Chapter 86
**Chapter 86: The Last Word of the Fallen Guild**
Swoooosh.
Dojin stood under the shower and thought.
The scent of blood on his body seemed to wash away, but—
A sharp crack echoed in his mind.
The final image of Kang Seungho was burned into his eyes like a brand.
Dojin looked at his reflection in the mirror.
In the past, his body had been scarred as if he had undergone human experiments.
No more scars.
The past seven months.
He had moved at an almost violent pace, and past experience had made him stronger faster.
Thoughts had been sorted in his head.
After the shower, a missed call came in.
Gyeongtaek.
Dojin took a bottle of water from the refrigerator and drank it in large gulps, then called back.
Riiing riiing.
The short beep followed.
Click.
“Hello?”
“Ha Dojin speaking.”
“Ah, Mr. Ha Dojin. I was calling to inform you that we have sent a vehicle to pick you up.”
At Gyeongtaek’s words, Dojin glanced at the wall clock.
The appointment time was almost here.
“I see. I’ll be there soon.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
Dojin hung up the call and changed into clean casual clothes before heading downstairs.
As Gyeongtaek had said, a vehicle was waiting to pick him up.
“I’ll be going.”
The feeling of being treated like a VIP.
As Dojin got into the car, the black sedan began to roll slowly.
Soon, Dojin arrived at SW Technology’s reception room.
“Welcome, young man.”
He bowed his head to Gu Jinmo, who had been waiting for him.
Gu Jinmo spoke.
“You’ve suffered.”
It must have been a tough fight.
More than anything, it was admirable that he had returned safely.
But at those words, Dojin shook his head.
“No. Rather, it seems I caused too much trouble…”
The battle between Dojin and Seungho had turned part of the city into a battlefield.
Not only the roads, but several buildings were wrecked as well.
A massive force had been mobilized for cleanup.
Yet at that, Gu Jinmo burst into laughter.
“Huhuhu, no need to worry about that matter. It has actually been flowing even more smoothly because of the unexpected situation.”
The ledger he had obtained from Burning Red in the past life contained VIP lists of company chairmen and National Assembly members.
One…
“You know Baek Yeojin?”
“She was in the Red Circle Intelligence Division.”
“…Yes.”
Baek Yeojin.
How could anyone not know her?
At one point, she had mixed with Kang Seungho and wielded strong influence within Red Circle.
She had good abilities and ambition, so opinions about her had always varied.
“Then why are you asking about her?”
“Baek Yeojin has left Red Circle. The power of the ledger she gave is significant. She has been of great help.”
“I see.”
But one must not trust her.
He had been about to give another piece of advice.
“…You seem to already know without being told.”
“Huhuhu, I am far more skilled than you in this matter.”
His needless worry was clear.
Gu Jinmo said.
“So don’t worry about cleanup. Focus on your own work.”
Gu Jinmo’s expression turned slightly serious.
Then, when Dojin looked at him.
“What do you plan to do from now on?”
Gu Jinmo asked Dojin.
He had said himself that it was not the end.
He would move to the next plan.
“What do you want?”
“What I want…”
Gu Jinmo’s question pierced straight to Dojin’s core.
Dojin muttered softly, then said to Gu Jinmo.
“In this world where awakened ones and ordinary people coexist, there exists an invisible line.”
“Continue.”
“Hunters are those who become awakened and work for the people, but there are also many who commit crimes with awakened power.”
“So you want to eliminate all those criminals?”
“No, I have no such noble cause. However…”
The reason Dojin had followed Kang Seungho at first.
It was to make the world safe.
But when he dug deeper, there were those who sought to dominate this society and maintain their power.
They considered the deaths of tens of thousands of ordinary people nothing more than a casual matter to maintain their power.
They deliberately caused dungeon breaks and, in the chaos, used their power to secure their positions.
“I want to exterminate those bastards. At least the ones who have extended their reach into this country.”
World safety?
Honestly, that meant nothing to him.
Just his surroundings.
His family.
He wanted to create an environment where they could live safely.
In that sense, right now…
‘Clearly… another movement will come.’
In the past life with Kang Seungho, events from the Yongin dungeon break onward had been numerous.
All of it had been to put Kang Seungho in the spotlight and solidify their power.
Furthermore, to shake this country of Korea to their liking.
Gu Jinmo’s expression hardened as he listened.
“Round up the criminals; that seems much easier.”
“It won’t be easy.”
Gyeongtaek beside him added a word.
But…
“It’s for a noble cause, huhuhuhu.”
The plan Dojin had spoken of.
Gu Jinmo had also recognized the issue.
At some point, the awakened and ordinary had been divided by class in this society, and the awakened were treating the lives of ordinary people too lightly for their own power.
[For the noble cause.]
How many had died for that cause?
But for them, the noble cause was—
“Their own safety, power, and money.”
“Yes.”
Dojin now knew that as well.
Those who truly worked hard from the beginning did not use such a cause to stir people.
They simply did their work quietly.
Gu Jinmo nodded.
“If there is anything you need, tell me. If there is anything I can do, I will support you in every way.”
“I am always grateful.”
“Huhuhu, you say many things.”
Gu Jinmo stood up. But as if something had suddenly occurred to him, he turned back to Dojin.
“However, remember this one thing.”
“Eh?”
“I am supporting you to this extent not simply because I saved my grandson.”
The repayment for saving his grandson had already been paid in full.
Nevertheless, the reason Gu Jinmo continued to support Dojin was one thing.
“It is because the path you walk seems to make this world a little better.”
“… ”
“So do not be shaken and maintain that path. I do not want to see your later image stained with black water.”
“Yes, I understand.”
Dojin, being human, could not predict when and under what temptation he would waver.
But because he had lived the most intense life of anyone in his past, he was confident that his resolve would differ greatly from ordinary people.
After Gu Jinmo left the room, Dojin stood up.
And at that moment.
“Mr. Ha Dojin. I have something to say.”
“Yes, speak.”
“It concerns Red Circle…”
At the following words from Gyeongtaek, Dojin’s expression hardened slightly.
* * *
“…Shit, I really don’t understand people’s lives.”
“Yeah. I never thought the Red Circle Guild would collapse like this.”
Park Namhee of the Black Chain Guild was talking with Vice Master Yoo Junghoon.
Right now, the hottest issue in South Korea’s hunter world was none other than the fall and dissolution of the Red Circle Guild.
“I never imagined the Hunter Association would get so actively involved.”
“They must have seen that Red Circle was powerless. No, even if not…”
Thorough investigation of Red Circle had leaked unbelievable things into the world.
No law firm or lawyer could stop it.
Moreover, that ledger…
“The ledger has not been released yet, right?”
“Probably not. If, as people expect, it includes those at the very top of politics…”
It even connects to overseas hunter guilds.
Because of that, attention has been focused on Baek Yeojin, who has left Red Circle, quite a bit.
At least she must have seen who’s names are on that ledger.
“Because of that, she has requested protection from the Hunter Association.”
“Requesting protection from the Hunter Association…”
That meant…
“It could mean that big hunter guilds or individuals from overseas are involved.”
From Baek Yeojin’s perspective, it was no different from making a massive gamble.
She had left the collapsing Red Circle Guild early and secured her share properly.
Of course, it had made her dangerous, but rumors said she had obtained money enough to take that risk.
“Well, that woman will handle it herself. We are going into total war from now on.”
Now, excluding Hwangrang Guild, there was no guild they could compete with domestically.
Compared to Hwangrang, they were slightly ahead.
“Seize all the businesses that have flowed from Red Circle Guild. Remove the illegal ones, extract the good ones, and move quickly.”
“It’s already moving in the business division. Several are in contact and proceeding.”
“Oh… as expected, reliable.”
Vice Master who could be called the best at one thing.
The corner of Namhee’s mouth rose.
“Then let’s reclaim the top of Korea.”
At last, their era had begun.
* * *
“—Hunters belonging to Red Circle, aren’t there?”
Dojin mulled over the last words Gyeongtaek had said.
Although Red Circle had done quite a few illegal activities, there were also those who had honestly hunted without relation to it.
The survivors had been that way.
Originally, the bastards who had done assassinations or illegal things in the back had all been killed by Dojin’s hand.
The only remaining group among them was Yang Taesan and the Shadows.
But the problem was the remaining hunters.
‘If they…’
Naturally, he thought they could easily join other guilds.
No, in fact, scout offers had poured in with substantial sums for those who had become unaffiliated.
‘But why…’
They wanted to meet him?
It was an incomprehensible reason.
Had they not fought him and been greatly injured because of him?
Could it be… revenge for that time?
But Dojin shook his head.
‘They must have clearly felt the gap in power.’
They did not seem like such reckless bastards.
But this thought had no meaning either.
They would find out when they met anyway.
And a few minutes later, several hunters entered SW Technology’s reception room.
All of them had bandages wrapped around their bodies, and all of them were wounds from Dojin.
Dojin looked at the Red Circle hunters and said.
“What did you want to see me for?”
“…We know you belong to Firebird Guild.”
“Then?”
“Because of you, we lost our guild. And we received quite a big injury that required a long rest.”
“Speak plainly. Do you want compensation for that?”
Dojin’s reaction was cold.
No matter how innocent they were, there was no reason to be kind to those who had joined Red Circle.
But at that moment, the hunter standing at the front said to Dojin.
“Please accept us into Firebird Guild.”
“… ”
What kind of nonsense was this.
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