Chapter 45
In Yeonhae and Choi Hyeong-seok each carried one of us on their backs.
In Yeonhae carried me.
Choi Hyeong-seok carried the pottery village resident.
We headed for the car parked near the village entrance.
By the time the engine started, I could already hear commotion growing deeper inside the village.
But there was no time to hesitate.
Our car quickly crossed the city.
I turned from looking behind us and glanced at the villager beside me.
He was sitting there blankly, clutching the sack of clay tightly against his chest.
Even in the middle of that emergency, he'd somehow made sure to bring the clay.
I couldn't help being impressed by In Yeonhae's strength.
She'd carried an adult man and a heavy load of clay at the same time.
"Are you all right?"
"Yes? Ah, yes...."
He answered in a daze.
Then a small groan escaped him.
It looked like he'd need some time before he truly calmed down.
For a while, I watched the barren city scenery pass outside the window.
Then the villager sniffed and spoke.
"Thank you for saving me. You could've left me there...."
His first words were gratitude.
The man let out a long sigh, then began speaking like he was unloading everything he'd been holding in.
"...When the others evacuated the village, I stubbornly stayed behind alone. If you hadn't come, I would've faced those people by myself. What could an ordinary person like me possibly do if they started smashing pottery or threatening me?"
"..."
"I know this is shameless of me...."
He swallowed both breath and tears before continuing.
"I know I'm asking the person who saved me to hand over even more. But... could you help us a little more? You're Hunters, aren't you? You're stronger than people like me. You have influence too. Please, do something about those Blue Dragon Gang bastards. I'm scared people are going to die if this keeps going. Honestly, I can barely breathe whenever I think about it."
For a moment, my eyes met In Yeonhae's through the rearview mirror.
She curved her eyes slightly, as though telling me the decision was mine.
She's looking at me like she already expects me to say yes, then tells me to decide.
Maybe that was what happened after working with Yeonwoo Guild for so long.
We'd gotten to know each other too well.
"All right."
I answered as lightly as possible.
The villager blinked at me.
"It just happened too suddenly earlier. But the people sitting in front of us are from Yeonwoo Guild. You know they're the number one guild in the country, right?"
"Why are you leaving yourself out, Artist Do? Sir, the person sitting beside you is the only S-Class production-type Hunter in Korea. Ah, among civilians, maybe he's more famous for <Gate of Heaven> at the Han River."
"Honestly, you didn't even need to ask. Now that we've been attacked, we had no intention of simply walking away."
That part was true.
When we'd first encountered the gangsters, we'd already told them clearly.
We weren't interested in getting involved in their dispute.
They should leave.
But they refused to listen.
Worse, they'd tried to kidnap me while threatening and intimidating us.
Honestly, it'd bother me to just leave this place like this.
I planned to keep traveling for inspiration in the future.
If people like that were still around, I'd naturally keep worrying about what they might do.
They didn't even respond to common sense.
There was no telling what kind of trouble they might cause.
It was better to eliminate an unknown danger quickly than leave it alone.
Originally, I thought this was just a power struggle between some gangsters and Hunters.
Apparently, Jeongmyeong had a much more serious problem.
In Yeonhae cleared her throat, drawing everyone's attention.
"For now, sir, you only need to come back to our lodging and tell us what's happening in Jeongmyeong."
"Thank... thank you...."
The villager slowly closed his eyes.
Once his tension finally broke and he drifted to sleep, I relaxed too.
The car accelerated.
"I found a nearby hotel and paid for a room for him."
"Good work."
"It's nothing. I used the guild card anyway, so don't worry about it. More importantly, what do we do now?"
Choi Hyeong-seok entered our lodging with an easy smile.
As he sat on the sofa, I organized what the pottery village resident had told us earlier.
The organization currently in conflict with Phoenix Guild was called the Blue Dragon Gang.
Apparently, they'd existed even before the Gate Era.
I thought they were just ordinary gangsters, but they go back pretty far.
During the chaos after the Gates appeared, they disappeared for a while.
Then, during the reconstruction period when Jeongmyeong City was created, they reappeared and started meddling in various places.
But up until then, they were apparently still just a group of thugs.
Strangely, it was only after Phoenix Guild settled in Jeongmyeong that the Blue Dragon Gang began rapidly expanding its influence.
The resident had sighed, saying he couldn't understand how ordinary gangsters could act so confidently against Hunters.
What was even stranger was that the conflict hadn't ended quickly.
It had continued all this time.
And over the years, the Blue Dragon Gang's behavior had steadily become more extreme.
They harassed civilians.
Destroyed buildings and vehicles in broad daylight.
The damage had grown so severe that it was no longer reasonable to call it merely a conflict between a small guild and a criminal organization.
"The police act like they're possessed. Even if we report it, they don't come."
The villager had eventually sighed and said residents on the outskirts of Jeongmyeong were beginning to move away from the city.
He regretted staying even though he'd known he should leave.
"It's all because that damn natural clay keeps coming out...."
He'd admitted it was greed.
Then added that no artist could simply abandon good material.
Some people would probably call him foolish.
They'd say nothing was more valuable than your life.
But I understood why he couldn't leave the pottery village.
The village had been created by ceramic artisans who gathered there because of the natural clay.
And that clay still came from the land.
How could it be easy to leave?
For someone who made things, good material had a way of haunting your thoughts.
Even the empty village had most of its household belongings still inside.
The other residents had only evacuated.
They hadn't truly moved away.
They were probably waiting for the day they could return to their ordinary lives.
Once I'd sorted through everything, I spoke to the two people waiting for me.
"For now, we should visit Phoenix Guild. They'll probably know the situation in much more detail."
"Exactly. You think they've just sat around all these years? Investigating enemies is basic practice for Hunters."
Choi Hyeong-seok nodded strongly.
"Yeonwoo Guild also replied that they'll look into it."
In Yeonhae added that as she stood.
She began changing clothes and preparing her gear.
She looked even more battle-ready than before.
Apparently being caught in an unexpected fight and having her skill countered had shaken her.
"Once we get information from both sides, we should find a way forward."
I paused.
"A way to teach those gangsters a lesson."
"Hahaha! Exactly!"
Choi Hyeong-seok laughed brightly.
His equipment was just as complete as In Yeonhae's.
Before we left, In Yeonhae stopped me and handed me a green potion.
"Artist Do, you still have the dagger I gave you earlier, right?"
"Yes. I do."
"Then keep this with you too."
I lightly shook the potion while she explained.
"It greatly boosts self-healing. Naturally, it also stops bleeding. Use it in an emergency."
"Thank you."
I immediately handed the potion to Chaeri.
As though she'd been waiting, Chaeri turned it into a bead and carefully stuffed it between her feathers.
"Let's go, then."
The moment we opened the door, a clear blue sky came into view.
Phoenix Guild occupied an entire old five-story building.
An old building in a newly rebuilt city.
Sure enough, when I looked closely at the exterior, there were signs of deliberate damage everywhere.
Marks where malicious graffiti had been removed.
Scratches that looked like they'd been made with knives.
Unknown stains.
Petty vandalism had made the whole building look much older than it really was.
But the moment we stepped inside, the impression changed completely.
The floors were smooth marble.
The interior was clean and well maintained.
"Welcome. ...But why are Yeonwoo Guild and Crafter Do Hwa-in here...?"
Thanks to the names of Yeonwoo Guild and myself, we were immediately guided to the Phoenix Guild Master's office.
"Do you know an organization called the Blue Dragon Gang?"
"I do."
The Phoenix Guild Master looked at us strangely for a moment.
Then his expression hardened.
"What did those bastards do this time?"
We briefly explained what had happened earlier that day.
The guild master's eyes widened.
Then he grabbed his head and grimaced.
"Those lunatics.... Ah, my apologies. We've suffered quite a lot because of them."
Even while trying to restrain his anger in front of guests, curses seemed to rise naturally.
He lowered his head awkwardly.
"It's fine. They looked like lunatics to us too."
"Exactly. They attacked even after hearing the names of Artist Do Hwa-in and Yeonwoo Guild, didn't they? I've called them doomed bastards so many times, maybe they're finally determined to actually destroy themselves...."
He shook his head repeatedly, then grabbed the coffee that had been served for us and gulped it down.
Steam was still rising from it.
For him to drink it in one go, he must have been deeply frustrated.
"There's only one reason those people run wild without fearing the world."
"Only one?"
"The Association."
The Association?
Here?
The sudden turn caught me completely off guard.
I looked between the two Yeonwoo Guild members beside me.
Especially Choi Hyeong-seok.
He had personal reason to hate the Association after having half his body torn apart because of the massive Gate incident they'd engineered.
In Yeonhae also held a grudge against them.
If I hadn't given Yeonwoo Guild Durandal and the Green Dragon Crescent Blade, they ultimately would've been forced to bow their heads to the Association.
Apparently just as surprised as I was, In Yeonhae finally spoke.
"No matter how rotten the Association is, I've never heard of them using organized crime. Are you certain about what you just said?"
"I am. And believe me, I find it just as horrifying. To be exact, it isn't that the Association itself directly controls them. It's more accurate to say a business under the Association protects them."
"...Isn't that effectively the same thing?"
"No. Direct involvement and involvement through several layers are different. The consequences are also different once something becomes public."
"Which business?"
The Phoenix Guild Master sighed deeply.
"<Tidy>."
"Isn't that a Gate byproduct processing company? That belongs to the Association?"
Even Choi Hyeong-seok looked surprised.
Apparently it wasn't common knowledge among Hunters.
Meanwhile, I was still surprised by the fact that the Association operated businesses at all.
"Yes. Large guilds probably have private byproduct-processing contractors, but most small and medium guilds hand their materials over to the Association. Association employees are already present every time we enter Gates, and they don't exactly cheat us out of the payments."
"I've heard that too."
"Then what do you think the Association does with all those materials? Most people assume they contract another processing company just like the large guilds do."
The guild master shook his head.
"They don't. They operate their own company and use the profits as part of the Association budget. Officially, they say the money goes toward Hunter support programs...."
"But nobody really knows."
"Exactly. Nobody knows. Just look at our guild. Did you see the outside of this building on your way in? A place that protects people who constantly pull cheap stunts like that against a guild... and they call that support?"
The Phoenix Guild Master had been speaking angrily.
Then suddenly his entire body slumped.
In the space of a few seconds, he seemed to age ten years.
Even the strength disappeared from his voice.
"This is all because of my greed."
The three of us blinked at him.
I didn't understand why so many people in this city blamed themselves.
"This probably isn't something I should say in front of people from a major guild that's openly opposing the Association.... But if I'd just kept my head down and stayed quiet, maybe everything would've resolved itself eventually. But I was stubborn. Pride, justice, whatever you want to call it.... At this point, we're only holding on because I refuse to let them crush us."
As I listened, I began to understand why Phoenix had been targeted by gangsters backed by Tidy.
It seemed Phoenix Guild had been founded right around the era when the Association was trying to bring Hunters completely under its control.
Around the same time Badger Guild was being established.
But unlike Yoon Jamok, who had successfully protected the Hunters under her, Phoenix's guild master had failed.
He didn't have Yoon Jamok's public recognition.
Her connections.
Or her high Hunter rank.
Even so, Phoenix Guild's master had apparently resisted with everything he had.
He had tried reporting the Association's behavior to the media.
He'd joined protests with his guild members.
He'd participated when major guilds united to pressure the Association.
For a guild of Phoenix's size, he'd moved with extraordinary determination.
And in the end, that resistance did succeed.
The Association stopped openly controlling Hunters.
Then it entered a long power struggle with the guilds instead.
If the story ended there, Phoenix might have received a happy ending too.
Unfortunately, the Association was apparently an incredibly petty organization.
Against large guilds, it created administrative inconvenience.
Slow paperwork.
Delayed approvals.
Against small and medium guilds, it applied far more direct pressure to force them back into submission.
Kim Sang-hyeon explained some of this during the massive Sudden-Type Gate incident, so I had an idea.
But hearing it directly like this... it's worse than I imagined.
Considering how the Association had manipulated media and public opinion to pressure me before, Phoenix could've reported them a hundred times and gotten nowhere.
The reason Jeongmyeong's situation had never become public, surviving only as rumor among Hunters, was probably because the Association kept the media under control.
Now I understand why those gangsters kept acting fearless even after we mentioned Yeonwoo Guild.
They believed that strongly in whoever stood behind them.
Clap!
A sharp sound broke through the somber atmosphere.
Everyone looked toward me.
I did my best to wear a confident expression.
"I realized something recently."
The Phoenix Guild Master looked confused.
"If you spend all your time looking at the past, you eventually end up walking backward."
"...?"
"I don't know what things were like in the past. But right now, you have me and Yeonwoo Guild standing with Phoenix."
I leaned forward slightly.
"We might not be able to erase all of the Association's pressure. But I think we have enough strength to solve the Blue Dragon Gang problem, at least."
I looked directly at him.
"What do you think, Guild Master?"
He seemed to consider my words carefully.
His gaze moved across my face.
Then In Yeonhae.
Then Choi Hyeong-seok.
Finally, his eyes settled on a framed document hanging on the wall.
Only then did I properly notice what was inside.
It was a document stating that a contract previously made with the Association was invalid.
The date was from a full twenty years ago.
It looked like something Phoenix had won back when it protested alongside the major guilds.
Apparently Phoenix had rebelled against the Association twenty years earlier just to obtain that piece of paper.
For a man who says he regrets everything, he framed that document and hung it on the wall.
That tells me enough.
To help him decide, I added one more question.
"From your perspective, is Phoenix Guild too weak to survive in Jeongmyeong after the Blue Dragon Gang disappears?"
"No."
The guild master's eyes ignited like the name of his guild.
"No, we are not."
He straightened.
"Even while those Blue Dragon bastards ran wild, Phoenix Guild handled the Gates inside Jeongmyeong. There were countless times we entered Gates on the verge of Break because of their interference. There were times they caused chaos around Eruption-Type Gates and a few monsters escaped. We've been unfairly blamed plenty of times."
"..."
"But even so!"
His voice rose.
"Phoenix Guild has protected Jeongmyeong this entire time. Unless we actually break the law, the Association can't bring us down anymore. That document proves it!"
He pointed toward the frame.
"At worst, they'll delay paperwork."
"Like they do with major guilds?"
"Exactly. Like they do with major guilds. Once the Blue Dragon Gang falls, we'll terminate the unfair contract we were forced to sign with Tidy."
His voice steadied.
"Then we'll find a new company."
"And move forward as a new Phoenix Guild."
There were probably many hidden wounds he hadn't mentioned.
I didn't ask.
What mattered now was driving the Blue Dragon Gang out together.
"If the Association is truly behind them, Yeonwoo Guild can't openly clash with the Blue Dragon Gang."
At In Yeonhae's words, the Phoenix Guild Master's face briefly fell.
"The Association could disguise the Blue Dragon Gang as ordinary civilians and manipulate the media."
But then she continued.
"However, reinforcing Artist Do Hwa-in's security team is another matter."
The guild master looked up.
"It won't be a huge force, but someone formidable will come down here, Guild Master."
"Haha."
"Hahahaha! Excellent!"
"And before the Blue Dragon Gang collapses, our vice guild master will make sure the Association can't interfere."
The moment In Yeonhae finished, every trace of worry disappeared from the Phoenix Guild Master's face.
He looked like a man whose problems had already been solved.
He laughed loudly while rubbing both eyes with his hands.
I watched him for a moment, then subtly leaned sideways.
"Um, Hunter In Yeonhae."
"Yes?"
"When did you contact Yeonwoo Guild?"
I hadn't seen her touch her phone once since we'd met the Phoenix Guild Master.
"From now on."
"What?"
I stared at her.
"Then everything you just promised the guild master...."
"I trust Vice Guild Master Kim Sang-hyeon."
She smiled.
"More importantly, I trust how much Yeonwoo Guild cares about Artist Do."
Despite the situation, In Yeonhae's smile looked incredibly dependable.
