Chapter 7
Listening to Katarina’s words, it seemed the opponents were indeed Gangsters trying to steal the Magic stone.
But the problem was that Katarina had killed dozens of those people and looted the entire fortune of the organization’s branch.
In short, it meant she had committed mass murder and a special robbery worth billions.
Naturally, the law stipulated that a Summon’s actions were the summoner’s responsibility.
In other words.
I had become a major criminal overnight.
“Ugh. I thought about it too complacently!”
Come to think of it, didn’t Katarina casually talk about killing people on a regular basis?
Those weren’t just empty words.
No, she was someone who actually did what she said. She was a Vampire!
My order was, at most, to teach them a lesson if they were bad guys and just get the proper price for the Magic stone. I didn’t know she would interpret that as massacre and pillaging!…
“Am I really going to get arrested by the police?!”
I looked anxiously at the yellow bills and gold bars.
Money is good, but this kind of black money is still scary!
The only fortunate thing was that.
According to Katarina, she had destroyed all the CCTVs and moved while hiding herself well, so we wouldn’t be subjected to Tracking.
I barely managed to soothe my startled heart.
“Ah, Master. There is something I found out while cleaning up those rats.”
“Something you found out?”
“Yes. It is information I extracted by torturing the one who appeared to be the Leader.”
“… You tortured him?”
“It is said that an organization called “Black Cow” is behind those bugs.”
Katarina said nonchalantly.
Black Cow.
The moment I heard that name, a chill ran down my spine.
“Crazy. Black Cow?!”
I had heard of it before.
Because it was a name that frequently appeared on the news and Hunter Gallery.
Currently, Korea was a country that boasted the World’s highest level of public power and public order.
But despite that, there definitely existed a dark side where powerful individual awakeners or large guilds wielded power like mafias or cartels.
And Black Cow was one of the top three dark guilds dominating the Seoul Underworld.
“T-then, did I just rob the slush fund of a cartel-level criminal syndicate…?!”
Cold sweat trickled down my back.
If only to survive, I needed to know at least what I had messed with and what those guys were plotting.
I hurriedly turned on the computer and opened an internet browser.
It was time to demonstrate the Information Search Skill, my specialty from my Dark Gamer days.
Tap, tap.
<Domestic Hunter Gallery>
Title: The atmosphere in the Gangnam back alleys is brutal lately dd
Poster: Anonymous
Black Cow (abbr.) << Looks like these guys are sharpening their knives to swallow Gangnam
Looking at Darkgram, there are a ton of posts about buying Magic stones with cash, no questions asked.
Seems like they’re trying to pull together a slush fund to wage war yeah
Looks like a huge war is going to break out soon with a Large Guild or another Dark Guild. Be careful, Hun-bung-i living in Seoul.
- Fr, if you go to the outskirts of Gangnam at night, it’s swarming with thugs.
- There’s a widespread rumor that they’ve unleashed their splinter cells to extort kids selling Magic stones.
- Fact Bomber) Correct. It looked like something was going to pop off in Seoul sooner or later.
Re: Hunter Wannabe) Whoa… I shouldn’t wander around at night.
I pieced together the scattered information one by one, centering on this post.
Mmm.
I began to form a picture.
“Those Black Cow bastards… They were just about to engage in a large-scale turf war with other criminal guilds. So, to gather those funds, they were buying Magic stones at dirt-cheap prices or stealing them on places like Darkgram.”
While doing that, they unluckily met their match.
The place Katarina had wiped out seemed to be a fairly large branch.
Of course, compared to the information power of the police or investigative agencies, it was a shoddy deduction that fell far short.
Naturally, I didn’t know detailed, high-level information like where their real Headquarters was or who their key executives were.
It was just at the level of grasping the general flow by piecing together circumstances floating around the internet.
‘Sigh. Either way, it’s true that I touched the money of incredibly dangerous guys. I really need to be careful for a while.’
I shared what I had found out with Katarina.
“…Thus, it seems those fellows were in the middle of gathering a slush fund to fight over Territory among themselves.”
“I see. So there was such a background.”
And I wanted to urge her that she absolutely shouldn’t kill people recklessly from now on, but perhaps this wasn’t a noble thing to say either, because my lips simply wouldn’t part.
“Ahem. My excellent Retainer. You have done truly well. Those who dare to block this body’s path, see to it that you trample them without mercy in the future as well.”
“Ah, Master…!”
Katarina had an ecstatic face.
No…! Why are you praising her! You should be telling her not to do that!
I felt like smacking my own mouth.
“By the way, you are truly amazing, Master.”
But a moment later, Katarina looked at me with eyes full of awe.
“To think that while sitting quietly in your room, you could so accurately pierce through the secret flows of the Human Realm with just a few hand gestures.”
Katarina brought both hands to her chest and spoke in a voice overwhelmed with emotion.
“You are truly omnipotent!”
“Huh?”
No, that’s not it.
Flustered, I subtly covered the computer screen.
This is just piecing together internet tabloids.
Especially, I just gathered and read the headcanons posted on the gallery.
But in Katarina’s eyes, it seemed I was seen as having tremendous information power.
“A solid misunderstanding has piled up.”
Thinking that inwardly, I opened my mouth.
“Ahem. This much is nothing special.”
What I wanted to say was plain.
“Fufu. The shallow tricks of mere insignificant creatures cannot deceive the eyes of this True Ancestor.”
The [Exalted Dignity] Skill had once again packaged my words arrogantly.
Katarina bowed her head, seemingly even more deeply impressed by that arrogant answer.
“This Katarina is once again deeply moved by Master’s infinite wisdom!”
I broke into a cold sweat and averted my gaze.
Argh. This damn Skill really…!
* * *
At the same time.
A penthouse in a high-rise building towering in the middle of Gangnam.
An excessively spacious area where a brilliant chandelier lit up the room, and a top-grade tiger skin rug was laid on the floor.
Men dressed sharply in designer suits sat on expensive leather sofas, their faces contorted into fierce scowls.
Outwardly, they looked like great businessmen or executives of large corporations, but the Irezumi tattoos glimpsed through the gaps in their sleeves and their rough speech could not hide their roots.
It was the top Executive meeting of “Black Cow”, one of the rulers of the Seoul Underworld.
Through the thick cigar smoke, the boss sitting at the head of the table broke the heavy silence.
“…So. You’re saying the Abandoned Factory that Viper was in charge of was blown away entirely?”
At the boss’s brutal voice, the Subordinate giving the report flinched, trembling like a leaf.
“Y-yes, sir! All forty syndicate members at the scene were… annihilated without a trace.”
“The bodies.”
“That’s… they were all in such a gruesome state that it’s impossible to tell who is who, making recovery impossible. Even Viper Hyung-nim was found dead. Looking at the body, it is presumed he suffered extreme torture.”
A murmur erupted among the executives.
Forty armed Awakener Gangsters had been wiped out in an instant. And on the outskirts of the city, at that.
“What about CCTVs or traces.”
“The CCTVs were all destroyed, and no traces of the culprit could be found. Furthermore, as a result of our investigation of the scene… it was a massacre that took place in one minute at most.”
“…”
The boss remained silent for a moment.
Then he violently hurled the crystal glass he was holding at the TV.
Crash-!
Glass shards flew, and a suffocating silence descended upon the meeting room.
“They turned forty men into minced meat in under a minute, and hid their traces…?”
The boss’s face was contorted like a vicious demon.
This definitely exceeded the level of a typical Underworld dispute.
It was clearly a highly calculated and organized conspiracy.
Even in the Underworld, there were rules.
They might fight over Territory, but this method was no different from making a Declaration of War.
“They dare cross the line? These sons of bitches…!”
One of the executives opened his mouth.
“Boss. This is undoubtedly the work of bastards who noticed we were gathering a slush fund with our eyes on the Gangnam interests.”
“Right. It must be a state-affiliated special forces unit, or other Dark Guild bastards sending their most elite Assassination Squad.”
The boss ground his molars with a crunch.
“This is a clear Declaration of War!”
The inside of the meeting room was instantly filled with fear and anger.
The Unidentified, overwhelming martial prowess that had descended upon them.
They thought the opponent was either state power or the elite forces of a Giant Guild.
And rightly so, because common sense dictated that a single individual evaporating an entire branch of an organization without a trace made no sense.
The boss sprang up from his seat, veins bulging in his neck.
“Put the main unit on emergency alert immediately! Arm all syndicate members and prepare for all-out war! We’ll find out right now who the bastards targeting our Force are and show them what we’re made of!”
“Yes, boss!!”
The Black Cow’s Headquarters was turned upside down as preparations for war began.
* * *
“Ah.”
My cozy Studio Apartment.
I lay on my stomach on the bed with my laptop resting on it, holding my chopsticks.
Red raw meat and fresh congealed blood.
It was a special meal that Katarina had personally procured from the butcher shop.
I took out a few 50,000 won bills from the Gangsters' wads of cash and used them.
With a happy expression, I wrapped the congealed blood in the raw meat and popped it into my mouth.
Nom.
'Mmm…! It’s delicious!'
Perhaps Thanks to the Vampire’s taste correction, it was incredibly delicious.
It felt like eating top-grade Yukhoe Sashimi.
Even the tough meat went down smoothly Thanks to my sharp fangs.
Even the congealed blood, which I normally didn’t eat much, was truly delicious even when eaten raw.
It was incredibly savory, an explosion of umami!
It was so delicious that I unconsciously kicked my legs under the blanket.
[Blood Power: 100/100]
Before I knew it, my Blood Power had also filled up to 100.
I couldn’t eat something this delicious all by myself.
I called out to my precious Retainer.
“Katarina. Come here and have some of this.”
“I will eat it with gratitude!”
Mhm. Beef really is the best.