Volume 1, Episode 23
023
A plain located in the Yongin region of Gyeonggi Province.
A place so vast that one could not confirm either end with the naked eye.
All of this land was owned by a single individual.
[This is the private property of the Urim Resolution Office. Unauthorized entry is strictly prohibited.]
The owner of this land was none other than the Urim Resolution Office.
The name ‘Urim’ written on the sign—with that alone, not a single person dared to set foot here.
No one even came near.
[Should this be violated…]
Resolution Offices of the underworld that carried out extortion, threats, assault, murder, and more without a moment’s hesitation.
And among those Resolution Offices, the Seven Great Tycoons, known to stand above the heavens.
And since Urim was a place close to those Seven Great Tycoons.
Clack.
Nevertheless, there were those currently eyeing this place.
Swish.
It looked ordinary at a glance, but there was a widespread aura of mana in the surroundings.
“It’s a barrier.”
Yun Hyeon-gi spoke, holding something.
What he held was a device that detected the flow of mana—classified as military goods and impossible to obtain through ordinary means. Sure enough, it was Tirion.
Clatter.
Lee Hyeon-u, who had come along, also took something out and unfolded it.
Yun Hyeon-gi narrowed his brow upon seeing it.
“It’s a drone.”
Mechanical devices didn’t work inside Gates, but in contrast, this place—
“It isn’t a Gate.”
It was Earth.
Bzzzzt.
A noise like buzzing bees rang out as the drone powered on.
“What are you planning to do with a cheap piece of junk that doesn’t even have noise cancellation?”
Yun Hyeon-gi looked at the drone and spoke as if dumbfounded.
Because in the current situation, noise was incredibly fatal.
“I have a method in mind.”
But a smile spread across Lee Hyeon-u’s lips.
“Like this…”
Lee Hyeon-u manipulated some settings, seemingly using mana.
He was an F-rank, called the lowest of the low, but he was still a Hunter.
Perhaps because of that, he seemed to have a usable skill.
Whir.
A blue aura enveloped the drone.
Then, amazingly, the drone that had been making noise like a buzzing bee fell silent.
Beeeep.
But it had literally only been silenced.
It was inevitable that a small noise would still be produced.
“Since there’s a barrier, the noise will be reduced even more. I’ll scout from outside the barrier zone.”
But Lee Hyeon-u spoke as if he had already anticipated this as well.
“Not bad.”
Yun Hyeon-gi genuinely admired it.
“Then let’s begin now.”
“Yeah. You start checking from that side. I’ll…”
Just as they were checking their surroundings each in their own way—
Tap.
The first to speak was Lee Hyeon-u.
“Seven.”
The thermal tracker attached to the drone showed seven beings.
“No, it’s eight.”
Yun Hyeon-gi spoke up after him.
Eight red dots were visible on his radar device.
“You checked with the thermal tracker attached to the drone, right?”
“Yes.”
“That’s not enough to get an accurate read in this situation. It has its limits.”
Yun Hyeon-gi asserted.
“There are Hunters with unusual constitutions or skills that can hide from thermal detection. But this…”
Yun Hyeon-gi showed the radar.
“It’s a mana detection device.”
An item classified as military goods that couldn’t be easily obtained.
“Eight of them.”
And then.
“Twelve.”
Lee Seo-jun opened his mouth and slowly began to move.
Yun Hyeon-gi was right.
Lee Seo-jun knew that those who could freely use mana could regulate their body heat even without a skill.
Furthermore—
‘If you manipulate mana in a special way, you can even hide your mana itself.’
In other words—
“What? Twelve? What are you talking about? That can’t be. This is absolutely—”
The four not appearing on Yun Hyeon-gi’s device were trained specialists.
Which meant this place was likely a trap.
* * *
A place dark on all sides.
A black chair made of iron sat beneath a single small lamp hanging from the ceiling.
And a man was tied to that chair, his entire body bound.
“Kuh!”
Kim Ju-won groaned in agony, his brow deeply furrowed.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
A small device in front of him was flashing red.
‘Hyeon-u, you little…’
He hadn’t expected it.
That a tracking device would be attached to him.
When he learned that fact, Kim Ju-won resented Lee Hyeon-u like crazy.
Because Lee Hyeon-u hadn’t attached the tracking device due to a lack of trust.
‘Because of his unnecessary meddling…!’
What Lee Hyeon-u had done was out of worry, not suspicion.
There were words Lee Hyeon-u had once said to him.
—Do you remember when we first met?
Kim Ju-won had stood in Lee Seo-jun’s way to save Lee Hyeon-u.
—I didn’t say it back then, but I felt grateful. I still do.
Lee Hyeon-u had brought up the memory and spoken.
—I’ll definitely repay that debt. Even if we’re not in the same place, I’ll find you wherever you are and save you. You know my skills, right?
At the time, Kim Ju-won had scoffed, asking when such a thing would ever happen.
But things did happen, and Lee Hyeon-u had kept his promise from that time.
As Kim Ju-won was thinking this—
Click.
A small sound echoed within the room.
Thud. Thud.
At the same time, a shadow was approaching the bound Kim Ju-won.
A smile was hanging on that shadow’s lips.
Before long, as the distance between them narrowed—
“He’ll be here soon.”
The shadow opened its mouth.
Kim Ju-won’s face contorted upon hearing the voice.
He, who had been kidnapped—they already knew everything.
—Who is the real owner of Samil Resolution Office?
They were certain that Kim Ju-won alone could never have made possible all that Samil Resolution Office had done.
Because of this—
—I mean the real owner behind you.
—they were looking for the real one.
He had no intention of telling them.
Even through painful torture, he hadn’t opened his mouth until the end.
—It doesn’t matter if you don’t talk.
It was then that they had discovered Lee Hyeon-u’s tracker on him.
—We just need to make that so-called real owner come himself.
A trap. This place was a trap.
‘Boss…’
A trap to catch Lee Seo-jun.
These guys were in a different league from the third-rates he had faced until now.
They were strongmen who couldn’t even be compared to those from the Haesin Resolution Office, which was called a major player.
Tremble. Tremble.
He had seen the massive shadow behind them.
He had seen that figure who made his knees go weak from just facing it.
He knew well that his Boss was strong, but—
‘It’s impossible.’
He wouldn’t be able to win against that figure.
Even his Boss would be helpless before this massive power.
If that was the case—
Clench.
Kim Ju-won closed his eyes.
He seemed to have made up his mind.
‘If I just die instead…’
This would be the best choice he could make in the current situation.
If he died, his Boss would have no reason to come here.
Just as he steeled his resolve and tried to accept death—
Crunch!
The shadow approached and grabbed Kim Ju-won’s jaw.
“Kuh… kuhuk.”
“Doing something pointless.”
It was clear mockery.
“Do you know?”
But Kim Ju-won couldn’t do anything.
He couldn’t move as if his whole body was paralyzed.
“In this world, the weak…”
Grin.
A smile grew even deeper.
“…can’t even choose death as they please.”
The guy spat words into Kim Ju-won’s ear in a spine-chillingly cold tone.
And the moment he stepped back—
“Kuaaaack!”
Along with the feeling of electricity coursing through him, Kim Ju-won let out a huge scream.
It was pain as if his entrails were burning.
“Still, I’m glad.”
The shadow smiled as if enjoying the sight.
“Because I’ll have a toy to play with until that so-called owner of Samil arrives.”
“Kuaaack!”
The scream rang out for a long while.
“……”
But before long, it quickly subsided.
Kim Ju-won had lost consciousness.
Thud.
The shadow approached Kim Ju-won, whose head hung limply.
Grip.
As the distance closed, the shadow grabbed Kim Ju-won by the back of his hair.
And pulling hard, he yanked Kim Ju-won’s head back.
“Don’t worry. When the real one comes, I’ll play with you side by side with him. You won’t be lonely.”
“Uu… ugh…”
Kim Ju-won let out a pained groan.
A voice echoed within his faint consciousness.
In Kim Ju-won’s vision like that—
Shhh.
He saw a shadow with a finger held to its lips.
“B-boss…”
* * *
Twelve.
Three of them were definite specialists.
One of the remaining was a skilled expert.
And—
‘The skilled expert is close to the client.’
Planet Lumer was not a human society.
But Lee Seo-jun knew.
The world of the strong and the weak.
The world where the strong preyed on the weak.
That was why he knew what he had to do.
—Bewitch.
Mana spread outward.
It was a skill whose effects he had already confirmed.
Although its level was still low and its limits were clear—just a few seconds.
He could buy that much time.
If he had the time bought that way and his own abilities—
Shhh.
The efficiency would be maximized.
Lee Seo-jun stood in front of Kim Ju-won and behind the shadow.
And—
Craack!
Lee Seo-jun’s hand pierced through the shadow’s chest.
“Kuh… kuheok!”
The shadow collapsed to the ground, spewing bright red blood from its mouth.
But it wasn’t over yet.
Click.
A loud noise echoed within the room.
Swish.
Lee Seo-jun’s head turned toward the source of the noise.
Shhk!
At the same time, moving at a blinding speed that left afterimages, he disappeared from his spot.
Boom!
Lee Seo-jun soon revealed himself, pushing off the ground and leaping to deliver a kick.
In that instant—
Crash!
A shadow that had opened the door and entered was instantly knocked to the ground.
It had been struck precisely at the vital point—the temple.
And immediately after—
“……!”
Thwack!
Lee Seo-jun violently kicked the lower body of a shadow that was flustered.
“Keog.”
The shadow let out a short groan as its body floated into the air.
“Who the hell…”
He quickly reacted, planting a hand on the ground, rotating his body, and standing back in place.
And the instant he spat out the words—
Thwuck!
A horrifying sound of tearing flesh rang out clearly.
Lee Seo-jun’s hand blade had pierced the shadow’s abdomen.
“Kuh… kuheok!”
In an instant, two shadows became cold corpses.
He had taken down all three specialists.
And the last one—
Clang!
“You’ve finally shown yourself.”
The skilled expert.
Once that guy’s breath was cut off, this place would practically be cleaned up.
As for the rest—
“Leave them to me!”
Yun Hyeon-gi, who had just arrived, would handle them.
Tap.
Yun Hyeon-gi stood blocking the front of the door.
“Catch that bastard right now!”
The remaining guys arrived before him.
Slash!
“Kuaaaack!”
“Kuhk!”
Death throes and screams rang out ceaselessly.
Inside the room, a bloody wind began to blow.
And Lee Seo-jun—
Taat!
Rushed ruthlessly toward the skilled expert.
Boom!
Lee Seo-jun’s swung fist and the shadow’s leg collided, creating a shockwave.
Crackle.
The wall cracked from the impact.
Boom.
A small vibration ran through the ground.
“Not bad movement. Especially those legs of yours. But what are you going to do about it?”
A voice directed at Lee Seo-jun.
“Those legs won’t be usable anymore.”
The shadow spat out the words, his eyes gleaming as he charged at Lee Seo-jun.
Boom!
The two clashed once more.
Boom! Boom!
A continuing exchange of attacks.
Because of this, the interior became a mess.
Crack-crack-crack!
The cracked wall soon made noise and shattered into pieces.
The ground kept cracking and caving in, as if it would collapse at any moment.
Clouds of dust rose thickly.
Boom!
Nevertheless, their fight wasn’t over yet.
In that moment—
Screech!
Sparks flew between the two clashing opponents.
Tap!
The assassin facing Lee Seo-jun stepped back in surprise.
“Wh-what the hell…?!”
Pupils quivering as if demanding he reveal his identity.
But Lee Seo-jun said nothing and extended his arm.
The opponent tried to avoid it, but—
Snap!
The Hop Goblin’s paralytic poison had already numbed the guy’s arm.
Crack!
The strongest villain of all time had returned.