Chapter 41

An hour ago.

[Paju Field]

※No entry except for Reaper Guild.

Thud.

"Is it here?"

Team Leader Han Jaehyuk of the Association Hunter arrived in front of Paju Field with his subordinates.

When he glanced up at the sky, the weather was dull.

The place was vastly secluded.

It used to be Paju Industrial Complex, but when the dungeon break happened, it became a rough area that people stopped visiting.

The reason they came here was because of Baek Miho.

Baek Miho, Vice President of the Baekho Guild, suddenly visited the association with her subordinates last night.

She handed over one member of the Hyena Guild to the association and left, claiming that she had caught it in the Magok Field.

Han Jaehyuk, who had been investigating the factories, interrogated the same guild member, and as a result, he found out a lot of information.

'Lee Minseong, Vice President of the Reaper Guild, is secretly building a Stardust Lab!'

However, the problem was that even the guild members did not know the exact location of the laboratory.

In this case, he had no choice but to look for it on his own.

In order to produce stardust, blue mist was needed, so the location must have been one of the dungeons occupied by the Reaper Guild.

That's how the association hunters were scattered this morning, searching the dungeons of the guild centered on the metropolitan area.

"Team Leader."

Han Jaehyuk's subordinate had been on the phone for a while then hung up and approached him.

"This is something suspicious. Not too long ago, Vice President Lee Minseong of the Reaper Guild said he would voluntarily manage Paju Field."

"…"

The team leader looked straight ahead with a serious expression.

Beyond the barbed wire that blocks civilians from entering, old container warehouses in the distance were covered in blue mist, creating a dreary atmosphere.

"… Their location selection is amazing."

Team Leader Han Jaehyuk clicked his tongue as if he didn't like what he found out.

Paju Field was located close to Seoul, so it was easy to kidnap people and a good place to get the blue mist.

Above all, there were already enough container buildings in the field to be used as research institutes, so it was an ideal place to build a factory.

No matter how one looks at it, it was definitely right there.

Han Jaehyuk immediately picked up his shield.

"Let's get inside."

"What? Just us? What about troop support?"

"We must have physical evidence to request support. We might have misunderstood it for no reason, so let's call after we get at least a few pictures."

"Alright, I understand."

That way, 5 hunters, led by Team Leader Han Jaehyuk, jumped over the fence of Paju Field.

They finally found it.

Container buildings in the Paju Industrial Complex.

There was also the appearance of countless hunters roaming around.

'Found them!'

Association hunters exchanged glances with each other.

There was no reason for so many hunters to gather in a field-type dungeon that was almost abandoned.

"According to the investigation, Vice President Lee Minseong is secretly building his own power behind the Guild Leader Lim Taegyu. Perhaps there is some kind of conflict between them."

"This is… It's like a hideout."

He looked at the largest building in the middle of the containers and said to his subordinate.

"Immediately request troop support."

"Alright."

"And we'll go in."

"Huh?"

"I just heard a scream from inside."

Saying that, he gritted his teeth with a fearful expression.

"It looks like there are civilians in there."

It was a stardust laboratory…

Lee Minseong seemed to have already gathered the ingredients for stardust.

* * *

Stardust Lab.

Container A.

Min Byeonggu's wife, Oh Seonjoo, was shivering in a cold prison cell.

'Why am I here…'

She was confused and afraid of the whole situation.

She was just going to work as usual when she suddenly lost consciousness. When she opened her eyes, she found herself trapped in an unfamiliar prison.

She couldn't quite understand what was going on.

There were only a couple of strange things to conclude that it was kidnapping for ransom.

First of all, there were too many people wandering around outside the prison.

Also, all of them were walking around showing their faces openly.

'The fact that their faces were uncovered meant they had no intention of letting the civilians go.'

That fact made Oh Seonjoo even more terrified.

There were nine more people who had been caught like her in the prison.

"Huhuhu. Mom…"

'Even a child…'

Oh Seonjoo's gaze turned to the young boy who was trembling.

The little boy, who looked like a kindergartener at most, shrank his little body and sobbed sadly.

Perhaps the sound of the crying was annoying, a man passing nearby shouted at the boy.

"Oh, so noisy! I told you to stop crying!"

Thud!

"Bad!"

"…!"

Oh Seonju was startled and covered her mouth.

The man just screamed, but the boy's body flew backwards as if he was kicked very hard.

'Skill?!'

Oh Seonju was shocked to realize that those who kidnapped them were all hunters.

'Why did the hunters capture civilians like us? Why?'

Leaving her confused mind behind, she hurriedly approached the boy who was stuck in a corner and checked his condition.

"Hey…"

The boy was writhing on the floor, clutching his aching stomach.

Even so, fearing that he would get hit again, he desperately kept his mouth shut and only shed tears.

Oh Seonjoo hugged the pathetically trembling boy in her arms.

There was nothing she could do other than that.

Right then.

"…!"

Oh Seonjoo's eyes widened.

From the corner far away, a light flashed in the space covered by the shade.

The light was almost unnoticeable unless you looked closely, but once you recognized it, you would find it weird.

Was someone conscious of Oh Seonjoo's gaze?

Squeak.

Suddenly, as if a curtain were drawn, the face of a man was revealed in the empty air.

"…!"

Oh Seonjoo's eyes widened at that, and the man quietly put his index finger in front of her mouth.

'Shh.'

She controlled her breathing immediately.

Instinctively, she realized what his purpose was.

'Hunter Association. They came to save us. Let's pretend not to know.'

She felt like she could hear the voice of a man in her ears.

Surprised, Oh Seonjoo blinked hard and sent a signal that she understood.

Squeak.

Then the man's face disappeared again.

Very slowly, he approached the prison where the hostages were being held.

'Whew. It's really suicidal for just five of us to do this.'

A soft sigh flowed from the mouth of Han Jaehyuk, who was moving with the stealth skill with his subordinates.

However, the situation was too urgent to just quietly wait for reinforcements.

If civilians continue to inhale the blue mist there, they might suddenly turn into Mist Burns.

Civilians had to be evacuated from the field as quickly as possible.

'It will be okay. As long as everything goes according to plan.'

Team Leader Han Jaehyuk's plan was simple.

Silently open the prison door and include all civilians in the stealth skill.

One of his subordinates could make a fuss from afar, and they could all escape together.

'Once we get out of the building, it's a success. There are many places to hide outside.'

After a while.

Han Jaehyuk's hand finally reached and grabbed the lock.

His thick hands twisted the lock.

'Great! Success…'

"You're quite good, huh?"

…!

Chills!

Suddenly, a voice came from behind.

'We're caught!'

Bang-!

Suddenly, a huge explosion hit them.

At the same time, their stealth skills got disabled, and the team leader who managed to block the attack shouted at his subordinates.

"Damn it! Plan B!"

"There is no such thing, Team Leader!"

"Just do whatever you can to hold out!"

The all-out battle has begun.

"There are only five of them! Kill them all!"

Dozens of hunters in the lab attacked Han Jaehyuk's team all at once.

Thud!

"Everyone come behind me!"

Han Jaehyuk held up a steel shield that was huge enough to cover half of his body with both hands.

"Iron Wall!"

Swoosh!

He created a huge barrier and desperately blocked the attacks pouring in from all directions.

"Hold on a little! Reinforcements will arrive soon!"

The last words were meant to be heard by those over there.

It would be nice if he scared them away with that, but that kind of didn't happen.

Rather.

"Hey."

Startled.

The ghastly voice from earlier was heard again.

"Release your skills."

When he looked there, a man with a snake-like appearance was holding the neck of a child who looked like a kindergartener.

"Oh, no!"

Shocked expressions appeared on the faces of the association hunters.

Team Leader Han Jaehyuk recognized his face.

"Park Jongcheol!"

C-Class Hunter Park Jongcheol.

Even in the Reaper Guild, he was known for his cruel temper.

"Did you not hear me? Shove that shitty shield right away, bastard."

Park Jongcheol smiled the cruelest smile and lifted the child with one hand.

In that hand, the child squeaks and struggles as if he would die at any moment.

"N-No!"

"The child…!"

Association hunters shouted helplessly.

However, if he lets go of the shield skill as Park Jongcheol said, they would all be dead.

It was a moment where he couldn't make any choice.

Park Jongcheol decided to personally alleviate their worries.

"What? You don't want to? Even if I do this?"

Slap!

"…!"

Park Jong-cheol slapped the child's cheek with his large palm without hesitation.

Blood gushed from the kid's mouth, and his head turned to the side.

'That crazy bastard!'

In an instant, the eyes of the Association Hunters turned over with anger.

However, Park Jongcheol did not stop.

"Oh? Still won't listen? Even with this? And this?"

Slap Slap Slap!

"Stop it! I've already let go of my skills…!"

In the end, Han Jaehyuk's Iron Wall disappeared.

Slash.

…!

A knife that suddenly flew from somewhere cut off the arm of Park Jongcheol, who was holding the child.

"Oh God!"

A scream came out of everyone else's mouth.

Blood gushed like a fountain from his shoulder blades.

The pain came at a tempo late.

"…Aaaargh!"

Park Jongcheol, who had been smiling like a snake the whole time, let out a desperate scream.

"Ouch! Who are you! Who dares…!"

Park Jongcheol howled like a wounded beast and looked around.

And this time.

Slash.

His leg was cut off

"Aaaagh! M-My legs ah-!"

Park Jongcheol rolls on the floor.

A man wearing a crow mask was standing in front of him holding the child.

'W-Who is he?'

Everyone in the lab focused on him.

"You must die."

Death sentence was handed down to Park Jongcheol.

Everyone shuddered at that brutally indifferent voice.