Chapter 25
S-Rank hunters in the Republic of Korea receive benefits commensurate with their military value and importance. They were like living nuclear weapons, so it was only natural to grant them special privileges. Listing every single one would be exhausting, so let's mention the most representative and symbolic: immunity privilege. Just once. Exactly once, an S-Rank hunter can commit any crime without punishment. In reality, it's not easy to punish an S-Rank in the first place, so this privilege feels like a token gesture. And this time, Kang Sora used that one-time privilege on herself to summarily execute the corrupt vice president and cover it up.
No matter how much you call it an act of righteous judgment, in modern society, Kang Sora's action was 'murder'. And since murder is a crime in this era, she used the privilege to resolve it. Of course, it was resolved, but it didn't make the incident disappear. As a result, Korea was thrown into chaos like a hornet's nest poked with a stick.
Who would've thought that someone would actually use the immunity privilege—let alone to cover up a murder—in Korea, of all places, not some foreign country. And it was Kang Sora, one of the symbolic figures of Korea's hunters, who killed a person and invoked it. Considering her usual image, this was unimaginable, so the shock to the public was immense. And she felt the same way. Kang Sora herself never imagined she'd use it for something like this.
But she had no regrets. Thanks to it, the corrupt faction in the association, now without their linchpin, was being ruthlessly carved out under Kang Sora's furious scalpel, unable to mount any real resistance. Public opinion in Korea, as expected, split into two camps.
This is true justice! This is how a country should be!
Honestly, even if they'd gone through trials and all that, it'd just have been a slap on the wrist. In this era of massive gates, the hunters and the association managing them have insanely heavy responsibilities. I can't stop applauding the decisiveness that chopped off the heads of those rotting the association in one go.
Look, now that the big boss is gone, they're all scared shitless, confessing and getting dragged out one by one. Otherwise, they'd have banded together, destroyed evidence, and spread smears everywhere.
Voices of support. Plenty praised her for using her one-time privilege for the greater good, not some petty crime. There's even an S-Rank in Russia who killed a mother and daughter in a drunk driving accident and used his immunity, drawing massive backlash. Compared to that, Sora's was a patriotic decision, proof she truly loves Korea.
On the other hand,
Not sure if I'm alone, but I think Pres. Sora went too far. It feels like an ultimately hasty and dangerous judgment.
'He was a bad guy, so what's the problem? It got the investigation moving?' Fair point, but how sustainable is justice achieved through fear and power? We should've followed the law and procedures properly.
Voices of criticism. They admit it's cathartic, but say it's still wrong. This method undermines law and order, and macroscopically, it won't benefit society. Not wrong. Proceeding like this could spread the idea that good outcomes justify any means.
Kang Sora's summary execution and the Hunter Association reforms kept Korea noisy with opposing views day after day. What should've been done? What was right? Hard to say now. Some revel in the refreshment, others ask what's the difference from revenge.
The ultimate impact of Sora's actions? Time will tell. But one thing is certain.
"Man, if we'd let this slide, Korea would've gone to hell."
"These bastards had no chill. Smuggling mana cores was basic; they were even selling off hunter manpower."
"They were gonna rip out the nation's foundations and sell 'em. The investigation team did great work."
"Not the audit team—the special task force uncovered it."
"Special task force?"
"The temporary team formed to probe the Yeonam-gu break dug around and exposed the VP's corruption."
"Oh, really? Shocking. Might as well make it official, specialized in internal affairs."
"But then what about the existing audit team? Though they were paper tigers, so running audit and internal affairs tracks separately sounds good."
"Like FBI and CIA vibes?"
Good thing it was caught before too late; leaving it would've wrecked Korea's gate security. Everyone agreed on that.
Some praised Sora's firm resolve; others said even scum like this should've gone to court. Anyway, Korea—especially the Hunter Association—was at the eye of the storm.
Kang Sora, who'd been jetting to the US, China, Russia, Europe for international gate response frameworks, completely shifted gears. Handing diplomacy to subordinates, she'd now lead domestically herself.
Politics had once checked her—S-Rank and president wielding unchecked power—by pushing Kim Seongho as a handler. Now they couldn't utter a peep. Politics had the most to lose from the Kim Seongho gate.
Plus, Sora declared she'd retire after normalizing the association. With her sense of responsibility soured, she'd clean up and vanish. No room to accuse her of power-grabbing.
If anything, they'd beg her to stay post-normalization. No suitable successor for her role, and a government S-Rank retiring from the frontlines? Troubling.
The promising heir they'd eyed was,
"Investigate a webnovel author? Lee Seoryul, you sure about this?"
Spouting nonsense, so who knows if Sora can retire as planned. Korea's daily spectacles were unmatched.
And amid this chaos, Yoon Sungjin got an unexpected call during his leisure time.
"Huh? Who is this?"
"Seo Dami from Crimson Guild. You're tls123, right? I'd like to meet in person for an urgent talk... Got time?"
The government, amid distrust and to spare public shock, hid detailed corruption specifics. Just announced the crimes, not methods or Lee Seoryul's fabrications. So the public couldn't link it to 'Lebalheonda', letting Yoon Sungjin chill and answer calls leisurely.
And,
"Oh yeah? If you're Seo Dami, I'm the Sword Saint! AI prank call? No time—hang up!"
Tsk, should've ignored the unknown number. He clicked his tongue.