Chapter 39 – The Chain of Obedience
The smoke hadn't cleared from Ji-ho's last battle, but the world had already shifted. The death of Han Seo-jin, the psychic manipulator, sent ripples across underground channels, awakeners' forums, and even secret divisions of the Devil's Association.
Five targets were down. Two remained.
But Ji-ho didn't rest. Instead, he walked the wreckage of the fortress they had just reduced to ash, silently watching Ye-jun wrap his arm, still wounded. The silence between them was thick with understanding.
> "They were never just killers," Ji-ho muttered, staring at Seo-jin's crushed pendant.
"They were soldiers. Obeying someone."
Ye-jun nodded. "The chain runs deeper. The roots are still alive."
---
Revealing the Structure
After interrogating the remains of Seo-jin's information database, Ji-ho uncovered something chilling: all ten killers were part of an underground contract—coded with a loyalty imprint that could alter memory, suppress rebellion, and force obedience. They weren't just evil—they were puppets.
At the core?
A symbol.
An angel with broken wings—when tilted, it became a devil.
> The mark of the Devil's Association.
Ji-ho remembered. That symbol had been found on the bodies of all five he killed.
His eyes narrowed.
> "This wasn't just revenge anymore. This is purging a disease."
---
Memory Leak
The pendant pulsed again, and a memory not his own flashed through his mind.
He saw the remaining two targets—a woman with control over shadows and a man encased in crimson armor—speaking to the president of the Devil's Association.
"Ensure no evidence leaves that clinic," the president ordered.
And they obeyed without question.
> "The public doesn't need truth. They need control."
The vision ended with the president looking directly at Ji-ho, as if aware of the observation.
---
The Plan to Break the Chain
Back in their hidden bunker, Ji-ho and Ye-jun mapped out the known movements of the two remaining targets.
Their plan?
Divide and shatter the chain.
But they knew one thing clearly now: killing the remaining two wasn't just revenge. It was key to reaching the President, the man orchestrating it all—the man who turned society into a machine where truth died beneath power.
> "We'll destroy the chain," Ji-ho said.
"Link by link."
---
Society Still Chooses Silence
News of the destruction of Skyhaven reached the public. But instead of outrage, people turned away. The media said it was a terrorist attack. Survivors were silenced.
Some people whispered Ji-ho's name with hope.
But most?
They feared him more than they feared corruption.
> "Society doesn't want freedom," Ye-jun said bitterly.
"They want comfort. Even if it means living in lies."
Ji-ho clenched his fists.
> "Then we will make them see the truth through ruin."
---
Status Update:
Mental Resistance: High
Trait: Evolution (Mental Path: Unlocked)
New Ability: Thought Rend
Destructive Ray Evolution: Mind Spear & Blade Forms
Poison Aura & Resistance Active
---
The Hunt Continues.
Two remain. And then, the man who poisoned the world.
> "Mr. Zero… rises."
---