"You guys have so nerve. Without masks even......"
After the battle.
Su-hyeon, Min Hae-na, and Seo Jun-seong were receiving on-the-spot injections of Ma-in neutralizing agent specially granted by the supporters.
"O"
Min Hae-na frowned at the syringe inserted into her arm.
"It hurts."
"Bear with it a little. You should be thankful it ends with just an injection."
"We had no choice at the ti."
Min Hae-na said.
"But I covered my airway with cloth. I didn't directly drink any blood."
"That's fortunate then. Even slling blood scent for too long isn't good."
Beep beep beep.
The Execution Force mber checked the reading on the portable magical energy detector and nodded.
"Alright. Your magical energy levels are temporarily elevated, but that's normal right after combat. Check again in a week, and if the readings are normal, there's nothing to worry about."
'If one had to worry about becoming a Ma-in after a single fight, the world would already be a world of Ma-in.'
I thought.
"Thank you."
Seo Jun-seong bowed his head.
"We should be the ones thanking you. Without you all, how serious the situation would have beco......"
The Execution Force mber sighed.
"Hmm. I feel sorry for nagging. I did so because it's unfortunate that even cadets like you had to step up, so please understand."
"I understand what you an, so it's fine."
I said.
"Thank you for your help."
"Then I'll be going now."
As the Execution Force mber left, Min Hae-na put her hand on my shoulder.
"You worked hard, Su-hyeon. Your clothes and everything are all singed."
"Thanks to that, my hair has beco crispy like dried filefish."
"Huh? Wow, it really has."
Min Hae-na touched my hair and ruffled it vigorously as if petting a dog.
"......"
"Hehe, sorry. I did that because you're cute."
Min Hae-na winked.
"By the way, that Ma-in, if my guess is correct, was probably the Ma-in known as 'Little Evil Demon'."
"Noona, you know that Ma-in?"
Jun-seong asked, saying he was hearing it for the first ti.
"Yeah. I heard the na during my internship practice."
Min Hae-na said.
"His age is estimated to be around 16, even younger than you guys. Strangely, there are no records of him from when he was human."
"Hmm."
"I don't know what led him to beco a Ma-in, but I heard his power is close to at least A ."
"Good Lord."
A
ans the power of a decent vice-captain level, or a sowhat combat-weak captain level.
"......Noh Hajun wasn't using his full power when fighting against ."
I drew the line in advance.
"I had only heard his na before, but his ability was truly terrifying."
"Terrifying indeed! Not just regular terrifying!"
I turned my head at the voice that suddenly ca from behind.
'Ma Seunggeon.'
Ma Seunggeon, the captain of the 8th Unit, was walking toward us after dismounting from his horse.
"Captain Ma!"
Min Hae-na, who had once participated in a joint operation during her internship, greeted him cheerfully.
"Jehun is doing well too!"
"......The horse's na is Jehun?"
"Yes! Isn't it cute?"
Ma Seunggeon chuckled heartily while stroking the Pegasus's mane.
'He's quite a handso guy.'
Ma Seunggeon was a man in his mid-30s with a smart appearance.
"So you're Jeong Su-hyeon. I've heard your na a lot, but you were more impressive than I expected."
Ma Seunggeon's face was perfectly fine without a single scratch despite his fierce battle with Jang Su-il.
"Now I understand why other captains wanted you so badly. Little Evil Demon is a truly strong Ma-in. Dozens of mbers have died at his hands."
"Yes. All I could do was avoid him."
"Such modesty. The fact that you could buy ti against him alone proves your skill beyond doubt."
That was true.
'Noh Hajun is a monster who could grow to S-rank or higher in the future.'
Plus he has the annoying setting of growing stronger the angrier he gets.
Compared to Ha Jin-young, whom I killed with my own hands during the academy attack, who was still weak at that ti.
Noh Hajun was already worthy of being ranked among the powerful ones with few equals even now.
"Hae-na and Jun-seong, you two worked hard as well. The rcury Demon is quite a troubleso Ma-in, but when you two attacked together, she couldn't keep up."
"But we still failed to subdue her in the end."
"That's the sa for
too, so there's no need to feel dejected."
Ma Seunggeon smiled.
"Or are you subtly taking a jab at ?"
"! That's not it."
"Hehe, just joking."
Ma Seunggeon patted Jun-seong's back repeatedly.
"But they really caught us off guard."
"That's right."
"I thought we just needed to protect citizens as much as possible and stall for ti, but to think they would do such a thing."
Ma Seunggeon sighed as he looked at the statue surrounded by screens to hide it.
'That's understandable.'
The statue of the legendary hero whose head they cut off wasn't just any statue.
In the process of rebuilding Seoul after the Gate Era, it was a landmark and symbol of peace that took the third place in Gwanghwamun Square through a national vote, following King Sejong and Admiral Yi Sun-sin.
'Their sabotage skills are really sothing else.'
"I felt it since their attack on the academy, but they are masters of deception."
"Indeed. They're troubleso types."
"Captain Ma. So you were here."
"Captain Lee!"
When Sword Warrior Lee Cheong-myeong walked over, Jun-seong stood up in surprise.
'It must be on his mind.'
I also knew that Jun-seong was very interested in Lee Yu-jin.
"Thanks to you three, we were able to greatly reduce casualties. I express my gratitude."
Lee Cheong-myeong slightly bowed his head to us.
"It was nothing."
"You must be Jun-seong. And you're Hae-na."
"That's right!"
"Hello."
Lee Cheong-myeong's gaze turned to .
"And you must be the one Yu-jin ntioned......"
"I'm Jeong Su-hyeon."
"I heard you're coming to our house soon."
Lee Cheong-myeong chuckled.
"We'll talk in detail then."
At those words.
"......"
"......"
The peculiar gazes of Jun-seong and Min Hae-na fixed on .
"Why are you looking at
like that?"
"You're going to Yu-jin's house?"
"Yes. I received an invitation......"
"......"
What's with this atmosphere?
It was right then that the status window appeared.
[You have cleared the Main Quest, Blood Plaza!]
[10 Skill Points have been awarded!]
[You excellently stalled for ti against 'Little Evil Demon' Noh Hajun and protected citizens!]
[Achievent points 2000 awarded!]
'That's a brutal reward.'
Over 2000 achievent points?
??????°??☆????°??????
Several days had passed since the terror dubbed the 'Blood Plaza Incident' by the dia.
The command given by the Execution Force commander regarding this unprecedented incident was concise.
Elevate the threat level of Sword of Belphegor, and find their organizational chart and base.
But just because the command was concise didn't an the difficulty was easy.
"Gueeee......"
"Geoeeee......"
Staff mbers who hadn't slept for days and were worn out wandered the headquarters like zombies with ghastly appearances.
"Chief of Staff."
"......Yes, speak."
The Chief of Staff, whose dark circles had reached his cheekbones, answered while putting artificial tears in his eyes.
"This is a cooperation docunt from the Hunter Association. They say the recovery units have been appearing frequently lately, increasing hunter casualties, and they're asking for more cooperation......"
Recovery units.
These were special units operated by the Ma-in side to take Ma-in who had transford in dungeons or gates before they could be subdued by the Execution Force, to make them their organization mbers.
By nature, they were difficult to operate unless the Ma-in organization was quite sizable, and as such, the individual quality was quite high.
"I'm sorry, but tell them reinforcents are impossible."
The Chief of Staff cut him off.
"Everyone's been rushing to run dungeons lately because their greed has risen. Originally, by priority, gates are first and dungeons are second. They need to adjust their frequency themselves; why are they whining to us?"
The staff mber flinched and retreated at the Chief of Staff's sharp words.
"Understood."
"Find a good way to dodge it. They should know our situation isn't good, right?"
"That's right."
"Hoo."
The Chief of Staff sighed as he pressed his eyelids.
'If it's like this already, we'll frequently have power leaks here and there in the future.'
But the situation still couldn't be considered very unfavorable.
'Strictly speaking, there was just one terrorist attack. Although their operation was successful, the balance of power between forces remains the sa.'
The social system is still functioning well.
The power of the Ma-in is still disorganized.
'Hunters will continue to focus on dungeon exploration and gate wave defense in the future. That in itself ans the system is still solid.'
The Chief of Staff, having organized his thoughts, said.
"Report the next agenda."
"Yes. There has been a sharp increase in applications for voluntary enlistnt in the Execution Force. The average estimated grade of applicants is B or higher......"
"Good. Let's schedule a special recruitnt."
"Yes!"
The Chief of Staff nodded.
"What's the current trend in public opinion?"
"Generally, there's a strong sentint of mourning and anger, but there are also so critical opinions about the Execution Force."
"I see. Citizens have beco accustod to the peace so far. We need to take asures to draw out more vigilance and hostility toward Ma-in."
"That's right."
"For that, we first need to show convincing results."
That was also the headquarters' conclusion.
While prioritizing intelligence activities against [Sword of Belphegor], they would eradicate other Ma-in organizations to show imdiate visible results.
If they could obtain information in the process, that would be even better.
"That operation will be conducted in conjunction with the 4th Unit."
"Yes!"
"And regarding Min Hae-na and the other two cadets."
The Chief of Staff chuckled.
"Contact the public relations office and create a decent fra."
"Understood."
"By the way, that friend Jeong Su-hyeon seems to have been ntioned quite often before."
"Indeed. Captain Ma Seunggeon also gave him quite a good evaluation in his post-action report."
"That's deserved. Anyway, he seems to be almost a master at avoiding and enduring."
"Yes, that seems to be the case."
"I was wondering why other captains wanted to take that kid as an intern, but cases of showing that level of skill at that age are rare."
The Chief of Staff nodded, saying he'd like to see him in person soti.
"And one more thing lastly."
The Chief of Staff's eyes sharpened.
"This incident has made it clear. It seems Ma-in spies have infiltrated much deeper than we thought. Their sabotage is quite ingenious and diverse."
How could one fight external enemies while having internal enemies who are just waiting for an opportunity to stab one in the back?
"By next week, complete the first draft of a list of suspected spies."
"Understood!"
The real battle was just beginning.
??????°??☆????°??????
Since the Execution Force began its massive eradication operation.
In just three days, several Ma-in groups and underworld organizations were being shattered.
"That's good."
Hwang Won-jae, who was presiding over a eting at the round table in the Catacomb, said.
"Good?"
Jang Su-il asked.
"Yes. We can use this opportunity to absorb the disorganized Ma-in forces."
"But there will be many who are angry at us because they're getting hit because of us?"
"That's true. But what can those guys do? Will they co after us when even the Execution Force can't catch us?"
The executives burst into laughter at Hwang Won-jae's words.
"Those fuckers will be really pissed off though."
"The trade is too one-sided."
"There's no need to worry. If we show a clear example, there will be those who fear us, and if we throw an appropriate carrot, they will want to join us."
Hwang Won-jae spoke as if it was no big deal.
"Well. There's no need for too big an example. We'll decide on suitable targets gradually."
"The MK-1 guys were a bit bland. Let's go for so higher-tier ones."
When Jang Su-il showed his bellicosity, Hwang Won-jae smiled dryly.
"Don't think too hastily. Our grand plan needs to be viewed in the long term anyway. The world won't be overturned in just a few months."
"I know. But if it weren't for those brats, wouldn't it have been advanced by a few months?"
"That fucking Jeong Su-hyeon!"
'Little Evil Demon' Noh Hajun, sitting with a clearly irritated face, burst out in anger.
"How dare he cut my handso face with a sword?"
"That's not even visible anymore, what are you bitching about?"
Jang Su-il snickered.
"Shut up, you bald bastard!"
"This kid still has a mouth on him despite being knocked out cold after getting punched in the stomach."
"Bullshit. Want a real fight? Should I roast that head of yours and make it into takoyaki?"
"Wow......"
"That was a bit harsh just now."
"Yeah. Apologize."
"Stop it, all of you."
Hwang Won-jae cald the giggling executives.
"Fighting with Ma Seunggeon was fun, but I also want to fight Jeong Su-hyeon again."
Jang Su-il said, massaging his burly trapezius muscles.
"That guy was fun even when he was dog food. In a few years, he might entertain
much more than Oh Chang-seong. Perhaps as much as Ma Seunggeon."
"What few years? I'll burn him before that."
Noh Hajun ground his teeth.
"By the way, that kid seems to be on good terms with your niece."
At Ha Jin-su's words aid at Hwang Won-jae, Hwang Won-jae twisted his mouth.
"So?"
"Hmm hmm. Just saying."
As Ha Jin-su cleared his throat, other executives sneered.
"Acting cocky when you can't even get your revenge."
"It's not like this is the first day he's been like that."
"The intervention of the three youngsters—Jeong Su-hyeon, Seo Jun-seong, and Min Hae-na—is coincidental, but nothing has really changed just because they caused a bit of trouble."
Hwang Won-jae said.
"It would have been best if we had massacred all the protesters, but our top priority was that."
The Ma-in burst into laughter as he pointed to the horribly damaged face of the statue.
"That's true!"
"Kuhaha! The condition is quite a sight!"
"Speaking of which."
An old man wearing a lab coat said.
"Given this, won't the plan to go to Nastrond also be sowhat delayed?"
"I acknowledge that. But nothing will change just because of sothing like that."
Hwang Won-jae declared.
"The die has already been cast."
The executives stretched their mouths into grins at his words.
"Slowly, but surely. The era will fall into irreversible chaos."
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