Chapter 176
Chapter 176
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 176
Chapter Title: Japan's Bitter Losses
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In the end, the deal with the constellation 66 Heavenly Demons concluded after Olympus Guild's intervention, inflicting massive losses and devastating damage on Japan.
Yet no country opposed or protested this intervention. Olympus Guild's contributions to world peace were simply too significant, and Japan's blatant sabotage of other nations for its own gain was all too clear.
Japan knew this full well themselves, but they never imagined the world would judge them so harshly.
"In the end, Japan's S-grade Hunters... dropped from 16 to just 11."
Back at Iron Fortress, Yoo Seongwon muttered his thoughts while watching the news spreading across the world about the recent events.
Japan's S-grade Hunters, once numbering 16, had plummeted to 5.
Olympus Guild had demanded eight—the double of their initial warning of four—as compensation, and Yoo Seongwon had negotiated the rescue of the remaining three right before they were killed in battle.
"By the way, when did they get those collars off? They didn't look like something you could just easily remove..."
Yoo Seongwon and Yoo Cheong gazed at the three S-grade Hunter children they'd rescued from Japan. The kids huddled together, eyeing everyone warily due to the unfamiliar surroundings and language they could barely understand.
Yoo Seongwon, about to attempt a conversation, noticed the collars were already gone and turned to Yoo Cheong with a question.
"Lord Gaulp removed them. He enveloped them in the abyss and erased them or something... Anyway, it's handled. I'll interpret, so feel free to speak comfortably."
"You're really good at everything. What can't you do? I've tried picking up stuff like this left and right, but it never sticks..."
"By 'that stuff,' do you mean adult videos, perhaps?"
"...How do you make even that sound classy? Anyway, tell the kids this place is safe, we won't force them into anything or treat them unfairly, so no need to worry. Then I'm off to deal with those annoying humans... Ack!"
He was handing things off to Yoo Cheong and turning to leave when suddenly a grip tugged at him from behind.
Shocked—polite Yoo Cheong wouldn't do this—Yoo Seongwon turned to find the three kids, who had been clinging to each other moments ago, now clutching his clothes and refusing to let go.
Understanding their feelings, Yoo Seongwon had no choice but to take their hands and bring them along.
"......"
"......"
"......"
"Yeah, yeah, you must be scared. I'm the only one you can trust... and even I can't communicate properly. Anyway, tell them they can follow if it makes them feel better."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Hearing Yoo Cheong's translation, the kids trailed after Yoo Seongwon like ducklings following their mother.
The bizarre sight drew curious stares from Iron Fortress staff, but as the place's ruler, no one dared comment.
They headed to the conference room, where Baek Ga-yeon and representatives from the government and association had gathered.
It had been quite a while since they'd all been assembled like this.
"Everyone been waiting long?"
"No, not really."
"We all know how busy you are, Hunter Yoo Seongwon. Hahaha!"
"Japan got exactly what they deserved."
The association and government officials wore strangely bright expressions, having heard that Japan's S-grade Hunters had lost 11 members.
Even if it was thanks to Olympus Guild, the shift was massive enough to completely upend East Asia's power balance—and a huge boon for Korea. They couldn't help but be pleased.
"I get it's something to celebrate... but what about that thing popping up in Jeonnam? We've hastily held the front line for now... The core dungeon is bad enough, but we'll need a permanent frontline setup, right?"
"How about your side handles the frontline ongoing, if possible?"
"Us? We're not even funded by taxes."
"It's truly regrettable, but the association and Korea's Hunter structure are in chaos from all the changes. This should be the nation's responsibility, but circumstances being what they are... Eek!"
The utterly absurd request made Yoo Seongwon glare murderously at the speaker.
If he hadn't responded quickly, the constellation 66 Heavenly Demons' undead army would have overrun Jeolla and even pushed into Chungcheong. They'd stopped it, yet instead of gratitude, these people were trying to dump their duties on him. Fury boiled up.
"Ah... So basically, you think I look like I've got spare capacity, so dump it on me. But what now? I could drop it and walk away with no real loss. Waiting till the small fire spreads into a blaze before dealing with it? That'd be a real mess."
"P-Please, have mercy."
"You know mercy isn't on the table just because you ask? The world doesn't work that way. Holding that barrier and grinding down the endless undead is already costing a fortune. And you want us to keep at it? What even is your purpose? Forcing the four major duties on the public while slacking off!"
"...We have no face to show. But we have our own circumstances..."
Desperate to persuade Yoo Seongwon, he began laying out what he considered reasonable arguments.
Starting with how Korea had endured nonstop crises for nearly a year—from the Slaughter King subordinate subjugation to the Hunter civil war sparked by Blue Dragon Guild's collapse.
With those wounds still fresh, news of another frontline and more deaths would shatter public support and trust in the government.
"So basically, you're asking me to sacrifice for your benefit?"
"N-No, that's not—"
"Fair enough. Maybe they need a real downfall to vote properly next election. Sigh~ I'll give you one month. Get ready for the Jeonnam frontline by then. Come hell or high water, we're pulling out after. That's it."
With that unilateral declaration, Yoo Seongwon shot up and stormed out of the conference room.
It reaffirmed just how repulsive humans could be, filling him with deep disgust from the pit of his stomach.
After he left, cleanup fell to Baek Ga-yeon once more.
"Hmm... A month is pretty generous. Knowing that guy's temper, he might give a few extra days, but don't count on more. Get to work, quick."
"But isn't this too much?"
"When has it not been? Seoul Guild acted all high and mighty guarding just Shin-Gangnam and Seoul, Olympus Guild just dances around, no law saying we can't do the same. Off you go."
He was right.
They'd overlooked the other three major guilds' abuses, so complaining when Yoo Seongwon didn't grant favors was ridiculous.
In the end, the government and association left empty-handed once again.
Meanwhile, grumbling as he entered the central control room, Yoo Seongwon vented to Shin So-mi.
"Is it because I'm young? Why do they treat me like a pushover? Sister So-mi."
"Just testing the waters, probably. But... who are those kids?"
"Oh, these? Japanese S-grade Hunter kids we rescued. Can't communicate, but I'm all they've got to trust, so they stick like this."
"Oh, I see... Wait, what did you say? S-grade Hunter kids?"
"Yeah. No issues there—I negotiated with the Olympus guys about to take them down. Oh, right. Don't know their names. Could you ask? I don't speak Japanese."
Shin So-mi, initially startled, knew Yoo Seongwon griped a lot but always followed through on decisions, so she let it slide. She asked the kids their names as requested.
But after hearing their answers, her expression flickered with shock before darkening. She spoke cautiously.
"Um, their names... well..."
"Yeah? Tough pronunciation?"
"No. They're... Number 10321, Number 13114, Number 25844..."
"......!"
He hadn't expected humane treatment, but the reality exceeded even his grim imagination.
Numbering them like inventory items.
It proved the Special Task Force weren't innocent saints.
They'd make excuses about their circumstances, of course.
But the shock didn't end there.
"...Ask why the numbers go over 20,000. And tell them not to be scared."
"Ah......! Sure."
Right—they wouldn't idly assign numbers like 10321, 13114, or 25844 out of boredom.
Yoo Seongwon, sensing something ominous, probed further and soon learned the Special Task Force's atrocities.
True to form, Japan had been conducting "human experiments" on Hunters and Awakeners—secretly or not—since the Awakeners' era.
"Sigh... Not surprising at this point."
"Even during that Chinese plague, they did mass infection tests. Researching Awakeners is par for the course."
"This one's... for later. Whew~ We're already over capacity anyway."
Handling it organizationally or mentally was impossible.
It meant war with a nation, and given Japan's habits, even photos and videos shoved in their faces would be dismissed as fabrications.
They'd always done so.
"All we can do is... cut off those damn Japs completely from now on."
"Already at that point."
After dumping nukes of trouble on multiple countries, their national prestige had tanked—no one would complain if they refused jobs for a while.
They might pull worse stunts to replace the lost 11 S-grade Hunters, but there was no stopping it now.
To do that, he needed to grow stronger and build greater power.
Like Olympus, which had judged Japan in one fell swoop.
Sorting his thoughts, Yoo Seongwon first considered names for these kids.
***
Japan, Tokyo Special Task Force Secret Research Lab.
Officially, this facility on Tokyo's outskirts developed magistone weapons and gear for the Special Task Force. In truth, it experimented on Hunters and Awakened children gathered from across the country.
The Hunters brought here were those too gravely injured to fight, kids unable to afford treatment and reliant on state facilities, or those ousted from guilds by rivals...
Promised care or jobs as researchers, these children were instead sacrificed to human experiments.
"Bodies everywhere again today. Whew~ Exhausting. Kimura-senpai, let's incinerate them quick and go."
Today's researchers, in white hazmat suits, loaded carts with corpses from failed experiments and wheeled them to the outdoor incinerator.
Corpses of all ages and genders, marred by wounds, pus, and disease, were dumped like trash. One researcher remarked as he worked.
"Sigh~ No idea why they put the incinerator outside, Kimura-senpai. Machines could handle it now... Why make us haul them manually? Sheesh~"
"Installation costs more than our labor. Plus, breakdowns. Look at these—the monster-hybrid experiments produced strong acid stomach fluids. Machines get damaged a lot."
"Ah, got it. Anyway, load 'em up and start the machine..."
Thud.
The moment the subordinate touched a corpse, a crossbow bolt pierced his throat, killing him instantly.
Assuming intruders, Kimura reached for his radio—but a bolt through his throat silenced him before he could speak.
Confirming them dead, figures emerged from the bushes.
"Clean work, right?"
"Your handiwork, support? Always clean. Whoa! Tons of bodies! Jackpot!"
[I see the entrance.]
They were followers of the constellation Slaughter King: the superhuman Pastor Lee, Park Sookja, and Kwak Wonho.
Having heard Japan's S-grade Hunters had dropped from 16 to 5 overnight, they'd crossed the distant sea to loot whatever they could for profit—and now searched for the entrance amid the corpse-laden carts.