Chapter 88
Chapter 88
Click.
The sound of the door handle turning echoed.
Baek-wol felt that the rhythm of the handle turning was different from usual.
The woman he knew always turned the door handle with a consistent rhythm.
However, today, that rhythm was slightly off.
As the door opened, a woman dressed entirely in black, as if for a funeral, entered.
It was Cheonbyeon.
Baek-wol politely bowed to greet her.
Cheonbyeon barely acknowledged his greeting and went to sit down, crossing her legs.
“Are you sure no one knows?”
Cheonbyeon asked.
Given the grave nature of Heuk-wol’s death, Baek-wol immediately informed Cheonbyeon.
And she had rushed to South Korea as soon as she finished her business.
“Yes, there was truly no sign that anyone knew. I was careful to verify it multiple times.”
Baek-wol responded.
“Is it certain that he doesn’t know?”
“That’s hard to tell. You instructed us not to approach him carelessly, so we didn’t surveil or attach anyone to him.”
The person Cheonbyeon referred to was Lee Si-hyun.
From the moment she thought she discovered Si-hyun’s identity, she had warned Baek-wol to avoid contact.
Baek-wol had faithfully followed that directive.
“Hmm.”
Cheonbyeon crossed her legs and narrowed her eyes, lost in thought.
If the South Korean government truly had no clue…
Baek-wol had enough credibility to be trusted.
If he had verified it carefully, it was likely true.
And if Kang Tae-eun’s hidden identity had been discovered as Heuk-wol, there’s no way the South Korean government would remain silent.
There surely would have been some reaction.
Then, could this be a case where something happened purely by coincidence?
“I don’t know.”
Cheonbyeon leaned back in her chair and muttered.
If the South Korean government was unaware, it was highly likely Si-hyun didn’t know either.
If Si-hyun had realized Kang Tae-eun’s true identity was Heuk-wol, there would be no reason for him to keep quiet.
During their last meeting, they had exchanged goodwill, but that wasn’t a binding vow.
Knowing of Kang Tae-eun’s identity, it wouldn’t be hard to figure out that Black Cross was involved in his escape.
Given that Si-hyun was affiliated with the government, it would have been normal for him to report such a fact.
Helping a serial murderer escape was well beyond any tolerable limit.
Yet, he had not done so.
So, was it really a case of inadvertently encountering and killing him without recognizing his identity?
“A coincidence, huh? A coincidence.”
Cheonbyeon muttered, as if questioning herself.
What a stroke of fate it was that Si-hyun was nearby where Heuk-wol was about to go on a killing spree.
She believed that most coincidences hid underlying causes.
However, in this case, there seemed to be nothing hidden.
Baek-wol maintained his silence, waiting for her thoughts to conclude.
After a moment, Cheonbyeon spoke again.
“Baek-wol.”
“Yes?”
“Forget about the Heuk-wol matter.”
If things hadn’t turned out so absurdly by running into Si-hyun and getting killed, Heuk-wol could have continued to operate without a hitch.
Since he had completely changed his appearance, it was possible.
But with his death came the revelation of his identity as Kang Tae-eun through his fingerprints.
It was an incident that could not simply be overlooked in the organization when someone like Heuk-wol perished.
Sometimes, it was necessary to show what happened when one recklessly interfered with a Black Cross member.
That was how the name of the organization instilled fear.
Moreover, this was not even an average member but one of the precious ten elite assassins.
Yet, this time it was different.
With the South Korean government ignorant of Heuk-wol’s identity, stirring things up would reap no benefits.
There was also the risk of it being revealed that Black Cross assisted in the escape of a death row inmate.
Moreover, Si-hyun was not an easy opponent to deal with.
No, he was someone you had to be seriously prepared to confront.
“I understand.”
Baek-wol answered without hesitation.
From the start, his thoughts aligned with Cheonbyeon’s decision.
Their reasoning to arrive at that conclusion merely differed.
Heuk-wol was someone who had broken Cheonbyeon’s repeated pleas to refrain from casual murder.
His end came while committing a private kill driven by his base desires.
There was no reason for the organization to intervene or take action over the death of such a person.
“Good, go take care of your work.”
Baek-wol bowed his head and disappeared like a ghost.
◈ ◈ ◈
Si-hyun was informing another release candidate about Yangji Guild.
He felt like one of those bothersome street preachers spreading religion.
Or more like the leader of a cult.
He could sense the feeling of each new member being added, feeling reassured and proud.
The Yangji Guild had grown enough to start taking shape.
Though still just a bit over ten members, mostly D-rank and E-rank, it would gradually include more C-ranks as well.
That would certainly make it better than a small guild.
But Si-hyun’s goal was far beyond that.
B-rank and A-rank.
That’s where Si-hyun’s gaze was fixed.
Having superior hunters was essential to build the proper strength Si-hyun envisioned for the guild.
And to do that, he needed to find a way to work in the ward where B-rank or higher hunters were incarcerated.
If everything had gone smoothly, it might have been tough.
But fortunately, he had just made a significant contribution and ranked up, making a proper impression on the Warden.
That would greatly assist in being assigned to the desired position.
“Chief, I’m going to fetch some supplies.”
As he walked toward the duty room, the duty officer came out and said that.
Currently, the Duty Chief and Assistant Duty Officer Si-hyun had a peculiar relationship.
Their ranks were the same, and the Duty Chief had more years of service.
He was also older.
Yet, this time, Si-hyun had become a candidate for special promotion.
An Assistant Duty Officer who would soon outrank him.
Even Si-hyun could guess the awkwardness from the Duty Chief’s perspective.
From Si-hyun’s viewpoint, he just had to keep doing his job as usual and be polite.
After all, it was customary to respect older officers, even if they rose in rank.
But from the Duty Chief’s perspective, it was different.
While he hadn’t treated Si-hyun rudely, he was in a position where he had to issue commands to those below him.
But now, Si-hyun was about to rise in rank.
It was natural that he would have to treat Si-hyun with more caution and hesitance in issuing commands.
Even now, he was the one saying he’d go fetch supplies.
Normally, he would have instructed Si-hyun to do so.
“I’ll go.”
Si-hyun said as a courtesy, but he knew there was no way a response like that would be necessary.
“That’s okay. I was going to see about something else in the office as well.”
“Is that so? Understood. Safe travels.”
The Duty Officer exited through the ward door.
Left alone, Si-hyun sank deeply into his chair.
It was already 4 PM.
The day was nearly over.
Si-hyun closed his eyes.
With minimal focus, there were no issues in the ward.
It wasn’t an overstatement to say the inmate order controlled by the Iron-Blooded Guards was perfect.
As Si-hyun rested with his eyes closed for a moment, they suddenly popped open again.
‘Now that I think about it… is everything really fine?’
Since Kang Tae-eun’s demise, there was one thing that weighed on his mind.
Black Cross.
He had already killed two C-Class assassins.
And although he hadn’t directly killed A-Class assassin Heuk-wol, he was in the midst of circumstances where it could certainly be thought he did.
Having asked for anonymity, his real name hadn’t been released to the media, but with the intelligence capabilities of an organization like Black Cross, they could not possibly be unaware of his involvement.
Yet, strangely enough, it had been so quiet.
Of course, it was best if nothing happened at all, but the oddness of it nagged at him.
There was no way to know the exact reason.
He could only speculate that they were perhaps mistaking him for some S-Class Awakened Being.
In any case, it seemed clear that he must have accrued significant enmity with Black Cross.
Naturally, it was expected given their continued collisions.
It felt strange.
Before he grew stronger, he didn’t want to get entangled with Black Cross.
He wanted to go on living without much concern for them.
Yet, strangely, he kept getting tied deeper.
“This is ridiculous. Ridiculous.”
Si-hyun closed his eyes again.
◈ ◈ ◈
He was a death row inmate.
And today was the execution day.
Having finished his last meal in the morning and written his will, he tried to clear his mind and remain calm, but fear and trembling did not subside.
The execution bus was about to arrive.
The prison where Zheng Xiong was incarcerated was small and didn’t have an execution chamber.
The execution would take place on the bus via lethal injection.
Originally, the death penalty was by firing squad, but due to excessive cruelty and inhumanity critiques, the Chinese government had changed the law to enforce lethal injection for civilians.
However, it wasn’t an execution bus that came, but a black sedan with heavily tinted windows, making it impossible to see inside.
The correctional officers forcibly placed Zheng Xiong, bound by handcuffs and ropes, into the car.
“W-where are we going?”
Zheng Xiong asked in a voice trembling severely.
“Just shut your mouth; we’re going to the execution site.”
The correctional officer said as he closed the car door.
A man, seemingly a public security officer, sat in the back seat and connected Zheng Xiong’s handcuffs to his own.
It was to prevent any escape attempts.
Then, he blindfolded him with a black cloth.
“Uh….”
“Shut up.”
The public security officer glared chillingly.
Zheng Xiong bit his lip and stayed silent.
He had heard that usually on execution days, death row inmates were treated with unusual kindness.
It was a last courtesy for someone about to die.
But today, the atmosphere felt awfully off.
The car started moving.
With his eyes covered, he couldn’t tell where they were going.
He also had no idea how much time had passed.
Not being able to see fueled his terror of the impending death.
With trembling limbs, Zheng Xiong fidgeted uneasily.
His stomach churned, and he felt nauseous.
How long had it been?
The car finally came to a halt.
The public security officer forced Zheng Xiong out and led him somewhere.
It felt like a long walk.
Eek.
“Get in.”
After unhooking Zheng Xiong’s handcuffs and loosening the ropes, the public security officer pushed him inside.
Thud.
The sound of the door closing echoed.
Once freed, Zheng Xiong removed the cloth covering his eyes.
Gradually, his sight returned.
He looked around.
He was enclosed in a space surrounded by dark, dreary walls.
It was too spacious to call a room, more like a warehouse.
“Uh?”
Zheng Xiong noticed someone was there.
A man was seated against the wall.
As he approached slowly, Zheng Xiong realized he was a young man.
The man was gazing at Zheng Xiong with a look of unfulfilled desire.
“Uh… sir? Who are you?”
Zheng Xiong stammered, asking.
“Someone who’s going to kill you.”
The man replied succinctly, causing Zheng Xiong’s eyes to widen in shock.
◈ ◈ ◈
“…not enough.”
The man said.
“Not enough. Not enough. NOT ENOUGH!”
His voice rose increasingly until he finally screamed.
Next to him lay the mutilated corpse of what used to be Zheng Xiong.
Eek.
The door opened, and someone cautiously stepped in.
It was the public security officer.
The officer, surveying the man’s mood with extreme caution, took Zheng Xiong’s body away.
To incinerate it.
Once cremated, there would be no evidence left behind.
Since it was a death row inmate without family, incinerating him would essentially make him vanish from this world.
Creak.
The door opened again.
But this time, the entrance was calm and unperturbed.
A tall man with a pleasant smile walked in.
“Young Bayan, what’s got you so grumpy?”
The newcomer said with a grin.
Bayan, the man who had just murdered Zheng Xiong, was actually the Face-avoidance Technician Bayan.
He was also a man tangled in relations with Si-hyun.
He was almost always driven by urges to kill.
It was almost impossible to suppress them.
So, he periodically abducted death row inmates to let loose his frustrations.
This was possible because Bayan’s father was a high-ranking official in the Communist Party and the head of the Hunter Association.
“Ka-shir, here to tease me?”
Bayan replied in an annoyed tone.
They referred to each other not by their birth names but by the names from that other world.
And they preferred those names much more.
As a result, others around them also called them by their otherworldly names rather than their real ones.
“No, no. Just curious,”
Ka-shir said without changing his smile.
He almost always had that expression.
“Curious, huh? Ka-shir, you know? This just isn’t enough!”
Bayan shot him a questioning look.
“Well, you know, I’m planning to head to South Korea this time.”
Ka-shir referred to South Korea as “Namjo-seon” instead of Korea or South Korea.
He still viewed Korea as a subordinate state rather than an equal nation.
“South Korea?”
Bayan’s eyes lit up.
“Exactly. But I heard you had some unfinished business in Namjo-seon. So, I came to check in on you.”
“I do, indeed. There are some people I desperately want to kill.”
Bayan had never failed to eliminate the individuals he intended to kill, especially after something in Korea created a desire to finish them off.
But he had absurdly failed due to Lin Xue’s interference.
Insignificant little creatures had survived against all odds, coming away with too much luck.
He couldn’t stand that he hadn’t killed them over time and longed to butcher them one by one.
Yet, he was held back by Lin Xue’s watchful eye.
His father, too, was signaling him to be restrained due to Lin Xue.
Thus, he had been forced to bottle up his anger.
But now Ka-shir had brought it up.
“Then you should go. Don’t you think?”
Ka-shir said with a smile.
“I want to. But Lin Xue….”
Bayan involuntarily flinched at the thought, trailing off.
The memory of the dead body, the monster woman who had read its memories and smashed her way through a sealed gate, haunted him.
The fear of being magically subdued just before death was deeply ingrained.
Even now, simply recalling Lin Xue made him shudder.
“No need to worry. Lin Xue’s scary, sure. A terrifying woman, no doubt. But she went to New Zealand for travel; what could she possibly know about South Korea’s affairs?”
“What if she finds out later….”
“Would she really be that careless in her work?”
“Ah, no… I don’t mean that….”
“Let’s go together, so what?”
Ka-shir repeated.
Bayan began to lean toward that idea.
Though his fear of Lin Xue hadn’t faded, the desire to eliminate those people in Korea was too strong.
The thought of killing them made his heart race with excitement.
“…Yeah, let’s go. Let’s go.”
