Chapter 109

“Mm....”

Im Haekyung cast a cold glance at the bastard rolling around on the floor with the gag in his mouth, then looked at me as if demanding an explanation.

“You said we just needed a short conversation, didn’t you?”

“I did tell you he’s got some mental issues.”

Well, I didn’t say he was completely insane, but close enough. For Haekyung’s sake, I quickly summarized the situation.

“This morning I stepped out for a bit and he came chasing me with a knife. We both ended up stabbing each other once, then I caught him and locked him up.”

“......”

“For reference, he’s fine—he’s got a regeneration skill.”

“And you, Jehyun?”

“I’ve got a healer at home, so I’m fine too.”

After listening to my neat little explanation, Haekyung stayed silent for a moment before asking,

“What is it you want to ask?”

“Hm...”

Honestly, the things I really wanted to know weren’t questions for this bastard. They were questions for Jin Haedo.

Which meant the conclusion was obvious.

“Jin Haedo... the leader of Cheonmyeonggyo. Where he is. Where he told them to bring me.”

“The Cheonmyeonggyo leader ordered you to be brought to him?”

“Yeah. At least according to that guy lying there. Which is why I’m not sure how reliable it is.”

Haekyung nodded as if that made sense. Then he grabbed the still-flopping bastard with one hand, propped him against «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» the wall, and remarked like he was leaving a review.

“You really never get a dull moment, do you, Jehyun? Not like you stay still yourself, but the world doesn’t seem to leave you alone either...”

With that barbed comment, Haekyung immediately activated a skill.

Brainwashing (S) has been activated.

The bastard only blinked and stared blankly, not understanding what Haekyung was doing. Haekyung bent his knees, sat level with him, and stacked another skill on top.

Mental Domination (S) has been activated.

“You’ll need to stay quiet.”

He warned in a soft voice, then finally pulled out the gag. The bastard’s pupils dilated, and—surprisingly—his mouth shut tight.

Haekyung praised him gently.

“Good.”

“......”

“From now on, you’re only going to tell the truth. Doesn’t matter what you believe—you’ll speak only about what actually happened.”

The bastard nodded like he was entranced.

Giving him enough time for the skills to sink in, Haekyung asked something simple first.

“How did you get here?”

“Lord Haedo called Believer Kim... Kim carried me to this house.”

“Carried you? You mean Kim is this man?”

“Yes, yes...”

When Haekyung glanced at me, the cultist quickly nodded. Haekyung frowned slightly, but moved on to the next question.

“You’d met Believer Kim before?”

“Yes... we prayed together at worship.”

“Worship...?”

Again, Haekyung glanced at me. I just shrugged; nothing to add.

“You two already knew each other?”

“N-no! I only followed Lord Haedo’s words...”

“But you stabbed him, didn’t you?”

“T-that... Lord Haedo said a little damage was acceptable. Even if the body is harmed... it holds more value...”

“Mhm. I understand.”

The bastard rambled incoherently, clearly feeling cornered. Haekyung cut it off at a convenient point, then finally asked the question I’d wanted answered.

“Then, where is Lord Haedo now?”

“That’s...”

The bastard’s eyes wavered as he only mouthed words.

'What’s this? Did Haekyung adjust the skill’s intensity?'

Normally, he should have already been spilling everything. Haekyung, sensing something was off, stared silently and pressed again.

“Lord Haedo’s location. You know, don’t you?”

“Yes...”

“Where?”

“Lord Haedo is...”

Just then, Joo Seowon—who’d been standing at the threshold watching—flinched.

“Uh, Guildmaster.”

As both Haekyung and I turned toward him, Seowon spoke hesitantly.

“There might be some sort of—”

“Jinsando!”

Cutting him off, the bastard blurted out triumphantly, like he’d accomplished something huge. He panted heavily, eyes shining.

“H-he’s on Jinsando! Jinsando. Lord Haedo is waiting on Jinsando. Lord Haedo, on Jinsando—”

The hell? Something about this seemed wrong.

Seowon, caught off guard by the sudden outburst, clenched his fist then let it go, sounding resigned.

“...I figured there’d be some restriction. Like a no-disclosure clause.”

The bastard, now repeating the same line like a broken robot, started clenching his teeth and foaming at the mouth. Haekyung stared for a moment, then instantly put him to sleep.

He collapsed flat on the floor.

“......”

“...Normally, to dig into this kind of thing you need to use an item first...”

“He’s asleep now. At least while he’s asleep, he’ll be safe.”

“...Right.”

At Haekyung’s words, Seowon reluctantly agreed with an awkward smile.

I set their chatter aside and focused on what the bastard had just said.

'Jinsando?'

Jinsando. I was pretty sure it got a brief mention in the original.

Jin Haedo always built his temples near the sea. That had stuck with me because it led to a pretty major twist later in the story.

'He illegally occupied nearby Gates.'

Which meant his “temples” weren’t limited to Earth’s territory.

Normally, a Gate wouldn’t close until its dungeon boss was killed. And since the Gate’s mana built up over time until it burst into a Dungeon Break, hunters usually cleared it in advance. Standard, common sense.

But if you could restrain a dungeon boss without killing it—and had a way to regulate the dungeon’s mana—you could theoretically keep a Gate open indefinitely.

Of course, people had already raised that question. And unsurprisingly, the dangers were well-known. Which was why occupying a dungeon was flat-out illegal worldwide.

But Jin Haedo? He didn’t care about laws like that.

He’d tie down the dungeon boss, rent hunters to keep the other monsters in check, and if problems came up he’d just toss in low-rank hunters, sacrificing their lives to balance the mana—all while keeping the Gate open.

'A fucking maniac.'

Honestly, though, I had to respect that he actually carried out the idea. Seriously.

At that moment, Haekyung called me.

“Then, Jehyun.”

“Yes.”

“Would it be fine if I took this one with me?”

He gestured at the unconscious bastard on the floor and smiled.

“Ah, yeah. Of course.”

“Good. I’ll take him. Even if I feel a bit like I was tricked, calling it item storage...”

Then Seowon stepped forward, speaking cautiously.

“Um... Guildmaster.”

“Yes?”

“Since we don’t know exactly what restrictions might be on that guy... you should be careful. The caster might’ve put in a countdown that kills him once it runs out. Even if it’s not your fault directly.”

With that, Seowon crouched by the unconscious cultist, grabbed his jaw, and tilted it back and forth like he was checking something.

“My guess is it’s some kind of covenant contract. Tied conditions, penalties for breaking them. That sort of thing.”

“You can tell just by looking?”

“I’m just guessing. I’ve seen cases like it before...”

Seowon glanced at me briefly, then smiled again.

“Maybe I’m wrong, but better to be careful, right?”

“Hm... then I’ll handle it. Carefully, cautiously...”

“Won’t that be a hassle?”

“Maybe, but... considering what I’ve talked over with Jehyun, I think I owe him at least this much.”

Haekyung tossed the words out lightly, but fixed his eyes on me like he was asking permission. I nodded—better to get this sorted quickly. We already had Haedo’s location, and keeping this cultist here was dangerous.

And yeah, he was just irritating.

Satisfied, Seowon withdrew his hands and stepped back.

I left them to it and loaded the bastard into Haekyung’s car.

'A seatbelt should do the trick.'

After strapping him in the backseat, I headed back inside. By then, Haekyung and Seowon were in the living room. When I entered, Haekyung wrapped up his talk with Seowon and came over.

“Then I’ll see you next time.”

“Yes. Take care.”

“Think positively.”

About what? Switching guilds?

I just nodded vaguely. Haekyung smiled and left quickly. After watching his car drive away, I went back in to find Seowon sitting on the sofa.

'Looks like something’s bothering him.'

Well, considering all the weird shit today, I couldn’t blame him.

Still, I decided to be generous and asked,

“Seowon. What’s the problem?”

He lifted his gaze, furrowed his brows.

“Why’d you hand him over to Haeseong’s guildmaster? What did you two talk about for him to show up here...”

“Who else would I give him to? Can’t just leave him here. You planning to keep him yourself?”

“...What did you and the guildmaster talk about?”

“Nothing special.”

“He even went to your house.”

Persistent today, huh? I already knew Seowon didn’t like Haekyung, but this was a bit much—even for him.