Chapter 240
Chapter 240
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 240
Chapter Title: The Demon Bait
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Tzzt-.
Lee Soo-hyuk leaped from tree to tree, gathering lightning at his toes to propel himself forward.
Pop-.
Each step caused his vision to flicker rapidly. Now alone, Soo-hyuk moved separately from the other participants, avoiding their paths.
As he pushed forward swiftly, Soo-hyuk came to a sudden halt.
'It's too quiet.'
He had covered quite a distance.
Every so often, he would pause like this to scan his surroundings, just in case he had missed something.
But he hadn't missed anything. The forest was eerily silent, deathly still.
'Unnaturally so.'
This place was seen as neutral ground between humans and demons, but everyone knew the truth: the forest had long belonged to the demons.
And just last night, three demons had appeared near Blue House.
For such a forest to be this quiet was unnatural, no matter how you sliced it.
Crunch-.
Far off in the distance.
A single demon stirred.
It was the faintest presence, barely brushing the edge of Soo-hyuk's sharpened senses as he stayed vigilant.
Just one.
And from that presence, Soo-hyuk sensed something subtly artificial.
'It's deliberate.'
A lone demon foot soldier in a forest that had been silent for so long, isolated from the rest.
It felt off. Like a tail wagging invitingly.
If impatience to pass the trial had gotten the better of him, he might have rushed in due to the anxiety of not catching a single demon yet.
Of course.
'Not that I'm any different.'
Crunch-.
The demon foot soldier, locking eyes with him from afar, turned and fled.
As if beckoning him to give chase, tail wagging all the while.
Flash-!
Power surged into his toes, and his vision flickered once more.
Immediately after, the back of the demon's head filled Soo-hyuk's view as it turned to run.
Kwachik-!
"Gahk!"
Soo-hyuk reached out, slamming the demon's head into the ground. Slowly, he drew his sword.
Stab-.
"Kaaak!"
The screaming demon's eyes spun in circles. Half its face buried in the dirt, it wore a look of utter confusion, unable to comprehend the situation.
"Where'd they all go?"
"W-what are you talking about?"
"You cleared out on purpose..."
Soo-hyuk's words trailed off midway.
With his sword pinning the demon's body to the ground, Soo-hyuk lifted his head to peer deeper into the forest.
Shooo-.
Something was coming.
Fast, like a flying dagger.
The sword embedded in the demon's body was yanked free. At the same moment, it clashed with the incoming projectile.
Clang-!
A heavy impact.
It wasn't a weapon. Demons weren't the type to use weapons like players did.
What had targeted Soo-hyuk's heart was a claw.
One that had extended from far beyond the edge of his vision.
And moreover.
'The target isn't me...'
Shooo-.
Another claw flew toward the throat of the demon Soo-hyuk had pinned.
Chit-.
Clang-!
Soo-hyuk's body flickered, darting in all directions. The incoming claw bounced off his sword.
Peeeng-.
Then, a line of crimson demonic energy shot toward him.
Not at Soo-hyuk's vitals, but straight at the head of the demon sprawled on the ground.
Kaboom-!
The lightning bolt Soo-hyuk fired collided with the demonic energy. Having deflected every ambush, he landed on the ground and scanned the area.
The demons who had launched the assault scattered hastily. Soo-hyuk considered pursuit but quickly abandoned the idea.
He had more pressing matters right now.
"Hey."
Soo-hyuk nudged the demon still sprawled face-down on the ground with his foot.
"Explain yourself."
"......"
"I know you're not dead. Playing possum won't help."
After a few more prods, the demon finally peeked its head up.
It showed no sign of trying to flee. It had already realized the gap in their mobility when Soo-hyuk caught it.
A pair of spots on its face.
Just an ordinary foot soldier. Meaning, expendable enough to be used as bait.
"A lure, huh?"
A simple tactic.
But demons had a tendency to disregard even their own kind's lives.
Sacrificing a soldier for a lure was basic but effective.
"I... can't say anything."
"You could make this easy."
Tzzt-.
Sparks danced from Soo-hyuk's fingertips. Ye-ryeong was better at interrogations, but he wasn't bad either.
Realizing his intent, the demon panicked.
It let out a groan as it rose, sticking out its tongue.
"I-I really can't! It's true!"
A complex pattern was etched on its extended tongue.
Similar to the formations Jin-un drew, yet different. There was only one reason to carve something like that on a tongue.
'To prevent secrets from leaking.'
Even with such a safeguard, they had still tried to kill the bait. That meant whatever it was protecting had to be worth the thorough cover-up.
"You knew that side was empty."
"......!"
"There must be a lookout who can relay the situation. Blue Zone side? No, probably not just one spot."
"That's-."
Bloat-.
The demon's body swelled up.
In that instant, a curtain of blue lightning unfurled before Soo-hyuk.
Splatter-!
Tzztztzt-.
The blood from the exploding demon was blocked by the blue barrier. Soo-hyuk, who had nearly been splattered, clicked his tongue and stared at the spot where the demon had been.
The ground was soaked red with blood.
"Not that you couldn't talk... Talking would kill you."
It had almost spilled the beans involuntarily. Foolishly so.
Thanks to that, he had gleaned a few key pieces of information.
'This is bigger than I thought.'
A few demons knew the situation here. Not exactly earth-shattering, but acting with that knowledge made all the difference.
The three demons spotted near Blue House.
And this lure tactic.
This wasn't mere friction.
"Thought I just poked a hornet's nest..."
Soo-hyuk grimaced, his head throbbing.
The signs hadn't been good from the start, but still.
"Full-scale war already?"
The demons were moving before Blue Zone even could.
"Communication's cut off?"
Returning from a tense standoff with Lee Won-jae, Adolf received an unexpected report.
"Yes. They're supposed to report every hour, but we've lost contact with all of them."
"How many did we send? Ten, right?"
"That's correct."
The current situation was the exact opposite of "no news is good news." Regular reports were mandatory, and now they had gone silent.
Adolf pressed his forehead, head pounding.
For this trial, ten Blue Zone guild members had been deployed as a precaution.
Their job was to report on trial developments and demon movements hourly.
A simple task. If all was clear, just send "All clear."
But all ten had gone dark.
"Taken out by demons?"
"No way to know right now."
"What about the participants?"
"We tried contacting a few, but no response. Seems something's interfering with their kits."
"Damn it!"
His mood was already sour, and now the trial was a mess too.
'First time for this.'
A problem had arisen.
Normally, he would head out himself to investigate and take action.
But he couldn't.
Grind-.
'Lee Won-jae.'
Right now, Lee Won-jae was on the move in Blue House.
Searching for Kim Hyo-min. To betray Kim Il-su and swallow the guild whole.
The issue was, there was no one here to stop him.
He needed a way to check him. But he couldn't ignore the demons' movements either.
'Did they time this on purpose?'
Were the demons exploiting this moment, or was it Lee Won-jae?
Either way, both were suspicious.
"What should we do?"
Adolf snapped back at the guild member's question.
He had to decide. Kim Il-su had left him in full command.
The responsibility was his.
"For now..."
Demons or Lee Won-jae.
He couldn't choose just one.
"......Wait a bit."
"Pardon?"
"I said wait."
"But..."
The guild member, about to argue urgency, shut his mouth. Adolf's darkening expression silenced him.
"Get out."
"......Yes."
After clearing his room, Adolf pulled out his kit and made a call.
-What is it?
"Get to my office now. Bring Gale, Tae-min, and Koyona."
-Gale, Tae-min, and Koyona...?
The guild member on the line instantly recalled their common thread.
-You don't mean...?
"Hurry over. No time."
-......Understood.
Adolf hung up.
Perhaps due to the urgency in his final words, his right-hand woman, the high-ranker Ju Ha-neul, and the other three arrived in minutes.
"You called?"
"You know the situation?"
"Vice Guild Master Lee Won-jae?"
"Yeah."
He had already warned his inner circle about Lee Won-jae's danger.
No need for lengthy explanations.
"Demons are acting strange. Lee Won-jae's stirring trouble too. It's getting complicated."
"You have a plan?"
"Are you thinking of fighting the vice guild master...?"
"No."
Adolf shook his head.
"That would spark a civil war in the guild. Neither side wants that."
Arrogant as he was, Lee Won-jae's skills were real. Internal conflict now would be disastrous.
But Lee Won-jae didn't want that either.
"Lee Won-jae can't do much alone anyway."
Alone, he was powerless. His followers had dwindled by half, and no matter his skill, he couldn't seize the guild solo.
That's why he chose this moment, with Kim Ye-ryeong absent.
To secure Lee Hyo-min and control Blue Eyes' remnants.
"The real problem is Lee Hyo-min."
Everyone gathered here knew of Lee Hyo-min's existence.
Old Blue Zone members from the day Hydra fell. The ones with Kim Il-su.
Adolf had specifically summoned them.
"So how...?"
"I have a way."
If forced to choose a side, just change the situation entirely.
"Move Lee Hyo-min to a safer location. As discreetly as possible. And far away!"
The guild members startled.
"You're serious?"
"Without guild master's permission, if we..."
"No time. He'll understand."
To handle both demons and Lee Won-jae, this was the only way.
Relocate Lee Hyo-min somewhere Lee Won-jae's reach couldn't touch. Then, whatever he did wouldn't matter.
With that decision, Adolf shot to his feet and shouted.
"Hurry! Move!"
-Unaware that someone, somewhere, was watching them.