"…Guild Master, we're not dreaming right now, are we?"
"Don't ask me. I feel like I'm about to pass out too."
Ali Hassan, the Guild Master of the Imphal Guild, and his subordinates, who had been watching the whole battle from afar, were completely dumbfounded. They had been far away from the scene, rescuing the kidnapped poor people as Suho and Liu Zhigang had instructed. However, the scale of the battle was so large that it wasn't difficult to witness the series of scenes from a distance.
'If this is really a dream, I feel like I've had all the nightmares I'll ever have in my life today.' Ali Hassan muttered, swallowing hard.
If this was really a dream, it was the worst nightmare imaginable. Suddenly, a winged dragonid army appeared and covered the entire sky. Then Siddharth Bachchan, who was supposed to be a hero of India, suddenly appeared as a monster. And the giant ax he wielded split the city in two. However, the most surprising thing out of all this was…
'Sung Suho' Yes. That man who came from Korea.
'Who the hell is that guy?'
'I've never heard of such a Hunter existing in Korea.'
'Is it true… that even China's 6-star Hunter, Liu Zhigang, is willing to be his subordinate?'
'Where the hell did such a monster come from?'
But the truly shocking thing happened next.
[Kyaaaaaaaaa!] Siddharth Bachchan's shadow rose from his corpse, defying death!
"Huh!"
"Oh, my god…!"
Thud. They collapsed on the spot, their legs giving way. They had been following Suho and knew that he used necromancer skills. They had seen the countless shadow soldiers following him. But the sight of him reviving even Siddharth Bachchan, the hero of India who had just displayed such overwhelming power, as a soldier of death, was beyond shock and horror.
"Gu-Guild Master!"
"What's going on?"
"What's going to happen to us now?"
"Did we just see something we weren't supposed to?"
The anxious and confused gazes of the Imphal Guild members, each filled with their own worries, focused on Ali Hassan. But it was in this critical moment that his leadership shone. His survival instincts, honed from being born in the slums and surviving until now, allowed him to make a decision.
'What to do? Why, of course!'
"Hey, you guys! Why am I the Guild Master?"
"Huh?"
"What are you talking about…"
"Are you out of your mind? Our Guild Master is right there, so why are you calling me that?!" A shocking declaration suddenly erupted from him!
"…?!" The guild members' eyes widened. Ali Hassan's finger pointed at Hunter Sung Suho. He blamed his bewildered subordinates for their ignorance and declared confidently,
"We are now the Woojin Guild. That's that!"
"…!"
He wasn't joking. Ali Hassan was serious.
'Imphal is doomed anyway. It's only a matter of time before today's incident becomes known to the world. Who will people blame then?'
The Asura Guild, whose Guild Master is dead? That's a given. But what's the point of blaming them when the person involved is already dead? The Asura Guild was practically annihilated as of today. But the world won't let go so easily.
'If an incident of this magnitude occurs, someone has to take responsibility.' Ali Hassan closed his eyes with a dizzying feeling. The biggest problem here was that their guild was called the 'Imphal Guild.'
'Depending on what we do here, we could be blamed, or our lives could turn around.' Ali Hassan used his extreme survival instincts to grasp his situation and find what he had to do.
"The Imphal Guild no longer exists. We were subordinates of Guild Master Sung Suho all along."
"…!"
"So from now on, we…" His eyes flashed as he ordered his subordinates,
"We track down Governor Manu Kizal, who colluded with Siddharth Bachchan and orchestrated everything! We need to handle these troublesome matters ourselves and somehow help Guild Master Sung Suho! Got it?!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Now scatter!" At Ali Hassan's fierce roar, the Imphal Guild members scattered to find Manu Kizal.
* * *
A while later…
"We found Manu Kizal!"
Ali Hassan's subordinates finally succeeded in finding the Governor. Manu Kizal, sensing the change, had been trying to sneak out of the city and cross the Chinese border when he was caught and dragged back by the Imphal Guild's pursuit team. After being captured by the Hunters, he made excuses with a pale face.
"I, I'm a victim too! I just did as I was told because I didn't want to die…!"
"And so the governor abandons his land and runs away?"
"Who said I ran away?! I was just… trying to ask for help from outside!"
"Oh? And so you crossed the Chinese border? Asking another country for help with your own country's affairs? Not because you were trying to defect because our government would hold you accountable?"
"Pl-please spare me! I'm truly innocent!" Manu Kizal begged with tears in his eyes, unable to properly defend himself. Ali Hassan grabbed him by the collar and glared.
"Governor. Remember this. There's only one reason why we're keeping you alive. To inform the outside world about everything you've done in this land with the Asura Guild."
"No! Please, not that! If you do that, I'll…! Oh, that's right! How about this! I'll take responsibility and fully support your guild as the representative guild of Imphal!"
Manu Kizal desperately tried to persuade them. He knew that Ali Hassan was from the slums. If he gave money and honor to the one who was of the lowest status, he could surely be persuaded…! But he failed miserably. Ali Hassan revealed his teeth meaningfully.
"It's too late. We're not the Imphal Guild anymore. We've become part of Sung Suho's Woojin Guild."
"…!" Of course, it wasn't official yet.
"Who is Sung Suho, you ask? He's the strongest Hunter in Korea who killed Siddharth Bachchan."
But if he could use this guy to somehow help him, it was clear that Suho would look favorably upon them. Moreover, didn't the Woojin Guild already have the Chinese Liu Zhigang and the Indian Rio Singh? At this point, it was no different from a world alliance, not just a Korean guild.
"So, Governor. There's a lot you need to do from now on. If you refuse, I'll kill you right now and throw your body into a dungeon."
"Eeek…!" Manu Kizal finally lowered his head at the murderous intent emanating from the Guild Master of the small guild he had been ignoring.
* * *
From the moment Manu Kizal crossed the Chinese border, it was only a matter of time before this incident spread to the world through China. And with Liu Zhigang's presence in this land, China was already paying close attention to Imphal. In the first place, the city was split in two right in front of the border, and dragonids were swarming and flying around. It was on a scale that China couldn't possibly miss. But even if they saw it clearly right in front of them. Whether they liked it or not, this information was probably spreading to the world at a rapid pace at this very moment. Then, what came next was important.
"Manu Kizal, as the governor of Imphal, inform our government of all these facts without omission."
"Wh-what do you mean?"
"The fact that Korea's Woojin Guild saved our country, India."
From now on, the hero of India would be Sung Suho, not Siddharth Bachchan.
* * *
Not caring about what was happening behind him, Suho focused on the most important task. Clearing the void gate dungeon, the dimensional gap, that had occurred in this land. To do that, he had to conquer all the nearby dungeons that the Asura Guild had monopolized. That way, he could collect the stardust necklaces from the citizens living in this land and prevent them from being possessed by the Outer Gods.
'I need to hurry.' It wouldn't be strange if another apostle of Itarim popped up in a place like this. Fortunately, he had turned Siddharth Bachchan, the culprit behind all this, into a shadow soldier, so things were proceeding smoothly.
"Sita, lead me to the place where the starpieces were made."
[Your command is my will.]
Swish!
At Suho's command, Sita spread his wings without a word and bowed his head. Suho grabbed his horns and stepped on his head to climb on, as if it were natural. This action would have been incredibly humiliating for Siddharth Bachchan when he was alive. But for the current Sita, it was an extremely honorable thing.
"Give me a ride too!"
[…Keuk.]
Of course, it was different for others. Sita couldn't even complain and only gritted his teeth slightly at Esil's impudent act of climbing onto his back after Suho. Then Liu Zhigang and Rio Singh also climbed on.
"I'm coming too."
"Suho! Me too!"
[Krrr…]
Thump!
"Watch your expression."
[S-sorry.]
Only when Suho's foot pressed down on his head did Sita's expression become respectful again. Even though he had been possessed by the Outer Gods, he was well aware of the sins he had committed when he was alive. The countless dragonids gathered in this area, and the countless people that died without even becoming dragonids. That terrible sin was a debt that Sita would have to repay forever.
* * *
As expected, the demons' star fragment factory was hidden inside a dungeon. The moment they stepped in. Esil revealed her presence without holding back.
"Kneel, demons."
"…!" The lower-ranking demons who were working for Siddharth Bachchan in the dungeon widened their eyes. A demon noble had suddenly appeared before them.
"I am Esil, the eldest daughter of the Radiru family. The one and only existing demon noble, Esil Radiru!"
"Oooooh…!"
The demons cried out at Esil's dignity and swore their allegiance without a word. There was no one daring enough to object. The situation was different from the demon world they found in Korea. Unlike then, Esil had recovered a significant amount of her original power, and she no longer was at a level where mere low-ranking demons could defy her. Moreover, shel was currently riding on the back of Siddharth Bachchan, who had been forcing them to work. The sight was reminiscent of the great King of Demons, Baran, who used to fly around on the back of the wyvern, Kaisellin, long ago.
"Suho, can you put these demons into your shadow?"
"You mean take them all to the demon world in Korea?"
"Yes. To prepare for the war with Itarim, we need to gather the scattered demons in one place. And looking at their condition, they won't last long here."
Esil looked up at the sky of the demon world, where the rifts had become severe, with a bitter expression. This place, like the demon world in Korea, was one of the fragments of the demon world that had been torn into many pieces and was drifting through the dimensional gaps. However, perhaps due to the influence of Itarim's apostle, the sky here was even more torn than the sanctuary in the glacier dungeon. Suho nodded.
"Alright. We need to eliminate all the magical beasts inside to close the gate anyway."
Suho immediately took out the key to the shadow dungeon and sent the demons into his shadow one by one. In the process, he didn't forget to collect all the starpisces they had created and the magic stones that seemed to be the materials for them.
"Oh my god. So many magic stones…!" Rio Singh's eyes widened at the tremendous amount.
"Guild Master Sung Suho! It seems most of the magic stones that the Asura Guild was keeping are here!"
He was assured once again: 'I've chosen the right side!'
As expected, life is Inshallah! The thrill started from his toes shooting up his spine to the top of his head! Rio Singh realized anew what a great and monumental decision it was to join the Woojin Guild.
'To think that I, who was struggling to get promoted in the Asura Guild, would become an executive of the guild that swallowed all their assets!'
If no one could be held accountable for murder in a dungeon. Then what about something like stealing? The goods stored inside a dungeon were nobody's. It was just normal loot!
"Wow, how much would all this be if we sold it…"
Even Rio Singh's brilliant calculator broke down. As of today, the Woojin Guild led by Suho had acquired the assets accumulated by the Asura Guild, the strongest guild in India!