Chapter 16

< Chapter 16: Change (2) >

9 p.m.

Right after parting ways with Kang Seo-yul, Yu Hwa returned to the guild and stared blankly into space.

‘Shin Woo is a spy of the “Saviors of Truth”…’

Kim Shin Woo, Yu Hwa’s secretary.

Kang Seo-yul said he was a villain affiliated with the “Saviors of Truth”.

No matter how much Kang Seo-yul knew about the Doppelganger’s information,

or the “Saviors of Truth”, it was hard to believe what he said.

Kim Shin Woo was a founding member of the Bihon Guild.

He was a man who had worked as a secretary since Yu Hwa’s father led the Bihon Guild, and one of the people Yu Hwa trusted the most.

It was impossible to believe that such a person was a traitor.

However, Yu Hwa’s faith was shaken at the moment.

‘I don’t know…’

It was understandable. It was Kang Seo-yul who said it.

He was confident as ever, just like when he said he would bring the Doppelganger.

―Kim Shin Woo. His real name is Pyo Il-chan.

He whispered in a clear voice.

―He invested 20 years of his time to quietly steal confidential information from an unsuspecting position. The “Saviors of Truth” are scary guys.

He laid out the information about Kim Shin Woo and the “Saviors of Truth”.

―Of course, even if I have a record of catching the Doppelganger, it would be hard to doubt a colleague who has been with you for 20 years.

He spoke like a machine gun as if to eliminate any room for rebuttal.

―If you believe me even a little bit, try to probe him the next time you meet him. Pyo Il-chan, “Saviors of Truth”. The Doppelganger called him. Make up some reasons. If he still doesn’t budge, then do this…

Knock knock-

That was when Yu Hwa snapped out of her thoughts.

“Yu Hwa-nim. I have prepared the report.”

The secretary, Kim Shin Woo, entered the guild master’s office.

Yu Hwa looked at him with a complicated expression as she woke up from her thoughts.

“Yu Hwa-nim?”

Kim Shin Woo called Yu Hwa with a strange expression as if he felt something.

“Shin Woo-ssi.”

“Yes.”

Yu Hwa had a lot of thoughts in her head. Kim Shin Woo, who had lived with her for 12 years before she became the guild master and 8 years after. Kang Seo-yul, who she met 3 days ago.

She wanted to trust Kim Shin Woo.

‘But…’

Kang Seo-yul had something.

The information power that found the Doppelganger was that she couldn’t even find a clue.

The action power moved immediately.

He was definitely an extraordinary person.

And he said Kim Shin Woo was a traitor.

He must have some evidence.

It was natural for Yu Hwa’s heart to waver.

‘Yeah. It’s just probing him, right? There must be some misunderstanding.’

Yu Hwa took a deep breath in her mind and calmed herself down.

If she was going to probe him, she had to do it thoroughly.

“Guild master?”

Kim Shin Woo called her again after she didn’t say anything for a long time after calling him.

“Shin Woo-ssi. No…”

Yu Hwa’s expression turned cold. She put on the cold mask that she only used when negotiating with hostile guilds.

“Pyo Il-chan.”

Yu Hwa’s voice echoed lowly.

But there was no change in Kim Shin Woo’s expression.

“Pyo Il-chan?”

He looked genuinely puzzled and bewildered.

Yu Hwa felt a bit relieved at that sight.

‘As expected, there was some misunderstanding.’

If Kim Shin Woo’s true identity was Pyo Il-chan, and he was a villain who had lived as a spy for 20 years,

there was no way he wouldn’t have any facial changes at this sudden call.

But she wasn’t 100% sure yet.

To end the remaining 0.1% of doubt, Yu Hwa started to act again.

“The Doppelganger confessed. That you are affiliated with the “Saviors of Truth”. And probably a traitor.”

The Doppelganger’s confession.

This was Kang Seo-yul’s scenario.

“He seemed to believe that someone set him up when he was caught ridiculously. He said let’s die together.”

Yu Hwa continued to speak while maintaining her expression.

“He also said that the massacre in the Bihon Guild was also to slowly discredit me and prepare for you to take over the guild master’s seat. Funny, right?”

At Yu Hwa’s cold laugh, Kim Shin Woo answered with a puzzled look in his eyes.

“Yu Hwa-nim… do you really believe such nonsense?”

“…”

His eyes were full of trust that had supported Yu Hwa for 20 years.

Yu Hwa bit her lower lip.

If that expression was an act…

‘No. It can’t be.’

Yu Hwa decided to try one more thing.

“It’s no use pretending. The Doppelganger told me how much he hated you. He told me everything.”

The words that Kang Seo-yul had asked her to say at the end.

“He said if you act innocent, say this. He said this would make you give up. What was it? Yeah, that’s right.”

Yu Hwa uttered the words.

“El Perje Enen Dorma. He said this would make you give up. How about it?”

“…!”

At that moment, Kim Shin Woo’s expression hardened.

His pupils trembled slightly.

And his mouth twitched in horror.

“Ha.”

It was then.

“That bastard. He really spilled everything.”

Kim Shin Woo, no, Pyo Il-chan’s expression changed.

“How dare he leak the organization’s information? A trash who can only change his appearance?”

“Shin Woo…ssi?”

She saw a face she had never seen before from her colleague who had been with her for 20 years.

“I suffered for 20 years in this shitty guild! 12 years under the sniveling guild master! And 8 years after that! Because of that trash!”

Yu Hwa’s eyes trembled.

It was the moment when Kang Seo-yul’s words became true.

“Well, fine. I’ll just kill you, kill the Doppelganger, and kill everyone who knows about this.”

The gentleman’s face twisted into a vile one.

“Then I’ll slowly take over the guild.”

Pyo Il-chan took out a ring from his pocket.

“Then, Yu Hwa. For me. For our cause. You have to die for me.”

The next moment, the guild master’s office was dyed in darkness.

“Don’t be too sad. You were going to die anyway in half a year, according to the scenario.”

At the same time, Pyo Il-chan’s figure also blended into the darkness.

“Is this your real power?”

Yu Hwa’s expression returned to coldness.

“How is it? Amazing, right?”

“Yes. Amazing indeed. Visual seal… no, no touch either. Luckily, my hearing is still intact.”

Struggling to keep her mind from shaking with shock,

she pulled up her magic.

“It’s useless! No matter how strong you are, there is no one who can beat me in here!”

A man’s scream came from behind Yu Hwa.

“Kahaha!”

And that sound was getting closer and closer.

Yu Hwa had no choice but to fight with her hearing alone, as her vision and touch were sealed.

“Spear.”

Yu Hwa used her magic to create a small spear.

Yu Hwa’s trait was ‘Manifestation’

The power to create things with magic.

Zing-

“Die!”

Hearing the man’s roar from behind, Yu Hwa moved her magic spear.

Pwoooook-!

“Cough! You, you!”

In the opposite direction of where the sound came from.

“How, how did you?”

Yu Hwa calmly retrieved her spear and answered.

“It’s definitely a hard power to deal with at first glance. It seals your vision and touch, making you focus on your hearing. And then it makes your hearing sound backward. It’s a pretty nasty power.”

“…You, you!”

The man’s voice trembled with confusion.

“I wouldn’t have been able to do anything if I hadn’t heard about this power beforehand.”

“Heard… beforehand?”

“Yes.”

Yu Hwa’s expression twisted.

Twisted with sadness, anger, betrayal.

It was an indescribable expression.

“There’s no way… the Doppelganger… could know about my power!”

“…I wonder how he knew about this power.”

The person who told Yu Hwa about Pyo Il-chan’s power was of course Kang Seo-yul.

“Really. How did he know?”

His words were right.

Yu Hwa smiled bitterly and pulled up her magic.

“What’s the point of asking why you betrayed me? Why did you do this? There’s no point in asking these questions, right?”

“Wa, wait a minute. There’s a reason for this. I’ll explain it to you now. Okay? Think about the past years…”

Yu Hwa said in a choked voice.

“Thank you… for everything. Shin Woo ajusshi.”

Yu Hwa’s magic surged explosively.

* * *

‘Thanks to you, I survived. Thank you.’

Midnight, past 12 o’clock.

I was talking on the phone with Yu Hwa.

“What about Pyo Il-chan?”

―I killed him.

Yu Hwa’s voice was extremely cold.

―I couldn’t let the fact that the top executive of the Bihon Guild was a villain of the “Saviors of Truth” be known.

But I knew.

That wasn’t really cold, but just pretending to be cold.

“How are you going to hide the murder that happened in the guild?”

―Well, what can I do? I have to accept it. It’s a hundred times, a thousand times better than letting the news that Kim Shin Woo of the Bihon Guild was a Truth Seeker spread.

“…That’s true.”

If they were linked to the “Saviors of Truth”, the Bihon Guild would be over.

―Anyway, I’ll take care of this matter myself, so don’t worry too much.

I wonder how Yu Hwa feels right now.

How would it feel to find out that a colleague who had worked with you for 20 years was a traitor?

I can’t even imagine.

―Then, I’m sorry, but I’ll rest for today. I’m tired.

“Yes. Get some rest.”

Yu Hwa probably won’t sleep tonight.

She’ll lie in bed alone, holding the teddy bear she got from her father when she was young, and cry all night.

Yu Hwa is that kind of girl.

―Oh. And let’s decide on the reward for this matter when we meet in person soon. I don’t think it’s something to decide over the phone.

A girl who is infinitely strong when she’s with others,

but infinitely fragile when she’s alone.

“Yes. Let’s talk again when things calm down a bit.”

―…Thank you. Really.

Before the call ended,

Yu Hwa’s weak voice rang very softly.

“…It’s bitter.”

Anyway, the worm in the lion’s heart, the worst traitor, was safely dealt with.

That’s all that mattered.

* * *

Time flew by.

Before I knew it, it was Saturday.

That is, today was the day to raid the ruins.

I carried a huge case containing the Tiger’s Gauntlet and headed to the ruins on the outskirts of Seoul.

Five years ago, the city was turned into a wasteland by the attack of a disaster-level monster.

There was a ruin I was looking for here.

There was a description that the entrance to the ruin, which had been submerged underground as the buildings collapsed, had faintly appeared.

“I wonder if I can find it today.”

It would be nice if I could.

I searched around, focusing on the building debris stuck on the ground.

Not here.

Not this either.

After hitting dozens of false alarms for about two hours.

“I found it!”

I finally found a trace. I found the entrance to the ruin.

I was lucky.

Honestly, I thought I would have to search until tomorrow.

“I’m lucky.”

This is it.

Things are going smoothly.

I took the steel carry-on that I had left in one corner and entered the ruin.

The structure of this ruin is very simple. No, should I say ordinary?

There are traps.

There are monsters.

There are guardians.

There are treasures.

It’s very ordinary like this.

The difficulty level of this ruin is about A rank based on solo raiding.

And I’m a trash below F rank.

To sum it up, this is it.

If I step on a trap?

“I’ll die.”

If I meet a monster?

“I’ll be eaten.”

If I meet a guardian?

“I’ll be slaughtered in a minute.”

It’s really fantastic.

Of course, I didn’t come into the ruin alone because I was suicidal.

Traps?

Just don’t step on them.

Monsters?

Just don’t encounter them.

Guardians?

Just pass them by.

There are ways to do it.

It’s a way that I can only use because I know the structure of this ruin inside and out.

“…It’s a method that can’t be used in other ruins.”

This is only for this ruin.

‘The Golden Resting Place’.

Why?

Because I don’t know much about other ruins.

What’s there, what monsters come out, what’s the boss?

I have some knowledge like that, but I don’t remember every structure like this place ‘The Golden Resting Place’.

Anyway, the important thing is that raiding this ruin is not that hard for me.

That’s why I didn’t ask Yu Hwa for equipment support in advance.

It seemed like I didn’t need it anyway.

Well, it’s like a bonus stage kind of feeling.

“Then let’s finish it quickly and go rest… Huh?”

Thump, thump, thump!

I thought that way back then.

“Kwaaaaang!”

“…Yes?”

A huge tiger came running towards me with bloodshot eyes, glowing red.

Until I saw the guardian of this ruin.

…Why are you coming out from there?

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