Chapter 86: The Ostrich with Its Head Buried (3)
Beltsmets!
For the past few days, that was all anyone in the world could talk about.
The showdown between the Butcher and Beltsmets had been broadcast live, and the public was going wild over this rare clash they rarely got to witness.
Even though the footage quality had degraded due to the ambient mana interference, no one cared. The duel between the blindingly radiant ice spears and the sword wreathed in dark crimson demonic energy still shone spectacularly, even through the glitchy, pixelated screen.
Ever since awakeners had appeared, the media had hyped them up endlessly, but the general public rarely got to see their abilities in action. At best, it was low-rank 3-star or below awakeners on variety shows spitting fire or water from their hands as parlor tricks.
This was the first time two 6-star-or-higher awakeners had clashed with their lives on the line.
And this incident wasn't portrayed as just a fight between two villains.
If the Butcher was an unparalleled monster of evil, then Beltsmets—who had stood against him—had somehow been painted as the righteous heroes.
A few days ago, Beltsmets had been known as the world's most notorious villains, but this battle with the Butcher had flipped their image completely.
To be precise, it was the act of rescuing the hostages amid the chaos that had changed everything.
Some dismissed it as a shallow PR stunt to clean up their image, but it was undeniably Beltsmets who had saved those kids waiting helplessly for death on-site.
And countless eyewitnesses had seen it happen.
A massive man who looked like a Beltsmets member carrying out the children. Skeletons clacking their jaws as they led the kids to safety. And more.
They looked rough and intimidating on the outside, but they were surprisingly kind to the children. Everyone on-site had witnessed their leader shielding the kids from incoming demonic energy blasts.
"Thank you."
The faces of the parents finally embracing their children spread vividly across the scene. To them, at least, Beltsmets were true heroes.
And then there was that massive bolt of lightning that shocked everyone present.
The impact Beltsmets left that day was tremendous.
From petty thieves, they had become infamous villains known to every citizen of Korea.
People were even starting to say the crazy idea that they should reach out and negotiate with Beltsmets.
The more details about Beltsmets came to light, the hotter the interest burned.
One person wasn't thrilled about this trend at all.
Lounging on the sofa in casual clothes and horn-rimmed glasses, it was none other than Sirius's vice-guild master, Jin Yeonhwa.
She gnawed at her nails while staring at the screen.
"This won't dooo. A 7-star lightning ability user? It completely overlaps with our Seonje. No wait, if it's a compound talent, does that mean he loses?"
Yuseonje was supposed to be the brightest star among the fourth-generation hunters, living up to the name Sirius. But at this rate, the name Yuseonje would be overshadowed by Beltsmets.
Why did it have to be lightning, of all things?
Yuseonje was evaluated as having the potential to reach 7-star soon, but his current skill level was only 5-star. To earn a true 7-star rating, he'd need to clear five A-grade gates or one S-grade gate.
The problem was the "compound talent." Even after all that, he couldn't claim to be on the same level as an identical 7-star.
Jin Yeonhwa slowly closed her eyes, then opened them again.
"This is troubling, so trouuu-bling."
Come to think of it, Beltsmets had screwed her over at the last auction too.
She just didn't like them one bit.
But she couldn't touch them right now. She didn't even know where they were, and their forces were no joke. She could catch them if she tried, but it wasn't worth investing Sirius's full might for it.
Better to flex their power elsewhere.
"Maybe we should move up Seonje's debut a biiit."
Jin Yeonhwa's words were directed behind her. Lee Hyewon, who was always by her side listening to everything, responded immediately.
"You mean Yuseonje's debut?"
"Yeah. No matter how much Beltsmets flies around, they're still villains, right? True heroes are hunters who save the world from gate threats! We need to say thaaat."
She had to pull all those focused eyes back to her side. Real heroes? No, Beltsmets were villains. In the end, they were evil that killed people, stole what wasn't theirs, and rotted the world from within.
Debut Yuseonje as the perfect hunter. And remind everyone that Sirius was Korea's undisputed top guild.
That was Jin Yeonhwa's goal, and she'd do anything to achieve it.
"Let's make a stage just for Seonje."
Her eyes gleaming, Jin Yeonhwa began humming a plan for Yuseonje's flawless debut.
Jin Yeonhwa didn't know.
That Lee Hyewon—her bodyguard and attendant listening to every word—was already Seol Rokjin's possession.
"Faster than I expected."
Seol Rokjin murmured after hearing Jin Yeonhwa's entire plan from Lee Hyewon. Yuseonje's debut was much sooner than he'd anticipated.
He'd thought a greedy woman like Jin Yeonhwa would drag it out longer to polish Yuseonje further.
He'd already planned how to deal with Yuseonje long ago.
Sirius was a good trading partner, but an overwhelmingly dominant top dog was no help.
"Time to take him out."
Seol decided without hesitation.
He'd pluck the brightest star from this night sky.
"Bored."
I muttered while sprawled on the sofa. Lying there all day was making me antsy, but I couldn't just wander outside either.
Han Seohyun and Kim Jaeho were watching me pretty closely.
Fair enough—my arms were still in this state, so I couldn't do much out there anyway.
The temperature had dropped so low that "chilly" had turned to "freezing." The lush green forest had donned brown garb and was starting to shed it. The first snow would fall soon.
Gazing outside, I grumbled.
"We need to go shopping."
Han Seohyun, standing nearby, jumped in quickly at my mutter.
"We still have plenty of food stocked, and, uh, Jaeho hyung went hunting too, so that should hold us for a while, right?"
"You know how to prep the meat?"
"I can learn from the internet somehow..."
A sigh escaped me naturally.
Days had passed, but I was still bedridden like a critical patient. Han Seohyun handled housework decently but couldn't drive, so he couldn't restock supplies. Kim Jaeho? Housework and him just didn't mix.
"How long are we gonna hole up like this? We need to shop soon, and you can't keep me locked in here forever."
"You're still too weak to move properly—where do you think you're going?!"
"Then at least give me my smartphone. I'm dying of boredom here."
Han Seohyun shook his head firmly.
"No headaches from scrolling this and that—focus on resting for now. Once you're recovered, I'll make you work even if you hate it, and you can have your phone back then! Why's a guy who can't even use his hands so obsessed with his smartphone?"
It was a valid point, but him glancing at me suspiciously too much was fishy.
Something's definitely up.
Fine, restraining me was one thing. But why the info blackout? What the hell were they saying about us online?
We'd caused a scene, sure, but we'd successfully taken down Butcher Park Sang-pyeon and rescued all the hostages. Shouldn't be all bad press.
Suspicious.
I eyed Han Seohyun, but he dodged my gaze and vanished, claiming he was busy with training. I couldn't hold him back anymore.
I settled back into my seat. He was right—recovery came first right now.
—You think you can recover like this?
'Nothing's impossible.'
Truth be told, my body was recovered in one sense already.
Ray said there was no way to regenerate my arms that had burned completely away. The bits still attached were only hanging on thanks to the mana circuits inside—or they could've rotted off by now.
'But mastering super-regeneration should fix it, right?'
—We've been talking about that for days. If it was that easy, wouldn't it have healed already?
As Ray said, I knew the method, but mastering it was tough.
I still hadn't mastered super-regeneration. With plain regeneration, I could only revive sensation up to my fingertips and shoulders.
But with effort, maybe I'd break through? I was starting to get a feel for it.
Back in the living room, my eyes caught Han Seohyun's forgotten smartphone.
Seeing it, I crept over slyly.
—You gonna sneak around like a rat?
'Rat? Harsh words. They shouldn't leave their phone lying around!'
Protecting me was admirable, but they couldn't hide everything from me forever.
I was this team's leader, responsible for Beltsmets. We'd pulled off a big stunt, so there'd be reactions—and we'd need to decide our next moves based on them.
Plenty of reasons, sure.
Honestly, I was just bored out of my mind. I wiggled my fingers to nudge Han Seohyun's phone.
"Ugh."
Even pressing the power button on the side had cold sweat pouring from the pain. Just this much movement soaked my whole body in sweat, so their overprotection wasn't entirely unwarranted.
Couldn't bend my arms at all, so holding the phone was impossible.
Finally unlocking the screen, I input the pattern.
Having watched him unlock it with touches countless times, the pattern was easy.
Ray clicked his tongue in my head at the sight.
—No wonder you've been side-eyeing it obsessively these past days.
'My way of countering the info lockdown. Appreciate it.'
—Info lockdown? Sounds so noble when you put it like that.
'It's not a lie, is it?'
Definitely not.
So what were they hiding?
The problem: unlocking the pattern took forever. Searching for info? Who knew how long.
As I poked futilely at the screen with barely mobile fingers, Ray said pityingly,
—Idiot. Just use telekinesis.
'Oh.'
Why didn't I think of that?
—'Cause you're dumb!
Annoying, but I let it slide. I moved my arms with telekinesis. Little experience moving objects that way meant I nearly flung the phone or twisted my arm wrong at first, but soon I handled it smoothly.
I opened a portal site and typed "Beltsmets."
An insane flood of info poured out—nothing like a few days ago.
I carefully checked it all...
And the verdict...
It was a mess.
'Now I get why Seohyun's hiding it from me.'
I hardened my face at the screen.