Chapter 83
Chapter 83
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: Worse Than Demons
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“…In some ways, he’s more of a headache than a Demon.”
“Why not just leave him as a Demon? Even if we try to bring him in, it won’t look good for Seoul Guild, right?”
“You’re going to give up on an SS-rank? This info is already spreading across the world right now. What if he defects to hunters from another country?”
“No, even without defecting, just having him out there like half a Scavenger is enough to drive us insane with anxiety… We have to pull him to our side somehow, don’t we?”
For the South Korean government, the mere existence of such guild-level firepower running unchecked was already a massive source of stress.
That was why, no matter what treatment they had to offer, their honest desire was to integrate him into Korean society if possible.
“Don’t make me laugh. The wounds from the Shin Gangnam incident haven’t even healed yet, and you want to bring in that guy? Does that even make sense?”
“An SS-rank is honestly more valuable on that side anyway. He fought Seoul Guild and Shin Gangnam and won—doesn’t that say it all?”
“Go Cheonsu, Guild Master!”
“What? Did I say something wrong? If you lost to him, just accept your fate, Oh Kyung-hoon. It might be better if you joined him instead. What do you think?”
“Then your son sticking to Baekya Guild and dying was fate too, huh.”
“Have you said everything you wanted?”
Amid the sharp barbs flying between two of the three major guilds, the Olympus side was strangely quiet.
They operated on a global scale, so they were probably keeping a slight distance from Korean politics, pondering how to lure him into their guild.
‘Man, they never change. Is this world just hopeless?’
Baek Gayeon let out a sigh as she watched.
No one was thinking about Yoo Seongwon’s existence or what his emergence truly meant—they were only scheming how to win over an SS-rank hunter and how to keep him in check. It was downright pitiful.
‘Sigh… Truly pathetic.’
Even though these two guild masters were responsible for hundreds or thousands of members and played key roles in South Korea’s safety, they weren’t thinking big picture at all.
They should be considering the possibility of more ‘miracles’ like Yoo Seongwon emerging and feeling greater responsibility toward national and societal management, but they weren’t, which made it frustrating.
‘Ugh… No wonder that guy wants to vanish. Anyway, suffer all you want, you idiots.’
“Leaving that aside, what about Baekya Guild? Hiding him was clearly illegal.”
“From what I see, only Guild Master Shin Somi and her daughter Shin Ayoung were involved. The rest of the guild members claim they didn’t know—doesn’t that mean it’s not the whole guild’s issue?”
“If the guild master’s involved, it’s as good as the entire guild’s responsibility. She’s a public figure, after all…”
But after seeing what happened with Blue Dragon Guild today, touching it felt like needlessly provoking an SS-rank hunter.
Right now, both the government and the association desperately wanted to soothe Yoo Seongwon and draw him into the Korean hunter scene.
It would help check Blue Dragon Guild, which had risen to the top alone among the three major guilds, but more importantly, it would boost national safety trust metrics and put more pressure on the Scavengers inside Korea.
“Don’t drink the kimchi soup yet. That guy isn’t some comic-book teen or twenty-something pushover— if simple persuasion worked, I wouldn’t have suffered this much.”
“So what do we do?”
“…Didn’t you hear what I just said? Ugh~”
They weren’t getting it either, so Baek Gayeon sighed again.
No, maybe they just didn’t want to understand.
In other words, convincing him meant fixing the world into something that looked hopeful, but that path was extremely arduous and rough—and even if reached, few would appreciate it, so they had no desire to go there.
‘Well, it’s just the beginning, no need to rush.’
Yoo Seongwon was still level 45. He had plenty of levels left to grow and even higher potential to get stronger.
Even reaching humanity’s first SSS-rank without a constellation might change his mind, so she decided to watch leisurely how they would act.
***
The next day.
Geumgangsan Undercity.
Thanks to the old North Korean government developing it as the ‘Geumgangsan International Tourism Special District,’ it had buildings and facilities, making it a popular Undercity.
Of course, the adjacent Gangwon Province area wasn’t very prosperous, so the Scavengers living here traded with Slaughter King forces, hunted nearby monsters, or even engaged in real agriculture.
They also served as a neutral trading hub for deals between Russian and Japanese Scavengers.
“…It’s not as brutal as I thought.”
Having visited an Undercity for the first time, Yoo Seongwon was a bit surprised to see it functioning more like a normal city than expected.
In his imagination, an Undercity was like a lawless wasteland straight out of Fist of the North Star, but it just felt like an aging city that hadn’t been redeveloped.
After the chaos in Seoul, he had evacuated with Shin Somi, the guild master, and now they were here to restock supplies.
“It’s a difference in rulers and environment. Places like ‘Kaesong’ or ‘Nampo’ are near populous capital areas, so they’re profitable for crime, but things are different here—it’s more of a symbiotic Scavenger city, neutral territory.”
“What about Kaesong or Nampo then?”
“…Human rancher Pastor Lee runs them—need I say more?”
Yoo Seongwon could already imagine the horror without hearing more.
The guy ran a ‘human ranch,’ and even other Scavengers found his faction horrifying, so he didn’t even want to think about it.
Of course, that didn’t make this place as safe as a normal city.
“Hey, a new face with a woman in tow?”
“Thought Geumgangsan was an easy mark?”
“This is still a Scavenger den, you know. Heh heh.”
“…Yeah, exactly. Bringing a beauty like this into a Scavenger den without trash like you showing up? Wouldn’t make sense.”
Right— no matter how normal it seemed, it was still a Scavenger city.
No proper security, so of course a group of one unfamiliar man and woman would attract attention.
Conversely, Yoo Seongwon smiled as if pleased, and the approaching Scavengers grinned slyly, spouting their rehearsed pickup lines.
“What, you know the drill? Then hand over that bitch right—”
“Hey! Wait, hold up, man! That’s him! The SS-rank, Golden Demon Knight! Dumbass! Look! Look at this!”
“…Huh? Eeeek!”
One Scavenger who looked closely at Yoo Seongwon’s face startled and shoved a publicly circulated wanted photo of him at the others.
After clashing with Blue Dragon Guild, his identity had been exposed worldwide, so anyone could recognize him as the SS-rank Golden Demon Knight.
“We mistook you for someone else! Sorry!”
“Let’s bolt!”
“H-Have a great date!”
Like some bizarre circus act, they bowed 90 degrees in apology before scampering off.
They had nearly messed with one of South Korea’s two SS-rank Demons—today, they owed their lives ten times over to the gods.
Watching the absurd show, Yoo Seongwon and Shin Somi exchanged awkward glances.
“Man, no such thing as personal info privacy in this world.”
“No wonder everyone here’s been so nice and polite. Not ripping us off either~”
“Ayoung would’ve found this hilarious.”
Only Shin Somi and Yoo Seongwon had come here. They hadn’t had time to link up with Shin Ayoung.
They’d been in touch, but couldn’t meet, so he’d left her with Elder Baek Gayeon, and now it was just the two of them.
They needed to hide for a while and restock food and supplies, and with searches and ID checks tightened in cities due to the incident, Undercity was the only option.
“If it’s like this here, it won’t die down anytime soon, huh?”
“No way it will. An SS-rank is top-tier worldwide… and now his identity’s out~”
“Well, that’s obvious, but what about you, Guild Master Somi? Baekya Guild looks totally in cahoots with me now. Can you even go back?”
“If not, you’ll have to take responsibility. Hehe.”
She pointed at Yoo Seongwon with a sly finger, her expression mischievous.
It was an endearing gesture—freed from guild duties, she wasn’t wearing her usual stern face but looked more relaxed, almost girlishly youthful.
Seeing her like that, so unlike her age, made Yoo Seongwon’s heart skip.
‘…On the flip side, it shows how hellish the guild master seat is, huh?’
“Why? Feeling burdened?”
“It reminds me who Ayoung takes after. Anyway, I’ll take responsibility. Obviously. The moment I went toe-to-toe with Blue Dragon Guild, it was sealed.”
“I believed you’d come. You’re not a bad person. Just didn’t expect you to charge in so recklessly. With Chairman Bae, you were cautious enough to get captured.”
“That’s because my own pain or scars I can endure alone, but others’? Not the same. Bad memories last a lifetime. Anyway, you’ve given me plenty of trust, so I’m paying it back.”
Even as he said it, Yoo Seongwon flushed slightly, embarrassed.
Having no experience with romance in his life, he struggled with personal distance.
So he framed it as mere ‘trust’ to escape the mood quickly.
“A-Anyway~ what happens next? Ugh, hate to think about it, but we have to.”
“Hmm~ Seoul Guild will oppose fiercely and demand reparations with Shin Gangnam’s elites. But Chairman Bae’s issue complicates it—they’ll have to leave it to the courts eventually… Whoever they side with, it’s hell; the judges’ stomachs will rupture.”
“Looks like they’ll pin Chairman Bae as wrong but you half-wrong too, to squeeze compensation…….”
“Then the SS-rank hunter slips away. Anyway, soon you’ll have to choose.”
The choice before Yoo Seongwon.
Association? Guild? Or keep running like a Scavenger?
Whatever he picked, the world wouldn’t leave him alone, so it bred worry and stress.
He’d thrashed about to avoid this… but failed, leaving him hollow. Still, he seemed to have thought it through and spoke to Shin Somi.
“Ultimately, my goal’s one thing. Do what I want without interference or coercion. Everything on my terms~ For that, no matter who I ally with, I just need to get stronger.”
“So, level up after all.”
“No. Not just leveling. Fighting Blue Dragon Guild taught me that. Even elite few can’t always win. To fight an organization, you need one.”
“Organization? You mean?”
Was he planning to form a guild? Seeing his resolute expression, she tensed.
Was she witnessing a historic turning point for Korea?
A new guild from an SS-rank hunter. She expected massive shockwaves……
“So I’m doing more knight summons. All remaining reward points! Straight into knight gacha.”
As always, the small-scale man’s vision had its limits.
He’d built it up dramatically, but it boiled down to summoning more knights to form an elite squad.
Shin Somi could only smile bitterly.
“…Hold on? Knight gacha? You mean… drawing those knights?”