Chapter 61: Heavy Rain (3)

Jang Seok-Ho bowed deeply in the backseat of the car, his shoulders trembling slightly. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

Kwon Oh-Jin let out a dry chuckle in response to his repeated gratitude. “Okay, I get it.”

There was nothing to thank him for. Rescuing Jang Seok-Ho's son was simply a way to get information—nothing more than a fair trade.

“Your name was Oh-Jin, right?” Jang Seok-Ho asked.

“Yeah? Why?”

Jang Seok-Ho pulled out an orange-colored bracelet from his coat. “Can you accept this?”

Kwon Oh-Jin took the bracelet from him and asked, “What’s this?”

A blue notification window suddenly appeared before him.

[Protection Talisman of the Three Strands]

[A five-star Astal Relic meticulously crafted by a master artisan. It can generate a powerful shield three times a day to protect the wearer.]

Kwon Oh-Jin's eyes widened. A five-star Astral Relic was impressive enough, but its functionality was what really grabbed his attention.

“This is the masterpiece I made before they captured me," Jang Seok-Ho conveyed. "The security magic integrated into the Astral Relic keeps it disguised as an ordinary bracelet, so they didn't confiscate it from me.”

“And you’re just giving this to me?”

“We’re heading to rescue my son now, aren’t we? I brought it along in hopes that it might help, even just a little,” Jang Seok-Ho replied, making a bittersweet smile. “I originally made it for Hyun-Woo, but I’d like you to use it instead.”

The bracelet, made of three woven strands, had a vibrant orange hue.

Now that I think about it, his son liked oranges, right?

Kwon Oh-Jin recalled.

“This was supposed to be a gift for your son?” he asked.

“Hyun-Woo is such a mischievous kid... I made it to protect him in case he falls down the stairs or trips on something.”

He created a five-star Astral Relic just to keep his son from getting a few scratches? That's an excessive amount of love... Is that just how fathers are?

Kwon Oh-Jin inaudibly chuckled, putting the bracelet under his wire shooter. “You can’t ask me for it back later, okay?”

“

Haha!

I won’t.”

Kwon Oh-Jin's lips curled upward.

I hit the jackpot.

He had gained something unexpected. Though the bracelet carried a story heavy enough to feel burdensome, there was no reason not to make use of it.

Since I got an extra reward, I might as well work extra hard,

he thought.

Though he had lived his whole life as a scammer, preying on others, he had no intention of just running off with the reward—especially since he hadn’t gotten any critical intel on the Black Star Society yet.

“Anyway, do you know where your son is being held captive right now?” he asked, turning the steering wheel. Compared to his first time driving, the car moved much more smoothly now; Vega probably wouldn’t freak out and disappear into the necklace anymore.

“I’ve known the location for about half a year now,” Jang Seok-Ho answered.

“... Is that so?”

The man had known where his son was for half a year but hadn’t made a move, waiting for the right opportunity.

That’s probably why their surveillance grew lax.

If he had endured that long with such superhuman patience, it wasn’t hard to imagine how cautiously he must have lived each day.

“What’s the scale?” Kwon Oh-Jin asked.

“At most, there are five people managing the place. It’s too small to even call a branch.”

Even five guards seemed excessive to watch over a single child.

There are probably more people being held captive there.

Jang Seok-Ho likely wasn’t the only one with a child, parent, lover, or friend that could be taken advantage of. If they had done it once, they were bound to do it again—they didn’t care about the terrible despair they were causing. Rather, they would be laughing, entertained by the great joy of watching someone else suffer.

“Then, it'll be best to head over there now, right?” Kwon Oh-Jin asked, wondering if they had to prepare anything else beforehand.

“Yes, it’ll be better to go there right away," Jang Seok-Ho replied. "I don’t have much time.”

“You don’t?”

“I used the excuse of gathering development material for Astral Relics to slip out. If I’m gone for too long, they’ll notice.”

If that was the case, they really were tight on time. Kwon Oh-Jin said, “Okay. Where’s the location?”

“There’s an abandoned warehouse in Namyangju," Jang Seok-Hu replied, pointing in a certain direction. "Head that way.”

“Got it.”

It's not too far,

Kwon Oh-Jin assessed. B

y the time we get there, it’ll be night.

He glanced up at the cloudy sky and tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

Weather's not too bad.

For a stealthy ambush... the darker it was, the better.

“Hold on tight,” he said.

“Hmm?”

Kwon Oh-Jin slammed the accelerator.

Vroom!

“Aaaahhhh!”

Jang Seok-Hu screamed.

***

Screech!

Kwon Oh-Jin parked the car a short distance from the warehouse Jang Seok-Ho had mentioned.

“We’ll walk from here,” he said, stepping out.

Jang Seok-Ho stumbled out after him, drenched in sweat and panting heavily. “

Haaa! Haaa!

Quite the driver you are.”

Kwon Oh-Jin smirked. “It hasn’t been long since I learned to drive.”

The warehouse was about a fifteen-minute walk away. Activating the Stigma of Canes Venatici, Kwon Oh-Jin scanned his surroundings for anything suspicious.

There’s nothing that particularly stands out.

Just as Jang Seok-Ho had said, the place was too shabby to call a branch.

“Hyun-Woo, hang in there. Daddy’s coming for you,” Jang Seok-Ho murmured under his breath. He clenched his fists in anticipation as they silently approached the warehouse.

“... You haven’t seen him in three years?” Kwon Oh-Jin asked, the odd silence bothering him.

𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

“Not even once. All I received were occasional pictures,” Jang Seok-Ho replied somberly.

“Do you still have those photos?”

“Here they are.”

Jang Seok-Ho handed over five photos, and Kwon Oh-Jin examined them closely. Though blurry, the boy in the pictures was unmistakably the same child from the video. He wore an awkward smile in each picture, standing in what appeared to be a dimly lit basement.

They sent this kind of crap to his father?

An unsettling chill ran down Kwon Oh-Jin’s spine.

“Is there a problem?” Jang Seok-Ho asked.

Kwon Oh-Jin shook his head and handed the photos back. Jang Seok-Ho took them with the care of someone handling priceless treasures, carefully tucking the pictures of his awkwardly smiling child into his pocket.

“Let’s go,” Kwon Oh-Jin said.

After about ten more minutes, the warehouse finally came into view.

Looks better than I expected.

When Jang Seok-Ho mentioned an abandoned warehouse, Kwon Oh-Jin had pictured a worn-down shed straight out of a crime thriller. Instead, it looked surprisingly well-maintained, enough to pass for a functioning facility.

Jang Seok-Ho’s breathing grew ragged. He looked ready to sprint toward it at any moment, trembling with anticipation.

Kwon Oh-Jin grabbed him by the shoulder. “Don’t get worked up. I get what you’re feeling, but stay calm.”

It was a lie. There was no way he could truly understand the torrent of emotions Jang Seok-Ho was experiencing right now.

“

Ugh!

Damn it.” Jang Seok-Ho bit down hard on his lip as if replaying the last three years in his mind. His breathing gradually steadied.

“Wait here. I’ll go in alone,” Kwon Oh-Jin said. Since he couldn't use the Black Curtain on Jang Seok-Ho, this was the safer option.

“B-But—”

“You don’t want to see your son get hurt, do you?”

If they were caught, his son’s safety couldn’t be guaranteed.

Jang Seok-Ho clenched his fists so tightly his veins bulged, then gave a reluctant nod. “Alright.”

Activating the Black Curtain, Kwon Oh-Jin crouched low and crept toward the warehouse.

Before he could get far, three distinct voices shattered the silence, echoing across the open area in front of the warehouse. The first was harsh and cracked, the second boomed like a commanding general, and the third was high-pitched and grating to the ears.

“You know we can see you, right?”

“

Haha!

I can’t believe they actually came!”

“What an admirable fatherly love you have.”

Jang Seok-Ho’s eyes widened as he watched the three figures leisurely approach. His face contorted in shock and disbelief. “W-Why are you guys here?”

“Who are they?” Kwon Oh-Jin asked, deactivating Black Curtain. Now that they had been spotted, there was no point in concealing his presence.

“Those guys... they're Khan’s Owls! Th-They shouldn’t be here...!”

Jang Seok-Ho trembled with fear.

Khan's Owls? Are they some kind of elite soldiers under Ashad Khan?

Kwon Oh-Jin wondered.

“Are they executives too?” he asked.

“N-No, but they’re all six-star Awakeners! In our branch, no one aside from Ashad Khan is stronger than them...”

Six stars put them on par with Yoo-Jin, a low-ranking executive.

Since they aren’t executives, they likely hold a lower position than Yoo-Jin.

That said, having the same star level didn’t imply equal strength. Even with the same Stigma, their power could vary greatly depending on how well they had mastered it. This gap only became more pronounced at higher star levels.

Woong.

Kwon Oh-Jin activated the Stigma of Canes Venatici and analyzed the mana of the Black Star Stigmas emanating from the Khan's Owls.

They’re a notch, maybe two, below Yoo-Jin. There's three of them... but it’s still doable.

Kwon Oh-Jin stretched lightly. Crackling blue lightning surged around him as the Stigma of Lyra flared brightly.

“W-What are you trying to do?” Jang Seok-Ho stammered.

“Well, they found us already, so we’ll have to move to the next plan.”

As the saying goes,

nobody will notice... if there’s nobody to notice.

The obstacles were unexpected, but if Kwon Oh-Jin killed them all here and now, the end result would be the same.

Well... not exactly the same, I guess.

He squinted at the Khan’s Owls. They had been waiting here for Jang Seok-Ho, which meant their surveillance had never truly eased up. If anything, the apparent lapse was a calculated move to lure him in.

Which means...

Kwon Oh-Jin closed his eyes as a sticky wave of discomfort crawled down his spine, as unpleasant as stumbling upon an unflushed toilet bowl.

The three men shouted like chatty birds.

“

Hehehe!

I can’t believe you actually brought the Thunder Wolf!”

“Mr. Khan is going to love this!”

“That’s the bastard responsible for ruining Mr. Khan’s grand plans!”

So my connection to the Valhalla Guild has leaked,

Kwon Oh-Jin realized. There was no time to dwell on exactly how it happened.

“D-Did you not hear me just now?!" Jang Seok-Ho shouted, grabbing Kwon Oh-Jin’s shoulder. "Those guys are six-star Awakeners!”

“I heard you,” Kwon Oh-Jin calmly replied.

“Then why...?”

“So should we just surrender?”

“Th-That’s...” Jang Seok-Ho froze for a moment. “I heard... that you’re a four-star.”

“That’s right.”

"Th-Then...!”

Jang Seok-Ho was implying that facing three six-star Awakeners as a four-star was absurd. And under normal circumstances, he'd be right. The gap between a four-star and a six-star Awakener was vast.

Under normal circumstances, that is.

Kwon Oh-Jin smirked and grabbed the silver spear strapped to his back.

The six-star Awakener with the unpleasant, raspy voice cackled. “

Hehehe!

This one’s got guts!”

“Or maybe he just doesn’t know how to count since getting the Stigma of the North Star,” another mocked.

The three members of Khan's Owls raised their weapons—a sword, an axe, and a chain scythe. Their mocking expressions and words sharply contrasted with their precise, calculated movements. Their eyes locked onto Kwon Oh-Jin, watching his every move, searching for the perfect opportunity to strike.

Even against a four-star, they’re not letting their guard down.

Kwon Oh-Jin noted.

But I never planned to rely on their carelessness anyway.

The one wielding the axe suddenly charged forward.

“Hmph!”

Black feathers materialized around the axe and shot forward in every direction, aiming for Kwon Oh-Jin.

Whoosh!

Just then, a translucent shield materialized before Kwon Oh-Jin.

Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting!

One of the three orange-glowing strands on the bracelet turned dark.

Kwon Oh-Jin angled the shaft of his spear as an axe strike came right at him.

Clang!

“Damn it! This bastard’s got a protection Astral Relic!” The axeman frowned for a moment, frustrated by how easily his attack had been blocked. “Then let’s see if you can block this too!”

From Kwon Oh-Jin's right, the chain scythe lashed out sharply, while the man wielding the sword darted in from the left.

Kwon Oh-Jin inhaled.

Azure Lightning. Thrice.

Three arcs of lightning burst forth in the shape of a fan.

Crackle!

The swordsman and scythe wielder let out piercing shrieks as electricity surged through their weapons, jolting straight into their bodies.

“Aaargh!”

“

Ugh!

Damn it!”

The man with the axe retreated, his face contorting in frustration.

“Tch!”

“Not so fast!” Kwon Oh-Jin yelled, thrusting his spear toward him.

Black feathers quickly enveloped the axe's blade as the axeman raised it like a makeshift shield.

When Kwon Oh-Jin’s spear struck, it clashed against the feathers with a sharp metallic sound, unable to pierce through.

Clang!

The axeman burst into hearty laughter. “

Haha!

Not bad, but the difference in our strength is undeniable!”

Kwon Oh-Jin’s lightning-covered spear struggled to penetrate the feathery axe shield.

“Is that so?” he said with a smirk, pressing his palm against the base of his spear. “Then how about this?”

[Explosive Lightning Lv3 has been activated.]

Boom!

A burst of lightning exploded from his palm, pushing the spear forward like hammering a nail.

Crack!

The axe blade was slightly crumpled, leaving the axeman stunned.

“H-Huh?”

[Explosive Lightning Lv3 has been activated.]

Crackle!

Once more, the explosive blue lightning pushed the spear forward until it started cutting into the axe.

[Explosive Lightning Lv3 has been activated.]

The axe blade started to crack. The axeman shouted in panic. “W-Wait!”

Why should I listen?

Kwon Oh-Jin smirked as he pressed his palm against the spear shaft.

“There’s still one more round left.”

[Explosive Lightning Lv3 has been activated.]

Boom!

A fifth thunderous explosion of lightning propelled the spear forward, shattering the axe blade into tiny fragments before piercing straight through the axeman’s head.

Splatter!

Brain matter, eyeballs, and blood burst out in a gruesome display.

Ring!

[Azure Lightning has reached Lv4!]

[Explosive Lightning has reached Lv4!]

Kwon Oh-Jin dismissed the glowing blue system messages hovering in front of him. “One down.”

He ferociously bared his teeth, leveling his spear at the remaining two. A thick suffocating silence settled over the battlefield in front of the warehouse.

Jang Seok-Ho stood frozen, his mouth agape. “W-What in the world...?”

He stared at the lifeless body of one of Khan’s Owls, killed in less than a minute since the fight had started.