Chapter 66: Baek Hyunseo Desperate Situation

“Give me a reason why I should spare you.”

“Cough… Cough…”

As Choi Juwon held Min Hwayeon by the neck, she coughed and replied,

“W… We can… help you…”

-Thud

Choi Juwon dropped her to the ground. He looked at her and asked,

“Help me? What do you mean?”

She began to explain,

“I’m not trying to make excuses, but you’ve just killed nearly a hundred core members of the W, not just one or two. If this news gets out, no matter how strong you are, it will be difficult for you to avoid the consequences.”

Choi Juwon chuckled and replied,

“If it’s proven that you tried to kill me first, it’s self-defense.”

Min Hwayeon swallowed hard and said,

“Legally, yes… But you know this world doesn’t work according to the law…”

Min Hwayeon was right. If the high-ranking guilds allied with W learned what happened today, they would likely seek revenge, regardless of who was at fault.

They weren’t the type to care about legal issues. They operated on a principle of retribution. Of course, they might not make a move, but there was no certainty.

Choi Juwon said,

“Are you threatening me now?”

Min Hwayeon quickly shook her head and clarified,

“Absolutely not. We can’t do anything now, anyway. We know our lives are in your hands, so why would we do something so foolish? It’s just that, if we all perish, the allied guilds will investigate to find out what happened, and they’ll eventually uncover information about you. No matter how strong you are, you lack manpower. It will be difficult for you to handle them all.”

Choi Juwon sighed and said,

“I don’t like complicated talk. What are you trying to say?”

Min Hwayeon spoke with determination in her eyes,

“I am the vice-leader of W. Although I just declared my departure in a fit of anger, my official position is still the vice-leader of W. Moreover, since Song Minchul is in this state, if I survive, I will likely inherit the position of guild leader.”

She bowed her head and said,

“If I become the guild leader, W will become your force. We will, of course, keep today’s events a secret, and we will take appropriate measures to prevent any information about you from spreading to the allied guilds. If you’re worried about betrayal, you can use a pledge spell.”

Choi Juwon considered her words.

‘So, she’s saying she’ll go out and act as the guild leader of W, using that power to cover up what happened today. And she’ll offer her support if I run into trouble.’

While fighting against the Magic Tower and Baal, Choi Juwon had realized the importance of having a ‘force.’ No matter how strong he was, he couldn’t single-handedly fight against dozens or hundreds of people forever.

‘Not a bad offer.’

W was one of the more useful high-ranking guilds. It would be a normal decision to seize the opportunity to take over an entire guild like that.

‘Moreover, Min Hwayeon seems quite rational.’

Min Hwayeon was furious that Song Minchul had used his comrades as shields, showing her emotional side and strong sense of camaraderie.

At the same time, even though Choi Juwon had killed nearly 100 of her comrades, she rationally recognized that they had tried to kill him first. Instead of resenting him or seeking revenge, she offered an alliance to ensure their survival, demonstrating her rational side.

She was someone who could assess situations calmly without being swayed by emotions or rationality.

‘She’ll be useful in the future.’

Either way, he wasn’t losing anything. It would be more of a loss to kill them all and get entangled with other high-ranking guilds.

‘Besides, the main culprit, Song Minchul, is now a cripple.’

Choi Juwon thought for a moment and then replied,

“I accept your offer. And I won’t be using a pledge spell.”

-Swoosh

Choi Juwon said to Min Hwayeon,

“You’re smart, so you know why I’m not using a pledge spell, right? If you go around blabbing about what happened today, I’ll do whatever it takes to kill you all. The same goes if you don’t keep the promise you made today. I don’t think you’re foolish enough to think I’m bluffing, are you?”

[Discern]

Choi Juwon activated the Discern skill.

-Gulp

Min Hwayeon nodded and replied,

“I understand. I will never speak of today’s events, and I will strictly control my comrades. In addition, I will do everything I promised you.”

-Truth.

Hearing the Discern skill’s message, Choi Juwon looked at Min Hwayeon with satisfaction.

The reason he didn’t use a pledge spell was simple.

To use a pledge spell to ensure that the events of today were kept secret, Choi Juwon would have to cast the spell on the hundreds of surviving W mages individually. However, the Pledge Seal spell was SSS-rank, making it nearly impossible to cast on all of them. Even if it were possible, it would take a considerable amount of time.

Moreover, Choi Juwon had clearly delegated the task to Min Hwayeon. If she wanted to live, she would thoroughly prevent any information from leaking. He had even used the Discern spell to confirm her intentions, and it had confirmed ‘Truth.’ Therefore, Choi Juwon decided that this level of precaution was sufficient.

‘My newly trained disciples, Seol Eun-ah’s guild, the Hunter Association President, and now, even though it’s just one, a high-ranking guild. Not bad.’

Choi Juwon’s forces were gradually increasing.

To prepare for any future incidents, Choi Juwon exchanged numbers with Min Hwayeon and then walked past her towards the gate.

-Thud

-Thud

“I’ll be leaving now. Take care of the mess and get out. Report to me immediately if anything happens.”

“Understood.”

Then, Choi Juwon slowly scanned each of the surrounding W guild members.

Min Hwayeon quickly gave an order,

“Everyone, bow your heads in gratitude. He has spared our lives.”

-Clack

Everyone bowed their heads.

-Hoong

Choi Juwon, with a satisfied look, exited the gate.

‘Haa…’

Min Hwayeon stared blankly at the spot where Choi Juwon had left.

Just then, a guild member, Seo Taehyeok, approached her and said,

“Vice-leader… That man massacred our guild members. Is it really okay to just let him go?”

Min Hwayeon glared at Seo Taehyeok and rebuked him,

“If not, what? Should we have fought him? Are you suggesting we commit suicide?”

“We were the ones who acted cowardly, attacking one person as a group. It’s sad that our comrades died, but we can’t blame him. We tried to kill him, who had done nothing wrong. And I can sense it. That man wasn’t even using his full power. If we had fought properly, we all would have died. Stop talking nonsense and start cleaning up. We need to come up with a plausible explanation for the large number of casualties.”

-Drip

At Min Hwayeon’s words, Seo Taehyeok lowered his head and bit his lip hard, unable to look her in the eye. Blood trickled from his lip.

“Haa…”

Min Hwayeon sighed and looked at the fallen Song Minchul and the sobbing Song Mina.

She approached Song Mina and said,

“I don’t know why you followed us here, but you should leave. We’ll take care of your father, so just leave him and go.”

Min Hwayeon already knew that Song Mina was Song Minchul’s daughter.

Song Mina, without even a glance at Song Minchul, trudged towards the exit of the gate.

-Thud

-Thud

-Thud

Song Mina walked out of the gate with a blank expression. She headed towards Helmunt Academy.

It was getting dark, and by now, there should have been no one left at the academy.

However, she entered through the main gate.

She headed towards the staff office.

Song Mina went to see the spot where Choi Juwon had stood on the day he was unjustly expelled. The image of him crying out in despair was etched in her mind.

Entering the office was not difficult. Outsiders were restricted from entering Helmunt Academy, and internal information was protected by strong security magic, so there were no major restrictions on entering the office.

-Creak…

As she was about to open the door, she heard a sound from inside and stopped.

[Enhanced Hearing]

After using the spell, Song Mina watched from behind.

In the staff office, a girl was crying and muttering to herself.

“Instructor Choi Juwon… Because of me… If only I hadn’t done that, he wouldn’t have been unjustly expelled…”

“…”

-Bang!

Suddenly, Song Mina forcefully opened the door. She glared at the girl muttering inside and demanded,

“You, explain what you just said.”

“Wh… What are you doing?!”

As the girl trembled in fear and stepped back, Song Mina cast a spell around them.

A powerful fireball instantly formed in her hand.

-If only I hadn’t done that, he wouldn’t have been unjustly expelled…

If an ordinary person had said those words, she might have let it go. But the girl before Song Mina’s eyes was President Baek Jooseok’s daughter, Baek Hyunseo, the person accused of framing Choi Juwon.

Song Mina poured more Mana into the spell, her voice filled with murderous intent,

“Answer me properly. I’m not thinking straight right now. If you don’t explain what you just said, I might really kill you.”

Flames raged around her body. Baek Hyunseo stared at Song Mina with fearful eyes.