Dawn's Bloodshed and the Final Reckoning
It was dawn.
Blood was pouring somewhere in the city, the scene of chaos unfolding across the horizon.
Gu Jinmo, chairman of SW Technology, stood alone in his office, gazing out the window at the rising sun. He had work to do.
And then—
Ding!
The elevator door slid open and Kim Gyeongtaek stepped inside the chairman’s office.
“Chairman, I have word about Senator Moon Byeong-gi. He has been discovered dead.”
“Was it Kang Seungho?”
Gu Jinmo asked. Kim Gyeongtaek’s expression turned slightly uneasy.
“According to the woman who was with him at the time… he died right after meeting Kang Seungho. But we can’t confirm whether he was the one who killed him.”
“Can’t confirm?”
“The woman said he died after drinking the drink she served. But…”
“You think someone slipped poison into it?”
Gu Jinmo’s eyes narrowed. Kim Gyeongtaek shook his head.
“No. No trace of poison was found at the scene. Even in the autopsy, there’s no sign of poisoning.”
“Hmm?”
Gu Jinmo looked surprised. He had eliminated someone so perfectly that no evidence remained.
“Is there a hunter ability that can do something like that?”
“I don’t know. It’s possible to kill without leaving any traces, but it’s not something that matches Kang Seungho’s abilities.”
If such a power existed, this case would never have become a labyrinth. The Hunter Association already knew Seungho’s abilities.
“Hiding his powers?”
“It’s possible, but Kang Seungho’s information is far too detailed in the Association records.”
“There’s no way he would have hidden his powers for over ten years just to kill one person.”
“Same for everyone else.”
“But the investigation will still happen. They were with him until the very end.”
“So this is the final hour. For him, and for us.”
If we won, we could hand him his destruction.
But what if…
“If Ha Dojin dies and Kang Seungho wins, this case will simply be declared innocent.”
He was Korea’s strongest hunter, after all. Capturing him without clear evidence was impossible.
“What about Ha Dojin’s side?”
“It looks like the fight has already begun. The Firebird Guild hunters are just waiting, while Ha Dojin himself has charged alone into Red Circle’s territory.”
“Just waiting?”
Gu Jinmo’s eyes narrowed further.
Had something gone wrong?
“Ha Dojin is—”
The words Kim Gyeongtaek was about to speak were cut off by a long sigh from Gu Jinmo.
* * *
Slice!
“Kkkk… uh!”
Before the scream could even finish, Dojin clamped his hand over the hunter’s mouth and snapped his neck with a brutal twist.
Crack!
The hunter’s neck twisted unnaturally, his eyes rolling back as he dropped unconscious to the floor.
Thud.
He had used power control, so he wasn’t dead, but the hunter would suffer for at least a year or two.
Dojin stepped over the fallen body and charged straight ahead.
“Kill them! Kill them all!”
“Who the hell do you think you are?!” In the blink of an eye he had taken out seven of them.
Yet their momentum showed no sign of breaking.
‘Interesting… I should say Red Circle.’
Most people would have had their spirit crushed by such a scene.
But these hunters instead formed ranks with desperate speed, trying to turn the tide.
‘It’s the dirty side of Red Circle… but they’re still skilled hunters.’
That was why he hadn’t wanted to kill them. Most of the dirty workers under Red Circle had already been eliminated.
They had probably just been called here, clueless. But they couldn’t escape responsibility.
Tap-tap!
Dojin kicked the floor lightly and rushed toward them.
They were already in formation, but only a few actually coordinated.
‘In situations like this…’
Whoosh!
“What?!”
“T-the thing’s coming!”
“Attack!”
Dojin leaped into the air, and they immediately opened fire at him.
But…
“Dark Absorption.”
Whoosh!
[Dark Absorption: 100% completed.]
Whatever their desires were, once Dark Absorption activated, the lust hovering above their heads was instantly devoured, filling the bar to 100%.
If the timing hadn’t been perfect, he would have used Lightning.
“Explosion.”
Boom!
A massive blast erupted from the center of the group.
The hunters scrambled to their feet and watched Dojin step calmly into the center.
No one was seriously injured, but…
“He walked right into the middle of us?”
“He must have wanted to die.”
Dojin stood there, sword in hand, surrounded by the hunters.
In his previous life, during his final battle, he had realized something. The more hunters there were, the easier it was to kill them.
They had never truly trained together as a team; they were just called in for one-off operations.
So entering the center like this was actually the most efficient way.
Pat!
“He’s moving!”
“Fire!”
“Half Slash!”
Krrrooo!
Some idiot had fired a long-range skill.
Dojin glanced at the incoming attack and casually evaded it.
Of course the skill flew straight ahead and slammed into the hunter on the opposite side.
Boom!
“You crazy bastard! Can’t you keep your head straight?!”
“I-I’m sorry!”
He barely raised his shield in time to block, but he had come within a hair of a serious injury.
The new hunter apologized frantically. But…
“He’s coming this way!”
Dojin had moved right beside the hunter who had just shouted his apology.
The dagger sliced deep into the man’s side.
“Kyah!”
The wounded hunter collapsed, screaming, and Dojin seized the nape of his neck.
Flick.
In one fluid motion Dojin lifted the heavy armored body as if it weighed nothing.
His strength stat was 300. This was nothing.
And then…
“H-heck!”
The Red Circle hunters watching their own people being snatched into the air could no longer hide their panic.
Originally, if it had been Kang Seungho, he would have simply cut through the interference.
But these hunters couldn’t do that. They had never killed someone they knew.
Especially not a comrade.
A moment of hesitation.
Dojin lowered his stance and charged straight at them.
Thud! Crack! Pat!
“Kyah!”
“Aah! My leg!”
“Catch him!”
“He’s too fast, I can’t even chase!”
“Which way?! Which direction?!”
The hunters searched frantically in all directions while others tried to call out positions.
Whoosh! Slice! Pat!
“Kyaaaaak!”
“Uwaaak!”
“This bastard is going down!”
Did they feel pathetic watching their own side get torn apart without even being able to fight back?
The hunters threw themselves at Dojin with everything they had.
Even if they swept up their own allies, they were willing to accept it now.
But Dojin laughed at their efforts.
Swoosh!
He slipped through their attacks like water and dove straight into their ranks.
From a distance it looked like he was simply disappearing—brilliant movement.
Their efforts never reached him; they only cut air.
“I’m glad you’re truly on our side.”
“I’ve never seen movement like that on YouTube.”
The Firebird Guild hunters waiting far away watched the battle with bewildered expressions.
They were facing Red Circle hunters—enough to make any normal guild tremble.
The main attack group was already wiped out, yet the ones supporting them were still elite.
Red Circle only scouted by skill alone.
And yet Dojin was completely overwhelming them—thirty strong, and more.
They had prepared in case he was in trouble…
“Why are we here…?”
“Ha Dojin Hunter-nim called us to cheer?”
“Pfft, at least cheer him on.”
One Firebird Guild hunter raised a fist cautiously and whispered.
“Ha Dojin Hunter-nim! Fight!”
“…”
After watching for a while, the tension melted away.
There was no longer any reason to worry about Ha Dojin.
He simply needed to clean up the Red Circle hunters bleeding on the floor and figure out the aftermath.
* * *
[Red Circle’s hidden corruption.]
Online portal site.
In the middle of the night, when most people were asleep, articles about Red Circle began flooding in.
[Red Capital under Red Circle! Forced extortion and violence…]
[The true face of Burning Red finally revealed!]
Articles packed with unbelievable revelations shook the entire nation.
And then…
“You’re the victim of Burning Red, correct?”
“Yes. I was in the VIP underground space the night that horrible incident happened.”
A video interview of Han Sohee, whose voice carried the weight of truth, explained every detail of how she had been lured there after failing to repay a loan from Red Capital.
The inhuman treatment she received. The interview proved the articles were not false.
But at this moment…
“It feels like someone is deliberately creating this situation.”
A woman reading the article adjusted her glasses and muttered.
And a short while later…
[Firebird Guild declares war on Red Circle!]
[The blood-soaked Red Circle!]
It wasn’t an online portal article. It was a whisper site that only handled high-level information.
Inside it, the news of Red Circle’s collapse spread like wildfire.
* * *
Drip… drip… drip…
A single drop of blood fell from Arkal’s Wrath in Dojin’s grip.
That marked the end of the long trail of blood leading back to the path he had walked.
[Master Room]
Kang Seungho’s office came into view.
In his past life he had come here occasionally. The memories came rushing back.
But…
Tap-tap-tap.
Dojin opened the door and stepped inside. He swept aside the nameplate and scattered items on the desk.
With the pile of papers and objects now scattered across the floor, Dojin sat at the desk and turned toward the door.
‘It’s over now… the last one.’
Most Red Circle hunters would be unable to operate for a while.
They weren’t killed outright, but most would need at least six months—maybe a year—of recuperation.
Without their activity, Red Circle’s guild would collapse, regardless of Kang Seungho’s presence.
“He’s coming.” Dojin muttered quietly as the sharp, heavy presence approached from afar.
No one else possessed that razor-sharp yet overwhelmingly solid aura.
Ding!
The top floor elevator rose.
The sound of footsteps followed.
Through the open door Dojin saw the figure and his eyes turned ice-cold.
‘This… is the final chapter of my revenge on my past.’
‘And the arena where I prove my future.’
Dojin stood from the desk and spoke to the man.
“I’ve been waiting.”
The two men faced each other, blades of killing intent slicing the air between them.