Chapter 126: Into the Heart of the Enemy – The Trojan Horse

“Yoo Hee-yeon, listen carefully to what I’m about to say. During this upcoming labyrinth expedition, we are going to kill Lee Hyun-seung.”

Hearing Kim Hee-ra’s words, Yoo Hee-yeon doubted her own ears.

‘Kill someone…?’

Now it was confirmed that Lee Hyun-seung was not the culprit of the stalking case. He was an innocent person who had done nothing wrong. So, Yoo Hee-yeon thought she must have misheard.

“Mo-mother… who are you saying you’re going to kill?”

“Don’t make me say it twice. We’re going to kill Lee Hyun-seung.”

Kim Hee-ra fell silent for a moment, then asked in a voice full of disbelief.

“Didn’t you hate that kid too? If I said we were going to kill him, I thought you’d be excited and say ‘Got it.’ Why are you acting like this? Or did you somehow grow fond of him in the meantime?”

“Th-that can’t be…”

Yoo Hee-yeon thought.

‘All of this mess happened because of Lee Hyun-seung, so there’s no way I could have grown fond of him…’

She paused and thought through the situation.

‘Huh…?’

Now that she considered it, she couldn’t say Lee Hyun-seung was the reason her situation had fallen apart.

She had always naturally believed everything was his fault. But after his acquittal, everything had completely changed.

Lee Hyun-seung only wanted to clear his name from the stalking accusation, and even during the Class Extermination Battle, he fought fairly.

When the terrorist attack occurred at Broad Academy, he was the first to step up and protect people.

He also took the initiative to resolve the conflict between Artemis Guild and the Blacksmith Association.

‘Th-this is strange…’

When she thought about it, he had only acted to clear his name, and along the way had helped others.

He never used shortcuts or cowardly tricks, nor did he kill anyone without reason.

Even when it meant losing out, he saved those he could, and all his achievements were the result of his own efforts.

‘…’

Yoo Hee-yeon gradually realized what the discomfort in her heart was.

The reason she had called Lee Hyun-seung in the first place.

She partly understood it herself.

Everything had started because of her, and Lee Hyun-seung had only reacted.

In the end, Yoo Hee-yeon was the one who had pushed him, and conversely, it was Lee Hyun-seung who had saved her life.

‘I thought it was all because of him that I lost my power… that my father was disappointed in me… that my mother treats me like this…’

She had thought it was all because of Lee Hyun-seung.

But now, the clues were slowly coming together.

The root cause of all the problems was herself.

A foolish incident she had started had grown beyond control.

If only she hadn’t been so prideful from the beginning, if only she had believed his words that he hadn’t stalked her, things wouldn’t have gotten this bad.

“Mother… but do we really have to kill him? If any evidence is left behind, it might be hard to handle…”

After much thought, Yoo Hee-yeon spoke softly.

Then Kim Hee-ra answered coldly.

“Yoo Hee-yeon… Are you out of your mind? Don’t you know your grades and reputation have been completely destroyed because of that Lee Hyun-seung bastard? You’ve been punished multiple times and even pushed out of the successor position, and my reputation has been dragged through the mud because of you. Until a few months ago, we were being treated like trash just because of some unawakened commoner scum. And now you say there’s no need to kill him? No. Does killing a bug require a reason? When you kill a mosquito, do you consider multiple reasons before doing it? You just kill it because it’s a nuisance. That Lee Hyun-seung is a worthless trash who dared to get on my nerves, so he deserves to die. We’ll be extremely careful so no evidence is left behind. You just have to follow what I say later. Got it?”

“….”

“Yoo Hee-yeon, not answering? Are you not going to listen to your mother? My life has been ruined because of you, and now you want to escape alone? Because of that brat? You hate him too, don’t you? You want to kill him so badly you’re about to go crazy. Isn’t that right? Tell me it’s right.”

Yoo Hee-yeon stayed silent for a moment, then answered cautiously.

“You’re right, Mother… it’s all because of Lee Hyun-seung that we’ve ended up like this.”

Kim Hee-ra spoke with a satisfied expression over the phone.

“Finally, you’ve come to your senses. I know things are really tough now and you might be emotionally confused. The royal family said that bastard isn’t a stalker, but honestly, I don’t believe that. How do you think an unawakened lowlife suddenly gained power? He’s been spying on you. He copied your training methods and lifestyle to become stronger. Think about it. Without that, could he have gotten this strong in such a short time?”

Both Kim Hee-ra and Yoo Hee-yeon knew how absurd those words were. But Kim Hee-ra only needed a justification. A proper reason to kill Lee Hyun-seung, who had insulted and toyed with her.

And Yoo Hee-yeon also needed to rationalize things. Lee Hyun-seung was a perfect scapegoat to blame for her lost status, for losing her parents’ trust, and for all the chaos that had unfolded.

Kim Hee-ra said,

“The exact schedule for the labyrinth expedition isn’t set yet. They’re finishing purchasing weapons in bulk and making everything perfect before leaving. There’s still time until then, so don’t slack off on your training, and prepare for any unexpected situations. Until I say otherwise, don’t make any noticeable moves. This time, we’re definitely going to kill that arrogant bastard. He’s just a powerless idiot from Artemis Guild. I don’t know how he managed to control Baek So-yoon the Elder, but he won’t survive the labyrinth with only her. Gather as much power as you can too. Collect any tools you can use in emergencies.”

“I understand…”

-Click

Kim Hee-ra ended the call without even listening to Yoo Hee-yeon’s reply.

-Swish

Yoo Hee-yeon climbed onto her bed. She closed her phone and curled up, wrapping her body tightly.

-Drip
-Drip

Tears began to blur her eyes.

She couldn’t escape. This cycle of hatred and resentment would continue until someone died. Neither Lee Hyun-seung nor Kim Hee-ra had any intention of stopping. But she couldn’t step away from this relationship either. After all, it all started with her.

“I want it to stop…”

She was exhausted. Exhausted from hating someone, from plotting to hurt others, from navigating complicated interests and conversations.

In her empty room, she repeatedly pressed the phone buttons that no one answered, spending the night alone.

At Lee Hyun-seung’s house, he pondered his next steps.

‘Joining Artemis Guild was good. But I still don’t have enough power.’

Artemis Guild was widely regarded as the top guild in the country.

Just being able to enter it was an impressive feat. But even more surprising was that he wasn’t an official guild member.

Lee Hyun-seung was still an academy student and could not participate in guild activities as a full member.

Therefore, Yoo Han-beom granted Lee Hyun-seung the rights and position of an official guild member, but did not assign him the legal responsibilities that came with it.

In other words, Lee Hyun-seung enjoyed the privileges without the legal liabilities.

Normally, such special treatment was never given lightly.

But Yoo Han-beom felt both sorry and grateful for Lee Hyun-seung’s role in resolving the Kim Hee-ra and Yoo Hee-yeon incident, as well as the conflict with the Blacksmith Association, so he granted this tremendous favor.

Being framed as a criminal, barely escaping death several times, and covering hundreds of billions in losses—considering all that, it might seem like he got too little in return. Even if he had demanded more, Yoo Han-beom would have gladly agreed. But in the long run, that would have been a loss.

“I have to climb up on my own strength.”

Lee Hyun-seung’s goal was to gain complete control over Artemis Guild. To become the perfect successor whom no one would oppose. Beyond that, to become the guild master who fully owns the Artemis Guild as an organization.

Ultimately, Kim Hee-ra and Yoo Hee-yeon were just stepping stones. Lee Hyun-seung’s real goal was to seize the guild itself. To do that, it was important to gain enough recognition within Artemis Guild and reduce hostile factions.

If he accepted absurdly large privileges, internal resistance would arise, which could be a fatal error on his path upward.

“Well, I guess… this much is acceptable.”

No matter how much Lee Hyun-seung told himself it was okay, Yoo Han-beom insisted on giving him what he wanted, so Lee Hyun-seung took the chance to ask for what he needed.

• New Artemis guild members:

• Han Seong-gil, Jeong Eun-seo, Kim Yu-ri.

His request was to officially bring in his reliable allies Han Seong-gil, Jeong Eun-seo, and Kim Yu-ri into Artemis Guild.

Yoo Han-beom naturally accepted, and although unofficial, these members also received ‘authority’ within the guild just like Lee Hyun-seung.

Moreover, Lee Hyun-seung became the team leader in charge of them.

Since transferring with team members was common, moving to Artemis Guild as a team wouldn’t make the leader’s position a heavy burden. So even if Lee Hyun-seung became team leader, many wouldn’t see it as excessive favoritism.

-Swish

Wearing the red badge symbolizing the team leader position of Artemis Guild pinned to his chest, Lee Hyun-seung headed outside.

-Creak

Upon opening the door, Jeong Eun-seo, Kim Yu-ri, and Han Seong-gil were waiting.

“You guys are a pain. Are you sure we can go to the labyrinth?”

Han Seong-gil’s goal was the labyrinth.

“Since we’re exploring, I want to search for my grandfather’s legacy too. If we can operate with Artemis Guild, that’s a good deal.”

Jeong Eun-seo’s goal was also the labyrinth.

“Thanks to you, Lee Hyun-seung, I recently awakened as a mage. If I get a chance to test myself against the monsters in the dungeon, that’d be great. By the way, it’s true Artemis Guild will teach me more about magic, right?”

Kim Yu-ri also had a purpose tied to the labyrinth.

Lee Hyun-seung smiled as he looked at them.

“There’s still time before the labyrinth expedition. So, what I have to do now is one thing.”

Raising the value of the team he leads within Artemis Guild. And gaining a legitimate reason to hold an important position in the labyrinth expedition.

“Let’s move out.”

The Trojan horse.

A vicious virus capable of swallowing Artemis Guild whole was already being implanted deep inside enemy lines.

Lee Hyun-seung, Jeong Eun-seo, Han Seong-gil, Kim Yu-ri—Lee Hyun-seung’s closest allies—headed toward Artemis Guild.

-Click-clack

Looking at the pistol in his hand, Lee Hyun-seung thought,

“Kim Hee-ra. Your pathetic connections and power. I, the gunslinger you so despised and looked down upon, will tear them all down.”