Winner Takes All (3)

A constellation with plenty of room to gain an advantage when targeting mage hunters.

A constellation that synthesized skills without loss or change, and rather added positive elements. It could even synthesize hidden skills.

Even constellations that raised HP and Agility stats. With that, the confirmation of all twelve constellations ended.

“If I combine two hidden skills into one, does the total number of hidden skills become 76? Or will one new skill be added?”

There were so many unusual constellations that even these odd thoughts came to mind. It was something he would not know unless he tried it.

Even excluding constellation abilities and looking only at stats, HP had risen by 300, Toughness by 300, Anti-Magic by 225, and Agility by 200.

With just this much, it was fair to say he had equipped one more expensive first-grade item.

This was why he thought devouring one definite strong person was more destructive than devouring dozens or hundreds of half-baked weaklings.

It was something he had felt since killing Ishihara Yuji and Vincent Meyer, but the matter with the Gwak Hyeong-su brothers had turned it into certainty without doubt.

Kang-hoo turned his gaze again and examined the battle situation.

It did not look very different from before. All he could see were Heuksaja hunters running away desperately.

So he turned on a broadcast.

Since it was such a hot issue, real-time broadcasts were flooding everywhere across Huntergram channels.

Using multi-view to open several broadcasts, Kang-hoo was able to see the battle situation in places his gaze could not reach.

“The design definitely worked.”

There were not just one or two Heuksaja hunters who had fallen into the trap Lee Ye-rin had set.

The buildings and surroundings had ended up in an awful state, but the damage to the Heuksaja hunters guarding the dungeons connected to the buildings was the most severe.

Eight or nine out of ten stationed hunters had been swept up in the explosions and killed, while the rest had barely avoided instant death.

The terrifying part of Lee Go-su’s traps was that they stealthily hid their claws, while their explosive firepower was powerful beyond imagination.

The sophisticated skill that made high-firepower explosive traps difficult even to detect was impossible unless it was Lee Go-su.

Kang-hoo enlarged the screen when he happened to see statements from guilds, organizations, and the like being uploaded in real time.

When he even raised the volume, the content of the statements being spoken by the people themselves or their spokespersons could be heard clearly.

【Our Jeonghwa Guild strongly condemns Heuksaja’s vicious conduct that has continued until now.
We support and cheer for the Cheong-an Mercenary Corps, which is struggling to root justice in Daejeon.
In addition, we convey that all citizens of Seoul pray for Heuksaja’s complete annihilation and the Cheong-an Mercenary Corps’ victory.】

Jang Si-hwan’s statement, adding a spoonful of hypocrisy without missing this opportunity, had the highest view count.

The reaction was obvious.

As expected of Jeonghwa Guild, justice wins, we trust only Jang Si-hwan and go forward, and so on.

There seemed to be more organizationally written manipulated comments than actual reactions, but in any case, the response was considerable.

He had no particular interest in other guilds’ statements and did not even play them, but there was one more interesting reaction.

It was Kashimar Guild’s statement.

It was a statement read aloud by Nikita Boronin, the Korean branch manager, not Master Nikolai Strakh.

【The hunters belonging to our Kashimar Guild, identified in this all-out war between Heuksaja and the Cheong-an Mercenary Corps, do indeed belong to us as reported.
However, we reiterate that these were their independent actions, and we clearly state that all of them will later undergo disciplinary procedures according to internal regulations.】

“They’re cutting them off.”

Seeing them immediately start cutting off the tail, it seemed Kashimar Guild had also judged there was no possibility.

In that case, the only way for Heuksaja’s remnants to preserve their lives would be to surrender to Eclipse.

However, the video attached as the very next issue after Kashimar Guild’s statement video was interesting.

It was a statement released by Eclipse’s Kang Tae-yang.

Was he perhaps going to denounce Kang-hoo for sending his younger brother Kang Dong-hyun to the verge of death?

【Our Eclipse will continue to maintain neutrality in Daejeon and contribute to stabilization.
In addition, we clearly state that we have no intention of incorporating hunters belonging to Heuksaja into our organization.】

“This is…… a bit unexpected.”

It felt like he was playing it safe far too much.

Of course, Kang-hoo was not unaware of Kang Tae-yang’s dark intentions, but to think he would even refuse a situation where he could profit without effort?

He could say that on the surface and incorporate the remnants behind the scenes, but the wording was too gentlemanly.

Perhaps because Kang-hoo had grown used to Kang Dong-hyun’s emotional responses, he could not easily adapt.

In any case, if things became like this, Heuksaja would perfectly become a stranded duck egg. A miraculous revival was naturally impossible as well.

A future where only destruction remained.

Now it was a matter of how ruthlessly Lee Ye-rin would drive out Heuksaja. If it was her, she would be fully capable of doing it well.

“I’m a little tired.”

Kang-hoo closed his smartphone and lay his body down directly on the railing.

The breeze was blowing coolly, neither cold nor hot, making it perfect for taking a nap.

He was in the middle of a battlefield where no one in the world seemed likely to take a nap.

And even on a rooftop railing where he would fall ten floors down if he merely turned his body slightly to the side.

But Kang-hoo crossed his arms without much thought and immediately closed his eyes. He was the very picture of a victor’s leisure.

One hour later.

While screams still did not cease around the bloodstained area of Daejeon.

The extremely peaceful Incheon Airport was crowded with many visitors, and Elizabeth was among them.

The person who greeted her as she came out through the VIP gate was not the chauffeur she always saw.

It was Jang Si-hwan.

Jang Si-hwan, who had even driven out in an ultra-expensive sports car that made one’s eyes spin every time one saw it, escorted Elizabeth until she got into the car.

Since access to the VIP gate was restricted to ordinary people, no one knew that Jang Si-hwan had come to the airport.

Soon, Elizabeth, who had gotten into Jang Si-hwan’s car, listened to the classical music Jang Si-hwan had selected to match her taste.

For 10 minutes, she enjoyed a drive without speaking.

Jang Si-hwan only looked at her and smiled, while Elizabeth entrusted her heart to the sweet music.

It was a kind of routine.

Her own ritual to calm and steady her mind whenever she was exposed to a new environment.

But even that only lasted a moment.

Elizabeth, who had something she had wanted to ask Jang Si-hwan even before they met, opened her mouth.

“Jang Si-hwan. How long are you going to keep Vincent’s death a secret even from the other colleagues? And what reason is there to hide it in the first place?”

At present, exactly five people knew that Vincent Meyer was dead.

Jang Si-hwan, Elizabeth, and Choi Sara, who had handled the scene.

Adding Casey Rex and Chae Gwanhyeong, among the hidden skill holders who had definitely known Vincent’s hidden skill, made five.

Yu Cheonghwa, Takashi, and Emilia were indeed hidden skill owners, but they did not know Vincent’s hidden skill.

They had also never seen it directly with their own eyes, so there was no way for them to know of Vincent’s death.

Unlike Elizabeth’s expression, which had emotionally heated up along with her slightly raised voice.

Jang Si-hwan had a smile on his lips from beginning to end, and as always, a sickeningly cheerful complexion had settled over him.

“Is that important?”

At Jang Si-hwan’s short question in return, Elizabeth’s expression was filled with question marks.

No matter how emotionally worn down he might have been, had Vincent not been a comrade of Justice?

Elizabeth could not understand the fact that not even the slightest sadness could be seen from him.

As Elizabeth’s expression gradually darkened, Jang Si-hwan tapped her shoulder and spoke.

“The connections and networks Vincent enjoyed were all passed down to you without loss anyway. Isn’t that enough?”

“That’s not the issue. Those were connections that we, Justice, must not lose as well, so I tried to hold onto them somehow…….”

“Is that really so? Are you sure you were the one who tried to hold onto them? I was the one who built the bridge, wasn’t I? Can a person who merely put a spoon on the table claim they prepared the meal?”

She wanted to refute something, but from Elizabeth’s standpoint, it was not wrong either, so she could only close her mouth.

Had her words stimulated him? Jang Si-hwan brought up a topic that went far beyond what she had imagined.

“El, you know. Didn’t you say from the beginning that you wanted to join Justice because you wanted to watch me?”

“…….”

Vincent’s death and the problems afterward were no longer important in the conversation.

The topic Jang Si-hwan brought up was a matter in which Elizabeth held 100% of the stake, and it was extremely sharp.

It was also words directly connected to Elizabeth’s thoughts, which she had never once revealed until now.

“El, choose well. I knew from the beginning that you didn’t join Justice out of pure curiosity and admiration alone. I’m saying I already know on whose behalf you came in, intending to become their eyes.”

“What?”

“Don’t pretend it isn’t true. Just know that each time you commit such hypocritical behavior, the expectations and trust I have for you will be shaved away.”

“…….”

The lost initiative in the conversation.

Elizabeth’s eyes shook.

Just how much did he know, and from where to where?

Elizabeth’s calculation, which had tried to criticize Jang Si-hwan’s calm reaction even after seeing Vincent’s death and seize her own initiative, completely shattered.

It felt like he knew a secret too fatal for her to hide her reaction. That feeling was gradually becoming a certainty.

“El. You know, I can promise you things far greater than anyone you’re trying to trust and follow. Even so, are you planning to keep your distance while pretending to be close to me?”

“…….”

“El, you’re smart. You’ve always admired stronger power. Am I wrong? Then, realistically, who can give you greater power? Is it that ‘Eye,’ which you don’t even know whether you can reach even if you stretch out your hand? Is that right?”

“……!”

The word Eye, mentioned clearly and even with emphasis, was too deliberate to be a coincidence.

Elizabeth instinctively realized that Jang Si-hwan had already seen through even the existence behind her.

Screeeech!

Jang Si-hwan’s car stopped on the shoulder of a deserted road.

Jang Si-hwan, who had been staring straight ahead the entire time for driving, turned his gaze fully toward Elizabeth.

And with his unique gentle and soft voice, he continued the next story in a whisper.

“El. Let’s cast away things like lies and hypocrisy between us, and let only the hot truth remain completely. You and I can become closer partners than anyone, able to push and pull each other forward. That is our strength.”

“Our strength…….”

“Yes. I have the power to turn the fundamental ambition you hold inside, and the name Saintess of Salvation, into not a simple modifier, but people’s faith. Vincent is nothing. He’s a guy who can’t even serve as your tool.”

“Haa.”

If someone asked what it felt like to become naked without taking off a single piece of clothing, she would say it was right now.

Elizabeth shrank back at the feeling that all of her thoughts were being thoroughly dismantled by Jang Si-hwan.

It felt as if an iron wall she could not hide from, and therefore absolutely could not defy, was blocking her path.

She felt the helplessness that unless this wall permitted it, she would not be able to take even a single step forward.

“If I have you, and you have me, we’ll create synergy greater than two, even greater than three. Try being faithful only to the greed within you. Throw away hypocrisy and be faithful to your desire. Do you understand what I mean, El?”

Jang Si-hwan reached out his hand.

It was clearly a silent gesture telling her to answer with a handshake if she intended to join forces, but.

“……!”

Elizabeth, swept up in the impulse explosively released by her inner desire, pounced on Jang Si-hwan as she was.

Their lips overlapped in an instant.

The time that followed was known only to the two of them, a passionate time faithful only to primal desire.