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Chapter 37
“Aura force reaction detected from the top floor of the building! The output is so strong the instruments can’t even capture it all!”
“Fuck, fuck, fuck?! Is that really Kim Hyunwoo? Did he actually come here himself?!”
“This is the surveillance unit! Kim Hyunwoo and Cho Seong-hwan are engaging in battle! And what the hell is that lightning?!”
“All standby personnel, retreat immediately! There are at least thirty Royal Guards packed inside! If you get caught in that mess, there won’t even be bones left to recover! I repeat! Standby personnel, evacuate at once…!”
As bolts of lightning struck above the research facility, the communication channels of Hahoe’s surveillance network erupted into chaos.
The heir of the Andong Kim clan, Kim Hyunwoo.
Not only had he revealed himself, but he was also releasing his aura force. Such a reaction was only natural.
“Even seeing it with my own eyes, it’s absurd.”
Dark thunderclouds hung above the neon-lit city streets.
Storms and lightning raged across the skies, covering the upper floors of the building in a terrifying spectacle. Staring at it, Imetal let out a hollow laugh.
“For someone like me, a half-baked existence, he didn’t even need to use something like that. Monsters, the lot of them….”
— Still, thanks to it, we can escape. So you can’t be too mad about it.
Hearing the voice from his communicator, Imetal allowed himself a thin smile. It was true.
Kim Chang-woon.
The mastermind who had unleashed the monsters within the facility into a rampage, and the shadowy figure who had orchestrated this entire incident.
— The Royal Guards who stormed the lab are gathering all the incriminating evidence. The same goes for the surviving employees and bodyguards of the Pungyang Cho Clan. The only one left now is Cho Seong-hwan.
At those words, Imetal recalled the exchange between Cho Seong-hwan and Kim Hyunwoo before his escape.
Cho Seong-hwan had tried to insist on his innocence, claiming that it was Hahoe who had invaded. But Kim Hyunwoo hadn’t seemed willing to believe a word of it.
“Still, it’s surprising that Kim Hyunwoo struck down Cho Seong-hwan so directly. I thought at least if Hahoe was brought up, he might listen….”
— Ah, that?
A chuckle came through the comms, followed by Kim Chang-woon’s voice.
— Maybe someone else would’ve fallen for it. But Kim Hyunwoo? Never.
“…Why not?”
— Because he was the one who first used Hahoe as a cover to bury things.
“…Ha! Right. That’s true.”
At that, Imetal finally understood why Kim Chang-woon was laughing.
Not long ago, during the assassination attempt disguised as Hahoe’s attack, the one who had tried to kill Kim Chang-woon was none other than Kim Hyunwoo.
For Cho Seong-hwan to claim innocence now and blame it on Hahoe, of course, Kim Hyunwoo wouldn’t believe him.
Besides, even if Hahoe’s intrusion were true, the fact that the Pungyang Cho Clan was researching monsters in the heart of Hanseong doesn’t just disappear.
Kim Chang-woon continued.
Not only was that fact exposed, but the monsters ran rampant, and on top of that, a rift was opened right in the middle of Hanseong.
At this point, excuses about Hahoe were meaningless.
Artificially creating a rift was treason of the highest order.
It meant being dragged to the Royal Inquisition Bureau as a criminal caught red-handed, interrogated under the law, and, depending on the judgment, even stripped of one’s family name and exiled.
So of course, Cho Seong-hwan could only try to flee from the scene.
Unaware that his desperate struggle would only make things worse.
And amidst that chaos, the “real Hahoe,” who had pinned down Cho Seong-hwan, leisurely walked out of the lab unnoticed….
The more he thought about it, the more absurd the operation seemed.
Meetings with Japanese pirates.
Switching cargo.
Timing his infiltration to coincide with Kim Hyunwoo’s arrival.
If even one part had failed, the entire plan would’ve collapsed.
And yet, he had single-handedly designed and commanded the whole thing.
While posing as an ally of the Pungyang Cho Clan, he played the role of a spy for the Andong Kim clan in the shadows, orchestrating the board.
At the decisive moment, he used everyone else as pieces, moving every factor according to his will.
The Andong Kim clan, the Pungyang Cho Clan, and even the Royal Inquisition Bureau and the Royal Guards of the royal court.
The greatest families and organizations of Joseon, all played into the palm of a single hand.
And that hand belonged to a boy of only fifteen.
“…So, where are you right now?”
— Me?
The reply came with a short pause.
— At the Pungyang Cho Clan’s research facility.
“W-what?!”
At that, Imetal’s face hardened.
“Have you lost your mind?! The Royal Guards are tearing that entire place apart…!”
Don’t worry. They’re too busy cleaning up the mess on the top floor to notice anything else.
“That’s not the point! Why would you still be there after everything is already over…!”
Ah, it’s nothing too important.
After carefully choosing his words, Kim Chang-woon spoke.
— Since we’ve gone this far, I might as well take something along with me.
* * *
Pungyang Cho Clan’s Research Facility.
After ending the communication with Imetal, I headed toward the center of the research building via the emergency stairs.
My destination was the secure storage area located within the restricted zone.
By the time I climbed the thirty flights of stairs, my legs felt like they were about to give out.
“Damn these cursed stairs. I’m never doing that twice.”
Despite being an outsider without any access codes, I strolled freely through the restricted zone. Yet, the alarms and security systems didn’t respond at all.
Naturally.
Thanks to the ripples emanating from the rift, every electronic device in the building had gone dead. And on top of that, two aura force users were busy tearing each other apart upstairs.
If it weren’t for that, I’d already be a corpse full of holes.
I gave a bitter smile as I retraced memories of my previous life.
This place was one of the most heavily restricted facilities in the entire lab—accessible only to a handful of personnel.
And here I was, wandering through it like it was my own living room. Having narrowly survived death, the feeling was almost overwhelming.
Now then.
If I just retraced a little of my time living as Cho Seong-hwan’s doormat…
“There it is.”
A grin spread across my lips as I rummaged through the darkened storage chamber.
At the very back of the storeroom lay a hidden passage.
A door leading into the special isolation zone.
Krrrrrk—
With a sharp twist of the lever, the massive iron gate of composite plating groaned open bit by bit.
A space locked away even more tightly than the monster containment chambers.
And within that space was—
Wuuuuum—
A round sphere sealed inside a dedicated case, glowing with a blue light.
The Monster heart—phantom orbs created in this very laboratory over the past several years.
“Mission accomplished. Now it’s time to fill my pockets.”
Muttering to myself, I smacked my lips as I checked the inventory inside.
One hundred and twenty refined Monster heart orbs.
Each no larger than a thumbnail, these little jewels released an aura force on their own.
They were the culmination of years of monster research by the Pungyang Cho Clan—secret weapons that later became the driving force behind Cho Seong-hwan and his hardline faction’s attempted coup.
And now, every last one of them was in my hands.
“Looks like I’ll be spending a lot of money soon.”
I muttered again as I began loading all the orbs into the special case I’d brought in advance.
If I want to use them properly, I’ll need ties with arms manufacturers. Now then, at this point in time, which company looks the most promising….
Lost in pleasant thoughts about the future—
KUUU-KWAAAANG—!
The entire building shook violently as an explosion thundered from the upper floors.
A strange sensation washed over me, one so dense that even a powerless man like me could feel it.
“Looks like the fight’s nearing its end.”
I glanced at the aura force detector I had brought along.
Until moments ago, two distinct waveforms had been clashing in balance. But now, one had completely overwhelmed the space.
Kim Hyunwoo’s aura force had crushed Cho Seong-hwan’s entirely.
“Thirty minutes. Much faster than I expected.”
As I noted how long the battle had lasted since their clash, a voice came through the communicator—it was Moo-yeong.
— Young Master, I have confirmed the battlefield.
“I already saw it on the detector. What about Cho Seong-hwan?”
— He couldn’t withstand Kim Hyunwoo’s sword strike during their deadlock. It seemed Kim Hyunwoo intended to kill him, but perhaps he lacked the strength….
“…Lacked the strength?”
When I pressed, Moo-yeong hesitated before continuing slowly.
— He lost an arm… and fled the building.
“Tsk.”
I clicked my tongue at the news.
If Cho Seong-hwan survived, he would no doubt hole up in Namyangju, his clan’s main base, and try to open secret negotiations with the Andong Kim clan.
If that happened, suspicion would naturally extend to me—the one who had handled the cargo.
The longer things dragged out, the greater the danger for me, the one who had orchestrated it all.
I thought Kim Hyunwoo would finish him in one stroke. What a sloppy ending.
It seemed I had overestimated Kim Hyunwoo.
Even if he had inherited the strongest aura force in Joseon, he was still just a boy of twenty.
A sheltered aristocrat who had spent his life swinging a sword in the practice yard.
This was probably his first time actually cutting down a man. I should have expected this kind of hesitation.
I quickly sank into thought.
The key figures of the Pungyang Cho Clan in Hanseong are still tied up, wrestling with the Royal Guards. They can’t come to Cho Seong-hwan’s aid. Which means the only ones who can rescue him now are….
The clan’s bodyguards, who had just departed from Namyangju.
That meant I still had time.
“Moo-yeong.”
— Yes, sir.
His response came immediately.
His voice carried expectation, as if he already knew what order I was about to give.
Come to think of it, wasn’t it Cho Seong-hwan who cut off Moo-yeong’s arm during the Royal Guard entrance exam?
Seeing fate twist in such a way, it truly seemed the saying was right—blessings in disguise.
“Did you confirm where Cho Seong-hwan fled?”
— He bolted out of the building and headed toward the lower restricted sector. I’m on his trail now.
“Good. Then go and….”
The unfinished task of an older brother—should always be completed by the younger.
After a brief pause, I spoke in a pleased voice to Moo-yeong.
“Kill Cho Seong-hwan.”
****
Shhhhhh—!
The drizzle that had been falling since early evening had now turned into a downpour.
Dark storm clouds had appeared suddenly over the heart of Hanseong.
The aftermath of the storms and lightning unleashed from that battle above.
Amid the sheets of rain, neon lights and paper lanterns flashed across Hanseong’s night streets.
A man in crimson robes ran frantically through the rain-soaked city.
“Huff…! Huff…!”
Missing one arm, he fled in panic, staggering and stumbling.
From his bloodshot eyes poured out a menacing aura, but his body, beyond his will’s control, shook and looked ready to collapse at any moment.
He looked no different from a ragged vagrant.
No one would believe that this was the heir of the illustrious Pungyang Cho Clan.
Splaaash—!
If he went where there were people, he risked being spotted.
With that thought, Cho Seong-hwan veered away from the bright main streets and plunged into the darker alleys.
Filthy roads he normally wouldn’t have spared a glance.
The dregs of society scattered from him as though he were a monster, but Cho Seong-hwan had no energy left to care.
If he didn’t hurry, he would die.
If he didn’t hurry, Kim Hyunwoo—
The monster of the Andong Kim clan—would come to strangle the life from him!
He had to escape before then….
At once. As quickly as possible, he had to get out of Hanseong—!
“Ugh?!”
His foot slipped on a puddle at that very moment.
Splaaash—!
His body toppled into the mud, grimy water soaking through his clothes.
He struggled desperately to rise, but with his aura force drained, his body refused to move.
How he had once laughed at his guards who bore artificial limbs.
Now Cho Seong-hwan found himself desperately wishing for such a thing.
“Lord Cho Seong-hwan.”
“Huuh?!”
A voice sounded above his fallen head, and he jerked his gaze upward in alarm.
Had someone from the clan come?
Or an agent of the Royal Inquisition Bureau?
His eyes flickered nervously as he tried to identify the speaker—
“You… you are…?”
When he saw the man’s face, Cho Seong-hwan’s expression twisted with horror.
It was neither a clan bodyguard nor a tribunal officer.
But it was a face that lingered in the corner of his memory.
“It has been a while. Do you remember me?”
He remembered.
Long ago, during the Royal Guard entrance exam.
The nameless swordsman who had crossed blades with him there.
The lowborn wretch who dared push him to the brink.
The face he had dismissed in passing now stared at him with an emotionless gaze.
“You… why are you here?”
“Because my master commanded it. Here in Hanseong… and in Busan as well.”
Busan.
The place Kim Chang-woon had been sent. The place where Kim Hyunwoo’s scheme had begun.
When Cho Seong-hwan noticed the man’s black artificial arm, his face twisted again.
“You bastard… you’re the one who switched the cargo?! You became the Andong Kim clan’s dog just to pay for that arm?!”
“Close, but not quite.”
The man, Moo-yeong, added calmly, his voice devoid of emotion or grudge.
“I bear no loyalty nor enmity to that clan.”
Slowly, he turned his belt and drew the curved blade at his waist.
Shing—!
Its grip wrapped in blue cloth, its edge inlaid with jade.
The very same sword used by the Andong Kim clan, the same as that wielded by Kim Hyunwoo himself.
“I am not the Andong Kim clan’s dog. I am Young Master Kim Chang-woon’s hunting hound.”
“…What?”
Kim Chang-woon? Not Kim Hyunwoo?
Cho Seong-hwan reeled as if struck by a hammer.
Wait. Then this wasn’t Kim Hyunwoo’s plan at all….
Everything—
It had all been that bastard Kim Chang-woon’s doing…?!
Shhhkk—!
Before he could think further, Moo-yeong’s drawn blade was already at his side.
“Young Master Kim Chang-woon has a message for you, Lord Cho Seong-hwan.”
For an instant, red light flickered in Moo-yeong’s otherwise dead eyes.
“Thanks for the entertainment, you pathetic bastard.”
Slash—!
The blade cut diagonally across Cho Seong-hwan’s body.
A strike he could once have easily blocked.
But now, he had no time, no strength, no will left to defend.
Thud.
The heir of the Pungyang Cho Clan collapsed lifelessly, slain by the sword of a man whose very name he had never even known.
---The End Of The Chapter---
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