* * *

"I could swear I hear someone cursing."

When Hyeonyul put a hand on Yujong's shoulder, he shuddered violently.

'Can this fucker... no, this guy read minds, too?'

Without raising his head, Yujong spoke.

"... Why would I do that?"

"It's all right. You're free to curse me in your head, aren't you? Just don't turn a blade on me. I'm not particularly merciful."

"Um... the, uh, information is ready."

"It's ready?"

As Hyeonyul tightened his grip, Yujong's eyes darted from side to side. Strangely, it felt as though someone had seized his throat.

"O-of course. I didn't know when you would come, so I had it prepared."

Yujong hurried to his desk and held out the documents. He cautiously lifted his head, only to lower it immediately when his eyes met Hyeonyul's.

That lunatic was smiling.

'What the fuck is he smiling for?'

His heart nearly dropped out of his chest. Yujong tried to steady its racing beat.

"I see you've released the entertainers you were forcibly keeping under contract."

"I did as you instructed."

Yujong swallowed nervously as he answered.

"It will take longer for the Black Eagles to stop watching you, so keep your head down."

"... Still?"

"Yes. They're not done yet."

"Those bastards should change their name. Eagles, my ass. They're black ticks. They've dug through enough already. What more is there to dig up?"

"If you feel so wronged, why didn't you use the Black Eagles intelligence you acquired to go after them from the inside?"

Yujong had planted an informant inside the Black Eagles. As soon as that fact came to light, he'd even sent an assassin to eliminate the loose end.

Even if he'd done it to sell intelligence as an information broker, hadn't he penetrated quite deeply?

Why didn't he think of doing that?

"Are you cra— No, I mean, that's out of the question."

Yujong cut himself off and hastily covered his mouth.

"Why? If you've gone as far as planting an informant, couldn't you at least consider going after the Black Eagles?"

"You don't seem to know the Black Eagles very well. Those bastards are no pushovers. They're downright ruthless. I barely managed to get informants in place after pouring in both money and manpower. I even reached one of their team leaders, but there was still a limit to what I could dig up—whether it was a matter of conscience or what, I don't know. The moment they find out I was involved, I'm simply dead."

Yujong paused to swallow, then continued. Fear showed through.

"The only reason the Black Eagles don't look like much is that their structure prevents them from focusing all their fire on one target. They're scattered everywhere, stopping incidents as they happen. But this is a different matter. If they all came down on me alone... Ha."

He couldn't finish. He looked genuinely terrified.

"Didn't you go into this prepared for that in the first place?"

"I never, ever intended to fight them! I'm an information broker, not a fighter. They have the Empire behind them. No, the nobles would move against me before that."

"Why would the nobles act?"

Yujong stared at Hyeonyul in astonishment. His look said, You don't know this?

"Lower your eyes and explain."

Yujong immediately bowed his head.

"... I don't know who, but they say someone in the Black Eagles is a noble. Even our side never touches nobles. Do you know how vicious those bastards are? They put on every fucking noble and dignified act imaginable, but they're the truly crazy ones."

Yujong shuddered.

'There's a noble among the Black Eagles?'

Hyeonyul thought for a moment, and someone came to mind. But he soon dismissed the thought. He didn't know all the Black Eagles yet. He couldn't afford to jump to conclusions.

"Anyway... I'm still pursuing whoever stole my information. If they're this hard to catch, they must be someone fairly powerful."

"Keep pursuing them. I'll give you a piece of information as a reward."

"Pardon...?"

"Some interesting things have been happening lately, haven't they?"

"Interesting... I don't know about that, but things have been quite noisy. As you know, fighting broke out after the Poison King was captured. But there's something odd about how it's unfolding."

"Odd how?"

"... The Poison King's faction is winning. With him gone, they ought to be a disorganized rabble."

Yujong looked utterly baffled.

All villains only existed as a group because they had a leader. When that leader died, they would leave to find the next person to follow.

Sure enough, someone had appeared.

"From what I hear, there's a rabbit..."

"I took it over."

Hyeonyul pointed to himself and smiled.

"... Pardon?"

"I took it over. Wearing a rabbit mask."

"..."

Yujong recoiled in shock. That wasn't something anyone could casually say, even as a joke.

How could he take over a faction that large? Yujong couldn't begin to understand what had happened. This wasn't just any faction. It was the Poison King's.

And those men were following this Mad Dog?

Yujong's lips trembled. He had no idea who he'd been dealing with all this time.

"And there's someone behind the Poison King. Find out who."

"...?"

Yujong's eyes widened.

Someone behind the Poison King? What kind of bullshit was that?

"Lastly, this."

Hyeonyul handed over a sample of the drug he'd pilfered.

"Find out where it's being distributed and where it's being made."

Yujong couldn't keep up. His mind had already frozen at the first revelation—that Hyeonyul had taken over the faction.

"It's a drug that turns powerless people into people with powers."

Yujong's mouth fell open. He had no idea what Hyeonyul kept throwing at him.

"For the record, its side effects are so severe that an injection will kill you. So if you try to use it on anyone, make it, or obtain it from someone, you're dead."

After speaking softly, Hyeonyul opened the window.

"Oh."

Yujong tensed, sensing another revelation coming.

"Last time, I noticed you owed a considerable amount in unpaid taxes. Pay them. I pay taxes, too."

With that, Hyeonyul jumped straight out the window.

'... Huh?'

Yujong stood motionless, as if he'd been struck on the head. He couldn't comprehend what he'd just heard.

'I heard him wrong, didn't I?'

Taxes?

Ha.

An incredulous laugh escaped him. That Mad Dog paid taxes?

Ha!

He couldn't stop laughing in disbelief.

* * *

The man looked back and forth between his tablet and computer, reviewing the forces and business premises they had reclaimed, along with various other matters.

Ever since that man had arrived, everything had been running smoothly.

Rabbit Mask.

Not knowing his name, he had no choice but to call him that, though he couldn't bring himself to say it aloud. What mattered was that he had saved them when all they could do was await their downfall.

He was different from those executives who had done nothing but eye the position the Poison King left vacant. Those fools had relied on the Poison King's name, never moving forward, content to stay where they were.

But none of that had anything to do with him. He'd been driven out of his executive position, and since then had merely passed the time, alive without truly living. What could he possibly say?

On a day like any other, something happened that could fill the gaping hole in his chest.

The executives died.

The impossible had happened. The moment he saw that man's strength, he felt his dead heart begin to beat again.

'What does he want?'

CLACK.

'How far does he intend to go?'

CLACK-CLACK.

His fingers moved faster and faster across the keyboard.

'What did he see in me?'

A broad smile spread across the man's face. He wanted to see him. He wanted to talk with him again.

It felt as though he'd finally found a reason to live.

「What's your name?」

The moment a phone suddenly thrust into view, the man shot out his hand. At the far end of the wind he had sharpened into a blade stood a man wearing a rabbit mask.

「It's me.」

As soon as he read the words on the phone, the man prostrated himself, bowing his head.

"... I've committed an unforgivable offense!"

TAP, TAP.

Hyeonyul nudged him with his foot, then held out his phone. Even if the man had attacked him, it wasn't anything he couldn't dodge.

「Forget it.」

「What's your name?」

That was what Hyeonyul wanted to know. He couldn't keep calling him the figurehead president, could he?

"A-are you asking my name?"

「Don't you have one?」

"I do. I'm Lee Seungyu! You may call me anything you like. From now on, that will be my name."

「You've been doing well.」

Seungyu stared blankly at the message on the phone.

'... Doing well? Me?'

Those words made his heart pound.

「Keep it up. If I hear anything strange, you're dead.」

"... O-of course!"

Seungyu spoke while holding his breath. A hot sensation rose in his chest, unlike anything he'd ever felt before.

Right now, he felt as though he could do anything.

「Did my sudden visit startle you?」

"No. Not at all. On the contrary, I've been waiting for you to come!"

「Really?」

Hyeonyul brushed it off. He'd expected that much flattery.

"I've thoroughly cleaned house. That was the first thing I did. No one will speak of the Poison King again."

「Why?」

「Didn't you follow the Poison King?」

Surprised, Hyeonyul asked. He had killed all the executives, but he'd never told them to erase the Poison King. He hadn't even expected them to do so, yet they'd wiped him away just like that.

As always, they lived up to his expectations. They were parasites feeding on their leader's strength.

"Yes. I followed the Poison King."

The man rolled up his sleeve. Hideous scars covered his arm from above the wrist, as though the skin had melted.

"I served the Poison King loyally as an executive, but all I received in return was death. I've already died once."

「Why bother coming back?」

Hyeonyul genuinely couldn't understand. How was that any different from him staying at Shin Daeho's company after killing Shin Daeho?

"... I don't know. They found it fascinating that I'd miraculously survived the poison, so they let me back in. Ever since then, I've been wandering aimlessly. I simply kept living, not knowing what I should do or what I was doing."

'Is he lamenting his life? Why do that now?'

Hyeonyul found it hard to understand. He'd led a team before, so this wasn't an entirely unfamiliar experience, but he was different now from who he'd been then.

Was being a figurehead president really that gratifying?

For the moment, Hyeonyul offered the best words he'd learned.

「You've been through a lot.」

They weren't much, but they worked well. He didn't know why people liked them.

Would this guy like them, too?

Hyeonyul looked at Seungyu.

'He likes them, too.'

Still, this was a reaction he'd never seen before, so he wasn't sure what to make of it.

"I'll obey whatever you wish. You may do anything you like. Even if you order me to abandon everything related to the business right now, I'll obey."

「Really?」

"Yes. So please, don't abandon me."

Seungyu pleaded desperately. He wanted to hand over his very heart if that would convey his sincerity.

「All right.」

Hyeonyul readily answered him. Whether he made an emotional plea or cut off a finger on the spot to demand Hyeonyul's trust, none of it mattered.

Seungyu and the others were only villains, after all.

「The reason I came today is that I have something to give you.」

"What is it?"

「Use this.」

Hyeonyul handed over the faction intelligence he'd received from Yujong.

"... Isn't this intelligence on the factions?"

Seungyu sounded surprised. They hadn't yet established exactly who was involved, so how had he gotten his hands on this?

He truly was extraordinary.

「Spread it to the others, too.」

"Pardon?"

「Spread it secretly.」

"Understood. I'll distribute it immediately."

Seungyu bowed, responding as though it were the most natural thing to do.

「Why aren't you asking?」

「You're curious, aren't you?」

「If you spread this, everyone will know about one another's factions.」

"I assumed that was your aim. Those willing to merge will merge, and those who resist will fight desperately. Countless factions will fight and combine."

Hyeonyul gestured for him to continue.

"We can't keep watch over every faction either. But as they merge and disappear, their numbers will fall, making them easier to monitor."

「You're clever.」

That was precisely what Hyeonyul wanted. Once there were fewer factions, monitoring them would become easier, allowing him to predict much more.

Besides, the mergers would make them considerably larger, so they would inevitably spend longer keeping one another in check. Once that rivalry brought their outlines into sharper focus, the Black Eagles would find it easier to snatch them up.

Even if all the others were wiped out and only this faction remained, that would be even better.

Wouldn't it be obvious whom he needed to kill?

「Oh. I should give you a reward.」

"A reward...?"

「I'll tell you something interesting.」

Seungyu waited quietly.

「Did you know the Poison King follows someone, too?」

"... Pardon?"

Seungyu couldn't hide his shock. Even as a former executive, he apparently hadn't known that.

「He called himself the greatest, but in the end, he wasn't the one at the top either.」

「Do you want to follow an idiot like that?」

"... No. I could never follow him."

Seungyu shook his head vigorously. Beyond a sense of betrayal, there was even a kind of resolve in his expression.

"How is that a leader? He's nothing but a defeated lackey."

「That's right.」

「I'm going to find the man behind him.」

「And then I'll have to erase him, won't I?」

Hyeonyul looked at Seungyu. Since Seungyu wanted something from him and was asking for it, Hyeonyul willingly obliged.

「For me to do that, what do you need to do?」

"I must find him, no matter what."

Seungyu spoke solemnly, as though entranced.

"No matter what, I must bring him to your feet."

「That's how you do it.」

「Just crawl when I tell you to, like that.」

"I will gladly do so."

Seungyu smiled.

Hyeonyul touched his shoulder and held out the phone.

「You're doing well.」

When Seungyu raised his head, no one was there. Instead, the window stood open.

As wind blew through it, he burst into laughter. The icy wind brushing his face felt like a welcome party held just for him.

He had discovered the path he should follow from now on.

'One day, I'll die by his hand.'

Seungyu's laughter grew louder and louder.