TOP 74

Chapter 74

Alliance

BOOOOOOOOM─────!!!!

“Huff… haaa.”

Right after I landed a One Punch on the paladin.

[You have entered a state of mana exhaustion.]

My strength drained from my body as I fell into mana depletion.

And then—

“…Unbelievable, seriously.”

That so-called Vice Commander Gwak, the paladin bastard, wasn’t dead.

“Gghhk, kck…”

His armor was shattered and his body torn to pieces, looking like he was on the verge of death—

But alive nonetheless.

‘I need to lift the mana depletion first…’

I hurriedly tried to absorb mana from the Dwarf-made Draupnir.

I had to finish him off somehow.

He was barely conscious now, but who knew when he might recover on his own.

‘I can’t give the Gaia cult bastards time.’

But then—

“Much obliged. I’ll handle the finishing blow.”

Geum Yu-gang brushed past me.

His golden greatsword was wreathed in a massive aura blade.

“Vice Commander Gwak.”

“Ghhkk…”

“I want to ask why you did this, but… ha. I guess I can’t.”

“Khhk. Ho—Holy Cu—”

The paladin hurriedly tried to cast a recovery spell.

Slash!

Without hesitation, Geum Yu-gang cut off his head.

“No need to ask after all.”

A 7-star Hunter wasn’t made through luck. He wasted no time.

After severing the paladin’s head, Geum Yu-gang turned to me.

“You alright?”

“I’m fine.”

A bit worn out, but nothing I couldn’t handle.

[Due to extremely fast mana recovery, the state of mana exhaustion has ended early.]

Mana depletion lifted soon after.

“Mas—are you okay!?”

【Eugene!】

Yoo Seol-ah and Prill rushed over to me in a hurry.

It hadn’t been easy, but we had successfully repelled the Gaia bastards’ ambush.

“…I should say this first.”

Geum Yu-gang opened his mouth.

“My apologies.”

It was an apology.

And I understood why.

“I dragged you into this mess for no reason.”

Since he had been the target of the ambush.

“And thank you. Without you all… mm. One way or another, it wouldn’t have ended well for me.”

Geum Yu-gang.

He was a man who knew his obligations.

I spoke up.

“There’s a lot to discuss.”

“Indeed.”

“Going straight to Geumwa Group as planned doesn’t seem wise either.”

“…True.”

Knight Kim had been a traitor.

There was no telling who else might be a mole.

Even if Geumwa Group was Yu-gang’s base, we had to tread carefully.

“In that case, why don’t we interrogate that one first?”

“….”

Without a word, Geum Yu-gang walked toward Knight Kim, who was writhing on the ground with both legs severed.

Step. Step.

Meanwhile, Yoo Seol-ah spoke to me.

“Mas—”

“Miss Seol-ah, be careful.”

“Ah!”

She hastily covered her mouth.

“No injuries?”

“None.”

“Good. Let’s sort out the situation first.”

“Got it.”

We followed behind Geum Yu-gang.

“…Knight Kim.”

Yu-gang’s voice was heavy.

“Ghhk… President.”

“Why did you do it?”

Despite the pain of his severed legs, Knight Kim somehow managed to speak.

“I only wanted… you, too, to experience the blessing… of the One.”

“…Even if it meant doing this?”

“I am sorry. Kkhh…”

Surprisingly, his loyalty to Geum Yu-gang seemed genuine.

It was just… misdirected.

“I trusted you…”

Yu-gang’s face was filled with despair.

But I thought—

‘That’s not the real question here.’

Since he wasn’t getting to the point, I stepped in.

“I’ll ask you one thing.”

Everyone turned their gaze toward me.

“When did you start believing in Gaia?”

“Three years… ago… cough!”

Kim spat blood.

He wasn’t an Awakened, so we couldn’t use a potion on him.

At this rate, blood loss would kill him in minutes.

“Was there a reason you converted to Gaia?”

“H-ha… The One gave me pain… and release… a blessing… Ah, Goddess…!”

Hm.

A deathbed delirium, perhaps? His words grew incoherent.

“Knight Kim, answer me! Knight Kim!”

“Goddess… into your embrace… I come…”

Thud.

And with that, Knight Kim breathed his last.

“This is…”

Geum Yu-gang lowered his head, looking bitter.

Watching him, I thought:

‘This is enough to explain things.’

The reason I intervened in the questioning—

I’d eventually need to explain about Judgment, a truth that was hard to believe.

If I wove it together with what Kim had just confessed, it would sound much more credible.

“Phew.”

After a while, Geum Yu-gang lifted his head.

His gaze was resolute.

“Let’s move.”

“Understood.”

I nodded, then added:

“But first, we should clean up here.”

The corpses of priests and paladins who had attacked him—

We had to deal with them.

Otherwise, the cult would be on our trail immediately.

Of course—

‘They’ll be suspicious anyway.’

A dozen corpses suddenly vanishing wouldn’t go unnoticed.

But leaving evidence behind would be worse.

At least cleaning up would slow their pursuit.

“Well, that would be nice, but…”

Yu-gang’s face darkened.

“There are too many bodies. I’ve no way to dispose of them all.”

There were over a dozen corpses.

Too many to hide discreetly.

But I had a way.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it.”

“How…?”

‘Dragon’s Lair.’

Swooosh—

I opened the massive subspace and began neatly storing the corpses inside.

“What in the world…!”

“I happen to have a rather large subspace.”

“Ha-ha… quite the extraordinary young man.”

Yu-gang couldn’t hide his amazement.

‘Well, a subspace this massive isn’t normal.’

I stored the corpses, and even the wreckage of the limousine, into my Dragon’s Lair.

“You even took the car!? Just how big is that space?”

“Big enough.”

“Ever consider going into logistics?”

“…No.”

Seriously, why did every corporate type start drooling at new business ideas?

Anyway.

Once all traces were erased, we moved to another location.

We arrived at a safehouse.

“This place should be secure for now.”

“How many people know of it?”

“Fewer than five.”

“Good.”

That was safe enough.

“Shall I start?”

“I’ll begin.”

We agreed to share what we knew.

Geum Yu-gang went first.

“You’ve heard about my daughter, Hwa-young?”

“Yes.”

Geum Hwa-young.

Yu-gang’s only daughter, afflicted with an incurable disease, and in need of Permafrost for treatment.

“To save her, I searched everywhere for ice-type items and core materials.”

Yu-gang’s face soured with disgust as he continued.

“That’s when the Gaia cult approached me.”

“They must’ve said they could cure your daughter in exchange for a price.”

“Exactly.”

As expected, Gaia cult was focused on expansion.

Not openly, but in the shadows.

This incident was one of those attempts.

“And I refused.”

“Why?”

Surely, for his precious daughter, any price would’ve been worth paying.

The answer became clear quickly.

“They demanded the entire group.”

“…Ah.”

“Basically, they wanted me to devote everything to their so-called Goddess. Robbers, nothing more.”

I nodded.

His fury was completely justified.

“I simply couldn’t. It wasn’t just money. To truly cure Hwa-young, I needed the power of the group to continue.”

Their demand had been outrageous—

Everything, in exchange for only a temporary treatment.

Not even a cure.

“So it wasn’t even a permanent solution?”

“Correct. Just a stopgap.”

‘A total scam.’

I nodded again.

‘The Gaia cult… real scum, through and through.’

Every layer peeled back revealed worse corruption.

【Eugene? You look pleased.】

‘Can’t help it.’

The enemy of my enemy is my ally.

If someone else bore a grudge against Gaia, that was as good as an ally for me.

Of course, I’d have to play it right.

‘This could work.’

Various ideas ran through my head.

If I played my cards well, this wouldn’t just be about selling Permafrost—

I might actually bring the entire Geumwa Group to my side.

【Geez… shouldn’t you be comforting the man about his sick daughter?】

‘I will help him.’

The world runs on give and take.

I’d profit greatly, yes, but he’d gain too.

Selling Permafrost alone would be huge for him.

【Ugh.】

Prill shook her head, exasperated.

But I continued listening.

“Besides, the cult wasn’t the only option.”

“Yes. Like this.”

I took out Permafrost.

“…Right. A core material that can be crafted into ice-attribute items.”

“Not easy to obtain, I assume?”

“Only items of Unique grade or higher would do. Hard to find.”

Naturally—Unique wasn’t exactly common.

“And now, I’m half sure the cult deliberately interfered with my search.”

“Considering their methods, that’s very likely.”

I nodded.

Yu-gang had opened up a lot.

Even revealing that his daughter’s life hinged on what I possessed.

I could’ve withheld Permafrost, or exploited it to demand an outrageous price—

And he’d have no choice.

‘But I won’t.’

I had no intention of stooping to Gaia’s level.

“Eugene. Do you know more about them? Earlier, you seemed like you did.”

Now it was my turn to share.

“Aren’t you curious why Knight Kim betrayed you?”

“…I can’t wrap my head around it.”

“They possess a divine magic unknown to the public.”

Judgment.

A vile holy spell that inflicted unbearable agony, and turned those who broke into fanatical believers.

I explained this to Yu-gang.

“If you recall Kim’s final words, you’ll find my claim more credible.”

“Ha! So that’s what ‘Judgment’ really meant…!”

Thankfully, persuading him wasn’t hard.

He’d already distrusted the cult.

He exploded in rage.

“Those despicable bastards! Hiding behind religion…!”

To him, I cautiously offered:

“There’s something I must say.”

“Go ahead.”

“The truth is—I’m already opposing the Gaia cult.”

“…!”

Yu-gang’s eyes widened in shock.

“You’re opposing them?”

“Yes.”

“…That can’t have been easy.”

“Of course not. But it had to be done.”

“I see. You must have your reasons.”

“Yes.”

After all, Gaia was the world’s single largest force.

Not just the top religion—an overwhelming power with a spotless public image.

No one dared oppose them openly.

“…And yet you tell me this here?”

Yu-gang’s gaze shifted to Yoo Seol-ah.

He was essentially asking: Can she be trusted?

Seol-ah spoke up.

“I’ve decided to stand by… M—Eugene. Whatever the case.”

‘Oh, for crying out loud.’

That way of talking again.

“She’s trustworthy. I’ll vouch for her.”

“…If you say so.”

“Then, President Geum, I have a proposal.”

“I think I know what it is.”

By now, the stage was set.

“Shall we form a joint front against the Gaia cult?”

You hate Gaia?

So do I.

Shall we be allies?

That was my proposal.

‘I can’t face them alone anyway.’

Gaia had surely created countless fanatics with Judgment.

And even without it, many groups supported them.

But—

‘Just as many must hate them.’

Like Yu-gang here.

We had to gather them.

To fight Gaia.

To avenge my parents.

I clenched and unclenched my fists as Yu-gang wrestled with the decision.

I waited.

There was no way he’d refuse—unless he’d suddenly gone mad and wanted to side with Gaia.

Besides—

I had one final card to push him over.

“I’ll sell Permafrost at a fair price. I hope it helps your daughter.”

“…Thank you.”

“Then, will you join me? Since you’re bound to oppose them anyway, I can be of help.”

Yu-gang let out a deep sigh.

“Huuuh…”

Acceptance?

“After what happened with Kim, I’ve realized much. A holy magic that implants fanaticism in humans… I can’t abide it.”

“Then?”

“I can’t stay on good terms with the cult anyway… Very well! From now on, let’s work together.”

His words were long, but in the end—

Yu-gang extended his hand.

“Likewise.”

I clasped it with a smile.

And thus—

I secured an alliance with Geumwa Group, ranked 8th in Korea’s corporate world.