The Final Boss Has Returned
Chapter 97
The Lightwing Entertainment Building!
The building housing Lightwing Entertainment stood in Gangbuk, across the Han River from the soaring First Contents Hub Building in Gangnam, Seoul. While the latter was a high-rise exceeding ten stories, this building was relatively modest—only about eight floors tall.
"So this is the place."
The rough-featured man who had stepped out of Shin Hayeon's Rolls-Royce—Drakan—turned his gaze toward the Lightwing Entertainment building.
Atop the building hung a sign bearing a winged emblem that he had grown sick of seeing in the previous game.
It was none other than the symbol of the Lightwing Guild.
Standing at the entrance, a beautiful woman who resembled Yujin, yet whom he had never seen before, was waiting for Drakan.
"Are you Drakan?"
"I am. And who might you be?"
Drakan's gaze shifted to the woman standing before the entrance.
The Lightwing Guild!
Drakan remembered the faces and personalities of Yujin and his members down to the last detail—they had fought fiercely with him over hegemony of Ard World—yet he had no memory of ever seeing the woman standing before him.
"I am Cha Yuna, the manager of Lightwing Entertainment."
"I see."
Drakan nodded.
So that was why he didn't remember her—she wasn't a player, but a manager who supported them.
Of course, someone like that wouldn't have left much of an impression on his memory.
After all, the ones Drakan had to deal with were Yujin and his comrades, not their manager.
Naturally, supports had their own domain.
In that sense, the Support Team Leader, Team Leader Lee, could be called Drakan's manager, but it was Shin Hayeon who practically handled the role.
And Shin Hayeon already knew exactly who Cha Yuna was, despite her introducing herself merely as the manager of Lightwing Entertainment.
"Drakan-nim."
As always, Shin Hayeon stuck close to Drakan's side and whispered in a small voice into his ear.
"That woman. She's Yujin's younger sister."
A smile formed at the corner of Drakan's mouth at Shin Hayeon's words.
"I see."
Drakan responded in a small voice.
Drakan stared at Cha Yuna, thinking that he seemed to recall a passing mention of having a younger sister in one of Yujin's interviews, but he hadn't expected her to be working as a manager.
"Follow me. Jihye unni is waiting for you."
Drakan took Shin Hayeon and Ignis and followed Cha Yuna into the Lightwing Entertainment building without a word, finally arriving in the meeting room.
"Welcome, Drakan-nim."
Berda was sitting alone in the meeting room.
Unlike in Ard World, where she had silver hair, the beautiful yet cold-looking Berda—or rather, Kim Jihye—had black hair like any other Korean. Looking at her, Drakan sat across from her, with Ignis and Shin Hayeon sitting to his left and right.
"Are you alone?"
"Yes. I have full authority over this negotiation."
Drakan inwardly clicked his tongue at Berda's words.
'How slyly she schemes!'
Yujin!
Yujin, who was so kind and innocent to a fault—no, practically an easy mark—couldn't possibly be skilled at this sort of negotiation, so Berda's intention was clear as day to Drakan: she would step in to steer the negotiation as advantageously as possible, or break it off entirely if need be.
And Drakan had absolutely no intention of dancing to Berda's tune.
"I came to negotiate with the Master of the Lightwing Guild, not to come all this way to bargain with you."
In short, Drakan was telling her to call the owner instead of the hunting dog, yet Berda maintained her calm, expressionless demeanor.
She had already expected as much.
Drakan was an enemy, but he was far from stupid—he was an incomparably cunning man.
Berda had already expected that such a Drakan would try to summon Yujin, who was clearly unaccustomed to negotiations, to make the talks easier for himself.
"Yujin-nim has delegated full authority to me, so I am here to represent the Lightwing Guild. Please address your words to me."
Berda replied to Drakan in an icy voice.
'How dare you try to summon Yujin-nim to this place? Not a chance.'
Berda's cold eyes swept over Drakan.
She had been scanning for any change in his expression, but as expected of the seasoned Drakan, not a single muscle on his face moved.
He simply wore an inscrutable, leisurely smile as always.
But Berda was not so naive as to fall for an attitude that might be nothing more than Drakan's bluff.
"What is your intention in purchasing the Duskstone?"
One of the reasons Berda sat across from Drakan was precisely to find out why he wanted to purchase the Duskstone.
Although the Duskstone was a Legendary-grade item, it was merely a crafting material. For now, it sat unused in the guild warehouse as surplus stock, but that didn't mean Drakan and the Lightwing Guild were on such friendly terms that they would provide it to him sincerely and free of charge.
No, quite the opposite. Though outwardly a mood of reconciliation had been created, inwardly they considered each other latent enemies—specifically Drakan, and the Ignis and Shin Hayeon beside him.
'The reason he needs a Legendary-grade item is either a quest or an item. It's clearly one of the two.'
Thinking thus, Berda fixed Drakan with a cold gaze.
Quest raid or item crafting!
Everyone knew that unless it was one of those two, there was almost no use for the Duskstone, but that simple intention wasn't what Berda wanted to know.
Before negotiating, Berda thought once more from Drakan's perspective.
Judging from her countless experiences facing Drakan and her analysis of him as a latent enemy, the fact that Drakan had come all the way to the Lightwing Entertainment building—the heart of enemy territory—meant that the item called 'Duskstone' was just that necessary to him.
Although Drakan had transformed after his return into an even more cunning villain capable of selling his towering pride when necessary, the facts that he had high pride and was astonishingly thorough in cost-benefit analysis remained unchanged.
'Even when Drakan knelt, he had thoroughly calculated the gains and losses in his head before putting on a performance of selling his own pride.'
Berda recalled the recent incident when Drakan had knelt during an interview.
Drakan!
That man, whose pride was second to none in the world, had actually knelt and apologized before all the users—a fact that had shocked everyone watching the interview.
The sight of someone who would rather break than bend throwing his own pride onto the ground was just that shocking. Even Berda herself had briefly wondered, 'Could Drakan have truly changed?'
But to get straight to the point, he hadn't. Unlike his past self, who had only been obsessed with short-term gains, he had merely transformed into a far more evil and treacherous villain capable of selling even his own pride for long-term profit.
Drakan's nature had not changed.
He had merely acquired the skill to skillfully package that nature.
That was how Berda evaluated Drakan, and therefore she judged that Drakan coming here itself served as proof that the item called 'Duskstone' possessed such importance that it was worth selling his pride to obtain.
Thus, she held the handle of the knife in this negotiation.
Of course, if she entered negotiations in this state, she could inflate the price significantly—perhaps even extract more than ten times the market value.
If nothing else, Shin Hayeon, who was overflowing with money, was stuck right beside Drakan.
But money wasn't lacking on this side either—not as much as Shin Hayeon, but more than enough to be called 'wealthy' by ordinary people. And crucially, if money had been the goal, there would have been no need for this battle of nerves.
'I need information.'
Information!
Berda wanted information on Drakan.
Unlike other management companies that were at best large entertainment agencies, Drakan's agency, First E&M, was backed by a chaebol conglomerate, and it seemed he received special treatment there as well, making extracting information far from easy.
Therefore, using this negotiation as an excuse, Berda intended to collect information about the item he was trying to craft or the quest he was trying to clear using this Duskstone. Furthermore, if the expected quest or item to be completed through the Duskstone would substantially help Drakan's growth or power expansion, she planned to break off the negotiations.
Crush him before Drakan could grow in advance and eliminate the root of trouble!
That had been the grand strategy Berda had consistently pursued from the beginning until now, and Drakan was a subversive element dangerous enough to warrant such restraint.
"Well, why should I tell you that?"
The moment she saw Drakan laughing impudently, Berda was certain.
The Duskstone wasn't just important to Drakan—it was a very important key item.
"We are not on friendly terms with you, Drakan-nim. Furthermore, you have already committed spectacular acts of villainy in the previous game."
Berda's sharp gaze scanned Drakan's face once more.
There was still no change in his expression.
"How could we possibly trust someone like you and hand over a dangerous item—a Legendary-grade crafting material? We have no idea what dangerous things you might do with that item."
How could we entrust a Legendary-grade item to you when you've committed villainous acts in the previous game!
Might you not use that item to commit villainy once again!
It was logic that seemed like sophistry at a glance, but it was true that Drakan had committed villainous acts. Moreover, because the Lightwing Guild was currently the victor of Ard World, it was logic that could be enforced.
As with all things in the world, relationships between organizations fundamentally operated through the logic of power, and the guilds of Ard World were no different.
It was possible, of course, because there was not entirely a lack of justification.
'Now then, what excuse will you pull out?'
Berda looked at Drakan, smiling inwardly.
In Berda's own estimation, the current situation was nothing short of checkmate.
His reluctance to state the purpose meant it was an important item to Drakan, and to obtain such an important item, he had no choice but to answer her question.
He could lie, of course, but if he did, she could simply hand over the item later, confirm the results, then use the Infinite Yujin Church to sway public opinion, trapping him in a liar's frame and collapsing all the public sentiment he had built up until now.
People tended to be far angrier when someone who had once reformed committed evil again, so Drakan would fall into ruin.
Therefore, if Drakan lied, it would be the best possible outcome for Berda.
Even if the negotiations were broken off like this, it would still benefit Berda.
Because giving up on an item this important would mean a significant setback in Drakan's growth.
With the feeling of holding a winning hand, Berda watched Drakan's lips.
And Drakan, too, stared at Berda and smiled, the corners of his mouth turning up.
'Her head still works in the most adorable way.'
Drakan had already seen through all of Berda's intentions, and he was more than prepared with a way to pierce her weak point.
Because the 'negotiation plan to persuade Yujin' he had prepared was none other than the joker card capable of taking down Berda.
Drakan looked straight at Berda and, still maintaining an attitude of utter leisure, slowly revealed the card he had finally come to play.