IH Ch 66

Chapter 66

His face was so disfigured that there was no trace of what he originally looked like, and wearing nothing but a pair of underwear made the sight all the more repulsive. Jae-i hadn’t stripped him—he had simply tumbled and crawled around, trying to avoid being hit even once more, and his clothes had been torn and stripped off in the process. It must have been a desperate effort on his part, but Jae-i didn’t care.

Now thoroughly beaten and tied to a chair with chains and leather straps found in the warehouse, Chairman Jang whimpered and groaned. But when he met Hwang Jae-i’s gaze staring straight at him, he hiccupped. A man who had lived his whole life without ever paying mind to others was now sobbing with each hiccup. Crocodile tears were disgusting no matter when one saw them. Resting his chin on his hand, Jae-i slowly opened his mouth.

“I don’t mind if you say I did it.”

Chairman Jang flinched, staring at Hwang Jae-i with fearful eyes.

“But the moment you do, the time bomb in your head will go off.”

“……”

It might have sounded like a joke, but Chairman Jang knew better than anyone that it was the truth. Because even now, he could hear the ticking of a clock inside his skull. Tick, tick. The steady, rhythmic ticking made his face turn deathly pale.

“Even if you spout nonsense, it’ll still go off. There’s only one way for you to survive this.”

“……”

“You have to tell me everything—who’s backing you, what they made you do, every single detail. Only then will that clock stop and disappear on its own.”

And the mana stone embedded deep within Chairman Jang’s brain couldn’t be detected through any ordinary inspection. It would only melt away once he confessed everything as Jae-i had instructed.

“You can go on keeping your mouth shut for the rest of your life. But that ticking will never stop—it’ll stay with you until the end.”

“……Hhhph, mmph!”

It was already annoying enough as it was. The thought of having to live the rest of his life with that sound, never knowing when it might explode, would turn each day into hell.

Once he confirmed that all the critical information from Chairman Jang’s computer had been transferred, Jae-i rose slowly to his feet. Chairman Jang, still dripping with snot and tears, looked at him desperately, muffled whimpers escaping as he stared at Jae-i. His eyes were filled with the desperate plea to save him, to get rid of that cursed ticking in his head. Jae-i opened his mouth.

“You’ve killed a lot of people.”

“……”

“I don’t see why scum like you shouldn’t be killed.”

He couldn’t understand why, just because someone was a Hunter, he wasn’t allowed to kill garbage like this when it was right in front of him. Honestly, he wanted to blow the whole place to bits. But if anyone would notice, it’d be Ahn Yuna. And he didn’t feel like getting nagged about it later. Still, leaving scum like this alive would probably gnaw at him.

Maybe it really was better to wipe everything out clean, so it’d never bother him again.

As if reading Jae-i’s thoughts, his phone vibrated on the desk. He could have ignored it, but then remembered he’d used that same phone to contact the guild earlier, so he reached out.

Chairman Jang didn’t try to stop him as he turned with the phone in hand. That was because he’d seen it—seen the heavy, simmering bloodlust in Jae-i’s eyes just moments ago.

The ticking in his head, the pile of subordinates stacked like trash in front of him, the sponsors who would now turn their backs on him because of this, all the crimes he’d committed over the years—it was all a mess. But despite it all, he still wanted to live. Biting down hard on the sock stuffed in his mouth, Chairman Jang panted raggedly.

Outside the warehouse, Jae-i finally answered the persistently vibrating call.

[Where are you right now?]

He thought he’d get an earful the moment he picked up, but Ahn Yuna sounded surprisingly calm. Maybe it was because the damage was already done and she didn’t want to waste energy getting angry.

“I’m on my way back from giving that Chairman Jang bastard a lesson.”

[…]

Ahn Yuna said nothing. Or more precisely, she might not have known how to respond.

From morning until now—over half a day—Hwang Jae-i had gone completely off the grid. He’d erased all traces of himself and moved in secret, making it impossible even for someone like Ahn Yuna to track him.

Which meant, while he was off the radar, she’d been left alone to worry herself sick. And then, after all that, he suddenly called to issue a strange order and later sent a brief message summarizing what had happened, ending it with, “Clean up the mess.”

This time, she would’ve been entirely justified in quitting on the spot. So when she picked up the call just now, he expected to hear her say, “I’m resigning.” But unexpectedly, she was quiet.

Eight out of ten reasons Ahn Yuna tended to speak a lot were because of Hwang Jae-i. Which is why, when she was quiet like this, it made him uneasy. Wondering what was going on, he waited silently, until she finally spoke in a brisk tone.

[I’ve already dispatched people to the location you mentioned. They’ll assess the situation and take care of it. We’ve also pinpointed Chairman Jang’s base, so we’ll be sending people there as well. As for the matter with the mana beasts, that’ll require a separate investigation—but based on what you said, it might have been orchestrated by Pungjin. Looks like they released the beasts because they couldn’t locate you. They probably wanted to stir up trouble related to you no matter how.]

“……”

Her tone was more businesslike than usual, which made it hard to just give a short answer and hang up.

Was she that angry? Well, considering the serious events that had unfolded since the morning, she must have had a lot on her plate.

…Maybe he should at least apologize. That uncharacteristically thoughtful idea crossed his mind when Ahn Yuna suddenly added,

[All of a sudden, Haeseong Group got involved with the situation related to Pungjin.]

“…Haeseong?”

A completely unexpected name.

Haeseong, unlike other conglomerates, had never clung to or interfered with Hwang Jae-i. That had always been his impression. And now, out of nowhere, they were getting involved with Pungjin?

“Did I get hit with a lawsuit from their side?”

[I thought so too, but apparently not. They’ve been aggressively attacking Pungjin for illegal overseas stock trades and signs of kickbacks. They’re churning out article after article like they intend to bury Pungjin completely. Maybe because of that, all the stories about the Guildmaster have vanished.]

“……”

[Thanks to that, we caught a breather—but who knows when the tide might turn again, so I’m not letting my guard down. Most of all, we’ve got a ticking time bomb named Hwang Jae-i on our side. Why don’t you try disappearing for three full days next time? Don’t worry a bit about your guild members dying from overwork while you’re at it.]

Her voice was as bright as if she’d added a laughing emoji at the end, which somehow made it even more uncomfortable.

Jae-i gazed blankly across the empty field, the low hills, and the night sky beyond them, then finally spoke.

“I’ll head back right away.”

He didn’t apologize. But perhaps just saying he was coming back was enough, because Ahn Yuna let out a long, deep sigh.

[……Well, this whole thing was, in my opinion, really cowardly and despicable. After exploiting your name for so long, now that they’re at death’s door, they act like this—it’s just trash behavior. Even if the Guildmaster is cold-blooded, it doesn’t mean he’s immune to being hurt.]

“……”

[Next time, at least say something before you disappear. If you go quiet without a word, how are we supposed to know what kind of mess you’re stirring up for half a day?]

Maybe she’d calmed down. She sounded more like her usual self, rattling off various complaints. And since he had indeed been in the wrong, Jae-i listened quietly.

[But even if you come back here now, it won’t be of any help to the Guildmaster. Honestly, staying hidden might be better.]

“……”

[While you’re there, why don’t you handle the cleanup yourself? Or at least thank Haeseong for once.]

He still didn’t know why Haeseong had suddenly stepped in, but there was no denying that it had benefited him. And when she hinted that she’d try to open a connection with them, Jae-i didn’t refuse. Seeming satisfied, Ahn Yuna said she’d call again later and ended the call.

Jae-i fiddled with the phone in his hand for a moment, then crushed it and incinerated it completely. After watching the shards fall, he took a step forward.

Perhaps because the people from the guild hadn’t arrived yet, the village was quiet. But as soon as the young men’s leader and the others who had climbed the mountain saw Hwang Jae-i, they came running. Though they approached eagerly, the leader hesitated when he finally stood before Jae-i.

“…Guildmaster, we saw some suspicious men in the mountains and managed to capture two of them. They’re locked up in the warehouse now, but they don’t seem to be affiliated with Chairman Jang.”

“……”

“We’ll take care of them ourselves. We’re not asking the Guildmaster to do anything, we just…”

“Members from our guild will be coming. Hand them over to them.”

“…From Jae-i Guild?”

“They’ll handle things in the village. Speak with them.”

There wasn’t much else to say. The guild would erase all traces of Hwang Jae-i from this village. Along the way, they’d also take care of Chairman Jang’s problems and those who had brought the mana beasts. Once that was done, the village would return to silence.