Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant - Chapter 44
Chapter 44
The place Suho headed to by taxi was none other than Bucheon.
A secluded neighborhood in Bucheon.
Suho had the taxi stop in an area with shabby villas clustered together.
According to the information recorded in the Library of Memories, the target was definitely here.
Suho slowly made his way to the ‘Pungcheon Villa’ right in front of him.
And then, he checked the electric meter.
‘Yes, here it is.’
Among all the houses in the rundown villa, only one had an abnormally high electricity consumption.
Room 101.
Oddly enough, Room 101 wasn’t on the first floor but in the semi-basement.
Suho approached Room 101 and, standing at the front door, slowly activated his aura-sensing ability.
[ Mana Detection is now activated. ]
As the B-Class Mana Detection activated, a massive concentration of magical energy beyond the door was clearly felt.
‘This is it.’
Having located his target, Suho went back outside and moved toward the side of the villa.
There, he saw the small basement windows, the only ventilation for the semi-basement, with faint, hazy smoke rising from the open window.
It was cigarette smoke.
‘This place is like a raccoon den….’
Even from out here, the smoke was this thick—who knew how bad it must be inside.
Suho picked up a brick nearby and threw it at the basement window.
Crash!
Immediately, a stream of curses erupted from inside.
“Ah, damn it! What the hell?”
“Who the hell is it?”
“Hey! Someone’s outside!”
“Go out and catch them, quick!”
Suho stood calmly, waiting without running away.
A short while later, a loud stomping sound grew closer, and some men appeared.
There were four of them.
Each one looked just as shady as the next, and one of them glared at Suho, speaking sharply.
“Hey, are you out of your mind? Drunk or something?”
“No, I’m neither drunk nor out of my mind.”
“What?”
“You guys are the ones, right? The ones going around and targeting digital wallets in some bizarre way.”
At those words, the men’s expressions shifted.
“So, I’m right. And that means Seo Giwon must be here too, right?”
Seo Giwon.
As Suho uttered the familiar name, they exchanged glances with narrow eyes, starting a hushed conversation among themselves.
“Who the hell is this guy?”
“How does he know?”
“Is he a cop?”
“Forget about him being a cop; just grab him first.”
“Man, if we mess with a cop and it blows up, we’re done for.”
“He’s already on to us; can it get any worse than this? Cop or not, let’s just shut him up and make a run for it.”
“Damn….”
Their plan was set.
They decided to capture Suho and silence him.
Thanks to his sharp hearing, Suho overheard their conversation and chuckled.
“Idiots.”
Sure, go ahead.
If they could manage to catch him, he’d consider recruiting them.
As soon as they concluded their discussion and moved to approach Suho, he immediately took out his Ghost Shadow Spear.
He then threw the Ghost Shadow Spear, driving it directly into the shadow of one of the men.
[ Shadow Confinement is now activated. ]
[ Shadow Bleed is now activated. ]
“Urgh!!”
The man let out a groan as the Ghost Shadow Spear pierced his shadow.
Yes, it must hurt.
The Ghost Shadow Spear didn’t just have a confining effect; it also triggered a painful bleeding effect.
“Jisung!”
“You bastard!”
At Suho’s preemptive attack, the thugs immediately prepared for battle and charged at him.
With swords, shields, and spears.
Their weapons looked ordinary at first glance.
Suho dodged their attacks with the Suho Step and simultaneously activated Blood Weapon.
[ Blood Weapon is now activated. ]
Upon activating Blood Weapon, a long rod materialized in Suho’s grip.
He’d purposely summoned a rod instead of a sword.
These guys weren’t monsters to be killed but valuable sacrifices meant for Pi Seongyeol.
Suho decided to call it his Blood Rod and swung it, shattering the collarbone of the thug closest to him.
“Argh!”
The thug fell to the ground, writhing in agony as his collarbone shattered.
Suho then crushed the shield of the next man who approached, striking both his arms and breaking them.
After that, he landed a blow on the side of the man’s shin, breaking his leg and rendering him immobile.
“Y-you… maniac…!”
Now, only the guy with the spear was left.
The thug glanced around, clearly hesitating.
Should he join the fight, or abandon his friends and run?
His deliberation didn’t last long.
The man turned and bolted.
Watching the fleeing figure, Suho smirked.
“Typical scumbags.”
Suho transformed the Blood Rod into a sharp spear and threw it at the fleeing thug.
[ Throwing Spear is now activated. ]
Thud!
The spear flew through the air, piercing the thug’s calf and emerging through his shin.
The thug collapsed, writhing on the ground.
Suho approached the man still restrained by Shadow Confinement and kicked his thigh with all his might.
With the full force of his Red-Ranked strength, the thug’s thigh ruptured.
“Gaaah!”
Overwhelmed with pain, the man wanted to collapse, but immobilized by the Ghost Shadow Spear, he could do nothing but scream.
Hm.
Alright.
This should keep them all from moving.
Suho opened his Subspace House and threw the incapacitated thugs in one by one before closing it.
There was no safer place to keep them contained than the Subspace House at the moment.
He then made his way toward the semi-basement the thugs had been staying in.
The inside of the semi-basement was far worse than he had expected.
In the middle of the living room, cash, gambling cards, and game chips were scattered around, suggesting they had been gambling.
Cigarettes, ashtrays, and delivery food containers were strewn everywhere across the room.
Finding the thick smoke disgusting, Suho used his magic to expel the smoke-filled air from the room in one go.
With the smoke gone, his view cleared up.
With his sight restored, Suho began to check each room one by one.
And soon enough, he finally found the person he had come to Bucheon for, in the smallest, most hidden room.
It was none other than ‘Seo Giwon.’
‘So, here you were.’
The reason Suho came all the way to Bucheon.
It wasn’t just to capture villains to offer as sacrifices to Pi Seongyeol.
While also rounding up sacrifices, he had come to rescue Seo Giwon.
He was someone essential to Suho’s future plans.
Seo Giwon lay slumped in front of a laptop.
He wasn’t dead or unconscious.
His unique personal ability had simply been activated.
‘I guess I’ll have to wait.’
Suho sat down in front of him.
And he waited.
Until Seo Giwon regained his senses on his own.
***
How much time had passed?
At last, Seo Giwon’s body began to move.
Like someone waking from sleep paralysis, he began to wiggle his fingers one by one, and before long, he flipped himself over, raising his head with a groggy “Huh?”
The moment his eyes met Suho’s, his whole body froze.
“Uh, uh…?”
“Hello?”
“Wh-who…?”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Ahn Suho.”
Suho greeted him with a friendly smile.
Seo Giwon blinked at Suho with his mouth half-open, and then he recoiled in shock.
“A-Ahn Suho?! The Ahn Suho I know?!”
“So, you know me?”
“You’re… really Ahn Suho? The one from the news?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Wh-what are you doing here…? And, uh, what about the ‘bosses’ who were here…?”
Seo Giwon stammered, understandably.
After all, he had been confined here for half a year by the four men he called ‘bosses.’
As a result, his mental state was extremely unstable.
During his six months of captivity, he had suffered daily beatings and abuse.
Seeing his dark aura thick with negative emotions, Suho extended a hand toward him.
It didn’t seem like conversation was possible in his current condition.
Soon, the effect of Suho’s item activated.
[ The Ring of Emotions reacts to the target’s most intense emotion. ]
[ The absorbable emotion is ‘Black.’ ]
[ Absorbing the target’s emotion. ]
A gust of wind seemed to swirl in Suho’s ears as the negative emotional energy was drawn into the ring.
Then, the labored breathing of Seo Giwon gradually steadied, until his mind and body felt remarkably calm.
‘They say there’s no item better suited to healing emotions than the Ring of Emotions.’
It was a method Suho had learned from The Ascetic.
Though the effect wasn’t permanent, using the ring when necessary allowed him to maintain care for a single person over time.
At last, now more at peace, Seo Giwon alternated between looking at his hands and Suho’s face with surprise, though calmer than before.
“Feeling better now?”
“How… is this possible?”
“It’s just the effect of a skill. You seemed unstable, so I took some steps to help.”
“Oh…”
Nodding at Suho’s response, Seo Giwon finally seemed capable of holding a normal conversation.
This time, it was Seo Giwon who spoke first.
“So… what happens to me now?”
“To you?”
“…Didn’t you already find out everything?”
“Yes, well. I learned most of it before coming here.”
“As I thought…”
He looked crestfallen.
It was understandable.
Seo Giwon knew as well as anyone.
Everything he had done during his six months of confinement had been illegal.
Lowering his head, he muttered.
“So… I’ll be going to prison now, won’t I?”
“Prison?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Well, everything I’ve done up until now has been bad, hasn’t it?”
“But you were forced to do it while you were being held captive, weren’t you?”
“Th-that’s… true?”
“Then why go to prison?”
“…You’re right.”
Suho almost burst out laughing at his answer.
‘Seo Giwon… no, who would have thought the famous “Meteor” would have such a personality.’
Meteor.
That was the nickname people had given Seo Giwon out of respect.
His nickname was Meteor for a simple reason.
In his previous life, he had sacrificed himself to destroy a falling star, saving countless people.
Suho asked with a faint smile.
“You know me, huh?”
“Well, yes… Wouldn’t it be stranger if I didn’t? You’re the most famous person in Korea right now.”
“True, that’s fair.”
It would indeed be odd for anyone not to know him, with how he dominated the news every day.
Seo Giwon asked.
“But… how did you know I was here? As far as I know, you’re not affiliated with the Korean Hunter Association yet, are you?”
Suho nodded at this and replied.
“That’s correct, I’m not affiliated with the Association yet. However, I have a unique ability no one knows about, and I used it to find you.”
“A unique ability?”
“Yes, I have foresight.”
“…What?”
Seo Giwon’s eyes widened to the size of saucers at Suho’s words.
Of course, it was a lie.
In both his current and previous life, he had never once come across a trait, skill, or item related to prophecy.
Therefore, Suho introduced himself as a prophet.
Convincing Meteor, Seo Giwon, to join him required at least this level of fabrication.
Suho continued.
“Mr. Seo Giwon, I have never shared my foresight ability with anyone. But I chose to reveal this power to you because you’re crucial to my future path.”
“M-me?”
“Yes. As the nation’s sole holder of the cyber attribute and wielder of the ‘Digitization’ ability.”