Chapter 45: Echidna (1)

"What a reaction..."

Chae YeonJoo looked at all the headlines about Kang SeongSoo.

KangWoo, who was sitting in front of her, shrugged his shoulders. "It's because I threw them good bait."

Since the beginning of human history, people had always liked stories about heroes.

People were fascinated by hero stories, and Kang SeongSoo's story just looked like one.

"You faked those tears, right...?"

"Yes."

"Why did you do that?"

"Because it's more moving that way," KangWoo said while taking a sip of coffee.

"Kang SeongSoo had to get their attention so I could stay quiet for a bit longer."

First, if he got famous at the moment, things could get quite bothersome for him.

If there was something he could gain by becoming famous, he would've told them that he had killed the variant monster.

'Rather than help, being famous would probably make things more bothersome.'

If people's attention were centered on you, you had to be careful with your movements.

Especially for someone like KangWoo, who didn't care about doing anything illegal as long as it benefited him, it was bothersome.

KangWoo didn't want to suffer because of unexpected circumstances.

'Although I'm sure I won't be able to hide forever...'

People tended to notice someone talented by themselves, even if they remained low-key.

So if KangWoo kept getting stronger, people would probably start to notice him.

'I can think about that later on.'

If there were nothing he could do about it, he would probably see how he could use that newly obtained fame to profit.

KangWoo put down the cup of coffee and looked at Chae YeonJoo.

Chae YeonJoo sighed and looked at him.

"So, tell me... What happened inside the gate?"

She didn't think he'd lose against the variant monster from the beginning.

He was someone that had easily won in a fight against a high-ranking player of the Red Rose Guild.

Even if the variant monster weas strong, it probably wouldn't be able to win against KangWoo.

"Nothing much. Kang SeongSoo's party fought the monster first; then I eliminated it."

"But was Kang SeongSoo really beaten up by a variant monster...?"

"Yes."

"It doesn't matter how you look at it—those were the marks of someone who was beaten up by another person."

"I'm sure you saw it wrong," KangWoo calmly answered her.

Chae YeonJoo looked at him with a troubled expression.

She couldn't help but feel anxious whenever she talked with him.

He was someone who had talent far beyond what she had initially thought.

The problem was that he wasn't just someone talented.

—He was someone capable of ignoring all the moral things to profit from a situation.

'Am I raising a tiger cub?'

After thinking about it for a while with a worried expression, she shook her head and kept talking.

"Hmm. First, tell me more about that monster."

The reason why she had called KangWoo was to hear more information about the variant monster.

KangWoo nodded and told her more about the buer.

Of course, he didn't tell her about the characteristic that made it not attack first once it was full.

"For a monster like that to appear in a B-rank gate..."

Chae YeonJoo grabbed her head.

If KangWoo's explanation was right, it was a monster strong enough that it was hard to believe it had appeared in a B-rank gate.

'It's at least A-rank.'

It was probably as strong as an elite A-rank monster.

Considering that the higher a monster's rank was, the bigger the difference was with the ones with a lower ranking, it wasn't something that could be taken lightly.

'Many weird things have been happening recently.'

People from the demon cult had suddenly been moving more actively. Not only that, but variant monsters had also appeared.

Five years after the 'Day of Calamity,' the world was finally starting to normalize, but suddenly, weird things started to happen again.

'Now that I think about it, the timeframe in which weird things started to happen and the time when KangWoo Awakened are similar.'

It was hard to believe, but it had only been a month since KangWoo had awakened.

The demon cult had suddenly become more active, and simultaneously, monsters with a strength that didn't match their gates had started to appear.

"I'm sure it's just a coincidence..."

Chae YeonJoo shook her head after looking at KangWoo for a little while.

Although it was true that KangWoo was growing strong at a pace that had never been seen before, that didn't mean it had something to do with the demon cult or the sudden appearance of variant monsters.

She couldn't blame him for something without evidence.

'And...'

Chae YeonJoo looked at KangWoo silently drinking a cup of coffee.

She didn't think that KangWoo was a good and kind person.

But she didn't think he was a psychopath capable of using people as offerings like the people from the demon cult did.

'He isn't trash like that.'

—Or that was what she wanted to believe.

'Either way, now we're on the same boat.'

With that incident, it became publicly known that the Red Rose Guild was supporting the rookie Oh KangWoo.

Of course, the news about that had been buried by the heroic tales of Kang SeongSoo, but one could probably easily find out about him if they wanted to.

That meant that everyone knew that there was a deal between them.

She didn't want their relationship to crumble because of her being suspicious of him.

"What are you thinking about so much?"

"Oh, it's nothing important..."

"Rather than that, there's something I wanted to ask you."

"Something you wanted to ask?"

She tilted her head and looked at KangWoo.

* * *

"Have you heard of something called a Fissure Fragment?"

He asked about the words that'd appeared in the message window he'd received after killing the demonic beast.

He wanted to know if she knew more about it.

"No. It's my first time hearing that word."

"Hmm... I see."

"What's that?"

"After I killed the variant monster, I received a message that said that I had eliminated a B-rank Fissure Fragment."

"Oh..."

Chae YeonJoo nodded with her eyes shining.

"I'll also investigate further into fissure fragments."

KangWoo nodded and then kept talking.

"And one more thing..."

"Yes."

"When are you going to give me details about the request?"

"Ugh..."

The moment she heard the word "request", her expression darkened.

KangWoo calmly spoke.

"I'm sure you're aware of it, but now we definitely have become partners, and there's an issue that hasn't been resolved between us."

"..."

"Wouldn't it be troublesome for you if I rejected the request after you invested so heavily in me?"

"Hng."

"Don't worry. I won't reject it unless you ask for something ridiculous."

KangWoo leaned against the chair and kept talking.

"Isn't it about time you tell it to me?"

"Oof."

Chae YeonJoo sighed.

After thinking about it for a while, she opened her mouth with an expression that seemed to express there was nothing she could do about it.

"There's an organization called the Demon Cult."

"..."

"We are still unsure about this organization's size or how long they've been operating, but recently, they became more active."

"And...?"

"They're weird people who use living people as offerings to conduct weird ceremonies. Our guild is collaborating with the government to catch those guys."

"Then that request..."

"I was planning to ask you to collaborate in fighting them once we have more evidence. Although we don't have solid evidence yet... They're too strong to brush them off as a simple cult made of crazy people."

"..."

There was a heavy silence between them.

KangWoo finally understood why Chae YeonJoo was trying to get as many strong people as possible, even if it meant that she had to put a lot of effort into it.

'So she's planning to wage an all-out war with the Demon Cult.'

Considering that the government was already investigating the demon cult, it wouldn't be weird for the Red Rose Guild, one of the biggest in Korea, to know about their existence.

'Not bad.'

No, it wasn't just 'not bad.'

To begin with, KangWoo was already trying to learn more about the Demon Cult. So there was nothing better than receiving the help of a big guild and the government.

—Especially if they were strong enough for Chae YeonJoo to worry about them.

'The only thing I don't understand...'

KangWoo frowned slightly and opened his mouth.

"But why are you trying to get rid of the Demon Cult? Is it just because of a moral sense of responsibility?"

"..."

Chae YeonJoo remained silent after hearing the sharp question.

He could understand why the government would be trying to catch the demon cult.

After all, they had the duty of protecting the people.

But Chae YeonJoo was different.

It wasn't like she was some sort of guardian of justice. She had no reason to put so much effort into getting rid of the demon cult.

Of course, any normal person wouldn't approve of such behavior.

But Chae YeonJoo was someone who was in charge of a guild.

You couldn't become the leader of a guild with only a 'sense of justice.'

'And it also isn't like she could profit from them like me.'

In his case, he would be able to obtain lots of demonic energy from that thing called a 'ceremony.'

Since that wasn't the case for Chae YeonJoo, she had even less reasons to face them.

"It isn't like I'm trying to do this as charity. The government has promised a huge reward for getting rid of the Demon Cult."

"Ah, so then the purpose is—"

"And there's one more reason."

With a low voice, she interrupted KangWoo.

A strong killing intent came from her.

It was strong enough to make it hard to breathe.

A killing intent that felt like a sticky liquid that made you hold your breath.

'She's stupidly strong.'

KangWoo was impressed by her strong killing intent.

It was the first time he'd felt her power from such a short distance.

'So this is a ranker.'

KangWoo had cast aside his desire to fight against her after he had finished the fifth Awakening and had become stronger.

"One of the people they sacrificed was a member of our guild."

"..."

"I can't forgive them. No matter what."

She said it while emitting chilling killing intent.

'It seems like it was someone dear to her.'

It wasn't hard to guess that based on her reaction.

KangWoo nodded and spoke in a serious tone.

"Okay, I'll accept that request."

"Thank you..."

"I told you. As much as I receive, I will give back."

After saying that, KangWoo changed topics.

"What happened with what I asked you before?"

There was another reason why Chae YeonJoo had asked him to meet her.

"It's done."

Chae YeonJoo took a square card from the drawer and handed it to him.

Along with his picture, the card said 'S-rank gate temporary access permission.'

"I'm just going to ask again, just in case. You're not planning to hunt there, right? If that's the case, I cannot give this to you."

"I promised you that I wasn't going to hunt there."

"Then why do you want to enter an S-rank gate...?"

"There's something I must do there," KangWoo said while smiling as he grabbed the S-rank gate access permission.

After putting it inside his pocket, he walked out of the Red Rose Guild building.

While walking to the parking slot, he opened his status window.

'I can finally use this.'

In his status window was the new attribute he had obtained after finishing the fifth Awakening.