Chapter 103: Opportunity to counterattack

“Release the barrier. If you do it now, I’ll kill you without pain.”

The executive, Son Himgyeol, stared at Baek Soyoon.

He knew exactly who she was.

No, it wasn’t just him—there were probably fewer people who didn’t know who that woman was.

“Baek Soyoon, First Elder of Artemis…”

Baek Soyoon was infamous within the Artemis Guild for taking on all the dirty work.

Her reputation as a slaughter-crazed battle maniac was practically common knowledge among civilians.

But each time she acted, all evidence and witnesses vanished like ghosts.

That’s how she had avoided punishment and continued her rampage.

“Sir… what should we do? That’s First Elder Baek Soyoon. I think we should run.”

“Wait. She’s already seen our faces.”

The Artemis elder had gotten involved.

Did that mean Artemis was already aware of what was going on?

And if so, how much did they know?

Did they know everything about the Yoo Hee-yeon stalking case?

Or did she come here for an entirely different reason?

He had to find out.

-BOOOOOM!-

Another explosion thundered in from a distance.

Baek Soyoon was furiously trying to break the barrier.

Son Himgyeol stepped up toward her.

“First Elder Baek Soyoon of Artemis, is it not? To what do we owe the honor of your visit?”

Baek Soyoon grinned coldly from beyond the barrier and spoke.

“Break this thing. Then we’ll talk.”

“That’s a problem. If I break it, you’ll kill me right away, won’t you?”

“Quick on the uptake, huh?”

Her voice was playful, and she chuckled lightly.

But Son Himgyeol felt chills crawl across his entire body.

He could already picture her tearing him limb from limb.

-Gulp-

He checked the barrier again.

There were cracks forming all over, but it hadn’t broken yet.

‘Right… even if she’s an Artemis elder, she can’t destroy this thing alone.’

The barrier was created using artifacts crafted by top-tier mages and master blacksmiths.

It was a masterpiece, designed to withstand even elite-level threats.

It was unthinkable for a single person to break it down.

Son Himgyeol struggled to control his trembling body as he asked,

“Is there someone inside you’re looking for? If someone you know is here, First Elder, I’ll make sure they’re not harmed. Please, let go of your anger.”

He feigned concern while trying to gather information.

Right now, the most important thing was whether or not Baek Soyoon knew the truth about the Yoo Hee-yeon stalking incident.

“Hmm…”

Baek Soyoon thought for a moment, then answered.

“Lee Hyun-seung. He’s the only one I’m interested in.”

‘F*ck…’

A curse nearly escaped his lips, but he held it back.

The fact that she hadn’t come because of Yoo Hee-yeon was a relief.

He’d worried that she’d already figured out the truth and had been lurking nearby.

But that wasn’t the case.

Still, she had come for Lee Hyun-seung.

And the worst part—Son Himgyeol was about to kill Lee Hyun-seung.

“….”

Son Himgyeol went silent for a moment.

Baek Soyoon stared at him coldly and spoke in a chilling tone.

“So, Lee Hyun-seung was your target, huh? Why? Why are you after him? Did something happen between him and Hilleon?”

–Flinch

He hadn’t said a word, yet she had hit the mark.

Baek Soyoon had fought against tens, hundreds, thousands of people.

Her ability to read someone’s reaction while they spoke and grasp the situation instantly was a skill honed through countless battles.

“Wh-what are you talking about? Of course not. We’ll make sure not to lay a hand on Mr. Lee Hyun-seung, so please just leave.”

“Cut the bullsh*t.”

–Szzzzzzzzt

Baek Soyoon placed her hand on the barrier.

A powerful electric shock exploded from it, slamming into her arm and pushing her hand back.

The nauseating smell of burning flesh filled the air.

But Baek Soyoon didn’t even flinch at the sight of her own hand cooking in real time.

“I don’t know why you’re after him, but go ahead and try. Let’s see who gets there first—me, killing all of you, or you, killing Lee Hyun-seung.”

She wasn’t smiling anymore.

–Ssshhk

She poured a potion over her charred hand, quickly healing it, and then stepped back.

Then, she released a wave of mana and shouted.

“Don’t think this barrier will protect you forever. If you’re going to move, you better move fast.”

–BOOOOOOM!–

“This thing’s about to shatter, isn’t it?”

As her horrifying voice rang out, another deep crack split across the barrier.

“F*ck… Mobilize all personnel. We’re going in.”

Son Himgyeol decided there was no retreat now.

He was already cornered.

If that was the case, he’d kill Lee Hyun-seung first and deal with everything else later.

The man gave the order through his communicator, summoning every remaining operative.

–Tat tat tat tat–

From all directions, Hilleon’s “Numbering” guild members began storming into Broad Academy.

The “Numbering” members weren’t considered full-fledged guild members.

They were slightly lacking in power, but each was still a deadly weapon—more than capable of obliterating ordinary mages or swordsmen.

Kwon Young-seok, the subordinate who had been standing next to Son Himgyeol, spoke up.

“Sir, First Elder Baek Soyoon already knows who we are. It’s only a matter of time before word spreads that this was an operation carried out by the Artemis Guild. Even if we kill Lee Hyun-seung, suspicion will fall on us.”

“Fck… You think I don’t know that? You want us to just retreat without killing him, even after she found out he was our target? After one of our executives already died? You know exactly what kind of punishment I’ll face if we go back like this, and you’re still spewing that sht? Shut your mouth before I tear it off. That’s your final warning.”

Kwon Young-seok shut his mouth and ran.

The Numbering members were now fanning out across the entire area.

How far had they gotten?

When they reached about the fifth floor, Kwon Young-seok pulled out an artifact and spoke again.

“Executive Shim Jaewook’s last life signal was cut off somewhere around here.”

This was the last place where Shim Jaewook’s life had been detected—the place where he died.

Which meant it was also where Lee Hyun-seung had been.

–Ssshhk

And there, Shim Jaewook’s corpse lay.

Bullet wounds riddled his head and body.

Son Himgyeol’s expression turned grim as he saw the scene.

“This is…”

Kwon Young-seok followed Son Himgyeol’s line of sight with a puzzled look.

All he saw was Shim Jaewook’s shredded corpse.

They already knew Shim Jaewook was dead.

So why was his superior reacting like this?

Unable to understand, he looked at Son Himgyeol in confusion.

Son Himgyeol spoke.

“You f*cking idiot… You don’t see anything odd about this? All of the wounds are from bullets. There are some signs of a beating, but the fatal wounds were all caused by gunfire. That means Lee Hyun-seung’s combat strength is at least on par with Shim Jaewook’s. The problem isn’t whether he had help. That guy is strong.“

Son Himgyeol stared down at the corpse, lost in thought.

‘Just how the hell…?’

Guns were never mainstream weapons in this world.

That was because people could protect their bodies using mana.

To defend one’s body with mana was the same as wearing dozens of centimeters of bulletproof armor.

Armor so thick it should’ve hindered mobility—but in this case, it didn’t.

It was like wearing absurdly thick body armor that didn’t slow you down at all.

Yet Lee Hyun-seung’s bullets had penetrated even that.

‘What kind of monster is this guy…?’

Lee Hyun-seung was watching Son Himgyeol from a hidden vantage point, as the man stood there, staring blankly at Shim Jaewook’s body.

Instead of fleeing, Lee Hyun-seung had stayed behind to wait for the remaining remnants of Hilleon.

He had determined that engaging the enemy after identifying their positions was far more efficient than being caught off guard by enemies who could pop out from anywhere.

For reference, Han Seong-gil had been moved elsewhere with the headmaster.

The headmaster had no energy left after protecting the students.

Han Seong-gil had pushed his berserker trait to the brink ever since the last class annihilation match and had now pushed his body so far that he couldn’t move anymore.

‘There are more of them than I expected.’

The number of Hilleon members who had invaded was no small handful.

At a glance, it looked like at least twenty of them.

He had expected they would send a lot, but this was more than anticipated.

Still, it was fine.

They didn’t know where Lee Hyun-seung was yet.

‘Hoo…’

Having the chance to land the first strike meant fighting with a massive advantage.

No matter how many enemies there were, that wasn’t the issue.

Especially for someone like Lee Hyun-seung, who specialized in ranged combat.

–Ssshhk

From a shadowy corner, Lee Hyun-seung quietly loaded his gun.

‘Son Himgyeol…’

The man currently commanding the entire operation.

It was clear that, at least in this situation, Son Himgyeol held the highest authority.

If Lee Hyun-seung took out the head, the rest of the group would likely fall apart.

A simple prediction.

[Amplify]

Lee Hyun-seung slowly aimed the barrel of his gun at Son Himgyeol.