Chapter 766

At some point, I had begun fighting without end.

When I had no power, I fought in Gates for the happiness of my people. After gaining power, I fought to protect them.

But… what an irony.

I had never backed down in the face of death. Now a few words were enough to make me retreat.

Slide.

The blue-white flames that had burned so fiercely died down.

Without giving an inch, I slowly drew back the fist pressed against Michael’s sword.

“A wise choice.”

His loathsome voice made my stomach twist. I lowered my fist, still trembling with rage.

No. The moment the tension in the air eased, I threw another punch.

BOOM!

Another deafening blast rang out, and a wave of scorching heat swept in every direction. An enraged shout erupted behind me.

“How dare you!”

Shh-shh-shhik!

Killing intent surged toward me with the hiss of weapons cutting through the air—

“Enough.”

At Michael’s quiet command, Huginn and the dozens of guards with him stopped dead.

Michael Silbert gave his men a calm glance that told them all they needed to know, then spoke to me.

“I believe I warned you.”

Grrrrrk.

Fist and blade locked together once more. Powerful blue and dark energies shuddered against each other. I glared at him.

“Yeah. You did.”

“Do you intend to see this through to the end? Here and now?”

I clenched my teeth.

In my mind, I had already killed Michael Silbert dozens of times. I had broken his limbs, crushed his mouth, and ripped out his heart before bursting it apart.

But this wasn’t Murim.

No—whatever world we were in, no one would accept what I wanted to do unless I tore off the mask he wore first.

“If that had been my intention… I would have done it long ago.”

“You’re more reckless than I thought. And even more arrogant.”

“I’d be disappointed if you thought this was just arrogance.”

Michael’s expression shifted.

Slice.

A faint line of blood appeared on his smooth neck with a sound so soft I could only hear it because I was close.

His skin had finally split under the immense pressure of that instant’s clash.

“Huh.”

“That’s my warning to you. Remember it.”

I spat out each word. Michael answered calmly.

“I take back what I said about arrogance. I should add something else instead. You’re more interesting than I thought.”

“You son of a bitch…”

“And thank you for the kind warning. It’s made one thing clear, at least.”

“What?”

“Jin. You can never kill me.”

Amusement crept into his dry voice.

“Because… somewhere along the way, you acquired far too much to lose.”

“…!”

A chill I couldn’t explain raised the hair all over my body.

It felt as though something sticky and repulsive had reached out and seized my limbs. The horrible sensation of being dragged into a deep swamp made me knock his blade away on reflex.

Crack!

Our two energies mingled for an instant.

In the last flash of light, familiar faces flickered before my eyes. I stumbled before I knew it and drew a ragged breath.

I didn’t want to admit it. I couldn’t.

And yet… I had to.

Michael Silbert was right.

The moment I ended the life of the man watching me so calmly, as though the blood on his neck meant nothing, I would cut short my own life and the lives of everyone close to me.

Like the countless enemies I had defeated, they would burn to ash and vanish without a trace.

“May I take your silence to mean I was right?”

I said nothing. Michael Silbert smiled.

“I look forward to working with you. I’ll be in touch soon.”

Swish.

He held out his hand, smiling like a man certain of victory.

I turned away without taking it.

No moonlight came to Munich that night.

Jin Taekyung was gone.

Huginn watched him disappear into the darkness, then spoke.

“Will he cooperate willingly?”

Michael Silbert nodded.

“Without a doubt.”

“But Jin Taekyung’s recklessness defies all expectations. Hasn’t he always been difficult to predict?”

“Everyone has a weakness. And he possesses one more fatal than anyone else’s.”

“What weakness?”

“His feelings. Jin Taekyung is more emotional than anyone.”

Michael continued in the same calm voice.

“Someone whose joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure are so clear is easier to handle than a materialistic person. Wealth and honor can be regained even after they are lost, but people cannot.”

He looked at his private aircraft, all but wrecked by the force of their clashes.

It had been custom-built with cutting-edge equipment and Magic at a cost of hundreds of billions of won.¹ Its destruction stirred nothing in him. It was only a heap of scrap metal.

People were different. Each had only one life to live.

“Jin Taekyung… has more to lose than I thought.”

Perhaps even more than I do.

Michael swallowed the words before they could leave his tongue.

He didn’t want to admit it.

He already had more wealth than he could ever spend and immense power besides. Once he took control of the reborn World Hunter Federation, he would be beyond anyone’s reach. He would be king of this world.

How could Jin Taekyung have more to lose than him?

That makes no sense.

Michael patted Huginn on the shoulder.

“There is no need to worry. In a few days, everything will be concluded successfully.”

“I hope so, but…”

Huginn kept staring into the darkness where Jin Taekyung had vanished.

“I don’t know if letting him leave was the right choice. I can’t shake the feeling we’ve made a mistake we can’t undo.”

“There’s no need to feel that way. We had no other choice, either.”

“What do you mea—”

Crash!

An unfamiliar sound cut him off.

Huginn turned. His superior stood holding a sword with nothing left but the hilt.

“Guild Master!”

Michael shook his head at Huginn’s alarm. With a strange look in his eyes, he gazed at the fragments scattered around his feet.

“Well, this is something…”

Only two clashes.

That was all it had taken to shatter his cherished sword, forged from the finest materials and imbued with Magic. Without the powerful aura surrounding its blade, it probably wouldn’t have held together even this long.

He really is more interesting than I thought.

Michael had thought he knew the extent of Jin Taekyung’s abilities.

Odin Guild had kept its eyes and ears on him since he first came to prominence. With every new report, Michael had revised his assessment of the young Asian man.

First a potential recruit. Then a promising next-generation S-rank Hunter.

And then… his greatest obstacle.

I thought Cheon Taemin was the only one left.

That was how it had been. That was how it should have been.

Yet today, calculations that should have allowed no margin for error had proved completely wrong.

Jin Taekyung.

Michael looked into the darkness that had swallowed the young man moments ago.

He pictured him from head to toe—not yet half Michael’s age—and thought again of the enormous power coiled within him.

What if I had used all my strength?

A moment later, he gave a faint scoff.

It was a pointless question. He had reached his current position precisely because he had never used all his strength against any enemy.

The one who uses all his strength wins the battle, but the one who hides his strength wins the war.

Michael Silbert wanted to win the war. Not the battle—the war.

He had lived for dominion, not mere survival, and only one final step remained between him and the throne.

Everything is within reach. No need to hurry.

At least not tonight.

Michael Silbert swallowed the words circling the tip of his tongue and suddenly raised his head toward the sky.

To his gray eyes, Munich’s night sky shone more brightly than ever. Someone else had looked at that same sky only moments before and seen no moonlight at all.

Yes. At least not tonight.

Crack. Fsssh.

In his clenched fist, the impossibly hard sword hilt crumbled into powder and scattered on the wind.

Michael Silbert was not careless enough to leave an obstacle where it stood after it had blocked his path once.

Even after I had finished telling them everything, the spacious suite remained filled with heavy air and silence.

It couldn’t be helped.

I looked at Team Leader Choi and the Skeleton King, both of whom had gone rigid, and muttered inwardly.

It was the reaction I had expected.

Nobody stays calm when their head’s on fire. And in this case, being a monster instead of a human wouldn’t make any difference.

“Damn it.”

The Skeleton King broke the silence first. He muttered the curse, then spoke with a troubled look on his face.

“Wicked human. What happens now?”

“Hmm.”

Under normal circumstances, I would have made a joke. But the matter was too serious this time, and I found it difficult to answer.

The Skeleton King probably had plenty on his mind. His identity had been discovered, and he had no idea what would happen to him next.

I couldn’t bring myself to say any of that. I just sat there, moving my lips without making a sound. Then he spoke in a grave voice.

“If it’s too difficult to answer, tell me just one thing.”

“Go ahead.”

“Will this body never be allowed to enter the club again?”

I blinked. For a moment, I couldn’t make sense of the question.

By the time I came to my senses, White Flame’s spearhead was driving into his chest.

Crack. Crunch.

“AGH! Aaaagh! It was a joke! I was joking!”

“Die. Please, just die…”

“Please spare me! My ribs! I’ve got a cracked rib!”

“You thoughtless bastard. Even Myeongnyun Jinsa Galbi² has more sense than you…”

“Mr. Jin Taekyung! Mr. Jin Taekyung! You mustn’t!”

I must have lost it for a moment.

After a brief, rage-induced out-of-body experience, Team Leader Choi’s pleas finally brought me back to my senses.

Seeing the Skeleton King clutching his chest and trying to force his ribs back into place made my vision turn white again, but I endured through the superhuman mental fortitude befitting a Supreme Peak master.

Fuck. I think I’m about to suffer qi deviation.

Another ten minutes of watching that, and my qi and blood would have tangled so badly I’d have died or ended up crippled. Michael Silbert would have done a ridiculous little dance and recruited the Skeleton King as his new right-hand man.

Fortunately, a visitor arrived before qi deviation did.