chapter 41
Goblin Market (6)
“……”
Nothing remained but ashes in the ruins.
Tak!
Lee Hyun quietly stepped onto them.
“Did I end it too easily?”
Now that everything was over, his overheated head felt a little cooler.
Originally, he had planned to capture Heo Jae-woon and dig out some information.
But seeing Go Jin-woo so badly injured had made him lose control, and things turned out this way.
[You have taken out the ‘■■be■■ ■■■r’s Fossil.’]
Hyun pulled a fossil from his inventory.
Then he took out the rune staff.
Why had Heo Jae-woon treasured these two items so much?
And why had he gone so far as to tear Go Jin-woo to pieces?
Tap.
Hyun knocked the fossil with the rune staff.
But nothing happened.
‘Do I still need to gather more? I’ll have to think about this after I return.’
Either way, Hyun didn’t plan to stop here with the prestigious clan.
The clan’s headquarters wouldn’t yet know what had happened in the Black Market. They’d be wide open.
Looting a vacant house was sure to yield results.
‘The cartel might show up any time too.’
Just as Hyun was about to move,
Fwoosh!
The fossil suddenly burst with light.
“……!?”
Hyun quickly drew up his mana, ready for anything—
Fwaaah!
The fossil floated into the air, glowing as if it couldn’t care less.
Dust that clung to its surface fell away.
Psshh…
What was revealed was an ostrich-egg-sized egg.
Smooth, without a single spot.
[The ‘■■be■■ ■■■r’s Fossil’ has received the Rune’s Blessing, reverting to its original form through the ages!]
[■■be■■ ■■■r’s Egg]
An egg left behind by some ancient lifeform.
Its identity and secrets remain unknown.
-
Type: Unknown
-
Origin: Unknown
“What the…?”
But that was only the beginning.
The egg suddenly shot higher into the air.
Fwoooosh!
[The ‘■■be■■ ■■■r’s Egg’ seeks nourishment to hatch!]
Krrrrrk!
The atmosphere over the warehouse district twisted with noise.
Screeeech!
The countless corpses and pools of blood littering the ground surged upward into the air, shrieking horribly.
“……!”
The bodies tore apart, mixing into the blood. The crimson whirlpool was sucked into the egg with violent force.
The souls of the dead appeared within the vortex, screaming.
“Ah, no…!”
“Save me…!”
“I don’t want to be dragged in like this…!”
They struggled desperately, but the current swept them away in an instant.
“What’s happening now!?”
Son Oh-gong and Sa Oh-jeong, hearing the commotion, rushed over.
“I don’t know either. The egg awoke and suddenly did this.”
“That’s the egg from before, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm? Looks like it’s devouring the souls of the dead…? Using them as nutrients?”
While the two were baffled, only Sa Oh-jeong looked on with interest.
“You! You woke the egg! Without permission!”
One of the spirits shrieked.
It was Heo Jae-woon’s ghost.
“If you awaken this without preparation, it will bring calamity…!”
Hyun tried to listen, hoping for a clue, but the ghost vanished before he could finish.
Krrrrk!
When the absorption ended, not a single corpse remained on the ground.
Only the traces of bombardment.
And then—
Ssshh—
A faint pattern appeared across the egg’s surface.
Symbols similar to the runes carved into the staff.
Thunk.
The egg fell, drained of energy. Hyun barely caught it.
Now it was quiet, as if nothing had happened.
Ssshh…
Ssshh…
It reminded Hyun of a baby that had eaten its fill and gone to sleep.
“What a curious thing. I’ve seen many eggs, but never one that hatched from a fossil and then acted so vividly,” Son Oh-gong remarked with a twisted grin.
“Maybe I’ll whip it into meringue and bake an egg tart someday. Looks like it’ll yield plenty.”
“After seeing it devour corpses and spirits, you still think that?”
“When it comes to food, there’s no sin.”
“You truly are incomprehensible. Besides, that egg has likely awakened a degree of self-awareness. Best not to joke about it.”
Hyun placed the egg back in his inventory.
He could investigate later.
For now, there were guests to deal with.
‘I wasted too much time here.’
He had only planned to destroy the clan and leave the dungeon right away.
But the egg had caused a delay—
and now, an unwanted figure appeared.
[A new <Uninvited Guest> has appeared!]
Boom!
With a roar, over a dozen shadows landed on the ruins.
Whiiiish!
“We knew something big was happening, but this? You’ve practically leveled the place.”
As the dust cleared, figures in black suits emerged.
They didn’t look neat so much as oppressive.
At their center stood a South American woman, three buttons of her blouse undone, exuding a wild aura.
‘The Cartel… and Camila? She’s still in charge of the Asia-Pacific?’
The Black Market’s higher organization.
The City Cartel.
The rulers who had unified all cartels across South and Central America.
Their influence stretched across the world’s underworld, politics, and business.
A colossal force, rivaling even China’s Central Hero Committee.
During his Cheongroe days, Hyun had encountered Camila several times.
She had represented the Cartel in negotiations when outside coordination was required.
‘Unlike the others who relied on brute force, she was at least somewhat rational. Still, a gang’s a gang.’
But meeting her here of all places… She was also a skilled Ranker.
‘My mana’s running low. In that case—’
Hyun gathered his thoughts and struck the ground with the rune staff once more.
Fwoooosh!
[You reveal your Dignity!]
[The effect of the Curse Inscription is added, planting a massive curse upon the enemy.]
“…So you want to fight? Daring to bare your fangs when we’ve arrived?”
Camila smiled coldly, fangs glinting.
She was a natural-born pit fighter—
the more provoked, the fiercer she became.
“Camila Duarte.”
Her eyes narrowed when the masked stranger spoke her full name.
“Masked one. You know me?”
“Of course. Aren’t you one of the drug lord’s treasured fingers?”
Camila realized the man knew her.
“And you still act so confident? Do you think I’m an easy mark?”
“You’re saying what I was about to say.”
“What?”
“I wondered how those bratty clansmen dared meddle with Peng Jinghao’s gift. Turns out you were backing them?”
Camila recalled Han Hyun-su’s testimony.
That the clan had somehow discovered and interfered with Chairman Peng’s goods mid-transport.
But to spin it like this?
It almost sounded like the Cartel was pressuring China’s Hero Committee.
Yet something felt off.
As though she were being moved like a chess piece on someone else’s board.
“You, are you really one of Chairman Peng’s people…?”
She couldn’t finish.
The storm of Dignity intensified, sweeping over her.
Fwoooosh!
“…!!”
“Mind your tongue. My patience has limits.”
“…Who are you, really?”
Camila realized this man was not beneath her.
Perhaps even above her.
He had just slaughtered countless people, yet still carried this overwhelming aura.
No way could someone like him be anyone’s subordinate.
Then, a thought struck her.
‘The mask, the thunder, the pressure… Could it be… him?’
The reason she’d turned her private jet back from Cancún—
not just because of corruption in her branch.
But because Mukesh Ambani, India’s Ranker and Apostle of Indra, had been killed by Zeus’s Apostle.
If the Apostle of an Olympian god had appeared in her territory, she couldn’t just ignore it.
So she came seeking the truth.
And now he appeared here?
Too strange.
‘Wait. They said Qing Xiao was there when Mukesh died. Then how could this man also be with Chairman Peng?’
A contradiction.
That left two possibilities:
Either Peng truly tried to reconcile by offering goods to this man—
or…
‘He’s scheming to pit our two factions against each other.’
There was more. Definitely something more.
‘I should’ve killed all those men earlier.’
She would need Han Hyun-su and this man interrogated together to learn the truth.
But this was Zeus’s Apostle.
Rushing in could put her in grave danger.
‘How do I catch him…?’
While Camila’s mind raced—
“That woman isn’t falling for it, is she?”
“Kakakaka. Seems she has strong resistance to mental interference, Apostle.”
‘Yes. She’s not as gullible as Han Hyun-su. Still, this is enough.’
Hyun read Camila’s wary, suspicious heart and smiled lightly.
His goal was simply to sow confusion.
To scatter suspicions so they wouldn’t find Go Jin-woo or himself.
Mission accomplished.
‘Not that suspicion of Peng will vanish completely. That man was always laying deception upon deception.’
Just planting a seed of doubt was enough.
He could use it later.
[You prepare the Shade’s Footsteps. Mixing with the Ogre’s Rage alters the effect.]
Hyun lifted his gaze slightly, as if receiving a message.
“As for this matter, there’s plenty I need to question you about… but we’ll stop here for now.”
“What?”
“I’ll ask Chairman Peng Jinghao and Nayeli Vargas directly later.”
Arrogance—
to so casually name two of the world’s greatest powers, the Hero Committee and the Cartel.
At the same time—
[You activate Shade’s Footsteps, deploying Stealth!]
Crackle!
Hyun pulled shadows of light around him, cloaking himself.
“Where do you think you’re going? We’re not finished!”
Camila quickly ordered her men to surround him.
Even if they took losses, they had to pin him down.
But Hyun only sneered.
“This isn’t really the time to be holding me, is it?”
“What do you mean…!”
Just then—
Ding!
[The dungeon quest has been cleared.]
“…!?”
“Wh-what!?”
“Supervisor!!”
The Black Market, maintained for over 20 years, suddenly declared closure.
Camila saw the twisted glint in Hyun’s eyes behind the mask and screamed.
“What did you do to the dungeon!?”
“Is that important? Once the dungeon closes, all of the Cartel’s assets and treasures here vanish.”
“…!!”
Her face went pale.
The Cartel had invested hundreds of billions to maintain this Black Market.
Sure, it wasn’t their only one.
But losing it like this was no trivial matter.
The scales in her head began to tip back and forth.
[The dungeon is closing. All participants retreat to the safe zone.]
[10]
“Choose. Chase me—
or try to salvage what you can.”
The countdown ticked on.
[9]
[8]
Half-hidden behind the veil of light,
Hyun looked at trembling Camila and asked:
“So. What’s your choice?”
