Chapter 72
Chapter 72
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 72
Chapter Title: New Order (2)
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Within the barrier filled entirely with darkness, Hans turned his head and stared intently to the side.
As if gazing at something beyond that pitch-black space.
[Interesting.] His power level had surged dramatically, allowing him to unveil a far more effective curse he'd newly crafted upon resuming his activities.
But then, a subtle sensation from the thin thread connected to it caught his attention during his brief inspection, and lo and behold, his eyes locked directly with some black mage's.
'What to do...'
Though their encounter was only through psychic senses, he already had a decent grasp on the guy.
Hans, ever sensitive to malice, didn't get any strong vibes of pure evil from him.
On the contrary, he seemed like a fairly skilled black mage who hadn't been consumed by madness—a rare breed.
'Must have some related skills like me. More importantly, this location...'
A full map of Seoul unfolded in his mind, with the pinpointed location marked.
His main body immediately checked online for info on the place.
'...As expected.'
It was a hospital under the management of the government's Ability Management Bureau.
No need to lift a finger there.
He'd just offer a moment of silent condolence to the diligent civil servants chasing pointless leads.
'That black mage looked pretty useful. Might as well commit him to memory.'
Now that he could track him anytime he wanted, reaching out quietly later didn't sound like a bad idea.
[Kehh, but this... I like it. If those criminal scum dare investigate my curse, the moment they do...] They'd instantly face a counterattack, get their location exposed, and receive a personal visit from Hans.
And since black mages were disproportionately represented among criminals, the odds were high.
Anyone skilled enough to probe his curse wouldn't be small fry, so it'd make for a pretty solid trap.
'To boost the numbers without executing them outright, I'll need to get even busier.'
"Hah... huff! M-monster...!"
While he was lost in thought for a moment, the Villains who'd been pounding away at Hans's barrier ground their teeth in frustration.
Trapped by the barrier surrounding them on all sides, unable to flee, they'd resisted out of sheer desperation only to finally succumb to despair.
[Sorry, but I've got no more time to spare on you lot.] Hans's blue glow faded, and soon the Abyss Eye turned toward them.
"Ah... aaa..."
"Huuu—"
And so, Hans busily patrolled Seoul once more today, keeping the peace.
Thanks to his exploits, criminals were laying low, driving the crime rate into a nosedive...
The citizens of Seoul could feel the difference clear as day.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 📰 Breaking News Why Incidents and Accidents in Seoul Have Decreased Lately. 📰 Breaking News A Korean Dark Hero Hunting Criminals in a Mask?! Who Is He?! 📰 Breaking News Hahoe Mask Eyewitness Interviews Compiled. Rumors about the Hahoe Mask, which had been spreading quietly like an urban legend, exploded across the internet.
The Ability Management Bureau had intervened out of concern over his cult-like idolization, so it hadn't hit broadcast news yet—but judging by how fast it was spreading through online news and communities, that wouldn't last long.
Since Hans had avoided direct exposure to the public, eyewitness sketches stood in for photos as source material.
Some were crude drawings of a dark silhouette with glowing blue eyes, while others were startlingly accurate portraits.
The standout was one depicting the masked figure in a pitch-black robe, gazing down with blue-glowing eyes while extending a gloved hand.
The artist explained it captured the moment the Hahoe Mask rescued them from a mine's human slaughterhouse, claiming the memory was still vivid.
💬 Comments — AnonymousUser Whoa lolll He kills even the Villains—feels so damn refreshing inside. — JusticeFan What human rights do criminals have? Worry about our right to live first. — SafeCitizen Thanks to Hahoe Mask-nim, I've been able to live with peace of mind lately. Please keep up the good work! Reactions were overwhelmingly positive.
Sure, there were the standard arguments that he was just another criminal and private vigilantism shouldn't be condoned, but they got buried under the tide of public opinion.
As the Hahoe Mask became a hot topic, journalists and indie creators ramped up their coverage, slowly piecing together info from eyewitness interviews and collected materials.
Super-wide-range detection to grasp incidents across all of Seoul in real time.
Mobility to teleport straight to the detected spots.
And overwhelming combat prowess to neutralize any Villain in seconds flat.
His actual fighting style remained a mystery, though—he knocked out victims on-site the moment he appeared.
Even surviving criminals were too gripped by terror to give coherent testimony.
But no one dared question his strength.
Above all, his track record spoke for itself.
And the title he'd earned? 'Unofficial Strongest in Korea.'
Still, with nothing but personal accounts and zero photos or CCTV footage, debates raged on endlessly.
— Skeptic123 Isn't this just fabricated BS? How can one guy cover all of Seoul? — FactChecker Crime rate dropping is a fact. Whether it's really Hahoe Mask or not, something's up. — TrollKing If real, doesn't that screw over the Guardians? A huge org outperformed by one guy lolll — NoMercy Unlike the pushover Guardians who coddle criminal rights, Hahoe Mask's policy is zero tolerance—summary execution. — Theorist Then it's not one person—it's an organization? Could be multiple in the same getup. Things were like this domestically, so overseas communities outright dismissed it as Korean fabrication and ignored it.
But there was one person here who felt the Hahoe Mask's exploits bone-deep and was suffering immense stress as his activities continued...
"Uwaaa—! Man, it's been forever since I got off work! Haha! Seonghyeon, what're you doing? Cheers—clink!"
The guy chugging a beer can in front of me right now, laughing like a madman—my one and only friend, Kang Taesan.
"Work wearing you down that bad? It's not even been long since training ended, and you're already whining about dying?"
"Don't even get me started. Of all places, I get assigned to the Hahoe Mask task force! It's the busiest department in Crime Investigation right now! Everywhere else is kicking back, but nope, I end up the rookie on that team!"
Kang Taesan vented his rage again, slamming back his beer.
He'd shown up at my place loaded with booze, thrilled to finally clock out early.
'No real need to keep tabs on him anymore.'
Ever since the accident, when I'd holed up at home, he'd stuck by me, being a real pillar of support.
Dumping the trash for me since I couldn't go out, dropping by regularly to chat...
Small gestures, but to someone like me who felt abandoned by the world, they were a warm lifeline.
"You seem a lot better off now, though? I've caught glimpses before, but... I dunno, like you've got some zest for life again?"
"Yeah, can't cling to the past forever. My parents wouldn't want that either..."
"Right... good call, man! You have no idea how worried I've been."
Taesan and I had been tight since elementary school.
After I befriended him—he'd lost his parents young and was raised by his grandma—my folks started treating him like their own kid.
That bond only grew stronger through middle and high school, to the point where he leaned on my parents like his own.
Frankly, we were practically brothers.
"How's your grandma doing? Any better?"
"Ah... haha... Same as always. She's getting on in years..."
His face darkened briefly at the mention of his grandma, who'd been hospitalized for a few years now.
"I should drop by soon."
"Huh? Nah, it's fine! Don't push yourself."
"Not pushing. I can go out now too. Oh, and I'm moving soon. Hit the lottery."
"...Huh?"
I dropped the bombshells one after another, sparking a total commotion.
I forcibly calmed Taesan down from his full-body freakout and gathered my thoughts.
On ways to help his grandma.
'Heinrich's holy power should do the trick to some extent. Not sure how much it can counter aging, but better than nothing.'
Sneak in, heal quick, and slip out.
Bit of hassle to set up, but with the other avatars' help, it wouldn't be hard.
"...Still, glad to hear it. Looks like you're fully recovered, Seonghyeon."
The drinking resumed, and Taesan muttered quietly.
Then he started sneaking peeks at me cautiously.
"What? Spit it out."
I frowned at his uncharacteristic hesitation, and after a sigh, he met my eyes straight on.
"I've been debating whether to tell you. Figured keeping quiet was best till now... but seeing you today, I think you're good."
The sudden serious vibe had me set down my beer and look at him.
"You know why I joined Crime Investigation, right?"
Of course I did.
He'd treated my parents like his own.
I'd been at the scene, scarred body and soul, holing up in my room...
Taesan, hearing late while caring for his grandma, used it as fuel to grind harder and join the Ability Management Bureau.
To dig deeper into that incident and prevent repeats.
"...That incident was ruled an awakener's random terror attack. Everyone thought so—up until recently."
I felt my body tense.
I could guess what he was getting at.
"There was this group operating in the shadows for ages. They'd been quiet about it till about half a year ago, when they ramped up."
Right when Korea's public safety started crumbling.
"They were so airtight, we'd only vaguely known they existed—no leads on their tails...
Then the Hahoe Mask showed up."
"After he started hunting criminals, the underworld shook, rules broke, and those building power on that chaos slipped up."
That's when the Ability Management Bureau finally nabbed their tail.
On the Reverse Heaven Society—the group behind all those terror attacks.
And Taesan... discovered they were behind the Seoul Station Terror Incident.
"This is classified, shouldn't be telling anyone. But... you're different—you deserve to know. Don't blab elsewhere, though? Could land me in jail? Heh..."
Their task force had gotten the intel first, and as the newbie, he'd been there.
"Post-collision with Hahoe Mask, they halted domestic ops and went into tail-cutting mode. He's still out there active, so who won's obvious."
Taesan snorted and chugged his beer triumphantly.
"Tracking's stalled since. No clue how deep they're hiding, but their scale ain't small—we're watching closely."
He spilled internal Crime Investigation deets without a care for security.
Proof of how much he trusted me, Han Seonghyeon.
After laying all that out and gauging my reaction carefully, I casually munched on snacks like it was nothing.
"Hahoe Mask is even more impressive than I thought. Didn't he help expose that crime org? So why's the Bureau still chasing him?"
"That's what pisses me off most! Why hound a guy doing great work? Makes everyone miserable! Just let him keep at it—!"
Relieved by my reaction, he crumpled his empty can and bellowed dramatically.
Taesan was a Villain-hater like me.
He'd joined to catch criminals, but chasing Hahoe Mask—whom he secretly agreed with ideologically—was stressful.
"Work's work, can't be helped. Hey, drink up!"
"Yeah! He's not getting caught no matter how hard we grind anyway. Whatever—!"
"...Thanks for telling me. I've moved past it all, so no need to worry about me. As a civilian, I've got no moves anyway—leave the rest to you guys and the Guardians. ...And Hahoe Mask."
"...Yeah, guy's damn good. No need to watch his back, gets shit done clean."
The mood livened up again, and the drinks flowed.
I matched his pace, pretending to get tipsy.
A bummer that my enhanced body and recovery kept me from getting drunk easy, but hanging with a like-minded buddy was satisfying enough.
...Thus, Seoul's night deepened.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A dingy back alley.
Amid the sprawl of bodies littering the ground, a shadowy figure stood shrouded in darkness.
[Huu... Busy, so busy. Still, taking out the big fish has lowered the overall caliber.] Hans, ever striving to maintain order today.
He tilted his head up, those blue eyes piercing the starless, pitch-black night sky.
No matter what anyone said, no matter the obstacles...
He had no intention of stopping.
From the Villains rampaging everywhere to the Reverse Heaven Society lurking in hiding.
He wouldn't rest until he'd crushed them all with his own hands.
Hans reached out and clenched his fist toward the night sky.
[Kehuhu... I do love the darkness.] For now, he was the new order of this era.