2.
“Kim Chang-sik, let ask you one last question.”
“Y-Yes, sir. Please go ahead.”
“If I truly decided to bring this building down, how many people could you save in this conference room?”
“!!”
“Stop thinking and answer imdiately—!”
“Three! Only three, at most.”
“Lee Myung-hoon, what about you?”
Lee Myung-hoon, who had been cornered until the eting’s conclusion, witnessed Shin Seong-gwak suddenly appear, crushing Kim Chang-sik with sheer force.
Seeing the rciless display, Lee Myung-hoon’s eyes lit up.
This elder must be acting on Father’s orders.
As expected, Father has chosen as the next guild leader.
Overco with emotion, Lee Myung-hoon answered confidently.
“I can save everyone!”
“And how would you do that?”
“If we prevent you from becoming angry, the building won’t collapse, and no one will get hurt. If Kim Chang-sik has committed any wrongs, I will make them right!”
The unexpected and precise answer took even Kim Chang-sik by surprise.
At that mont, as everyone started to believe that the power dynamics were shifting from Kim Chang-sik to Lee Myung-hoon—
“Then go ahead and try calming my anger.”
Shin Seong-gwak stomped his foot powerfully.
A sharp wall erged, slicing everything on the ground into thin layers—shoes, chair cushions, and even the palms pressed to the floor.
The walls of the room began to close in, with the floor and ceiling heaving violently, turning the space into a suffocating trap.
“Aaah!!”
“Lee Myung-hoon, do sothing, you bastard!!”
“Please, sir! Save us! We’re all going to die!”
Even the executives, who were not as influential as the deputy guild leader, scread and begged for their lives.
But Shin Seong-gwak’s fury showed no sign of subsiding.
“You’re all the sa! When these young ones stray, instead of correcting them, you coddle them just to keep your pitiful titles?”
Neither the notorious deputy guild leader Kim Chang-sik,
nor the guild leader’s son Lee Myung-hoon,
nor the senior executives who had secured their places in the hierarchy,
nor the newly recruited talents,
none could satisfy him.
Trusting such people to handle frontline duties? Foolishness.
He berated himself for ever thinking they could manage on their own.
As the oppressive atmosphere finally dissipated,
the trembling survivors gasped for breath, their faces pale.
“W-We’re alive…”
“I thought I was going to die…”
The quivering forms of those who had barely survived drew Shin Seong-gwak’s piercing gaze.
When he deactivated his abilities, everything that had been suspended high in the air ca crashing down.
“Mom, I’m scared…”
“My leg… my leg is broken!”
“Kim Chang-sik, Lee Myung-hoon, you bastards! What the hell did you do to drag us into this ss?!”
So regressed into childlike states from fear.
Others cried out in pain from their injuries.
And still others vented their fury at Kim Chang-sik and Lee Myung-hoon.
In the chaotic scene, Shin Seong-gwak announced coldly:
“I’m going to do so pruning. So of you will step down, and so of you will pack up and leave.”
“!!”
“Kim Chang-sik, step down from your position as deputy guild leader.”
Kim Chang-sik trembled with rage at the prospect of being demoted after coming so close to the pinnacle of power.
“No matter how strong you are, sir, this is too much! It wasn’t but Lee Myung-hoon who failed to handle the monster raid!”
Even as he yelled in defiance, his chest tightened, and his heart pounded in panic.
“If we don’t enforce proper accountability, the guild’s hierarchy will crumble! If you let the guild leader’s son off easy, how is this different from a corporate family business run by spoiled heirs?!”
But he knew all too well—this ruthless tyrant wouldn’t listen to reason.
“I refuse to step down! I will not yield to unjust pressure!”
“Do you think I don’t know that the gate’s runaway incident stemd from a dungeon raid failure? Shall I conduct a full investigation into the cause?”
“N-No! It was my mistake!”
Faced with his weakness being exposed, Kim Chang-sik had no will left to fight.
He knew that if the matter escalated, stepping down would be the least of his worries. A full investigation would bring disgrace to the guild and could even cost him his life.
“Lee Myung-hoon, you’re to step down as captain of the guard.”
“Sir!”
“Or I’ll kill you.”
“…….”
Lee Myung-hoon reluctantly placed his badge and employee ID on the remains of what used to be the round table.
“All direct subordinates of these two are to be demoted by two ranks. Those with no positions left to demote will be dismissed.”
“Sir, the severance payouts for the guild mbers would be substantial…”
“Embezzlent, fraud, breach of duty—don’t you think there’s plenty of money to recover if we start digging?”
The accounting manager, who had ekly tried to resist, fell silent under Shin Seong-gwak’s blazing gaze.
Kim Chang-sik and Lee Myung-hoon collapsed to the floor as Shin Seong-gwak declared their new assignnts:
“Kim Chang-sik and Lee Myung-hoon are reassigned to the Support Dispatch Team as team leaders. Their direct subordinates will join them as team mbers. Their primary duty will be to undertake dispatch missions assigned by the association.”
The words hit like a thunderbolt.
Kim Chang-sik and Lee Myung-hoon, overwheld by despair, could do nothing but laugh bitterly or shed tears of frustration.
“Any objections?”
The room fell silent under Shin Seong-gwak’s icy glare.
Every proposal, from the establishnt of the Support Dispatch Team to mass reassignnts, passed unanimously.
After the eting, as the exhausted executives stumbled out, Shin Seong-gwak quietly spoke:
“Executives, remain behind.”
He wasn’t done yet.
The executives, familiar with Shin Seong-gwak’s terrifying reputation during his pri, silently obeyed and stayed behind.
3.
In martial arts circles, when conflicts arose with prestigious sects, the most effective strategy wasn’t to confront the offenders directly but to pressure the elders entrenched within the sect. This approach produced imdiate and noticeable results.
Myeongho Guild will surely pay the price.
Even Shin Seong-gwak, with his formidable presence, could have been dismissed as one of the guild’s troubleso younger mbers if he were the sa breed. If Ha Eun-eung had deed him to be of that ilk, she wouldn’t have hesitated to kill him and target soone of higher rank instead.
However, in her eyes, Shin Seong-gwak was not soone who would lower himself to stirring filth for the sake of appearances. If his thods bore the mark of soone who had spilled significant blood in the past, they were precise and brutal. He would subrge his hands in blood, but never in muddy waters.
It was clear to her that he wouldn’t let the disgrace brought upon him by the younger mbers slide unnoticed.
“Unni, the police investigation results are out. The magical waste wasn’t the work of the Myeongho Guild but rather the convenience store owner trying to commit insurance fraud.”
Ha Eun-eung heard the news from Joo Ah-young, who approached her with a cheerful expression, only to be stunned at Ha Eun-eung’s reaction.
“Unni, you didn’t cause any trouble, did you?”
“……”
“Why are you avoiding my eyes, unni?”
Like a guilty dog caught misbehaving, Ha Eun-eung kept her head turned toward Joo Ah-young but avoided eting her gaze.
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