Park So-young relentlessly knocked down the guards blocking her path and fled quickly toward the eastern district.
Behind her, the Holy Cross Guild’s pursuit team and Yoon Jae-ho’s group chased furiously.
“Yoon Jae-ho! Orders from the Guild Master. Drag Park So-young outside the city and execute her!”
When a Holy Cross guild member shouted, Yoon Jae-ho desperately blocked them.
“No! Noona is under mind control! You can’t kill her!”
Yoon Jae-ho cried out desperately.
Park So-young glanced back and smirked when she saw him.
‘Trying to face Master with such a weak heart… how laughable.’
But she wasn’t completely relaxed either. The pursuers kept coming, and Yoon Jae-ho, Kim Min-soo, and Randolph were deliberately holding back to avoid killing her.
‘If they weren’t going easy on me, I’d already be surrounded.’
Her brief moment of composure didn’t last.
A powerful presence appeared ahead, and Holy Cross executives blocked the way.
“That’s far enough, Park So-young.”
A middle-aged man drew his sword and spoke coldly. It was “Blade Benjamin,” one of the Holy Cross executives.
More executives revealed themselves beside him.
“Traitors are not forgiven.”
“Guild Master’s orders. Die.”
Even surrounded front and back, Park So-young calmly raised her sword.
‘Master… please come quickly.’
She desperately wished in her heart.
Benjamin swung his sword.
“Take this!”
-BOOM!
Park So-young barely blocked it but was pushed back from the impact.
‘As expected… an executive is strong.’
The other executives attacked simultaneously.
-BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
“Kgh…!”
Park So-young swallowed a groan and barely fended off the attacks. But alone, she was reaching her limit. Cuts and bruises covered her body, blood running down her arms.
From behind, Yoon Jae-ho shouted in anguish.
“Wait! Stop! Don’t hurt Park So-young!”
But the Holy Cross executives were resolute.
“Yoon Jae-ho, stand down. This is an official guild order.”
“No!”
Yoon Jae-ho tried to charge forward desperately, but Holy Cross forces immediately surrounded him and his companions, blocking their path.
Park So-young was driven further into a corner. Her mind grew hazy, blood flowing endlessly from her wounds.
‘At this rate… it’s dangerous.’
In that moment, she pulled out her last smoke bomb and slammed it hard into the ground.
-BOOM!
“Smoke! Secure visibility!”
White smoke instantly filled the alley. Using the opening, Park So-young kicked off a nearby wall and leaped upward.
“There! Don’t let her escape!”
One executive shouted sharply, and the Holy Cross pursuers swarmed up the building. But another executive was already waiting on the roof with a drawn sword—as if he had predicted she would come here.
The executive aimed without hesitation. Cold eyes, a strike aimed straight at her heart.
‘Master…’
In that moment of crisis, a massive shadow dropped from the sky like lightning.
-BOOM!
With a tremendous impact, the executive blocking her path had his head explode into unrecognizable pieces. As blood and fragments scattered in the wind, Park So-young’s body was suddenly pulled into someone’s arms.
She looked up in shock and saw a man with a smug expression.
“This body makes its entrance!”
“M-Master…!”
Tears welled up in Park So-young’s eyes.
“Good work.”
Jin Se-yoon smiled warmly and stroked her head.
At that moment, Holy Cross executives arrived from the alley below, breathing heavily.
“Geum Tae-yang?! You were a traitor too!”
Benjamin aimed his sword with furious eyes.
Jin Se-yoon smirked and replied.
“Traitor? That’s funny. I was never on your side to begin with.”
“What?!”
“Wait, why is he wearing Night Bloom clothes?”
Realizing something was wrong, Yoon Jae-ho urgently shouted.
“Hold on… something’s off! That guy isn’t Geum Tae-yang—!”
Jin Se-yoon grinned playfully and raised his crushing rod.
“Heh heh, and don’t let any male trash act up in front of me.”
The crushing rod swung.
-BOOM!
The ground shattered with overwhelming force, sending several Holy Cross members flying into a wall.
The executives’ faces froze in shock.
“Impossible!”
“Now, shall we have some real fun?”
-BOOM!
The ground cracked as a shockwave spread outward.
“Kgh…!”
Jin Se-yoon snapped his fingers, and Yekaterina emerged from the darkness like a ghost.
“Tia, take So-young and get to safety.”
“Yes, Se-yoon-ssi.”
Tia quickly supported Park So-young and disappeared beyond the alley.
Benjamin ground his teeth and shouted.
“Everyone, ignore penalties—kill that bastard!”
Holy Cross executives and participants charged all at once. But Jin Se-yoon didn’t even flinch—he swung his crushing rod.
-BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
With devastating destruction, the executives fell one by one.
“Argh!”
“Ugh…!”
Overwhelming power—no one could keep up with his movements.
Then Yoon Jae-ho shouted.
“Geum Tae-yang… no, Jin Se-yoon!”
Yoon Jae-ho raised his staff high and yelled.
Jin Se-yoon turned leisurely and smiled.
“Long time no see?”
“You bastard… so you orchestrated all of this!”
“Of course. If not me, who would set up such a fun board?”
At Jin Se-yoon’s casual reply, Yoon Jae-ho’s face twisted with rage.
“Because of you… even So-young noona…!”
“So-young? She was delicious. I make her happy with my cock every night. By the way, if you need Lee Sia’s sex video, contact me. Just four fairy tales and it’s yours.”
“…You son of a bitch…!”
Yoon Jae-ho trembled with fury and drew a magic circle. Intense mana exploded toward Jin Se-yoon.
But—
Jin Se-yoon didn’t bother dodging or blocking.
-Thud! Thwack!
The magic hit him repeatedly but didn’t leave a scratch.
“Hmm, ticklish. Can’t you hit harder?”
Jin Se-yoon smirked smugly, and Yoon Jae-ho’s expression hardened.
“No way… I thought I’d gotten strong enough…”
“Heh heh, you getting stronger is slower than me getting stronger.”
Then a voice came from the sky.
“Jin Se-yoon! Return my daughter!”
Randolph appeared in the air and fired an arrow at Jin Se-yoon’s head.
-Whoosh!
A fast arrow flew straight at him.
At the same time, Kim Min-soo charged with his shield raised.
“Fierce Charge!”
-BOOM!
But Jin Se-yoon’s expression remained relaxed.
“The reason I showed up wearing Geum Tae-yang’s face is—”
Suddenly saying something random, Jin Se-yoon raised his crushing rod to the sky.
Yoon Jae-ho instinctively sensed danger—something huge was coming.
“Both of you, dodge!”
Yoon Jae-ho shouted urgently.
-Thump! Thump!
A sound like a massive heartbeat echoed. Dark clouds rapidly gathered in the sky.
-Rumble… rumble…
The thunder grew louder.
In that instant, a gigantic bolt of lightning struck from the heavens.
-KABOOOOOM!
An enormous explosion sent shockwaves everywhere. Dust and smoke completely obscured vision. Yoon Jae-ho, Kim Min-soo, and Randolph were blasted away and rolled across the ground.
“Kgh…!”
“What is this…!”
The dust slowly cleared.
-Crackle… crackle…
Jin Se-yoon slowly walked out from within.
“Golden Warrior Geum Tae-yang— Descent!”
Jin Se-yoon’s entire body was cloaked in golden lightning. His hair stood straight up, lightning sparking from his eyes. Powerful current flowed through the crushing rod.
Jin Se-yoon lightly swung the rod.
-BOOM!
Golden lightning vibrated outward, obliterating surrounding buildings.
“Kgh…!”
Yoon Jae-ho desperately raised a shield, but the lightning passed through, convulsing his entire body. He fell to his knees, twitching from head to toe.
“Woohoo~ That’s the stuff!”
Jin Se-yoon laughed excitedly and advanced. In the blink of an eye, he was in front of Kim Min-soo.
“Huh…?!”
-BOOM!
The crushing rod smashed Kim Min-soo’s shield into pieces. He screamed and slammed into a wall.
Next was Randolph.
“Damn it…!”
Randolph rapidly fired arrows, but the electric field around Jin Se-yoon deflected them all.
“Special service for my father-in-law!”
-Crackle!
Jin Se-yoon planted the rod into the ground and brought his hands together. Golden lightning explosively gathered at his fingertips, then shot toward Randolph in a massive beam.
“……!”
-KABOOOM!
The energy pierced straight through Randolph’s body. He collapsed, convulsing from the intense current, leaving only scorch marks.
Silence fell. Jin Se-yoon, wreathed in electricity with the crushing rod over his shoulder, slowly walked toward Yoon Jae-ho.
“Now, the last one?”
Yoon Jae-ho, paralyzed on the ground, glared at Jin Se-yoon with eyes full of hatred, fear, rage, and despair.
Jin Se-yoon approached leisurely and asked,
“Any last words?”
Yoon Jae-ho gritted his teeth and spat,
“Even in death… I’ll curse you. I’ll definitely—”
But that was as far as he got. Jin Se-yoon snorted and cut him off.
“I’ve heard that curse so many times it’s boring.”
Jin Se-yoon grabbed Yoon Jae-ho by the hair and lifted him.
“Ugh…!”
At the same time, Tia appeared and reported.
“Lauren has secured Austin.”
***
A short while later, the former Night Bloom guild members were wrapping things up and controlling the city. With so few of them, it didn’t look easy, but their individual strength was so overwhelming that no one dared challenge them.
In the plaza, two men were hung on crosses before the gathered crowd.
One was the infamous Holy Cross Guild Master, Austin.
Beside him hung Yoon Jae-ho.
Both were covered in wounds and barely conscious, unable to resist.
The plaza was packed with participants—Holy Cross members, other guild members, and independents alike.
Everyone held their breath and stared ahead.
Jin Se-yoon stepped onto the platform.
“Now, let the trial begin.”
Jin Se-yoon’s voice echoed across the entire plaza.
“For the crimes of slandering Night Bloom and spreading false rumors, and—!”
Jin Se-yoon snapped his fingers, and a massive translucent screen appeared in the air.
Various documents and photos began appearing on it.
[Holy Cross Internal Document - Top Secret]
[Plan for Forced Participant Recruitment]
[Plan to Dismantle Neutral Guilds]
The plaza began to stir as each document was revealed.
“W-what is that…?”
“Holy Cross did that?”
The murmurs grew louder.
Jin Se-yoon continued.
“There’s more.”
The next documents appeared.
[Evidence of Exploitation and Forced Labor of Low-Level Participants]
[Assassination List of Other Participants]
“All of these are documents written directly by Holy Cross. Brave insider Park So-young risked her life to obtain them.”
The mood in the plaza turned hostile.
Holy Cross members’ faces turned pale.
“Guild Master… is this true?”
“We… were used for this kind of dirty work?”
Austin kept his head down, unable to speak.
Jin Se-yoon smirked.
“Austin, nothing to say? You were always so good at running your mouth.”
“……”
Austin gritted his teeth.
Jin Se-yoon revealed the next document.
[Plan to Spread False Information About Night Bloom]
“And this is proof that Holy Cross deliberately spread lies about Night Bloom.”
The document listed words like “human trafficking,” “human experimentation,” “forced prostitution.”
“Human trafficking? Human experimentation? Forced prostitution? All lies. Holy Cross pinned their own crimes on us to hide them.”
The plaza’s atmosphere completely flipped.
“Those bastards!”
“Execute them now!”
“Death penalty!”
Jin Se-yoon spoke to the crowd again.
“So, what shall we do with these two?”
“Kill them!”
“Execute!”
“Death sentence!”
The crowd’s shouts filled the plaza.