vwoooom!
The communication orb in his hand vibrated.
There was no need to check who the call was from.
*'Transform.'*
He changed his face.
He changed his voice.
"Yes, sir."
He raised the orb and continued speaking.
"The operation was a success."
A man with a sword scar running past his right eye.
Park Geon-woo bowed respectfully toward the King's Proxy.