Chapter 218 – Exposed Misdeeds

Even amidst the daze from being struck on the head, Lee Han-seok heard it clearly.

The word “torture.”

It didn’t take a genius to figure out who they intended to torture.

“Ugh, p-please, spare me! Spare me…!”

Deliberately shouting loudly to call for help, Lee Han-seok quickly clamped his mouth shut.

A sashimi knife was pressed against his throat.

“Make a sound, and you’re dead.”

“…”

Lee Han-seok’s eyes darted toward the alley’s entrance.

‘Please, please, let someone pass by…!’

But at midnight on a weekday, in a dimly lit alley with barely functioning streetlights, it was safe to say no one would come through.

“…P-please, spare me. I’ll do anything you ask.”

He couldn’t even move his Adam’s apple properly for fear of being cut, begging for his life.

Fortunately, it seemed the other party had no immediate intention of killing him.

In fact, they graciously offered a way to survive.

“The remaining 5 billion. Transfer it to the account right now. Do that, and I swear I’ll let you live.”

Lee Han-seok immediately used mobile banking to send the amount.

“Good. It’s definitely been received.”

As the assailant removed the knife from his throat, Lee Han-seok let out a sigh of relief.

“Thank you. Thank…”

However.

Rip-

As his mouth was sealed with duct tape, Lee Han-seok’s eyes widened to an unimaginable degree.

“No need to look at me like that. I won’t break my promise to spare you.”

“We’ll let you live, sure. But the question is, will you still want to live after we’re done torturing you? Heh heh heh.”

“Mmph! Mmph!”

Lee Han-seok struggled desperately, but he couldn’t budge under the assailant’s iron grip.

It was clear they weren’t ordinary people-they were definitely hunters.

“Hold him tight. It’d be no fun if he squirms too much and gets stabbed by accident.”

“Got it. Just hurry up so we can switch.”

“Of course.”

“Hey, rookie. Go stand watch at the alley entrance.”

“Senior, you’ll give me a turn too, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, just go watch already. If someone shows up, we’re all screwed.”

The assailant approached Lee Han-seok with the sashimi knife, and his struggles intensified.

“Mmph! Mmph mmph mmph!”

“I don’t know what you’re saying, but I’m not letting you go. We’ve been starving for this, you see.”

Stab-!

“Urghhh mmph!”

The sashimi knife plunged into Lee Han-seok’s shoulder and was pulled out.

“Heh heh, yeah, this feeling. Once you get hooked on stabbing people, it’s really hard to resist.”

“Urghhh!”

“And watching you squirm like a bug is just a bonus.”

Stab!

“Arghhh!”

In the deserted alley, merciless torture continued.

The assailants, hungry for bloodshed, stabbed and slashed at Lee Han-seok, reveling in his reactions.

‘Damn it, I want to join in too.’

The youngest of the three, relegated to standing watch, grumbled to himself.

‘Can’t I stab him too? Who’s going to come to a remote alley like this?’

He wanted to join in the fun, but as it was a senior’s order, he had no choice.

Just then.

“Huh?”

The lookout felt his vision blur.

At the same moment, a powerful impact struck the back of his head.

‘Wha- what the…’

Thud-

As the lookout lost consciousness, one of the assailants enjoying himself shouted.

“Rookie! You keeping watch properly?”

“Why isn’t this bastard answering?”

The two assailants glanced toward the alley entrance where the rookie had been, but no one was there.

“Did this kid ditch his post to go somewhere?”

“Hey, stop.”

The assailant about to stab Lee Han-seok in the thigh paused at the other’s words.

“Something’s off.”

“…”

Sensing an odd atmosphere, the two drew different weapons instead of their sashimi knives.

They pulled out daggers, the primary weapon of assassins.

“Be careful. Someone’s here.”

Sure enough.

“You bastards have sharp senses, huh?”

From both ends of the alley, two men appeared on each side, totaling four.

Judging by the cold weapons in their hands and their unusual attire, they were clearly hunters.

“Damn government hunters…”

“Hah, who’s calling who a bastard?”

“Look who’s talking, you pieces of trash.”

The government hunters who appeared out of nowhere quickly assessed the situation.

‘Judging by the daggers, there’s a high chance the suspects are assassin-class.’

‘If they’re assassins, they might escape using stealth or shadow-step. We need to block their escape routes completely.’

‘The victim is still alive. We can’t approach recklessly.’

‘We’ll deliberately show an opening to lure them in, ensuring a safe distance to protect the victim.’

Having made their decision, the hunters closed in as if surrounding the area, then deliberately looked elsewhere to create an opening.

As expected, the assassins used stealth and shadow-step to close the distance.

But there was one thing the government hunters overlooked.

Srrrng-

The assailants had no intention of fleeing.

Splatter- Splat!

“Ugh!”

Under the combined attack of the two, a government hunter sustained a wound on his forearm.

Compared to the intended strike at the neck, it was a relatively minor injury.

“Raaah!”

Enraged, the hunter immediately swung his hammer in retaliation.

Thwack-! Thud!

“They’re down! Grab them!”

Subduing the assassins wasn’t particularly difficult.

The government hunters who responded were all above level 1,000, while the assassins had just barely surpassed level 750.

“Suspects, two down!”

“With the lookout from earlier, that makes three, right?”

“Correct!”

As the takedown concluded, a group emerged from the alley.

It was the Hunter Association’s Criminal Investigation Division and emergency responders who had arrived after receiving a report.

“Check the victim’s condition first.”

At Team Leader Kim Sang-yeob’s command, the emergency responders rushed to Lee Han-seok.

Covered in blood and collapsed, he looked as if he were already dead.

“There are numerous wounds all over, but he’s still breathing.”

“We need to transport him immediately.”

“Understood. Take him quickly.”

With Kim Sang-yeob’s permission, Lee Han-seok was placed on a stretcher.

‘Thank goodness. We saved the victim.’

Had the report not come in on time, it could have turned into a murder case.

‘Good thing we trusted the report and brought government hunters along.’

If it hadn’t been for the report about three hunters stabbing someone with knives, they wouldn’t have been able to respond so perfectly.

“Hunters, what about the suspects?”

“We’ve knocked them all out and tied them up tightly so they can’t escape.”

“If they show any threatening behavior, you have permission to shoot to kill on the spot.”

“Of course.”

Hunters were like ticking time bombs; if not subdued strictly, they could cause another incident.

“They’re not dangerous right now, correct?”

“Yes. We just knocked them out, so they won’t wake up for a while…”

The government hunter speaking suddenly widened his eyes.

“Urghhh!”

The assassins they had knocked out opened their eyes.

For some reason, they clutched their heads in agony.

“Wha- what the… We need to knock them out again…!”

As the government hunters panicked, the assassins pulled small metal orbs from their inventories.

“That, that’s…!”

“Mana bombs!”

Seeing the mana bombs glowing red, it was clear they had already been activated.

In just 5 seconds, the area would be reduced to rubble.

“Everyone, get out of here!”

“Evacuate the alley now!”

At the hunters’ urgent cries, people scattered in panic.

The assassins, seemingly accepting their fate, closed their eyes.

BOOOOM-!

As the three mana bombs exploded, the alley turned into a chaotic mess.

“Cough, cough.”

Kim Sang-yeob waved away the smoke, trying to assess the situation.

“Damn it. Even the victim died.”

Lee Han-seok, who had been nearby, was caught in the blast and charred black.

Needless to say, the perpetrators who detonated the bombs were also gone.

‘Judging by the positioning, it looks like they deliberately detonated to eliminate the victim.’

A tragic situation where both the suspects and the victim perished.

The only silver lining was that no one else was harmed.

‘What the hell were these guys?’

Looking at the devastated scene, Kim Sang-yeob shook his head in disbelief.

* * *

In the Black Sea Guild’s office.

BANG!

Min Do-jun, transformed into Ahn Kwang-hyun, slammed the desk in anger.

“Is it true you almost got caught by the Association?”

“W-Well, that’s…”

Kim Jae-won fidgeted nervously, seeing his boss enraged after a long time.

“You said you’d handle it discreetly without anyone noticing, but there was a witness?”

“Yes. It seems there was someone who saw us, and they reported it to the Association. Government hunters showed up, and we nearly got caught… Fortunately, we detonated mana bombs and self-destructed, but… the problem is, the Association witnessed the crime. They also took Lee Han-seok’s body…”

“So, you’re saying the Black Sea Guild is at risk of being exposed?”

“Y-Yes, that’s correct.”

Gritting his teeth, Min Do-jun shouted at Kim Jae-won.

“Gather everyone outside now!”

“Yes, sir!”

As Kim Jae-won hurriedly left the office, a smile crept onto Min Do-jun’s face, replacing the anger from moments ago.

‘Everything’s going according to plan.’

In fact, the person who had reported to the Hunter Association was none other than Min Do-jun himself.

So why would he report it after ordering his subordinates to kill Lee Han-seok?

It was because he needed to expose the Black Sea Guild’s misdeeds to the world.

‘In about a year, the existence of the Black Sea Guild will become known. But if I keep their activities halted like this, the guild will vanish from history.’

If the future diverged from what he knew, unforeseen events could occur.

Especially if a massive organization like the Black Sea Guild disappeared entirely.

That’s why he needed to reveal the guild’s existence, just as it had been in the original timeline.

‘The biggest reason, though, is that I can’t stand seeing these criminals’ actions go unnoticed.’

People had a right to know.

That a vile group called the Black Sea Guild existed in South Korea.

‘Team Leader Kim Sang-yeob of the Criminal Investigation Division should be able to uncover that this was the Black Sea Guild’s doing.’

Once they identified the body as Lee Han-seok and traced the leads, the guild’s existence would come to light.

‘I almost lost the chance when my subordinates were knocked out, and the plan nearly failed…’

Thanks to the pain he inflicted through Parasite, his subordinates woke up and self-destructed.

‘I lost three traits in the process, but it’s not a big loss. They were just F-grade traits anyway.’

The traits of the three subordinates who died were F-grade.

They weren’t worth regretting.

“Boss, as ordered, I’ve gathered the guild members.”

At Kim Jae-won’s words, Min Do-jun stood up.

Stepping out of the office, he saw the subordinates lined up with tense expressions.

‘Including Kim Jae-won, that’s 14 in total, huh?’

Not a small number, but not large either.

“Last night, an unfortunate incident occurred. During the operation, the Association showed up.”

“…”

“Because of that, the Black Sea Guild is at risk of being exposed to the world. Our guild, which we’ve kept hidden in secrecy all this time.”

Min Do-jun spoke in a low voice.

“Who was it? Who reported us to the Association?”

“…”

“It’s impossible for a covert operation to be discovered so easily. Not unless there’s a traitor among us.”

A slight murmur arose, but Min Do-jun stomped his foot to regain control of the atmosphere.

BANG-!

“Who is it? Who made the report? Step forward now, and you’ll find mercy.”

“…”

The guild members remained silent, their faces tense.

Of course, no one would come forward.

After all, Min Do-jun was the one who made the report.

“Fine. You won’t come forward, huh?”

Min Do-jun adjusted the pain level.

‘All Black Sea Guild members. Level 3.’

Instantly, every guild member present screamed in agony.

“Arghhh!”

“Aaah!”

A splitting headache assaulted them relentlessly.

The guild members writhed on the ground, but no one died.

‘This is the power of Parasite…!’

At Min Do-jun’s will, the pain ceased.

“Huff, huff…”

“Who reported us? Step forward.”

“…”

“If no one comes forward, we’ll do this again.”

The pain resumed.

“Urghhh!”

“Aaahhh!”

They were being collectively punished for the actions of one nonexistent person.

“Still not coming forward? Even after this?”

Even though no one could possibly confess, Min Do-jun deliberately inflicted pain.

‘This is how I’ll train them, so they won’t harbor any discontent toward the guild.’

The nonexistent informant provided the perfect excuse to torment them.

After repeating this three more times, Min Do-jun finally stopped.

“Huff, huff!”

“Pant, pant.”

The exhausted guild members lay sprawled on the ground.

“Get up.”

At Min Do-jun’s single command, the guild members sprang to their feet as if nothing had happened.

“I don’t know who among us reported to the Association, but don’t harbor any discontent toward the guild. Follow orders as they are given, no matter the reason. Understood?”

“Yes! We’ll keep that in mind!”

No trace of discontent remained in the guild members’ eyes.

Only the disciplined gaze of well-trained soldiers lingered.