108. Let's Cut It Off Here.
After hearing a brief rundown of the situation from Joo Se-ah, Kang Moo-hyuk approached to check on Pyo Beom-hee's condition.
"Don't come any closer. The poison splashes sometimes."
Kang Moo-hyuk stopped just before the line Joo Se-ah had drawn on the ground. Up close, Pyo Beom-hee's state was far more wretched than it had appeared from afar.
Her face was ashen. The cold sweat beading on her forehead wasn't just droplets anymore—it streamed down her cheeks to her chin in rivulets.
Her hands were blackened like charred wood from a fire, never to return to their original color.
Her eyes, fixed solely on the Poison Well without even glancing at Kang Moo-hyuk, trembled precariously.
"How much longer can she hold out?"
"Who knows. She's already at her limit... But one thing's certain: Team Leader Pyo will collapse before she fully absorbs Upu Mangbau's poison."
"Then that means we have to abandon Vladivostok."
Joo Se-ah hesitated for a moment before replying.
"There's one method we could try."
"What is it?"
"I heard once that S-ranks gain complete control over their mana flow. They can use techniques they couldn't even attempt before. Team Leader Pyo's struggling because she doesn't have enough mana to control all that poison."
"Are you talking about 'mana transfer'?"
"I don't see any other way."
Kang Moo-hyuk couldn't decide easily.
Lending one's mana to another came with tremendous risks.
There were real cases.
A North American Tier guild had experimented with channeling other hunters' mana to a mage to maximize firepower, but the result was catastrophic failure. Every participant ended up a vegetable.
The experiment's conclusion: "Only possible for S-ranks."
The problem is, the guild master only became S-rank recently. Pulling off that kind of finesse without proper training is extremely difficult. No, dangerous.
As Kang Moo-hyuk wavered, Joo Se-ah made the call for him.
"Raids are always like this. No matter how weak the monsters, the danger never goes away."
"I'm sorry. I should have factored in the Tyrant's presence when planning..."
"How the hell were you supposed to predict every whim of that psycho brute? I'm ready for it. Can't let Team Leader Pyo carry all the weight alone. Guild Master Kang, you get out of the city. As far as possible, just in case."
"I'm staying."
"Are you nuts? What if it fails? You're not a hunter..."
Joo Se-ah swallowed the rest. She'd nearly made a huge blunder. Touching on Kang Moo-hyuk's failure to awaken as a hunter was a raw nerve.
Kang Moo-hyuk finished her unspoken words.
"Of course I'm not a hunter. But what kind of leader abandons his team and runs?"
"Plenty. Those kinds of guys."
"I'm not one of them."
"This isn't the time to talk about responsibility. No one thinks you're a coward, Guild Master Kang. So go somewhere safe..."
"It's not about responsibility. It's the bare minimum qualification for me to keep fighting from here on out."
Kang Moo-hyuk's reason knew Joo Se-ah was right. But his heart screamed not to run.
Is it guilt for dragging Team Leader Pyo back into this hell? Or insecurity over not being a hunter?
It didn't matter what the reason was.
If there's no reason, make one.
Just as he'd told Joo Se-ah.
To keep fighting ahead, now wasn't the time to flee.
"Sigh~ Fine. Now my shoulders feel even heavier. Guess that means we have to succeed, huh?"
Reading Kang Moo-hyuk's iron resolve, Joo Se-ah couldn't argue further.
He's not the type to back down just because I say so.
But it wasn't stubbornness either—that was just how Kang Moo-hyuk lived. She'd hired him knowing that.
He never ran.
"You'll succeed."
"Damn right. Can't have our team mourning if we don't pull this off. Just in case, stay back a bit."
Kang Moo-hyuk backed away as Joo Se-ah turned toward Pyo Beom-hee.
He was furious at Igor for creating this mess. But pondering the man's actions calmed him quickly.
If the guild master is right, the Tyrant knew about Team Leader Pyo. That's why he targeted her while smashing the box. Which means he doesn't plan to turn Vladivostok to ruins. So why go out of his way to raid here and destroy the box?
It was too easy a retreat for someone finishing a duel with Joo Se-ah. Not for that prideful brute.
Suddenly, Igor's scheme flashed in Kang Moo-hyuk's mind.
"Makarr!"
He spun to look at Joo Se-ah.
If the only one who could stop the Tyrant was pinned here, then Igor's target was...
Not just Makarr. All the Nazejinsky survivors.
Kang Moo-hyuk hurriedly called Anton. But only the ringing tone dragged on.
Inside the overturned command vehicle amid the wrecked camp, hunters lay scattered.
Most were combat-incapable.
Anton, slumped and vomiting blood, stared at his smartphone buzzing on the ground.
[Kang Moo-hyuk, Leader]
Guild Leader Kang... He must've sniffed out Igor's move... But too late this time.
Crunch!
A heavy boot crushed the phone. As the ring cut off, Anton looked up at its owner.
"Igor Dudnik. You knew attacking a fellow Russian guild without cause would mean this, right?"
"No one died, did they?"
"You put Vladivostok in danger. Striking the guild defending the city creates a security vacuum. That's treason in itself!"
"Conflicts like this are daily life in hunting grounds, no? Your lot does the same plenty."
"You equate gate skirmishes with ambushing in the city?"
"Ever since Upu Mangbau showed, this city's basically a dungeon anyway. If you're a hunter, quit whining."
"What's our sin to deserve this?!"
"You know. Nazejinsky."
"That again? What the hell happened there anyway?"
Anton spat a bloody glob and rose. His legs buckled from the beating, but the master of Vladivostok's premier guild couldn't stay down. Not even against an S-rank. He'd die standing, to preserve the guild's spirit.
"If we're pinning blame, you bastards should've been ground to dust a thousand times over. Every cornerstone of your guild pulverized."
"Crazy..."
"Be grateful the Russian government's shielding you. We'll acknowledge your service guarding Vladivostok. Soon my brother takes this city. Or the raid fails and Upu Mangbau wipes it. Either way, you lose it."
"Don't think we'll crumble that easy."
"Eh, wasn't hard."
Igor smirked, surveying the devastation.
It had taken less than three minutes since he hit the command camp.
A total rout. Anton had no retort.
"That was a warning from Tyrun Guild's Igor."
"What?"
"Now, speaking as the Tyrant. That Makarr punk? Where is he? Where'd you stash the Nazejinsky survivors?"
"Ha? Why? Gonna kill them all?"
"..."
"For real? You're insane."
"Ghosts of a dead city. Time they vanished too. Not a bad deal for you—getting rid of those grudge-holders."
"Don't make me laugh. Who do you think we are, murderers like you?"
"Won't talk? Then see why they call me Tyrant."
Igor planted a foot on a dazed hunter's head nearby.
Anton knew the man who'd long eyed Vladivostok. He never bluffed about breaking things—or people.
"Need a demo to decide?"
"Damn it..."
"Whatever. Not like I haven't seen blood before."
In the end, Anton yielded. The Kremlin was far; the fist, close.
"What do you want?"
"What the hell?"
"What's this about?"
"Why drag us out here?"
The Nazejinsky survivors, led by former guildmates, gathered in an empty plaza.
Bonds loosened, but the ominous air kept anyone from bolting.
The old comrades turned away wordlessly after herding them in.
Snow began falling from the sky, invisible in the darkness. The plaza was silent save for crunching footsteps in the accumulating flakes.
It grew noisy only when the last arrival was dragged out.
"Makarr!"
They swarmed him. Their leader unharmed meant hope lingered.
But seeing the bandage on his right hand froze them.
"Your hand..."
Makarr avoided his comrades' eyes, staring blankly at the plaza.
"Feels like an execution ground."
"What?"
"They untied us here. Think one could escape if we run now?"
"What're you saying, Makarr?"
"Sharp eye. Guess that's what comes from bold moves."
A grim voice echoed from the shadows.
It dripped killing intent. The Nazejinsky survivors snapped into combat stance.
"T-The Tyrant..."
Someone stammered confirmation.
The Tyrant emerged under a streetlamp, arms spread wide.
Hunters felt encircled. Instinct screamed: no survival here.
They exchanged glances.
Then a leadership hunter approached Makarr.
"Makarr, you run. We'll buy time."
"Good Kozlov's not here."
"You and Kozlov survive, that's the plan."
"Sorry. Even scattered, we can't outrun him. We'll all die before leaving this plaza."
Makarr spoke bleakly, but the hunter gnashed teeth in defiance.
"That's why we'll hold with our lives! Run already!"
Makarr was shoved, but stood firm. Instead, he advanced on Igor. Comrades missed their chance to stop him, hesitating.
Igor walked toward him too.
"Op time over?"
"Patience of a saint. Ranting about 14-year revenge, yet you give us time to plan."
"Only you Czar Guild rats skulking?"
"One question before dying."
"Not one for last words."
"14 years ago. Nazejinsky citizens. Why slaughter them?"
"Want the reason? Changes nothing."
"Why'd you kill them, you bastard?!"
Makarr swung his left fist. Igor didn't block.
It sank into Igor's gut—a full-force blow. Igor didn't flinch.
Igor crushed the fist in his grip.
Agony surged, but Makarr didn't groan.
"Our families died because you incited it, right? Citizens' council. Assembly. Admin office, all Nazejinsky guilds in cahoots. Not one warned of the boss entering the city, shoving our fathers to the front lines."
"S-So you killed indiscriminately? Just for being Nazejinsky citizens?"
"Fleeing ones had evac orders. But no one shared it. Knew they'd live only if our fathers' guild held the line. Say it—did you really not know? Ah, these kids were too young, right? Then what's your revenge? You remember that much."
No Nazejinsky survivor could respond.
Only Makarr spoke.
"Maybe you're right. Fine, citizens were selfish. But that's no excuse for massacre."
"Czar Guild was selfish too. That's why this mess. You bringing Upu Mangbau here? Selfish as hell. Twisting it conveniently."
"If you're weak... who makes you reflect? Who judges you?!"
"Heh, sounds like my brother."
"!!"
Then Makarr realized.
What's the difference between him and me?
He'd vaguely known, but facing him felt like talking to a mirror.
"As expected of chatterboxes. No one justifies revenge beyond blood."
Igor reached out. Makarr, caught off-guard, was hoisted by the collar into the air.
"Revenge needs no qualifications. Blood eases the heart—that's it."
"Pity. Never got to see your blood."
"Die quietly. Ease my heart."
"You'll see blood someday tooo... Gurk!"
Igor snapped Makarr's neck in one twist.
He dropped the limp body and stomped it.
Bones cracked, flesh burst across the plaza.
"Makarr!!!"
Nazejinsky survivors charged Igor en masse. Fearless against an S-rank, knowing the end, their assault was heroic.
"Boring. End it."
As Igor's body swelled, snow whipped furiously from the sky.
As dawn broke.
"It's over."
Kang Moo-hyuk murmured as the raging mana calmed.
Joo Se-ah, hand on Pyo Beom-hee's back, collapsed in a heap.
Pyo Beom-hee clutched the shimmering Poison Well, sprawling on the ground, gasping.
Her blackened skin had mostly reverted, save her fingertips.
"Guild Master, Team Leader Pyo. You okay?"
Joo Se-ah could only nod weakly at the rushing Kang Moo-hyuk.
Yeom Soo-hyung and No Song-rin, on watch, nodded to Kang Moo-hyuk after checking her. She was safe.
Kang Moo-hyuk flinched seeing Pyo Beom-hee's fingertips as he approached.
"Ah, this? Scored a bargain. No more pedicures needed, huh."
Kang Moo-hyuk forced a smile at her joke. He knew it was to reassure him.
"You did great."
"Know it? Then heap on the vacation days."
"Yes. As many as you want."
Confirming the Korean hunters safe, Dmitri approached cautiously. He and the Czar Guild hunters had been guarding the perimeter.
"Last night, Igor took Makarr and all Nazejinsky survivors. Our guild master and members are injured and under treatment."
"Outcome's obvious."
"Yes. No survivors."
"Vladivostok's crisis averted... So now, how to deal with the Tyrant."
"Regrettably, we have no way against an S-rank hunter."
"No power? Use something else."
Kang Moo-hyuk gritted his teeth. Dmitri tilted his head.
"Tell Darden Dudnik I want to meet."
"Pardon? Darden?"
"This endless grudge. Let's cut it off here."