Chapter 99
“What the hell is that bullshit?!”
“P-please calm down—”
“Calm down? How do you expect me to calm down? Huh?”
An Asian man with glasses and long tied-back hair was screaming in the first-floor lobby of the Empire State Building, the Union headquarters. He was Kim Seo-Gyeong, 145th in the human ranking.
“Isn’t that Kim Seo-Gyeong, the leader of Clan Earthly Branches? What’s wrong with him?”
“Oh, I've heard he can’t hunt down the Dark Human he’s been trying to catch anymore.”
“Who?”
“You know, the Semi Ranker who’s been the talk of the town. Cheon Seong-Hwi.”
The people in the lobby discussed among themselves, watching Seo-Gyeong fuming. His voice echoed throughout the lobby again.
“Cheon Seong-Hwi had a license this whole time? A first-class murder license, no less?”
“Y-yes, that’s correct. It was officially registered recently,” the bald, middle-aged man standing before Seo-Gyeong answered as he sweated buckets.
“Who’s the issuer?!” Seo-Gyeong asked furiously.
“Well... umm... Sir... Lee Kang-San.”
“What?”
The furious Seo-Gyeong flinched after hearing a name he hadn’t expected to hear.
Lee Kang-San? The Tortoise Emperor?
Seo-Gyeong recalled the recent emergency meeting in the banquet hall on the hundredth floor. Only Rankers within the top one hundred could attend, but Seo-Gyeong was specially allowed to participate with the spec force captain’s recommendation.
He remembered meeting the unprecedented monster, Lee Kang-San. Seo-Gyeong had momentarily lost consciousness once Kang-San released his aura, and his ears wouldn’t stop ringing. If he were to imagine the Grim Reaper, it would be Kang-San. If a murder license were issued by Kang-San, anyone with it practically had a free pass for killing.
Seo-Gyeong gritted his teeth and thought, Cheon Seong-Hwi! What’s his relationship with Lee Kang-San? Is he being backed by the pioneering faction?
He stomped his foot and walked toward the main exit of the Empire State Building.
Seeing the whole thing from the second-floor railing, Lalisa said to Seo-Yeon, “Wow! You must be happy, Team Leader.”
“About what?”
“Your brother is getting so angry for you. He must be furious that he can’t get revenge.”
“I don’t know...” Seo-Yeon mumbled.
The short-haired Seo-Yeon with Miho on her shoulder, the Latina woman Lalisa, and Ma Sang-Sik had been watching from the second-floor railing. Seo-Yeon stared at her stepbrother’s back as he left the building. Seong-Hwi’s voice continued to echo inside her head.
“Don’t trust Kim Seo-Gyeong. Don’t trust anyone. It’s easy, right? It’s what you always do, after all. Oh, and...”
What did he mean by that? Was it a simple taunt? He could’ve killed me right then and there—even more so if he had a first-class murder license, Seo-Yeon thought.
Seong-Hwi seemed to know her very well, but she had no idea who he was.
Had we met on Earth? I don’t remember, but... why does he feel so familiar?
Seo-Yeon shook her head to shake off her chaotic thoughts.
She turned around and said, “Tell me again, Sang-Sik.”
“Yes, ma’am. That pal—I mean, Cheon Seong-Hwi is a criminal I had been chasing since Earth.”
“So, he’s a murderer?”
“Yes. Not just that, he committed a thoroughly premeditated murder. He was highly skilled in manipulating the crime scene as well.”
Sang-Sik told Seo-Yeon the details about his final case on Earth, such as the investigation process, assumed motive, and the decisive evidence. Seo-Yeon listened carefully in silence.
“And once he went missing—or Lost, I suppose. Anyway, we received Shin So-Eun’s hairband from Seo Dong-Hyun after questioning him, and pulled the prints of both Kang Hyun-Tae and Cheon Seong-Hwi from it.”
“Then you’re sure Cheon Seong-Hwi killed Kang Hyun-Tae?” Seo-Yeon asked.
“Yes. There is unmistakable evidence.”
“And his motive was revenge for his little sister he grew up with at the children’s home?”
“Yes.”
Seo-Yeon fell into deep thought and mumbled, “But... you said they didn’t have contact for a long time, right? Despite that, he still took revenge for her?”
“That’s what I found odd as well. Only Cheon Seong-Hwi knows the answer to that question.”
Seo-Yeon fell into thought again, wondering what had been on Seong-Hwi’s mind to give up on his future to take revenge for a non-blood-related little sister he had known back in childhood.
Not only that, but it wasn’t in the Mirror World, where murder was common. It happened on Earth, in South Korea, no less, with good public security. He had truly given up on everything in every sense of the word. It was beyond thoughtless.
I wonder... if he thought of her as family? Seo-Yeon wondered.
They might have been more affectionate with each other because they grew up together in a children’s home. She wondered if there was an unbreakable bond between them, which no amount of time could break.
“A brother... and sister, huh?” Seo-Yeon mumbled as she stared blankly at the main exit where her brother had left the building.
***
Seo-Gyeong’s expression changed instantly after leaving the Empire State Building. His rage was gone, and he was now completely emotionless as if he had put on a mask.
“Good. With this, not even El Chapo can demand shit from us.”
He was shocked to hear Seong-Hwi had a first-class murder license issued by Kang-San, but result-wise, it was to his advantage.
“It sure is difficult to play the good big brother,” Seo-Gyeong mumbled as he smirked.
His eyes under his glasses turned fully black momentarily and returned to normal. He went into a deserted alley, and a man fell like lightning in front of him. He had brown hair and legs as long as a track athlete.
“Horse, progress report,” Seo-Gyeong said.
“Everything’s smooth sailing, Rat. The foxes are strong, but what can they do when they’re severely outnumbered? Kekek!”
The man who appeared before Seo-Gyeong was codenamed Horse, the seventh member of Clan Earthly Branches, a small clan comprised of twelve members. However, no one looked down on Earthly Branches because all twelve were Semi Rankers.
The man before Seo-Gyeong was Thoroughbred, alias Tempest Horse, 793rd in the human ranking.
“Tell Snake, Goat, Monkey, Dog, and Pig that the plan has to be moved up.”
“Whoa, whoa. We’re already hunting all night and day,” Thoroughbred complained as he scratched his head.
Seo-Gyeong replied with a sunken voice, “We’re still weak. Clan Earthly Branches is not yet mainstream. Do you want to go back to the old days, Thoroughbred?”
“Well... no, but... Dammit, fine! I guess we can’t even take breaks anymore,” Thoroughbred mumbled as he vanished from the deserted alley.
Seo-Gyeong, left alone, fell into thought.
Lee Kang-San has the divine beast, Black Tortoise. That’s why he’s so strong. We need something just as strong that we can control!
He knew of someone who had a divine beast and another who had a mythical beast with immense potential.
If I make good use of them... he trailed off in his thoughts, smiling widely.
“My little sister, you’re truly a treasure to me!”
***
A battle broke out on the outskirts of Pollon Nest, the birdfolk metropolis in the southwest region of the third zone. Although the third zone had recently stabilized, Chaos attacks were commonplace. Lapang-rank Chaos, which one could occasionally see in the first zone, were common here alongside the few Segal and Adora-rank Chaos.
However, it was tranquil further inside Pollon Nest. As one would expect from a birdfolk city, it was filled with extremely tall buildings. Various birdfolk with wings on their backs flew across the skies.
They believed the higher one lived, the higher their status. Powerful birdfolk were guaranteed rights to the skies and were allowed to soar the skies unrestricted. Hence, those who flew closer to the ground were weak, and those who soared high in the sky were strong.
Although birdfolk were deemed an inferior race by normal standards, they believed they were an intermediate race. Their confidence was founded since their caliber was the highest among the inferior races.
The birdfolk, known for their pride, tended to envy those with more beautiful, larger, and more powerful wings. Hence, they were not ashamed to be the angels’ subordinate race. Rather, they found it an honor.
“You saw Master Seriel?”
“Chirp! Of course! You should’ve seen those manly and cozy-looking wings!”
“Ahhh! What I wouldn’t give to be embraced by his wings!”
“Since he had six wings, he must be a fourth-grade angel, right?”
Various birdfolk voices mixed, entering the ears of Seong-Hwi sitting by the window.
A fourth-grade angel, huh? Then he must be a Dominion, he thought as he turned his head to look at the room.
It was a very tall room with perches around the ceiling where birdfolk could sit. The floor had comfortable chairs resembling nests, which his teammates who had reached this city from Kabuka’s mansion through a warp gate were sitting in.
“Greetings. I am Kwan Hoi-San, a Black Market marketer and the manager of the Pollon Nest branch. It is an honor to be your guide,” the virtuous-looking Asian man, who was the only one standing, bowed excessively to each team member. He continued, “As you’ve likely heard from the Clan Leader, Black Market will be joining the undead in the dungeon excavation. You all know what undeads are like, right?”
Everyone nodded. The undead were the walking dead. People normally misunderstood that the undead were immortal, but that was not the case at all. They were difficult to kill, but could still die. Rather, some had clear weaknesses.
The undead were the demons’ subordinate race. It was rumored that Doom, the former number one in the undead ranking, willingly offered the undead Race Stone to the Second Fiend, Curiositas, in exchange for becoming a demon.
No one knew what kind of magic Curiositas cast, but Doom did indeed become a demon, and several other undead were reborn as demons after. Even Gula, a demon World Ranker who led Cadaver, used to be an undead ghoul.
The rise in status incited great desire in the undead; they could become a demon, a superior race, by heightening their caliber and becoming stronger. Hence, the undead became known as a race that unconditionally coveted power.
“I’ve met one before. They tried to kill me. They’ll do anything for Karma,” the overweight African man said.
Hoi-San nodded. “That’s right. They are a greedy race. Hence, they will not be happy to see that you are participating in the dungeon exploration.”
Dungeons were a treasure trove; it was only natural they wouldn’t want to share it with anyone.
“And you can take advantage of that chance,” Hoi-San continued.
“Chance?”
“Yes. Accompany them initially, and make up some excuse to separate from them. I’m sure they would welcome it.”
“Then pretending to give up on the exploration because of injuries should be good.”
“That’s a good idea, but so is suggesting we split up as a vanguard and rearguard.”
The others discussed ideas. They were not aiming to clear the dungeon; after all, a party of only ten humans could never clear an S-rank dungeon. It was best to separate from the undead and search for the Elixir that Kabuka desired. Instead of risking their lives for a dungeon quest they weren’t even sure they could clear, it was far more practical to aim for the guaranteed one billion Coins.
Hoi-San smiled as the party members discussed among themselves and said, “You will enter the dungeon in three days. Why don’t you all spend that time polishing your teamwork and sharing your position and skill characteristics?”
The party members looked around at each other and nodded. Whether they wanted to or not, their lives depended on one another once they were inside the dungeon.
***
Seong-Hwi broke the ice first by jumping down from the window frame.
[Operating Wings of Evolution.]
[Five Wings.]
The Wings of Evolution sprouted from his back. He leisurely flew around the room and landed gracefully.
“I’m Cheon Seong-Hwi. As you can see, my position is wing. I’ll immediately provide backup anywhere that needs it.”
“Haha, just don’t backstab us, my friend,” said Enrique, the blond man with green eyes.
Seong-Hwi shrugged and replied, “Looks like I gave off a terrible first impression. Now that we are in the same party, I will devote myself to the party.”
“As you should. I’m Enrique Vidal, and my position is volante. I’m a standard finder, so I suppose I should get along with you. I’ll be in your care.”
Volante, meaning steering wheel or rudder, dealt with detection and scouting in the vanguard. It was a dangerous position, hence support from a wing was crucial.
The scrawny and temperamental-looking middle-aged man in glasses with brown hair and beard spoke, “I’m Gardner. I used to be a lighting coach for Broadway. I’m a healer and naturally an interno. I’m a little worried that this party doesn’t have a designated keeper.”
Interno, meaning interior, generally referred to support positions.
As Gardner complained, the overweight African man showed off his round shield. “Haha! Don’t worry, man. I’m Nakivarro, a sweeper. I can’t handle multiple positions like him, so please understand,” he remarked as he pointed at Leo with his chin.
Leo said concisely, “Le-Yeyo. I will fulfill my duty as a stopper.”
A red-haired, well-built man with brown eyes said cheerfully, “Yo, friends. Call me Frank. I’m a simple cursore, so put me to work however you like.”
Cursore, meaning laborer or worker, referred to highly active attackers.
“Yuri Nazakov. Crack attacker,” said the man with slicked-back white hair and ferocious blue eyes.
The crack position charged into enemy formations to form cracks in them for the party to exploit. Although power was important for the position, having just as strong a mentality was required because it was close to committing suicide.
“Alright! All that’s left are the ladies!” Enrique said as soon as Yuri finished his introduction, smiling charmingly.
The Southeast Asian woman wearing a cone hat made with dried leaves summoned her D Weapon. It was the M1903 Springfield with no scope, a bolt-action sniper rifle.
“Hehe, I’m Khanh Huyen, a raumdeuter. You’d better stay on my good side. Each of my bullets will save a life.”
Raumdeuter, meaning space interpreter, was an ultra-ranged attacker.
Next, a blonde woman with freckles introduced herself shyly, “I’m... Sonya Gerhard, a complete attacker. I’ll be... in your care.”
A complete position referred to conjuration attackers who were skilled in melee, ranged, burst, and other kinds of damage.
Everyone focused their attention on the last person—the petite, short-haired woman in skinny jeans and a black windbreaker.
“Onie Yuki, commander. In the dungeon, my orders are absolute. Defy them, and I will turn you into a mannequin.”