Chapter 86 (1/2)
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Moths (2)
I opened the door and entered. The intruder had turned stiff like a stone still holding the sword. I concentrated Mana on my hand as I looked at that sight.
“Did it work?”
If the answer didn’t come back immediately, I was about to rush in and hold him down. However, the intruder’s lips moved and said the sentence I wanted, “It worked, the whispers.”
The man’s pupils shook and gradually stabilized, which was evidence of successful brainwashing. It was not the intruder but the sword that answered through the body, as it was instructed to transfer its words instead of his own.
“That’s a relief.”
The devil’s sword’s brainwashing skill [Whisper of the Sword] had a success rate ranked A, which was statistically around 50%. As soon as the intruder grabbed the handle of the devil’s sword, it planned to use the skill, and each countermeasure was arranged depending on whether it worked or not. Fortunately, the brainwashing worked, so things were likely to be easy from now on.
“Please order him to follow my instructions and answer my questions from now on.”
First, the intruder simply released Polymorph when instructed to identify himself. When I saw him in his original face, I recognized who he was. His lips moved.
“My name is Dideric van Dyke.”
I clicked my tongue, “They invited a big man, didn’t they?”
The identity of the intruder was a Dutch SS-Rank hunter who was also famous in my previous life. Because of his peculiar skill tree, he gained his notoriety by dealing with work in the shadows such as intelligence and assassination rather than exploring the dungeons.
‘When I first heard the name, he was mostly commissioned by governments, but I guess it was still before he got to that level.’
He is the No. 1 Hunter in the industry, who had no rival in that field of work in his previous life. The reason why he disappeared suddenly in his last life was…
‘He broke in to kidnap Angelica at the request of the Chinese government, and he was caught by the barriers that Hibiki laid out.’
Angelica, unperturbed, struck the captured Dideric’s neck, but that was buried as a secret that only 5 of the Guild Masters knew.
‘However, the collapse of the country called China took place less than a year after the incident.’
It would be no coincidence if I thought that the frequency of predictions about the Chinese dungeons had decreased since the kidnapping attempt.
‘Anyway, now I know his identity.’
He was going to be a lot bigger in the future, but at this point, Dideric was not a hunter who could be moved with little money.
“What about the client?”
He answered, “Grand Croix Guild.”
“Hah,” It was so lame that I was about to laugh.
‘I was leaving them alone only because they were pushed out of the top.’
The fact that he was actively digging up his grave to lie down and even carving his coffin left me no choice but to live up to his expectations.
“What about the content of the request?”
Dideric easily answered, “First, hack data from the dedicated server that only the Guild Master Seo Jin-Wook can access. Second, uncover the secrets of rapid growth, such as the items he uses. Third…”
My eyebrows wiggled when I heard the last request.
“… When secured and if conditions allow after observation, assassinate the Guild Master Seo Jin-Wook.”
There he crossed the line again. I sighed shallow and scratched my head.
“He must have been very nervous as well, Kim Kyung-Rok.”
Next, I asked how this request was related to the Grand Croix Guild. Of course, they wouldn’t have told Dideric such information. Still, I asked because I assumed that Dideric, who was able to be commissioned, had secretly identified the client. Sure enough, he named several more executives besides the Guild Master Kim Kyung-Rok.
“Then…” My next words were not for Dideric but for the devil’s sword, “I’m going to have to ask you to do a job for me.”
I didn’t even come into contact with the sword, but I had the sense from the sigh it was leaking telepathically and somehow flowing into my mind.
*
A few hours later, Kim Kyung-Rok asked, “What time is it now?”
“It’s almost 6 a.m.,” came back the reply.
It was still early to go to work, but Kim Kyung-Rok and three high-ranking hunters gathered together in the Grand Croix meeting room.
Kim Kyung-Rok grumbled, “I mean, why is that bastard taking so long without at least updating us that the job was successful or not?”
“Exactly. He said he was going to start infiltrating around 2 a.m. and was going to take about a couple of hours at most.”
“That’s why are we sitting here up all night!”
Kim Kyung-Rok, who had spent a lot of money hiring Dideric, could not sleep and, therefore, was waiting for the results in the conference room, staying up all night with three other guild members who were in on the plan.
And then. Creek. Suddenly, the conference room door opened. Kim Kyung-Rok thought that perhaps the secretary had come to work early for some reason.
‘She’s only diligent on days like this when I didn’t order her to do so.’
He shouted in an irritated tone, “Hey! We’re in a meeting right now, so don’t come in until I call you!”
There was no response. As the door completely opened, the four hunters’ eyes in the conference room all turned toward it.
“What is it?”
There was nobody outside the open door. Creek. Naturally, the door closed again. Only then did the seated four hunters stand up in unison. But it’s already too late.
Phuk!
The blade popped out through the neck of a giant hunter sitting closest to the meeting room door.
“Gak!”
In that state, the air shook, and a man revealed himself. He took out a scroll with his unarmed hand and tore it. At the same time, powerful energy spread through the conference room.
“It’s a barrier!”
Now, no one could go out or come in for some time. Everything happened in a flash. Kim Kyung-Rok’s eyes grew bigger when he noticed the identity of the opponent, “You!”
He had never met him face to face because he made a deal through an agent, but there was no way he couldn’t recognize his face. The opponent was Dideric van Dyke, who he had entrusted with the task. Kim Kyung-Rok was shocked.
‘That crazy bastard!’
He took out the weapon he always carried with him and aimed at his opponent.
‘Why, all of a sudden? Was he persuaded to do otherwise?’ Heat rose in his head, and his thought process sped up. Meanwhile, Dideric pulled out the sword with a blank expression.
Phuk!
The neck was pierced, but A-Rank Hunter did not die immediately.
“Ghhhh!”
The red foam flowed down along his neckline with a bubbling sound. Dideric swung his arm as he looked at it.
Swish!
The severed head shot up into the sky and fell on the conference room floor, and rolled. Their eyes widened again.
Phuk!
Diderick thrust a knife into the chest of Hunter’s body, which was laid on the floor. Then…Gulp, gulp. Shoo!
“Well, well, what the hell is that?”
The blade that dug into the body began to gobble up the remaining blood from the body. It attacked the large one first because he was closest, but the being that manipulated Dideric van Dyke thought with a mental smile, ‘First of all, if it has a large capacity, there will be a lot to eat.’
In the blink of an eye, the body turned into a mummy with only the skin left. After absorbing the human species’ blood, the devil’s sword moved Dideric to take care of the remains for the first time in such a long time.
Boosh!
The sword energy burning on the blade completely burned a dead body, like a wooden shell, into ash. It was because of Seo Jin-Wook’s request not to leave any more traces than necessary.
‘Anyway, he’s such a bother!’
While he was grumbling inside, “Strike him!”
The remaining three hunters rushed in at once. When it saw them, it mentally sighed.
‘Those morons.’