The Returnee’s Guild Must Grow Properly

The score, which the celestial being had reportedly been robbed of, was surprisingly easy to find.
It was perched on a music stand, exuding an intense energy, as if saying, “Hurry, take me back to my master!”

I reached out for the score but paused, narrowing my eyes.
“Nothing strange is going to happen… right?”

Given the countless pranks the stars had played on me, I couldn’t help but doubt. But still…
“What could possibly go wrong?”

I immediately regretted those words. Of course, saying such things always invited trouble.

[Returnee Spirit Master has sent a distress signal.]

“….”

The incoming message made me retract my hand from the score and quickly leave the recording studio. If I grabbed the score now, the request would end, and the “Godslayer” title would be forcibly sealed.

The more power I had at my disposal, the better—especially when I had no clue what kind of situation I’d be walking into.

Scowling, I sent a message to the Spirit Master.

[Private Chat: Godslayer (Guild Master)]
Godslayer: Hey, what’s going on?

No response.

Godslayer: Spirit Master?
Godslayer: Kang Hasu?
Godslayer: Mister?
Godslayer: Hello?

Despite sending multiple messages, I got no reply. Clicking my tongue, I ruffled my hair in frustration.

Something must have happened. Normally, after this many messages, he’d send a retort telling me to cut it out.

I reached for the emergency exit door but hesitated, noticing how eerily empty the hallway had become. One spot, in particular, was scorched black—the aftermath of lightning summoned by Divine Punishment.

I glanced at it for a moment before shaking my head and pushing the door open.
“I hope our Spirit Master is doing alright.”

The bigger problem was figuring out where to find him.

【00:21:23】

The Spirit Master turned out to be surprisingly easy to locate—so easy that it was a problem.

“…”

Whoosh.

A stray spark grazed my cheek, leaving a small wound that healed almost instantly. I touched the spot, feeling where the injury had been. The flesh was completely smooth, not a single scar remaining. I smirked crookedly at the flawless repair.

Woosh!

A pillar of fire came flying at me, forcing me to twist my body to dodge it.
“Ah!”

But an ember landed on my coat, igniting it. I quickly extinguished the flame, but the edge of the coat was already scorched black.

Damn it. This was a gift from Do Hain.

As my youngest sibling’s face flashed through my mind, I pushed my hair back and called out the name of the person responsible for the fire.
“Kang Hasu.”

“…”

I hadn’t expected an answer, but still…

“This isn’t exactly what I had in mind.”

The flames surrounding Kang Hasu’s body began to form the shape of a massive bird. As the fiery phoenix spread its wings, charred debris fell from the ceiling, scattering across the floor.

The acrid smoke made it hard to breathe, though only for a moment.

[Authority, “Purification,” is now active.]

Swallowing dryly, I forced a smile and sent the Spirit Master another message.

[Private Chat: Godslayer (Guild Master)]
Godslayer: Hey, Mister?

As soon as I received Kang Hasu’s pointed finger, a massive flaming bird streaked toward me at lightning speed.

“Ah, for f***’s sake!!”

I tried to manipulate my chains, but for some reason, the damn bird passed right through them. I barely managed to dodge its flaming beak, but a piece of charred ceiling material crashed down on me from above.

“This… son of a—”

The flames on the debris burned my skin, the acrid smell making me grimace. I swung my chains to shove the smoldering debris away from me.

At the same time, the enormous flaming bird hurtled toward me again.

[Authority, “Divine Punishment,” is now active.]

With a clenched fist, I swung at the bird’s flaming head. Though I didn’t feel like I truly struck it, the effect was immediate.

A faint crackle of blue lightning sparked, and soon bolts of electricity rained down across the fiery lobby.

BOOOOM!

Repeated strikes shattered the bird’s form, scattering its flames into the air. Though the lobby was charred in places, it was still standing.

“…”

And so was the building’s owner, who remained unfazed as more charred debris fell near him. Even when some landed just beside him, the Spirit Master didn’t so much as flinch.

Clicking my tongue in irritation, I took a step forward.
“Kang Hasu, are you seriously still not in your right mind?”

His eyes moved sluggishly toward me. Almost immediately, the air around him began to shift, a strong gust of wind building up. Carried on the breeze came the faint sound of laughter, followed by a fierce gale that slammed into me.

“Ah, for the love of—!”

I couldn’t even keep my eyes open. As if that wasn’t bad enough, sparks carried by the wind left fresh burns on my skin. Though the Saintess’ power erased each wound in an instant, it didn’t erase my growing frustration.

Grinding my teeth, I contemplated how to deal with Kang Hasu in a way that’d become a legendary tale. As I plotted, I noticed his hand reaching for my neck.

Smirking, I let my lips part slightly before raising the corners of my mouth into a sharp grin. I grabbed his wrist firmly before he could touch me.

“…!”

His eyes widened in shock.

Sneering at him, I activated my trump card.

[Absolute Authority, “Sovereign Above Laws,” is now active.]

The wind died down instantly as I slammed him hard into the floor.

“Ugh…!”

Watching him gasp for breath, I wrinkled my nose in distaste.

“Feeling any clearer now, Spirit Master?”

As irritating as he was, he was still a guild member. That said, I couldn’t deny I was a bit amused. Maybe I should’ve slammed him harder.

Kang Hasu clutched his chest, coughing violently as he tried to catch his breath. He wheezed a few times before raising his head, his face contorted in pain.

“G-Guild Master?”

For a moment, I debated hitting him again for good measure, but thankfully, it seemed unnecessary. Still, I felt a twinge of regret. Perhaps I should’ve gone a bit harder.

“Why are you here, Guild Master…” His voice trailed off as he stared at me with wide eyes.

“And what happened to your… appearance?”

At his startled question, I smirked crookedly and replied,
“You happened.”

“Me?”

“Yeah. You.”

Kang Hasu opened and closed his mouth like a fish before letting out a long, weary sigh.

“Oh… great Ifrit…”

“Stop summoning Ifrit and deal with the fire, will you?”

At my words, Kang Hasu finally seemed to notice the lobby still ablaze and gasped in horror.

“Oh! Great Ifrit! Did I do all of this?!”

“Yeah, this is all you.”

I told him to stop calling Ifrit, but he kept doing it. What’s with this obsession?

Well, he must love it enough to play with fire—literally.

As I watched the flames in the lobby slowly extinguish, a pitiful sound came from Kang Hasu.

“Sniff… When the test ends, will all the destroyed areas go back to normal?”

“Probably.”

“Sob… that’s a relief.”

“I said probably.”

“I choose to believe they will.”

Kang Hasu wiped his eyes roughly and tried to stand up but let out a groan of pain.

Gripping his chest, he winced, prompting me to frown. I used the Saintess’ power to heal him. After pressing on his chest a few more times to test it, he straightened up and thanked me.

“Thank you.”

“Save your thanks. What happened to you?”

He scratched his cheek awkwardly, avoiding my gaze.

“I don’t know. I found the Siren, and I was going to take care of it immediately, but…”

He trailed off, his expression shifting into a grimace.

“I ended up enchanted.”

How enchanted do you have to be to cause this level of destruction? Brushing the soot off my hands, I asked, “Where did you see the Siren?”

“Here. But I have no idea where it disappeared to.”

In other words, he lost it.

I glanced at the timer. Just over 10 minutes left. How was I supposed to find that damn mermaid on land in such a short time?

As a last resort, I activated the Eye of Truth, but no traces of the Siren appeared.

What now?

Scratching my head in frustration, I felt a light breeze tickle my skin. Looking over, I saw a faint, semi-transparent form swirling around Kang Hasu’s hand. It didn’t take much to guess its identity.

“…That’s a Gnome, isn’t it? Can it show us the way?”

“It could, but we’re not looking for a path right now, are we?”

With a flick of his hand, the wind spirits that had gathered around him scattered, disappearing entirely. Then, the emergency exit door—previously closed—swung wide open. Kang Hasu flashed me a cheery grin.

“We’re following the trail instead.”

I had to admit, he was good at talking. Kang Hasu took the lead, and I followed close behind.

“By the way, Guild Master, are you hurt anywhere?”

“Nope. Would I be moving this easily if I were?”

“But your clothes…”

“If it bothers you that much, why don’t you find me another set just like these?”

I expected him to drop it after that, but he immediately asked,
“What are you wearing, exactly?”

…Was he serious?

“This? Do Hain got it for me. It’s a limited-edition piece—only 100 of them were released in Korea, in all sizes. And for the record, that was two years ago.”

“Where am I supposed to find something that rare?! Wait, hold on—two years ago? What were you doing not growing out of it?!”

…The nerve of this guy!