How A Mythical Holy Knight Lives As A Villain (Novel) - Chapter 47
Chapter 47
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Black Association.
For those who didn’t know, they might not have even heard the name, but for those who did…
“P-please, spare me… no! Please, spare me! I beg you!”
It was a name that evoked terror.
Their numbers were barely over fifty.
But.
“Please… spare me…”
They controlled most of the underworld in South Korea.
Various organizations with different names moved under Black Association’s orders.
Even the upper echelons of those organizations didn’t know that the orders they received originated from Black Association.
“Let’s keep it quiet.”
Jung Dong-pal was part of one of Black Association’s subordinate organizations.
Like others, he had no idea that Black Association even existed until recently, when he first heard the name.
“Dong-pal, there’s something you need to know if you’re going to become a guild leader later.”
It was something his hyung, who he had served for a long time, told him. They weren’t related by blood, but they had a strong bond.
He had even taken a knife for his hyung and done time in prison.
Fortunately, his hyung wasn’t a thug and had kept his loyalty to Jung Dong-pal, who had taken the fall for him.
A successor.
“Please, spare me…”
Though it was a small organization in Seoul, he had become the head of a group that dominated the Dongdaemun area.
But what did it matter?
“Black Association… you must not defy their orders.”
After all, he was just a pawn.
“Do you know Terrako?”
“Yes, hyung.”
The names that followed were also those of organizations and guilds that had dominated Seoul and South Korea just a few years ago.
No matter how dirty or lowly they were…
Even if they weren’t considered legitimate, the power they held in the underworld was real.
“What about the Sunbaek incident?”
“Wasn’t that the case where the Busan guys were completely wiped out? After that, Seoul took over Busan.”
Random stories.
“Black Association was behind all of it.”
“Huh?”
“Practically, the underworld is now unified under Black Association. Soon…”
You’ll see for yourself.
And his hyung’s words were true.
“Damn it, I never thought I’d end up doing thug work like this.”
It was true that he had been impressed by the power of such a massive organization operating in the shadows.
But the first order Jung Dong-pal received from Black Association was something he despised.
“Spare me…”
“Ah! Shut up!”
Kidnapping a man and woman in their early twenties.
No matter how much they were drug-addled idiots, Jung Dong-pal couldn’t accept it.
Moreover.
“You have to do it yourself.”
His hyung, Kang Baek-ho, had forbidden him from delegating the task to his underlings, forcing Jung Dong-pal to handle it personally.
‘I’m Jung Dong-pal of Dongdaemun.’
His resentment grew.
That’s when it happened.
Creak!
The door of the abandoned factory opened, and bright light began to pour in.
“Haah.”
Jung Dong-pal sighed and stood up.
Though the sudden light was blinding, it wasn’t enough to disorient Jung Dong-pal, a fairly high-level player.
Step, step.
A group of people entered the factory.
‘They’re really putting on airs.’
There were about four or five of them, dressed in black suits.
But they looked more like bodyguards than gangsters.
‘Are they some kind of nobles?’
Moreover, though their bodies looked sturdy, they didn’t seem to exude much power.
They seemed like ordinary people who weren’t even players.
“Are you Kang Baek-ho’s successor?”
The man at the front looked Jung Dong-pal up and down and spoke.
Snap.
Jung Dong-pal’s face twisted at the sight.
“You’ve worked hard. The job was done cleanly.”
“…Don’t call my hyung’s name so casually.”
“…?”
The man tilted his head.
“And damn it! Stop making me do this thug work!”
Jung Dong-pal finally couldn’t hold back and exploded.
Unintentionally, his mana surged with his rising anger.
Though he wasn’t a top ranker yet, he was confident he could become one if given more time.
‘But where have I seen him before?’
As he tried to recall where he had seen the man’s face…
Pfft.
The man let out a deflating sound.
“Kang Baek-ho must really care about you.”
“What?”
“Or did he send you here because he didn’t like his successor and wanted you dead?”
“……”
Even then, the man didn’t seem to exude any energy.
But for some reason, Jung Dong-pal felt like his throat was being choked.
“Where do you think you are, you thug?”
“What…!”
But the man slowly walked away.
The bound man and woman.
“Please… spare me…”
They begged and pleaded with the man, their appearances a mess.
“Be grateful, Jung Dong-pal.”
At that moment.
Swoosh!
Without even seeing when he drew it, the man’s long sword cleanly sliced through the necks of the man and woman.
“……!”
Jung Dong-pal was so shocked he stood frozen, his mouth shut.
He hadn’t seen the man draw the sword or swing it.
And he never expected that the people he had worked so hard to kidnap would be executed without even being questioned.
“Even trash like you can be of use to him.”
What was even more shocking was…
Squirm.
The bodies, which should have been decapitated, began to squirm.
Splurt!
Tentacle-like things burst out from within them.
Boom!
Flames erupted, and the man was pushed back.
What appeared before him was a monster, a grotesque fusion of the man and woman.
“Ugh!”
Just looking at it was disgusting, and the energy it emitted made his legs weak.
Even though he had been confident he could become a top ranker…
Shudder.
All he wanted to do was drop everything and run.
These monsters were different from anything he had encountered in the Gates.
That’s when it happened.
Flash!
A bright light flashed.
Swoosh!
The monster, which seemed impossible to defeat, was sliced into dozens of pieces and exploded.
Thud.
The man sheathed his sword as if it were nothing.
All of this had happened in less than a few minutes.
Only then…
“……!”
Jung Dong-pal remembered the man’s face.
“Kang In!”
The man who had once been called the troublemaker of the player world, but whose skills were undeniable, making him someone no one could ignore.
“I thought… he lost his leg and retired…”
Yet here he was, reappearing and cutting down a monster he had never seen before.
Kang In, who had defeated the monster, approached Jung Dong-pal.
“Uh…”
Without realizing it, Jung Dong-pal stepped back and sat down.
The overwhelming pressure emanating from Kang In, who had just defeated the monster, was unlike anything Jung Dong-pal had ever felt from any player he had met before.
“A few years ago, you were the kind of person who would steal from others for your own gain, and now you’re doing thug work…?”
Kang In chuckled.
“Be grateful to him for even using trash like you. Since he didn’t tell you anything, it seems Kang Baek-ho was planning to eliminate you.”
“……”
It was unbelievable.
“Kang Baek-ho will be found dead tomorrow. Handle it yourself. Starting tomorrow…”
Step, step.
“You’re the head of the Dongdaemun guild. Don’t disobey our orders. And don’t even think about using your head for anything unnecessary.”
He couldn’t even understand what had just happened.
But.
“…Kang Baek-ho, that b*st*rd!”
It was clear that the hyung he thought had cared for him had actually tried to kill him.
*
*
*
Black Association ruled the underworld, but the number of those who were considered the real deal was small.
All sorts of people.
There were once-prominent players, players who had been part of the association.
Or.
“It’s a new species. The saying that you have to die to confirm it is true. Track it.”
“…Yes, sir!”
There were also those from the underworld.
People who, without knowing anything, had joined the underworld to make a living.
Or those who had been forced into the underworld against their will.
Among them, a few who seemed useful were lucky enough to become part of Black Association.
“Why are you so tense?”
Jo Gyu-tae, a new recruit of Black Association, was one such person from the underworld.
“How can I not be scared? I’m from that damn thug background too.”
Pfft.
Kang In laughed at that.
“Like you? The guy who hated drug deals and tried to turn his own organization inside out, and even tried to turn himself in to the association because he didn’t want to assassinate anyone?”
“Well… does that make me a good guy? Before that…”
Jo Gyu-tae had done a lot of bad things too.
That’s why, when he was about to turn himself in to stop living that way, Kang In appeared.
“That’s why. You might be a decent guy now, but the fact that you were a bad guy doesn’t change.”
“…Jo Gyu-tae.”
“So even if it’s dirty work, do it to help him and repent.”
“Who exactly…”
Who is he?
It had been a few months since he joined Black Association.
He had seen a side of the world he never expected, been terrified, and…
Thud.
Felt a sense of pride.
Even though living in the underworld hadn’t changed, at least it felt like he was using his own hands to clean up the filth of the underworld.
Moreover.
‘Black Gate.’
Black Association wasn’t just about cleaning up trash.
If necessary, they wouldn’t hesitate to step into the Black Gates.
They were also part of the underworld, involved in many underworld activities, but…
‘Pride.’
He felt a bit of that.
That’s when it happened.
Buzz.
The quiet ringing of a cell phone.
“Gasp!”
Kang In, who was usually as cool as a cucumber, jumped up in surprise.
In this small van that was moving.
Kang In, who was by no means short.
Thud!
He hit his head on the van’s ceiling, and then again.
You could tell how panicked and tense he was.
‘What’s going on?’
No way.
“Hello, this is Kang In.”
No way!
“…Yes. Yes… Yes?”
Kang In’s face seemed to change every second.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
Even after the other person ended the call, Kang In held the phone, feeling its heat.
“Jo Gyu-tae, you’re really lucky.”
“Huh?”
“Turn the car around.”
At Kang In’s words, the driver immediately changed the destination.
“Under no circumstances can we make a mistake.”
“…What’s going on?”
“He’s coming.”
“……!”
Jo Gyu-tae and the other Black Association members were shocked.
“Code A, gather everyone we can summon now.”
“If it’s A, we’ll only call Black Association members.”
The van became a flurry of activity.
Thud.
Jo Gyu-tae felt a strange sense of exhilaration.
And for some reason, the face of the person he admired most came to mind.
Someone who was born with everything, who caused trouble just like him.
But recently, he had shown his true colors and was making a name for himself.
‘Me, me too…’
He grinned.
‘I’m not jealous of Go Johan.’
The divine Go Johan.