Chapter 194: Chapter 194
Next day.
Almost every TV station and newspaper under the sun was talking about the Hunters arriving in the United States before the International Guild Conference began. However, only one newspaper from the east of the country dared to carry a rather different sort of headline on its front page.
[Thomas Andre loses consciousness!]
There was not one American who didn't know the name of Thomas Andre. So, they couldn't quite believe that their Special Authority-rank Hunter had lost consciousness.
Did he contract some kind of illness?
The passersby were immediately drawn in by that simple-yet-attention-grabbing headline. They reached out to grab their copies of the paper and gladly paid the asking price.
But then, steps of the curious buyers came to a stuttering halt after they unfurled their papers and read the article within. That rather boring headline didn't prepare the readers adequately enough for the bombshell hiding within the article itself.
It was unknown why the fight happened, but regardless, the article went to detail the event of a lone Hunter clashing against Thomas Andre and his Scavenger Guild the night before.
And the aftermath was laid bare for all to see with several pages' worth of large photographs.
They showed bloodied and battered Thomas Andre, as well as many injured Hunters being carried out from a disused factory.
If someone who didn't know any of these people saw the images, that person might have said that they were victims of a terror attack. That's how severe the scenes depicted were.
However, weren't these people all top-ranked Hunters in this nation?
Especially for Thomas Andre – he was the Special Authority-rank Hunter who survived the 'Kamish' raid, referred to as the worst calamity in human history.
Every single person reading the article couldn't hide how shocked they felt. Their breathing became rough and heavy, just like the editor back when he first laid his eyes on these images.
And when the identity of the man who drove the Hunters of the Scavenger Guild to this wretched state was revealed, the readers focusing on the article cried out in pure shock and astonishment.
"What in the world…."
"Jesus Christ!"
Why was there an image of Hunter Seong Jin-Woo in this article? Wasn't he the current darling of the international media after he stopped a massive-scale crisis taking place in Japan not too long ago?
The contrast between Thomas Andre lying sprawled on the ground, and Jin-Woo turning around to leave with an emotionless face, was so great that it left the readers with an indescribable level of mental shock.
As almost all of the mass media was focused on the International Guild Conference, the ripple caused by the article was even greater than it might have been otherwise.
Rather than traditional media outlets breaking the news, though, the story first gained traction in South Korea through social media, instead.
[ROFLOL. Thomas Andre beaten to a pulp by Seong Jin-Woo was real? Link to the article.]
[Holy cow, it's real. LOL Thomas Andre showed up with Guild members and still got ransacked like nobody's business?]
[Bullsh*t. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Makes no sense. One guy wrecked a Special Authority-rank Hunter + super-top-number one Guild?]
└ [Go read the linked article. All true.]
└ [Why did they fight, tho?]
└ [No one knows. No reason provided.]
[LOLOL Yankee bros yapping on about Special Authority this and that, but now, boom! Maybe, these fools were nothing but hot air?]
[It's not Thomas Andre being useless, it's Seong Jin-Woo being incredible.]
[Yup, Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim is the pride of South Korea.]
└ [Kyah~! Barmaid! Time to get drunk! Bring me a tall glass of patriotism!]
Most of the Korean commenters expressed their surprise at this event, but on the other hand, the comments filled with pride quickly appeared on various Japanese social media accounts.
[It's only obvious that even Thomas Andre was no match for Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim.]
[Maybe the U.S. didn't help us because they were afraid of exposing the truth behind their Special Authority-ranked Hunters…]
[We need to be grateful that such a Hunter came to lend us his aid.]
[I've been trying to send a thank you gift to Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim for a little while now. Where should I send it so he can receive it?]
[You can send it here. The address is….]
└ [Hey, dude, why U writing your own address?]
└ [wwwwww What a crazy b*stard.]
Jin-Woo was already the hero of Japan.
The wounded pride of the Japanese people was restored when Jin-Woo, a man who rescued their country from the brink of destruction, defeated the hero of America.
Perhaps inevitably, the attention of the world – not just America's, where the incident took place – was laser-focused on Jin-Woo once more, after a short period of peace since the Giant subjugation.
Why did he do it?
Why did Hunter Seong Jin-Woo pummel Thomas Andre and his Guild members into near-oblivion?
Did something irreconcilable happen between the two men?
Public opinion and mass media were burning up from the flames of speculation. Everyone that learnt of this incident could only wait in desperation for some clarity on the situation.
***
Jin-Woo woke up in the assigned hotel room. He took a look outside the window and saw the sea of reporters camping outside the hotel's entrance and clicked his tongue.
"Where did all these people show up from?"
Sure, it wasn't as if he had no clue why these reporters had gathered outside the hotel. No, he simply got surprised by the fact that the news had spread out this fast, that was all.
Even then, he had no plans to shy away from them. Wasn't this a good opportunity to let the world know what would happen if someone tried to mess him?
It was not against the law to shoot down someone aiming a gun at you in America. Especially more so, with laws being amended recently, after the appearance of the Hunters.
The issue might have gotten out of hand if he kept attacking the unconscious Thomas Andre. But, he wisely stopped right away the moment his opponent lost the will to fight.
It should be a similar story with Hwang Dong-Su, too. Once people learn about what he did to Yu Jin-Ho, not many would point their fingers at Jin-Woo.
So, he stayed calm and waited for Agent Adam White to contact him. Sure enough…
Knock, knock.
He opened the door after hearing the knock to find Agent Adam White standing on the corridor with two other Bureau-affiliated Hunters.
Jin-Woo asked with absolutely no nervousness in his voice.
"Are you here to arrest me?"
"No, not at all."
The American agent shook his head and hurriedly continued on.
"We're here to escort you to the Guild Conference venue because we are expecting quite a big fuss to develop during the day. And also…."
Adam White quickly fixed his attire and politely bent his waist 90 degrees forward, totally out of the blue.
'…..?'
Feeling puzzled by that gesture, Jin-Woo looked on. However, Adam White showed no signs of straightening himself and spoke while maintaining the current posture.
"Also, I'd like to express my gratitude, as well."
Jin-Woo combed through his memories briefly just then, but he failed to recall any moments that warranted a thank-you from the Hunter Bureau.
All he did yesterday was – he lost Kamish's shadow, wandered around searching for the kidnapped Yu Jin-Ho, encountered Thomas Andre coincidentally and beat his a*s down to the ground. That was all.
'....'
Recalling the events of yesterday managed to sour his mood by a notch.
The American agent probably wasn't expressing his gratitude to Jin-Woo for showing him the process of extracting a shadow. So, why was he saying his thanks for?
Fortunately enough, Adam White opened his mouth just in time, right before Jin-Woo's confusion had the chance to grow any bigger.
"If you hadn't stopped right then, the United States of America would have lost both of her Special Authority-rank Hunters."
'Ahh, so that's what he was talking about.'
Jin-Woo nodded his head as he recalled the scene of Adam White crying out and trying to dissuade him the night before.
For sure, yesterday's result might have been entirely different if the American agent didn't show up and Thomas Andre remained stubborn right until the end.
The U.S. had already lost one of her Special Authority-rank Hunters. So, the government would've done everything in order to prevent the loss of her second, regardless of the cost.
Jin-Woo could more or less understand now where Adam White and his bowed head was coming from.
Meanwhile, the American agent carried on.
"We at the Hunter Bureau will do our best to ensure that you're not unduly troubled by this incident, Seong Hunter-nim."
With those words, Adam White stood upright again. He looked dead tired, though.
The Hunter Bureau held a night-long emergency meeting on how to deal with this event. Naturally, Adam White had to attend the meeting, seeing that he was in charge of chaperoning Jin-Woo around.
The conclusion of that meeting was….
– Do not provoke him.
The higher-ups decided to do everything in their power to make Jin-Woo's stay in the country that much more comfortable. His feat of defeating Thomas Andre only served to improve the Hunter Bureau's evaluation of him.
The organisation definitely didn't want to see their relationship with Jin-Woo souring because of the Scavenger Guild's wrongdoings. Most importantly, Thomas Andre wasn't dead, now was he?
Adam White was ordered to carry on as scheduled and so, he came here to escort Jin-Woo. He stared at his charge for a little while before swallowing dry saliva.
Gulp.
'This man alone managed to defeat the Scavenger Guild….'
The normal image of Hunter Seong Jin-Woo was a man of power for whom common sense still prevailed.
But then, Adam White got to personally witness the kind of spectacle the Korean Hunter's wrath could bring about. And so, he was genuinely envious of Yu Jin-Ho after realising that such wrath was solely reserved to protect the people close to Jin-Woo.
"Oops. It's already this late."
Adam White confirmed the time and formed a smile.
"Well, then… Shall we get going?"
"Sure. Let's go."
Jin-Woo was escorted out of the hotel with the guidance of Adam White and his fellow agents. The group broke past the wall of the fervent reporters and climbed aboard the waiting Bureau-supplied vehicle.
Click, click, click, click, click-!!
Meanwhile, the reporters continuously and tirelessly took photos even as the vehicle carrying their query gradually disappeared from their views.
On their way to the conference venue, Adam White explained the current situation.
"We have secured the testimonies of Hunter Hwang Dong-Su's accomplices. The Bureau will soon release a statement containing the full account of what happened."
He then went and strongly emphasized that 'Hunter-nim' would not be inconvenienced in any shape or form. It was a welcome piece of news for Jin-Woo, of course.
The reason why he decided to travel to the States had to do with the 'monster' possessing the appearance of his father. He wished to gather information through the International Guild Conference.
He asked the newly Shadow Soldier-ified Hwang Dong-Su, but even that guy didn't know much about this creature who could possibly be his father.
According to the former rank S Hunter, that creature came out of a dungeon all alone, and its magic energy emission was identical to other monsters. When the issue with the being's son was brought up, it became hostile and a fight broke out afterwards.
That was all.
'Just what was its real identity….?'
There was a good chance that it might not be his father, after all. If that thing was really him, then quite obviously, the first thing he'd do was to come and see his family.
The more Jin-Woo looked into this matter, the greater his questions became. To confound the matters even further, several more questions were added on top of the already-existing ones.
It all started off with the final words of Kamish, just before the Dragon disappeared for good.
[Oh, my king. There are four humans who have borrowed the powers of the Rulers. Please, you need to be wary of them.]
Five Hunters survived the Kamish raid. Which meant that the odds of the four among the five Special Authority-rank Hunters borrowing the powers of the Rulers were very high.
'But then… one of the Special Authority-rank Hunters was killed by someone recently.'
That man's name was Christopher Reid.
Just who was he fighting that a Hunter as powerful as he was had to resort to burning down his mansion and the surrounding forest?
Could it be possible that the Sovereigns mentioned by the King of Giants were finally making their move?
If that wasn't it, did the sudden changes dungeons went through recently have anything to do with it?
As several thoughts fleeted in and out of Jin-Woo's head, he could see the venue for the conference getting nearer and nearer.
***
The moment Jin-Woo stepped into the lobby of the venue, the conversations and welcoming greetings being shared among the crowd all came to a sudden halt.
Gazes of curiosity and fear came flying at him from pretty much all directions.
He was that Asian Hunter responsible for utterly destroying Thomas Andre, who had been reigning over other Hunters like a king.
Noisy, noisy….
Quite a few Hunters kept whispering the stories related to Jin-Woo even now, but none of them dared to approach him. Because they still didn't know why he went and wrecked the Scavenger Guild to that extent.
Seriously now, what if the reason for that unholy mass beat-down turned out to be nothing more than Thomas Andre staring at him for too long? If so, wouldn't one get marked for death simply by trying to say hello to Jin-Woo?
Even though all these people were ace Hunters that subjugated scary monsters for a living, they found it hard to meet Jin-Woo's gaze right now.
After the cordial lunch prepared by the Hunter Bureau came to an end, the participating Hunters began filling up the seats facing the rostrum in the conference venue.
Afterwards, the conference got going, and several topics were discussed.
Unfortunately, none of those really warranted Jin-Woo's complete attention nor his sustained interest. Most of the things being talked about were similar in nature to status updates and so on.
'If only Jin-Ho was here. I'd not be this bored….'
All Jin-Woo could do was to wake up his super-human patience and wait until the topic he might be interested in came around.
Quite a while later…
Although it was not the information he was waiting for, a topic did manage to grab his attention.
"Everyone, you should be aware of the fact that the number of Gates being generated has shot up recently, and the fact that stronger monsters have made their appearances, too."
Initially, it sounded like something everyone knew only too well.
Since quite a few scientists had appeared before this man to speak their theories regarding this topic already, the atmosphere in the venue came across as lukewarm at best.
"However, there should be almost none of you who have realised that unusual activity has been detected in the skies above us."
The scientist named Belzer emphasized the word 'skies' and the Hunters finally began showing signs of interest. Of course, Jin-Woo was included among those Hunters, as well.
"The truth of the magical energy concentration found in the planet's atmosphere getting greater – we all know of this fact since it has been widely reported."
Now that he was being showered with the interested gazes of the Hunters, the clearly-happy scientist carried on.
"I'd like to use a different term to denote the magic energy found in our atmosphere. Until another more suitable word is invented, how about we use the term, 'magisphere'?"
The scientist gestured with his hand, and a huge map was displayed on the screen behind him. It was the atlas of the world that contained all of the continents – no, all of the countries existing on this planet.
The scientist used a laser pointer to highlight several spots on the map.
"Did you know that the magisphere has begun gathering and concentrating on the skies of several nations at present?"
Noisy, noisy….
The noise level among the Hunters gradually rose up. The scientist implored his audience to quieten down and listen to him for a little bit longer, before continuing on with his explanations.
"There are a total of nine spots in the world where the magisphere has begun gathering into a large mass. My purpose today is to reveal the locations of the nine spots."
Doctor Belzer then calmly read off the names of the nine countries on his list.
"….Province of Alberta, Canada. And finally, this is the spot with the highest magisphere concentration. City of Seoul, South Korea."
The moment those translated words of the scientist came out from the earpiece Jin-Woo wore – for some reason, every single Hunter sitting inside the venue shifted their gazes in his direction all at once.
Chapter 195: Chapter 195
Jin-Woo had read the article featuring his feat on his way here.
After seeing the gazes of other Hunters locking onto him because of a completely unrelated matter, though, he had to concede that the ripples created from that article were far greater than he anticipated.
Jin-Woo scanned the Hunters and they quickly withdrew their gazes.
'Come on now. This is just….'
He discovered palpable fear within their eyes and could only let out a helpless sigh in his heart.
'Looks like these people are really, seriously mistaken about something here.'
All he could do now was to wait for the Hunter Bureau to release that promised statement.
And so – just as the atmosphere within the venue was getting a bit weird, Doctor Belzer looked in Jin-Woo's direction and cracked a joke.
"I've also read this morning's article. But folks, you shouldn't be looking at Seong Hunter-nim that way. If he was capable of causing all this magisphere in the air like that, then obviously, he's no longer a Hunter, is he?"
Hahaha….
Awkward laughter came from here and there. Doctor Belzer smiled refreshingly and carried on with his explanations.
"As you might have guessed, we couldn't discover any tangible similarities between the locations I have mentioned."
Since there were no similarities, it was hard to figure out the cause for this change. And since there was also no precedence, it was equally as hard to tell what might happen next.
The scientist then brought up another image on the giant screen.
"This here is a shot of the skies above the aforementioned nine spots."
He then added that his team had enhanced the footage with special effects so that the image taken by the magic energy detection camera on the spy satellite could be deciphered far more easily for the audience members.
Just as the scientist had explained, large magisphere lumps could be seen gathered above, in the skies of the nine spots, like some kind of storm clouds.
Since 'special effects' had been added to the image, the reality might not be as severe, but still, those things didn't look like natural phenomena, all things considered.
"Huh…."
"Mm."
Hunters began leaking out shocked groans after confirming the contents of the giant screen. It was definitely bad news that no one could figure out the reason for this suspicious phenomenon, or what would come out of it.
The skies above Seoul looked to be especially bad.
Jin-Woo studied the satellite image of Seoul, which seemed to have become the eye of the storm made up entirely of magisphere, and wondered why there were nine spots in the world, to begin with.
'Is it related somehow to the number of the Sovereigns? Because there are nine of them?'
To call it a mere coincidence, it just left that vague uncool aftertaste in his mouth. And also, now that the King of Giants was slain by him, that number nine should not hold significance anymore.
It was then – Doctor Belzer shot him a very quick and sneaky glance. Their gazes met in the air. Unlike the last time this happened, though, there was not a hint of a smile on the good scientist's face.
"Our current situation is that, since we don't know the cause, we also don't know how to respond to this phenomenon."
The scientist's lengthy presentation was about to come to its conclusion.
"However, let me make it clear. The assertion of being unable to respond does not mean there is no need to make plans. It's eminently possible that our world will experience yet another seismic shift soon."
***
As the conference was drawing to a close, the director of the Hunter Bureau took to the stage. His reason? To make an important announcement.
Since this wasn't in the schedule, Hunters naturally became noisy from his unexpected entrance.
Noisy, noisy….
Was the Hunter Bureau about to make an official statement related to the events of the night before?
While being showered by the curious, interested gazes of the Hunters, the director politely requested his audience to quieten down before he could proceed.
"I have something important I must inform you about, everyone."
Every single Hunter gathered here today were the elites of the elite within their respective nations. The citizens of those nations would recognise who they were just from their names alone.
Indeed, these people were not some unruly immature kids or a ragtag bunch of misfit soldiers.
"…."
"…."
Just one sentence from the director, and in an instant, the venue was enveloped in an eerie silence.
This was their superhuman-level ability to focus in full display; the high degree of concentration that no regular human could ever possess was deeply ingrained like instinct within the highest-ranked Hunters present in this venue.
The director nodded his head as he found the current atmosphere much to his liking and scanned the faces of the Hunters. Eventually, his gaze met Jin-Woo's.
'Hunter Seong Jin-Woo….'
The director had been fully informed of everything that transpired yesterday. He sent his acknowledgement in Jin-Woo's direction with a brief nod.
He was expressing his gratitude for letting Thomas Andre live.
Unfortunately, other Hunters had no clue on the ins and outs of that situation, so they could only begin murmuring their theories to each other when the director of the Bureau shared that greeting with Jin-Woo.
After a short while of unease later, the director finally addressed the crowd.
"My heart is heavy as I deliver this unfortunate news to you all."
Finally….
Jin-Woo sensed that the moment he was waiting for had finally arrived. The director spoke in a low, gloomy voice.
"About two weeks ago, Hunter Christopher Reid was murdered by unidentified assailants."
***
'….!!'
The gathered Hunters were all astonished by the revelation.
One of the top Hunters in the world was murdered by someone?
Their level of shock transcended what Jin-Woo felt when he heard the news first. This issue was well beyond the realm of who won the fight between two powerful Hunters.
The director brought up the relevant information on the giant screen behind him.
First, the remnants of flames that didn't want to die out; the ashes of the mansion; and then, Christopher Reid's dead body with a hole in his chest.
Hunters confirmed the death of the Special Authority-rank Awakened via the provided video footage as well as the several still images on the screen, and reacted by gasping out in shocked moans.
Not one person present was able to dispute the fact of that man being dead now.
As expected, the surprised Hunters began their outpouring of questions, but the director firmly shook his head, instead.
"I'm sorry, but I'll answer your questions only after this presentation comes to an end."
There was a far more important matter still to be carried out instead of answering the questions. The director glanced at Jin-Woo from the corner of his eyes. The young Korean Hunter and his gleaming eyes displayed no reaction as he sat quietly in the corner of the conference venue.
His calm attitude managed to rouse up several complicated emotions in the director's heart.
However, there was no more time to hesitate. He pressed a button on the remote controller and the image on the screen behind him changed again.
"We strongly suspect this man as the perpetrator of this crime."
A man's face now filled up the entirety of that giant screen. Almost immediately, the gathered Hunters realised that something was amiss.
That Asian man's face, wasn't it uncannily similar to someone else sitting inside this conference venue?
But then, these Hunters also recalled what happened to Thomas Andre, and none of them could voice the thoughts bubbling up inside their minds.
"….."
Jin-Woo too, closed shut his mouth.
The photograph must've been taken moments after 'he' had arrived at the Hunter Bureau for identification purposes. That face definitely belonged to his old man from his memories no matter how many times he took a look.
Jin-Woo eventually bit his lower lip.
'How come it's my father….'
Dungeons were supposedly the territory of the Rulers.
He couldn't tell why they sent a monster with the outer appearance of his father. Regardless of what their intentions were, though – Jin-Woo could still feel the bubbling pit of rage slowly building up its intensity deep within his heart.
Too bad, Hunters nearby completely mistook that rage for something else and they did their absolute best to not look at his way.
'Do not look back. Do not look back!!'
'They just look similar, that's all! Just similar, and nothing else!'
'Asians all look alike, right? Right??'
'But still, that is just so….'
The director branded 'Seong Il-Hwan' as 'Suspect S' and began explaining who this man was. From where he was discovered, what happened during that discovery, and finally, what transpired afterwards.
Hunters were taken by yet another surprise from the revelation that this person actually defeated Hwang Dong-Su during the interrogation to make his escape.
Just who was Hwang Dong-Su?
The Hunter Bureau acknowledged his powers early on and offered him a sweet deal, prompting him to emigrate to the States right away. Moreover, he was also one of the aces in what many believed to be the best Guild in the world, the Scavenger Guild.
The shock these Hunters felt was great, perhaps because the news of his demise hadn't been publicised yet.
They were now thinking that, if multiple assailants possessing similar levels of strength pounced on their target simultaneously, even a Special Authority-rank Hunter wouldn't be able to hold out for long.
They understood the reason for the Hunter Bureau suspecting this mysterious 'Suspect S' for this crime.
"Several human-type monsters possessing that level of power escaped from dungeons and attacked Hunter Christopher Reid at the same time – we at the Hunter Bureau feel that this is the likeliest explanation."
As the director continued on, the image of 'Suspect S' pressing down on Hwang Dong-Su's neck with his foot popped up on the giant screen next.
The scene clearly exhibited the extraordinary power of the creature capable of subduing Hwang Dong-Su like some kind of an insect – even though he was a Hunter easily exceeding the regular rank S classification.
Hints of pure astonishment flashed past within the eyes of the Hunters watching the footage on-screen. For Jin-Woo, though, that video clip didn't come across as all that surprising.
This 'Suspect S' was an existence the Rulers had created for some unknown purpose. And they possessed unimaginable powers, enough to generate dungeons, didn't they?
'So, obviously, it's not weird to see Hwang Dong-Su getting defeated by that creature.'
No, besides that – Jin-Woo was more concerned with what that 'Suspect S' was trying to do. It was engaging Hwang Dong-Su in a conversation.
'It's trying to… talk to him?'
Jin-Woo's brows shot up. He concentrated hard, like when he would do during battles, and time slowed down instantly. His sharpened senses began reading the lip movements of the Suspect S.
– "….in the country. This isn't for my son, but for your sake. Even after death, you'll not be able to close your eyes."
Ba-thump!
Jin-Woo's heart pulsed powerfully just then.
Those last words….
'….Even in death, not being able to close his eyes?!'
If his lip-reading proved to be correct, then that meant that 'Suspect S' knew about his existence. Thankfully, he knew of a way to easily confirm the contents of that little chat those two had shared.
Jin-Woo suppressed his wildly-pounding heart and called out the name of the brand-new addition to his Shadow Army.
'Greed!'
Greed already knew what Jin-Woo wanted to know through their shared mental link, so he immediately made his reply.
[It is as you suspect, my liege.]
'….!!'
While the thoughts in Jin-Woo's head were getting more and more complicated and confused, the lengthy explanation of the director was coming to an end.
"We're planning to ask you, the Guilds of the world, to help us track down and apprehend this 'Suspect S'. If you discover this man's whereabouts, please, give us a call immediately. That is all."
The end of the director's words signalled the incoming flood of questions that the Hunters had been holding back until then. They impatiently raised their hands into the air.
"Yes, the sir over there."
The director pointed to one of the raised hands, prompting that Hunter to throw his question out, as if he couldn't wait anymore.
"Do you have any proof that this 'Suspect S' isn't a human?"
"We have perfectly matched his magic energy emission to that of monsters. Next question."
���That creature insisted that he was someone who went missing inside a dungeon. However, did a Hunter like that really exist?"
"Yes, that Hunter did really exist. Next."
"If that's the case, why haven't you revealed the identity of that Hunter?"
"Oh…."
The director hesitated greatly, but eventually replied while doing his very best to avoid looking in Jin-Woo's general direction.
"We've decided not to reveal that information because the suspect is related to one of the Hunters currently attending this conference."
That brought about a prompt and sudden end to the barrage of questions. The 'maybe' changed into 'as expected' in that instant.
The director scanned the suddenly-silent conference venue and decided he'd wrap up things here.
"Are there any other questions?"
It was then – someone sitting at the end of the audience seats at the back raised his hand. Even before the director could call out his name, this guy opened his mouth first.
"Even then, don't you think it'll be better to release the identity of that person, if you really want to arrest 'them'?"
Hunters didn't have to turn around to see who asked that question in that weighty voice. It was spoken in Chinese, and it came from a certain middle-aged man.
He was none other than China's Seven Star-rank Hunter, Liu Zhigeng.
One of the Special Authority-rank Hunters was looking straight at the director with a sombre expression on his face. Dozens upon dozens of China's top Hunters, including his own Guild members, sat to his right, left, and front.
The director seemed to be at a loss, but Liu Zhigeng continued to press on.
"Don't you agree, Mister Director?"
Although it had been urgently decided earlier in the day to seal the information on the identity of 'Suspect S', the director realised that he didn't have much of a choice now and begrudgingly brought up it on the screen behind him.
Beep.
One press of the remote button and the information on Seong Il-Hwan filled up the giant screen. Soon, surprised gasps came out from several of the audience members.
To think, the very first human-shaped monster to appear in dungeons possessed the exact same countenance as Hunter Seong Jin-Woo's missing father!
How could there be such a coincidence?
The once-quiet interior of the conference venue was buzzing with the hushed voices of the Hunters.
Liu Zhigeng quietly stared at the screen before raising his hand again. The director had to point to the Chinese Hunter once more.
"….Hunter Liu."
"This time, I have a question I want to ask Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim."
The director shifted his gaze to Jin-Woo. The latter lightly nodded his head at the former and turned around in his seat to stare at Liu Zhigeng in the distance.
Shortly thereafter, the Chinese Hunter's heavy, bassy voice resounded out within the interior.
"What will you do if this 'Suspect S' really turned out to be your long-lost father, and the Hunters of the world were trying to hunt him down?"
Jin-Woo pondered that for a little bit before making his reply.
"If that creature is nothing but a monster, then I'll kill it with my own hands. However, if it's not a monster, but really is my father, then…."
If it was really his father?
The gathered Hunters became intensely curious as to what he might say next and began swallowing their saliva. Disregarding them all, Jin-Woo firmly declared his intentions for all to hear.
"I shall protect my family, even if that means every single Hunter in the world becomes my enemy."
Chapter 196: Chapter 196
"What you said in there – were you being serious?"
Adam White, waiting outside the conference hall, threw that question out.
Even though Jin-Woo wanted to ask back, "What are you talking about?" he said only one thing inside the conference hall, didn't he?
So, he simply grinned as his reply.
"Yup."
"Haha…."
Although this was no time to laugh, Adam White ended up chuckling after seeing Jin-Woo's grin, anyway.
Just who were the folks inside the conference hall?
They were 500 or so of the top-ranked Hunters from around 120 countries, who were invited by the Hunter Bureau to attend this conference. In other words, they were the top elites humanity had to offer.
But then, this man went and said to them, 'Even if it means every Hunter in the world becomes my enemy'.
Any ol' tough guy wouldn't even dare to imitate what Jin-Woo had done. What's more surprising was the fact that not one person ridiculed him for making that claim.
Even Liu Zhigeng, renowned for his vicious personality, simply kept silent and stared at Hunter Seong Jin-Woo. He made no complaints whatsoever towards the Korean's declaration.
Not just the Hunters inside the conference hall, but even the agents watching the proceedings through various monitors couldn't shut their agape mouths. Adam White was among those agents, obviously.
He sighed in admiration and spoke up.
"Most likely, there should be only two people in this whole wide world, including you, who could say something like that in there, Hunter-nim."
Jin-Woo became slightly curious about who the other guy might be.
"Who is this other person….?"
"Well, he's in the hospital right now."
Jin-Woo saw Adam White's wry smile and immediately realised who that mystery 'other guy' could be. It could only be Thomas Andre.
For sure, that guy would do something just as crazy, what with that arrogant personality of his.
'But, it's unknown whether he'll still behave that way or not.'
Jin-Woo recalled the last expression Thomas Andre made as he admitted to his defeat, and formed his own wry smile.
In the meantime, Adam White quickly explained the itinerary for the rest of the day.
"A dinner party has been scheduled to take place this evening. Since we at the Bureau went all out to prepare this grand feast, how about sharing a cordial meal with other Hunters if you don't have anything urgent to…."
Jin-Woo shook his head right away.
"I'm planning to stop by at a hospital."
"Excuse me?"
Adam White's brows shot up.
Did he get injured somewhere last night? No, hang on. Maybe that was an inevitable result. The Special Authority-rank Hunter Thomas Andre suffered such grievous wounds that he still couldn't recover properly after receiving concentrated healing from several top-class Healers. That attested to how violent and fierce the fight was.
So, even if it was Hunter Seong Jin-Woo, he must have suffered one or two injuries….
"I'm worried about Yu Jin-Ho, you see."
"Oh…."
So, he was talking about 'that'.
Having realised that it was unnecessary to worry about Jin-Woo, even for a little bit, Adam White could only reflect on his hastiness in silence. Still, he couldn't let go and asked one more time, just in case.
"Uh, maybe your shoulder or wrists have been aching since last night….?"
"Pardon?"
"Ah, no. It's nothing…"
While Adam White was getting more flustered than ever before…
….Hunters that had been gathered in small groups of two and three to chat among themselves suddenly parted ways and stood to either side of the hallway. Naturally, both Jin-Woo's and Adam White's attention shifted over there, as well.
And that's where they spotted Liu Zhigeng.
China's Seven Star-rank Hunter was flanked by the 'Liu Zhigeng Squadron' – made up entirely of his direct subordinates – as he made his way towards Jin-Woo.
As if he already had a destination in mind a long time ago, the Chinese Hunter walked in a straight line until he was standing right before Jin-Woo's nose.
'Heok…!'
'W-what are those two up to now?'
Hunters all stopped talking right there and then.
The taut tension flowing between Jin-Woo and Liu Zhigeng managed to utterly silence the surroundings. The palpable feeling of unease rapidly filled this place up.
Hunters hurriedly looked around in anxiety.
'Why is Liu Zhigeng behaving that way?'
'Is it because of what Hunter Seong Jin-Woo said back in there?'
'Yup, I was wondering why he was keeping quiet back then….'
Without a doubt, what Jin-Woo said could be interpreted as a provocation towards other Hunters. And the person who asked him the question even happened to be none other than Liu Zhigeng.
First, it was Thomas Andre. And now, it was the turn of Liu Zhigeng?
Hunters paid close attention to the changing expressions of these two men, as even more anxiety clouded their own faces, wondering what would happen next.
In the meantime, Adam White found himself stuck between these two titans by sheer bad luck and his own expression paled almost instantly.
"E-excuse me, Hunters…."
Before he could finish saying something, Liu Zhigeng took another step forward and opened his mouth first. His weighty voice flowed out next. Jin-Woo listened to him and a sombre expression gradually formed on his face.
'....What on earth is he saying? I can't understand a single word.'
He had never even gone anywhere remotely close to China before, so there was no way he'd know a lick of Chinese.
Since the other guy was speaking in a serious expression, he too decided to form a similarly serious one, but as it turned out, listening to words he couldn't understand proved to be a rather uncomfortable and arduous task.
Just as he began thinking that the Chinese Hunter probably wasn't making fun of him with such a grave expression on his face, Adam White whispered something in his ear.
"He's saying that he hunted down the Giant monster you missed during your trip to Japan on the Chinese coast recently, Seong Hunter-nim."
A look of surprise spread all over Jin-Woo's face.
"You even know Chinese?"
"Well, I was in charge of the Asia branch, after all. I can speak a few Asian languages. Ah, also, I can speak a little bit of Russian, Spanish, Arabic, as well as German…."
Jin-Woo very briefly thought that it'd become a whole lot more convenient for him if Agent Adam White became one of his Shadow Soldiers. Of course, he quickly admonished himself for even entertaining such a thought.
Maybe he still had lots more things to say? Liu Zhigeng continued on with his words in the meantime.
"Please, keep translating for me."
"Alright."
Adam White nodded his head and, with a determined expression, began his temporary role as an interpreter.
"He says that he got surprised from how unexpectedly strong the Giant monster was. And he also says that it was a difficult battle as he had to fight the monster on the ocean's surface."
Jin-Woo remembered being surprised himself by the strength of those Giant monsters, back when he was hunting them down. They had such huge bodies yet they also moved around nimbly like wild beasts, too.
Since Liu Zhigeng said he fought the monster over the water, which imposed a greater restriction on one's movements, his surprise should have been greater when compared to fighting the creature on dry land.
As a fellow Hunter, Jin-Woo could pretty much understand where the Chinese man's fluster stemmed from.
The longer Liu Zhigeng's words got, the brighter Adam White's expression became.
"Ever since that encounter, he says, he's been meaning to meet you. He has been really curious to learn more about the person capable of easily hunting down all those powerful monsters. That's what he said."
In the same breath that Adam White finished translating, Liu Zhigeng formed a bright smile and reached his hand out for a shake.
It seemed that the previous serious expression came from his nervousness.
Jin-Woo looked at that offered hand for a bit, before shaking it with a smile of his own. He had absolutely no reason to refuse a greeting offered up first by one of the best Hunters in the world.
Adam White had figured out what was going on here and could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"Whew…."
Forming a bond between fellow Hunters – this encounter certainly stayed true to the original intention of the International Guild Conference.
As they shook hands, Liu Zhigeng said some other things with a smile. Jin-Woo looked at Adam White again.
"Sounds like he's making a joke, so what is he saying?"
"Ah…"
Adam White briefly formed a lost expression, before the corners of his lips arched up.
"He says that he's really happy about you teaching Thomas Andre Hunter-nim a lesson. He doesn't even have to take a look to know that it was Thomas who instigated the whole thing first…."
Jin-Woo grinned at that one.
The Chinese Hunter initially came across as an irritable and rude uncle, but he turned out to be a rather interesting person. Now that the greeting was over, their hands parted ways.
But then, Liu Zhigeng's complexion darkened somewhat.
Likewise, the smile on Adam White's face was wiped off as well. He quickly translated what the Chinese Hunter was saying.
"That is why he will now pray even harder that 'Suspect S' isn't actually your family member. He says that he doesn't want to fight against you, no matter what."
Jin-Woo wordlessly nodded his head.
"Both of you are here."
Jin-Woo and Liu Zhigeng shifted their gazes in the direction of that voice. Although they felt this person's presence, they knew he wasn't a Hunter since he didn't emit any magic energy.
Sure enough, that voice belonged to the Hunter Bureau's Director. He alternated his gaze between Jin-Woo and Liu Zhigeng before asking both men. He sounded rather tense as he did so for some reason.
"Can both of you clear some time in your schedule, please?"
Jin-Woo looked at Adam White for confirmation, but the latter man shook his head. Meaning, this wasn't in their itinerary.
What did he want from them, then?
Before making his reply, Jin-Woo pushed his Perception Stat to the extreme first and analysed the movements of every single Hunter within the conference venue.
'Two people with a huge concentration of magical energy….'
Two very powerful Hunters were heading towards the same destination under the guidance of several escorts. Seeing that both he and Liu Zhigeng had been called upon like this, that event couldn't be chalked up to being a coincidence.
'Did something happen somewhere?'
When Jin-Woo looked as if he was hesitating somewhat, Adam White remembered something and quickly answered for him.
"Ah, that's right. Sir, Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim said earlier that he'd go visit Yu Jin-Ho Hunter-nim at the hospital…."
However, Jin-Woo placed his hand on the American agent's shoulder to stop him. When their gazes met, he shook his head before turning around to face the director.
"Alright, I will."
The director's expression brightened immediately and he looked at Liu Zhigeng next.
"How about you, Hunter Liu Zhigeng?"
"I'm in."
"Very good. In that case, please, follow me."
The director's expression was as bright as a salaryman who managed to pull off a difficult negotiation. He then took the lead and guided the two Hunters away.
***
Funnily enough, the destinations for the two were not the same.
Liu Zhigeng was guided by other agents and went down the corridor on the left, while Jin-Woo followed the director and continued down their original path.
'Isn't this strange….?'
With the addition of Liu Zhigeng to the ranks of those two powerful Hunters he sensed earlier, three beings with rather enormous magic energy had gathered in one spot now.
Jin-Woo thought he'd be escorted to that place as well, but seeing that he was being led to a different destination altogether, he began cooking up several likely reasons for this. He gave up in the end, though, and asked the director.
"Why am I the only one going to the different room?"
"Ah…."
The director pondered his answer for a little bit before deciding to delay it altogether.
"There is someone waiting for you, actually. She will explain everything to you once we get there."
"…."
As a matter of fact, Jin-Woo could sense a certain person's aura coming from a room located at the end of this corridor.
'Uh? Doesn't this magic energy belong to that….?'
Jin-Woo's eyes grew wider since the person waiting for him was someone he didn't expect to see here. As a matter of fact, he never thought they would meet each other again any time soon.
"Looks like you have figured out who she is."
He must've been feeling really nervous because cold sweat drops were visibly forming on the director's forehead.
"We do our best to not to expose her location if we can help it. But then, this issue being what it is, we didn't have much of a choice…."
"Does that mean the Hunter Bureau demanded her to come?"
"No, not at all. It was she that demanded to be here. She specifically wishes to meet you."
Clunk….
The director opened the door to the room and Jin-Woo got to meet the gaze of a certain African-American woman waiting patiently for him there.
"It's been a while, Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim."
"Likewise, Madam Selner."
It was none other than the 'Upgrader', Norma Selner, the Awakened possessing a unique ability.
He wondered if she had calmed down now that a bit of time had passed since their last encounter, but unfortunately, the light shining in her eyes was the same as before. She still looked quite terrified of him.
He definitely sensed her strong fear of him from the way she stared at him. Despite that, she wanted to meet him for some reason. Just what could make her move in spite of her fears? Jin-Woo's curiosity had definitely been stoked now.
"I didn't expect you to seek me out first, ma'am, so…."
Jin-Woo settled down on the seat opposite hers. Adam White, once more assigned as an interpreter, stuck close to Jin-Woo's side.
Madam Selner politely bowed her head.
"I'd like to apologise for that day. Back then, my mind wasn't in the right place to…."
Jin-Woo raised his hands and stopped her.
He wasn't planning to talk about back then just so he could hear her apologise. She sneaked a glance at the director, only to see him nod his head with a hardened expression.
Madam Selner hesitated greatly before her lips parted with some difficulty.
"I've been having the exact same dream every day."
Jin-Woo was not confident about reading people's dreams. And even he could tell that they didn't ask for him to be here for that purpose, either. Still, he asked her so he could get some clarification on the topic.
"What kind of a dream was it?"
"In my dream, I watch the scenes of top Hunters being hunted down by a group of unknown people."
A group of unknown people hunting down powerful Hunters, she said. Almost immediately, Jin-Woo realised that this matter had to be related to him in some capacity.
"And a few days later, that dream becomes reality."
"Could you be talking about… Christopher Reid?"
Madam Selner nodded her head.
The director took over the explanation from there on.
"We had warned Mister Reid ahead of time, but he wasn't interested in hearing us out. The end result was… well, you know what happened already."
Indeed, Jin-Woo had seen and heard enough of Christopher Reid's fate.
Madam Selner continued on with a trembling voice.
"Powerful Hunters supporting this world will continue to die. Those hunting the Hunters will not stop what they are doing."
"So, what you're saying is…."
Jin-Woo collected his thoughts and cautiously opened his mouth.
"….You also wish to warn me of the dangers….?"
"No, that's not it."
She resolutely shook her head.
If she didn't want to warn him, what did she want then? Jin-Woo looked at her with a puzzled expression. Madam Selner then spoke with desperately-pleading tone of voice.
"Please, I beg of you. Protect these Hunters."
Chapter 197: Chapter 197
'I lost.'
Thomas Andre slowly opened his eyes as his head kept repeating those two words he never thought he'd say ever again.
He found himself inside a hospital room.
'When was the last time I stopped by at a hospital?'
Jin-Woo might have frequented hospitals as if they were his second home during his early years as a Hunter. However, Thomas Andre didn't, and he couldn't recall a single instance of staying in a hospital even once, ever since becoming a Hunter.
Just who would've expected to see this kind of a result from a fight between a Hunter who used to be the worst even among the rank Es, and a man who started his career at the very top?
Of course, Thomas Andre didn't care about Jin-Woo's past. He was still deeply flustered with this result, though.
'I really… did lose.'
Thomas Andre slowly sat up with a dazed face of a man whose soul had abandoned him.
Tap, tap….
The sound of someone lightly tapping on a keyboard came to a halt. He shifted his gaze in that direction and found the main manager of the Scavenger Guild, Laura, sitting in a location not too far, but not too close, either.
Perhaps she was in the middle of her work because her slender fingers were still hovering above the laptop's keyboard.
"You've woken up."
"….Looks like it."
Thomas Andre withdrew his gaze and rubbed his chin.
One could estimate just how much time had passed, with the length of one's beard. Should he say he felt relieved, then? Because… his beard wasn't as long as he feared.
"About… one day, is it?'
"Yes."
Laura affirmed it for him with a short answer, before continuing on.
"The first doctor to examine you suggested that I should prepare for the worst case of you waking up several weeks later."
That was how terrible Thomas Andre's conditions were last night.
But then….
….She found it bit difficult to decide whether him waking up after only one day was rather befitting of Thomas Andre's capabilities, or the fact that he even blacked out in the first place was unbecoming of him, instead.
Laura felt this conflict of emotion as she stood next to her boss's bed.
"Should I call for a doctor?"
"No, not yet."
Thomas Andre massaged his aching temples and shook his head.
The impact force he felt when that man punched him in the head still remained vivid even now. What a horrible pain this was. So much so, he no longer wanted to recall yesterday's event if he could help it.
A doctor wouldn't be able to do much anyway, even if one was summoned here. Besides all that, though – wasn't there something else he should confirm first?
Thomas Andre quickly asked.
"What about Mister Hwang?"
Laura's lips parted for a moment, but she couldn't verbalise her answer and simply shook her head.
"….Is that so."
He pondered for a little while longer, before asking a different question with an unconcerned tone of voice.
"What about other losses?"
"We have incurred many injured personnel, but thanks to the timely response from the Hunter Bureau, everyone has fully recovered."
Thomas Andre had been maintaining his calm until then, but he couldn't stop his voice from going up an octave.
"There were no other casualties?"
"Yes, sir."
"….."
His shock soon morphed into astonishment. He began gasping out inwardly.
Even though the fight had been truly intense, not one person was killed. It could only mean that his opponent went easy on them.
This was a clear sign of an overwhelming defeat.
When a person tastes such a complete defeat, one would often lose any notion of getting angry at the result. That's how Thomas Andre felt right about now.
He was also awestruck, as well. Jin-Woo had defeated not just Thomas Andre, but all the elite Hunters the American had gathered, all by himself. That made Thomas somewhat fearful of the young Korean Hunter. No, his emotion had gone beyond that and almost into the territory of pure respect.
Thomas Andre always told himself that being powerful was justice, so the mental shock he felt right now was rather immense.
However…
However, why was he being like this?
He tasted an ignoble defeat yet he didn't feel so bad at all. Maybe, he had no regrets because he got to confirm the gap between him and his opponent?
He didn't feel like getting angry at the person who defeated him. Nor was he thinking of avenging his loss, either.
'Instead, it's more like….'
As several thoughts began crisscrossing in his head, Laura suddenly presented him with a small but lengthy box. It was a case for glasses.
'….?'
Thomas Andre accepted this case while sending her a puzzled stare. She solved his curiosity right away.
"Your sunglasses were recovered from the location, but they were too damaged to be repaired."
Click.
He opened the case to find a new pair of sunglasses with the same design as before that he liked to wear. Thomas Andre broke into a smirk and put them on.
"Looks like I keep ending up owing people."
Laura was inwardly worried that her boss would start going off on a rampage the moment he woke up, but his response brought about a sense of relief in her and she sighed inwardly, before forming a gentle smile.
"It's my job, sir."
Thomas Andre wordlessly stared into the distance, before quietly opening his mouth.
"Mister Hwang…. Make sure you hold a proper funeral for him. He was still one of our own, after all."
"Understood."
"Oh, and also…."
And also?
Laura stopped jotting down Thomas Andre's orders in her memo pad and raised her head.
"Tell Hunter Seong Jin-Woo that the Scavenger Guild will…. No, wait. Scratch that. Send him a message that I, Thomas Andre, will offer an official apology."
***
Protect the Hunters.
Why did Madam Selner say something like this? Jin-Woo formed a puzzled expression.
"….Why me?"
She seemed to be unsure of where to start her story but eventually, opened her mouth rather laboriously.
"While the dream kept repeating itself, I tried my best to memorise the faces of those hunting down the Hunters. However, it was all for nought."
She explained that all she could remember after waking up were faces covered in veils of darkness.
"And so, I decided to use another method. Even if it was just a dream, I'd use my ability to look into their true nature, their true form."
"Was that why you looked into my eyes last time?"
"Yes, correct."
Madam Selner readily admitted to how her ability worked.
Ba-thump.
Jin-Woo's heart began racing again.
Back then, what did Madam Selner discover inside him that made her shiver in fear like that? Unfortunately, her story hadn't finished yet, so he had to suppress the rising tide of curiosity and concentrated on her voice.
"What I found within those people was limitless power. But, when I locked gazes with 'that thing', I had no choice but to wake up from my dream."
Jin-Woo's gaze momentarily drifted lower and saw her fingertips tremble imperceptibly.
"When my eyes looked into it… I can still clearly remember the words and voice of 'that thing' even now."
Jin-Woo slightly raised his head back up again. Both the director listening in, as well as Adam White translating from the side, carried deeply tense expressions.
Jin-Woo asked her in a calm voice.
"What did that thing say to you?"
"It said that I should… quietly go back and wait for the war."
Madam Selner began shuddering in horror after finally recalling that memory. The voice she heard in her dream was far more vivid than any other sound she heard in reality.
Unlike the frightened woman, though, Jin-Woo was focused on the word 'war', instead. That was his clue.
'It's similar to what the King of Giants told me, isn't it?'
The battle between the Rulers and the Sovereigns – didn't the King of Giants say it? That 'they' were gearing up for war? Most likely, the Rulers weren't the only ones preparing for this upcoming battle.
If that was the case, then, just which side did the b*stards hunting the Hunters belong to?
Although he felt curious about this, he still hadn't heard a reply to his original question. So, he asked again.
"How does that relate to you asking me to protect other Hunters?"
"….Because, I saw the same power sleeping within you."
Her cautiously-mouthed words slapped wide awake Jin-Woo and in the face. The power of the Shadow Sovereign – that's what she saw on that day, hiding deep inside of him.
Since she saw the same type of power from the assassins in her dreams, their identity had to be….
'….Sovereigns.'
Jin-Woo's expression hardened.
Madam Selner detected the rapid shift in Jin-Woo's expression and quickly added more explanation.
"They are existences above the Hunters, and in order to stop them, we need you who possess the power that equals theirs, Hunter-nim."
The director quietly listened up to here and finally entered the conversation.
"In all honesty, I wasn't convinced by the claim that no one can protect the Hunters besides you, Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim, but, well…."
The reason why this meeting had been hastily arranged was…
"….My fight with Thomas Andre yesterday changed the way the Hunter Bureau thinks, am I correct?"
The director replied awkwardly after the truth was accurately pointed out.
"Yes, you're correct."
Thanks to the matters of the day before, the Hunter Bureau finally learned of the difference between Jin-Woo and other Hunters. That event might have been a big incident, yes, but it also helped the organisation to discover a new ray of hope.
Beings capable of murdering Special Authority-rank Hunters, and a lone Hunter possessing powers equal to those beings.
The Hunter Bureau was in desperate need of Jin-Woo's help more than ever. The United States had already lost one of her Special Authority-rank Hunters. And from their perspective, Thomas Andre had to be protected at any cost.
"Of course, we don't expect a Hunter as excellent as you to help us without any suitable compensation."
Anything he wanted, it'd be made available. And that included the greatest treasure Kamish had left behind, its Rune Stone.
The new proposal coming from the Hunter Bureau wasn't about scouting him. Rather than annoy Jin-Woo by pushing forward the already-rejected offer, they'd rather borrow his power to protect America's greatest combat force. That was the response the Bureau had decided to go with regarding the current events, post-Christopher Reid's death.
"….."
Jin-Woo shut his mouth and fell into a bit of a dilemma.
Madam Selner came clean on what she saw in order to help him make up his mind.
"There are Hunters enjoying powerful blessings in this world. They have supported this world with their powers. If they are gone, this world will not be able to hold on for much longer."
Jin-Woo finally replied to them after his lengthy deliberation.
"….I'm sorry."
His firm refusal that didn't leave any room for reconsideration caused the director's brows to shoot up high.
"I-is it because of some unresolved emotion towards Thomas Andre Hunter-nim….??"
Jin-Woo quickly shook his head before people jumped to wrong conclusions.
"No, not at all.���
There was only one reason why he made this decision.
"It's only because I don't know anything about the enemies I'll be facing."
Even if he had a rough idea about what their identities were, he hadn't encountered them once yet. It was only obvious that he'd not make any promises on protecting someone else when he had no clue on the enemy's capabilities.
Jin-Woo wasn't some amateur who'd readily make promises when he wasn't sure whether he could keep them in the first place.
'I'll observe the situation for the time being.'
And then, he'd take care of those things he could handle, first.
His collected ways of thinking hadn't changed at all from that day he entered the dual dungeon for the first time all those months ago.
Thankfully, Jin-Woo possessed several Shadow Soldiers who'd accurately convey information to him in real time. By leaving behind his boys in the shadows of all the Hunters the Bureau was concerned about, he'd be able to respond to those b*stards in time if they made a move.
"Well, then…."
Jin-Woo began thinking up a suitable response when the time comes as he stood up from his seat to leave.
***
In the president's office of the Korean Hunter's Association.
The Association President Goh Gun-Hui was spending yet another busy day.
Why, of all possible things under the heavens, did Hunter Seong and Thomas Andre have to fight a day before the International Guild Conference?
He was worried about things going wrong on the other side so he sent inquiries through all available channels and finally, received a reply from the Hunter Bureau not too long ago.
Their investigation had found that the Scavenger Guild was at fault for the incident and that Jin-Woo wouldn't be unduly inconvenienced in any shape or form moving forward, according to the message from the United States.
"Whew…."
Association President Goh Gun-Hui finally could get this load off his shoulders and plopped down on his chair like a man feeling greatly relieved. No one could imagine how worried to death he was as he thought about Hunter Seong getting locked up in an American prison.
But then again…
'Hang on a minute.'
….Just who would be capable of locking Hunter Seong up?
Even Thomas Andre had lost consciousness, didn't he?
Goh Gun-Hui broke into a chuckle after his thoughts finally reached there, long after the dust on the matter had settled down.
'In a way… I was worried about something totally unnecessary.'
"Huhuh…."
Goh Gun-Hui chuckled for a while before feeling a bit of thirst creeping in. He searched for something to drink and found a bottle of water located on top of the coffee table a bit of distance away from the President's desk.
'…..'
Goh Gun-Hui wordlessly stared at the water bottle before extending his hand out. That prompted the bottle to fly into his hand.
Grab.
He expertly snatched the bottle up and while unscrewing the cap, formed a thin smile.
'Looks like I've got yet another story to hear from Chief Woo once he comes back.'
Huhuh….
Goh Gun-Hui felt quite pleased, knowing that he made the right choice to forcibly send Section Chief Woo Jin-Cheol to the U.S.
Chapter 198: Chapter 198
"Hyung-niiiim!"
Jin-Woo lightly evaded the tearful Yu Jin-Ho's attempt to bear-hug him. Then, he coolly addressed Woo Jin-Cheol in the same hospital room, who had volunteered to look after the kid during the conference itself.
"What's gotten into him?"
"Well, I showed him this when he woke up, and now…."
The Chief of the Monitoring Division picked up the newspaper he was reading.
The front page of the folded newspaper was plastered with the photographs of Jin-Woo's beatdown victims, the utterly wrecked Scavenger Guild's members, and that of the bloodied and unconscious Thomas Andre's face.
It might have been something obvious to him, but the same couldn't be said about Yu Jin-Ho who now had seen the article in its full glory.
Just who in this world would clash head-on against the world's most powerful Guild in order to rescue him? Not only that, when that Guild's Master, 'Goliath' Thomas Andre was involved in the shenanigans, too?
Yu Jin-Ho was shedding thick tears of heartfelt emotion after reading the article, so when Jin-Woo arrived in the hospital, he began expressing his happiness with his entire being.
"Hyung-niiiiim!!"
Unfortunately….
Jin-Woo's agility had surpassed far beyond what rank S Hunters were capable of by now. In spite of Yu Jin-Ho concerted efforts, the target for his manly affection kept slipping out of his heartfelt hug.
Jin-Woo slipped past yet another attempt of the kid trying to embrace him, and pointed a thumb at the stumbling Yu Jin-Ho's back.
"Are you telling me he read an article written in English?"
"Oh, that. I figured that it's really uncool to let our employee get paid without doing a single thing, so I told her to translate the article for him."
"Aha."
The end of Yu Jin-Ho's nose reddened as if he found Jin-Woo constantly dodging his attempt at skinship rather cold-hearted.
"Hyung-nim!"
"Here."
Yu Jin-Ho took the tissues Jin-Woo handed over and blew his nose on them.
Sniffle~.
Of course, Jin-Woo knew how the kid felt. Even then, he couldn't walk around with a snot stain on the expensive suit he especially picked for the International Conference, now could he?
Wiping his tears away seemed to have done the trick and calmed Yu Jin-Ho down. He asked in a more even-sounding voice.
"By the way, hyung-nim, since when did you learn to speak English?"
It seemed that the kid must've heard Jin-Woo conversing with Thomas Andre back inside the disused factory, even though his consciousness was wavering in and out.
"Well, you have a lot of free time as a low-ranked Hunter, you know."
A Hunter without a raid to go to was basically an unemployed bum. Jin-Woo studied English whenever he had time, trying to prepare for the eventuality of him quitting the life of a Hunter someday.
'I didn't know it'd come in handy in that sort of situation, though.'
He felt a bit reminiscent of the times back when he was studying the language. Never in his wildest dreams would he have imagined that the first time he used the language he self-taught to converse was during the fight against Thomas Andre.
"Oh…"
Yu Jin-Ho recalled that Jin-Woo was a low ranked Hunter once upon a time and nodded his head in understanding.
When he thought about his hyung-nim's past in relation to yesterday's events, he became even more moved by Jin-Woo's loyalty that propelled him to confront the Scavenger Guild and its entire catalogue of elite Hunters just for his sake.
Yu Jin-Ho began tearing up again as he emotionally declared his intentions.
"Hyung-nim! I'll definitely trust you and follow you till the ends of the earth!"
His eyes reddened again and snot once more drooped out from his nose tip, which was cleaned barely a minute ago.
Jin-Woo was grinning outwardly, but too bad…
'….Having a high Perception Stat isn't always useful, is it?'
Thanks to his supernatural-level of senses that allowed him to read every little minutiae of Yu Jin-Ho's emotions, even Jin-Woo's nose began stinging a little bit now. He deliberately avoided meeting the kid's gaze and shifted his attention over to Woo Jin-Cheol.
"Looks like there's no problem for him to get discharged, doesn't it?"
"Agreed. As a matter of fact, the doctor in charge was quite surprised that Mister Jin-Ho had completely recovered from his injuries in just one night."
"In that case, let's just go through with the discharge process and return to the hotel. We even have transportation lent to us by the Hunter Bureau, so might as well."
"Understood."
"I'll get ready too, hyung-nim."
Jin-Woo quietly stared at the still-swollen-eyed Yu Jin-Ho packing up his stuff to leave and felt grateful for the fact that the kid was safe now. And at the same time, his anger towards the culprit responsible for this whole chaos ballooned up in an instant.
'Greed, when we get back to the hotel, you know what you have to do, right?'
[….I understand, oh, my king.]
As he was leaving the hospital room, Jin-Woo inwardly 'comforted' Greed with an assurance that all the former rank S Hunter would have to do was to plant his head on the floor for around two hours, which was neither too long or too short in his opinion.
***
There were two vehicles prepared by the Hunter Bureau.
Since Jin-Woo had something private to discuss with Adam White, he got in the car in front where the American agent was waiting for him, while Yu Jin-Ho and the two Korean Association employees climbed into the vehicle at the back.
When Jin-Woo opened the rear passenger door with a loud clunk, Adam White flinched awake from his short nap taken while leaning against the window frame and urgently shook his head to chase away the drowsiness.
"You're here, Hunter-nim."
The American's face was haggard, to say the least.
Unmistakable dark circles thickly coated the spots below his eyes. He was utterly exhausted from the breakneck-pace of all the events taking place, as well as the packed itinerary, of the past couple of days.
Jin-Woo looked on at him with pitying eyes, but Adam White didn't even notice that and simply ordered the driver to start the vehicle.
Now that they were moving again, Jin-Woo got down to the main topic.
"Can you get me the list of the Hunters you people wanted me to protect?"
Those words seemed to have chased away all traces of sleep from Adam White's mind because his expression brightened in an instant.
"Have you changed your mind?"
"No, but I'm curious about something else."
"Oh…."
Adam White struggled to hide his disappointment.
He got his hopes raised up before being shot down. Still, he didn't think this was all bad news. Because it indicated that Hunter Seong Jin-Woo was still interested in this problem one way or the other.
Adam formed a smile and replied back.
"I shall draw up a list as soon as I get back to the Bureau."
As soon as he got back, he said. Jin-Woo snuck a glance at the time. It was already nine in the evening.
He briefly wondered whether he made a mistake or not when he saw Adam White's complexion waning just a little bit more after the poor man was asked to perform yet another task.
Not surprisingly, the American agent tried hard to keep his sleepy eyes wide open to make sure he'd not drift away to dreamland in front of the Hunter he was supposed to escort.
'Tsk, tsk.'
Jin-Woo couldn't watch on any longer and reached out toward him.
"Uh? Uhh?"
Adam White's panicky voice cracked up a little when Jin-Woo's left hand covered his eyes.
"H-Hunter-nim?!"
Too bad for him, though, just a couple of words from Jin-Woo and he was petrified in the spot.
"Will you just stay still?"
A normal person doing something similar would send creeping chills down the hapless victim's spine. However, the one doing it right now was Hunter Seong Jin-Woo, arguably the man most far removed from a 'normal' person.
He even beat the living crap out of Thomas Andre until the latter was almost dead.
Gulp.
Suddenly having his vision blocked by the hand of a rank S Hunter, Adam White could only swallow dried up saliva of nervousness.
Jin-Woo leaned the American agent's head back with his left hand and with his right hand, poured the healing potion he just bought from the Store down the now-open mouth.
'W-what is this?!'
Adam White was obviously very tense from forcibly swallowing the unidentifiable liquid while his vision had been blocked. But even he was able to feel that, as more and more of this liquid slid down his throat, his stamina seemed to recover more and more.
'But, how can something like this….?!'
By the time Seong Jin-Woo withdrew his hands, Adam White realised that the deluge of drowsiness plaguing him was completely gone.
No, hang on. Was that all?
He felt so refreshed and airy as if he had been asleep in a comfy bed the whole night and was roused from his slumber by the gentle warmth of the morning sun.
As if his fatigue had been a lie, he couldn't feel a single trace of it anywhere on his body.
"H-Hunter… nim?"
'….How did you do that??'
That was the question Adam White's look seemed to be asking, but Jin-Woo simply shrugged his shoulders as a reply.
"It's a trade secret, so…."
"Oh. I see."
Since it was such a mystifying event, Adam White found it somewhat easier to accept. He moved his body this way and that to confirm and expressed his admiration in a shocked-sounding voice.
"You are… well, how should I phrase this…. It feels like, you'd have greatly succeeded regardless of what you chose to do, even if that was unrelated to being a Hunter."
Although this praise seemed a bit excessive when coming from a 'special agent' of the Hunter Bureau, someone so highly educated that he was capable of speaking ten different languages according to himself, Jin-Woo still formed a content smile regardless, after seeing that look of satisfaction on Adam White's face.
With this, it'd be easier to ask for the next part of the favour. Indeed, asking for the list of the Hunters was just the beginning of his plan.
"And also, can you organise an opportunity where I can meet the ones found on that list?"
Now was his chance.
Since all the powerful Hunters from around the world had gathered in one place, just by him inserting his Shadow Soldiers in their shadows would allow him to respond quickly to the attacks of the Sovereigns when they happened.
However, Adam White began shaking his head, instead.
This was what Jin-Woo was worried about. Even if the Hunter Bureau was a powerful, influential organisation, it should still be quite difficult to mobilise that many top-ranked Hunters of the world.
Jin-Woo's expression hardened gradually.
"As I thought… I guess it's too difficult."
"No, not at all. On the contrary, I meant to say that there's no reason to organise such an occasion in the first place, Hunter-nim."
Adam White grinned refreshingly and explained the itinerary for the final day of the International Guild Conference.
"Don't forget, there is the 'Night of the Hunters' still left.'
He suddenly spoke of a combination of words that would've worked well for a video game's title. For some reason, he seemed quite hyped up over it, too.
"There is a big party organised by the Bureau. All the Hunters attending the Conference are invited. If you wish to meet them, you can most likely do that there, Hunter-nim."
A party, was it?
Was there a better occasion to meet the Hunters 'naturally' and attach Shadow Soldiers on them than a party? Jin-Woo clenched his fist tightly.
'This is good.'
Through other Hunters, he'd get to meet these mysterious Sovereigns. And from that encounter, he'd get to learn who his real enemies and allies were, and also, how he should go about fighting them, too.
"I will do that, then."
Jin-Woo smiled and leaned against the back seat.
The night sky of America was getting darker beyond the window of the speeding vehicle.
***
The 'Night of the Hunters'.
The world's top Hunters and related parties began flocking towards a gigantic banquet hall, capable of housing nearly 1,500 people.
"Wow…."
Yu Jin-Ho's eyes threatened to pop out of their sockets as he soaked in the sight of the legendary gathering of Hunters that he only got to see through TV screens.
Funnily enough, though, the gazes of other Hunters staring at Jin-Woo were quite similar in nature to Yu Jin-Ho's reaction. The moment he stepped into the banquet hall, everyone's attention was laser-focused on him in an instant.
"Look, isn't that…."
"Yes, I saw."
"He's right in front of us, but I can't even feel his presence."
"He's on a completely different level."
And with all the attention being poured on him, it was only natural that even Yu Jin-Ho would be subjected to their intense scrutiny, as well.
"In that case, the Hunter next to him must be…."
"He fought Thomas Andre in order to rescue that young fella?"
The situation had settled down somewhat by now after the Hunter Bureau had released the public statement.
On one hand, every Hunter in here was deeply shocked by the fact that Jin-Woo was willing to clash against the entirety of the Scavenger Guild for the sake of his rank D Hunter comrade. But on the flip side, they were also getting a heavy case of goosebumps, knowing that the declaration he made towards the end of the conference's first day was not a bluff at all.
["I shall protect my family, even if that means every single Hunter in the world becomes my enemy."]
The photographs accompanying the article clearly demonstrated what had happened to the Scavenger Guild. No wonder everyone in this room was dearly praying that what he said wouldn't come true.
In any case – now that the Bureau had cleared up the air, lots of Hunters were beginning to seek out a chance to engage Jin-Woo in a conversation, busy waiting for the right moment to strike.
This was the result of his public image going through a revamp of sorts, going from a monster capable of pummelling the freakishly strong Goliath, to that of a monster who'd not hesitate at anything to protect his comrades.
The thing was, though – the very first person to pluck up his courage and made his approach was not a Hunter, but a chairman of a very famous global corporation specialising in dealing with monster remains.
"It's my honour to meet you like this, Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim."
The businessman introduced himself first, and then…
"We'd like to purchase the remains of all the Giant-type monsters you have hunted down in Japan. Do you have some time to discuss this matter in greater detail?"
Giant-type monsters most of the time appeared as bosses in rank A Gates, so it was very rare to find a completely intact corpse of such creatures.
This man's desire and acute business acumen led him to make his move a step faster than anyone else present in the banquet hall.
'This is a good opportunity.'
Jin-Woo grinned affably and introduced Yu Jin-Ho next to him to the businessman.
"I'm in charge of the raid aspect of the Guild. I usually leave all the business-related discussions to my trusted Vice-Master over here."
"Ah, is that so?"
Yu Jin-Ho became far bolder than ever before from Jin-Woo propping him up like that. He straightened his back proudly and extended his hand out.
"I'm Yu Jin-Ho, Vice-Chairman of the Ah-Jin Guild."
"Ahh, yes. Hello. It's a pleasure."
"I don't usually discuss business-related matters in occasions such as this one, but if it's you, Mister Chairman…."
Jin-Woo watched on as Yu Jin-Ho expertly guided the businessman to somewhere better suited for a conversation like the one they were about to have, and formed a satisfied smile.
'This kid. He's finally acting like a proper Vice Chair now.'
But, Jin-Woo's eyes sharpened almost instantly afterwards. Now that the pair of potential obstructions went away, the real thing would begin now.
Adam White got close to Jin-Woo.
"Here is the list you asked for."
The screen of the tablet PC he handed over displayed the ten names of the Hunters who could all legitimately be called the world's best in numerical order.
"We at the Bureau had taken all the feats each Hunter had achieved and converted them into points so we can assign them numbered rankings. These ten people are the ones with the highest amount of 'Hunter points' in the world."
The 'Hunter points', he said.
Jin-Woo was intrigued by the fact that the feats and achievements of a Hunter were represented through a points system. He then realised that his name wasn't on the list and asked Adam White.
"Where am I on this list?"
"If we were to include your feat in hunting down the Giant-type monsters in the points tally, then… you should be around here."
The American agent pointed in the spot between 3rd and 4th. The names of Liu Zhigeng, Thomas Andre, and Christopher Reid occupied the spots above.
The mere fact that he was already located beneath those three when he hadn't been a rank S Hunter for long attested to all the incredible feats he managed to achieve so far.
'The 4th place is… India's Siddharth Bachchan. And the 5th spot is….'
The first five spots naturally belonged to the five surviving Special Authority-rank Hunters. As for the spots below, they were also occupied by some of the most decorated, celebrated Hunters in the world.
It was then, Jin-Woo stopped reading the list and raised his head after he heard a bit of commotion rising up.
Noisy, noisy….
An unexpected appearance of a certain guest had thrown the party goers into confusion and chaos. Confirming who this guest was, Jin-Woo handed the tablet back to Adam White.
"H-Hunter-nim…."
"You don't need to worry."
As he expected, this guest displayed not one hint of hesitation as he strode straight towards Jin-Woo.
He even proceeded to step aside Liu Zhigeng trying to dissuade him in the middle of the way and stopped right in front of the Korean Hunter, before removing his sunglasses.
Jin-Woo mouthed the man's name.
"Thomas Andre."
Jin-Woo didn't lose his relaxed demeanour even when Thomas Andre was standing before him. However, the same couldn't be said about pretty much all of the onlookers staring at him, and the American with his arm wrapped in bandages. They were getting properly freaked out now.
The burly American looked at his Korean counterpart, who was at least a good head shorter than he was.
"Hunter Seong Jin-Woo… I want to ask you a question."