Chapter 5
Chapter 5
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: The Hyena Dreaming of Retirement
-----------------------------------------------------------------
What should I do?
A powerful enemy shows up out of nowhere on the weekend when I'm completely unarmed. I can't hide my bewilderment.
Honestly, it startled me more than running into a monster in a hunting ground.
As a seasoned hyena, I know how to dodge even the strongest monsters without engaging them. But that hard-earned knowledge seems useless right now.
"Damn it."
I hurriedly turned on my smartphone and checked the 33 missed calls. Shockingly, 21 of them were from the same person.
It was truly astonishing.
An inexplicable tenacity sent chills down my spine.
"Hey! Yu Je-a! I know you're in there! You gonna open up or not?"
She must have seen the lights on in my floor before coming to the apartment entrance.
For now, I decided to open the door.
I'd handle whatever came next with quick thinking.
*Ding-dong.*
With the sound of the door lock, Yu Ji-a, my older sister, came in.
"Ring the bell, the bell. What kind of girl are you, always so hot-tempered..."
I tried to play it cool and said that, but instead of a reply, I got a knee to the gut.
"Ugh!"
Even I get pissed if I'm hit out of the blue.
"Hey! Do you hit people the second you see them?"
I yelled at my sister. But her expression wasn't normal. Her face was flushed, and her eyes were a bit teary.
...I actually know why she's like this.
Honestly, I wanted to start with an apology, but for some reason, the words wouldn't come out easily.
"You. Did we make a promise or not?"
She hit my chest again and asked.
"......We did."
No denying it.
"We did! We did! And you pull this crap! You idiot! You'll get yourself killed!"
"......"
Feeling guilty and awkward standing there, she suddenly started crying.
"Stop crying."
"I don't care, you idiot."
The promise I broke with my sister was this: no fighting monsters in the city.
She knows better than anyone.
How vulnerable an unarmed hyena is against monsters.
Even though I'm unusually strong and have reflexes that would make Olympic athletes weep, without a gun, I'm no different from any civilian.
Since I became a hyena 10 years ago, my sister hasn't had a single day without tears. Still, she forces herself to accept it because I'm experienced as a hyena and good at avoiding danger.
But she absolutely opposes me clashing with monsters unarmed in the city.
And for good reason—three years ago, I got seriously injured fighting a monster in the city.
I barely survived, and afterward, we made a promise.
If I see a monster in the city, I'll never fight it again.
"Didn't I tell you to run no matter what? Didn't I?"
Yet there I was on TV, so of course she exploded.
Our parents passed away early, and we've only had each other all these years. It's no wonder she's so obsessed with me.
On top of that, the fact that I started working as a hyena at a young age seems to be a lingering regret for her.
Seeing her cry made me feel bad too.
But I didn't show it.
"Ah! Quit crying already! You're bad luck. You'll scare away the fortune."
"*Sniff*, *hic*, you jerk. If you die, I'll be all alone..."
Maybe because she's only two years older, she feels more like a friend than a sister most of the time.
I've been the one earning money since 10 years ago.
"Man, how does a prosecutor sob like this and catch criminals?"
"Don't call me 'old man'!"
She yelled through her tears.
"You don't call prosecutors 'old man'? Then what do you call them?"
"I've outgrown that nickname ages ago. Where'd you get that from, some movie?"
After that, I calmed her down and led her to the sofa.
My 27-year-old sister is waiting to be appointed as a prosecutor.
We've always lived together, but after she entered the Judicial Research and Training Institute two years ago, we started living separately.
Now that she's graduated, she's insisting on moving back in, and I'm desperately trying to dissuade her.
Living alone is just more comfortable; I can't live with her anymore.
Still, I can't say it outright because she'd be really hurt.
Anyway, my sister has been through a lot.
She grabbed onto the bar exam for five years starting at a young age...
By the way, after Seoul got destroyed, the bar exam was revived. With all the universities in Seoul vaporized, law schools were pointless.
She started studying for the bar exam right after high school graduation.
It took her five years, but she somehow passed.
"So you should've gone to the courts. A crybaby like you as a prosecutor? I told you to work hard at the institute."
I teased her a bit while trying to soothe her, embarrassed. Even so, I didn't let go of the hand I'd grabbed.
"What! You think I didn't become a judge because I didn't want to?"
She got defensive but didn't let go of my hand either. In fact, she gripped it tighter.
Others might think it's weird, but it's just how we siblings are. We bicker on the surface, but when we're sorry, we hold hands tight. It's hard to say it out loud, so this is our way.
We could just apologize honestly, but because we're family, it's even harder.
"There must be scary people in the prosecution office, so go and do well. You idiot. I'm really worried."
"You keep calling your sister an idiot?"
There's a reason she took the bar exam. Our family has a grudge against the law, you could say. So when she decided to challenge it, I silently cheered her on.
"Anyway, quit your job soon. Your sister will take care of you from now on."
"Yeah, right. Why don't you buy me a house when I get married too?"
I snorted.
I said that, but one reason I'm retiring after 10 years as a hyena is my sister. The fact that I started this dangerous work at 15 has been a heavy burden on her heart for so long.
"What, if you ask me to buy one, I might not be able to say no."
She answered a bit coyly for some reason.
"Funny. What money does a civil servant make to buy a house?"
"Shut up! In movies, they get money from chairmen and stuff."
"Wow! You've become a corrupt official already. Thinking of bribes before even getting assigned."
"Whatever. You've saved up a lot of money. So stop going to those dangerous places now."
Her voice turned serious.
"Je-a."
"Yeah?"
"Not 'yeah', say 'Yes, sister.'"
Why is this woman so embarrassing?
Ignoring her, she kept pressuring me with those sparkling eyes. Damn, she demands the weirdest things. No choice, just this once.
"...Yes, sister."
"Hehehehe."
She calls me "hey" all the time, so hearing "sister" made her laugh out loud. My sister is a beauty, and her smile was stunning—like a painting. Giggling like that, she scooted closer and pulled me into a soft hug.
"Good boy. You've done so well for 10 years. So now, stop."
***
In the end, my sister decided to sleep over.
"There's plenty of rooms, so live here too, sister. Come on, don't be petty. Paying rent must be tough for you."
"Tough my ass. I'm the one paying your rent."
"Exactly. If we live together, you won't have to pay rent. I'll make you delicious side dishes every day?"
"No thanks. You can have your future wife make them later."
"Yeah, right, as if you have a girlfriend. Who'd date you? Your temper's awful. Though... your face is decent, I guess."
Unable to hold back, I threw a cushion at her, and she ran off with a toothbrush in her mouth.
"You, a 27-year-old virgin shouldn't talk about other guys' girlfriends. You'll be 28 in a few months!"
She fired back smoothly at my attack.
"Is not dating the same as can't date? Hmm? Your sister here is popular."
Not wrong.
No matter where she goes, sister Ji-a stands out as a beauty.
Truth is, she hasn't had a boyfriend because of our circumstances. In high school, I was out as a hyena, our parents had passed, leaving issues behind, and the home atmosphere was the worst.
After graduation, she spent her prime years—five years—on that damn bar exam, then another two years at the institute studying to be a judge.
She didn't become one in the end.
Anyway, pathetically, she's a virgin ghost at that age, never even dated once.
Someone please take her.
It brings tears to my eyes every time I see her. If worst comes to worst, I guess I'll have to live with her.
"You know, your true feelings are spilling out."
Before I knew it, she'd finished brushing and was glaring at me.
Oops, I've picked up a bad habit too. Blurting out my inner thoughts without realizing.
"My bad."
"Whatever. Was that last part for real? That my Je-a will live with his sister?"
"Of course it's bullshit. I'm good now. Go find yourself a man."
"Ew! Seriously! Stop with the guy talk."
She got annoyed—clearly sensitive about it—and stormed into the room.
Being single at that age just makes her pitiful from a little brother's perspective.
Without a man, she's overly attached to her one and only brother.
For her mental health, a decent young guy really needs to show up.
She's got the looks, and her figure is top-notch too. As someone who's done her laundry, I can vouch: she rocks a beautiful 75D cup.
Are the guys around her blind? Even Judicial Research and Training Institute students should be interested in women. Weird.
"Tsk tsk."
I shook my head, clicking my tongue. Soon, she fell asleep, and the house grew quiet again. This is why I don't want to live with her. She's just too much.
For someone who loves peace and quiet like me, my sister is overwhelming.
Pondering how to keep living separately, I turned on the computer.
I was gonna play some games.
"Ah......"
Then I remembered something I'd forgotten.
The memory card and notebook I'd recovered from the dead Wind Walker.
I needed to check them, but things had been so hectic since I got back that it slipped my mind.
I hurried to the room where I store my gear and grabbed the memory card and notebook. I flipped through the notebook quickly.
Its contents were very intriguing.
-Chasing a Lord-class monster. A Lord-class monster appeared in Gangnam.
"What?"
What the hell?
A Lord-class monster had appeared in Gangnam?
The huge info gave me goosebumps.
Here, Gangnam doesn't mean the old Seoul's Gangnam District. It literally means south of the Han River.
And powerful Lord-class monsters resided not in Gangnam, but Gangbuk. That's a major reason hunters can't advance into Gangbuk right now.
Monsters usually live scattered loosely, but sometimes they band together and invade humans. That's called a wave.
The one leading the pack is the Lord-class monster.
It's not a specific species designated as Lord-class; the strongest in the area automatically levels up. It gains special powers and strong influence over surrounding monsters.
Each is like a medieval European lord.
From what we've pieced together about monster hierarchy, it's very similar to feudalism.
In peacetime, they apparently duel each other. Then they unite under a 'King'—never confirmed, but conceptually speculated.
"Let's see......"
I inserted the memory card into my DSLR and connected it to the computer. Once the photos transferred, I eagerly opened them.
"This is..."
The dilapidated ruins in the photo were a place I knew.
The Noryangjin area in Dongjak-gu.
Close to the Han River, so high risk. Even hyenas stay away.
Even I, with 10 years of experience, have never been there.
I kept flipping through the photos and soon spotted a monster I'd never seen before.
Even in the photo, its presence was no joke.
Seeing it in person, it'd be weird if you didn't piss yourself. Terrifying beast.
It was bipedal, nearly as tall as the third floor of the building next to it.
This is a Lord-class monster?
"Impressive."
But that wasn't the problem.
The next photos were suddenly shaky, several of them. There were flashes of some unknown light too.
Something definitely happened. And the real shocker was the next photo: the Lord-class monster, covered in blood, collapsed.
Dumbfounded, I even dropped the notebook I was holding.
What? What is this?
What happened?
How could a Lord-class monster die between just a few photos?
For reference, Lord-class monsters are S-rank.
From S-rank on, even nukes can't kill them. So who...
Incredulous, I hit the spacebar. Then I saw a photo capturing part of some entity.
Several pairs of black wings. And a flaming sword...
I flipped further, but that was it.
Looks like the owner of those black wings and flame sword killed the Lord-class monster.
Did monsters fight each other?
Unable to contain my curiosity, I flipped the notebook. And faced another shocking fact.
-The one who killed the Lord-class monster was Metatron. She spotted me but just glanced indifferently and left.
"What?"
I jumped up from my chair, letting out a loud yelp.
Metatron?
That Metatron? The infamous bitch?
The only angel without even a family, total trash.