Chapter 590
The survivors and the fallen alike stared at me with trembling eyes.
They must have realized by now that the reason they’re still alive isn’t just because they were lucky.
With the blaring alarms and the silent crowd, I walked slowly and stood in the center of the lobby.
Then, gathering my energy with three breaths, I kicked off the ground and soared upward.
Screeeech!
The ceiling of the lobby rushed at my eyes along with the fierce wind. At the same time, blue-white flames flickered atop my clenched fist.
The [Flame God Phantom Dance] erupted, burning through the air.
Boom!
Everything began and ended in an instant.
Whoomph! The [Flame God Phantom Dance]. True to its name, the intense heat turned into blue-white flames and soared upward.
Boom!
A massive explosion in the next moment swallowed up all other noise.
Even the layered, powerful defensive magic and the ceiling made of the hardest magical materials melted and crumbled under the extreme heat.
Crash! Crash! Boom!
One, three, five, ten.
When one ceiling disappeared, another appeared, and then yet another blocked my path.
But as a pillar of fire, I broke, pierced, and melted everything that blocked me.
Thunk. Crackle.
How high had I soared? How many ceilings had I smashed through?
When I finally stopped, beyond the flickering flames…
“Shoot!”
There were people—no, enemies—who had finished all their preparations.
Screeeeech!
As if they had been waiting for this moment, the enemies unleashed arrows and magic all at once.
And as countless streaks of light shot toward me, I uttered a command in my heart that no one else could hear.
‘Inventory, stow.’
Shhk.
The cool feeling of a spear shaft vanished from my grip. I gathered the still-raging flames in both hands and thrust out my palms.
‘[Flame God Palm].’
A [Flame God Palm] at eight stars. The fire dragon that burst from both palms twisted in the air.
The scorching heat swept across the wide corridor to both sides, taking with it magic, arrows, and people.
“Argh!” “Healer, healer!”
All that remained where the flames died down were screams and a foul stench. The smell of burning flesh and cries of pain overflowed everywhere.
If I had gone all out, half of them wouldn’t even have had the chance to scream before being burned to death.
“How… how is this possible…?”
I turned my head toward the voice.
At the end of the corridor, more than a dozen healers stood with their mouths agape, staring at the scene before them.
“What are you doing? Run over here and save your teammates.”
At my indifferent words, a middle-aged woman who looked like a team leader bit her lip.
“Jin Taekyung, why are you doing this?”
“Because there’s something I must do. And because you all tried to stop me.”
“I don’t know what’s going on with you, but isn’t this… isn’t this too much?”
Seeing the eyes filled with fear and anger, I felt like the worst villain in the world. Maybe that’s why I let out a hollow laugh.
The Ares Guild emblem on their clothes irritated me, and their shameless actions were just absurd.
The reason I stopped instead of leaving was precisely that.
“Too much? Seriously? You people are the ones who went too far.”
“W-what?”
“Isn’t it a bit much for the people who all rushed to kill me at the words ‘Code Red’ to complain?”
“…?”
“I said it would be enough to meet just one person. I tried to avoid pointless fighting. But you attacked first, and the ones who fell are all yours to blame.”
I understand. I know that they aren’t directly connected to Kim Hwajong’s death. How could the hands and feet know what the head plotted?
But just because they received an order doesn’t erase the fact that they gathered here to kill someone.
“Why are you doing this? I don’t know what’s going on with you…”
Over the suppressed groans, a quiet voice slipped between her lips and echoed down the charred corridor.
“Stop talking nonsense. You should have thought before you acted. Why would I, the one everyone praises for saving people and slaying monsters, suddenly rampage through your guild after I told to bring Seok Gojun here? And why was an order come down to kill me?”
That’s the way the world is these days. They call me a hero.
But to be clear, I’m not. I lack any lofty spirit of sacrifice. I care about money. I want to live for my own people rather than strangers.
Still, I believed I hadn’t lived shamefully.
Since gaining this overwhelming power, I tried to use it for others as much as I could.
I constantly doubted myself—what kind of person I was, whether this choice was right.
But why. Why. Why.
I kept asking empty questions. The blank faces in my sight disgusted me.
“Why do you come here to kill someone just because you’re ordered to, without even questioning it?”
No one answered, but I already knew the answer.
They’re not even Seok Gojun’s hands and feet. They’re just his fingernails. They’re dogs who live off the scraps Ares gives them.
They could gain more wealth and honor by carrying out this mission. That’s why, as always, they stood in my way.
“Do you have any idea what Seok Gojun has done? What if I told you that the monster waves in Busan and Pyeongchang were started by him on purpose?”
As soon as I finished speaking, shouts erupted everywhere.
“Bullshit!”
“That’s impossible!”
Yeah. I figured as much. That’s why I came this far. Looking at their distrustful faces, I let out a rough laugh.
It’s funny. They all stay silent about why a so-called hero attacked the Ares Guild, but when it’s about something else, their first reaction is denial.
“What did they promise you for taking me down? Lightning-fast promotion in the guild? Enough money for your family to live for generations? Please, don’t give me that crap about raising kids or supporting a sick mother. None of you here are struggling like that right now.”
Everyone here is already successful, whether they wanted it or not. They all awakened suddenly one day and showed enough skill to get into the Ares Guild.
I don’t blame them for the wealth and honor they gained. I once dreamed of the same.
But the reason their choice disgusts me today is that, just to gain more, they make the wrong choice and justify it to themselves.
Just as individuals stay silent, so does the whole group. That’s how they became the guards of Ares, the iron fortress.
“So,” I took a deep breath. My chest ached, filled with mental exhaustion, anger, and disgust.
“Stop spouting nonsense and just stay down. Chug your potions and get healed. Think about it while you’re at it—today is my second birthday. That’s it.”
Silence fell over everything. The groans that had constantly leaked from all around now couldn’t be heard at all.
Those standing and those lying down all closed their eyes or shut their mouths tight.
Ignoring their trembling gazes, I walked away. I didn’t forget a final farewell.
“Idiots.”
I don’t care if my words made them realize something, or if they’re still mindless attack dogs. My goal right now is just one person.
And to reach that bastard who still hasn’t appeared, I have a lot of obstacles left to break through.
Crunch.
My footsteps pressed onto neatly trimmed grass.
Even though it’s still winter outside, the garden at the heart of the building beyond the corridor was a vibrant spring.
On this unknown floor, hundreds of flowers bloomed in profusion, and fewer enemies than before waited for me.
“A lot of you gathered, huh? Bastards.”
Shhk!
Instead of a reply, an arrow charged with mana came flying at me.
From how it aimed at my eyes, the shooter must have been a cold one, and judging by the mana, it was clearly meant to kill.
So, in this case, it’s only fair to return it in kind. That’s my way.
Tap, whish!
I caught the arrow in my hand and scattered it instantly.
The arrowhead flashed as it returned to its owner, twice as fast and powerful as when it was shot.
Clang! With a grating noise, a massive white greatsword deflected the arrow.
A middle-aged man in his fifties, with eyes heavy with experience, stared at me.
His presence reminded me of a martial artist who had reached the absolute peak.
“Just as they say, you’re impatient, junior.”
“It’s my first time meeting you, senior.”
I politely cracked my knuckles like a junior should. Pop. The sound of joints cracking in blood-hardened fingers echoed.
“If you turn back now, I’ll let you pass quietly. Oh, except for the guy who shot the arrow just now.”
Smack!
The moment I finished, someone’s head snapped to the side.
The middle-aged man had slapped the archer on the cheek with lightning speed and looked back at me.
“He’s still young and foolish. Please forgive him.”
“It wasn’t a mistake. I should break his hand.”
“That’s more than enough. Survival is what matters most.”
What is with this guy?
He was different from the other Ares Guild members I had fought so far. As I stared at him curiously, the middle-aged man spoke calmly.
“And thank you for your offer, but I’ll have to decline. Even if I look like this, I’m an executive in the guild. I have to at least cling to your pant leg.”
“Then you won’t like how this ends.”
“What can I do? I’m a hunting dog, too. Given the situation, the result is obvious, but please go easy on us if you can.”
What’s with that attitude?
As I silently stared at him, I realized something and spoke.
“Song Cheon-woo. So you’re in President Song’s faction.”
The middle-aged man’s eyes widened at my words. That meant I was right.
That also meant I no longer had a reason to fight him.
Song Cheon-woo was the leader of his own faction inside the Ares Guild and opposed Seok Gojun, so this man was probably one of his people.
“You knew…?”
“I heard from someone close. There’s no reason to fight, so step aside.”
The middle-aged man chuckled.
“The enemy of my enemy is my friend?”
“At least right now, I don’t want to waste strength or time.”
As I moved forward again, the middle-aged man raised his greatsword.
It was a clear stance of readiness. His conflicted voice reached my ears.
“Please stop. I don’t want to do this, but I have no choice.”
I answered without stopping.
“If you don’t want to do this, then why are you here? Are you just a hunting dog who can only do what you’re told?”
“If you’re afraid of Seok Gojun, just say you’re afraid. Don’t cover it up by saying you have no choice.”
It wasn’t just the middle-aged man. Everyone looking at me was trembling.
As I kept moving forward, all hundred-plus of them were backing away.
A crack appeared on the calm face of the middle-aged man.
“It’s already over. President Song flew to England this morning. Do you know what that means? We had to find a way to survive—even if it meant acting as hunting dogs.”
President Song leaving for England this morning? That was obviously a lie. I was sure it was Seok Gojun’s decoy, so I let out a small laugh.
“What if the owner of the hunting dogs dies today?”
Everyone’s eyes widened. I reached out toward the air. At the same time, I pulled [White Flame] from my inventory and swung it down diagonally.
Shhhk!
A white line cut through the air.
Everyone held their breath, but there was no blood, no death.
The energy that shot out along the white spear blade didn’t cut down a person, but something else.
Scrape, thud.
The splendid fountain in the center of the garden and the huge statue standing atop it were split apart and toppled over.
The remains of the statue, modeled after someone long dead, crushed the flowers.
The head that separated from the torso rolled and rolled until it stopped at my feet.
I could easily recognize the vividly lifelike face of the statue.
‘Lee Jeongryong.’
That’s right.
Today, the grand palace built by the ambitious man who wanted everything collapses.
Along with the disciple who became a monster.
I tossed a remark to the stunned onlookers.
“It’s one or the other. Put down your weapons and make way, or, if not, protect my back.”