novelraw Chapter 262 : Draw Him Out (2)
Chapter 262 : Draw Him Out (2)
Kim Inbeom.
He was a human man who commanded a large force in the underworld.
Yet among his subordinates, there were more Ma-in than humans.
How was this possible?
First, it was because they were an organization bound by contractual relationships formed strictly for mutual benefit.
Second, because the organization itself was so belligerent that the Ma-in's endless murderous impulses had no opportunity to turn toward their comrades.
Third, because the existence of Kim Inbeom—who was neither a Ma-in nor a member of the Execution Force or a Hunter, yet possessed terrifying power reaching the upper echelons of S-minus rank—could control his subordinates through fear and authority.
Natural power, natural skill, natural decisiveness.
Kim Inbeom, who began to stand out seven years ago, rose to the highest executive position in the organization in just two years.
After gaining too much fame and standing, he directly killed the boss who was wary of him and seized the position of the organization's second boss.
Three years later.
At the mere age of 29, he succeeded in carving out his own territory in the underworld ruled by the [Vampire Queen].
But as his successes continued, his arrogance grew.
And when arrogance became carelessness.
'Divine Spear' Gong I-an, the 1st Unit Captain, ambushed him.
Just 5 exchanges.
Subdued in the blink of an eye, he met Chief of Staff Heo Sung-gyeom in the deep underground of the Execution Force headquarters, his eyes and ears sealed.
"Let's make a deal."
That was the first thing Heo Sung-gyeom said to Kim Inbeom after removing his blindfold.
"A deal? What kind of deal are you talking about?"
Heo Sung-gyeom showed a relaxed smile to Kim Inbeom, whose spirit was broken by anger at Gong I-an's divine power and his own pathetic capture, along with the despair of never seeing the light again.
"I'll secretly support you in the future if you help us capture the [Sword of Belphegor]."
"Bullshit! You think I'd reach out to the likes of you?"
"Well. I could just take you to the Black Castle as is."
"......."
"Isn't the outside better, even if you're rolling in a dungheap?"
"Damn it."
"Decide here and now."
"......."
Heo Sung-gyeom's offer was one that couldn't be refused from the start.
"Looks like I'm in deep shit."
Kim Inbeom had at least that much judgment.
"Well. If you seize this opportunity well, you might soar even higher."
After secretly joining hands with the Execution Force, things progressed rapidly.
With the help of the 7th Unit of the Execution Force, which handled the most covert operations like espionage and assassination, Kim Inbeom quickly expanded his organization.
After attending the gathering on the day of 'Operation Caligo' and escaping with minimal damage under the tacit permission of the members, he was able to wield an even greater presence in the underworld than before.
"That's amazing."
Yu-jin, who had heard the full explanation, marveled.
"He's a man of exceptional skill and acumen. He can certainly cause division in the underworld."
"Indeed he can."
Su-hyeon nodded, inwardly impressed.
'Kim Inbeom, to think they would use him here.'
Indeed, better methods emerge when heads are put together.
In other words.
A good idea had just occurred to Su-hyeon as well.
"What if we have this Kim Inbeom cooperate with Old Man Jang?"
"Oh."
Chief of Staff Heo Sung-gyeom nodded.
"Come to think of it, you said you had connections with that man."
"Yes. Though the parties would have to agree, of course."
"Neither would have reason to refuse. They don't have any particular grudges, and they're the type who can easily forget old grudges for mutual benefit."
Ju Taeyang, who had been listening to the conversation, made a decision.
"Alright, let's proceed with it."
"Understood."
"....Wow."
As the incredible conversation progressed rapidly, Yu-jin seemed a bit dumbfounded.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah. It's just a bit overwhelming......"
"Understandably so."
Ju Taeyang chuckled.
"Let's take a break and continue our conversation later. You've both been through a lot, and I seem to have kept you too long."
"Understood."
"You can eat comfortably at the cafeteria."
"Thank you."
"Right. You've worked hard. If you want to stay overnight, I'll let the academy know."
"......."
Yu-jin nodded, remarking that lately it felt increasingly natural to come and go from the academy.
"Thank you."
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After finishing my meal, I left Yu-jin to rest for a while and went up to the rooftop of the building, lost in thought.
'Things are flowing in a completely unpredictable direction.'
Originally, Hwang Won-jae would have launched a coup disguised as a fraternal conflict, as a human.
A subordinate organization of the underworld ruled by the Vampire Queen would cause an armed conflict with the PMC acting on Chairman Hwang Yong-jae's orders.
Taking advantage of the public attention focused on the resulting standoff, Hwang Won-jae would attack Hwang Yong-jae's vulnerabilities.
After turning public opinion to his side, he would mobilize the directors and major shareholders he had secretly brainwashed to succeed the chairmanship.
'It's almost like filming a noir film.'
In the process, Hwang Ji-su would be greatly shocked.
'Up to this point, my clumsy intervention couldn't change the situation.'
So I used the fact that only I knew Hwang Won-jae's true identity, and just before his plan was fully realized, I would expose his identity and thwart his conspiracy when he let his guard down.
'Of course, that process was always arduous.'
But now the flow has completely changed.
'We can't arrest Hwang Won-jae right away.'
As long as he claims innocence, and without other material evidence besides the testimony of Lee Cheong-myeong, who had already slaughtered people.
It would be difficult to forcibly detain him.
'First, we should throw the situation out there and observe his response.'
Someone like Hwang Won-jae might try to directly strike the chairman's office by infiltrating humans from the underworld under the Vampire Queen's influence.
'After all, his goal is to kill his own brother and steal the power and capital of B&S Group, as well as [that item].'
What if he succeeds in taking the chairman hostage?
'It's a violent method, but with that alone, he can gain so much.'
In other words, the reason he has disguised his identity so well until now is.
That he has been waiting for the most decisive moment to discard that identity and gain the greatest benefit.
"......Huh."
I couldn't help but laugh.
'So he'll be even more furious.'
His long-prepared plan has completely fallen apart, and his identity has been exposed.
Following the aftermath of Operation Caligo not long ago, when he missed the opportunity to significantly consolidate the underworld.
Now he's in a position to be surrounded through the alignment of forces.
'Hwang Won-jae must know that my existence has become the cause of all this distortion.'
So one thing puzzled me.
'Why isn't he trying to kill me directly?'
If they had tried to kill me directly, there would have been plenty of opportunities to target me.
'Of course, with Chukji, I wouldn't be caught easily under normal circumstances.'
Even if he knew that.......
I had a feeling there might be some other reason.
'Does he still have confidence despite everything?'
Perhaps he does.
Because in the hundreds of iterations I've been through, there was only one case where [Nastrond] didn't open.
That case was simple.
'When I died and retired before even getting there.'
In other words, even if I killed Hwang Won-jae and significantly cleaned up the Sword of Belphegor.
The true mastermind called 'Him' would still have numerous options.
'It's just that the most capable, most cunning, and most invested chess piece was Hwang Won-jae and the [Sword of Belphegor].'
"Su-hyeon."
Yu-jin's voice from behind broke my contemplation.
"Sorry, were you thinking about something?"
"No. It's fine."
"That's good."
Yu-jin smiled softly.
"Somehow we never get a break."
"You're right about that."
"Thanks to that, I think it's also good that I'm too busy to have painful thoughts."
Yu-jin said with a bitter smile.
"......Shouldn't we get help from the others if possible?"
"If possible."
I nodded.
"First, Hwang Ji-su won't listen even if we try to stop her."
"Yeah. Right. Since she's directly involved."
"It would be a huge help if people like Seo Jun-seong, Kwon Seung-yeon, Kim A-yun, and Hong In-hyeon could join us. But there might be intern drafts from their units."
Lately, due to the urgency of the situation, there were often intern drafts even on undesignated days.
'Of course, in my case, the scale of recent events has grown so large that I haven't been able to go a few times.'
"In any case, the Chief of Staff will decide on the detailed personnel selection."
"Yeah."
Yu-jin, who nodded, looked at the distant sky with me and said.
"I'm really glad I met Su-hyeon."
"......I see."
I closed my mouth at the strangely ticklish feeling.
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That afternoon.
The Execution Force officially announced through a statement that 'Rusty Sword' Ha Jin-su and 'Sword Warrior' Lee Cheong-myeong had died after being defeated by the combined strikes of the Sword God and cadets Jeong Su-hyeon and Lee Yu-jin.
Additionally, they conveyed that Lee Cheong-myeong, who regained his reason in his final moments and repented his sins, revealed that 'B&S Group's Director Hwang Won-jae corrupted him.'
This shocking news was reported simultaneously through newspapers, radio, and TV.
Moreover, thanks to the Chief of Staff staking both his name and that of the Execution Force to reaffirm that this was the official position, the controversy grew exponentially.
-Shocking truth! The enemy of humanity was hiding in the center of power!
-Is Chairman Hwang Yong-jae also an accomplice?
-B&S Group, record 30% stock plunge in just 2 hours...... What is Chairman Hwang Yong-jae's official position?
-"Director Hwang Won-jae was always a person shrouded in mystery." Testimony from internal employees!
Hwang Won-jae, who had left the Catacomb and was working in his office.
He closed his eyes tightly as he looked at the flurry of phone calls and the protesters gathering in front of the corporate building.
'Lee Cheong-myeong. Lee Cheong-myeong.'
Lee Cheong-myeong, whose telepathic connection was cut off after the rampage ended.
'I wondered what he was doing.......'
Who would have thought he would reveal his identity with his own mouth and then die?
'Clever bastard.'
The feeling of being outmaneuvered by a chess piece was most unpleasant.
'No. Now is not the time to maintain such pride.'
Hwang Won-jae shook his head.
'In any case, I am also just a chess piece of 'Him'.'
Squeak squeak!
At that moment, a small rat, the Vampire Queen's familiar, climbed onto the table and opened its mouth.
"What are you going to do?"
"First, I can buy some time."
Hwang Won-jae answered.
The Vampire Queen's subordinates and the building's security guards were blocking the entrance.
The employees who had been brainwashed long ago were calmly maintaining their positions.
But.
Knock knock.
"Come in."
"There are phone calls coming in for Chairman Hwang Yong-jae."
At the secretary's report, Hwang Won-jae pressed his throbbing head.
"......Leave them as they are, don't answer."
"Understood."
"Hah."
Hwang Won-jae sighed.
'Completely ruined the meal that was almost ready.'
Step, step.
Buried in the sofa, he closed his eyes and reflected on his past.
He had lived unable to display his abilities, overshadowed by his older brother Hwang Yong-jae.
With time and being the eldest son as his weapons, Hwang Yong-jae already had too much standing compared to him, and the support of the family executives was also firm.
'If I were to imagine the feelings of Grand Prince Chunghyeong with an overly presentable and capable Grand Prince Yangyeong as his brother, unlike actual history, it might be similar to mine.'
Before his head had grown, he had to acknowledge his brother's authority and the hierarchy between them.
What was more infuriating was that his brother genuinely cared for him.
The cause that had twisted him so much was none other than his father's abuse.
'Father, Father. If you hadn't been a bastard, I might have lived contentedly with my position.'
But since his father was not the type to raise and embrace his sons with love.
As his mind matured, he could only wander more.
Therefore, Hwang Won-jae also concealed the fact that he had developed a peculiar ability similar to his brother's—'the ability to move others' emotions somewhat as he desired.'
As he gradually became the black sheep of the family.
One day, Hwang Won-jae heard 'His' voice, as if it were a revelation.
''He', who recognized the value of my ability, gave me recognition, a new driving force to live, and even stronger power.'
To fulfill the mission given by 'Him', Hwang Won-jae had to return to that insufferable family.
There was no particular problem.
Thanks to being chosen by 'Him', Hwang Won-jae could suppress demonic energy as much as he wanted.
Moreover, Hwang Won-jae, whose ability was strong but whose combat power and physique were not, appeared merely as a 'non-Awakened' in everyone's eyes.
Furthermore, after all, he was the biological son of the group's chairman.
Not satisfied with his status, Hwang Won-jae made every effort to blend into the company and gain his brother's trust.
His ability to induce others' emotions grew stronger day by day, becoming powerful enough to freely perform brainwashing, control, and corruption.
With that power, making business deals was as easy as going to a vending machine and getting a can of cola.
Even his brother's discernment, which everyone feared, was easy for him to deceive.
'Brother. You can see the colors of people's emotions.'
And the emotion he harbored was 'absolute loyalty.'
His only brother.
When the emotion of his younger brother—whom he had considered a sore finger and cared for despite their age difference—was 'loyalty'.
And when his conduct was extremely courteous, diligent enough to run around forgetting sleep for the company, and extremely capable.
How could Hwang Yong-jae possibly suspect his brother?
It had been 20 years since then.
'Finally, the time to reap the ripened fruit was approaching.'
Yet today, everything was ruined.
"Haha."
So he laughed.
"What does that laugh mean?"
"My Queen."
Hwang Won-jae said in a cheerful voice, placing the small rat on his palm.
"I had plenty of time to prepare, assuming the worst-case scenario."
"Impressive."
The rat laughed.
"Does this mean you still have a Plan B even in this situation?"
"If I had to say, it's more like Plan J or K."
Hwang Won-jae replied.
"Of course, it's full of adverse factors that surpass even the worst-case scenario I had envisioned."
Speaking in a voice that had regained its composure, stopping his laughter, Hwang Won-jae said.
"No problem. I'll bring out that scenario now."