Chapter 194 – Withdrawal
The method DarkSoul had suggested for drawing in Black Scythe was simple.
Deliberately cause a crime so the CPF would respond, capture that squad member, and use them to lure him out.
If they used a squad member as bait, they’d be able to summon Black Scythe, the squad leader.
—To do that, Team Brix, Team FirstWarrior, and our team. We’ll split into three teams of four and carry out the operation. That should be more efficient than moving all together.
Spaniard, who’d said that, regretted it just one hour after the operation began.
Contact with Team Brix had been cut off.
“Spaniard. Still no contact?”
“Yes. They aren’t answering. Something may have happened.”
Just twenty minutes ago, they’d received contact from Team FirstWarrior.
That Black Scythe was coming this way, so gather up.
Spaniard, who had said he’d contact Team Brix himself, soon found himself in an awkward situation.
He called again and again, but they still had no intention of answering.
“Team Brix isn’t picking up?”
“Yes.”
“Maybe they’re busy getting the hostage, so they can’t answer?”
“No matter what, not answering after dozens of calls is a bit….”
“Then try calling other members too.”
“I already did, but I’ll try again. Just in case.”
At Yang Chwi-wen’s words, Spaniard called again—then shook his head.
They still didn’t answer.
“All four of them are unreachable. Something’s wrong. There’s definitely been a problem with Team Brix.”
“F*ck, we need to join up before Black Scythe gets here—why the hell aren’t those guys answering their phones?”
“I don’t know. Let’s go to Team FirstWarrior for now.”
The four of them ran through alley after alley again.
Even if they had to set Team Brix aside, they had to hurry to the location where Black Scythe had supposedly been lured.
That way, they could join Team FirstWarrior and hit the bastard together.
But when they arrived, there was nothing.
“Is this the place?”
“Looking at the address they sent, it should be….”
“Call them.”
Spaniard called FirstWarrior, but there was no response.
“He’s not answering.”
“If those bastards won’t answer, why the hell are they even carrying phones?”
Yang Chwi-wen snapped, but they didn’t know.
They didn’t know that Team FirstWarrior had already died in this very alley.
Or that Team Brix had already been killed by Ju Seong-tak.
But there was someone who predicted the truth.
“Don’t tell me he already came and went?”
“What do you mean by that, John?”
When Yang Chwi-wen asked, John Delgado answered with a face that said, Isn’t it obvious?
“Black Scythe. I think he came first and wiped out the team.”
“What?”
“Black Scythe?”
It was a plausible story, but Yang Chwi-wen only snorted.
“Bullshit.”
“Why is it bullshit?”
“You’re saying Black Scythe killed all of Team FirstWarrior? Then where are the bodies? Why isn’t there even a trace of them?”
“He’d erase them with Trace Erasure.”
“Even so, can it be this clean? Look around. Nothing’s broken—there isn’t a single trace of a fight.”
“It wouldn’t have been a fight.”
“Then what?”
“It would’ve been a one-sided slaughter.”
John’s expression was serious.
There wasn’t even a spoonful of joking in it—it looked like he truly believed that.
“Black Scythe is that strong?”
“He’s strong. Strong enough that all Twelve Apostles would have to rush him at once just to have a chance.”
“Good grief….”
Yang Chwi-wen looked like he couldn’t believe it, but he couldn’t really refute it.
The only one who’d experienced Black Scythe’s strength was the Necromancer.
Spaniard, who’d been listening, turned grim, as if it wasn’t something to brush off.
“If what John says is true and Team FirstWarrior got taken out, then the other teams are in danger as well.”
“Could it be that Team Brix isn’t answering because they already got taken out too?”
“Does that make sense? In that short amount of time, you’re saying Black Scythe picked us off one by one?”
“He’s someone with more than enough ability to do that. In the worst case, it’s correct to assume only the four of us survived.”
“Hah. No way.”
“Hoo… this is my fault. We shouldn’t have split into teams—we should’ve stayed tightly together.”
Worry settled over the apostles’ faces.
And then—
“Huh?”
DarkSoul, who’d habitually had his surrounding-search Skill active, warned them as he looked at approaching red dots.
“Someone’s coming from that way.”
From the alley he pointed to, the sound of running footsteps grew louder, and soon a person appeared.
India’s Martial Artist, SwingMan.
“Hah, hah. Y-you were all here?”
He looked extremely relieved, like he’d found reinforcements, panting as if he’d run a marathon.
“SwingMan? What happened? Where are the other apostles?”
At Spaniard’s question, SwingMan’s complexion darkened rapidly.
“That… I don’t know.”
“…Pardon? You don’t know?”
“I’m ashamed to say it, but I was out of my mind running from him. I didn’t have the leeway to worry about my comrades.”
“When you say him… who….”
“Black Scythe.”
The moment they heard that name, the other apostles understood at once.
The bad feeling they’d just discussed had become reality.
“Please explain in detail what happened.”
“Before that… are you sure he isn’t nearby?”
“Who? Black Scythe?”
As SwingMan anxiously scanned around, Spaniard spoke as if to reassure him.
“If you look at the surrounding-search, there’s no one nearby except us. If you’re truly uneasy, you can try Tracking Black Scythe. Didn’t you see his face?”
“No. He was wearing a white mask. I don’t know what he looks like either. And if you don’t know his real name, isn’t it impossible to track him in reality?”
“Ah, right. I forgot. Then explain now. What happened here?”
SwingMan nodded and opened his mouth.
“As you know, we lured Black Scythe using a hostage. And before you arrived, Black Scythe reached us first. A man in a white mask holding a scythe. Since he was alone, it seemed like our team would be enough to win, but… it was a misjudgment. In an instant, my comrades died along with the hostage.”
“You’re saying Black Scythe killed the hostage too?”
“Yes. He was a cold man who showed no mercy, hostage or not. His skill wasn’t something to scoff at. He used a mysterious scythe that extended its reach, and I couldn’t even see the attacks. It didn’t take long until only FirstWarrior and I were left.”
Speaking in a bleak tone, SwingMan shuddered as if it still gave him chills.
“We knew at a glance. There was no chance of winning. Without even saying it, as if we’d promised, we split apart. Running was the only way to live. The other apostles died, but I didn’t see what happened to FirstWarrior. I ran without even having time to look back.”
In the end, it was a grim story of being slaughtered without even managing a real response.
It matched John’s prediction, but Yang Chwi-wen still looked like he couldn’t believe it.
“Hey, curry man. Are you sure you really got taken out by Black Scythe?”
“What do you mean by that? Are you suggesting I’m lying?”
“You never know. Maybe you killed the other apostles and you’re calmly acting it out.”
“What did you say?”
SwingMan jumped as if wronged.
“For what reason would I kill my comrades? What would I gain?”
“Exactly. SwingMan has no reason to betray us.”
Spaniard stepped in to defend him, but Yang Chwi-wen’s suspicion didn’t fade.
“Why you betrayed us—I don’t know. But the more I think about it, the weirder it gets. You promised we’d all hit Black Scythe together, but you go in first by yourselves? Are you insane? You couldn’t even think to stall with conversation until we got there?”
“I did think of it. But FirstWarrior said there was no need and stopped me….”
“Then why did you come back to the murder scene all of a sudden?”
“I came back because it occurred to me belatedly that FirstWarrior might still be alive. And I also thought you, who were arriving soon, could be in danger.”
“A guy who ditched his comrades and ran off to save himself came back because he was worried about us? There’s no Gandhi of this era quite like you.”
Yang Chwi-wen sneered, but SwingMan’s claim had logic to it.
John Delgado also joined the conversation and defended him.
“Whatever else, it seems true that he met Black Scythe. The Black Scythe I saw also used a mysterious scythe that extended like a whip.”
“Then you’re saying FirstWarrior and the other teams really died without being able to do anything?”
“Probably. I don’t know for sure whether the other teams died, but….”
“If only we knew his real name, we could use Tracking to confirm whether they survived….”
When DarkSoul spoke in a regretful voice, Spaniard apologized.
“I failed to consider that. I didn’t ask because I thought he wouldn’t want to reveal even his real name… that was my mistake.”
“Either way, if they aren’t answering, doesn’t that mean they’re dead? And we have SwingMan’s account.”
“Seems so.”
They didn’t want to admit it, but they had no choice except to accept it as fact.
Above all, wasn’t there a witness who’d returned alive from Black Scythe?
‘So what that curry man said about meeting Black Scythe was true?’
And since John Delgado confirmed it, it seemed true.
Feeling embarrassed at his needless suspicion, Yang Chwi-wen grumbled to hide it.
“Damn it, the Twelve Apostles have suddenly become the Five Apostles.”
“Seriously.”
“Aah….”
Sighs slipped out of the remaining members’ mouths.
Seven of them had been taken out by just one man.
“So what do we do now?”
“We can’t stay like this—we need to withdraw from Korea immediately. Black Scythe could be nearby.”
“Exactly. We don’t know when we’ll become targets too.”
“We came all this way just to run away like losers? Without getting anything?”
Yang Chwi-wen complained, but the other apostles thought differently.
“Now that we know Black Scythe’s skill, it’s not as if we gained nothing. Let’s go back like this and come up with countermeasures.”
“Spaniard is right. If we want to plan for later, shouldn’t we at least survive as five for now?”
“We need to leave Korea before Black Scythe arrives.”
“Tch.”
It was frustrating to return after entering Korea with no real gains, but Yang Chwi-wen knew there was nothing he could do.
“You said we’re in a hurry, right? Let’s move.”
When he turned easily, the other apostles also turned, relieved.
Not realizing that Ryu Min—transformed into SwingMan—was smiling behind them.
‘They all think I’m SwingMan.’
Contrary to the testimony, SwingMan hadn’t survived.
He’d been caught in Ryu Min’s grasp, his neck snapped, and killed.
In other words, the SwingMan who’d been talking with them up until now was Ryu Min, perfectly transformed with the Assassin’s Mask.
‘Face, skin color, voice, clothes—everything’s perfect. How could I get caught?’
There was no room for doubt, yet Yang Chwi-wen was different.
He was the only one who’d suspected SwingMan.
‘I wondered, but to think he’d suspect me as a traitor. Maybe because he’s Black Society rank 1, his instincts are different. Or… did he just hate SwingMan?’
Either way, it didn’t matter.
Things had gone as planned, and now he could play the role of a Twelve Apostle.
‘If I go back like this, I need to attend the countermeasure meeting. And then I’ll steer the situation. The way I want.’
If he wanted to use the Necromancer in the 12th Round, he needed to work from the inside first.
That was why he’d infiltrated.
‘They made a group like this to oppose me? What a joke. I’ll use you as much as I want, then throw you away without mercy.’
The other apostles didn’t see Ryu Min’s mouth curl upward.