Every time Cheon Sa-yeon swung his sword, three or four monsters would melt, unable to withstand the intense heat.
Even without Cha Soo-yeon stepping forward, Cheon Sa-yeon, who had dealt with all the remaining monsters in an instant, raised his head, wiping the blood off his blade.
I saw police cars and helicopters surrounding us. I could feel the tense air on my skin.
'And here I thought the only problem was these monsters that suddenly appeared... '
Maybe it's just my mistake but…
This tense atmosphere was clearly born of hostility, though I couldn't figure out why. Or maybe there was just something I was missing.
Cheon Sa-yeon and Ha Tae-heon, who had blocked my path, didn't move an inch. In the meantime, several pristine white SUVs pulled up.
The people who had descended from the SUVs were all staff members of the guild headquarters. Judging by the energy coming off of them, these people were at least Class B, and at most, Class A. One of the staff members, clad in protective gear, shouted in a firm voice.
"Put away your weapon, Master Cheon Sa-Yeon!"
"Please comply with the instructions!"
Cheon Sa-yeon, who had been staring at the employee's tense expression for a moment, obediently put the sword back into his sheathe.
"We will take care of this everyone, so please follow the instructions and get into the cars."
"What did you just say?"
Cha Soo-yeon asked back with a look of bewilderment. They were asking them to get in the cars, but what they really meant was that they were going to take them away.
We gathered here to stop the sudden appearance of the monsters, but such incidents were normally the responsibility of the management headquarters.
Given how slow they were at handling things, It wasn't surprising that Cha Soo-yeon was taken aback by such a request. Honestly, I was just as dumbfounded by the situation as Cha Soo-yeon.
"Is it really necessary for everyone to go?"
In the tense atmosphere, as if a bomb was about to explode at any moment, Cheon Sa-yeon spoke calmly.
"Let only me and Deputy Master Ha Tae-heon go. Or… if there's any good excuse for those behind us to follow, let me know now."
"…Understood."
The employee, who had been furrowing his brow in discontent, soon nodded helplessly after noticing Alice standing behind Cheon Sa-yeon.
"Thank you."
Cheon Sa-yeon, who had left a neat reply, turned toward me. He grabbed my shoulder with his large hand and spoke in a low voice so the management staff wouldn't hear.
"Follow Secretary Woo Seo-hyeok and return to the guild. You mustn't go anywhere else, no matter what."
"…Is this really alright?"
"Don't worry too much. Besides me and Ha Tae-heon, I will also call Master Lee Ju-ha and Master Hong Sia."
His cold hand lightly brushed my cheek, then Cheon Sa-yeon turned his gaze and commanded Woo Seo-hyuk.
"No matter what happens, get Han Yi-gyeol back to the guild safely. Contact Kim Woo-jin and Kwon Jeong-han and have them stay in his room on the 23rd floor."
"Understood."
"Deputy Master Alice, it would be best for you to remain at the Requiem Guild until I return from the meeting."
Alice, who immediately understood the hidden meaning in Cheon Sa-yeon's words, answered with a strange smile.
"Hmm, it seems this isn't the time to mess around. Then, I will graciously accept that offer."
If Alice, the Deputy Master of a fairly powerful guild overseas, stayed with us, at the very least the management headquarters wouldn't be able to touch us. That was exactly why Cheon Sa-yeon had made that suggestion to Alice.
Finally, Cheon Sa-yeon and Ha Tae-heon, who had both cast me one last glance, got into the management headquarters car and disappeared.
"Sheesh, I have no idea what's going on right now."
As the situation settled, Cha Soo-yeon let out a deep sigh. I quickly came to my senses and spoke to her.
"Thank you for your help, Cha Soo-yeon. Please hurry and return to your guild."
Cha Soo-yeon is probably the most confused out of all the people here. She just happened to be passing by and joined in to help someone.
"Yeah. From what I've heard, it seems the guild and the management headquarters are clashing again. There's no point in getting involved in this, the management headquarters have been acting like this for quite a while now."
Cha Soo-yeon, who was scratching her forehead with an uneasy expression, hit me hard on the back.
"I'm off. You keep in touch, alright?"
"Haha, alright. Be careful on your way back."
After saying goodbye, I watched Cha Soo-yeon as she walked away without any problems. Then, my gaze turned to the mess left around us.
All these inexplicable things happening one after another was giving me a headache. I don't know what the management headquarters is up to, but I hope it gets resolved quickly without dragging on unnecessarily.
***
The guild management headquarters' 4th floor conference room. This was the exclusive meeting room for guild officials, created when the building, which was once destroyed by the Prause cult, was rebuilt.
The representatives of each guild who were present there all had stern expressions. Soon, the conference room door opened, and a man entered, accompanied by Choi Mi-jin, the Gate Center Director.
As the two appeared, Hong Sia, who had been sitting with her legs crossed and her chin on her hand, spoke up as if she had been waiting.
"They were making such a fuss telling us to hurry over, so I wondered what was going on, and would you look at that. The very person who called us over is only now deciding to show up. Gosh. I am just so grateful."
Choi Mi-jin sat down and swallowed a sigh at the blatantly sarcastic remark. She had expected it, but even Hong Sia, who usually just laughs things off, was losing her temper. It seemed clear this meeting was not going to be easy.
Even Kim Na-yul, the Deputy Master of the Jaina Guild, who normally would have held Hong Sia back to some extent, was sitting quietly with a blank expression on his face, showing how unpleasant the situation was for them.
"That's what I should be saying! It seems like the Jaina Guild has not properly grasped the current situation!"
The man who followed Choi Mi-jin into the conference room immediately shut down the stern accuser. The thin man, wearing dark glasses and giving off a short-tempered vibe, was named Cho Kyung-tae. He was the Director of the Safety Management Department.
Cho Kyung-tae, who sat down roughly, full of annoyance, continued speaking.
"Guild Management Headquarters summoned you to this very conference room and instead of showing gratitude, you have the audacity to act so shamelessly like this? I'm truly speechless. Do you have any idea how much chaos is unfolding up there? And that incident just now in Gangnam..."
"Hold on. What did you just say, Director Cho Kyung-tae? Shameless? You call us in like we're dogs, then act shocked when we're upset… Why don't you just tell us why you called us to this investigation room in the first place? I'm dying to know."
Hong Sia raised one eyebrow, the corner of her mouth twisted into a mocking sneer. Cho Kyung-tae, starting to get impatient from the obvious show of mockery, slammed the conference room desk and yelled.
"Well of course you were called here! The media is in an uproar over Gangnam Street being turned into a monster-infested wasteland! And you think you did anything worth praising!?"
"Director Cho Kyung-tae. Please keep your voice down."
Choi Mi-jin, who had been rubbing her throbbing forehead, couldn't stand it any longer and intervened. But Cho Kyung-tae, agitated and seemingly oblivious to the voices trying to stop him, continued to spit and shout.
"Do you seriously think monsters popping out in broad daylight makes any sense!? And right in the middle of Gangnam street! Does that make sense!? There's chaos up there right now, with the media and the government grabbing us by the collar and shaking us around! And you people...!"
As Cho Kyung-tae kept talking, Hong Sia continued to let out hollow laughs. Lee Joo-ha began to frown, and the tension in the conference room stretched tight like a taut string.
"You can't even apologize yet you show such a defiant attitude!? We have our limits too, you know!"
"Then…"
As soon as Cho Kyung-tae finished speaking, Cheon Sa-Yeon opened his mouth.
"...Are you saying, Director Cho Kyung-tae, that this monster appearance incident is our guilds' problem?"
"Of course…!"
"I'm curious why you came to that conclusion."
Cheon Sa-yeon naturally interrupted Cho Kyung-tae's answer and continued speaking.
"As the head of the safety management department, you should know when the gates we own are due to be cleared."
"That..."
"If it's not a gate overload, what else could it be? How could such a monster appear in the middle of Gangnam? My stupid brain can't even fathom it. Please, enlighten me."
Cheon Sa-yeon leaned back against the back of his chair and asked leisurely. Cho Kyung-tae, already feeling a bit overwhelmed by Cheon Sa-yeon's presence, looked around nervously before speaking.
"W-well, maybe the monsters you were researching at the guilds escaped, or something like that..."
"Ah. So you're saying we accidentally lost the monsters we were managing individually in our guilds? Dozens of useless B-grade centipede monsters?"
"...."
"Okay, fine. Then form a team of auditors and send them to the guilds."
"What? An auditing team?"
"Since you say it's a guild issue, there's nothing we can do. Send an audit team to the Requiem, Roheon, and Jaina guilds in Gangnam and thoroughly investigate. If Director Cho Kyung-tae's words are correct, wouldn't the audit team uncover the problem?"
"Oh, that's a great idea. I'm all for it. You can send them right away."
Hong Sia, who had her chin resting on her hand, readily agreed with Cheon Sayeon's suggestion.
"However, Director Cho Kyung-tae,"
Cheon Sa-yeon folded his arms and tilted his head slightly. His pitch-black eyes illuminated by the conference room lights were chillingly cold.
"If no problems are found after searching so arbitrarily… the responsibility will fall on you, Director Cho Kyung-tae."
"...!"
"The management headquarters, which is supposed to manage and protect our guilds, is the one questioning and raising suspicions about the guilds? The more I think about it, the more laughable it seems."
Only then did Cho Kyung-tae understand what Cheon Sa-yeon was saying. He bit his lip, his face paling. Choi Mi-jin, seeing him fall flat on his face, caught in his own trap, rolled her eyes inwardly and stepped in to mediate the situation.
"That's all for now, everyone. I'll apologize on behalf of Director Cho Kyung-tae for his remarks."
"...I'll accept the apology. But, Director Choi Mi-jin, you don't entirely agree either, do you? Am I wrong?"
Choi Mi-jin couldn't refute Lee Joo-ha's quiet observation. The issue was already sensitive enough that even careful discussion would have been difficult; Cho Kyung-tae had clearly only made things worse.
In the end, Choi Mi-jin gave the most honest answer she could give.
"Well, it is clear that the situation is not good. Not only for the management headquarters… but for all of you as well."