“What…?”
A face frozen in place.
At that moment, an ice-cold layer was cast over a perfectly composed face.
“……”
As if infected, the man who was relaying the message also froze in place.
It couldn’t be helped.
The man before him, Guild Master Chulwoo Shin’s fury was no trivial matter.
Even Chae Mooyeol, the executive who had firmly established his position within the guild, could not escape the fallout.
Fearing unnecessary sparks flying, everyone waited stiffly for those lips to move.
“I don’t understand. Say it again.”
The order was issued.
But he did not want to speak.
Yet he had no choice.
Amid countless inner conflicts, Chae Mooyeol finally spoke.
“This is currently being broadcast live to South Korea, no, the entire world…”
“Chae Mooyeol.” A low voice echoed as if from a cave.
The chill-inducing words made Chae Mooyeol straighten his posture again.
“Yes, sir!”
“I told you clearly—I don’t understand.”
“Yes!”
“So stop repeating the same thing and bring me evidence I can understand.”
“Please take a look at this laptop.”
Opening the laptop tucked under his arm, a pre-set video began to play.
“Ugh!”
A dark background.
All that could be heard was a scream, as if the breath was about to be strangled.
If one were at the scene in that darkness, they might distinguish their surroundings, but even on the video, it was impossible to confirm clearly.
“What is this…?”
But the frustration of not understanding the mystery didn’t last long.
With the light of a shining sword illuminating everything, a figure appeared.
“…Kim Si-won?”
Chulwoo Shin was not someone who easily remembered faces.
Meeting so many different people in his position, most faces were quickly forgotten.
But the person focused on in the video was unforgettable.
Kim Si-won.
His fiancée’s ex-husband, and someone who had recently clashed with him.
But why?
Of course, he had given the order to monitor him.
But producing such a video wasn’t something he had authorized.
“Hmm?!”
Yet the question didn’t last long.
At the next moment, when Kim Si-won raised the Knight Sword to light up his surroundings, every mystery suddenly began to make sense.
“The Assassination Squad?”
The individuals writhing on the ground.
Those who had been defeated in the darkness earlier were familiar faces to Chulwoo Shin.
The Assassination Squad.
One of the secretive units operated within the Shinhwa Guild.
Their missions included kidnapping, intimidation, assassination, and other criminal acts.
When handling such tasks, there were always those who failed to understand orders.
The Assassination Squad were the hunting dogs raised to show the power of the Shinhwa Guild to such people.
Naturally, they were not given the Shinhwa name.
They were tasked with resolving issues hidden in the shadows that couldn’t be dealt with in the open.
The problem was.
“How dare someone!”
“Bang!”
His fist struck the desk.
“Crack, bang!”
The custom-made metal desk shattered miserably.
Several objects and porcelain on the desk broke, causing a commotion.
Neither of the two moved.
They simply focused on the conversation that would follow.
“Who moved the Assassination Squad without my orders?”
A cold phrase that sent a chill down the spine.
But the problem was in the content.
“Yes…?”
Chae Mooyeol asked back, stunned.
Normally, to avoid upsetting Chulwoo Shin, he would never have dared to act like this.
But this time, there was no choice.
“Surely the Guild Master gave the order…!”
Chae Mooyeol was aware of the Assassination Squad’s movement.
Of course.
He had been told it was the Guild Master’s order and had personally relayed it to the Assassination Squad.
“What nonsense is that?”
But Chulwoo Shin said he had given no such order.
Naturally, that had to be the case.
There had been a constant stir about Kim Si-won, who had provoked the Shinhwa Guild recently.
No matter how much he stood at the pinnacle of power without concern for caution, public opinion could never be ignored entirely.
If the real Kim Si-won met an unexpected accident here, all blame would fall on the Shinhwa Guild.
So why take such a risky path?
Though infuriating and a desire to kill was burning inside, Chulwoo Shin was a leader who understood the gravity of heading such a vast organization.
But what was this?
The Assassination Squad had moved.
His direct subordinate unit acting on their own without his orders.
“I’m certain the Guild Master sent the order…”
And at that moment, one thought crossed both their minds simultaneously.
Within the strictly organized Shinhwa Guild, the only person who could issue orders in place of the Guild Master was—
“Ha Yeon Lee!”
“Ha Yeon Lee!”
It was none other than his fiancée, Ha Yeon Lee.
***
Those writhing on the ground were like worms.
About one-tenth of them showed no movement.
‘Tsk!’
He couldn’t help but click his tongue at the unsatisfactory results.
‘Can’t even control these guys properly.’
The battle was a victory.
An overwhelming one, at that.
But the outcome was far from satisfying.
There was no intention to kill.
Yet the level of dominance was insufficient for complete control.
Regardless of the battle’s victory, this part was a source of discontent.
‘Definitely need more power.’
But there was no reason to be disappointed.
Having conquered the second floor, he had now gained about 3% of his prime strength.
If he could conquer the entire tower, opportunities for growth would be limitless.
Therefore, he moved toward the writhing bodies fallen nearby.
At that moment.
“uhhhhhhh”
As if by magic, the groans ceased.
‘Are they showing willpower?’
A kind of silent protest.
No matter what he did, they couldn’t open their mouths.
‘Quick-witted.’
They understood why he spared their lives.
But disregarding that, he grabbed the collar of the one who had fallen closest and lifted him up.
Dangling in the air as if plucking a weed.
“Who ordered the hit on my life?”
Silence was the only answer.
Swish—
He removed the mask.
At last, the face was revealed.
‘Look at this.’
A horrible face covered in what looked like deliberate burn scars.
From this, one thing was clear.
‘They were thoroughly raised as hunting dogs.’
They were no longer humans.
Nothing more than dogs bred for the Shinhwa Guild’s dirty work.
Furthermore, those unfocused, clouded eyes were evidence of enduring hypnosis or brainwashing.
Meaning their will was not a grand resolution toward the Guild.
It was obedience born of long-term brainwashing, using their characteristics and drugs.
‘Interesting. To think I’d see a method used by the Galia Empire here.’
The Galia Empire was an evil empire that had brought the fires of war to the Gritia Continent.
Never had he imagined seeing their favorite tactics in modern times.
It only proved that Chulwoo Shin and the Shinhwa Guild harbored ambitions far beyond what they had imagined.
And although this method was ruthless, its effectiveness was undeniable.
Their faces were unrecognizable, and information couldn’t be extracted due to the hypnosis.
Certainly an ideal tool for unsavory cleanup operations.
‘Unlucky.’
Who sent them likely did so believing that even if they lost the battle, the aftermath couldn’t be uncovered.
But if the target was him, the story changed.
He was a Knight.
A Knight of the Asran Kingdom that had ended the Galia Empire’s evil reign of powerful brainwashing and hypnosis in the final war.
Breaking mental control was routine for him.
What he needed were a few sharp needles capable of piercing flesh.
Of course, none were ready at the moment.
But.
‘I just have to make them.’
He searched the surroundings and gathered rusted metal scraps.
In an instant, swish!
Using the servant’s sword in hand, he sharpened them like slicing through air, quickly crafting sharp needles.
And then, he plunged the needle mercilessly into the head of the dangling hunting dog.
Thrust!
And at the next moment.
“Guaaaaah!”
A beast’s howl of agony burst from a mouth usually unfeeling due to brainwashing and hypnosis.
“So, to summarize…”
***
Two people faced each other.
Guild Master Chulwoo Shin, and across from him, his fiancée Ha Yeon Lee.
“…You mean to say you made a unilateral decision for the guild?”
The Assassination Squad had moved without the Guild Master’s orders.
This was a massive issue internally.
The hunting dogs were the Guild Master’s direct unit.
Yet someone had moved them without his command.
The only person who could do that was Ha Yeon Lee, who wielded absolute power within the guild.
“Yes. I did.”
Despite the gravity of the situation, Ha Yeon Lee appeared confident.
“You were going to give the order anyway. To kill that bastard, Kim Si-won.”
Since you were going to give the order, I stepped in first.
Her logic was nothing more than a self-serving excuse.
“Haaah.”
He rubbed his forehead in frustration.
“Yeon.”
“Yes?”
“I told you clearly. Don’t overstep your bounds.”
She had crossed the line before, but never this far.
So he planned to give a stern warning this time.
But, with that sharp word.
“Hngh.”
She shed tears like raindrops.
A woman’s tears.
A method so typical it was cliché.
Did she really think such tactics would work on a man as cold as Chulwoo Shin?
“….”
Surprisingly, it worked.
“Don’t cry.”
“Sniff, but you…”
“Hoo~”
The man who built Shinhwa Guild, Korea’s top guild, in one breath.
Undoubtedly a man of great ambition and ability.
Naturally, many tried to entwine themselves with him, especially using beauty as a weapon.
But to no avail.
He had easily overcome countless schemes, and any assault by beautiful women.
Yet for some reason?
He showed weakness only to Ha Yeon Lee.
He knew full well that women’s tears were their weapon, that it was a form of gaslighting.
His reason told him not to yield, but his emotions kept interfering.
“Alright, enough.”
In the end, Chulwoo Shin had no choice but to hold the sobbing Ha Yeon Lee.
Gently patting her as she cried like a child.
He decided to let it slide this time but warned her firmly.
“Don’t do that again. This is about guild hierarchy, and everyone’s sensitive about it.”
And again, he failed.
He should have given a strict warning or punishment, but her tears won him over once more.
Though crying, a faint smile touched her lips.
But then the smile vanished, and Ha Yeon Lee spoke with concern, “Mm. Sniff. But what do we do? Those hunting dogs, won’t they keep growing?”
The live broadcast was still streaming on the laptop.
Kim Si-won, having subdued all members of the Assassination Squad, was holding up one of the dogs nearby, taunting it.
“Don’t worry. All of the Assassination Squad have completed brainwashing procedures.”
More precisely, through continuous administration of narcotic potions, no matter what torture or process, they will not reveal any secrets.
It is impossible for them to speak of anything related to Shinhwa.
“Now that we know he’s stronger than expected, next time we’ll prepare even more thoroughly…”
Just as she was about to say she’d be better prepared for her worried lover.
[“We are the Assassination Squad of the Shinhwa Guild. Tools used for dirty work that cannot be revealed. We have operated under the orders of Chulwoo Shin to handle countless undisclosed corruptions.”]
A secret that was never meant to be revealed was now spreading across the world—Shinhwa Guild’s dark secret.