Chapter 351

Chapter 351. Victory Report (7)

“Is it over?”

“… Yes, it seems so.”

Rashar swallowed dryly, almost involuntarily.

She perceived an immense presence drawing near.

Her new god, having returned as confidently as promised, did not disappoint those who believed in him.

He had come back even stronger than before.

Observing the shredded clouds and the upheaved ground, denying that fact was impossible.

How long she had been watching the remnants of battle on the sky and earth was uncertain.

Twinkle, twinkle.

A golden light streaked across the sky, visible to her.

The light traced the direction towards where Rashar stood.

Soon enough, Hyunwoo, who had created the light, descended to the ground.

Facing him directly was a bit overwhelming for her, now that his past dark-brown eyes were gone.

Perhaps understanding her unease, Hyunwoo quickly suppressed his overwhelming presence.

He spoke in a calm voice.

“I’ve dealt with the legion commander. Let’s start the cleanup.”

“Yes!”

The association’s commander standing near Rashar turned with a bright expression.

His intention was clear, to inform the players standing by about the advance.

‘Here will be settled soon too,’ thought Rashar.

Despite borrowing Hyunwoo’s authority, it had reached its limit not to hunt the legion commander herself and draw out time.

As a result, there were players exposed to pathogens, and even with potions, the number of players suffering from wounds that didn’t heal increased daily.

It weighed heavily on her as if it was all because of her shortcomings.

But now, she felt she could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Rashar drew a deep breath of relief, then slowly gripped her sword’s hilt.

Anticipating the imminent advance, she intended to join the fray and lend a hand.

However, just before she took a step, her eyes met Hyunwoo’s.

His knowing gaze fixed on her, as if pondering something unknown.

Amid the silent pressure that felt like an unspoken demand, Rashar, unable to endure the tension, spoke first.

“Do you have something to say?”

“I do.”

Though it’s not really the place.

Hyunwoo, casually continuing, changed the subject.

“I’m going to head out right now, how about you?”

“Head out?”

“Well, both you and I are assigned to the legion commander. Now that it’s dead, we can head back. I’ve informed the command.”

He intended to stop by the Mexican front briefly before departing right away.

“If you have the mind to, you can come along. It’s more convenient to ride that guy.”

Hyunwoo glanced back, gesturing lightly, indicating Gilenios standing with one leg crossed.

“I’m not your ride! Is my authority something to use like that? Speak properly…”

Grumbling aloud, Gilenios expressed his dissatisfaction without reservation.

Before Rashar could respond, Dennis, who was in her pocket, flew out abruptly.

“Human! When can I go back? I’m sick of sleeping at a camp!”

“You have to tend to the injured. While I took care of the pathogens, there are still many critically injured individuals.”

At Hyunwoo’s words, Dennis’ wings drooped with dejection.

It had only been two weeks since Dennis, originally meant to be in the rear, was summoned here.

‘Fairy dream dust temporarily halts the pathogen timer.’

This was discovered amidst ongoing treatments aimed at achieving mental stability through dreams.

Summoned to the front lines with other fairies, they discovered that the dream dust also had an effect on otherwise irrecoverable injuries.

‘Though potions still didn’t work, the exact reason as to why recovery became possible remained unclear.’

The only hope for those with irrecoverable injuries was the fairies.

If they abruptly retreated from the front lines, the injured could become casualties.

“Do your part if you understand, fairy.”

“Eek, don’t call me that! I have a name, Dennis!”

“What a coincidence, I happen to be called Kang Hyunwoo.”

Finding Dennis’ resistance amusing, Hyunwoo raised his hand.

He formed a circle with his thumb and middle finger, then flicked it.

“Go do your job.”

“Ugh!”

And just like that, Dennis flew off with a faint sound, easily swatted away.

Afterward, Hyunwoo turned back to Rashar.

“Need more time to think?”

There was no particular attachment to Romania, so leaving alongside him wasn’t a problem if she wished.

As Hyunwoo mentioned, Rashar had been summoned simply to hunt and counter the legion commander.

Now that the legion commander was dead, she didn’t have to stay.

But…

“I’ll assist until the front is concluded and then return.”

Responding with a polite yet firm refusal, Hyunwoo gazed intently at Rashar for a moment.

Was it worry that she might use his authority, thereby wasting divinity?

Her new god, having returned directly on the first day, had already instructed minimizing authority usage.

Recollecting his words, Rashar hesitated before speaking.

“I won’t use your power. Even without it, I can at least reduce the number of casualties with my skills…”

“Huh.”

But before she could finish speaking, Hyunwoo exhaled sharply.

“I told you to restrain, not to refrain entirely. It would be problematic if you recklessly used it everywhere, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use it in a pinch.”

Otherwise, why was he staring so intently?

“It was just because I wished.”

She hadn’t spoken it aloud, but…

Seemingly recognizing her curiosity, Hyunwoo began to explain.

“I hoped you’d come along. To hear how you’ve been, what you’ve been up to, and talk a bit.”

“… With me?”

She didn’t say ‘why’, but…

“Because I missed you,” he said.

No matter, Hyunwoo continued with a subtle smile.

“It’s nice seeing you again.”

“Stay if you wish. I won’t stop you.”

As if indicating he had no other business, Hyunwoo turned away and called forth Gilenios.

“Let’s leave right away.”

Despite bearing a face full of dissatisfaction, Gilenios obediently drew a line in the air.

Immediately, Hyunwoo and Gilenios vanished silently beyond the parted space.

* * *

I hadn’t directly intervened much in either the Romanian or Mexican fronts.

At best, I cleaned up the legion commanders.

The rest was left entirely to other players.

‘Now’s the time to quietly gather divinity.’

Reorganization was essential for the next hunt.

Mind you, combat wasn’t entirely off the table.

I still possessed nearly ten million attribute mana, and an incomparably larger amount of general mana.

Yet, there was no point in me stepping up to consume mana needlessly.

Moreover, there was a more urgent matter than combat.

‘The distribution scale of Cratoll has gotten too big.’

With Sniper excluded, red flags appeared in the crackdown on Cratoll.

An individual who discreetly investigated original distributors and traffickers through the shadow attribute was now missing, it was only natural.

Because of this, even Lily explicitly mentioned the crackdown bureau, requesting support.

With my bounty hunter trait, they likely thought pulling me in would be helpful.

‘Captured players are extremely resistant, knowing capture by either the police or the crackdown bureau means the end.’

It was common for a mess to ensue when a gold badge clashed with another gold badge.

Edan’s police department and Sniper’s former crackdown bureau were becoming shunned entities among civilians.

Whenever they appeared, disruption followed, so it was a natural reaction.

Witnessing drug transactions or manufacturing sites rarely resulted in reports.

Those who reported risked the area becoming a mess, resulting in damage to themselves.

Meanwhile, cratoll manufacturers developed new types.

‘Initially, they only used cocaine, but now, there’s morphine, heroin, fentanyl, and numerous ecstasy variations.’

Cratoll numbers were assigned due to diversified release in various mixing ratios.

“There are up to 17 kinds now.”

Listening to Eisa, who temporarily replaced Sniper leading the crackdown bureau, left me at a loss for words.

‘I knew it was a bottomless pit, but this?’

I cycled through the familiar phrase ‘never-ending war’ as I pressed a finger into my temples.

“Um…”

At that moment, Eisa cautiously spoke up.

“You’ve heard about Mikhail… right?”

“Yes, I have.”

Contrary to my indifferent response, Eisa mumbled gloomily.

“I… I still can’t believe it. Why would Mikhail kill civilians… Do you believe the stories, K?”

Given that I arranged the matter, doubting it was not an option.

Of course, I didn’t intend to voice aloud that I had purchased Sniper’s services with divine water.

Instead, I stayed silent and focused on the data Eisa had given me.

Suddenly, I caught an unsettling anomaly that halted my reading.

Flipping through the paper files yet to be digitized, I lingered.

“This is strange…”

I whispered quietly.

“Right?! You think it’s strange too, K?”

Eisa immediately caught onto my hint and reacted without hesitation.

However, I hadn’t agreed with her thinking.

“There’s no way Mikhail would have…”

“Be quiet. It’s distracting.”

Reaching out to stop her, I doubled down on the documents causing my discomfort.

It resulted soon after.

Furrowing my brow, I asked Eisa.

“… Why are so many dealers dead?”

Barring several members associated with drug manufacturing, 90% of those dealing Cratoll are civilians.

‘Typically, the aim should be arrest.’

Accidents during pursuit can result in casualties or injuries.

However, traditional statistics indicated only 5% sustained injuries or died.

‘Yet, in the last 4 months, about 30% died?’

More troubling was the reduced volume of recovered and destroyed drugs post-dealer deaths.

Even with more apprehensions and shootings, why had drug quantities decreased?

‘4 months ago was when Sniper still managed the crackdown bureau.’

This realization sent a chilling sensation up my spine.

A signal born in the domain closest to instinct.

Ignoring such was not my intention.

‘Let’s start from the initial discomfort.’

Too many dealers had died for mere accidents.

Globally, the number of fatalities was 48.

‘Drugs those individuals died possessing are confiscated and destroyed by the association.’

Yet, the tally wasn’t as substantial as anticipated.

‘Were the drugs lost in retrieval? Or did something else happen?’

Tap, tap, tap.

After tapping the table lightly with my fingers for a while, I retrieved the accident reports attesting to dealer deaths.

Methodically confirming and cross-referencing them revealed the pattern.

‘Three individuals.’

All 48 fatal incidences involved the same three players.

They were affiliated with the crackdown bureau, players tasked with apprehending contacts on the field.

‘They planned to kill from the start.’

The probable goal…

‘Those bastards likely siphoned off drugs.’

In the worst-case scenario, the players themselves abused the drugs.

At best, the drugs were resold through illicit channels.

“Hmm…”

Why hadn’t anyone picked up on this?

‘Eisa is…’

Let’s say she’s clueless due to her focus on immediate goals.

She struggled with delving deep and collating incident nuances.

To compensate, that’s why Sniper, known for critical thinking, partnered with her initially.

Even if Eisa was unaware, Sniper would’ve known.

Yet, why had no action been taken?

“Dates align oddly…”

“Sorry?”

The timeline matched when Sniper was accused in the civilian murder case and removed from position.

Moreover, the timing coincided with the reduction in reclaimed drugs.

Possibly, had Sniper faced blowback before handling the issue?

“Hmm…”

The multitude of potential pathways from this realization interlinked to comprise countless possibilities.

Among the sprawling thoughts, one shone brightly.

“This, perhaps…”

I might find a way to extract Sniper from this mess.

Even as that idea solidified, I abruptly stood from my seat with urgency.

Damned System