Chapter 580

News spread quickly: a Named Monster called the Kraken had landed in Busan at the head of thousands of Mermen.

Go Se-won was one of the few who heard about it before the breaking news appeared.

A Monster Wave…

He was human, too. Busan was a major city with a population approaching five million. He had never met any of those people, but the thought of countless civilians dying still left him uneasy.

At least Jin Taekyung is there.

Step. Step.

Guild members moving through headquarters hurriedly cleared a path when they saw Go Se-won.

He strode past them and muttered, “Security Team. Respond.”

Beep.

A faint tone sounded in his earpiece, followed at once by replies.

“Team Three. Transmission complete.”

“Team Two. Transmission complete.”

“Team One. Transmission complete.”

“I’m going to see a VIP. Open Area A and report your current locations and personnel.”

Go Se-won intended to ask his superior for permission to send the security teams to Busan.

It would help rescue people, and it would also help repair Ares Guild’s recently damaged image.

But as the team leaders reported in one after another, he frowned.

“All of Team Three are monitoring the target’s family in London.”

“All of Team Two have returned from London and are standing by in headquarters’ Area A.”

“Team One has nine members present. We’ve returned from London and are standing by on the hundredth floor of headquarters.”

“Team Leader of Team One. Say that again. What did you say?”

“Team One has nine members present. We’re standing by on the hundredth floor—”

“Forget the rest.”

Go Se-won stepped onto a magic circle as he spoke in a quiet voice.

Whoosh.

White light flared as the Teleport spell activated, taking him to Area A.

“Why nine instead of ten?”

“An urgent matter came up.”

“An urgent matter. Who’s missing?”

“Kim Ho-jung.”

“Kim Ho-jung?”

“Yes.”

Listening to the Team Leader’s dry voice, Go Se-won crossed the hallway in Area A. His mood soured with each sharp click of his dress shoes.

“That’s strange. I don’t recall receiving a report.”

“My apologies.”

“I’m asking for a reason, not an apology. Did he leave without permission?”

“Of course not.”

Of course he didn’t.

The security team was a pack of hunting dogs raised by the late Lee Jungryong.

For a long time, Lee Jungryong had secretly operated enormous orphanages and children’s homes, instilling loyalty in orphans who had nowhere else to go.

Go Se-won had been one of them. So had the others.

Team One, in particular, was made up of only the most loyal and capable. A member going AWOL was less likely than a Monster Wave.

Especially a member like Kim Ho-jung.

Which means…

Ares Guild had plenty of senior executives and elders, but the security team took orders from only two people.

Kim Ho-jung had vanished without reporting to Go Se-won, one of those two. That could mean only one thing.

Step.

His unimpeded stride came to an abrupt halt.

Go Se-won silently stared at a door with no nameplate or decoration when a bright voice rang out from beyond it.

“Come in. Don’t loiter out there.”

“……!”

Go Se-won swallowed and opened the door. His one direct superior was waiting in the neatly kept room.

“Nice weather today. Don’t you think, Team Leader Go?”

“Yes.”

Go Se-won bowed briefly, his gaze sweeping the room.

The pleasant smile at Go Jun’s lips. The whiskey glass in his hand. And the object he was rolling around in his other hand.

What is that?

Go Jun was not acting like himself. Everything about the room felt unfamiliar and unsettling.

Perhaps it was the noise working its way into Go Se-won’s ears.

Grind. Grate.

Go Jun’s voice mingled with the irritating friction.

“You don’t need to worry about Kim Ho-jung, Team Leader Go. I gave him a separate assignment.”

“I see.”

“Aren’t you curious what it was?”

Their eyes met. Go Jun’s looked unusually red today. Go Se-won lowered his head politely.

“No. If it was your order, Vice Guild Master, I’m sure you had a reason.”

“That’s good to hear. I thought you’d been feeling a little slighted lately. I am younger than you, after all, and you were always particularly devoted to Master.”

“How could I? It’s true that I owe the former Vice Guild Master a great deal, but that does not diminish my loyalty.”

“Is that so? Then that’s a relief.”

Grind.

Go Jun rubbed the object in his hand again. Smiling, he swirled his glass.

“It’s a nice day. Care to join me for a drink?”

Go Se-won answered evenly. “I’m sorry, but…”

“You mean you won’t drink? What a shame. It’s good liquor.”

Go Jun leisurely emptied his glass. Go Se-won watched him in silence before suddenly speaking.

“There’s an urgent matter I need to report.”

“Go on.”

“In Busan…”

Go Se-won trailed off. Beside the glass Go Jun had set down was a holographic PC.

The paused screen showed an enormous octopus and the shattered remains of Gwangan Bridge.

“What about Busan?”

“…”

After a moment, Go Se-won murmured, “You already know.”

Go Jun gave a low laugh.

“I did. Before anyone else.”

His voice was as cheerful as ever. Go Se-won’s heart sank.

As the unease he had tried to dismiss revealed its true shape, he forced himself to speak calmly.

“Then is Kim Ho-jung… in Busan right now?”

“I seem to remember you saying you weren’t curious a moment ago.”

“I’m sorry. That slipped out.”

“It’s fine. You need to know anyway.”

Go Jun answered pleasantly as he filled his empty glass with whiskey.

“That’s right. Kim Ho-jung is in Busan on my orders.”

He paused to think, then added, “Though he might not be there anymore.”

“……!”

“Don’t just stand there. Sit down and have a drink. My neck hurts from looking up at you.”

This time Go Se-won could not refuse. No, he had no reason to. He needed a drink to steady himself.

Gulp, gulp.

He drained the strong whiskey in one go. Only then did he feel able to breathe.

Holding the empty crystal glass, he hesitated before forcing out the words.

“Vice Guild Master. I don’t know how you managed to cause this, but it won’t do much damage to them.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Because he’s—because Jin Taekyung is there. He even killed an Arch Lich. He’s already bringing the Monster Wave under control. This will only add to the Peace Guild’s Fame.”

“Yes. Jin Taekyung. Quite a man.”

Go Se-won had risked his superior’s anger by mentioning the name. Instead, the smile stayed on Go Jun’s face.

And that gentle smile made Go Se-won feel even more uneasy.

“Vice Guild Master. Don’t tell me…”

“If you want to capture the commander, you have to lure out the general. There’ll be an uproar if anyone finds out, but no consequences to worry about afterward.”

“……!”

“We can’t do anything about Jin Taekyung right now. Choi Minwoo is another matter. Don’t you agree?”

Grind. Grate.

Along with the irritating sound of friction, one name flashed through Go Se-won’s mind like a bolt of lightning.

“Song Cheonwoo. It’s Song Cheonwoo.”

“Correct. I’ll give you another drink as your reward.”

Go Se-won accepted it, hiding the tremor in his fingers. He could not begin to grasp how far things had gone wrong.

Even now, though, he was certain his superior’s plan would fail.

“…Choi Minwoo is a cautious man. On the surface, he is the master of the Peace Guild, and he also has Kim Hwajong, who has served him loyally at his side for a long time.”

“I know. Master told me about Kim Hwajong more than once. And with the other guards there, Song Cheonwoo can’t manage it alone.”

“Vice Guild Master. Then why in the world—”

GRRAAATE!

The loud sound of friction drowned out Go Se-won’s voice.

Go Jun gave a quiet laugh instead of answering and opened his hand. At last, Go Se-won saw what he had been holding.

It was the size of an egg, and the darkness inside looked as though someone had gathered up the abyss and sealed it there.

“A Magic Gem…”

An ordinary Magic Gem would not have surprised him.

But the one in Go Jun’s palm could only have come from a Named Monster. It was what people called an S-grade Magic Gem.

Pure, unrefined magical power swirled inside.

“V-Vice Guild Master.”

Only now did Go Se-won understand how Go Jun had been able to cause the Monster Wave artificially.

At the dread in his voice, Go Jun murmured, “Choi Minwoo will die today. He will.”

And Choi Minwoo’s killer would be one of two: an old man whose family had been taken hostage, or another being whose identity even Go Jun could not clearly determine.

“One thing is certain. Song Cheonwoo has no choice.”

Go Jun murmured the words quietly, then smiled with satisfaction.

He reached up out of habit to stroke the old necklace around his neck. Darkness flickered in his eyes.

If anyone had asked how Song Cheonwoo could still move in his condition, he would have answered in one word.

Will.

That was all it was: the last of his strength, drawn out by sheer force of will. The old man, now entering his seventies, threw himself toward death with everything he had left.

Flash! Whoosh!

The world slowed.

The cold touch of snow vanished. For an instant, his whole body felt weightless.

In that moment, split into fragments of a second, Song Cheonwoo met two pairs of eyes staring wide at him.

Choi Minwoo and Kim Hwajong. Their eyes seemed to ask the same thing.

Why?

Song answered them silently.

Because there’s no other way.

A few days earlier, he might have taken Choi Minwoo’s hand.

But the last time he had faced Go Jun, the man had become… a monster.

Song had seen madness in his eyes. If Song left this place alive, Go Jun would kill his family without a moment’s hesitation.

Neither the Peace Guild, nor even Jin Taekyung or “that person,” could resolve that problem.

So this is how it ends.

With that fleeting thought, Song fell toward the pitch-black darkness.

He could see no end to it. It looked like a monster’s gaping maw—and like his own life.

Was it Nietzsche?

Someone had said that if you gazed into the abyss, you became the abyss yourself.

Song understood that now, but too late. Everything was already too late.

SHWAAAA!

A cold, fierce wind battered him.

Through its howl, he seemed to hear a conversation from a few days ago.

“This.”

“Keep it with you. You know how dangerous it is, Director. Expensive, too.”

“…You bastard. You’re insane.”

“Then you’ll have to go insane as well. If you want to save your family.”

The man had been insane, and it had been an insane conversation.

Song had agonized over it, each day feeling like ten years. Yet in the end, he had never used it.

Was that the last thing I did right?

The wind grew fiercer. Song sensed something drawing near in the darkness and closed his eyes.

Crack! Crunch, crunch, crunch!

His long fall ended.

His neck broke first. Then the bones throughout his body shattered.

Then, through his fading consciousness, Song heard something growl.

—Grrrr.

It was the eerie cry of a monster unlike any he had heard before.

He wanted to say something, but the being that had crouched in the abyss for so many years allowed its prey no last words.

CRUNCH!

Darkness came.

Enormous teeth crushed his lifeless body and swallowed his blood.

They swallowed the thing deep in his pocket, too—the thing he had refused to use to the very end, wanting to die a human rather than a monster.

Whoosh.

Darkness itself turned to light and burst forth.