NOVEL NEXT Chapter 99
Chapter 99: The Heart’s Thump
I could feel my heart racing.
It felt both electrifying and painful.
What a strange thing.
In over 60 years of life, I’d never felt anything like this.
I was always a healthy person, and after my Awakening, I hadn’t paid much attention to my health.
As Lee Chang tilted his head in confusion, the office door swung open with a bang.
There were very few people who would dare to burst in like that since he was the Vice President of the country and the head of the Hunter Association.
The person who entered was certainly someone worthy of such an entrance.
A tall man with silver hair and blue eyes.
What stood out about him was his remarkably long arms.
It was enough to evoke the image of a monkey.
This man was not originally Chinese.
He’d been brought in at an incredible cost.
Chang-jal (槍絶) Wayne.
That was his title and name.
The title “절 (Jal)” was not something given to just anyone.
It was reserved for those who truly excelled and were recognized in their field.
At the very least, it implied he had few rivals when it came to spears.
“What’s going on?”
Lee Chang asked in a stiff voice.
“I bring you two pieces of bad news.”
There was almost no emotion in Wayne’s tone.
He was that kind of man.
Remarkably cold.
So much so that it was said he wouldn’t blink even if his wife died.
His coldness extended to his spear fighting as well.
He executed movements with an alarming level of precision and minimal waste of motion, regardless of the situation.
His inhuman level of coldness had earned him the position of director of the Information Bureau.
In an intensifying global information war, a leader’s cold judgment was indispensable, and he was the perfect human for that role.
If he said it was bad news, it must truly be bad news.
Naturally, my mood soured.
Lee Chang furrowed his brows and said, “Let’s hear it.”
“The first piece of news is that Kashir is dead.”
“What?”
Lee Chang’s eyes widened in disbelief.
It was unbelievable news.
The Human Butcher, Kashir.
He was truly a strong man.
That’s precisely why the party had kept him around, even knowing he was a mad killer.
He was a man of such value.
And now he was dead.
If it hadn’t been for Wayne’s words, I’d have thought it was a terrible joke.
But Wayne was not the type to make jokes like that.
“I can’t believe it. I just can’t believe it. Who did it? Who killed him? Was it you?”
Lee Chang said with a face that reflected his conflicting emotions.
I now understood why Wayne initially emphasized ‘I bring you’ bad news.
Wayne and Kashir clearly did not get along.
Their temperaments were polar opposites, and it might have been inevitable.
There had been situations where clashes were on the verge of breaking out.
There was even a time when I worried it might escalate to a situation where they would face off with weapons.
Lee Chang had, in fact, sent Kashir to a different region out of concern for that.
“I wish it were you, but regrettably, it wasn’t. They say the one who killed Kashir was the Sword Master.”
“The Sword Master? The Sword Master?!”
Lee Chang exclaimed, leaping up in surprise before quickly sitting back down.
“Kashir was certainly in Korea… Could it be that the Sword Master is in Korea?”
If true, that was a gut-wrenching revelation.
Lee Chang knew well the terror of the Sword Master.
If Korea had gained such a force, it was clear they would stiffen up in an instant.
“I don’t think so. It seems they’re also searching for the Sword Master in Korea.”
“Then that’s a relief.”
Lee Chang’s expression eased a little.
It was a regrettable loss to hear that Kashir had died, but at least the Sword Master wasn’t on Korea’s side.
“How unlucky can you get? Of all people, to run into the Sword Master?”
“Living like that, you’d deserve some divine punishment.”
Wayne muttered.
His voice still lacked emotion, but his words carried some ill feelings toward Kashir.
“Ugh, I spent so much money, and now I can’t even utilize him properly… I guess I’ll have to focus on recruiting other S-Class individuals. Anyway, what’s the second piece of bad news?”
“That would be that your son is dead.”
“….”
A chilling silence followed Wayne’s emotionless words.
Lee Chang stood frozen, staring blankly at an empty spot in the air with an inscrutable expression.
His lips moved.
“W-What did you just say?”
“I said your son is dead.”
This time, there was no silence.
Bang!
Lee Chang slammed his fist down, and the sturdy wooden desk crumbled under the impact.
“Uwaah…!”
Unable to contain his anger, Lee Chang let out a scream.
He started throwing everything he could find around him.
He hurled and smashed anything that came to hand.
Bang! Crash! Bang!
Wayne watched this scene impassively.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a nameplate that read ‘Vice President Lee Chang’ flew toward Wayne at bullet-like speed.
It seemed that an ordinary person would be unable to dodge it and would suffer severe injury from such speed.
However, Wayne did not even blink; he merely tilted his head slightly to evade the nameplate.
Crack!
Whatever force was behind that throw, the nameplate slammed against the back wall and shattered.
“Uwaaaah! He’s dead?! That kid is dead?! Say it again, you bastard!”
Lee Chang screamed, pouring out his rage at Wayne.
A suffocating killing intent radiated from him.
“Calm down.”
“Calm down? Lie to me, you bastard!”
Lee Chang glared at Wayne and swung his fist.
But it wasn’t just any ordinary swing.
Within that strike, the Power of Fist surged.
The sheer force of that blow could easily smash through human bones.
“You were told to calm down.”
In Wayne’s hand, a spear appeared out of nowhere.
An ordinary spear made from bamboo.
It was the Bamboo Spear.
Since this wasn’t a life-or-death battlefield, he hadn’t drawn his precious ink spear.
Yet in the hands of a master, even a simple stick could hold immense power.
An ordinary Bamboo Spear could unleash overwhelming force depending on whose hand was wielding it.
Whoosh!
Wayne lightly extended the spear forward.
However, the momentum behind that movement was as sharp as a blade.
Swish!
The fierce energy contained in the spearhead cleaved the Power of Fist in two.
The halved energy lost its strength and dissipated into the air.
Wayne slammed the spear down and stomped with great force.
Boom!
With a loud noise, the floor shattered, and his foot sank deep into it.
The air in the room trembled from the force of his stomp.
Wayne’s stomp stirred the atmosphere of the room.
Lee Chang gasped for breath amidst the chaos that had turned his office into a battlefield.
His gaze began to calm down a little.
I understood why that man, who wasn’t a secretary, came to deliver the news.
If it had been a secretary, they would have burst into pieces.
“…Who exactly was it?”
Lee Chang asked.
“The Sword Master.”
“…”
Lee Chang did not respond to that answer.
He merely stood there with an unreadable expression.
Wayne waited for him to speak again.
After a moment, his lips moved once more.
“Tell me right now. What happened in Korea?”
◈ ◈ ◈
-Ministry of Foreign Affairs summons Chinese ambassador to South Korea… Protests against ‘Murder of Korean by S-Class Awakened Being’ (Breaking News)
As I scrolled through the internet, the breaking headline caught my attention.
Lee Si-hyun set down the beer can he had been drinking and fell into thought.
I was somewhat aware of how things were currently unfolding through the Hunter Association.
We’d already had various discussions with China through unofficial channels.
In short, China was sticking to its narrative of ignorance.
They claimed that Kashir wasn’t an S-Class Awakened Being they were managing, and nobody knew he was an S-Class Awakened Being at all.
They shifted all personal responsibility to him regarding the incident that occurred upon crossing over to Korea.
They exhibited the same attitude toward Bayan, who’d been found alongside him.
Even though the deceased Bayan was discovered with a mark on his face, both the Chinese government and Lee Chang, his father, claimed they had no knowledge of his Awakening or his actions.
And while acknowledging his failure in managing his son as a father, they argued that his son’s actions were entirely personal and had nothing to do with the party.
Ultimately, they expressed their sincere regret to the victims of this incident while maintaining that they had no relations with the Chinese government.
“…The dead can’t speak.”
Si-hyun muttered.
The Chinese government would have likely erased every trace of their connections to them the moment they heard about their deaths.
It was impossible to interrogate the dead, so proving a connection to the Chinese government without decisive evidence would be extremely difficult.
The formal summoning of the ambassador to lodge a protest was likely just for show.
If they didn’t do at least this much, public discontent would boil over.
Even this level of concession was acceptable for China.
One could easily envision the Chinese ambassador’s interview.
He would once again assert that they had nothing to do with the government while expressing his condolences to the victims.
“I don’t like it.”
A new group I wasn’t fond of had appeared.
The Black Cross.
And China.
Both had a commonality in that they committed inhumane acts yet wielded immense power.
Just as Si-hyun raised the beer can to his lips, a ping echoed.
He grabbed his phone to check the message.
[Web Notice]
Hello, Vice Principal Lee Si-hyun.
I hope you are enjoying your pleasant vacation.
You are scheduled to return to work from Monday, Month Day.
Please report to the Security Department Office by 07:30 AM.
For any other inquiries, please contact the General Affairs Division at the extension provided.
(000-000-0000, extension xxx, xxx)
-Ganghwa Island Special Detention Center General Affairs Manager
“…”
The Detention Center.
It hit me that my long vacation was over.
At first, I wondered how I would enjoy my vacation, but honestly, now, I wanted to get back to work.
If I had known such horrid events would unfold, I would have shown up a hundred times over.
I was so mentally exhausted that I didn’t even realize how long my long vacation had stretched.
“Yeah, the Detention Center is nice. The Detention Center is great.”
Si-hyun mumbled to himself.
◈ ◈ ◈
After a long time, I drove toward the Special Detention Center.
As I passed through the External Gate and parked my car in the parking lot, I was greeted by the familiar scent of the air.
The scent of the Detention Center.
The unique smell of a correctional facility that one could never experience outside.
I entered the changing room to change my clothes.
“Hello.”
A few passing staff members saluted and greeted me first.
It was an experience I had hardly ever encountered.
It was customary for those of lower rank to salute first, while those of higher rank would acknowledge them.
So, I had mostly been the one to salute first.
However, now that I was a Section Chief, I was finally experiencing this for myself.
A smile unknowingly spread across my face.
It felt even more pleasant than I had anticipated.
After changing my clothes, I headed to the main gate.
As I passed through the main gate, a welcome alert notification finally appeared.
[Your rising position makes Po-ahim very happy. He gifts you his skills as a token of celebration and presents you with a better guard baton.]