Chapter 72: Short Break (1)
A man inside a dark room was looking at a crystal orb. In a low voice, he said, "So it died."
The man, who was wearing a red demon mask, turned his head with an emotionless expression. He placed his eyes on a group of priests wearing black robes.
"Congratulations on the successful summoning."
"The Demon Cult has promised to provide us with additional support."
"We will be able to begin preparations to execute our true plan once we receive more support."
The priests celebrated the success of the demon summoning in unison.
The man in the red demon mask nodded.
"How are they planning to support us?"
.
"With demonic crystals created from concentrated demonic energy. They will be of help to our plan, and we were also given enough to increase your power, Your Eminence."
"Good," the masked man replied, satisfied. From his voice, one could sense his desire for the power he would receive.
Leaving the result aside, the summoning had been successful. They had fulfilled the conditions given by the Demon Cult, so they would naturally be rewarded accordingly.
'Although I had never imagined for the demon to die just like that.'
The masked man recalled the footage he'd seen through the orb.
He frowned.
From the beginning, what mattered to him was making the summoning a success, but he'd never imagined that the demon would be defeated so easily.
'I was hoping he would at least deal considerable damage to the Hwarang Corps.'
The Hwarang Corps and the major guilds that weren't with the Demon Cult were beings that hindered their plan of taking over Korea. He was hoping that they would suffer considerable losses through this summoning ritual.
However, the result was the total opposite. The demon had suddenly acted strange and ended up dying.
'Why did the demon act that way?'
The man couldn't understand.
The demon had acted all high and mighty in the beginning but had then suddenly become a pathetic coward. It was completely different from the image of demons the man had in his head.
'Is it because of Cha Yeon-Joo?'
Cha Yeon-Joo, the master of the Red Rose Guild, was clearly the strongest Player among those who'd arrived at the cave.
The man shook his head while pondering the matter. He had met Yeon-Joo a couple times. She was indeed very strong, but she wasn't strong enough to make a demon tremble in fear. No, even if she was, demons were very prideful beings. It made no sense for the demon to tremble in fear before even fighting.
'There's something I'm missing.'
He narrowed his eyes. There had to be a reason he wasn't aware of. The problem was that it was impossible to guess the reason just by the footage he had seen through the orb.
'Is it because of the guy who had dealt the final blow with the scythe?'
He recalled the young man who had a sharp look on his face. The masked man had also heard about the young man named Oh Kang-Woo. There had been rumors about Kang-Woo being a very talented rookie whom the Red Rose Guild was supporting.
"Hmm…"
A short exclamation came out of the man's mouth.
Still, a rookie was a rookie. It had been only a month since the Red Rose Guild had begun supporting him, so there was a limit to how strong he could have become.
'I can't tell.'
He couldn't understand why the demon had acted in such a strange way.
'I'll have to check for myself.'
The man's eyes shone sharply.
"There is one other piece of news, Your Eminence."
"Speak."
"The World Rankers have shown signs of taking action."
The man strongly frowned after hearing World Rankers.
He didn't seem angry by the news that they'd started to act but by the words themselves.
"Hmm."
The anger, however, was momentaneous. He leaned back in the chair.
With the dimensional wall having become drastically weaker in the past month, the Demon Cult had become far more active than ever before. It was only natural that the World Rankers would take action against them.
"Has the Cult given any orders regarding them?"
"Nothing in particular."
"Nothing, huh…?"
The man's eyes shone with interest. The fact that the Demon Cult hadn't given any orders in this situation meant one thing.
"We will have to hurry. Stick to the original plan. We will start with El Cuero," the man said, mentioning the name of the boss monster of Suwon's S-rank Gate.
"Yes, Your Eminence!" loudly answered the priests, whose heads were bowed.
* * *
After the demon-summoning incident was resolved, Kang-Woo climbed up on Echidna and flew home. Yeon-Joo and Baek Hwa-Yeon strongly refused to join them.
When he returned home, he saw Han Seol-Ah, who had taken Kim Si-Hun to the hospital. She wasn't alone—Choi Eun-Bi and Kang Tae-Soo were also there. They were sitting down with looks that showed they had many things they wanted to ask.
"I'll tell you all tomorrow when we go visit Si-Hun."
He couldn't hide things from them anymore since they'd also become involved.
The next day, he explained the whole situation in the hospital where Si-Hun was. He told them that he was a Player receiving support from the Red Rose Guild and that there was a mysterious group called the Demon Cult active in Korea. He also told them that Kim Jae-Hyun and Kim Yeong-Hun had been providing the cult with live sacrifices.
"Then… does that mean you've been staking out near me for a week straight after hearing the rumors?"
"Yes. The moment I heard the rumors, I knew it was about you."
"How did such a rumor…"
"Well, the world of Players is small, after all, and your party has many people with attention-grabbing looks. It would be weirder if rumors hadn't spread," Kang-Woo answered calmly.
Obviously, he didn't mention that he had used Si-Hun as bait by spreading those very rumors. He was just ad-libbing the explanation.
'I'm not saying anything wrong.'
The only reason why the rumors had even managed to spread was because Si-Hun's party had most definitely been different from the others. Every single party member was talented and eye-catching enough to warrant such rumors.
"Couldn't you have… told us about it?"
Seol-Ah looked at him with sad eyes. She knew that Kang-Woo was hiding many things about him from her.
'This probably isn't the only thing he's hiding.'
Even now, she was sure that Kang-Woo was still hiding even greater secrets. Even though he was right next to her and they even lived together, she felt that Kang-Woo was so far away from her that she wouldn't be able to reach him no matter how far she reached out her hands.
Bitter emotions filled her heart.
"I'm sorry for making you worry," said Kang-Woo.
"Ah…"
A short exclamation came out of Seol-Ah's mouth. After hearing him apologize without giving any excuses, she felt remorseful.
"N-No. Who am I to say such things to you…? I'm sure you had your reasons."
"But it doesn't change the fact that I made my family worry. I can't promise that things like this won't happen again, but… I'll try my best."
"T-Try?! Th-That's…"
Seol-Ah mumbled, and her face was red. Her heart beat faster, and she felt as though she would smile like an idiot if she didn't force the tips of her mouth down.
The word he'd said—family—filled her head.
"… Thank you very much."
There was a weirdly romantic atmosphere between the two.
"Kang-Woo, peel this for me."
Echidna jumped on top of his lap while pouting. She handed him an orange they'd bought before visiting Si-Hun.
Kang-Woo smirked and grabbed the orange.
"Hyung-nim. What happened to those Demon Cult members?"
"I guess you could say that it's settled for the time being. However, we haven't captured their leader yet."
"Wha… Do they really kidnap Players and sacrifice them?"
"You almost fell victim to them too, don't you remember?"
"Those abominable bastards!"
Tae-Soo stomped angrily. Tae-Soo already looked scary enough, and his frowning made him look like a wraith that popped out of nightmares.
'There's no way you're human,' Kang-Woo resisted saying aloud. "Anyway, take care while hunting from now on. You never know when they'll attack again."
"Understood."
"Also, each of you take one of these."
Kang-Woo gave each person an orb he'd received from Yeon-Joo.
"What's this, Kang-Woo oppa?"
"It's an orb that lets you communicate with others outside the Gates from within. Call me if anything dangerous happens."
"Thank you very much, Kang-Woo."
It seemed that Kang-Woo's thoughtful gesture had moved Si-Hun—he grabbed the orb tightly.
"Kang-Woo, I have a question."
"I will answer as long as it's something I know."
"What happened with Kim Yeong-Hun and Kim Jae-Hyun…?"
"They'll both spend the rest of their lives in prison."
"…"
"There is no need for you to worry. Even if the rich practically rule this country, they won't be able to solve this one with money."
They had kidnapped Players and sold them to a cult as sacrifices. Of course, they could try to destroy the evidence with money, but Kang-Woo wouldn't let them get away with it unscathed.
'If there's a lack of evidence, I can always fabricate it.'
Kang-Woo had the power to do it.
"Also, I heard about your circumstances, albeit unintentionally."
"Ah…"
"Kim Jae-Hyun seems to have forced an enormous amount of debt onto your family. I will make sure that you receive enough compensation. Also, since your mother seems to be unwell, I will take measures so that she can be treated in cutting-edge medical facilities."
"Kang-Woo…"
Si-Hun seemed to be lost for words. He began to tremble, and tears flowed down his cheeks.
"Th-Thank you. Thank you very much. Really… urgh, sniff. You are my benefactor, Kang-Woo."
'Don't say things like that. I'm starting to feel guilty.'
Kang-Woo smiled awkwardly while recalling that he had attacked Si-Hun and forcibly turned him into his Familiar.
"You truly are… a good person, Kang-Woo."
'Seriously, stop.'
"I was lucky to have met you."
'I'm sorry, I was wrong. Now that I think about it, I think turning you into a Familiar was a bit much.'
"Just like Tae-Soo, I would also like to serve you as my hyung-nim."
'Why are you doing this to me?'
Kang-Woo felt as if he was about to be set ablaze because of the guilt. No matter how calculative and brutal he was, he was not devoid of emotions.
'You're making me feel like complete garbage.'
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