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Chapter 106 – The Truth Behind Lostyak
The Rune of Fascination was a downright cheat.
No matter how high a Player’s level was, no matter how great a human’s fame was, it would catch them, no matter what.
Because in front of Yamtti, everyone had no choice but to bow their head—equally.
But.
‘It’s not working, no matter how many times I try—it’s not working!’
No matter how hard she stared and tried to cast Fascination, all that ever popped up was a message saying it had been blocked by a Mental Barrier.
The more she tried, the more she could only confirm the fact that Fascination simply didn’t work.
‘Why isn’t it working? Why?’
And that wasn’t the only thing that threw Yamtti into a panic.
The opponent’s nickname that appeared in the message.
Black Scythe.
‘So the bastard standing in front of me isn’t Lostyak—he’s Black Scythe?’
To think the true identity of the Lostyak she’d known all this time was Black Scythe!
Who could’ve imagined that Black Scythe—her number-one target for executive recruitment—was right here, at her side?
“Y-you… you are…….”
“Oh, you saw it? My nickname.”
“…….”
“The Rune of Fascination is really something, huh? It even shows you someone’s real-world nickname.”
“H-how do you know about my rune?”
“I told you. Again and again.”
In that instant, Ryu Min’s gaze turned icy cold.
“Do I really have to answer your questions?”
“…….”
Gulp.
Tension strangling her throat, Yamtti stared at Ryu Min in silence for a long while.
‘A man Fascination doesn’t work on… and it’s Black Scythe…….’
Recently, no man had ever made Yamtti this tense.
It wasn’t even an exaggeration—if she so much as spoke, anyone would lower themselves like a slave and obey.
‘What do I do now? From the feel of it, there’s no way he’s doing this with good intentions…….’
From the circumstances, the one who had interfered with the operation and laid hands on the Chairman was the Black Scythe right in front of her.
Judging by the fact the Chairman’s name was still left on her Fascination list, it didn’t seem like he’d killed him yet, but—
‘If he’s not killing me right away, it means he wants something.’
She couldn’t win with force.
Her opponent was the infamous Black Scythe.
No matter what, she had to talk her way out of this.
Thinking she might be able to reach him through conversation if she did it right, Yamtti asked—
“B-Black Scythe. If you tell me what you want, I’ll match it as much as I can…….”
“Yamtti-nim. Is something wrong?”
The executives, sensing something was off, approached.
One blocked the escape route, one prepared an ambush from behind, and one stayed at Yamtti’s side, watching with a wary gaze.
To look good in front of Yamtti, they’d each taken position on their own, keeping “just in case” in mind.
‘Look at these punks.’
Ryu Min suddenly smiled, but something about it sent a chill crawling up Yamtti’s spine.
“Yamtti-nim. Is something not going well? If you tell us what’s going on, we—”
“Shut up. You’re only getting in the way, so just stay still—”
“Yamtti.”
“Yes?”
“These guys have more sense than you. They know how to read the mood.”
In an instant, Ryu Min pulled out his scythe.
“They just don’t know their place, that’s all.”
Shrrrk-shrrrk-shrrrk—!
There was a sound of something being cut in sequence.
Thud-thud-thud—
The three executives who’d been standing there a moment ago collapsed as if their bodies had simply crumbled.
“Ah.”
Blood spread across the floor, but none of that even entered Yamtti’s mind.
‘I didn’t even see it.’
Realizing this wasn’t a speed she could respond to, Yamtti let go of her expectations.
To be honest, when the executives stepped in, it was true she’d clung to a thread-thin hope.
In the end, it was proven to be nothing but a hollow hope.
‘There’s no answer. Against Black Scythe—against this man—no scheme works.’
Only now did she truly understand.
“W-what do you want?”
“First, release Assemblyman Lee Seong-hyeon from your Fascination.”
“…….”
If she released him, she would never be able to use him again.
That fact grabbed Yamtti by the ankle.
“I-if I don’t?”
She gathered her courage.
And in return, she had to offer up her arm.
Tap—
“A… aaaaagh!”
With pain like fire, Yamtti clutched her shoulder and crumpled to the ground.
Of course, she hadn’t even seen when it happened.
“Your courage is admirable, but you picked the wrong opponent.”
“Ughhh…….”
“I’m not here to hear you refuse.”
Ryu Min picked the severed arm up from the floor.
He pressed it to the cleanly cut stump.
“Aaagh!”
The pain lasted only a moment—when Ryu Min used First Aid, the wound quickly healed and the arm returned to its original state.
“It won’t be like before, but you’ll be able to move it.”
‘W-wait… it’s real?’
Yamtti was shaken.
He’d reattached a severed arm.
She had the First Aid skill too, but she knew her recovery power wasn’t enough to reattach a severed arm.
‘How is this possible?’
It was the same skill—so why was there such a difference in recovery?
As if telling her not to even think about it, Ryu Min raised his scythe again.
“Now. Since your arm’s back on, I’ll say it again. Release Assemblyman Lee Seong-hyeon from Fascination.”
Yamtti didn’t dare hesitate—she moved at once.
“I-I released it.”
At those words, Ryu Min silently studied Yamtti.
When he read her inner thoughts, it wasn’t a lie.
“Fast.”
As proof, Assemblyman Lee Seong-hyeon—who’d been motionless like a doll—let out a groan.
“Ugh… my head…… huh?”
When he opened his eyes, his vision was blocked by a black bag, so he couldn’t see anything.
His body wouldn’t budge either—he seemed to be tied to a chair.
He couldn’t see ahead, but Lee Seong-hyeon grasped the situation quickly.
“Hey, you bastards! You’re not going to untie me right now?! I know you’re nearby! You kidnap a National Assemblyman without fear? You made a mistake. You hear me?!”
At that moment, his pitch-black world suddenly brightened.
Ryu Min had pulled the black bag off.
“Huh?”
“Good day, Assemblyman Lee Seong-hyeon. I’m the person here to rescue you.”
A man with bronze-toned skin—someone he’d never seen before—was looking at him calmly.
Before he could even wonder who the man was, the nauseating stench of blood and the bodies finally came into view.
“Urgh—!”
“Please wait just a moment. I’ll settle things with that woman first.”
While the Assemblyman dry-heaved, Ryu Min glared at Yamtti.
“Should I let you live… or not?”
“P-please… spare me.”
“If I spare you, can you live from now on without using your ability?”
“Yes! From now on, never again! I swear to God—”
“Don’t swear to some god. Swear to me.”
“O-okay. I swear to you, Black Scythe-nim! I swear!”
Watching Yamtti speak in a voice drenched in desperation, Ryu Min nodded.
“Fine. I’ll show mercy.”
“Th-thank you! Thank you!”
“Now get going.”
Even though she’d gotten what she wanted—an order to leave—Yamtti only stared at him with suspicious eyes.
“C-can I really go? You won’t cut my throat the moment I turn around, right?”
“Have you lived your whole life getting played? Go.”
Ryu Min turned his head away indifferently.
‘Wide open…?’
For a moment, the thought of ambushing him flashed through her mind, but it truly was only a moment.
‘N-no. What am I thinking? I’m insane.’
If he was sparing her, why would she take a risk for no reason?
Compared to Black Scythe, her stats were pathetic beyond words.
It was like the gap between an elephant and a mouse.
Even with a sneak attack, she knew there wasn’t even the tiniest speck of a chance she could win.
“I-I’ll go, Black Scythe-nim. Then I’ll be on my—”
“Where the hell do you think you’re going! You f*cking bitch!”
When Yamtti tried to leave the cabin, Lee Seong-hyeon thrashed in his chair.
“Untie me! We have to catch that bitch! She’s the bitch who kidnapped me!”
You’d think screaming like that might make someone untie him, but Ryu Min only stared without doing anything.
“Hurry up and go.”
“Ah… y-yes.”
After checking Ryu Min’s mood for a moment, Yamtti fled the cabin like she was escaping.
Tap-tap-tap-tap—
Coming down the mountain path, her breathing grew ragged.
“Haah… huff.”
Once she felt she’d come down far enough, Yamtti looked back.
The cabin was already so far away it was no longer visible.
“He’s not following? He’s really letting me live?”
Not only was he nowhere in sight—he didn’t show up even with Presence Detection, a common skill.
Yamtti could be sure.
There was no tail.
“H-ha ha ha, heeheehee… hic!”
She started laughing out loud, then clamped her mouth shut, afraid Black Scythe might hear.
But she couldn’t stop the laughter that kept leaking out.
“Puh-keehehehe. Hah—seriously, what is this?”
Laughing until tears pricked her eyes, Yamtti spoke as if she couldn’t believe it.
“Does he like me or something? What is it? Why is he letting me live?”
Because of a promise not to use her ability?
Or because she looked like a weak woman?
“Did he fall for my looks or what?”
She couldn’t guess the reason at all.
“Whatever it is, he’s so naive—seriously!”
To let her go just because she said she wouldn’t use her ability anymore.
“I’ve never seen such a sucker in my life. Heh-heh.”
She’d met countless men, but there was no sucker like that.
“Heeheehee… you sucker bastard. A vow? A promise? Toss that crap to a goblin. Why the hell would I keep it?”
From the start, Yamtti had never intended to keep the promise.
It was nothing more than sweet words spoken just to survive.
The one who fell for it was the sucker—the idiot.
She had no fault.
Only after confirming no one was around did Yamtti finally let out a breath of relief again.
“Whew… I cheated death. I can’t believe there’s a human who doesn’t fall to Fascination.”
And to think it was Black Scythe.
‘And Lostyak was Black Scythe. Then all this time, he hid his identity and lay low, waiting to stab us in the back?’
The more she thought about it, the more terrifying he felt.
‘The kidnapping plan failed, but there’s nothing to regret. I at least saved my life.’
If Black Scythe hadn’t been a sucker, she would’ve already crossed the river of the dead.
‘Is he the type who’s unexpectedly weak to women? If that’s the case, I should’ve seriously tried to seduce him back when he was an executive.’
A musclebound man with bronze-toned skin wasn’t her preferred type, but so what?
He was Black Scythe.
‘For now, I lived. Since I lived, I just need to plan the next move.’
The Chairman still hadn’t been released from her Fascination list.
She could use the Chairman as much as she wanted and move Plseba again.
Thinking that, Yamtti started to head down the mountain again—
‘Huh?’
At some point, something appeared in her Presence Detection.
Reflexively whipping her head around, Yamtti had to freeze in horror.
“B-Black Scythe……!”
The Reaper was right in front of her.
“As expected. You weren’t a woman worth trusting.”
“B-Black Scythe. W-what are you suddenly saying? You’re misunderstanding something—”
“I heard it all. You were muttering away pretty freely.”
“…….”
For a moment, Yamtti thought Black Scythe was testing her.
Because she desperately wanted to believe he hadn’t heard anything.
“I heard everything—how you laughed at me as a sucker. And your laugh… it was weird enough to put an angel to shame.”
“…….”
“Still looks like you don’t believe it. No—are you refusing to believe it? Well, whatever. I’ve confirmed you’re not to be trusted, and that’s enough.”
As Black Scythe stepped closer, Yamtti grew frantic.
W-wait. If you’re going to kill me, think again. I may look like this, but I’m useful in a lot of ways—”
“Based on what am I supposed to believe you?”
“…….”
“A woman who says vows are something to toss to a goblin.”
Yamtti swallowed.
The fact he brought up goblins meant he’d definitely overheard her.
“And who said I’m killing you?”
“Huh?”
“With a great ability like the Rune of Fascination, it’d be a waste to kill you.”
“Th-then…?”
Yamtti couldn’t continue.
Ryu Min’s irises turned purple.
It was the change that came when he used Dominion.
“Yamtti. Become my slave.”