The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 118

A room that seemed to have been created by cramming together everything that could be called a luxury.

There was a large table made of high-quality wood, along with comfortable chairs that possessed a perfect balance of firmness and softness.

And in those chairs sat 30 people, literally draped in luxury goods from head to toe.

"Hoo…"

"Hah…"

However, the expressions of those sitting in their seats were all serious and rotten.

The deep sighs that continuously flowed from their mouths seemed to contaminate the air in the room.

"Hah, what is all this commotion overnight…"

"Indeed. Who on earth are the two people in that video?! Whose subordinates are they to be blabbering about such confidential matters!"

"Tsk, if you don't know, just be quiet."

"What?!"

The man, thinking he had been ignored, glared at the woman who was looking at him with foolish eyes and gritted his teeth.

But he didn't know that such an action was only making him look more foolish.

"The two people in the video. They're not members of our organization."

"What?"

The man, flustered by the woman's sudden words, asked back.

"Hah, you still don't get it even after I've told you so kindly?"

"…Are you saying it's a fabricated video?"

"Hah, it seems you can at least think with what's in your head."

The woman sighed with blatant pity, and the reactions of the others around her were not much different from hers.

Only then did the man realize he had become a clown, and his face flushed with shame.

"This is not a problem that arose from our mistake. It's an attack aimed at us! Then if we prove the video is fabricated…"

"There is no evidence that the video was fabricated."

The man offered his opinion as if to recover even a little of his fallen pride, but before he could finish his words, the firm voice of an old man cut him off.

"Before coming here, I had a few experts investigate the video, but they couldn't find any evidence that it was fabricated."

"What? Then how do you know it's a fabricated video?"

At the man's foolish words, the old man shot him a look that didn't hide his contempt.

"The reason we can be sure it's fabricated is because we are the ones being attacked. We know that those public officials are not our subordinates."

"Ah!"

At the man's exclamation, a fierce-looking middle-aged man sitting in another chair snapped at him.

"Tsk, do you finally get it? The enemies didn't work so sloppily as to leave evidence. On the contrary, they prepared with astonishing thoroughness."

"Th-then let's refute that what they said is false! It's something we were doing, but if we manipulate it well…!"

"Hah, you're really stupid."

The woman with flowing red hair said as if chewing her words.

"It takes half a day just to explain away a lie. But you want us to disguise what we really did as a lie and then refute the contents of the video? By then, the situation will already be over."

Once again, a dark silence gnawed at the space.

"Hoo, it can't be helped. For now, let's follow the emergency manual. And we'll suppress the rioting protesters with force…"

Beep-beep-beep-beep--!!!!!

At that moment, the cell phones of everyone in the conference room rang simultaneously.

They were momentarily flustered by this sudden situation, but then, as if possessed by something, they took out their phones and checked the message.

And they muttered in disbelief at the contents of the message they had never expected.

"There's an intruder here?"

"This was easier than I thought."

Someone answered the man's foolish mumble and put an arm around his shoulder.

It was an incredibly suspicious statement, but that wasn't important to the man who had an arm around his shoulder.

He was simply displeased by the fact that someone had put an arm around him.

The thirty people in this room were all executives who managed the major and minor affairs of [Dawn].

But just because they were executives didn't mean they were all on the same page.

Just as the organization [Dawn] was formed by the gathering of numerous interest groups, the relationship between the executives was not very good.

No, it was more fitting to say that they hated each other.

"You bastard, what do you think you're doing…!"

The moment the man, annoyed, tried to remove the arm wrapped around his neck.

Pook-

A single dagger pierced through the man's thigh.

"Kkeueuk…!"

The man tried to scream from the sudden wound, but even that was not up to him.

The arm that had been around his shoulder was now choking him, preventing the scream from coming out.

In the pain of being choked and the pain of his thigh feeling like it was on fire, the man moved his trembling eyes to the side and looked at the culprit who had done this to him.

A man in a black mask.

"Hi~ I'm the intruder you were all talking about just a moment ago."

He spoke in a playful voice that suited the white smile drawn on his mask and declared to the executives who were flustered by the sudden situation.

"I came to destroy [Dawn] today."

As the words of the man in the black mask, Lee Shin, ended, a chilling silence filled the inside of the conference room.

"How did you get in here?"

The one who broke the silence was a man with a black eyepatch over one eye.

Having already gripped his weapon, he slowly rose from his seat and looked at Lee Shin.

Starting with him, the executives sitting in their seats took out their weapons and took a stance to attack Lee Shin at any moment.

It was an action meant to threaten Lee Shin, and at the same time, an action born from their wariness towards him.

Until Lee Shin opened his mouth and revealed his presence, they hadn't noticed his presence.

'He's a guy with an ability or artifact specialized in assassination.'

All the executives present came to the same conclusion.

They raised their senses to not miss even the slightest hint of Lee Shin's presence and pressured him.

"What, didn't you hear what I said just now?"

But Lee Shin, as if unaffected by such pressure, moved lightly and swung the [Steel Spear] in his hand so fast that it was difficult for them to react.

"I said I came to destroy [Dawn], didn't I?"

Thud-

Degururu--

The head of one of the executives, who had been unconscious from being choked, rolled onto the floor.

'Seeing as he uses a spear, it seems he used an assassination-type artifact to get in.'

'He was a fool who used his family's name to get into Susanoo's position, but he had at least some skill. To be dealt with so easily.'

However, the executives, as if they didn't care whether the man died or not, simply organized the information they had gained from what Lee Shin had shown them.

In the first place, they didn't care if other executives died, so they weren't even shocked by the death.

Ttak-

A woman in a blue suit took a step forward.

"It seems you were deceived by your organization and came here. How about you surrender obediently? If you tell us the information about the organization you belong to, we might let you live."

She said in a haughty, seductive voice.

It was a sudden proposal, but the other executives did not object.

Because they hated each other, they knew each other all too well.

That's why they noticed that what she was saying now was a lie.

And anyway, the more time they dragged on, the more the situation would become favorable to them.

This was their base, after all.

"Deceived?"

"That's right. That fool is a LV.2 trash with no talent, but all of us here are LV.3, and we're all geniuses who are Thousand-rankers or higher."

Grin-

She said with a confident smile.

"Do you know what that means? It seems the organization that released the video this morning sent you, but you're just a pawn for provocation. They sent you here knowing you would die. So beg for your life and tell us the information you know. It's not a bad offer, is it?"

"…"

At her words, Lee Shin stood still as if deep in thought about something.

At that, the executives, thinking her persuasion was working, watched her and slowly calmed their auras.

The damn organization that released the video this morning.

They didn't want to let go of the only thread that could catch that organization so futilely.

"Puhahahaha!!!!!"

Then, suddenly, Lee Shin laughed out loud.

As if he had heard something unbearably funny.

At that, the executives were flustered.

The situations in their minds were only surrender or refusal.

"Ah~ I was wondering what you meant by 'deceived.' Thanks to you, I had a good laugh."

At Lee Shin's words, the executives' auras, which had subsided a little, flared up violently.

"You bastard, do you not grasp the situation? No matter how much of an assassination-type ability you have, do you think you can face all of us in a situation where you've revealed yourself like that…"

The words of the man, who was speaking as if chewing them in anger, gradually trailed off and finally stopped.

Then, in that state, he faltered back a few steps.

Wooooong--

He was overwhelmed by the killing intent that swallowed all of their auras and still flowed out endlessly.

Heejuk-

"It seems you've finally grasped the situation."

Lee Shin said that and took the pouch that looked like a lucky bag from his waist into his hand.

"Now, struggle. So that you don't die."

The moment Lee Shin took the pouch in his hand.

The man with the eyepatch quickly swung his sword at Lee Shin.

At that, Lee Shin narrowly dodged the sword.

But the pouch in Lee Shin's hand was cut in half along with its contents.

Jjaenggeurang-!

But that was exactly what Lee Shin wanted.

Shuooo!

The moment the pouch was split in half, Joker's orb inside it shattered.

And the black poison smoke inside began to flow out.

"Damn it! It was an artifact that activates by being broken!"

"It's smoke! There might be poison, so hold your breath!"

"Oh, how did you know it was poison smoke?"

Of course, it didn't matter to Lee Shin, as he had already taken an antidote.

Lee Shin smiled lightly and swung his spear at the man with the eyepatch, and he too gritted his teeth and swung his sword with all his might.

-Flame Lightning Tree God Spear

-Lightning

-A Hundred Branches.

But their levels were different.

Lee Shin's spear swallowed the man's sword, and it even tore apart the man who had lost his weapon and become defenseless.

Kkeuaaaaaaaak--!!!

Stabbed, slashed, and cut by the spear.

Each and every one of them was not a shallow wound.

But they all missed the vital points.

An attack with the sole purpose of inflicting pain.

And watching that attack, the executives realized.

They had talent enough to be called geniuses.

The executives of [Dawn] were selected through competition among those with outstanding talent from families that could live with great renown in Japan.

That's why they could realize it all the more clearly.

That they were on a completely different level.

Juchum-

The moment that thought reached them, the executives instinctively backed away.

At the same time, their eyes instinctively moved to find an exit.

"Where do you think you're going?"

But there was no way Lee Shin would let them go obediently.

The sight of Lee Shin, emitting killing intent while holding a spear wreathed in lightning amidst the black poison smoke, was truly the image of a demon.