Tartarus

Rumble!

Kim Minsu silently stared down at the corpse, then pulled out a small case from within his coat.

Inside were several empty syringes.

They appeared to be specially crafted, their tips made in a particularly unusual fashion.

“……”

He inserted a needle and pulled back the plunger, drawing out a dark, sinister-looking fluid.

The serum of a <Fusion-Type Demon>.

After collecting about four vials’ worth, Kim Minsu put them all away and slowly turned around.

The two guards, until then, stared blankly at Kim Minsu.

“Forget everything about meeting me today.”
“…Yes.”
“…Understood.”

Kim Minsu stepped outside.

How far had he walked?

He cautiously stopped at a familiar presence.

As if on cue, from behind a tree shrouded in moonlit shadows.

A woman emerged, hidden in the darkness.

“Oh my, you’re done already? Our patrols won’t be back for a while…”
“…Wouldn’t it have been easier to just let me in?”

In response to Kim Minsu’s words, the woman chuckled slyly.

Though her face wasn’t clearly visible, the white nun’s habit and the insignia on her chest made her affiliation clear—she was from the <Order>.

Not just a common follower either…
She was at least a <Bishop>-level figure.

“That would’ve been too suspicious~ And what, you want to burden a delicate little woman like me with something so risky?”

Kim Minsu inwardly clicked his tongue at her disgusting tone.

‘Filthy pig…’

A traitor only concerned with her own skin. She was revolting.

Naturally, Kim Minsu hadn’t come to this dangerous place relying on his own power alone.

He had someone backing him.

And that person… was this woman with the beauty mark beneath her eye.

A traitor to the <Order>, and an ordinary clan member of <Tartarus>.
There was no need to explain why a sacred relic like [Khan’s Mace] was in Jing Daram’s hands.

Though he didn’t like it, Kim Minsu didn’t make a big deal out of it.

This woman acted like she was something important, always pretending to carry weight she didn’t deserve.

‘She’ll just end up discarded by Moon Ha-yeon anyway.’

Not worth paying attention to.

“…Then I’ll be taking my leave now.”
“Oh my, already? You could stay and have a little fun with me~”

She reached out to touch him, but Kim Minsu lightly slapped her hand away.

“Moon Ha-yeon is waiting for me.”
“Hmph, is that so…?”
“Then, goodbye.”

With the woman saying, “Send my regards to your higher-ups~,” Kim Minsu casually made his way out of the forest.

Kim Minsu walked on.

Careful, and ever more cautious—so as not to be noticed by anyone.

Eventually, he arrived in a rundown part of the city, far from <Gonis Hunter Academy>.

An abandoned factory.
He entered like it was his own home.

Inside, sitting atop a metal drum with her legs crossed, a woman waited.
Upon seeing her, Kim Minsu bent one knee and bowed.

He thought to himself.

‘Ahh…’

No matter how many times he saw her…
She was always so breathtakingly beautiful.

“…Minsu? That look in your eyes is kinda sketchy, you know?”
“You are simply too beautiful.”
“…You’re seriously creeping me out.”
“Even your scolding is a blessing.”

At that, his superior—one of the top brass and executives of <Tartarus>—Moon Ha-yeon sighed in exasperation.

She let it slide without comment.
He always acted like this, after all.

“So? Did you get it?”
“Of course. It was a success.”

Without hesitation, Kim Minsu reached into his coat and pulled out a case.

Moon Ha-yeon opened the box and stared at the liquid inside the syringe.
Then, without a moment’s hesitation, she swallowed the contents in one gulp.

“Ugh, that tastes disgusting…”

She clicked her tongue, but only briefly.
Soon after, a satisfied smile appeared on her lips as she felt the “substance” flow through her body.

Normally, this wasn’t something anyone could absorb so casually.

It was the essence of a <Demonic Beast>.
Not just any kind, but the bodily fluid of a bizarre, never-before-seen <Fusion-Type> entity.

Civilians would die instantly just by being near it. Even top-tier Hunters would perish on the spot.

Yet Moon Ha-yeon absorbed it without a single problem.

Drip.

Black blood began to run down her fingertips.
She quietly watched the droplet fall to the floor.
Then, as the <Information Window> appeared before her eyes, she let out a deep, satisfied smile.

A deep smile spread across her lips.
Moon Ha-yeon was certain.
It was a success.

“You did well, our Minsu.”
“Thank you!”

Kim Minsu trembled at Moon Ha-yeon’s compliment.

He lifted his head.

Moon Ha-yeon, looking at the remaining syringe, was smiling with an ecstatic expression.

‘Judging by her reaction…’

It seemed it had worked.
Kim Minsu felt even greater elation than Moon Ha-yeon herself.

This was another step forward for the cause.
He was certain they were one step closer to the future Moon Ha-yeon dreamed of.

Moon Ha-yeon’s [Unique Ability].
Many who saw the ice she wielded said it felt sinister.
Most claimed they couldn’t begin to understand what it truly was.

‘That’s understandable…’

Kim Minsu also possessed a very unusual [Unique Ability].

Thus, he considered various possibilities, but…
Even he couldn’t figure out what that ability was until Moon Ha-yeon herself explained it.

Hot, yet cold ice…
Fire and frost.
A mysterious power that forcibly wielded both opposing attributes.

Anyone who thought it was just about wielding two attributes would be gravely mistaken.

Moon Ha-yeon’s ability was something far greater.

‘Fusion of All Things.’

Moon Ha-yeon could merge attributes that could never mix.

Ideologies that repelled one another.
Physiological compositions that caused rejection.
Entities and concepts that, by nature, could never be one…
She could merge them as if it were nothing.

That was her [Intrinsic Ability], the Legendary grade [All Things].

Moon Ha-yeon once said that this ability awakened because of the vile, corrupted blood that flowed through her veins—blood altered by her family, the <Moon Clan>.

It was a power that no one else in the world could possess. A power that belonged solely to her.

It was because of this background that Moon Ha-yeon, still young and without any true strength back then, had been accepted into the massive organization known as <Tartarus>.

And even more…

Because of her potential, <Clan Master> Tang Seo-ran gave her permission, which led to the birth of an unprecedented catastrophe: the <Fusion-Type Demon>.

The perpetrator of this <First Academy Assault>, Jing Daram, was an experimental subject born from that.

To Moon Ha-yeon, Jing Daram was merely a discarded pawn to see how her ability worked.
Just a device to confirm the results of the experiment.

Kim Minsu looked at Moon Ha-yeon with teary eyes.

Moon Ha-yeon, who was disgusted by such a reaction, was a bonus.

“With this, Miss Moon Ha-yeon has opened the possibility to rise above.”
“…Are you crying right now?”
“Indeed. How delightful—”
“Ugh, that feels weird. Anyway… you’re right. There’s still a long way to go.”

Moon Ha-yeon, brushing her hair back, hinted at getting to the main point.

“So, have you documented it properly?”

Of course, they hadn’t just unleashed Jing Daram to cause havoc.

Even Yu Seha had sensed it: the overwhelming risks that couldn’t be ignored.

Moon Ha-yeon was well aware of this too.

With this attack, not only the <Gonis Hunter Academy> but other influential groups wouldn’t stand idly by.
They would surely gather, hold meetings, devise countermeasures, brainstorm methods, and tighten security.
In short, raiding the <Academy> again would be far more difficult now.

But Moon Ha-yeon was unconcerned.
Kim Minsu would have prepared measures for that.

And indeed, Kim Minsu had long completed the documentation of the ‘place’ for the grand endeavor while Jing Daram drew all eyes at the Academy.

“Yes, without a doubt. It is undoubtedly… the place where the Demon King will descend.”

In response, Moon Ha-yeon smiled deeply.

Why would a colossal crime clan like <Tartarus> target the <Gonis Hunter Academy>?

Was it simply because good and evil naturally fight each other?

Could that really be the case?

From that perspective, it would make more sense to take down the <Order>.

And <Gonis> wasn’t even the only academy out there.

There was a reason they specifically targeted this one.

Surprisingly, <Gonis Hunter Academy> was never originally built as an educational institution.

It was a symbol—a beacon of hope.

In the distant past, it had been established atop the fallen corpses of the 72 Demon Kings, who had been slain by dragons and human heroes uniting their powers.

The world-renowned genius archmage known as the <Magic Emperor> insisted on constructing an academy from the underground, establishing all sorts of systems.

It was precisely because of…

“The <Demon King’s Temple>.”

At the very bottom of <Gonis Hunter Academy>, there existed a temple designed to summon the Demon King.

An indestructible, unbreakable object.
And the role of <Gonis Hunter Academy> was to serve as its gatekeeper.
Though…
Almost no one alive remembered that truth anymore.

“…Additionally, it has been confirmed that the drug developed by Moon Ha-yeon has resistance to the <Overlord Sword>.”

Kim Minsu remembered clearly.

The scene of the fearless <Overlord Sword> recklessly cutting down beasts while charging forward.

All of them were not ordinary beasts but beings injected with [Vile Blood] developed by Moon Ha-yeon.

“It seems the <Overlord Sword> was too distracted to notice.”
“That’s good news. By the way, how many seconds did it last?”
“…About 3 seconds.”

Moon Ha-yeon clicked her tongue.

She already knew it, but still, the [Overlord Sword] was just absurdly overpowered.
There was a reason other criminal clans refused to work with them just because of that one person.

“…Still, this seems sufficient, doesn’t it…?”

Moon Ha-yeon turned her head.
Her gaze was not directed at Kim Minsu.
It was a man who had been silently listening to this conversation from the beginning…
A man who hadn’t revealed his presence until now.

“……”

At Moon Ha-yeon’s remark, the man finally unfolded his arms and stepped out from the shadows.

He was an elderly man with a rigid face that left a strong impression.

Despite appearing to be over seventy, the old man had a body that was robust and firm, unbelievable for his age.

Standing nearly two meters tall, the elderly man, in an unusual manner, appeared as if he were a weapons merchant.

He was adorned with weapons hanging from every conceivable place.

Waist, back, sides, and even the pockets of his feet, among others.
All the weapons were unified by the type ‘sword.’
They varied in shape and use.

To someone unfamiliar, he might just seem like an old man who made quite a few women cry in his prime.

But those who recognized his face would all be stricken with fear.

“Sword Ghost So Hang-woo?”
“……”

The old man, known as the Sword Ghost, merely looked at Moon Ha-yeon without saying a word.