Chapter 188: Chapter 188
The Shadow Sovereign was the sole existence capable of dragging back a soul that had fallen to the pits of the abyss. That was why the Dragon needed only one glance to recognise Jin-Woo's identity.
The King of the Dead, in the body of a human, was staring right back at the creature with dignified eyes. The authority of a Sovereign that he possessed sent a powerful chill through the Dragon's body.
But, that only lasted for a brief moment.
The creature's eyes shifted to a location a bit further away. And that's when it discovered the stupid-looking humans and their jaws agape as they stared right back at the gigantic creature.
'Humans…. Humans?'
It immediately recalled the bottomless malice it held against humanity right up until its death. And that also helped the Dragon to remember the terrible pain it felt as it drew its very last breath.
'Humans… must be killed.'
Snap.
That's where its rationality got cut off. The Dragon raised its body up as crimson light filled its eyes.
[Every single one of you… I shall kill all of you.]
The air of the underground storage area began boiling right up.
"Oh, my god…."
The Director of the Hunter Bureau spat out a shocked gasp.
This dome had been designed to accommodate the Dragon's sleeping figure. So, the whole space seemed wholly inadequate the moment the creature raised his head high.
Crack!!
The Dragon's head pushed against the ceiling and destroyed the concrete there.
"W-what the hell?!"
"No, could it be….?"
They could now see the blood-red light gather within the open maw of the Dragon.
A mass of red light – both the director and his deputy had seen the video footage countless times and they knew what that red light cluster was supposed to do.
Adam White urgently grabbed the director's shoulder and shouted out.
"Sir! You need to evacuate…."
"That's Kamish's Breath! You think we'll be safe because we escaped somewhere?!"
It was rather clear that, once the red light exploded out, then forget about the underground storage area, the entire Hunter Bureau building would completely be obliterated in the blink of an eye. There was no place safe from the Dragon's attack, in other words.
Rumble-!!
One of the stationed staff members collapsed to the floor as if his legs lost all strength from the fright. The other two, meanwhile, were urgently punching the security code to open the electronic door-lock in order to escape from the dome.
The director and his deputy knew full well that was simply a waste of time. They could only alternate their gazes between Jin-Woo and the revived Kamish with dazed expressions etched on their faces.
Kuwaaaaah-!!
The red glow created out of pure magic energy finally transformed into a sphere of blinding flames. The Dragon was finally finished with its preparation to erase all 'humans' standing before it. Just before it could spit out its ultra-high temperature Breath, though…
[Die!]
….Jin-Woo roared out at the top of his lungs.
"That's enough!"
The director and his entourage all raised their arms reflexively to shield their eyes from the bright, blinding light. However, after hearing Jin-Woo's call, they all slowly lowered their arms.
They thought that everything was over once that light filled up the inside of the dome. As it turned out, they were far too hasty in making that judgement, however.
"But, but…. How can this even be possible?"
The flames within the jaw of the enraged Kamish were dying out gradually.
Did the Dragon that melted away the lives of several hundred elite Hunters with a single Breath, stop its attack because of just one command issued by Hunter Seong Jin-Woo?
Gulp.
The director stared at Jin-Woo with eyes that were clearly still swimming in unbridled shock. And then, those eyes nearly popped out of their sockets from an even more incredulous sight.
Jin-Woo actually began talking to Kamish, that was what.
"The Magic Crystal embedded in your head has been removed a long time ago. You have no more reason to follow the orders of the Rulers."
The deputy director standing right next to his boss shuddered from a nasty shock and hurriedly asked.
"Is, is Hunter Seong Jin-Woo actually speaking in the monster language right now?!"
"….Even though I'm looking at it, I can't figure out how to interpret this situation."
While everyone else was still stuck in their pit of pure astonishment, Jin-Woo was too busy spitting out a sigh of relief in his mind.
'Whew-woo….'
He was worried about what he needed to do for a brief moment there, but the end result turned out to be rather good. What a relief that was.
Even then, Jin-Woo was honestly almost scared out of his wits the moment he felt the unchecked rage gushing out from the Dragon.
'What kind of a Shadow Soldier possesses this powerful an ego?!'
It seemed that the thing about higher existences possessing stronger egos, as proclaimed by the King of Giants, could be true after all. Meanwhile, the Dragon was quite surprised by the fact that it willingly obeyed the new Sovereign's order.
[So, this is how it feels to submit to the Shadow Sovereign….]
The Dragon then lowered its tall posture and paid its respect to Jin-Woo. The humans flinching constantly from each and every movement of the oversized creature finally spat out lengthy sighs of relief.
The Dragon lowered its head, as if to kiss the floor, and spoke.
[This lowly servant who once used to serve the Dragon Emperor pays respects to the new Sovereign.]
There was a great deal of respect in the creature's voice that still growled like that of most monsters. Jin-Woo slowly approached the Dragon and placed his hand on the nose of the creature. It silently closed its eyes and enjoyed the warmth of its new lord.
The sensation that couldn't be described in mere words travelled from its nose tip to the rest of its body.
Jin-Woo also sensed that the Dragon's mood was lifting up. He had barely managed to calm his pounding heart by then, but now, it was racing hard again.
BA-THUMP, BA-THUMP!!
'Kamish…. The Dragon Kamish has really become my Shadow Soldier….'
A broad smile automatically floated up on his face.
Adam White's jaw, meanwhile, had been hanging slack from this unbelievable scene right before his eyes. But then, he discovered something even more incredulous and hurriedly confirmed it with the deputy director.
"S-sir. Is the Dragon really wagging its tail??"
'What the heck, the worst calamity in history isn't some puppy, so what kind of rubbish is he even talking about?'
The deputy director thought such a thing would be completely illogical and shifted his eyes to where Kamish's tail was, only for a pained groan to escape from his mouth.
"Jesus H. Christ…."
Jin-Woo lifted his hand away and the Dragon's tail stopped wagging, as well. It then raised his head up again.
The name 'Kamish' was given to the Dragon for the convenience of humans. Jin-Woo was pondering what new name he should give to his latest addition to the ranks of his Shadow Soldiers, before abruptly recalling the words it used to greet him just now.
"You said you used to serve the Dragon Emperor, right?"
[That is indeed correct, oh, my king.]
The Dragon continued using a polite tone of voice.
[I served the King of Berserk Dragons, the Sovereign of Destruction.]
'I'm the King of the Dead, the Shadow Sovereign….'
And then, there was the King of the Giants, the Sovereign of the Beginning.
Jin-Woo realised that the former owner the Dragon served had to be one of the nine Sovereigns the System mentioned before.
However, that wasn't important right now. No, what he wanted to know was the creature's real name, so he could use that one, too.
"Alright, then. What was your original na…."
Jin-Woo couldn't continue his words, though. His eyes looking up at the creature began quaking rather violently. Like a sand castle being scattered away by a gust of wind, the Dragon's body was slowly disintegrating right before him.
[Regrettably, my king… I must bid you farewell.]
"What?!"
Jin-Woo's Perception Stat communicated with the Dragon's current emotion. And it was one of pure sorrow, not even a hint of falsehood contained within.
The Dragon was truly lamenting this moment.
[It seems that our meeting came about far too late, my Sovereign.]
Even if it was the power of a Shadow Sovereign, the gap of eight years proved to be far too wide to bridge. The Dragon had been trapped for too long within the bottom of the abyss and as a result, its magical energy had become too weak and began scattering away in the air.
"System?! Systeeeem!"
Jin-Woo couldn't accept this and desperately cried out to the System, but the d*mn thing remained utterly silent, as always.
Just like how he could sense the Dragon's emotions, the creature could sense his, as well.
[I am truly envious of Your Majesty's soldiers, as they are now tasked with serving you for all eternity.]
It spoke from the depths of its heart. To the king who didn't want to lose his soldier, the Dragon left behind one final advice.
[Oh, my king. There are four humans who have borrowed the powers of the Rulers. Please, you need to be wary of them.]
As the Dragon's body became completely blurry and indistinct, even its voice grew further and further away.
[I was honoured to be in the presence of a new king…..]
And then, deathly silence descended on the dome.
Like a shifting mirage, the Dragon's shadow disappeared. All the spotlights flickering precariously above all reverted back to working normally again.
The director had been holding his breath as he witnessed this spectacle. Once the Dragon was gone, he quickly looked at the corpse of the creature.
Absolutely nothing had happened to Kamish's remains.
He felt as if he had been dreaming until now and that left him utterly dazed and confused.
But, then again, if what happened was simply a bad dream, Hunter Seong Jin-Woo wouldn't be standing around making such an empty, despondent expression right now.
"…."
Jin-Woo couldn't rip his gaze away from the spot where the Dragon's shadow used to stand. Eventually, the System message popped up in his view alongside with the familiar 'Tti-ring!'
[Shadow Extraction has failed.]
[Too much time has elapsed since the target's death and therefore, any further attempt at Extraction holds no meaning.]
[The target's shadow has returned to the emptiness of the void.]
Mechanical beeps continued to go off in his head.
Today would be his first time hating the sounds of continuous 'Tti-ring, tti-ring' going off in his head. Jin-Woo's tightly clenched fists trembled ever so slightly.
Ka-boom!
In his rage, he punched the ground hard. For a brief moment there, the entire building shook around just a little.
***
Jin-Woo returned to the hotel.
Because he was in such a gloomy mood, Adam White was unable to say a single thing during the trip, even though he was tasked with 'escorting' him here.
The American agent checked in for Jin-Woo at the front desk and that finally presented him with an opportunity to talk.
"I'm in charge of accommodating your needs during your stay in the U.S., so if you want something, please, don't hesitate and give me a call."
Adam White spoke with a bright expression, but the reply remained frigid and disinterested.
"….Got it."
The smile on Adam White's face hardened instantly.
'S-scary….'
He learned that standing in front of a very upset top-level Hunter could be a quite scary experience for the first time in his life today.
The negotiation had been postponed to a later date. Which wasn't surprising, considering Jin-Woo's current mood. And well, both the director and his deputy hadn't regained their lost spirits so even they didn't show any signs of disappointment, either.
Jin-Woo figured that he might as well sleep today's events off and was about to head towards his assigned room, but then….
"Uh?"
Woo Jin-Cheol was coming down to the hotel's lobby just then and discovered Jin-Woo here. The Chief of the Monitoring Division quickly made his way.
"Seong Hunter-nim, why couldn't we get a hold of you?"
"Oh, that… I was temporarily in a place where no calls could get through."
Outsiders were not permitted to carry their personal phones when inside the HQ of the Hunter Bureau. There was no exception to this rule even if you were an important guest. It was a necessity in order to protect the organisation's many secrets.
If an important person such as Madam Selner got her face photographed, the entire Hunter Bureau would be turned upside down, that was why.
Woo Jin-Cheol scratched the side of his head and asked.
"Did you get to meet Yu Jin-Ho Hunter-nim, then?"
"Eh?"
Almost right away, an expression of confusion formed on Woo Jin-Cheol's face.
"But, I thought Yu Hunter-nim received a message from you and that's why he went out? The message said that you were waiting for him at the Hunter Bureau's building."
"That's where I'm coming from right now, so what are you even talking about here?"
Adam White was listening to this conversation from the side and quickly confirmed the fact for them.
"There was no Yu Jin-Ho Hunter-nim in the visitor's log."
"Excuse me? But, how can that be? About two hours ago, a rank S Hunter came here to fetch him personally."
Jin-Woo quickly butted in there.
"Which rank S Hunter are you talking about?"
"It was Hunter Hwang Dong-Su. He actually came to the hotel."
Jin-Woo couldn't understand why he suddenly felt this ominous sensation the moment he heard the name Hwang Dong-Su, which was in stark contrast to the other two men who didn't seem to know what was going on here.
'Is this because of the Perception Stat?'
Seeing that the light in Jin-Woo's eyes had become unusually tense, Adam White quickly pulled his phone out again.
"I shall call Hwang Dong-Su Hunter-nim's Guild right now."
Several ringtones later, the manager in charge of Scavenger Guild's high-ranking Hunters, a woman named Laura answered Adam White's call. He briefly introduced himself and explained the current situation.
Surprisingly, though – the voice coming from the phone's speaker was calm and collected, which went completely against Adam White's expectations. He thought that she might be as flustered as he'd be, but no.
– "Has Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim learned of this situation yet?"
Adam White only said that Hunter Hwang Dong-Su had taken Yu Jin-Ho away, yet Seong Jin-Woo's name suddenly popped out of nowhere. He tilted his head slightly, before sneaking a glance at Jin-Woo.
The Korean Hunter shook his head briefly. Adam White nodded his head in acknowledgement and came up with a suitable reply.
"Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim hasn't learned of the news yet as he's still stuck in the Hunter Bureau. However, Yu Jin-Ho Hunter-nim's travelling party had called us to find out what was going on earlier, you see."
– "In that case, we'll find out as quickly as possible."
And that's where the call came to an abrupt end.
Jin-Woo listened to the conversation without saying a single word and when the call ended, headed straight to the hotel's exit.
"Seong Hunter-nim?! The Scavenger Guild said they will find out, so we should wait for….."
Adam White hurriedly chased after Jin-Woo and came out of the hotel's exit, but the Korean Hunter was long gone by then.
"What the hell…? Where did he go?"
Adam White stared at the street with a troubled expression on his face, not knowing what to do next.
***
Jin-Woo sought out a deserted back alley away from the crowded main street and undid 'Stealth'.
A rank S Hunter using his name showed up and took Yu Jin-Ho away. But then, the Guild this guy worked for didn't even try to get a detailed explanation of what happened and simply stated that they would find out before one-sidedly ending the call.
'Something bad is happening….'
And that thing should be related somehow to why that Guild staff member on the phone mentioned his name right away.
Jin-Woo's expression hardened as he issued a new command. If that guy was looking for trouble, then he certainly picked a very bad day for it.
'Find him.'
If his thousand-plus soldiers dispersed throughout the city and searched for Yu Jin-Ho's magic energy signature, then finding him shouldn't take that long.
Shashashak, shashashashak…
A thousand shadows breaking off from below Jin-Woo's feet quickly scattered in all directions.
***
Thomas Andre scanned the interior of the apartment with a hardened face.
Inside this luxurious apartment where Hwang Dong-Su should have been staying, the two Hunters assigned to keep an eye on him were lying face down with foam bubbling out of their mouths.
"Tsk."
He clicked his tongue and removed his trademark sunglasses.
"…"
His deeply crumpled expression was finally revealed for all to see, and the complexions of his subordinates searching through the apartment paled instantly.
Thomas Andre gnashed his teeth and issued a new order in a low, growling voice.
"Hwang Dong-Su….. Find him, before Seong Jin-Woo does. No matter what, we must find him first."
Chapter 189: Chapter 189
Jin-Woo now stood on top of a skyscraper that afforded him a view of the entire city. His eyesight, enhanced to extreme heights through his Perception Stat, began scanning the city from the streets right below the skyscraper all the way to the residential homes located in the far-off distance.
While doing that, his hearing was focused on the noises his Shadow Soldiers picked up.
[Hey, Smith! How have you been?]
[Dear customer, our store doesn't accept returns based on a customer's sudden change of mind….]
[C'mon, man. Why didn't you come to the party last night?]
Pretty much all of them were useless idle talks.
Aside from those, the horns of passing cars, noises from TV speakers, cats meowing, splashes of water from bathrooms, etc. – all sorts of sounds made by a living city entered Jin-Woo's ears.
Sweat drops formed on his forehead as he utilised his five senses, plus the sixth one to detect magic energy, to their fullest extent.
'I wouldn't be going through this much trouble if I just left the Shadow Soldier in Jin-Ho's shadow….'
Didn't someone say this before? It was already too late the moment you start regretting it.
The ant soldier he had inserted in Yu Jin-Ho's shadow just in case had been used to get to Chairman Yu Myung-Han's hospital room. Jin-Woo became really busy after that, and since he was planning to accompany the kid during their trip to the US, he had forgotten about inserting a replacement.
And the end result from all of that is him working his a*s off like this.
'Kamish's shadow is gone, and Jin-Ho's whereabouts are unknown….'
Veins popped up one at a time on Jin-Woo's forehead. His already gloomy mood had now hit rock bottom and was about to convert into a storm cloud.
His knife-like glare, sharp enough to almost shoot bolts of lightning, darted this way and that as if he didn't want to miss a single movement happening down below.
Unfortunately, never mind Yu Jin-Ho, it proved very difficult to find an Asian youth that resembled him in this city.
'Could it be…. they are not in the city at all?'
To Jin-Woo, Yu Jin-Ho might be a cute little brother, but the truth was, the kid was still a melee-type rank D Hunter. Any ol' group of regular people trying to jump him wouldn't work at all.
If the car supposedly heading for the Hunter Bureau's HQ suddenly drove out of the city limits, Yu Jin-Ho would have realised something was amiss and started resisting his kidnappers.
The sole problem was…
'The b*stard kidnapping Jin-Ho was a rank S Hunter.'
Jin-Woo immediately widened the scope of his shadows' movements.
'His name was Hwang Dong-Su, wasn't it?'
Jin-Woo didn't know why that man faked his name and took Yu Jin-Ho away. However, this was about 'Give and Take'. He was determined to ask for suitable compensation for provoking him like this.
And, if something untoward happened to Jin-Ho for some reason…
A dangerous gleam flashed eerily within Jin-Woo's eyes.
Not too long after, the Shadow Soldiers expanding their search range sent in countless bits of information that encompassed the entirety of the city.
***
In the end, Hwang Dong-Su really went for it and caused an incident.
An emergency situation descended on the Scavenger Guild once that fact was revealed to its members. Their opponent this time was Seong Jin-Woo.
Just one misstep and Hwang Dong-Su's life could be forfeited.
He was one of the top aces within the Scavenger Guild and should be considered as one of the core pillars of its combat force, too.
Thomas Andre couldn't afford to lose someone like that. But all he could do for the time being was to sit in his office and anxiously wait for any news.
"Anything new?"
His subordinate shook his head with a darkened complexion.
"No, sir."
The frowns on Thomas Andre's forehead grew deeper by a level.
Tracking Hwang Dong-Su through his phone was impossible since he had switched the device off. The places he frequented had been searched thoroughly by the Guild's members, but unfortunately, nothing worthy of note had been uncovered so far. It seemed that Mister Hwang had been planning for this day for quite some time.
'Isn't he scared of dying?'
No, Mister Hwang was also a rank S Hunter. He should be aware of the differences in strengths between himself and Seong Jin-Woo, at the bare minimum.
Even then, he still went ahead and did something so monumentally stupid. Because he probably had something he could place his bets on.
'He knows that I'll step up on his behalf.'
Well, that fool wasn't wrong with his calculation. Regardless of whether that man would cause another incident in the future or not, he'd still remain as Scavenger Guild's asset until the contract duration expired.
The Guild saw potential in Hwang Dong-Su's skills and had invested a ton of money on him. He bravely started this crap with no care for the aftermath because he knew that Thomas Andre would never willingly give up on his assets.
'….Did I treat my Hunters too nicely until now?'
Thomas Andre repeatedly told himself to strictly discipline his underlings as soon as this issue had been sorted out so they wouldn't cause another problem like this one in the future.
The Guild employees in the near vicinity had to stay extra cautious, even with their breathing, as Thomas Andre's upset mood continued to stew quietly.
It was then, his phone suddenly began ringing. Thomas Andre had been waiting too anxiously for news, regardless of what nature it took, and hurriedly yanked the receiver up.
– "We might be able to track down Mister Hwang's location, sir."
The voice on the line belonged to Laura. Thomas Andre shot up from his chair.
"How?"
She knew what he was feeling right now, so Laura didn't pause for a second before she quickly carried on with her explanation.
– "I asked for assistance from the Hunter Bureau and was able to analyse Mister Hwang's movement patterns for the last three months. I found out that there were a total of three times when he broke away from his usual area of activity and moved to an unknown location."
'Very good!'
Thomas Andre nodded his head. Rather unexpectedly, they were able to find a clue sooner than he thought.
"Send everyone to that location. I'll be on my way there, as well."
– "Understood, sir."
Thomas Andre was about to end the call there but hesitated slightly, before raising the receiver up again.
"By the way… how did you convince the old codgers in the Hunter Bureau, Laura?"
The Hunter Bureau had a habit of recording the locations and movement patterns of all the Hunters via GPS attached to the Hunter-issue smartphones.
Of course, they were not an organisation known for giving away their information willy-nilly. Even if it was the Scavenger Guild making the request, the approval process should take several hours at a bare minimum. But to think, they spat out Hwang Dong-Su's records, just like that.
This didn't sound logical at all. Thomas Andre couldn't help but get curious about the methods Laura employed here to convince them.
However, her answer was rather simple in nature.
– "I only told them that if we don't locate Hunter Hwang Dong-Su as quickly as possible, then there's a chance that Mister Seong Jin-Woo and you, Master, might collide against each other."
***
"Every single Guild member has begun moving, sir!"
Adam White, currently observing the behaviour of the Scavenger Guild, cried out in an urgent voice at his smartphone. The deputy director on the other side of the line quickly asked back.
– "All 100 of them?!"
"I just found out that the raid they were getting ready for has been cancelled as well, sir. All of their Hunters are being mobilised to go somewhere."
– "What on earth…. Just what is going on here?"
"…"
Adam White couldn't easily open his mouth here.
A rank S Hunter from the Scavenger Guild used Hunter Seong Jin-Woo's name and kidnapped Yu Jin-Ho. And then, both Seong Jin-Woo and the Scavenger Guild had begun mobilising.
This couldn't have been something simple at all.
Not to mention, with the entirety of the Scavenger Guild being mobilised like that, it could only mean that Thomas Andre was behind the move. The ominous foreboding crept up on Adam White and he quickly wiped the sweat off his face.
Sure enough – Adam froze up on the spot after discovering Thomas Andre walk out of the Guild building's entrance.
'Heok….'
The American Hunter took a sweeping look around once before climbing into a waiting car. The vehicle then hurriedly set off to an unknown destination.
And it just so happened to be in the same direction where the Hunters of the Scavenger Guild had disappeared to, as well. Adam White did his best to calm his trembling voice and described what he saw to the deputy director.
"S-sir… The Goliath… Thomas Andre has made his move as well. Sir."
***
"Is this really alright?"
A man looked at Yu Jin-Ho lying unconscious on the ground and worriedly asked. Hwang Dong-Su to his side nodded his head.
"Look, I'm not gonna do anything bad to him, alright? I just want to ask him about this one thing, that's all."
The Guild Master Thomas Andre warned him. He said not to provoke Seong Jin-Woo.
However, Hwang Dong-Su never planned to provoke that man from the get-go, anyway. Why? Because there was one other person beside Seong Jin-Woo that could answer the question burning a hole in his head. That was why.
The question of what happened on that day – the events that took place within the dungeon where his older brother Hwang Dong-Seok, Seong Jin-Woo, and Yu Jin-Ho entered together. Hwang Dong-Su promised Yu Jin-Ho that he'd be freed as soon as he answered that question truthfully.
Unfortunately, Yu Jin-Ho didn't squeak a word out right until he ended up in such a pathetic, wretched state. The longer Yu Jin-Ho kept his mouth shut, the stronger Hwang Dong-Su's convictions became, though.
All he wanted to hear was one thing.
["Seong Jin-Woo killed your brother."]
If he could just hear that one sentence, he'd no longer have any business with Yu Jin-Ho. But then, with what balls was a punk with a small physique and a naive-looking face keeping his mouth shut against a rank S Hunter? His courage alone was worth praising him for.
'Of course, his foolhardiness won't get him off the hook here.'
Hwang Dong-Su lightly kicked the waist of Yu Jin-Ho's heavily-wounded-all-over body.
"Oii. Wake up."
Would this be the fourth time the kid fainted and was woken back up again? Hwang Dong-Su's irritation grew somewhat at Yu Jin-Ho's tenacious endurance and his kick became a little more vicious than before.
"I said, get the hell up!"
Pow!
"Keo-heok!"
Yu Jin-Ho curled up on the floor as he spat out the pooled blood in his mouth. The third man of Hwang Dong-Su's group began cackling out.
"Still, this kid's supposed to be a tanker, wasn't he? He sure can withstand some punishment, can't he? A regular person would've died by now."
Hwang Dong-Su's face now reflected no emotion whatsoever as he grabbed the back of Yu Jin-Ho's head to yank it up.
"Listen here. I don't want to kill you. You see this guy over here laughing his a*s off? Let me tell you, he's a Healer with some considerable skill. He'll bring you back just before you are about to die."
Yu Jin-Ho's blurry gaze was directed to the cackling man, and the Hunter grinned brightly and wagged his finger around as if to greet the kid.
Hwang Dong-Su's viciously moved his hand.
"Keo-heok!"
Yu Jin-Ho's head, still grabbed by that hand, also had to viciously swing to the side. He now could see the dust-filled interior of a decrepit building. Hwang Dong-Su continued on.
"This here is a factory that closed down over five years ago. You can scream all you want, but no one's gonna hear you."
After grabbing and fixing Yu Jin-Ho's head in the place, Hwang Dong-Su brought his own face right up against the kid's nose. Their locked gazes grew closer and closer.
"Which means, you will suffer from intense pain forever. That is, until you tell me what I want to hear."
When they got close enough for their noses to touch, Hwang Dong-Su formed a toothy grin.
"So, how about it? Do you feel like talking now?"
"…"
Yu Jin-Ho's busted lips bobbed up and down but his voice was too small and even Hwang Dong-Su couldn't hear it.
"What did you say?"
"…."
Hwang Dong-Su tilted his head slightly in confusion and brought his ear near the kid. When the ear was only a few millimetres away from his lips, Yu Jin-Ho whispered softly.
"…..F*ck off."
Hwang Dong-Su's expression crumpled instantly.
Ka-boom!
He slammed the side of Yu Jin-Ho's head on the ground and panted like an angry bull.
"Oii! Did you just kill him?"
The Healer's brows shot up and he quickly checked for Yu Jin-Ho's pulse.
"Whew-woo."
After confirming that the kid's heart was still beating, the Healer spat out a sigh of relief. Still, there was no doubt that this young and weak Hunter's life would've been cut short if Hwang Dong-Su had used a little more of his strength.
"Mister Hwang, be more careful, will ya? I don't want to become an accomplice to a murderer just because of money, alright?"
"…I'll be more careful."
Hwang Dong-Su acknowledged his mistake.
Was it because of the precariousness of the situation? The man who couldn't hide his worries from the get-go decided to persuade Hwang Dong-Su.
"Let's just call it a day and move on. Haven't you found out all you can by now?"
"What are you talking about? We're only getting started."
The corners of Hwang Dong-Su's lips arched to form a sinister smile. His vicious, cruel nature was pretty much the carbon-copy of his older brother.
The man knew he failed to change Hwang Dong-Su's mind. Still feeling worried and anxious, he continued to scan his surroundings. And it happened at that moment. He discovered something standing over on the other side of the disused factory.
What could it be?
The man's eyes narrowed to a slit.
And then…
"Uh? Huh, uh??"
He became surprised by his discovery and pointed in that direction. Hwang Dong-Su and the Healer both raised their heads to take a look. There it was, a High Orc kitted out in black armour standing over yonder.
"….An Orc?"
Hwang Dong-Su stood up. The Healer checking Yu Jin-Ho's condition also got up from the ground.
"Is there a dungeon break happening nearby?"
Hwang Dong-Su shook his head. If that was the case, their surroundings should've become a pandemonium by now.
He extended out his sensory perception just in case and searched for other presence in the vicinity, but he couldn't sense any other monsters at all. This High Orc was all alone.
"Now that's pretty bizarre."
That wasn't the only bizarre thing, though.
The High Orc was actually shivering.
As a matter of fact, its facial expression contained terror. It looked as if the creature was barely holding back tears threatening to burst out at any moment. And all four of its limbs were quivering from pure fright, too.
���Mister Hwang. I think that thing is terrified of you."
"….I don't have time to fool around like this."
White rays of light began coagulating on Hwang Dong-Su's clenched fist. He didn't know where this Orc came from, but now that he had discovered it, of course, he wouldn't let it just walk away.
Hwang Dong-Su strode right up to the Orc and raised his fist so he could blow the monster's head clean off. Before he could do that, though…
….The heavy voice of a man suddenly called out from somewhere.
– "Exchange."
Chapter 190: Chapter 190
The TV in the living room was showing the scenes of yet another accident that took place within a dungeon. Those seemed to happen frequently nowadays.
Although no events that could be called truly enormous happened so far, the number of Hunters dying during the raids was on the rise lately, according to the news broadcast.
"I wonder, will my boy be okay?"
His mother, watching the news, recalled Jin-Woo and whispered to herself in a worried voice.
Didn't matter how excellent a Hunter her son was, there was no helping with a mother worrying about her child's safety.
Beru, hiding within the shadows to protect this home as per Jin-Woo's instruction, heard her whispers.
'Oh, the mother of my king. If my liege meets with an accident that even he can't survive, then no one in this world can.'
Beru did his best to suppress the words trying to jump out of his mouth. Obviously, he couldn't surprise the mother of his liege needlessly, now could he? As his reward, he'd have to suffer in silent frustration all by himself.
He also found the liege's mother, currently equating his liege against those low-class monsters shown on the TV screen, rather cruel and unkind for doing that. However, he roused up a super-human level of endurance and suppressed his desire to preach the incomparable might of his dear liege to her.
[Next up. We bring you the news on the conference organised by America's Hunter Bureau….]
The scene shown on TV changed yet again to that of a certain American airport as the news related to the International Guild Conference played out. And then, Jin-Woo appeared on the screen as he stepped foot into the airport.
She saw her son walking forward as he was swarmed by the constant explosions of camera flashes. The worried look on her face was soon replaced by a contented smile.
"Jin-Ah? Your brother's on TV."
"Really?"
Jin-Ah abandoned her studies and quickly trotted out of her room. This wouldn't be the first time, but regardless, seeing her oppa on the TV screen remained a mystifying and welcoming viewing experience to her, even now.
But the thing was – both Jin-Ah and her mom had no idea.
They simply had no idea that there was someone very close, cheering on even more passionately then they did while watching the TV screen.
'Oh, my king….!'
Beru's deeply-moved eyes were firmly fixed on the screen as he watched the clip being played out.
But then, a powerful chill began invading his body out of the blue. Literally, without warning, his body hidden in the shadows began trembling non-stop.
This sensation, hadn't he felt something similar to this in the past?
When was that?
Beru combed through his memories and finally recalled that moment. Back then, right when the king's gaze filled with killing intent was looking down on him. It was at that moment.
A feeling of death that could not be avoided. The warning bells rang out loudly via his instincts after detecting the unmistakable stench of death.
The king's rage he felt for the first time since becoming his Shadow Soldier was so great that Beru's entire thought process froze up. However, he was still his king's loyal soldier!
He regained his wits quite quickly.
'….My king has been truly enraged.'
Now that he realised something had happened to his king, he couldn't just sit around quivering in fear like this. Beru quickly sent a signal to Jin-Woo and tried to engage him conversation.
'Oh, my king. Please compose yourself. I shall get to your side immediately.'
The response arrived immediately.
[You…. Don't make a move.]
Beru heard the king's voice which sounded like unchecked rage being compressed into a volatile mass. He could only tremble like a leaf against stormy winds.
'I shall obey.'
He could only say that he'd submit to the command, that was all. But at the same time, he became also curious about the moron who managed to earn his king's wrath.
'Why would anyone do something so reckless and ill-advised….'
To numb the fear, even if only by a little, Beru hid his still-trembling body ever deeper into the shadow.
***
In the city of Busan.
The Knight Order Guild was in the middle of preparing for a raid.
The Master of the Guild, Park Jong-Su, was confirming the raid party members and their current conditions one last time, as the will to make this raid a success burned fiercely within his heart.
"There's been a lot of accidents happening in dungeons lately. So, everyone – keep your wits about you at all times! Let's make sure that not a single person gets injured today!"
"Yes, sir!"
The Guild members had become rather docile after experiencing a raid together with Jin-Woo's summoned creatures. And now, they even sounded properly disciplined, as well.
It was at that moment something strange happened.
The Vice-Master of the Guild, Jeong Yun-Tae, was standing behind Park Jong-Su to nod his head and provide suitable reactions to his boss's words. But, he discovered something and his eyes nearly popped out of his sockets.
"Heok?!"
Park Jong-Su hurriedly looked behind him.
"What?! What happened?"
Jeong Yun-Tae pointed to the ground and alternated his gaze between Park Jong-Su and the shadow beneath his boss's feet.
"H-hyung-nim!! Your, your shadow! The shadow on the ground was vibrating…."
Jeong Yun-Tae discovered that Park Jong-Su was glaring at him with narrowed eyes and stopped talking right there and then.
"Hey, Yun-Tae? How many times have I told you not to touch booze before a raid?"
"N-no, hyung-nim! I haven't had a drop of the stuff today! But your shadow, it really did vibrate! Like it was alive!"
Park Jong-Su stared at Jeong Yun-Tae with criticising eyes and spat out a long groan.
"This won't do. Take a day off today."
"Hyung-nim! I'm telling you the truth!"
"Okay, everyone! Time to go inside. The Knight Order Guild, let's do our best today, too! Fighting!"
"Ahh! B-but, hyung-nim…!"
Just as Jeong Yun-Tae's voice that protested his innocence resounded in the air…
Unbelievable sightings of shadows trembling streamed in from all the spots where Jin-Woo had left behind his Shadow Soldiers. Shadows trembled noticeably as if they didn't care for the presence of witnesses or not.
But then again, the Shadow Soldiers had no choice but to shiver from the emotion of pure rage their lord was feeling at that moment.
***
– Exchange.
The High Orc soldier disappeared, only to be replaced by Jin-Woo.
'….!!'
Hwang Dong-Su's group froze up like a mouse confronted by a snake the moment this unexpected intruder entered the stage completely unannounced. Especially for Hwang Dong-Su himself, he nearly even forgot to breathe after recognising Jin-Woo's face.
Meanwhile, Jin-Woo simply strode past the stunned rank S Hunter, as if the latter didn't even exist, and stopped before Yu Jin-Ho. No one said anything, yet the two Americans standing near the unconscious kid quickly stepped back at the same time, as if they agreed to do so beforehand.
After summoning out a healing potion, Jin-Woo began easing a little bit of liquid down into Yu Jin-Ho's mouth.
Unfortunately…
[When the remaining HP is less than 10%, it is impossible to recover HP with healing potions.]
….The message saying it was impossible to heal the kid's wounds popped up in his view along with the familiar 'Tti-ring'.
Crack.
The empty vial of healing potion shattered in Jin-Woo's hand.
The 'Divine Water of Life' was meant to heal diseases and illnesses. It couldn't help in matters of physical injuries like this. It was the same principle of healing magic not being able to cure illnesses.
'I need healing magic.'
Too bad, the only Shadow Soldier capable of using healing magic, Beru, was currently back in Korea house-sitting. Even if Jin-Woo recalled him now, who knows just how long he'd take to get here…
….It was around this time that Hwang Dong-Su finally regained his wits and tried to engage Jin-Woo in conversation.
"You… You, what the hell? That Orc, just now… What the hell did you do?"
Jin-Woo didn't respond to that and simply asked the two men before him, instead.
"Is either one of you a Healer?"
Hearing the word 'Healer', the Healer-type Hunter ended up reflexively nodding his head. Jin-Woo pointed to Yu Jin-Ho.
"Heal him. Now."
The Healer's gaze shifted over to Hwang Dong-Su. The latter shook his head. Jin-Woo carefully lowered Yu Jin-Ho's upper torso back down and stood up.
"Final warning. Heal him."
The Healer's gaze shifted back to Hwang Dong-Su again, but the answer remained the same. So, the Healer stared straight at Jin-Woo and the corners of his lips arched up.
"You see, dude, you should talk to the boss first before…"
He didn't get to finish his sentence.
Ka-boom!!
Just like how Hwang Dong-Su had done to Yu Jin-Ho, Jin-Woo slammed the Healer's head on the ground. It happened so fast that no one saw his movements.
Hwang Dong-Su might have been a rank S himself, but he simply failed to even sense Jin-Woo's attack and only belatedly discovered the Healer lying face down on the ground.
Jin-Woo shifted his gaze to the second of the Americans.
"Are you a Healer?"
This man finally confirmed the face of Jin-Woo walking closer to him and his jaw began trembling in shock.
"S-Seong Jin-Woo?! Hunter Seong Jin-Woo??"
He back-pedalled in panic and began glaring at Hwang Dong-Su before shouting out.
"Mister Hwang Dong-Su! You promised that this matter had nothing to do with Seong Jin-Woo! What the f*ck is this?! Ah?? What is this sh*t?!"
"I asked you if you are a Healer or not."
"N-no, I, I'm not. I'm just…."
His answer was also abruptly cut off there.
Ka-boom!
Struck by an unseen hand, the man's head crashed to the ground like his friend's before him. In the blink of an eye, two high-ranked Hunters had lost their consciousness.
Finally getting to witness Jin-Woo's real strength with his own two eyes, Hwang Dong-Su felt his heart pounding away like crazy.
It was then.
"H-hyung-nim…"
Perhaps because the ground rumbled loudly twice in a row? Yu Jin-Ho had regained his consciousness somehow.
"Hyung…. nim…."
Jin-Woo lowered his body and listened closely to the kid's voice.
"Hey, Jin-Ho. I'm here."
Yu Jin-Ho managed to crack open his swollen eyelids. He barely managed to move the muscles on his bloodied and messed-up face, his words clearly being formed with great difficulty.
"Hwang Dong-Su… little brother… Hwang Dong-Seok…. Be careful…"
Jin-Woo looked at Yu Jin-Ho breathing weakly with a helpless expression before stopping the kid's words.
"Shh. It's fine. Don't speak anymore."
"Hyung-nim…."
Yu Jin-Ho grabbed Jin-Woo's hand as tears pooled on the edges of his eyes.
Jin-Woo quietly asked.
"Can you hold on for a little longer?"
Nod, nod.
It became harder to speak so Yu Jin-Ho made do with a nod to answer the question.
Jin-Woo carefully let go of his dongsaeng's hand and slowly got back up to his feet, before shifting his gaze back over to Hwang Dong-Su.
However, Hwang Dong-Su didn't back down and shot a glare right back. His legs were weakly trembling from the pressure of Jin-Woo's murderous eyes, but he was not someone who'd cower and run away.
In the meantime, Jin-Woo's coldly-flickering eyes were getting closer and closer. Hwang Dong-Su did his best to look unruffled and raised his voice.
"It was you, wasn't it? You killed my older brother, Hwang Dong-Seok. Am I right?"
Hwang Dong-Su's scared face grew closer with every step taken. And then, a certain someone's face who enjoyed being strong against the weak, but remained weak against someone stronger, overlapped with his face in Jin-Woo's view.
That caused his glare to become even colder.
Meanwhile, Hwang Dong-Su cried out.
"Answer me!! Seong Jin-Woo, didn't you murder my brother and his team?!"
Jin-Woo stopped right in front of Hwang Dong-Su's nose and replied.
"Ask him after you meet him again."
Grit.
Hwang Dong-Su punched with his fist wrapped in bright light. He was aiming for Jin-Woo's face. Unfortunately for him, the latter simply ducked lower to evade that and shoved his own fist deep into the former's stomach.
"Keo-Heok!"
Just one hit and Hwang Dong-Su vomited out a mouthful of blood.
***
"Stop the car!"
"Sir?"
"I said, stop the d*mn car!"
Thomas Andre roared out and the car he was riding in came to a sudden halt. As the vehicle in front carrying their Guild Master came to an abrupt halt, the chasing cars ferrying the Guild members all hurriedly came to a stop as well.
Screech, screeech….
Loud noises resounded out from everywhere. Completely disregarding that…
Boom!
….Thomas Andre kicked the car's door away and climbed out in a hurry so he could glare in a certain direction. His expression crumpled into a vicious scowl.
"D*mn it…."
The elites of the Scavenger Guild, often referred to as the world's best, jumped out from all the halted vehicles.
"Master, what is it?"
"Did something happen?"
Thomas Andre answered briefly to all the hurried questions from the Guild members.
"It has already begun. I'll go ahead, so hurry and follow after me."
"Sir??"
What had already begun?
Before anyone could ask him for an explanation, though, Thomas Andre bent his knees. The muscles on his legs expanded powerfully and the asphalt on the ground began melting down. Other Hunters naturally took two, three steps away from him.
Ka-boom!!
Thomas Andre exploded up from the ground and in an instant, disappeared from their view.
***
'Something is…. coming.'
Something strong, that was.
Just as Thomas Andre had sensed Jin-Woo's powers, the latter also sensed the former's presence. So, he stopped moving his punching hand.
His other hand was still grabbing onto the collar of Hwang Dong-Su, who now was suffering from just as many grievous wounds as Yu Jin-Ho.
Ka-boom!
A part of the disused factory's ceiling caved in and through the open gap, one of the four remaining Special Authority-rank Hunters in the world, Thomas Andre, flew in and landed on the ground.
Since he knew that a guest was arriving anyway, Jin-Woo wasn't surprised in the slightest as he calmly took a look at the landing zone.
Thomas Andre stood up straight and quickly confirmed the situation.
He first saw Yu Jin-Ho, then Jin-Woo, and finally, the end of Jin-Woo's hand. His gaze moved in that order, until stopping at Hwang Dong-Su.
Right away, Thomas Andre's forehead creased up. Jin-Woo's incredible magical energy emission had completely masked Hwang Dong-Su's presence and he couldn't initially sense it.
Thomas Andre took off and discarded his sunglasses.
"Hwang Dong-Su… Is he still alive?"
"For now."
Thomas Andre resorted to using simple English and enunciated each word loudly so that Jin-Woo, someone who might be not familiar with the language, could hear him clearly.
"Let him go. If you do that, we'll forget that today's event had ever happened. I'm asking you for a favour."
Jin-Woo strengthened his grip on Hwang Dong-Su's collar and asked.
"What if I don't want to?"
"Then, well. A favour won't be a favour anymore."
One of the most powerful Hunters in the world bared his fangs.
A regular Hunter would start p*ssing their pants right about now. However, Jin-Woo's own aura didn't lose out to Thomas Andre's.
"Come, then."
Chapter 191: Chapter 191
Thomas Andre's brows quivered slightly.
If some insignificant Hunter said that to him, he'd have ripped that fool into tiny bits and shreds immediately.
After all, the United States government wouldn't be able to prosecute him, a Special Authority-rank Hunter, that easily. He was someone possessing rights equal to that of a country.
As the reward for rescuing 300 million American lives from the worst calamity in human history, Thomas Andre got to wield absolute power. This power allowed him to do whatever he pleased.
However, even if that was the case, he couldn't immediately make his move. Because his opponent this time was none other than 'Seong Jin-Woo'.
Thomas Andre couldn't completely suppress his temper and his hands moved for a blink of an eye. He managed to reel himself back in, though. He glared at Hwang Dong-Su and gritted his teeth.
'And I told him not to provoke that man….'
As expected, Seong Jin-Woo was not an easy opponent to face. Seeing him personally confirmed this fact. If Thomas Andre had to describe this feeling into words, then it was like trying to step into a quagmire.
Dark and ominous magical energy oozed out from Seong Jin-Woo's entire body, and Thomas Andre felt as if he'd not be able to escape once he took a wrong step forward here.
Unfortunately, even he could not back away now. An ace Hunter of the Scavenger Guild was currently being manhandled by that man, and most importantly, his pride as a Special Authority-rank Hunter was at stake, too.
With his expression viciously crumpled, Thomas Andre threw out a question.
"….You, by any chance, don't you know who I am?"
Jin-Woo curtly responded.
"Doesn't matter who you are."
It was then – Hwang Dong-Su somehow regained his consciousness and shouted out after discovering Thomas Andre.
"Master! Kill this son of a b*tch! Hurry!"
Boom!
Jin-Woo's fist struck Hwang Dong-Su, causing the man to black out and go limp again. Meanwhile, veins bulged on Thomas Andre's forehead.
"You dare…."
'….You know who I am, yet you dare to do something like that in my presence?'
His expression was already crumpled into something unsightly before, but now, it distorted even more to resemble a devil's face.
Through personal experience, his body knew how one should deal with an opponent who didn't want to submit.
'White trash; a low-class white man.'
Thomas Andre grew up in a poor immigrant family.
The school located in the poorest ghetto filled with African youths proved to be a hostile place for a lone white kid who knew no one and had no friends or acquaintances.
Everywhere was filled with enemies. Just from meeting eyes did the fights break out. And often, his opponents carried around dangerous weapons, too. The moments when he had to fight off multiple enemies happened frequently, as well.
However, the heavens saw fit to bestow a certain gift that could only be described as unprecedented unto this white kid who seemingly possessed nothing.
The overwhelming talent for physical power – the power that allowed him to trample on others!
Paradoxically, the boy's surroundings became just about a perfect playground for him to confirm his own talents. Through the endless, continuous fights, the boy got to confirm the heaven-gifted talent he possessed.
He clearly witnessed how his powers would change all those holding hostile feeling towards him. And so, he reigned like a king.
Power – the authoritative power, financial power, and physical power. He got to learn quite early on that the many types of power existing in this world could turn a man into either a king or a slave.
And when a completely different type of 'power' manifested into this world, he grasped the opportunity and ascended to the status of a true king.
If an opponent was unwilling to listen, then he'd use power to make them submit. Someone blocking his path would be destroyed without mercy.
And he'd make all those looking down on him kneel on the ground, defeated. Physical power was the truth!
Thomas Andre stayed true to what he knew, to what he was familiar with.
Time seemed to freeze up. Thomas Andre, now full of malice and a destructive desire, pounced forward. The distance between the two men disappeared in an instant.
His eyes met Jin-Woo's, as they closed in enough for their noses to touch.
'Blame your own ignorance!'
Thomas Andre reached out with his hand. He was planning to grab Jin-Woo's head.
His incomprehensible gripping power was one of his many hidden talents. Even if his opponent happened to be a top-ranked Hunter, he'd easily shatter that person's skull.
Now that the fool was within his attacking range, victory was as good as his. The corners of Thomas Andre's lips curled up.
Too bad, though…
'Wha….?!'
In that instant, there was a flash of light before his eyes.
***
With fortunate timing, the Hunters of the Scavenger Guild arrived at the location. And they all got to witness something peculiar. They got to witness 'something' breaking past a wall of the disused factory at an alarming speed.
Boooom-!!
That 'something' destroyed the wall and crash-landed on the ground. Even then, it continued to slide away for a long, long time.
Chuwuuuuk…
And when that 'something' finally stopped sliding right before their eyes, the Hunters recognised its identity and couldn't hide their extreme astonishment from exploding out. No one could tell who cried out first.
"Thomas Andre?!"
"Master, are you alright?!"
Just who managed to blow away the Goliath like this?
They simply couldn't believe it.
The force of the impact was so great that hot steam was still rising up from Thomas Andre's entire body.
But then again, the skin on a regular person would've been torn to shreds as he slid on the ground like that. No, before that, his body would've broken into many pieces after slamming into the wall, instead.
However, Thomas Andre was perfectly fine. Should one say, as befitting of a tanker who managed to survive Kamish's Breath with nothing but his bare body?
It was just that the expression he was making as he stood back up was not perfectly fine at all. His face hardened like a surface of a boulder as he stood up. He then took a sweeping look at his Hunters.
Even though they were on the same side, these Hunters paled instantly after being subjected to the murderous glare of a Special Authority-rank Hunter.
"….."
Without saying anything else, Thomas Andre walked back into the abandoned factory he flew out from. A dizzying amount of killing intent erupted out from his entire body.
Step, step.
The Vice-Master staring at that sight in a daze hurriedly regained his wits and urged the Guild's Hunters.
"What are you all doing? Get a move on, now!"
One hundred or so top-ranked Hunters all rushed into the abandoned factory at once.
***
After blowing Thomas Andre away, Jin-Woo clenched his fist tighter.
Just a second later, and Yu Jin-Ho's life would have been in grave danger. It felt like his blood would boil over when he saw Hwang Dong-Su slamming the kid's head to the floor through the eyes of the High Orc soldier.
But, that man wanted what now?
He'd pretend that none of this happened if Hwang Dong-Su was released? What a stupid suggestion that was.
Jin-Woo pushed himself to the absolute limit and continued to grow further and further so he'd not get pushed around by powerful beings. So, such a dumb demand wasn't even worth his time to consider.
But then, the response from Thomas Andre was an attack filled to the brim with the intent to kill.
This battle was far from over.
Thomas Andre might have been flung away to a far off distance, but he made his way back with an even stronger intent to kill than before. Jin-Woo discarded the still-unconscious Hwang Dong-Su to a corner of the factory. And then, summoned Kaisel and Igrit out.
Shururuk…
A black Sky Dragon and a black knight revealed themselves. Jin-Woo carefully lifted up Yu Jin-Ho and handed the kid over to Igrit.
"Take Jin-Ho to the nearest hospital. Make sure he gets the necessary treatment. Got it?���
Igrit bowed to display his understanding and jumped on the back of Kaisel to fly out of the factory.
Kii-ahk!
Thomas Andre didn't give a d*mn about the escaping Sky Dragon. No, his glare was firmly locked on Jin-Woo and Jin-Woo alone. Likewise, Jin-Woo's glare was redirected to the American, as well.
And he got to see the crumpled expression of Thomas Andre and top-ranked Hunters rushing inside beyond his shoulders. Their number was around one hundred.
It seemed that this guy mobilised and brought along all the elites of the Scavenger Guild, often referred to as the best Guild in the world.
The thing was, though….
'…If you want to compare the number of soldiers, then I too have more than enough.'
Jin-Woo immediately called out his Shadow Soldiers hiding within his shadow and waiting for his commands. The darkness slowly spread out from beneath his feet, and one by one, the Shadow Soldiers rose up from the ground.
Thomas Andre's steps came to a halt after he discovered all those soldiers. The number was somewhere near one thousand. The abandoned factory was completely filled up in an instant, but even then, the columns of soldiers extended well beyond to the back as well.
Thomas Andre narrowed his eyes.
'It's not just the incredible numbers, either.'
He even spotted several summoned creatures that were easily on a similar level as rank S Hunters. Such as the knight holding a massive shield, or the Mage wearing a black robe, and even those Giants occupying the backline, too.
Their magical energy emission didn't lose out to some of the highest-ranked Hunters out there.
Indeed, these were truly excellent summoned creatures that even the entirety of the Scavenger Guild participating could not guarantee a victory against.
Shiver, shiver….
Seeing Seong Jin-Woo's common sense-breaking summons in the flesh, Thomas Andre felt this powerful shudder run up through his entire body. At the same time, he was feeling genuinely happy.
'That's right.'
Wouldn't he truly get to enjoy the fight now that the level of his opponent was this high?
A smile broke out on Thomas Andre's face as he licked his lips. That fool Hwang Dong-Su no longer mattered in this fight.
There was only one way to restore his damaged pride. And that would be to…
'….Kill that impudent b*stard….'
But, before he did that, Thomas Andre made his final offer of mercy.
"If you admit to your mistakes and back off, I promise I'll spare your life."
Instead of a verbal answer, Jin-Woo simply flipped him a bird.
"….."
Thick veins bulged all over on Thomas Andre's forehead.
"You f*cker, right until the end…."
Riiip!
Thomas Andre ripped his shirt off – a shirt made out of top-class material extracted from the monsters was ripped into pieces like a sheet of cheap paper.
And then….
Wududuk-!
Wuduk!
The muscles in his entire torso ballooned up and hardened like armour covering his whole body. Magic energy so vast that it raised goosebumps from the people nearby leaked out from beneath his feet. It was so vast and powerful, in fact, it looked as if gold-coloured steam was slowly rising up from his shoulders.
The world's greatest Tanker had released his full might once more.
Jin-Woo wordlessly watched Thomas Andre's transformation before unleashing his own magical energy as well.
Shuwahaahk-!!
The magic energy emitted from two monsters occupying wholly different realms forced the surrounding elite Hunters to hold their breaths.
'Heok!'
'I was wondering just who it was that blew away the Goliath, but now….'
Their gazes were directed to one location – to Seong Jin-Woo.
For sure, that feat sounded plausible if it was Seong Jin-Woo, who managed to hunt down all those Giant monsters in Japan.
The Hunters of the Scavenger Guild nervously swallowed their saliva as they stared at Jin-Woo.
Unlike them and their heightened state of tension, though, Jin-Woo was completely calm and collected. He felt that this was the perfect opportunity to test out his growth up until now. He was now facing an opponent that he could definitely go all out against.
Abruptly, Jin-Woo recalled what Kamish the Dragon had told him.
'There are four people borrowing the Rulers' powers, right?'
Could it be that those four were among the five survivors of the Kamish raid – the four of the Special Authority-rank Hunters?
If that was true, then the odds of Thomas Andre being a human borrowing the Rulers' powers were very high.
Jin-Woo made the first move.
"Advance."
Almost immediately after their Sovereign issued that command, the Shadow Soldiers rushed forward with rather scary vigour.
Thomas Andre also cried out loudly.
"They are coming!"
One man versus one Guild; nearly one thousand 'summons' and almost one hundred elite Hunters collided violently on this day.
Boom-!!
Thomas Andre blew away Iron standing at the front of the pack and quickly searched for Jin-Woo's whereabouts as a bright glare shot out from his eyes.
He spotted someone rushing towards him at an incredible pace.
'Over there-!!'
Thomas Andre turned around, but Jin-Woo was faster. The latter dug into the former's defence in an instant and stabbed at the waist with the 'Demon King's Shortsword'.
Unfortunately, the blade failed to break past the hardened skin of Thomas Andre.
'….!'
Jin-Woo's eyes widened.
Pow!
The American blew his opponent away with his elbow as a smirk formed on his face.
This was the true power of the Special Authority-rank Hunter. Jin-Woo might possess a pretty decent turn of speed, but there was no way he'd be able to exceed Thomas Andre's defences.
'Feel my power and taste what true despair is like!'
Thomas Andre judged that the advantage was now with him. He didn't stop his attacks there and reached out with his hand.
Wuuonng-!
When he did, a powerful pulling force was generated from his hand and quickly reeled back the flung-away Jin-Woo.
The 'invisible hand'.
This was Thomas Andre's ability that managed to drag Kamish the Dragon from the air to the ground.
Jin-Woo was brought back closer to Thomas Andre at a frightening turn of speed, but then, his eyes shot open again.
'Ruler's Authority!'
Koo-woong!
Thomas Andre's shoulders quivered from the unseen force slamming down from above.
'What?!'
He was left utterly stunned after confirming with his entire body that his opponent also possessed the power only the Special Authority-rank Hunters possessed.
Jin-Woo didn't miss that opening; his punch slammed into Thomas Andre's face for the second time today.
Ka-boom!!
And for the first time ever after becoming a Hunter, the man nicknamed Goliath spat out blood from his mouth.
"Keo-heok!!"
***
The Hunter Bureau wasn't sitting back sucking on its fingers either. Dozens of vehicles belonging to the Bureau carrying Hunters were on their way to the same destination as the members of the Scavenger Guild.
However, the two cars right in front of the pack suddenly came to a halt not too far from their destination.
The deeply-anxious Adam White had been watching the passing scenery and was caught unprepared from the sudden stop.
"Wha-what is going on?"
The vehicle's driver looked back at Adam White. He was the sole rank S Hunter affiliated with the Hunter Bureau.
"Agent White. I think it's time you explained to us what's going on here."
"We don't have time for me to explain everything in…."
Adam White couldn't finish his sentence.
Because he saw the complexion of the rank S Hunter growing pale rather quickly at that moment. It was the first time seeing such an expression forming on the face of a man who famously possessed a steely heart, formed after experiencing all sorts of close shaves in his life.
Realising that something quite serious had happened, Adam White quickly asked.
"Did…. something happen up ahead?"
The rank S Hunter replied with a frozen-stiff face.
"If we continue on, all of us will have to risk our lives."
Chapter 192: Chapter 192
The corners of his lips bust open from that hit.
While being forced away from the impact, Thomas Andre was reeling from the shock of the freakish power that smacked him in the face.
'How could… how could such a power be…?!'
That punch was heavy enough for his head to shake around. But, that wasn't all.
That man also possessed the ability to apply physical power with nothing but his thoughts. Even then, he didn't resist against the pulling force and willingly got himself dragged in.
Who'd have thought of such a thing?
Unexpectedly, not only did he not use his version of the 'invisible hand' to resist the pull, he instead used it as a distraction to divert the attention of his opponent, and then threw the real attack that couldn't be easily avoided.
The acceleration from the pull became the double-edged blade cutting into the one activating the ability and ended up causing even bigger damage. Now that was a shockingly well-tuned instinct for battle.
'Just how many fights did he go through to even come up with a tactic like that?'
Thomas Andre had been looking down on Jin-Woo as some random kid even though he willingly acknowledged the Korean's powers. But now, having been struck twice in the face, his thoughts had gone through a rapid change.
Thomas Andre stopped bouncing away and landed back on his feet.
Kwa-jeeeek, kwa-jeek!!
The friction destroyed the cement floor below and threw up pieces of broken-off pebble and a dust cloud into the air.
As expected, Jin-Woo didn't give the American time to recover and dashed towards him. That was the sight of an experienced hunter. It seemed as if he had aimed for that moment before his target had regained the balance. However, his prey was the quicker of the two to react this time.
Thomas Andre discarded all arrogant thoughts from his head. He also realised that he might lose today if he continued to fight while being considerate towards his surroundings.
His opponent this time was far, far tougher than his initial expectation.
"Reinforcement."
When he muttered out those words, his body, armed with muscles that had transformed into solid armour, suddenly ballooned up explosively.
Shu-wahck!
His near two-metre-tall physique transformed into a monster over three metres tall in the blink of an eye.
"Uwaaaaah-!!"
Thomas Andre roared out like an angry beast and raised both of his arms, now as thick as a marble pillar, high above his head. All of this happened way too fast!
'…..!'
Jin-Woo, in the middle of his sprint, sensed danger up ahead.
'What could it be?'
His brain fell into a dilemma. The thing was, not once did his instincts lie to him in moments of great peril. Jin-Woo hurriedly stopped his forward movement and almost at the same time, jumped backwards.
With the difference of a millisecond, Thomas Andre's massive fists pounded on the ground below.
Kwa-kwang!!
Everything caught within the radius disintegrated from the horrifying shock wave.
His skill, 'Demolition'.
That incredible might forced Jin-Woo to take several more steps backwards, even though he had already escaped to a safe zone.
Tumble….
Debris flung up into the air fell down like raindrops.
As befitting a Hunter who subjugated a Dragon, his sturdiness and destructive power were second to none. But, there was no time to remain stunned. Another loud roar exploded out from Thomas Andre's mouth.
"Capture!"
A powerful gravitational pulling force with Thomas Andre as the centre began yanking everything within the range towards him. It was as if he had become a black hole. Shadow Soldiers and Hunters all got into a messy tangle and flew towards his position.
Jin-Woo might have been one of the targets of this skill, 'Capture', but he used 'Ruler's Authority' to repel away the pulling force.
And when he finally managed to break free from that powerful force and jumped rearward one more time….
….Thomas Andre's 'Demolition' skill burst forth yet again.
KWA-JEECK!!
Not just the Shadow Soldiers, but even the Hunters of the Scavenger got swept away by the shock wave.
"Uwaahk!!"
"Euh, euh…."
Screams rose up from here and there.
The Vice-Master had discovered this horrifying situation rather late and yelled out at the top of his lungs.
"Get away from the Master! Now!!"
Three, four fleet-footed Hunters quickly retrieved their injured colleagues and escaped to the back. Meanwhile, Thomas Andre and his emotionless face viciously dashed towards Jin-Woo's location.
A rank of 'Special Authority' implied one was afforded the same level of rights as an independent nation. That was why he needed to demonstrate what the punishment for disobeying the king was like.
Thomas Andre arrived in Jin-Woo's location in no time at all and threw a powerful punch forward.
Vuuoowoong-!!
His fist scythed the air.
He already knew it all too well.
He knew better than anyone that he was too slow to land a punch on this b*stard possessing the nimbleness of a wild beast. Especially so, when he was in his reinforced state.
His strength and defence would be enhanced to an unimaginable degree, but at the same time, his speed would drop proportionally. Fortunately enough for Thomas Andre, though, he possessed a skill that could easily cover for that drawback.
He extended his hand out to Jin-Woo who was rapidly creating distance between them.
'Capture!'
Once more, a powerful, incredibly attractive force activated between the two men. The American knew he'd not miss his prey now.
With his body fortified through the 'Reinforcement' skill, his attention wouldn't be stolen away from some measly diversionary tricks.
As expected, Seong Jin-Woo was yanked back in with ease.
Leaving his extended left hand as it was, Thomas Andre pulled his right hand back and clenched it into a tight fist. An enormous amount of magical energy, enough to smash the torso of a top-ranked Hunter apart into a gory mess, gathered into his right fist.
Skill, 'Power Smash'.
Thomas Andre's fist, carrying a gob-smacking level of destructive power, slowly moved forward. But then, it happened.
'…..??'
His eyes opened wider. He saw Jin-Woo's own right arm muscles suddenly expanding greatly in size.
'Could he be… thinking of directly confronting me?'
Finding this incredulous, Thomas Andre increased the pulling power. However, Jin-Woo didn't try to evade it but actually used his 'Ruler's Authority' to further increase his momentum, instead.
The American cried out in shock.
"D*mn it!"
Jin-Woo approached far quicker than Thomas Andre had anticipated and threw a punch a little quicker than his counterpart could. At the same time, he lowered his head and lightly evaded the American's own belated punch.
Kwa-boom!!
Thomas Andre saw a flash of light before his eyes and finally realised it.
'The first attack he hit me with was….'
The attack he failed to see back then was precisely this one.
BOOM!!
Thomas Andre flew away like a rocket, demolished the wall of the disused factory and rolled around on the dirt for quite some time. The deep and lengthy pit left behind on the ground by his sliding body resembled furrows on a field.
"Keu-heuk."
He hurriedly pushed himself off the ground, but Jin-Woo was already standing before him by then. Thomas Andre roared out and threw countless punches.
"Uwaaaah!!"
Every time his fists flew past, the ground exploded and the air was split seemingly into pieces. Each hit was ferocious enough to utterly destroy a person's body from just a light touch.
Unfortunately, none of those could actually touch Jin-Woo.
He simply dodged all of Thomas Andre's fists and accurately landed every one of his counters on the American's vital spots.
Kwang!! Ka-boom!! Kwahng!!
Little by little, blood pooled in Thomas Andre's mouth.
"Keo-heok!"
How could this be….?
'How can a Mage-type Hunter be this powerful and this fast?'
The more confused he got, the greater the physical damage he suffered.
'Am I… Am I losing?'
But, that couldn't be happening.
No, that must not happen.
His ability to overwhelm his enemies with pure physical violence was the sole reason for his existence, the only thing proving that he was him and not someone else.
Thomas Andre gritted his blood-soaked teeth. His eyes under the arched-up brows emitted a maddened glow.
"Uwaaahh-!!"
He punched with everything he had, but Jin-Woo evaded that again and smacked the American's chin.
Puh-geok!
Thomas Andre shook his head hard to get rid of the impact force ringing in his head. But, in that brief gap, Jin-Woo had dug in until he was right below the American's nose and attacked consecutively and without mercy.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!!
"Keo-heok!!"
Thomas Andre, who once resembled a towering fortress, now began faltering around.
He unsteadily tottered about as he backed away. He somehow managed to regain his balance and cried out venomously.
"I am none other than Thomas Andre!! You think you can bring me down with only that much?!"
"That's why I told you before."
Kwa-boom!!
Jin-Woo punched Thomas Andre's chin upwards and spoke.
"It doesn't matter who you are."
Thomas Andre's head was shot up towards the sky, but he stopped it from going any further. Enraged beyond himself now, the Goliath raised his tightly interlocked fists up high above his head.
"Demolition!!"
BOOM!!
The ground exploded and quaked violently as he slammed down with all his might. Too bad, Jin-Woo was no longer there.
"Where…?!"
Thomas Andre's glare hurriedly wandered around to find Jin-Woo.
It was then.
He belatedly realised that a lump of incredible magical energy was falling from above him.
He quickly looked up.
Jin-Woo had leapt up before the skill 'Demolition' was activated and now, he was descending towards his American target.
His elbow powerfully slammed down on Thomas Andre's face.
KWA-BOOM!!
***
Dozens of vehicles stopped almost all at once in a location fairly far away from the abandoned factory. It was decided that getting any closer would be dangerous for them.
The folks climbing out of the vehicles were elite Hunters affiliated with the Hunter Bureau. Every single one of them was a distinguished, excellent Hunter in their own right.
However, despite being with such great Hunters, Adam White couldn't feel reassured at all right now. But, that was understandable when these people were being compared to Hunters Seong Jin-Woo and Thomas Andre, plus the entirety of the Scavenger Guild's elites.
The rank S Hunter tasked with commanding the Bureau's own Hunter forces, a man named Brent, could only shake his head with a stiff facial expression.
"Oh, my god….."
Just what kind of monsters were fighting right now to emit this much magical energy?
His feet didn't want to budge from the spot, but Adam White was right behind him, waiting to be guided forward with a pair of pleading eyes. Brent had no choice but to give up and spoke in a resigned voice.
"It's over there. However, it truly is dangerous, so my advice is, you need to be dead sure about this."
Adam White nodded his head.
KWA-BOOM!!
It was at that moment something shot up high in the air along with a loud, explosive noise, before crashing back down to the ground.
"….??"
Adam White looked in the direction of that noise, before quickly shifting his gaze back to Brent. The rank S Hunter couldn't bring himself to close shut his slack jaw.
Adam White urgently asked him.
"W-what was that just now?"
"If, If I haven't made a mistake, then that was….."
How could Brent, a rank S Hunter, make a mistake with his identification? Even then, he hesitated greatly before carrying on.
"It was Mister Thomas Andre falling from the air."
"What was that?!"
"Even I can't be sure…."
Adam White's eyes grew incredibly large as he hurriedly shouted out.
"Hurry! We need to go there right now!"
Brent watched Adam White run over there and gestured to other Hunters to follow them.
The Hunter Bureau's group soon arrived at the location where two gigantic masses of magic energy were colliding against each other. And then, they all saw it.
"Heok."
They saw the scene of the one and only Thomas Andre being pummelled into a rag by a lone Asian Hunter.
Pow! Pooow! Powww!
Brent freaked out and pointed at that sight.
"T-Thomas… Mister Thomas Andre is being beaten up by Hunter Seong Jin-Woo!!"
"I can also see that!"
Adam White repeatedly stamped his feet on the ground in pure vexation. Even from this far, he could tell that Thomas Andre's condition as he was getting beaten to a pulp by Jin-Woo didn't look so good.
Brent hurriedly asked with an expression of someone not knowing what to do.
"What should we do now?"
"We need to stop them! Are you planning to stay back and watch a Special Authority-rank Hunter get beaten to death?!"
"You want us to stop that?? You mean, stop that man?!"
Brent stared dumbfoundedly at the Asian Hunter emitting a truly nonsensical amount of magic power – it was so enormous, in fact, he didn't even want to go anywhere near that maelstrom if he could help it.
But, before he had a chance to say those words out loud, Adam White dashed forward.
He might be a Hunter Bureau agent, but still, he was a regular person. He could lose his life simply by coming into contact with magical energy being emitted from a top-ranked Hunter.
Brent's expression crumpled as he weighed options, but eventually, he spat out a pained groan and chased after Adam to run towards Jin-Woo.
"Agent White!"
***
Thomas Andre's face was stomped on by the elbow and he knelt down to the ground. Both of his hands dug deep into the earth below.
"Euh, euh….Uwaaaah!!"
He somehow managed to raise his upper torso up and continued with his attacks. Unfortunately, he had sustained too much damage to his physical body and his fists couldn't attack with the same level of destructive force anymore.
Jin-Woo saw those now-sluggish punches and re-confirmed the tide of battle turning towards his favour. These powerless flailing arms of Thomas Andre now only contained the losing man's ultimately meaningless rage and desire to kill Jin-Woo.
The Korean Hunter smoothly and easily evaded those punches and counter-attacked once more.
Kwang!! Ka-boom!!
Unlike Thomas Andre's attacks, Jin-Woo's hits constantly raining down aimed precisely at the American's vital spots and as a result, the poor man couldn't even regain his wits anymore.
"Keo-heok!"
Every time Thomas Andre's head snapped in one direction or to the other side, blood spat out from his face. He lost his balance and tottered around unsteadily. Jin-Woo remained merciless as he kicked the American man.
Ka-boom!!
"Keok!"
The colliding magic energy exploded and Thomas Andre's body rocketed up into the sky.
'Ruler's Authority.'
He yanked at the American man flying up endlessly into the air, causing his victim to crash-land back down to Earth with no resistance whatsoever.
BOOM-!!
"Cough!"
Thomas Andre lay sprawled on the ground and vomited out a mouthful of blood. Jin-Woo mounted on top of him.
And just like when he was fighting against the demon king Baran back in the Demon's Castle, he grasped Thomas Andre's neck and slammed down with his other fist.
Pow! Slam!! Boom!
He could sense Thomas Andre's resistance weaken gradually.
Pow! Boom! Pow!
And finally – just as Jin-Woo raised his fist high up to land the finisher, he heard a certain someone's desperate cry.
"Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim! Please, stop! I beg you, stay your hand, please!"
Jin-Woo disinterestedly stared at Adam White running towards him before clenching his fist tightly again. A horrifying amount of magical energy roiled around his greatly-expanded shoulder muscles and his fist.
"N-no! Stop!"
Just before the fist could slam down on the target…
As Adam White cried out, his hand reaching out in desperation…
….Thomas Andre finally opened his mouth.
"….I lost."
Whoosh-!
Jin-Woo's fist stopped millimetres away from the American's nose.
As if he had used up all of his energy just to surrender, Thomas Andre lost his consciousness right afterwards and went limp.
Only then did Jin-Woo withdraw his fist and wordlessly got back up.
Soon afterwards, Hunters affiliated with the Bureau cautiously filed in around him and Thomas Andre on the ground.
***
"What the f*ck… What the hell is this? Did this really happen? Seriously?!"
A certain reporter was muttering to himself as he continuously snapped one photo after another.
Originally, he planned to snap a few shots of the Scavenger Guild Hunters getting ready for a raid. But now…
All he did was to simply follow after the Hunters who inexplicably cancelled the raid and began moving to somewhere. So, how on earth could he explain this?
The reporter initially thought that there was a dungeon break happening somewhere. But the spectacle unfolding before his eyes easily exceeded his wildest imaginations.
He used the zoom function to confirm the face of the man lying sprawled on the ground once more time.
That was a rather familiar face, that's for sure.
Without a doubt, that face belonged to the Special Authority-rank Hunter, Thomas Andre.
'Oh, my god…. Just who can beat Thomas Andre up like that?!'
The reporter spat out a shocked gasp as he scrolled through the images he had taken so far.
And at the same time, his heart trembled in excitement after realising that the photos contained within this little camera would net him a huge wad of cash.
Chapter 193: Chapter 193
Adam White urgently confirmed the signs of life on Thomas Andre.
Ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump….
He pressed his ear to the chest of the unmoving man and heard the faint beating of the heart. He even brought his hand near Thomas Andre's nose and felt for his breathing, too. Fortunately enough, he was still alive.
However, he was barely hanging on. He might be alive but, he didn't resemble a living man right now. That's how bad his condition was.
'To think, he's capable of reducing the one and only Thomas Andre to this state….'
Just how many Hunters in the world would be capable of doing this? No, was there anyone even remotely capable of doing that, to begin with?
If this news got out, then the entire world would be turned on its head almost instantly. Adam White even felt an emotion similar to awe at Jin-Woo's strength that had easily exceeded the Hunter Bureau's expectations.
Unfortunately, now wasn't the time to stand around in awe.
"Hurry!"
Adam White gestured towards the Hunter Bureau's Healers.
One of the top-rated Healers quickly ran over and settled down next to the patient on the ground. After confirming Thomas Andre's condition before the healing could properly commence, the Healer clicked his tongue and spoke up.
"Every bone in his body is broken. Haemorrhaging is quite serious, as well. I alone won't be able to heal him. It'll be better for everyone to participate at once."
Following the Healer's suggestion, more of his colleagues were added to the process of healing Thomas Andre.
But then, could anyone fill up a lake with water from a tap? Because of how vast Thomas Andre's overall health reserve was, one needed to expend a great deal of effort in order to heal him.
As the Healers sweated profusely and focused on healing the American Hunter, Adam White stood back up from the ground to survey the landscape. He saw the Hunters from the Bureau keeping themselves busy by pulling out the injured from the abandoned factory.
"Euh, euh…."
"My leg, my leg!!"
The state of the Scavenger's elite Hunters were wretched, to say the least. It was unknown how they ended up in such a miserable state, but it was not that hard to guess just who was responsible for them looking like that.
One man versus one Guild.
Just one Hunter managed to utterly destroy one of the top Guilds in the entire world.
'Seriously…'
Adam White was utterly flabbergasted by the incredibleness of Hunter Seong Jin-Woo, and his abilities that played a key role in this display of incredibleness.
'…Uh?'
Now that he took another look, he couldn't see Hunter Seong Jin-Woo anywhere. Adam White searched around to locate the Korean Hunter, but before he could locate his query, a rather familiar 'song' entered his ears, instead.
It was the ringtone coming from his phone.
"This is White."
– "Agent White, we discovered Yu Jin-Ho Hunter-nim's current whereabouts."
The call came from the Hunter Bureau. Out of all the stories he heard today, this had to be the best one so far. Adam White's gloomy-looking expression brightened up once more.
"Really? Where is he now?"
The caller informed him that the grievously-injured Hunter Yu Jin-Ho was discovered in front of a major hospital nearby, and his life was no longer in danger after having received a timely emergency medical treatment.
"I'll head there right away as soon as the matters this side are sorted out."
– "Understood."
Adam White ended the call and sighed in relief.
"Whew…"
He had no idea how he'd go about dealing with Hunter Seong Jin-Woo's wrath if something really bad happened to Yu Jin-Ho. Just thinking about it made him dizzy.
Spilt milk couldn't be saved, anyway. Should he say that the glass holding the milk not breaking was a silver lining among the sea of storm clouds?
A small load was taken off his mind and soon, he got to hear yet another piece of good news.
"We're finished."
The Healers tasked with mending Thomas Andre stood up from the ground. Adam White asked them for a status update.
"How is he? Is he alright?"
"For now."
"For now…? What does that mean?"
"His injured body has been healed, but he did suffer many grievous wounds and it will take some time before he regains consciousness."
"Oh."
Magic from the Healers might be able to restore one's physical wounds, but they were unable to lighten one's psychological trauma.
And since Thomas Andre no doubt suffered a huge mental setback this time 'round, his hospital room would have to be closely monitored. Adam White could only look on at the unconscious face of the Special Authority-rank Hunter with a look of pity. Still, the Healer did find words that provided a bit of comfort and delivered them.
"Even then, it was because it was Special Authority-rank Hunter Thomas Andre that he got to survive this long. If it was any other Hunter being on the receiving end of this much punishment, that person would have died ten times over by now."
"What a reli…."
Adam White nodded and was about to say something suitable as a reply, but then, his words came to a stop.
Only because it was the Special Authority-rank Hunter Thomas Andre, he could survive this event?
If so, what about Hunter Hwang Dong-Su who must've been subjected to the one-sided outpouring of Seong Jin-Woo's rage?
Was that man around here, as well?
Carrying a hardened expression, Adam White quickly made his way into the abandoned factory as more injured were carted out. Once inside, he took a look around and heard someone call out to him.
"Agent White! Over here!"
That urgent voice quickened Adam White's thought process. He tried to calm his pounding heart and ran towards where that call came from.
One of the Bureau's Hunters with a serious expression on his face was standing in front of a person lying on the floor. Adam White recognised who it was and whispered out the name of the man like a groan.
"Hwang Dong-Su…."
That prompted the Hunter next to him to speak his findings.
"This man is not breathing, sir. His heart is not beating anymore."
***
"I hope you ain't gonna waste my time by telling me some bullsh*t story about you kidding around or making a mistake here."
It was already getting pretty late. The editor of a certain publication had come out to meet a freelance reporter after the latter gave him a call. Understandably, the editor's glare was icy.
Just who was he?
He was none other than the editor of the newspaper boasting the highest circulation figures in the eastern United States.
Originally, someone like a freelancer wouldn't be able to summon him out for an impromptu meeting like this. But then, he had no choice but to make this trip after hearing the contents of the phone call.
The editor told himself that, if this freelancer was going to waste his time with a fairy tale, then he'd make d*mn sure that this guy ended up in jail with a fake crime he came up with. That was his thought process as he hurriedly put back on the clothes he wore during the day at work for this meeting in the dark.
The reporter quickly waved his hands around after being subjected to the editor's suspicious glare.
"It's d-definitely nothing like that. This thing is 100% real. I thought you only liked stories that are real?"
"Hmph…."
"So, how much are you willing to offer?"
"Let me see the photos first."
The reporter looked around his vicinity as if he was scared of something and began pulling out one photograph after another from his bag. The editor took them with an expressionless face and began flipping through them, but then, his hands came to an abrupt halt.
And an almighty earthquake erupted in his eyes next.
���H-how can this be?!'
The editor's astonished gaze naturally shifted over to the reporter's face next.
His expression clearly was asking, 'Where did you get these pictures?' and that made the reporter feel like he was on the top of the world. He quickly shrugged his shoulders as his reply.
The editor continued to flip through the pictures with trembling hands.
They were exactly as the reporter had described over the phone.
'Thomas Andre passes out after getting beaten to a pulp a day before the International Guild Conference?'
Not only that – the face of the man leisurely turning around to leave after defeating the American was captured within these pictures.
Wasn't that Hunter Seong Jin-Woo??
This was a huge scoop.
No, hang on – that word 'scoop' wasn't adequate enough to fully describe this incredible jackpot. The editor's breathing became really rough and heavy now.
Meanwhile, the reporter peered at the picture the editor was looking at and added some of his explanation.
"That's the man who beat up Thomas Andre. If you can investigate and uncover that guy's identity in an expose, I think you're going to create one hell of a firestorm, Mister Editor."
What a moron this guy was!
Allegedly, Westerners had a problem telling Asian faces apart. Maybe because of that, the reporter had failed to recognise Seong Jin-Woo's face.
In times like these, the editor felt rather thankful for being an Asian American. And at the same time, he began cooking up the headlines that would dominate the front page of tomorrow's paper.
[The man who brought down the Dragon, bitten & brought back to earth by an Asian dragon.]
[The Hunter of Giants, Seong Jin-Woo – now even hunting down the Goliath?]
[The stronghold of a Special Authority-rank Hunter, collapsing under the new rising star of South Korea?]
Didn't matter what headlines he decided to use, this news would attract the attention of the entire world. Most importantly, his paper would have the exclusive.
There were dozens of real photographic proof prepared as well, so how could there not be a huge commotion rising up in the world come tomorrow?
The actual worth of these pictures could not be estimated at all. The editor felt his heart quiver.
Having discovered the trembling light within the editor's eyes, the reporter quickly snatched the pictures back.
The editor could only lick his lips in wistfulness.
"Now that you have confirmed the veracity of these pictures, let's talk about my price. How much are you willing to pay me?"
"This…. Well, it's a bit difficult for me to come out with a price for these pictures."
The editor hesitated greatly before asking the reporter as he carefully studied the other party.
"Why don't you quote me a price you think is fair? So, how much do you want for them?"
The reporter pondered his options for a while, before unfurling all five of his fingers on his hand. The editor nodded his head.
"Fifty grand? Good. We'll go with that."
"No."
The reporter immediately corrected the editor on the price.
"It's five million dollars."
"F-five million?!"
Five million U.S. Dollars is a huge amount of money equalling as much as 6,000,000,000 Korean Won.
Quite obviously, the expression on the editor's face hardened instantly.
"If you think the price isn't right, then I'll just go somewhere else."
The reporter shoved the pictures back inside the bag and tried to turn around. However, the editor hurriedly stopped him.
"No, hold on!"
Images of a celebrity couple's baby would sell for millions of dollars nowadays, so was there a reason not to spend five million on a scoop of this magnitude?
Once this news gets out, all the TV stations and other newspapers would be talking about this story non-stop for the next few days. He simply couldn't let this opportunity slip through his fingers!
Having arrived at his decision with some difficulty, the editor opened his mouth.
"Fine, you got a deal. However, I want not just the pictures but the originals, too. And you'll have to swear never to leak this out to anyone else. How about it?"
With that, the deal was made.
The reporter had been working as a freelancer and had to wallow at the bottom of society all this time. He thought about being able to see his parents again for the first time since leaving his hometown. His voice trembled slightly as he made his reply.
"….Let's do it."
***
The hospital room where Yu Jin-Ho was currently admitted to.
He had made it out from death's doorstep, but he still hadn't regained his consciousness.
Yu Jin-Ho was still breathing out heavily in pain. The pain-suppressing morphine didn't seem to be all that effective for him.
A little bit of time later, after the doctor doing the rounds confirmed Yu Jin-Ho's current status and left….
….A humanoid shape rose up from the blob of shadow sneaking into the hospital room.
Shururuk….
It was Beru, who swapped locations with Jin-Woo via 'Shadow Exchange'.
He reached out to heal Yu Jin-Ho, as ordered by his liege. From the tip of his hands, gentle blue light slowly spread out in this darkened room.
Yu Jin-Ho's expression, scrunched up from pain and discomfort, softened in no time at all.
Beru already possessed powers incomparable to regular rank S Hunters, so it was quite obvious that his healing magic would be unmatched, as well. The former ant king diligently healed his target's wounds so he could also mend Yu Jin-Ho's psychological trauma at the same time.
Wuuonng….
Yu Jin-Ho stopped tossing around in the bed after sensing the warmth wrap up his entire body, and eventually, creaked open his heavy eyelids.
"Uh….?"
The first thing he saw was a giant ant head right in front of his face. On top of that, that giant ant head placed a finger to its mouth and went "Shh." as if to tell him to keep quiet.
"….Oh, so I'm still dreaming.���
Yu Jin-Ho closed his eyes shut and went back to sleep with a happy expression etched on his face.
"….."
In the meantime, Beru wordlessly concentrated on healing the kid.
The night wore on.
***
Seoul, the capital city of South Korea.
There was a 14-hour difference between here and the eastern United States. It may have been in the middle of the night over there, but it was in the morning in Korea.
The current location was a deserted children's playground.
A black knight with his head pressed tightly on the ground next to a swing set asked.
"Oh, my king. How long should I stay in this position?"
Jin-Woo, currently sitting quietly on the swing and waiting for Beru's signal, replied disinterestedly.
"I guess…. Until Beru reports back to me that he's done with Jin-Ho's treatment?"
"…."
Perhaps the knight recognised his faults in this matter because he kept his mouth shut and maintained the 'Wonsan bombing raid' posture. (TL note at the end)
Jin-Woo wordlessly stared at the knight before his gaze abruptly landed on his hands.
The back of his hands were all messed up. There were several bruises and he could spot traces of blood as well.
That Thomas Andre, he was truly one nonsensically sturdy dude. Just from Jin-Woo beating the living crap out of him, his hands ended up getting bruised to this degree.
Of course, such wounds would be gone without a trace after a good night's rest all thanks to the passive buff, 'Good Health and Long Life', but still.
'….I'm sleepy.'
He felt a bit of fatigue rush in. A chaotic day was finally drawing to a rather subdued close.
The knight, staying quiet for a while, suddenly addressed Jin-Woo again.
"Oh, my king…."
"What is it?"
"Please, bestow unto me a new name, my king."
Jin-Woo shifted his gaze over to his brand-new Shadow Soldier.
[?? Lv.1]
Knight Commander grade
'Right, I guess you also need a name, don't you?'
Jin-Woo pondered this dilemma for a little bit before forming a wry smile as he spoke.
"Since you died because of your greed, how about I call you 'Greed'?"