Chapter 280
“Park Ji-hoon. You son of a bitch.”
The voice on the other end of the line suddenly cut off.
Even without seeing him, I could clearly feel it—his confusion and agitation at this moment.
“What are you doing? If someone calls you, you should answer.”
A response came not long after.
“Is it…?”
“Yeah, it’s me, you bastard.”
A tense voice slipped out between my lips. Blood was rushing through my veins, and my heart was pounding like a drum.
But my mind was as cold as if doused in ice water.
Perhaps, deep down, I had already anticipated this situation.
‘I hoped it wouldn’t come to this…’
The number ’28’ that slipped out of his mouth was enough to turn a sliver of doubt into certainty.
What I was curious about, however, was whose orders he was acting on and how deeply he was involved.
“Those guys… did you send them?”
A low, smooth baritone voice replied.
“Well, if you put it that way, then I guess so.”
“What? Did you think I was going to deny it?”
This guy…
I let out a sarcastic chuckle at his attitude, as if he had nothing to be ashamed of.
“Who told you? Im Young-jun? Well, he’s the only one it could be. I thought he was a tight-lipped guy… Guess I was wrong,” Park Ji-hoon continued, clicking his tongue.
“What an idiot. Shouldn’t have left it to him.”
“Blaming someone else, huh? It’s like blaming the shit for what you did in public. But you…”
Crack.
The 1st team leader, who was struggling in my grasp, turned pale.
“Have you thought about how to clean up your mess after shitting everywhere?”
“It was unexpected that things turned out this way… But do you think I wouldn’t have a plan for the aftermath?”
“That’s what it looks like to me.”
“What?”
“Do you think you can handle me?”
A moment of silence followed. One second, two seconds, three seconds. Then, a cold, sharp voice, one I had never heard from him before, cut through the air.
“Take one more step, and both you and the Peace Guild are finished.”
“So what?”
“It’s not too late. Don’t escalate this any further. Let’s end this here.”
Hearing that, I suddenly realized that the workings of the world were not so different from battle.
The one who gains the upper hand pushes relentlessly, while the one who fears takes a step back first.
And I knew exactly what he was afraid of.
‘Black Hunters.’
The existence of Black Hunters, illegal mercenaries of major guilds.
Thinking that the Black Hunters were holding Park Ji-hoon back, a grin spread across my lips.
“End it?”
“Yes.”
“Who says?”
“You guys started this. Where it ends is up to me.”
On the other end of the line, Park Ji-hoon’s breathing became erratic.
“Damn, I knew you were dumb, but I didn’t think you were this stupid.”
“The outcome will be beyond your expectations. Look forward to it, you piece of shit.”
At that moment—
Ding.
“19th floor.”
With a mechanical voice, the tightly closed elevator doors slid open.
A high ceiling and a wide hallway. I could see dozens of people passing through.
Some of their gazes naturally turned toward me, and their jaws dropped.
“Te… Team leader?”
“Hey, who are you…?”
Instead of answering, I threw the 1st team leader forward. A Hunter who was approaching with a pointed finger was slammed against the wall along with the 1st team leader.
At the same time, an employee sitting at the desk screamed and pressed the emergency button.
Weee-oooo! Weee-oooo!
“Emergency! Emergency!”
“Intruder alert! 1st team, arm yourselves!”
Amid the deafening noise, Park Ji-hoon’s last words pierced my ears.
“Alright, go ahead. Give it your best shot.”
Beep… Beep… Beep…
I shoved the disconnected phone into my inner pocket.
When I pulled my hand out of my pocket again, I was holding two daggers instead of the phone.
“Go ahead and try? Was planning on it anyway.”
“Who are you?!”
“Disarm! If you don’t want to die, do it now!”
The elite Hunters of the Myeongdong Guild quickly surrounded me in a semicircle.
Behind me was the elevator, and the only person left standing was a man muttering to himself like a statue.
“This is a dream… It must be a dream…”
I glanced at him and spoke.
“What kind of phone do you have?”
“Huh?”
“Your phone.”
“Uh… I have an ElderPhone 25.”
“Oh, the one that looks like a half-eaten apple.”
“Yes, yes, that’s right.”
“Take it out and start recording.”
“Y-Yes!”
The man, who answered energetically, hesitated as he took out his phone.
“Uh, uh… I’m sorry, but what did you just say…?”
“You said you have an ElderPhone 25. Its camera quality is much better than mine, so it’s better to use that.”
“W-What do you mean?”
“Record everything.”
Just then, the 1st team leader, who had been lying on the ground, suddenly jumped up and shouted.
“What are you all doing? Take that bastard down now!”
“Team leader, isn’t that Jin Tae-kyung, the Hunter? What is going on all of a sudden…?”
“I’ll take responsibility.”
In any guild, the 1st team is the symbol and elite force of that guild.
If it’s the 1st team of the Myeongdong Guild, which is always ranked in the top 10 in the country, they are undoubtedly the pros among pros—a living battle machine.
“Orders from above. Think of him as a monster, not a person, and engage.”
With the clear command from the team leader, dozens of pairs of eyes sharpened.
The five tower shields in the front line slammed into the marble floor with perfect precision.
Boom!
“Formation—!”
In a peaceful daily routine…
The moment the city building turned into a battlefield.
* * *
‘What am I looking at?’
Lee Min-su, a C-rank Hunter belonging to the Myeongdong Guild’s security team, blinked.
What was unfolding before his eyes was that surreal.
Crash! Bang!
The supposedly tank-like tower shields shattered, and the massive tankers flew back as if struck by a giant’s hammer.
A very narrow gap, just wide enough for a person to slip through. In that brief moment when the gap appeared, a faint silhouette darted in.
And then…
Swish! Slice! Slice!
“Argh!”
“Gasp!”
With a flash of light, the shield wall crumbled.
The calves of the tankers who fell face-first onto the ground were cleanly severed.
‘How on earth…’
An attack too fast to see.
With each blink, two more people fell. With two blinks, three or four more.
Every time Jin Tae-kyung, wearing a gray hoodie, took a step, blood spurted, and screams filled the air.
“Block, block him!”
“Dealers!”
The frontline, held by the tankers, had already collapsed at the start of the battle. As Jin Tae-kyung took one step closer, five blades swung toward him.
Swish, swish, swish, swish!
Two aimed at the shoulders, one at the chest, and two at the legs.
An attack that couldn’t be dodged without stepping back.
“Got him!”
Just as someone shouted in exhilaration, the daggers in Jin Tae-kyung’s hands blurred like mist.
Clang, clang, clang!
The five blades, which everyone believed would hit their mark, flew into the air.
Those holding the swords stared at Jin Tae-kyung in shock. Unable to withstand the force, their hands burst open, spilling blood.
“W-What is this…?”
“This doesn’t make sense!”
Jin Tae-kyung replied in a flat voice to the panicked outcry.
“It does.”
Swish!
A line was drawn horizontally.
An attack that couldn’t be seen or avoided.
In its trajectory were the five Hunters who had just attempted an attack.
Splash!
Amidst the falling Hunters, blood spurting from their chests, a streak of light darted through.
Swish! Thunk!
An arrow stopped just short of Jin Tae-kyung’s chest.
An A-rank Hunter had precisely shot an arrow imbued with mana.
But what blocked it wasn’t a shield coated with various magical protections, nor a sharp weapon.
Snap.
Jin Tae-kyung broke the arrow shaft with two fingers and flicked it away.
The arrow, which had come with tremendous piercing force, flew back, shattering three defensive spells and embedding itself in the shoulders of its owner.
Thud.
“Gah!”
“If you shoot another arrow, I’ll make sure you end up with an odd number of balls.”
“If any of you don’t want to end up with mismatched balls, back off now. I’m getting tired of holding back.”
Did he just say he was holding back?
The Hunters from the 1st team felt as if they were possessed by a ghost. They couldn’t believe he had rendered over a dozen of them unable to fight in the time it took to drink a glass of cold water, and yet he claimed he was holding back.
For a moment, the same thought crossed everyone’s mind.
‘What kind of monster is this?’
Who were they? They were the elite and seasoned veteran Hunters of the Myeongdong Guild. Some had been around for as little as 8 years, others for over 20 years. They had exceptional skills compared to Hunters of the same rank, which was why they had risen to this position, and they took great pride in it.
At least, until they faced Jin Tae-kyung here today.
“Step aside while I’m still being polite. Seniors. I’d like to smash all your heads in, but… it seems you’re not directly involved, so I’ll leave it at this.”
Despite his casual attire—baggy sweatpants and a gray hoodie, as if he had just dropped by a cafe—no one dared ignore Jin Tae-kyung’s words.
He had already shown his strength and etched it into everyone’s minds.
“So, make way.”
Even veteran Hunters who had fought countless battles in Gates felt suffocated by the pressure that filled the room.
It was a primal fear, something they had never experienced, not even against the fiercest monsters.
‘That monster… he’s a real monster.’
Step, step.
That monster was now walking straight toward them.
As the Hunters instinctively stepped aside to clear a path, it happened.
“Burning Hands!”
Woosh!
A fierce wave of heat erupted, and a fiery hand engulfed Jin Tae-kyung.
The flame magic, hot enough to melt even solid rock, vanished without a trace the moment it met Jin Tae-kyung’s palm.
“Ma… magic?”
“That was called Fire God’s Palm. Not bad, right?”
The 1st team leader’s eyes widened at the sight of Tae-kyung’s hand engulfed in blue flames.
Jin Tae-kyung, who was watching him, licked his dry lips.
It was like a predator rediscovering prey it had forgotten about.
“Oh, about what I said earlier—you, you’re an exception.”
Swish!
Jin Tae-kyung’s figure blurred like a ghost.
But the 1st team leader, leading the elite team of the Myeongdong Guild, was also a skilled battle mage. Even in his shock, he reacted swiftly.
“Blink!”
A teleportation spell that allowed movement to any point within 10 meters, as long as it was within sight.
‘If I unleash a barrage of attack spells from behind him, no matter how skilled he is…’
The 1st team leader, who had teleported behind Jin Tae-kyung, suddenly felt as if time had stopped.
Jin Tae-kyung’s clear, deep black eyes were right in front of his face.
Thud. A palm, still warm from the flames, pressed down on his shoulder.
“Why so surprised?”
“…!”
“You made it obvious where you’d go, with the way you kept glancing.”
Predicting his movement from the direction of his gaze?
No, that wasn’t all.
The 1st team leader’s body trembled as if struck by lightning.
‘His movement… it’s faster than my Blink spell.’
Just what kind of monster is this guy?
And what kind of beast had Park Ji-hoon and the Myeongdong Guild provoked?
With a trembling voice, he recited his last prepared incantation.
“Po-Poison.”
Fwoosh.
A green poisonous mist erupted, enveloping Jin Tae-kyung’s face.
But just as the 1st team leader had feared, the monster once again proved his monstrous nature.
“Phew, it smells like a fart.”
Jin Tae-kyung’s handsome brow furrowed slightly.
That was the only reaction he had to the poison spell.
Jin Tae-kyung, who had reached the peak and attained immunity to all poisons, blew a breath towards the paralyzed 1st team leader.
“Whoosh.”
“Guh…”
The 1st team leader’s complexion turned a sickly green as he inhaled the toxic mist.
Jin Tae-kyung, grabbing the nape of his now-paralyzed neck, looked around and asked,
“Park Ji-hoon. Where’s that bastard’s office?”
Swish!
Ten fingers pointed toward a single door.
