Chapter 120: A Relationship ant to Last (2)
[Republic of Korea — Blue House]
Park Jae-yeol was on a call with the French president.
A sudden call.
"Yes. Yes……. Yes."
Park Jae-yeol's expression as he took the call was grave.
A long while later.
He ended the call.
The secretary couldn't bring himself to ask, seeing how terrible Park Jae-yeol's expression was.
"Damn it."
The first words out of Park Jae-yeol's tightly sealed lips were a curse.
"Y-Your Excellency."
"What the hell is Pyeon Jae-yeong doing in France right now?"
"Pardon?"
Park Jae-yeol spoke to the secretary.
"Pyeon Jae-yeong had the audacity to send a cooperation letter to the Elysée Palace under the nas of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs—without my authorization."
The Elysée Palace.
The official residence of the French president.
The secretary was stunned.
"That can't be! What did it say?"
"Apparently, the letter stated that Korean nationals were in serious danger on French soil and requested cooperation."
"This is the first I'm hearing of it. There's no way France would comply."
"Wrong."
Park Jae-yeol said to the secretary.
"They already did, apparently. A mobile strike unit was dispatched."
"……!"
The secretary was horrified and moved quickly.
"I'll send a letter of denial imdiately."
"Never mind."
"Pardon?"
"If I were going to do that, I would have said so over the phone."
Park Jae-yeol, with his instincts honed like an animal's, had sensed sothing was off.
What Pyeon Jae-yeong was orchestrating.
And the fact that the French president had moved on nothing more than a single cooperation letter.
Viewed through the lens of the deteriorated relations between the two nations—stemming from the Ghost and Naless Hero affair—the French president, who hadn't been in contact for so long, suddenly calling out of the blue ant sothing enormous was unfolding.
Sothing so enormous it threatened the French president's very political life.
Park Jae-yeol had attempted to fish for details while feigning ignorance, but failed.
"Sothing big is happening. Without my knowledge."
"Your Excellency……."
"Prepare the state aircraft."
"Where are you headed?"
"Charles de Gaulle Airport."
"That's Paris, France! Your Excellency. For a sitting head of state to visit a foreign country without authorization is a grave diplomatic breach."
The secretary was flustered, but Park Jae-yeol was resolute.
"Is there room for things to get any worse? Do as I say!"
He had to go himself.
He felt he wouldn't be satisfied until he saw it with his own eyes.
* * *
Vrooom—!
Omar drove hard.
Everything had unfolded exactly as his boss, Kim Tae-yang, had said.
"Get off at the corner up ahead."
"If you stop the car, Killian's n following us will notice."
"Just keep driving. I'll jump out without anyone knowing."
"We're doing over 70km/h right now."
"It's fine. You head straight to the hotel and hide like I told you. When they co, fire a shot from behind. Don't hit the police. Rember that."
"……Understood."
Kim Tae-yang had jumped out of the moving car without a second thought, and Omar carried out the plan.
‘My boss told not to co.’
He'd been told to hide sowhere until the job was done and he could take his sister away.
But how could he?
He had witnessed Kim Tae-yang's remarkable abilities.
Even so, he couldn't leave it all to him.
"She's my sister."
Screech!
‘I'll protect her even if it kills .’
Vroooom—!
The car sped up.
Ahead, the outline of Killian's mansion began to co into view.
* * *
Crackle—! Fizz!
"Yes, what did you say?"
The commander of the French mobile strike unit reacted irritably to the static crackling through his radio.
He was fairly certain he'd just heard sothing staggering through the receiver.
For a mont, he almost doubted his own ears.
—Blow the entire building! Blow up Killian's building! Crackle—!
"What?!"
—Blow it up! Demolish Killian's building!
This ti it ca through loud and clear.
The strike unit commander couldn't believe it.
"We're in the middle of an engagent! With enough backup we can subdue them!"
—Hey, you idiot! This order ca down from the top.
"Even so, if we detonate now, everyone inside dies! Killian's n are in there, but Korean National Intelligence Service agents just breached the building too!"
—Then we're the ones who die!
"……."
Crackle—.
Through the heavy static, the order ca down.
—Did you forget what we let slide all this ti while pocketing Killian's money? Right now, those Korean NIS bastards are hell-bent on finding those docunts! Can you handle what happens if they get out?
"……!"
—You've got a family. If those docunts go public and we all get hauled in, what about your family? Huh? You going to raise your kids without a father?!
Just the thought was enough to make his chest seize.
—We have to blow it all. The NIS bastards too—every last one! We can always stage it as Killian self-destructing anyway!
The strike unit commander squeezed his eyes shut.
Crackle—.
—Are you listening? Huh? You're listening, right? Good. Listen carefully. Our lives are on the line here. This has already been cleared from way up top. Clean it up, nice and tidy. Got it?
Click—.
The radio went dead.
The strike unit commander stared at the ongoing engagent for a long mont.
Then he gave his n the order.
"Bring the explosives."
* * *
Killian watched the strike unit commander shouting into his radio and fell silent.
"What's that? Sothing's off over there."
"It looks like they're calling for backup."
"Damn it! What about the n inside? Why aren't my bodyguards coming out?"
"I'm not sure."
Things were taking an ominous turn.
Honestly, Killian couldn't get his head straight.
He had weathered exchanges like this several tis before.
He was the kind of man who had clawed his way up to where he stood now—through hails of bullets and bodies.
But right now.
He was bordering on delirium.
The deploynt and the shooting by the mobile strike unit he'd been pouring money into for years.
The French politicians, the senior police brass, and the prosecutors who weren't picking up his calls.
The broadcast van in the distance, ceaselessly filming.
As if they'd caught wind of it sohow, vans from other broadcasters were now pulling up one after another.
A fire had broken out in the basent storage.
The smoke had risen enough to be visible even from the building's first floor.
On top of all that, the bodyguards he had trusted with his life were nowhere to be seen.
Why?
"Could it be?"
‘Did they run—taking my valuables and assets with them?’
"……!"
Killian's mind snapped into focus.
Right.
Precisely because they were n he had trusted, they knew the ins and outs of his fortune and his secrets.
If they snatched even one or two pieces from the stockpiled valuables, they'd have enough money to live off for the rest of their lives.
"Damn it all!"
Above all, it was the laptop and ledgers stashed in his office that mattered most.
He could afford to lose everything else—but not those.
The bribes and the lavish favors he had doled out over the years.
And the footage he had secretly recorded of influential figures in their most dissolute monts.
"That's all I need. As long as I have those docunts, I can claw my way back sohow!"
Bang! Rat-tat-bang!
Killian twisted away from a burst of incoming fire.
"Chairman! It's dangerous. Where are you going!"
"To hell with this! It's even more dangerous here!"
Killian hunched low and sprinted into the smoke-filled building.
* * *
I swept my hand out, and Killian's bodyguards were hurled into the wall.
Telekinesis burned through a lot of energy, but against ard enemies, unleashing it to its fullest to destroy their footing like this was the way to go.
"Quite the numbers."
I moved forward—launching Piercing Needle at fallen enemies, or swinging my sword to cleave through necks.
"Clean up what's behind ."
"A……yes."
Im Ye-rin was assigned to handle the ones I put down.
She'd said she was on the verge of the 14th floor Shadowless Divine Thief, so I'd figured she'd be used to taking lives by now.
But she hesitated, holding back in her strikes.
She didn't take lives—just slashed with the blade I'd given her, cutting thighs or wrists at most.
"Im Ye-rin. Finish them properly. They've seen your face."
"S-Still……."
The mont she hesitated and turned her head toward —
Rat-tat-bang!
One of the fallen bodyguards opened fire on her.
"Kyaaah!"
She raised the Scarlet Scale Armor and scread.
The bullets couldn't pierce the Scarlet Scale Armor.
I severed the bodyguard's neck.
[Kim Tae-yang scolds you for not looking after Im Ye-rin properly. 1 Happiness]
‘That's why I gave her the Scarlet Scale Armor.’
[Kim Tae-yang rages, asking what you'd do if she actually died. 1 Happiness]
‘She's not dying, you fool.’
‘I've already seen and calculated everything.’
Im Ye-rin slowly lowered the shield and stared at , trembling from head to toe.
"Didn't I tell you to finish them properly?"
"Yes……."
"The Scarlet Scale Armor will block handgun rounds, but sustained direct hits from 7.62mm rounds could be dangerous. Starting next ti, angle it to deflect and glance them off."
Im Ye-rin answered in a shaking voice.
"Th-That's easier said than done."
"You have to manage it."
Shing.
I said it while cleaving through another neck.
"Because if you can't, you'll die."
"……."
I walked forward.
Im Ye-rin stared at the enemies left behind, then—
Thud—!
Stabbed through a neck.
[The budding talent taught by Naless Hero thinks, 'I have no rcy left in !' 100 Happiness]
‘Kim Tae-yang.’
‘Your friend isn't in her right mind.’
[Kim Tae-yang lets out a long, drawn-out sigh. 1 Happiness]
‘She's not going to stop climbing.’
‘With that soft streak, she'd die before she even hit the 30th floor.’
Before long, I arrived in front of an ornate door.
"It should be in here."
Creak—!
I threw the door open.
Bang!
A bullet flew straight at .
I jerked my head back to dodge and looked at the person who'd fired.
It was Louise.
She had Omar's sister in front of her as both hostage and shield.
In one hand she held a knife, in the other a pistol aid at .
From the looks of it, Louise had been tornting Omar's sister severely.
The sister's body was covered in wounds.
The abuse had clearly continued until just monts ago—blood was splattered across the sister's clothes and all over Louise's hands.
‘A fitting pair—uncle and niece.’
‘Blood really does tell.’
"Give it up. All your bodyguards are dead."
"……."
"She doesn't understand. Im Ye-rin, translate."
"You kill! You die!"
Huh?
I turned to Im Ye-rin, incredulous.
Her eyes had completely transford from a mont ago—blade in hand, she was burning a hole through Louise.
[The budding talent who received the teachings of Naless Hero thinks, 'I have no rcy left in !' 100 Happiness]
‘Kim Tae-yang.’
‘Your friend is not in her right mind.’
I walked forward slowly.
Bang!
Louise fired again, but I evaded with Wind God Steps.
Bang bang!
I could anticipate the direction of a shot just from watching the barrel.
‘There's no way I'm getting hit by a shot from so amateur like her.’
As I closed the distance, Louise pressed the barrel to Omar's sister's temple.
The color drained from Omar's sister's face.
"Fais un pas de plus et je t'abats!"
She was rattling sothing off in French, but the aning was obvious.
‘One more step and she dies.’
I raised my hand in a slow, deliberate motion.
The energy I projected twisted the barrel and Louise's wrist.
"Ugh!"
As the barrel turned toward her own forehead, Louise recoiled in horror and fought against it—until finally the gun went off.
Bang!
"Ahhh!"
The bullet grazed her ear, and half of Louise's ear was blown away.
The chunk of flesh—still bearing an earring studded with diamonds—tumbled to the floor like garbage.
"Ugh!"
Louise released the gun, and it clattered to the floor.
I took hold of Omar's sister and passed her to Im Ye-rin.
"Support her. Don't let her get hurt."
"Yes."
"Wait outside. I'll wrap this up and co out."
Im Ye-rin supported Omar's sister and walked out.
Louise stumbled backward and crashed to the floor.
"Ugh!"
As she fell, the knife in her grip drove into her own thigh.
Louise stared at the blade buried nearly to the hilt and went pale.
"Ah! Aaaaah!"
Tears finally broke through.
"Sob……. Hic!"
Not a shred of sympathy stirred in .
"Can you speak English?"
Louise nodded.
I smiled and pulled out Mirage Fragrance from within my robes, holding it beneath her nose.
Slip—.
The pupils of Louise, who had breathed in the Mirage Fragrance, began to go slack.
[Kim Tae-yang asks what you're doing. 1 Happiness]
‘Kim Tae-yang, you questioned before.’
‘Why I was building up Pyeon Jae-yeong.’
‘Were you suspecting I wasn't on your side?’
[Kim Tae-yang says, 'It wasn't exactly that, but honestly it did cross my mind'. 1 Happiness]
‘Watch carefully.’
‘Everything I do will without exception work to your benefit.’
I condensed a single drop of Gu Poison at my fingertip and let it fall into the blank, open eyes of Louise.
Then I delivered the words I had morized beforehand.
"Louise. What a state you're in……. Tsk tsk. You're losing a lot of blood."
Thwack.
I lightly flicked the knife buried in Louise's thigh with my finger.
"Ugh……!"
"If you get to a hospital fast, you might survive?"
"Let go……. Let go!"
"You're going to run off just like this? Everything about you has been destroyed—and you're just going to flee?"
She looked back at through glazed eyes.
"Then what?"
"Shouldn't you at least know who did this to you?"
"Kim Tae-yang! And you! I hate you……! I despise you! I want to kill you!"
Killing intent flared in Louise's eyes.
Good.
‘This was where it mattered.’
‘She had to beco a fanatic consud by vengeance—but she couldn't be reduced to an imbecile.’
‘Let's have our Louise live a Gu Poison life.’
"Kim Tae-yang is nothing but a subordinate. He doesn't know anything. He's just a pair of hands and feet doing what he's told. If you want revenge, you strike the head—what's the point in beating the hands and feet?"
"Then……who planned it?"
"Think carefully. Who was the first to co looking for your uncle?"
"……Pyeon Jae-yeong!"
[Kim Tae-yang's eyes snap wide open! 1,000,000 Happiness]
"That's right. Then go get your revenge."
"Obviously! Even if it kills , I'll have my revenge no matter what."
"How?"
"The Ferrand Family are mbers of the European Black Market Alliance! I'll hire assassins and make sure to kill both Pyeon Jae-yeong and you!"
"Will that be enough? You need to inflict greater suffering."
"Tell ! What else is there?"
"Pyeon Jae-yeong has a son. Goes by 'Prosecutor Pyeon.'"
[Kim Tae-yang's jaw drops. 3,000,000 Happiness]
"Prosecutor Pyeon! Pyeon Jae-yeong! And you! I will kill you—I will absolutely kill you all!"
Her deranged shriek.
‘In this state, I'd be rising before her eyes like a heat shimr.’
"That'll be difficult. You don't even know who I am."
"Who are you! Who are you! I'll kill you! I will absolutely kill you!"
Louise thrashed and struggled violently, and bloodshot veins crept into her already clouded pupils.
I removed my Human Skin Mask and said,
"I am Park Je-hwang."
[Kim Tae-yang writhes in electrifying ecstasy. 5,000,000 Happiness]
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