Divine Seat
June 21st, Monday.
"What the hell is this woman who looks like a Moai statue."
I was briefly speechless. As far as I knew, Park Su-ho was the type who was extremely picky about a woman's face. The Moai lookalike standing next to him in the photo was, no matter how you sliced it, nowhere near beautiful.
If her hair were any shorter, I'd have mistaken her for a guy.
Then maybe her body was outstanding?
No. She and Park Su-ho were both wearing something that looked like training clothes, and there was almost no difference between their builds. Her chest was a sheer cliff face, and her waist had no curves to speak of — thick as a log. Even her exposed arms and hands were large and chunky. She had zero feminine appeal whatsoever.
I sent the message to Park Su-ho. She wasn't just ugly — she was too ugly. The orc he'd met at the club last time had at least looked vaguely like a woman. This Moai was a non-starter no matter how you looked at it.
"This bastard. How long has it even been since he lost his virginity, and he's already out here fucking around."
But why screw a woman like that? Had he developed an ugly-girl fetish? Or was any woman good enough?
Is he dating her out of a sense of responsibility? Or is her pussy some kind of legendary masterpiece? Does she look like that but still rate three Michelin stars down there?
Even if she spread her legs for free with no strings attached, I felt zero desire to hit that.
Free access? Ah, wait — is this that thing. Sex evangelism.
Sex evangelism.
A honey trap. Recruiting people into a cult by letting them sleep with women.
I'd first learned about sex evangelism in my third year of high school. Hearing that a cult somehow had a lot of pretty girls, I'd spent summer break loitering around the places where cultists showed up the most. Most of the women who tried to reel me in had been middle-aged aunties, and I still remembered how pissed off I'd been.
"Ugh."
A photo of Park Su-ho kissing the Moai arrived.
Park Su-ho. This bastard had actually gone and sent me this disgusting image. I seriously considered uploading it online and putting him on blast.
I had a feeling that talking to Park Su-ho any longer would become a headache.
Park Su-ho changing this much…. Sex evangelism really is something else.
June 23rd, Wednesday.
I decided to help Baek Jieun again today. Originally I'd only agreed to fill in for her injured subordinate for a week, but the subordinate's recovery was slower than expected, so I'd extended my help a little longer.
Lately Baek Jieun had been obsessed with hunting down the A-Class awakened criminal known as the Thorn Mask. She was throwing every ability and connection she had into tracking him.
Baek Jieun personally hates the Thorn Mask, and right now all of Korea's attention is fixed on him.
Korea had its share of famous awakened criminals. But one who drew this much attention was rare. Awakened criminals who massacred civilians were almost unheard of in Korea. On top of that, the Thorn Mask tortured people before killing them. He'd even deliberately left a young girl alive.
The Association is getting slammed for failing to catch the Thorn Mask. People are starting to fear the awakened.
That wasn't good for me either.
If discrimination against the awakened increased, a hunter's standing shrank with it. That was exactly why the Hunter Association was going all-out on image management.
But I can't just chase the Thorn Mask forever. Baek Jieun's duties aren't limited to that.
Her rank was far too high to fixate on a single case.
"Yujin! He's heading your way!"
Baek Jieun's voice came through the earpiece. I pushed off the utility pole I'd been leaning against and straightened up.
About fifty meters out, the target appeared. A middle-aged man sprinting like a madman, arm wounded and cold sweat pouring down his face. Go Pil-su, a B-Class awakened criminal. The bastard had had the balls to steal Association property and sell it.
"Capture him alive! Alive!"
Baek Jieun repeated herself. This wasn't my first time working with her against awakened criminals. Most of them were A- to B-Class. I wasn't facing them alone either, so there had never been a truly dangerous moment. Whenever I saw an opening, I killed the awakened criminals without hesitation.
The moment the opponent was an awakened criminal, it counted as self-defense. Killing was also easier than capturing them alive.
This time I'll listen to Baek Jieun.
Crackling red lightning writhed along Hwaryeonbido.
"Out of my way!!"
I swung Hwaryeonbido at Go Pil-su as he bellowed in rage. A lightning-wreathed slash flew toward him. He was B-Class. Something this light wouldn't kill him.
If he dies, oh well.
Go Pil-su flinched and hurriedly activated his ability. A translucent barrier wrapped around his body. The slash that touched the barrier changed direction and came flying back at me.
Reflection Barrier.
Go Pil-su's ability.
The slash vanished mid-flight, and the red lightning came at me instead.
Been a while. Let's use that. Lightning Reflection!
Lightning counter!
I didn't even need to jump anymore. I simply swung my blade and batted the crimson thunder back.
"You crazy bastard!!"
Go Pil-su's Reflection Barrier appeared again. This time he reflected the crimson lightning skyward instead of back at me.
Let's see how much he can reflect.
I raised my left hand. Crackling sparks leapt around my fingers. The air around me seemed to lift upward. And then, a moment later, a bolt of lightning crashed down on Go Pil-su. A literal bolt from the blue.
KRA-KOOM! Rumble-rumble-RUMBLE! CRASH!
Go Pil-su reflected the lightning. But it wasn't just one bolt. I kept dropping thunderbolts until the barrier shattered.
CRASH CRASH CRASH CRASH!
A Reflection Barrier wasn't invincible. It had limits. If it didn't, he'd be S-Class, not B-Class.
The Reflection Barrier bounced six bolts total before it broke. The seventh bolt hit Go Pil-su and dropped him to the ground, body scorched black.
Dead?
I walked over and nudged his head with the tip of my shoe.
"Ghh… ghhh…."
He reacted. Not dead.
I folded my arms and waited. Baek Jieun and the Association staff appeared.
"Seong Yujin! You didn't kill him, right?!"
"I didn't."
Baek Jieun used her ability to restrain him. Something like cords of light unspooled from her hands and wound around him tight. That was her power.
Go Pil-su hadn't committed a crime serious enough for the death penalty, so he'd rot for a few decades in a special prison for the awakened. Ordinary theft wouldn't warrant that, but stealing Association property as an awakened criminal stacked the charges hard.
The Association staff hauled Go Pil-su away. Baek Jieun clapped me on the shoulder with a light, relieved smile.
"Nice work. I've been worried about you lately with how rough you've looked, but you're fine. This noona will give you a reward. Let's go to the car."
I caught the scent of sex on her breath.
What reward she meant was obvious. I'd been receiving it whenever we had free time over the past week — there was no way I wouldn't know.
"Looking rough? I'm always at my best."
After confirming no one was around, I slipped my hand under Baek Jieun's top. I tugged her bra down slightly and cupped her breast. Her stiff nipple jabbed against my fingers.
"What are you talking about. You've been walking around with a death face. You did well today, so this noona will give you some extra service."
Baek Jieun slid her hand into my pants. Her hand, cooler than the ambient temperature, kneaded my balls. It felt good.
The moment we got into the car we stripped naked and devoured each other. I drove my cock into her pussy while sucking hard on her pointed nipples.
A storm of ecstasy rolled through once, and I sank my limp body into the seat.
"So what's really going on? Tell this noona."
"Do you know Han Harin?"
"I do. Han Ayeong's little sister, and… the girl you're close with. Is she your girlfriend?"
"Something like that. Harin went to Japan with Suwol Guild members to clear a Corruption Dungeon… and there's been no word at all. Look into it for me."
"Dungeon raids running long isn't unusual. How many days without contact?"
"They left for Hokkaido, Japan at dawn on the twelfth…. So eleven days ago?"
"That's almost two weeks. Considering Suwol Guild's strength, that is definitely weird…. There should at least be rumors by now… are they hiding something? Okay. I'll look into it."
"Thanks, Jieun."
"You helped me, so I'm helping you."
Our eyes met. Her sweat-damp face was sexy. I couldn't hold back and climbed on top of her.
"Aaaahhh!"
The car rocked.
That evening, for the first time in a week, I clocked out on time. Now I understood why Baek Jieun's subordinate was recovering so slowly. Dealing with a workaholic like her piled on an insane amount of fatigue. Unlike me, who had Complete Recovery, that subordinate didn't have it.
Baek Jieun doesn't have Complete Recovery either…. Is her blood made of iron or something.
I sat on the couch and rested.
Normally I would have barged into Han Harin's place and hung out, but Han Harin wasn't there right now.
I ate the dinner Yuria had packed for me in a lunchbox.
Bzzzzzzzzz.
My smartphone buzzed. The caller was Baek Jieun.
"Hey. Jieun. Did you find a lead on the Thorn Mask?"
"That goddamn Thorn Mask bastard! …No. That's not why I called. I looked into Han Harin and the Suwol Guild like you asked this afternoon."
"……."
I felt tension coil through my body. I hadn't expected Baek Jieun to investigate this fast.
I waited quietly for her to continue.
"Looks like the raid failed. I stormed into Suwol Guild and leaned on them hard before they finally talked."
"…Failed? Why didn't they announce it? Why didn't the Association know?"
"Because it happened in Japan, not domestically. Suwol Guild is still saying the failure isn't confirmed, but… from where I'm sitting, it's a confirmed failure. They're trying to clean it up themselves somehow."
"That's impossible. There's no way Suwol Guild would fail to clear a mere A-Class Corruption Dungeon."
What kind of place was Suwol Guild? A massive guild ranked second among Korea's top ten. It was also where S-Class hunter Han Ayeong belonged. Right now, though, Han Ayeong was clearing an S-Class dungeon in Australia and couldn't be reached.
"From what I heard, a double dungeon phenomenon occurred. They got caught up in it while clearing the Corruption Dungeon."
Double dungeon.
A recently coined term for the phenomenon of a new dungeon appearing inside a Corruption Dungeon.
"So Han Harin is missing?"
"That's right. More precisely, Han Harin and all sixty-five Suwol Guild members are missing. Suwol Guild declared they'll handle the cleanup somehow. Looks like they're dispatching a second raid team. They've already coordinated with the Japanese Association too."
"……."
Anxiety surged through me.
Missing.
It was a word that offered hope, but in the hunter world it meant death. Of all the hunters who went missing, fewer than one percent ever returned.