Pwaah-rrrr!

A few seconds after the massive explosion erupted from the power plant.

The shockwave rolled all the way to the road. Trees swayed, the car chassis lurched, and the windows rattled wildly. It felt like a typhoon was tearing through.

Go Byeonggap stared with his jaw hanging open at the scene beyond the window. You know that saying, my mind went blank? That was exactly it.

A pillar of fire shot skyward, as if a missile had struck. Was that what happened?

‘No way.’

A thought flashed through his mind. It was only natural that the ‘Power Plant Attack Incident’ came to him—the flow of consciousness was instinctive.

What should he do? His hand reached for his phone out of habit.

He dialed 119, erased it, dialed 112, then switched back to 119—a stupid loop he repeated two or three times.

‘No.’

The report would’ve already gone in by now.

So what now? Should he just watch the fire for a bit and head home?

His hand, gripping the phone, trembled faintly.

“Ah, screw it!”

Go Byeonggap yanked the wheel to the right. He pulled over onto the shoulder, grabbed his sword from the trunk, and took off running straight toward the flames.

It wasn’t a rational or calculated decision. This was the moment to let instinct take over.

With every stride, the fire loomed closer. He sprinted mindlessly for minutes until he reached the wall surrounding the power plant.

He leaped, scaling the five-meter barrier in one go. Just then, as if on cue, another explosion erupted from a different plant building.

Boom!

“Goddammit!”

The deafening roar made him clamp his hands over his ears reflexively. A scorching shockwave followed, washing over him like a tsunami.

“They had guards posted, and this is the kind of shit that happens?!”

He spat curses as his eyes swept the complex. All he saw were dome-shaped concrete buildings.

He shifted focus from sight to sensation.

‘The other side.’

Multiple presences registered from the opposite direction, not this one. And yeah, that’s where the flames were shooting up too.

Just as he was about to push off the ground, he pulled up short.

His head turned unconsciously. Eastward. Nothing was visible there yet, but something loomed.

‘Presence. Fast.’

A barely perceptible trace. At most, one or two figures. They were speeding away from the chaos in the opposite direction.

Their pace was relentless.

It struck Go Byeonggap that he was witnessing a thief slipping away. He shoved aside all the tangled thoughts and spun around.

‘Shit, what if it’s really the culprit?’

Hesitation hit him late. According to reports, the culprit was at least S-rank. Not some random thug or half-assed terrorist.

‘They’re non-lethal types, so maybe I won’t die?’

Ironically, the thugs who’d attacked the power plant, despite their insane actions, hadn’t hurt anyone.

Of course, people got hurt in the fighting—caught in explosions or caught in collapses across the development complex. But I’d never once heard of anyone actually being killed by one of those thugs’ blades.

These stray thoughts churned as the mysterious presence drew uncomfortably close.

‘…What? He’s not dodging me?’

If this presence really was one of those thugs—and if those thugs were the caliber of fighters the rumors claimed—then the bastard would have sensed Go Byeonggap by now. But he wasn’t backing off or trying to flee.

Go Byeonggap’s lips curled into a vicious grin.

He ripped his sword free and slammed his foot against the ground. The presence was closing fast.

Right on top of him now. Just past that intersection—

Phat!

“Huff!?”

It happened in an instant. A figure cloaked in black materialized within a blink, blade already mid-swing. Too fast to register, too silent to warn—a killing stroke without a whisper.

A man could die under that sword and never know what killed him.

But Go Byeonggap wasn’t some green kid. He’d already had his sword out, and now he threw the blade up in a desperate parry.

A heavy impact shuddered through his arm. His eyes swept the opponent in a flash. A mask hid the face completely.

Then his gaze dropped to the blade.

‘…The flat of the sword?’

Swinging the flat when the edge was right there. At this point, the picture was crystal clear.

‘This bastard’s looking down on me.’

“Hyaaah!”

He hurled his sword sideways with brutal force. The thug was knocked back, helpless against the raw strength.

The thug twisted midair, landed with composure, and reset his stance. His whole body flinched. Then he tilted his head in confusion.

‘Why is he so small?’

Go Byeonggap furrowed his brow. The full-body cloak couldn’t hide a frame that dwarfish.

The thug was nearly as tiny as Tiny and his crew. And the single-edged sword in his hands was comically huge.

“Kill bounty: five hundred million. Alive: one point five billion.”

“…?”

“Don’t die on me, friend.”

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

An enemy was an enemy—baby-faced or wrinkled, made no difference. Go Byeonggap only saw a stack of cash.

His sword came crashing down like a beast’s forepaw. The thug hurriedly brought his own blade up to block. Strength met strength—even at first. Then the balance tipped.

Go Byeonggap poured out more Internal energy. The thug’s arm—still clutching that massive greatsword—began to tremble.

“Ghhhk!”

“What’s wrong? Not what you expected when you picked a fight?”

“Tch!”

The thug artfully bled the force away, flowing like water as he twisted out of reach. From Go Byeonggap’s angle, his opponent had simply vanished.

That retreating motion looked like he was trying to cut and run.

‘Who said you could leave?’

Go Byeonggap shot forward like lightning, lunging with a front kick. The masked figure somehow managed to block with the broad side of his blade but went flying from the impact.

“Kyaa! Kkeuugh…”

Slammed into the wall inches away, the masked man let out a groan.

His voice was youthful—thin and reedy.

‘That sounds like a girl’s voice. …No, more than that, why’s he this weak? Or did I get that much stronger?’

Honestly, that kick was just a feeler—a probe to gauge his reactions. He’d expected the guy to brace and had already lined up a follow-up, but that preparation felt pointless now.

And he wasn’t even using his full strength.

Just as the unease began to settle, the masked figure staggered upright. Then coughed up blood.

“Kkeulkeok!”

A clotted stream of blood drooled from under the mask. Looking closer, a pool of it had already gathered at his feet.

There was no way one kick should cause that kind of damage. Which meant—

‘He’s already taken a real beating.’

How many hunters had been mobilized to guard the power complex? They’d all been bloodthirsty to catch this bastard.

‘Sorry to the guys who did the marinating—I’ll take the last bite.’

Go Byeonggap channeled internal energy into his sword. The energy coalesced into solid form, shaping itself into a massive hammer.

His plan was to shatter the guy’s legs. Without that, capture wasn’t realistic.

He closed the distance in an instant and swung the hammer in a wide arc. The figure tried to dodge, of course, but the trajectory had already accounted for it.

Left with no choice, he attempted to block again—and the result was brutal.

Crack!

“Kkeuueuk—kyaa!”

The figure flew like a baseball off a bat and crashed down, smashing through a concrete structure before finally stopping.

“Kkeulkeok!”

He lay there limp, like a half-dried squid. Up close, he looked even smaller, even more wrecked. Through the gap in his torn cloak, a body covered in wounds was visible.

It was almost a miracle he was still alive.

Did that make Byeonggap feel pity? Fuck that.

These were the bastards who’d pulled the crazy stunt of attacking a power plant in the first place. They had this coming.

Go Byeonggap raised the hammer to smash the figure’s legs. Right at that moment—

Boom!

“What the fuck!”

One of the nearby power units exploded. A pillar of crimson fire shot up as a wave of scorching heat slammed into him.

“Goddammit!”

He spread his energy forward, shielding his body from the heat. Through squinted eyes, he kept watching the masked figure.

Leave him there and he’d cook. If he died, that’d be a problem.

That half-hearted concern barely lasted a moment. A second masked figure appeared and scooped up the limp one.

“What the—where did—euk!”

Then, immediately after, a third figure appeared and kicked Go Byeonggap square in the side. He went tumbling in the direction of the kick.

‘Damn it. The sword….’

In mid-flight, he lost his grip on the blade. Just as he scrambled to rise, the thug planted a foot on his arm and chest.

‘Khak! This bastard looks like a kid too — where does he get this strength…!’

It was embarrassing to admit, but he couldn’t move an inch. It felt like a mountain was crushing him.

The thug raised the sword. The tip aimed straight for Go Byeonggap’s throat. The massive greatsword shot down without a shred of hesitation.

‘I’m — dying —!’

“Don’t kill him!”

A sharp, shrill shout rang out of nowhere. The voice belonged to the girl he’d first fought.

The blade stopped a hair’s breadth from Byeonggap’s Adam’s apple. The thug sheathed the sword with a sour look, then, without mercy, drove a fist into him.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

“Kheuk!”

That wasn’t a fist — it felt like an iron club. Byeonggap’s eyes rolled back as the blows kept coming. Only then did the barrage stop.

“…….”

Satisfied that Go Byeonggap was unconscious, the thugs turned without delay. It took them only a moment to vanish from sight.

Left alone, Go Byeonggap.

The man they thought was out cold stirred. His trembling arm swept through the air as he mumbled.

“…an… ancient… store.”

* * *

The three masked figures moved swiftly, their legs working hard. They followed the winding mountain path, putting distance between themselves and the development complex.

“Ugh……”

“Hold on a little longer, Alpha. The Master will be here soon.”

Omega, who was carrying Alpha on his back, spoke with a worried voice. Alpha had no strength left to answer from the pain. He just bit down on his cloak hem and swallowed his groans.

Beta, running alongside them, muttered in a voice heavy with worry.

“That guy back there — we should’ve killed him.”

“Don’t you know what happens if we kill someone who wasn’t designated? The Master won’t let it slide.”

“But! Look what he did to Alpha!”

“Alpha was already badly hurt. He got caught in the trap.”

Beta let out a groan, then blurted out a question.

“Anyway, didn’t that guy seem familiar? I swear I’ve seen him somewhere before.”

“Don’t care. Remembering anyone other than the Master and you guys… huh!?”

“Hk!?”

Omega and Beta turned their heads at the same time. Something was chasing them at an incredible speed.

The Master? No, she didn’t appear this way. And this wasn’t the meeting point they’d agreed on.

“What the hell! I made sure we cut all our tails! Could it be that guy?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. We saw him pass out.”

“He’s fast. At this rate, he’ll catch up.”

Beta drew the greatsword from the scabbard on his back.

“You take Alpha and go ahead. I’ll handle this.”

“You need to hurry.”

“Got i—”

Beta wanted to tell him not to worry. But before he could, something hurtled out of the darkness.

It was a mass of condensed energy—massive, terrible.

“Ugh!”

Beta barely parried the sword aura. A monstrous shock rattled up through the sword’s hilt.

Sadly, that was only the beginning. From the distant dark, a man came flying in, trailing a flash of light.

“Think you can knock a guy around and just bolt? If you’re going, you’re paying the toll first!”

“Kkhk!”

“Hand over four-point-five billion!”

It really was that man from before!

He closed in at an unbelievable speed and unleashed a savage barrage of sword strikes.

High, middle, low—those divisions meant nothing. When the man swung his sword once, blades erupted from every direction.

“Ah!”

For an instant, Beta left himself wide open.

It was barely a fraction of a second, but the man didn’t miss the chance.

Five brutal slashes crashed into Beta’s body.

“Keuhak!”

The man finished with a kick that slammed home.

Beta flew over thirty steps in the direction he’d been kicked. Blood splattered everywhere.

Omega stopped mid-stride and stared at the scene, hollow-eyed.

‘B-Beta… brought so low?’

He couldn’t believe it. He’d never seen anyone with such overwhelming power—except the Master.

‘Is that really the same guy from before?’

It was strange. Same face, but the atmosphere was completely different.

“A… a ghost…”

The mysterious aura radiating from the man was utterly chilling. If ghosts were real, they’d look exactly like that.

Just then, the man’s golden eyes flashed as he glared their way.

“You little bean-sized bastards. I spent 700,000 crystals because of you, so don’t expect to leave nicely.”