Chapter 43
Chapter 43
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Intruders at Home
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The emergence of the Night Slaughter Society had the Audit Division of the Korean Hunter Management Agency in a complete panic, as if a fire had broken out on their feet.
"Division Chief! This is bad!"
"Skip the chit-chat and gear up for deployment!"
"No, that's not it! Word is, the Night Slaughter Society has mobilized a Grade 1 assassin!"
"What?"
A deep furrow formed between Division Chief Lee Jong-min's brows.
Even within the Night Slaughter Society, deploying a Grade 1 assassin was an exceedingly rare occurrence.
Yet the fact that one had appeared meant this incident was anything but trivial!
"The Night Slaughter Society's lost their minds. Mobilizing a Grade 1 assassin? We're all screwed."
"That's not the point! Do you know who tipped us off about the Grade 1 assassin? None other than the Garosu Guild."
"This is insane."
Lee Jong-min, who had been hastily donning his gear, sped up even more.
The Garosu Guild knowing about the Grade 1 assassin's movement meant they had clashed with that assassin!
In other words, whether the Night Slaughter Society—including the Grade 1 assassin—fell or the Garosu Guild did, the fallout would be catastrophic either way.
But the shocking revelations didn't end there.
"And that's not all. The site we're heading to right now... it's where Yong-un's family lives."
"Who the hell is Yong-un? Shut up and get ready, you idiot!"
"Ugh, this is frustrating. Division Chief! Yong-un—the guy who's in the world S-Rank top tier!"
The Audit Division hunter stomped his feet in frustration as he dropped the unexpected name.
Lee Jong-min, finally piecing together who that was, widened his eyes.
"Huh?"
"The Night Slaughter Society invaded the home where Yong-un's family lives!"
Lee Jong-min, who had been grabbing his radio in a rush, froze in place.
"Say that again. What did you say?"
"The Night Slaughter Society! They broke into the house where Yong-un's family lives!"
"Oh, shit, this is huge. Everyone, drop the car keys."
The Audit Division hunters, who had been reaching for their car keys, set them down.
Lee Jong-min hardened his expression and made a call somewhere.
"Requesting warp."
Only then did the Audit Division hunter relaying the info breathe a sigh of relief at the chief's decision to take a warp gate.
Yet the deep-seated anxiety gnawing at the hunter's chest refused to fade.
The report from the Garosu Guild to the Audit Division...
...claimed the Night Slaughter Society had intruded into Yong-un's family home.
In front of Yong-un's house after warping in.
Lee Jong-min raised his voice at the sight of police swarming the alleyway.
"This is Audit Division Chief Lee Jong-min! It's urgent—don't block us!"
The Audit Division hunters dashed up the blood-smeared villa stairs.
The police, who knew Lee Jong-min's face well, cleared a path and held back their colleagues to let them pass quickly.
Once inside the house, the Audit Division hunters were stunned by the scene that greeted them right away.
"You..."
Two daggers in his thigh, one in his right arm.
The Garosu Guild's casting director, pierced through by three daggers and dripping blood, knelt on one knee.
"We... lost them... Sorry... Sword Tiger... sir."
Thud.
The casting director, who had held on through sheer willpower, collapsed sideways and passed out.
"Medics! Medics!!"
At the sight of the casting director, who looked like he could die any second, Lee Jong-min urgently shouted toward the door for rescue.
After rushing the critically injured casting director into an ambulance, the Audit Division hunters combed through the house.
But with nothing to show for it, Lee Jong-min ruffled his hair and kicked the ground in frustration.
"Damn it."
"Should we call this a relief? At least there are no bodies..."
"You call that a relief? Would you say the same if it was your family?"
"Looks like the Night Slaughter Society's goal wasn't murder... but abduction..."
Boom!
Right in the middle of their conversation.
The ground suddenly shook, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.
Click.
"Urk."
Dust engulfed the area in an instant.
As if someone had detonated a bomb.
Lee Jong-min swiftly drew his pistol and aimed at the source of the dust cloud.
'Did the Night Slaughter Society leave someone behind?'
He disengaged the safety, ready to fire at a moment's notice.
And just as he waited for the dust to settle...
Whoosh.
A face emerged from the dust cloud, drawing perilously close to Lee Jong-min's.
Startled, Lee Jong-min tried to swing his pistol toward the face.
But a dizzying sensation froze him in place.
"Say it again."
"W-What..."
The crushing pressure squeezing his entire body twisted Lee Jong-min's expression.
"Say it again!"
But that lasted only a moment.
Recognizing who had appeared, Lee Jong-min's eyes bulged.
"Y-You..."
"What happened to my family?"
Yong-un.
The man who had become an untouchable titan—and a monster—in the eyes of Korea's Hunter Management Agency had arrived.
'Yong-un should be in Washington... how is he here...'
Before he could even process the shock, Lee Jong-min's eyes glazed over at the crimson-black glow bursting from Yong-un's gaze.
His strength drained away, leaving him numb to all sensation.
Oddly calm, even.
"I'll ask again. What happened here?"
In his dazed state, Lee Jong-min's mouth spilled every detail of the incident.
"We got a report. Reporter: Garosu Guild. Location: here. Content: Night Slaughter Society intruded into Yong-un's home, which the Garosu Guild was guarding. Upon checking, we found only the Garosu Guild casting director collapsed inside. No sign of the family."
Whoosh!
"Rest."
Having extracted all the info from Lee Jong-min, Yong-un withdrew his crimson-black gaze.
The shrouding dust vanished in an instant, and so did Yong-un's figure.
Thud.
At the same moment, Lee Jong-min suddenly passed out and collapsed.
Judging by the thick scent of blood and the surroundings.
A fierce battle had clearly taken place here.
He didn't care if it had been a fight to the death.
But one thing: it happened right in front of his family's home, and they had suffered as a result.
That sealed the Night Slaughter Society's fate.
"Blood for blood."
He wouldn't let them live.
Nothing connected to the Night Slaughter Society would draw breath in this world.
Boom!
In front of the Unwoo Guild office, after checking his house and flying over.
Yong-un landed with an earth-shaking explosion.
But this place—where the incident had struck first—was already wrapping up.
"How is Yong-un sir... here?"
Jin-cheol rushed to Yong-un, caught off guard by his arrival.
"What happened?"
"The Night Slaughter Society raided us out of nowhere."
Judging by the remaining guild members, about five had fallen.
But with Myung-un nowhere in sight, Yong-un furrowed his brow.
"Where's Myung-un?"
"From what I heard, he headed to your house..."
"When did he leave for the house?"
"Quite a while ago. Over 30 minutes..."
"Good. That's enough."
From the state of the house, the incident there hadn't even lasted a quarter-hour.
That meant Myung-un had been caught up in the fight.
"You're hastening your own doom."
Yong-un's voice, thick with killing intent, echoed through the office.
The guild members instinctively backed away from the overwhelming malice.
Only Jin-cheol stood firm and spoke up.
"Shall I brief you on what the Night Slaughter Society is?"
Assuming Yong-un had no intel, Jin-cheol offered what he knew.
But perhaps from sheer rage.
Yong-un shook his head at Jin-cheol.
"No need. Whatever it is, I'll erase it from this world."
With that, Yong-un vanished from the spot.
Jin-cheol clicked his tongue at the empty space left behind, heavy with aftershocks.
"Does the Night Slaughter Society even realize who they just touched? Yong-un's family? Tsk tsk."
Biting his lip with faint anger over his fallen guild members, Jin-cheol muttered.
"Won't be long before we hear the Night Slaughter Society's gone under."
The Night Slaughter Society never left a trace when carrying out commissions.
Even if they did, it was just shed skin—the real perpetrators would long be gone.
That was common sense for ordinary folk.
Yong-un was different.
"Where are you."
From the Unwoo Guild office, Yong-un shot straight into the sky and scattered demonic energy everywhere.
In an instant, the demonic energy blanketed the area, feeding him intel on everything within a 100-jang radius—400 meters.
[Let's grab a drink!]
[Yong-un or Sword Tiger, aren't they amazing?]
[Why's the bathroom so gross?]
[Honey~ I'm tired today, let's head in quick.]
Yong-un's sharp gaze swept the surroundings from above, brimming with killing intent.
The eyes of a predator missing nothing.
"I'll find you."
No trace of his family's energy in the vicinity—Yong-un soared higher once more.
He scattered demonic energy again, compiling more data.
[One more round!...]
[Where...]
[Over there...]
After repeating this ten times, scouring Seoul...
A familiar presence pinged within the sharply extended domain of his demonic energy.
[Garosu Guild? We handled it clean, so we'll pay generously.]
[This ends our deal. No more business— you won't find us now. Farewell.]
A towering building in crowded Cheongdam-dong.
Inside, Myung-un's energy stirred Yong-un's demonic sense.
"Found you."
High in the whistling winds.
Yong-un's eyes snapped wide; his hovering form plummeted toward the building.
Swathed in thick killing intent and crimson-black demonic energy.
Top floor of a 14-story building in Cheongdam-dong.
In the Reaper Guild Master's room, a middle-aged man lay collapsed beside Guild Master Am Su-jang, as if asleep.
"Our last deal, and you blow it... Oh well."
He crumpled the receipt in his hand and tossed it into the trash.
It stung to end dealings with the Night Slaughter Society like this.
But what could he do?
This trash turned out to be Yong-un's family.
"Still, the Reaper Guild's secured its spot as one of Korea's top four. Cutting ties early was smart."
Am Su-jang rubbed his hands and approached the fallen trash—Jung-hwan.
"I spent a fortune, but if your secrets leak, it'd cost even more..."
He spread his hands wide.
A red energy stretched between them, forming multiple threads.
Am Su-jang's skill: Crimson Threads.
This was what killed the previous Reaper Guild Master.
Threads of mana that severed anything they touched—even those ignorant of mana.
The red threads crept slowly toward Jung-hwan's neck.
"Blame yourself for jumping at the big payout back then."
Am Su-jang thrust his extended hands toward Jung-hwan.
"Farewell."
The Crimson Threads attached to his hands sliced past Jung-hwan's neck to the floor.
"Finally, a breather. Whew."
Thinking the deed done, Am Su-jang smiled and flopped onto the sofa.
He crossed his legs, eyeing Jung-hwan's decapitated, bleeding form.
All threats to running the Reaper Guild eliminated at last.
"What the...?"
Gazing intently at Jung-hwan in relief.
Had he slipped up?
Jung-hwan's head, which should have been severed by the Crimson Threads, refused to drop no matter how much time passed.
Uncrossing his legs, Am Su-jang stood.
"It passed right through his neck... What?"
The Crimson Threads were the skill that forged him.
No way he'd botch it.
Yet Jung-hwan looked unscathed—Am Su-jang approached and picked up the fallen threads.
Snap.
"...!?"
The Crimson Threads had snapped?
The red strands crumbled powerlessly from his hand.
Crimson Threads were mana filaments.
Untouchable by hammers or blades without mana coating.
Yet they broke?
"Did that Yong-un punk do something to this guy?"
Flummoxed, he tossed the threads aside and glared at Jung-hwan.
But sensing nothing off, Am Su-jang shrugged.
"Whatever. I'll just do it again. Plenty of time."
Jung-hwan was already in his grasp.
Whatever trickery, repetition would reveal the truth.
Am Su-jang extended his arms once more, drawing out Crimson Threads.
This time, to wrap Jung-hwan's neck thoroughly.
"So it's you."
Then.
A voice came from behind, where no one should be.
"...!?"
Am Su-jang whirled in shock.
But he froze, staring at the crimson-black mana hand shoved before his neck.
"W-What is this..."
"I'll repay it twofold. Everything you tried on my father."
The hand cloaked in crimson-black mana.
Upon closer look, Am Su-jang paled in horror.
"Hiiiik!"
He'd thought it was sword aura rising over the hand—but no.
It was thickly wrapped in crimson-black threads, like his own Crimson Threads.
"Shall we start with the arms? I've got time."
Yong-un bared his teeth and unleashed all the crimson-black threads bound to his hand.