Chapter 186
Chapter 186
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 186
Chapter Title: Shadows of the Underground Raid
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GHO was a colossal power bloc dominating the entire world.
It could impose national sanctions, and any country defying their will would be branded a "hunter-weak nation," stripped of countless benefits.
A supranational authority.
A force that held sway anywhere across the globe.
GHO stood as the unparalleled supreme power atop the current Earth.
"What?"
Realizing the gravity of the conversation, the War God urgently scanned his surroundings.
Yong-un was no stranger to jokes.
He was the type to follow through if he said he would—and he possessed the power to back it up.
Yet this very man was plotting to ransack the GHO headquarters in America, the very heart of the organization.
"Shh."
The VIP room was now empty.
Even so, Yong-un glanced around once more before opening his palm.
The lightly floating Crimson Heaven Demonic Energy burst and vanished as he clenched his fist.
Or more precisely...
Szzzzzt.
It spread out so finely that the naked eye couldn't detect it, subtly dominating the surroundings.
A massive filter net that blocked any intentional mana control while excluding natural flows of energy.
"Ha."
The War God clicked his tongue in awe at Yong-un's divine prowess.
The War God was the world's top S-rank hunter, bearing the title of strongest.
Even if he wasn't a mana-sensitive magic hunter, his eyes—those of the number one martial hunter—could clearly see what Yong-un had just done.
His vision filled with a dark crimson haze enveloping the area.
Wearing an incredulous expression, the War God shook his head up and down while staring at Yong-un.
"If you want to talk out loud, we can do that."
"Suspecting surveillance?"
"Better safe than sorry. This world has more things I don't know than I can count."
The War God's eyebrow twitched.
He'd thought Yong-un was a man whose arrogance stemmed from his overwhelming strength—a power that let him bulldoze through any problem.
But for some reason, Yong-un had changed.
Completely.
The bold Yong-un who seemed to say, "Try me if you dare," was gone.
In his place sat an even more dangerous version: one who wielded immense power without a hint of complacency, layering caution upon caution, brooking no uncertainty in anything.
A meticulous monster.
As the War God stared in silence, Yong-un spoke.
"Just as I said. The moment the sun sets today, I'll raid basement level 4."
"Why tell me? Sure, we've grown closer through this incident, but I'm still a hunter deeply tied to GHO. Spilling this to me puts you at risk, doesn't it?"
Yong-un chuckled softly at the War God's veiled threat.
"I came because I know you won't."
"......"
The War God sighed deeply, sinking back into the sofa.
Then, with a furrowed brow and uneasy expression, he said,
"Ugh... I thought we'd crossed the biggest mountain, only to find an even larger one ahead. Sigh, as you know, this isn't a light matter."
"I know."
"So, what do you want from me?"
"Keep quiet about this."
"Huh?"
What was this?
He'd laid everything out, then asked him to stay silent about it.
Of course, he had no intention of talking anyway.
It was a chance to land a solid blow on Vice Director Charlie, whom he couldn't stand seeing profit from GHO's gains.
Besides, what Yong-un planned wasn't dismantling GHO.
Just stealing one piece of intel from the basement.
"Explain it plainly. You want my silence? Then why tell me all this?"
And that intel wasn't for world-shaking purposes—it was to save the world.
Hard to believe, but Demon Cry's contract with a duke-level demon was real.
Given Yong-un's character so far, raiding basement level 4 for intel was surely to find a way to control or eliminate it.
"The reason..."
At the War God's amiable response, Yong-un voiced what he'd hesitated to say.
The decisive reason he'd sought him out.
Fwoosh.
A violet energy flowed from Yong-un's palm.
The Heavenly Brain Child's secret technique, impossible for anyone in the martial world or reality to replicate.
Geuk-ui radiated brilliant light, exuding a dreamlike aura.
"This is..."
The War God trailed off.
Yong-un gazed at Geuk-ui and asked,
"Do you recognize it?"
"Not exactly, but it's clearly unusual mana. But..."
Tilting his head at Geuk-ui, the War God murmured,
"It's definitely mana I've never seen before, so why does this power remind me of you?"
Yong-un chuckled and withdrew Geuk-ui.
The radiant purple energy seeped back into his palm in an instant, restoring the VIP room to its original state as if nothing had happened.
"That's why I asked you to keep quiet. You're the outsider who's seen me the longest, aside from my subordinates."
With that, Yong-un gradually absorbed the faint Crimson Heaven Demonic Energy he'd spread around, speaking to the War God within the shrinking controlled space.
"I plan to use this energy. No one but you could identify me, so I'm asking you."
He perfectly withdrew all power.
Even the traces of his presence here faded away.
Every proof that Yong-un had been in the VIP room vanished completely.
With his presence fully erased, Yong-un stared straight at the War God.
[Keep silent.]
He pressed a finger to his lips and sent a telepathic message.
Before the War God could reply, Yong-un's figure vanished from the spot.
Completely, as if he'd never been there—like the VIP room's door had always been shut tight.
"Anyone can tell who trained those ghost-like guys just by looking..."
Left alone after Yong-un departed, the War God looked up at the ceiling and shook his head.
'Keep quiet...'
An easy request. The War God nodded slightly.
Just then, the VIP room door opened, and the hunter staffer he'd told to wait outside entered.
"There's a reservation for the next VIP room... Huh? Where's the VIP guest...?"
The staffer blinked in confusion at the sight of the War God sitting alone.
Rising from the sofa, the War God shrugged at him.
"Was someone here?"
"Definitely Yong-un the hunter..."
"Yong-un? No way. How could a non-magic hunter get here from Korea in just two hours?"
"Well, that's true, but surely..."
"You look drained. Make sure to take your supplements."
The War God patted the bewildered staffer's shoulder.
As he passed by, he added,
"He said he can't make it today after all. My appointment's canceled, so give it to the next person."
"U-understood."
The staffer, still tilting his head, shrugged at the departing War God's back.
Then he smoothly erased "Yong-un" from the VIP log next to the War God's name.
Glancing around the room one last time, he let out a deep sigh.
"Must be exhausted. No one but the War God was here, I guess."
The hunter staffer had no hope of detecting Yong-un's completely vanished presence.
= = =
Returning to his office, Charlie eyed the man casually seated in the otherwise empty room.
"You're here."
The red-haired man, who looked to be in his early thirties, addressed Charlie familiarly without honorifics.
A familiarity even the War God couldn't muster.
"Wait a moment."
Charlie naturally accepted it, removing and hanging his suit jacket.
As he went to take off his vest, it suddenly burst into flames.
Whoosh!
Like paper in a magic trick, the vest ignited and vanished in a flash.
Charlie turned to the man in his chair.
"Phew~ Cool, right?"
The man blew out the flame on his fingertip with a mischievous grin.
He then nodded toward the rack where the jacket hung.
Shifting his gaze, Charlie saw the "burned" vest neatly placed beside the jacket.
"Charlie never flinches. Steel-skinned as always."
Charlie shook his head in response and moved to the sofa in the office center.
As he tried to take the top seat...
Whoosh!
Flames erupted again.
A voice came from behind as he sat.
"This is my spot."
"That's enough. You've played your pranks for today—back to your seat."
"Tch, no fun."
As flames flared behind once more at Charlie's deadpan tone, the red-haired man reappeared on the adjacent sofa.
Perfect mana control and skill mastery.
And Charlie knew well the red-haired man's devastating power.
Settling into the top seat, Charlie called out the name he'd heard so often that day.
"Ignito."
Fire of Earth—one of the six Royal Class members.
"Why'd you call?"
Ignito responded to Charlie's summons.
How was this possible?
Charlie hadn't called him—had his words been a lie?
Whoosh.
Crimson flames flickered in and out of existence in the air.
Charlie lifted the cold teacup without sparing them a glance.
The tea from his meeting with the War God, left untouched.
"Bang."
Ignito pointed his finger like a pistol, adding a sound effect.
Steam began rising from the cold cup.
Despite the astonishing precision, Charlie drank the now-hot tea with an impassive face.
"Ugh, spit it out already! Why'd you call me?"
Setting down the cup, Charlie gazed at the door ahead.
"A new Royal Class seems to have emerged."
"Huh? A Royal Class?"
Ignito's playful eyes widened.
The surprise was fleeting.
"Sounds fun."
A sly smile crept across his lips.
"Who? You want me to check if the guy who called me is really Royal Class?"
Charlie nodded.
He glanced at Yong-un's file on the table.
"He's already here. Feel anything?"
"Here?"
Ignito leaned forward sharply.
"I asked if you sense anything."
"Nothing. That's why I'm starting to believe you for the first time."
Charlie's eyebrow twitched.
"How so?"
"Isn't it obvious?"
Smirk.
"If even I—a Royal Class—can't sense it... that means perfect mana control beyond anyone's detection. He's the best of all the guys you've shown me. If he's really in this building with me."
Charlie's hand, reaching for the teacup, froze at Ignito's smile.
But only briefly.
He gripped it again and drank as if nothing happened.
"The War God's words... might be true."
A new Royal Class birth.
Charlie recalled Yong-un's face from the VIP room and quietly sipped his tea.
Can't let him slip away.
As he mulled over countless assumptions and plans...
Ignito, brimming with anticipation, suddenly stiffened and shot to his feet.
Charlie snapped out of his thoughts, eyeing him.
The playful Ignito's face had gone blank.
An expression Charlie had seen only once before.
"What hap—"
Charlie's own face grew serious as he started to ask.
But Ignito abruptly summoned blazing flames around them, cutting him off.
"Is there a basement here?"
"There is, but..."
"Deeper than basement level 3?"
At the mention of level 4, Charlie frowned for the first time.
"Only up to level 3..."
"No, level 4 exists. My clone tracking a weird energy on level 4 just got taken out."
"...?!"
Ignito's clone?
Even a clone was Royal Class caliber.
And Ignito's was GHO's acknowledged top-tier skill.
Biting his lip with wide eyes, Charlie said,
"It exists. The path to basement level 4 is..."
"Found it."
Whoosh.
Ignito, his head and face wreathed in crimson flames, stared at Charlie.
"Capture the intruder now."
Smiling at Charlie's words, Ignito ignited everything around him.
"Was planning to anyway."
Pop.
All the eye-searing, scorching flames vanished in an instant.
Ignito at the center disappeared with them.
Charlie's office darkened considerably.
"Fearless rat. Or just unlucky? Coming when Ignito's here, of all times."
Charlie downed the last of his tea and eyed Yong-un's file on the table.
"Tsk tsk, poor little rat..."
Shaking his head and tongue, he crossed his legs casually.
Releasing the cooling teacup, he waited for the culprit to appear amid crimson flames.