Chapter 325
Chapter 325
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 325
Chapter Title: Gu Ryong Pae's Folly
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The Nine Dragon Flags was one of the three largest forces in the Deep Sea.
If the Black Tower claimed half of the Deep Sea, then the Nine Dragon Flags ruled over half of what remained.
True to their roots in the Deep Sea, their way of making money was straightforward.
Steal. Plunder.
The Nine Dragon Flags were gangsters at heart. They felt no shame in using their power to take what belonged to others.
That was why one of their guild members, Baek Mu-dan, had marked the orphanage as prey.
"This place looks that rich to you?"
"Yes. Word is, they take care of more than thirty kids."
"And that's why it looks rich? Raising kids just burns through money."
"How many orphanages without income last for years? There must be a reason."
Baek Mu-dan's eyes lit up at his subordinate's words. It made sense when he thought about it.
Yeah. Raising kids wasn't cheap. If they were doing it for years with dozens of children, there had to be money somewhere.
"Plus, there's talk lately that the Black Tower needs kids."
"Where'd you hear that?"
"It's all over the rumors. They're saying it might even spark a war between Red Tower and Black Tower."
"Red Tower small fries aren't worth worrying about."
He scoffed, but he couldn't ignore it entirely. The Red Tower had a grand archmage, after all.
"Anyway, kids are worth money too, huh?"
Baek Mu-dan licked his lips.
He'd thought it was just petty theft from some snot-nosed brats, but this changed everything.
His steps quickened. He slipped through the orphanage's back door and approached the children playing in the yard.
No matter that the Nine Dragon Flags started as thugs—they were the second-biggest power in the Deep Sea after the Black Tower.
A place like this orphanage? He could take it with one hand tied behind his back.
"Hey, kids. Hello there."
The children playing in the yard spotted Baek Mu-dan.
"Whoa, a new uncle!"
"Dummy, you gotta greet adults!"
"You're not greeting him either!"
"Hello, mister."
"There are a lot of misters."
The Nine Dragon Flags members poured in. They didn't hide their weapons, pointing them at the kids.
"We're some scary uncles, you see."
As Baek Mu-dan drew his weapon, the children sensed something off and screamed.
Ignoring them, he grinned and grabbed the arm of a nearby child.
"Just listen to Uncle and everything will be fi—"
Then, he saw two men stepping out from the orphanage building.
They were younger than expected. He'd figured they'd be older.
"You two the teachers here?"
As he asked, Baek Mu-dan waved his sword around. That oughta scare 'em.
It usually did. They even had the guild tattoos inked on their bodies.
But...
'What? That reaction?'
Mercion and Soo-hyuk's response was far from what he'd anticipated.
Their blank stares were like looking at bugs on the roadside.
Suddenly, an inexplicable instinct warned him.
Something was wrong here.
"How do you handle scum like this?"
"Why ask?"
"They look like bad guys. Same species, right?"
"Evil comes in degrees. Don't compare him to lowlifes like that."
Soo-hyuk nodded at Mercion's reply.
True enough. Comparing Mercion to these thugs on any level was an insult.
Not that he was trying to compare them.
He was just curious how Mercion would react in a situation like this.
Meanwhile, overhearing their chat, Baek Mu-dan glanced at the child in his grip.
Didn't they care about the kids' safety? Or were they not afraid of the Nine Dragon Flags?
He bellowed at the two men.
'You fucking bastards...'
"......!"
Baek Mu-dan's eyes trembled violently.
No sound came out.
It wasn't just his voice.
Something bound his body—he couldn't twitch a finger. Rolling his eyes, he saw his subordinates frozen too.
Mercion flashed a bright smile.
"Alright, everyone inside."
The children filed into the orphanage at his urging. Baek Mu-dan watched helplessly, screaming internally.
'No!'
Of course, no voice emerged. He knew he was still alive only because the kids were nearby.
Funds to run an orphanage for years?
Blinded by greed, he'd overlooked the obvious.
To run an orphanage in the Deep Sea for years, you needed real power.
Soon, the kids were all inside. Only the Nine Dragon Flags members remained in the yard, with Baek Mu-dan at their center.
Mercion walked among them. With the children gone, he was somewhere between orphanage teacher and Black Tower Lord.
"Guess Gu Ja-ok didn't mention me."
Baek Mu-dan's vision blurred.
Darkness soon swallowed his sight entirely. His throat locked; he couldn't even scream.
His eyes shriveled and dropped to the ground. His face withered like a mummy, life force drained away.
Mercion didn't reveal his identity. No point with trash like this.
They died silently, one by one. Feeling their moisture evaporate in agony and terror.
Whoosh—
The Nine Dragon Flags members crumbled to dust, scattered across the yard. Not even fit as fertilizer.
Watching from the side, Soo-hyuk asked out of faint concern.
"Has this happened before?"
Mercion's reaction suggested it wasn't new. Neither did the kids.
"What kind of place do you think this is? Of course."
An orphanage smack in the middle of the Deep Sea.
Bound to attract predators. The Deep Sea was where they snatched and killed passersby for loot.
"Isn't it dangerous?"
"Dangerous? From scum like that?"
Mercion sneered at the dust piles that were once Nine Dragon Flags members.
"Tell that to them, not me."
"You'd be fine, sure."
"Pardon?"
"The kids. Isn't it risky raising them here? The environment sucks."
Soo-hyuk gazed at the same spot as Mercion.
The orphanage yard, sprinkled with human dust.
"Kids playing and trampling corpses?"
Someone shoves a blade in their face, they turn to dust and pour onto the yard.
What kind of adults would kids raised on that become? And even if Mercion protected them, were they truly safe?
Soo-hyuk shook his head.
"You plan to keep raising kids here?"
"Getting bold with your words."
Rush—
The same energy that had turned the Nine Dragon Flags to dust surged at Soo-hyuk.
Who else dared speak to him like that? Hundreds had become dust for less.
But Soo-hyuk was different from them.
"Bold or not, you should listen. If something really dangerous happens, the kids die and you survive alone."
Soo-hyuk didn't crumble. Crackle—lightning coursed through him, burning away Mercion's energy in fierce resistance.
For the first time, their auras clashed.
"So what do you want me to do?"
"Send the kids back outside the Deep Sea. Somewhere bright and safe, not this dark pit."
"You think the outside world's safe? No villains there?"
"Fewer than here, at least."
With that, Soo-hyuk turned and headed back to the orphanage.
"Why keep provoking me?"
The voice came from behind as he reached for the door.
"What are you trying to figure out?"
To Soo-hyuk, it sounded like: You think there's something to uncover about me.
He paused on the doorknob.
"Whatever it is, it won't end well for you."
The next day, Soo-hyuk ran into Si-woo and Ye-ryeong while out briefly.
Sitting openly in a bright restaurant for a meal, Ye-ryeong asked worriedly.
"Isn't this too exposed? Aren't you with the Black Tower Lord?"
Soo-hyuk nodded at her concern.
"Yeah. But it'll be fine."
"Why?"
"Face covered. And he already knows who I am anyway."
"What?!"
They both jumped. Mercion knowing his identity yet keeping him around was unexpected.
"What's he thinking?"
"Me? Or Mercion?"
"Both."
Soo-hyuk shook his head after a moment's thought.
"No idea. Neither of us."
"What does that mean?"
"That's what I'm here to find out. Anyway, what'd you dig up?"
Ye-ryeong relayed to Soo-hyuk what she'd told Si-woo.
"Black Tower's basement?"
"That's the sketchiest part. There are other minor things, but that's the big one."
Soo-hyuk nodded after pondering.
"Keep watching it."
"Keep? Why?"
"Your gut says it's suspicious. Trust it."
It was Ye-ryeong's intuition, no less. A player of her caliber? That alone was solid evidence.
And Soo-hyuk felt the same hunch.
"Watching versus not makes a difference. I'm good here—check it out."
Finished, Soo-hyuk stood.
"Heading back. Lunchtime for the kids soon."
"Any leads on your end?"
"Who knows."
Just before leaving the restaurant, he replied half-doubtfully.
"Maybe."
After parting with Si-woo and Ye-ryeong, Soo-hyuk grabbed the pre-scouted market basket and returned to the orphanage.
"Took a while."
He'd gone out to buy lunch for the kids.
"Ran into friends on the way."
"Didn't expect someone like you to have friends in the Deep Sea. Surprising."
Soo-hyuk hadn't lied to him. Mercion knew his identity and didn't pry into details.
Taking the basket, Mercion counted the bread while speaking.
"Better stay low-key today."
Soo-hyuk turned, puzzled.
"Got a visitor coming."
"Visitor? Black Tower?"
"No way. Invite those psychos and you'd chew me out again."
He still held a grudge from yesterday's lecture.
"Who then?"
"Right on time."
Soo-hyuk glanced at the door he'd just entered.
Someone stepped through the open door for ventilation.
A robed figure, identity concealed.
But not hard to guess.
Rose-red hair spilling from the hood. A subdued heat, like a banked volcano.
'Naila.'
The Red Tower Lord's visit.