Moon's Labyrinths

Chapter 223

Chapter 223


Chapter 223


s.h.i.+nhae got off the kindergarten bus with a bright expression . She then looked around .


“s.h.i.+nhae . ”


When she heard a familiar voice, s.h.i.+nhae ran toward the speaker .


“Unni!”


Jiyoon had her arms wide open, and s.h.i.+nhae jumped into her arms . A warm sensation and the fragrant smell of Jiyoon greeted s.h.i.+nhae .


“Where’s dad?”


s.h.i.+nhae’s head swiveled to look for Sungyoon . s.h.i.+nhae really liked Jiyoon, but Jiyoon couldn’t be compared to her father .


“Your dad had some work, and he won’t be able to look after you today . ”


“Again?”


Recently, Sungyoon rarely picked up s.h.i.+nhae . The little girl"s cheeks puffed up with displeasure . Jiyoon let out a bitter laugh and stroked s.h.i.+nhae’s head .


“You dad is really busy right now . You understand that, right?”


“Ooh . ”


Even though s.h.i.+nhae was in a very bad mood, Jiyoon had spoken in a gentle manner, so the little girl couldn’t refute her words .


s.h.i.+nhae nodded with a pout .


“You"re such a good girl . In return, let’s ask your dad to buy us something delicious!”


“Tonkatsu! I like tonkatsu with cheese in it!”


“Ok! Unni will make sure to call him!”


“Wah-ah!”


As if she had never been in a bad mood, s.h.i.+nhae raised her hands into the air . Jiyoon laughed at the sight . s.h.i.+nhae was always so cute, and Jiyoon thought that if she had a daughter in the future, she wanted one like s.h.i.+nhae .


‘Daughter? What am I thinking?’


Jiyoon became embarra.s.sed for no reason as she tightly held onto the small hand of s.h.i.+nhae . They headed toward Sungyoon’s house .


“Hmm?”


Jiyoon came to a stop . She had just walked down this road to pick up s.h.i.+nhae, and nothing had been there . However, a road-under-construction sign had appeared when she returned now .


“Unni! Construction!”


“Yes . I guess they are working on the road . ”


Left with no other choice, Jiyoon decided to go the roundabout way . She turned away from the large road and chose a side street with low traffic .


Sssk!


Was it just her feeling? Jiyoon felt as if someone was following her . On the other hand, s.h.i.+nhae was in a good mood as she hummed to herself .


At that moment, two men were tailing Jiyoon and s.h.i.+nhae . Their heads were covered with hats, and they had worn sungla.s.ses and masks to hide their faces . These two men quietly followed s.h.i.+nhae and Jiyoon from the back . They kept checking their surroundings as they waited for people to clear out from the side street . When their targets were the only ones in the side street, the men moved into action . Circulating their magical energy, the men were about to increase their speed to catch up to their targets .


However, they weren’t the only ones waiting for the side street to clear out .


“What business do you have with my daughter and the temp worker of my company?”


Flinch!


The men reflexively turned around when they heard the voice . However, they didn’t even have the opportunity to do anything . Powerful hands gripped both of them and dragged them toward a nearby alleyway .


“Huh?”


Jiyoon turned her head around . She thought she had heard something .


“What’s wrong, Unni?”


“No . It’s nothing . Unni must have misheard . ”


Jiyoon started walking down the street with s.h.i.+nhae once again .


***


Tahk!


The vice grip on their necks was loosened, and the two men moved far away from their ambusher . Sungyoon appeared in their sights . He had his arms crossed, and his face held a harsh expression . The faces of the two men became distorted .


“You guys moved pretty quickly . ”


Sungyoon opened his mouth, and the displeasure in his voice was apparent .


“Wh-what do you mean?”


One of the men asked in a trembling voice .


“Yo-you are Mr . Woo Sungyoon? You are the hero of London! The Knight . Why are you attacking us?”


“Do you plan on playing innocent until the end?”


“P-playing innocent? You must be mistaken . We were just walking down this road!”


The second man started coming up with an excuse too . The two made a desperate bid to convince Sungyoon that they were normal people being mistaken for attackers, and they did sound convincing .


However, Sungyoon didn’t budge an inch .


“Then why do you have Devices and Gems?”


The men"s eyes headed toward their wrists . Their bracelet type Devices were peeking out of their sleeves . It seemed their sleeves were pulled up when Sungyoon had grabbed their necks .


Despair appeared on their faces . However, it only lasted for a moment, and their faces turned cold .


“s.h.i.+t! I never expected to be caught so easily . ”


“For real . It seems this b.a.s.t.a.r.d was waiting for us . ”


“This might be preferable . I didn’t like the plan where we had to kidnap his kid to kill him . ”


“I feel the same way . ”


After a short amount of time, weapons appeared in their hands . Their activation speed was very quick, and it surprised Sungyoon .


“You might be the great Knight, but we"re plenty strong . ”


“This is a two-on-one fight . We don"t need to call the others to handle him . Honestly, the client who hired us is being too cowardly . ”


The two talked to each other to psych themselves up as Sungyoon concentrated on the words ‘others’ and ‘client" . The two of them had carelessly given away numerous information to him . He glared at them with a cold expression .


“Let me ask you this . Did Lee Jaeho send you guys?”


“Who knows? If you want answers . . . ”


“Find it out through strength!”


Hoo-oong!


The two men moved like the wind as their swords were swung toward Sungyoon . These sharp sword strikes could cut through steel plates, and they were coming at Sungyoon’s neck .


Cheng! Cheng!


However, an ax and a hammer appeared in Sungyoon"s hands and blocked the swords .


“I’ll give you a warning . I’m in a very bad mood . ”


It felt as if magical energy would explode from Sungyoon"s body . That very energy overflowed in his Devices and Gems . Sungyoon used his absurd strength to push back the swords .


The attackers" eyes turned round . They had held their swords with both hands, so they didn’t expect to be pushed back by Sungyoon, who was using one hand to push each of them .


“I’m just annoyed that you b.a.s.t.a.r.ds dared to aim for my daughter . ”


Ggee-gee-gee-geek!


With a clang, the ax and hammer ground against the edge of the swords .


“I did this for s.h.i.+nhae, but you made me use my daughter as bait!”


Boom! Boom!


The swords were sent backward as the ax and hammer hit the ground . The cement road cracked, and rocks flew into the surrounding .


“Ooh-ook!”


“Koo-oohk!”


The two men barely avoided losing their grip on their swords . They slowly edged backward . The skin on their hands had split open, and blood dripped down the handle of their swords .


“Oooooooh!”


In just one clash, they had experienced the overwhelming power difference between Sungyoon and them; they could feel it in their bones .


They had been drunk on the power that they had acquired, so they had looked down on Sungyoon . They had even taunted him . However, they had soon realized that the Knight wasn’t someone they could deal with .


The understanding of why the client had said to kidnap the little girl hit them . However, it was too late as Sungyoon approached them like death incarnate .


“s.h.i.+t! Run!”


The two of them quickly turned around and ran as Sungyoon chased after them like a starved beast .


***


Jaeho stood in an abandoned warehouse situated in a deserted location . The warehouse was dirty and smelly, and Jaeho felt as if he were seeing a representation of himself .


“I’m sure it went well, right?”


The person next to him answered the question . He was a striking individual with bulky muscles .


“They contacted me saying they are going to carry out the plan . If things went well, they should be coming back right now . ”


“It went well . Of course, it went well . ”


Jaeho bit his fingernail in anxiousness as he spoke . It was a habit that he had developed in his childhood . Hooyoung’s strict teachings had beaten that habit out of him, and it never bothered him when he was an adult . However, the habit came back when he had lost everything .


“Why do we need to kidnap his daughter? There are five of us . We can take care of him . ”


“You guys can defeat Woo Sungyoon?”


Jaeho suspiciously looked at the man . The muscular man pounded on his chest .


“I believe the five of us would have been enough! We are powerful!”


“… I guess so . You"re powerful enough to activate your Gems on Earth . ”


Jaeho didn’t know much about Connectors, so the man’s words sounded plausible to him . The hooded man had provided him with five talented Connectors, and it made Jaeho wonder the hooded man"s ident.i.ty . However, he pressed down on his curiosity .


‘There"s nothing to be gained by having that knowledge . ’


He just wanted his revenge .


“Shouldn’t they be here by now?”


A tall man leaning against the corner of the warehouse asked .


The muscular man also checked his watch .


“Yes . If they were successful, they should be arriving by now . ”


It happened at that moment .


Clank!


The door to the warehouse violently opened .


“Leader!”


“Oh . You succee . . . ”


The muscular man didn"t finish his sentence .


The two men who had gone out to kidnap Woo s.h.i.+nhae limped through the open door . Their bodies were a b.l.o.o.d.y mess .


“What! What the h.e.l.l happened?”


The four in the warehouse, including Jaeho, were all stunned . It was clear something had gone really wrong . As if to prove that idea . . .


“B-behind us!”


It was like a horror movie where the main characters were being chased by a ghost . The injured men desperately spoke up .


“So this is where the rats were holed up . ”


A newcomer entered the warehouse .


“Oooh-ahhhhhk!”


“Oooooh!”


The injured men quickly retreated . Forgetting about the injuries all over their body, the two scrambled across the ground to distance themselves from the newcomer . However, Sungyoon ignored them and looked around the warehouse . He saw three men that possessed items that looked like Devices, then he found another person .


“As expected, it was you . ”


Sungyoon’s frigid gaze landed on him . Sungyoon regretted meeting this person the most in his lifetime . At one time, he had believed Jaeho to be his friend, but he was a sworn enemy now, and their relations.h.i.+p was irreparably damaged .


“Lee Jaeho . ”


Sungyoon called out his detestable name .


“H-how!”


Jaeho had planned on calling Sungyoon here, but he was going to do it after the men had kidnapped s.h.i.+nhae . He would have called Sungyoon after pulling out all of his teeth . The situation happening right now wasn"t part of the plan .


“This b.a.s.t.a.r.d knew we were coming!”


One of the injured men shouted .


“I knew you would aim for s.h.i.+nhae when cornered . It was easy to predict your move . Armstrong wanted me to come back quickly, but I ignored their requests . I stayed near s.h.i.+nhae . If I"m being honest, I never wanted this day to come . ”


Sungyoon’s eyes flashed in a terrifying manner .


“However, everything changed when you threatened s.h.i.+nhae’s safety . If you had quietly let go of the technology and stayed in your home, I would have let you live . However, you went too far . Do you think I’ll let anyone threaten s.h.i.+nhae!”


Sungyoon roared like a fierce beast announcing its presence .


Lee Jaeho had operated amongst experienced political and business figures, but he couldn’t withstand Sungyoon’s glare and shout . His life had never been threatened this way before .


“K-Kill him! Kill that b.a.s.t.a.r.d!”


He yelled out in panic . When the Connectors saw their client pointing at Sungyoon and yelling orders, they glanced at each other . The two who Sungyoon had injured had been healed by their comrades .


However, all five of them looked nervous now .


They had initially thought their combined power could easily defeat Sungyoon . However, the chance of Sungyoon being stronger than all of them became a possibility in their mind when they had seen their two comrades" pitiful state .


However, the milk had been spilled already . Even if they asked for forgiveness, Sungyoon would never forgive them . That was obvious .


“Tsk! Let’s do this! There are five of us! We’ll figure something out!”


The muscular Connector—who was the leader—spoke in a forceful manner . The other Connectors nodded .


“Oooohahhhhhh!”


The one to attack first was one of the two Connectors whom Sungyoon had beaten . He raised his sword and shouted to erase the fear he felt . The other four connectors fanned out . It seemed their boast of being able to kill Sungyoon wasn’t an idle boast . Their co-operation was impressive, as they used their numbers to their advantage .


“Hoo-ahhhhht!”


As if he was heartened by his trustworthy comrades, the man swung his sword with confidence . Sungyoon watched him with a deadpan expression .


Boom!


Puh-suhk!


A loud sound was followed by an explosion .


The four Connectors had moved to support the Connector who had decided to lead the attack, but they all came to a stop .


Poo-ook!


The sword went flying and pierced the ground . Cracks had appeared all over the sword, and the sword had become unusable . However, that didn’t matter . The owner of the sword would never be able to take up his sword again .


Tuhl-suhk!


The headless body of the Connector flopped to the ground .


Sungyoon shook the hammer coated with blood and flesh and mumbled .


“I don"t need you to guide me anymore . ”