Chapter 364 – Part 2 – Strategy Meeting

Their eyes met with Kogo.

Choi Seong-min raised his hand and greeted him first with familiarity.

“Well, who do we have here? Isn’t this the Great Hero?”

“……”

“What brings someone whose face is so hard to see to the association?”

“……”

Kogo said nothing.

He just stood there looking at Choi Seong-min, then resumed walking.

‘What, am I being ignored?’

Technically, it would be more accurate to say Song Chi-hyeon was being ignored.

‘Not that it matters.’

Choi Seong-min glanced at Kogo and resumed walking as well.

* * *

Kogo’s steps led him to the association president’s office.

There was no need to knock on the door.

Click-

“Who enters without even knocking…!”

Kwak Min-cheol, who was about to shout, closed his mouth when he saw the man entering.

Instead, he jumped up and welcomed him with a smile and open arms.

“You came! My left arm!”

“I never said I’d become your left arm.”

Kogo had few words but was clear about what he wanted to say.

“If you’re close to me, you’re my left arm! Come, sit over here!”

Kwak Min-cheol welcomed Kogo enthusiastically.

The treatment was different from when he dealt with Song Chi-hyeon.

Even though they were both Great Heroes, Kogo was an S-rank hunter with 1.5 million combat power.

Though they had never fought, it was a force Kwak Min-cheol couldn’t ignore.

That’s why even when Kogo spoke informally, Kwak Min-cheol could accept it with a smile.

“Thank you for coming like this. Coffee? Green tea?”

“Green tea.”

After Kwak Min-cheol ordered a subordinate to bring tea, he sat on the sofa.

As soon as he sat down, Kogo opened his mouth.

“You said there’s something to discuss?”

“Going straight to business? Before that, let’s talk about how we’ve been living…”

“I didn’t come here to listen to such useless talk.”

“Haha, I should acknowledge your straightforward personality! Then shall we get straight to the point?”

After the staff member brought tea and left, Kwak Min-cheol brought up the main topic.

“The reason I called you is none other than Song Chi-hyeon.”

“Song Chi-hyeon?”

“You know too, right? That Secretary Yang Baek-du died.”

“You mean your right arm?”

“Right. Song Chi-hyeon, that bastard is the one who killed Yang Baek-du.”

“Song Chi-hyeon?”

For Kogo, who had been neglecting association affairs, this was completely unexpected news.

“Are you certain?”

“I’m telling you it’s true! You wouldn’t know, but that bastard has a lot of pent-up feelings against me. Because I’ve been grinding him down so much.”

Kwak Min-cheol’s expression became agitated as if getting heated just thinking about it.

“He was probably preparing rebellion behind the scenes. Cutting off my right arm was also because of that!”

Unlike the agitated Kwak Min-cheol, Kogo spoke in a calm voice.

“Actually, I ran into Song Chi-hyeon on my way here. He greeted me first.”

“Did he?”

“He didn’t look like someone plotting rebellion.”

“Of course! Would a rebel write ‘rebel’ on their forehead and walk around?”

“Evidence?”

“……”

At those words, Kwak Min-cheol was speechless for a while as if hit in the solar plexus.

“There’s no evidence… but the circumstantial evidence is certain.”

“Circumstantial evidence… in other words, speculation.”

“Song Chi-hyeon really killed Yang Baek-du for sure! You don’t know because you weren’t there, but that guy has shown how much he hates me!”

“So what do you want to discuss?”

“Recently, Song Chi-hyeon, that bastard, has been growing by going hunting. He’s sharpening his teeth.”

Kwak Min-cheol said with force in his voice.

“We need to stop Song Chi-hyeon. Otherwise, we don’t know when that bastard will stab us in the back.”

“So you’re saying he’s preparing rebellion?”

“That’s what I’m telling you!”

Kogo still had a distrustful expression.

“There’s no evidence.”

“Haa… Damn. Does there have to be evidence? When the circumstantial evidence is this clear?”

“Then let’s say Song Chi-hyeon is preparing rebellion… what do you plan to do next?”

Killing intent flashed in Kwak Min-cheol’s eyes.

“We have to kill him.”

“Kill a Great Hero? You must be joking.”

“Then what? When it’s obvious he’s sharpening his blade behind our backs, should we just leave him alone? That rebel bastard?”

“There’s no evidence.”

“Damn, otherwise we’ll be the ones who get hurt!”

“Let him come. I’ve been wanting to fight Song Chi-hyeon anyway.”

Kogo showed his teeth and smiled for the first time.

Battles with strong opponents ignite fire in his cooled heart.

For Kogo, it was always welcome.

“Do you think that vermin who hasn’t even reached S-rank could be your opponent? I guarantee he won’t last even 1 second in front of you before getting torn apart!”

Kwak Min-cheol snorted and waved his hand as if that wasn’t the important point.

“We need to make the first move before that bastard acts.”

“Even so, killing seems difficult. Would Woo Seong-jae stay still?”

Woo Seong-jae.

When the name of the overwhelmingly strong man among the 8 Heroes was mentioned, Kwak Min-cheol’s expression hardened.

“Hmm… would Woo Seong-jae interfere in our business if we kill Song Chi-hyeon?”

“He would interfere. If you kill without justification.”

Woo Seong-jae was the hero who ruled the neutral nation, always maintaining neutrality.

For the sake of balance on the scales.

“Woo Seong-jae doesn’t take anyone’s side. Whatever happens, he’s always viewed things from a neutral standpoint.”

Because he valued neutrality and balance, he looked at and judged everything objectively.

The reason he alone belonged to the neutral nation was also for balance with other continents.

His power was too overwhelming to join forces with other Great Heroes.

But even such Woo Seong-jae would step forward at times.

When balance was broken.

When the scales tipped, he would step forward directly to restore balance.

“If Song Chi-hyeon dies, Woo Seong-jae will definitely ask for the reason. What will you answer then?”

“Th, that’s…”

Kwak Min-cheol hesitated to answer.

When he actually thought about it, he didn’t have the confidence to tell Woo Seong-jae that he killed based on circumstantial evidence.

Woo Seong-jae was like a judge who took no one’s side.

“If you kill Song Chi-hyeon without justification, Woo Seong-jae won’t stay still.”

“Th, that’s right? I knew that too.”

“You knew and still said you’d kill him?”

“N, no. I just said it in a fit of anger.”

Kwak Min-cheol was rarely flustered.

That’s how significant the impact of Woo Seong-jae’s existence was.

“Damn. Then what do we do? We need justification to kill him!”

A situation where he wanted to kill Song Chi-hyeon but couldn’t kill him with peace of mind.

If he wanted to kill, he needed a valid reason.

“Haa… if only we had evidence, we wouldn’t need to rack our brains like this…”

While Kwak Min-cheol was lost in thought holding his head, Kogo was also deep in contemplation, resting his chin on his hand.

Then suddenly, a good method came to mind.

“Among my connections, there’s someone who can erase memories. I think using that guy would be good.”

“What? Erase memories?”

Kwak Min-cheol’s eyes widened at the sudden statement.

It was an ability he was hearing about for the first time.

When he pressed for details as if asking him to explain, Kogo elaborated.

About how he met Oh Gwang-taek and his abilities.

Kwak Min-cheol’s eyes and mouth gradually opened as he listened.

“Amazing! Erasing memories. There was such a cheat-like ability?”

“I was surprised when I found out too. I was also surprised that he was Song Chi-hyeon’s acquaintance.”

“Acquaintance? Then Song Chi-hyeon, that bastard, already knew?”

The spark jumped to Song Chi-hyeon.

“That fucking bastard. He knew he had such an incredible acquaintance but didn’t even mention it to me. He was definitely planning to use his acquaintance’s ability for himself.”

“Now he’s my acquaintance too, so we can use him as well.”

“How?”

“We use that guy to peek at Song Chi-hyeon’s memories. I heard he can also see them.”

“If he can see memories, then whether Song Chi-hyeon killed Yang Baek-du?”

“We can know for certain.”

“Then we’ll have justification to kill him!”

If they couldn’t find evidence, they could just rummage through Song Chi-hyeon’s head.

The evidence they had been searching for so desperately was inside Song Chi-hyeon’s head.

Kwak Min-cheol shouted excitedly.

“We can present that memory-erasing guy as a witness!”

“As for punishment for Song Chi-hyeon, whether we kill him or erase his memory to make him an idiot, we can do as we please.”

“He can see memories and also turn people into idiots. It’s really a highly versatile ability.”

Kwak Min-cheol’s expression improved considerably.

Now he finally felt like his blocked insides were cleared.

But the problem wasn’t completely solved.

“But didn’t you say that guy is Song Chi-hyeon’s acquaintance?”

“I heard they’re old friends.”

“Would such a guy cooperate with us? Would he erase his old friend’s memory with his own hands?”

Though he spoke worriedly, Kogo answered surprisingly simply.

“It’s fine. If he refuses, we just threaten to kill him.”

“You’re not really going to kill him, right? It’s too valuable an ability to kill.”

Kogo remained silent for a moment as if contemplating, then said.

“I’ll have to judge based on the situation.”

“Huhu, good. It’s decided then. We peek at Song Chi-hyeon’s memory, and if he’s the culprit, we bring him and execute him.”

“Kill him? Not turn him into an idiot?”

“Yeah. I can’t let a bastard who rebels against me live.”

He just couldn’t kill because there was no evidence, but Kwak Min-cheol had wanted to kill Song Chi-hyeon countless times.

“Kogo, you’ll have to work hard. To move together with that memory-erasing guy.”

“Understood.”

“The two of you lure him well and examine Song Chi-hyeon’s memory. If he resists severely, it’s fine to break a few places. We can treat him later.”

“What if we look at his memory and he didn’t kill Yang Baek-du?”

“That won’t happen, so don’t worry. My instinct tells me that bastard is the culprit.”

Kwak Min-cheol was confident.

There was no need to consider the possibility that he wasn’t the culprit.

“What if he didn’t kill him?”

“Even then, I can’t let Song Chi-hyeon, that bastard, live. He’s a nuisance.”

“You’re going to kill him regardless of the result?”

“Well, if he really didn’t kill him, I’d have to let him live. Instead, let’s erase all his memories and turn him into an idiot. As long as we don’t kill him, Woo Seong-jae won’t say anything, right? Kuhuhuh.”

Kwak Min-cheol’s face brightened as if the imagination alone was pleasant.

“Anyway, after looking at his memory, bring him to me. I want to kill that bastard with my own hands.”

“That request will be difficult. There might be situations where I have to kill him.”

“If it’s that kind of situation, there’s nothing we can do, but try to bring him alive if possible.”

“Understood. I’ll try. When will we execute this?”

Kwak Min-cheol grinned wickedly.

“Now.”

* * *

“Phew.”

Choi Seong-min, who had encountered Kogo, breathed a sigh of relief.

‘What’s that guy doing here?’

Who would have thought he’d see at the association someone who should be out beating up gangsters.

‘He wouldn’t have just come. Kwak Min-cheol must have called him.’

Why would Kwak Min-cheol call Kogo?

‘It’s obvious. He called him to have a strategy meeting about what to do with Song Chi-hyeon, who’s a thorn in his side.’

He might have instructed Kogo to assassinate him, but the possibility was low.

‘They won’t be able to kill me easily. Because they have no justification.’

What those guys fear isn’t Song Chi-hyeon’s force.

‘What they’re concerned about is the public’s gaze and other heroes’ gazes.’

Especially Woo Seong-jae would be an obstacle for them.

Given Woo Seong-jae’s personality, he wouldn’t tolerate the balance being disrupted.

Especially if a Great Hero died without reason.

‘The reason Kwak Min-cheol is desperately trying to find evidence is because of this. If he kills without justification, he’ll earn Woo Seong-jae’s hatred.’

If Woo Seong-jae set his mind to it, he could instantly pull Kwak Min-cheol down from his Great Hero position.

It was understandable that Kwak Min-cheol couldn’t act recklessly.

‘Then what conclusion did they reach?’

Did they choose assassination as a way to deal with Song Chi-hyeon?

With the mindset of throwing justification to the dogs?

‘No, that possibility is slim.’

Assassination without reason is a last resort.

They wouldn’t kill thoughtlessly when they’ve done so much up to now.

If they were going to kill, they’d secure evidence first.

‘But there’s no evidence left by Song Chi-hyeon now.’

Then how did those guys decide to move?

He tried thinking from their perspective.

What would be the best course from their standpoint.

What options remained now.

‘If it were me, I would have used Oh Gwang-taek.’

With Oh Gwang-taek’s memory deletion ability, they could extract Song Chi-hyeon’s memories.

Then they might be able to find evidence that Song Chi-hyeon might have hidden.

‘Even if there’s no evidence, Oh Gwang-taek becomes a witness.’

If there’s a witness and they can prove his words are true, that’s as good as evidence.

‘They get justification to execute Song Chi-hyeon.’

Or they could erase his memory without necessarily killing him.

If they erased his memory to turn him into a living corpse and confined him somewhere in the association, no one would know about Song Chi-hyeon’s death.

‘If Kogo decided to use Oh Gwang-taek…’

There would probably be contact soon.

Sure enough, as expected.

Ring ring- Ring ring-

Oh Gwang-taek’s phone rang loudly.

As expected, the caller was Kogo.

‘I thought so.’

The corners of Choi Seong-min’s mouth slightly lifted.

Either way, those guys were in the palm of his hand anyway.