Dominating the Black Market. More precisely, Kang Do-yoon, who had become a puppet CEO under Azmo’s blackmail, sat alone in his office and poured himself a whiskey.
“Shit.”
Only the sound of ice clinking against the glass filled the space.
“How did my life end up like this?”
He was originally the owner of the Black Market.
But one day, a person named Betta brought the Terrilif Mana Potion, and his life turned upside down.
The Terrilif Potion was a high-value item. Naturally, he tried to steal it, but he was instead on the receiving end.
“If it weren’t for that bastard Azmo…”
That name of hatred.
He was not even human, but a monster Incubus.
An Incubus who could charm even those of the same sex.
Kang Do-yoon succumbed to Azmo’s charm and enjoyed a wild party he couldn’t remember. And the entire process was perfectly captured on Azmo’s camera.
That’s right.
Kang Do-yoon was currently working as a puppet CEO of the Black Market, being blackmailed with that video.
Thinking of that day still made his heart ache like a thorn stuck in his throat.
His life, which could have been successful, had plummeted into the abyss because of a mere incubus.
The video Azmo filmed didn’t leave his mind.
A video containing Kang Do-yoon’s naked body, a leash of his cowardice and humiliation.
If he could escape that leash, he would do anything, but his opponent was not good.
“Hoo-”
It was now something he couldn’t undo by regretting it.
The only fortunate thing was that Azmo’s surveillance was lax. Only Betta appeared once every few days to inspect the Black Market, and that was it.
‘Should I consider this fortunate?’
As Kang Do-yoon sighed, the clock struck midnight.
The time when everyone falls asleep, the Black Market was about to begin.
“Hm?”
But something was strange.
It was too quiet outside his office.
‘What is it?’
Kang Do-yoon felt a sense of foreboding.
“Is anyone there?”
But there was no answer. Only silence.
“You bastards! Can’t you hear me?!”
He swore out loud to get rid of his anxiety, but again, only a quiet silence permeated.
Just then, footsteps were heard outside the office.
But something felt ominous.
Kang Do-yoon hastily put down his whiskey glass. However, his hand accidentally brushed against it, and the glass fell to the floor.
It shattered into pieces.
“Wh-who is it?”
Instead of an answer, the office door opened.
Three silhouettes appeared beyond the door. The first man was tall, and the two men following him had broad shoulders.
They were all wearing black suits.
“Mr. Kang Do-yoon?”
The first man spoke. His voice was dry, devoid of any emotion.
“H-how did you get in? The security…”
“We’ve already dealt with it.”
A cold smile flickered across the man’s lips.
Seeing that, a chill ran down Kang Do-yoon’s spine. He knew too well what “dealt with it” meant.
“Mr. Kang Do-yoon, do you have time to talk with us?”
The man’s question was polite, but it was a clear threat.
Before Kang Do-yoon could answer, the two men behind him moved swiftly.
One went behind Kang Do-yoon and grabbed his hair, while the other twisted his arms and bound him to the chair.
“Ugh!”
Kang Do-yoon’s scream was muffled by the cloth and swallowed. The men’s movements were quick and efficient.
“Mmph!”
The man in front pulled a chair in front of Kang Do-yoon and sat down.
He slowly put on his gloves and spoke.
“Recently, an interesting item has been circulating in the Black Market.”
He took out a small glass bottle from his pocket. A blue liquid swirled inside.
Terrilif Mana Potion.
“It was a potion that had disappeared for weeks. But suddenly, it started appearing in one place. Isn’t it truly interesting?”
Kang Do-yoon’s eyes widened as he looked at the man. His heart pounded. It felt like it would burst.
He suddenly understood why they were here.
Kang Do-yoon had started selling the Terrilif Potion under Azmo’s orders.
But the flies had already started to gather.
He thought he had been careful, but perhaps the item’s impact was too great.
“We only want to know simple things. Mr. Kang Do-yoon.”
The man placed a silver case on the table. When he opened it, various tools were neatly arranged inside.
“So, we will only ask simple questions.”
The man drew a scalpel.
“Where is the origin of this potion?”
The cloth was removed from Kang Do-yoon’s mouth. He gasped for air.
“I, I’m just an intermediary. Really!”
It was the truth.
Currently, he was just a puppet CEO of the Black Market; the actual owner was Azmo.
Moreover, Kang Do-yoon himself didn’t even know where that precious Terrilif Potion came from.
“Then let me rephrase the question. From whom did you receive it?”
“Th-that…”
Kang Do-yoon hesitated. Would it be okay to mention Azmo’s name?
But with his hesitation, the scalpel in the man’s hand grazed Kang Do-yoon’s finger. Blood splattered onto the table.
“Ah!”
Kang Do-yoon’s scream echoed in the office.
But no one would hear it. The guards inside had already been dealt with.
Just looking at that, he knew how powerful these people in front of him were.
“I’ll ask again. From whom did you receive it?”
Kang Do-yoon moaned in pain. Blood dripped from his finger.
“Az-Azmo!”
The man’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Azmo? That’s an interesting answer.”
The scalpel moved towards Kang Do-yoon’s finger again. This time, under his fingernail.
“Kyahh!”
“If you lie, it will only become more painful.”
“It’s not a lie! It’s really Azmo…”
“Then fine. Let’s say it’s Azmo.”
The man’s expression hardened coldly.
“What is the identity of this person named Azmo?”
Kang Do-yoon bit his lip. His life was on the line, so he was prepared to reveal everything about Azmo.
“An incubus… He’s an incubus! Azmo is an incubus!”
The air in the room seemed to freeze.
The three men exchanged glances. Their faces were a mixture of suspicion and contempt.
The man holding the scalpel slowly shook his head. His eyes were unreadable.
“Hmph, you must think we’re foolish.”
The scalpel moved towards Kang Do-yoon’s neck. As the cold metal touched his skin, Kang Do-yoon shivered.
“This is your last chance. Tell the truth. From whom did you receive this potion?”
Tears streamed down Kang Do-yoon’s eyes.
“I told you… it’s really Azmo, the incubus.”
The man stared at Kang Do-yoon’s eyes for a long time. As if trying to read his thoughts.
Then, he slowly nodded.
“Useless.”
The scalpel glinted, reflecting the light. Kang Do-yoon squeezed his eyes shut.
A sharp sensation crossed his neck. Something hot poured out.
“Kugh…!”
His hand instinctively clutched his neck, but blood flowed through his fingers.
Kang Do-yoon’s eyes widened. His gaze was fixed on the ceiling, but he could no longer see anything.
“Tsk.”
The man took off his gloves and stood up. Blood had spattered on his face, but he seemed utterly unconcerned.
***
After the men left, only the smell of blood and the silence of death remained in the office.
As the silence lingered, the squishy liquid that had fallen to the floor gradually changed and began to take shape.
It was Betta.
”….”
He looked at Kang Do-yoon’s corpse before him. Then, he took out his smartphone and contacted Azmo.
“Yes, Azmo-nim. As expected, insects have started swarming.”
Betta nodded a few times and continued the conversation.
“And as expected, he doesn’t seem like a puppet CEO. It would be better for Azmo-nim to appoint a trustworthy subordinate as CEO.”
Kang Do-yoon, the puppet CEO, had revealed Azmo’s identity to his opponents.
Of course, it would be difficult for humans to believe that an incubus would orchestrate such things.
Should I consider it fortunate? The opponents didn’t believe Kang Do-yoon’s words.
Even if they did, it wouldn’t matter.
If that were the case, Betta would have revealed himself and killed them all.
But they didn’t.
One reason was that the opponents didn’t believe Kang Do-yoon’s words, but more importantly, it was to find out their identity.
“Understood. I will deal with those who dare to interfere with the Master’s great plan.”
The call ended there.
However, Betta didn’t know the opponent’s identity either.
Still, there was no worry. No matter who the opponent was, Betta would act on his own.
He had already memorized the opponent’s face.
The man with the scalpel.
His face was vividly imprinted in Betta’s mind.
A moment later, Betta’s body began to distort, and soon he changed into the man’s appearance.
“Was the voice tone this high?”
Betta cleared his throat and slowly walked out of the office to survey the scene.
The scene was a nightmare.
The bodies of the security guards were scattered on the floor. Their necks were severed or their chests pierced, their vacant eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.
The same was true for the customers who had visited the Black Market.
Betta examined the corpses with emotionless eyes. To him, human death was merely the law of nature.
He had seen such scenes countless times in dungeons.
Some seemed to have died while trying to escape, falling with their hands outstretched towards the exit.
‘An expert.’
Betta judged the state of the corpses. A clean kill. They had killed their targets with a single fatal blow, without unnecessary pain or noise.
‘Then, let’s find the mastermind.’
Betta went outside the Black Market.
Anyway, Azmo’s subordinates would come to clean up the place.
He just needed to find the being who killed Kang Do-yoon and was after the Terrilif Potion.
Of course, he had no intention of looking for it himself.
Betta was busy even now. He shouldn’t increase his workload.
Therefore, Betta came up with a clever plan.
‘The Divine Guild should be fine.’
Betta, who had transformed into the man with the scalpel a little while ago, now intended to attack the hunters belonging to the Divine Guild in his current form.
***
The next day, the Divine Guild was in an uproar.
Divine Guild hunters had been attacked overnight.
So far, three parties had been confirmed to be completely annihilated.
The first party was killed on their way back to the guild after subjugating a dungeon.
The second party was killed shortly after departing the guild to enter a dungeon.
And the death of the last party was shocking.
“How can it be that no one knew even though this happened inside the guild!”
The third party was shockingly killed within the Divine Guild.
Therefore, the atmosphere in the Divine Guild headquarters’ emergency conference room was dire.
Guild Leader Kim Cheol-hwan, in particular, was berating the executives and ordering them to find the culprit.
“W-well, the fortunate thing is that the hunters who were attacked were mainly C-Rank or D-Rank.”
“Are you kidding me!”
One of the executives spoke thoughtlessly, but it only fanned the Guild Leader’s anger.
“Th-that’s not all! Their faces were captured on CCTV, so we should be able to find them soon.”
The being captured on CCTV was actually Betta in disguise, but they, unaware of this, could not grasp the truth.
“… ”
While everyone bowed their heads to the Guild Leader, there was one person sitting with his eyes closed among them.
It was Kim Suho.
A Korean A-Rank Hunter and also the son of Kim Cheol-hwan, the Guild Leader of the Divine Guild.
He had just returned after completing his closed-door training.
“… ”
The Monster Wave incident that happened not long ago.
That incident was enough to alert Kim Suho.
‘Am I that weak?’
After that day, the South Korean government and the Hunter Association were all consumed with finding the masked individual who had ended the Monster Wave.
An overwhelming presence that faced an Arch Lich and a Death Knight with a powerful familiar.
Kim Suho’s reputation was already fading.
Even his own father was trying to find that being, so that was saying something.
Kim Suho was not pleased with the current situation.
‘That bastard dares…’
He thought he would definitely find the guy who stole his reputation and popularity, and slowly opened his mouth.
“Father. I will resolve this incident.”
Kim Suho intended to vent his frustrations on the being who attacked the guild’s hunters.
