Chapter 42

In a dark, sealed room where the only light came from a single, orange-glowing lightbulb.

The Right Wing of Black Label was staring at the documents on the table with a grave expression.

[Dismissal of Position – Code 3003]

Not only had an unprecedented top agent within the Black Label assassination company suddenly resigned, but he had also placed a strict ban on accepting any contracts for ‘Bang Hyuk-min’.

One might think that a single agent, even a top one, wouldn’t have much power to enforce such a ban, but Code 3003 was different.

Flipping past the dismissal document, dozens of pages of penalty-related paperwork for mission failures came into view.

Every single one of them was dated for today.

This meant only one thing.

The moment he received the mission, he had accepted the penalties and refused the contract.

“Well, I’ll be.”

The Right Wing, the de facto operator of the Black Label Company, clicked her tongue in disbelief.

*Clack.*

The door to the sealed room opened without warning.

Upon identifying the person, Right Wing silently rose from her seat and respectfully stood to one side.

“You’ve arrived, Guild Master.”

“Thanks to you, I had to come all the way here, didn’t I?”

Hwang Ji-young, who was quite angry for some reason, sat down in the only chair, the one Right Wing had just vacated.

She crossed her legs and glared at Right Wing.

“Why did you do it?”

“I apologize.”

“I’m asking why you were the one to move the executive board.”

“I apologize.”

“Why? You’re not one to move without my orders.”

“I have no excuse.”

The Right Wing bowed her head low.

“The company executives tried to dismiss you over 3003—that is, No Death’s—resignation.”

As she spoke, Hwang Ji-young’s gaze shifted to the table.

“Looks like you tried hard to handle this on your own?”

“Yes.”

“Even the most outstanding agents would want to avoid a war with the undying Revenant. There’s no way they would have accepted.”

“I apologize.”

“You probably didn’t know things would go this wrong. Enough of that! Stop apologizing and just give me a reason. Why did you do it?”

Letting out a deep sigh, Right Wing opened her heavy mouth.

“I was worried that you, Guild Master, would be played by that man who fell from the sky.”

“So you sent No Death? To finish it perfectly?”

“Yes. I believed that even someone as remarkable as Bang Hyuk-min would not survive against No Death. He was a man who knew too much. I judged that it was right to eliminate him, for your sake and for the company’s.”

When she heard that No Death had accepted the mission, Hwang Ji-young had honestly thought the same thing as Right Wing.

He was No Death, the undying Revenant.

In other words, it meant that a death that could never be shaken off would follow its target like a shadow.

Essentially, the thought of mission failure was impossible.

“So what was the result? You ended up completely engraving the name Bang Hyuk-min into the minds of the guild and the company. And we lost our best agent in the process.”

This time, it was Hwang Ji-young who let out a deep sigh.

“To be honest, I still can’t believe this outcome. Not a mission failure, but a resignation. Thanks to that, we’ve lost our best agent, and you’re on the verge of being dismissed from your position as President.”

“I have nothing to say. It is all my fault.”

“That’s right. It is your fault.”

She handed a single sheet of paper she had in her pocket to Right Wing.

She naturally assumed it was a document regarding her dismissal as President.

But the document Right Wing saw was not about that.

“Do you have any idea how much I had to sweat to stop your dismissal?”

“This is a blank piece of paper…”

“The executive board has decided to preserve your position as President. I solved the part that worried the executives the most.”

“The part that worried them the most would be…”

“No Death joining another company.”

The power that the agent known as No Death wielded was not something that could be dismissed as simply losing one top agent.

The executive board was worried about one thing.

That they themselves would become the targets of a contract taken by No Death, who had decided to walk a different path.

To put it simply, they, who had been safe from No Death’s contracts by being in the same company, were now anxious that they could become his targets.

“I received a firm promise from that man you tried to eliminate. I put my position as Guild Master on the line and assured them that Black Label would never be included in No Death’s contracts. Only then did they cancel the motion for your dismissal.”

“I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry.”

“You were saved because it was Bang Hyuk-min. It’s a good thing he’s someone we know well. If he had other intentions, I would have had to issue an emergency order for the company for the first time in a long while.”

“I’m sorry…”

“I know very well how much you think of me, and what you think of me.”

At the words “what you think of me,” Right Wing bowed her head once more.

“Well, you are the two wings who served my great father. It can’t be helped that I seem hopelessly inadequate in comparison.”

“That’s not it…”

“But you know.”

Hwang Ji-young cut Right Wing off and looked down at the older woman.

“I may be lacking in everything else… but I’d like you to know that my intuition is superior to my father’s.”

In fact, both Right Wing and the Left Wing had heard from the previous family head that Hwang Ji-young’s intuition was extraordinary.

“I will keep that… in mind.”

“I won’t tell you to trust me 100 percent. I know you wouldn’t believe me even if I did. Haa… I have a lot to do because of this bombshell. A lot to clean up. So.”

Rising from her seat with a sigh, Hwang Ji-young looked at Right Wing and said.

“Just be sorry and clean up the mess. Thanks to you, I now have something to settle with that Bang Hyuk-min guy, so I have to go take care of that.”

“I will do so.”

= = =

Hyuk-min, who had just put down the phone, let out a smirk.

“Looks like all hell broke loose. Well, there’s no way the executive board would handle things that quickly.”

It was as if Hyuk-min already knew everything.

“We decided to talk about the details soon, and as for teamwork…”

The smile on Hyuk-min’s lips, which had been scoffing, deepened.

“It’s so good it goes without saying.”

Above Hyuk-min’s head as he put his phone away, the words “40th Floor” were clearly visible.

Amazingly, the time it took to clear the Tower from the 38th floor to the 40th was just over 30 minutes.

And that was a result achieved by No Death and Hyun-jung alone, without any help from Hyuk-min.

No Death and Hyun-jung, who had been slaughtering monsters, both stopped fighting.

As the two, catching their breath, slowly raised their heads, the 40th floor’s boss, a single Wyvern, stirred and rose to its feet.

‘A Wyvern…’

It was enormous, easily over four meters tall.

It had a massive head reminiscent of a dragon, and even faint flames leaking from its mouth.

‘Is this because the difficulty spikes every ten floors?’

Despite that, no sign of panic could be found on No Death or Hyun-jung as they prepared to start the battle.

*Thud!*

Without a shred of fear, No Death boldly leaped toward the Wyvern.

It was a strategy typical of No Death, who had always fought alone.

A mindless charge, relying on his undying body.

*Whoosh!*

Although his Stats were high, the Wyvern was not an opponent that would be easily taken down by a charging No Death.

Befitting its name as a small dragon with red scales, the Wyvern’s sharp claws swung out, aiming to tear No Death to shreds.

It was then.

*Thwack!*

A single bullet, flying from somewhere, struck the hand that had swung at No Death.

*Pow!*

“Kkieeek!”

It was Hyun-jung’s marksmanship.

The Mana Bullet, which she now wrapped around her shots naturally, had completely nullified the attack from the Wyvern’s hard claws.

The Wyvern shrieked from the sudden pain, but only for a moment.

Thanks to the thwarted attack, No Death, who had safely reached the space before the Wyvern’s eyes, emitted a black smoke.

“Touch of the Dead.”

He passed through the Wyvern using Spirit Materialization.

No Death’s form, which had briefly turned into black smoke like a spirit, instantly reappeared behind the Wyvern.

And as if by magic, the Wyvern’s two sturdy wings were sliced off as cleanly as a knife cutting through tofu.

*Thump! Thump!*

“Kkieeeeeeeek!!”

The shriek of the Wyvern, known as the sovereign of the skies, grew even louder.

But what was the Wyvern’s nickname?

A small dragon.

Contrary to the Wyvern’s pained expression from the fatal blow, its eyes were filled with an even deeper killing intent.

*Whoosh!*

*Boom!!*

Was it incapable of feeling pain?

Or had its rage made it forget the pain?

Even as it spewed blood, it moved its body with all its might and swung its tail.

And that tail instantly slammed the falling No Death into the wall.

*Fwooo.*

Smoke was rising from the muzzle of Hyun-jung’s gun.

She had already fired at the Wyvern’s tail, but the tail’s power had been more than enough to brush off her bullet and still smash No Death into a bloody pulp, leaving him unrecognizable.

“Tch.”

Hyuk-min approached Hyun-jung.

She then cried out as if to complain.

“He’s too reckless.”

“He’s fast, unlike me, right?”

“It’s not that he’s fast. He’s just reckless. It’s almost impossible to support him.”

“So he’s bad as a team member?”

“Still… I think he’s helpful. It feels like if I keep following him, I might one day be able to support you too, Uncle, when you’re in ‘Old Man Mode’?” (T/N: Should we change it to Old Man Mode or keep Old Man Mode?)

Though she said it was difficult, Hyun-jung was perfectly timing her support to match No Death, who was fighting on the front lines.

How many people could provide such perfect support?

The reason Hyun-jung was annoyed despite this was because things weren’t going 100 percent perfectly according to her plans.

*Sluuurp.*

With a sound like something being sucked in, the bloody pulp that was No Death returned to its original form.

The only difference was that his clothes were all torn, leaving him nearly naked.

“Just a big lizard bastard.”

As if this had happened many times before, he gripped a sturdy iron sword, as hard as his Immortal Demon Sword, without any sign of embarrassment.

Then, kicking off the ground, he once again began a mindless charge toward the Wyvern.

Black smoke rose from No Death’s body as he cut through the air.

It seemed like the same mindless attack as before, just with Spirit Materialization activated a little earlier.

“Annoying.”

But Hyun-jung’s gaze sharpened as she prepared her support, and the direction she aimed her gun changed completely.

*Zzzzing.*

Had they developed a secret sign between them in that short time?

Even though the same sharp claws were swinging as if to turn No Death into a bloody pulp, the muzzle of Hyun-jung’s gun, now gathering energy for a Railgun shot, was aimed not at the Wyvern’s hand, but at its head.

‘Is she trying to end it because she’s frustrated?’

Just as that question began to form.

*Tzang!!*

A Mana Railgun shot, so powerful that the recoil threw her body backward, blasted from the muzzle of Hyun-jung’s gun.

Hyun-jung’s powerful shot, like a blue laser beam, streaked forward and embedded itself in the Wyvern’s neck.

The Wyvern’s face contorted in a flash of immense pain, but while its head was thrown high, its eyes were fixed on No Death, who was surging up from below.

But it was at that moment.

*Fwoooosh! Pang!!*

“Ah…”

The second Spirit Materialization occurred, along with Hyuk-min’s sound of admiration.

*Vooom!*

With a burst of black smoke, No Death shot upward even faster, narrowly dodging the Wyvern’s claws.

And finally.

*Chwaaaak! Shunk!*

The concentrated power of the revenant became a black crescent moon, instantly severing the Wyvern’s neck.

No Death spun in the air like a top, scattering black smoke.

Just as he landed on the ground with a *thud!*, the Wyvern’s head, which had been flung upward, fell to the floor with a *thump!*.

*Kraaaash!*

The massive body of the Wyvern collapsed.

As if celebrating the clear, blue blood splattered everywhere like fireworks, drenching No Death’s entire body.

Hyuk-min asked Hyun-jung.

“How did you know?”

“Know what?”

“That the last attack was the finisher.”

“He’s been doing that since before, as if asking me to time it on purpose. I just did what he asked.”

Hyuk-min tilted his head.

He had been watching them carefully from the start to check their teamwork.

The only thing that changed was the timing of the attacks.

He hadn’t sensed any request for something to be done.

“Hoo.”

Like a man victorious in war, No Death walked over confidently.

Then, he stood before Hyuk-min and looked down at Hyun-jung.

“Not bad.”

“What is?”

“You can be proud. In all my life, let alone within Black Label, there’s never been anyone who figured out the signs I threw during battle on the third try.”

“Hmph. You’re not so bad yourself, Ahjussi.”

Their teamwork was perfect.

Their combat? Their sense?

Although they had grated against each other like a dissonant chord at first, once the genius of experience and the genius of birth combined their senses, their synergy became powerful, as if they were not two, but four, or even six.

The problem, however, was that their perfect harmony was only achieved in battle.

“Still, Ahjussi, you’re just a stepping stone for me to be able to support my uncle’s ‘Old Man Mode’.”

“Ha! You’ve only got good sense. Kid, your actual skills are terrible, you know? If you had completely pierced the Wyvern’s arm instead of just blocking it, this would have been over long ago.”

“So what? Just give me more time. I’ll pierce through everything.”

“Oh my! That’s what I’m hoping for. Let’s do that. How about we meet in three years? Let’s not see each other before then.”

“You’re the one who should leave!”

In daily life, they didn’t mix, not like oil and water, but like fire and ice.

Unable to just stand by and watch, Hyuk-min stepped between them with a sigh and said.

“This brat still talking back to his elders.”

“Just put on some clothes! It’s gross.”

“Enough.”

When Hyuk-min stepped in, the two stopped talking.

Judging by their expressions, they seemed to think he was about to scold them for fighting.

But Hyuk-min, standing between them, clapped for them instead of reprimanding them.

*Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap.*

“What the.”

“Uncle?”

As the two stared in surprise, he spoke.

“This is good. This is the team I wanted.”

“Is… it?”

“Uncle…?”

First, he looked at the dazed No Death and asked.

“How’s Hyun-jung’s support? Like I said, don’t you think she’ll become the world’s best sniper with time?”

No Death glanced at Hyun-jung for a moment.

“Be honest, like the eldest adult here. Stop fighting with the kid.”

“Keung… To be honest… Haa. Fine, honestly! It’s hard to believe she hasn’t even been holding a gun for half a year. Half a year? No, even if you say it’s been two years, her intuition is so high it makes up for all of that.”

“She’s a genius, right?”

He didn’t seem to want to admit that part, but he must have strongly felt she was a genius, as No Death gave a reluctant nod.

Now, Hyun-jung.

“You be honest about Uncle too. No Death, he’s strong, right?”

Hyun-jung, who had been fidgeting like a child being scolded, glanced at No Death.

Then, she said in a barely audible voice.

“Yes, he’s strong. Like I said earlier.”

“What did you say?”

“That…”

“Hurry up.”

“I said he’s so fast and strong that I can barely support him! I said I think it’ll be helpful if I keep doing it!”

Both of them looked away, embarrassed, and fell silent.

In the briefly awkward atmosphere, Hyuk-min spoke with a gentle smile.

“Honestly, I didn’t know you two would match this well. This is the best.”

No Death, who, with his high Stats and inability to die, served as both a damage dealer and a tank all in one body.

And Hyun-jung, who not only provided perfect support from the back but also acted as a damage dealer at crucial moments.

There was still a long road ahead, but Hyuk-min, having confirmed the most important thing, beamed at them both and exclaimed.

“Congratulations. On becoming my party, and my family. Let’s do well from now on.”