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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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In the dark alleyway near the company, Han Sung-jin, who had chosen trustworthy personnel from within the alliance and hidden them, was scowling with an expression of displeasure.
It wasn’t just Han Sung-jin.
The alliance members who followed him also had rather poor expressions on their faces.
‘Crazy bastards… to actually kidnap an ordinary person…’
If this fact became known to the public, the Korean Returnee Alliance would literally be shattered.
It was obvious, but Alliance Leader Tae Sang-cheon would erupt in fury.
From the perspective of the Returnee Alliance executives, it would be the worst possible situation.
‘…Don’t be nervous. If you think about it, it’s easier than usual.’
Chief of Staff Kim Gi-young, as if preparing for a single unforeseen situation, had grasped the movements of Lee Seong-joon’s family and even designated the optimal ambush location and time.
Furthermore, the personnel participating in this operation were loyal subordinates who had worked together for a long time and were trustworthy.
Their ranks were all A-grade or higher, consisting of competent individuals.
They were only nervous because Lee Soo-hyeok’s son was Lee Seong-joon; it was by no means a difficult task.
‘Let’s act calmly. If we don’t make any mistakes, it’s something that can be handled very easily.’
Han Sung-jin was forcefully steeling his resolve, suppressing the rising tension, when.
“He’s coming.”
One of the alliance members, who had gone ahead to keep watch, quickly moved to report the news.
Lee Soo-hyeok, the target of this operation, was approaching the vicinity.
“CCTV?”
“All taken down.”
“No one approaching?”
“We’ve definitely controlled and cleared the area.”
“I’m really asking you, let’s go cleanly, without any mistakes.”
There was no reply.
However, the alliance members looking at Han Sung-jin conveyed their shared resolve with a strong glint in their eyes.
“Target has approached within 100 meters.”
“Begin.”
At Han Sung-jin’s command, the nearby alliance members were about to move simultaneously.
Suddenly, from a blind spot in their vision, dark crimson cats burst out, blocking the path of the alliance members.
“What?”
“No time, clear them out quickly!”
At Han Sung-jin’s annoyed voice, the alliance members who had immediately rushed forward swung their hands roughly, but the cats, standing firmly in place, did not react.
They merely glared at the alliance members with their red eyes, just as they had at first.
“C-Commander-nim…”
An alliance member, sensing something strange, called out to Han Sung-jin with a trembling voice.
“It’s strange.”
“What’s strange? No, what’s wrong with a cat, even if it’s strange? I told you, please, let’s do this without mistakes…!”
Han Sung-jin, frowning deeply, chastised the alliance members as he stepped forward himself.
At that moment, Han Sung-jin understood why the alliance members had stopped moving.
Kieeeek.
The grotesque cats were spilling organs and blood from gaping holes below their bellies.
It was strange.
It was a bizarre sight at first glance.
“W-what is this…?”
It was unbelievable from the very beginning.
Even though they came from a blind spot, no one had sensed the cats’ presence.
Not even he, Han Sung-jin, an S-rank expert.
‘…Something went wrong.’
The plan had gone awry again.
As he realized the reality, cold sweat poured down his spine.
‘I need to pull out before it’s too late.’
Han Sung-jin made a relatively quick decision, but even that was too late.
Hwaaaaak-!
With a surging sound, the alleyway was enveloped in pitch-black darkness.
“R-run!”
It was the moment Han Sung-jin desperately shouted.
Whee-ee-eik-!
The darkness that had covered the area now formed a massive curtain around the entire alleyway.
A thick silence descended upon the alleyway, creating an atmosphere as if it had sunk into deep darkness.
At the same time, the grotesque cat collapsed with a thud, and crimson spell formations were drawn on the ground.
Woo-woong-
From the resonating spell formation, the figure of a man shot up.
Holding up a staff embedded with a red gem, he exuded an ominous presence that weighed down the surrounding air.
A dry gulp echoed in Han Sung-jin’s throat as he felt an instinctive terror from the ominous aura emitted by the Soul-Devouring Fiend King, Bihyung.
‘Can I escape?’
He cautiously moved his gaze, but all he saw was the curtain of darkness.
There was no discernible path.
There was no way out.
This meant there was only one choice to make now.
“Kill him!”
It could be said to be the best judgment he could make at the moment.
But to speak coldly, it was nothing more than futile struggling.
A spellcaster was one who prepared in advance.
In other words, a prepared spellcaster could unleash twice their original combat power.
And Bihyung had surrounded Lee Soo-hyeok with numerous spells, instantly engulfing the alleyway in darkness through them.
This alleyway was already Bihyung’s domain.
Han Sung-jin and the alliance members, who were merely S-rank at best, could not even easily approach Bihyung, let alone defeat him.
Indeed, the alliance members who rushed towards Bihyung suddenly lost their sense of direction and began moving in completely different directions.
It could be said to be a rather comical sight, but there wasn’t a hint of a smile on Bihyung’s face.
Instead, his eyes radiated an even colder gaze than before.
‘Protect the human, Lee Soo-hyeok.’
Bihyung, recalling the command of the Absolute Being, Lee Seong-joon, scanned the figures of Han Sung-jin and the alliance members.
If he truly wanted to, he could have instantly torn their limbs apart and turned their brains into mush, but as there was also a command to avoid killing as much as possible if feasible, he did not directly lay a hand on them.
From Bihyung’s perspective, who dealt with cruel spells, it could be considered a somewhat bothersome task, but fortunately, his opponents this time were excellent.
‘…Those who accumulated the karma of resentment.’
To ordinary people, they were invisible, but to the spellcasters of the Blood Sect who dealt with dark arts, they were clearly visible.
-How dare you kill me and my family! I won’t forgive you! I won’t forgive you!
-To tear my limbs apart and kill me just because I refused your offer! I’ll kill you too!
-You should die too, just like me!
Around Han Sung-jin and the alliance members, vengeful spirits filled with wrath were weeping tears of blood and wandering.
It was the moment Bihyung, with cold eyes, waved the staff in his hand, leading the vengeful spirits.
“W-what, what is this?!”
Han Sung-jin and the alliance members, who had been attacking the air, began to let out voices filled with fear, their eyes wide.
They couldn’t help it.
The vengeful spirits, led by Bihyung, burrowed into the minds of Han Sung-jin and the alliance members, unleashing the negative emotions they had suppressed, such as anger and resentment.
Malice, pouring out explosively, incessantly echoed in their ears and burrowed into their minds.
“Stop, stop it!”
Han Sung-jin was pleading in a desperate tone, but Bihyung’s actions did not cease.
Instead, he led even more vengeful spirits and injected them into their minds.
Subsequently, he transformed the vengeful spirits into a single thought-form, twisting them into a massive curse.
‘Soul Reversal Ghost.’
A sinister smile bloomed on Bihyung’s lips as he cast the ultimate spell, which forged the karma of resentment accumulated by the target into a curse, and injected it into the minds of Han Sung-jin and the alliance members.
“P-please… please, I beg you. Please remove these things that have entered my head!”
Han Sung-jin uttered a desperate voice, as if his mind would collapse at any moment from the fear and pain, but there was no way Bihyung would grant his request.
“Gahhh! Please stop! Stop it!”
Han Sung-jin shouted, urgently getting up from his spot and rushing towards Bihyung in front of him.
Chii-ji-ji-ji-jik-!
However, the curse of the Soul Reversal Ghost, which had already burrowed deep into his mind, began to destroy Han Sung-jin’s body and spirit.
The vision that had been perfectly clear moments ago abruptly turned pitch black, making it impossible to see even an inch ahead.
But this was only the beginning.
The tactile sensations in his hands and feet also faded away.
The screams of the alliance members were no longer heard.
Lastly, the presences he had felt around him were also gradually enveloped by darkness.
“Ahhh…!”
Han Sung-jin’s mind, letting out a short death rattle, completely crumbled.
It could be said that he had perfectly carried out the command Lee Seong-joon had given beforehand, but Bihyung’s actions did not stop.
‘It’s not over.’
There were entities targeting Kim Ji-young, who was also one of the main protected individuals, just like Lee Soo-hyeok.
‘The command of the Absolute Being, I must protect it.’
Bihyung, with cold eyes, once again drew a crimson spell formation and vanished without a trace.
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As he had wished, he successfully completed his move to Yongsan The Hill, but Lee Seong-joon’s life remained incredibly busy afterward.
It couldn’t be helped, as establishing a guild and achieving steady growth were both tasks that he couldn’t neglect.
Therefore, he had no choice but to move even more busily than usual, and his daily routine passed quickly, without him realizing how much time had passed.
As Lee Seong-joon, who had spent a hectic day, landed his busily moving feet on the ground, he was slowly making his way towards his nearby home.
“You’re later than I expected, Hunter Lee Seong-joon.”
Lee Seong-joon’s gaze shifted to the man standing leaning against a wall on a wide sidewalk.
Thanks to the aura emanating from his body, he could tell that the man in front of him was a hunter, but he couldn’t discern the man’s identity at all.
No, how could he possibly know the identity of someone he had never met before?
Naturally, Lee Seong-joon tilted his head.
“Who?”
“My apologies, I’m late in introducing myself. I am Kim Gi-young, the Chief of Staff of the Returnee Alliance.”
It was a sudden visit, but Lee Seong-joon’s expression was utterly calm.
‘Strong power alone cannot fully control a person’s heart.’
Even if Baek Mu-jin, whom he had met before, held a considerably solid position as the Vice-Alliance Leader within the Returnee Alliance, there were bound to be those who acted on their own whims.
Of course, just because he had expected it didn’t mean he wasn’t displeased.
One could even say he was more displeased.
Just by the fact that he was from the Returnee Alliance, he knew that he had approached with an unwelcome agenda.
Lee Seong-joon, frowning, opened his mouth.
“What is your business?”
“If you have time, I’d like to have a brief conversation.”
Although the situation was not to his liking, there was no need to outright refuse to converse.
No, to be precise, he shouldn’t refuse.
‘If I refuse, he’ll just keep bothering me, hovering around.’
It was better to deal with it cleanly and decisively so they couldn’t linger any longer.
“I’m a very busy person, so I don’t have much time. Just get straight to the point.”
“As this is an era where the strong are revered, if Hunter Lee Seong-joon wishes so, then it must be so.”
Kim Gi-young, a slight smile on his lips, spoke.
“Our Returnee Alliance wishes to invite Hunter Lee Seong-joon.”
“I refuse.”
As it was a proposal that had not deviated one bit from his expectations, Lee Seong-joon replied without a moment’s hesitation.
However, Kim Gi-young seemed to have anticipated this refusal and immediately continued speaking.
“I would be grateful if you would listen to my story and reconsider just once. Our Returnee Alliance sincerely regrets and reflects on not recognizing Hunter Lee Seong-joon’s extraordinary talent and failing to provide proper support.”
Kim Gi-young bowed his head once, then cautiously observed Lee Seong-joon’s expression before moving his lips again.
“It’s not much of a compensation, but… if you join the Returnee Alliance, I and the Returnee Alliance will take responsibility for helping Hunter Lee Seong-joon regain the full rights befitting your prestige and power.”
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