Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant-Chapter 213

"Where is everyone?"

The building was empty.

They’d said they’d be waiting here, no?

When Su-ho called, he got a reply saying they were on their way to get hangover soup.

– “Would you like to join us, Officer?”

“No, it’s fine. Take your time. I should get some rest myself.”

– “Understood. See you later, then.”

Su-ho hung up with a faint smile on his lips.

Huh. Wasn’t planned, but thanks to this, I’ll be able to speak with them comfortably.

With that thought, he headed down to the basement of the Jeju branch building.

Only Seo Do-il and Moon Hye-hyun were held in the underground detention cells.

Han Myung-ho, being a civilian and relatively cooperative, was set to be investigated without detention.

Su-ho opened the single large cell where the two men were being held.

They lay on the floor like corpses.

Approaching them, Su-ho spoke casually.

"Wake up, both of you."

“......”

“......”

"Huh? I said wake up. Are your ears plugged or something?"

“......”

“......”

“Hey?”

After calling them a few more times, Su-ho finally remembered something.

"Ah right. I plugged them. Oops."

It wasn’t just the Ears Meridian either.

He released the Eye, Throat, and Paralysis Points, and only then did the two men gasp for air and scramble upright.

“Man, I felt like I was waking up a cryogenically frozen caveman. Are you guys fresh-caught fish or something?”

“P-please ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) spare us...! I-I’m so sorry, I’ve committed an unforgivable sin...!”

“I-I’ve done wrong too! I sincerely apologize!”

He’d said it to be funny, but instead of laughing, they were trembling in fear.

But something was off about them.

Why were they acting like this?

The reason became obvious pretty quickly.

After all, they’d basically had a near-death experience.

It had only been half a day at most, but he’d paralyzed them, sealed their speech, robbed them of hearing and sight. To them, it must’ve felt like being a vegetable—no, a living corpse.

And since their bodily sensations remained intact, they’d had plenty of time to think while lying in that cell.

Thanks to that, this conversation was probably going to be a lot easier.

Su-ho grinned.

"That’s a relief. I was already dreading having to beat the crap out of you two this morning, but seeing you both so ready to talk puts me in a much better mood. So on that note..."

He held something up in front of them.

It was the Ring of Sacrifice, which he’d received from Ki Jun-seo.

The two men’s eyes widened as much as before.

“You know what this is, right? While you two were rolling around in here, I paid a visit to Ki Jun-seo and Cham Sarang Hospital. So here’s the thing.”

Su-ho stabbed Seo Do-il’s Eye, Ear, Throat, and Paralysis Points in rapid succession.

Seo Do-il collapsed backward, his body stiff as a board.

“Hiiiek!”

Seeing his brother fall, Moon Hye-hyun began trembling violently.

He’d just gotten his body back, and now, witnessing Seo Do-il collapse again triggered all the terror he thought he’d escaped.

Su-ho turned to him.

“You’ve already experienced this, right? Right now, Seo Do-il can’t see or hear a thing. I’m going to ask you some questions. If your answers differ from what he says later, that’s going to be a problem. So I suggest you answer as truthfully as possible.”

“I-I understand...!”

“Good. First question—both of you are Clerics, right?”

“Y-yes, we are...!”

“What are your Heal and Recovery skill grades?”

“B-both are A!”

“A, huh...”

Shame.

If either of them had S-grade, he would’ve made sure they experienced the worst kind of pain.

Su-ho continued.

“Alright, next question. Do you know how to cure Ki So-yeon, Ki Jun-seo’s sister?”

“N-no! We really don’t! All we can do is cast Heal and Recovery!”

Hmm.

He’d asked on a whim, but it looked like they genuinely didn’t know the cure.

Su-ho then asked about hidden slush funds and off-the-record documents not stored in the vault.

“Okay, that’s enough. I told you already—if Seo Do-il’s answers don’t match yours, things will get very unpleasant.”

“I-I swear on everything, I’ve told you the full truth!”

“That’s something we’ll confirm with Seo Do-il.”

Su-ho sealed Moon Hye-hyun’s meridians.

He too convulsed and fell stiff to the floor. Su-ho then unsealed Seo Do-il’s meridians.

“Huh-hhk!”

Gasping for air like a man just rescued from drowning, Seo Do-il sat up.

Su-ho repeated the same explanation.

Seo Do-il turned his trembling eyes toward Moon Hye-hyun.

“A-alright. I’ll tell you everything honestly.”

“Great. Then let’s begin.”

Su-ho changed the order of questions, starting with the slush funds and undocumented files that Moon Hye-hyun had mentioned.

As expected of Tamra’s representative, Seo Do-il answered with sincere detail.

And his answers matched Moon Hye-hyun’s closely.

The only difference? The specific stash of dirty money each of them had tucked away.

‘Tsk tsk. Sharing the same pot, but each guarding their own bowl, huh?’

Truly impressive.

These two, a guild master and vice-master, had been siphoning off funds behind each other’s backs.

Su-ho moved on to the final question.

“Alright, last one. What are your Heal and Recovery skill grades?”

“B-both are A.”

“A?”

“Y-yes!”

Su-ho narrowed his eyes.

“That’s not what I heard.”

“Huh? Wh-what do you mean? We both said our Heal and Recovery skills are A...”

“Moon Hye-hyun said your Recovery is S. That you didn’t heal Ki So-yeon on purpose.”

“W-what?! No! That f-fucking liar! He’s full of shit! I swear mine’s really A!!”

“Still trying to lie to me... even now...”

Su-ho’s gaze turned icy.

An indescribable pressure and killing intent exploded from him.

Seo Do-il broke out in a cold sweat.

He was level 190, and yet the amount of fear this man instilled...

That’s what made it worse. He couldn’t even begin to grasp the level of power Su-ho possessed.

“P-please! I’m telling the truth! I swear! Please spare me!!”

“You want to live?”

"Y-yes, I... I really want to live! I swear!"

"Good. Then I’ll give you one last chance."

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Su-ho raised a finger and jabbed several points on Seo Do-il’s body.

Each time a finger touched him, Seo Do-il flinched in terror, but there was nothing he could do.

And then—

“...Huh?”

Half of Seo Do-il’s vision went dark.

His limbs weakened. Strength left his body.

Su-ho spoke.

"Instead of killing you, I’ll be taking your sight in one eye, your hearing in one ear, your sense of taste, and both your wrists. Serve your full sentence. When you get out, come find me. Then, and only then, I’ll consider fixing your body."

“W-what are you...!”

"What? Would you rather spend the rest of your life crippled?"

As Su-ho stared down at him with a cold, merciless gaze, Seo Do-il couldn’t speak. He could only swallow dryly.

“N-no, I understand...”

"Then cooperate fully with the Special Division’s investigation. Don’t even think about wasting their time with any more bullshit. Oh, and one more thing—any civil lawsuits headed your way, including from Ki Jun-seo? Don’t even bother hiring a lawyer. Just accept the judgment. Unless, of course, you want to stay disabled forever."

“...Yes. I understand.”

“Good. Then get lost.”

Su-ho pressed the Sleep Point on Seo Do-il.

Then he woke up Moon Hye-hyun and repeated the exact same process.

Thud.

Moon Hye-hyun collapsed after being hit with the Sleep Point.

Only then did Su-ho rise to his feet.

Both of them had likely told the truth.

But even so, Su-ho had deliberately sown distrust between them—ensuring that even in Cheongok Prison, they’d backstab and tear each other apart.

There were also a few extra procedures Su-ho had performed without telling them—like rendering them impotent.

He’d kept that part to himself on purpose.

Let them realize it gradually during their prison sentence.

Live your life drowning in helplessness and despair.

Not even knowing the cause of their impotence, they’d waste their entire lives agonizing over it.

And they wouldn’t be able to cure it either.

Debuffs like this required knowing the exact method of removal. And if the caster was more skilled than the target, most wouldn’t even be able to attempt it.

Su-ho stepped out of the building, his business finished.

Just then, a call came from someone familiar.

It was Manager Kim I-gang.

"Yes, Manager."

– "Hunter! Over here!"

Su-ho turned in the direction of the voice and saw Kim I-gang waving at him.

Su-ho smiled and waved back.

"You got here early?"

"I flew out on the first flight of the day."

Su-ho had asked him the day before to come as early as possible.

And sure enough, here he was first thing in the morning.

Then again, this was Nexus. This trip was practically mandatory.

It wasn’t just anyone—they had the chance to recruit Ki Jun-seo.

Even if Su-ho had told him to arrive the night before, Kim I-gang would’ve camped out with a smile on his face.

After checking the time, Su-ho said,

“Just a second.”

He immediately called Na Do-won to let him know everything was taken care of.

– "You’re really leaving? We’re almost there."

"Yeah, I’ve taken care of Seo Do-il and Moon Hye-hyun. Looks like they were too exhausted and passed out again. Just wake them up and take them in. They’ll cooperate just fine."

Su-ho hung up and tucked his phone away.

Then he turned to Kim I-gang.

“Did you bring a car?”

"Just in case, I took a taxi."

"Good. I rented a car—we can use that. Ki Jun-seo is at the hospital where his sister is admitted. I’ll fill you in on the details on the way."

"Understood."

The two got into the car, and Su-ho began explaining everything as they drove.

He explained Ki Jun-seo’s current situation, what he’d suffered, the treatment he’d received—and how they’d be pursuing every possible legal route to get him proper compensation for all the exploitation he endured.

He told Kim not to worry about Seo Do-il or Moon Hye-hyun either.

They’d cooperate just fine from now on.

At that, a wide grin spread across Kim I-gang’s face.

"You’re incredible. I never imagined you’d bring in Ki Jun-seo like this."

"Just lucky, I guess."

"Haha! Only you would call this luck. But seriously, where do you get all this intel? Is it because you used to work for the Association?"

"That’s a trade secret."

"Of course, of course. Gotta keep some mystery. Anyway, you don’t need to worry about Ki Jun-seo. Even if he’s cooperative, we’re bringing in our best legal team to ensure a thorough cleanup."

"That’s good to hear. But don’t forget to take care of both Ki Jun-seo and his sister too."

"Oh, absolutely! His sister is eighteen, right? If they move to Seoul, we’ll handle everything—education, housing, daily needs. Nexus will take full responsibility."

"Then I’ll trust you, Manager."

"Haha, of course! He’s going to be Nexus’s star player—it’s only right we go all out."

Kim I-gang’s grin stretched ear to ear.

He couldn’t help it.

Ever since Su-ho joined Nexus, he’d never felt this much dopamine coursing through his brain.

Vrrroooom—

The car carrying the two of them sped off toward the hospital.