Though Cheongho no longer lives here, the Cheongho manor I returned to after so long felt far more ominous and oppressive than before.
“Attendants are not permitted entry.”
Horrific-looking guards blocked Jang Hyundeok.
“Please park your vehicle outside as well.”
“Very well.”
What an atmosphere.
“Hyundeok, don’t dawdle. Wait over there where these fellows can’t see you.”
“Uh, that sounds better.”
This place feels less like a crime boss’s manor and more like a wartime fortress. Last time there was a watchtower on the roof; now six guard towers line the walls—and warning signs indicate mines are buried around the perimeter.
‘Relentlessly brutal.’
No wonder they’d fortify it obsessively, even though it was breached before.
I was shown to the same conference room where I’d met Jung Hyuna.
‘A memorable place.’
Not the fondest memory—I’d beaten Gu Jinchul when he tried to absorb the Cheongho faction by using Hyuna—but the scene was different now.
Today, no other executives attended. In truth, they’d always been figureheads.
Waiting for me were the two most important people in the Cheongho faction.
“Thank you for making the difficult journey.”
Chae Taewon greeted me as he opened the door.
Once relegated to the back of the room, he was now indisputably the faction’s second-in-command.
And—
“You’ve come, Mage.”
“Long time no see, miss.”
This was Jung Hyuna, who’d become boss of the Cheongho faction after Cheongho’s death.
Perhaps wishing to conceal her youth, she wore an ill-fitting suit, her long hair swept up and fastened with pins.
It had indeed been a while.
We began with light small talk.
“So you’re not branch chief but director now?”
“I’m ashamed to say I am.”
Ashamed?
Without Chae Taewon, the Cheongho faction would have fractured long ago under Jeokdu’s onslaught.
‘I held off Jeokdu once, but Chae Taewon has run this organization since then.’
To revive the faction in chaos, Taewon used the very strategy Gu Jinchul had planned: installing the teenage Hyuna as boss.
As I’d said before, having a high school dropout run an organization was absurd.
He made her the figurehead while secretly managing affairs himself.
It differed from Gu Jinchul’s scheme: he’d exploited her for his greed, whereas Taewon did it out of loyalty to Cheongho and for the faction’s stability.
Hyuna, eyes slightly distant, bit her lip and said:
“Thanks to you, I can avenge Father.”
......
So much for honesty.
Cheongho’s death was pinned on Jeokdu.
“Look at this girl sharpening her blade for revenge against the monster who killed her father! Let us avenge Cheongho!”
That was Taewon’s secret to keeping the faction united.
Watching Hyuna, he cautiously interjected.
“Mage Kim Sinhwa, we’ve deposited your consultation fee into the account you provided.”
“Thank you.”
“Not at all. We should be the ones thanking you. Thanks to your work with Bong Ilcheonpa, we’ve been able to breathe easier.”
“My work wasn’t originally for your sake. It was separate. No need for thanks on that account.”
To clarify, I did help the faction indirectly.
Jeokdu, having allied with various cults, had crushed the Cheongho faction’s forces. It reached a dire point.
Then the Enchanter—thanks to the weapons I’d supplied—blew up Jeokdu’s strongholds, saving the faction.
To them, especially Hyuna, it all meant...
“I knew it would turn out this way.”
Hyuna interrupted suddenly, her gaze unfocused.
“I knew you’d come to save me, Mage. Of course. Just like last time, you came for me. Because Father asked you to.”
She believed I, called by her late father, had appeared like a comet to rescue her.
“Again, there was no such plan. It was all coincidence.”
“Mage— you’re hearing Father’s voice too, aren’t you? I know. He said you live with him. You will help me— because that’s what I want. Father said my wish will come true.”
“Miss—”
“Ah, did I get carried away again? I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Director, could you speak for me?”
“Yes, of course.”
In every sense, this house had gone off the rails.
“Mage Kim Sinhwa, about the proposal you mentioned by phone—we’ve decided to accept.”
“I see. Thank you.”
I hadn’t expected this outcome, but I made Chae Taewon a similar offer as I had the Enchanter.
“Then grant us this.”
I waved my hand, conjuring a hologram of Paju City’s map on the table.
“Here, here, and here and here. And if possible, here and here as well. Can you manage that?”
“These locations, for the most part—”
“Yes, correct. They’re mostly spots not yet claimed by any faction.”
Or abandoned buildings, even empty lots.
“They should be easy for us to secure. But what does this accomplish?”
“It’s a kind of... a preliminary move.”
“A preliminary move?”
“Do you know Go? You place stones in advance.”
“Meaning there will be strategic value later?”
“No. We aim to prevent anything from happening.”
These are sites where no events have occurred yet. The Enchanter demolished similar slots for me.
Under the game’s original flow, some cult would later hold rituals here, offer sacrifices, or establish bases.
But by destroying or occupying them now, we cancel those future events.
Of course, desperate cultists won’t just give up rituals because sites vanish.
‘We can predict their moves.’
We’ll block their venues, harass them, and strike decisively when the time is right.
I’m not manipulating two large organizations solely for my gain.
Once this plan succeeds, Jeokdu’s faction will be eradicated or severely weakened in Paju.
‘If Jeokdu hadn’t allied with those cults, I wouldn’t have devised such a large-scale plan.’
Considering the future, it’s best if the three powers of the Trident Council remain awkwardly balanced.
Among Jeokdu’s allies are the Blood Demon Sect and the Gourmet Expedition Corps. Had he not allied with them, I wouldn’t be orchestrating this.
“If you do this for us, Jeokdu’s forces will soon collapse.”
Ugudadadadak—
Hyuna’s teeth ground together, blood trickling from her twisted mouth.
She tore out the hairpin holding up her hair.
“Thank you, Mage.”
Her ebony hair fell silently, the plastic pin snapping in her hand.
Badadadadak—
“Avenge Father’s death at Jeokdu’s hands. Bring a grisly end to my enemies—and kill every collaborator! Absolutely! Absolutely! Absolutely!”
“What have you done to that girl?”
I asked Chae Taewon, who had come to see me off.
“I... I don’t know. It started sometime after the funeral.”
“When did it begin?”
“Shortly after the funeral.”
“I don’t have time to manage a young lady’s mental care.”
“Is there no way?”
“You may think it’s some special mana or mind control, but it isn’t. She’s simply—”
Jung Hyuna isn’t mad because of magic, hypnosis, or possession.
She’s simply—no other word fits—gone mad.
......
Taewon sighed, grief-stricken.
“You’d be better off finding a physician than asking me.”
“So there’s no solution.”
“No. But—”
He waited for my next words with a cautious look.
“In such a state, many fall into dangerous paths. Especially since she’s prone to such influences.”
“I understand what you mean.”
“If you need me to step in someday, let me know. I’ll help however I can then.”
“Thank you.”
He bowed deeply in gratitude.
That day, I completed a few quests and returned to the manor.
Honestly, after seeing Hyuna’s state, I felt uneasy. Now I understand why Taewon invited me so many times.
‘Would it have been better to come sooner?’
I don’t know.
I glanced at the silver barrier in a corner of the basement.
Inside—lies the one who killed Cheongho.
Shamelessly, he now borrows Cheongho’s form to speak with me. And I—
“Tch, damn it. If I ponder this any more, I’ll go mad too.”
I decided to stop thinking about that.
Instead, I considered what to do next and which plans to pursue.
The issues weighing on me were resolving rapidly; everything was proceeding smoothly.
Should I continue interpreting the schematics?
No, I’m tired. Best to sleep soon.
Knock knock—
“Mage Sinwha.”
“Oh? Sanghyun?”
Heo Sanghyun had come down to the basement.
Though we installed extra lighting down here, the dank mana rising from the floor keeps the basement eerie and gloomy.
He approached with a ghostly expression that matched the gloom and spoke slowly.
“I meant to tell you yesterday, but you looked exhausted...I’ll say it now...”
His oversized eyes created an unsettling unease.
“What is it you wanted to say?”
“What you did yesterday—how did you do it?”
“Yesterday? What... Oh, Hyundeok? I was frustrated, so I used a trick.”
“From my observation, the ability you used...was beyond that. Yesterday, that was...an ability that would have cost many lives and still failed to achieve its purpose...”
His eyes grew alarmingly large. I was afraid they might pop out.
“Sanghyun, it’s okay. Calm down and tell me slowly.”
He fidgeted, searching for words, and sighed.
“You kept telling me Hyundeok had magic talent, but he doesn’t. You granted him that talent yourself.”
Wait.
Now I understood what he meant.
On a small scale, I’d granted Jang Hyundeok a trait he never had before.
