One hour before the transfer alarm went off, at the Seoul Player Hunter Agency.
Yun Miri shot up from her seat.
"Found it."
Everyone in the situation room rushed over.
A map filled the monitor screen.
"Kyoto, Japan. That's where the onmyoji who died in Korea hailed from."
Yun Miri pulled up the related files.
"It wasn't just one person. It's a whole group."
Jin Yunho started poring over the data.
These weren't official reports.
Yun Miri had scraped every scrap from personal blogs, websites, and ancient texts, then digitized it all.
He narrowed his eyes.
One name cropped up consistently across everything.
"The Oni of Kansai."
They'd emerged back in the shogunate era.
At first, they were a group that prayed for the nation's peace and the villages' safety, driving off the yokai that popped up now and then.
But at some point, they twisted.
No longer saviors—they became cursers, doomers of villages and people.
That's when the nickname stuck: Oni of Kansai.
"They say they wrecked places and folks with wicked curses. No real way to confirm it now, though. Still..."
Yun Miri highlighted a section.
Incidents suspected to involve the Oni of Kansai.
"Before the Awakening era, you'd be lucky to see one maybe every few years. After? Dozens in a single year."
"So these scumbags got their hands on curse-type awakening classes."
"Almost certainly. Every death was a total mystery—sudden, unexplained."
He scrolled down, skimming articles.
The victims had zero in common. Reporters, delivery drivers, beat cops—the works.
But the families' accounts? Practically word-for-word the same.
"Two weeks before they dropped, they started seeing ghosts. Bad enough to wreck their daily lives. They'd waste away... then bam, heart attack on day fourteen. Every last one."
"A fit 26-year-old cop croaking from a heart attack."
"That's not even the weirdest part. The investigations wrapped up freakishly fast. No real media coverage either. I barely dug this up from some newbie YouTubers and creepypasta site owners who poked around on their own."
"Fishy as hell."
"Stinks to high heaven. Either this onmyoji crew's got absurd pull, or someone's got their back."
Jin Yunho slipped a hand into his pocket.
Just checking the talisman Jinhyuk had given him.
Still good.
Fresh relief washed over him.
He kept flipping through the photos until one made him freeze.
An old shot of the suspected onmyoji.
"This..."
"Right? Age it up a little, and it's a dead ringer for the sketch Jinhyuk drew."
Jin Yunho nodded.
Solid credibility.
To dig deeper, they'd need boots on the ground in Kyoto.
He pulled out his phone and dialed Cheon Seyeon.
"Yes. Jin Yunho here."
He laid out everything they'd uncovered, plus the current sitrep.
"Yeah, official op's off the table. Interstate beef—Korea's gov will play it safe, and Japan'll weasel out without ironclad proof. Wastes too much time. Leak the intel, and those Oni pricks vanish. Right, that's the move. Stick to the plan."
They'd never planned to slog through red tape anyway.
An eye for an eye.
They'd snuck in and trashed the place? Time to return the favor.
"Yes. Sent 'em to Incheon Airport. Messy business during leave—couldn't be helped. On me for shitty unit oversight. Got it. We'll keep the support rolling."
He hung up and slumped back in his chair.
Yun Miri headed to her station to gear up support.
They waited like that for an hour.
Cheon Seyeon and her hunter team due at Incheon any minute.
Wheeeeeen—!
The transfer alarm screamed to life.
Of all the damn timing.
Jin Yunho tsked.
"62nd-floor transfer confirmed. Location: Apgujeong. Map's up."
He checked the spot and let out a relieved breath.
Parkland—clear of houses. Lucky break.
"Apgujeong hunters mobilized quick. Evac's basically done. Looks like we handle the clear."
"Figured. No gear on their end. Send C-rank and up with guard/protect traits. Full cold-resist kit."
"Copy."
Clear-floor instance—no monsters.
Still, no slacking.
Anything past floor 60, the environment was deadlier than any beast.
62 and up? Temp plunged harder the longer you stalled.
No hard system timer, but it turned into a brutal race.
"Current temp?"
"Minus 60C. Outside the zone, but the park's starting to ice over."
"Loop in nearby freelancers too, just in case. Past minus 80, you don't trust gear alone."
"Got it."
Truth was, a holy knight hidden-class like Cheon Seyeon was perfect for this.
She'd shrug off minus 100 like a breeze.
But pulling her now? No shot.
"Team leader?"
"Hm? Team roll out?"
Yun Miri glanced back, looking rattled—way off her usual cool.
"Uh... the transfer's gone."
"What?"
Jin Yunho bolted up and strode to the monitor.
Great news on paper. Impossible in practice.
"System glitch?"
"System's clean."
Riiing ring ring.
"Hunter out in Apgujeong."
"Yeah, it's Jin Yunho. What the hell?"
No clue! It just... poofed!
62 didn't poof. Structure wouldn't allow it.
You had to punch through the freeze, harvest the ice, smash the core inside.
"Who cleared... Nah..."
Had to be cleared.
No clear, no vanish.
"Hang tight and monitor a bit longer."
Roger!
He dragged over a chair.
"Pull park CCTV."
"Closest intact feeds first."
Screens flickered up.
Took about a minute.
"Huh."
"Whoa."
Yun Miri and Jin Yunho both gawked.
They hit paydirt quick.
Like he was out for a casual stroll.
Hands jammed in pockets, dude sauntered out of the park whistling.
Grainy footage, sure. But unmistakable.
Literally saw the guy yesterday.
"Clothes look soaked. Those black streaks—water stains?"
"Looks like. No word from Jinhyuk-nim?"
"Nope. You?"
He nodded.
A grin tugged at Jin Yunho's mouth.
In a world where everyone screamed their wins for clout...
Clear a transfer and ghost? Classic right hand keeping secrets from the left.
But Jin Yunho wasn't having it.
Runner's glory wouldn't get buried.
" scrub every CCTV hit on Jinhyuk-nim. Fire up the report template. Been too long since I spammed the brass."
"On it."
"Once that's out, ping finance. Before I barge in and trash the place, tell 'em to rubber-stamp Runner's raise to 100 billion."
Yun Miri nodded, smiling.
She'd normally talk him down. Not today.
Runner Yoo Jinhyuk.
They'd filed for the 100-billion bump procedurally.
But for him? Peanuts.
By a mile.
"Nooo!"
He flopped beside the motorcycle.
Had parked it way off to dodge the cold.
Forgot his phone in his pocket.
Froze to death like a champ.
Gotta call Team Leader Jin Yunho!
"Let not the left hand know what the right does."
Jinhyuk's life motto. Dead phone said otherwise.
Way too late now—"I cleared it!" would reek of tryhard.
New phone meant cash too. Tears blurring...
Oh. Wait. I'm loaded.
He brushed off his butt and stood.
Smashed the corpse-phone, yeeted it into a trash can.
All good.
Upgrade to the latest model.
Helmet on, swung a leg over.
Paused to think.
Family now—this fartbox needed a name.
Nothing lazy like Kentaripin.
Elia went too far with that. Poor Pinny must've been crushed.
Nodded, gave the bike a pat.
Grin in under five seconds.
Settled.
"You're DuRam 1-Ho from now on."
Ducati Panigale V4 Lamborghini.
Packed every key vibe. Peak name.
"Let's roll, DuRam 1-Ho."
Key fob turned, throttle twisted.
Loved the name that much?
Ride felt buttery smooth.
[Exiting Despair Tower floor 62!]
Steamy warmth slammed him on exit.
Had entered the tower straight from the bathhouse.
Bathtub brimming with scalding water.
"This hits different."
"Seconded. Nirvana achieved."
Elia and Camella—still in their ice-crusted gear—cannonballed into the tub.
Normally blistering. Post-minus-60? Pure bliss.
"Fur's a solid ice block."
"Grab Kancho a fur coat next time too. Past minus 70, even he's an ice pop."
The toasty fur sets from Yu Suyeon.
Cold resist off the charts—perfect for this stretch.
"Understood! Can't end up frozen tuna."
"Fresh."
Usual correction done, he pulled up his status.
[Yoo Jinhyuk / Collector / Current Level: 91]
[Seira Kinkaeton / Current Level: 201 / EXP: 13%]
[Kancho / Current Level: 97 / EXP: 65%]
[Dark Castro / Current Level: 104 / EXP: 0%]
[Momo / Current Level: 99 / EXP: 11%]
[Elia Forsen / Current Level: 109 / EXP: 78%]
[Camella Sirin / Current Level: 110 / EXP: 60%]
Leveled hard today. Snagged three blank cards too.
[Blank Cards in Possession: 3 / Individual: 0 / True: 0]
Time to peep the crew's traits and skills soon.
Mystery box popped too.
Crack it later.
Glanced over.
Everyone but Dark and Seira already splashing in the baths.
"You lot take your time soaking. I'll scout ahead."
Flashed a smile, reached out.
Too damn patient since yesterday. No more.
Crunch.
[Entering Myth Tower floor 12!]
----------
T/N:
Just for being a free member, you'll get 5 advanced chapters every week!
Access 35 chapters in advance on my Patreon:[email protected]//towerup