120.
The horribly distorted image made her feel sick. It was much more disgusting and fearful than normal monsters. This was a monster that can be touched.
“Gasp!”
Amber fell from Tiamat in disgust. Seeing her like that, Tiamat giggled at her.
"What do you think?"
"There's nothing that can be salvaged. It's just a monster."
"Then you're saying there's no need to keep her alive."
“…Yes."
As soon as the words fell, the guild members waiting on both sides struck Tiamat on the head with their weapons. She didn't break at once, so they repeated the same action until she died. So she died in vain.
"Let’s pull out its heart as well just in case."
Even after confirming that she was not breathing, Seon-woo thoroughly checked. It seemed that he, like Amber, was the type to feel relieved when it was resolved clearly.
Meanwhile, people started pouring in. They hid when the dragon was rampaging, but now that it was safe, they revealed themselves.
“Go back.”
Seon-woo said so with a calm expression. At the same time, the guild members of the Seon-hyeon Guild began to move quickly.
“It’s a bit of a waste.”
To abandon the dragon's corpse and secure the information, which can become a weapon. After that, he quickly got into the prepared car.
'I'll miss it if I continue like this!'
Thinking so, Amber gathered the courage and got into the car together. Yul-mu, riding behind her, looked surprised, but he pretended not to know. It was based on the judgment that he would not pull it down because he was in a hurry right now. And that judgment was right.
"Let’s go!"
With the sound of a cheerful woman's voice, the car cut through the crowd and started off. The car, which ran for a long time, defeated the pursuit of those who quietly followed and arrived at a place deep in the mountains. The car doors opened one by one and guild members poured out.
“Okay then, let’s get some rest before we go on to the next one!”
After the woman said that, the guild members took their seats and began to rest. After checking, the woman came to the last car and said to Amber.
“And, cute lady, would you like to talk with me?”
"I'm not old enough to be called cute."
“Anyone who looks younger than me is cute.”
“I think you look way cuter.”
“Oh my, is that so?”
“Don’t be fooled. She is a witch.”
When Yul-mu grumbled, the woman strangled him with her forearm.
"Ack! Ack!"
“Now then, shall we introduce ourselves seriously? My name is Lena. I’m a team leader of the Seon-hyeon Guild. There are people stronger than me, but they don't talk much, so I'll be in charge of you. What's your name?"
“My name is Amber. I work for the Guardian Guild, in the Information Department."
"Wow. But how did you get involved in this?"
“It just happened.”
"Wait! First of all, talk to the Guild Leader.”
Lena pointed to the tent that had been erected before she knew it.
"Yes, that’s great"
Amber took a deep breath and stepped out.
"Long time no see."
Seon-woo greeted Amber.
"Is that so?"
Amber smiled bitterly. After that, she sat down in the prepared chair and explained step by step what had happened. The fact that she felt uncomfortable with Hyeon-woo being a villain, that she went to her grandmother for help, the fact that she visited the branch and found a strange laboratory with Yul-mu, etc…
“The data is here.”
Yul-mu held out the storage device and camera.
"They're doing terrible experiments inside."
"There’s an experiment like this at the Guardian Guild's branch, huh."
Seon-woo lightly tapped the desk with his finger.
“We still don’t know much yet. Maybe this is the only place like this.”
Even after she learned that she shouldn't trust the entire Guardian Guild, words of advocacy came out without her knowledge.
“Then we might want to look further. It happened that I had also researched the places I was going to guess. So Amber, what are you going to do about it? Are you planning to move along with us in the future?”
“Yes, because I accompanied you for that same reason.”
Looking at Amber’s determined face, Seon-woo nodded. Being with Amber didn't hurt him either. First of all, she was a member of the Guardian Guild's Intelligence Department, so she must have a lot of knowledge.
So far, things had been going well. Now all he had to do was execute this properly.
***
Do-jin's work was different from Seon-woo's. If Seon-woo found the hidden secrets of Guardian Guild and Leon, Do-jin's job was to check Hyeon-woo's safety and keep an eye on Leon. That was why he set up a lodging not far from the headquarters and went to work at the cafe in front of it every day.
There was a high probability of being caught because it was a revealing job, but it was difficult not to be caught in the first place. Leon was always watching his surroundings keenly, and he quickly caught Do-jin's shadow. But he didn't get rid of the shadows.
He smiled and left it as it was. He seemed to say, “You can watch if you want to watch.” Leon's life was simple: Training, or hunting monsters. That was all. To him, he seemed like a role model student, where no trouble would ever exist.
There was no suspicious person appearing around, and he did not do anything suspicious. But for the first time today. There was a different movement than usual.
“Here you are, Leon-nim.”
There was a small square house in the center of a large space. To be precise, it looked more like a rather large box than a house. All sides were blocked and the entrance was in the front, with two Awakened are guarding it.
'At least A Class or higher.'
Even if they were weaker than the S class, it won't be easy to take it down silently in one shot.
“I stopped by to ask a question. Can I come in?”
“Yes, as much as you like.”
After a short conversation, the two put their hands on the door at the same time. Only then did the door open, and its thickness was considerable. Leon bent over and pushed himself through the entrance. In the meantime, Do-jin also managed to narrowly put the shadows together.
'Hyeon-woo!'
There was a large chair on the opposite wall inside, and Hyeon-woo was confined to it.
“I guess the guy, who never does anything, came?”
It seemed that his mouth was not closed. Hyeon-woo's voice came. Do-jin covered his mouth with his hand. His voice was low, as if he were tired. Anger made his body tense.
“It’s not like I can’t do anything. That’s too much.”
Leon smiled kindly and sat down on the chair opposite him.
“So what are you doing today? Didn’t Ainas visit already?”
“It’s not Ainas. Her name is Anais. Are you already confused about the name?"
"Ah yeah. So, did you visit me just to say something like that?”
Hyeon-woo let out a chuckle.
"Okay. Then just state your business?”
“Not exactly. I just came to talk to you.”
“What do you want to talk about?”
"For example."
Leon's gaze touched the shadow for a moment and then fell.
“How about giving up right now?”
“Haven’t I heard enough about that? We talked about it several times already. So let's talk about something else."
“Then what about that one?”
A white finger pointed to the corner. Hyeon-woo's gaze moved accordingly.
“Someone you like is peeping inside.”
“You brought him in on purpose.”
Hyeon-woo's expression turned cold.
"That's right. You already know that I am up to something, but you didn't know it would be so blatant. If you put a shadow like that, even I can't help but notice it. Isn't Leon quite strong in the human realm?"
“Don’t pretend to be human.”
"I'm pretending to be human. Am I a strict person now? Even if you ask passers-by, they will all give you the same answer. Rather, how about saying hello to an acquaintance you haven't seen in a while? So I tell them that you’re fine and not to be too sad.”
“Stop being disgustingly considerate.”
“That’s too sad. I’m doing it for you.”
After saying that, Leon got up from his seat and went closer to Hyeon-woo. Then, he took off the glove he was wearing and stroked Hyeon-woo's cheek with his bare hand. Hyeon-woo turned his head and tried to bite his finger, but he couldn't succeed due to his short distance.
“Oh my, you’re too violent.”
This time, he petted his hair like he was petting a dog.
“As soon as I’m released, I’ll kill you first.”
Hyeon-woo growled and said.
“I look forward to that.”
Leon tapped his head and pulled back. It was because the shadow that had been watching all along aggressively stabbed him.
“It seems that he doesn't like me touching you.”
“Who would like that?”
“I also quite like doing things that others say I don’t like. Oh, it's already time for the next schedule. Then see you next time.”
With those words, Do-jin's vision turned black for a moment. The shadow that Leon sent in was removed.
Smash.
Do-jin gnashed his teeth and hit the table. People around them were taken aback by the sight of the table split in two in an instant, but he was nowhere to be seen.
HM: …owo Leon… speaks formally, but ma…
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Credits:
Translator: Hoshi Miya
Editor/Proofreader: Davine, YaagRabRag
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