Volume 1 Chapter 24
024
That his arm suddenly wouldn't move meant more than simply losing the freedom of his arm.
It also meant his body's balance was disrupted and his senses shaken.
To a high-level expert, that tremor would be but an instant.
Tap!
But one of an even higher level would never miss that fleeting instant.
Bwoong!
Lee Seojun's leg sliced fiercely through the air and whipped around.
It shattered the assassin's shinbone.
Crack!
The assassin couldn't overcome the agony and fell to his knees.
"Kuhuk!"
The assassin let out a short groan of overwhelming pain.
Swish!
The bastard, still kneeling, hurriedly raised his head.
"You... you! How..."
The bastard shouted something at Lee Seojun with trembling pupils.
But his words couldn't continue to the end.
Crunch!
Giving your opponent time was something you shouldn't do unless you were absolutely confident.
'About Kim Seungmin's level.'
Each of these assassins was around A-rank Hunter level.
But the problem was that they weren't simply A-rank Hunters.
They were clearly raised solely for killing.
Lee Seojun knew that fact all the more clearly from clashing with them directly.
'......'
The thick, sticky killing intent in the bastard's eyes that didn't seem like someone who had only killed one or two people.
Attacks that weren't simple strikes, but ones that stormed in aiming for lives.
Those were things absolutely impossible to feel from ordinary people.
Thud.
The assassin had died with his neck broken.
Lee Seojun took his gaze off the assassin.
"Hah. Hah."
Rough breathing could be heard from here and there.
It looked like Yun Hyungi's side was finished too.
"..."
Yun Hyungi had taken down several Hunters.
Lee Seojun, who had been standing still, took a step and approached Yun Hyungi.
"What are you..."
And at Lee Seojun's subsequent actions, Yun Hyungi's face was colored with bewilderment for a moment.
Crack!
The Hunters he had taken down.
Lee Seojun approached those who hadn't yet died unhesitatingly and finished them off.
Thud.
Corpses fell powerlessly to the ground.
They couldn't even let out a final death rattle and simply breathed their last.
Swoosh.
Lee Seojun stood up after finishing his work and locked eyes with Yun Hyungi.
"You..."
"My way."
He had clearly said it.
"I said I'd do it my way."
Leaving enemies alive unnecessarily was also the prerogative of the strong.
But now was not the time to afford such luxury.
"Don't forget."
Yun Hyungi looked at Lee Seojun with narrowed eyes.
"This isn't some jungle or an uninhabited island."
This was a warning directed at Lee Seojun.
Grin.
To that, Lee Seojun showed a smile.
"That's exactly why I'm keeping you alive by my side."
"You bastard."
At Lee Seojun's words, Yun Hyungi clenched his fist and spat out a curse.
The hall was completely cleaned up like that.
Just then.
Thud-thud-thud!
Footsteps that sounded quite urgent were approaching this place.
"Hah... Hah..."
The identity of that person was Lee Hyunwoo.
Because he was F-rank, he had been watching from a short distance away per Lee Seojun's orders until the battle ended.
Swish.
Lee Hyunwoo, who had entered panting for breath, hurriedly swept his gaze across the hall.
And his gaze stopped at one place.
"Ngh."
A place where faint groans were leaking out.
"Are you alright?"
Lee Hyunwoo untied Kim Juwon, who had been bound.
"Th-thank you..."
"Don't mention it."
Kim Juwon's eyes reddened at Lee Hyunwoo's words.
"Hyung-nim..."
Such a Kim Juwon was looking at Lee Seojun.
"Huu... Huk..."
And the tears gathered at the corners of his eyes began to flow down.
"To be honest, I didn't think you'd come."
He had never imagined Lee Seojun would come to save him.
Nevertheless, Kim Juwon was someone who had tried to end his own life in case he became a hindrance to Lee Seojun.
The moment he reclaimed his life beyond death.
What came to him were complex emotions inexpressible in words.
"Why me..."
Kim Juwon asked while sniffling toward Lee Seojun.
"That contract turned out to be more expensive than I thought."
"Excuse me?"
An answer he had never expected came from Lee Seojun's mouth.
"Earn your keep. Don't be dead weight."
Kim Juwon blankly stared at Lee Seojun's back as he turned around.
Tap.
And in front of Lee Seojun, who had turned, stood Yun Hyungi.
"I don't know what the situation is, but I'll clean up this side. Though it won't be clean."
Lee Seojun passed by Yun Hyungi.
"It means something like this might happen again."
* * *
Samil Resolution Agency.
Plop.
Lee Seojun, having returned, lay down on the sofa and thought.
'......'
He had saved Kim Juwon.
This was something even he himself hadn't expected.
His past life where he had thoroughly excluded anything that hindered survival.
He had violated for the first time since coming to Earth a principle he had established himself on Planet Lumer.
Was he now deluding himself into thinking he had become a strong one?
'Perhaps.'
That wasn't it.
Lee Seojun shook his head.
'Maybe I was lonely.'
That place where he had been alone.
Perhaps all this time, he had been suffering from loneliness.
But he could vow.
Clench.
That even so, if it became a direct threat to survival, he would discard it.
Just then.
Buzz.
Something vibrated.
《"I've roughly cleaned up."》
It was the cell phone in his pocket.
A message from Yun Hyungi had arrived.
《"It's hard for me to step in regarding the resolution agency side. My sister manages it, and there are suspicious looks, so I've roughly cleaned things up. It'll be quiet for the time being, but I can't be sure how long it'll stay quiet."》
Lee Seojun read Yun Hyungi's message with an expressionless face.
Tap.
He pressed a button and turned off the phone screen.
At that moment.
Click.
A single noise echoed in the quiet hall.
It was Kim Juwon, who had recovered using a potion, opening the door and coming out.
"Hy-hyung-nim..."
Kim Juwon's expression was complicated.
"Hyung-nim."
He called Lee Seojun once more.
His unsteady voice indicated Kim Juwon's state of mind.
Swish.
Lee Seojun seemed to know what Kim Juwon was going to say.
Though he hadn't associated with humans, he felt he knew what that emotion was.
'Powerlessness.'
Planet Lumer, a place where one could devour everything with power.
He had seen countless monsters making such expressions there.
The prey beneath the predators always made such expressions.
It was from the powerlessness of a position that didn't change no matter how much one struggled, that one could ultimately do nothing.
"Hyung..."
Kim Juwon had approached close before he knew it.
The moment he was about to speak to Lee Seojun.
"I'll collect on the contract payment later. So get lost now."
Lee Seojun cut him off in a low voice.
"Hyung-nim."
But Kim Juwon didn't back down.
"Why?"
"Please help me."
Lee Seojun twitched the corners of his eyes upon hearing the voice.
The usual Kim Juwon would have tucked his tail between his legs right away upon seeing such a side of Lee Seojun.
"I'm not asking for other help."
But Kim Juwon bit his lip.
He had bitten so hard that blood seeped out.
Tremble. Tremble.
Kim Juwon's clenched fist was trembling minutely.
Lee Seojun looked at such a Kim Juwon with narrowed eyes.
"At least I want to protect my own body."
It was unexpected words.
"At least I don't want to be a hindrance or a burden to you, Hyung-nim."
He had thought Kim Juwon would leave.
"I want to become strong."
Kim Juwon's eyes were blazing like never before.
"I'll do anything you say."
"..."
"You've already saved my life twice, Hyung-nim. I'll definitely repay this grace."
They weren't eyes or a voice of someone telling lies.
"Hyunwoo said so. That at our current resolution agency's level, we can't do anything, that we need help."
"So?"
Lee Seojun's question.
"I'll build it up."
To that, Kim Juwon even fell to his knees.
"I don't mean to do anything strange. I'll build it up well and do everything you say, Hyung-nim. So please help me."
And.
Thud. Thud.
Footsteps approaching them with long strides.
"Me too."
Lee Hyunwoo, who had appeared before anyone knew it, also took his place beside Kim Juwon and knelt.
"I want to become strong."
Kim Juwon and Lee Hyunwoo.
They had lived thorough lives of the weak.
And they keenly realized what the life of the weak was.
No longer...
"I don't want to live like this anymore."
And.
"You said anything, right?"
Lee Seojun stood up from his seat.
"Don't regret it."
* * *
Lee Seojun was also feeling that the resolution agency was more useful than he thought.
It was something he knew from having experienced and seen it directly until now.
《"There are clear limits."》
And Lee Hyunwoo had continuously informed him that Samil Resolution Agency was insufficient.
That it was difficult to handle matters occurring in the complicated underworld, and there were restrictions.
《"It's hard to find what you're looking for."》
Within that, greater power was needed to find what Lee Seojun wanted.
《"There are also resolution agencies connected to Tyrion. But that's my sister's authority..."》
But that was something even Yun Hyungi, the youngest son of the Tyrion Guild Master, couldn't do.
Also, it was something where no one knew how long it would take.
If so...
'Good.'
In front of a Gate near Guri City, Gyeonggi-do.
A flag symbolizing Tyrion, depicting a golden lion roaring, fluttered in the wind.
"..."
And several Hunters stood in a line before it, looking ahead.
It was Tyrion's 12th Raid Squad, Black Hog.
"This is..."
The man standing at the very front, receiving everyone's attention.
Yun Hyungi let out a deep sigh and spoke.
"They're guest Hunters who'll be working as raid squad members for the time being."
Yun Hyungi introduced the men standing beside him.
"Nice to meet you. I-I'm Kim Juwon."
Kim Juwon, who had never imagined he'd be working as a Tyrion raid squad member, spoke nervously.
On the other hand, the man standing next to him.
"I'm Lee Hyunwoo."
Lee Hyunwoo spoke with a face that tried to look as nonchalant as possible.
In reality, he was as nervous as Kim Juwon, but because he usually didn't show his emotions, such behavior was possible.
"..."
The raid squad members' gazes looking at them were indifferent.
'It's different from back then.'
Lee Seojun, who had entered as a temporary guild member rather than through formal procedures like them.
However, the current situation was clearly different.
Even if Lee Seojun had seemed like he could hold his own from the start, these two were different.
'What is that.'
Whether it was Kim Juwon frozen stiff with nervousness, or the brat struggling to hide his nerves.
Both looked utterly pathetic at a glance.
Such thoughts would never arise from those two.
'Damn it.'
The fact that they had entered as Tyrion's guest members filled the raid squad members' hearts with dissatisfaction.
"I'm counting on you."
Still, because it was Yun Hyungi—no, because Lee Seojun had brought them—the raid squad members kept their mouths shut.
They also maintained poker faces.
And finally, the raid began.
"That crazy bastard."
The raid squad members opened their mouths wide and exhaled.
The greatest villain of all time had returned