Chapter 96 (1/2)
***
Tap, tap, tap—
The sound of one man routinely tapping his hand on the desk rang throughout the room. He pressed his forehead with his other hand. The man’s name was Johnny Depp. He was the vice guild master of the Star Guild.
“MacRebur and Chloe are dead,” he thought. He had just heard confirmation from the news on who was responsible. “Kim Su-hyeun.”
It was because of him. Their original plan was impossible to fail. But it failed because of Kim Su-hyeun’s interference.
“We should have removed him already,” Johnny Depp thought.
They could not get rid of Su-hyeun earlier because Korea was far from the United States and he did not show up in the real world very often. Korea was a country where the influence of the Dump Guild was relatively low. So they had planned to increase their influence using the Ares Guild. But that also failed because of Su-hyeun. At that point, Su-hyeun had just been a small pain in the neck.
“I did not expect he would do this much.”
Because of the Ripper Guild and Kim Su-hyeun, the Dump Guild was faltering. It was not only in Korea and the United States, but their plans had also failed in every country except China. Even then, the work in China had not been as successful as they hoped in their original plan. All their plans to expand the Dump Guild had been ruined.
“The damage is too big.”
The major awakeners in the Dump Guild had died. Also, many guilds decided to leave the Dump Guild. Now, the Dump guild lost its power and influence. It was fatal. Until recently, they had been the world’s biggest guild, but now they were nothing other than a criminal guild. There was no path forward. The only thing they could do was hide in the shadows again.
“We have to regain our power. This time, we will get the power to turn the world upside down without any interruption.”
Bam—!
“Sir, sir!”
A guild member who had been waiting outside came in. Johnny Depp, who was not feeling so good already, gave him a hard look.
“What? Don’t you know we’re hiding now? Why did you make such a loud—”
“That—that is not a problem now, sir.”
“Then what?”
“The branches of the Dump Guild are under attack!”
“What?”
Johnny Depp blinked his eyes in panic. Theirs was a secret guild. The name was known, but not many people knew more than that. Moreover, the information about which guilds they worked with was top-secret. But those places were under attack now. That meant all the information had leaked out.
“How much damage? Which ones were attacked?” Johnny Depp asked.
“We’ve already lost three places, starting with the Nolan Guild in California. I think we will be under attack soon!”
“What the…”
The more he heard, the more embarrassed he became.
“What kind of fearless freak is attacking the Dump Guild…?” Johnny Depp thought. “Is it…Kim Su-hyeun?”
Johnny Depp jumped up from his seat once that name popped into his head. And after he spoke it out loud, the guild member nodded fiercely.
“Yes, sir. And…”
“And what?”
“He is not alone.” The guild member spoke with a pale face. “Park Ji-yeon from the Korean Ripper Guild and another dude that controls the divine beast are with him. Jordan Rogers and his Maximum Guild as well…”
Johnny Depp’s face became just as pale.
“Sir. This is war.”
“Damn it…” Johnny Depp clenched his teeth. The scale of the attack was far greater than he thought.
Rumble—!
At that moment, they could feel a tremendous tremor that was followed by an explosion. It came from downstairs.
“No way…” Johnny Depp stared at the magical wave that came from the below. “Is he already here?”
***
Rumble—!
Whoosh, whoosh—
The flames rose around Su-hyeun. Dozens of awakeners surrounded him. Dozens more—about half of the Dump Guild’s forces in the building—had already fallen.
“If you don’t resist, I won’t kill you,” Su-hyeun said.
Crack—!
“Argh—!”
Su-hyeun forced an awakener to his knees by pushing down on his shoulder. The shoulder broke.
“But if you resist, even I don’t know what I’ll do.”
“Do—do you think you will be safe after this? How will you face the consequences?” One of the guild members tried to threaten Su-hyeun, but Su-hyeun did not even blink.
“Me? Safe?”
“You came to an innocent guild and used violence! The Authority won’t overlook such an offense!” he screamed.
Su-hyeun’s expression became colder. “You’re not the first to tell me that…” Jung Dong-yeong, the guild master of the Ares Guild, had said something similar to that. “He died by my hand… But me? I’m still here, aren’t” I?”
At Su-hyeun’s cold answer, the awakener flinched.
“I’ll give you 10 seconds.”
Rumble—
“All of you. Kneel and put your heads down!”
Enormous magic pressed the air. People got chills. Not one among the dozens could attack Su-hyeun.
“Ten, nine, eight, seven, six…”
Time passed. Su-hyeun opened his hand and counted each second by folding his fingers. And…
Wham—!
Wham, wham—!
One by one, people started to kneel and put their heads on the floor. But there were still some who stood until the end out of either personal pride or loyalty to the Dump Guild.
“Two… One.”
Thump—!
Su-hyeun’s body disappeared. Soon, he grabbed the neck of one who stood still.
Crack—!
The man’s neck was twisted in a bizarre direction. Su-hyeun released him.
Flop—
The dead body fell on the floor. Su-hyeun looked around. All of the awakeners started to kneel on the floor.
Su-hyeun said, “Stay there. If you move, you will end up like this.”
“Yes—yes, sir!”
“Yes!”
They answered out of fear. Su-hyeun lifted his head and looked up at the high ceiling. And…