The four men watched as their accolade landed hard on the ground. They stared intently, waiting for him to get up—but he didn't. That dumbfounded them.
Turning to face Jihoon, they shivered slightly. Something about him felt off.
"Get out of the way if you don't want to die," one of the men warned.
Jihoon remained silent, his eyes closed as he inhaled and exhaled deeply, emitting an aura of an entirely different person.
Out of the four men, one summoned the courage to raise his gun and fire. But before his arms could complete the motion, Jihoon's foot struck his face. The man flew several meters away.
"Ehh?" The remaining men's mouths fell open. Sera and the three men fighting her paused their battle to watch.
"What do you think you're doing?" one of the men boomed. "There's only one of you and three of—"
POW!
POW!
Before the man could finish his statement, Jihoon's foot struck his face—and that of the man next to him. Both were sent flying. The last man standing shivered in fear, watching his comrades drop like flies.
Jihoon gazed at him intently, and he froze. His legs refused to move. His arms wouldn't lift. Even his eyes stayed glued to Jihoon, paralyzed by the weight of his stare.
"Tell me why I shouldn't kill you right now," Jihoon said, retrieving a gun from the floor.
"I can help you! I-I can help! I swear!" the man cried.
"How?" Jihoon took a step forward.
The man glanced at Seyeon and Tae-gun, who lay behind Jihoon. "I can protect them! I swear!"
Jihoon exhaled. "I can protect them myself. Give me a better reason."
Just then, the three men attacking Sera suddenly sprinted toward Jihoon.
Before they could reach him, the man Jihoon was intimidating spun around and fired. The shots rang out in rapid succession—BANG! BANG! BANG!—dropping all three of them.
"You see! I told you I could hel—"
Before he could finish, Jihoon's foot landed squarely on his cheek, sending him soaring into the air.
Jihoon then turned to face the doctor behind him. "There's a secret room in this infirmary, isn't there?"
The doctor's eyes widened. "How do you know that? Only…" He hesitated. Then, nodding quickly, he said, "I'll take him there now."
He gestured to the two nurses, and together, they began pushing the stretchers toward the secret room.
At that moment, Seyeon woke up and jumped off the stretcher.
"Miss!" the doctor exclaimed. "You shouldn't leave the bed yet!"
"It's fine," Seyeon assured him, glancing at her unconscious father. "Just keep my father safe."
The doctor wanted to protest—she had been stabbed just moments ago. But he knew better. Seyeon only listened to her father, no one else.
Without another word, the doctor walked to a wall and placed his palm on it. A few seconds later, the wall slid open like a door, revealing a narrow passageway leading underground.
The doctor and nurses hurried inside with the stretchers. As soon as they crossed the threshold, the door sealed shut.
Jihoon glanced at Seyeon before turning to face the entrance door.
Sera stepped back, joining Seyeon and Jihoon. She assumed a fighting stance, then turned to Jihoon. "I didn't know you had it in you."
Jihoon only spared her a brief glance before shifting his gaze to the entrance door. "Now's not the time to chat. More of them are coming."
Meanwhile, just outside the Lee manor...
The servants, nurses, and bodyguards stood in confusion as several men in suits stormed into the mansion, wielding guns and iron bars. Although they were dressed similarly to the manor's bodyguards, the workers immediately sensed something was off—these men weren't part of the household.
They had no idea what was happening, but their orders were simply to leave the mansion. As murmurs of unease spread among them, Seyeon's handmaiden, Min Raon, stepped onto a podium to address the crowd.
"You all should go home."
"Go home?"
"What does she mean?"
The workers exchanged bewildered glances, their confusion only deepening.
"Why should we leave?" someone called out.
Raon exhaled sharply. "Something's happening right now, and I don't think we should get involved. We were sent outside for a reason. We need to leave—now!"
At the front of the mansion, the bodyguards hesitated, unsure whether to intervene. Seeing no resistance, the men in suits waltzed in as if they owned the place.
That was when one of the bodyguards lost his patience. He pulled out his gun—and fired.
Chaos erupted.
Gunshots rang out, and the once-calm atmosphere turned into a frenzy. Servants and nurses scrambled in panic as bullets flew in all directions.
Raon's breath hitched as she saw the bodies fall—not just the intruders, but also the bodyguards and her fellow servants, struck down by stray bullets.
Panic surged through her, but she forced herself to move. She leapt down from the podium, dodging the chaos, and rushed to gather as many workers as she could. As soon as she had a sizeable group, she led them toward the back gate, hoping to escape unnoticed.
But just as they neared it, a deep, thunderous crash shook the ground. An armored van rammed through the back gate. The reinforced vehicle tore through the barricade, metal screeching as it crushed everything in its path.
Raon barely had time to react before the van kept going—toward them.
"Move!" she screamed.
Some workers managed to leap out of the way in time. But others—too slow, too shocked—were hit. Bodies crumpled beneath the weight of the vehicle. Many died instantly. A few were left writhing on the ground, wounded and broken.
Yet the van still didn't stop. It kept going until it slammed into the mansion's walls—then exploded.
BOOM!
A massive shockwave ripped through the air, sending debris flying in all directions. Half of the grand mansion crumbled into dust.
The force of the blast hit Raon and the escaping workers, hurling them into the air like ragdolls. Her ears rang painfully, blood dripping from them as the pressure ruptured her eardrums.
At the front of the mansion, the bodyguards stood frozen in shock—staring at the destruction, stunned and momentarily defenseless.
The men in suits took full advantage. They charged. With ferocity and precision, they slaughtered the remaining bodyguards.
The Lee manor's defenders scattered, desperate to escape. But most were cut down where they stood—gunned down before they could flee. Only a few managed to survive.
---
From afar, a man in a black trench coat stood, a cigar in one hand and binoculars in the other. Behind him, Yoon Hwasung watched the chaos unfolding at the Lee family house, a smile lingering on his face.
The man wore dark glasses, and a large scar stretched across his face. Beside him, his black Lamborghini gleamed under the sunlight.
"This is turning out even easier than I thought," the man said, exhaling smoke. "I heard Tae-gun was stabbed and is in critical condition. The Sisters might not even need to intervene."
"But I reckon they should, just in case," Hwasung replied.
The man tilted his head slightly toward him. "I also heard Black Shield has dispatched their elite squads. Have you managed to stall them?"
"We tried, but they're strong—really strong," Hwasung admitted.
"No problem." The man chuckled. "I predicted this might happen."
"Do you have a plan to stop them?" Hwasung asked, curiosity flickering in his eyes.
"I'm not stopping them." The man smirked. "I'm going to kill them before they ruin our plan. The Lee family ends today, and no one can stop it."
Flicking his cigar away, he strode toward his car, Hwasung following closely. They both slipped inside, and with a scoff, the man started the engine and sped off.
---
Five black vans sped down the road, sirens wailing as other vehicles cleared the way. Inside these armored transports were the elite squads of Black Shield Security, racing toward the Lee manor to protect the family.
They had encountered minor obstacles along the way, but nothing they couldn't handle.
Then—BANG!
A deafening gunshot rang out, and in the next second, one of the vans exploded into flames.
Another shot. Another explosion.
"What's going on?!" the captain shouted, panic creeping into his voice.
"I don't know! I think it's a sniper!" an agent responded.
"With exploding bullets?!"
High above, perched on the rooftop of a towering skyscraper, the sniper lay in position. His precision was unmatched. One by one, he took out the remaining vans, leaving nothing but burning wreckage in his wake.
Lowering his rifle, he pulled out his phone.
"It's done."
---
The infirmary doors crashed open as several men in suits stormed inside.
Without hesitation, Sera, Seyeon, and Jihoon sprang into action, closing the distance between them and the intruders in mere seconds. The battle erupted in a flurry of fists and blood. Teeth flew. The pristine white tiles turned red.
Seyeon fought fiercely, but exhaustion soon caught up with her. Staggering, she could barely lift her arms. Sera rushed to her side, Jihoon close behind. Minutes passed, but Jihoon, too, was reaching his limit. With their backs against the wall, the trio found themselves cornered.
Then—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A series of earth-shaking explosions erupted outside the mansion, sending shockwaves through the ground. Screams of agony filled the air. The entire building trembled, debris raining down from above.
For a moment, even the men in suits hesitated, their eyes darting toward the chaos outside—then up at the ceiling as the mansion groaned under the impact, looking like it could collapse at any moment.
Then they snapped back to their targets.
"Get them!"
"Wait!" Jihoon roared, and the men halted.
"As you can see, these two ladies are already exhausted," he said, struggling to catch his breath. "I still have plenty of energy left, so why don't you kill me first before dealing with them, huh?"
The men glanced at their leader.
"Well, there's nothing wrong with that. Attack!"
At his command, the men lunged at Jihoon. But with a devilish grin, Jihoon sprang forward, unleashing a savage assault. He moved with unnatural speed, weaving between his attackers like a specter, striking with a force that shattered bones and sent bodies flying.
Seyeon and Sera watched in awe—Jihoon was winning. But their relief was short-lived.
Jihoon suddenly slumped.
"Huh?" The men in suits hesitated, confused.
The leader snapped his head toward his men. "Who shot him?"
They all shook their heads.
"T-That man is a demon!" one of them stammered, trembling. The others turned to look—and their stomachs dropped. Jihoon had ripped off the man's arms and shattered his legs. He wasn't the only one.
"Kill him now before he wakes up!" One of the men cried and the leader raised his shotgun, aiming for Jihoon's head—
BANG!
The leader dropped dead, pieces of his skull scattering across the tiles. Two men appeared at the entrance, methodically executing the remaining assailants with pinpoint shots.
"Leo and Logan!" Sera gasped, relief washing over her. But beside her, Seyeon didn't share the sentiment. Instead, she frowned, an uneasy feeling settling in her gut. Something wasn't right.