Chapter 78
Chapter 78
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: The Devil's Hand
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“Killing Demach won’t bring down Drepia. An organization with such significant interests will have plenty of nobles rushing to take his place. Someone else will succeed him, and they might pursue their business even more aggressively. The leadership could even go into hiding to prepare for an attack.”
After dealing with all of Drepia’s men in Ellaim, Wang-sik recalled the plan while having tea with Sa Seon-gi.
“That’s why we need to create a fight from the bottom up, one where neither side backs down until they’ve wiped each other out. A war over their interests, between organizations.”
This was the core of the plan Oh Min-jae had laid out.
If an unknown figure appeared and started making moves, the threatened leadership would go into hiding.
Unsure of the true objective, anyone involved would lay low.
So, they had chosen to incite a turf war between thugs. This was something Drepia couldn't avoid, nor would they have any reason to.
They would see it as a nuisance, like insects to be crushed.
But what if these insects fought back?
They would have no choice but to retaliate with even more venom.
Losing to them would mean negating Drepia’s very existence.
Oh Min-jae’s plan didn’t stop there.
“There’s a group Drepia has always looked down on, one they intend to absorb someday. We’ll take control of it, push Drepia out, and seize the southern underworld.”
The southern underworld wasn't just a source of simple profit.
It would provide connections to the powerful, as well as serve as their own intelligence-gathering network.
“Drepia is preparing a major operation right now. It’s a massive project they’ve been planning for ten years. At a time like this, there’s a lot we can do. At first, they’ll try to handle small disputes quickly. But if they think the situation is escalating, they’ll make a rash move. We can use that to end this fight swiftly.”
Wang-sik and Sa Seon-gi had fully accepted Oh Min-jae’s strategy.
“Well, it’s time to play with our dolls.”
Finishing their tea, they set out to execute the next phase of their plan.
Dusk looked at Wang-sik with a pleading expression.
He looked as if he might burst into tears at any moment if left alone.
“What’s with that look?”
“Ah, no, it’s not that…”
“You need to be taught a lesson.”
“No, sir! I’ll do it!”
“Doing it is a given. You still need to be taught a lesson.”
Before Dusk could make another excuse, Wang-sik’s hand clamped around his neck.
The immense pressure was suffocating, and in a brief moment, Dusk lost consciousness.
When he awoke, Wang-sik’s expression was as composed as ever, but Dusk was far from it.
“I-I’m sorry.”
He hadn't expected the punishment to be so direct, but this incident made him realize.
“I’m keeping you alive because you’re useful. Do you think I don’t have other options?”
“N-No, sir.”
Dusk remembered.
The look on Wang-sik’s face as he choked him.
It was pure killing intent.
He could clearly see the desire to kill him.
‘Why is he so angry with me?’
The question even crossed his mind.
‘If I resist, I’m dead.’
If Wang-sik lost his composure, his life was forfeit.
“Then stop arguing and get moving. This is the last time I’m repeating myself.”
After the warning, the order came down.
“Summon your old subordinates immediately. You can hire mercenaries with money if you need to; build up your forces. It doesn’t matter if they’re skilled or not, we’re just using them as scarecrows.”
‘There’s no one who’d answer my summons.’
No one would join the ranks of a toothless tiger. But Wang-sik offered a solution to this problem.
This was the second order.
Dusk’s face turned pale as he heard the command. But he had no right to refuse.
Early the next morning.
Dusk mounted his horse.
As he rode alone, without Wang-sik who had been appointed his guard, his subordinates looked anxious.
“Boss, please reconsider.”
Adum, one of his more simple-minded and loyal men, tried to stop him.
“Trust me.”
“Sir?”
“I said, trust me! You bastard!”
“Yes. Understood, Boss.”
Wang-sik had instructed him to say this.
—Go as a dependable leader.
Recalling the order, Dusk glanced back at Wang-sik, who was scowling deeply.
“Trust me! Your leader is not weak!”
Dusk shouted forcefully and spurred his horse on.
He arrived at a mountainous area midway between Ellaim and Neresa.
Dismounting and walking into the forest, he soon came upon a clearing whose ceiling was hidden by dense trees.
A log building stood there, and the sight filled Dusk with a sense of nostalgia.
This, too, had once belonged to the Dusk Mercenaries.
It was a factory that had produced a hallucinogen developed at great expense by an alchemist.
Though it shortened a person’s lifespan, its hallucinatory effects were so potent that it had been wildly popular for a time.
The market had shrunk after the empire cracked down on it, but demand remained steady, and it had long been a cash cow for the Dusk Mercenaries.
But Drepia had taken this as well, and now it was no longer a stimulant factory but a gate research laboratory.
Drepia was known to operate about ten gate research labs, but even Dusk didn't know the exact number.
‘They’ve already spotted me.’
Given their strict secrecy, his approach had already been detected.
Three men emerged from the building, and another blocked his path from behind.
“This is insane.”
He recalled Wang-sik’s order.
—Go alone and wipe them out.
He hadn’t even had a chance to say it was impossible.
‘This is where I die.’
Just as he had that thought.
“Gack!”
The man who had approached from behind let out a choked groan and collapsed.
“Huh?”
Everyone there was stunned. Just then, a voice brushed past Dusk’s ear, as swift as the wind.
—Do something. Anything.
What did that mean?
While he was still trying to understand, the men who had seen their comrade fall charged at him.
Watching the man rushing toward him from the front, Dusk reflexively held up his palm to make an excuse.
“It wasn’t me…”
Before he could finish, two more men fell.
It happened the instant he showed his palm.
To an outsider, it would have looked as if Dusk had killed them with some kind of magic.
—Keep going.
When he heard the voice again, more men rushed out of the lab.
This time, having seen their comrades fall, they were more aggressive.
Dusk held up his palm again. The men who had charged out promptly collapsed.
‘So this is what he wants me to do.’
It seemed he wouldn't die a pointless death, at least.
‘Let’s just do it.’
The fear vanished from Dusk’s steps.
From then on, anyone who saw Dusk’s palm lost their life.
‘How can he be so precise?’
As if anticipating his every move, the assassin would cut the enemy down the moment he raised his hand.
‘Is it really not me doing this?’
He almost fell under that delusion.
As he grew accustomed to the situation, Dusk began to pose as if he were truly casting a spell, spreading his hand wide.
Fortunately, his opponent collapsed helplessly this time as well.
In this manner, twenty men died, and he didn't bother chasing the three who fled.
*Fwoosh!*
Finally, after gathering the bodies in the lab’s yard, Dusk set them on fire.
As the bodies turned to black ash, the assassin’s voice returned.
—We’re going back.
Dusk thought to himself.
‘I must never become that man’s target.’
He realized he had been standing in the place closest to death.
Dusk was in agony.
“Endure it.”
He had to grit his teeth and bear it each time the ink-filled needle pierced his palm.
“Why’d you have to do it with your palm? Would’ve been easier if you used a finger.”
“I didn’t think of that.”
“Think before you act next time.”
He refrained from pointing out that he hadn't been given any time to think.
“All done.”
The man tattooing Dusk’s palm wiped away the beads of blood and admired his handiwork.
What remained on the palm was the tattoo of a demon.
“Good work.”
“I’m a recognized artist, even in Neresa. Hehe.”
The tattooist puffed out his chest and looked at Wang-sik.
It was time to get paid.
“You’ve worked hard.”
Wang-sik gave him a pouch filled with gold coins.
“Thank you.”
The tattooist bowed deeply and left. He’d been promised ten times his usual fee, so he planned to drink his fill tonight.
Dusk knew how his story would end.
‘No reason to keep him alive.’
He had already given the order to his subordinate. Wang-sik had commanded it, but it was something that had to be done anyway to ensure their secret was kept.
“You’ve made a pact with a demon. Anyone who sees your palm will die.”
“Will people believe that?”
“They already do. The rumor has spread, so now we have to make it a fact.”
Wang-sik tossed him a glove. It was just an ordinary glove made of black leather.
“Wear this from now on. Only take it off when you fight. Got it?”
“Understood.”
As Dusk put on the glove, there was a knock on the door.
“Boss, everything is ready.”
He adjusted the glove once and followed Adum downstairs.
The place was packed with people.
Previously, only twenty had answered his summons, but now the number had swelled to one hundred.
It was still a paltry number compared to Drepia, but the sudden increase was significant.
Those who had fled had returned, and ridiculously enough, there were even new recruits.
—Dusk has gained the power of a demon.
That was the rumor that had spread.
Furthermore, the survivors' testimonies had circulated, and since he had actually reclaimed all the businesses in Ellaim, people were starting to believe it.
If he could unite those who had lost power because of Drepia, he could build a formidable force.
“All of you, bow your heads!”
Adum stood on the last step of the first floor and shouted. Naturally, Dusk was positioned midway up the staircase, looking down on everyone.
‘What is that idiot doing…?’
Before his thought could finish, the one hundred subordinates bowed their heads in unison. Then, they raised one arm and made a fist.
Making a fist was originally the salute of the Dusk Mercenaries, but with the added bow, it had a cult-like atmosphere.
Adum slowly turned to Dusk and said.
“Boss, your words.”
As Dusk thought he should say something, he felt a sharp gaze on him.
It was Wang-sik, looking down from the second-floor railing.
Feeling the pressure to perform well, Dusk strained his voice and said.
“The time of despair is over. I myself will become despair and bring about Drepia’s end.”
Without realizing it, he had begun to speak like the leader of a demon-worshipping cult, and he couldn’t stop.
“My faithful warriors. you will witness that final judgment firsthand. And under the glory of darkness, you will enjoy a blessing greater than light.”
As he finished, Adum shouted.
“Kneel!”
The one hundred men prostrated themselves on the floor as if greeting a god.
‘Shit, is this really okay?’
Dusk looked up at Wang-sik. To his surprise, Wang-sik nodded in satisfaction.
‘So it is okay.’
Reassured, Dusk looked down at the men who were praising him.
It was absurd at first, but seeing them stirred a fiery emotion within him.
It felt like he had regained something he had lost.
‘Yes. This is an opportunity.’
He finally understood.
‘I don’t care if I’m second-in-command. I’ll push those Drepia bastards out and take their place.’
He didn’t need to think about what would happen after that.
‘I have to be useful. So that they won’t abandon me. Then I really could rule Neresa…’
The last thought seemed too grandiose, even to himself.
‘No. With them, it might be possible…’
So much had changed in just a few days.
He had become a man who wielded the power of a demon, the number of his subordinates had doubled, and he had reclaimed all his businesses in Ellaim.
‘For now, I’ll trust them. I have no other choice.’
This was the moment Dusk, who had been passively following orders, transformed into an active player.