A scream rose and spread.
A desperate wail, full of pain, came from Shinom as he stood before the brink of death.
Wang Ryuye stood blankly, staring at the scene unfolding before her eyes.
"G-Gahh!"
"Uugh, gck… ggkkk…"
What she saw was one-sided violence.
Over twenty hunting dogs were strewn across the floor in all directions.
The bodyguards Wang Ryuye had brought for her own personal protection were no different.
Despite their numbers, they couldn't stand up to a single Flamebearer.
Fsshhhhh!
It was Han Yuseong.
His overwhelming magical energy filled the room.
That energy turned bitterly cold, becoming a freezing storm that swept over the hunting dogs.
Their legs instantly froze.
Han Yuseong, as if he had been waiting for this moment, unleashed Full Moon, and the whirling sword aura slashed through them.
"C-Crazy bastard!"
"H-Hyungnim! We can't stop him!"
"This is some kind of hell…!"
There weren't many hunting dogs left now.
Many of them had moved in to capture Han Yuseong, but even aside from that, there simply weren't that many people stationed in the hideout at any given moment.
That was because the hideout's location was almost never discovered, and if it ever was, the plan was to pack up and flee immediately. That principle had always been key.
And that very mindset led to disaster.
"You mutt! What the hell is going on here? You said there was no way we'd be found!"
"Shit, how should I know?! This kind of situation is a first for me too!"
They had been discovered by the Federation before and forced to run.
But getting wiped out like this—by a single Flamebearer? That was completely unprecedented!
Who would've imagined something like this could even happen?
'How did he get all the way here? The hunting dogs I sent should've…'
There was no point in thinking about it.
The hunting dogs guarding Lee Gap-yong were being slaughtered.
It was obvious the same thing had happened to them.
That only made it more terrifying.
'Can he really take on this many people by himself…?'
Wang Ryuye had said he was probably just temporarily strengthened by some trial buff and could be dealt with.
But temporary, my ass…!
"L-Listen, it's nothing personal…"
All the hunting dogs were down. The only ones left were Lee Gap-yong and Wang Ryuye.
Han Yuseong approached, wrapped in a crimson aura.
"It was all for the money!"
Lee Gap-yong, nearly seizing in panic, shouted as he unleashed a skill.
His blade melted into the darkness. The blackened sword split into multiple pieces and fired at Han Yuseong from all directions.
KWAAAMMMMM!
"U-Uaaaagh!"
Blazing fire surged and swept through the surroundings.
A leg wrapped in flames moved with a graceful curve, batting away all the incoming blades.
As Han Yuseong closed the distance, he raised one leg high.
An immense concentration of power could be felt gathering there.
'Whatever that is, before he finishes it…!'
He had to attack.
Now—using the best skill he had!
Darkness gathered around Lee Gap-yong's sword, radiating an energy that could tear through anything.
He unleashed it toward Han Yuseong.
The darkness on the blade split apart, forming dozens of shadow blades, all rushing toward Han Yuseong's heart.
But before they could reach him—
FWOOSH!
"U-Ugh…?!"
A flame-wreathed foot cut through the air and came crashing down faster than anything else.
In its path was Lee Gap-yong's attack.
The burning tip of Han Yuseong's foot struck the very core of the attack—where darkness had gathered—and smashed the dozens of shadow blades to pieces.
And at that moment.
Clang, clash, clatter!
Dozens of blades were swallowed by the blazing flower and vanished. The sword, unable to withstand the destructive energy, turned red-hot and then shattered completely.
Lee Gap-yong stared blankly at the sword, now broken into countless pieces.
Above his head, [Extinction Flame] fell.
KWA-MA-MA-MA-MANG!
A massive explosion erupted.
The foot that struck down on Lee Gap-yong's shoulder crushed his bones, and the flames that exploded right after engulfed his entire body in an instant.
Enveloped by the blue flame, Lee Gap-yong screamed as he rolled across the ground.
But that too lasted only for a moment.
"H-horrib...le…"
Lee Gap-yong, now in a gruesome state, let out a ragged breath.
The blue flame that had consumed him raged across the ground as if it were still unsatisfied.
Wang Ryu-ye watched the scene with a horrified expression.
'It's not even the trial, and he's this strong?'
That was the question echoing in Wang Ryu-ye's mind.
Before coming here, she had gathered all the necessary information from Li Xuemian.
She even knew the structure of the divine trial.
[That Korean is certainly strong. But most of his strength comes from the trial. It's all thanks to the special dragon soul he made a contract with.]
[During the trial, no one could stand against him. But now that his contract with the dragon soul is over... he shouldn't be as strong as he was back then.]
A dragon soul grants power to the guardian it's contracted with.
The reason Han Yuseong held such overwhelming power during the trial was largely due to the influence of Dravagon Lord.
Now that he's lost that power, it should be possible to capture him.
That was Li Xuemian's assessment.
Assuming there hadn't been one critical misjudgment—
'He wasn't someone you'd leave to a trash criminal organization like this.'
He was a powerful enough opponent that even the assassins of Hoksalmun might have to intervene directly… even if it took time!
Han Yuseong turned his head. His gaze locked onto Wang Ryuye.
She bit her lip hard enough to tear through it.
SSHHHHHH—!
Blood flowed from her wound.
But it wasn't ordinary blood.
Venom—her unique ability—transformed her own blood into a deadly poison the moment it was shed.
The flowing blood turned into mist, then into a thick, toxic fog.
"If you come any closer, you'll die."
From within the poisonous haze, Wang Ryuye declared firmly.
'I just need to buy time… and find a way to escape.'
She intended it as a warning:
If you approach, you'll be consumed by the poison and die.
If you don't want that fate, back off.
But this time—
she had chosen the wrong opponent.
"I was wondering where the poison was coming from… so you were the source."
"W-what…?"
Han Yuseong walked forward calmly, completely ignoring the toxic mist.
The poison Wang Ryuye took pride in had no effect on him.
It was potent, yes—but nowhere near strong enough to overcome his resistance.
In fact, the poison ended up acting more like a buff, strengthening him instead.
"You're just going to ignore my poison…?"
"If I couldn't, I wouldn't have even made it here. You doused my place with some pretty strong stuff. But for me…"
CRACK!
Han Yuseong grabbed Wang Ryuye by the neck.
An overwhelming force crushed down on her throat.
"…it was meaningless."
Wang Ryuye struggled violently, releasing another poisonous attack in desperation—
But it was pointless.
Due to the penalty of her unique ability, her direct combat ability was weak.
If the poison didn't work, she had no way to fight back.
Realizing everything was futile, she made one last desperate move:
"I-If you kill me… Hoksalmun will—!"
A pathetic threat.
If he killed her, Hoksalmun—the deadly assassin clan—wouldn't let it slide.
It was a warning even she found pitiful.
Han Yuseong chuckled coldly.
"Why bother? Thanks to that bastard, we're already past the point of no return. What difference would it make if I kill one more of you?"
It would only add one more grudge to the pile.
Wang Ryuye knew how meaningless her threat had been.
She also knew it wouldn't work on the man standing before her.
The grip around her neck was tightening.
"W-wait…!"
Her pupils trembled violently.
She could feel it—her life was hanging by a thread.
No—maybe she was already as good as dead. That's how close the threat felt.
And the truth was, she didn't want to die.
"…P-please, let me live."
"Weren't you the one making threats just a moment ago? And now you're begging for your life?"
"I—I don't want to die. Do you know what it took for me to become a Player…?"
Wang Ryuye cried out in desperation.
She'd lived a life in the gutter. Only after becoming a Player did she finally escape that hell—and now, just as she was beginning to taste freedom, it was about to end before it even began.
"I'll… I'll do anything… anything you want…!"
"Anything?"
"Y-yes… anything!"
At those words, a cold gleam flashed in Han Yuseong's eyes.
The crushing force on her neck slowly loosened.
He'd needed eyes and ears anyway.
This wasn't such a bad time to find them.
"Alright. I'll let you live."
"Khak—! Guhuk! Hff, khuh…!"
Wang Ryuye collapsed, gasping for air.
Chinese guilds were, by nature, relentless. And a criminal syndicate like Hoksalmun was even worse.
They wouldn't just let this go. They would surely try something.
Han Yuseong was confident he could handle whatever trick they pulled, but—
"In exchange for your life, you'll become my eyes and ears. You'll observe and report everything happening inside Hoksalmun—directly to me."
There was no harm in choosing the more convenient route.
Han Yuseong locked eyes with the fallen Wang Ryuye.
At first, her expression was tense—then it slowly shifted into a strange calm, as if she had expected this.
'He wants me to be a spy within Hoksalmun… He saved me just to use me as a tool to monitor any potential threats to himself.'
Wang Ryuye's mind was spinning rapidly.
It was dangerous. Far too dangerous.
Becoming a spy in Hoksalmun was a job that would get her killed ten times over.
She decided to pretend to accept—for now. Later, she'd figure something out.
"Fine. Just as you said…"
"But I don't trust you. So we'll need to form a binding vow."
"…A vow? What kind of vow? Do you mean a contract?"
"No. Something much heavier than that."
From a subspace pocket, Han Yuseong pulled out a single quill.
A magical item that enforced an unbreakable oath—only usable when both sides present terms of equal weight.
Once sealed, it couldn't be broken, no matter what method was used.
The moment Wang Ryuye saw it, she instinctively felt a chill of dread.
A deep sense that her life was about to become hopelessly entangled.
[The vow was made.]
Wang Ryuye stared blankly at the contract handed to her.
More precisely, she was fixated on the conditions written within—the obligations she now had to uphold.
The contract was filled with clauses that made betrayal not only impossible, but unthinkable.
And at the very end of the document was a particularly shocking line:
"Any party who violates this vow in any form shall be erased."
Erased?
What could that possibly mean?
Did it mean death?
No… it felt even more terrifying than that.
With a hollow expression, Wang Ryuye walked the dimly lit streets.
"She'll handle the Hoksalmun side. That should be enough."
[So you've got yourself a nice obedient slave now. Well, I suppose it's what she gets for playing with fire... though, I admit, she does look rather pitiful.]
Kakasha spoke lazily, her voice tinged with amusement.
If Hoksalmun made a move against Han Yuseong, or tried anything underhanded, Wang Ryuye would report it through covert means.
That would make responding far easier.
'Used well, she could even become the key to a counterattack.'
A guild like Hoksalmun would surely cross his path again in the future.
When that time came, Wang Ryuye's position could prove useful.
[Quite the spectacle you've stirred up, haven't you? Well, I suppose it was entertaining to watch. But what about the cleanup? Do you even have a plan for that?]
"Alright then."
Han Yuseong glanced around at the corpses scattered across the area.
There would be just as many dead Hunting Dogs near his apartment complex.
He had already forcibly relocated the civilians who lived in the building—just in case.
If he hadn't, they would've all died from the poison.
Either way, it was too much of a hassle to clean up personally.
"The ones who showed up late can take care of it."
Han Yuseong decided to leave the cleanup to someone else.
To an organization that could handle Hoksalmun, the underworld, civilians, and the aftermath of everything that had just happened—
An organization with both the authority and the power to do so:
The Player Federation.
[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : http://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]