Chapter 51
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Became the Last Giant Clan
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A faint afterimage lingered hazily in his mind.
In that afterimage, one man was shouting like this.
"What, it'll work out somehow, right? But we can't just abandon Tyrant Guild, can we?"
Along with that memory came breaking news.
[Tyrant Guild Master Ha Seok-jin and ten others have been found dead in a building in Jinju's Pyeonggeo-dong. Autopsy results show signs of homicide...]
Because of it, Kang Hyuk hardened his expression and muttered to himself.
"Ha Seok-jin... Shadow of Speed. The man who nearly became a dungeon sacrifice after falling for Abdullah's scheme."
And the guild led by that Ha Seok-jin was Tyrant.
Since no two guilds could share the same name, the news breaking right now had to be about the Tyrant Guild he knew.
[A special investigation team is on the case, but there's been little progress. Various opinions are swirling around this murder...]
Kang Hyuk could only let out a sigh.
"...My mistake. Dragon God Xiao Ran. I never thought that bastard would move this quickly."
He was currently a promising B-rank hunter with S-rank talent.
At the same time, one of the monsters who would plunge future Korea into the abyss.
"That coffin holds great significance for them. I figured they'd make some move to recover it, but..."
Kang Hyuk hadn't expected him to act this swiftly and abruptly.
"Even if he did move, I thought he'd target me directly, since I'm the one carrying the coffin... Looks like he couldn't track me down and went after Ha Seok-jin instead."
Kang Hyuk had erased most of the traces at the scene back then.
Even if anything remained, it would only be fragmentary bits of info.
That was why—Shadow of Speed.
He must have targeted Tyrant Guild and Ha Seok-jin, the last ones Abdullah had made contact with.
"...I should have been more careful. Considering that damned Chinese evil dragon's temperament, he could've done something even worse than this."
With that thought, Kang Hyuk lifted his gaze, his expression grim.
[The funerals for Ha Seok-jin and 23 others are being held at Jinju MM Hall...]
He stared at the subtitles scrolling across the screen for a moment before pulling out his smartphone.
-Kang Hyuk-ssi?
"Yes, Senior Officer Lee Yeon-hee."
-...What's going on? Aren't you still on vacation?
"I have an urgent matter and had to call."
Lee Yeon-hee fell silent for a moment at his words.
-Go ahead. I've got my pen and notepad ready.
Her voice returned, and Kang Hyuk's eyes gleamed as he fixed his gaze on the TV screen.
"I think we need to charter a private jet. Destination: Sacheon Airport."
* * *
Kang Hyuk boarded one of the many conditions he'd negotiated into his contract with the Association—a dedicated private jet—and arrived at Sacheon Airport comfortably and swiftly.
"Uh, um... Kang Hyuk-ssi?"
A man giving off an awkward vibe approached him.
"Yes, that's me."
As he replied and removed his sunglasses, the man looked startled and bowed deeply.
"N-Nice to meet you! I'm Lee Jun-hee from the Jinju Hunter Management Office in Gyeongsangnam-do!"
Kang Hyuk nodded and extended his hand. Lee Jun-hee grabbed it hesitantly, unsure what to do.
He had no choice.
'C-Crazy!... That rumored S-rank talent coming all the way to this backwater town!'
He was currently Korea's hottest hunter.
No, the man drawing the world's most intense scrutiny.
But recalling the briefing he'd received in advance, he kept his reaction in check.
"He's the quiet type, so it's best not to prattle on unnecessarily! That said, he's not picky or anything—just avoid saying anything against common sense, and there won't be any issues!"
From the Gangnam District Office branch.
Precautions passed on by none other than Lee Yeon-hee.
Not wanting to screw up in front of an S-rank talent, Lee Jun-hee kept repeating it to himself inwardly as he guided Kang Hyuk to the car.
"...Shall I take you to the funeral hall from the briefing?"
"Yes, please."
At those words, Lee Jun-hee gingerly pressed the accelerator.
Vroom~
The black sedan smoothly pulled away and merged onto the highway.
Glancing at the navigation inside, Lee Jun-hee muttered to himself.
"Looks like it'll take about an hour to get there..."
Meeting a celebrity was great, but this guy was such a heavyweight that it felt suffocating.
So he asked cautiously.
"...It'll take a while, so how about some radio?"
"Sure, no problem."
Lee Jun-hee let out a sigh of relief and carefully turned on the radio.
At that instant, an overly chipper caster's voice filled the car.
[And today, we're diving into the hot topic: that hunter, Giant Kang Hyuk~]
[The guy shaking up the world, right? An S-rank talent no less! First in Korea, 36th worldwide!]
[We always have our eyes on his every move... And lately, some unsettling rumors have been floating around!]
[Rumors? What kind?]
Lee Jun-hee let out a gasp, while Kang Hyuk furrowed his brow.
[Word is, that S-rank ability holder was the top contributor to the Jeju Red Gate incident!]
[No way?! Kang Hyuk-ssi? His ability is S-rank, sure, but his hunter rank is only D, isn't it?]
[Exactly why it's a rumor! The Jeju Red Gate escalated all the way to C-rank, and he racked up the highest merits there? Hard to buy, but then again, with an S-rank talent, who knows!]
That was when Kang Hyuk made a careful suggestion.
"...Mind switching to another channel?"
"Yes, right away!"
As he changed the channel, yet another hyper caster's voice took over the car.
[S-rank ability holder Kang Hyuk's reputation is stellar! Insiders at the Association—people I have discreet connections to—say his personality is...]
[As a hunter expert, this Mr. K believes Kang Hyuk is a very special case. Especially since it's a physical-type ability at S-rank...]
The awkward mood plummeted because of it.
Lee Jun-hee, picking up on it, spoke up.
"I-I'll turn it off!"
"...Appreciate the consideration."
Kang Hyuk clicked his tongue afterward.
"Even with the gag order, rumors are spreading anyway."
He'd asked Association President Kang Cheol-woo to keep the incident under wraps as much as possible.
People liked changes within common sense, not things that defied it.
In that sense, his actions at the Jeju Red Gate had defied common sense.
"The situation was urgent, so I ended up revealing more power than planned. The fallout... It's going to be worse than I thought."
One stroke of luck was that plenty of convenient factors existed to downplay his exploits.
"Arena's Yoon Hee-na chipped away at the Warlord's health, then HQ Director Lee Hyun-wook finished it off with his buff—that's the narrative."
But even that convenient cover story hadn't been enough to quash the rumors.
If anything, those intriguing circumstances had acted like spicy seasoning for the public, drawing even more attention.
"...Gotta tough it out. Who knows, this fame might come in handy in other ways."
As he muttered and forced his expression to relax, Lee Jun-hee felt his heart pounding.
"Someone like that has my back!"
They arrived at the funeral hall that was their goal, and Lee Jun-hee asked in an overly excited voice.
"Sh-Should I just wait in the car...?"
"Yes, please."
With that, Kang Hyuk pulled a mask from the backpack he'd brought along.
At the same time, Lee Jun-hee, who had been peeking via the rearview mirror, tilted his head.
"Huh?"
The facial features of the man who'd been plastered all over the internet and news just moments ago had somehow blurred, transforming into a completely different impression.
"Whoa... That's an item, huh? But... does he really need to wear that to a funeral hall?"
As he inwardly puzzled over it, the car came to a stop.
"......"
Kang Hyuk stepped out of the car and headed into the funeral hall. Something that had been slyly concealing its form muttered.
"...An item?"
His two bulldogs beside him replied.
"Hunter."
"But I sense no particular aura from him."
In response, the something melted even more craftily into the surroundings and muttered.
"Doesn't seem like our guy, then. Let's keep watching a bit longer."
* * *
Incense smoke wafted upward.
Staring at it, Ha Seok-jin's father, Ha Nam-jin, thought to himself.
"Foolish boy..."
It was his thought about his son, who had met a sudden death.
His son Ha Seok-jin had big dreams.
He'd harbored the absurd ambition of one day creating Korea's top guild.
"Dad, I'll make sure you live easy someday! I promise!"
Ha Nam-jin had worried about such a son but also secretly held high hopes.
Because Ha Seok-jin had real talent.
A D-rank hunter with D-rank talent.
Not a genius twice as capable as others, but no dullard lagging behind, either.
So while he hadn't actively supported it, he hadn't tried to stop the dream, either.
"...You foolish boy!"
But if he'd known it would end like this, he would've forced him to give up that dream somehow.
If he'd foreseen this path, he would've made him quit being a hunter no matter what.
"...Kuhuk!"
A homicide, and the cause still undetermined?
What crime could that kind-hearted boy possibly have committed to deserve this?
Anger and regret mingled with sorrow in a tangled mess of emotions, tears leaking out—
"...Kya! The yukgaejang here's damn good!"
A rough voice boomed from the restaurant area behind him.
"One more bowl! The color looks perfect!"
"With cooking like this, why stick around here? Open up a knight's diner!"
It was no voice that belonged in a funeral hall filled with silence and grief.
Ha Nam-jin stopped his tears, his expression hardening.
"Those... gangsters!"
Unable to hold back any longer, he rose from his seat and stormed out.
At that moment.
"Oh! Rep Ha Nam-jin!"
"Come on in, come on. Even if you're grieving your son's death, you gotta eat something, right? Have a drink and some yukgaejang! It's delicious!"
Sloppy demeanor.
And outfits that stood out from the civilians.
Thanos Guild hunters entered his sight.
"Hey, you punks! Is that how you talk to a man who lost his son? Have some common sense!"
The guests trembled with unease and fear at their crude behavior.
Ha Nam-jin forced down his boiling rage and spoke.
"Why are you doing this? I have no intention of contracting with you."
At that, Thanos's guild master, Charging Lee Han-wool, flashed a smirk.
"That's why I came here in person, ain't it? To change your mind, Rep Ha."
"And to change my mind, you... riot like..."
"Hey now. Watch your mouth, Rep Ha. Riot? We sent a proper wreath, offered condolences... and now we're just enjoying some yukgaejang. How's that a riot?"
Ha Nam-jin finally lost his temper at the glib response.
"That's exactly what a riot is! Get out now, or I'll call the police!"
The guests jumped to their feet in alarm at his shout.
At the same time, one of the Thanos guild members slammed his table and stood.
"You see this? Who the hell you yelling at?"
"...Don't you punks have fathers?! How can you do this?!"
"You just threw shade at dads? I was holding back for our master, but you're pissing me off, old man."
With that, the man who rose shoved Ha Nam-jin.
Ha Nam-jin was a sturdy man himself, but it meant nothing against a hunter.
"Uh, euk!"
"Honey!"
"Dad!!!"
As his startled family rushed to support him, Lee Han-wool bellowed.
"You thug bastard! How dare you lay hands on Rep Ha?!"
"...Sorry, Master."
"Get out! Can't believe we have trash like you as a guild member..."
The guild member who'd shoved Ha Nam-jin smirked at the outburst.
He spat on the floor and stormed out of the funeral hall. Meanwhile, Lee Han-wool muttered.
"Forgive the rudeness, Rep Ha."
He stood and added.
"Kid's got no manners. Bear with it."
Then he reached out to Ha Nam-jin and whispered.
"That said, Rep Ha... I have my limits on patience and face, too."
"...!"
"I've been holding back out of my own courtesy so far, but if you keep stonewalling me, I can't be held responsible. I value my face highly... and if it's crumpled, even I can't predict what I'll do."
With the threat, Lee Han-wool smirked.
He glanced at Ha Nam-jin's daughter beside him and said.
"Things beyond common sense. Acts against the law... Who knows if I might snap and do something like that?"
Ha Nam-jin's jaw dropped at the sight.
"That son of a bitch..."
He ran a small pharmaceutical company.
But a few days ago, they'd accidentally developed an unexpected new drug.
A wonder drug that could dramatically enhance hunters' physical abilities.
If it passed clinical trials, its value would be beyond measure.
Joy had surged, but misfortune followed close behind.
"That thug heard about it and came demanding the company..."
He didn't know where the internal leak had come from, but Thanos Guild Master Lee Han-wool had shown up and tried to strong-arm him into handing it over.
Of course, the threats weren't illegal.
Very slyly and cunningly, he'd stayed just within the bounds of the law, giving Ha Nam-jin endless headaches.
"Even the police couldn't help... City hall neither... Nothing illegal on the surface, and arresting hunters is a bureaucratic nightmare."
So he'd endured in silence.
Figuring that if he just gave no answer, they'd back off eventually.
But that assumption looked wrong.
"D-Dad!"
When he refused to hand over the company, Lee Han-wool had finally crossed the line.
Showing up at his son's funeral to cause this ruckus.
And now, going even further by dragging his only daughter into the threats.
Ha Nam-jin's fists clenched and trembled.
But soon the strength drained from them, and he bowed his head.
"...I understand. So... please leave now?"
Hunters weren't like regular humans.
Their superhuman actions, unbound by common sense, were things ordinary people couldn't even imagine.
"I'll hand over the company. So please... let me hold the funeral properly."
He'd already sent off his son.
He couldn't put his daughter in danger, too.
Not even if it meant betraying the employees who'd burned the midnight oil researching alongside him.
"Wise choice, Rep Ha!"
Lee Han-wool smirked upon hearing the answer.
"I won't cheat you on the price!"
He gestured, rising from his seat.
His Thanos guild members stood as if they'd been waiting.
"Burp~"
"Great yukgaejang, thanks~"
Ha Nam-jin closed his eyes and shuddered at the sight.
"Scum like that... calling themselves hunters?"
He lamented.
"And they're supposed to be humanity's heroes?"
As tears welled up amid his bursting resentment—
Bang!
A loud crash rang out.
"...Kuaaaak!"
A scream echoed as the Thanos guild member who'd just stormed out was hurled back into the funeral hall.
"...!"
Lee Han-wool and the Thanos guild members' eyes widened in shock. Meanwhile, the guild member who'd spewed insults at Ha Nam-jin earlier trembled in terror.
"M-My arm... Euk!"
A bone-snapping sound followed, and the man who'd been thrown fainted upon hitting the floor of the hall.
"Wh-What?"
As the stunned Ha Nam-jin gaped, the man responsible for it all muttered.
"...Guess trash really can't be recycled."
He turned to Lee Han-wool with a venomous smile curling his lips.
"Running into you again like this, eh, Lee Han-wool."