Yamato's Demise
From the start, his name said it all—Yamoto Hideyoshi. Yamato refers to Japan itself, and Hideyoshi was the name of the Wind Commander who ignited the Imjin War. In other words, this guy's very name screamed his identity.
Level 32. The highest among any external hunter I'd seen so far? My memory was fuzzy, but it was impressive regardless. His skills were no joke either. And the biggest problem? He wasn't one of my hunters. That meant he'd come here as a pre-existing hunter. The unique part was that he'd entered through Hakashi's gate—with its 1:2 time ratio—and hadn't grown at all, sticking to his original level. No surprise there; wasting that hard-earned 32 would have been a shame.
Which explained why he'd tried to control the gate through Ito Hiroyuki.
"You the one?"
"Yeah, that's me. What's it to you?"
Si-yeon and Seon-woo were off rescuing the victims from those experiments. Leo was by my side, with Hoya riding on his back—since he'd gigantified.
"You the one who ruined everything? Daring to interfere with the Greater Japanese Empire's affairs?"
"Holy shit, this guy's a real psycho. What do you want me to do about it?"
I'd muttered "What do you want me to do about it?" in Korean without thinking.
"Korean?"
"Yeah, Korean. You guys said it yourselves—a Korean owns the gate, right? So I took it over. They were selling it cheap."
"Cheap?"
"Yeah, your life was a bargain."
"That idiot Hakashi. Trusting a Joseon bastard."
"Hey, Japanese guy. You cool talking shit about Hakashi after what you did to him? No conscience at all?"
"How do you—"
"Use that brain of yours. Why do you think I'm here? And look at this guy. He says he's got business with you."
"What...?"
The bastard glanced at Leo. Leo stared right back, his eyes practically shooting lasers. Grrrrr.
"What's this wolf?"
"Want an introduction? This is the dog Hakashi raised. Wondering why he's so big? I leveled him up. Oh, and he's the one who took ownership of that Hakashi gate you were so desperate to find."
"What the—"
"What? It means all your efforts so far were a waste."
Shing! He drew a katana forged from mithril. His skills included One Stroke Two Cuts, swordsmanship, a ninjutsu-style clone technique, and even an escape art. Plus a ton of combat-related ones. Sword skills alone made him no pushover.
But his real problem...
Clang! Weapon disparity. His blade couldn't match mine.
And...
"One Stroke Two Cuts!"
He shouted the skill name as he activated it. But his flaw? He was slow. His agility wasn't even half of mine. So even if he used a skill, dodging was faster.
"Don't regret it when you die. Do everything you've got."
Analyzing his skills was tied to my class. I wanted to observe how One Stroke Two Cuts worked. It infused mana into the blade in an instant, then swung it like an explosion.
A flashy name for what looked like a mediocre technique. But a skill with that title had to have more to it than met the eye. He just couldn't wield it properly.
He spammed One Stroke Two Cuts several times. When it all failed against me, he made a quick call—clone technique.
The clone was interesting. He cast an illusion on an object at his spot to mimic himself, then slipped away elsewhere. The key was the illusion. But I had Clear Mind, a cheat skill that rendered illusions useless on me.
"What're you doing?"
Thud!
"Gah! How'd you see through my clone technique?!"
These types always overestimated their own shit. His clone had probably never failed before. To me, it just looked like he left a decoy and bolted.
So I kicked him. Hard.
"Pathetic. And with that level of skill, you spout off about the Greater Japanese Empire? Unbelievable."
"You bastard! Insult me if you want, but don't insult the Empire!"
"Who made you the judge? I decide. You're an idiot, and so's your Japan. Sending trash like you—three of you, even. And planning to turn people into vegetables with drugs? Real classy. But here's the thing—gates have a will. You charged right into it."
"Ridiculous! A mere inanimate gate—"
"You know the gate can hear you, right? Gates are everywhere."
"Impossible."
Of course it was bullshit. I was just talking crap because I figured he'd pull his escape art soon. And honestly? I was curious. What did it do? If the clone was that lame...
Boom! Like a hundred popping beans. He'd tossed bean-like pellets on the ground, creating massive smoke.
Straight out of anime—ninja smoke bomb and run.
"No way that's a registered skill."
But Leo blocked his plan. Smoke might fool eyes, but not a dog's nose. Especially Leo's. And Leo saw Yamato as his mortal enemy. No way he'd let him escape.
"Gaaah!"
I waited out the smoke. About a minute later, it cleared, revealing Yamato with his leg in Leo's jaws.
Escape art? Lame too.
"What a waste of a level 32."
"Kill him!"
"Yeah, I will. But first, I need to find your experiment data. Gotta be around here somewhere."
"As if."
"You guys love analog. Handwritten notes, no cloud uploads. So it's here somewhere. Probably... around here?"
I shoved aside a painting, revealing a safe. Slashed it open with my sword. Steel safe, but no match for mithril. Took a few swings since it didn't cleave clean.
Inside: exactly what I wanted. I'd leak this online. Warn other gate owners and expose Japan's atrocities. Make 'em think twice next time.
I'd just finished grabbing it all and turned to finish Yamato when—
"Long live the Greater Japanese Empire!"
With that, he tried stabbing his gut with his sword. I watched. Was this seppuku?
Squelch! He got the blade in, but barely 10 centimeters. Stabbing your own belly ain't easy.
"What? Keep going. And you gotta slice sideways, right?"
"Y-you... don't mock this sacred rite!"
"Mocking's my hobby. Tough luck. Go on. I won't interfere."
Him cleaning up his own trash? Bonus entertainment.
But he couldn't drive it deeper.
"C-cut... my head."
"Why?"
"L-let me die as a warrior."
"What a clown. Just bleed out. That's your style. Warriors? Trash dies like trash."
I ignored him and reviewed the data. Detailed logs on 74 victims. Origins, methods—everything. Meticulous bastard. Photos and videos too, conveniently attached. Separate storage noted.
By the time I finished, Yamato was still alive, bleeding profusely. I did nothing.
"Leo, wanna kill him?"
Woof! Woof! Hell yeah.
"But do I really need to do it myself?"
Killing now would be merciful. Leaving him? Agony till the end. I explained to Leo. He nodded, getting it.
Maybe I didn't want to dirty Leo's paws. He was family now, beloved in our territory.
I watched Yamato die in real time. Finally, he rasped,
"This isn't... the end. You'll... get yours too..."
Classic villain last words. Observation confirmed: dead.
I considered torching the place but decided against it. Better to leave it as evidence.
Instead, I used Yamato's smartphone to upload the data and videos worldwide. YouTube too. Tracing it back? Useless—American phone, easy fingerprint unlock.
Wiped my prints clean, stepped out. Survivors in sight—Si-yeon and Seon-woo had found them.
Filmed interviews on his phone, uploaded everywhere. Told them to grab the Self-Defense Force's valuables and run.
Punishment enough? Who knows. Felt shitty anyway. Why do that? Couldn't they just live well among themselves? Why steal from others and brainwash themselves it's justified? That hurt more than the killing.
Nyaang! Hoya licked my face. Pure affection.
I scooped her up. Leo reared up, begging too. Hugged him.
Mounted Kkamangi and rode home with Si-yeon and Seon-woo. To Siho Territory.