Chapter 132: Hidden Secret

–Step.
–Step.
–Step.

Yoo Han-beom walked at the front, and Lee Hyun-seung followed behind. As he walked, Hyun-seung thought to himself.

‘Why is this happening…? Did I go too far?’

The reason Hyun-seung had openly criticized Kim Hee-ra was simple: he knew about what had happened between Yoo Han-beom and Kim Hee-ra not long ago.

The reason he was able to know about what happened inside the Artemis Guild was also simple.

–Lee Hyun-seung? Don’t forget that I helped you.
Baek So-yoon had tipped him off about what had gone on inside the Artemis Guild.

He heard in detail how Kim Hee-ra convened a meeting of the elders to label him a traitor and tried to have him killed—and how Baek So-yoon had stopped her.

At first, it had felt unpleasant, like he was being indebted to Baek So-yoon for something again. But that feeling had long since faded. All that remained was anger toward Kim Hee-ra.

That’s why he had used the situation—Kim Hee-ra having fallen out of Yoo Han-beom’s favor, and the timing of her slapping her daughter during the middle of Yoo Han-beom’s speech—to openly criticize her and disgrace her in front of everyone, using it to demonstrate that her authority had clearly declined.

Besides, he had thought Yoo Han-beom wouldn’t interfere. After all, he seemed furious with Kim Hee-ra right now.

‘Why the hell is this happening…?’

Hyun-seung, who couldn’t even imagine that Yoo Han-beom would scold him, simply followed him, cold sweat running down his back.

After witnessing Yoo Han-beom’s overwhelming power in the auditorium, he was even more tense.

–Creeaak

Before long, a door opened. Yoo Han-beom stepped into the room. As Hyun-seung followed him in, Yoo Han-beom waved his hand lightly, closing the door.

–Boom–!

The sound of the door slamming shut rang out. At the same time, Hyun-seung reached for his waist. Just in case Yoo Han-beom tried to attack, he intended to react immediately.

‘Damn it… Even if I can’t win, I won’t die without a fight.’

A perfect sealed room. And they were the only two inside. His opponent was none other than Yoo Han-beom, widely regarded as the strongest man in the country.

–Gulp

As Hyun-seung swallowed dryly,

–Rustle

Yoo Han-beom lowered his head.

“…?”

Hyun-seung instinctively raised his gun without realizing it, but before Yoo Han-beom could rise again, he quickly retracted it and acted as if nothing had happened, placing both hands calmly at his sides.

He then asked quietly,

“Why… are you doing this?”

“I’m ashamed. I asked you several times to join the Artemis Guild, yet at your very first inauguration, you had to witness such disgrace. As a Guild Master, I failed to properly lead my members. You must be very disappointed. As for the criticism of Kim Hee-ra… I should’ve done it myself. I’m sorry for pushing that responsibility onto you.”

The first thought that crossed Hyun-seung’s mind as soon as he heard Yoo Han-beom speak was pure relief.

He didn’t bring him here to fight.
He didn’t bring him here for revenge.
He didn’t even bring him here to hold him accountable.

He had brought him here to apologize.

“It’s alright. I only joined the guild because of my deal with Elder Baek So-yoon anyway.”

“No. I was the one who told Elder Baek So-yoon to scout you. If it weren’t for me, she wouldn’t have moved.”

–If Lee Hyun-seung joins the Artemis Guild, I’ll grant him voting rights in the elders’ council.

In truth, Yoo Han-beom had offered that not only to Baek So-yoon, but to all five elders, as bait to get them to bring Hyun-seung in.

To become a successor, one needed four votes from the five elders. With five elders total, that meant the remaining four had to agree unanimously. But what if Lee Hyun-seung were added into the mix?

If they could sway Hyun-seung to their side, then they’d only need to secure three other votes.

To the elders, Hyun-seung’s vote was nothing short of a master key that could unlock the successor’s seat.

“Could you please explain… what you mean in more detail?”

Since Baek So-yoon had never mentioned anything about this, it made sense that Hyun-seung knew nothing about it. Yoo Han-beom looked at him with surprise.

‘So Baek So-yoon didn’t bring him in for the successor vote.’

He had assumed she was preparing for her own bid for the successor’s position, given how strangely protective she’d been of Hyun-seung.

But if she hadn’t even mentioned the voting rights, then it meant she didn’t care about that at all.

In fact, everything she had done so far might have just been because she liked Hyun-seung.

‘Elder Baek So-yoon showing interest in someone? That’s absurd.’

A deranged murderer. The idea of her acting for someone without any gain was something Yoo Han-beom had never even imagined before. Even he had chosen to control her through sheer force rather than reasoning.

‘So I was right after all… If it’s this man, Lee Hyun-seung…’

Yoo Han-beom spoke with a resolute expression.

“It might be confusing, so let me explain in detail.”

Yoo Han-beom then explained to Lee Hyun-seung all about the voting rights of the elders. What he had proposed to them, the conditions for becoming a successor, and the role the voting rights given to Hyun-seung would play—he explained everything thoroughly.

‘F*ck… Now it all makes sense.’

Hyun-seung had never understood why Baek So-yoon had suddenly come to him or why she had taken such an interest in him. But after hearing Yoo Han-beom’s explanation just now, all the pieces fell into place.

‘So this is all about getting the successor voting rights from me, huh?’

Unlike Yoo Han-beom, Hyun-seung believed that Baek So-yoon’s kindness was motivated by the successor voting rights. Otherwise, there was no way the infamous maniacal serial killer from the original game would ever act this kindly toward someone.

‘Still… something feels off.’

She had never mentioned anything about successor voting rights or made any demands related to it. That part nagged at him slightly, but for now, it wasn’t the most pressing matter—so he decided to let it go for the time being.

Then, he asked Yoo Han-beom the question he hadn’t been able to until now.

The one he could finally ask.

“Guild Master Yoo Han-beom, what exactly is it that you want from me?”

–Flinch

Yoo Han-beom showed a subtle expression, as if Hyun-seung had hit a nerve.

“Do I look like someone who wants something from you? Honestly, it’s not an exaggeration to say I already have everything this world can offer. Power, influence, connections, wealth—every material thing people pursue, I already possess. And you think I want something?”

“If you truly want nothing, then why have you been giving me so many privileges? Starting from that initial test, and now giving me elder voting rights just to recruit me. On top of that, you personally held a team leader inauguration for me and even bowed your head to apologize. From everything I’ve heard and seen, this isn’t the Artemis Guild I was told about.”

“….”

He hit the mark. The Artemis Guild did not operate with a horizontal power structure. It was not a harmonious place where superiors apologized to subordinates.

If the higher-ups said to dig, you dug. If they said to crawl, you crawled. If they told you to die, you pretended to die.

A world ruled by strength where people were treated like tools. And standing at the apex of that world was Guild Master Yoo Han-beom.

And he had apologized to a mere team leader? It was inconceivable.

“…Haa.”

Yoo Han-beom let out a short sigh, then looked straight at Hyun-seung. With a bitter expression, he began to speak.

“As you probably already know, the Artemis Guild has a highly vertical power structure. I was so focused on growing stronger that I never tried to win people over through charm or kindness. Instead, I used overwhelming force to make them kneel and obey. That’s how I’ve built this organization.”

–Creeeeak

Yoo Han-beom waved his hand, and a hidden part of the wall slid open. Inside, hundreds of people were encased in what looked like bizarre capsules.

The sight of these humans trapped one by one inside each capsule was grotesque—like something straight out of a live experimentation lab. Each capsule had strange dates labeled on them, like “20XX.XX.XX.”

“W-What the hell is this…?”

Even in the original game, there had never been anything about these human capsules. The overwhelming and grotesque sight made Hyun-seung slowly step backward.

Yoo Han-beom didn’t point out his reaction. Instead, he gazed at the capsules with a bitter look and began to speak.

“What I want from you is related to these capsules.”

Yoo Han-beom began to slowly walk toward Hyun-seung.