A Disaster-Level Assassin Has Been Freed

Prologue

"Have you heard the term Godok?"

"……."

"It's a dark ritual passed down among ancient black magicians."

The Merchant Guild Leader, dressed in a loose Robe, glanced back for a moment, but the giant man still offered no reply.

He didn't seem to care.

Turning his head back, he continued the story.

"First……."

They gathered poisonous beasts or monsters.

Not just any common riffraff you might see.

Vipers from the jungle whose single drop of venom could harm dozens of strong men, blue scorpions that even seasoned desert tribe warriors showed fear towards, rare mutants among the eastern continent's wasps known for their potent venom, red-spotted larvae that released poison gas the moment they died…….

After gathering as many of these truly horrific specimens as possible, they placed them in a single giant jar and made them fight.

Some were eaten, others ate.

Eating, eating, and eating again.

The survivors of such a process accumulated even more horrific toxicity in their bodies, and this process did not stop.

Until only a single individual remained.

Until the poison among poisons, the king of ten thousand poisons, was born.

How would such a completed being be utilized?

Even the Merchant Guild Leader, the head leading the group, did not know.

Of course, this was not important.

What was important to him was the task of safely escorting the 30 poisons, filtered and selected from 1,000 individuals, to the guild's secret branch.

And to achieve that mission, he needed to instill a sense of caution in the subordinate who was moving carelessly.

"Greg, focus. Their abilities vastly surpass those of the individuals from 20 years ago. Especially the strength of the top 3, which even I cannot disregard. You can never be too careful. Understand?"

"Ah, yes."

"Your answer isn't very convincing."

"No, sir. It's a misunderstanding."

‘Shit, I picked the wrong guy to work for.’

The giant man muttered inwardly.

He couldn't understand.

No matter how much of a perfectionist the man before him was, the current treatment was excessive.

The subordinates escorting the carriage were well-trained elites, and he himself, managing them, was one of the most skilled individuals in the guild.

Due to the nature of his assigned tasks, he wasn't publicly known, but he possessed enough skill to single-handedly crush most of the boastful swordsmanship guilds around.

The old man before him?

There was no need for explanation.

He was a monster.

‘……A monster that those brats couldn't even compare to.’

He had heard the rumors secretly.

That there were a thousand talented children, and all of them had been trained in hell.

That the poison harbored by the 30 filtered survivors was so potent it could paralyze the limbs of onlookers.

It sounded ridiculous.

The giant man felt the same way about himself.

He too had climbed to this position by tearing apart, devouring, and chewing up others to avoid being eaten in the giant Godok jar called the world.

The poison filling his body, his Aura, proved it.

To him, the ones sleeping soundly inside the carriage were nothing more than frogs in a well.

For such brats…… what?

They were being moved to a more secluded place because they were hard to control?

Along with even greater support?

What the…….

"Do your job properly."

"Understood."

‘Damn it.’

His thoughts were interrupted.

Hearing the Merchant Guild Leader's command again, he bowed his head sharply.

The man before him was the real deal.

Just replying carelessly had been pushing it, so provoking him further wouldn't be a good idea.

Right, let's not try to understand.

Isn't it the higher-ups' business anyway?

Just as he let out a short breath to shake off his twisted feelings and was about to approach the subordinates disguised as workers.

Kwwaaaaang!

"Kkeoeok!"

"……!"

"What is this!"

"It's an attack! All hands, battle sta—……."

Shweeeeek-!

Before the Merchant Guild Leader's command could even finish, another projectile flew in.

Flames blazed on the huge arrow, as if shot by a giant, leaving a long tail in the night sky as it struck the ground between the carriages.

Kkwaaaaaang!

"Kuhuk! Kk, heueo!"

"Ugh……."

"Abandon the wounded, focus on the right! Everyone, stay sharp!"

"No, what the hell……!"

The giant man quickly took a stance.

Following the fierce barrage of ranged attacks, the momentum of the rapidly approaching strange figures was menacing.

This wasn't some clumsy band of bandits wandering the fields.

Feeling the cold sweat trickling down his spine, he wondered.

‘Why on earth?

How?

What's their objective?’

Their disguise could have been seen through.

Even so, it was strange.

They didn't possess anything that large mercenary groups, nobles, or swordsmanship guild types would target.

The only peculiarity was the brats pickled in sleeping drugs, sleeping soundly inside the carriage.

Did those guys really have that much value?

No, before that, who the hell are these guys?

‘Enough!’

I had to live.

I had to survive this time too.

To do that, I had to eat, not be eaten.

Taking a deep breath, a murky, ash-colored Aura surged from the giant man's greatsword, aimed at the enemies.

The anomaly occurred then.

Kwang!

Kwaaang!

Kwaaaaaang!

Kagagagagak-!

"What?"

"Huh?"

"……!"

Turning around, the giant man's eyes widened.

The carriage was smashed.

It wasn't due to the attackers' assault.

Iron bars, flung outwards from within, scraped the ground with an unpleasant sound, and someone emerged.

Black clothes, an ordinary build, but with horrific scars visible on the exposed skin and eyes that seemed steeped in the abyss.

Hwirik-

It moved.

Following it, feet moved, and hands moved too.

The subordinate couldn't even react to the incredibly stealthy movements, even considering the darkness, and lost his heart with a thud.

It was instant death.

In that fleeting moment, the giant man felt a strange flame flicker in the young man's eyes and swallowed dryly.

Kwang!

Kkwaaang!

Kwagak- Kagagak-!

Kkwagwagwagwang!

The chaos didn't end.

Starting with the first boy who emerged, many more burst through the carriage's iron bars.

They looked around like soulless dolls, then instantly grasped the situation and began slaughtering those nearby.

The subordinates, who had only been paying attention to the charging enemies, died without putting up much resistance.

Glancing back and forth between both sides, the giant man ground his teeth and dashed towards the carriage.

Who were the attackers?

What was their purpose in targeting us?

And how did the Godoks wake up?

Various questions arose, but he forcefully cut them off.

First, he had to change the atmosphere.

Uwoooo!

Shouting fiercely, he swung his sword towards one who had just escaped the carriage.

A vertical slash, enhanced by brute weight and gravity, descended as if to split the opponent's crown.

And a moment later, the giant man's vision spun 180 degrees.

‘Huh?’

No voice came out.

Feeling bewildered, he tried to touch the nape of his neck, but couldn't.

Amidst the continuously spinning vision, the giant man belatedly realized.

This is the true power of Godok.

It was a gap that left no room even for regret.

‘Damn it…… Still, it’s not an unfair death.’

In his inverted vision, the sight of additionally escaped Godoks tearing the Merchant Guild Leader's torso to shreds entered his view.

A shocking scene he thought he would never witness.

That was the giant man's last memory.

* * *

Flames soared.

Amidst the flames that drove away the pitch-black darkness, numerous people were killing each other.

She didn't mind.

The smell of blood, the stench of filth spilled from innards, even the smell of burning corpses were familiar.

Godok Rank 2, Maya, walked slowly as if belonging to another world entirely, and none of her peers approached her.

Thus, the place she arrived at was the carriage at the very back of the row.

Inside bars much thicker than those of the other carriages, a young man with fine skin lay asleep, his limbs bound.

Pausing for a moment at the clearly different treatment compared to the other Godoks, Maya, still maintaining her expressionless face, silently drew a sword she had picked up from a corpse.

And moved again.

Despite being surrounded by flames, her vicinity was deeply dark, and even as she brushed past dry blades of grass, her footsteps were magically silent.

She was a born assassin.

Even here, teeming with individuals adept at killing, almost no one noticed Maya's movements.

However, it wasn't that there was no one at all.

A blond, blue-eyed young man who had approached unnoticed blocked her path and spoke.

"Go away, Maya."

"……."

"Or settle things with me first. Was the last time we fought 2 months ago?"

"……."

"What will you do?"

Silence.

A subtle tension settled over it.

The two glared at each other for a long while.

Until the echoing screams grew higher, and the blood soaking the ground pooled into puddles.

The one who retreated first was the woman called Maya.

A smirk.

White teeth bloomed in the shadow-like darkness.

Godok Rank 3, Gael, grinned back.

Although his demeanor feigned composure, he couldn't regain his calm until long after Maya had retreated out of sight.

He had to admit it.

Right now, he was indeed inferior to her.

"Hoo."

Exhaling lightly, the tension eased a bit.

Gael turned his body, swung his sword, and smoothly sliced through the incredibly thick bars and restraints.

It was astonishing skill, but within his chest lay a resentment far greater than pride.

"……Special treatment that even Maya didn't receive."

"Is this the difference between the second and the top?" Gael muttered softly, shaking his head to clear his thoughts.

I will win.

Against Maya, and this guy too.

Without needing such accidental luck, entirely with my own strength.

Repeating it inwardly calmed his heart slightly.

Glancing one last time at the black-haired young man, he said.

"Well then, I'm going."

With that, Gael completely vanished.

It wasn't just Maya and Gael.

Amidst the situation where enemies and other enemies were entangled, most of the Godoks succeeded in escaping.

The group whose Merchant Guild Leader had died lacked the ability to pursue them, and those who carried out the surprise attack did not actively stop them.

Those attackers, who had only been moderately dealing with the two Godoks rampaging madly after losing their reason, confirmed the flames died down due to the belated raindrops, then retreated without lingering attachments.

Thus, 2 Godoks died.

27 Godoks succeeded in escaping.

They melted into the world, far away and secretly, so that those who had restrained them could not follow.

And so, a day passed.

"……."

Amidst the ruins, Godok Rank 1, Harang, finally regained consciousness.