Chapter 48

The monk from the Temple of Healing, who had followed Hyuk-min’s party all the way to the cathedral, still couldn’t clear his head even as he came to catch the train.

‘It was a Class C Dungeon…?’

He had clearly seen their condition when they came out.

Hyuk-min looked like he was on the verge of death—blood on his clothes, the way he staggered as he walked, everything.

With plenty of dungeon experience, the monk had immediately concluded they’d gone through an exceptionally brutal fight.

But… for that to have been just a Class C Dungeon…

– “That’s right. A Class C Dungeon. It took them quite a while, so I just assumed some weak team was struggling.”

‘Then what was that power he showed me back then?’

He recalled the incident in front of the Tower, where he and Hyuk-min had first gotten off on the wrong foot.

Even though his party was made up entirely of healers, the thug who had caused trouble was the only non-healer in the Temple of Healing.

He wasn’t the type to go down easily—certainly not to a single party member who could barely scrape through a Class C Dungeon.

‘What the hell is going on?’

Back then, the conclusion had been simple: the man was a monster with a Legendary Title, just like Jeonsin.

But if that were true, why would someone like that nearly die clearing a single Class C Dungeon—while in a party?

The monk’s head started to throb as the gap between what he knew and what he’d seen widened into doubt.

That was when—

“Do you only take cash here?”

A familiar voice snatched the monk’s attention.

“What era are we living in? How much are you short?”

“Five hundred won.”

He craned his neck toward the voice.

Bang Hyuk-min.

Then, by pure bad luck, he made eye contact with Hyuk-min as the man rummaged through his pockets.

“Gasp!”

Startled, the monk tried to shrink back, but Hyuk-min’s footsteps stopped right in front of him.

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

“Spot me five hundred won. I don’t have any cash.”

He’d been bracing himself for something horrible, but that was it.

He hurriedly dug into his pocket, pulled out a 500-won coin, and handed it over.

“Here.”

“Thaaanks.”

After buying three sports drinks and six boiled eggs from the snack cart, Hyuk-min came back and held out an egg.

Then he took out his phone.

“Give me your account number.”

“You don’t have to—”

“Shut up and give it to me. That lady was being a hard-ass and wouldn’t take a transfer, so I had no choice. Probably trying to line her own pocket.”

Seeing Hyuk-min clearly wasn’t leaving otherwise, the monk showed him his account number.

Tiring.

100,500 won.

Peeling his egg and popping it into his mouth, Hyuk-min spoke with a smile.

“You’ve worked hard following me around. Use the rest for travel expenses.”

The monk went blank.

None of it made sense.

Then No Death came over, smiling as he spoke to the monk.

“The Land Cleaning Guild will be waiting when you get off. Tell them what you saw.”

“What…?”

“That we’re a team that can barely clear a Class C Dungeon.”

“What does that—”

“It’s the truth, isn’t it? It took us forever to clear a Class C Dungeon.”

The cathedral official’s words flashed through his mind.

“Ugh…”

“I looked into them. I hear they even kill people. Just say you saw wrong and wash your hands of it. Otherwise, you’ll be in danger.”

No Death peeled his egg, tossed it into his mouth, and went back to his seat.

A man the monk had never met had come and gone, leaving behind words that only made the situation more twisted.

He already knew something was off, and No Death’s warning shoved him deeper into turmoil.

Then Sogoe approached.

“What do you want now?”

“He said to peel the eggs here. It’ll make a mess over there.”

“What?”

“You think my uncle is a Legendary Title Holder, don’t you?”

The monk’s eyes widened.

That single line was more certain than any accusation.

Sogoe let out a small laugh and clicked her tongue.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. I told you not to risk your life for money. What good is money if you’re dead? Sigh. I saw that in a movie.”

“What…?”

“Don’t bet on something unless you’re sure. That kind of thing.”

She popped her egg into her mouth and went back to her seat.

After that, the monk watched Hyuk-min’s party settle in like they meant to sleep off their exhaustion.

His expression hardened.

‘Fucking hell…’

A curse that should never come out of a monk’s head surfaced anyway.

He sat there for a long time, lost in thought.

About thirty minutes passed.

Finally, as his thoughts set like stone, he looked down at his seat—now littered with eggshells—and his face twisted into a deep scowl.

“Do these bastards think this is a garbage can?”

= = =

As summer drew nearer, the sky was already leaning toward sunset even though it was past 6:30 p.m.

At that time, inside Jang Han-bit’s mansion, several people had requested an audience.

“So? What happened? Did you find the Legendary Title Holder?”

“My apologies. We looked into every person named Bang Hyuk-min in the country, but none were suspicious.”

“So you’re saying the System lied?”

“That’s impossible. We’re investigating again. We believe one of the Bang Hyuk-mins we found is lying, so we’re digging deeper.”

Jang Han-bit clicked his tongue as he poured whiskey over ice.

“Then what about that guy? Where was it? That place with the monks.”

“The Temple of Healing.”

“Didn’t they say they saw the Legendary Title with their own eyes?”

“We met them again today. They said it wasn’t true after all.”

“And you believe that?”

“As the man said, we ran our own background check as well. We came to the same conclusion.”

Jang Han-bit’s eyebrow twitched.

“There has to be a reason.”

“They said he barely cleared a Class C Dungeon, and it took a very long time.”

“They didn’t strike me as the type to play games for money. Is that confirmed?”

“We heard it directly from the official who managed the Class C Dungeon. He’s completely unrelated to the Bang Hyuk-min we were investigating.”

“Haa… then who the hell is that Legendary Title Holder?”

Swirling the ice in his glass, Jang Han-bit scowled.

Then he looked at Park Jae-hyun, seated right beside him.

“Right. What about the guy who broke into our house?”

“We’re looking, but it isn’t easy.”

“Find him quickly. The Azure Lake Guild is treating it like it’s nothing, but the way that bastard moves… it feels like there’s more to it. I don’t know what that son of a bitch is planning, but find him before it happens. You hear me?”

“I’ll do my best.”

Jang Han-bit had been speaking quietly, but the more he thought, the more his irritation boiled over.

“You fucking pieces of shit. I’m paying you to find things like this. If you can’t find anything and you don’t know anything, then why the fuck am I paying you at all?”

“I apologize.”

Park Jae-hyun stood and knelt.

Maybe the sight soothed him a little, because Jang Han-bit waved him off like shooing a fly.

“Sigh. Fine. At least the experiment is going smoothly thanks to you, so there’s that.”

“I apologize.”

“Yeah, you fucking should be sorry. You miss everything I tell you to find. You fail at everything I tell you to look into. You weren’t like this before. You used to bring me exactly what I asked for. I don’t know what’s gotten into you lately.”

“I apologize.”

“Instead of apologizing, get up and find him. Don’t just talk.”

“Yes, sir.”

When Park Jae-hyun rose, everyone who had come with him stood as well.

They bowed ninety degrees to Jang Han-bit and filed out one by one.

Outside the mansion, the Land Cleaning Guild members gathered around Park Jae-hyun.

“How about we tell him the truth? If you tell him Black Label has been making moves since the Shadow Broker incident, wouldn’t things get easier?”

Park Jae-hyun shook his head.

“It would just give him one more reason to call us useless.”

“Things fall apart the moment we think we’ve got it, and it disappears the second it feels within reach… It makes no sense unless Black Label is interfering.”

“The only ones who could do that to us are Black Label.”

“Guild Master. This time, all the men we planted in Black Label were caught and killed. It feels like they’re watching us. Shouldn’t we take measures?”

Park Jae-hyun stared into the distance in silence, then made his decision.

“It’ll be dangerous, but to find it, we have no choice.”

He lowered his voice.

“We’ll have to plant our feet deeper into the Azure Lake Guild. That’s the only way we survive.”

= = =

Maybe because they’d cleared a Double Dungeon and endured a long train ride, Hyun-jung collapsed the moment they arrived at the motel.

Leaving her to sleep like she’d passed out, Hyuk-min and No Death stepped outside and met Hwang Ji-young, who had been waiting.

“You’re really something else. A Double Dungeon this time?”

At her first words, Hyuk-min’s gaze slid to No Death.

No Death threw both hands up, shaking his head as if he’d been falsely accused.

“Hey now? It wasn’t me, okay? It’s been a long time since I left Black Label and washed my hands of it, so stop blaming an innocent man.”

Hwang Ji-young burst into laughter.

“Hahahaha. That’s No Death for you.”

“Guild Master, don’t joke around. This guy will actually believe you.”

Knowing No Death’s personality, Hyuk-min chuckled, then asked.

“Did you find the spies?”

Mid-laugh, Hwang Ji-young looked at No Death.

“I’ll admit this one. I told him.”

“You should lie and say you didn’t, at times like this.”

“You know me well, Guild Master. I can’t lie.”

“Sigh.”

Hwang Ji-young shook her head.

“I thought there wouldn’t be any in the Black Label I lead, but there were quite a few.”

“How many?”

“Twelve.”

For an information guild and contract-killing company with a long history and countless members, the number was low.

But for a place as closed-off as Black Label—where loyalty to long-serving families was treated like a sharpened blade—it was still a lot.

“What did you do?”

Hwang Ji-young’s eyes went cold, her voice turning into something befitting a queen of cold blood.

“I killed them all and scattered them in the sea. I learned a lesson, too.”

“The resistance must’ve been fierce. If they were planted in Black Label, they weren’t amateurs.”

“I assumed as much. So I mobilized the entire investigation department.”

“The Red Reapers? All of them? If it was them, they handled it fine. They probably loved it. Getting real work for once.”

Hyuk-min knew Black Label’s inner workings far too well.

Anyone listening would’ve assumed he’d been an agent or informant there for years.

“I’m not even surprised anymore.”

Hwang Ji-young clicked her tongue, shaking her head like she couldn’t believe it.

“Are you satisfied?”

At her question, No Death smiled.

“Of course. It should’ve been done long ago. Now you’re a little like the previous family head.”

“The previous family head was good at the job. It was Black Label’s golden age.”

When Hyuk-min piled on as well, Hwang Ji-young snapped.

“Bang Hyuk-min! You too.”

“Hahahaha.”

“Judging by your mood, you got what you wanted from the dungeon. What did you get?”

Smiling, Hyuk-min opened his Inventory.

He’d obtained three items from killing the Succubus Queen in that Double Dungeon.

A bottle filled with pink liquid, recovered from the small prison.

A pink-tinged ruby crystal.

And lastly—the one he considered most crucial to overcoming the current situation—a diamond-like gem that emitted a murky gray light.

“This is something only you two should know about.”

The moment he took out the diamond, a notification appeared in Hwang Ji-young’s System.

Tiring.

[You have learned of the ‘Devil’s Haven’.]

Startled by the sudden message, Hwang Ji-young asked.

“What is this?”

“The thing I need most right now.”

==========

[Class SS] The haven of devils who live with their existence erased.

– A gem discovered only after all the devils who lived for thousands of years with their existence erased had died and disappeared.

– Immune to search Skills.

Passive Skill available.

(Class SS Passive Skill) Secret Space.

* Activation: The designated space will disappear from the memories, information, and maps of all beings. However, the secret space has no effect on beings who have been permitted or have learned of it through some connection.

* Deactivation: Protects designated beings within the designated space. (Blocked damage consumes the Haven’s existential energy according to its amount and degree. If existential energy reaches 0, the item is destroyed.)

==========

Hyuk-min stared at the murky, diamond-like Devil’s Haven, then looked at Hwang Ji-young—now a permitted individual—and spoke.

“You have no idea how much trust I just placed in you.”

“What is it? Hey, don’t put pressure on me, okay?”

Hyuk-min slipped the Devil’s Haven back into his Inventory.

Then, as if it were casual, he spoke before leaving.

“I know you won’t, but you have to keep this item a secret.”

“You have to tell me what it is if you want me to keep it secret.”

“Things are getting ready.”

Hyuk-min smiled faintly.

“So just wait a little longer. I’m going to give you a groundbreaking gift.”

“What does that mean? You’re just going to disappear again. That’s a bad habit of yours. Wait! Okay, I get it, but at least explain what you mean so I can underst—”

Before she could finish, Hyuk-min put on the Death Knight’s Helmet and vanished on the spot.

“Again! Again!! You have to listen until people finish talking. Ugh…”

Fuming, Hwang Ji-young turned and noticed No Death was still there.

She gave him a meaningful smile.

“No Death?”

“What?”

Sensing something in her gaze, No Death shivered, anxiety filling his eyes.

“That helmet Hyuk-min was just wearing. What’s its ability? He never tells me anything. Is it a movement skill? Invisibility? What is it?”

“Ah, that?”

Fwoosh.

Black smoke rose from No Death’s body.

Hwang Ji-young’s expression hardened as she grabbed his arm.

“Wait. Wait. No Death—wait. Don’t tell me you too… you’re not, right?”

“Sorry, Guild Master… I don’t know either!”

Her bad feeling became reality.

Turning into black smoke through Spirit Materialization, No Death left her behind and vanished.

In the end, having gained nothing once again, Hwang Ji-young could only fume and shout—just like always.

“I won’t let you get away with this! You too, No Death!!!!!”