The Hero Returns

***

Tap, tap, tap—

The sound of one man routinely tapping his hand on the desk rang throughout the room. He pressed his forehead with his other hand. The man's name was Johnny Depp. He was the vice guild master of the Star Guild.

"MacRebur and Chloe are dead," he thought. He had just heard confirmation from the news on who was responsible. "Kim Su-hyeun."

It was because of him. Their original plan was impossible to fail. But it failed because of Kim Su-hyeun's interference.

"We should have removed him already," Johnny Depp thought.

They could not get rid of Su-hyeun earlier because Korea was far from the United States and he did not show up in the real world very often. Korea was a country where the influence of the Dump Guild was relatively low. So they had planned to increase their influence using the Ares Guild. But that also failed because of Su-hyeun. At that point, Su-hyeun had just been a small pain in the neck.

"I did not expect he would do this much."

Because of the Ripper Guild and Kim Su-hyeun, the Dump Guild was faltering. It was not only in Korea and the United States, but their plans had also failed in every country except China. Even then, the work in China had not been as successful as they hoped in their original plan. All their plans to expand the Dump Guild had been ruined.

"The damage is too big."

The major awakeners in the Dump Guild had died. Also, many guilds decided to leave the Dump Guild. Now, the Dump guild lost its power and influence. It was fatal. Until recently, they had been the world's biggest guild, but now they were nothing other than a criminal guild. There was no path forward. The only thing they could do was hide in the shadows again.

"We have to regain our power. This time, we will get the power to turn the world upside down without any interruption."

Bam—!

"Sir, sir!"

A guild member who had been waiting outside came in. Johnny Depp, who was not feeling so good already, gave him a hard look.

"What? Don't you know we're hiding now? Why did you make such a loud—"

"That—that is not a problem now, sir."

"Then what?"

"The branches of the Dump Guild are under attack!"

"What?"

Johnny Depp blinked his eyes in panic. Theirs was a secret guild. The name was known, but not many people knew more than that. Moreover, the information about which guilds they worked with was top-secret. But those places were under attack now. That meant all the information had leaked out.

"How much damage? Which ones were attacked?" Johnny Depp asked.

"We've already lost three places, starting with the Nolan Guild in California. I think we will be under attack soon!"

"What the…"

The more he heard, the more embarrassed he became.

"What kind of fearless freak is attacking the Dump Guild…?" Johnny Depp thought. "Is it…Kim Su-hyeun?"

Johnny Depp jumped up from his seat once that name popped into his head. And after he spoke it out loud, the guild member nodded fiercely.

"Yes, sir. And…"

"And what?"

"He is not alone." The guild member spoke with a pale face. "Park Ji-yeon from the Korean Ripper Guild and another dude that controls the divine beast are with him. Jordan Rogers and his Maximum Guild as well…"

Johnny Depp's face became just as pale.

"Sir. This is war."

"Damn it…" Johnny Depp clenched his teeth. The scale of the attack was far greater than he thought.

Rumble—!

At that moment, they could feel a tremendous tremor that was followed by an explosion. It came from downstairs.

"No way…" Johnny Depp stared at the magical wave that came from the below. "Is he already here?"

***

Rumble—!

Whoosh, whoosh—

The flames rose around Su-hyeun. Dozens of awakeners surrounded him. Dozens more—about half of the Dump Guild's forces in the building—had already fallen.

"If you don't resist, I won't kill you," Su-hyeun said.

Crack—!

"Argh—!"

Su-hyeun forced an awakener to his knees by pushing down on his shoulder. The shoulder broke.

"But if you resist, even I don't know what I'll do."

"Do—do you think you will be safe after this? How will you face the consequences?" One of the guild members tried to threaten Su-hyeun, but Su-hyeun did not even blink.

"Me? Safe?"

"You came to an innocent guild and used violence! The Authority won't overlook such an offense!" he screamed.

Su-hyeun's expression became colder. "You're not the first to tell me that…" Jung Dong-yeong, the guild master of the Ares Guild, had said something similar to that. "He died by my hand… But me? I'm still here, aren't" I?"

At Su-hyeun's cold answer, the awakener flinched.

"I'll give you 10 seconds."

Rumble—

"All of you. Kneel and put your heads down!"

Enormous magic pressed the air. People got chills. Not one among the dozens could attack Su-hyeun.

"Ten, nine, eight, seven, six…"

Time passed. Su-hyeun opened his hand and counted each second by folding his fingers. And…

Wham—!

Wham, wham—!

One by one, people started to kneel and put their heads on the floor. But there were still some who stood until the end out of either personal pride or loyalty to the Dump Guild.

"Two… One."

Thump—!

Su-hyeun's body disappeared. Soon, he grabbed the neck of one who stood still.

Crack—!

The man's neck was twisted in a bizarre direction. Su-hyeun released him.

Flop—

The dead body fell on the floor. Su-hyeun looked around. All of the awakeners started to kneel on the floor.

Su-hyeun said, "Stay there. If you move, you will end up like this."

"Yes—yes, sir!"

"Yes!"

They answered out of fear. Su-hyeun lifted his head and looked up at the high ceiling. And…

Whiz—!

He drew out his sword. He started to break the ceiling and headed up. He broke through each floor until he finally reached the rooftop.

"Eek!"

Johnny Depp saw Su-hyeun. His face turned deadly pale. Next to Johnny Depp was another guild member.

"I thought there would be a guy like you," Su-hyeun said.

"What—what the hell are you doing this?"

Johnny Depp was an A-Rank awakener. He had good skills and guts. But he could not rush Su-hyeun because he knew he would die.

"I've been advertising here and there, haven't you heard yet? The end of the Dump Guild is my purpose. I don't want anything else."

"Do you think you're some kind of hero? Do you think you've become something great by doing this? It will be your end!"

"Since when did you guys worry about other people?"

"What?"

Swish—

Clank—!

Su-hyeun swung his sword. Johnny Depp urgently extended his hand and blocked. He created dozens of magical veil layers. It looked like he had quite good skills in defense.

The other awakener, who had been standing next to him, was decapitated and died. Johnny Depp saw him and swallowed. Su-hyeun swung his sword without hesitation. It looked like he did not plan to let him live.

"I should run away," Johnny Depp thought.

He took a step back. And soon, he was surprised. Because he missed Su-hyeun in the short moment he was thinking. He looked around like a crazy person.

"Damn it! Where…where are you?"

Johnny Depp gathered his magic power and created several protection layers. Cold sweat flowed with the fear of death. But he felt a little relief because he was hiding in the magic veil. But…

"Do you think you will be safe inside there?"

A voice came from above. Johnny Depp raised his head.

[The transfiguration skill: Imoogi.]

Crack—!

The scale of Imoogi started to grow on Su-hyeun's body. Johnny Depp could see that on the uncovered parts of his body. His eyes widened.

"Dragon…?"

Rumble—!

Crack—!

Su-hyeun descended with his sword. It cut Johnny Depp in half and his veil magic.

Crack—!

"Uhr…"

Johnny Depp's split body fell. Su-hyeun shook the blood off his sword and sheathed it in the scabbard.

"Okay. Now I'm finished here, too…" Su-hyeun thought.

This was the fourth site. He had cleaned up almost all the guilds and companies that related to the Dump Guild in the United States. Since this guild was based in the United States, the Dump Guild could now be considered to be finished. Su-hyeun took out his smartphone and made a phone call. After several rings, Jordan answered.

"Are you done already?"

"Yes. How about you?"

"We're almost done, too. Fortunately, there were no civilians, so it ended pretty quickly. It looked like they moved secretly. They had been thoroughly blocking all information so it wouldn't leak."

"You're sure there was no damage to civilians, right?"

"I'm sure. Don't worry. It looked like they knew about themselves. Most of them just surrendered easily. Didn't they do that on your end?"

"Well…they listened pretty well after I threatened them."

Su-hyeun nodded, thinking of the awakeners of the Dump Guild who probably still had their heads down.

"Anyway, these guys, are bigger and more organized than I thought. And I think there are more outside of America…"

"No damage to the Maximum Guild?"

"A little bit. The agency helped us. We think the Dump Guild is finished in the United States now."

Everything had gone smoothly. Su-hyeun had thought to dig up the root of the Dump Guild before it got too bigger. But he didn't expect it would be this easy.

"Their forces are much smaller than I expected."

The Dump Guild that Su-hyeun remembered was much larger than now. Even in Korea, where their influence was not that big, there were still many guilds involved with the Dump Guild. But that would happen more than five years from now. They had not expanded in earnest yet. Moreover, the information that Su-hyeun got from Chloe and MacRebur had been very helpful. They told him about the main bases and involved guilds.

"I'll leave this to you. And can you prepare a plane for me?"

"Where are you going?"

"China."

"China? Why? That's the most uproarious place right now."

China was the only country that had been damaged by the Dump Guild in this time. During the raid of a dungeon in Beijing, a Chinese S-Rank awakener had died.

"Lin Zhuming. She was the most popular star in China. She was famous not only in China but also in Hollywood. The Chinese were pretty shocked by her murder."

"Was there any other damage?"

"Fortunately, that raid was somehow successful. This time, two S-Rank awakeners had joined. That unusual event brought victory.

China had a total of four S-Rank awakeners. Compared to the population, it was a small number. Also, as there was a lot of land, there were many dungeons. In such a situation, China had lost one S-Rank awakener.

"But why suddenly China? Are you a fan of Lin Zhuming? Do you want revenge?"

"Close."

Jordan asked as if it were a joke. But in the end, what Su-hyeun would do was the same thing.

"I have to catch a head, right?"

"…Head?"

"Yes. Head. If I leave it alone, the Dump Guild will show up again with a different name."

At Su-hyeun's word, Jordan was silent for a moment. Soon, he spoke in a worried voice.

"Are you sure? We don't know who the head, but they must be very strong. Lin Zhuming died and two others were affected."

Two S-Rank awakeners had been attacked. One died and one had barely survived. No matter how strong Su-hyeun was, it was reasonable for Jordan to worry.

"Don't worry," Su-hyeun sparked his eyes and said, "I will surely kill that bastard."

Su-hyeun hung up after saying that. His work in the United States was over. He had finished attacking the blue-colored dungeon and cleaned up all branches of the Dump Guild in the United States. Now, there was one thing left. He had to kill the awakener who made the Dump Guild.

"Lin Zhuming is dead."

It was not an unexpected thing. He had asked for preparation, but it was possible that both of them might die. It was fortunate that one person survived at least and finished the dungeon attack. Beijing could have been completely devastated if that person did not finish the dungeon.

"So, he ran away, huh?"

Su-hyeun clenched his teeth. His eyes sparkled. The guild master of the Dump Guild was the worst human being that Su-hyeun knew.