Login in to Alandal

The feeble, murderous aura gradually intensified.

Swoop-

Suddenly, a man in a black mask materialized and pounced on the Hunter from the Management Bureau who was stationed outside the hospital room.

"A stealth skill? They're not who I anticipated."

I had assumed it would be the same people who had caused the hunters who had attacked me to vanish, but instead, a different group had appeared.

In any case, their purpose was to assassinate Kim Sujin, our witness against Oh Young-seok, so they had to be stopped.

Clank!-

“Ugh!”

The man in the black mask groaned as I grabbed his neck and struck his dagger down.

"Who is it?!"

Only then did the hunters notice the assassin, stepping back, drawing their weapons, and shouting. Subsequently, the hunters and the police guarding the surrounding area swarmed in, and the resident nurses and doctors hurried away to safety.

"It's getting irritating."

I unleashed energy to manipulate the space, making the hunters and the cops pale and collapse. Under immense pressure, they lost consciousness. The assassin's eyes were aglow with amazement.

[Hmm, you've managed to handle it quite well too. Take a look at his mouth first. He might be hiding poison.]

'I know.'

[You know?]

'It's the appearance of an organization that I didn't expect. I'll have to find out who sent them.'

I knew from the time before I returned that there was an assassination guild operating in the shadows.

I had only heard about them as a group called the Shadow Guild, but this was my first time seeing them in person.

They were famous for leaving no traces and killing themselves with poison if captured.

I forced his mouth open. Just as I suspected, there was a molar of a subtly different color from the rest, and I pulled it out.

The black mask's eyes shook violently.

[Oh, it's not much different from the murderers of the Martial Arts Society.]

“Now we can talk. Who sent you?”

As expected, he kept his mouth shut.

I hadn't expected him to give me an easy answer from the start. Fortunately, there was an excellent way to gather information.

"It will hurt a little. If I don't get an answer after that, I'll take your hand next."

I hit the bastard's Mouth Point and used the Bone Breaking Technique.

Crack, crack!-

“!!!”

His limb bizarrely snapped, and the bone-crack echoed down the hallway.

He couldn't even groan as he writhed in terrible pain.

I continued for about five minutes before freeing his Mouth Point.

“Who sent you?”

He was a tenacious guy. Despite the pain, he still kept his mouth shut.

“Looks like you can tolerate it. I clearly said the next thing would be your hand.”

“Ugh. Just kill me.”

Seokkuk-

Took-

“Kaaaaaagh!!!”

His hand fell to the ground.

“Next will be the other hand. After that, I’ll slowly cut you into pieces in the order of your elbows, shoulders, ankles, and knees.”

His eyes were stained with fear. By severing his wrist, he should now know that my words were no bluff.

“I-I will tell you.”

***

[You've become cruel.]

“Those guys will never talk unless I go this far.”

[Hmm, that mindset is needed, but… Anyway, judging from the fact he didn't have any restrictions on speaking, it doesn't seem to have anything to do with the Gate Manager.]

The black masked guy was a low-level assassin, so he didn't know much.

He said that only his guild president knew of the person who contracted Kim Sujin's murder.

He also said that he didn’t know the exact location of their headquarters because the Shadow Guild operated as a thoroughly separate organization.

However, he told me the location of the cell to which he belonged.

[He told you everything, so why did you kill him?]

“Since he failed his mission and was caught, he was going to die anyway. I had to kill him since there's no reason to leave a trail.”

[Kukuku. Well done.]

“Are you giving me advice on things other than martial arts?”

[Kukuku. You should act like a martial artist if you have mastered my martial arts. But I don't think this is the place to tell you that.]

 “I tortured him with the thought that the Gate Manager or the Japanese guild might be involved. But I think I know who his client is without overworking myself.”

[I think I know too.]

The Oh Young-seok case was deeply related to the Guild Association. That's why the man in the black mask was most likely a killer they had sent.

They would finish the job with Kim Sujin and then target our guild and the BnS Vitality Potion amidst the chaos.

Utilizing this, it seemed I could get clues about the dark forces that had controlled Oh Young-seok and the Japanese guild.

[Aren’t you complicating things?]

‘Even if my thoughts are complicated, I will keep things simple.’

[Kukuku. That’s the correct answer.]

I called Koh Tae-wook and explained the situation.

After a while, hunters from the Management Bureau arrived, and after confirming Kim Sujin's safety, I headed straight to the guild office.

That night, while I was home, I woke up to a murderous aura.

[It's as you expected.]

I immediately headed to the place where I could feel the murderous aura seeping through using the Heavenly Demon Stealth.

I felt the presence of two people.

I couldn't see their figures, probably because they were using a stealth skill. However, I found their location with the Heavenly Demon’s Origin Art.

'One at the entrance, one on the roof.'

[I can feel the aura of a Peak master from the guy on the roof.]

'I'll have to let him live for now.'

The stronger their energy, the more likely they were to be in a high position, so I could glean more information from that individual.

I advanced to the front door and swung my blade towards the location where I could sense the assassin.

Slash!-

Their concealment broke, and blood flew into the air. I cut him in two diagonally from his shoulder, so he didn’t even have time to scream.

Then, after I subdued the killer on the roof, I moved them to the guild office.

I contacted them in advance to ensure they were prepared, but I had to check.

Seong-jin's family had hidden in the underground shelter of the guild, where my parents were also sheltered.

When I arrived at the guild, I saw that Team Seolhwa's dorms were in disarray.

This was because the moment the assassins attacked, their stealth was released and they had engaged in a fierce battle with the prepared Seol-ah.

She had already subdued them, as they all suffered from cauterized sword wounds and had toothless mouths like old men. It seemed that after I told them to get rid of the poison, they had pulled out all their teeth.

'Looking at this thorough job, this must be Ji-young's work. To use the slaughter skill like this....'

I got chills when I imagined Ji-young pulling out their teeth with a blank face and eyes gleaming with joy.

“If you hadn’t told us in advance, we would have been defeated before we realized they were here.”

“That’s right. I was taken aback by their sudden appearance.”

“These mean guys!”

“Because of Seol-ah, I couldn’t even use Mitchell properly….”

The members of Team Seolhwa replied one after the other, but Ji-young seemed to be distracted. She didn't seem content even after extracting all their answers.

In any case, their attire was quite a spectacle.

"Put on your clothes before you speak. Did you wait like that even though I told you that you'd be attacked?"

Hearing their grumbling, my illusion that high school girls slept in floral pajamas was dispelled. It was mortifying to see them wearing hot pants and oversized t-shirts. It seemed they weren't even wearing proper undergarments.

[You observed them closely even though you’re embarrassed.]

'What should I do if it’s visible?'

“What’s wrong with this? We even dressed a bit after you told us we would be attacked.”

They all grumbled again.

“Okay, is anyone hurt?”

Fortunately, no one seemed to have been injured, and there were a total of three people caught, though each of the assassins felt weaker than the one I captured on the roof.

“Will my house be okay?”

Lee Seong-jin worried as he looked at them.

"Since someone from the Hunter Management Bureau is disguised as part of your family, it shouldn't be much of a problem. Even if you feel uncomfortable, stay at the shelter until this is resolved."

"Uncomfortable? This goes way beyond our house."

He smiled embarrassedly.

After a while, Yoo So-eun's team, who had been hiding nearby, began to clear the scene.

She had disguised herself as my parents with Seol Myeonggeun and hidden in the main room, but she said they didn't sense any hostile presence.

Since I had dealt with the assassins before they attacked, Yoo So-eun and Seol Myeonggeun didn't even have time to detect them.

I asked Seong-jin and the members of Team Seolhwa to organize the guild while I returned to the roof.

As I had anticipated, the man I subdued on the rooftop was an executive of the assassination guild, ranked third among them. Consequently, he was aware of a great deal.

It seemed the guild had sent a proficient killer after the failed assassination of Kim Sujin. Nevertheless, he was unexpectedly timid, so he divulged all the information he knew with only a light application of the Bone Breaking Technique.

'This must be a trap.'

[He must think he’s luring you in.]

Honesty was displayed on the guy's status window, but judging from the location of the guild headquarters, I strongly thought they would prepare a trap and wait for me.

[They're taking that risk because of you?]

'I don't know, but it feels like that. The assassination guild, I remember, changed its headquarters from time to time to avoid detection.'

[You're saying it won't be a big problem for them even if they tell you about the headquarters. So, it's like a trap?]

'No matter how often they move, they've given us the location too easily.'

[That's why you're trying to use their trap against them.]

'I'm not gonna let them off the hook after they messed with me. It would be perfect if I could take this opportunity to cut them off at the source.'

[Yes, to catch a raccoon, you have to enter the den.]

'Well. I'll have to see if I can catch just a raccoon or the tiger lurking in the den.'

Just then, Yoo So-eun came up to the roof.

“There was one here too. All other sites have been taken care of. Leave the rest to us.”

“I think it will be difficult for the Management Bureau to deal with this.”

Yoo So-eun turned sullen at my response and closed her mouth. In fact, the Management Bureau had done almost nothing and had missed the hunters I had caught.

Moreover, they would have lost Kim Sujin if it weren't for me being at the hospital.

“I understand your feelings, Mr. Byeong-gi. I admit the Bureau was sloppy—"

Pow

The assassination guild executive, still bound, was knocked out by my blow.

“Kyaaak!”

When I suddenly attacked him, Yoo So-eun screamed in surprise.

“I will take this guy.”

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“Today, the Shadow Guild will be erased from the world.”

“W-Wait. The Shadow Guild?”

As she asked, I snatched him up and soared into the sky with the Heavenly Demon Air-Stride.

Whoosh-

“M-My God!”

Yoo So-eun watched as I disappeared with the assassin in tow.

***

Deep in Godaesan Mountain in Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi-do.

This was where the guild of killers, that is, the assassination guild, resided.

However, they were very different from a regular guild.

There was no trace of modern civilization in the simplified buildings here, and the outfits of the people who moved secretly between them were not recent either.

A mysterious man hurried along those paths to a room holding another man awaiting his arrival.

“Master! We’ve lost contact with Samho.”

“Looks like he failed. They said he was a C-Rank hunter. Did he have any special skills?”

"I think it's because of his ability to detect magic power."

“Hmm, their stealth skill probably didn’t work.”

"I think it’s better for you to run, just in case."

"Hmph! First Elder, are you making fun of me?”

A huge surge of magic power emanated from the man known as Master, enveloping his surroundings.

The First Elder bowed his head in submission.

“I-I apologize. I messed up.”

The Master eased up on his magic, allowing the Elder to breathe again.

“Is he powerful enough to track us down here?”

"I don't know what will happen if we don't capture him now."

"Ha! How did you get involved with those people...?”

The Master cleared his throat and closed his eyes as if he was uncomfortable.

“This is not a place he can ever reach alone. Even if they find us, don't worry too much. We've prepared thoroughly.”

Boooom-

At that moment, the whole mountain vibrated with an explosion.

“First Elder! Our illusion trap was broken!”

Someone screamed outside.

“How many have come?”

The First Elder asked.

“It is said that he came alone and broke the illusion trap. As you said, we lured him in, but....”

“What?”

The Master's eyebrows twitched when he heard that he had come alone.

“Alone? First Elder, you should go there quickly with the Second and Third Elders. I will follow soon.”

"All right."

The First Elder bowed to the Master and hurried outside.