Divine Seat

The Gwangwon Sect had been annihilated.

A cult that had casually committed human sacrifice — an act that horrified the entire world. There was no way they could continue operating as if nothing had happened.

The captured fanatics had their brainwashing undone and returned to ordinary people. But not all of them came back. Among the devotees, those who had sunk too deep into the faith continued to worship even after the brainwashing was lifted. Most of them ended in suicide or execution.

The Suwol Guild had failed its dungeon raid and thoroughly embarrassed itself.

Before the regression, they had dispatched a second assault team. This time, with the Japanese government and Association stepping in aggressively, no second team was ever sent.

Japan aggressively publicized its own achievements.

Anyone who so much as opened the internet could find the news: Japan's proud S-Class Hunter, Amatsuka Koyori, had smashed the wicked Gwangwon Sect's temple and rescued the kidnapped civilians along with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the Suwol Guild's assault team.

The Suwol Guild's reputation took a hit.

People didn't pile on too hard about the failure. Only a minority actually criticized them.

Opinions floated around online: They've done well so far, so one failure can be forgiven. They'll do better next time. Everyone fails eventually.

That's just public opinion, though. The Suwol Guild's evaluation definitely dropped because of this failure.

I exposed one of the Suwol Guild's scandals, partly to shift the narrative. The story was that the Suwol Guild had colluded with an Association executive to monopolize several dungeons. But it barely made a ripple. Every post I put up was immediately flooded with comments defending the guild.

No need to even hack this. One hundred percent paid comment bots.

They must have bought off the reporters too — not a single online article appeared. To actually move public opinion, I'd need to expose something much bigger.

Not now. It might make a brief splash, but it wouldn't be enough to bring the Suwol Guild down.

The timing wasn't right.

Still, I should keep leaking their dirt bit by bit. These things pile up one by one — and when they finally blow, they blow that much harder.

Either way, the Gwangwon Sect business was finished.

What I'd gained this time was influence over Japan. Amatsuka Koyori, who absolutely trusted and followed me, had risen in standing, and Japanese politicians had begun to believe in the Wind God. The Japanese Prime Minister, in particular, had become a fervent devotee.

The Prime Minister made a killing off the things I prophesied. His approval ratings went up too, I heard.

Someday I'd need Japan's power again. When that day came, this would definitely pay off.

June 15th. Tuesday.

I drove out toward Gangwon Province before dawn. Normally this would be the hour I'd still be asleep next to Han Harin… but today I had something to do. Something fairly important.

Thorn Mask. Time to catch that bastard who made my life hell before the regression.

Right up until I regressed, the Korean Hunter Association hadn't even identified him, let alone captured him.

I suffered more than enough because of that son of a bitch.

Today, Thorn Mask would appear in a mountain village in Gangwon Province and carry out a massacre. He'd kill every single resident except one little girl — right in front of her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eyes.

On the way to Gangwon, I called Baek Jieun.

"…Hello? Yujin? What is it at this ungodly hour? Did you miss this noona that badly? Last time you asked for help you said you were too busy and couldn't."

Her voice was still rough from sleep.

"I really was busy then. But the info I gave you helped, didn't it?"

I'd fed Baek Jieun pieces of pre-regression information under various pretenses. She usually gave me intel, so this time I'd returned the favor.

"It helped a lot. How did you even find criminals who hadn't committed anything yet? Do you have some ability to see the future? Watching you predict a lighting rig falling in a studio… it's got to be a hundred percent…"

"It's not that. I've got my methods. The studio accident was something a shaman divined for me."

"Must be a damn good shaman. Where is she? I should go once myself."

"Trade secret… Actually, I regressed."

"Ah. I see. Can you give me some lottery numbers?"

"Lottery payouts aren't even that big. You don't believe me, do you?"

At A-Class Hunter level, lottery winnings barely registered.

"I believe you. You gave me that much detailed intel — how could I not?"

"Don't tell anyone else."

"I won't."

I casually confessed to Baek Jieun that I'd regressed thirty days into the past.

I could trust her.

More precisely, I trusted the absolute hypnosis on her. As long as it held, Baek Jieun would never betray me.

"So. Why the early-morning call?"

"Thorn Mask."

"……!!"

I could feel her shock through the line. Even now, Baek Jieun was still hunting the awakened criminal known as Thorn Mask.

"…You know who Thorn Mask is? Spit it out!"

"I don't know his identity. The bastard never got caught even before I regressed. That's why I'm going to confirm who he is right now. And catch him while I'm at it."

"Where are you?! I'm coming!"

"The location is…"

I told her without hesitation. It didn't matter if she showed up. She wouldn't get in my way.

"Jieun. You're putting the info I gave you to good use, right?"

"Obviously. Do you know how high my standing has gotten thanks to that intel? Even the executives are wary of me now. If I catch Thorn Mask on top of that… I'll climb even faster. I'm grateful to you."

Baek Jieun gaining power was good for me. That was part of why I kept feeding her pre-regression information.

"I'm going to bring down the Suwol Guild. Jieun, I need your help."

"You're about to do something insane. Who the hell do you think the Suwol Guild is?"

"I'll take them down eventually. You'll help me, right?"

"…You're serious. Well, I know the Suwol Guild has a lot of dirt under the surface. I'm not exactly a fan of them either… so if the chance comes later, I'll help."

"Thanks."

I sat in a tree and looked down over the mountain village.

A peaceful place. The sky was blue, and people worked the same way they had yesterday.

It was hard to believe a tragedy was only hours away.

I quietly watched the little girl. I didn't enter the village myself — if Thorn Mask saw me, he might not show at all.

Thorn Mask appears in front of the girl first. He subdues her, then makes her watch while he massacres the villagers.

That scene would include her parents and grandparents. And to a child in a place like this, every other villager was family too. That was just how mountain villages worked.

I watched her. She'd been wandering the village since morning. Every resident she ran into smiled and exchanged greetings. I sharpened my hearing and caught her name: Yu Chaea.

Noon drew closer.

Baek Jieun still hadn't appeared. She'd gotten lost on the way. She had a license, but she rarely drove herself, so it was entirely possible.

…There he is.

At the village entrance, a man in a black coat completely out of season appeared. And on his face, a white mask.

Thorn Mask. No question.

The moment I saw him, I moved. He approached Yu Chaea, who was examining insects near the entrance.

"Hey, kid."

Thorn Mask called to her.

"Yes? Who are you, mister? Why are you wearing a mask?"

"Just a mister passing through. Isn't this mask cool? Want this mister to show you something fun?"

"Something fun? Yes! Show me!"

Yu Chaea beamed, and Thorn Mask let out a low chuckle as he reached for her.

I snagged his hand with my left.

His head snapped toward me — the stranger who'd appeared out of nowhere. His eyes, visible through the gaps in the mask, went wide.

"Seong Yujin…?!"

"You know me? Well, I am pretty famous in the hunter scene."

I drove a knife into his side. His upper body reflexively folded forward. I grabbed his mask and yanked. It wouldn't come off easily — some kind of special effect, probably. I put force into my fingers and cracked it apart.

A twisted male face was revealed. I froze for a second.

…I've seen this face somewhere.

I couldn't quite place it. I wasn't the type who bothered remembering men's faces.

Whatever. Beat him first. I'll figure ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it out later.

I was about to smash my right fist into his head when thorn vines erupted from the ground and climbed my left arm. I had no choice but to let go of his hand. Otherwise the coiling vines would take the arm. Even with Complete Recovery, I wasn't eager to casually sacrifice a left arm.

Free of my grip, he put distance between us.

"Goddamn it! Seong Yujin! Why the hell are you here?!"

"Why are you here?"

"Not telling… is that it. If the Association knew, you wouldn't have come alone. I'll kill you here and slaughter every witness too."

"…Hey. Have we met before?"

"Trying to dig up my identity? Heh. Unfortunately for you, this is our first meeting. You'll die here without ever knowing who I am."

He gripped a thorn vine like a whip.

I narrowed my eyes.

If he wasn't lying, he'd never met the current me. But I was sure I'd seen him somewhere.

Before the regression, then. Not a Japanese national or Gwangwon Sect… Before that, I was running around with Baek Jieun, so…

Something Baek Jieun had said came back to me. That Thorn Mask might be someone from the Association.

"Ah."

I let out a breath. I'd got it.

"You're Jo Jinseong, aren't you?"

"……."

Jo Jinseong's face went terrifyingly stiff. I'd hit the mark.

"Special Cases Division, Association. B-Class Hunter Jo Jinseong. I bumped into you a few times while tagging along with Baek Jieun. Now I remember. So you were Thorn Mask? Damn, that's something. The culprit was this close the whole time. The Association doesn't know about your ability, does it? Did you go through a second awakening or something?"

Regression really was the best.

No matter how many shitty incidents piled up, one regression solved all of them.

"To think… you'd actually know me. You die here."

Jo Jinseong swung the thorn vine. He handled a vine over ten meters long pretty well. But to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my eyes it was slow. An A-Class awakened criminal on paper — in real skill, closer to B-Class.

I kicked the whip aside with the tip of my foot. Jo Jinseong clenched his teeth.

"Try blocking this!!"

Seven vines from the front. Three from the right, three from the left — all erupting from the ground and flying at me.

"Feels like tentacles. Disgusting."

If I dodged, Yu Chaea behind me would take a vine and die. Summoning a sword to cut them would be a fraction too late. So I decided to just take them. I reinforced my body with mana and met the vines head-on.

They didn't stop at battering me. They coiled around my body like snakes. My skin stung. Even with mana reinforcement, the thorns bit into flesh — because mana had soaked into the vines themselves.

"Ha, hahahaha! Stupid enough not to block or dodge? Your arrogance just killed you! Hahahahaha! To think the great Seong Yujin would die by my hand! Today's my lucky day!! Hahahahaha!"

Jo Jinseong laughed as he approached. Thorn Mask was famous for killing people in the most brutal ways. He was probably planning to torture me to death too.

"Reinforced your skin with mana? Let's see how long you last. Hold out for ten minutes and I'll let you live. I swear it on my name — you can trust me."

"Who the hell would believe that, you idiot."

"You will. Because believing is the only option you've got. Now, kid — watch carefully. Watch this idiot who tried to save you die slowly. Hahahahaha!"

"U-uhh…"

Yu Chaea had fallen backward, trembling. Tears filled both eyes. I looked forward again. Jo Jinseong was swaggering toward me. Five meters. Four. Three. Close enough.

Heavenly Mind.

The thorn vines binding me came loose under some unidentifiable force. I lunged forward and smashed my fist into his face. Blood and corn kernels sprayed from his mouth. My left fist drove up into his gut. Jo Jinseong's body lifted about five meters before crashing to the ground.

"Gyaaaaah!"

He screamed and still counterattacked. A single thorn vine shot for my throat. Slow. I snatched it.

Crackling lightning leapt out and burned the vine to ash.

I stomped on him. Legs first. I kicked his calf, then crushed his knee until it broke.

"Aaaagh! Aaaaaaagh!"

I broke his arms too. Crushed his fingers one by one and caved in his shoulders. I left the torso alone — one wrong step and he'd die too easily. Instead I used lightning. Time for some electrocution.

ZZZZZT.

"Aaaaaaaaaagh! S-stop!! I'm sorry! Please stop! Aaaaaaagh!"

"Because of you! I couldn't sleep at dawn! Got dragged out at all hours! Do you know how much shit I went through?!"

Baek Jieun had worked me half to death chasing this bastard's trail. Without him, I could've had sex with her at least seven more times.

ZZZZZT! ZZZZT!

"Stop! Stop it! Seong Yujin!! I said stop!! You son of a bitch!!"

From far off, Baek Jieun was shouting as she came running full tilt.

"Waaaaaaah!"

Yu Chaea burst into tears.

I calculated the distance to Baek Jieun. Enough time for about two more rounds of electrocution. I hurriedly called up the current again.

"Gguuuuuuuh!"

His screams echoed through the mountain village.