Chapter 71

Chapter 71

Darkness had always been a threat to humanity.

Because human eyes could not pierce through it.

Hunters were no different.

They were certainly better off than the Non-Awakened, but distinguishing objects in the dark required at least a 5-Star rating.

Eunseong exploited that fact.

He had Duhyeon trip the circuit breakers and detonate the small EMP.

What followed was all too easy.

The [White Bone Soul-Subduing Mask] Eunseong wore provided clear vision even in pitch-black darkness.

Though Choi Yura and Oh Taegwon lacked an item like the White Bone Soul-Subduing Mask, they wore the high-performance night-vision goggles Eunseong had procured from Yongpal Trading Company.

Thanks to that, not only Eunseong but Choi Yura and Oh Taegwon could see clearly even in conditions close to total darkness.

And that was the end of the game.

One side that could see, and one that could not.

The advantage was obvious.

"AAARGH!"

"AAAAAAAARGH!"

Screams echoed through the darkness.

SPLATTER--!

THWACK--!

SLASH--!

CRASH--!

Every manner of blood-curdling noise filled the main hall, now swallowed by darkness.

"Wh-where is he?!"

"A lantern! Anyone got a lant-- AARGH!"

"GAKH!"

The Nine-Tail Crew members, trapped in darkness, were subjected to a one-sided massacre.

All the while, they crashed into each other, shoved, and tripped, sending the situation spiraling further out of control.

"Die, die, DIIIIIIE!"

"GAAAARGH!"

The panicked Nine-Tail Crew members swung their Spirit Swords wildly in every direction.

Effectively blind, relying on nothing but hearing, smell, and touch, they couldn't tell friend from foe.

'What a sight.'

Just as Eunseong watched the Nine-Tail Crew members floundering with a cold smirk--

WHOOSH.

The White Bone Soul-Subduing Mask reacted.

'This is......'

Eunseong instinctively channeled Ether into the White Bone Soul-Subduing Mask.

"From now on......"

An eerie voice flowed from the lips of Eunseong, who wore the White Bone Soul-Subduing Mask.

"Kill each other."

"......!"

At Eunseong's command, the Nine-Tail Crew members shuddered violently.

But only for a moment.

"DIIIIIIIE!"

"AAAARGH!"

A frenzied fratricide erupted.

The effects of the White Bone Soul-Subduing Mask that Eunseong had obtained after slaying the Mudflat Lord were Disruption, Intimidation, and Fear.

Already plunged into chaos, the Nine-Tail Crew members were all too easily dominated by the Mask's effects.

"What are they doing?"

"Huh?"

It was bad enough that not only Eunseong but even Choi Yura and Oh Taegwon stood by with their hands idle, watching the spectacle unfold.

"Let's go. Nothing more to see here."

Eunseong turned away.

At this point, there seemed no need to go out of his way to dirty his own hands.

Judging by the state of things, they'd keep killing each other until the last one standing collapsed from sheer exhaustion.

Besides, the stench of blood was so overwhelming it had practically numbed his nose.

"What about the hostages and that trash?"

Choi Yura asked, pointing at the hostages and customers who had been knocked unconscious by the smoke grenades.

"Someone'll handle it."

"Who?"

"Whoever."

"Is that supposed to be an answer? Hey! Where are you going! You cause all this and just leave the cleanup to someone else?! Huh!"

"Don't you want your revenge?"

"Th-that's......"

"The time's come. So just follow me. The Defense Strategy Department will handle the cleanup anyway."

"The Defense Strategy Department? What are you talk-- Oh."

Only then did Choi Yura realize why Eunseong had periodically turned on his phone to exchange messages with his mother.

"Don't tell me you planned that too? Contacting your mother on purpose to expose your location to the Defense Strategy Department?"

"Does the reason matter?"

Eunseong asked in return.

His expression was cold.

Frighteningly so.

"......I suppose not."

"Move."

Eunseong set off.

***

One hour earlier.

"He must have a death wish, but there are limits."

Minister Ahn squeezed his eyes shut after receiving Captain Im's report on Eunseong's current location.

An indescribable fatigue washed over him.

According to the report, Eunseong was inside a hotel swarming with Nine-Tail Crew members.

"That reckless bastard...... Ngh."

Minister Ahn clutched the back of his neck in anguish.

The string of incidents across the Bucheon area last night were undoubtedly Eunseong's doing.

And as if that weren't enough, now he'd stormed into what was essentially the Nine-Tail Crew's stronghold.

The man truly had to be insane.

How could a greenhorn even think of picking a fight with the Nine-Tail Crew?

Yet looking at it from another angle, there seemed to be a basis for it.

In truth, Eunseong was doing quite well.

He had destroyed locations suspected of being the Nine-Tail Crew's funding sources and sent nearly three hundred of their members to their graves.

Moreover, the fact that he periodically turned on his phone to reveal his location meant Eunseong was far more clever than expected.

Though in this case, "cunning" would be the more fitting word.

"......So he wants us to clean up after him."

Minister Ahn ground his teeth as he saw through Eunseong's intent.

Eunseong was only twenty-five years old.

This wasn't about dismissing him for being young--Eunseong's way of thinking was utterly beyond what anyone his age should have been capable of.

To think that some green-as-grass kid had the audacity to use the agency responsible for the nation's defense as his personal cleanup crew.......

"Ha ha, ha ha ha......"

A hollow laugh escaped Minister Ahn's lips.

By all rights he should have been furious, yet the sheer absurdity of it all took precedence.

"Captain Im."

- Yes, Minister.

"It seems that reckless bastard is calling for us. Wouldn't you agree?"

- ......Yes. Based on the circumstances, it does appear he deliberately exposed his location.

Captain Im opened his mouth only after a brief silence, as if the answer was difficult to voice.

"Well then, our dear reckless young master is summoning us, and what lowly servants are we to refuse?"

- M-Minister, you shouldn't say such things...

"He's cunning, impudent, and it makes my blood boil, but what can we do? The other party is a one-of-a-kind anomaly who Awakened into a class unique in the entire world. We're the ones who need him, not the other way around."

- .......

"Actually, this might work in our favor. Perhaps we can use this opportunity to put that reckless bastard in our debt. It'll serve as a fine warning to those who've turned the world into a lawless wasteland, too. No matter how high they think they can fly, they need to be shown exactly what legitimate force wielded by public authority looks like."

Having made his decision, Minister Ahn issued his orders to Captain Im.

"I'm deploying forces to the site."

- What scale should I anticipate?

"Maximum."

- ......!

"We are the Defense Strategy Department, after all. When it's time to make a show of force, we do it right. Declare the Bucheon Station area an operational zone and commit every available asset. Tonight, we're erasing the very name 'Nine-Tail' from Bucheon."

Minister Ahn spoke with conviction.

***

The moment Eunseong left the devastated main hall, he summoned Lumos.

"You called, Young Master?"

"Can you find people too, by any chance?"

"It depends on the situation, but I shall do my utmost."

"Please do."

"This way, Young Master."

Lumos led the way with his lantern held forward.

CRACK, CRACK--!

"GAKH!"

Every time Lumos encountered Nine-Tail Crew members, he swung his staff without mercy, smashing their skulls.

No matter how labyrinthine Golden Sun's internal layout was, Lumos' Search capabilities surpassed it.

But even Lumos had his limitations.

"I'm afraid you will need to take the stairs, Young Master."

Lumos looked troubled.

The elevators had been knocked out by the EMP as well.

"Hmm, no."

Eunseong shook his head.

"That's too slow."

"Then how shall we......?"

"We rappel."

Eunseong pulled a harness and rope from his Deck.

SHATTER--!

A window burst into pieces.

CLICK.

With practiced hands, Eunseong secured the harness around his waist, wrapped the rope around the railing, and anchored it tight.

Even the step of pulling hard to check the tension was executed without a single gap.

"You're going to rappel from here?"

Choi Yura asked incredulously.

"No reason to waste time. Don't tell me you can't rappel?"

"I can, thanks."

"Then follow me. I'm going first."

Eunseong threw himself over.

WHIRR--!

The rope unspooled rapidly as Eunseong plunged into the darkness below.

A clean descent without the slightest sway.

THUD!

The way he kicked off the wall mid-descent and used the rebound to launch himself again was flawless.

"What the hell are you, really?"

A bewildered mutter slipped from Choi Yura's lips.

He may have been an Officer Candidate, sure, but in reality, he should've been someone who'd never even set foot near a training center......

But now wasn't the time to ponder Eunseong's identity, so Choi Yura hurriedly strapped on a harness and committed herself to the rope.

***

"Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

Gu Taeil sprinted, cursing without pause.

He didn't know exactly what had happened, but instinct was screaming at him.

......It was time to run.

And that instinct of his was dead-on.

The situation outside the hotel was dire.

THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD!

RUMBLE--!

The sound of helicopter rotors and armored vehicle treads rolling echoed from outside the building.

WEE-OO, WEE-OO!

WHIRR--!

Sirens, too.

'D-dammit. Why is the Defense Strategy Department......?'

Just as the government had abandoned Bucheon, it was no exaggeration to say the Defense Strategy Department had done the same.

On top of that, he'd been regularly paying bribes to high-ranking officers and Hunters within the Department.

Hell, Golden Sun's own clients had pressured the Defense Strategy Department to stay out of Bucheon entirely.

So why.......

'Run first, think later.'

Just as Gu Taeil reached the underground parking garage and sprinted full tilt toward his Lamborghini--

VROOOOM--!

A parked Mercedes-Benz G-Class, as if it had been lying in wait, charged straight at him.

The vehicle commonly known as the G-Wagen.

CRASH--!

"GAKH!"

Struck by the G-Wagen, Gu Taeil flew dozens of meters and slammed into a parking garage pillar.

"B-Boss!"

Nine-Tail Crew executives rushed toward Gu Taeil in a panic.

Clatter, clatter, clatter, clatter, clatter.

Roll, roll, roll, roll.......

Grenades rolled toward Gu Taeil and the Nine-Tail Crew members.

"Fuck!"

"Get away!"

The Nine-Tail Crew members abandoned Gu Taeil and scattered like startled cockroaches.

"Ha, these bastards."

Left alone, a hollow smile crept onto Gu Taeil's lips.

"......Fuck."

BOOM, KABOOM, BOOM, BOOM, KABOOM!

Five grenades swallowed Gu Taeil whole.

CLICK--the driver-side door of the G-Wagen opened, and Eunseong revealed himself.

BANG, BANG--!

Bullets punched through the skulls of the fleeing Nine-Tail Crew members, one after another.

WHOOSH, THUNK--!

"Gkh!"

For those who'd managed to duck behind pillars, red blades flew in without fail.

No one survived.

"Ngh!"

Except for Gu Taeil, struggling to rise, and Blue Rabbit, who slithered out from wherever he'd been hiding.

"Sorry, but your opponent isn't me."

Eunseong said, his gaze fixed on Blue Rabbit.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Karma has to be paid."

"Karma......?"

"You've got things to say to Choi Yura. Don't you? Jeong Mujin."

FLINCH--!

Blue Rabbit jolted with a shudder.