Welcome to the Hunting Ceremony
The Korean board of the Hunter Forum had exploded.
NHD — the Neo-Healthy Drug.
It was steeped in controversy.
"Enjoy pleasure without consequences!"
A pleasure far more intense than any existing drug — and yet, so the story went, non-addictive and harmless to the body. Nothing less than one of the supreme revolutions of the new era.
But for all the talk of zero addiction, the streets were overflowing with people hooked on NHD. The side effects were worse, too. Where conventional drug addicts merely swayed about like zombies, NHD addicts turned outright aggressive — like monsters.
[The misuse by certain users is the issue — NHD's safety is beyond question.]
[We will respond firmly and to the fullest extent of the law against those spreading malicious rumors.]
The users of the Korean board were worried about Dohyun.
Then it happened.
Holy Market. A twisted cousin of Polymarket — the prediction-betting site for calling elections and world affairs — except this one ran its books on awakeners and hunters. And far, far more money flooded through it.
Will Genocider kill Mr. Kane tonight?
✅ Yes — 28%
❌ No — 72%
But as the minutes ticked by, the share of bets predicting Genocider's failure only kept climbing.
Will Genocider kill Mr. Kane tonight?
✅ Yes — 13%
❌ No — 87%
Naturally. The LAPD had thrown a cordon around the home of Kane, the target of the announced crime, and the Brothers under Kane's command were running security of their own — ironclad, layered, absolute. On top of that, every broadcast network in the country was carrying the scene live.
"We're live in Beverly Hills. Genocider has announced a crime, and so far the scene remains quiet."
"That was Kim's statement, though — Genocider himself never announced anything, did he? What are the odds this whole thing is just a publicity stunt?"
"Kim, strongly suspected to be Genocider himself, is—"
"Kim, who issued the criminal announcement, is currently at his residence. He has not been observed leaving the property—"
Clickbait streamers came swarming in by the dozens as well.
"Yo! Is Genocider about to serve up some righteous judgment on those Babel bastards or what?!"
All of America was watching.
At last the clock in Los Angeles read 11:50 PM. Ten minutes remained, and everyone had concluded that Dohyun had been blowing hot air.
Will Genocider kill Mr. Kane tonight?
✅ Yes — 1%
❌ No — 99%
Everyone had bet on failure — and then, all at once, Holy Market went haywire.
And so the affair seemed to be quietly winding down. 11:55 PM, Los Angeles time. The network reporters and the streamers were just starting to pack up their gear.
Then one of the streamers tilted his head.
"Huh? Is there a party going on somewhere? I'm hearing music?"
From far in the distance came a thumping, pulsing beat — the kind of sound that belonged in a nightclub — blaring loud enough to turn heads. Eyes turned skyward, and there it was: an object floating serenely in midair.
A hover car!
Speakers had apparently been mounted on the thing, because music was rolling across Beverly Hills, rattling every window on the block.
"Whose hover car is that? That's the latest model! A machine worth well over five million dollars in cash—!!"
It wasn't strange to see a hover car over Beverly Hills. Most hover car owners lived clustered right here. What was strange was blasting music like a rolling block party.
"...And the hover car is coming this way? Huh? Huh? Wait — what's with its speed?"
[!!]
The other streamers and reporters finally caught on that something was wrong and swung their cameras around.
The hover car was tearing in at maximum velocity!
"Huh? HUH?"
Over five hundred kilometers per hour. A flash of light glittered in the distance — and then the hover car streaked over the heads of the reporters and streamers like a bolt of lightning.
And then.
The hover car's body slammed point-blank into the fortress of a mansion and its ironclad security perimeter.
Flash! KRA-KAAAA-BOOOM!!!!
"......Huh?"
As if a bomb had gone off, the mansion collapsed into a pillar of flame, and once the blaze had finally been beaten down, the corpse of Kane — his head cleanly severed — was discovered at the scene.
WELCOME TO THE HUNTING CEREMONY!!
Los Angeles — no, all of America — was turned upside down. Dohyun had made his murderous announcement on a talk show, and it had been shocking enough that the entire country had been glued to what came next.
No one had imagined anything so audacious, and all of America went wild for it.
A crime, you say? Where exactly are the people cursing him for it? Among the general public, at least, there weren't any.
Every American felt a dizzying surge of catharsis watching that hover car smash so gloriously into the mansion, and they cheered Genocider on with everything they had.
Billionaerror. Mangled spelling and all, it meant a magnate holding more than a billion dollars.
In other words, in a single night, the man had made well over a trillion won.
Hunting Ceremony.
It meant that from here on, he would keep hunting Babel Palms — again, and again, and again.
Posts like these set America's community boards ablaze — and the Koreans watching it all unfold had only one thing to say:
It wasn't only the general public that had gone mad for Genocider. Even Hollywood's judgment had flipped on its head.
"Has anyone gotten through to Kim?"
"We have to get him on our show!!"
"But — isn't Kim supposed to be a villain?"
"Who the hell cares?! You got a shred of proof Kim is Genocider?!"
America had always been a country of lunatics, teeming with people of every strange stripe and character. But someone like Genocider was a first. A horrifying villain and a righteous man at once — showered with the cheers of the entire nation, and not even bothering to hide who he was!
And on top of all that, he was handsome!
Dohyun appeared on American Weekend Night, the most famous of all America's countless talk shows — a national institution that, true to its name, owned the weekend nights of the American people.
"Please welcome our very special guest... GENOCIDER!"
"Oh dear, Jim? I'm told I'm not Genocider?"
"Haha! Of course, of course! What a slip of the tongue! Please welcome... KIM!!"
Jim Jaymon — America's finest MC and a Hollywood superstar — worked the crowd with effortless wit.
"Since I can't call you Genocider, I honestly don't know how to introduce you. The hero who saved America? The most popular man in the country right now? A super-rich man who became a billionaire in a single night?"
"Haha, just call me a man who works for America."
"For America! I've never heard that from anyone but the goddamn congressmen. But coming from you, Kim, it doesn't sound like a lie!"
Laughter burst from the studio audience, and the talk show rolled into full swing.
"Everyone is dying to know Genocider's next move. Will he keep going after Babel Palms?"
"I'm not Genocider, of course — but I'd guess yes. Genocider won't stop until Babel Palms comes crashing down."
The audience stirred. And the commitation wasn't confined to the studio — even as he spoke, articles were breaking live across the country: Genocider will finish Babel Palms for good.
"I see! Then could you tell us the meaning behind 'Hunting Ceremony'? Why 'Ceremony,' and not 'Hunting Festival'? Ah — I'm asking for Kim's personal take on it, of course!"
A hunting festival. A hunting Ceremony. Similar in meaning — but not the same.
"I'd say the reason it's a Ceremony and not a Festival is a fairly simple one."
The smile drained from Dohyun's face, and solemnity settled in its place.
"A Ceremony is a rite — one held in honor of something. In Korea, we call it a memorial rite. Genocider must have chosen the word Ceremony to bring comfort to those who were sacrificed to NHD."
The hall went utterly still in an instant. Even Jim, chattering away in high spirits a moment before, shut his mouth.
Dohyun looked straight into the camera and spoke to the American people.
"Genocider's hope is that his retribution offers even a small comfort to those who were sacrificed to NHD."
It was a moment that shook America all over again. Dohyun's voice burrowed deep into countless American hearts.
And this was only the beginning.
When the talk show ended, Cecil spoke.
"Short positions on Babel Palms — all placed, sir."