Chapter 95
Chapter 95
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: Betrayal and the Baekdu Tree
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“Damn it! They said early S-Rank! But he's unscathed?!”
Gabrio, having failed his ambush on Ji-seok and returned to his residence, lashed out at an innocent wall.
“Boss, looks like that Jose bastard tricked us.”
His subordinate Domingo glanced at the hole Gabrio had punched in the wall.
“Shit…. What do we do?”
“No need to worry, bro. You're S-Rank—one of the top ones, right? That guy just got lucky dodging it. This time, we'll set up the whole place in advance, and when he shows, put a hole right in his skull. I've already rounded up all the men.”
Domingo always said the most pleasing things, which was why he was Gabrio's favorite subordinate. Gabrio knew it was flattery but couldn't let him go—and in truth, following his advice had never backfired.
“Yeah, fuck, I'm not outmatched by him. He's only fresh S-Rank, right? And no matter who it is, they can't walk away unscathed, yeah?”
“Exactly.”
Domingo poured Gabrio's favorite whiskey into a glass.
“Yeah, that's right.”
Gabrio nodded vigorously, as if trying to shake off his unease, and threw back the drink.
Clunk.
Gabrio's legs buckled, and he grabbed the edge of the desk to keep from collapsing.
“What…. What is it?”
“What else? Poison. Took some doing to find stuff that works on S-Ranks.”
“Domingo…. You? Why?”
“Why? That lunatic's gonna come charging in for revenge—no need for us all to die, right?”
“You…. You're the one who said attacking was a good idea?”
Gabrio glared at Domingo with bloodshot eyes, veins bulging.
“I figured he'd drop dead too. Who'd have thought he'd tank an ambush from a fellow S-Rank—a long-range specialist, no less. But he pulled through? Nothing to do but offer you up as tribute and grovel.”
“Damn….”
Thud.
Gabrio collapsed.
“Sacrifice for the organization.”
Boom!
As he approached the fallen Gabrio, the wall shattered, and two figures leaped inside.
* * *
Holding Na-young, I smashed through the wall of Gabrio's mansion. Inside lay a man on the floor, with a burly guy standing beside him.
“You?”
I set Na-young down, and she fixed her glare on the burly man.
“Yes?”
“You're the one, huh?”
“Ah…. No way! This guy's Gabrio! He's the boss. I took him down!”
The burly man pointed at Gabrio sprawled on the floor. Gabrio seemed paralyzed by some drug—his limbs limp—but he was conscious, rolling his blood-red eyes and glaring back and forth between us and the burly man.
Na-young stared silently at the burly man as he made excuses.
“Nope. It's you. You're the one pulling the strings. That guy's just a puppet.”
I could tell he was lying from his face and body language. Na-young knew from probing his mind.
“I'm just a grunt! For real!”
The burly man stuck to his lies right up to the end.
“People these days—trying to ruin my first cozy time with my boyfriend in ages by shooting at us?”
Purple mana churned violently around Na-young.
“Not me, I swear?!”
Na-young ignored him and advanced step by step. Sweat beaded on the burly man's forehead.
“Fuck! Get in here! Take 'em down!”
The burly man bellowed, but nothing happened. Na-young kept closing in, one step at a time.
“What the hell? You bastards! Take 'em down!”
He backpedaled, screaming his lungs out, but no one came.
“What are you….”
When we'd opened Gabrio's door, the hallway had been littered with his collapsed subordinates. Na-young had already subdued them all.
“Huh…. How?”
The burly man stared at Na-young in horror. Purple mana orbs bobbed into existence around her.
One of the round orbs stretched into a long, needle shape—thick, pointed at both ends.
“Argh!”
It rocketed forward like a bullet, piercing his thigh and drilling a hole in the floor.
“W-wait! Money! I'll give you money! Safe's over there! Argh!!!”
He pointed frantically at the safe and screamed, but Na-young ignored him and fired a mana needle into his other thigh.
“Arrrrgh!!! Gah…. S-sorry! Please, just once—mercy!”
The man collapsed to the floor, gasping and begging.
But another mana needle plunged mercilessly into his shoulder.
“Argh! You psycho bitch! The organization's gonna avenge me! Your family's back in Korea—they're all….”
Splat.
The aura I fired pulverized the burly man's head. Gabrio's eyes bulged at the sight.
“Why?”
Na-young asked without looking my way.
“Don't dirty your hands. I'll handle scum like this.”
“Only dirty your hands, oppa? Aren't we doing this together?”
Na-young crouched in front of Gabrio.
Terror flooded Gabrio's reddened eyes. Na-young placed her hand on his head.
* * *
“....”
Tahoe stared at my face in silence.
“Why?”
“Are you here to help our country? Or destroy it?”
“What're you talking about?”
“Killing two of Mexico's only four S-Rank Hunters looks like you're gunning for destruction…. But then you're handing out cash to the citizens and making investments?”
“I don't strike first, so don't strike me.”
“Sigh…. The four remaining cartels up northwest already reached out about a peace treaty. Gotta be spooked, watching two of 'em drop in seconds.”
“Well, long as they don't mess with us.”
After that, the factory project sailed along like it had a tailwind. The northwest cartel used to hijack trucks coming down from the States and shake Tahoe down for payoffs, but that stopped—supplies started arriving faster.
And crushing the Rica Cartel—which was bigger than Jackson's—brought in another influx of cash. Our dwindling investment funds ended up surpassing the original amount.
I carved out a few undisturbed days to sightsee with Na-young.
Everything was progressing smoothly. All that was left was wrapping up the schedule and heading back to Korea.
* * *
I was taking it easy with my routine when a disaster alert text chimed.
“Hm?”
It was a Korean-number disaster alert.
Before I could read it, my phone rang.
“Director Baek. What's up….”
“Hunter Lee Ji-seok, where are you right now?”
I could hear the urgency in Director Baek Young-shin's voice.
“Mexico.”
“Figured…. You seen the news?”
“Nope. What's going on?”
“Trees are growing on Baekdu Mountain.”
“Trees…. Yeah, it's a mountain.”
“The issue's the size and speed. It's already topped hundreds of meters, and the roots are burrowing even faster by our estimates. They're digging so deep and thick it's shaking the ground—small quakes have hit several times already.”
As Director Baek spoke, I pulled up news footage on my computer.
Freakishly rapid growth. If I hadn't heard beforehand, I'd have sworn it was CGI or fast-forwarded—the roots were tearing up the earth at that pace. Branches shot out in every direction, reaching endlessly for the sky.
Soldiers at a distance lobbed shells that snapped off house-sized limbs, only for others to fill the gaps in seconds.
They dumped incendiary bombs; mages rained down fire magic. No dice. The tree wouldn't ignite—like it was soaked—merely slowing its growth a hair from bits burning or breaking.
“I'm heading out now.”
“Please hurry. If it hits Baekdu's ley lines, we could get a massive eruption on top of a huge quake.”
I hung up and rounded up the team.
“Tahoe, you good holding things down here? Leaving President Yang and the engineers behind.”
“No issue. Handling your homeland's crisis first goes without saying.”
“Everyone, pack up. Wheels up in one hour.”
We boarded the plane. At super high speed, it'd take six hours—but those hours dragged on forever.
We entered North Korean airspace, still far out, but the tree was already visible. Growing several kilometers east of Baekdu, right on the Korea-China border.
It had sprouted from high ground in the first place, piercing the clouds—and it was still writhing, growing.
“No time for landing. We're jumping.”
Heading to a runway, then driving to the site? Time sink.
“Yes?”
Everyone's eyes went wide as they stared at me.
“Dropping altitude and speed as low as it'll go—no worries.”
I handed an emergency parachute to Sang-hun.
“We're… jumping from the sky now too?”
“Hunter Lee Ji-seok, I…. I have acrophobia….”
The others resigned themselves with half shrugs, but Hyeong-bin's face went ashen.
“Then head back. Can't turn the plane around for one guy. Catch up later.”
Ye-seul—clearly planning to go—strapped on her parachute and took Hyeong-bin's hand.
“It's fine if you come later.”
Hyeong-bin squeezed his eyes shut.
“I…. I'll go too.”
Looks like with his girlfriend jumping, he couldn't stomach staying behind alone.
Once prepped, the co-pilot came out to check everyone's parachutes and explain the controls.
This wasn't a plane built for high-altitude drops, so we cracked the rear lower emergency hatch.
Whoosh!!!
Even slowed down, the high-speed wind whipped everyone's hair.
“Good luck!”
The co-pilot, holding the hatch open and hanging back, gave a thumbs-up.
“Going.”
I jumped first, Na-young right behind. Neither of us needed parachutes.
Na-young threw up a mana shield to guard her face; my full-body armor shrugged off the wind.
The rest donned goggles and leaped into the sky.
Heavy and unbraked, I plummeted fastest. Close to the ground, I blasted aura from my feet to slow. Didn't bother fully stopping—landed hard, shockwave rippling out.
Na-young descended gracefully on her cape’s float magic.
Looking skyward, the others deployed parachutes one by one. Hyeong-bin was pale as a ghost but got his open in time.
“Hm? Sang-hun's not popping his?”
“Face doesn't look scared—what's up?”
They were drifting closer; I was debating catching him when Sang-hun formed a round disc in his hand and hurled it downward. It curved back like a boomerang; he booted it to shed speed. Dozens more followed—he tossed, controlled, and kicked them, easing down gradually. Solid disc control, nimble footwork.
Thud.
Deceleration short; his legs screamed—Sang-hun's face twisted in pain.
“New trick?”
“Light Slicer skill. Lets me make light discs to throw or use as platforms. Used it in Mexico last time too, but you dove into the Gate before you saw.”
“Then why strap on a parachute?”
“Scary….”
As Sang-hun and I chatted skills, the others touched down one after another.
“Hoo….”
“Take it slow coming after.”
No time to wait for everyone to regroup—I scooped up Na-young and bolted.
“Hahaha, this vacation just won't end.”
Sang-hun let out a hollow laugh. Mexico trip turned into Gate Break cleanup, construction oversight, and now Baekdu monster-tree duty—fair enough.