Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant

Chapter 85

“Ugh….”

How much time had passed?

Park Gyu-min slowly regained his senses.

Eventually, he opened his eyes with a gasp, as if waking from a nightmare.

But his surprise was brief, as he lay there, quietly adjusting his breathing.

‘Kidnapping! That bastard Ahn Suho definitely said it was a kidnapping…!’

He remembered it clearly.

It hadn’t been some dream he had.

So he slowly lifted his head and started to look around.

But…

‘Where is this place?’

He tried to lift his head slightly to take in his surroundings, but something like wooden planks blocked his view, making it hard to understand his situation.

In the end, would he have to get up?

There was no other choice.

Park Gyu-min slowly raised his body.

Luckily, the place he opened his eyes to wasn’t shrouded in darkness.

Judging by the brightness, it seemed to be somewhere indoors.

When he raised himself up a bit and poked his head over the planks, that’s when he saw it.

“…!”

The moment Park Gyu-min looked outside the planks, his breath caught.

Then he quickly lowered his head and crouched on the floor.

Thump thump thump—

His heart raced wildly.

What was that?

What on earth had he just seen?

Park Gyu-min doubted his own eyes.

And for good reason—the scene beyond the planks was like something out of a horror movie, with bloodstains covering everything.

Moreover, the scariest part was the figure lying curled up in the center of it all.

‘A person…! That was definitely a person…!’

Park Gyu-min bit his lip hard.

He tried his best to hold back the groan that threatened to escape his mouth.

But the fear, sparked from that brief glimpse, began gnawing at his entire body, making him tremble uncontrollably.

‘Where the hell am I? What did I do wrong? Why is this happening to me?’

In times of crisis, a person’s mind races.

But no matter how much he racked his brain, he couldn’t find any way to overcome the situation.

So he could only lie there helplessly, quivering in fear.

After all, he was nothing but a weak, ordinary person, neither an Awakened player nor a Hunter.

It was then.

“Grrrr….”

A groan echoed from beyond the planks.

It was a sound reminiscent of a monstrous beast, making Park Gyu-min’s heart beat even faster.

Scratch scratch—scratch scratch—

A scraping sound came from something moving along the floor.

It began to shift.

But that sound was getting louder and louder.

Why was it growing louder?

In that moment, Park Gyu-min realized.

It was coming closer to him.

His heart started to pound like crazy.

What should he do?

What should he do now?

What choice did he have?

Then, as the sound came within arm’s reach—

“Ahhhh!!”

Unable to bear the fear any longer, Park Gyu-min shot out from behind the planks like a spring.

In his frantic escape, he broke through the planks and fled, as if possessed.

But Park Gyu-min didn’t get far.

In a place where everything was painted white, he ran headlong into a wall, not realizing it was there, and crashed into it with a loud thud.

Yet, with no time to feel pain, Park Gyu-min screamed in terror.

“Ahhh!! Ahhh!! Save me! Please! Someone! Is anyone there?! Ahhhh!”

It felt like he was on the verge of losing his mind.

Just as Park Gyu-min was about to pass out—

Gangg!

The creature that had been approaching him came to a halt.

The sound of chains.

Upon closer inspection, a chain was wrapped around its neck.

“Grrrr….”

It clutched the chain around its neck but, seemingly lacking strength, flailed a few times before collapsing on the spot.

Around that time, Park Gyu-min’s screams also stopped.

Covered in tears and snot, he finally began to grasp the situation.

Especially concerning that mysterious figure.

But surprisingly, it was human.

Park Gyu-min muttered in disbelief, as if he were in a dream.

“A… person…?”

“Yes, a person.”

At that moment.

Another voice sounded beside him.

Park Gyu-min turned toward the direction of the voice.

And there stood Suho.

“You, you!”

“Yes, you.”

With just that one word, Suho summoned a club into his hand.

It was a blood club, created from Blood Weapon.

As soon as he gripped the blood club, without a hint of hesitation, Suho swung it down on Park Gyu-min’s outstretched wrist.

Crunch!

“Aaaargh!!”

The moment the club struck, a chilling cracking sound echoed as Park Gyu-min’s wrist snapped and twisted.

Overcome with pain, Park Gyu-min clutched his wrist, writhing on the ground.

Suho looked down at him coldly and spoke.

“Vice President, get a grip. You know you’ve been kidnapped, and yet you act recklessly? Are you just stupid, or are you doing it on purpose?”

“Aghh….”

Instead of answering, Park Gyu-min clutched his broken wrist, groaning in agony.

But even watching him like this didn’t stir any pity within Suho.

Reaching out his hand, Suho cast a skill.

[Heal has been activated.]

The skill he used was Heal.

As the skill took effect, Park Gyu-min’s wrist slowly began to mend.

Suho spoke.

“Stop whining. It’s annoying to listen to.”

“Why… why are you doing this to me? What did I ever do to you?”

“This guy still doesn’t get it.”

Still addressing him informally.

The moment Suho raised the blood club again, Park Gyu-min immediately dropped to his knees, clutching at Suho’s pant leg, begging.

“I-I’m sorry! No, wait! I apologize! Please, just don’t hit me!”

“Should have done this from the beginning.”

After all, a beast only listens when it’s beaten.

Of course, Park Gyu-min wasn’t actually a beast, but by Suho’s standards, he was indeed a subhuman creature.

Suho pulled over a nearby chair, sat down, and spoke.

“Now that I think you’ve grasped the situation well enough, I’d like to have a serious talk, so let’s keep the conversation smooth. I don’t particularly enjoy hitting people.”

“Y-Yes! Understood!”

“But just in case, I’ll give you one warning beforehand. Do you see that guy over there?”

Suho gestured toward a nearly zombie-like person with a chain around his neck.

“There used to be a gang called the Changshik Gang based out of Yeongdeungpo, dealing in loan sharking and drug trafficking. You’ve heard of them from the news, right?”

“Changshik Gang? Ah, y-yes! I know them!”

“That’s Im Changshik, the head of the Changshik Gang. Because of all the wrong he’s done, I’ve kept him under control. Want to take a closer look?”

Suho got up, lifted Im Changshik by the back of his neck, and revealed his face.

Im Changshik’s face, destroyed and caked in blood scabs, looked like a walking corpse, and Park Gyu-min shivered as he confirmed the truth.

After tossing Im Changshik back to the floor, Suho returned to his chair and spoke.

“Let’s cooperate. Depending on what you do from now on, you’ll either keep living as Park Gyu-min or end up like Changshik.”

“I-I understand….”

“Good. Looks like we’re finally ready to talk. Now… here.”

Suho tossed a pen and notebook to the trembling Park Gyu-min.

“Starting with the military corruption that happened recently, write down all the big and small illegal activities committed by the Korean Hunter Association, including the bribes you took from Son Baek-geum of the Baekgeum Gang. Write it all down, whether you were the mastermind or just went along for the ride. If I find anything missing, you’ll end up like Changshik. Got it?”

“E-Everything?”

“Ah… seriously, this is maddening.”

Park Gyu-min’s question prompted Suho to summon the blood club and strike Park Gyu-min’s shoulder.

“Aaaah!!”

With a single blow, Park Gyu-min’s shoulder blade and collarbone shattered.

Park Gyu-min rolled on the floor in pain, and Suho, after watching him suffer for a while, cast Heal on him.

“Don’t make me repeat myself. Next time, I’ll cripple all your limbs instead of just your shoulder.”

“Y-Yes! Understood! I’m so sorry! I apologize!”

“Good, then start.”

At the command to start, Park Gyu-min huddled on the floor, urgently scribbling with the pen.

Suho sat in front of him, observing him in a relaxed posture.

‘After all, there’s nothing as effective as this method.’

Although his life hadn’t been that long, Suho had learned a few things from living as much as others.

Most people don’t listen to kind words, and nothing works faster and more effectively than a fist.

Of course, Suho didn’t intend to beat everyone into submission.

Suho’s goal was to seize control of the Korean Hunter Association much faster than in his previous life and, using that foundation, eliminate those who were once his “companions” that were currently growing in power domestically.

For that, time efficiency was key, and with so much on his plate, he didn’t have time to waste on someone like Park Gyu-min.

‘It’s not like I have time to burn.’

That’s why he chose this method.

Following the law to deal with people like Park Gyu-min would be pointless, given the countless wrongs they had committed, and it wouldn’t allow Suho to punish them as he saw fit.

A while later, Park Gyu-min, trembling, handed Suho the notes he had written.

Suho took them and began reading slowly.

“Wow… I knew this guy was trash, but it’s worse than I imagined. No wonder he got eaten up by Pi Seongyeol.”

“…What?”

“Why are you pretending you don’t know? Or… do you really not know? Do you have any idea what position you’re in right now?”

“W-What…? Why would I get eaten up by Director Pi?”

“You know I’m currently training with the Awakening Department, right?”

“Ah, yes… I know that.”

“They told me to capture the delinquent players on the renewal blacklist. Among them was Kim Goong-won. If you think about it, they only picked the worst of the worst, so did they have to add Kim Goong-won to that list? What were they going to do if I actually caught him?”

“D-Don’t tell me… you caught him?”

“What are you talking about? Did you really not know?”

“….”

Park Gyu-min fell silent.

Ha.

Could he really have been that oblivious?

Even though the Awakening Department was supposed to be his line?

Suho rubbed his face with one hand, then continued speaking.

“While capturing Kim Goong-won, I met Son Baek-geum. He confessed that he was bribing you. I deliberately let him go because I wanted to see what you would do. Guess who contacted me first?”

“…No way.”

“That’s right. Pi Seongyeol contacted me first. I told him what I’d seen and heard, and he praised me, saying I should keep doing that. But you still have no idea that I met Son Baek-geum, do you? Why do you think that is? Aren’t all the senior managers in the Awakening Department your guys?”

“….”

Park Gyu-min stood there, dumbfounded, as if struck on the back of the head.

Even an idiot couldn’t miss the implications after being told this much.

Then, his body began to tremble with rage.

“Those bastards…! After everything I’ve done for them…!”

“Who knows? Maybe they’re under Pi Seongyeol’s threat.”

“Does that even matter? If they were being threatened, they should’ve told me so I could cover for them!”

“Cover for them? Watch your mouth.”

“No, I mean… I would’ve covered for them! I’m sorry.”

“Whatever. The fact that you didn’t know about Son Baek-geum, and that Pi Seongyeol contacted me first, shows that your life’s already on the line. Got it? Pi Seongyeol can cut you down whenever he feels like it.”

“T-Then what should I do?”

“Do you want to survive?”

“Y-Yes! I want to live.”

“Good. From now on, just do exactly as I say. Not only will you survive in the Association, but I’ll make sure you can fight Pi Seongyeol on equal footing.”

“Understood! I’ll do everything you ask, so please help me!”

Park Gyu-min dropped to his knees, bowing his head as he begged.

With this, Suho had secured Park Gyu-min as a pawn under his control.