Solo Leveling : Ragnarok - Chapter 41

**One hour earlier.**

[**Paju Field**]

※ Entry restricted to Reapers Guild only.

*Step.*

“So, this is the place.”

Hunter Association Team Leader **Han Jae-hyuk** and his subordinates arrived at the entrance to **Paju Field**.

He glanced up at the sky. The weather was irritatingly perfect.

A wide, quiet plain stretched out before them. This area used to be part of the **Paju Industrial Complex**, but after a dungeon break, it had become a desolate, abandoned place.

The reason they had come here was because of **Baek Mi-ho**.

Last night, Baek Mi-ho, Vice Guild Master of the **White Tiger Guild**, had suddenly shown up at the Association with her subordinates, bringing a captured **Hyena Guild** member from the Magok Field. She handed him over to the Association and left without further explanation.

Team Leader Han Jae-hyuk, who had already been investigating the stardust factories, immediately interrogated the captured Hyena Guild member. The information he obtained was shocking.

‘Vice Guild Master **Lee Min-seong** of the Reapers Guild is secretly running a stardust research facility!’

However, the captured Hyena Guild member didn’t know the exact location of the facility.

At times like these, the only thing to do was to hit the ground running.

To produce stardust, they needed **blue mist**, and the only place where that could be harvested would have to be in a dungeon controlled by the Reapers Guild.

That’s why Association Hunters had been dispatched since the early morning to search the Reapers Guild’s dungeons around the Seoul metropolitan area.

“Team Leader.”

One of Han’s subordinates, who had been on the phone with the situation room, approached him.

“It seems this place is the most suspicious. Apparently, Vice Guild Master Lee Min-seong recently volunteered to personally manage Paju Field.”

“…”

At the report, Han Jae-hyuk stared seriously ahead.

Beyond the barbed wire fencing that blocked civilian access, old container warehouses covered in **blue mist** gave off an eerie atmosphere.

“…Well, they picked the perfect spot.”

Han clicked his tongue in frustration.

Paju Field’s location, close to Seoul, made it easy to abduct people and convenient for harvesting blue mist. Moreover, the existing container buildings in the field were perfect for setting up a research facility.

Everything pointed to this being the right place.

Han Jae-hyuk grabbed his shield.

“We’re going in.”

“What? Just us? What about reinforcements?”

“We need evidence to request backup. We can’t risk making a scene if we’re wrong. At the very least, we’ll take some pictures before calling them in.”

“Yes, sir.”

And so, with Han Jae-hyuk leading the charge, five Association Hunters vaulted over the fence and entered Paju Field.

And soon, they found it.

A cluster of container buildings set up in the abandoned Paju Industrial Complex.

Hunters roamed the area in large numbers.

‘Found it!’

The Association Hunters exchanged knowing glances.

There was no reason for so many Hunters to gather in a field-type dungeon that had already been mostly cleared.

“According to our intel, Vice Guild Master Lee Min-seong has been secretly building his own faction behind Guild Master **Im Tae-gyu’s** back. There’s likely some power struggle going on.”

“So, this is their hideout.”

Han Jae-hyuk stared at the largest building in the center of the containers and gave an order to his subordinate.

“Request reinforcements immediately.”

“Yes, sir.”

“We’re going in.”

“What?”

“I heard screams from inside.”

With a grim expression, Han Jae-hyuk gritted his teeth.

It seemed civilians were being held captive inside the facility.

If they didn’t act fast, it could be too late.

* * *

Inside the stardust research facility.

**Container A.**

**Oh Sun-joo**, the wife of **Dr. Min Byung-gu**, was trembling in a cold cell.

‘Why am I here…?’

She was overwhelmed by confusion and fear.

She had been on her way to work, just like any other day.

But suddenly, she lost consciousness, and when she woke up, she found herself imprisoned in this unfamiliar place.

She couldn’t make sense of what was happening.

This couldn’t simply be a kidnapping for ransom. Too many things didn’t add up.

For one, there were too many people outside her cell, all walking around openly without bothering to hide their faces.

‘If they’re showing their faces, that means they never intended to let us go…’

That realization filled Oh Sun-joo with even more dread.

In total, there were nine others imprisoned with her, all as confused and terrified as she was.

“Hic… Mama…”

Her gaze drifted to a small boy sobbing in the corner.

He couldn’t have been more than a kindergartener, curled up in a ball and crying quietly.

Suddenly, one of the men passing by the cell barked angrily at the boy.

“Hey! I told you to stop crying, didn’t I?”

*Bang!*

“Ack!”

“…!”

Oh Sun-joo clamped her hands over her mouth in shock.

The man had only yelled, but the boy had been flung backward as if kicked by an invisible force.

‘A skill?!’

That was when Oh Sun-joo realized that their captors were all Hunters.

‘Why would Hunters abduct civilians? Why?!’

Suppressing her rising panic, Oh Sun-joo rushed to the boy’s side to check his condition.

“Hic… Ugh…”

The boy clutched his stomach in pain, writhing on the ground, though he bit his lip, trying not to make any more noise.

Clearly terrified, he was doing his best not to draw any further attention.

Oh Sun-joo gently pulled the trembling boy into her arms.

There was nothing else she could do for him.

Just then—

“…!”

Oh Sun-joo’s eyes widened in shock.

In the far corner of the cell, she noticed a strange distortion, as if light itself was bending unnaturally.

It was subtle, almost impossible to notice unless one was paying close attention, but once she saw it, the anomaly stood out like a sore thumb.

Then, as if aware of her gaze—

*Shhhhh.*

Suddenly, as if a curtain had been pulled back, the face of a large man appeared out of nowhere.

“…!”

Her eyes grew even wider, but before she could react, the man pressed a finger to his lips.

*‘Shh.’*

She immediately held her breath, understanding the meaning behind the gesture.

‘Hunters. Association. Here to rescue us. Act like you don’t know.’

Though he didn’t say a word aloud, his mouthed words rang in her mind.

Shocked, Oh Sun-joo frantically blinked to signal that she understood.

*Shhhhh.*

The man’s face disappeared again, and the distorted space slowly crept closer to the prisoners’ cell.

‘This is practically suicide, coming here with just five people.’

Han Jae-hyuk sighed quietly as he and his team advanced under the cover of their concealment skill.

But the situation was urgent, and they couldn’t afford to wait for reinforcements.

If the civilians continued to inhale the blue mist inside this field, they might suddenly turn into **Mistborne** at any moment.

They needed to get them out as quickly as possible.

‘It’ll be fine. As long as everything goes according to plan.’

Han Jae-hyuk’s plan was simple.

They would quietly open the cell, extend their concealment skill to cover the civilians, and then one of his subordinates would create a diversion while they all made their escape.

‘Once we’re outside the building, it’ll be a success. There are plenty of places to hide out there.’

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Han Jae-hyuk reached the cell door.

He gripped the padlock tightly.

*Crunch.*

His large hand crushed the lock with ease.

‘Good! I made it—’

“Feeling good about yourself?”

…!

*Shiver!*

A chilling voice came from behind.

‘We’ve been found—!’

*Boom!*

An explosion engulfed them, instantly shattering their concealment.

Han Jae-hyuk barely managed to block the attack and shouted to his team.

“Damn it! Plan B!”

“There is no Plan B, Team Leader!”

“Just hold out as long as you can!”

The fight broke out immediately.

“Only five of them! Kill them all!”

Dozens of Hunters from the research facility attacked at once.

*Thud!*

“Everyone, behind me!”

Han Jae-hyuk raised his massive shield, large enough to cover half his body.

**“Iron Wall Aura!”**

*Fwoosh!*

He conjured a massive barrier to protect his team from the relentless barrage of attacks.

“Just hang on! Reinforcements will be here soon!”

He said this loudly on purpose, hoping their enemies would hear and flee.

But no such luck.

Instead—

“Hey.”

*Gulp.*

The chilling voice spoke again.

Han Jae-hyuk looked in the direction of the voice and froze.

A man with a snake-like grin was holding a small boy by the throat.

“You heard me, right? Drop the shield skill, you bastards.”

Han Jae-hyuk recognized the man.

“**Park Jong-chul**!”

Park Jong-chul, a C-Rank Hunter infamous in the Reapers Guild for his cruelty.

“Didn’t you hear me? Drop the damn shield skill right now, you piece of shit.”

Park Jong-chul sneered as he lifted the small boy higher, tightening his grip around the child’s neck.

The boy’s face turned pale as he gasped for breath, his small hands desperately clawing at Park’s arm.

“If you don’t drop that shield skill right now, this kid dies.”

The Association Hunters were frozen in place, caught between their duty to protect the civilians and the fact that dropping the shield would leave them wide open to attacks.

Han Jae-hyuk’s face twisted in rage as he gripped his shield tighter.

“Damn it…”

The situation was dire. If they kept the shield up, the boy would die. But if they dropped it, they would be defenseless against the facility’s Hunters.

“Team Leader, what do we do…?” one of his subordinates whispered, panic rising in their voice.

Before Han could make a decision, Park Jong-chul sneered again.

“Oh? Still not listening? How about now?”

Smack!

Park swung his free hand, slapping the boy across the face. The sound of the impact echoed in the room as blood spurted from the boy’s mouth. His small body went limp, dangling like a ragdoll in Park’s grip.

“Stop! Don’t do this!” one of the Association Hunters shouted, unable to watch any longer.

“Drop the shield! Just do it!” another Hunter urged.

Han Jae-hyuk’s jaw clenched, his mind racing. He couldn’t let the boy die. Slowly, he began to release his shield skill.

The Iron Wall Aura flickered and started to fade.

“That’s right,” Park said, grinning. “Good little dogs. Obey your master.”

Just as the shield fully disappeared—

Slash!

“…?!”

A sword sliced cleanly through Park’s arm, severing it at the shoulder.

The boy dropped to the ground, gasping for air, while Park stood frozen in shock.

Blood sprayed from his shoulder like a fountain.

“Wh-who—”

Before he could finish, pain finally caught up to him.

“AAAAAAGHHHHHH!”

Park screamed, clutching the stump where his arm used to be.

The other Hunters in the room stared in shock, their eyes darting around to find the attacker.

“Who the hell dares—?!”

Park Jong-chul barely had time to process what had happened before—

Slash!

His leg was cut clean off at the knee.

“AAAAHHH! M-MY LEG!!”

Park collapsed to the ground, writhing in agony. His snake-like grin was long gone, replaced by pure terror as he lay helplessly bleeding out.

And then—

A man wearing a raven mask stood in front of him, cradling the young boy in his arms.

‘W-who…?’

Everyone’s attention shifted to the masked figure.

The man’s voice was cold and devoid of emotion.

“Those who deserve death will die.”

The chilling words reverberated through the room, sending a shiver down the spines of everyone present.