A luxury black sedan was heading toward Sokcho, Gangwon Province.
At the wheel was Lee Taeseong.
His destination was a villa in Sokcho, where Park Ilhwan was hosting a secret party.
Ring! Ring!
The phone rang.
“Hello.”
—”Team leader! Where are you going now?! Don’t tell me… you’re heading to Ilseong Group’s second son? Please, tell me it’s not that!”
“That’s right.”
—”Ha… I understand how you feel, but how about stopping here for now? This has gotten way bigger than we expected. The director—no, the branch chief—is furious!”
“I already settled things with the branch chief when I returned from my assignment in Japan.”
—”He probably didn’t expect it to escalate this much! Do you know how many high-ranking officials you’ve turned into cripples? More than twenty! Do you realize that twenty people are down because of you?! Thanks to you, South Korea is in complete chaos!”
“You’ve worked hard. Take care of the cleanup, Chief Choi.”
Click.
Taeseong hung up and calmly pressed down on the accelerator.
Ilseong Group was so influential that no one would dispute it as the pillar of South Korea.
There was even a joke that the country’s name might soon be changed from “South Korea” to “Ilseong” due to the corporation’s overwhelming power.
It wasn’t an exaggeration to say that every electronic device used by South Korean citizens belonged to Ilseong Electronics.
Refrigerators, laptops, desktops, TVs, smartwatches, smart rings, and even electronic cigarettes.
Because of this, conspiracy theories circulated in online communities, claiming that Ilseong Group possessed every bit of personal information about South Korean citizens.
Whether that was true or not was something only Ilseong’s insiders would know.
Taeseong parked near the villa and surveyed the area.
True to its reputation as the site of Ilseong Group’s second son’s secret party, there were well over fifty security guards in the vicinity.
Taeseong released a hint of killing intent.
Yet, strangely, none of the guards collapsed.
According to past data, even a minute amount of it should have been enough to knock out regular people.
Some even sensed the malice and started scanning their surroundings.
‘Not ordinary people, then.’
As expected, they were not.
Each of them possessed the combat ability of at least a Delta-ranked manager.
They had been dispatched from organizations specializing in security, the very ones Choi Harin had mentioned before.
However, the difference in level was glaring.
Up until now, Taeseong had been adjusting his strength to deal with regular people.
If they thought that was his full power, they were gravely mistaken.
The moment he released his energy more aggressively, all fifty guards collapsed instantly.
He stepped inside the villa.
Yet, contrary to the gathered intelligence, he couldn’t sense any presence inside.
“…….”
And then—
BOOM!
A deafening explosion erupted as the villa detonated.
Flames engulfed the entire structure, and his ears rang from the blast.
Even while his entire body was swallowed by the fire, Taeseong remained calm, analyzing the situation.
‘Was this a trap?’
The explosion was powerful enough to erase the entire villa.
Yet, Lee Taeseong walked out unscathed.
He didn’t even need to use his regeneration—his Ignost Flames were more than enough to block the damage.
Then—
Clap! Clap! Clap!
A slow, deliberate applause echoed.
“How impressive. You survived that explosion.”
Taeseong’s gaze snapped toward the source of the voice.
“…Park Ilhwan.”
“This is the first time we’re meeting face-to-face, isn’t it? Manager Lee Taeseong.”
Just as Taeseong knew Park Ilhwan’s identity—
So too, did Park Ilhwan know his.
‘So it was all planned from the start?’
Taeseong swept his gaze around and let out a small scoff.
A hundreds-strong force encircled him.
This plan would have been impossible unless they had anticipated his arrival.
And every single one of them exuded an aura surpassing Delta rank.
‘Some of them might even be Gamma-rank…’
The fact that multiple private organizations could field such forces was unsettling.
From the very beginning, Park Ilhwan had prepared this place as Taeseong’s grave.
“You knew I’d come here.”
“Pfft. Of course I did. You’ve been running around raising hell. If I didn’t know, I’d be a complete idiot, wouldn’t I?”
“You killed a few vermin and started thinking you could mess with Ilseong?”
Though his high-end sunglasses concealed his eyes, Park Ilhwan’s smirk was visible.
It was a mocking grin.
Taeseong’s gaze sharpened.
“I’ll give you credit for thinking ahead.”
Then—
His crimson eyes flashed ominously.
“But did you really think this would be enough to handle me?”
Park Ilhwan mocked.
“Where the hell does that confidence come from?”
That was the last conversation they had.
As if the word “confidence” had fired the signal flare, the mercenaries surrounding Taeseong simultaneously unleashed their attacks upon him.
Puh-puh-puh-puh-bang!
The bombardment, reminiscent of modern warfare, concentrated solely on one man.
The sky was filled with bullets, and all manner of weapons rained down like a storm.
Jumping into the air, Taeseong drew his sword from subspace. The crimson-stained Sisan Hyulhae cut through the barrage of shells, but with their overwhelming numbers, it was impossible to block them all.
Watching the scene, Park Ilhwan smiled with satisfaction.
He was already convinced of his victory.
“Hahaha! You dumb bastard! You look great!”
However, as Taeseong spun his body and swung Sisan Hyulhae, a storm of bloodthirsty slashes burst in all directions.
“He survived that?”
Shlaaaash!
In an instant, the bodies of the numerous mercenaries were shredded apart. Each time the merciless red blade touched them, their bodies were torn like paper.
Some, realizing the disparity in power, attempted to flee, but a black wolf emerged from the shadows, crushing their skulls.
“Arghhh!”
“What… what the hell is this?! This isn’t what we were told!”
“Take down that wolf first!”
In less than a minute, the mercenaries were annihilated.
The severed limbs scattered across the ground leaked blood, pooling into dark puddles.
The name Sisan Hyulhae (Mountain of Corpses, Sea of Blood) was no empty title. The surrounding area was now a literal sea of corpses.
The bloodstained blade shrieked in delight.
Having tasted blood, the sword demanded more.
Understanding its intent, Taeseong answered inwardly.
Wait. I’ll soon give you the most delicious prey.
Step. Step.
Taeseong calmly walked out from the mountain of corpses, his presence resembling that of a grim reaper.
His red eyes gleamed ominously, and a chilling aura of murderous intent radiated from his entire being.
Despite this, Park Ilhwan didn’t even blink as he looked at Taeseong.
“Well, damn… They all died? Do you know how much money I spent on this? Tsk.”
His reaction was unexpected. Taeseong narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
All his forces were just wiped out, yet he’s still relaxed?
Does he still have another card up his sleeve?
The only conclusion was that he had something left to rely on.
Otherwise, such confidence would be impossible.
“If you have a hidden card, you’d better show it now.”
Hearing that, Park Ilhwan mimicked Taeseong’s words in a mocking tone.
“‘If you have a hidden card, you’d better show it now.’ Damn, this bastard always acts so dramatic. Where the hell did you get trained? Why are you posing so much? You’re about to die anyway.”
“……”
“People who act cocky like you always end up dead. Look at your parents. They kept running their mouths, so I had them killed. If you’re just a bug, act like one. Hm? Know your place and live accordingly. Why do you keep trying to climb up? You don’t even realize that the only reason you’re living comfortably is thanks to Ilseong?”
Ilhwan openly mocked.
At his words, a visible aura of murderous intent surged from Taeseong’s entire body, instantly consuming the surrounding area.
His aura was so intense that merely touching it was enough to tear everything apart, as if struck by a blade.
Park Ilhwan was no exception.
Simply being exposed to Taeseong’s killing intent caused blood to trickle from various parts of his body.
“Wow. Holy shit. This is insane. I might piss myself in fear. There’s no way you’re just a Delta-class. At least Gamma-class, upper rank. Damn those assholes. How dare they try to deceive us?”
As Taeseong took a step forward, the ground cracked beneath his foot.
One step.
Two steps.
Finally standing right in front of Ilhwan, Taeseong spoke in a low voice.
His expression was twisted with rage, his face resembling a vengeful deity.
“Because you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, you think you’re something special? Do you look down on those less fortunate than you?”
“Yeah. So what? I am something special.”
“…Get ready. I’ll show you exactly who you messed with.”
“Bullshit—”
Boom!
Taeseong’s punch struck with such force that even the air pressure alone caused Park Ilhwan’s head to explode.
A fountain of blood sprayed in all directions—
But something was off.
The blood—
Was green.
Before Taeseong could grasp the situation, a voice came from a hovering drone.
It was Park Ilhwan’s voice, laughing mockingly, clearly enjoying himself.
“Puhahahaha! You dumbass! Did you really think I’d die that easily? Huh? You think the world is that simple? Do you really think the number-one conglomerate in Korea, Ilseong, is that weak?!”
Taeseong silently glared at the drone.
As if savoring the moment, Park Il-hwan’s laughter echoed through the speakers.
“Kehehe. What are you gonna do by staring? Hm? What can you even do, you loser?”
Just by listening to his voice, it was obvious how much he was enjoying himself.
“……”
“Man, this is hilarious. Look at that rotten expression of yours. Hey, do me a favour and stop deluding yourself. Just because you awakened some abilities one day, you think you’re some kind of comic book protagonist? That you’re the main character of a novel? Get real, Taeseong! Hm? You’re not the protagonist. You’re just a side character, existing only to support the real main players of this world.”
“Haha.”
“Have you gone crazy? Why are you laughing all of a sudde—”
At that moment—
Taeseong cut him off with a meaningful smile.
“Found you, you rat.”
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