The Ambush (1)

“An Essence, you say?”

Marquis Cunningham’s face clouded with bewilderment. It was only natural. An Essence was no ordinary item. It was a rare crystallization of magical power found only inside Gates—something not even a boss-level monster was guaranteed to drop. What Choi Seojun was demanding, moreover, was a high-grade Essence or better. Those couldn’t be bought with money; they were strictly controlled at the national level. Publicly, it was known that the Cunningham Marquisate possessed none.

Of course, that was simply what the public had been told. In truth, the family held two high-grade Essences granted directly by the royal family.

Yet Choi Seojun had pointed straight at the very thing that was supposed to be absent from their vaults.

“Unfortunately, acquiring an Essence is difficult even for me. I can raise the monetary compensation instead. Would double the original amount suffice?”

Double four hundred billion won came to eight hundred billion. An astronomical figure no ordinary person could even dream of. Even for the Marquis, it was no small sum. Most people would have folded at this point.

But Choi Seojun’s expression ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠remained unchanged.

“It must be an Essence.”

He had no interest in compromise. The unexpected firmness made the Marquis’s attendants stiffen. Dozens of eyes bored into him at once. Under that kind of pressure, simply speaking one’s mind was difficult for anyone.

Yet Choi Seojun looked perfectly at ease. Because the one holding the hilt of the sword wasn’t them—it was him.

“If that doesn’t suit you, I’ll take my leave.”

“...I accept.”

Choi Seojun, already halfway out of his chair, sat back down.

“However, retrieving it from the main estate will take some time.”

“I understand.”

Essences were supposed to be kept in secure locations. If outsiders learned where they were stored, the risk of theft was too great. The fact that Cardinal Francis had been carrying one on his person was the exception, not the rule.

“Still… how did you know I possessed one?” ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Marquis asked with a sigh.

“I’ll keep that to myself.”

“Haha. Very well.”

After settling on a specific time and place, Choi Seojun left the café.

On the terrace he had just vacated, one of the Marquis’s men spoke cautiously.

“Your Excellency, is it truly wise to hand over an Essence?”

“You saw it yourself. The way he held that demonic sword while speaking.”

“...Even after witnessing it, I can scarcely believe my eyes.”

“He was showing off. To me.”

Marquis Cunningham shook his head. Iduz was a famous demonic blade, cursed by the second sultan of the Room Sultanate. Even he would have struggled to keep his sanity while wielding it. Yet Choi Seojun had remained utterly composed the entire time, gripping the sword as though the sultan’s curse were nothing more than a light breeze. He had even taken a moment to admire the weapon, almost as if inviting the Marquis to watch.

At that moment, the Marquis had become certain: this man truly could purify Iduz. In which case, four hundred billion was a cheap price. He would have paid double—triple, even—if it meant lifting the curse from his family’s heirloom. The loss of an Essence stung, but…

To save the house, this much bloodletting is necessary.

No matter how precious an Essence might be, it could never outweigh the survival of his lineage.

*

Russian Orthodox Church, Korean Branch.

“I’m going insane.”

Nikolai clutched his forehead as he read the orders that had arrived from Moscow. He was living through the worst chapter of his life. He had personally sold out the Church’s execution priests to the Korean government. The act had earned him the Patriarch’s deepest displeasure, but he’d had no choice. If he hadn’t done it, he would have died.

The chilling snip of scissors still echoed in his ears. Ever since “that incident,” the hallucination had plagued him. He had woken bolt upright from sleep more times than he could count, certain he heard the blades opening and closing. Eventually he had removed every pair of scissors from the church. Even the sight of one brought back the woman’s bright, smiling face.

Nikolai shuddered. He prayed the next negotiation partner would never arrive. Because that arrival would mean his death.

The problem was that Moscow was demanding results. After failing to secure the Saintess, he had produced nothing of value. Yet he couldn’t possibly drag the Saintess in now.

While he remained trapped between a rock and a hard place, news reached him: Marquis Cunningham had entered Korea carrying the demonic sword Iduz.

It was an opportunity.

Even if it’s not the Saintess, Iduz would be acceptable.

Iduz was a demonic blade, yet it was also classified as a holy relic—a rare duality. It had once belonged to Godfrey de Bouillon, leader of the Crusades and one of the Nine Worthies. The Patriarch had expressed interest in it before. If Nikolai could deliver the sword, he might redeem his earlier failure.

Obtaining it would not be easy. Marquis Cunningham was a high-ranking Hunter expected to reach S-class soon, and anyone targeting Iduz would first have to deal with his formidable escort.

Still, it was far safer than going after the Saintess.

Even better, the Marquis was attempting to smuggle an Essence into the country alongside the sword. He had never stated it openly, but Nikolai’s watchers had caught the movement. The Orthodox Church’s intelligence network across the West was dense. The moment the Essence left British soil, it had fallen under their gaze.

Aiming for both Iduz and the Essence is too greedy.

He wanted them both, but the Russian Orthodox Church’s operations inside Korea were currently crippled. After the mass exposure of their execution priests, the Korean government was tearing the branch apart in a thorough crackdown. Regrettably, he would have to sacrifice one.

After long deliberation, Nikolai decided to use the Essence as bait to lure another faction. There was no question whom to call.

“Contact Ambassador Wang Wei.”

“Understood.”

China, naturally. The mere mention of an Essence would send them into a frenzy.

*

The Magu Festival had begun. The park in front of the Constellation of Dawn Guild headquarters was packed shoulder-to-shoulder with Hunters.

Meanwhile, I was inside the guild building, meeting someone.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Shin Sua, Guild Master of the Constellation of Dawn.”

The Guild Master was a slender woman with twin tails. Her eyes sparkled like a child’s as she looked at me.

“I’ve heard so much about you! You’re that famous—!”

“Guild Master!”

“Huh? Was that supposed to stay secret?”

At Ha Jinwu’s sharp rebuke, Shin Sua scratched her head sheepishly. She looked a bit scatterbrained, but anyone who underestimated her was a fool. Plenty of Hunters had fallen for that innocent face and ended up on the receiving end of her fists.

Calamity Star.

Just as the nickname suggested, once she snapped, she became a woman who cared for neither fire nor water. Her fists moved faster than her words. She even had a notorious record of smashing the Seoul mayor’s face during the large-scale Gate Break incident when he suggested abandoning the city.

The line she had uttered back then—“S-sorry! My hand moved on its own… oops!”—was famous enough that nearly everyone in the industry knew it. She had kept apologizing while continuing to pummel the man.

“...U-um, sorry. I messed up.”

“It’s quite all right.”

I accepted her apology with a generous smile. This seemingly careless woman was Seoul’s final defensive weapon—an S-class reinforcement Hunter whose entire body served as a lethal instrument.

“Hunter Seojun, you’re much kinder than some people I know.”

“...Guild Master.”

“What? I didn’t say anything about the team leader.”

Ha Jinwu rubbed his forehead and gave me an apologetic look.

“Hunter Seojun, you must be busy. Shall we end the meeting here?”

“Of course.”

I was scheduled to meet Marquis Cunningham soon anyway, so I rose from my seat.

“See you next time!”

I left to the sound of the Guild Master waving her hand energetically behind me.

*

Chinese Ambassador Wang Wei gazed at the park where the Magu Festival was in full swing. After his failed attempt to seize Admiral Yi Sun-sin’s helmet by forcing his way into the Noryang Gate, he had been preparing a new scheme.

“The Essence will definitely be ours.”

“Do as you please. I only need to recover the holy relic.”

Watching Bishop Nikolai speak so reverently of the relic, Wang Wei clicked his tongue inwardly.

Tsk. These religious fanatics are all the same.

Not every relic was a blessing. Some were nothing but trouble. The demonic sword Iduz was a perfect example. Wield it and you lost your mind, swinging the blade until you died. Wang Wei could not fathom why anyone would call such a thing a holy relic. Then again, he had never cared to understand the mindset of zealots.

As long as I obtain the Essence, nothing else matters.

Having learned from his previous failure, Wang Wei had prepared this operation meticulously. The odds of success were high. The Constellation of Dawn Guild was focused entirely on the festival in the park.

Their real target—Marquis Cunningham—was currently inside a separate building far from the festivities.

Wang Wei asked for confirmation.

“No dangerous individuals inside?”

“Just be wary of Marquis Gerald and his guards. None of the others are worth worrying about.”

Nikolai, observing the building from a nearby hill, answered calmly. From his reconnaissance, the only notable threat inside was Marquis Gerald. The rest were ordinary low-ranking Hunters. High-ranking Hunters rarely bothered attending a festival like this.

He had felt a slight unease upon hearing that the Calamity Star had returned from the United States, but even that wasn’t a problem. She would be unable to interfere with what happened inside the hall.

“We begin.”

Bishop Nikolai lifted the stake he had prepared.

He drove the stake into the ground.

At that exact moment—

KUUUUUUNG———!

A deafening roar shook the air as a hazy barrier enveloped the entire building.

*

“Huh?”

What the hell is that?

“What’s going on?” Marquis Cunningham asked, startled.

“I’m not sure.”

I had been meeting with the Marquis in the inner chamber when the entire building suddenly trembled. I lifted my head, senses sharpening.

An earthquake?