Chapter 21: One head smashed, two heads smashed (4)

I came to the Hero Guild.

Since that guy Yoo Ji-ho might try to back out for the sake of his guild, I made sure to thoroughly search the hideout and secure all the evidence.

They’re trying to calm me down by even offering me a ride and seating me in the VIP room.

“The guild building lives up to its name, I suppose.”

“Does it?”

Well, it’s better than the Seolhwa Guild.

At least there are plenty of places to destroy.

What if I take down each person in the respawn field?

Of course, that’s only if they refuse to hand over this guy, Kim Gi-tae.

“So, what do you suggest?”

“What are you referring to?”

Isn’t it obvious?

“Surely, you’re not planning to back out now, right? I have a contract here that clearly ties the Hero Guild to all of this. And you’ve got quite a capable subordinate, Kim Gi-tae.”

I showed Yoo Ji-ho the documents I secured from the hideout.

While it bears Kim Gi-tae’s personal signature, the Hero Guild’s seal is clearly affixed to the front.

In short, no matter the circumstances, I could tie the guild into this mess.

“That fool did it out of revenge.”

“Then why should I be the one targeted for revenge?”

He tried to defile the body the goddess bestowed upon me, so I just crippled his arm.

I was perfectly justified.

So why should I be the one subject to revenge?

“It would be better to resolve this calmly through dialogue.”

Calmly?

I am calm.

In fact, I’m in quite a good mood right now.

I wiped out the entire Silver Lightning Gang, so this is no big deal.

“I am very peaceful. I could hand over all this evidence to the Control Bureau and screw you over, though.”

If the Control Bureau gets involved, it’ll get quite annoying for you, won’t it?

“What do you want?”

“Give me that crippled arm guy.”

I’ll crush his skull.

Smash it to bits.

“What? Can’t you show mercy just this once?”

“I already showed mercy by letting him off with just one arm, didn’t I? And now the Silver Lightning Gang comes to my house in the night to kill me?”

So what should I do?

They tried to kill me, so I’ll have to kill them.

“But thanks to that, you were able to capture the Silver Lightning Gang and get a reward.”
Is that really what you’re going with?

Yoo Ji-ho, you’re really terrible at negotiating.

“I got the reward, sure, but if I hand over this evidence, don’t you think the Hero Guild will still be criticized for harboring someone like Kim Gi-tae? Why are you so eager to defend him?”

I really don’t understand.

Why are you even defending him?

What’s he worth to you?

Surely the guild doesn’t need him.

“There will be repercussions, no matter what happens.”

“If this evidence gets out, your guild’s reputation will be ruined in an instant.”

“I can make sure the issue with the Tower doesn’t get out of hand.”

The Tower issue?

Are they planning to join forces with other guilds to block me?

“You don’t seem like the type to just give up. After all, I intended to claim the Tower for myself, and I doubt you’d let that go.”

“We might take a loss, but the Tower—”

Even if your lips are crooked, speak truthfully.

Do you think I don’t know what you’re plotting?

I crossed my legs and stared coldly at Yoo Ji-ho.

“That’s not it. I know your type, Guild Master. You won’t move personally, but you’ll let other guilds act. And if they block me later, you’ll just say it’s out of your hands and join in with them, won’t you?”

It’s so obvious.

They won’t move themselves, but they’ll watch while the other guilds do.

I gain nothing from this.

What a lousy deal.

Yoo Ji-ho let out a deep sigh at my words.

“So, you really insist on taking him? Is that what you’re saying?”

This guy doesn’t seem to get it.

“Think logically. A guy like him will just cause more trouble, right? Isn’t it better to deal with him now before things get out of hand?”

I’m not doing this for nothing.

I find it annoying to have to keep going around smashing people’s skulls.

I learned that much from my experience in the other world.

The stupid hero kept sparing the enemy, showing mercy, which led to countless troubles.

In the end, I had to secretly crush their skulls while the hero looked the other way to finally stop the vicious cycle.

It’s exhausting.

You can tell just by looking at him.

That crippled arm guy is the same type.

He won’t even acknowledge his own faults and will just seek revenge till the end.

That’s why I need to stop him now before it becomes a bigger hassle.

“I’ll try to talk some sense into him.”

Talk sense?

As if a guy like him would ever listen.

I shut my mouth and stared at Yoo Ji-ho, making it clear that this negotiation ends with me taking Kim Gi-tae.

“…..”

“Do you really want to push this to the end, even knowing what this means for our guild?”

“Yes.”

The guild is the guild, but I need to see this through.

“…I still can’t hand him over.”

“Is that so? Well, then, it can’t be helped.”

I decided to take out my mace.

I started it, so I’ll just activate the respawn field and beat them up, like that bald guy and the old maid.

Eventually, they’ll confess everything. In the process, beating up Kim Gi-tae is just a bonus.

“But…”

“But?”

I put the mace back.

These guys only seem to understand when I take out my weapon.

“From now on, our guild will not conduct any investigation or raise any suspicion regarding whatever happens to Kim Gi-tae. Even if there’s an incident within the guild, we will no longer be involved.”

In short, they’re abandoning Kim Gi-tae.

I get it—they still need to save face as a guild.

They can’t hand him over directly, but whatever happens outside the guild isn’t their concern.

I felt a bit sorry for Yoo Ji-ho.

Because of one bad guild member, he ended up in this mess.

Well, I can overlook a mistake this time.

“Fine. Oh, but one more thing.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“If something like this happens again, next time, it’ll be this guild’s turn.”

I tapped the floor with my mace.

Yoo Ji-ho swallowed hard.

He’s smart enough to know that opposing me would be a bad idea.

After all, I’m the one who cleared the Wraiths all by myself.

I’m no longer dealing with small fries like the Gargoyles from the lower floors.

Even Yoo Ji-ho must know, as a guild master, that he may not lose personally, but his guild could be completely destroyed.

“I understand.”

“Oh, one more thing. Sorry about that.”

“Yes, what is it?”

“Judging by your reaction, Kim Gi-tae is here, right?”

From the look on his face, it was obvious he had spoken with Kim Gi-tae already.

So, that guy is hiding somewhere in this building, trusting Yoo Ji-ho to cover for him.

In that case, there’s only one answer.

“Yes.”

“Send him out when the time is right.”

“W-wait a moment! You mean right now?”

Yeah, I’m going to kill him the moment he steps outside.

“What are you talking about? As the guild master, you’re just ‘sending him home.’ The rest is up to me, don’t you think?”

You’re just dismissing your guild member.

After that, you won’t know anything about what happens.

“…Alright.”

“And I’ll keep this evidence with me. Can’t trust the hunters, can I?”

Yoo Ji-ho’s face contorted visibly.

If he’s upset about it, he’d better treat me right in the future—that’s what I’m implying.

*

After sending the self-proclaimed saint away, Yoo Ji-ho finally let out a sigh of relief.

This is truly the worst.

I had to get rid of Kim Gi-tae anyway, but not like this.

And now, they have leverage over me.

Our chances of tackling the Tower of Destruction are gone.

That woman—she’s someone who’ll take everything she can and give nothing back, a demon in disguise.

Eventually, she’ll stab us in the back and finish us off.

For now, it’s best to avoid her.

‘Well, it’s just one guy anyway.’

After all, isn’t this Kim Gi-tae’s fault?

There’s no reason to risk the guild’s future over him.

Pride aside, I can’t protect him.

And as for that woman, it’s best to stay far away from her.

“Guild master, how did it go?”

Kim Gi-tae emerged from the guild master’s office, looking nervous as he scanned his surroundings.

Clearly, he’s afraid.

Who on earth let a piece of trash like this into the guild?

I hadn’t been paying attention to the guild recently, and this is what happened.

Come to think of it, maybe that nun is actually doing me a favor by taking care of him.

“Everything’s fine. You can go home now.”

Of course, the guild master wouldn’t abandon him.

If they handed him over to that woman, the Hero Guild would lose face entirely.

High-ranking guilds are high-ranking for a reason.

They have their pride, their responsibilities, and their reputations to uphold.

No matter whose fault it is, handing over a guild member to someone who humiliated us would be the ultimate disgrace.

But something feels off.

I thought there’d at least be some disciplinary action.

“Am I getting kicked out of the guild?”

“That’s not even worth considering.”

So he’s not kicking me out.

That’s a relief.

Yoo Ji-ho cares about his guild members after all.

Feeling reassured, Kim Gi-tae finally smiled.

“Understood. I’ll make sure nothing like this happens again.”

“You idiot.”

“Sorry? What was that?”

“Nothing. Your arm must hurt—get some rest.”

Kim Gi-tae was curious about what the guild master had said at the end, but whatever.

He had other things to do now.

As Kim Gi-tae walked home, holding his arm in a cast, he muttered to himself.

“That bitch. She really took down the Silver Lightning Gang? Should I hire an assassin?”

It didn’t matter to him whether the self-proclaimed saint had taken out the Silver Lightning Gang or not.

What mattered was that he had been humiliated.

And not just him—he was a member of the Hero Guild, one of the top guilds in Korea.

And he had been disgraced by some cult woman, of all people.

Now, videos of him getting beaten by a nun were all over the community, and he was being mocked by guild members he had once looked down upon.

No matter how strong that woman is, it doesn’t matter.

Because of her, he was being ridiculed, called ‘the guy who got smacked by a nun’ and ‘the guy with the crippled arm.’

People were making fun of him, mostly mocking and jeering.

Still, the fact that the guild master had let him go meant things had been settled on the guild’s end.

That means next time, he’ll hire an assassin—not the Silver Lightning Gang, but someone else.

“Just wait, you bitch.”

He was determined to kill her.

Or, if not, at least make her suffer as a woman.

Her body wasn’t bad, after all.

He’d do whatever he wanted with her, make her his sex slave, cut off her limbs so she couldn’t resist—it’d be fun.

Thinking about that, he continued walking home.

Rrrrrrrrr.

A sound like heavy metal scraping along the ground echoed from up ahead.

“Found you.”

A chilling woman’s voice followed.