Disaster
Kang Juhyuk knew it too.
Just how dangerous the White Tiger Guild was.
“That much is obvious just from the news.”
Their revenge at the bathhouse had only been a skirmish before the real fight.
They would come again to defend the guild’s honor.
So Juhyuk had called in someone who could put this whole mess to bed with minimal fuss.
Click.
At the sound, the front door opened, revealing a man.
“I’m sorry. The roads were jammed, so I’m a little late.”
It was Choi Junhyuk, a hunter from the NIS Seoul 2nd Branch.
He smiled brightly, an oversized black umbrella in hand.
“It’s pouring outside, isn’t it?”
“Yes. The weather bureau said it would last until this evening, but judging by how hard it’s coming down, it looks like it’ll be a while before it lets up.”
He was wearing a specialized outfit that didn’t hide his affiliation in the slightest.
In particular, the black coat emblazoned with a sun and the pistol and longsword hanging at his waist were extremely intimidating.
“Come in.”
“Excuse me.”
Once Choi Junhyuk stepped inside, Minho shot to his feet and wiped his mouth with a tissue.
Uncle?
Wasn’t that man the NIS hunter they’d seen last time, not some villain?
“Welcome.”
A high-ranking government official.
A hunter from the NIS, the pinnacle of South Korea’s law enforcement agencies.
A symbol of justice.
Choi Junhyuk.
To call someone like that a villain?
“That guy’s the villain?”
Minho whispered so softly that only Juhyuk could hear.
“No? Ah! Looks like that bastard still hasn’t shown up. Our ace got here first.”
“Ace?”
“Yeah. The ace who’s gonna keep annoying bullshit from happening.”
The two of them murmured to each other for a moment, and Junhyuk, watching the exchange, asked cautiously,
“It looks like you were in the middle of a meal. Should I come back later?”
“No, no! If I’d known you were coming, I would’ve set out one more bowl. Uncle, should I fry up some more pajeon?”
Juhyuk shook the bottle of makgeolli in his hand.
“Sounds good. Junhyuk, you drink, right?”
Junhyuk’s mouth twitched.
“Of course.”
The three men gathered in front of the old television.
They ate pajeon and talked.
“So the White Tiger Guild is targeting Kang Juhyuk, then?”
When Junhyuk asked, Juhyuk tipped makgeolli into his bowl and answered.
“Yeah. Probably because I turned down their recruitment offer. Since they followed me all the way to the bathhouse, I figure it’s only a matter of time before they come here.”
“Do you know the name of the one who came looking for you this time?”
“Not the name. One of them looked like a troll, with a crew cut and tattoos all over him.”
By appearance alone, that sounded like Black Demon, Jo Sanggwon.
“Was his skin a bit dark, by any chance?”
“Yeah. Not Black, exactly, but darker than most Korean guys.”
Then that was him.
“And there was another one. That bastard was insane enough to come into a bathhouse wearing leather boots and a white coat.”
“A white coat?”
“He was even wearing a Hahoe mask, like he was doing some kind of cosplay. What, did the White Tiger hunters all gather up a bunch of mental cases or something?”
Junhyuk’s eyes widened.
“A Hahoe mask?”
“If this were Militar, I’d have just killed him. I was extra nice and let him live.”
“Militar?”
“Yeah.”
Maybe he meant Milan, Italy?
In any case, he now knew Kang Juhyuk was furious with the White Tiger Guild.
And among the hunters Junhyuk knew, there was only one person who wore a Hahoe mask and a white coat.
Gu Jinwoo, known as one of South Korea’s Seven Calamities.
He was affiliated with the White Tiger Guild, yes, but Junhyuk had heard he didn’t listen to anyone’s orders.
“Then there’s a high chance those two will come back for revenge.”
“Could be the whole White Tiger Guild.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Why not?”
“The White Tiger Guild does commit all kinds of social crimes, but they do follow the rules laid down between guilds.”
“Rules?”
Junhyuk opened a document on his phone and showed it to him.
“Unless you submit an official battle permit to the Association, it’s forbidden to leave your territory and attack hunters in another region.”
“Oh?! There was something like that?”
“Yes. It’s an agreement that’s existed between guilds for a long time. It was already in place before I became a hunter.”
“Would be nice if games had a treaty like that too.”
“Games?”
“Yeah. In the game I play, some other guild bastards keep invading my territory.”
As Juhyuk talked, he suddenly flared up and downed his makgeolli in one go.
Gulp!
“Those fucking assholes attack without warning! The guild name is the same as the bastards who attacked me earlier too—White Tiger!”
“……”
“They’re trash. A disgusting trash heap I won’t ever forgive. I could tear those sons of bitches apart and still not feel satisfied!”
Junhyuk stole a glance at Minho, looking flustered.
He seemed to be thinking, Uncle must be really drunk.
Minho answered with his eyes.
That’s normal.
They didn’t speak aloud, but the two of them understood each other perfectly through their expressions.
“Uncle, are you drunk?”
“A little.”
“Take it easy. We’ve got a guest.”
“This is fine.”
I’m the one who isn’t fine.
Minho almost said it, then shut his mouth tightly and secretly tucked the remaining bottle of makgeolli under the sofa.
“Huh? Guess this was the last bottle anyway. There’s barely a swallow left. Let’s call it here.”
“...Really? That’s strange. I thought I bought more.”
“You’re drunk. You’re mixing things up.”
“I guess so.”
“Yep.”
Junhyuk poured the last of the makgeolli into Juhyuk’s bowl.
Drip.
“The name White Tiger is causing trouble everywhere.”
“I’m not forgiving any of them. In real life or in the game! Anyone who dares challenge me is going to regret ever being alive!!”
Juhyuk was furious.
From the look on his face, it wasn’t an act.
A murderous aura surged from his body.
A moment ago he’d been in a decent mood, but now—
I should avoid talking about games as much as possible.
“I’ll take care of the White Tiger matter. So please don’t stress yourself too much.”
“Could I ask you to? Honestly, that’s why I called you here today, Junhyuk. I was worried those bastards might target Minho while I’m not around.”
“Of course. I’ll handle it today.”
What a perfect opportunity.
If they helped Kang Juhyuk with this matter, then surely they could get help in return later.
And if the conversation went well, they might even be able to bring up the recruitment offer they’d discussed before.
Clang!
As the three of them continued talking and clinking their cups together—
Swoooosh—
Boom!
The shadow they had been bracing for finally arrived.
* * *
In front of the villa where Kang Juhyuk lived, dozens of hunters wearing White Tiger-patterned hoods hid themselves in the darkness.
“Are you sure you’re okay doing this alone?”
When Lee Mieun asked cautiously, Gu Jinwoo replied,
“Not okay. But if not me, then who’s going to fight that guy? Hah!”
Mana surged in both of Jinwoo’s hands.
Whoosh.
“If it comes down to it, I’ll go in and back you up.”
“Forget it. The fight’s going to be over in an instant anyway. There’s no need for it to drag on. One of us is going to die, that’s all.”
“...He’s that strong?”
“If we’re talking pure combat strength, he’s the strongest hunter I’ve ever fought.”
“?!”
“That said, he’s not someone I can’t beat. Depending on how it goes, this could end either way.”
Kang Juhyuk’s combat power had already been confirmed.
By Jinwoo’s experience, he was someone he could beat.
He didn’t know exactly how high the odds were, but—
This is still a fight worth taking.
Jinwoo walked forward slowly and murmured,
“This operation has to end quietly anyway, right? So the other guilds don’t catch on.”
“Right.”
“Then this works out. If one of us is completely finished, the job gets cleaner.”
“And if you lose?”
“Can’t be helped. I’ll just disappear the same way the people I’ve killed did. Besides, if this operation fails, we all die anyway.”
“……”
“I heard from Hyung Sanggwon. He said Kang Juhyuk’s guild is moving in on us tonight.”
An unidentified enemy still unmasked even by the White Tiger headquarters.
The ShowKing Guild was attacking White Tiger tonight.
That was confirmed information obtained through wiretapping.
“That’s right.”
“If I can’t beat that guy right now, then there’s no hunter in our guild who can deal with him except the master.”
Lee Mieun shook her head.
“I don’t know how strong Kang Juhyuk or ShowKing are, but numbers are still on our side. And if this gets big, the Association won’t just sit on its hands.”
“The Association?”
“Yeah. Because the other side hasn’t officially declared war between guilds.”
Jinwoo let out a snort.
“Aren’t we the same? We were the ones who killed one of their guild members first, weren’t we?”
“T-that’s! It’s still not confirmed.”
“Forget it. If they’re a guild that operates in secret, then they won’t care about the Association anyway.”
Mana leaked from Jinwoo’s palm and mixed with the rain, then shimmered and rose, gradually taking on a human shape about the size of a child.
It was a combat puppet created using Gu Jinwoo’s awakened ability, Water Marionette.
“Begin.”
Just as Gu Jinwoo finished preparing and was about to enter the villa—
Step, step, step.
Someone familiar walked out.
It was Choi Junhyuk, the team leader from the NIS Seoul 2nd Branch.
He seemed to have anticipated White Tiger’s movement in advance, and there was a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.
“It’s been a while, Gu Jinwoo. I heard from Kim Honggyeom that you’d come to Korea, but I didn’t expect to run into you here.”
With Junhyuk’s sudden appearance—
Lee Mieun and Jinwoo froze.
Why is that guy here?
The same thought passed through both of their heads.
They hadn’t expected the NIS to get involved.
“What is the government’s dog doing here?”
“I came under orders.”
“Orders? From who?”
“Above.”
“Above, meaning Branch Director Kim Jaegyu?”
Junhyuk shook his head.
“No. Higher than that. He who gives orders even to you Seven Calamities. That person gave me the operation.”
That was as far as the conversation went.
Crash!
As thunder flashed across the sky, Jinwoo smiled meaningfully.
Then, with a sudden burst,
He charged at Junhyuk.
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that just now!”
At the same time, dozens of Water Marionettes rushed toward the villa entrance.
Whoosh!
“Boss, take care of Choi Junhyuk!”
Jinwoo’s prey was not Choi Junhyuk.
It was Kang Juhyuk.
Lee Mieun transformed into a giant crow and flew in, trying to buy time, but—
Death Connection.
Black chains burst from Junhyuk’s body.
Clatter-clang!
They coiled around every White Tiger guild member near the villa.
“?!”
“No one is leaving this place. Once my ability is in effect, nobody gets out.”
The NIS was known as South Korea’s strongest hunter organization.
That was the ability that had made Choi Junhyuk a team leader there.
Death Connection.
Jinwoo slashed several times with a sword made of water, trying to sever the chains.
Clang, clang, clang!
But he soon gave up and glared at Junhyuk.
“A binding skill for stalling time?”
“Depending on how you use it, I suppose you could call it that.”
“My guess is this chain can only be undone if you cancel the ability yourself, or if the caster or the target dies.”
Bingo.
“Using it against multiple targets means there must be plenty of restrictions. It also eats a lot of mana, so keeping it up for long would be impossible.”
Correct.
As expected from someone with so much battlefield experience, he’d seen through it immediately.
“Considering you’re trying to handle all of us alone, you don’t seem to be here for a fight. You came to stop a larger conflict, didn’t you?”
Junhyuk slowly swept his gaze across the White Tiger hunters, counting them as he answered.
“That’s right. If I’m being honest, I’d rather all of you just turn around and go home. But looking at your faces, I doubt that’s happening.”
“That’s impossible. If we don’t kill him, we’re the ones who get killed.”
“Killed?”
“Yeah.”
“By whom?”
“Kang Juhyuk. No, to be precise, by the guild he belongs to—ShowKing. Those bastards are attacking us tonight.”
Junhyuk opened his mouth as if to say something, then tilted his head with a baffled expression.
“ShowKing?”
It was a guild name he’d never heard before.
And—
Kang Juhyuk is not affiliated with any guild.
Could he have lied just to refuse White Tiger’s offer?
Given Juhyuk’s personality, that seemed entirely possible.
Swoooosh—
In the pouring rain.
In the silence that followed.
As the sharp tension between them tightened to a wire—
Whoosh!
Something flew at high speed through the villa window.