Chapter 167: A Miserable End
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 167: A Miserable End
“A plane again? I expected we’d be entering by sea.”
Karina smiled at Seo-un’s remark.
“Not at all. This plane will land at an unofficial private airstrip in Japan. From there, a local agent will take over.”
Gi-chan looked at Karina. “Aren’t you coming with us this time?”
“No. My face is a bit too well-known in Japan.” She turned her gaze toward Seo-un. “Please, be careful. Japan likely still holds a grudge against you, Jin Seo-un.”
“Don’t worry about that. More importantly, the cleanup…”
“Leave that to our government. Even if there is collateral damage involving civilians, we will ensure everything is handled properly.”
“That won’t be necessary.”
No matter how much he disliked Japan or the fact that they had provoked him first, he had no intention of harming innocent civilians.
With that, the plane carrying Seo-un and his party took flight.
*
As soon as they touched down in Japan, an agent waiting to receive them greeted the group with a professional smile. Once they were in the car and moving, the agent began his report.
“We dispatched agents to monitor the area around the destination you specified. We’ve confirmed the presence of five members of the Sergeant Guild. There is a high probability that Kim Chi-sang is residing there.”
“Sergeant Guild? Is that the name of Kim Chi-sang’s organization?”
The agent nodded at Seo-un’s question.
“Yes. In terms of scale, it is currently the third-largest guild in Asia. They have over 800 members, more than 400 of whom are Players. If you include those from the Otherworld, the number is likely even higher.”
“He’s certainly gathered quite a crowd,” Gi-chan remarked.
Seo-un nodded. “He probably took the existing infrastructure from Korea with him. Has Kim Chi-sang himself been spotted?”
“No, not yet.”
Juriel furrowed her brows. “It might be a headache if we provoke them and he goes into deep hiding.”
“She’s right. It wouldn’t be wise to show ourselves until we’re certain,” Li Lingwei agreed.
“Don’t worry. Once we get close, I’ll know for sure whether he’s there or not.”
Seo-un pointed to his left eye. The two women belatedly realized what he meant.
In a neighborhood that seemed quieter than the city center, a high-rise building stood out prominently.
“That’s the place.”
“No need to even look closely; the place is crawling with ability users. There are at least a hundred in there,” Gi-chan said, scanning the building with Carmen’s Eye.
Seo-un nodded. His own senses picked up a significant number of presences inside.
The agent, watching through the rearview mirror, swallowed hard as Seo-un closed his right eye. His left eye began to glow a vivid, haunting crimson.
Even among the Swedish agents, much of the information regarding the man named Jin Seo-un was shrouded in mystery. In particular, very little was known about the full extent of his abilities. If anything, the Players who had fought against him knew more than the intelligence agencies did.
Seo-un used his Fiery Eyes and Golden Pupils to scan the building thoroughly, starting from the ground floor and moving upward. Finally, on a middle floor, he found a familiar face barking orders at a group of Players.
“He’s there. The 13th floor.”
At Seo-un’s words, Gi-chan, Juriel, and Li Lingwei nodded and stepped out of the car.
“W-wait a moment! If you just charge in like this…” the agent stammered, scrambling after them.
“Don’t worry, just wait here. This will be over quickly.”
The agent was left speechless. This was completely different from what he had expected. He had assumed they would locate the base, wait for an opening, and then strike with surgical precision. Instead, he stood there blankly, watching the four of them walk toward the front doors like they were entering a grocery store.
His daze was shattered when a surge of mana erupted from the second floor, followed by flames bursting through the windows.
BOOM!
The entire row of second-floor windows shattered as fire poured out, looking as if a massive explosion had occurred. People in the vicinity began to scramble, pulling out their phones to record the chaos. Seeing this, the agent quickly ducked back into the car and made an urgent call.
*
“Uh… is anyone still conscious?”
Gi-chan spoke to the room, but the people strewn across the floor didn’t have the strength to answer.
Juriel, who had just incapacitated a dozen people—including a man who had dared to insult her—with a single spell, headed straight for the elevator.
“Let’s go up immediately. Gi-chan, you stay on the first floor and control the entrance.”
Gi-chan sighed but turned back to the ground floor as instructed. The rest of the group took the elevator up.
When the doors opened on the 13th floor, dozens of Players were, predictably, blocking their path.
“Where is Kim Chi-sang?” Seo-un asked.
Instead of an answer, a barrage of prepared spells screamed toward them.
“Purge Setig Will.”
Even with magic flying toward her, Juriel didn’t flinch. She planted her staff and spoke with icy calm.
Instantly, a silver-white steel wall rose from the floor, blocking the onslaught. The magic circles engraved on the wall glowed brighter with every impact, holding firm without a single crack.
The moment the wall crumbled, having absorbed the entire attack, the Players’ eyes widened in shock. Of the three people who had been in the elevator, two had vanished. Only the mage remained.
“I’ll ask again. Where is Kim Chi-sang?”
The Players, who had been focused on the elevator, spun around in terror at the voice coming from behind them. There stood Seo-un, five strands of Aura Blade extending from his fingertips as he stared them down.
“K-kill him!!!”
One panicked man lunged at Seo-un, only to suddenly clutch his chest and collapse. Beside him, numerous other Players who had tried to move quickly slumped to the ground, gasping for air.
“It’s called Jedok. The more you rouse your internal energy, the faster the poison spreads. It makes your heart beat faster and faster until it eventually ruptures. I can guarantee you’ll all be dead within thirty minutes at this rate.”
The Players looked up. A woman was crouching upside down on the ceiling, capping a small vial and tucking it into her robes. It was the woman who had disappeared from the elevator along with Seo-un.
“If your loyalty to Kim Chi-sang is worth your life, I won’t force you. He’s around here somewhere.”
As Seo-un turned to continue his search, a woman clutching her chest screamed out.
“He—he went to the roof!”
Following her lead, another man nodded frantically.
“He ran up the moment he saw you on the first-floor CCTV! I told you, so please… the antidote…”
The man trailed off, looking pleadingly at Li Lingwei on the ceiling as he gripped his throbbing chest.
“Jedok isn’t actually a lethal poison,” she said, dropping down beside Seo-un. “If you don’t overexert yourselves and rest today, the toxicity will fade by tomorrow. However, if you move recklessly or circulate your energy… your heart really might burst. If you don’t believe me, feel free to keep trying.”
She, Seo-un, and Juriel stepped back into the elevator to head for the roof. The thirty or so neutralized Players were left in a state of utter despair.
“T-this is the difference between us and a Crown?” someone whispered in disbelief. No one answered.
In truth, huddling together in a confined space without even basic precautions against poison, while being so distracted by Seo-un and Juriel that they ignored Li Lingwei, was no different from jumping into a pit of toxic gas.
Inside the rising elevator, Li Lingwei shook her head. “Their level is pathetic.”
“They’re just warm bodies used to fill guild numbers,” Seo-un replied.
Clunk!
The moment Seo-un answered, the elevator jolted and came to a dead halt. Immediately, Seo-un’s sharp senses picked up a powerful surge of mana from above, followed by a blast of intense heat.
BOOM!
The elevator cables snapped from the explosion, and the car plummeted. The sound of the impact echoed a moment later, causing the entire building to tremble.
“Keep pouring it on—”
Kim Chi-sang couldn’t finish his command to the mages staring down into the rising dust of the elevator shaft. The two mages, who were about to unleash more spells, suddenly slumped over like dolls with their strings cut.
Creeeeak!
Then, the ceiling of the elevator car, which had been twisted open, came flying straight at Kim Chi-sang like a massive shuriken.
Slash!
Kim Chi-sang drew his sword and sliced the metal in half. As he stepped back, Seo-un and the two women came into view, leaping up from the shaft.
“It’s been a while.”
Seo-un spoke casually, as if greeting an old friend. Kim Chi-sang’s face contorted.
“You actually managed to find me.”
Clearly rattled by Seo-un’s swift arrival, Kim Chi-sang scanned his surroundings. Fortunately, he had managed to gather his main force and the three sacrificial debuffers he had prepared on the roof.
Looking at the fifty or so guild members he had hastily assembled, Kim Chi-sang’s lips curled into a smirk.
“Hiding behind numbers, just like always,” Seo-un noted. “If you’re planning to escape with Teleportation again, don’t bother. From this moment on, anyone who pulls out a scroll dies. Anyone who shows intent to help him will either die or be left with a permanent disability. If you surrender quietly, I promise no harm will come to you.”
Seo-un finished speaking, but no one moved. As he scanned the gathered Players, he saw Kim Chi-sang give a subtle signal.
At that moment, just as Seo-un was about to move, a shocking sight unfolded.
“AAAAAAARGH!”
“Gah! Gurgle… Ack…”
Three men simultaneously plunged black daggers into their own hearts. The sight of them writhing in agony momentarily stunned Seo-un. One man was engulfed in flames, screaming as he rolled on the floor. Another clawed at his own throat until his carotid artery tore, painting the roof in blood. The last man vomited up glowing red molten metal, thrashing in a death throe.
Black energy erupted from the bodies of the three dead men and shot toward Seo-un. He moved with blinding speed, trying to dodge the streaks of energy. However, no matter how many afterimages he created, the three streaks of energy locked onto him and struck home.
[Ding! You have been struck by a Life-Sacrificing Curse. (All stats are reduced by 30% for 30 minutes.)]
[Ding! You have been struck by a Life-Sacrificing Curse. (Gravity is increased by 10 times for 30 minutes.)]
[Ding! You have been struck by a Life-Sacrificing Curse. (Defense is reduced by half for 30 minutes.)]
Seo-un’s eyes widened as his body grew heavy and his strength began to drain. The reduction in defense and stats wasn’t enough to truly worry him—not against Kim Chi-sang’s ragtag crew. However, the 10x gravity debuff made him grimace.
Enduring a constant pressure of 10G was a significant burden, even for someone who surpassed human limits. It was a different kind of pressure than the Thousand Pound Drop, which only increased weight momentarily.
Seo-un looked up and glared at Kim Chi-sang. If I didn’t have Diamond Bone, my skeleton would have shattered.
Feeling the unpleasant sensation of blood rushing to his feet under the crushing pressure, Seo-un forced his circulation to continue by syncing his internal power with his breathing. As his heart hammered to move the blood, he could feel the strain directly.
“The rest of them… I’ll leave to you.”
Seo-un spoke to Juriel and Li Lingwei while glaring at Kim Chi-sang, then lunged forward, his form blurring. At that moment, three women among the enemies stomped their feet against the floor in unison.
Suddenly, as Seo-un rushed forward, he felt a sharp tightness in his Dantian.
[Ding! You have entered a Suppression Array. Internal power is reduced by 50% within this formation.]
“You’ve certainly prepared a lot of tricks!” Seo-un growled.
He tried to move out of the formation, but Kim Chi-sang lunged at him with a desperate thrust. “I can’t let you go that easily!”
Clang! Clang!
The sword remained intact even after clashing with Seo-un’s Aura Blade; it was clearly no ordinary weapon. Kim Chi-sang didn’t engage for long, instead using blatant hit-and-run tactics to wear Seo-un down.
Seo-un, who was relying purely on his internal power to withstand the gravity debuff, frowned. In his current state, he couldn’t easily overwhelm the movements of a man who was normally slower than a slug.
As Kim Chi-sang continued to drain Seo-un’s strength, he pulled a yellow Metis’s Seal Stone from his subspace. Seo-un’s eyes flashed.
Confident that Seo-un couldn’t move faster than him within the formation, Kim Chi-sang raised the seal stone to activate it. In that instant, a whip appeared in Seo-un’s hand—one he hadn’t been holding a second before.
Kim Chi-sang, who had stepped back out of the whip’s range to activate the stone, realized too late that he had already been caught. He felt something wrap around his waist.
“Wait, what?”
Before he could even think of cutting the whip, Seo-un closed the distance. As Kim Chi-sang was yanked toward him, his two arms fell to the floor.
Thud.
Not a single drop of blood fell from the clean cuts at his shoulders.
“AAAAAAARGH!”
Belatedly, Kim Chi-sang began to scream. His pupils dilated and shook violently, the mental shock far outweighing the physical pain.
“Ah. You had it embedded in your right arm,” Seo-un noted. “Why is it that everyone who uses this item embeds the Absorption Stone in their arm? Or is it that it can’t be embedded anywhere else?”
Seo-un picked up the severed arm, rolled up the sleeve, and crushed the Absorption Stone.
“N-no…”
“You prepared a lot, but did you really not do your research on me? You’re not the only one with items. I’m one of the top five in terms of coin count within Cloyd. Did you think I wouldn’t have a few items for emergencies?”
Seo-un’s words didn’t properly register. It wasn’t just because Seo-un had sliced off one of his ears in the process. He still hadn’t recovered from the shock of losing both limbs.
“Now… let’s pay the price.”
As Seo-un took a step toward him, Kim Chi-sang scrambled backward on his knees. “P-please, spare me…”
“Depends on how you behave.”
At Seo-un’s answer, Kim Chi-sang’s thoughts began to race, fueled by a desperate hope.
“These arms. I don’t know much, but the cuts are clean and there's no bleeding. If you get surgery quickly, they can be reattached. With a healer’s help, there might not even be any side effects.”
“What do you want? I’ll give you anything! Just give them back!”
Seo-un held up Kim Chi-sang’s right arm. “I imagine there are quite a few tempting things in this subspace. I’d like it if you emptied it all out for me.”
Seo-un looked back at the Players strewn around, barely clinging to life. Their expressions froze.
“Empty it! All of it! Give him everything, you bastards!!” Kim Chi-sang screamed like a madman.
“And how will you empty yours? You don’t have arms…”
As Seo-un trailed off, Kim Chi-sang knelt and pressed his forehead against the subspace ring on his severed arm. Items began to drop around him one by one.
“Oh? I didn’t know you could use it like that… How did you figure that out?”
“…It’s a method I learned back in Korea when I was hunting Players. My subspace is empty now! It's all there!”
Seo-un nodded as he looked at the mountain of items, cash, and gold bars scattered around Kim Chi-sang. “You certainly hoarded a lot.”
“N-now, give me back my arms…”
Thud.
Before he could finish his sentence, his head fell to the floor.
This time, it wasn’t bloodless. Blood erupted from his neck and the stumps of his shoulders. Seo-un ignored the collapsing body and began to pack away the blood-stained loot.
The surviving Players watched him, their eyes filled with pure terror.
“Who’s the highest-ranking person left here?” Seo-un asked.
Everyone’s gaze shifted to one man. The man, who had been lying down in expensive-looking armor, quickly crawled toward Seo-un.
“If you tell the truth, I’ll spare your life.”
The man nodded frantically, but his eyes betrayed his anxiety. Since Seo-un had just lied and killed Kim Chi-sang, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t do it again.
“You might not believe me, but it’s the truth. It’s your only way to live.”
The man nodded violently again. Even in the world of Cloyd, there weren’t many people who could take a human life so casually in reality. The man had no intention of gambling his life against someone who looked so relaxed after committing murder.
“This whole thing. Whose idea was it? I assume it came from the Japanese government?”
“They provided the infrastructure and helped with the planning, but Representative Kim… Kim Chi-sang was the one who orchestrated everything.”
“I find it hard to believe the Japanese government wasn’t involved at all…”
As Seo-un trailed off and extended five strands of Aura Blade, the man began to spill every detail, neither adding nor omitting a single thing.
“…That’s all of it. I swear!”
“I see. So they didn’t officially put their names on it? Clever bastards.”
Seo-un nodded toward Juriel, who was preparing a Flame Burst, and Li Lingwei, who had coated her hands in her family’s secret poison, turning them pitch black.
BOOM! CRASH!
From the ground, the agent looked up at the roof of the high-rise. As it exploded in flames once again, he squeezed his eyes shut. But even then, the agonizing screams of the Players pierced through the air, impossible to ignore.