Chapter 41: A Surprise from Nemesis

Thud! Thud!

At the same time, groans of pain echoed inside a dark space.

"Argh! I-I'm sorry!"

"If you're sorry, damn it! Does the lost item come back? How much time did I give you, and you still haven't solved it?"

A man was begging for mercy, and a young man was beating him all over his body with a golf club regardless.

If the two had one thing in common, it was the black angel-shaped tattoo on their arms.

Indeed.

They were villains belonging to the giant villain group, Nemesis.

"Do you have any idea how much that item is worth? All you had to do was deliver it, and you get tracked and robbed by the Hunter Army?"

"I have no excuse! I didn't know things would get so twisted!"

"Tsk."

As if his anger hadn't subsided, the man threw the golf club onto the floor.

His name was Gu Dong-beom.

He was the son of a villain who was an executive in Nemesis.

"Shit. That item was Unique grade. My stomach still hurts thinking about it."

Gu Dong-beom buried his back into the sofa.

Business had been difficult lately anyway, and his irritation was beyond measure as bad news broke out one after another.

Knock, knock.

As he was catching his breath for a moment, a bulky villain entered with a knock.

"Speak."

"Yes. As a result of hiring informants to conduct an investigation, the lost item is currently at the Hunter Headquarters."

"It's gone, then. Gone."

If the item had already passed to the Hunter Headquarters, it was impossible to smuggle it out.

It was better to just give up cleanly.

"And we've intercepted some operational data from the special forces side, and it seems those guys are targeting our subcontractors."

"They're nothing. Just leave them be. Did that informant guy really dig up something like that?"

"They say this was the best they could do since the Hunter Army places so much importance on security. However, Boss."

Gu Dong-beom's ears perked up at the villain's following words.

It was because he heard information that the special forces soldiers who captured the delivery man of the item in question were being deployed for an operation.

"Interesting. Tell me more about that information."

Gu Dong-beom grinned.

His gold tooth glinted in the darkness.

The culprit who caused things to get twisted.

That clumsy delivery man was a problem, but the real cause was the Hunter Army.

Especially those special forces bastards.

They were the ones who tried their best to keep them in check whenever they tried to expand their radius of activity.

He had been waiting for a chance to break their spirits once and for all, and to think the opportunity would come like this.

"That... Boss? As you know, it's better not to touch the Hunter Army rashly...."

"There's nothing to worry about."

He had heard the warning not to touch the Hunter Army so much that his ears were practically bleeding from his father.

Naturally, he had no intention of moving himself.

Instead, he planned to send them a surprise gift.

"Send Heo Yong-pal over there. Tell him not to kill the Hunter Army guys, but to withdraw after giving them a proper lesson."

"Yes. Understood."

"I need to do at least this much to feel better."

Heo Yong-pal was one of the subordinates Gu Dong-beom cherished.

Unlike the pathetic underlings, he was Level 5.

Hunters of the same level couldn't even beat him in terms of pure strength.

Considering that most of the soldiers deployed this time were around the rank of Private, Heo Yong-pal would be nothing short of a disaster.

"Tell him to control his strength. It'll be a headache if someone dies."

"Yes, Boss."

***

The next day.

The day of actual deployment.

Kim Hyun-joon and Park Ye-rin, equipped with their gear, were talking inside the transport vehicle.

"Hyun-joon. Aren't you nervous?"

"I'd rather catch even one more. Villains are nothing much compared to what I thought. Don't be so scared."

"W-When did I say I was scared? It's just my first time actually seeing a villain...."

The two had become close over the past few days.

Compared to when they only exchanged a word or two in the past, they had made a lot of progress.

Actually, Kim Hyun-joon was the one who started it.

Starting with the suggestion that they might as well speak comfortably to each other by now, they decided to treat each other casually from today.

'I received help regarding mana, so it would seem a bit cold if we kept using formal titles.'

He was able to supplement his weaknesses even a little bit over the past few days.

There was nothing much blocking him in terms of spearmanship or physical training, but fine control of mana was still difficult.

Thanks to her, he had achieved results in being able to adjust his mana output more precisely over the last few days.

Of course, he didn't just take without giving back.

He did help Private Park Ye-rin with her physical training.

...He didn't know how much help that would be, though.

She had good physical specs for a magic soldier.

"By the way, do you still have the number I gave you before?"

After hesitating for a moment, Private Park Ye-rin asked if he had her contact information.

He didn't know what she meant by asking, but he answered that he was saving it.

"It's a wish coupon, so I have to save it."

"Only for things I can actually do."

"Of course."

Your father would be the one doing it, though.

While they were exchanging such conversation, soldiers boarded the vehicle.

They were soldiers belonging to the Special Task Force.

They glanced at Kim Hyun-joon and Private Park Ye-rin sitting on one side of the vehicle and then spoke.

As if they wanted them to hear.

"Don't they know how to back off tactfully? It'll be troublesome for us if they just become baggage."

"One's a Corporal and the other's a Private? Do they have some kind of connection?"

"Training from the outside and all that is useless. It's just more work for us."

They openly badmouthed the two in front of them, but the parties involved weren't particularly affected.

To Kim Hyun-joon, they just looked like cute kids, and to Private Park Ye-rin, it was just a fact.

"Last time, I caught a villain that a soldier from your unit missed. The Special Task Force... maybe it's not that big of a deal?"

Of course, Kim Hyun-joon, who had no intention of just listening quietly, poked at the Special Task Force soldiers, and,

"What? Hey, mister. What the fuck did you just say?"

As if his rage button had been pressed, one Corporal suddenly raised his voice.

Since they were special forces members with strong pride, the effect was certain.

"Hey. Where's Park Hwi-chan?"

"Private! Park Hwi-chan!"

"You son of a bitch. What kind of disgrace are you bringing to our unit because of you?"

"I'm sorry!"

A Corporal giving a disciplinary lecture inside the transport vehicle, and a Private receiving it with an excellent posture.

As expected of special forces members, the posture for receiving discipline was top-notch.

***

The place where the soldiers got off the vehicle was near a small company.

'It'll be a headache for those catching them if villains disguise themselves like that.'

A worn-out building and a sign that was crooked as if it were about to fall off.

To Kim Hyun-joon, it looked like a common small business.

However, the reality was a hideout where villains were active.

'To just barge in openly... there are general commercial shops around.'

This was why people said the Special Task Force's job wasn't easy.

They had to suppress and arrest villains while minimizing damage to civilians.

"Everyone, attention."

"Attention!"

Second Lieutenant Park A-young, who was leading the transport vehicle, gathered the soldiers' attention.

It was for a briefing before starting the full-scale operation.

"Those located on the 3rd floor are mostly Level 1 to Level 2 villains."

If there was one thing different from dungeon raiding, it was that the day's briefing was kept simple.

Detailed operational plans were supposedly made weeks in advance.

It was because dungeons wait for hunters, but villains keep moving.

After finishing the explanation, Second Lieutenant Park A-young turned her gaze to Kim Hyun-joon and Private Park Ye-rin.

"Corporal Kim Hyun-joon. Private Park Ye-rin. You two don't necessarily have to do anything."

She told them it was fine just to get used to this atmosphere and experience how the field works.

"Corporal Kim Hyun-joon! Understood!"

"Private Park Ye-rin! Understood!"

Of course, Kim Hyun-joon had no intention of just sucking his thumb in the back.

He planned to actively capture the villains.

"Infiltrate!"

After the countdown ended.

The armed Special Task Force broke through the company entrance and entered the stairs.

Bang! Bang!

The soldier in charge of door breaching hammered the entrance with a thick steel pillar.

Noisy sounds crossed over from the other side of the door, but they didn't seem to care.

Crunch!

General entrance doors cannot withstand a hunter's strength for long.

This time was no different.

The Special Task Force soldiers forcibly broke the entrance within minutes and entered.

"Who are these bastards!"

"Why is the Hunter Army here... Hurry up and contact the Boss!"

The villains inside were startled, yet they hurriedly tried to respond by grabbing weapons.

It was a futile effort.

The levels of the ten or so villains were 1 to 2.

On the other hand, even a Private in the Special Task Force was Level 3.

Since they were small fry living off sub-subcontracts, they were no match for the Special Task Force.

The villains were suppressed disappointingly fast.

'Why are these guys so weak?'

The situation ended quickly.

Kim Hyun-joon felt like his body, which was heating up, had cooled down.

It was because he had no chance to step forward while staying in the rear.

He knew the villains' levels were low... but he didn't expect them to be so unable to respond just because the Hunter Army suddenly barged in.

It seemed that the Level 4 mage villain from back then was a remarkable fellow.

"Villains... they really don't seem like much."

It seemed Private Park Ye-rin felt the same way.

For all the tension she felt, it ended before she could even try anything.

Just as he was smacking his lips in regret, a bulky figure walked out from the inner warehouse.

There was one more villain left.

"Are you guys the ones called the Hunter Army or whatever?"

The Corporal belonging to the Special Task Force frowned upon seeing the villain.

"Ah. Shit. I told you guys to check thoroughly. I'll see you when we get back."

And as he approached, telling him to surrender cleanly without resisting....

Thwack!

"Guh!"

With a dull sound, the Special Task Force Corporal collapsed forward.

With a surprise attack that was fast despite his bulk, the Corporal fainted without even being able to resist once.

Looking closely, the villain was wearing gauntlets on his hands.

"Subdue him!"

"Yes!"

A few other soldiers stepped forward upon seeing that scene, but they were similarly neutralized after taking a few hits.

"Everyone, step back!"

Kim Hyun-joon pushed the soldiers back.

At this point, anyone could tell.

The villain in front of them was no ordinary hoodlum.

"You seem to have a bit of an eye for things? Guys like that just now are no match for me."

The villain grinned, revealing his yellow teeth.

Looking at his arm, an angel-shaped tattoo was drawn.

He was a villain belonging to the giant villain group, Nemesis.

"To some extent. Including the fact that you belong to Nemesis."

"What. Are we that famous?"

The villain, who laughed heartily as if it were a compliment, introduced himself as Heo Yong-pal.

No matter how you looked at him, he had a body type that would be called fat, but one must not judge by appearances.

The movements he showed just now were not something that should come out of that physique.

"You guys took one of our delivery men, so I came to teach you a lesson."

"Then I'll teach you a lesson."

Kim Hyun-joon didn't care about the delivery man or whatever.

He planned to cook the villain in front of him and then capture him.

When he took a stance while holding his spear, Heo Yong-pal grinned as if that were amusing.

"It's been a while since I've seen a guy using a spear as a weapon. Though most of them can't do anything but thrust."

He pretended to put his hands in his pockets, and then,

Whoosh!

Raising his guard with both fists, he charged toward Kim Hyun-joon.

It felt like an angry wild boar was charging.

'If I dodge, the soldiers behind me might get caught up in it.'

Kim Hyun-joon gathered the mana in his body and wrapped it around his arms and legs.

Perhaps thanks to Private Park Ye-rin's lectures, it felt much easier.

Additionally, as soon as he coated the entire spear with mana, Heo Yong-pal and Kim Hyun-joon collided.

Boom!

Dust rose along with the sound of something exploding.

The impact was so great that it felt like the building was shaking.

"Hehe. You're a confident one, but you're more disappointing than I thought."

Heo Yong-pal was certain that the Hunter Army's momentum would have been broken by that just now.

He had even gone a bit hard on purpose for that reason.

Gu Dong-beom told him not to kill, but so what.

He wouldn't die from just this much.

That's what he thought, but.......

"Huh?"

An unidentified strong force pulled him in.

Heo Yong-pal staggered as his posture collapsed from the sudden force.

Swish!

Just then, a spear came in, aiming for his abdomen.

Since he wasn't in a position to dodge, Heo Yong-pal raised his hand to block the spear.

...He thought he blocked it, but,

"AAAAARGH!"

When he turned his gaze, his palm had been pierced through by the spear.

"What was that about a guy who can only thrust?"

Kim Hyun-joon gave him a grin.