At Jordanâs question, Hak-joon hurriedly turned his head to look. He blinked his eyes several times before muttering out with a stunned expression, âHuh? Where did he disappear to?â
It wasnât as if he understood what Jordan said, but at least he could tell that the American mouthed the name âSu-hyeun.â The man who shouldâve been next to him was not here, so how could he not get flustered?
âWhere is Kim SuâŠ.â
âI-I, dun speak Engreesh.â
It was impossible to communicate. Jordan frowned, feeling rather frustrated. It seemed that Hak-joon also didnât know where Su-hyeun had disappeared to.
<<What about the bucket hat, then?>>
Two people had vanished at the same time.
Could there be some kind of connection here?
Jordan took a look at Chloeâs expression. She also seemed somewhat taken aback herself.
<<Is it because the bucket hat vanished? OrâŠ>>
Jordan narrowed his eyes and shifted his gaze away from her.
<<Or is it because Kim Su-hyeun has disappeared, too?>>
Caw, caaaaawâ!
The ominous cry of a bird resounded throughout the forest.
It came from the Blackbirds.
* * *
Shu-aaahkâ
Slashâ!
The body of a blackbird roaming in the air split in half and fell to the ground while scattering blood everywhere.
Wheee-ree-reekâ
Swiiishâ
The man pulled the bucket hat lower with one hand and fell back down to the ground. Almost at the same time, he flung himself into the densest part of the foliage.
However, someone else was chasing after the bucket hat-wearing man. As a matter of fact, this tail had been following him ever since he had left his initial position.
<<How persistent.>>
He could more or less tell just who was chasing after him; no one other than a fellow S-Rank could keep up with him.
Chloe wouldnât come after him, and he had already confirmed that Jordan did not sense his departure. More importantly, he knew that the vice guild master of Maximum Guild wasnât as quick on his feet as this person. He already knew quite a lot of intel related to that man, after all.
In that caseâŠ
Crackâ
âIs it Kim Su-hyeun?â
The man stopped and turned around. That prompted Su-hyeun to come to a stop, too.
âThatâs right.â
âYouâre faster than I thought. Sticking pretty close to me and all.â
The man grinned once Su-hyeun fully revealed himself.
The young Koreanâs speed was indeed quite quick. To think that heâd catch up when no regular S-Rank could even hope to pull off something like that.
âIâm sure you didnât chase after me for no reason, so what do you want? You must have some business with me.â
âYouâre MacRebur, right?â
Su-hyeunâs question caused the bucket hat manâs expression to freeze up for a second.
MacRebur.
That was the manâs real name.
âYouâŠWho are you?â
âAh, so I was right. Thatâs a relief.â
âWhat do you mean by relief? And how do you even know my name?â
Initially, he was curious about why Su-hyeun chose to chase after him.
This young man unhesitantly followed MacRebur quietly slipping away as if he knew this would happen beforehand. He thought that it was merely down to the kidâs vague sense of curiosity or suspicion. However, the story would have to change now since Su-hyeun knew his name.
After all, MacRebur had already used a false name to introduce himself. Su-hyeun knowing his real name despite that practically meant the same thing as the kid knowing his real identity as well.
âIf you arenât planning to answer, thenâŠâ MacRebur muttered.
âI wanted to ask you about something, actually.â
Su-hyeun took a step closer to MacRebur and spoke up. âWell, itâs not like youâd answer me right away, anyway. SoâŠlet me ask after I put you in a more cooperative frame of mind, okay?â
âYou insane son of aâŠ.â
MacReburâs brows shot up while swearing angrily, perhaps finding Su-hyeunâs attitude far too impudent.
But that lasted only for a second. Not long afterward, MacReburâs expression regained its previous composure. It was a stunningly bizarre level of change in his emotional state.
Witnessing that, Su-hyeun retorted matter-of-factly, however. âAs an assassin-type awakener, controlling your emotions is the basics of all basics. Right, youâre doing pretty well in that regard.â
MacRebur nearly lost control of his emotions again just then. Su-hyeun knew not only his name, but also what his abilities were, too. He tried to remain composed, but his shock didnât want to wear out quickly.
<<It doesnât matter. BecauseâŠ>>
Shu-wuwuwuâ
MacReburâs figure got sucked into the shade cast by the dense foliage of the jungle.
<<Itâll be the end if I just kill him!>>
Fuu-woongâ
With that, MacRebur vanished without a trace. Only a semi-transparent 'somethingâ remained wavering for a brief moment or two where he used to stand.
However, Su-hyeun remained calm as he scanned his vicinity. As expected, MacReburâs aura was gone with nary a clue as to where he might have disappeared to.
âHide in the shadows and aim for your targetâs back. Even this is basic for an assassin,â said Su-hyeun.
Su-hyeunâs gaze shifted to his side.
Tapâ
Although faint, a certain noise could still be heard. Even MacReburâs flustered emotion could be sensed quite clearly, as well.
Su-hyeun shifted his gaze again and continued on with what he wanted to say. âIn 2018, there was a catastrophe that took place in an American embassy. The number of victims was 11, including the ambassador. It was determined to be an incident caused by some sort of explosive device.â
Tapâ
âIn 2019, there was the free-for-all riot that took place in the Canadian Awakener Organization. The director of the organization got sucked into the fight among the awakeners and was killed. And in August of the same yearâŠ.â
Swish, tap, tap, tap!
Su-hyeun stood still and continued to say something â all the while his gaze shifted busily in this and that direction again and again.
MacRebur circling around such Su-hyeun waiting for an opening found it harder and harder to maintain his composure.
<<This b*stard⊠just who is he?>>
The incidents Su-hyeun brought up happened to be none other than the very ones MacRebur was involved in.
Of course, there were plenty of other incidents not known to the rest of the world. However, those incidents Su-hyeun mentioned? Almost no one knew that those were MacReburâs handiwork.
On top of thatâŠ
<<Again.>>
Tapâ
MacRebur was gradually closing the distance but had to back away again. He used a skill to hide his body and cautiously approached Su-hyeun, but his target had accurately saw through his position.
At first, he thought it was pure coincidence. Or maybe the b*stard was particularly lucky.
But when the same thing repeated three, four times in a row, he knew that this was no coincidence at all.
<<He can actually see where I amâŠ.>>
His composure began crumbling away bit by bit. At the same time, the questions regarding Su-hyeun quickly mushroomed in the corner of his mind.
<<Goddammit.>>
He couldnât make up his mind.
Su-hyeun was accurately seeing through his current position. As an assassin, he naturally favored sneak attacks, yet this was the same as forcing him into an open confrontation.
Should he escape from here? Or should he stay and fight?
If he did escape from here, then he probably would be able to meet his target at a different time.
HoweverâŠ
<<No, I canât let him live.>>
This b*stard knew too much about him.
He needed to suppress his target and find out just who the hell this kid was. If he couldnât, then he absolutely had to make sure that Su-hyeun was not breathing anymore.
Su-pahkâ!
Aiming for Su-hyeunâs blind spot, MacRebur exploded in speed without warning. The location he dashed to was right behind Su-hyeunâs back. He then closed the distance in the blink of an eye while yanking out his dagger.
At the same timeâŠ
Shu-ahhkâ
Countless black blades rose up in all directions with Su-hyeun in the middle.
Chwa-rahrahrahrahkâ
The moment all those black swords pounced on Su-hyeunâs silhouetteâŠ
<<Itâs done.>>
MacRebur cried out inwardly in elation. His attack worked far easier than he initially thought. Fortunately, he had accurately aimed for Su-hyeunâs blind spot, it seemed.
But thenâŠ
âHuh?â
He definitely thought he caught his prey, yet there was no sensation at the tip of his dagger.
Sliiiceâ
Dropâ
A burning pain was transmitted through his arm. Something weighty fell near his feet next. He shifted his gaze lower only to discover a severed arm spurting blood rolling around on the ground.
âAh, ah? Ahhhhk!â
âShut up.â
Baaaangâ!
Su-hyeun grabbed MacReburâs head from behind and slammed the assassin face-first into the ground.
MacRebur had lost his cool from the horrifying reality of his limb being cut off, and couldnât even offer proper resistance as his face was viciously planted into the ground below.
For a moment there, he thought heâd blackout. He wouldâve done so for real if it werenât for Su-hyeun lifting the assassin up in the air by the head.
âOkay, so you wonât run away with this, I hope?â Su-hyeun said.
âEuhâŠ.euh, euhâŠ.â
Countless emotions fleeted in and out of MacReburâs eyes.
His previous composed look was long gone by now. His eyes were filled with confusion and fear and no longer belonged to an assassin.
âThe weakest point of an assassin like you always has been yourselves. Your stealth would gradually come undone just because you started losing your cool.â
âEverything after that, too. Even then, you did maintain your cool pretty well, I have to say. But maybe because your past work got found out, your composure began to crumble little by little.â
Craaackâ
âKuwaaaaahkâ!â
To prevent MacRebur from escaping too far, Su-hyeun stomped on one of the assassinâs legs and shattered it.
As the scream resounded out, Su-hyeunâs ice-cold eyes looked down MacRebur. âThis is nothing much, you know. How many died by your hands up until now?â
âEuh, euhâŠ.Euh, euhâŠ.â
âSince you are an assassin, you shouldâve run away like one. You made a mistake of taking me head-on. Well, even if you did run away and wait for another opportunity, later on, the end result wouldâve been the same.â
MacRebur heard those words and realized that heâd played into Su-hyeunâs trap all along.
His opponent already knew who he was and dug a double, no triple, layered trap with the knowledge as the foundation. He prevented him from retreating and ensured his complete defeat even if they fought head-on.
<<I need to escape no matter whatâŠ.>>
âHey, I can see you thinking of running away from your eyes.â
Grabâ
âW-wait, hold onâŠ!â
When Su-hyeun placed his foot on MacReburâs other leg, the assassin cried out in pure shock.
Unfortunately for himâŠ
âHold on, my ass.â
Craaaackâ
âKkeuhâŠ.Aaaaaahâ!â
After crushing both legs of his prey, Su-hyeun finally lowered himself and matched MacReburâs line of sight. The latter, as he lay there moaning in pain, soon realized that he could no longer escape from here.
âThe Dump Guild.â
<<He already knows everything.>>
âRight?â
âKeuhâŠ.keuh, keuhâŠ.Kekeke.â
The pained moan leaking out of his mouth was now mixed with a cackle.
It just felt too funny, now that everything was laid bare in the open like this. MacRebur was curious about how much Su-hyeun knew, but it seemed that he knew everything.
âYouâre actually laughing. What a crazy bastard you are,â retorted Su-hyeun.
âIâm not sure how much you know, butâŠYou shouldnât have come here.â
âYouâre bluffing.â
âNo, Iâm telling you the truth. YouâŠshouldâve stayed in Korea.â MacRebur cackled and continued on. âBut what to do now? You only have a pair of hands, after all. And soon enough, in Korea there will beâŠ.â
âOh, that. You donât have to worry about that.â
ââŠWhat did you say?â
Only then did MacRebur take a good look into Su-hyeunâs eyes.
The latter didnât seem to be panicking one iota from what he had said a second ago. No, he seemed utterly disinterested as if he knew about it already.
<<Thereâs no wayâŠ>>
Even that?
<<This makes no sense!>>
Unless they had a traitor among their midst, Su-hyeun couldnât have known about it.
MacRebur momentarily wondered if Su-hyeun didnât care at all about South Korea, but that didnât seem to be the case. Those eyes, rather than indifference, were a lot closer to confidence, instead.
It must have meant there was something he could place his trust in.
âIt canât beâŠ.â
âEnough. Iâll be the one asking questions from now on. Timeâs wasting.â
This would be the first time in a long while.
Every member of the Dump Guild was infamous for their viciousness. And if it was an S-Rank from that group, then making him talk would be incredibly difficult to say the least.
âThe Dump Guildâs American headquarters. Tell me everything you know.â
ââŠWhat was that?â
MacRebur was wondering what kind of questions would be asked since Su-hyeun seemed to know everything, but then, he realized that the contents of the question were quite ominous in nature.
Read Latest Chapters at wuxiaworld.eu
âThe Dump Guild. You cockroach-like b*stardsâŠ.â
The biggest reason why Su-hyeun came to America wasâŠ
âIâm planning to stomp you out of existence using this chance.â
âŠto completely eradicate the Dump Guild currently hiding in the United States of America.