Go Jun was filled with confidence.
I can do this.
It had been more than thirty years ago. He had lost his parents in the Great Cataclysm and become an orphan when he met Lee Jungryong.
“I’ve had my eye on you for a while. Would you like to follow me?”
“Me?”
“Yes. You have outstanding talent.”
Only then did he understand.
How an ordinary orphan like him had been able to grow up receiving the best education in the best possible environment. Who the anonymous benefactor he had never once seen was.
Lee Jungryong was no Daddy Long-Legs from a fairy tale, but that was reason enough for Go Jun to follow him.
“Yes, sir.”
“From now on, call me Master.”
That was how everything began.
He had to learn movements he had never seen before and how to breathe properly alongside other children, but Go Jun loved every part of it.
His once-tender hands blistered, then developed calluses. They burst, healed, and hardened… Go Jun’s life was the same.
He grew as tough as his pain had been, and eventually came to stand at Lee Jungryong’s right hand.
“Starting today, you’re the Head of Security.”
“Please tell me what I should and shouldn’t do.”
“Follow my orders, and never go against them. That’s all.”
His Master Lee Jungryong’s answer was burned deeply into Go Jun’s mind.
He lived according to the milestones his Master had set for him. Sometimes in the shadows, sometimes in the light…
He handled countless tasks for Lee Jungryong and never left an opening.
Unlike the Hunters who exaggerated their abilities and lived flashy lives, he quietly hid his true strength and completed every task Lee Jungryong assigned him.
Even within Ares Guild, everyone could only guess at his abilities. Lee Jungryong was the only person who knew Go Jun’s true strength.
“Doesn’t it frustrate you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Always staying by my side.”
“I’ve never thought about it.”
“With your abilities, you could make a name for yourself anywhere right now.”
“I have no interest in that. I’ll always remain by your side, Master.”
“Ha-ha. You seem even more dependable than usual today.”
He had meant every word. Every member of the security team had received Lee Jungryong’s teachings, but no Disciple worshipped and revered him as blindly as Go Jun did.
Outstanding ability and unwavering loyalty.
Ironically, those two qualities were what led Go Jun to defy Lee Jungryong’s orders.
“If it hadn’t been for Master’s special order… you would have died here.”
“Your Master? Oh, Jungryong?”
“……!”
“How’s Jungryong doing? Isn’t it about time he started looking for a place in a retirement community?”
It was an insult Go Jun could not endure. To him, Lee Jungryong was his parent, his Master, and practically a god.
It was only natural for the eyes of a fanatic whose god had been insulted to turn savage.
You piece of shit… I’ll tear you apart.
The moment his Master’s order to avoid a clash with the Peace Guild was wiped clean from his mind, aura had already gathered around his fist.
“If you think things will go the same way as last time… I’ll make you regret it.”
Go Jun already knew Jin Taekyung’s abilities from their brief clash at the hospital a week ago.
But that confrontation had been carried out under his Master’s orders. Go Jun had shown less than half of his actual strength.
Now Jin Taekyung would pay dearly for taking him lightly.
I’ll use everything I have and finish this in one blow.
He had no concern for the aftermath. He only wanted to punish, brutally, the man who had insulted his Master.
And Go Jun was confident in his abilities.
“Die!”
Whoooosh!
With a terrifying crack of air, his fist shot forward at the speed of a ray of light.
The distance between him and Jin Taekyung was only three steps.
The man standing there with a wide smile and both arms spread open was completely defenseless.
In the slowed-down world, Go Jun’s fist drove forward with enough force to pierce Taekyung’s chest.
Taekyung did not move an inch.
It’s over, brat.
That was the exact moment a triumphant smile appeared at the corner of Go Jun’s mouth.
Kkwaaang!
A thunderous boom split the sky.
But Go Jun did not hear it. He felt the overwhelming rebound force traveling from the end of his fist, along with lava-like heat sweeping through his insides.
What is this…?
His vision suddenly flooded white, and agony engulfed him as if a red-hot knife were tearing through his stomach.
Something spilled from his mouth, which had fallen open without his realizing it.
“Hurk!”
Splaash.
Bent over like a shrimp, Go Jun vomited up his insides and stared with bulging eyes.
Blood. It was nothing but blood.
Between the dark-red pool soaking the ground, pale objects of unknown identity were scattered.
It did not take long for him to realize that they were pieces of his internal organs.
“W-what the hell is…”
As Go Jun stared blankly at the pool of his own blood, someone’s foot suddenly entered his field of vision.
“Didn’t you say you’d make me regret it?”
“……!”
“That’s strange. It doesn’t look like anything special to me.”
He did not need to lift his head to confirm.
He knew whose foot was standing in his blood. He knew whose voice was both ice-cold and burning with heat.
How… how did I lose in a single blow…?
One clash.
It was a pillar of fire that would reduce to ashes the painstakingly built tower Go Jun had spent the last thirty years constructing.
Is this even possible?
Go Jun’s entire body trembled.
Pain?
No.
What dominated him now was fear—the same emotion he had felt from only one person in his entire life: his Master, Lee Jungryong.
“Raise your head.”
That very fear seizes Go Jun by the hair and slowly raises his head.
A foot submerged in a pool of blood. A leg straight and hard as steel. A torso made of flexible, powerful muscles like those of a wild beast.
And then…
There were eyes.
In the black forest, shrouded in faint darkness on every side, two eyes filled with burning flames stared down at Go Jun.
“Give this message to your Master.”
Hot breath brushed against his ear. A voice as quiet as breathing continued, audible only to him.
“As long as I’m here, no one can lay a hand on the Peace Guild.”
“……!”
Go Jun’s eyelids trembled. A hoarse voice leaked between his bloodstained lips.
“What… what are you?”
“Me?”
The answer that came a moment later did not ring in his ears. It echoed inside his head.
—A descendant of the Fire King. I am the successor to the Blazing Flame.
The voice sounded like an auditory hallucination.
Go Jun did not even realize it was Sound Transmission, let alone understand what the words meant.
There was only one word in his mind.
Monster…
The last thing Go Jun saw was the face of the young man, Jin Taekyung, smiling playfully.
Then his body collapsed like a rotten old tree.
Slump. Thud!
A suffocating silence descended.
No one dared to speak. No one could even move. Hundreds of trembling pairs of eyes swept over my entire body.
I stared absently at the unconscious Go Jun, then gave a brief assessment.
“So why the fuck did you have to act up? You’re nothing special, you bastard.”
“……!”
“……!”
The air froze in an instant.
When I tore my gaze away from Go Jun and turned my head, gasps burst out from every direction.
One person’s reaction was especially violent.
“President.”
“Eek!”
Lee Woojoong, the Seoul Branch President, flinched and hurriedly looked away before answering.
“D-did you call me?”
“Why are you suddenly speaking formally? You were talking so casually until a minute ago.”
The President’s face turned deathly pale as he stammered.
“M-me? I was?”
“Don’t you remember?”
“Lately, lately my memory hasn’t been very good, so I keep forgetting things…”
“Oh, is that so? Then you’ve already forgotten everything that happened between us today?”
“……!”
“Judging by your expression, your memory seems pretty good.”
If he could not understand a hint that obvious, he never would have reached a high-ranking position like this.
The President hurriedly shook his head at my question.
“No. How could I? I-I’ll make sure everyone keeps quiet.”
“Keep quiet?”
“Gah, that’s not what I meant.”
“The people who came with you must have poor memories too, huh? Isn’t that right?”
“Y-yes. Yes, exactly. Those guys all suffer from short-term amnesia. Don’t you?”
More than two hundred Association Hunters had followed their direct superior into the Gate, and they nodded frantically.
“That’s right.”
“Of course. I don’t even remember my own name.”
“Wait, where is this? Who am I?”
Who the hell said that last one?
I barely managed to suppress my urge to check his face.
“Well, that worked out nicely.”
Following my broad smile, the President and the other Hunters forced smiles onto their faces.
Well, there were far too many eyes watching us. I hadn’t expected this much to silence everyone completely.
Now, the next thing…
“Hey, who’s in charge over there?”
“I am.”
A sharp-eyed middle-aged man stepped forward. He was an A-rank Hunter and a team leader in Ares Guild.
He still looked unable to believe what he was seeing as he glanced back and forth between me and the fallen Go Jun. Then he bit his lip.
“I don’t know what circumstances entangled you with Team Leader Seok… but you’ve made a serious mistake.”
Judging by his words, he clearly did not know the exact circumstances behind the incident.
I grinned and answered him.
“Life’s full of this and that. What can you do?”
“Aren’t you worried about how the Vice Guild Master will react when he hears about this?”
“Worried? No. But I am looking forward to it. Be sure to report it to Lee Jungryong.”
At my answer, the middle-aged man and every Ares Guild member standing behind him flinched.
I did not know whether it was because of the way I had addressed Lee Jungryong or because of my shameless attitude.
I was more curious about Lee Jungryong’s reaction when he heard the report than about what they thought.
Looks like Mr. Jungryong is in for one hell of a headache.
In this little play, Lee Jungryong’s role was the cleanup man.
Since he would not want any noise leaking out, he would have to cover people’s eyes and ears and shut down every speaker carrying the sound outside.
And here I thought it hadn’t even been two weeks since that incident. He’s already showing his teeth again… Impressive. Very.
It sent a chill down my spine to think about Lee Jungryong’s decision to bare his teeth the instant an opportunity appeared, even though it had barely been any time since we finalized our deal.
What if I had really died here?
That would have ended this fight for good. Without me, the Peace Guild would have had no chance against Ares, an unbeatable giant.
At the same time, I realized something once again.
If I let my guard down in this fight, even for a moment, it’s over.
This war could only end for good; there would be no truce. The enemy would keep baring its teeth whenever it saw an opening.
“Hoo.”
In any case, the bare minimum had been taken care of.
Or so I thought.
“……”
“……”
“……”
“……”
Four pairs of terrifying eyes stared at me.
Dozens more demanded an explanation.
Ah. I forgot about our Guild.
I had forgotten something important. But where was I supposed to begin, and where was I supposed to stop?
After thinking for a moment, I opened my mouth.
“I went to take a piss.”
“……”
Silence flowed through the area.
Song Song suddenly spoke. Her voice was gentler than any I had ever heard from her before.
“Taekyung.”
“Yeah?”
“Can I kill you?”
“…I’ll explain outside.”
Right. Let’s get out of here.
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