The Eclipsed Order

Chapter 145: Chapter 145: An Unexpected Interruption

The next morning, Ares and Ji Won left the house together and began making their way toward the dungeon they had planned to hunt.

The city was already busy despite the relatively early hour, with office workers moving along the sidewalks, students gathering around bus stops, and Awakeners heading toward various dungeon entrances while carrying weapons and equipment that would have looked completely out of place in an ordinary city.

Ares quietly observed everything around him as they walked.

He was still unfamiliar with many aspects of this world, and although he had already learned quite a bit during his first day in Korea, there were still countless things he needed to understand before he could make any proper decisions about what to do next.

After walking for several minutes, Ares finally turned toward Ji Won.

"Ji Won, I want to ask you something."

"Hm?"

Ji Won looked at him.

"What is it?"

Ares hesitated briefly before speaking.

"Do you know an assassin organization called Blood Hunter?"

Ji Won’s expression immediately changed.

"T-That’s..."

He stared at Ares.

"Did you know about them too?"

"I’ve heard the name once."

Ares kept his expression neutral.

"But judging from your reaction, you seem to know something about them."

"Of course I do."

Ji Won continued walking, although his expression had become considerably more serious.

"There’s no way someone in Korea wouldn’t know about Blood Hunter. They were one of the most famous assassin organizations in the world."

Ares listened carefully.

Ji Won glanced toward him.

"They were known for having some of the most elite assassins and professional killers in the world. Their name wasn’t exactly something ordinary people liked hearing, but governments, corporations, guilds, and powerful Awakeners all knew about them."

Ares’s eyes narrowed slightly.

That confirmed it.

Even after all these years, the name had survived.

"What happened to them?"

Ji Won’s expression became complicated.

"About seven years ago, the organization collapsed."

Ares stopped walking.

"What?"

Ji Won looked at him.

"That’s what the news reported."

He continued.

"Apparently, several organizations joined forces against Blood Hunter. Their headquarters were destroyed, and a large number of their members were killed during the conflict."

Ares remained silent.

"Are you saying the entire organization was destroyed?"

"Not completely."

Ji Won shook his head.

"There were survivors, but nobody knows where they went."

He thought for a moment.

"Some people believe they escaped the country, while others think the surviving members simply went into hiding. There were even rumors that some of them continued working as assassins under different identities."

Ares lowered his gaze.

Seven years ago.

If that information was accurate, then the collapse had occurred several years after his death.

If he had survived the destruction of the organization...

I hope he’s still alive.

Ares remained outwardly calm, but his thoughts became considerably heavier.

If what Ji Won said really happened, then there’s also a chance that he didn’t survive.

There was no way for Ares to know the answer yet.

However, if Blood Hunter had truly been one of the world’s most powerful assassination organizations, then finding information about its former members might eventually allow him to determine what had happened to the people he had once known.

Ji Won glanced at him.

"Why are you interested in Blood Hunter?"

"Nothing in particular."

Ares gave him a simple answer.

Ji Won stared at him for several seconds before eventually shrugging.

"Well, if you want to know more, we can talk about it later."

"That would be helpful."

The two continued walking.

Eventually, the buildings around them became less crowded, and the large structure containing the dungeon entrance came into view.

Today’s destination was a D-rank dungeon.

Ares had suggested coming here rather than returning to the E-rank dungeon they had hunted in the previous day.

Ji Won had initially refused.

He had argued that D-rank dungeons were considerably more dangerous and that the two of them had only just begun hunting together, but Ares had continued insisting until Ji Won finally agreed.

When they arrived, several groups of Awakeners were already gathered outside the entrance.

Some were preparing their equipment before entering, while others were returning from inside the dungeon with bags containing magic stones.

A few looked exhausted, while others were discussing their battles with excited expressions.

Ji Won looked toward the entrance.

"We’re here."

Ares nodded.

"Let’s go."

Before they could take another step, however, a loud voice came from behind them.

"Oi, oi."

Ji Won immediately stopped.

A group of Awakeners was approaching.

The man walking in front recognized him almost immediately.

"If it isn’t Han Ji Won."

His eyes moved toward Ares.

"Who’s this guy?"

A grin appeared on his face.

"Don’t tell me you’ve finally found yourself a lover."

The men behind him immediately laughed.

"Seriously?"

"I didn’t know Ji Won was into guys."

"That’s dirty, man."

Ji Won’s expression changed.

The nervousness that had appeared on his face earlier was unmistakable.

Ares glanced toward him.

"Do you know these people?"

Ji Won lowered his head slightly.

"Ah..."

He hesitated.

"So, about that..."

The man in front stepped closer to Ares.

"Looks like you’re pretty rich."

His eyes moved over Ares’s clothing.

"Those clothes don’t look cheap."

He then looked at Ares’s hair.

"And you even dyed your hair."

The man laughed.

"What are you supposed to be? Some kind of rich kid playing around with cosplay?"

He reached toward Ares’s shoulder as though the two were already familiar.

Ares caught his wrist before he could touch him.

The man’s smile disappeared.

Ares looked at him calmly.

"Are we close enough for you to touch me?"

The man’s expression twisted.

"What?"

Ares released his wrist.

"Are you deaf?."

The man’s face reddened.

"You bastard."

He suddenly threw a punch.

Ares simply moved his head to the side.

The fist passed beside his face.

The man stumbled forward from the momentum and nearly fell.

"What?"

The other Awakeners stared.

Ares remained standing in the same place.

The man turned around, his embarrassment quickly becoming anger.

"Hoh..."

He stared at Ares.

"You’re not half bad."

Ji Won immediately stepped forward.

"Please don’t do this, he’s nothing to do with this."

The man ignored him.

He reached toward his weapon.

"Let’s see if you can dodge this."

He drew a short combat weapon reinforced with mana.

"I’m a D-rank Awakener, you know."

A wicked smile appeared on his face.

"You shouldn’t have messed with me."

Ares sighed.

"Troublesome."

The man lunged.

His weapon moved quickly enough that an ordinary person would have struggled to react, but to Ares, the attack was painfully obvious.

He shifted his body to the side.

The blade passed harmlessly through the space where he had been standing.

Before the man could recover, Ares caught his arm.

He rotated his wrist, stepped behind him, and redirected the man’s momentum while simultaneously sweeping his leg from underneath him.

The man’s balance disappeared.

Ares twisted his body and used the man’s own forward momentum to throw him over his hip.

THUD!

The man crashed onto the ground.

Before he could even understand what had happened, Ares controlled his arm and pinned him against the ground.

The weapon fell from his hand.

"What the—?"

One of the other Awakeners stared.

"He knocked Tae Gyu down."

"In one move?"

The others immediately became angry.

"You bastard!"

"What did you do to him?!"

Ji Won’s shoulders stiffened.

But before he could answer, several figures approached from the direction of the dungeon entrance.

Their arrival immediately changed the atmosphere.

They weren’t ordinary police officers.

Each of them wore a dark navy uniform reinforced with protective armor, with the insignia of the Korea Awakening Administration displayed clearly across their shoulders. Specialized weapons were attached to their belts, while several carried equipment specifically designed to restrain Awakeners.

They were Awakening Enforcement Agents, government-employed Awakeners responsible for dealing with incidents involving other Awakeners.

Ordinary police officers could handle normal crimes, but an awakened individual with enhanced physical abilities, combat skills, or supernatural powers could easily overpower several officers before reinforcements arrived. Because of that, the Korean government established specialized enforcement divisions composed of Awakeners who were trained to respond to awakened crimes and dungeon-related incidents.

One of the Enforcement Agents looked across the scene.

"What’s happening here?"

The surrounding Awakeners immediately became quieter.

The agent’s eyes moved across Tae Gyu, his companions, Ji Won, and finally Ares.

"We received a report about an altercation near the dungeon entrance."

Tae Gyu immediately pointed toward Ares.

"That guy attacked us."

His expression became convincing as he spoke.

"He suddenly attacked me for no reason and threatened us."

The Enforcement Agent looked toward Ares.

"Is that true?"

Before Ares could answer, Ji Won stepped forward.

"No."

The agent looked at him.

Ji Won bowed slightly.

"They approached us first."

He explained everything that had happened, starting with Tae Gyu recognizing him, insulting Ares, making inappropriate remarks about them being a couple, and then approaching Ares without permission.

He continued explaining how Tae Gyu attempted to punch Ares after Ares stopped him from touching him, and how the confrontation eventually escalated into a physical fight.

The Enforcement Agents listened without interrupting.

When Ji Won finished, one of Tae Gyu’s companions lowered his head.

"It’s true."

Tae Gyu immediately turned toward him.

"What?"

"You started it."

Another member of the group reluctantly nodded.

"We did."

Tae Gyu’s expression became furious.

"You bastards..."

The lead Enforcement Agent looked at them.

"Do any of you dispute his statement?"

Nobody answered.

The agent nodded.

"I see."

He looked toward Tae Gyu.

"You initiated a confrontation with another Awakener in a public area, attempted to use physical force against him, and escalated the situation after he defended himself."

Tae Gyu clenched his fists.

"He didn’t have to throw me like that!"

"You attacked him first."

The agent’s voice remained completely calm.

"Self-defense is not the same as initiating violence."

Tae Gyu opened his mouth.

Then stopped.

There was nothing he could say.

The Enforcement Agent turned toward the other members of the group.

"All of you will come with us and provide statements."

One of them immediately protested.

"Why do we have to go?"

"Because you were involved in the incident."

The agent looked at him.

"Whether you were directly involved or merely witnessed the confrontation will be determined after your statements are recorded."

The other Awakeners exchanged uncomfortable glances.

They clearly understood that arguing with government Enforcement Agents would only make their situation worse.

Two agents stepped forward and placed restraint devices around Tae Gyu’s wrists.

The device emitted a faint blue light.

Tae Gyu looked down at it.

"Are you seriously putting restraints on me?"

"It’s standard procedure."

The agent secured the device.

"These restraints are designed to temporarily suppress awakened abilities. Cooperate, and there won’t be any unnecessary complications."

Tae Gyu gritted his teeth.

As he was escorted away, he suddenly looked back toward Ji Won.

"You’ll pay for this, Ji Won."

Ji Won’s expression tightened.

The lead Enforcement Agent immediately turned toward Tae Gyu.

"Enough."

Tae Gyu looked away.

The group was escorted toward the waiting Administration vehicle near the entrance.

Only after they disappeared from sight did Ji Won finally release the breath he had been holding.

"I’m sorry about that."

Ares glanced at him.

"You don’t need to apologize."

"They’ve been bothering me for a while."

"I noticed."

Ji Won gave an embarrassed smile.

"I just didn’t expect them to start something here."

Ares looked toward the dungeon entrance.

"Let’s go."

Ji Won nodded.

The two finally continued toward the gate.

As they approached the entrance, the atmosphere immediately changed.

Unlike the E-rank dungeon they had entered the previous day, the mana leaking from this gate was considerably denser, enough for even an ordinary Awakener to feel the difference.

Ji Won adjusted the equipment around his waist and looked toward Ares.

"Are we really doing this?"

Ares glanced at the dark entrance.

"Of course, don’t worry."

Neither of them paid any more attention to the departing government agents.

They stepped forward together.

Then they entered the D-rank dungeon.

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