A Terminal Healer Needs an Obsessive Maniac-Chapter 146

<As you know, Deputy Guild Master, ever since the From Hell guild acquired a much larger and stronger guild than its parent organization, various controversies have been nonstop.>

<To make a big leap, it's something we must endure at least once.>

<Things have become even more chaotic since the news broke today that Choi Jun-wan was sentenced to ten years in prison.>

Choi Gang-ho's brow furrowed again. Ryu Seo-ha had shown subtle signs of concern as Choi Jun-wan, already in court for embezzlement and breach of duty, was likely headed to prison due to newly revealed charges of manslaughter and conspiracy to commit murder during the investigation.

It was clear that Ryu Seo-ha was worrying about whether Choi Gang-ho had framed an innocent man for crimes he hadn't committed just to pin the blame on the economic criminal. After all, he had executed such devious plans without hesitation in the 'original story', so Ryu Seo-ha was justified in having those suspicions.

However, no matter how ruthless Choi Gang-ho was when dealing with matters, he would never frame someone for a crime like conspiracy to murder, especially knowing Ryu Seo-ha would find out about it. While he had indeed discovered evidence of a crime to ensure that scum was thoroughly removed from society, that was a different issue altogether.

<The guild members of the Gangseong Line who believed that Choi Jun-wan would return are particularly restless.>

Once again, Ryu Seo-ha made him worry in such a dire situation. Choi Gang-ho seriously contemplated whether he should fire the HR head if he kept this up.

<Either you or the Guild Master should move your office to the Gangseong guild headquarters for a while and help restore the atmosphere of the building.>

<...Okay, I'll mention it again.>

Ryu Seo-ha's faint sigh tickled Choi Gang-ho's ears as he reluctantly accepted the request.

He knew this too. Just from a security perspective, having the deputy guild master’s office right next to the guild master’s office was the epitome of inefficiency.

But as much as he wanted to see her, he couldn't think of what else to do. Creating an environment where they could frequently see each other would greatly increase work efficiency. This was something Ryu Seo-ha had also agreed upon.

Originally, Choi Gang-ho had intended to create the deputy guild master’s office inside the From Hell guild master’s office. He had only recently come to a meager agreement with Ryu Seo-ha to have them on the same floor. There was no way he would even consider sending his lover to the old Gangseong guild building.

“You bastard!”

With a dissatisfied expression, Choi Gang-ho leaped over the black rocky mountain and changed his face to one as cold as the Arctic winter the moment he saw the filthy human trash covered in volcanic ash.

“Damn...! Once I get out of here, I swear I'll kill you, no matter what it takes...!”

A man with a collar resembling a magical control device screamed pathetically. He was Go Young-hoon, the president of YH Capital, who had once ruthlessly exploited Ryu Seo-ha.

“It seems you still have some strength left.”

Choi Gang-ho, sneering disdainfully, threw a heavy box, just brought from the torture chamber created after eliminating the underground dungeon beneath the From Hell guild master’s office.

“Cough!”

Go Young-hoon’s body toppled backward, hitting the heavy box that was heavier than it appeared. The chain buried deep in the ground and connected to the collar around his neck tightened painfully, constricting his breathing.

Having dug tirelessly through the black dirt day and night, Go Young-hoon grabbed his neck with hands that were cracked and chapped, struggling like an overturned insect several times before managing to lift his upper body off the ground.

That was the extent of his allowed movements. Clinging to the futile hope that he could escape someday, he had no other option but to rummage through the black ashes. Not even able to stand on his own two feet.

“What the...?”

His blurred vision, dulled from starvation and only sustained by the raw monster meat thrown at him like pity right before he was about to die, slowly scanned the warm box that was pressing down on him.

Realizing that the box contained the shocking truth of a person whose eyes had been gouged out and wrists severed, his exhausted body jumped in horror a beat late.

“You crazy bastard!”

Understanding it as a threat—that he could easily end up like this if Choi Gang-ho ever felt like it—Go Young-hoon put on a tough act as a last resort. It seemed he would need some time to fully break his spirit.

Now, time was on Choi Gang-ho and Ryu Seo-ha’s side. This forced labor would never end unless Go Young-hoon broke down completely, whether it took years, decades, centuries, or even millennia.

“Who’s going to say that?”

Choi Gang-ho scoffed lightly. He could never kill him easily. Just as Ryu Seo-ha had suffered for all those years, he too had to pay a suitable price.

If Go Young-hoon’s life ended before he could pay the weight of his sins, Choi Gang-ho would willingly invest resources to prolong that death. If he were to be torn apart by a monster's claws, Choi Gang-ho would piece him back together again.

If he gave up trying to escape from the tedious and vast cycle of hell, where ownership shifted from Baek Ik to Heuk Ik, and then back to Choi Gang-ho, another hell would be presented to him.

“Say what you want! You piece of shit!”

Go Young-hoon had no choice in the matter. Like Ryu Seo-ha in the past, he had been suppressed by the logic of power and couldn't even put up a weak resistance. Every circumstance surrounding him would impose forced labor and pressure on him every moment.

This was a truth applicable to all—a new world’s reality. Touch Ryu Seo-ha, and there would be a corresponding price to pay. For a very long time, or according to the weight of his sins, perhaps for life, or maybe even eternally if his crimes were deemed especially egregious.

Of course, even the lofty upper beings could not be exceptions. That was the reason he was continually sent on unwilling business trips to hunt down the remnants of Heuk Ik and Baek Ik, who had secretly infiltrated every world.

“Ughhh...”

Suddenly, a pitiful moan escaped from within the box. It was the groan of a member of the Four Apostles, whose abilities had been sealed by the magical control device, just like Go Young-hoon. In a state where he could only be treated as an object, he could not resist at all.

Choi Gang-ho glanced down at him, his gaze moving beyond the visible, toward the west where the black sea lay. It was a terrain swarming with the highest number of monsters in the Abyss.

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The barrier surrounding that area would ultimately prevent Jeong Woo-bin, who had lost his powers due to the magical control device, from making a desperate escape, just like the Four Apostles and Go Young-hoon. There were ample means prepared to ensure that he wouldn’t die easily.

<Choi Gang-ho.>

Choi Gang-ho’s previously cold expression melted like spring snow upon receiving a sweet message from his beloved through the communication device.

<What time will you come in today?>

The letters, elegantly shaped to resemble Ryu Seo-ha's natural handwriting, made his heart race. He suddenly thought about giving extra incentives to Secretary Jang, who had been the first to ease the burdens Choi Gang-ho had to bear.

Last winter, when he first met someone exuding a scent reminiscent of familiar and nostalgic golden sunshine at the YH Global office, he couldn’t help but wonder if her ability was a way to exploit the gaps in others' hearts.

Thus, he ordered Secretary Jang to investigate Ryu Seo-ha's background. After meticulously combing through various unusual details, starting from the daycare she attended as a child to the location of her favorite playground and even the lunch menu she had eaten just the day before, he found it—her familiar handwriting from her diary and book reports.

The faint suspicion turned into joyous certainty, and Choi Gang-ho's feelings, which had already

surpassed mere affection, deepened and clarified as he spent more time with Ryu Seo-ha. He had restrained his expressions significantly, fearing that she might feel burdened since she seemed not to remember him.

Even disregarding the feelings they had shared during their time in the Abyss, Ryu Seo-ha was someone he couldn’t help but love.

<If it’s alright with you, I was thinking we could cook some hot pot together.>

Today, just like this, he was working diligently in secret to fill in the parts he hadn’t been able to do for the ‘past’ Choi Gang-ho. How could he possibly not fall deeper for her? He couldn’t help but smile at the adorable message. He wanted to hurry and meet Ryu Seo-ha and shower her with kisses.

<I’ll come right away.>

Just a short while without seeing her made him feel an unreasonable thirst for her, so he hurriedly replied to his lover and turned away without a second thought, leaving the vicious criminals behind.

Ryu Seo-ha, who often saw even the most despicable beings as pitiable, didn’t need to know of such a cruel end. He would only show her a happy ending.

Just as he always had, he would continue to shield her from any bad sights, ensuring that Ryu Seo-ha could live a comfortable life, now and forever.