Chapter 76

Chapter 76

Alpha Team of the Naval Special Warfare Flotilla UDT/SEAL entered the hotel interior alongside other teams and began their search-and-clearance operation.

Just because they were naval special forces didn't mean they only operated at sea.

UDT/SEAL was, as the name implied, SEAL.

Sea, Air, and Land.

An all-weather special operations unit that operated across sea, sky, and ground alike.

'Good thing it's the Navy.'

Eunseong smiled upon confirming that the team he'd slipped into happened to be the naval UDT/SEAL.

His father had taught him naval tactics, and he'd worked in coordination with units like these more than once or twice.

Because of that, he was familiar with the hand signals used by naval special forces operators and their pre-established movement patterns.

Inside the hotel.

'An opportunity......'

Eunseong moved alongside Alpha Team, watching for his chance.

Everyone had their faces covered with balaclavas and goggles, so no one noticed Eunseong's presence right away.

But getting found out was only a matter of time.

These were not people to be underestimated.

'Now.'

As Eunseong rounded a corner with the team, he quietly slipped away from the group.

"Hands up!"

"Drop the gun!"

"Fuck!"

BANG BANG! BANG BANG BANG!

"AARGH!"

The moment the team turned the corner, a brief firefight erupted between Nine-Tail Crew members and Alpha Team.

Though calling it a firefight was generous--Alpha Team had simply gunned the Nine-Tail Crew members down.

Thanks to that, no one noticed Eunseong's absence.

'The stairs are risky.'

It was obvious that Defense Strategy Department Hunters and soldiers would be posted at every stairwell.

'No choice then.'

Eunseong headed for the nearest elevator.

He wasn't planning to ride it.

CREAK--the moment he pried the doors open, a draft of cold air rushed up from the wide-open shaft.

The rest was easy.

All he had to do was grab onto the wire rope inside the shaft and climb up hand over hand.

Dangerous, of course.

If he lost his grip, he'd plummet dozens of meters, and if the elevator activated, he'd be crushed flat.

Then again, anyone who worried about things like that had no business being a Hunter.

Inside the pitch-dark shaft.

Eunseong was climbing up via the rope when--

- Young Master, this is it.

Lumos' voice reached him.

It was between the top floor where Golden Sun was located and the floor directly below it.

"Huh?"

There was an elevator door.

A floor that shouldn't have existed.

'Lunatics, the lot of them.'

Eunseong clicked his tongue inwardly.

Golden Sun was a space that had been illegally expanded again and again through bribes to district office officials and senior public servants at related agencies.

And on top of all that, they'd built a hidden floor.

'Any threats inside?'

- Nothing that should pose a significant danger to you, Young Master.

'Thank you, elder.'

Eunseong expressed his gratitude to Lumos and opened the hidden floor.

The interior was immaculate.

Chandelier lighting cast a warm glow, and the walls and floors were finished in marble tiles of a warm hue.

Judging by how his footsteps echoed, the inside seemed completely empty.

SHING--!

Eunseong drew the Slaughter Game.

Lumos had said there was nothing dangerous, but letting one's guard down was never an option.

Perhaps because he'd expended all his Blood Energy after Blooming, the Slaughter Game's blade had lost its luster.

Hum, hummmm.

The Slaughter Game howled like a starving beast.

I'm hungry.......

I'm starving.......

Not enough blood.......

Kill...... humans.......

'Shut up.'

Eunseong's will crushed the Slaughter Game's voice.

'Not something I can use long-term.'

Eunseong resolved to replace the Slaughter Game with another Spirit Sword in the near future.

The Slaughter Game was powerful, and its Bloomed form was devastating.

But its Blooming conditions were demanding, and it carried the fatal drawback of goading its wielder toward murder.

'Conditional weapons aren't for me.'

In truth, what bothered Eunseong more than the murder impulse was the prerequisite of accumulating Blood Energy.

- Young Master, there is someone in the next room.

Lumos' voice came again.

Not that he needed Lumos' warning.

Rustle, rustle.

Sounds of movement were already drifting through the slightly ajar door.

'Three, two...... one.'

Eunseong quietly opened the door and entered the room.

***

"Ugh, fuck. Fuuuck."

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like? Grabbing what I can and getting the hell out."

Yeom Taeksu, who'd been gathering equipment from the armory, snapped irritably in response to someone's question.

"I'm busy as hell and you're asking questions? Just grab your shit, take everything you can, and r......... Huh?"

Yeom Taeksu made a dumb expression as he realized something was off.

"Wait, who ar-- Huk!"

Yeom Taeksu choked on his own breath.

Eunseong.

The madman who had single-handedly demolished the Nine-Tail Crew over the past day was standing there, smiling.

"F-fuck!"

Just as Yeom Taeksu tried to slam a loaded magazine into his rifle--

Eunseong casually held up a switch.

It was the detonator for the one-kilogram TNT block strapped to the inside of Yeom Taeksu's thigh.

"Shall I press it?"

"N-no."

Yeom Taeksu quietly set the rifle down.

"We've got a problem."

"E-excuse me......?"

"If you're lucky enough to survive, the normal thing to do is crawl back and report."

"I-I'm sorry. It was my mistake......"

Yeom Taeksu bowed his head low, his voice shrinking to a whimper as he apologized.

Right before the lights had gone out in the main hall--

At that point, someone like Yeom Taeksu hadn't even been on Eunseong's radar.

He hadn't even noticed Yeom Taeksu was gone, yet here the man was.

Unfortunate for Yeom Taeksu, who'd barely managed to escape to safety during the chaos.

"What is this place?"

"It's a vault and holding pen."

"Holding pen......?"

"Where they keep the...... merchandise......"

THWACK--!

"BWAAAGH!"

Eunseong's kick sent Yeom Taeksu flying with a sound like a pig being slaughtered.

"Say that again."

"E-excuse me......?"

"What you just said. Say it again."

"The holding pen where they keep the merchand-- BWAAAGH!"

THUD THUD! THUD THUD THUD!

Eunseong's merciless kicks pulverized Yeom Taeksu.

"I-I'm sorry! I was wrong! I'm sorry!"

Yeom Taeksu threw himself flat on the ground and groveled, weeping and begging with every ounce of desperation.

"I don't need your apology, so skip the groveling and say it again."

"It's where they k-keep the kidnapped people and...... brainwash them with Overdrive. Ugh!"

"Call them that one more time in front of me. I'll disassemble you alive."

"Huk!"

Yeom Taeksu's face turned ashen.

"Who's left?"

"No one at the moment. The unsold merc-- Ah, no! If there were people who went unsold, they'd be brought back here, but there aren't any today, so......"

"Enough. What's this about a vault?"

"It's exactly what it sounds like. A vault. For storing cash, bonds, Etherium, items, Runes, that kind of......"

"Is that so?"

Eunseong's eyes gleamed.

"Show me."

"......"

Yeom Taeksu hesitated.

"Why aren't you answering?"

"W-well, the thing is."

"......?"

"Would it be possible to maybe...... set a little aside for m--"

In that instant.

SLASH--!

A dark-crimson arc split Yeom Taeksu's left arm.

THUD--!

A forearm smeared with irezumi tattoos tumbled across the floor.

SPLATTER--!

Blood erupted like a fountain.

"AAAAARGH--!"

Yeom Taeksu clutched the stump and screamed.

HUMMM!

The Slaughter Game, catching the scent of blood, howled and pestered Eunseong.

"See this?"

Eunseong shoved the Slaughter Game in Yeom Taeksu's face.

"It's telling me to kill you. What should I do?"

"I-I'm sorry! Please spare me! Urghhh!"

"You can't even be grateful you're still breathing."

"Ngh!"

Eunseong drove his knee into the back of Yeom Taeksu's neck and pinned him down, then pulled out a tourniquet.

SQUEEZE--!

"AAAAAAARGH!"

As the tourniquet compressed the severed arm, a scream ripped from Yeom Taeksu's lips.

"Bear with it. It's supposed to hurt."

"NGGGGGH!"

"Crying over losing one arm."

SQUEEZE--!

"AAAAAAARGH!"

Yeom Taeksu writhed in agony.

'This psycho! One arm?! You son of a bitch! I just lost a whole goddamn arm, and if I'm not supposed to cry, am I supposed to laugh?! You fucker!'

Those thoughts never left his mouth.

Yeom Taeksu didn't want to die.

***

[Paragon City], situated near Yeongjong Island, had once been one of the largest mega resort complexes in the country, let alone Incheon.

Lavish indoor and outdoor pools, a grand performance hall, a foreigners-only casino, a luxury shopping arcade and more.

With a scale that seemed like an entire city transplanted whole, Paragon City had been considered a landmark of Yeongjong Island alongside Incheon International Airport.

But today, Paragon City served as the headquarters of the [Incheon Union]--one of South Korea's Five Great Clans and the de facto rulers of the Incheon region.

Baek Dohyeok.

Callsign: Godfather.

Former MMA fighter and organized crime boss.

He had used the Incheon Union's vast financial power to purchase Paragon City outright and build a kingdom.

Calling it a kingdom was no exaggeration.

Baek Dohyeok had turned the hotel into his personal residence and relocated his Clan members and their families.

On top of that, associates and laborers tied to the Incheon Union's various operations also lived in Paragon City.

As a result, Paragon City's population had swelled to nearly ten thousand.

Inside that Paragon City's indoor swimming pool.

"Haah."

Baek Dohyeok, lounging on a sun bed, lazily exhaled a plume of cigar smoke.

Around him, several scantily-clad beauties gently massaged various parts of his body, which was covered head to toe in irezumi tattoos.

The tattoos of a dokkaebi, a koi fish, a severed-headed ghost, and more seemed to writhe as if alive.

On the surface, it looked like a wealthy magnate at leisure--but the scene before him told a different story entirely.

The pool water was dark red.

Human arms, legs, and a severed head bobbed on the surface, reeking of blood.

And in front of all that.......

"B-Boss! Please spare me! Please! I was wrong! Please! PLEAAASE......"

A man, torn to shreds and barely clinging to life, begged.

Strung upside down on a gallows erected at the center of the pool.......

Baek Dohyeok savored the man's screams while puffing away at his cigar.

"Hah. Didn't I tell you?"

Baek Dohyeok exhaled a cloud of smoke and spoke.

"When you do a job, wrap it up clean. All because you wanted to pocket a little extra, and now there's talk going aro--"

Just then.

BUZZ.

Baek Dohyeok interrupted himself to answer a call.

"......What? Give me the details."

As the call went on, his expression slowly twisted.

HISSSSS.......

The thick Cuban cigar burned down to a fistful of ash in the blink of an eye.

"Hoo. So Golden Sun got raided. By the Defense Strategy Department?"

WHOOSH--!

Dense, dark-green Ether poured ceaselessly from Baek Dohyeok.

The blood-red pool water churned, waves rising across its surface.

CRACK, CRACK--!

Fissures spiderwebbed through the surrounding tiles, shattering outward by the second.

"Hrgh!"

"Aah! B-baby!"

The beauties who'd been giving him a massage collapsed one by one, but Baek Dohyeok paid them no mind.

"Find out. What happened."

Baek Dohyeok commanded.

"Draw up a list too. Every last person involved. Drag them in and string them from Incheon Bridge."

CRACK--!

The phone couldn't withstand his grip and burst apart.