Chapter 185 : Unforgettable Memory (3)
Unforgettable Memory (3)
Several cars stopped in front of the Poison guild headquarters, and people got out.
The people emerging from the cars were wearing uniforms as if they belonged to a medieval knight order.
Among them, when a man dressed in clothes signifying high-rank status got out, the others followed behind him.
They looked like the military unit of an empire, and their name was Qiongqi.
As a military unit of awakeners directly under the Korean government, they were an organization tasked with judging awakeners who committed crimes.
No matter how many magic power-related crimes occurred, citizens could feel safe because of their presence.
Their visit to the Poison guild was all for that reason.
Especially, at the center and leading the group was Yoo Junghui, the commander of Qiongqi.
With a strong sense of justice, if he saw even a seed of evil, he would never let it be.
That was probably why he visited the Poison guild, who were rumored to be connected to the Holy Church.
"It's been a while. Guildmaster Kang Ray."
"It's always hard to see you these days, commander Yoo Junghui."
The two greeted each other in the guild's lobby, shaking hands.
With information ties to the Holy Church, the Poison guild was a clear target for search.
However, contrary to expectations, Yoo Junghui smiled instead of taking a hardline stance and shook his hand.
"Your complexion seems to have worsened a lot since the Golden Gate."
"Don't even mention it. If it hadn't been for you back then, commander Yoo Junghui, things could've been disastrous."
Since their connection to the Holy Church was revealed, the Poison guild became a public enemy.
It was the price for carrying out atrocities openly within the Golden Gate.
With suspicions constantly blazing, a search was inevitable.
The person who carried out that investigation was none other than Yoo Junghui.
"I was really surprised back then. I didn't expect someone in Qiongqi to share the same beliefs as us..."
"Of course. I always act in accordance with the justice bestowed upon me by God."
While it looked like Yoo Junghui was thoroughly ripping apart the Poison guild during the search, he concluded that no evidence was found and suspended the investigation.
That situation persisted even now.
"I've always dreamed of God since childhood. He always opened paths for me. The more I obeyed that guidance, the stronger I became like this."
The outcome of suspending the Poison guild search was also all due to God's orders.
At first, he had thought them evil, but he was deeply moved to learn that they believed in the same God as him.
"Back then I misunderstood you! When I think back to myself at that time, I feel so embarrassed I could cry."
"But in the end, things turned out well, so that's a relief, isn't it?"
"Yes, I was ignorant. The Holy Church... At first, I thought they were a group of fanatics, but it turns out they are such a beautiful group that believes in my God!"
"I see."
Yoo Junghui was deeply moved by the truth he had never known all his life.
He was only grateful to the Poison guild for enlightening him to that fact.
With the pleasantries over, the two moved to the guildmaster's office.
Seated inside, they got into the main conversation.
"I've also heard about the recent events."
"Yes, after lawyer Choi Seungjin was taken away, the controversy surrounding our Poison guild only started burning even more intensely."
When circumstances revealed that Choi Seungjin had colluded with the Holy Church, the entire Poison guild, similarly implicated, became embroiled in a huge controversy.
Thanks to Yoo Junghui's help, the guild barely managed to stay afloat.
But now, there was growing opposition insisting that Qiongqi conduct a new search.
If things continued like this, a government-mandated search could happen at any time.
"Haa... How foolish. How can they be so ignorant, not knowing what kind of organization the Holy Church truly is?"
Yoo Junghui lowered his head and let out a long sigh.
People were lashing out explosively just because of the Holy Church connection.
Why were those who believed in the same righteous God as he did being condemned so?
Exactly what crime had they even committed?
"If only lawyer Choi Seungjin hadn't been caught..."
"As for lawyer Choi Seungjin, I visited him several times, but I couldn't have a proper conversation with him."
Even the reason for his imprisonment seemed strange.
He suddenly murdered his own son and was found one day on the street like a ruined man.
Since then, he was locked behind bars and reportedly only made noises resembling a baby's cry.
"Setting everything else aside, it's a real relief that the USB lawyer Choi Seungjin was holding was never found."
"What's that?"
"That lawyer was completely on our side. As a token of our trust, we gave him the records of our plans as a gift."
Since they were on the same boat, Choi Seungjin had kept it.
The contents were essentially a rulebook for those on board.
"Seeing as it wasn't discovered, it looks like he managed to destroy it before getting caught."
"What was on it?"
"Probably... some information even you, commander Yoo Junghui, might find difficult."
The USB served as the blueprint for the Holy Church.
Naturally, it would make sense for the list of people on board to be there.
Since Yoo Junghui himself was also on the boat, he couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.
"By the way, what's the status of that skeleton research?"
"According to my younger sibling, there's been no major change yet."
Yoo Junghui had seen that skeleton before.
A giant dragon with nothing left but bones.
The immense magic power felt there couldn't simply be called a corpse.
Just glancing at it made him feel how insignificant he really was.
"With just that strength, it wouldn't be hard for the Holy Church to rule the world."
He didn't know its origin, but Yoo Junghui was enamored with the power of that dragon's bone.
He was ready to do anything to handle it properly.
"There is, in fact, a way to control it."
"What is it?"
"Use another member of the dragon race. As it happens, there are some on Earth."
It wasn't just Mutamit, who had merely a dragon's horn and wings.
He meant the pure dragon race that crossed over from Mewzealand to Earth.
There were only two individuals discovered so far.
"One currently lies in a hospital room in a coma, their horn cut off. It's a high-purity adult, but in that state, they're useless."
"And the other?"
"That's still a juvenile form. Compared to the adult mother, the purity is lower."
Even so, they had targeted her.
Recently, they anonymously commissioned others to capture the girl.
Those people already held a grudge against the girl's family, so they readily accepted.
Since she was just a child, they thought she'd be easy to catch, but that expectation was completely off.
Given that there's been no word from them even now, the answer is clear.
"But there's no guarantee that even a juvenile wouldn't make a good material."
The more they thought about it, Kang Ray and Kang Jun coveted the girl.
"That girl shares the same bloodline as the dragon turned into a skeleton."
"So, is there any way to secure her?"
"I do have a method. Guildmaster Kwon Yongha of the Hwasan guild said he would heal the adult dragon race."
"Is that true?"
"Of course."
―That adult, after all, was one of Kwon Yongha's wives.
Because of that, Yoo Junghui accepted easily.
But in return for handing over his wife, Kwon Yongha demanded a condition.
That was to make his son, Kwon Yongjun, stronger.
"Hunter Kwon Yongjun is the second-in-command of the Hwasan guild, isn't he? He's in no way inferior to my own abilities."
"He used to be an overwhelmingly powerful S-rank hunter. But now..."
After his fierce battle with the Sura guild in the Hand, his strength dropped rapidly.
Since this wasn't publicly known, Yoo Junghui looked shocked.
"His opponent was Jin Rain, known as the Blood Pellet Destroyer. That he escaped with only that much damage could be considered lucky."
"If people found out about that..."
Kwon Yongjun had dirtied his hands a lot to reach that position.
There were a great many people who had suffered from his misdeeds since his school days.
If word got out, there would be an increase in those aiming for his life.
"It would cause internal problems in the Hwasan guild. Since the number two spot would become vacant."
"Then our task is clear."
Make Hunter Kwon Yongjun stronger.
If they accomplished this, they could get their hands on the adult of the dragon race they desired.
"We're working on restoring his damaged Blood Pill, but it will take a considerable amount of time."
"How long?"
"It won't be repaired until this summer, and even then, that's not the end."
Restoring the Blood Pill is merely fixing a broken dish.
You can't recover the water that's already escaped through the cracks.
Even if recovered, the strength that has weakened will remain.
"Then how...?"
"There's only one way."
Human modification.
For now, that was the only way to satisfy Kwon Yongha.
Restoring the Blood Pill was just preliminary work for that.
'It's been a long time since I last modified a human being.'
Thinking about it brought back memories from the days in Mewzealand.
Back then, before his interest in the dragon race, he was focused on researching other races.
During his research, there had been a particularly unique test subject.
Because his body was so special, he still remembered its designation.
'MK-01. I wonder what happened to that guy by now?'
****
Light flickered before my eyes.
I wanted to cover my eyes with my hands, but my arms wouldn't move.
I wanted to raise my head, but my chest wouldn't move.
I wanted to walk, but my legs wouldn't do anything but twitch, as if restrained by something.
'Where am I?'
The moment I opened my eyes, I saw people in lab coats.
They had me laid down somewhere, shone stage lights above, and set up various experimental instruments.
Two men, looking like the heads of the research, approached.
They drew liquid from an ampoule into a syringe and spoke.
"Jun. Are you sure this guy can endure it?"
"It's quite a special test subject, hyung. Maybe a tool created by the guardian deity can endure the experiment."
"What if he can't? It seemed that other aristocrats were interested in this body too."
"Don't worry. Even if something happens, I'll make sure you, ray hyung, aren't held responsible."
The two seemed to be brothers.
From the way they cared for each other, their brotherly bond was clear.
But why was I on their operating table? Just what did they plan to do with my body?
Never mind their closeness, how could they put a person on the operating table so casually?
"Just bear with it a little, MK-01."
The one called hyung injected the syringe into my body.
All the muscles in my body went limp, and I couldn't muster any strength, like a corpse.
Was I anesthetized?
But...
"Ugh... Aaaaagh!!!"
On the operating table, I writhed in excruciating pain.
At the same time, my restrained bones shattered, and I vomited blood from my mouth.
It wasn't some anesthetic.
I wasn't sure, but it seemed to be a drug that weakened the body's durability.
"Oh! It works better than I thought."
"Haha! Hang in there, MK-01. You can do it! Give it your all!"
The two brothers watched me writhe and spit blood with interest, not batting an eyelid at my agony.
"Did you bring it?"
"Here."
Next, they took out a knife.
It wasn't a surgical scalpel like in medical dramas.
Just by looking at it, I could feel some strange power radiating from this dagger.
It was dangerous.
Sensing this by instinct, I tried to regenerate my battered body.
Since I had learned healing abilities including the regeneration skill, it should work.
However...
"It's no use, MK-01. The drug just injected contains the divine authority that blocks regeneration."
"Hyung, we have to cut carefully. If any part gets severed like this, it can never be restored."
Regeneration was useless.
Once lost, that body part would be gone forever.
Feeling enormous fear at that fact... the knife moved toward my lower body.
"This is the spot. He's a valuable subject, so we can't damage his limbs."
"The One will be pleased by our experiment for sure."
That spot was...
My...
Slice!−
.
.
"No!!!!!"
Having fallen asleep at my desk, I sprang up and woke from my dream.
My body was drenched in sweat as I awoke.
"Huff... s***."
Of all times, it was during class, so my classmates were staring at me.
At the same time, the teacher at the blackboard scolded me.
When asked if I was sick, I said yes, and ended up being sent to the nurse's office.
"Seongjin, what's wrong all of a sudden?"
Eunseol, who accompanied me to the nurse's office, asked.
It was no wonder she was worried, since I'd sprung up and yelled out of nowhere.
"I had a nightmare."
"What kind of nightmare?"
"A dream where I lost something precious."
"Something precious?"
Explaining what that truly meant to Eunseol was embarrassing.
"As a girl, you could never understand."
"...?"
"For me, it's an unforgettable memory."
Eunseol looked perplexed, but that was the best answer I could manage.
It would be way too much information for a minor.
Just then, I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket and took it out.
"What's up?"
― Demon King. I finally released it.
The caller was Vern.
He was reporting that he had unlocked all the locks on lawyer Choi Seungjin's USB.
"Okay, got it."
The moment I received that report, my previously grim expression was completely overturned.
"Jun... Ray... Just wait a little longer. Heeheeheeheeheehee!"
"Uh, Seongjin?"
At the sight of my twisted grin brimming with sticky desire, Eunseol was frightened.