Chapter 59 - Shh (3)

* * *

Hyeon-yul studied the survivors, then perched on the edge of the table. He idly waved his dagger while using his phone to control the projector, then turned the screen toward them.

「This place belongs to me from now on. If you've got a problem with that, bring the Poison King here.」

「Not that you can.」

Under ordinary circumstances, it might not have mattered, but now that he was a Black Eagle, hiding his voice in front of so many villains seemed prudent. It wasn't particularly difficult. He could simply type everything on his phone.

「Oh, I almost forgot to show you something.」

Before bringing up a photograph, Hyeon-yul typed another message.

「What I'm about to show you isn't fake.」

「Want to know why?」

「Look.」

Hyeon-yul pointed behind him. The projector screen descended, and a photograph appeared.

The Poison King was in the picture, looking bewildered with one of his fingers severed.

「How else would I know the face of the Poison King, when nobody knows what he looks like?」

He posed the question as provocatively as possible before switching to another photograph. This one showed the severed finger.

「Guess who cut that off?」

Hyeon-yul pointed casually to himself as the answer. The casual gesture made one of the men scowl. Hyeon-yul tilted his head slightly, stepped down from the table, and walked straight toward the man until he stood nose to nose with him.

“You little...”

Before the man could finish, Hyeon-yul drove his dagger into his throat. Blood sprayed, and in the same motion Hyeon-yul swept his arm aside, cutting open the throat of the man beside him.

Once the room had fallen silent again, he shook off the blood and typed another message.

「Angry?」

Nobody answered that insolent question. The attack had been far too fast. Not a single person in the room had seen when Hyeon-yul moved his hand.

「Don't be scared.」

After displaying words he would never normally use, Hyeon-yul approached a man who looked reasonably competent and set a hand on his shoulder. The trembling reached him through the man's body. Good. That kind of fear was useful. In a society where villain hierarchies were determined by strength, it also saved a great deal of time.

He wanted to return to his new home quickly. The house his teammates had helped furnish looked completely different from the place where he'd lived before.

「From now on, you're the figurehead president.」

It hardly mattered who served as the figurehead. If the man stopped obeying, Hyeon-yul could simply replace him. Plenty of people stood in the room. How difficult could it be to pick another one?

「I'm the real boss.」

Hyeon-yul pointed casually to himself as the answer.

「Nod if you understand.」

One after another, everyone nodded. Their pale faces made their fear unmistakable. Take what you wanted. Kill anyone who got in your way. How convenient those methods were.

“...Hey!”

A voice suddenly rang out from the back of the crowd. Hyeon-yul smiled faintly and sprinted forward. He didn't even need to sink into the darkness. He shot through the mass of people and drove his blade through the man's throat like a harpoon.

Stab.

The man collapsed, clutching his neck. Hyeon-yul looked ahead. Reinforcements appeared to have arrived, but he didn't mind. No matter how many people came, he'd kill anyone who challenged him. In fact, a larger audience made the demonstration more effective.

With the room quiet again, he took out his phone and typed at a leisurely pace.

「Want to keep going?」

No answer came. Everyone simply stared at him.

「You can, if you want.」

Hyeon-yul tilted his head and deliberately taunted them. Surely somebody would lose his temper at that. Yet they remained as quiet as well-trained dogs.

He returned to the spot where he'd started and pointed to the man he'd designated as the figurehead president.

「I've killed all the executives. This man will choose the next ones.」

He was more than happy to hand over authority. Power of that sort held no interest for him, though he'd heard that ordinary people enjoyed it. He'd barely met the fellow, yet the man's expression was already changing. Evidently the promotion pleased him.

「From now on, you will kill the other villains who threaten your organization.」

Hyeon-yul held out his phone to the figurehead.

“...All of them, sir?”

Hyeon-yul nodded, confirming that he meant every one of them.

「But you must not kill civilians. If Black Eagles show up, don't fight them. Run.」

“Then... you're ordering us to stop fighting the Black Eagles?”

Hyeon-yul nodded again, leaving no room for misunderstanding.

“But why would...”

He didn't allow the man to finish. His dagger touched the protective barrier characteristic of psychics, and he flooded the weapon with darkness. The blade plunged into the man's throat and emerged through the back of his neck. Hyeon-yul withdrew it and shook the blood away.

How many times was he going to have to get blood on himself tonight? Cutting the electricity had made it easy to deal with the panicked executives. Creatures accustomed to light naturally felt fear when plunged into darkness. The terror of being unable to see anything was considerable.

Hyeon-yul let out a long breath. Then what happened to creatures who had been conditioned by violence? He slowly typed another message. Though their colleague had just died, nobody spoke. Everyone kept quiet for fear of becoming the next victim.

「Don't ask questions. Do exactly what you're told.」

He raised the phone. It was an order, and the others nodded without resistance.

「Who wants to be the figurehead president?」

He dangled an authority that would probably vanish almost as soon as it was granted. Everyone exchanged cautious looks until one person raised a hand. A greedy man. He was perfect for the role, and just as likely to betray Hyeon-yul later. That outcome was obvious, but it didn't matter.

「You're the figurehead president.」

After all, this man's eventual fate would be no different from the last one's.

「Remember what I said earlier?」

“Yes! I'll follow your instructions exactly.”

「Repeat them.」

“We kill the members of other organizations that threaten our territory. But we don't harm civilians, and if the Black Eagles come, we don't engage them. That's all, sir!”

When he finished, the new figurehead president bowed deeply to Hyeon-yul. He was pledging his loyalty. Whether that loyalty was genuine didn't matter. The executives loyal to the Poison King were gone. Even if their former leader returned, who would still have any devotion left for him? A dog defeated once was cast out of its pack.

「Choose the new executives carefully and put the organization in order.」

「Write proper reports. If any of you tries anything stupid, all of you die.」

Hyeon-yul had bound their fates together. If one of them made a mistake, everyone would pay for it. After delivering that warning, he walked between the survivors and disappeared. They watched him for a long time, unable to tear their eyes away.

Who was he? As soon as that question occurred to them, the way they looked at one another began to change. The Poison King was gone, captured by the Black Eagles of all people. In an underworld where the boss's strength was everything, losing the leader meant the organization had no future.

Their pride in being the Poison King's subordinates had vanished. All they belonged to now was a declining group whose leader had foolishly gotten himself captured.

Then somebody had appeared out of nowhere. The executives had spent the entire day arguing over who should take the Poison King's place. This stranger had silenced every one of them by killing them all, displaying overwhelming power in the process. After witnessing that, who would they want as their leader?

“...Clear this away.”

The figurehead president finally spoke. He had only just been given his authority.

“Anyone who objects will die. We're all agreed, aren't we?”

They needed to restore order within the organization immediately. They could become powerful again. The weak were abandoned; everyone in their world understood that rule. They looked at one another and saw the same determination reflected in every face. One by one, they nodded quietly.

“...Let's go.”

The figurehead president led the way, and the others followed, their resolve hardened.

* * *

“...You can get back here when you need to, right?”

Jeongmin asked while examining Hyeon-yul's condition.

“Yes. I can. I'll just ride an eagle back.”

“Be careful.”

“I'm always careful.”

“Have you forgotten what happened a few days ago?”

“I don't remember.”

At his brazen answer, Jeongmin made an exasperated noise.

“You've really grown up, haven't you, Hyeon-yul?”

“Have you forgotten that I'm an adult?”

Hyeon-yul smiled, and Jeongmin slapped his own forehead.

“Where on earth did you learn to joke like that?”

“I read it in a book.”

Hyeon-yul answered matter-of-factly and got off the bed.

“Take care of yourself.”

“Yes. Don't worry. I might come by again tonight.”

“No, that would be a little much. Just imagining you arriving covered in blood makes me dizzy.”

“That won't happen.”

Hyeon-yul offered a faint smile, stood up, and headed outside. Halfway through opening the door, he turned back. Jeongmin waved, and Hyeon-yul returned the gesture.

He was walking down the corridor toward Team 3's office when a red-haired man approached. At first, Hyeon-yul thought it was a coincidence, but the man was looking directly at him and suddenly grinned.

“It's you, right? Seo Hyeon-yul?”

“Yes. What can I do for you, Kang Heejun?”

Heejun was the Black Eagle who'd shaken his hand during the Poison King incident.

“Thought it looked like you.”

Heejun chuckled, then glanced behind Hyeon-yul. His expression immediately changed.

“Did you get hurt?”

His concern was obvious as he examined him from head to toe.

“No.”

“Look after yourself. Seriously, our bodies are all we've got.”

“I know.”

“...Anyway, thanks.”

Heejun grinned and offered his hand. When Hyeon-yul shook it, Heejun pumped his arm enthusiastically. He seemed genuinely delighted to see him.

“...Ah. I guess I'm a little too intense sometimes. When I meet someone I like, I tend to get friendly too quickly. People keep telling me to fix that, and I'm always getting scolded, but my enthusiasm got ahead of me. If my attitude, my tone, or the fact I spoke casually offended you, let me apologize now.”

Heejun rubbed the back of his neck. He knew people often misunderstood him and that his reputation suffered because of it. He'd considered keeping his mouth shut countless times, but somehow never managed it.

“It's all right.”

“Really...?”

“Yes.”

“You're a good guy. ...No, a good person.”

“I don't know about that.”

“I'll prove it.”

“This is only our second meeting. How can you possibly know?”

“I can tell just by looking. I've got a good eye for people.”

“Is that so?”

“I'm telling you! Anyway, all of us in Team 1 are incredibly grateful. If anybody tries to mess with you behind your back, I'll beat the crap out of them.”

Hyeon-yul had no idea how to respond. What benefit could Heejun possibly gain from doing that?

“I'm off. Next time we work a mission together, let's grab a meal afterward.”

“...?”

Hyeon-yul stared at him, baffled by the sudden invitation.

‘Another appointment?’

He was at a loss about what to do, so he adopted a peculiar expression and continued walking.

“Team 3 rookie! I mean it, so don't you try to get out of it!”

At Heejun's call, Hyeon-yul turned back. Heejun waved a few times, then ran nimbly away.

‘Why did he come over to talk to me?’

Hyeon-yul found that question the most puzzling of all as he headed toward Team 3's office.

* * *

“You're here? How are you feeling?”

Haeryeon asked as soon as she saw Hyeon-yul.

“Exactly as fine as before.”

“That's a relief. Then would you take a seat?”

Haeryeon smiled. Everyone was waiting for Hyeon-yul. Since they had to leave in the morning, it was still a little before ten. Jihwan was staring into space and let out a huge yawn.

“Before we go, there's something I want to explain. We may not be able to communicate as freely once we're inside.”

Only after Hyeon-yul sat down did Haeryeon begin.

“First, our mission is to capture the ringleaders. By ringleaders, I mean all members of the core leadership.”

As soon as she finished, Nayun raised a hand. Haeryeon looked toward her.

“How high up the organization are we talking? Executives and above, like usual?”

“That's right. That's generally all we need.”

Haeryeon nodded, and Hyeon-yul raised his hand.

“Then how should we deal with those who aren't executives?”

Haeryeon couldn't answer immediately. After hesitating, she asked a question of her own.

“Do you think you can capture them?”

“Do we really need to? They won't know anything.”

“Ordinary people are mixed in with the villains. Seeing somebody killed would be traumatic for them, even if the victim was a villain.”

“Understood.”

Hyeon-yul agreed readily. Didn't that mean it would be acceptable to kill them somewhere no one could see, or at least keep the bodies hidden?

Haeryeon watched him thinking and felt an inexplicable unease. Black Eagles were authorized to kill villains. Many simply chose not to go that far for ethical reasons. Hyeon-yul's moral boundary lay considerably closer than theirs.

“Anyway, our highest priority is the safety of the people, while also making the arrests.”

“Then we should consider the possibility of hostages?”

Shinwoo asked, already considering the possible complications.

“Exactly. If the villains take civilians hostage, killing the villains becomes our top priority, even ahead of the arrests.”

Hyeon-yul nodded at the answer. It was an admirably efficient order.

“There's one thing I'd like to know, though.”

A more fundamental question had occurred to him. When Haeryeon looked his way, he asked it.

“How are we supposed to infiltrate the village? Are they just going to let us enter?”

“An excellent question!”

Haeryeon greeted it with genuine enthusiasm. She'd kept quiet because answering earlier would have felt like bragging, but now was the perfect opportunity to show them what the Black Eagles were capable of.

‘Heh, heh.’

The corners of her mouth lifted in a pleased smile.

October 04, 2026