The pungent smell of metal permeated the abandoned factory.
Crow tapped his fingers on the table, his tension palpable.
Each tap echoed softly within the factory.
Moonlight streaming through the window illuminated his pale face.
“He’s still not here, and time’s up.”
Crow muttered, his voice laced with annoyance and impatience.
The person he was waiting for was Betta.
He intended to trade Terrilif Mana Potions with Betta.
No, to be precise, he planned to steal them, not trade.
That’s why he chose this abandoned factory in a nearby area instead of the Black Market.
There was an unspoken rule within the Black Market: do not inconvenience others, regardless of the reason.
This rule applied even to the owner, the Boss.
If the Black Market’s rules were broken, no one would be trusted.
‘The Boss is truly formidable.’
He marveled anew at the Boss’s meticulous planning.
The Boss of the Black Market had prepared twenty hunters, five of whom were A-Rank and fifteen were B-Rank.
Each hunter was equipped with weapons suited to their positions and lay in ambush throughout the abandoned factory.
Upon looking around, their silhouettes could be faintly seen behind pillars inside the factory, beneath rusted machinery, and in shadowy corners.
While it was arguably excessive force to capture just one man, Crow nodded.
‘Well, if he has that many Terrilif Potions, it would be strange if he didn’t have backing.’
Currently, Terrilif Potions were not products that could be bought with money alone. They were so rare that calling them legendary would not be an exaggeration.
And then, a man appeared with a large quantity of Terrilif Potions?
There was definitely a powerful force behind him.
And the Boss of the Black Market was preparing to exploit that force.
The hunters concealed themselves in various locations within the abandoned factory.
Five A-Rank hunters, fifteen B-Rank hunters.
This was more than enough force to subjugate a typical dungeon.
Crow admired the Boss’s foresight and leisurely lit a cigarette.
“Hoo.”
He exhaled the smoke slowly, sighing with satisfaction.
‘How will my position change if this job succeeds?’
If this job succeeded, Crow’s own standing would significantly improve.
Not only that.
The Black Market wasn’t confined to one location.
There were multiple black markets within South Korea, and if Terrilif Potions were to be widely distributed?
The Boss’s Black Market would quickly be flooded with customers.
Perhaps they might even form strong ties with the Association.
‘I don’t know what the Boss has planned, but I just need to follow.’
Crow flicked his finished cigarette onto the floor.
The ember touched the concrete floor, creating a small flame that quickly died out.
Just then.
The creaking sound of the abandoned factory’s metal door opening was heard.
Crow’s gaze sharply turned towards the source of the heavy door’s sound.
Dozens of hidden eyes also converged there instantly.
The arrival was the same person he saw yesterday, Betta.
His silhouette was revealed in the moonlight entering through the door.
He had neatly combed hair and wore a clean suit.
Betta, holding a black bag, walked in slowly.
“You’re late.”
Crow said.
His voice was sharp, but he intentionally maintained a pleasant expression.
In reality, ten minutes had passed.
Normally, he would have used that delay as leverage to seize control of the transaction, but this time he planned to steal rather than trade.
So, Crow smiled as genially as possible and spread his arms.
“I was preparing something, which made me late.”
Betta replied casually, unfazed by Crow’s actions.
There was no hint of nervousness; instead, his face was filled with a smile.
Crow, also wearing a fake smile, gestured to the table.
“Place the bag here. Since it’s a valuable item, I’ll need to check it. Is that alright?”
Betta slowly placed the bag on the table. His fingers moved towards the bag’s zipper but didn’t open it.
Instead, he looked at Crow and quietly said.
“It seems I have many guests welcoming me.”
Crow’s eyes momentarily stiffened.
Betta’s words clearly indicated he had detected the hidden hunters.
But he couldn’t back down now.
He had hunters with him, and his opponent was just one person.
“You have sharp eyes. Are you perhaps a hunter yourself?”
Crow burst into laughter. The sound echoed through the factory.
It wouldn’t matter if the opponent was a hunter anyway.
After all, there were twenty hunters present.
“But it’s too bad.”
Crow raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
At the signal, the hunters hidden behind the pillars and machinery simultaneously pulled out their mana guns.
Blue mana fired from the muzzles of the guns.
Blue mana bullets streaked across the space, pouring towards Betta.
*Bang—!*
A powerful explosion and thick smoke spread.
He should have been ripped to shreds, but Crow imagined only tattered pieces of flesh would remain once the smoke cleared.
“……”
Everyone held their breath, waiting for the smoke to dissipate.
As the smoke gradually cleared and vision improved, Crow witnessed an unbelievable sight.
“Wh-where did he go?!”
Betta was gone.
He looked around, but Betta was nowhere to be seen. Even though so many bullets had hit him, he couldn’t comprehend how he disappeared.
“Find him quickly!”
Crow shouted.
“He must be injured, so he can’t have gone far!”
The hunters moved busily, searching every corner of the abandoned factory for Betta, but they couldn’t find even a trace.
Not behind the pillars, not on the ceiling, nowhere.
It was as if he had never existed in the first place.
“…We’ve searched around the factory too, but there’s nothing!”
An A-Rank hunter reported.
At that statement, Crow gritted his teeth.
“Impossible… He couldn’t just disappear!”
Could he be a hunter with an invisibility skill?
Even if so, deceiving so many hunters would be difficult.
Moreover, there were five A-Rank hunters alone.
Fifteen B-Rank hunters—how could he evade their eyes?
He needed a plan.
“Everyone gather!”
It was difficult to find him now, so they needed to get out of here.
At Crow’s words, the hunters began to gather one by one.
“Is everyone here?”
Crow asked, looking around.
But.
“Hmm?”
There were twenty hunters in total.
Including himself, there should have been twenty-one.
But something was strange.
“Twenty… one? Twenty… two?”
There were twenty-two people gathered there.
One person was more.
“What… What is this……”
Crow’s voice trembled.
All the hunters read his expression and tensed immediately; they also intuitively sensed something was wrong.
“Someone… Someone else is here!”
With Crow’s exclamation, the hunters began to eye each other suspiciously.
Their mana guns started to point at the person next to them.
Why was there one extra person?
There was no need to ponder.
The whereabouts of Betta, who disappeared from the attack, were right here.
“You bastard Betta! Stop hiding and come out!”
Crow shouted, scanning the surroundings.
His voice was an octave higher than usual due to fear.
At that moment, a B-Rank hunter standing to his left smiled.
The smile widened, eventually contorting into a grotesque shape.
The hunter’s mouth seemed to stretch to his ears as he smiled. His skin contorted as if melting, and it began to turn into a bluish liquid.
“Hieek! It’s him! He’s the fake!”
At Crow’s words, the hunters all simultaneously opened fire in the direction he pointed.
Blue beams of light from the mana guns streaked across space and concentrated on that hunter.
“Cough!”
But what they killed was an ordinary hunter.
The attacked hunter fell to the ground with an expression of injustice.
Betta had slipped away.
That fear instantly spread amongst them.
“He’s… not human! He’s a monster! We’re being toyed with by a doppelganger!”
Doppelganger.
A monster that parasitizes by impersonating others.
Doppelgangers were certainly deadly monsters.
But why a monster was outside a dungeon, they didn’t know. However, that wasn’t important right now.
“We need to find the doppelganger!”
Crow also pulled out a dagger from his pocket.
“Who are you? State your name!”
“It’s Kim Min-su! You state your name!”
One hunter suspiciously eyed the person next to him and asked. His mana gun was already aimed at his comrade’s head.
The opposite was also true.
A situation was created where they aimed their weapons at each other, suspecting and suspecting again.
“Rather than that, isn’t Crow the fake?”
There were even hunters who tried to frame Crow as the fake.
Some hunters agreed with that statement and aimed their weapons at Crow.
Some even raised their right hands and summoned flames.
“Me? Don’t be absurd!”
Crow shouted in an enraged voice.
“I’m the one who gathered you all here!”
But his shouts were useless.
Because an A-Rank hunter spoke coldly.
“It could have been a trap to kill us all here.”
Crow, filled with fear, stepped back.
“No… I’m Crow! I’m……”
“Prove it.”
At the A-Rank hunter’s demand, others around them agreed.
“Right! Prove it!”
“How… How am I supposed to prove it?”
“Bleed!”
“Right! Doppelgangers don’t bleed!”
Crow hesitated for a moment. That hesitation was fatal to him.
“See! He’s hesitating! He’s the fake!”
Instantly, multiple mana guns fired, and Crow’s body was engulfed by the bullets.
He fell to the ground, screaming.
Red blood flowed onto the floor.
Crow was not a doppelganger.
“……”
As everyone stood stunned and silent.
Another grotesque laughter was heard from another direction.
All the hunters turned towards that direction.
“This is truly amusing.”
One of the B-Rank hunters said with a laugh. That laughter was not human.
All the hunters aimed their mana guns at him, but at that moment, the hunter’s body began to completely melt.
“Shoot! Shoot now!”
One hunter shouted.
Mana guns fired in unison, but it was too late. Betta, now in a slime-like form, flowed rapidly along the floor towards another hunter’s feet.
“Ugh!”
That hunter screamed. His feet and then his body began to melt slowly. It was as if Betta was absorbing his body.
“Help me… Help-”
The hunter’s screams cut off. In his place, a new hunter stood.
He had perfectly transformed into the appearance of the hunter Betta had absorbed.
“Who’s next?”
Betta’s voice now came from the mouth of the absorbed hunter.
And Betta disappeared again. The panicked hunters lost their reason and began attacking each other. They couldn’t distinguish who was real and who was fake.
“I’m real!”
“No, I’m the real Kim Min-su!”
“He’s the fake!”
Amidst the chaos, a mixture of screams and the sound of tearing flesh, the hunters fell one by one. Some died from their comrades’ attacks, others from Betta’s ambushes.
“Please… Who is real……”
One of the A-Rank hunters wailed. Ten or more corpses were already scattered around him.
At that moment, a voice spoke from behind him.
“It doesn’t matter who is real. What matters is that you interfered with Master’s plan.”
Before the hunter could turn around, a bluish liquid shot out through his back.
He collapsed without a word.
* * *
The abandoned factory returned to silence.
Betta returned to his human form and looked around.
Everyone was now just a cold corpse.
He picked up the black bag left on the table and left the abandoned factory.
Outside, he stood under the moonlight and took out his smartphone.
“Azmo-nim, I’ve dealt with everyone. As expected, humans are too greedy. But thanks to them, I’ve secured offerings for Master. Yes, understood. I will now look for the next client.”
A moment later, he hung up the phone and looked back.
The abandoned factory left behind was scheduled to have incubi managed by Azmo arrive soon.
When they arrived, the hunters’ corpses would be offered as sacrifices.
“It must be an honor for you useless beings.”
Saying that, Betta disappeared into the darkness.
The abandoned factory that remained was filled only with an aura of darkness and death.
Thus, Crow’s potion heist plan ended in failure.
