105. You're Nothing But a Villain.
"It's a trap. Have you forgotten? That bastard tried to kill you."
When Anton tried to dissuade him, Makar made his proposal as if he'd been waiting for it.
-If you still can't trust me, feel free to bring a bodyguard. But just one. And limit it to someone who only follows Kang Moo-hyuk's orders, not anyone from Char Guild. Ah, that fierce-eyed guy who blocked my attack before would be perfect.
Watching him openly point out No Song-rin, Kang Moo-hyuk initially suspected a trap as well. But then he realized the current situation didn't align with that.
'Now that everything's out in the open, what would he gain from capturing me? He's too smart for mere revenge. The guy's patient enough to hold a grudge for over ten years. And that bodyguard condition? He said it casually, but it's probably premeditated.'
Besides, he wasn't demanding the release of his comrades. That meant he wasn't thinking about the aftermath. There had to be some other motive.
He probably had something to say to Kang Moo-hyuk alone, excluding Char Guild.
'Whether I go or not, Makar's going to do something. I need time for Team Leader Yeom and Team Leader Pyo to arrive and review the raid plan. I'll have to meet him and buy time.'
Kang Moo-hyuk readily accepted Makar's demand.
"Where?"
"Guild Master Kang!"
Anton jumped in alarm, shouting.
Makar smiled as he replied.
-I figured you'd accept. Ulichamiralra, Yumasheva Street 79. It's a supermarket, easy to find. See you in an hour.
Anton glared at the screen. Makar, meeting his eyes, added as if he'd forgotten.
-Oh, right! Almost forgot. I was supposed to show you this.
The smartphone screen switched to the rear camera, revealing a separate monitor.
The monitor showed a massive monster crouched there.
"Upu Mangbau..."
Anton trailed off, unable to continue.
The surrounding buildings were crumbled here and there—it clearly wasn't old footage. It was live.
'How did he install the camera?'
As if answering Anton's doubt, Makar said,
-I set it up a while ago.
"A while ago? You planned to mess with Upu Mangbau from the start?"
-That's not the point. Look down there.
Makar manipulated the monitor, zooming in on one side of the footage.
-Oval and round. It's an egg. Laid by Upu Mangbau.
"!!"
-Do you know what this is?
Switching the camera back, he held up a small switch resembling a car remote.
-Detonator for the bomb planted on Upu Mangbau's egg.
"You wouldn't dare...!"
-I planted small bombs under the egg. Two in total, but I already blew one. That's why Upu Mangbau went berserk. It's only stayed put guarding the nest because one remains. But what if the last one breaks too?
Anton bit his lower lip at Makar's threat.
"You want me to behave?"
-You get it. Stay put while I talk to Guild Master Kang. Even if you send hunters, you can't stop me from pressing this.
"You son of a... You've crossed the line."
Kang Moo-hyuk restrained the red-eyed Anton.
"See you in an hour. Goodbye."
He cut the call without waiting for Makar's response.
"We don't have time. Char Guild, prepare an assault team to support the Upu Mangbau raid."
"You really have a plan?"
"I'll share the raid plan. Review it and decide."
* * *
Freed from Tyrun Guild, Pyo Beom-hee felt relieved seeing familiar faces at Char Guild.
She'd heard the full story from No Song-rin in Kang Moo-hyuk's absence and smacked her forehead in shock.
"Whoa, so Housewife was a spy? From the Federation? Talk about a backstab!"
"Thanks to her, we can squeeze the Federation for more now."
Pyo Beom-hee was newly impressed by Kang Moo-hyuk, who brushed it off casually amid the mess.
"I just figured it'd work out somehow and asked for you. Didn't think we'd actually get out. What's the secret? How'd you sweet-talk the Tyrant into releasing us?"
"To catch Upu Mangbau, I needed the two of you."
"What? So you'd have ditched us without Upu Mangbau?"
"Of course not."
"Whatever. I still feel bad for you, Guild Master."
Yeom Soo-hyung, who'd effectively been captured by the enemy, bowed his head.
He'd fallen for the plot unavoidably, but becoming a prisoner had hindered Kang Moo-hyuk's work.
For the strict Yeom Soo-hyung, it wounded his pride.
"But Upu Mangbau's started moving, right? And you're pretty pissed about it. Think the original plan will work?"
"Even if you Gigant-transformed and tried dragging it, you'd have failed. Upu Mangbau wouldn't come quietly with eggs around. That's why we need Team Leader Pyo."
"Me?"
"When I paired you with Team Leader Yeom for Russia, it wasn't just support. I had Plan B in mind."
"What's Plan B?"
"Your trait, Team Leader Pyo. We need to control Upu Mangbau's poison."
"Wait, seriously? Did I piss you off or something?"
Pyo Beom-hee recoiled in horror.
"With your poison control trait, couldn't we handle a standard raid?"
"You getting revenge for that 'somehow it'll work' comment? Please say it's a joke."
"I'm dead serious."
Pyo Beom-hee made a miserable face.
"You know Upu Mangbau's poison is nasty, right? Hunters resist with mana, sure—but only if mana holds out. I'd burn through mine before controlling it all. And the volume? Even I can't hold enough to wreck a city."
"What if we provide a container?"
"A container?"
Kang Moo-hyuk showed her a photo on his smartphone.
"What's that? Black and round."
"Borrowed from the Federation. They call it 'Poison Well'."
"Poison Well?"
"A unique-grade artifact that stores and dispenses poison."
"Gasp! U-Unique?!"
Pyo Beom-hee nearly dropped the phone in shock. Even though it wasn't the real thing, she picked it up reverently, as if handling a sacred relic.
"You borrowed a unique-grade item?"
"I tried getting poison storage via Guild Cooperation, but nothing could handle Upu Mangbau's. Dug through the Federation and found this."
"That's not the point—it's unique! Korea barely has any! And they just lent it out?"
"They have sins to atone for. Not asking to buy, just borrow—hard to refuse. Plus, artifacts like Poison Well with special abilities are tough to rehome. Promised to use it well and return it, so they sent it."
While Pyo Beom-hee was stunned at handling a unique artifact unexpectedly, Joo Se-ah raised an objection.
"Even if the Federation sends it, it'll be tight on time."
"It's already in Russia. En route from the airport."
"This fast?"
"Told you—Plan B was prepped. Requested it the moment I heard Russia went south. Made it just in time."
Joo Se-ah threw up her hands in exasperation.
'I wanna crack open that guy's head. How far ahead does he plan?'
Most raids had Plans B, C, D—but Kang Moo-hyuk's scale was different.
Who else could wrench a unique artifact from the Federation?
Especially for a monster like Upu Mangbau with few raid precedents and strategies.
'All while dealing with the Tyrant mess.'
Plus smuggling Joo Se-ah in and exposing traitors in Char Guild and the Federation.
Tasks that would overwhelm anyone else, handled methodically. Impressive even in retrospect.
"I'll give you 30 minutes to master controlling Poison Well. I'll stall Makar, so wait at the designated spot. No time for briefing—refer to the plan."
"Just 30 minutes...?"
Before Pyo Beom-hee could complain, Kang Moo-hyuk left with No Song-rin.
Joo Se-ah had to console the leftovers.
"You know Guild Master Kang's sudden like that. I'll support you—make it work."
"We've rolled together long enough, so I get it. But it's gotten worse."
"Circumstances forced it."
Pyo Beom-hee accepted that much.
She'd done rushed raids before, and for veterans like her, the plan sufficed.
Upu Mangbau wasn't tough if poison was handled.
But her task wasn't easy. Wielding a unique artifact like Poison Well was tricky.
Laypeople thought artifacts activated on touch, but they were finicky.
Misuse could harm user or allies, not monsters. Poison made it delicate.
And unique-grade? Higher rank meant harder control—common knowledge.
Pyo Beom-hee lamented in a dying voice.
"No matter how I think, I must've screwed up with Guild Master Kang."
* * *
Kang Moo-hyuk headed to the address Makar gave. A spacious supermarket sat on the roadside. Single-story, ghostly in the empty neighborhood, it looked eerie.
As promised, his only guard was No Song-rin.
But Anton had hunters waiting at a distance, ready to grab Makar if needed.
Kang Moo-hyuk warned them again not to approach. Only after Anton's repeated assurances—no rash moves with Upu Mangbau at stake—did he enter the supermarket.
Deep inside, a voice emerged from the darkness, halting him.
"You really came."
No Song-rin stepped forward.
"No need to be so wary. I only called you for a real talk."
"One question before we chat."
"Ask away."
"Hypothetically. That egg—is it tied to Upu Mangbau entering Vladivostok?"
"Why think that?"
"The pre-installed camera and bombs say it all. Too contrived for Upu Mangbau to nest and lay after settling. Doesn't feel coincidental."
Makar clapped at Kang Moo-hyuk's suspicious tone.
"We haven't known each other long, but impressive."
"So you lured Upu Mangbau to Vladivostok."
"No way it wandered in by chance. Heaven helps those who help themselves—no luck falls in my lap."
"Stole the egg to bait it?"
"First time spotting Upu Mangbau in Makyung, I cheered. Heaven granting revenge. Years sowing discord in Tyrun, stoking the Tyrant's grudge—payoff time. But missing one spark for the powder keg."
"That's when the Federation proposed the subjugation?"
"Heaven truly helped. Another Gigant hunter? Perfect to move my sluggish Dudnik brothers."
Makar's voice brimmed with excitement. Genuine joy.
Kang Moo-hyuk doused it coldly.
"It failed in the end. I ruined your plan. Heaven judged you, not helped."
"Judged... Judgment..."
Makar's tone sank, hard to believe his prior elation.
"Who deserves judgment? Tell me."
"..."
"Char Guild, who lured gate monsters and the boss to Nazevinsky, killing 300,000 civilians? Or Igor Dudnik, who lost dad and sister defending the city, then massacred survivors out of resentment? Who?"
"So you killed 700,000 Vladivostok citizens too?"
"I said it—people remember tragedy only when it hits them."
Makar twisted his face in manic laughter.
"Don't make me laugh! Think tragedies fade easy? They linger until no more happen. Look at you—you haven't forgotten!"
Kang Moo-hyuk met his madness with fury, then roared fiercer.
Suddenly, Makar pointed at him, beaming.
"Yes! That's why I wanted to talk to you."
"What?"
"Plan succeeds or fails, ends in my death or capture. Don't care about myself. But the world must know. How to spread it?"
"..."
"Planned to seize a station, but botched. Most comrades caught—who to tell? Internet? Government-controlled, easy to dismiss as fake, or too volatile. Can't whine to Russians—who'd survive defying guilds?"
"So you'll tell a foreigner like me? Why trust me?"
"Don't. But checked your history. Kozlov sent it."
Kang Moo-hyuk focused on the detonator Makar fidgeted with. Gripping and releasing faster now.
Time for Makar's finale neared.
Makar spoke quicker.
"Lost family to monsters, hunter awakening dream crushed—yet joined a guild as strategist? A normal human! Fighter to the end. That tenacity—you're like us. Can't forget that day, just like us avenging on monsters. You'll be a great messenger."
Kang Moo-hyuk stared calmly. No pity, no empathy.
"You're mistaken."
"??"
"I won't be a revenge-crazed madman's messenger."
"If you think a bit, you'll understand u—"
"But this much is certain."
"What...?"
"You're nothing but a villain who exploited Nazevinsky's tragedy."