Chapter 36: Chapter 36

Even if someone was deserving of death, the psychological tendency to hesitate when the moment to kill that person finally arrived is part of being human.

Yet, Lucia’s actions showed no hint of reservation.

Unlike Kang Jin-hyuk, who intended to go easy on the opponent, she moved with evident murderous intent.

She finished her target off with a single strike.

Kang Jin-hyuk did not believe that it was in Lucia’s nature to kill without hesitation.

He recalled how recently Lucia had lamented her circumstances in the dungeon.

Perhaps, her life had been more difficult than he had thought.

Feeling a sudden pang of sympathy, Kang Jin-hyuk shared a fact he had observed just moments ago.

“It didn’t go up at all.”

“What didn’t?”

“Your karma value.”

“When I killed that guy?”

“Yeah.”

As expected, Lucia muttered in a noticeably lighter tone, “I should burn this place down while I’m at it.”

“Are you sure it’s okay to burn down your own home like that?”

“Home? This is just a temporary place I set up because I didn’t have anywhere else to stay.”

At a glance, it looked more like a tent than a house.

While it might be fine to stay here for a day or two, anyone asked to stay for over a month would certainly be shocked.

After packing up anything useful, Lucia led Kang Jin-hyuk outside.

“So where do we stay now? There can’t be many places to live within this dungeon.”

“Is that you worrying for me, huh?”

True to her words, Kang Jin-hyuk pretended not to care, but in reality, he was genuinely concerned for Lucia.

In his view, no matter how strong she was, it seemed impossible to find peace in a place where monsters appeared at any moment.

“Should I at least rent a room for you?”

“Are you going to ask me to live at your house? That’s going too far.”

Lucia’s thoughts did not include the option of living outside the dungeon from the start.

“If you live in a place with such poor air quality, I doubt you’ll last very long.”

She would rather deal with monsters than share a house with a man she feared.

This was her second reason for rejecting the idea.

“I already have a place in mind. I plan to stay there for the time being.”

“What about necessities?”

“Huh? You can just bring them from the outside.”

“It’s settled then; you’re definitely going to use me as a lackey.”

“Of course. You’ve started to realize that, haven’t you?”

“What? That I have to be your errand boy?”

Lucia waved her head lightly.

“What I meant was that we aren’t going to cut ties with each other in just a few days.”

Returning to her original goal of getting back to her world, while it hadn’t become any less urgent, didn’t mean it had vanished.

Nevertheless, she had also prepared for the worst-case scenario.

Given that she might have to spend time in Kang Jin-hyuk’s world, adapting required his cooperation.

Kang Jin-hyuk, on the other hand, needed Lucia’s power to resolve the incidents occurring in his world more smoothly.

“Now that I think about it, it seems we’ll have a long way to go until this is over.”

What had started with him investigating Kang Jin-hyuk’s hidden skills had unexpectedly turned into a matter requiring digging into the underbelly of a massive organization.

Contemplating the unforeseen difficulties, he couldn’t help but chuckle to himself.

“I have a rough idea of what needs to be done to raise karma, so it’s probably fine to just cut ties here…”

Lucia found herself in conflict internally.

From her perspective, what happened outside didn’t particularly concern her.

However, after hearing the story from Choi Seo-hoon, a sense of foreboding crawled up her spine like a thorn embedded in her throat.

Even if it was an occurrence happening in another world, it was normal to be disturbed when faced with such behavior up close.

“Are you planning to let it go just like that?”

“Are you asking if I’d let it slide?”

Kang Jin-hyuk couldn’t overlook the recent incident after everything that had occurred.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

In comparison, the misdeeds committed by other major guilds over time felt like mere child’s play.

“I’ll find this Alraune or whatever and burn them to ashes.”

A flower that fed on humans should not exist.

Just as they needed to wipe out monsters from this world, it was only right for such flowers to disappear too.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? I’ve heard that the opponent is not someone to be trifled with.”

“It might be tough. But I’ll do everything I can.”

Kang Jin-hyuk spoke resolutely as he pulled out his phone from his pocket.

* * *

The leader of the Titan Guild, Seo Sang-ho.

His secretary had watched him quietly for a long while and concluded he was quite a shallow person.

Not behaving like a typical guild leader, he often strode about aimlessly, meddling in other affairs.

Unless a significant issue arose, he would usually keep a constant grin on his face.

To put it positively, he was a nice guy; negatively, he was a fool.

Given his character, it was quite rare for him to display such a grim expression, as if he were about to devour someone.

After hanging up a phone call, Seo Sang-ho sat in silence for a while.

The secretary reached out first, fearing he would crush the phone in his hands.

Seo Sang-ho, having his phone snatched away, ran a hand across his face and let out a deep sigh.

“I’m going insane.”

The secretary didn’t ask what happened.

It would be counterproductive to spark anger in someone who was already on edge.

Instead, she brought him warm water and tea.

Seo Sang-ho sat on the sofa and accepted it, taking a sip.

As the quality tea’s taste embraced his throat, he began to calm down.

Only after gathering his thoughts did Seo Sang-ho finally open his mouth.

“Have you heard of the Alraune’s cult?”

“No, that’s my first time.”

“Ah… It’s normal not to know since it’s an item the association is making efforts to conceal.”

Due to its extremely unethical manufacturing methods, it was classified as confidential worldwide, with knowledge of its existence limited to a small number of S-rank hunters.

Seo Sang-ho found it strange that someone of Kang Jin-hyuk’s C-rank would know about such confidential matters.

He couldn’t have accessed any materials through the association with his ranking.

In reality, he would likely not have heard its name unless he had encountered it directly.

‘Does that mean it’s all true?’

Seo Sang-ho was reluctant to believe it.

He was well aware of how obsessed the Tyrant Guild was with gaining power and how excessively aware they were of the Altron Guild.

But he had hoped that, as one of South Korea’s top guilds, they wouldn’t stoop so low as to tarnish their reputation.

Reality, however, was different.

The leader of Tyrant was a madman who sacrificed people for his own growth.

‘A piece of trash that can’t even be called a hunter is sitting at the top of the guild!’

Feeling revulsion at the realization, he clutched his head.

After a moment, he finally managed to look up.

“Is it unreasonable to go back to Korea now?”

“No, not yet. We haven’t finished the hunting request.”

“Damn it…”

He was itching to confront the Tyrant Guild head-on, but Titan’s power lagged behind.

Currently, Seo Sang-ho himself was also abroad on a mission.

If he broke the contract and returned, he would have to pay a huge penalty.

Given the guild’s finances and credibility, that was out of the question.

Seo Sang-ho couldn’t afford the reckless actions expected of him as the guild leader.

Yet standing idly by was against his temperament.

“From this moment onward, we’re in a hostile relationship with the Tyrant.”

“What?”

His secretary was taken aback by his sudden declaration.

Declaring a hostile relationship meant that they intended to invade a territory that had long been mutually respected.

It was a statement that they would no longer make any trades or exchanges.

“Engaging in that would lead to massive losses.”

“It’s okay. I’ll forge alliances with other factions instead.”

“Wait, what do you mean…”

Realizing his intentions, the secretary’s voice trembled.

“Yeah, right now, propose an alliance to the Altron Guild.”

Seo Sang-ho’s statement was the most shocking the secretary had heard to this point.

For a large guild like Titan to declare enmity against the Tyrant and join forces with Altron was tantamount to shaking the very balance that had been maintained until now.

It could mean the beginning of a bloody storm in the country.

“Are you serious?”

“Have you seen me speak nonsense?”

She almost unconsciously said ‘yes’ but managed to hold her tongue.

Usually, when he was smiling, he spoke only nonsense. But when he appeared serious like now, it was different.

“Of course, I’m not saying we should announce it right away.”

“Then?”

“Send researchers to the designated location, and if they uncover anything suspicious, that’s when we announce it.”

Seo Sang-ho received his phone back and searched for an address using a mapping application.

The place he had specified appeared utterly inconspicuous on the map.

Though the secretary didn’t grasp her leader’s intentions, she refrained from opposing him.

She believed it was her duty to follow through with whatever orders the guild leader issued.

“How many researchers should we send?”

To that, Seo Sang-ho extended three fingers.

“Three people?”

“No, thirty. Half of them should be A-rank.”

The secretary instantly shredded her past perception of being a counselor.

“If that’s the case, you should rather just declare war.”

“Why? We’re not trying to start a war.”

“Sending thirty people, including fifteen A-rank hunters… you don’t think that would seem like a declaration of war?”

“If this Alraune is genuinely being cultivated there, then we need that many people.”

“What on earth is that?”

“Best if you don’t know. Don’t pry.”

Seo Sang-ho firmly cut her off, knowing she would only dig deeper into an already nebulous discussion.

All she could do was sigh softly as she operated the tablet PC in her hands.

“Allocate thirty individuals. Ensure that at least half are A-rank hunters, understood?”

Checking her orders resulted in a rising dread for the secretary.

“Understood. But the demands keep getting worse.”

“Can’t be helped. After all, our opponent is the Tyrant.”

“You knowingly maintain orders knowing they are the enemy?”

“Because there’s no one else who could do this if it’s not me.”

Other guilds lacked the courage or resources required to contend with Tyrant.

Out of the few large guilds that could challenge Tyrant, only Seo Sang-ho was bold enough to take action.

‘Kang Jin-hyuk must know as well, or else he wouldn’t have contacted me.’

Kang Jin-hyuk approached him only to corroborate the simplicities of the situation.

However, Seo Sang-ho thought that if Tyrant was genuinely raising Alraune, he did not intend to simply affirm the truth.

They needed to deliver a strong punishment to those unrestrained.

“We have to wrap this up as fast as possible.”