Honor
Uryu and Jinhyeok steadily closed the distance between them.
Staring at the approaching Jinhyeok, Uryu regulated his breathing.
An opponent who might be a Runner.
But it didn't matter.
No matter how much of a Runner he was, there was no way Uryu would fall so meaninglessly.
This is my chance to make up for it.
For many long years, he had handled the dirty work ordered by the chairman.
If told to kill someone, he wiped out their entire family cleanly; if told to steal something, he took everything that was there along with it.
Delivering results beyond what was asked.
That was how he had barely earned trust.
And yet, everything had been blown away by a single strike from Hiyori.
He had to make up for it somehow—and then, a Runner appeared at just the right moment.
It was practically divine assistance.
This works out better for me.
He was certain.
Capturing a Runner would produce effects far beyond mere redemption.
A Runner—an unidentified climber.
The only country that welcomed his appearance was South Korea, which possessed the Runner.
Every other nation—especially Japan, one of its eternal rivals—did not welcome this development.
Even if the Runner broke new height records, there was nothing in it for Japan.
On the contrary, it would only weaken Japan's relative national defense, putting it at a disadvantage in future negotiations.
What kind of confidence is that? Just because everyone's been hyping you up, you think you're invincible?
Uryu ground his teeth.
Even though only a few steps remained between them, Jinhyeok was empty-handed.
If he were a Runner, he should have drawn his chain; if not, at least the sword he'd shown at the exchange event.
From Uryu's perspective—someone who had survived countless real battles—it was arrogance bordering on insolence.
I won't lose.
There was no way he would lose.
The opponent was alone, but he was not.
Behind him stood the security force that had shared in Hosaka's dirty work.
Two final steps.
"Hnnng—"
Uryu inhaled deeply.
Then he stopped.
A question mark spread across his face.
The air seeping into his nose was sharp.
No—so cold it felt sharp.
Since when had it been like this?
When had the air in the chairman's office changed?
Once he realized it, he began to feel it with his entire body.
A vicious chill that had swallowed the entire space.
Uryu stiffly turned his head.
His pupils dilated.
Where his eyes landed, the security force was gone.
In their place were only bluish, frozen masses of ice—what had been guards just moments ago.
"Did you think I was alone?"
He heard a voice, but he had no room to respond.
"Chairman!"
He didn't know who it was.
He didn't know how such a person could even exist here.
A white-haired man had his arm draped casually over Chairman Hosaka Judo's shoulder.
The man waved his hand.
"Relax. I won't kill this old man. Not yet, anyway."
"Get away from the chairman immediately!"
"But is that really okay?"
The man's lips curled upward.
"Our captain isn't weak enough for you to be letting your guard down like that."
A razor-sharp killing intent flared from behind.
Uryu shifted into a combat stance and turned his gaze—but Jinhyeok was gone.
All that remained was a vivid line of sword energy, as if it had just sliced through the air.
Fwoosh—!
Before he could even realize he'd been cut, blood sprayed into the void.
As his vision faded, Uryu collapsed to the floor.
Jinhyeok flicked the blood from Salamanca and let out a breath.
It wouldn't have ended this anticlimactically.
If only Uryu hadn't looked away and ignored him.
"Cutting down someone who looked away! Do you have no honor as a warrior?!"
Hosaka Judo shouted furiously.
Dark, who had his arm around Judo's shoulders, smirked again.
Being right beside him, he could tell.
Judo wasn't exuding the dignity of the chairman of Ronia and head of the Hosaka family.
He was merely putting on a tough front, desperate to hide the terror creeping up on him.
"Honor?"
Jinhyeok echoed, tilting his head.
It was true that his mentor, Seira, was a knight who valued honor.
But she had repeatedly told him this:
You don't need to uphold honor toward everyone.
Honor is something you keep only for those worthy of it.
"Do you really think you're qualified to speak of honor?"
"You little brat, what could you possibly know! The Hosaka family has valued honor and martial virtue for generations! Some nobody who crawled out of who-knows-where dares lecture us on honor?!"
"Maybe our definitions of honor are different. At least by my definition, someone who carries out bombing attacks against children isn't honorable."
"You—!"
He wanted to snap back, but for some reason, no words came out.
In truth, Judo himself knew.
All the countless atrocities he had committed under the excuse of 'for the greater good.'
That they were acts that utterly betrayed the honor he had cried out about his entire life.
Jinhyeok slowly walked right up to Judo.
"This is something I genuinely want to ask. Was being humiliated at a mere exchange event really such a big deal that it justified killing a child?"
"You insult the honor of the Hosaka—"
"You don't have any honor. Not you."
Judo's face twisted horribly.
But he didn't retort further.
The crushing grip on his shoulder tightened.
The white-haired man was applying silent pressure.
A message without words: Don't call my master's name so casually.
"Hoo…"
Judo steadied his breathing.
He was the chairman of a major Japanese corporation and the head of a prestigious family.
No matter how reckless these men were, they wouldn't dare kill him.
So it was wiser not to provoke them further for now.
There would be plenty of chances to repay today's humiliation later.
"I express my condolences regarding the child. I had no intention of going that far. The man collapsed over there acted out of misguided loyalty. I never expected him to go that far."
Judo swept his gaze over the ruined chairman's office.
"Let's consider today's incident as having never happened. There are no CCTV cameras or listening devices in this office, so there's nothing to worry about. As long as I keep my mouth shut, it will be as if nothing occurred."
"I know. There's nothing like that here."
He had manifested Kancho and searched the entire office.
That was the very first thing Jinhyeok had done upon arriving.
"I'll provide sufficient compensation for the child. So leave now. If you use the VIP elevator, you can exit the building without encountering anyone."
How many seconds passed after Judo finished speaking?
"Kek."
Dark let out a hollow laugh.
His hand slid up to Judo's throat.
"Hey, old man. Why are you shaking so much? Worried your lie might get found out?"
Judo's eyes wavered.
In truth, he had no intention of letting them go.
The moment safety was secured, he planned to use every connection he had to kill them in the most horrific way possible.
"Chairman Hosaka Judo."
Jinhyeok called him by name, smiling.
"You don't have to work so hard to lie. Because from the start, we…"
Jinhyeok raised Salamanca.
"…had no intention of letting you live."
"Wai—"
Judo raised his hands in terror, but the blade did not stop.
It swung through, cleaving the body steeped in grotesque greed.
As I thought.
Watching the scene, Dark's grin stretched wide.
A clean movement without a shred of hesitation, eyes that never wavered.
Something only possible when one harbors no doubt in their own judgment or justice.
Once again, he realized it.
It was Jinhyeok.
The only person he could ever serve as master.
"Moooomoooook!"
"Huh?"
At Jinhyeok's shout, Dark turned his gaze.
When had it appeared?
Momo was rummaging through the belongings of the fallen.
"This axe is expensive!"
"Oh?"
"And a watch too!"
Jinhyeok, who had been about to pick Momo up, froze mid-motion.
Like looting monsters, Momo picked items one by one and stored them in its inventory.
After watching for a while, Jinhyeok swallowed dryly.
"M-Momo. Just take the items. You can't go around cutting things open and pulling stuff out like monsters do."
"Huh? If they're not monsters, what do I do then! That's too cruel!"
Jinhyeok let out a sigh of relief.
For a moment, he'd worried the already-chaotic scene might turn into a horrific slaughterhouse.
"I'll try wearing this watch!? Momo breathed haaah and polished it till it squeaked!"
"Ugh… let's just sell it."
"Okay! That works too! We'll have lots of money!"
Watching the dumb-and-dumber-like pair, Dark chuckled.
The more he watched, the more entertaining this master became.
And his friends, too.
A few hours later.
The Hosaka heirs arrived at the Ronia building, raising their voices.
"It's been hours and we still can't reach the chairman! What have you all been doing?!"
"S-Sorry! We'll go up and check immediately!"
"Move! We'll go ourselves! And why can't we reach the chief secretary or the secretaries either? Weren't they on standby 24/7?!"
Had they turned mute as if their mouths were filled with honey?
Rito sighed as if fed up and headed toward the elevator.
And when the elevator doors opened—
"P-Please spare us!!"
Pale-faced secretaries came rushing out.
Rito and his brothers, about to step inside, yelped and fell flat on their backs.
"What the hell?! You don't answer when we call, and now you show up—where the hell were you hiding?!"
There was no way they could answer that.
They had lost consciousness in an instant.
And that wasn't even the important part.
"T-The chairman is…!!"
The Hosaka heirs' eyes widened.
Their faces clearly showed it.
Something had gone terribly wrong.
"Out of the way!"
They shoved aside the collapsed people and boarded the elevator.
As they ascended to the chairman's office, Rito chewed on his nails.
This was the Ronia corporate building.
We are the Hosaka family.
There was no way something could have gone wrong.
Even the Japanese government didn't dare treat them lightly—who would dare touch the Hosaka?
Ding.
At last, they reached the top floor.
The moment they stepped out of the elevator, their mouths fell open.
An unbelievable sight unfolded before them.
A horrific scene they had never even imagined in their nightmares.
Ding.
Executives who had rushed over upon hearing something had happened also froze in place.
No one could speak first.
Because it was all too clear.
The lifeless body of Chairman Hosaka Judo lay there.
"Grandfather!!"
As the Hosaka heirs rushed toward Judo,
the executives began furiously turning their minds.
To find out who had killed the chairman?
No.
That was irrelevant right now.
What mattered was something else entirely.
Judo's sudden death, and the chairman's seat left vacant as a result.
All that remained of the Hosaka family were mediocre sons and grandsons.
One of the executives turned to his secretary.
"Contact the Japanese government and inform them. Tell them the chairman has passed away."
"Y-Yes, sir!"
The secretary swallowed hard.
By tomorrow, everything would be in chaos.
All of Japan would be.
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T/N:
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