Chapter 112
In a dark alley near the company, Han Seong-jin was hiding with trusted members selected from the alliance. He was frowning, exuding displeasure.
It wasn't just Han Seong-jin.
The alliance members who had followed him also didn't look too pleased.
'Those crazy bastards... To actually kidnap a civilian...'
If this fact became known to the public, the Korean Returnee Alliance would be completely destroyed.
Naturally, the alliance leader Tae Sang-cheon would explode with anger.
From the perspective of the alliance executives, it meant the worst situation imaginable would unfold.
'...No need to be tense, if you think about it, this is easier than usual.'
The chief of staff, Kim Ki-young, had apparently been preparing for any potential situation. He had not only figured out the movements of Lee Seong-jun's family members but also designated the optimal ambush location and time.
Moreover, the personnel participating in this operation were loyal subordinates who had worked together and coordinated for a long time.
They were all composed of competent individuals with A rank or higher.
It was tense because Lee Seong-jun was Lee Su-hyeok's son, but it couldn't be called a difficult task.
'Let's act calmly. If we don't make mistakes, we can handle this very easily.'
Just as Han Seong-jin was forcibly collecting himself and suppressing his rising tension, one of the alliance members who had gone ahead to keep watch quickly moved back to report.
The target of this operation, Lee Su-hyeok, had come to the vicinity.
"The CCTVs?"
"We've taken them all down."
"No one approaching?"
"We've controlled and cleared it thoroughly."
"I'm really asking you, let's do this cleanly without mistakes."
There was no verbal response.
But the alliance members staring at Han Seong-jin were showing their strong resolve through their eyes, representing that they shared the same mindset.
"The target has approached within 100 meters."
"Let's begin."
Just as the nearby alliance members were about to move at Han Seong-jin's order, reddish-black cats suddenly sprang out from blind spots in their vision, blocking the path of the alliance members.
"What's this?"
"We don't have time, quickly clear them out!"
At Han Seong-jin's irritated voice, the alliance members who immediately rushed forward swung their hands roughly, but the cats standing firmly in place didn't take any action.
They just glared at the alliance members with red eyes, exactly like before.
"Unit, Unit Leader..."
An alliance member who sensed something was amiss called out to Han Seong-jin in a trembling voice.
"Something's wrong."
"What's wrong? No, how weird can cats be? Is that going to be a problem? I told you to do this without mistakes...!"
Han Seong-jin stepped forward himself, frowning deeply as he berated the alliance members.
At that moment, Han Seong-jin could understand why the alliance members had stopped moving.
Kieek.
The cats making bizarre shrieks were spilling out organs and blood from gaping holes under their bellies.
It was strange.
It was a grotesque sight at first glance.
"Wh-what is this...?"
From the beginning, it had been an impossible situation.
No matter how they came from blind spots, no one had sensed the presence of the cats.
Not even Han Seong-jin himself, an S-rank level expert.
'...Something has gone wrong.'
The plan had twisted again.
Cold sweat poured down his spine as he recognized the reality.
'I need to pull out before it's too late.'
Han Seong-jin made a relatively quick judgment, but even that was too late.
Whaaak-!
With the sound of something gushing up, the gaps in the alley were covered in pitch-black darkness.
"R-run away!"
It was the moment Han Seong-jin shouted urgently.
Wheeek-!
The darkness that had covered the area drew a huge curtain over the entire alley.
A heavy silence descended within the alley, creating an atmosphere as if sinking into deep darkness.
At the same time, the cats with their grotesque appearances collapsed with a thud, and red-colored magic formulas were drawn on the ground.
Woowoong-
From the magic formula emitting a resonant sound, a man's form rose up.
The ominous aura making the surrounding air heavy, with a raised staff embedded with red jewels.
Han Seong-jin's dry throat gulped down saliva as he felt instinctive fear at the menacing presence emitted by Bihyeong, the Demonic Spirit Cultivator.
'Can I escape?'
He carefully moved his gaze, but all he could see was the curtain of darkness.
There was no visible path.
In other words, there was no way out.
It meant there was only one choice he could make now.
"Kill him!"
It could be said to be the best judgment he could make in the current situation.
But to put it coldly, it was just a futile struggle.
A mage is one who prepares in advance.
In other words, a prepared mage could exert power twice that of their original combat ability.
And Bihyeong had surrounded Lee Su-hyeok's vicinity with numerous magic techniques, through which he had swallowed up the alley in darkness in an instant.
This alley was already Bihyeong's domain.
Han Seong-jin and the alliance members, who were at best S-rank, could not even approach Bihyeong easily, let alone defeat him.
In fact, the alliance members running towards Bihyeong suddenly lost their sense of direction and began to move in completely different directions.
It could be said to be a somewhat comical sight, but there was not even a hint of a smile on Bihyeong's face.
Rather, he was emitting an even colder gaze than before.
'Human, protect Lee Su-hyeok.'
Recalling the order of the absolute being, Lee Seong-jun, Bihyeong's gaze swept over the forms of Han Seong-jin and the alliance members.
He could immediately tear off their limbs and turn their brains to mush if he wanted to, but there was also an order to avoid killing as much as possible, so he did not directly intervene.
It was somewhat troublesome from Bihyeong's perspective, who dealt with cruel magic techniques, but fortunately, the opponents were too good this time.
'...Those who have accumulated the karma of grudges.'
It might not be visible to ordinary people, but to the eyes of the Blood Sect's magic practitioners who dealt with evil arts, it was clearly visible.
-How dare you kill me and my family! I can't forgive you! I can't forgive you!
-You tore off my limbs and killed me just for rejecting your proposal! I'll kill you too!
-You should die too, you should become like me!
Around Han Seong-jin and the alliance members, vengeful spirits filled with anger were wandering about, shedding tears of blood.
It was the moment when Bihyeong, with cold eyes, stirred his staff to draw out the vengeful spirits.
"Wh-wh-what is this?!"
Han Seong-jin and the alliance members, who had been unleashing attacks into empty space, began to let out voices full of fear with their eyes wide open.
They couldn't help it.
The vengeful spirits led by Bihyeong's grasp began to burrow into the minds of Han Seong-jin and the alliance members, pouring out negative emotions like anger and grudges that had been suppressed until now.
The malice pouring out like an explosion echoed incessantly in their ears and burrowed into their minds.
"Stop, stop it!"
Although Han Seong-jin was pleading in an earnest tone, Bihyeong's actions did not stop.
Rather, he drew out even more vengeful spirits and injected them into their minds.
Then, he transformed the vengeful spirits into a single thought entity, turning them into a massive curse.
'Soul Spirit Reversal.'
A smile crept onto Bihyeong's lips as he unfolded the magic technique of the sect that brews the karma of vengeful spirits accumulated by the target into a curse and inserted it into the minds of Han Seong-jin and the alliance members.
"Pl-please... Please remove these things that have entered my head!"
Han Seong-jin uttered an earnest voice in terror and pain as if his mind might collapse at any moment, but there was no way Bihyeong would grant his request.
"Aaaagh! Please stop! I said stop!"
Han Seong-jin, who let out a scream, hurriedly got up and ran towards Bihyeong in front of him.
Chizizizik-!
But the curse of Soul Spirit Reversal, which had already burrowed deep into his mind, began to collapse Han Seong-jin's body and mind.
The view that was clearly visible just a moment ago turned pitch black, and he couldn't see even an inch in front of him.
However, this was just the beginning.
The sense of touch he felt in his hands and feet also disappeared.
The sounds of the alliance members screaming were no longer audible.
Finally, it was the moment when even the presences felt from the surroundings were gradually enveloped in darkness.
"Ah...!"
Han Seong-jin's mind completely collapsed after letting out a short death cry.
It could be said that he had perfectly carried out the order Lee Seong-jun had given in advance, but Bihyeong's actions did not stop.
'It's not over.'
There were beings targeting Kim Ji-young, one of the main protection targets like Lee Su-hyeok.
'The order of the absolute being must be carried out without fail.'
Bihyeong, with cold eyes, once again drew a red magic formula and disappeared.
* * *
Although he had successfully moved to The Hill Yongsan as desired, Lee Seong-jun's life continued to be busy without a moment's rest afterwards.
It couldn't be helped, as guild creation and steady growth were tasks that couldn't be neglected.
Therefore, he had to move more busily than usual, and the daily routine flowed by so quickly that he didn't even realize time was passing.
After spending such a busy day, Lee Seong-jun had just landed on the ground and was slowly walking towards the nearby house when:
"You're later than I expected, Hunter Lee Seong-jun."
Lee Seong-jun's gaze shifted at the greeting of a man standing leaning against the wall on one side of the wide sidewalk.
Thanks to the energy flowing from his body, he could tell that the man in front of him was a hunter, but he couldn't recognize the man's identity at all.
No, it was impossible to know the identity of someone he had never met before, wasn't it?
Lee Seong-jun's head naturally tilted.
"Who are you?"
"I apologize, my introduction was late. I am Kim Ki-young, the chief of staff of the Returnee Alliance."
Despite the sudden visit, Lee Seong-jun's expression was utterly calm.
'Strong power alone cannot fully control people's hearts.'
Even if Baek Mu-jin, whom he had met before, held a fairly solid position as vice president in the Returnee Alliance, it was inevitable that there would be people acting on their own.
Of course, just because he had expected it didn't mean he wasn't displeased.
Rather, he could say he was even more displeased.
Just the fact that they came from the Returnee Alliance meant they had approached with an unwelcome purpose.
Lee Seong-jun frowned and opened his mouth.
"What's your business?"
"If you have time, I'd like to have a brief conversation."
Although it was an unpleasant situation, there was no need to refuse the conversation.
Or more accurately, he shouldn't refuse.
'If I refuse, they'll probably keep hovering around and bothering me.'
It was better to settle this cleanly and clearly so they couldn't linger any longer.
"I'm a very busy person, so I don't have much time. Just get to the point briefly."
"Since it's an era where the strong are respected, if that's what Hunter Lee Seong-jun wishes, I should certainly do so."
Kim Ki-young, who smiled slightly, opened his mouth.
"Our Returnee Alliance would like to welcome you, Hunter Lee Seong-jun."
"I refuse."
As the proposal was exactly as he had expected, Lee Seong-jun answered without a moment's hesitation.
However, Kim Ki-young had also anticipated this rejection and immediately continued speaking.
"Please, I would be grateful if you could listen to what I have to say and reconsider once more. Our Returnee Alliance sincerely regrets and reflects on not recognizing Hunter Lee Seong-jun's outstanding talent and not providing proper support."
Kim Ki-young bowed his head once and then carefully watched Lee Seong-jun's reaction as he spoke again.
"It may not be much of a substitute... but if you join the Returnee Alliance, I and the Returnee Alliance will take responsibility to restore your full rights befitting your prestige and power."