Chapter 229: Chapter 229
Late at night.
Jin-Woo climbed up a nameless hill and settled down on its summit. The bright moonlight illuminated the sea of trees below.
Under this pale light, he could see the Shadow Soldiers going about their business after he granted them free time to do whatever they wanted.
The first thing that caught his attention was Fangs who had already gigantified himself, and the three Dragons.
Dragons, carrying serious expressions, conversed in hushed tones with Fangs for a bit, before whispering something else amongst them. And then, the biggest Dragon stepped out of the group.
'What are they trying to do now?'
He could see that every other Shadow Soldier in the vicinity of the four giants scatter away in panic and thought that the mood was getting a bit suspicious over there.
Soon, though, that big Dragon spat out a long pillar of flames into the sky.
Kuwaaaaaaaah-!!
Fangs smirked after checking out the thickness of the flames and took a step forward as well.
Kuuuuooooooh-!!!
An enormous pillar of flames exploded out from his mouth and rose up high to brightly illuminate the dark night sky. While the High Orcs were whistling and cheering on from the distance, the Dragon's shoulders sagged visibly as he turned around to slink away.
It seemed that they decided to bet on who possessed the stronger flame attack.
However….
'Isn't it cheating to use the Bead of Avarice during such a bet?'
Perhaps knowing that he was in the wrong, Fangs was trying to sneak his Bead of Avarice back into his pocket. His gaze met Jin-Woo's at the last second, though, and he began scratching the back of his head as a sheepish grin formed on his face.
Jin-Woo chuckled good-heartedly at Fangs's thick skin and waved his hand about to signal that there was nothing to worry about.
Fangs grinned and bowed his head towards his liege several times.
What a peaceful sight this was.
Too bad, Jin-Woo wasn't feeling as content as his outward facial expression implied.
'....'
He raised his head towards the sky. He could faintly sense the beings from another world getting ever closer to this planet.
He felt their ominous intentions.
He also sensed their strengths.
Jin-Woo's perception, now pushed to unfathomable heights, buzzed and stung from the stimulation received – even if it was only on the level of perceiving blurry, indistinct things beyond the thick veil of fog right now.
'It's unknown just when their approach will become distinct enough for me to see.'
The fact that the battle against them couldn't be avoided weighed heavily on his mind. Jin-Woo fell into deep thought before raising his head again.
Something kept tugging at his mind so he took a closer look, only to find his ant soldiers busy carrying stuff like lumber or stones around.
'….And what are they trying to do now?'
Before he could summon Beru here to ask for clarity, a voice came from behind first.
"It seems that they wish to construct a small-scale lodging that my liege can use to rest more comfortably."
This voice, too smooth for a dude with such a huge physique, belonged to the Grand-Marshal Bellion. Jin-Woo didn't look back and simply nodded his head.
"I guess it was Beru's idea."
The only Marshal in the Shadow Army capable of passionately doing something that no one asked him to was Beru. On the other hand, Igrit did everything asked of him perfectly. As for Bellion….
'….I wonder.'
Jin-Woo knew practically next to nothing about Bellion. The sole bond tying him to Jin-Woo was the former Shadow Sovereign.
Naturally, he was inclined to learn more about his new Grand-Marshal in depth. Perhaps his thoughts had been transmitted, because Bellion wordlessly approached his master and stood behind him.
"My liege. May I inquire as to why you haven't recalled the soldiers back into your shadow?"
Jin-Woo replied, his eyes still surveying the soldiers.
"I figured that they might be feeling too caged up. I mean, you guys had been stuck inside the place called the gap between dimensions for a long time before arriving here, right?"
"….."
Bellion didn't say anything for a while as if that answer was a bit beyond his expectations. So, Jin-Woo spoke to him first, instead.
"Aren't you saddened by the fact that you won't be able to meet the former Shadow Sovereign…. Osborne, again?"
Jin-Woo was painfully reminded of what it felt like to lose someone precious to you only a few days ago while watching his father disappear.
Bellion's emotions should be similar to that. It wasn't difficult for Jin-Woo to understand the sense of loss the loyal Grand-Marshal must've been feeling.
"I've been protecting the former liege's side from the moment he decided to stop the Rulers rebelling against the Absolute Being. And after he acquired the power to rule over death, I was the very first one to volunteer to become his loyal soldier."
Bellion explained himself in a calm manner, his voice unwavering.
"I have spent almost an eternity acting as his support, but not even once have I ever questioned his decisions."
"That's not what I was asking you about."
Jin-Woo pointed out accurately to his soldier that he was asking about something else. Bellion took a bit of time to ponder his answer before revealing how he felt with a bit of hesitation.
"I haven't yet given any thoughts on how I feel, my liege."
"That's why I'm giving you this chance. Come on. Take your time and think about it."
"…"
What ensued was a lengthy, weighty silence.
From this silent answer, Jin-Woo could sense Bellion's true feelings. Although no words had been spoken, he heard enough to know already. Only then did he look behind at Bellion.
"I wish to know more about Osborne from your perspective. Would you like to tell me?"
"But, my liege. It might be a very long story."
"That's perfect. I was actually in need of a long story to kill some time until I felt sleepy, you see."
Jin-Woo returned his gaze to his front, and Bellion quietly settled down next to his Sovereign.
"This event happened back when I was still a fruit of the World Tree."
"A fruit?? You were… a fruit?!"
"Every single soldier of the heavens is born as a fruit on the branches of the World Tree. It is a truly gigantic tree large enough to blanket the entire sky with its branches alone."
"Huh-uh….."
As Jin-Woo focused on the story with an incomparably grand opening, the night continued to wear on.
***
Just before sunrise.
Before the darkness had the chance to completely lift up, Jin-Woo was leisurely jogging within the forest. He had developed the habit of running for ten kilometres every morning since from a long time ago.
He knew very well that there was no more Daily Quest available to him, yet his body moved on its own volition regardless.
While drinking in the crisp, cool air of the forest draped in the dawn's light, Jin-Woo finally finished sorting out his thoughts.
'….I should go back.'
He should inform the world on the existences of the eight massive armies that might arrive on this planet at any time now. He needed to tell them that the real war was just around the corner.
Unfortunately, he wouldn't be able to guarantee the safety of everyone. He also couldn't promise whether the world would be able to retain its former appearance or not, either.
That was how stupendously powerful the Dragon Emperor was, as seen from the memories of the former Shadow Sovereign.
The Dragon Emperor and the Army of Destruction led by that guy reduced just about everything before them to piles of ashes. And such creatures set their sights on Earth as their next target to destroy.
That was why, not only him, but the entire world needed to prepare themselves.
The System didn't need to inform him but he still stopped his running precisely on the tenth-kilometre mark. This was yet another habit ingrained in his flesh after doing the Daily Quest almost every single day.
The truth was, though, habits weren't the only things ingrained in his body now. He learned so much about fighting, and also, inherited incredible power to boot.
The final gift left behind by the Shadow Sovereign, who yearned to return to the eternal rest, had now transformed into 'opportunity'.
Jin-Woo turned towards the direction where the rising sun's rays were pointing at. From the ridge of a distant mountain, the morning sun was greeting yet another day.
***
Jin-Woo was now able to use Shadow Exchange freely. The first place he headed to was inside the building where the Ah-Jin Guild was located.
He chose not to enter the offices straight away, in consideration of his employees' hearts tumbling down to their pits in shock, but thanks to his actions, he ended up running into an unfamiliar woman stepping outside the office's entrance, instead.
Although she was unfamiliar to him, it was as if he had seen her somewhere before, too. She must've felt the same, because, just as they were about to brush past each other, she abruptly turned around and engaged Jin-Woo in a chat.
"Uhm, excuse me. By any chance…."
"…?"
He wordlessly stared at her. She flinched for some reason and while saying "Never mind" she hurriedly escaped out of his view.
'Well, she was a bit anti-climatic, wasn't she?'
Jin-Woo entered the Ah-Jin Guild offices next.
"Uh?"
"Eh???"
Every single employee froze stiff with their eyes wide open as if they had just seen something they shouldn't have.
'Should I have said good morning while walking in or something?'
With things being like this, there was no point in him entering from the outside of the offices, now was there?
Even before someone had the chance to scold these wayward employees for making such faces when their boss had stepped into the office….
….Yu Jin-Ho finally discovered Jin-Woo and rushed towards him with a bright expression.
"Hyung-niiiim!!"
Before sharing that welcoming greeting, though, Jin-Woo decided to solve his curiosity first.
"Who was that lady walking out of the office just now?"
He was about to add "She seemed way too familiar", but then, Yu Jin-Ho's reply easily solved the mystery and there was no need to say anything else.
"Ah, her? She's my older sister, hyung-nim. I've been avoiding answering my family's phone calls, and she barged in here as a result. By the way, did she inconvenience you or some such….??"
"No, nothing like that."
That was why she came across so familiar – she was Yu Jin-Ho's sibling. Jin-Woo glanced back at the office's exit and nodded his head before asking again.
"What brought her here, though?"
"Oh, that…."
Yu Jin-Ho hesitated for a bit before speaking up while cautiously studying Jin-Woo's reactions.
"Remember, hyung-nim? I was standing next to you just before the super-massive Gate opened up."
"Yeah, you were."
"Looks like that scene was caught on camera, hyung-nim."
Jin-Woo roughly figured out what happened next in his head.
"My family wants me to hand in my Hunter licence and quit doing dangerous stuff since I've become the Vice-Chair of the Ah-Jin Guild."
As he thought. Since the Guild's Master, Seong Jin-Woo, was already a Hunter, there was no strict need for its Vice-Master Yu Jin-Ho to stay as a Hunter, as well.
There was a point to what the boy's family said out of a genuine concern for his welfare. However, Jin-Woo already knew what was on Yu Jin-Ho's mind, so he didn't even try to convince the kid.
'I'm sure he'd say something similar to him wanting to remain as a Hunter and stand next to me.'
Sure, Jin-Woo was responsible for sorting out most of their troubles, but still, they had gone through many life-or-death struggles together and that made Yu Jin-Ho come across as quite praiseworthy in Jin-Woo's eyes. He reached out and quickly ruffled up the boy's hair.
"H-hyung-nim?"
Jin-Woo left behind the flustered Yu Jin-Ho and headed into his office so he could change out of the clothes he'd been wearing for the past few days.
"Hey, I'm gonna use the company car for a bit."
"Oh? Should I drive for you, hyung-nim?"
"Nah, it's fine. I'll be quick."
"Where are you headed off to, hyung-nim?"
"The Hunter's Association."
Yu Jin-Ho urgently tried to stop Jin-Woo as the latter took the keys, but…
"Huh? Hyung-nim, there are reporters camping outside…."
'….So it might get really annoying' – that's what he wanted to say, but Jin-Woo had already escaped out of the office by then.
And sure enough, reporters sacrificing their sleep and food for that one chance at a scoop were camping outside the building and waiting for Jin-Woo to show up, their faces looking wane and gaunt like a crowd of zombies.
Just as their wait had been long, their reaction after discovering him was unbelievably explosive as well.
"Hunter Seong!! It's Hunter Seong!!"
"Hunter Seong Jin-Woo has shown up!"
"Is the camera on??"
However, they couldn't continue yapping for long.
"Uh, uh??"
"Eh, ehhh??"
They all looked down at themselves with expressions of someone not understanding what was happening to them, before shifting their gazes this way and that.
Only then did they realise what was going on. They realised that, not just themselves, but everyone nearby was floating up in the air about ten centimetres off the ground.
"B-but, what the….?!"
Fortunately, this sudden bout of suspicious flight didn't last long.
"Heot!!"
The reporters were all settled back down on the ground at the same time. Too bad for them, Jin-Woo was long gone by then. They quickly exchanged flustered gazes with each other, before waves of helpless laughter broke out.
"Ha, hahah…."
"Well, I'll be."
A phenomenon that rendered them speechless; they now had one more thing to add to the article about Hunter Seong Jin-Woo.
***
Jin-Woo drove 'Bonggo' straight to the Hunter's Association.
He had called Woo Jin-Cheol ahead of setting off, so he wasn't surprised to see the Association President and the employees waiting for his arrival outside the building.
But, then…
'….What's going on here?'
The look on Woo Jin-Cheol's face was rather suspicious. It was the same story for the employees next to him.
While Jin-Woo was climbing out of the van, Woo Jin-Cheol urgently walked over to him and asked with a trembling voice.
"Seong Hunter-nim…. By any chance, have you heard of the breaking news yet?"
Chapter 230: Chapter 230
'….This is so strange.'
Yu Jin-Ho's older sister, Yu Jin-Hui, was returning home empty-handed due to her little brother's stubbornness. As she was driving home, though, she suddenly pulled up to the side of the road and cautiously parked her car there.
Screech.
That man she ran into while exiting the Ah-Jin Guild offices…
'….Hunter Seong Jin-Woo.'
There should be no one in South Korea who didn't know what he looked like. So, even though she had never met him in person until now, it was easy to explain why it felt as if she did.
Someone who didn't sweat over such things would have accepted that explanation and move on. However, she was the eldest daughter of Chairman Yu Myung-Hwan, a man famed for never forgetting a face after meeting a person only once. Although not as sharp as her father, she too didn't forget a person's face that easily.
The contour of Hunter Seong Jin-Woo's face, the one she briefly glimpsed while raising her head as they brushed past each other, came across as distinctly familiar.
'Just when would that be….?'
She combed through her memories until her eyes inexplicably grew extra large.
'Could it have been then?'
Back then, in front of the hospital.
There was that time near the entrance of a certain hospital where her father had been admitted to, when a man possessing the same facial contours brushed past her.
Why didn't she recognise him back then?
Could it have been because her mind was in a mess after her father had collapsed earlier in the day?
'Right, definitely.'
The man leaving the hospital that day simply had to be Hunter Seong Jin-Woo.
And a short while later, she received a phone call telling her that her father, diagnosed to never open his eyes again, had precisely done just that.
Was she even allowed to treat this as a mere coincidence?
Yu Jin-Hui's entire body was suddenly overcome with a case of powerful goosebumps. She quickly pulled out her smartphone and began dialling her father's number.
Beep, beep, beep…
But, before she could finish dialling his number, her fingers came to a stuttering halt.
'What am I even trying to do here….?'
Just because she ran into Hunter Seong Jin-Woo in front of the hospital that day, she somehow ended up linking him to her father's miraculous recovery.
What a grand delusion this was.
Yu Jin-Hui could only scold her logical reasoning that seemed to have taken a leave of absence for a moment there with a long, long sigh. She was about to start the car again, but then…
….With excellent timing, her phone went off.
[Secretary ahjussi.]
After confirming who it was, a smile floated up on Yu Jin-Hui's lips. Without a doubt, her dad became curious about the result of her visit to the Ah-Jin Guild and asked the ahjussi to find out from her.
'Back then or even now, Father just can't be honest with the matters of his kids, can he?'
Yu Jin-Hui swallowed back her laughter and answered her phone.
"Hello?"
– "Hello, miss. It's Secretary Kim."
And so, the conversation proceeded exactly as she imagined it would. But then, just before it was about to end, Yu Jin-Hui thought it���d be a good idea and quickly asked Secretary Kim.
"Ah, ahjussi? By any chance, is dad a close acquaintance with Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim?"
– "I beg your pardon?"
Secretary Kim's surprised voice came out from the phone's speaker next.
– "May I inquire as to why you're suddenly asking me that question, miss?"
At this unexpectedly intense response, Yu Jin-Hui panicked slightly and ended up replying while feeling a bit lost.
"It's nothing in particular, but, I remember seeing Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim exiting from the hospital on that day, you see. I was wondering if he was also there to visit dad while he was admitted there."
– "Are you saying that Seong Hunter-nim was in the hospital the day the Chairman collapsed, miss??"
"Y-yes. Just before I got the call to inform me that dad had woken up, we brushed past each other in front of the hospital."
– "Are you sure about this, miss? Could it have been someone else, or maybe it was on a different day?"
"No, I'm pretty sure. I couldn't remember who it was because I wasn't thinking straight back then but now…. But, why do you sound so agitated like that, ahjussi?"
– "N-no, miss. It's nothing to worry about. I shall give you a call again later on."
He didn't say the usual 'goodbye, speak to you soon', but 'will call again later'?
'Did I say something wrong?'
Yu Jin-Hui tilted her head in confusion. Before she could put her phone down, though, it rang noisily again. She confirmed who the caller was and her brows rose up just a little.
'….Dad is personally calling me?'
Only after seeing the number for Chairman Yu Myung-Hwan on her phone's screen did she realise that this matter couldn't be simple at all.
Could it be that her father's recovery and Hunter Seong Jin-Woo were related in some way, just as she imagined earlier?
She cautiously answered the call.
"Dad?"
***
Beijing International Airport.
The biggest and busiest airport in the whole of China was now bustling even more than ever before, all thanks to a huge throng of people present today.
There was only one reason for this. The best of the best Chinese Hunters that went to lend aid to the Koreans were coming back home today, that was why.
It would be the same story in other countries as well, but at least in China, the highly-ranked Hunters were treated as superstars famous enough to summon up a sea of adoring fans wherever they showed up.
And it went without saying that the leader of the support team, the Hunter ranked as Seven-Star, Liu Zhigeng's popularity couldn't be described with mere words alone.
One of the reporters doing her job surveying the atmosphere of the airport spotted Liu Zhigeng and raised her voice.
"Ah! There he is! Liu Zhigeng Hunter-nim has entered the airport's interior!"
Waaaaah-!!
His fans filling up the airport cheered on loudly. While holding his now-trademark pair of longswords in one hand, he waved his other hand lightly towards his adoring fans.
Kyaaaah~!!
Liu Zhigeng's dignified atmosphere that simply oozed the charm of an older man caused the much-younger female fans to bounce up and down and even scream in uncontrollable excitement.
The special team of Hunters followed after their leader and quickly entered the airport next.
Waaaah-!!
The gasps and cries of awe emitted by many onlookers, moved by their emotions after witnessing the Hunters they only got to see through TV screens until then, quickly filled up the airport's vast interior.
Meanwhile, the reporter looked into the camera with the green light switched on.
"Our proud Hunters are now entering the airport, having returned from their trip to support South Korea."
As her bright expression alluded to, the overall result of this trip was being seen as satisfactory from the Chinese government's point of view.
They got to claim that they didn't forsake their neighbouring nation's troubles and also got to save their face when their elite Hunters volunteered to fight against the super-massive Gate in Seoul's skies.
Was that all?
With this particular matter resolving in the way it did, not one Hunter from the special team travelling to lend their support got hurt. They saved face, and also earned some practical benefits, too. Two things rolled onto their lap, so to speak.
Many Chinese clapped their hands in admiration at Liu Zhigeng who personally persuaded China's top Hunters and formed this special team.
However, there would always be those with dissatisfaction regardless of where it was. There were quite a few who tried to slander Liu Zhigeng or South Korea through the anonymity of the internet.
– That Liu Zhigeng b*stard, the Chinese government supported him financially so he can protect China, yet look at him, busy rushing off to Korea instead.
– Does anybody know where Liu Zhigeng's ancestors come from?
– Will someone please go through Liu Zhigeng's bank account? Better make sure that no Koreans paid him off.
– Why would a great nation like ours help out a small country that won't even remember this debt in the future, anyway? We must make sure that an event like this one doesn't happen ever again.
– Good sir, you're so right!
– There's no need for them to go, but since they did, we gotta get compensated properly. I mean, just what is the value of these Hunters making up the special team? How can them going on a volunteer mission even make sense?? Calculate each Hunter's daily wages properly and make the Koreans pay!
– I hear Seong Jin-Woo made a sh*t ton of money after killing Giants in Japan, so he can pay out of his own pocket, then!
Comments that contained rather toxic contents even at a casual glance filled up the live broadcast's ticker tape being updated in real time at the bottom of the screen.
The reporter, subbing for many people and their curiosity, stood before Liu Zhigeng to do her job.
"Many people are cheering you on for your brave decision, Liu Hunter-nim. On the other hand, those questioning why we had to aid the Koreans are also quite a few in number as well. By any chance, do you have anything you'd like to say to them, Liu Hunter-nim?"
Liu Zhigeng took his sunglasses off and glared at the reporter.
"Who is walking around spewing something that stupid?"
"Pardon?"
Not paying any heed to the reporter and her wide-open eyes, Liu Zhigeng continued on with what he wanted to say.
"Are their heads nothing more than decorations? Can't they read a map? Don't they know which country is next if you move your eyeballs up from Korea?"
"Ah…."
"One Giant monster that wasn't stopped in Japan crossed the sea and almost made it onto the Chinese mainland. I heard that the audience rating back then rewrote the history books, so surely, they must've seen it, too."
Liu Zhigeng glared straight at the camera next.
"What I am saying here is that something similar could've happened, but on a far, far greater scale. I and my comrades agreed with that notion and we went there to prevent that from happening."
Liu Zhigeng's torrent of harsh language put an immediate end to the stream of toxic comments.
He continued to speak, his voice rising up higher and his glare getting sharper as if he was addressing the toxic commenters directly.
"If there are people still spewing crap like that, then tell them this. I, Liu Zhigeng, am not confident of stopping an event that Hunter Seong Jin-Woo also failed to stop. That's why we went there to help him out, so if you're unhappy about that, why don't you try and catch monsters with your own…."
Liu Zhigeng continued with his tirade which made his supporters really happy, but then, he abruptly stopped talking for some reason. Could it be that he finally realised the camera was rolling?
Of course not.
Liu Zhigeng was probably the only person in the whole of China capable of pouring out insults and swearing on live TV without worrying about repercussions. But then, someone like him had been rendered utterly speechless as he took a look outside the airport.
Just what could have happened?
The first person to look was the reporter. Next up were the Hunters and their supporting staff behind Liu Zhigeng. And eventually, everyone gathered here in the airport – their gazes all shifted to the outside.
And after witnessing the change, their eyeballs began quaking greatly.
Liu Zhigeng would never get shocked by any ordinary little thing, but he couldn't stop a soft gasp of surprise leak out of his mouth.
"Oh, my god….."
Above Beijing's skies, a massive darkness was slowly descending.
***
"Seong Hunter-nim…. By any chance, have you heard of the breaking news yet?"
Jin-Woo shook his head.
After the 'raid' of the super-massive Gate, he headed straight to Japan and made it back to Korea only a little while ago before coming to the Hunter's Association straight away. He didn't have any opportunity to check out the news or any mass media coverage, really.
Besides that, if something serious happened while he was away, Yu Jin-Ho would've informed him the first thing after he entered the office.
Seeing how grave the expressions on the faces of the Association employees, even Jin-Woo's own expression hardened.
"Did something happen?"
Woo Jin-Cheol pulled his phone out and showed him the real-time footage being recorded right at that moment.
– "Jesus Christ!! Can you see that??"
– "Holy cow!!"
– "Doesn't that Gate look even bigger than the one generated in Korea?"
Eight super-massive Gates all revealed themselves in various parts of the world. Half in fear and half feeling mystified by this development, people were filming these Gates and uploading the footage on social media. Breaking news poured in from all parts of the world.
Gulp.
The sound of Woo Jin-Cheol swallowing his saliva rang out loudly from Jin-Woo���s side. He didn't mind that and continued to watch each and every one of the video clips.
"Hunter-nim… Could these be also….?"
"No, definitely not."
Jin-Woo quickly cut him off. He made sure to drill home the point that these new Gates had no relations to him whatsoever.
Woo Jin-Cheol had been secretly hoping that these Gates would also end up as nothing too serious, so his complexion darkened fast enough to be noticed in real time from that grim reply.
What if hundreds of thousands of monsters poured out from all those Gates, just like how it had been with Seoul?
Isn't that the same thing as announcing the end of humanity?
While Woo Jin-Cheol shuddered from the enormity of it all, Jin-Woo finished watching the footage and spoke to him.
"Let's change our location first."
"Ah, yes."
They quickly got to the Association President's office and settled down on the couches facing each other.
"You said you had something to tell me….?"
Woo Jin-Cheol cautiously spoke, and Jin-Woo replied to him immediately.
"Association President. Do you trust me?"
Woo Jin-Cheol nodded his head.
"Yes, of course, I trust you."
"In that case, I hope you will believe everything I'm about to show you."
"Excuse me?"
Just like how the former Shadow Sovereign had done, Jin-Woo reached out with his index finger and placed it against Woo Jin-Cheol's forehead. The moment his finger touched, darkness filled up the older man's eyes, and countless images brushed past within his vision.
"Heok!!"
Jin-Woo showed the necessary amount of information to the Association President and nothing more. That would be – the Rulers and their plans, as well as the Sovereigns. And then, the armies those Sovereigns were summoning to this world, as well.
"Pant, pant, pant…."
Woo Jin-Cheol had witnessed the powers of these Sovereigns with his own eyes now. Once the images stopped flashing by, he began gasping out breathlessly.
"This, this can't be…. Just how can such a thing…."
Woo Jin-Cheol had believed 'it'.
He believed that God had gifted special powers to a small number of selected individuals in order to safeguard humanity. He believed that this was precisely the reason why Hunters had to fight against the monsters and protect other people.
But, if everything Hunter Seong Jin-Woo had shown him was true, then….
He had been too arrogant. He had made a grave mistake.
Hunters, no, the 'Awakened' were simply the process of cultivating a small number of humans that might survive the aftermath of the true war about to take place.
This was not a war between humanity and Sovereigns. It was a war between Sovereigns and Rulers, two organisations boasting unimaginable might. Indeed, it was they who were going to fight.
However, a huge variable entered into this fray in the form of a certain man.
And now, with the armies of the Sovereigns arriving much faster than expected to this planet, mankind had only one being they could place their hopes on – the unexpected variable.
"How can this be…."
Woo Jin-Cheol's fingertips trembled as he raised his tear-filled gaze.
"Seong Hunter-nim…. Are you planning to fight these things? All by yourself?"
Even if the enemy possessed a powerful force, he couldn't just give up without trying something first now, could he? At least, Jin-Woo had never lived his life in that manner.
That was why he quietly nodded his head.
"Yes."
Woo Jin-Cheol wanted to help him in any shape or form, so he quickly asked.
"In that case, what should we… No, what should I do to help you, Hunter-nim?"
Now that the expected question came out, Jin-Woo calmly replied with the answer he had thought of before arriving here.
"Can you gather the representatives of the world in one location, please?"
Chapter 231: Chapter 231
The Director of America's Hunter Bureau, David Brennan, was about to go insane with frustration at the moment.
"What did the Korean Hunter's Association say??"
"They haven't made any official announcements yet, sir."
"Then, what the hell are you here for?!"
"….S-sir?"
But, didn't the director summon him into the office? The subordinate could only stand there and blink his eyes. The director's irritation shot up to the top of his head and he loudly yelled out.
"Aren't you supposed to get a reply from the Korean Association President, even if you resort to wringing his neck?! Isn't that your godd*mn job?!"
"I, I'm sorry, sir!"
"Get the hell out of here and find out what the f*ck is going on! Right now!!"
The director chased the Chief of the Intelligence Department out of his office, but, as if his anger hadn't cooled down at all, he continued to seethe for a long time.
The super-massive Gate, judged to be much bigger than the one that appeared in Seoul's skies, had shown up in Canada, an allied nation that shared a border with the United States of America.
It'd not take much time for the flames of destruction spreading from Canada to reach American soil.
In the best possible scenario that he could think of, this Gate crisis would also end in a similar fashion to the one in Seoul's sky. And if the monsters Hunter Seong Jin-Woo commanded fell out from there, then that would be even better.
'However, the real problem is….'
The one holding all the answers, Hunter Seong himself, as well as the Korean Hunter's Association, had been keeping mum until now.
Three hours passed by since the super-massive Gates appeared in various parts of the world. Meanwhile, the American government was demanding an answer from the Hunter Bureau.
'To think, one of the greatest intelligence agencies in America, the Hunter Bureau, has no choice but wait for a reply from the Korean Hunter's Association….'
Just who'd have imagined that such a thing could happen? No wonder the director was anxiously jumping up and down on his spot.
Beep.
The director continued to spew out one sigh after another before noticing that there was a bleeping light on the phone. He snatched the receiver up and barked at it.
"What is it?!"
– "Sir, Mister President is looking for you."
"Tell him I'm not here."
– "B-but, sir??"
SLAM!
The director slammed the receiver down as if he was throwing it away and dazedly stared at the ceiling. But then, the Chief of the Intelligence Department, the guy he just chased out, breathlessly rushed back inside the office.
"Director!"
"How dare you crawl back into my office already!!"
The director yanked the receiver up in order to throw it, prompting the chief to quickly raise his arms up.
"T-the Korean Hunter's Association has sent us a communique!"
Almost instantly, the director's expression did a 180, with a bright smile now etched on his face.
"You see!! All you had to do was just do it!"
The director put the receiver down and approached the chief.
"Okay, so. What did they say?"
"Ah, well, the thing is…. They said that, if we want to learn more about the super-massive Gates, we should go to Korea right away."
"…"
Both the director and the Chief of the Intelligence Department wordlessly stared at each other. They remained standing face to face like that for a bit.
Finally managing to grasp hold of the thin thread of his reasoning, the director muttered out a question.
"Who? Who should go there?"
"They say it doesn't matter, as long as it's a representative designated by the government."
"….."
At that moment…
Beeeep.
The director noticed yet another light blinking on his phone and picked the receiver up.
– "Director, if you keep avoiding Mister President's call…."
Click.
He quickly put the receiver down and addressed the Chief of the Intelligence Department with a determined expression.
"Tell them I'll be there."
"Sir?"
Since the chief seemed to be confused by something, the director began enunciating every single word so his subordinate could understand him just a bit better.
"I. Will. Go. To. Korea. As. America's. Representative!"
***
Representatives from every country that received the summons issued by the Korean Hunter's Association quickly climbed aboard the waiting planes.
What an astonishing change this was.
Less than two years ago, Korea's overall Hunter strength was so pathetic that they even lost a newbie rank S Hunter to America. But now, they were summoning the leaders of the world to their doorsteps.
No, only a year ago, they couldn't even take care of the dungeon break on their own territory, Jeju Island, and became a laughing stock in Japan.
But then, with the entrance of a Hunter who had far surpassed the classifications of upper, top, elite, or whatever, and stepped into the ranks of transcendence, everything changed.
The man who made every monster pouring out from one of the super-massive Gates obey him; if it was that man, then he might be able to explain the identity of these super-massive Gates covering up the skies all over the globe.
With that, understanding what happened a few days ago would also come about naturally as well.
The keys to everything were held by just one person. The problem here was, they couldn't use force or concessions to coax the keys out from their opponent this time.
Just who would be able to use force to make him talk, for instance?
Even if you could do something about his individual combat power that defeated a Special Authority-rank Hunter, there was the small matter of a hundred thousand-plus summons right behind him waiting for their turn.
It was an impossible task, in other words.
That was why bigshots perfectly suited for representing their countries such as presidents, prime ministers, premiers, ministers, directors of Hunter-related government bodies, as well as leaders of various Hunter's Associations, were making a move after the Korean Association requested them to come.
"Has there been anyone else informing us of their intentions to come?"
"No, sir. It's still 152 countries, as reported in the morning's briefing, sir."
"Okay."
The Association President Woo Jin-Cheol was personally going through every single report detailing the progress of the situation. The emergency response conference hall outfitted for the raid of the super-massive Gate was coming in handy even now.
"Sir, the representative from Hungary has just touched down in the airport."
"Who's coming from Hungary?"
"Their President, Yadessi Arnor, has personally come, sir."
"D*mn…."
When an important dignitary from overseas came for a visit, a person holding a similar office was supposed to go out to welcome him. That was the established etiquette.
Unfortunately, the Hunter's Association simply lacked the leeway to mind such etiquette every single time at this moment. Association President Woo Jin-Cheol formed a rueful expression for a little while before issuing new orders.
"Guide him to a suitable hotel."
"Yes, sir."
The Association employee replied crisply and was about to turn around to leave, but then, it felt as if he was hesitating about something else. So, Woo Jin-Cheol stopped poring over the documents to raise his head again.
"Mm? Is there something else?"
"Uhm…."
The employee deliberated for a bit more before he summoned up enough courage.
"Sir, what did you hear from Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim yesterday inside the President's office? I've never seen you so pale before, you see."
The thing was, this employee got to realise for the first time that a person's complexion could pale to that extent after looking at Woo Jin-Cheol's face yesterday.
Just what sort of a conversation did they share? The employee simply couldn't forget that look on his boss's face for the whole night, so, although he knew he was being impolite, he still had to ask and satisfy his curiosity now.
Sure enough, Woo Jin-Cheol's expression hardened like a rock.
"S-sir, forgive me. I asked you something unnecessary….."
"No, it's not that. I am not feeling unhappy about you asking me."
It was just that, he ended up recalling the scenes that unfolded from Hunter Seong Jin-Woo's fingertip, that was all.
The army of frenzied Dragons rushing out from the other side of darkness. And then, a truly humongous Dragon following after them.
It was so huge, in fact, it seemed to move so slowly as if time had come to a standstill, even though it was flying at a similar sort of speed compared to the rest of the Dragon army.
It possessed an incredible aura that not even the combined might of every single Hunter in the world attacking together at the same time could even scratch. And then, that overwhelming pressure it emitted, something that might easily burn away everything in the world with merely a single breath. That creature possessed both of those.
Simply looking at it made him dizzy.
He didn't want to ever face that thing, regardless of the level of power he could gain, regardless of the promised reward at the end waiting for him.
'I can't do it….'
Because of that, he respected Hunter Seong Jin-Woo even more as the latter wasn't planning to run away but rather, stay and fight, even though he knew that such creatures existed.
'Wait, now that I think about it, what is Hunter Seong Jin-Woo doing right now?'
There was still some time left before the representatives of the various nations would arrive.
Woo Jin-Cheol suddenly became curious as to how Jin-Woo would spend his downtime, so he called out to the employee turning around to leave his office.
"Oh, by the way. Do you know where Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim is at the moment?"
"Currently, we believe that he's resting within his family home, sir."
***
"Ta-da!"
Jin-Woo placed the pot of piping-hot kimchi stew he cooked himself on top of the dining table. Jin-Ah's expression brightened in an instant.
"Wow, smells so good!"
On the other hand, mom looked rather apologetic for letting her busy son cook her food like this.
"I should've done this, you know…."
Jin-Woo grinned and replied in an unhurried manner.
"I just wanted to show you the cooking skills I got to polish in the last couple of years, Mom."
Jin-Woo pleaded and persuaded her, and finally managed to wrestle the control of the kitchen away from his mom. This was his ambitious end result.
Swept up by her son's continuous encouragement that she should have a taste, his mother smiled and picked up her spoon.
"Fuu-."
She carefully blew on the hot stew and placed a spoonful inside her mouth. Her eyes opened into a round shape almost right away. Jin-Ah began boisterously yapping on from her side.
"Mom, how was it? It's really good, right?"
"Oh my goodness."
Seeing how his mom looked surprised, Jin-Woo couldn't help but strut around a bit.
"I also didn't know that oppa had a talent in cooking, you know? Mom, try this one, too. Oppa is really good at making side dishes."
While his sister was relentlessly praising his cooking skills while even forgetting to wipe the bits of rice off her lips, Jin-Woo noticed that his mother's expression was slowly changing for some reason and carefully asked her.
"Mother?"
She gently set her spoon aside and asked back.
"Jin-Woo…. Isn't there something I should be worried about?"
Jin-Woo did his very best to maintain a bright expression and played dumb.
"What do you mean by that, Mom?"
"Your dad, he used to prepare meals for me whenever he was planning to participate in dangerous missions, you see."
"…."
Her son had never done something like this, even when he was about to head to Japan in order to deal with those Giant monsters, or even when that gigantic Gate opened up in Seoul. But now that he did, his mom began to get worried all of a sudden.
A woman's intuition – no, it was more to do with a mother's intuition, instead.
'Like father, like son, is it. I even resemble him in things like this, too….'
Jin-Woo very briefly spat out his complaint that wasn't really a complaint in his head and shook his head towards his mother.
"There's no such thing, Mom."
Whether she wanted to remain as a source of strength for her son as he tried to force a smile on his face, or maybe she really bought his excuse, it was hard to tell. But still, she smiled in reply and picked up her spoon again.
Jin-Ah had been observing the conversation between her oppa and her mom while lightly biting the end of her spoon, before breaking out into a grin herself and resuming her meal.
Around the time the meal was coming to an end…
[My liege.]
….He heard Bellion's voice.
[As you have commanded, soldiers are now in position.]
'Got it.'
As if he was waiting for this chance, Beru also raised his voice.
[Oh, my king. The lodging specifically prepared for you has been completed as well.]
'…..Sure thing. Thanks.'
He didn't ask it to be built, in the first place, though.
Jin-Woo finished receiving the reports from his Marshals and slowly got up from his seat.
"Thanks for the meal."
But then, his hands reaching down to pick up the empty plates came to an abrupt halt after sensing the noises coming from the outside.
'Footsteps of four people….'
He could also hear their hearts racing wildly from excitement, too. Although such categorisation didn't mean anything to him, all four of them were not Hunters but regular people.
'What could this be?'
Surely, there wouldn't be any insane robber wanting to attack the house of a rank S Hunter, now would there?
Also, the entrance of the apartment building was being guarded by the agents from the Monitoring Division due to the consideration from the Association President Woo Jin-Cheol, so no reporters could come up here, either.
Jin-Woo couldn't figure it out, and soon, his ears were greeted by the sounds of the doorbell.
Ding-dong.
"Let me answer that."
He quickly dissuaded his mother from getting up and headed over to the front door.
Clunk.
The first thing he saw after opening the door was three well-built young men kitted out in black suits as if they were from some intelligence agency or some such.
'Doesn't look like they are from the Hunter Bureau, though….'
Jin-Woo scanned their attire briefly before calmly asking them.
"Can I help you with something?"
When he did, the trio of well-built young men stepped aside and another man standing behind them slowly moved to the front.
"Seong Hunter-nim… I apologise for coming to see you unannounced like this. But, can I speak to you in private for a little while?"
Jin-Woo recognised who it was and his voice rose up a little.
"…..Chairman Yu Myung-Hwan?"
Chapter 232: Chapter 232
His heightened emotion was all-too-clear to see on Chairman Yu's face.
Regardless of what he wanted to say, it shouldn't be discussed here. Jin-Woo remembered his mom and little sister, and took a quick look towards the dining table, before shifting his gaze back to Chairman Yu.
"…"
The older man was anxiously waiting for Jin-Woo's reply. After a short deliberation, the latter's lips finally parted open.
"If it's somewhere private to quietly talk, then, well…."
Chairman Yu's expression brightened and a genuine smile quickly formed on his face.
"Allow me to guide you to such a place. Shall we get going, then?"
Jin-Woo went back inside the apartment and told his mom that he'd be out for a bit, put on his coat, and made his way down to the lobby of the building while being accompanied by Chairman Yu and his entourage.
And as expected, the front entrance of the building was occupied by the reporters that had set up a camp there. Most likely, the three well-built young men were Chairman Yu's bodyguards here to overcome the wall of the reporters.
As for those said reporters, they were far too busy shouting out angrily while pushing and shoving against the Monitoring Division's Hunters protecting the entrance.
"What the hell?? How can this make sense? It's fine for the Chairman of Yujin Construction, but we aren't allowed to go inside?!"
"He's a guest coming to visit Hunter Seong Jin-Woo? Why can't reporters be guests, too?! We're also guests from now on!! We're guests!!"
"Aaah, is that so? The biggest financial supporter of the Hunter's Association is okay, but reporters are not, is that it?!"
The reporters crazily pushed and shoved forwards as if they were planning to stampede past the wall of humans were it not for them being Hunters and not regular people.
"Step aside!!"
Things were so bad that the Hunters of the Monitoring Division looked rather pitiable right now.
"Didn't Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim announce that he won't do any interviews?!"
"Hey, over there! Step back!!"
"If you wish to visit Hunter-nim's residence, you must go and obtain a permit from the Association first!!"
Since they were up against regular people, they couldn't resort to using their real strengths, so the agents from the Monitoring Division could only sweat profusely under the current circumstances. Jin-Woo studied them with sympathetic eyes and eventually, extended his hands out.
"Uh, uh-uh??"
The reporters began floating up into the air.
"S-save me!"
This time, forget about ten centimetres, Jin-Woo lifted the reporters ten metres up in the air. When he stepped outside the entrance, Hunters quickly bowed their heads to welcome him.
"Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim!"
"Hunter-nim!"
Compared to these Hunters who didn't get too surprised by what was happening – as if they were familiar with this whole thing already – the eyes of Chairman Yu and his three bodyguards went extra round from the sheer unbridled shock.
"O-oh, my god…."
The businessman's gaze was fixed to the reporter helplessly flailing in the air. He could see their complexion paling greatly, too. For the first time ever, Chairman Yu felt sorry for these people, even though he often times felt sick and tired of dealing with them in the past.
The person in charge of this batch of the Monitoring Division's agents walked over to Jin-Woo and although there was a troubled expression on his face, his lips began forming a smile, as well.
"Hunter-nim… If you keep doing this, it's going to come and bite us in the rear later."
"Well, they were getting a bit too noisy to be left alone, you see."
"Haha."
The reporters were continuously shouting something out, but even before anyone had noticed it, a barrier made out of magical energy was surrounding them to cut off all sounds made by their mouths.
The person in charge looked up at them for a little while, before asking Jin-Woo.
"How long will you keep them up there this time?"
"I'm thinking about something like five minutes, so that they can cool their heads up there."
The Hunters from the Monitoring Division burst out in laughter after hearing his declaration to rewrite the existing record.
Wahahahah-!
"Hey! Hush!"
The person in charge did his best to suppress his own laughter and chided his subordinates before replying politely back to Jin-Woo.
"I pray that you make sure no reporters are harmed today."
"You don't have to worry about that."
It's been a while since he had become a master in 'Ruler's Authority', or the technique to move Mana to influence an object. Even if he wasn't here, the Mana would safely lower the reporters at a later time.
'Nothing I can do about them feeling a bit sick, though…'
However, not only did they try to barge into his home even though his private details were being protected, they even tried to raise a huge ruckus as well, so this level of a warning shouldn't pose a problem at all.
Screech.
Soon, the waiting limousine Chairman Yu brought along came to a stop before them, and both him and Jin-Woo climbed into the back seat.
The vehicle smoothly glided forward and headed off to Chairman Yu's private residence.
***
Chairman Yu guided Jin-Woo to the drawing room of his mansion, which should probably be the quietest place they could talk in. They settled down on the couches while facing each other.
"I'd like not to be interrupted during my chat with Seong Hunter-nim."
"Understood, Chairman."
After he sent away everyone near their vicinity, Jin-Woo broke the ice first.
"How did you find out?"
There shouldn't have been any evidence of him helping Chairman Yu out. So, where could he have made a mistake? As Jin-Woo stared with a curious gaze, Chairman Yu began telling him the truth of what happened.
"My daughter saw you leaving the hospital on that day."
If it was Chairman Yu's daughter, then….
'Ah.'
Jin-Woo recalled Yu Jin-Ho's older sister, the one he ran into in front of his Guild office. He thought that she looked kinda familiar back then. But to think, she was the same person as the one he walked past in front of the hospital that Chairman Yu Myung-Hwan had been admitted to.
Realising that the actions he thought were watertight had been undone by a simple coincidence, Jin-Woo could only form a helpless smile.
At the same time, Chairman Yu was carefully studying Jin-Woo's expression, and after seeing that smile, he felt greatly relieved.
'What a relief.'
Even if the deed was done out of goodwill, Jin-Woo tried to hide it so Yu Myung-Hwan was inwardly worried that the young Hunter would get angry at him for exposing the secret like this. He wouldn't even be able to look the other party in the eye if he somehow ended up displeasing his life's saviour.
Thankfully, contrary to his worries, Jin-Woo didn't look unhappy at all. Indeed, what a wonderful turn of events this was for Chairman Yu.
"As I expected, it was you, Seong Hunter-nim."
"Yes, it was."
Jin-Woo didn't try to deny it.
The moment he heard the answer straight from the person, Chairman Yu's eyes, locked onto Jin-Woo, shook about greatly.
Up until now, he lost count of just how many people had tried to get in his good books because they wanted something from him. Some of them didn't even bother to put in any effort whatsoever and simply reached out, hoping to get a hand-out somehow.
But then, what about this young man before his eyes?
He saved a person's life. No, he saved the life of the top executive of the biggest corporation in the country, yet he wasn't asking for anything in return.
If Chairman Yu's daughter didn't see him and simply walked on by, he would never have found out how he recovered from that illness for the rest of his life.
Yu Myung-Hwan was famous for being a poker face, but just this once, his expression betrayed how emotionally moved he was.
"But, why….?"
He had to say something in order to suppress his overwhelming emotions.
"Why did you help me?"
Back then, even though the demand for a helping hand was made, accompanied by a huge financial incentive, Jin-Woo simply rejected it while saying that he didn't possess such powers.
So, what made him change his mind, then?
Yu Myung-Hwan brought Jin-Woo here pretty much to ask that one question, even at the risk of offending him.
Ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump….
His heart was beating faster and faster as time went by; every passing second felt as long as ten minutes before Jin-Woo chose to make his reply.
And that he finally did.
"I judged you to be a trustworthy person, that was why."
"….!!"
At that rather unexpected answer, Chairman Yu's brows rose up higher.
"But…. What does that mean?"
"If you were the type of person who did whatever it takes to accomplish your goal, then I wouldn't even have considered risking it for your sake."
"By that, you mean…. Is it because I never tried to use my son, Jin-Ho?"
"That's correct."
Jin-Woo nodded his head.
As expected of the leader of a global corporation, Chairman Yu instantly figured out what Jin-Woo was trying to say here.
It was true that Yu Myung-Hwan did possess the one trump card that could have made Jin-Woo act. And that would be his son, the Vice-Chair of the Ah-Jin Guild – Yu Jin-Ho.
However, after his proposal was rejected, he didn't obsessively cling on and cleanly backed away. Meaning, he believed in Jin-Woo's words of not possessing the cure.
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth – Jin-Woo religiously adhered to this principle so, to Yu Myung-Hwan who believed in him, he replied in kind as well.
Although, it did take a bit of time to figure out whether the businessman was worthy of his trust or not.
'Still, I didn't make a wrong decision.'
Jin-Woo formed a grin.
At the same time…
Drip….
A single teardrop trickled down Yu Myung-Hwan's eye.
"I'm not sure how to express my gratitude to you."
He quickly wiped the tear away with the back of his hand and stared at the young Hunter with a determined expression on his face.
"Please, allow me to repay this debt, even if it's only half, no, half of that half. I beg of you."
Only by doing this, the debt of gratitude he felt in his heart would lessen just a tad. Yu Myung-Hwan quickly carried on.
"Is there anything you'd like, Hunter-nim?"
"It's not that I want something, but…."
Yu Myung-Hwan's ears perked up right away. If Hunter Seong Jin-Woo wanted money or something else, he was planning to do everything in his power to make it happen.
However, Jin-Woo's answer was a bit different to what Yu Myung-Hwan had been thinking of.
"If something ever happens to me…. Can you look after my mother and my sister?"
That was his reply after a short bout of hesitation.
To prepare for the worst-possible-case scenario that may or may not happen, Jin-Woo asked for the favour of his family being taken good care of. He may have already amassed enough money, but unfortunately, money wouldn't be able to protect them from certain things.
Surely, Chairman Yu Myung-Hwan would prove to be a dependable buffer during those times.
"….Are you really okay with only that, Hunter-nim?"
"Yes, I am."
It was difficult to imagine something untoward happening to Hunter Seong Jin-Woo, but since he decided to say yes to whatever demand the young man would make, Chairman Yu Myung-Hwan didn't even hesitate and nodded his head right away.
"I give you my word."
The lengthy conversation had come to an end here.
"Well, then…."
Jin-Woo tried to get up to leave.
Yu Myung-Hwan watched him and felt rueful about the fact that their conversation had come to an end. He then belatedly realised how much he liked this young man named Jin-Woo.
If Hunter Seong Jin-Woo could become a part of his family…..?
Never once did Yu Myung-Hwan entertain the idea of using his beloved daughter as a tool in an arranged marriage, but he still found himself asking the question anyway.
"By any chance, are you dating someone at the moment?"
If it was this young man, then he'd not feel short-changed by giving away Yu Jin-Hui – for the first time ever, Yu Myung-Hwan had met a young man who made him feel this way.
Too bad, though, Jin-Woo grinned brightly as his reply.
"Actually, there is someone I like."
"Oh…."
It was then, Yu Myung-Hwan realised that he just asked a really embarrassing question and his face reddened visibly.
That was how impressive this young man was.
However, Chairman Yu wasn't someone who'd obsess over things he couldn't obtain. He soon raised his head back up and with a smile on his face, bade him goodbye.
"I shall pray that the promise I made today won't ever come true in the future."
Jin-Woo smiled in reply and stood up fully from his seat.
"I'll do my best to make sure of that, too."
***
Now that all of his Stat values had reached their maximum attainable limit, the only area left to improve was his ability to command his Shadow Army.
Jin-Woo returned to the entry prohibited area in Japan in order to get his final preparation ready.
The uninhabited sea of forest stretched on forever in his view.
Grand-Marshal Bellion had split the Shadow Army to three separate groups as per Jin-Woo's instruction and assigned the commands of each to himself, Igrit, and Beru.
Jin-Woo nodded his head while looking at the three separate groups of his soldiers below the hill. He guessed from the aura emitted by the soldiers below that a great deal of thought had been given to creating the balance of strengths between the three groups.
The Grand-Marshal bowed his head after meeting Jin-Woo's gaze. It seemed that this guy was also the perfectionist-type like Igrit.
On the other hand….
'This guy….'
Jin-Woo turned around to take a gander at the so-called 'lodging' built on the summit of the hill.
"Beru, get over here. Now."
Whoooosh-!!
Beru dashed forward from the bottom of the hill right up to the summit in the blink of an eye and knelt down before Jin-Woo.
"Oh, my king!"
"Head, floor."
Even before those words finished coming out of his king's mouth, Beru quickly rammed his head on the ground. Right away, Jin-Woo yelled out.
"How can you call this a small 'shelter'? Am I supposed to take a break inside that?! Setting aside its size, is this even a shelter, to begin with?!"
"Kiiehhk…."
Beru cowered from Jin-Woo's loud shouting and replied with the voice of a guy being wrongfully accused.
"For a lodging befitting my king, at the bare minimum, it must be…."
"….."
Jin-Woo slowly massaged his forehead. He had completely overlooked the small fact that ants specialised in building 'houses'.
Indeed, he should've seen just what the human-sized ants possessing greater physical strength than superhumans might end up creating in the name of a mere 'house'.
He slowly raised his lowered face and ended up being overwhelmed by the dignified air of the so-called 'small shelter' once more.
A massively-tall fortress built out of white stone – so it could be spotted pretty easily from afar – stretched from this part of the land all the way to over there. It was also dizzyingly tall that, while trying to see where its roof was, his neck actually began aching instead from looking up for too long.
Jin-Woo's head pulsed painfully again after witnessing the fruit of the ants' unnecessary devotion. He didn't even order them to do this, yet here they were.
He roughly massaged his temples before groaning out and asked another question.
"What about that black flag flapping around at the end of this castle…. That, just what were you thinking when putting that up there??"
It was then, Bellion hurriedly ran to where his master was and suddenly planted his head on the ground alongside Beru.
Boom!
Jin-Woo was rendered speechless for a while and alternated his dazed gaze between Bellion and Beru. He slowly turned around and shouted out.
"My soldiers! Now, commence with the combat drill!"
With that, the thunderous roars of the Shadow Soldiers powerfully reverberated throughout the land.
Waaaaaaaaaaahhhh-!!!
Chapter 233: Chapter 233
One day. Two days. And then, three days.
It had been three days since the super-massive Gates revealed themselves to the world. Civil unrest quickly broke out in the countries with the Gates and their neighbouring nations, and they grew more violent with each passing day.
That was because none of these countries had come up with a viable response yet.
The enraged mob of citizens filed out onto the streets and went on violent demonstrations to force their governments to come up with a countermeasure.
Meanwhile, news stations emphasized the severity of the situation by continuously showing the alternating images of the demonstrators, growing in number every day, and the giant Gate floating silently high up in the sky.
– It has been over 75 hours since the phenomenon now referred to as the super-massive Gates have appeared in the sky. However, the government hasn't….
– Over there! As you can see, the demonstrators carrying around the pickets that read 'Answer us, Governments' have…..
– The number of demonstrators is increasing with every passing day, and the worries are that this volatile atmosphere is at the breaking point….
This was a completely different spectacle compared to when the super-massive Gate first appeared in South Korea. The experts were quick to figure out why things unfolded differently there. The reason was pretty simple.
On one hand, the quick-witted response from the Korean Hunter's Association had played a part. As soon as the Gate appeared, they summoned every single Hunter in the country to the capital city.
The other part had to do with the psychological sense of security felt by the Koreans from the fact that their country possessed the greatest Hunter alive that surpassed all Special Authority-rank Hunters.
One of the experts invited to speak in a specially-organised TV show said this in front of the camera.
"Hunter Seong Jin-Woo almost single-handedly took care of two rank S dungeon breaks. Ants and Giants – in a span of a single year, he pretty much resolved two of the most infamous incidents in history with his own hands."
There was no need to even bring up the Giant-type monsters of Japan; the world's attention was already boiling red-hot during the Jeju Island ant raid.
What more could be said on that subject when the TV station awarded with the exclusive broadcasting rights had reputedly earned revenue equalling the last three years' profit in one go?
Nod, nod.
The emcee's head nodded all by itself while the expert lightly tapped his temple with his index finger.
"And that's why the Korean citizens naturally believe this in their minds. They believe that, regardless of the danger threatening them, Hunter Seong Jin-Woo will show up and deal with it."
That was precisely the reason why, even after a super-massive Gate appeared on the skies of a capital city with over ten million souls living in it, people were able to remain relatively calm about it.
The expert emphasized until his throat was hoarse that the existence of Hunter Seong Jin-Woo was an immeasurable blessing to the Republic of Korea and its people.
Unfortunately, it was obvious that not every nation on Earth would be blessed with such luck. The number of truly excellent Hunters was very low, and they were not spread out evenly, either.
Many nations within the territory of influence of those super-massive Gates possessed pretty lacklustre Hunter systems, so it was only obvious that the unrest would continue to grow larger.
It reached the point where people were demanding vociferously that more high-ranked Hunters should be hired at the cost of forking out higher taxes, even if it was just one more combatant being added to their defences.
Meanwhile, many governments could barely hide their shock when many wealthy folks, the very same ones that gnashed their teeth come tax collection season, pledged to support them financially.
And so, as the sense of impending crisis continued to heighten, the bigshots representing their respective nations gathered in the capital city of Korea, Seoul, to answer the request of the Korean Hunter's Association.
What they wanted from this trip was just one thing. And that would be to find out the information regarding the eight super-massive Gates that appeared simultaneously all around the world.
Since the information was to be provided by Hunter Seong Jin-Woo, the man who managed to achieve a rather unbelievable result from the first super-massive Gate, their expectations were understandably huge.
"Whew-woo…."
A certain man spat out a hushed sigh. It was none other than the director of the Hunter's Bureau, David Brennan, who had opted to travel to Korea after being harassed by his own president. He dabbed away the cold sweat soaking his forehead with a handkerchief and took a look at the faces of everyone sitting around him.
'….So many of them came.'
Presidents, government ministers, Guild Masters, Chairpersons from various Hunter's Associations…..
The director of the Hunter Bureau knew the faces of most of these people. They indeed were all bigshots that just their names alone would be enough to get them recognised by everyone in their respective nations.
While seeing the flashes of nervousness in their faces, the director wiped the sweat pooling at the edge of his chin.
'Regardless of who it is, everyone's feeling the heat, huh.'
They may all look calm and collected on the surface, but they also knew that inwardly, every single one of them here was anxiously stomping their feet. Well, even the director himself was feeling the same way, after all.
How wonderful would it be if Hunter Seong Jin-Woo stepped forward to say that "This Gate crisis should end painlessly and there's nothing to worry about"?
If only he could deliver that message to the higher-ups; the POTUS busy pressuring him would instantly back off, then. It would be a wonderful opportunity to restore his damaged pride, in other words.
However, if the truth was completely the opposite, then….
The director felt his heart tumble to the pit of his stomach. He swallowed back his dry saliva and confirmed the time. His wristwatch was precisely pointing at 02:55.
Five minutes remained until the announcement time.
Tick, tock….
While listening to the ticking of the second hand that sounded unusually loud for some reason today, the director raised his stiff face.
***
Around the same time.
Having finished inspecting the Shadow Army just now, Jin-Woo asked Bellion next to him.
"What happens to the armies with no Sovereigns leading them?"
"Marshals of those armies will take over the command of the soldiers in place of the dead Sovereigns."
He proceeded to add more explanation that the army of Giants was being led by its Marshal instead, after their king had been captured by the Rulers.
Jin-Woo nodded his head in understanding. A total of eight Gates appeared around the world. The phenomenon of Gates for Sovereign-less armies being generated could be explained now if the Marshals were commanding them.
It was then, another question abruptly popped up in Jin-Woo's head.
"If I die, do you get to command the Shadow Army as its Grand-Marshal?"
Bellion shook his head.
[Our lives are tied to yours, my liege. If you pass on, we will also return to the void.]
As long as their master's head was attached to the right place, not one soldier's life would be extinguished – the strong point of the Shadow Army was the loyalty of its soldiers that moved only for the sake of their master while not even caring about their own lives.
But, if one were to flip that around, the moment their master was met with a serious problem, then the Shadow Army would be finished right then and there.
'....'
The pros and cons basically worked in the same manner as two sides of a coin. Depending on the situation, the good could become bad, while the weakness could become a strength, instead.
Surely, his enemies wouldn't overlook that point, now would they? Didn't that mean he could exploit that, too?
'...'
Jin-Woo fell deeper into his thoughts, and a glint briefly flickered in his eyes. A different voice then addressed him from the other side.
"My liege."
It was Igrit.
"We do not stand a chance in a full-scale war, my liege."
A baritone voice filled with power and conviction, spoken in a low, deep tone. It'd been a while since he started conversing with Igrit, but Jin-Woo still hadn't really gotten over that voice.
Seriously now, he was kitted out in that lightweight, agile-looking armour, so why did he have to possess such a manly voice??
According to Igrit, he was supposed to be the greatest knight ever in the history of humanoid creatures, before he got reborn through the powers of the previous Shadow Sovereign, so it wasn't all that hard to understand where that ultra-high level of manliness in his voice came from, but still…
'What am I supposed to do about this sense of disharmony….?'
Whether he knew about Jin-Woo's predicament or not, Igrit continued to calmly speak of his concern.
"Unlike the former Shadow Sovereign, who grew doubtful about the battles against the Rulers and stopped shoring up his army, other Sovereigns didn't hold back and continuously enhanced and increased the scale of their armies."
"How big do you think is the difference in the combat force?"
This time, Bellion replied.
"We can not be certain, but it could be well over one hundred times larger."
Only Beru had no way of knowing the scale of other armies, so he quietly listened to the conversation of his master and the other Marshals.
Jin-Woo's expression stiffened.
Didn't that mean, in the best-case scenario, his enemies possess over ten million soldiers?!
"Hundred times, huh…."
Jin-Woo mulled over the numbers before replying in a low voice.
"I never was planning for all-out, full-scale warfare, anyway."
What he meant here was that he never entertained the idea of full-scale warfare while discarding the advantage of his army, where one could become 'all', or that 'all' could revert back to being one.
Even now, Jin-Woo's mind was continuously picturing the battles taking place in the future. After a short bout of silence….
Brrr… Brrr….
Jin-Woo pulled out his smartphone vibrating noisily inside his pocket.
He answered the call, but even before he could say something, the familiar voice came out from the device's speaker.
– "Hunter-nim? It's me, Woo Jin-Cheol."
"Ah, yes. Hello."
– "As you have requested, representatives from various nations have gathered in the auditorium. Where are you now, Hunter-nim?"
Before answering that, Jin-Woo quietly looked behind him.
The hints of heavy fighting were everywhere; the ground that was horrifyingly torn up, gouged out, and blown to bits extended as far as his eyes could see. All those trees forming the green forest, the sea of trees, had evaporated without a trace.
This was the end product of the Shadow Army fighting a mock battle after splitting up into three groups. The earth fortified by Mana had been completely overturned from horrifying impact forces.
The Japanese Hunter's Association was warned beforehand by Jin-Woo and so, they got to watch the destruction of the entry prohibited area through their spy satellite. All those watching, though, simply couldn't hide their shock at the collision of enormous amounts of magical energy captured by their satellite.
The power they witnessed, that was the true strength of the Shadow Army. And Jin-Woo also got to witness that strength.
Through this experience, he got to accurately assess the depths of his army's combat prowess. The end result was completely satisfactory.
Jin-Woo stopped looking behind and shifted his gaze back to his front. Over one hundred thousand soldiers were kneeling on the ground in front of Jin-Woo, waiting for their liege's next command and not even moving a muscle.
When Jin-Woo's reply didn't arrive even after a long pause, the Association President Woo Jin-Cheol cautiously inquired over the phone.
– "….Hunter-nim?"
The corners of Jin-Woo's lips arched up and he replied as matter-of-factly as he could.
"Ah, yes. I've just arrived there now."
***
"You've arrived? But when….?"
Woo Jin-Cheol had ordered his subordinates to inform him the moment Jin-Woo arrived in the venue, so he had asked back in a puzzled voice while turning around. But at that very moment….
He got to discover Jin-Woo standing right behind him.
"Keok!"
Woo Jin-Cheol unwittingly spat out a surprised gasp and blinked his eyes for a moment there, before a helpless grin formed on his lips. He quietly pocketed his phone away.
"….I guess that question has lost much of its meaning now. You know, asking you where you are."
Jin-Woo reciprocated that smile and shrugged his shoulders once as his reply.
Currently, they were standing inside the waiting room of the auditorium. Beyond that door, representatives from various countries filling up every available seat were waiting for Jin-Woo's entrance with bated breaths.
Woo Jin-Cheol confirmed the current time. The clock on his phone's screen informed him that there were still two minutes left until the announcement time. Meaning, there was a little bit of time left.
He felt this unexplainable sense of ease and raised his head.
"Hunter-nim, are you really planning to tell the truth to these people?"
"Yes, I am."
"Once they learn of the truth, there could be huge unrest breaking out everywhere. And more than a few nations won't be able to deal with such unrest."
"I know that."
That would be an obvious development. Even the Rulers knew that things would unfold this way and hid their intentions right until the end.
However, even if everything were to come to an end through the upcoming event, shouldn't one know what's happening to them, at least?
'I mean, it's one hell of an unfair thing not knowing what killed you, isn't it?'
That's why Jin-Woo decided to tell the truth to everyone. It wouldn't only be him that might need time to prepare themselves in the heart, after all.
Seeing Jin-Woo's determined expression, the Association President Woo Jin-Cheol could only nod his head.
"I see. If that's what you've decided, then…."
Jin-Woo walked past Woo Jin-Cheol and approached the door leading to the auditorium, but then, the latter discovered something and hurriedly called out.
"Excuse me, Hunter-nim!"
'….??'
Jin-Woo turned around with a confused expression, and Woo Jin-Cheol formed a sheepish expression as his reply and opened his mouth.
"There are quite a lot of reporters waiting for you outside."
"….Oh."
Jin-Woo looked at his current duds.
He had been staying in the entry prohibited area for the past few days to control his soldiers, so the state of his clothing was rather wretched at the moment.
'What am I to do now….?'
The thing was, though, he didn't want to make a big deal out of a simple matter like changing clothes by moving to another location, etc, etc.
But then, he couldn't buy whatever outfit available in the Store anymore and change into that, as he had done in the past.
'….Hang on a bit.'
Buy clothes from the Store?
With the System gone, he could no longer utilise the services of the Store, but the power that the System used to sustain itself belonged to the Shadow Sovereign, to begin with.
In that case, creating clothing and putting it on was, theoretically speaking at least, eminently possible for him. At that moment, Jin-Woo recalled the sole clothing type he should be able to create right now.
Shu-ahahk!
In the blink of an eye, the waiting room was suddenly filled up by the black smoke, and as if it was alive, it quickly enveloped Jin-Woo's body.
"Heok?!"
Woo Jin-Cheol jumped up in fright and took several steps back in a hurry. As his brows shot up real high….
The black smoke had transformed into a set of jet-black armour on Jin-Woo.
"How about this?"
Now normally, Hunters always made sure to wear armour in order to protect themselves from the monsters and their preternatural powers.
When these extraordinary-looking equipment were added on top of a powerful Hunter like Jin-Woo, an overwhelming pressure seemed to automatically ooze out from him.
Woo Jin-Cheol was completely suppressed by this amazing aura and could barely move his lips to make his reply.
"It's… it's really something else."
Jin-Woo formed a thin smile.
"I'll take that as a compliment."
Jin-Woo turned back towards the door and slowly entered the auditorium. Almost in an instant, all unimportant noise disappeared within the venue.
'Hunter Seong Jin-Woo….!!'
'He's finally here.'
The attention of every single one gathered here focused on one man standing on the rostrum, Jin-Woo. He took a sweeping look at their faces and calmly organised several thoughts currently crisscrossing inside his brain.
He was here to inform these folks on what was to come – about the arrival of eight great armies desiring the destruction of this world. Also, the fact that each and every one of these armies being made up of soldiers from the Chaos World, ones that humanity would find very difficult to fight against.
'...'
They were waiting for the official announcement with those anxious expressions etched on their faces. After learning of the truth, though, what would their expressions change to next?
The tension tightening around their hearts was transmitted in full to Jin-Woo and his own expression darkened as a result.
"…"
Everyone held their breath and listened to his voice. The auditorium might have been quiet before, but now, it was even quieter than ever.
A short while later – Jin-Woo didn't need the aid of a microphone and simply loaded Mana to his vocal cords to speak.
"I know that things will become incredibly difficult for everyone."
His voice seemed to softly ripple within the eerily-silent auditorium.
Jin-Woo's ears could pick up on the noises of representatives swallowing their dry saliva along with their violently pounding hearts.
Funnily enough, the louder their heartbeats became, the calmer Jin-Woo's own heart got. The light shining in his eyes became more determined than before.
'….Am I actually feeling calmer than before?'
From a certain moment on, Jin-Woo had completely regained his composure. He calmly addressed his audience with these closing words.
"However, no one alive will be able to avoid fighting the upcoming battle. Those creatures will appear before you, and they will try to destroy everything you hold dear."
Chapter 234: Chapter 234
How were they supposed to take this?
Once Jin-Woo's lengthy explanation came to an end, an uncontrollable fluster floated up on the faces of representatives. Even the carefully-chosen contingent of reporters forgot their jobs and were too busy looking at each other's reactions.
Noisy, noisy….
The auditorium that used to be draped in eerie silence was now filled up with loud chatter in an instant.
Eventually, someone unable to beat back his fear-filled curiosity and shouted at Jin-Woo.
"Y-you, you expect us to believe that story?!"
How could anyone believe the story of horrifying creatures capable of destroying everything on this land creeping every closer to this planet?
That voice of an elderly man was now filled with a palpable sense of desperation.
"Evidence…. Show me the evidence! Without that, I won't ever believe you!!"
"T-that's right!"
"Aren't your claims far too absurd to be believable?!"
"Out of the blue, you tell us that hundreds of creatures similar to Kamish will show up, but how can that even make sense?!"
Humans, when facing a reality that they couldn't deal with, would automatically resort to denying it or get angry as their defence mechanism. These representatives from various nations wilfully forgot about the many miracles Jin-Woo had shown them so far, and directed their furious words of denial towards him standing on the rostrum.
Too bad for them, just one swish of his hands was enough to silence them immediately.
"Heok!!"
"…..!!"
Dozens of Gates suddenly appeared right behind Jin-Woo.
Using the powers of the Sovereign, he generated several tens of Gates, which were basically a doorway connecting different dimensions.
'I don't need to create Gates since travelling through shadows is faster for me, but still….'
There should be nothing more efficient for making these people understand than this method. He could generate Gates the size of a person without breaking a sweat.
Jin-Woo stopped looking at the Gates and shifted his gaze to his audience.
Sure enough, not a single person out of the gathered representatives, reporters, and even the staff members of the Korean Hunter's Association, who trusted in Jin-Woo's words implicitly, could close their slack jaws shut, never mind averting their gazes elsewhere.
"Those…. Aren't those all Gates?"
"B-b-but, how can such a thing even be….??"
'Hunter Seong Jin-Woo can create Gates, and not only that, several of them at the same time in front of all these people?'
The eyes of everyone present began trembling powerfully, as if there was an earthquake happening right now.
The director of the Hunter Bureau, David Brennan, continued to rub his eyes in utter disbelief. He was someone who personally witnessed the Dragon 'Kamish' take its first step in this world as the dungeon break unfolded, but even then, he just couldn't believe this.
'As I thought, it's working.'
Jin-Woo was satisfied by their reactions after witnessing the powers of the Sovereign and closed the Gates behind him.
As if what happened only a second ago had been a hallucination, every single Gate simply vanished without a trace, faster than the witnesses could blink.
'Ah, no!!'
At the same time, a reporter was hit with a sensation of his heart tumbling to the pit of his stomach. He quickly asked the other reporters next to him.
"H-has anyone taken pictures of those Gates?? Doesn't matter if it's a camera or a phone, did anyone record that phenomenon??"
"….Ah!!!"
Reporters began despairing right there and then, some hugging their heads while some spat out painful groans. It happened too fast, and they were all too stunned out of their minds, so they had momentarily forgotten to take the visual proof of what happened here.
As if the unrest unfolding within the ranks of the reporters was the signal flare, voices of shock and fluster exploded out from all corners of the auditorium next.
Noisy, noisy….
Loud noises shaking one's eardrums filled up this huge open interior. But, then…
"Hunter Seong Jin-Woo!!!!"
The British representative suddenly shot up from his seat and managed to attract everyone's attention via his shrill cry.
"Could it be that you're one of them?! The creatures that appeared from the first super-massive Gate, weren't they summoned here to kill us all, to begin with?!"
His utterances caused pretty much everyone here to freeze up instantly. They unwittingly ended up imagining the worst possible situation, that was why.
A vague, formless fear of Hunter Seong Jin-Woo being on the enemy's side began spreading among the hearts of these people like an infection. Well, didn't he just display the power to create Gates that drove so many humans to their deaths and grips of terror right before their eyes?
"….."
Jin-Woo wordlessly stared at the British representative for a while. Only then did the Briton finally realise the mistake he just made.
If Hunter Seong indeed was on humanity's side, then this man sure made an a*s of himself due to his fear, but if the opposite turned out to be true, then didn't that mean it'd be really difficult for him to keep his life now?
"Ah, uh, well…. Of course, I, uh, unreservedly believe in you, Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim…."
The complexion of the British representative paled in an instant and the ends of his sentence progressively got smaller and smaller. Jin-Woo spat out a sigh as if he found this whole thing idiotic.
"Fuu."
He did what he came here to do. Jin-Woo didn't particularly feel the need to plead with these people, asking them to believe him.
"Whether you believe my words or not, whether you accept my words or not…. That's your choice. I've finished saying my piece, so everyone, make up your own minds now."
Reporters sensed that the announcement had come to an end, and that allowed them to finally free themselves from the stupefaction they were trapped in due to the continuous assault of one shock after another. Soon, camera flashes urgently exploded forth.
Click, click, click, click, click!!
Jin-Woo took one last sweeping look at the audience members and just as he was about to turn around….
….David Brennan, the director of the American Hunter Bureau, finally decided to break the silence he had been maintaining until then and raised his hand up high.
Jin-Woo recognised him, of course, since they met each other before. He pointed the American out.
"Director Brennan?"
With a hardened expression on his face, the director slowly stood up from his seat. There was no one present here who didn't know the name of the leader of the Hunter Bureau, so almost immediately, another bout of silence descended on the auditorium.
"It's been a while, Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim."
He politely bowed his head, and Jin-Woo reciprocated that gesture with a bow of his own. The director continued on from there.
"I understand now what will come out those Gates."
The hundred thousand-plus black monsters that poured out from the first super-massive Gate. Thankfully, they turned out to be the subordinates of Hunter Seong Jin-Woo who had 'coincidentally' inherited the powers of a Sovereign. And he immediately had them submit to him.
And now, today in this place, the truth about other creatures scheduled to make their entrance not being friends of humanity had been revealed in full. In that case, how was mankind supposed to respond to this?
The director tried to calm his shuddering heart and cautiously asked his question.
"What should we do next?"
Jin-Woo quietly studied the director for a little while, before slowly shifting his gaze to take in the faces of every single person present within the auditorium.
Through his eyes, he could feel their worries, anxiety, nervousness, fear, shock, confusion, etc. Indeed, his sensory perception that had far surpassed the limits of a human didn't always prove to be helpful, especially in a situation like this one.
A short while later.
'....'
Jin-Woo made up his mind and gave them the best advice he could think of.
"I pray that you get as far away from those Gates as humanly possible. As far as you can. I hope that you evacuate to the furthest location you can find, even if it's only by a little."
***
The ripples caused by the information Jin-Woo provided were enormous.
It was none other than Jin-Woo who provided the info. A man who created an unbelievable spectacle with the first super-massive Gate and shocked the entire world, had provided them with this knowledge.
People heard the warning about the invasion of huge monster armies that humanity would never be able to fight against, and struck by fear, they began doing whatever they could to distance themselves as far away from the Gates as possible.
Every road was clogged up by evacuating vehicles. Every avenue was filled with ear-bleeding honkings of car horns.
Didn't matter which newspaper one clapped their eyes on, Jin-Woo's visage and the three accompanying words below dominated every single front page.
– Evacuate far away!
Those words were enough to mobilise the entire world.
The thing was, though, when the movement of people become huge in scale, it was only natural that the opposition to that movement would also gain following, as well.
It wasn't as if everyone believed in Jin-Woo's words. Especially so for someone like this Canadian Hunter named Jay Mills, who confidently declared his objections. Incidentally, Canada's Gate was observed to be the largest of the eight super-massive Gates.
"Tell him that he can take his horsesh*t story and shove it."
Invited to say his piece on a program on 'Hunter Channel', the Canadian Hunter began bad-mouthing Jin-Woo in front of the esteemed panel of experts sitting in the studio.
"If I knew Hunter Seong Jin-Woo's personal contact number, I'd have said the exact same thing, eh. If, by any chance, someone who knows him personally is watching this show, I want you to repeat what I just said here. Okay?"
The emcee quickly assumed the standard broadcaster's smile in order to cool down the heated atmosphere.
"Whoa, there. Let's all take a breather, first. Even still, Seong Hunter-nim is one of the very best Hunters in the world, isn't he? Should we really ignore the warning issued by a Hunter of his calibre?"
Jay Mills' Hunter ranking was only about 17th on the list. Even when considering the fact that he was a relative newbie who only started his Hunter career three years ago, there was no way he could be compared to Jin-Woo.
He himself already had acknowledged that difference of class between them. Regardless….
"Yes, of course, Seong Jin-Woo is an incredible Hunter. He possesses enough power to destroy Thomas Andre, and then, all those summoned creatures, too…. However, just because he's an incredible man, that doesn't mean everything he says is credible, am I right?"
"In that case, do you have any evidence that contradicts what Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim has said?"
Jay Mills smirked derisively.
"Oh? What about Seong Jin-Woo, then? What evidence does he have?"
While the emcee was left searching for a suitable response, Jay Mills stared straight into the camera and spoke up.
"This is what I think. Seong Jin-Woo was standing right in the front of the Seoul Gate, wasn't he? And that's why all those scary black things knelt down after seeing him standing there. If it was a different Hunter and not him, who knows if those monsters would have submitted to that person, instead?"
Veins began bulging on the Canadian Hunter's neck as he raised his voice – as if he was addressing Jin-Woo who should be at home watching the program.
"Hunter Seong Jin-Woo, you may have scared other people away with your bullsh*t, but let me tell you this. You won't get to monopolise all these Gates. Why? Because, I am not scared by you. Not even by a little bit."
Beep.
The Association President Woo Jin-Cheol switched the TV off.
He quietly put the remote down and shifted his gaze over to where Jin-Woo currently sat.
"Hunters are gathering around Jay Mills in Canada as we speak. It seems that the nations possessing strong Hunter systems, such as India, are preparing for their own raids."
Jin-Woo didn't say anything and simply nodded his head.
The choice was theirs to make, to begin with. As for him, he now needed to focus on the upcoming battle against the rest of the Sovereigns.
"The United States government is keeping a close eye on your next move, Hunter-nim. No, hang on. I'm sure it's not an exaggeration to say under the current circumstances that the entire world is watching your every move."
Woo Jin-Cheol got their conversation going like that and cautiously steered the topic to what he wished to talk about.
"What will you do now, Hunter-nim?"
He worked really hard to control his pounding heart while observing for any change in Jin-Woo's reaction.
'I must not become a hindrance in Seong Hunter-nim's decision-making process.'
Actually, he had hidden something from Jin-Woo just now.
And that would be the fact that SOS requests towards Jin-Woo had been flooding in from all corners of the globe. The truth was, the Association was finding it hard to function properly because of all the incoming calls right now.
Amidst of those, the Americans – who shared a border with Canada, which was an unfortunate event in this case – were desperately requesting for Jin-Woo's aide, so much so that it even made outside observers feel pity for them.
The role of the Hunter's Association was to help with Hunters so they could focus their whole beings in hunting down monsters.
Woo Jin-Cheol didn't say anything so as to not go against the principle the late Association President Goh Gun-Hui always emphasized. He chose to wait for Jin-Woo's decision, instead.
Too bad, Woo Jin-Cheol's consideration as he anxiously waited for an answer had been betrayed somewhat, as Jin-Woo already made up his mind on what to do next a while ago.
'It's simply impossible to fight against all eight armies at once.'
In that case, he needed to get rid of the one that threatened South Korea first, where his family was staying. As for the remaining Sovereigns, he would deal with them later.
Because, the longer the fight dragged on, the better the odds of his victory would get, that was why.
'First of all….'
Jin-Woo raised his head and spoke to Woo Jin-Cheol.
"I'll be heading off to China."