Chapter 49

Chapter 24: Two Hearts (7)

"Kurlek!"

Yeonwoo roughly pulled Karshuna's dagger from the throat of the last remaining player.

The guy spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with foam and collapsed to the ground.

The area was filled with the corpses of those who had lost their minds and attacked Yeonwoo, only to die.

With the last of the manpower now dead, the Arangdan was essentially completely wiped out.

But it wasn't a complete annihilation.

One person was still left.

'Build.'

Yeonwoo lightly shook the blood off the blade and slowly moved in the direction the guy had disappeared.

Through his expanded sensory range, he could feel the guy urgently moving towards the underground warehouse.

Yeonwoo lightly kicked the ground.

Swoosh—

* * *

Thud!

The place Build found was a dilapidated warehouse located on the outskirts of the base.

Despite its appearance, it was equipped with multiple complex magic arrays and barriers, making it a secret location accessible only to high-ranking members of the Arangdan.

'Faster! I have to get it quickly!'

Build didn't think the Mangseokjungs could completely stop Yeonwoo.

But at least they could slow him down.

So he had to get the 'stone' as quickly as possible.

He vaguely remembered the usage method from a passing comment by Leont.

Because of this, he was so focused on the stone that he didn't notice.

The fact that Yeonwoo was already right behind him.

* * *

'You did a good job hiding a place like this.'

Yeonwoo lightly clicked his tongue as he saw the spiral staircase leading deep into the open warehouse.

It was so well-decorated that if he hadn't deliberately let Build go, he would never have found it.

Still, he was glad to have found it now, so he slowly descended the stairs, maintaining a certain distance from Build.

There were countless doors below.

Doors that led to places he couldn't even guess.

However, one thing was certain.

There were definitely formidable things beyond these doors.

Then, Yeonwoo stopped in front of an iron door that looked particularly old and worn compared to the others.

'There's someone inside.'

He could sense two presences from inside.

Yeonwoo briefly glanced at the stairs Build had gone down.

'After all, there's no other way up. I can catch him anytime.'

With that thought, Yeonwoo immediately opened the iron door.

Creak!

It didn't seem to have any magical devices installed. The hinges made a creaking sound as if they were about to break from lack of oil.

Inside, a narrow, long corridor stretched out, with iron bars on both sides, reminiscent of a prison.

The smell of decaying bodies filled the air, indicating that many people had been imprisoned here until recently.

Bloodstains, nail marks along the walls, and signs of people throwing themselves against the bars were still visible.

Whoo—

Whoo—

Quite a few ghosts were wandering around.

Roughly estimating, there were thousands.

'A human farm, huh.'

Yeonwoo gritted his teeth.

He had suspected it, but he didn't think it would be on this scale.

Moreover, thinking about the doors he had seen on the way down, he couldn't even guess how many people had been imprisoned.

He spread his senses widely, but there were no survivors except for the two presences in the deepest part.

There were clear signs that people had been here a few days ago. Had they all been 'disposed of' in the meantime?

"..."

Yeonwoo's eyes sank deeply, but they were filled with a mix of annoyance and anger.

Then, as he reached the deepest part of the corridor.

Yeonwoo could clearly see them.

Kan and Doyle, bound to the wall with chains, looking haggard.

* * *

In the desolate prison, only Kan and Doyle remained.

"Damn. What the hell is going on? Why is it so noisy?"

Kan lifted his head with a frustrated expression.

When he heard that the enemy had invaded, Build and his subordinates hurriedly went out. From the looks of it, something big must have happened.

But he couldn't figure out what it was, which was frustrating.

Still, he could guess one thing.

Judging by how the building was shaking, it wouldn't be long before it collapsed.

"Well, I thought I'd do something cool, but to end up buried alive. How unlucky can you get?"

Kan chuckled and shook his head.

It was a mocking laugh.

At himself.

"Bro. Let's speak clearly."

At that moment, Doyle, who had been slumped over, slowly lifted his head.

Despite his injuries, his eyes still looked lazy.

"It's you who's unlucky, not me. I just got caught in the crossfire."

"Huh? So you're lucky to be caught with me?"

"There's a saying that good luck can rub off."

"You're being unusually sarcastic today."

"I've always had a resolution. If I'm going to die, I want to give you a good beating first."

"Didn't you used to say you were a good little brother?"

The two of them bickered even as death loomed before them.

That's how much they cared for each other.

"Ah, forget it. Let's stop. What's the point of fighting? I wonder what Cain is doing right now?"

Kan suddenly thought of the friend who wasn't really a friend, with whom he used to run around trying to catch Harugan.

Despite his gruffness, they worked well together.

"Who knows? He's a capable guy. He's probably already moved on to G-sector by now."

"Probably."

Doyle's words made Kan chuckle.

"Ah, if I had known it would end up like this, I should have told you the location of that thing. I could have asked you to use it well for us."

Kan shook his head, thinking of the hidden piece they had wanted to obtain last.

The weapon they sought to capture the Pant siblings.

It was hard to let go.

Right then.

"You can still tell me now."

A familiar voice echoed from above.

Kan and Doyle looked up with expressions of disbelief.

At the end of the dark corridor.

A white mask slowly revealed itself in the dim light.

It was Yeonwoo.

"You...!"

"Bro Cain!"

Kan shouted at Yeonwoo, his face showing disbelief.

Doyle's eyes also widened.

Regardless of that.

Swish!

Squeak—

Yeonwoo cut the iron bars with his dagger and entered the prison.

"You both look terrible."

He chuckled as he looked over Kan and Doyle.

Kan's expression became a bit complicated.

Relief, confusion, guilt, gratitude. Then he turned his head to the side.

He had been cruel when they parted.

He didn't want to show his weakness.

Doyle, on the other hand, asked with tears welling up in his eyes.

"How did you find us here?"

Yeonwoo cut the chains binding the two with Karshuna's dagger.

Clang!

Clang!

He then cut the mana restraints on their wrists and answered.

"The Scavengers kept bothering me. Turned out they were part of the Arangdan."

As if he had just stopped by on his way.

Doyle's eyes widened, then he smiled. He didn't ask how Yeonwoo found them.

There was no need to.

Kan watched as the restraints that had tormented them fell off easily, then spoke seriously to Yeonwoo.

"Thanks. Really."

"If you're really grateful, you could give me that hidden piece you mentioned earlier."

"Damn. I'll never do a losing deal."

That's why he could probably scam a mysterious merchant.

Kan grumbled but soon chuckled.

He knew this was Yeonwoo's way of showing concern.

Being so gruff, he couldn't say anything warm.

Kan circulated mana as the bindings disappeared.

His body screamed in pain.

He wondered if he could escape in this condition.

He could clearly see how badly his body had deteriorated.

It made him feel a bit hopeless.

Whatever Yeonwoo had planned, he would only be a burden in this state.

Doyle also seemed to think the same, as he frowned slightly.

Kan wanted to tell Yeonwoo to leave them behind.

He was grateful that Yeonwoo had come, so he would take care of the rest and not cause more trouble.

But.

Yeonwoo chuckled lightly, as if reading Kan's thoughts.

"The Arangdan is all dead, so you don't need to worry."

Kan and Doyle were startled.

"The Arangdan is completely wiped out? What are you talking about?"

The two, unaware of the monster rush and Yeonwoo's actions, were naturally confused.

But Yeonwoo waved his hand as if it was too much trouble to explain.

Kan furrowed his brow, then sighed deeply. Yeonwoo wouldn't explain easily when he took that attitude.

However, Doyle was smiling.

"You must have caught them all, Bro."

"Sort of."

Yeonwoo nodded calmly. Suddenly, Kan flared up.

"Hey! You answer Doyle's question but ignore mine?"

Yeonwoo stared at Kan for a moment, then blew a light raspberry. Clearly, he found it too much trouble to answer.

"Ugh."

Kan clenched his fists, trembling. It was frustrating to be weak at such times.

Then, he perked up at Yeonwoo's words.

"Build is still alive, though."

"What? Build?"

Kan's eyes blazed. Doyle's face hardened.

"Surely... he didn't go down here?"

Yeonwoo's eyes sparkled. It seemed Build was hiding something.

"Is there something down here?"

"I'm not sure exactly, but these guys are definitely trying to create something using players as sacrifices."

"Creating something?"

The most valuable sacrifices were human flesh and souls. The highest form of alchemy involved using human bodies.

But such acts were strictly forbidden in the Tower.

Not just because they were inhumane, but because they were extremely dangerous.

Dangerous enough to potentially corrupt the Tower with the Nether.

If they were using hundreds or thousands of souls and bodies to create something...

'From start to finish, they've only been causing trouble.'

Yeonwoo clicked his tongue and pulled out Karshuna's dagger again.

Build was like a rat in a trap.

Now that he had rescued Kan and Doyle, he just needed to finish off Build.

He also wanted to find out what they had been trying to create.

Just as he was about to tell Kan and Doyle to wait here for a moment.

Whoo—

Whoo—

Yeonwoo saw the ghosts that had followed him.

They circled around him, as if begging to be involved in catching Build.

Yeonwoo, about to drive them away, had a good idea.

"Do you want to help?"

Whoo—

The ghosts seemed to confirm with their wails. Yeonwoo's lips curled up slightly.

"If so, there's one condition. Can you hear it?"