IRNH C37

Chapter 37

“Yujun, can you get a bearing?”
“Yes! Over that way!”

Without sparing a glance at the door set to one side, Sihyeon strode toward the spot Yujun pointed to.

He drew an ordinary iron sword from its scabbard and halted in front of the wall.

“Stand back.”

At once, a dark crimson aura climbed along the blade, forming a sharp, distinct shape that flared silently.

With no hesitation, the elongated sword traced across the stone wall.

Ssshhhk—

There was no great noise.

Only the sound of air being sliced as the blade moved several times, and then the wall fractured into massive stone slabs that slid down slowly.

When Taewoon flicked his hand, the pieces stacked themselves quietly onto the ground.

“Wow.”

Yujun and Kyu-min gaped, stunned at the almost magical sight.

Kyu-min had known Sihyeon was strong, but he had never seen him fight directly. Yujun, too, had never witnessed his skills. For both of them, this was their first real glimpse.

“Let’s go.”
“Ah—ah! Wait for us!”

Before either could speak further, Sihyeon was already striding forward. Jerked back to awareness, Kyu-min and Yujun hurried after him, clinging close as if his presence alone steadied their hearts.

They repeated the wall-cutting process twice more. Yujun’s compatibility with the compass seemed excellent, guiding them precisely. By his reckoning, the guild members had to be right behind this wall.

“If this is the final destination, we don’t know what’s waiting. A battle could start immediately, so stay tense and follow closely behind Taewoon.”

Lifting his sword once again, Sihyeon braced himself.

Sssk—

The cutting sound was sharp enough to be unbelievable for stone, and as before, the boulders fell away smoothly.

A wide passage opened ahead. Though quiet, faint presences stirred at the far end of the cavernous space.

Narrowing his eyes, Sihyeon peered inside before entering.

‘Hmmm….’

There, people stood swaying like puppets on strings, vacant-eyed and expressionless, eerie enough to raise goosebumps.

Sihyeon frowned at the unexpected sight, then noticed others lying unconscious on the ground nearby.

At that moment, Taewoon, standing at his side, stepped forward without a word. He launched himself ahead soundlessly.

“H-hey! Taewoon-nim!”

Kyu-min and Yujun widened their eyes in shock at his sudden movement, while Sihyeon carefully tracked his disciple’s path.

Taewoon’s long, graceful fingers struck in rapid succession—chest, neck, head—of one of the dazed men.

“Ghhhk!!”

The man staggered, lifted off his toes, then collapsed, spewing black liquid and gas from both mouth and nose.

“Wh-what is this….”

By the time Sihyeon and the others caught up, the man was still coughing up foulness uncontrollably.

Kyu-min faltered, then dashed forward when he recognized the man’s face.

“Captain Kim Seongbin!!”
“Ugh… K-Kyu-min?”

The so-called captain gasped raggedly, grimacing as he forced his head up.

“Are you alright?”
“Yes… but what the hell is going on….”

Sihyeon had already noticed the problem: the man’s brain pathways were clogged with some black corruption. Of course Taewoon had sensed it too, forcing him to expel it with an infusion of energy.

It wasn’t exactly a gentle method, but with time short, it was the only option.

“You’ve been missing for quite a while. We came to rescue the guild members. Where are the others? Do you remember nothing?”

With Kyu-min frozen in panic, Sihyeon spoke calmly.

Still seated weakly, eyes blurry, Captain Kim rubbed them again and again before answering with a twisted expression.

“Ugh… My memory… Wait. We… Khm! Actually, we had another mission as well….”
“…What? I was never told of this. The report clearly said only to clear the gate or retreat if necessary!”
“That staff of purification. We were asked to retrieve it.”

Silence fell. Kyu-min’s brow furrowed deeper and deeper.

‘The Staff of Purification? Isn’t that the item his brother supposedly lost during a gate raid?’

“Did your brother ask this of you…?”

“…Yes, that’s right. The day before entering the gate, he told us he had successfully imbued the item detector with a buff. He asked us to use it to locate the staff. He also said it was still in testing and not to mention it to anyone. I assumed you already knew, Kyu-min.”

Kyu-min faltered, stunned. A secret request—kept deliberately from him.

“Then what happened afterward?”

Sihyeon pressed for details, his face stiffening.

“Well, as we followed the quest, we ran the item detector. It pointed off-route, so we detoured briefly. The item appeared right before us. But then—it vanished instantly. And then we were attacked from behind. I remember nothing else until now… So I don’t know where the others are.”

A low murmur slipped from Sihyeon.

So they had gone there at the brother’s request and been captured.

It might be a leap, but the seed of suspicion rooted itself in Sihyeon’s mind.

“Could it be….”
“Ha… No, impossible. My brother would never. He can’t control the gates or manipulate quests. How would that even be possible….”

Before Sihyeon could finish his sentence, Kyu-min cut in hastily, voice trembling with anxiety.

Sihyeon closed his mouth.

‘True. All he did was ask them to fetch the item. He couldn’t manipulate the gate or plan the quests.’

Besides, his brother was soon to become the CEO of a corporation that would dominate globally. Glory Guild’s fame was rising, but only domestically, and barely at that. It was not a guild worth his attention.

Even so, Sihyeon couldn’t discard his suspicions. Such vigilance had become ingrained habit over the years.

Thus, even after reuniting with the guild members, their hearts could not be fully relieved.

While hesitation lingered, Yujun announced that more comrades were nearby. They quickly searched the area, a vast underground hall caged in places with iron bars like a dungeon.

Thanks to Yujun’s sharp control, finding directions was surprisingly easy.

Led by Sihyeon and Taewoon, they recovered all ten missing guild members, laying them beside the shambling, dazed figures.

“They’re all in similar states. We’ll have to force each one to expel it.”

With a sigh, Sihyeon rolled his wrist and stepped forward.

Thud.

But before he could take more than a few steps, new presences entered from afar.

Hastily, he slipped into the shadows and sent a voice transmission to Kyu-min, Yujun, and Seongbin.

{Pretend to be unconscious, like the others.}

“cvdsalo. eeppaiw!!”

A strange tongue echoed, sounding like the cry of an animal. The voice grew closer, soon visible without even enhancing vision.

‘Who the hell are these? [Insight].’

[They are using a special item. Your rank is insufficient to read its information.]
[Not a defined existence.]

The alert baffled Sihyeon.

Never before had he received absolutely nothing. Even incomplete details had always appeared.

The gray-robed figure strode in, face hidden by his hood, but his movements were bold. Moments ago he seemed enraged, now he gestured to the bodies on the ground, giving silent orders.

Thump. Thump.

Behind him lumbered a grotesque humanoid, its body stitched together crudely like patched flesh, dragging a massive hammer.

“dkeejjlfl!!!”

And the instant Sihyeon dismissed the alert—

A body on the ground was smashed in half beneath the hammer, reduced to pulp.

‘Fuck.’

Thud! Thud!

The hammer struck again and again, shaking the ground. Flesh and blood spattered, pooling and streaming like a river from the mangled remains.