Chapter 137
Chapter 137
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 137
Chapter Title: ACT.24 Hunters (7)
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“The very person who blocked the information is asking why it wasn’t shared. It’s laughable. Don’t you think?”
I smirked, gazing at the people near Choi Nam-hoon.
My words had clearly shaken them.
In contrast, Jeong Ha-yeon and the twins were smiling faintly.
“Kim Se-hyeon…!?”
Choi Nam-hoon was stunned.
“What are you doing here!? You were supposed to be back at the residence!”
“What do you think? It means the one over there was a fake.”
The person who had remained there was Choi Yeon-soo, disguised as me.
My instruction to have her show herself to as many people as possible to create a misconception had worked perfectly.
Gritting his teeth, Choi Nam-hoon became conscious of the surrounding stares. He barely managed to compose himself and began his rebuttal.
“Blocked? To make such baseless accusations and lies. Do you really have to go that far?”
“You knew everything, didn’t you?”
Choi Nam-hoon’s face twitched, then froze.
“Did you think I didn’t notice you eavesdropping on my conversation with Lee Do-hyeon? You moved the moment he left. You probably killed him because if his plan came to fruition, it would go against your objectives.”
When Lee Do-hyeon was explaining the ‘method’ to us, I had already detected a suspicious presence.
Using Extreme Eye, I confirmed it was Choi Nam-hoon.
I had already experienced what kind of person Choi Nam-hoon was, and I had anticipated that he would instigate the civilians to cause some other trouble.
That’s why I had set a trap.
“…The more I listen, the more absurd this is.”
“That shamelessness of yours is far more absurd.”
“I can make up baseless stories just like that, too. It reminds me of the saying, ‘A lie is simple, but refuting it requires a mountain of evidence.’ Besides, what you said is strange. Let’s say I was the one eavesdropping. You’re not the type to simply overlook someone suspicious listening in, so why did you?”
“Why, indeed?”
I answered vaguely, a grin on my face.
There was no need to tell the truth, nor to lie.
The way to win a fight is to say only what is advantageous to you.
“If we’re talking about suspicious, you’re far more…!”
Perhaps seeing an opening, Choi Nam-hoon seized the moment and began to speak.
However, he couldn’t finish his sentence.
“Then why don’t you explain why you tried to kill Lee Do-hyeon.”
Shhhk.
Lee Do-hyeon took off his mask and cloak.
As a tense-faced Lee Do-hyeon revealed himself, the atmosphere instantly shifted.
Choi Nam-hoon, in particular, looked utterly shocked.
He was one of the group that had attacked Lee Do-hyeon, the very person who had been implanted with false memories by my bewitchment.
“H-How…?”
Choi Nam-hoon stuttered, his poker face completely shattered.
He must have firmly believed he had successfully killed Lee Do-hyeon and returned.
This was the power of bewitchment borrowed from a succubus.
Choi Nam-hoon, who wasn't even a B or C-rank, let alone S or A, would have been incapable of sensing that something was amiss.
“Everyone! That man tried to kill me with his masked associates! If it weren’t for Kim Se-hyeon-ssi, I would already be a cold corpse! He is deceiving you all while wearing a mask of hypocrisy!”
Lee Do-hyeon shouted.
“W-What is this nonsense, Choi Nam-hoon-nim!”
“Were your words about caring for us a lie!?”
Choi Nam-hoon couldn’t readily respond to the situation.
Normally, he would have made a quick judgment and devised a scheme.
But the shock of his own memories being distorted seemed to have hit him hard.
“It’s all lies. To Choi Nam-hoon, you are all just pawns to achieve his goals.”
A silence that definitively turned the tide fell over the crowd.
They had trusted and followed him because he said he was on their side.
But now they were told that this very person had a hidden agenda and was merely using them as tools.
How many people could hear that and not be shocked?
“The moment he heard Lee Do-hyeon-ssi’s story, he gathered his executives and tried to murder him. If it was revealed that there was a way out, the reason for maintaining this organization would vanish, so he had to do it.”
No one could move.
It was a stillness that, despite the lack of action, was all the more unsettling.
It was broken by those who seemed to have just awakened.
“I-It’s a lie!!”
“That bastard must be controlling Choi Nam-hoon-nim!”
“That’s right! Someone that strong could probably do something like that!”
‘They deny it because they don’t want to accept it.’
They couldn’t endure it otherwise.
To think that the beliefs and actions they had held onto were all wrong.
There was no way they could accept that immediately.
“…That’s right. Your words may sound plausible, but in the end, you have no proof.”
“We have a witness, the victim himself.”
“Words are not always truthful.”
Having regained his senses, Choi Nam-hoon tried desperately to salvage the situation.
So that’s how he wanted to play it.
Choi Nam-hoon’s throat bobbed.
Seeing no change in my expression, he must be sweating bullets internally.
“Then we just have to prove whether it’s the truth or not.”
As if I had been waiting, I took out an item.
The Crystal Ball of Truth.
An item that could determine if a statement made while touching it was true or false.
It was something I had Seong Woo-hyeon procure before the war began.
Choi Nam-hoon’s expression turned to one of dawning horror.
Kim Ji-hyeon had used it in the stadium; there was no way he wouldn’t know what it was.
“This is called the Crystal Ball of Truth. It’s a tool that judges whether words spoken while touching it are true or false. For example… I am not holding a sword. As you can see, when I tell a lie, it turns black.”
I needed to show those who didn’t know what it was, so I deliberately gave a demonstration.
Holding a sword in my left hand and presenting the blackened crystal ball in my right, I showed it to the people. Everyone present watched in silence.
“Lee Do-hyeon-ssi.”
“Yes.”
Lee Do-hyeon immediately placed his hand on the crystal ball.
Choi Nam-hoon’s eyes darted around frantically.
If Lee Do-hyeon spoke now, it would be definitive.
From his perspective, he had to interfere with this at all costs.
Where his eyes landed, players from Paradise were preparing to reveal themselves.
The moment Choi Nam-hoon slightly raised his arm to make a gesture, I spoke as if on cue.
“What are you doing? If you’re trying to interfere with the crystal ball, that’s highly suspicious. If our side is lying as you claim, there would be no reason to stop us.”
His face contorted endlessly, Choi Nam-hoon lowered his arm.
Grrrind.
I could hear him grinding his teeth from here.
It’s over.
“Everything I have said up to this point is the truth.”
In the end, Lee Do-hyeon succeeded in speaking with his hand on the Crystal Ball of Truth.
Checkmate.
The people, no longer able to trust Choi Nam-hoon, faltered and stepped back.
Choi Nam-hoon finally revealed his true face.
“Kim Se-hyeon…! You, you again…!”
“…You really should have died back then.”
Fwoosh.
A golden radiance enveloped Jeong Ha-yeon.
What had been a simple sword now shone with a brilliant golden light, and flames resembling it flickered like a lion’s mane.
“W-What is that.”
She was practically a different person from the Jeong Ha-yeon he remembered from the stadium.
As she approached, Choi Nam-hoon became visibly flustered.
Even Lee Do-hyeon seemed quite surprised by her appearance.
[Character, Jeong Ha-yeon, activates the unique effect ‘Judgment’.]
[A verdict is delivered.]
[Verdict: Evil (惡)]
A large, red Chinese character for ‘Evil’ appeared above Choi Nam-hoon’s head.
An evil certified not by just anyone, but by an angel.
A character that appeared like that would make any observer perceive, without a doubt, ‘that person is evil.’
“R-Really…?”
“Was he really just using us?”
The people on his side fell into a state of panic, and Choi Nam-hoon, his situation now irreversible, grew pale and his breathing became ragged.
For Choi Nam-hoon, who wasn’t even a player, there was virtually no way to turn this situation around.
‘Well, there is one way.’
“D-Damn it! Hunters! Hunters! You must be nearby! Help me!”
“If you’re talking about the bounty hunters, there are no more.”
“W-What did you say?”
“I killed all of them around here on my way.”
Choi Nam-hoon’s face went pale.
In truth, the only combatants in this organization were the bounty hunters.
If they were all dead, Choi Nam-hoon had very few cards left to play.
“Damn it…! But the Knights should be nearby!”
“Do you really think there are any knights who would raise their swords for you?”
As Jeong Ha-yeon came right up to him, he let out a deflated ‘Heek’.
Jeong Ha-yeon bit her lip once, then, as if having made up her mind, slowly raised her sword.
If left alone, Choi Nam-hoon would certainly die by her blade.
It’s about time they showed up, are they still not coming?
‘They’re probably biding their time because the main forces, including the guild masters, haven’t arrived yet.’
Choi Nam-hoon likely thought that ‘Paradise’ recognized his value and was helping him, but the reality was the opposite.
Paradise was just using him.
Therefore, once his usefulness was exhausted, Choi Nam-hoon would be ruthlessly discarded.
But if I made it impossible for them to cut their losses and run, they would have no choice but to show themselves.
“Ha-yeon-ssi. Just a moment.”
I stopped Jeong Ha-yeon just before she swung her sword.
Choi Nam-hoon, his legs having given out, had slumped to the ground and was trembling.
The conditions were even better than before.
“I think there’s more information to be extracted. Could you postpone the judgment for a little while?”
“…Yes.”
Jeong Ha-yeon slowly lowered her sword and took a step back.
Still, she didn’t forget to glare at Choi Nam-hoon, causing him to shamefully wet himself.
Lee Do-hyeon also tactfully moved towards Jeong Ha-yeon.
[Using the skill, ‘Eyes of Bewitchment’.]
The focus vanished from Choi Nam-hoon’s eyes.
He was already on the verge of breaking down from the fear of death, so the effect of bewitchment would be even stronger.
“Choi Nam-hoon. From now on, you will tell me everything you know in response to my questions.”
“…Yes.”
“How much do you know about ‘Paradise’?”
They were acting faster than I remembered.
That meant many things had changed, both internally and externally.
I needed to gather as much information as possible to understand what had changed.
“As a low-ranking member, there was a limit to the information I could obtain… but I did my best to investigate on my own.”
‘He investigated?’
That made sense.
That was Choi Nam-hoon for you. Even in an organization he was a part of, he wouldn’t fully trust it, always gathering information to either have an escape route or build his own faction within.
It seemed I might be able to get better information than I thought.
“Then, what is the current state of Paradise?”
“…They have joined hands with the large Chinese and American guilds, Bonghwang and Pentagon Eagle, and are engaged in close dealings with each other.”
“Dealings? Does Paradise have anything worth trading with those two?”
“The Stigma mine…”
“Oppa!!”
Puk.
With a gruesome sound of tearing flesh, blood, not words, flowed from Choi Nam-hoon’s mouth.
Before anyone knew it, something black had pierced through Choi Nam-hoon’s chest.
Jo Min-ah had noticed and shouted a warning, but I was already aware and had caught it with a hand cloaked in darkness.
Did they try to take me out along with Choi Nam-hoon?
“You pathetic fool. To fall for that again and start blabbering.”
The thing that had pierced Choi Nam-hoon’s chest slithered back into the ground.
The ability to manipulate shadows.
It was the same power that had made it seem like Choi Nam-hoon had teleported back then.
‘A pity I couldn’t extract all the information.’
Still, I had achieved my original goal.
I had successfully forced them to reveal themselves.
A figure wearing the same kind of mask as Choi Nam-hoon.
The ones Choi Nam-hoon had called ‘Knights’—members of ‘Paradise’.