Chapter 877

EP.877 [Light Novel Side Story] The Death Dinass of the Sky 1 Vol. 024

“Nice to meet you. I am Sang-a Kim, legal advisor of <May> and currently the general manager of this guild. And this person over here is-”

Sang-a Kim, a woman wearing black suit and horn-rimmed glasses, pointed at the man beside her. The man in gray suit with black sunglasses stopped her with his hand and bowed with a smile.

“I’ll introduce myself. Nice to meet you all. I’m Yo-ho Ryu, branch manager dispatched from <Zhonghua>.”

After the May side’s introductions were done, Nuri sitting on the opposite sofa bowed her head nervously. She was glancing at Do-yoon and Seo-hyang sitting next to her with pleasant smiles.

“Uh, hello. I’m Kim Nuri. I’m 19 years old…”

Nuri seemed shy and fidgety. Do-yoon bowed his head awkwardly.

“My apologies, Branch Manager. My daughter hasn’t been aware of her special abilities for long, so she’s not used to situations like this.”

“Hahaha! No problem. I heard you just graduated, and you certainly look young. Yep, still the age to enjoy life… So, what’s the relationship between the Western lady and Nuri?”

The sharp gazes of the four adults landed on Xian, the blonde Westerner. Xian sat up straight, grabbed Nuri’s hand, and declared proudly.

“Potential boyfriend.”

“…What’s that?”

Branch Manager Ryu asked Sang-a quietly beside him. Sang-a looked at him disdainfully before clearing her throat and asked Xian.

“So, you’re saying you’re dating?”

“Not yet. Nuri’s parents haven’t approved our relationship yet.”

Xian stared directly into Do-yoon’s eyes confidently while Seo-hyang closed her eyes tightly and lowered her head. Nuri’s face turned bright red as their hands were still clasped together. Branch Manager Ryu burst out laughing understanding the situation.

“I see. Hohoho, youth!”

“Branch Manager, this isn’t the time to laugh. Look here, Mr. Xian, did Nuri explain to you what kind of meeting this is?”

“Yes, I understand. Through May, we’re about to sign a contract to train our Nuri, right?”

Xian showed an almost arrogant disregard towards Do-yoon and Seo-hyang. Branch Manager Ryu frowned openly.

“I’ve heard tales of your rudeness, but this is going too far. Who exactly are you? Unless you’re Nuri’s lifelong partner, how can you so presumptuously push Nuri’s decisions in such an important matter?”

“I respect Nuri’s decision. If Nuri chooses May and subsequently Zhonghua, she will leave me behind.”

Xian leaned back arrogantly.

“Then let’s see what kind of contract May and Zhonghua have prepared for Nuri.”

“…Arrogant.”

Branch Manager Ryu clicked his tongue. Sang-a tapped her magical gear and pushed a contract paper in front of Xian.

“This is the current condition we’re offering to Miss Nuri.”

Xian read through the contract carefully.

“Let’s see. C-Rank weekly salary of ten million won? That’s roughly 500 million annually?”

“That’s not all.”

Branch Manager Ryu pointed at the lower clauses while mocking Xian.

“All guild resources can be used freely, along with separate dignity maintenance fees. A private jet will be provided for dungeon tours, and all resources for Nuri’s growth to SS-Rank will be allocated. Of course, all dungeon loot will belong to Nuri.”

“In Korean currency, it amounts to approximately 5 billion worth of support team annually.”

Nuri, who was reading the contract alongside, gulped audibly. Xian continued reading indifferently until he found something surprising.

“If the above conditions double every time magic level increases? Wow, you guys are crazy. Seriously, no ethics? Do you think money can solve everything?”

“To recruit a future SS-Rank dark attribute special ability user, don’t you think this much is necessary? Hehe. But tell me, why are you always leading the contract negotiations?”

Branch Manager Ryu pointed at Nuri sitting beside Xian. Nuri seemed unusually subdued.

“You’re acting like Nuri’s guardian, but aren’t her guardians these people?”

“Unless you’re a spouse, which you’re clearly not. What qualifications do you have to claim yourself as Nuri’s guardian?”

Branch Manager Ryu and Sang-a confronted Xian. Xian glanced at Nuri briefly before bursting into laughter.

“Hahaha! There are several things I’d like to point out, but…”

Xian inserted his right hand into his coat pocket and twisted his lips.

“If you’re going to scam someone, at least remove the magic from your voice first.”

“Wha-”

Before Sang-a could summon her magic in surprise, Xian’s gun fired.

BOOOOM!

A thunderous sound echoed.

* * *

“Already?”

Yuna jumped at the thunder breaking the office window. How could they send a signal so soon after entering? Yuna quickly lowered the window and shouted outside where two people were waiting.

“Raon-nee! Nuri!”

“Shit!”

Nuri spat out curses while getting into position. Her worst fears had come true, and now she really had to rescue her parents. Raon strengthened her body by drawing power from her dantian.

“I’m coming!”

CRASH!

The middle-aged couple was thrown out of the office through the broken window. They fell towards the ground without any movement, seemingly unconscious.

“Nuri!”

“I got it!”

Raon ran towards Do-yoon, and Nuri towards Seo-hyang, catching them carefully. The couple landed safely in the arms of Raon and Nuri waiting outside, then they quickly moved towards the back of the van to prevent any injuries.

“Mom…!”

Nuri gritted her teeth seeing her unconscious mother. But before she could feel anger, two more figures jumped out of the broken window.

“Gaon!”

“Got it!”

It wasn’t Nuri, but Gaon disguised in Nuri’s school uniform who summoned water with magic to create a cushion for landing. Xian and Gaon rolled upon hitting the water bed and ran towards the car.

KAHHH!!

The shattered office window. The figure engulfed in red flames made Yuna gasp. The person burning in flames from the fire-element bullet fired by Xian was undoubtedly one of the guild members who tried to kidnap the couple.

CHUNK! A massive jet of water poured onto the burning figure. The man creating water with his hands leaped out of the office frame with a demonic expression.

“Trash!”

KABOOM! The asphalt road cracked. The man’s eyes swirled with purple and gray colors.

“You persistent bastard.”

Still not in the car, Xian opened the cover of his gun. The fire-element bullet that set the office ablaze was smoking and glowing white hot. Xian took it out and put it in his coat pocket.

“Why don’t you just let us go peacefully?”

“How did you know?”

“What?”

“How did you know our intentions???”

Mr. Ryu, the man, screamed in rage. Xian glanced at the passenger seat briefly before raising both hands.

“Alright. You’re that curious? I’ll tell you.”

Xian raised three fingers on his left hand.

“First, I initially planned to overlook it. But Nuri kept saying she felt uneasy. So I overdid it a bit to score points with Nuri. Until this happened.”

Xian kept his gun aimed at Mr. Ryu with his right hand while making a phone gesture with his left.

“I already had a conversation with Mrs. Seo-hyang, Nuri’s mother. We exchanged signals during that call. Not direct metaphors, but enough hints.”

Xian nodded twice smugly. Mr. Ryu still looked confused.

“And second, this is circumstantial evidence. Why would the Moon Guild, funded by capital from China, specifically invite us all the way to Incheon? Afraid of being noticed if they attempted recruitment in New Seoul? What’s the issue? Your guild’s involvement with Nuri’s parents is already public knowledge. Thinking about hostage scenarios kept bringing me back to this hypothesis.”

Xian smirked looking at the burning office.

“Maybe you planned to bring her here to Incheon and then kidnap her to China? Honestly, that doesn’t make sense. Parents willingly participating in hostage drama? That’s why I took precautions.”

“I’m not Kim Nuri.”

Xian gestured to the side, and Gaon, who had taken off her school blazer revealing her shirt, stood next to Xian with her core weapon ready.

“I’m her older sister, Kim Gaon. How can parents not distinguish their daughters? We’re not twins.”

“What…what…”

Mr. Ryu’s face distorted. Xian scratched his ear with his finger and raised an eyebrow.

“At first, I thought you were just pretending ignorance. But hey, that auntie’s voice carried magic? Claiming to be <Seiren>? That’s completely-”

KAHHH!! BOOM! The monster, Kim Sang-a, leaped out of the office with an animalistic roar and stood beside Mr. Ryu.

Her body suit seemed alive, her hair turned gray, and her eyes emitted purple magical energy.

Gaon swallowed hard.

“A monster…!”

“Of course. As expected, you bewitched the two with illusions.”

“I’ll kill you all!”

As Chae Moon-hee, the monster version of Kim Sang-a, raised her claws to charge, Mr. Ryu stopped her. His eyes also emitted purple magical energy. Xian clicked his tongue while asking.

“Wow. Both of you are monsters? Which is it? Was Moon Guild originally a monster organization, or did you infiltrate Moon?”

“Our goal is precisely to cause chaos. Heh.”

Mr. Ryu gleefully responded to Xian’s question despite Chae Moon-hee’s disapproval. His rank and position within the organization as a monster were much higher than hers.

“If Kim Nuri gets kidnapped by a Chinese-affiliated organization, do you think this country will sit idly by? At the very least, other guilds will denounce and attack Zhonghua.”

“Using Nuri as a catalyst for guild conflicts, then you plan to snatch her away and turn her into a monster? Phew, you almost created an S-Rank monster. That would’ve been disastrous.”

“Why are you talking as if you’ve already saved her?”

In response to Xian’s sarcastic remark, Mr. Ryu raised both fists. Purple magical energy began surging, causing Xian and Gaon to take a step back.

“With merely two of you, or rather, there are more behind you, right? Do you think you can handle me?”

“We probably can’t. But tell me, why are you talking as if you’ve already killed us?”

Xian blew a raspberry while raising three fingers on his left hand.

“Third, if such a situation were to occur, naturally we’d need appropriate countermeasures, right? Your full strength is documented in Hero Wiki. Did you really think I’d be stupid enough to come alone? How foolish.”

“……What?”

Xian glanced at Gaon briefly before flipping the hand aiming at Mr. Ryu and folding his index and thumb.

“I really don’t understand. Why do villains love chatting before fighting? Aren’t you in a hurry? Shall I hurry you up a bit?”

WAAAAAAAHHH–

As soon as Xian finished speaking, police sirens sounded from all directions. Xian shrugged at the pale-faced Mr. Ryu,

“I’m a model citizen with excellent reporting spirit. Try tasting some trouble.”

With a cheerful smile, he dashed off.

Backwards. Towards the car.

“See ya!”

“That brat!”

As Mr. Ryu angrily charged forward, a massive wall of water appeared between them. Startled by the significant magical power, Mr. Ryu stepped back hastily as Gaon stepped forward with her bow.

“When facing monsters, there’s no reason to hide my identity.”

“What are you?”

“Hero of the Round Table <Rasputin>‘s Esquire Guild <Matryoshka>, <Undine>.”

Water surged around Gaon.

“I’m embarrassed, frustrated, and extremely angry right now. You obviously seem like low-level Chaos minions, but I assume you won’t surrender easily?”

“You bastards!”

Mr. Ryu rushed towards the water wall. Gaon gripped her bow tightly and drew an arrow at the charging monster.

PAANGGGG–!

With a sharp tearing sound, a water arrow pierced the monster’s heart.