Return of the Sword God-Rank Civil Servant novel Chapter 194

“Ghhhhh...!!”

The electricity surged through them with immense power.

The entire 2nd Investigation Team was rendered motionless.

Thud!

Thud!

As the electric effect subsided, most of the team members collapsed.

The only ones barely able to stand were Na Do-won and Lee Hyun-seok.

However, they weren’t in good shape either.

They looked like they would collapse at the slightest push.

At that moment—

“Well, well. You really came to catch us?”

A voice rang out in the darkness.

At the same time, the dim surroundings brightened, revealing the speaker.

It wasn’t just one person.

There were five.

All unfamiliar faces.

However, Na Do-won and Lee Hyun-seok instinctively knew.

These were the Seodaemun Three.

“You bastards...!”

Na Do-won squeezed out his voice through clenched teeth, his bloodshot eyes glaring.

At that, Kim Kwan-hyeon, the leader of the Seodaemun Three, chuckled.

“Why am I the bastard? Aren’t you the one holding one of my men hostage?

"Last time, you really messed up our plans. Thanks for that.”

Last time.

He was referring to when Na Do-won’s team launched an operation to capture the Seodaemun Three.

Back then, they had successfully captured one of the gang members.

Kim Kwan-hyeon approached Na Do-won, who was frozen in place, unable to move.

“I bet you’re wondering what’s going on.

"It’s not that complicated. We just followed the tip we got from our inside man and made preparations.

"This is why you should always have connections.”

“Inside... man?”

“Yeah. What, you think an organization like ours doesn’t have an informant in the Association?

"Our scale is nationwide.

"And when you’ve got money, you can make a lot of things happen.”

“Who... is it?”

“Oh? You really wanna know?”

Kim Kwan-hyeon smirked.

Then, in an instant, he pulled out a dagger and slashed Na Do-won’s throat.

“Khugh!!”

“TEAM LEADER!!”

Lee Hyun-seok screamed.

Even though his body was still paralyzed from the electric attack, witnessing Na Do-won being cut down in front of him made him cry out instinctively.

Na Do-won collapsed, clutching his throat with both hands, trying to stop the blood pouring out.

Kim Kwan-hyeon crouched in front of him and spoke.

"Now that you’re on death’s door, I’ll tell you the truth.

"You know your dear friend, Kim Won-hu?

"He’s the one who tipped us off.

"He told us you’d be coming tonight. Even told us to be ready.”

“Khgghhh...”

“Seriously, man. You should’ve just listened to your superiors and stayed out of it.

"Now look at you."

“Alright, we got the leader. Let’s finish the rest of them off.”

“Yes, boss.”

At Kim Kwan-hyeon’s command, the rest of the gang drew their weapons.

Na Do-won’s vision blurred.

There was no hope.

He was barely keeping his carotid artery clamped, but without a proper healer, he was as good as dead.

“Damn... it...”

His senses dulled.

His surroundings faded into silence.

And yet, the one thing that remained vivid in his mind—

Was his burning hatred for Kim Won-hu.

‘I will... never forgive him...!’

It was over.

He was about to lose consciousness.

Or so he thought.

FLASH!

[ Healing Applied. ]

[ Recovery Activated. ]

A brilliant light enveloped the area.

Warmth spread through his body.

Sounds he could no longer hear suddenly became clear.

And in his vision, two system notifications appeared.

‘Healing...?’

Kim Kwan-hyeon frowned.

“Healing? What the hell?”

Suddenly, healing magic had activated.

Kim Kwan-hyeon turned toward the only healer in his crew, but the man raised his hands defensively.

“It wasn’t me!”

Then who?

A voice echoed from the darkness.

“It was me.”

All eyes turned in that direction.

And in that moment, a brilliant light illuminated the area.

[ Guardian Spirit Activated. ]

[ Recovery Activated. ]

A wide-area healing skill.

As it spread across the room, the paralyzed members of the 2nd Investigation Team began stirring.

"You bastards...!"

"I'll kill you...!"

Maybe it was because they had been on the verge of death.

Or maybe it was because they had watched their leader fall.

Either way, their rage was uncontrollable.

“What... what the hell...?”

Kim Kwan-hyeon began panicking.

He hadn't even had time to figure out who had spoken.

"We have to move—"

He hurled throwing knives at the recovering investigators.

But—

CLANG!

His knives were intercepted in midair.

No—

They had been cut down at lightning speed.

Kim Kwan-hyeon’s eyes widened.

Not just because his attack failed.

But because—

His body suddenly stopped moving.

As if something was holding him in place.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

At the same time, system notifications popped up in his vision.

[ Shadow Binding Activated. ]

[ Shadow Bleeding Activated. ]

‘Shadow... what?’

But there was no time to process it.

One by one, his teammates screamed as they too were restrained.

Su-ho knelt beside him and examined the wound on his neck.

“Good. The wound has completely healed. You were lucky I got here in time—any later, and you really would have died.” fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

“...Thank you. But how did you get here?”

“It’s a long story,” Su-ho admitted. “But to summarize—I found out about Kim Won-hu’s betrayal, so I moved independently.”

“You found out? From where?”

“That’s a trade secret.”

“...I see.”

Na Do-won sighed.

He knew better than to press for details.

Right now, the source of the information didn’t matter.

What mattered was Kim Won-hu had betrayed them.

Na Do-won tried to stand up.

But—

His legs buckled.

Su-ho caught him before he could fall.

“Take it easy,” Su-ho advised. “We may be like game characters, but you still almost died. Your body won’t recover instantly.”

“...Thank you.”

Na Do-won lowered his head.

Finally, he could breathe.

And now that the danger had passed—

A storm of emotions surged within him.

“...Why the hell did he do it?”

First, there was rage.

But as his mind settled, curiosity crept in.

Kim Won-hu.

His old colleague.

They had attended each other’s weddings.

They weren’t best friends, but they weren’t enemies either.

Kim Won-hu had never been an ambitious or greedy man.

So why?

Why would he sell out his own people?

As Na Do-won’s mind raced, Su-ho spoke.

“Are you wondering why?”

“...Yes?”

“Why he did this.”

“Ah... Yes. To be honest, I am.

"I don’t recall ever doing anything to wrong him.

"But why else would he betray us?

"How could he—how could he try to kill us?”

Su-ho smirked.

“There’s probably no deep reason.”

“...What?”

“People don’t need grand motives to do bad things.

"Don’t think too hard about it.”

“That’s ridiculous...”

“It’s true,” Su-ho said.

“Do you want to see for yourself?”

“See...? How?”

“I can show you.

"But on one condition.”

Su-ho leaned in and whispered something to Na Do-won.

Na Do-won thought for a moment.

Then, he nodded.

“Alright.

"I’ll do it.”

“Good,” Su-ho smiled. “Then let’s go confirm it for ourselves.”

Su-ho helped him up.