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“I thought I was going to die. If you were coming anyway, you should have come sooner.”
“And if I hadn’t?”
“Then I would have died, I guess.”
This was a new one.
“You’d risk your life like that?”
“Do you think I would have followed them this far if I hadn’t seen you? I’m not crazy.”
“Tell me what they were doing, if you know.”
“I don’t know. How would I know that?”
“Did you really follow them because of the treasure?”
“Hey, I’m not a fool. You think I would have believed that?”
She walked in front of the hunters.
“Put everything you have on the ground.”
The hunters hesitated and looked at her face. They looked confused. The man with the tiger tattoo hesitantly took out his sword and shurikens and placed them on the ground. She shook her head.
“The clothes too.”
“What?”
“The vest, studded with magic stones. The pants, made of monster leather. The special alloy shoes. Take it all off.”
“Yes!”
The man with the tiger tattoo took off his clothes as ordered. He carefully glanced at her and held up a small wallet.
“I need bus fare to get home. Can I take this?”
“Do you want to die?”
“I knew you’d say no. I can walk. Of course.”
The man with the tiger tattoo put down the wallet and looked at Gyeol. You’re supposed to be a hero, but you’re not going to help with this? As Gyeol didn’t react, he hung his head with a half-resigned expression. The healer stood in front of the man with the tiger tattoo.
“Aren’t you going to finish what you were doing?”
“Aah? Do I have to take off my underwear too? Do I really have to?”
“Are you crazy? Don’t you know why you’re the only one standing? It’s because of what you were doing. The hunter let you stand for that.”
“Is that so! But I already told you everything I know! We’re offering a sacrifice to the Demon King, we need to gather mana to open the gate to the Demon World. That’s all.”
“Tiger oppa. I’m a bit thorough with my deals. Since I used the hunter here, I could get hurt if things go wrong. So I need to repay him. Now, if I don’t get some important information, something big will happen. Let’s talk, shall we?”
“Why are you only doing this to me!”
“The other guys are all dying.”
“If I say anything more about the organization, I’ll die too!”
The healer grabbed the man with the tiger tattoo’s hair. “The hunter counted to two earlier. So you have one second left, right?”
“Do I still have time? Isn’t it already over?”
As she tightened her grip on his hair, he struggled and waved his arms.
“I’ll talk! I’ll talk!”
Gyeol leaned against the dungeon wall with his arms crossed. The healer’s way of handling people was quite good. The man with the tiger tattoo let out a sigh and raised his head.
“We’re from the Hwanryong Guild. You could say we’re priests for opening the gate to the Demon World.”
Priests? A religious organization. The name was also quite meaningful.
Gyeol asked quietly, “Hwanryong? What does that welcome?”
“We welcome the advent of the Demon King.”
This was crazy. The state of the world was so absurd that he could only laugh.
“Why are you waiting for the Demon King?”
“Because a future as beautiful as flowers will unfold before us when he descends.”
You’re talking about flowers, really.
“Are you capturing Awakened and offering them as sacrifices to summon the Demon King?”
“That’s right.”
“You sound so cheerful about it.”
“Of course. We’re doing a good thing. If you’re offered as a sacrifice, you can go straight to the Demon King’s castle. If I could, I’d want to be offered as a sacrifice too.”
This one was a bit strange. The one thing that was certain was that he wasn’t smart enough to lie.
“What happens when you offer a sacrifice?”
“We can gather black mana. We collect the black mana in a cross pendant and send it to the temple, and the gate for the Demon King’s advent will open.”
Gyeol slowly shook his head. Black mana was a type of demonic energy. It was different from the demonic energy of the Demon World, but it had the same particles.
That’s why it was dangerous. The more black mana there was, the stronger the connection to the Demon World would become. He had been too indifferent to the world’s affairs. To think that this was happening behind the scenes.
“How do you offer a sacrifice? Do you kill them?”
“Hey, we’re not a group of murderers. We just have to let the black mana flow into their core and then take it out a little later.”
“You let black mana flow into their core? Then that person will die.”
“No? They just fall asleep and wake up.”
This bastard knew nothing. Some of the guys on the floor were opening their eyes. He looked at them one by one.
“The one who doesn’t answer gets stepped on. The one who lies also gets stepped on. Did you know that the sacrifice dies when you contaminate their core and extract their mana?”
One of them answered hesitantly.
“Yes.”
Another one just nodded silently. The man with the tiger tattoo looked at them in horror.
“What? They die?”
His eyes darted around frantically.
He kept repeating, “No way,” to himself.
Then he rushed to one of the guys on the floor, grabbed him by the collar, and shook him.
“There was no talk of people dying! Did you lie to me? Why did you do that!”
He had a rough idea. To lure hunters, you needed sincerity. An endlessly transparent mind. It was unlikely that there were many Awakened with that.
The man with the tiger tattoo was more likely a victim who had been deceived by them, not an accomplice. Gyeol beckoned to him with his finger.
“Where’s the headquarters?”
“Headquarters? You mean the temple? Only priests who have completed their missions can go there. We don’t have the qualifications.”
“Those guys would know.”
The man with the tiger tattoo nodded and approached his companions.
“Hey, if you know the address of the temple, spit it out now.”
“None of us have completed our missions.”
The man with the tiger tattoo looked back at Gyeol.
“This story is probably true. They’re all terrible at what they do.”
Gyeol called Audrey. He had opened the ether on his wrist from the beginning.
“Did you hear that?”
– Yes.
“I’ll send you the Hunter Management Agency’s number. Call them and relay the information you just heard, and they’ll send agents here.”
– Understood.
“I don’t need high-ranking agents. Tell them to send anyone quickly. They’re guys whose cores have all been dismantled, so they just have to be arrested.”
– Hunter Management Agency. Mapo Dungeon. Quick dispatch. Cores dismantled.
Oh? A customer at the restaurant says he’s a Hunter Management Agency employee.
“What? Why is a public official at our restaurant?”
– He said he came to eat. Should I tell him?
“Tell the customers to check his ID. If he’s a public official, relay the information.”
– Understood.
“Is Satin doing well?”
– She’s fine.
“Tell her I’ll be there before the restaurant closes.”
– Yes, sir.
The man with the tiger tattoo looked at Gyeol with his mouth open.
“You use telepathy? As expected, the hunter who carries a baby is amazing.”
Gyeol opened his palm.
“By the way, can I ask what you meant by ‘dismantled the cores’ just now?”
And he clenched his fist.
Bang!
The ether’s shockwave swept through the dungeon hall. The silver wave washed over the hall like a tidal wave, and the guys screamed before losing consciousness.
The healer, who had been curled up, looked at Gyeol. She got up, steadying her breath.
“Hey. You should at least give a warning before you shoot. What am I supposed to do if you suddenly do that?”
Gyeol ignored her and looked at the guys on the floor. He had destroyed their cores, so their Awakening would also disappear. Humans hurting humans.
Perhaps the world’s destruction wouldn’t be caused by an external invasion. That thought suddenly crossed his mind. Dungeons and all that had become a nuisance.
A while ago, Satin had brought him a donut, saying she had made it. It was a twisted donut, generously sprinkled with sugar. He had chewed it while leaning against the bed, and it had a nostalgic taste.
A taste from his childhood. A taste he had forgotten for a while. He should ask Satin to make him a twisted donut. With double the sugar.
The healer sat down and started undressing the guys.
“I’ll take all of this. They’re going to jail anyway. A life sentence won’t be enough.”
“Who are you, really?”
“Hey, don’t call a woman a ‘guy’. A ‘bitch’ would be fine. I’m a bounty hunter. A freelancer.”
“How can a healer hunt hunters?”
“I use the terrain.”
“What does that mean?”
She pointed at Gyeol with her finger and winked.
“Today’s terrain is quite handsome, so I like it.”
“Did you target me from the entrance? To use me?”
“I didn’t target you, I picked you. It’s not ‘using’, it’s ‘utilizing’.”
In some ways, she was a remarkable healer. If that was an ability, it was a high-level one.
“That was tough. It usually ends with one, but I had to send you two signs. My pride is hurt.”
Gyeol shook his head and turned around. The healer’s voice followed him like a tail through the narrow cave.
“Thank you for today! I’ll come and greet you when I get the bounty. My name is Ki Dal-lim. Please remember me!”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Gyeol opened the restaurant door. The atmosphere was unusual. The customers’ faces were all downcast.
“Hey, boss! Did you make our Satin cry again? What did you do to make her cry!”
Didn’t she say she was fine?
“Satin won’t cook for us! We ran out of rice and have been waiting for over two hours! What are you going to do? We’re all starving right now!”
Audrey clasped her hands in front of her and bowed her head. “I’m sorry. I cooked instead, but the customers won’t eat.”
“Where’s Satin?”
“She looked at us talking and then suddenly started crying and went upstairs.”
Ah… so that was it. Audrey let out a sigh.
“She must have been upset that you were only talking to me.”
Hans, the oldest customer, muttered heavily.
“He’s only talked to her for ten years. Then one day, someone else comes and takes his place. She’d be a saint if she wasn’t angry. Even I couldn’t stand it.”
Hans glanced at Audrey.
“And it’s not just that. Isn’t he being too indifferent to us too? If a new face comes in, he should introduce her, not just ignore her. We have to know if she’s an employee or what!”
“If she’s working, she’s an employee.”
“Is everyone who works an employee? We made a bet. Who would come to work in such a rough neighborhood? It’s only possible if she’s family or a lover.”
The customers next to him chimed in.
“Tell us, right? She’s your lover, right? Tell me she is! I bet all the money I earned from catching goblins.”
They were more like enemies than customers. The limitations of a business that relied on regulars were clear. They were all too close.
“She’s just an employee.”
“I can’t believe it! A princess is carrying a tray. The dissonance is extraordinary!”
“Can’t a princess carry a tray?”
“Well, that’s true, but!”
It was closing time.
“Go home. We’re closed.”
“There’s still an hour left. Go and comfort Satin and ask her to cook for us. We can’t go back like this.”
“The new employee cooked for you, right? Then you should eat it. Why are you making a fuss? Eat that or don’t, it’s up to you.”
“We have no choice. We have to eat something. New employee? We’ll have that rice you made earlier.”
Audrey smiled brightly and went into the kitchen. Satin was not in her room. Gyeol slowly went upstairs. The bed was a small mountain.
Satin was sitting on the bed, covered in a blanket. Sitting like that, hugging her knees, meant she was at the highest level of anger. It was a serious situation.
Gyeol sat on the edge of the bed and pulled the blanket. Satin appeared. She was looking at the floor with a sullen expression.
“You didn’t cook, did you?”
“I’m not going to anymore.”
It had finally come.
