The village was quiet. It was excessively quiet, almost peaceful. At least, that's what Baek Miho thought before she knew the truth.
"Vice President! This house is also empty!"
"There's no one inside these shops either!"
With each report, she frowned and looked around. 'I can't figure this out. What on earth happened in this village?'
It was unthinkable, but if they had found even a single corpse, there might have been a clue to what had transpired. However, despite thoroughly searching every corner of the village, they hadn't found a single person, nor could they locate any signs of violence.
'How is this even possible?'
The situation was absurd. If all the villagers had left, there should have been at least some footprints or traces of their movement. But there was nothing. It was as if... as if all the citizens of this village had vanished in an instant, like they all evaporated.
"Vice President, none of the villains from Jisan Prison have skills that could cause such a phenomenon."
"...Yes, I know."
In the end, only one thing came to mind in this unreal situation. "Is there any chance a Gate opened somewhere in this village?"
"That's the most plausible explanation, but there's no blue fog."
"..."
Indeed. There was no sign of the blue fog that usually emanated from a Gate, making it difficult to believe a dungeon had appeared. Baek Miho, with a grave expression, picked up her phone as she listened to the continuous reports from the guild members searching the village.
"First, I need to contact the Association..."
Crack! At that moment, a crack appeared in the clear sky above their heads.
"...!"
"Th-there!"
"Look at the sky!" Someone shouted, and all the Hunters looked up.
Crack! Crack! Crack! In that instant, the crack in the sky widened, splitting and shattering like glass, collapsing downwards.
Rumble!
"Wh-what?!"
"Everyone, gather!"
"Yes!"
At Baek Miho's stern command, the White Tiger guild members scattered throughout the village gathered around her at an incredible speed.
"Prepare for battle!" But even before the order was finished, the White Tiger guild members, already in full readiness, had their eyes burning with fighting spirit.
But even more surprising events unfolded next. The transparent barrier that had been enveloping the entire Yamri Village like a dome shattered into pieces.
Shatter!
"...!"
"Ugh!" The White Tiger guild Hunters were startled and covered their noses.
"Th-this smell...?!"
Suddenly, the stench of blood filled the air from all directions. They had expected the ground to cave in or buildings to collapse when the sky crumbled, but their predictions were completely off. The village's landscape remained unchanged. The only difference was that the people who had vanished without a trace had reappeared. But their reappearance was far from peaceful. Countless corpses, their bones exposed, lay scattered across the blood-soaked ground. A gruesome scene of carnage, as if their life force had been sucked out, unfolded in the village.
"Could these all be the missing citizens...?"
"...!"
"P-people!"
The Hunters saw it. Amidst this horrific scene, a lone man stood tall in the center. Baek Miho immediately recognized him and her eyes widened.
"Hunter Sung Suho?!"
"...Ah."
Suho finally raised his head and looked at the White Tiger guild Hunters staring at him. He met Baek Miho's gaze and gave a faint smile.
"Perfect timing. It was getting tedious counting them all. Could you help me out? Are there 500?"
"...What?" At Suho's words, the Hunters were taken aback and looked around at the corpses.
"Then, could all these bodies be...?" Their eyes widened in horror.
Gasp! "Villains!"
"All these corpses are villains!"
"What?!"
"I-it's true!" Surprisingly, electronic anklets were attached to the ankle bones of all the dead bodies!
"Then, could all these villains have been...?"
"Defeated by him alone?" Everyone's gaze focused on Suho once again. Amidst the countless gazes filled with shock and awe, Suho merely ran his fingers through his sweat and blood-soaked hair and sighed.
"Yuck. I feel sticky." Even with leveling up, only his health recovered. His clothes were still drenched in blood and sweat, so it was only natural to feel uncomfortable.
'I need to go back and take a shower.'
"..."
Flinch. As Suho slowly walked towards her, Baek Miho almost stepped back instinctively, barely managing to stop herself. Something was strange.
'I definitely didn't feel this way when we met yesterday.'
What had happened to him? No, what was he? It was too strange. The Suho she encountered today felt like a completely different person from the one she met yesterday. Baek Miho's senses, heightened by her Beast Transformation skill pushed to its limits, were screaming at her to run away from Suho right now.
"Baek Miho."
"...Yes?!"
Suho chuckled at Baek Miho's startled reaction and walked past her. Then, he simply said, "Please take care of the aftermath here. As you can see, I'm alone... Oh, and all the bounties are mine, right?"
"W-wait a minute!"
"...?"
Baek Miho, mustering her courage, hurriedly stopped Suho and asked the most important question.
"If all these bodies are villains, where are the citizens who lived in this village? Could they all be dead...?" At that, Suho briefly lowered his head and gazed at his feet.
"...?" Baek Miho's gaze followed his, but there was nothing there except his shadow.
"Could the citizens all be buried underground...?"
"Ah!"
"Eek?!" Baek Miho screamed in surprise as Suho suddenly raised his head. Then, she quickly covered her mouth with both hands, and Suho grinned.
"Fortunately, it seems there are quite a few people still alive. Go towards the village hall."
"...!"
As Suho said, they found a considerable number of people collapsed and unconscious at the village hall. They all looked pale, as if their life force had been drained by a vampire, but they were still alive.
"What in the world..."
"How..." All the White Tiger guild members, including Baek Miho, looked at Suho again with questioning eyes. But Suho just shrugged and changed the subject.
"Maybe there was a villain who could absorb the life force of others? It would be wise to gather them if they wanted to use them whenever necessary and manage hostages effectively."
"...?" That couldn't be. The White Tiger guild had all the information on the Jisan Prison villains. There was no such skill among them. Then what was it? Was there really someone who had been hiding such a skill, just as Suho suggested?
"Vice President." The guild members who were searching near the village hall returned to Baek Miho and reported.
"We've found a significant number of deceased citizens' bodies in this area."
"The cause of death for the citizens matches the skills of the villains listed in the information we received."
"We haven't seen any other bounty hunters around."
"At least... not any other Hunters."
"...I see." Baek Miho nodded, her mind still in turmoil. What exactly had happened in this village? The citizens killed by villains outside the village hall and those trapped inside, their life force drained. But...
'One thing is certain.' Hunter Sung Suho. This man had indeed killed all 500 villains. And as a result, he had saved the lives of all the surviving citizens. He was... a hero.
"Hunter Sung Suho." Baek Miho, having grasped the situation, walked towards Suho, who was about to leave for home. She bowed deeply and said,
"Thank you."
"..."
"The citizens of this village were able to survive only thanks to you." As Baek Miho finished speaking, the White Tiger guild Hunters standing behind her also bowed to Suho in unison.
"Thank you."
"Thank you."
"Thank you."
'White Tiger Guild.' Their solemn expressions made his face turn serious as well.Suho could see a glimpse of why they were the most respected guild in Korea…
Countless Hunters focused solely on money when raiding dungeons. No one criticized their actions. It was only natural for those with abilities to pursue wealth. But at least, the Hunters standing before him were different. They were Hunters who genuinely wanted to protect the citizens by hunting magical beasts. Feeling their sincerity, Suho also bowed deeply in return.
"..."
* * *
Suho sat leisurely on a mountainside far from Yamri Village, watching the White Tiger Guild rescue the survivors.
[...My liege.] Suddenly, Beru's voice came from behind him.
[It seems this one still has some energy left.]
"Lift one leg."
[...Yes.] At Suho's command, Harmakan, who had been lying face down with his head bowed, hurriedly lifted one leg. His trembling leg looked pathetic.
[Harmakan Lv.1]
[Elite Knight Grade]
Thanks to leveling up after defeating Harmakan, the number of Shadow Soldiers Suho could store had increased. As a result, he immediately extracted Harmakan's shadow, and this was the outcome.
'Elite Knight grade, huh.'
No wonder it was so hard to deal with him. Harmakan had become the highest-grade soldier Suho had ever obtained. However, a high grade didn't necessarily mean high defense. Harmakan's true power lay in his potent curses and magic, so even this simple physical punishment caused him immense pain. Considering all the evil deeds he had committed, Suho planned to continue this 'training' from time to time...
[Master.] At that moment, another Shadow Soldier materialized out of thin air and knelt before Suho, bowing his head deeply.
[Please, bestow a name upon me...]
'Ah, right. I forgot about this one.'
Suho's gaze fell upon him. It was Kang Taeshik, the former bounty hunter. He had proven his talent as a Shadow Assassin in actual combat. But the name floating above his head had changed from before.
[?? Lv.5]
[Knight Grade]
'I guess it's because the number of Shadow Soldiers I can store has increased. But he's already leveled up that much?'
He started at level 1, so just how much had he accomplished in a single day? Suho pondered for a moment, looking at Kang Taeshik's soul, solemnly awaiting his judgment. A name... a name… After a brief moment of contemplation, Suho smiled and spoke.
"Kira." The name of a character from an old cartoon who killed without hesitation suddenly came to mind.
"From now on, your name is Kira."
[Thank you, Master.]
As Suho gave him a name, the Shadow Assassin Kang Taeshik bowed his head even lower. At that moment, the information above his head was updated.
[Kira Lv.5]
[Knight Grade]