The day after the Amon Party made a deal with Reketio Corporation, Reketio began its operation.
What Amon Party didn’t know was that Reketio was the nemesis of the Shaun Lai Group.
Reketio specialized in identifying fatal weaknesses in companies, pouring capital into them, then filing lawsuits.
They profited from the falling stock prices through short selling.
This was one of Reketio’s operational strategies.
Using this method, they would crush companies too large to be considered standard corporations but too weak to be true megacorps.
Then, they either consumed these companies themselves or gifted them to allied megacorps.
This earned Reketio the nickname “Megacorp Gatekeeper.”
Shaun Lai, being right on the border between a large corporation and a megacorp, quickly became Reketio’s prey.
***
[Breaking News! Shaun Lai Group’s blatant lies exposed! Forced corporate technology recall initiated.]
To reiterate, the world of cyberpunk does not lack laws.
The problem is that the laws are unevenly applied.
The law sided with Reketio—stronger, wealthier, and deemed more legitimate.
Shaun Lai, unable to mount a meaningful resistance, was thoroughly hunted down.
Shaun Lai’s technologies, including those related to the dungeon <Howling Darkness>, were confiscated on grounds of illegal acquisition.
When Shaun Lai sought help from other corporations profiting from <Howling Darkness>, no one came to their aid.
Those companies had unknowingly purchased technology from Shaun Lai’s fake dungeon.
Since their own acquisitions were not under scrutiny, they saw no reason to intervene.
Helping Shaun Lai could risk them being dragged down as well, so they severed ties altogether.
Every partner company, even subcontractors, abandoned Shaun Lai.
One of Shaun Lai’s closest partners even took the lead in filing lawsuits against them, seemingly to prove their own innocence.
***
“This traitorous scum!”
There were reports of a Shaun Lai executive in charge of external cooperation carrying out a suicide bombing on a former partner company.
Shaun Lai was swiftly dismantled.
Reketio’s short-selling caused the stock price to plummet.
Massive compensation lawsuits followed, further sinking the company.
Their confiscated technology, combined with the terrorism investigation, left them no way out.
Shaun Lai’s downfall was certain.
“Ha… Damn it…”
The vice president gave a dry chuckle as he swallowed a red pill.
The next day, news broke that the Shaun Lai Group spokesperson had committed suicide, briefly delaying the lawsuits.
However, a judge’s ultimatum—appear in court in the U.S. within a week or face automatic loss—forced the aging chairman to fly in from Japan.
The despair was evident in the chairman’s eyes, as captured in the news.
While Shaun Lai was not only disassembled but metaphorically stripped to the bone, Amon…
***
[How’s this, Sonia?]
[Hmm… a little higher.]
[Here?]
[Yeah.]
Pat, pat.
After finishing sparring at the seminary, Sonia, suffering from muscle pain, was receiving a massage from Amon.
Incidentally, Sonia had placed first in the sparring session.
[Feeling better now?]
[Ten more minutes.]
[Gladly.]
Amon applied pressure to ease her muscles.
Three months had passed since Reketio began their dismantling of Shaun Lai.
During this time, the Amon Party rarely left their home.
They weren’t foolish enough to wander into dungeons or train outside recklessly, only to be assassinated like characters in a horror movie.
They followed the instructions of the bodyguards sent by Reketio, living safely within their home.
Even when they went out—whether to buy groceries, drop off family at school, or attend court as witnesses—they were always accompanied by guards.
As expected, Shaun Lai’s assassins would occasionally attempt attacks, but the bodyguards easily thwarted them.
Aside from adding a little “spice” to their routine, the Amon Party enjoyed a peaceful life.
***
In the midst of this peaceful existence, Sonia asked a question while receiving Amon’s massage.
[Amon. How many months are left?]
[About a month.]
[So, you’ll be unemployed until then?]
[That’s right.]
According to Reketio’s chairman, four months were required to secure a safety margin.
While the first month had been sufficient to render Shaun Lai incapable of recovery, as a major corporation, the trials were prolonged.
[Four months is enough to dismantle Shaun Lai’s combat forces entirely,] Reketio’s chairman had said.
The additional two months were needed to complete the full dismantling or absorption process.
As a result, Amon had been unable to engage in any training for three months, with another month of waiting ahead.
Sonia asked with concern.
[Doesn’t it bother you?]
[I’d be lying if I said it didn’t.]
He felt like he had hit the brakes during a crucial growth period, which was frustrating.
However, it wasn’t entirely bad.
[Think of it as a time for the team to upgrade and adapt their equipment.]
By laundering Shaun Lai’s equipment and integrating it into their arsenal, three months had passed quickly.
Thinking of it as a necessary expense made it easier to bear.
Moreover, Amon hadn’t come out of this period empty-handed.
[After all, capital is a growth engine too.]
In this world, financial resources to buy equipment were also considered a growth factor.
And just a week ago, the technology royalties sent by Reketio were finally deposited, allowing Amon to purchase the equipment he had been eyeing.
This was growth in its own way.
[It should arrive this afternoon.]
Initially, Amon had wanted to buy an essence, but the one he desired was far out of his price range.
Instead, he opted to purchase equipment.
The shipment had departed from Germany and undergone multiple layers of security, taking a full week to arrive.
As if summoned by his words, an alarm rang on Amon’s phone.
Excited, he rose from his seat but quickly calmed himself and contacted the bodyguards first.
This was to ensure the delivery person wasn’t an assassin in disguise.
Fortunately, the bodyguards confirmed that the delivery person was safe.
Soon, Amon received the package from a courier clad in black equipment, representing the auction house. (He didn’t forget the tip.)
Humming a tune, Amon carried the box back to his room.
Sonia, curious about its contents, asked, “What kind of equipment is it?”
“Wait and see. You’ll know soon.”
Opening the box, Amon entered the combination on a black case, tossed the manual and bubble wrap aside, and pulled out…
“A crossbow and a pistol?”
Sonia tilted her head at the unusual combination.
In contrast, Amon was as giddy as a child with a new toy, carefully inspecting the items.
He checked the pistol’s chamber, tested the empty trigger of the crossbow, and nodded in satisfaction.
Then, he went into his room, strapped on a belt, and returned to the living room.
“That belt… Paul made it for you, right?”
“Yeah.”
Paul’s party, which Amon had once relied on, had retired and opened a blacksmith shop that also sold adventurer gear.
The belt was a custom item made specifically for Amon.
Amon holstered the pistol at his waist and hung the crossbow on the opposite side.
Since both weapons were small enough to wield with one hand, he looked like a cowboy with dual pistols.
Though his appearance, wearing the belt over his undershirt, seemed a bit comical, Amon was grinning with satisfaction.
He repeatedly practiced drawing his weapons from the belt.
Watching this, Sonia asked, “Didn’t you use throwing daggers before?”
“Yeah, but I realized I needed guns and crossbows this time.”
Amon had originally preferred throwing daggers for their power and silence.
However, fighting Shaun Lai’s security team taught him that his daggers were ineffective against enemies wearing helmets.
Assassinating such targets from behind took too much time.
After that battle, Amon resolved to purchase a pistol and a crossbow.
“The pistol is for general use against people. The crossbow is for tougher-skinned targets.”
Amon pulled the empty crossbow’s trigger twice, and a twang sound echoed as the string slackened.
Grunting, he pulled the string back into place.
Considering Amon could outmatch most orcs in arm-wrestling, the force required to load this small crossbow was unimaginable.
“It’s a double-barrel crossbow made by the same workshop that crafted your gun, Sonia. Rumor has it they have some strange entity in their basement. This string? It’s made from that entity’s beard.”
Having loaded the crossbow, Amon then inspected the pistol.
“The silencer for this gun was also made there. They say it’s crafted from the entity’s internal organs. When you fire, it makes no louder than a needle’s sound.”
Sonia’s eyes sparkled at the explanation.
Most women might not care, but Sonia was also a bit of a gearhead.
She showed considerable interest in Amon’s equipment.
However, she understood that her preference for overwhelming firepower didn’t align with Amon’s more precise, assassin-style tools.
Amon confirmed the crossbow’s bolts and the pistol’s magazine, nodding as if preparing for battle.
When he began oiling his daggers and swords, Sonia felt certain.
***
“Got more modifications in mind?”
“Yeah. Not today, but in about a month. I have something to handle discreetly, so I’m getting ready.”
“Do you need me?”
“If you could come along, I’d appreciate it, just in case…”
“I’ll grab my gun right away.”
“What about your lectures?”
“They’re on break soon.”
“Thanks.”
“That’s what I’m here for.”
She smiled and began inspecting her equipment.
Even though there was a whole month left, they were already preparing because ordering custom equipment or ammo could take weeks.
Sitting side by side, they maintained their gear while chatting, creating a somewhat unusual yet familiar scene.
Sonia picked up an ampoule filled with liquid and asked, “Ampoule checked. Silencer too. Did you look into the destination?”
“Yeah. Here.”
“Uh… A cathedral?”
“It’s not a cathedral. Call it a cult’s headquarters.”
Sonia knew Amon wasn’t the type to barge into a cult’s base to declare a holy war.
He was pragmatic.
If he were a lunatic bent on purging heretics and blasphemers, he’d have nuked the Vatican first.
This world was teeming with such targets, yet Amon had never once caused unnecessary bloodshed.
The fact that he was acting now meant…
“Ah, did they mess with you?”
“Well… you could say they did. But it’s more like they’re planning something big.”
That was enough for Sonia.
Although she didn’t have deep faith, her time at the seminary and her relationship with Amon left her with some belief.
Moreover, Amon never acted on baseless intuition.
Trusting his judgment, Sonia prepared for battle.
Meanwhile, Amon recalled why he was heading to the cult’s base.
Originally, he hadn’t planned to mess with them.
This world was filled with thousands of cathedrals steeped in heresy, and he couldn’t possibly destroy them all.
That’s why he’d initially dismissed the conversation with Cassie’s brother as just an incident.
But a call with Cassie a few days ago changed his mind.
[Amon… My father’s been acting strange lately.]
[I overheard him talking in his room a few days ago… He used the word ‘revelation.’]
[Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think he’s been influenced by my brother. But the way he’s clinging to the word feels… obsessive.]
Her father, a man of sharp logic and ruthless pragmatism regarding money and power, had uttered the word “revelation.”
‘Something is there.’
Something he couldn’t ignore.