Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant-Chapter 194

At the same time, the dim surroundings brightened, revealing the speaker.

It wasn’t just one person.

There were five.

All unfamiliar faces.

However, Na Do-won and Lee Hyun-seok instinctively knew.

These were the Seodaemun Three.

“You bastards...!”

Na Do-won squeezed out his voice through clenched teeth, his bloodshot eyes glaring.

At that, Kim Kwan-hyeon, the leader of the Seodaemun Three, chuckled.

“Why am I the bastard? Aren’t you the one holding one of my men hostage?

"Last time, you really messed up our plans. Thanks for that.”

Last time.

He was referring to when Na Do-won’s team launched an operation to capture the Seodaemun Three.

Back then, they had successfully captured one of the gang members.

Kim Kwan-hyeon approached Na Do-won, who was frozen in place, unable to move.

“I bet you’re wondering what’s going on.

"It’s not that complicated. We just followed the tip we got from our inside man and made preparations.

"This is why you should always have connections.”

“Inside... man?”

“Yeah. What, you think an organization like ours doesn’t have an informant in the Association?

"Our scale is nationwide.

"And when you’ve got money, you can make a lot of things happen.”

“Who... is it?”

“Oh? You really wanna know?”

Kim Kwan-hyeon smirked.

Then, in an instant, he pulled out a dagger and slashed Na Do-won’s throat.

“Khugh!!”

“TEAM LEADER!!”

Lee Hyun-seok screamed.

Even though his body was still paralyzed from the electric attack, witnessing Na Do-won being cut down in front of him made him cry out instinctively.

Na Do-won collapsed, clutching his throat with both hands, trying to stop the blood pouring out.

Kim Kwan-hyeon crouched in front of him and spoke.

"Now that you’re on death’s door, I’ll tell you the truth.

"You know your dear friend, Kim Won-hu?

"He’s the one who tipped us off.

"He told us you’d be coming tonight. Even told us to be ready.”

“Khgghhh...”

“Seriously, man. You should’ve just listened to your superiors and stayed out of it.

"Now look at you."

“Alright, we got the leader. Let’s finish the rest of them off.”

“Yes, boss.”

At Kim Kwan-hyeon’s command, the rest of the gang drew their weapons.

Na Do-won’s vision blurred.

There was no hope.

He was barely keeping his carotid artery clamped, but without a proper healer, he was as good as dead.

“Damn... it...”

His senses dulled.

His surroundings faded into silence.

And yet, the one thing that remained vivid in his mind—

Was his burning hatred for Kim Won-hu.

‘I will... never forgive him...!’

It was over.

He was about to lose consciousness.

Or so he thought.

FLASH!

[ Healing Applied. ]

[ Recovery Activated. ]

A brilliant light enveloped the area.

Warmth spread through his body.

Sounds he could no longer hear suddenly became clear.

And in his vision, two system notifications appeared.

‘Healing...?’

Kim Kwan-hyeon frowned.

“Healing? What the hell?”

Suddenly, healing magic had activated.

Kim Kwan-hyeon turned toward the only healer in his crew, but the man raised his hands defensively.

“It wasn’t me!”

Then who?

A voice echoed from the darkness.

“It was me.”

All eyes turned in that direction.

And in that moment, a brilliant light illuminated the area.

[ Guardian Spirit Activated. ]

[ Recovery Activated. ]

A wide-area healing skill.

As it spread across the room, the paralyzed members of the 2nd Investigation Team began stirring.

"You bastards...!"

"I'll kill you...!"

Maybe it was because they had been on the verge of death.

Or maybe it was because they had watched their leader fall.

Either way, their rage was uncontrollable.

“What... what the hell...?”

Kim Kwan-hyeon began panicking.

He hadn't even had time to figure out who had spoken.

"We have to move—"

He hurled throwing knives at the recovering investigators.

But—

CLANG!

His knives were intercepted in midair.

No—

They had been cut down at lightning speed.

Kim Kwan-hyeon’s eyes widened.

Not just because his attack failed.

But because—

His body suddenly stopped moving.

As if something was holding him in place.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

At the same time, system notifications popped up in his vision.

[ Shadow Binding Activated. ]

[ Shadow Bleeding Activated. ]

‘Shadow... what?’

But there was no time to process it.

One by one, his teammates screamed as they too were restrained.

In an instant, the entire Seodaemun Three crew was captured.

The 2nd Investigation Team members swarmed them.

Meanwhile, Lee Hyun-seok rushed to Na Do-won’s side.

“Team Leader! Team Leader! Can you hear me?!”

“...Shut... up...”

“What? What did you say?”

"...You're too loud..."

Lee Hyun-seok let out a shaky breath, his eyes welling with relief.

“Shit... I thought you were dead...!”

A voice, barely holding on to life.

But even if it was exhausted, there was still a spark of vitality in it.

He had barely survived.

Throughout his years in the Investigation Bureau, he had seen too many comrades die.

That’s why, more than anything, he did not want to lose Na Do-won.

To Lee Hyun-seok, Na Do-won was his closest partner, his direct superior, and even a mentor.

At that moment, a shadow loomed behind them.

Startled, Lee Hyun-seok turned his head.

And then—his expression froze in absolute shock.

Na Do-won reacted the same way.

As his dimming consciousness sharpened again, he ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ stared up at someone he never expected to see.

Someone completely unthinkable.

It was none other than—

Su-ho.

“Are you alright?”

Su-ho asked with surprising kindness.

At that, both Na Do-won and Lee Hyun-seok blinked in disbelief.

At first, they thought they were hallucinating.

What the hell are you doing here?

But when Lee Hyun-seok finally reacted, Na Do-won realized this was real.

“A... An Su-ho? Sword Saint An Su-ho? That An Su-ho?”

“Yes, that’s me,” Su-ho replied casually. “Judging by your reactions, you both seem to be fine.”

“This... this is insane...”

Lee Hyun-seok was too stunned to even close his mouth.

Seeing his disbelief, Su-ho drove in the final nail and introduced himself.

“I assure you, I’m quite sane. Let me formally introduce myself—Deputy Team Leader of Special Management Team 2, Gate Bureau, An Su-ho.”

“A... Ah, yes. H-hello?”

Lee Hyun-seok finally snapped out of it and awkwardly responded.

Su-ho took a quick look around before speaking again.

“Pardon me for a moment.”

Without another word, he moved toward the restrained members of the Seodaemun Three and pressed several acupuncture points on their bodies.

Immediately, their struggles ceased, and the room fell silent.

Only then did Su-ho turn back to Na Do-won and Lee Hyun-seok.

By now, Na Do-won had regained some clarity and forced himself to speak.

“How... how are you here? No, more importantly—what exactly happened here?”

“It’s exactly as you saw,” Su-ho said matter-of-factly. “You were nearly killed because of Team Leader Kim Won-hu’s betrayal. I saved you all, and I caught the Seodaemun Three in the process.”

“I-I understand that, but this is just...”

Na Do-won’s mind was spinning.

He knew what had happened.

He had seen it with his own eyes.

But none of this made sense.

How was Su-ho here?

How did he know?

And how the hell did he take down an entire criminal syndicate single-handedly?

Seeing their dazed expressions, Su-ho chuckled.

“Let’s save the long conversation for later. For now, let’s get to work.

"I’ll take care of Team Leader Na. Deputy Team Leader Lee, please go upstairs and secure all stolen goods and transaction records from the Seodaemun Three’s hideout.”

Hearing this, Lee Hyun-seok hesitated and glanced at Na Do-won.

When Na Do-won gave a nod, Lee Hyun-seok immediately left.

Now, only Su-ho and Na Do-won remained.

Su-ho knelt beside him and examined the wound on his neck.

“Good. The wound has completely healed. You were lucky I got here in time—any later, and you really would have died.”

“...Thank you. But how did you get here?”

“It’s a long story,” Su-ho admitted. “But to summarize—I found out about Kim Won-hu’s betrayal, so I moved independently.”

“You found out? From where?”

“That’s a trade secret.”

“...I see.”

Na Do-won sighed.

He knew better than to press for details.

Right now, the source of the information didn’t matter.

What mattered was Kim Won-hu had betrayed them.

Na Do-won tried to stand up.

But—

His legs buckled.

Su-ho caught him before he could fall.

“Take it easy,” Su-ho advised. “We may be like game characters, but you still almost died. Your body won’t recover instantly.”

“...Thank you.”

Na Do-won lowered his head.

Finally, he could breathe.

And now that the danger had passed—

A storm of emotions surged within him.

“...Why the hell did he do it?”

First, there was rage.

But as his mind settled, curiosity crept in.

Kim Won-hu.

His old colleague.

They had attended each other’s weddings.

They weren’t best friends, but they weren’t enemies either.

Kim Won-hu had never been an ambitious or greedy man.

So why?

Why would he sell out his own people?

As Na Do-won’s mind raced, Su-ho spoke.

“Are you wondering why?”

“...Yes?”

“Why he did this.”

“Ah... Yes. To be honest, I am.

"I don’t recall ever doing anything to wrong him.

"But why else would he betray us?

"How could he—how could he try to kill us?”

Su-ho smirked.

“There’s probably no deep reason.”

“...What?”

“People don’t need grand motives to do bad things.

"Don’t think too hard about it.”

“That’s ridiculous...”

“It’s true,” Su-ho said.

“Do you want to see for yourself?”

“See...? How?”

“I can show you.

"But on one condition.”

Su-ho leaned in and whispered something to Na Do-won.

Na Do-won thought for a moment.

Then, he nodded.

“Alright.

"I’ll do it.”

“Good,” Su-ho smiled. “Then let’s go confirm it for ourselves.”

Su-ho helped him up.