Chapter 98

[Translator - Helga ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]

Chapter 98: Conclusion (1)

A luxurious bedroom.

A middle-aged man sat nervously, gripping a walkie-talkie tightly in his hand.

Then, a burst of static came through the device.

"Godfather! We just got a report!"

At those words, the man—the Godfather—hurriedly brought the walkie-talkie to his ear.

"All of the South American cartel families have been completely wiped out!"

The message was staggering.

The Godfather sank onto the bed, face pale.

He could no longer count on reinforcements.

Still, he clung to hope and asked, “What about Jose del Pablo? What happened to him? Why hasn’t he shown up yet?”

"He was captured after a battle with Kwon Hanul of the Hyukcheon Clan!"

It felt like a boulder had crashed onto his head.

The Godfather let out a deep sigh.

He had secretly hoped Jose del Pablo could somehow turn this situation around.

But reality was merciless.

“To think Hyukcheon was on this level...”

The Godfather hadn’t truly believed the cartel alliance could overpower the Hyukcheon Group.

But he’d thought at the very least they’d grown enough that the group would have to seriously consider going to war.

Clearly, that wasn’t the case.

The Hyukcheon Clan had ravaged the entire South American region with what amounted to a single battalion—no, not even twenty people.

“Those lunatics… Even rabid dogs aren’t this aggressive.”

From the beginning, the Godfather had no intention of clashing with the Hyukcheon Clan.

All he’d wanted was a method to stabilize the dungeon.

That was why he’d merely prodded them slightly, using Ashley and Jose del Pablo to do so.

If Hyukcheon had overreacted, he was ready to pull back immediately.

But instead of an overreaction, Hyukcheon had responded with outright war.

They hadn’t allowed for explanations, excuses, or even an apology—obliterating the cartel alliance without a second thought.

“Damn it.”

He cursed, moving to the small table in the room.

Pouring himself a glass of whiskey, he downed it in one gulp.

The burning liquid slid down his throat and settled in his gut.

“Haaah...”

He wiped his mouth, eyes gleaming cold and sharp.

“It’s not over yet.”

The cartels may have been destroyed, but he—the Godfather—was still alive.

During the unification of South America’s cartels, the Godfather had quietly taken possession of all their most valuable assets.

Only he knew where those vast resources were hidden.

With them, he could rebuild the alliance from scratch.

“I just need to hold out a little longer.”

His current location: a bunker five kilometers beneath the ocean floor.

Once, constructing something this deep would’ve been nearly impossible. But with Hunters and artifacts, the world had changed.

“Even Hyukcheon couldn’t possibly find me down here.”

Modern bunkers weren’t judged by how sturdy they were—but by how hard they were to access.

No matter how strong a Hunter was, an underwater bunker was nearly untouchable.

“Once Hyukcheon backs off… I’ll make my move again.”

He took another swig of whiskey, wiping his mouth—when suddenly, alarms began to blare.

“W-What now?!”

Panicking, the Godfather ran out of the bedroom.

Since he was alone in the bunker, he had to investigate personally.

“The central control room—”

But before he could reach it, the entire bunker began to shake violently.

The Godfather lost his balance and fell to the floor.

“A-an earthquake?!”

The tremors intensified. Cracks spread across the walls and ceiling. Chunks of stone rained down.

Then, the entire ceiling lifted—and began to collapse.

“Uwaaaaah!”

The Godfather screamed, forgetting all pride and composure.

He braced himself for the inevitable rush of seawater.

But it never came.

Instead, light poured into the room.

The Godfather slowly raised his head.

“Huh...? Wha—?”

The sea above him had been pierced wide open, revealing the sky beyond.

“H-How…?”

Over five kilometers of ocean had been split in a straight line—an utterly impossible sight.

Then he saw it.

A swirling vortex of black aura, rising like a pillar, was holding the sea at bay.

“What in the world…?”

“Godfather.”

A strange voice called out.

High in the sky floated a woman.

“Y-You’re…?”

She gently descended and landed before him.

“You know who I am.”

Of course he did.

The second daughter of Kwon Seonwoo—leader and head of the Hyukcheon Group.

The one who’d devastated all of South America.

The one known as the reasonable one of Hyukcheon .

Kwon Mi.

“……”

The Godfather’s face turned pale, but he barely managed to stay conscious.

Her nickname—“the reasonable one of Hyukcheon ”—had been earned because, unlike the rest of her clan, she was known to negotiate before acting.

Which meant... maybe he could still talk his way out of this.

“P-pleased to meet you. I’m the Godfather.”

He forced a calm tone. Showing fear now would only get him steamrolled.

“I think this is all a misunderstanding. I—or rather, the cartel alliance—never intended to be hostile toward Hyukche—Gurk!”

Suddenly, Kwon Mi grabbed his throat.

“Cut the crap.”

“W-Wait!”

“I don’t know what game you were playing, but if you don’t want to die, shut your damn mouth.”

At that moment, the Godfather understood why her nickname included

“reasonable—

barely.”

She might speak first, but she was still Hyukcheon .

“I’m going to ask you some questions. You’re going to dig deep and answer.”

The Godfather nodded rapidly.

“What were you planning with Kwon Hyuk?”

His face went blank.

He hadn’t expected that name at all.

“W-What do you mean by that…? Gah!”

“Play dumb again and I’ll really kill you. What were you planning with Kwon Hyuk?”

“I-I really don’t kn—GAAH!”

Kwon Mi slammed him to the ground, looking down with murderous eyes.

“You’re not getting it, huh? Guess I need to do some prep work.”

Dark aura surged around her clawed fingers.

Fear flooded the Godfather’s face.

***

Meanwhile, Kwon Hanul had returned to the hotel.

The war had started so suddenly, they hadn’t even set up a base of operations.

So the hotel they'd originally stayed in became their regrouping point.

As soon as he arrived, he spotted Joo Hayun, Kwon Hudon, and Mei Hong.

Relieved they were safe, he waved from afar.

But suddenly, Hudon and Mei Hong rushed over.

“Hanul!”

“Captain!”

Their intensity was almost terrifying.

They swarmed him with questions.

“That thing! What was that?!”

“Yeah! We saw something insane flying into the sky! What the hell was it?!”

“We were pretty far away, right? But even from there, it made us shake—we were so scared…”

“And it’s not just us! Everyone’s talking about it! On our way here, we ran into the Black Flame Unit, and they said—”

“Enough.”

Joo Hayun cut them off.

“Please calm down, both of you. Lord Hanul hasn’t had a chance to speak.”

She was right—Hanul hadn’t gotten a word in edgewise.

“Ah, Hayun. Thanks.”

“……”

She didn’t respond—just gave a slight bow.

Her behavior felt different than usual, and it caught Hanul off guard.

“So, what was that?”

“Please tell us!”

Before he could reply, they asked again.

Hanul gave the answer he’d prepared.

“It was the power of True Bloodline.”

Technically, not a lie.

The Sacred Beast Bloodline had merely drawn it out—the power itself belonged to the Black Dragon Bloodline.

But even so, the looks on their faces changed.

“You’re saying… that was just True Bloodline’s power?”

“You can do that with True Bloodline?”

Seeing their suspicion, Hanul felt a twinge of guilt.

He’d been relying on the excuse that his version of the Black Dragon Bloodline was special, but maybe that excuse was starting to wear thin.

“Hanul, seriously. Tell us the truth.”

“Please be honest.”

They pressed him harder.

Then, Joo Hayun once again stepped in to rescue him.

“Lord Hanul, who are the people behind you?”

Technically, one was free—while the other was bound hand and foot.

“Ah, let me introduce them. This is Jose del Pablo.”

He pointed to the tied-up man.

“And the other one… it’d be better if he introduced herself.”

At Hanul’s cue, the hooded figure pulled his hood back.

The moment they saw hid face, Hudon and Mei Hong’s eyes widened.

“GG?!”

“Nice to see you again.”

GG gave a small bow.

The others were stunned.

“W-Wait, why are you two together?”

“Didn’t you say you had no idea where GG went?”

Before answering, GG glanced at Hanul. He gave a small nod.

“It’s a long story.”

He briefly explained everything—his origins, his past, why he attacked a cartel executive, and finally, how he’d received demonic power from a dungeon and attempted to take down Jose del Pablo… only to fail, nearly die, and be saved by Hanul.

Naturally, he left out Hanul’s bloodline, as instructed.

“The… Garcia family?”

“And you’re from the Sacred Beast Bloodline?”

Hudon and Mei Hong were stunned.

“No wonder he always felt… different.”

“I never imagined he was a bloodline holder.”

Hanul cleared his throat. Everyone turned to him.

“Well, now that introductions are done… I have an announcement.”

Everyone tilted their heads. Hanul gestured toward GG.

“Starting today, GG will be joining our team.”

The reaction was almost too intense.

Not because anyone doubted his skills or personality—those had already been proven.

They were shocked for another reason.

“W-Wait a sec—GG’s from the Sacred Beast Bloodline.”

“And she’s pureblood, right? That makes four purebloods on our team now?!”

Bloodline holders were rare. Purebloods were even rarer.

Usually, a pureblood wouldn’t join a team—they’d lead one.

That’s how strong and prestigious they were.

Yet Hanul’s team now had four of them.

And not just any purebloods—these were prodigies, acknowledged by all.

“I-Isn’t that kind of insane?”

“Definitely. I don’t think there’s ever been a team in history with this many purebloods.”

It wasn’t planned, but things had turned out that way.

Hanul tapped GG on the back.

“Go ahead—tell them your real name.”

GG hesitated.

Back when his entire family had been captured because of him, he’d discarded his name.

He believed a criminal like him had no right to use the Garcia name.

He never thought he’d ever introduce herself this way again.

“Allow me to formally introduce myself. My name is Gael Garcia.”

And so, their team gained one more extraordinary member.

[Translator - Helga ]

[Proofreader - Starfall ]