Chapter 764

For a moment, the world seemed to stop.

The hundreds of people staring at me with their mouths open. The cameras and microphones jutting up between them. The dazzling lights illuminating the broad lot in place of moonlight.

Everything around me slowed and blurred.

Everything except the one man who had brought my world to a halt.

Michael Silbert.

The most cunning, unscrupulous man I had ever met stared back at me.

His eyes, usually so calm, held unmistakable amusement and triumph. His voice came through just as clearly when it reached my ears again.

“You seem surprised.”

I came to my senses and belatedly steadied my breathing.

A painful mistake.

Whatever he said, I couldn’t let him see me shaken.

Show an enemy an opening, and he’d find your weakness. I needed to be especially careful when that enemy was Michael Silbert.

It’s not too late. As far as I know, the Skeleton King’s identity is secure, and he hasn’t shown me any proof.

I had to stay calm from here on out. Whatever he said next, all I had to do was answer without letting it rattle me…

Damn it.

Crack.

Bones shifted audibly in my clenched fist.

I could tell myself whatever I wanted. It was already too late. From the moment I’d met his gray eyes, my instincts had been screaming that his remark wasn’t a mere probe.

Michael Silbert had come here certain, not guessing.

His next words settled it.

“You have two choices. Of course, you don’t have much choice at all, but you might as well hear them for the fun of it.”

His voice was relaxed. With his back to the cameras, Michael moved his lips, looking more pleased than I had ever seen him.

“First, your friend’s identity is exposed before the entire world. Second, you leave this noisy place, and the two of us have a private talk.”

“…!”

“So? What will it be?”

Damn it.

The curse slipped out in a whisper. Michael gave me a faint smile and stepped closer.

Brush. Pat.

His hand reached out slowly and brushed the dried blood and dust from my shoulder. At last, the reporters came to their senses and let loose the shouts they had been holding back.

“Mr. Jin Taekyung! Does what you just said mean you oppose the World Hunter Federation?”

“W-Wait! Please tell us exactly what you meant by that profanity!”

“Mr. Jin!”

Click. Flash-flash-flash!

The cameras kept rolling as flashes burst from every direction.

The dam of silence broke, releasing a wave of noise. Michael quietly raised a hand to settle the crowd, then spoke.

“My friend here is already a hero the whole world is watching. He is also a spirited young man. The battles and events of recent days must have exhausted him, so I ask for your understanding.”

“Are you saying Mr. Jin has post-traumatic stress disorder?”

“I’m sorry, but let’s leave that discussion for another time. There is only one thing I came to tell you today.”

Michael looked into the cameras.

“The war has begun again. For humanity to survive the coming flood of blood, we need an ark: the World Hunter Federation.”

“…!”

“That is all. Have a good night, everyone.”

That was his final word to the crowd.

Leaving the reporters shouting behind the German Armed Forces and police officers who blocked their way, Michael Silbert turned and walked toward his private aircraft, which had landed in the center of the open lot.

He left me with one last remark that only I could hear.

“I’ll make you some coffee. I hope you won’t keep me waiting.”

Grind.

My teeth clenched.

I knew why he’d said it.

“Mr. Jin!”

“Mr. Jin Taekyung! Please, just one statement!”

I turned away from the cameras as though fleeing and saw two figures hurrying toward me.

Confusion and shock were written across their faces. They spoke too quietly for anyone else to hear.

“We’ve been played. This was what it was all for.”

“Damn it, what the hell is this mess? What’s this World Hunter Federation thing, anyway?”

Their questions came in a rush, but I said nothing.

What could I say?

Where should I even begin, and how should I explain it?

As I wrestled with that, someone’s face came to mind.

“Magic Johnson.”

“What?”

The Skeleton King frowned at the name.

“Why bring him up all of a sudden? First, tell me what’s going on… Wait. Is there something on my face?”

I’d been staring at him without realizing it. I shook my head.

“…No. Nothing.”

I still didn’t know whether to tell him what had just happened. Or what choice I—what choice we—should make.

But some feelings couldn’t be hidden just because you wanted to hide them.

Team Leader Choi finally realized I was keeping something from them. His face hardened, and his lips moved.

“What is it? What happened that made you ask for Mr. Johnson?”

“…”

“Tell me. Right now.”

My thoughts were tangled, but they didn’t have long to wait.

After several dozen seconds that felt like an hour, I sent my voice toward Team Leader Choi through Sound Transmission.

“The Skeleton King’s identity has been discovered.”

“…!”

“Contact Magic Johnson. I need everything his investigation has turned up from the materials we took from the late Siegfried Bassmann’s hideout, and everything he knows about Michael Silbert. All of it. Not a single thing left out.”

Team Leader Choi’s eyes trembled. He remained silent as though he had lost his voice, then slowly nodded. I took a deep breath and began walking.

The lot was now empty of people.

I headed toward the enormous private aircraft standing at its center like an impregnable fortress.

Toward the man waiting inside.

Michael Silbert.

Yes. The bastard was right.

The war had already begun.

Michael Silbert kept at least one promise.

“Come in.”

The first thing I saw when I entered his private aircraft, as spacious as a suite, was a cup of coffee on the table.

It smelled freshly brewed. Beyond the steam rising from it, gray eyes—somewhere between darkness and light—watched me.

“I’m glad you came so quickly. I was worried it might get cold.”

I sat down and quietly looked at the full cup. As the silence stretched on, Huginn, who had been standing at attention behind me, spoke.

“If it isn’t to your taste, shall I prepare another coffee?”

His words were polite. The mockery in them wasn’t subtle.

I gave him no answer. I looked away from the cup and jerked my chin toward Michael.

“I don’t care if you keep a pet, but that crow won’t stop cawing. It’s getting on my nerves.”

Whoosh.

The air grew heavier. A faint sound reached my ears as Huginn came one step closer behind me.

“If you don’t want to walk on your arms from now on, get back where you were. And shut your mouth before I rip it open.”

“…!”

“What? You think I can’t do it?”

I was speaking to Huginn, but I kept my eyes on his master. Michael stared at me for a moment, then blinked.

“You’re serious.”

“I am.”

“You would cripple Huginn right in front of me?”

“I might kill both of you.”

An ordinary person might not have taken that provocation lying down. Someone who knew my fatal weakness might have used it to threaten me. Someone powerful enough that I couldn’t afford to lower my guard might have threatened me with force.

Michael was both of those things, yet neither reaction suited him.

“Huh.”

I couldn’t read anything into the sound he made. He studied me with interest.

“Whether you could succeed aside, isn’t that a little reckless?”

“If I’d been cautious, I wouldn’t have made it this far.”

He let out a short laugh.

“True. From what I’ve seen, the last few years of your life have been one reckless act after another. Perhaps that’s how you won the public’s love and trust.”

“Maybe. But is that all? There must be things even you haven’t seen.”

“I once heard of an Eastern saying: empty bluster. Let’s not waste time on meaningless words. I already know everything about you.”

He was wrong.

Michael Silbert knew nothing.

He did not know what kind of life I had truly lived, or how much recklessness it had taken to overcome every crisis and survive until today.

No one in this world could even guess at that secret. One day, it would be a dagger I drove into an enemy’s heart.

Michael couldn’t know that. When I laughed, the smile left his face.

“Why are you laughing?”

“Because I’m enjoying this.”

“Does this include the fact that the Stone-King is a monster?”

He was trying to rattle me. But I’d already made that mistake once, and once was enough.

Someone else was less composed. I felt a startled movement behind me and shrugged.

“Looks like your friend didn’t know.”

“He does now.”

“He’s been getting on my nerves for a while, so I couldn’t say anything.”

“Leave now, Huginn.”

After a moment’s hesitation, Huginn bowed his head and left the aircraft. Michael spoke again.

“As you know, I could have told the cameras everything.”

“Yeah.”

I nodded.

“And one of us would be finished by now.”

“Exactly. But I didn’t. Do you know why?”

“Scared shitless?”

Clink.

The teaspoon he’d been stirring through his coffee stopped. His gray eyes fixed on me.

“You really are… an unusual man.”

“And you really are… a fucking asshole.”

Honestly, I didn’t know if this was the right move.

But even a cornered rat would bite a cat. Calling Michael Silbert a tiger wouldn’t have done him justice, but right now, I was the Blazing Flame Divine Dragon.

Hiss.

Terrible heat surged through the palm I had laid on the table. Vapor rose around it, overpowering the steam from the coffee. I spoke quietly.

“Go ahead. If you’re ready to die.”