Chapter 64
Chapter 64
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Here's the Initial Capital
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"Here's your initial capital."
Bam!
It was early dawn, before the sun had fully risen.
Sena no longer needed to commute to her old shopping mall job, yet she was up and getting ready to head out at the crack of dawn.
"Th-this much...?"
A crisp 50,000-won bill fluttered out from the thick bag placed in front of Sena.
Her commute was a thing of the past, but Sena's days had only grown busier.
Even though she now had to prepare to leave at the break of dawn, a bright smile lit up Sena's face.
"As expected, you've got to see your little brother—or anyone, really—do well."
Normally, she would have refused, saying she didn't need it.
But with all the money required for what lay ahead, Sena grunted as she hoisted the heavy bag, thumbs up in approval.
"Starting a new company won't be easy, huh."
Having given Sena everything she needed, Yong-un tossed out a small word of encouragement and turned to leave.
"Still, it's a good look on you. Give it your all."
"Alright! It's go time! Let's do this!"
From the early morning, Sena pumped her fist with fiery determination.
And who knew she had that kind of strength? She slung the bag—too heavy for most grown men—over her shoulder and stepped out the door.
Humans are truly wondrous creatures.
Just pursuing what you truly want can summon strength you never knew you had.
Yong-un couldn't help but smirk at Sena's over-the-top enthusiasm. It wasn't a bad change at all.
"Seeing my sister so happy makes me happy too."
It seemed she wasn't the only one thrilled to chase her dreams.
He'd spent the night raiding gates, gathering and selling mana stones—a tiring task—but watching Sena's joy lifted his spirits as well.
"One day left, so tomorrow it is."
The biggest event in Korea's hunter world—the guild battle royale—was just a day away.
But Yong-un had no intention of heading to the Unwoo Guild.
They no longer needed his guidance.
"Another day of free time, then."
Lately, he'd been savoring this unfamiliar luxury called leisure—something he'd never known in his past life.
It stemmed from achieving all his goals, but unlike the emptiness of losing his purpose as the Sword Demon, this leisure felt downright enjoyable to Yong-un.
"What should I do today?"
A smile on his face, he sensed the presence of his still-sleeping family.
Then, he set a bundle of cash from his pocket on the table with a grin.
"Maybe I'll swing by Dad's workplace."
Mulling over his plans for the day, he started to sink into the sofa.
The very moment his butt hit the cushion, the leisurely vibe he'd been enjoying vanished in an instant.
'Green energy...'
Yong-un's eyes flashed black, then returned to normal.
An unfamiliar yet familiar aura.
There was only one group that wielded this eerie, green-tinged energy.
The Night Slaughter Society.
They had finally revealed themselves.
Right near Yong-un's home, somehow tracking him down.
The leisure that had brought him such joy evaporated in a heartbeat.
Irritated by the interruption, he lifted himself from the seat.
And with murderous intent, Yong-un vanished from the spot without a trace. ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Yong-un reappeared beneath a streetlamp at the end of a narrow alley.
He had always detected assassins first and dragged them out.
But this time, his hands were empty as he materialized.
"Impressive martial art."
It was a first.
Yong-un had failed to capture the assassin watching him.
Feeling the lingering touch at his fingertips, he stared intently at the shadow under the streetlamp.
"Moving through shadows, huh."
He'd almost had him.
His fingers had definitely brushed the guy's collar.
But in a split second, the assassin melted into the shadow.
It wasn't just hiding in the shadow.
He had fully escaped this place through it.
"Another skill, I suppose."
Yong-un alternated his gaze between the sensation on his fingertips and the dark green energy lingering in the shadow.
Then he looked up at the empty sky and smiled.
"Since you've come looking for me, it would only be polite to meet you before you go."
A radiant smile—not at all like someone who'd let their prey slip away—spread across Yong-un's face.
With that, his eyes turned pitch black as he murmured lowly,
"Wait right there."
His voice echoed softly through the empty alley, devoid of passersby.
By the time the echo reached the end and bounced back,
Yong-un's figure vanished from the spot, just like the shadow assassin. ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Ugh..."
In the basement of a club building in Suyu-dong.
A familiar maze housed clusters of black-masked assassins.
In their midst, one assassin rose from the shadows, letting out a pained groan.
"Did you find him?"
Another assassin asked the pained one, his voice ice-cold, devoid of any concern.
The groaning assassin grimaced and replied.
"I did. But we need to abandon this position."
"What do you mean?"
The pained assassin tore his clothes to reveal his shoulder.
Black demonic energy seeped into it, visible to all.
"That energy... So you found him. And you, a shadow sorcerer, got hit?"
The thick demonic aura permeating the Night Slaughter Society's Changandong base made every assassin tense up.
Yet the fact that the shadow sorcerer had been struck instilled a faint unease in them all.
"He's a monster. The moment I sensed his energy, I pulled back, but his hand had already reached me."
"How far away was he?"
"Over 200 meters."
The lead assassin twitched his brow.
"You crossed 200 meters in one second?"
A shadow sorcerer's skill activation took less than a second.
The shadows swallowed their body the instant mana was summoned.
But to be struck before even activating...
The lead assassin furrowed his brow and scanned the surroundings.
"No other monsters around."
The shadow sorcerer clutched his shoulder and added,
"That's not all. His presence detection is far superior to mine. By the time I sensed him, he was fully prepared."
"Meaning..."
"Yes. As long as his energy lingers on me, he'll track me down in no time."
Finishing his words, the shadow sorcerer doubled over in agony.
The hostile demonic energy burned his shoulder like fire.
A mere glance at the sinister aura sent chills down their spines.
The lead assassin stared at it intently before shouting to all,
"We abandon the Suyu outpost."
"B-but..."
One assassin protested.
"Moon Killer said if we don't handle it, he'll..."
"Kill us all,"
the lead assassin finished. Every assassin flinched and trembled.
Even emotionless killers feared the seven elite assassins known as the top ranks.
"Moon Killer scares you, but not me, Fire Killer, your fellow elite?"
The self-proclaimed Fire Killer—an elite assassin—flitted behind the protester in an instant.
Blood sprayed from the assassin's throat as he clutched it with both hands.
Swish. Slash!
"Gah!"
With a brief death rattle, the outspoken assassin collapsed lifeless.
"Anyone else wanna die? Speak up."
Fire Killer rolled a spotless dagger across his palm.
One assassin had spoken out and died.
Who would dare defy an elite's order?
Unless they had ten lives, they swallowed their words.
"We abandon this outpost."
In the silence, Fire Killer barked the order again.
No one dared object this time.
Instead, they swiftly followed orders, heading up to the surface.
As the assassins filed out of the maze, the groaning shadow sorcerer asked,
"May I ask why we're abandoning it?"
Fire Killer smirked, sheathing his dagger, and replied,
"Our goal is to find him and sow chaos."
"Chaos... you say?"
"He destroyed our outpost and killed a first-class assassin. Have you forgotten how those who messed with the Night Slaughter Society died?"
The shadow sorcerer nodded silently.
With its long history, the society's outposts had been exposed and razed before.
He knew exactly how they punished such threats.
No clean, merciful deaths for those who crossed the Night Slaughter Society.
"Total Annihilation of Associates."
Kill everyone connected to the target.
"Slaughter of Kin."
Butcher the family right before the target's eyes, cruelly.
And finally, the target himself...
"Sever Sinews, Shatter Bones."
Rip the muscles, grind the bones, and kill.
Total Annihilation of Associates, Slaughter of Kin, Sever Sinews, Shatter Bones.
These were the Night Slaughter Society's methods for dealing with threats throughout its existence.
Even the shadow sorcerer, steeped in the society, swallowed dryly at the horrors.
Fire Killer smiled and patted his shoulder.
"Ugh..."
"Got it? Now that we've pinpointed his location, our job is to isolate him from family and friends. Call it bait."
The demonic energy made the shadow sorcerer wince in pain.
Fire Killer chuckled at the sight, straightened up, and headed topside like the others, saying,
"You hold out here as long as you can before moving. You're the prime bait."
"Understood."
The shadow sorcerer bowed his head.
Navigating the twisting maze effortlessly, Fire Killer drew his dagger with a grin.
"Now, shall we go meet his family?"
Leading a horde of assassins, Fire Killer ascended to the sunlit surface with a gleeful expression. ◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Guh... guh..."
The Night Slaughter Society's Suyu outpost in the club basement.
After elite assassin Fire Killer and his horde departed the maze, the shadow sorcerer lay bleeding, gripped by someone's hand.
'Th-the bait was... somewhere else...'
The shadow sorcerer's eyes shook violently—he who feared not even Fire Killer.
His bleeding hands trembled uncontrollably; his suspended feet quivered like aspen leaves.
'We weren't the ones laying the bait...'
In the maze's center, pitch black as if the Demon King had manifested.
Staring at the reaper clutching his throat, the shadow sorcerer screamed.
"I've been waiting. Thanks for showing yourself."
"Gaaahhhh!!!"
'It was him!'
His final unspoken thought drowned in the scream as the trembling stopped.
In the grasp of Yong-un's pitch-black eyes.
Thud.
The shadow sorcerer's body hit the floor limply.
In the blood-soaked maze center.
Yong-un smiled, eyeing the stairs where Fire Killer and the assassins had fled.
"Crawling into death on your own. If that's what you want..."
Then, using a soul-searching technique, he followed the energy of the "Fire Killer" from the shadow sorcerer's memories—straight to his home, where they were headed.