The Living Messenger
"Yeah, and who the hell are you…?"
"Acting Guild Master of the Veteran Guild. Kang Hanul."
"That's ridiculous…"
Im Yunchan stepped forward.
"Dokgo Jun, it's true. This man is the Acting Guild Master of Veteran."
Dokgo Jun's pupils trembled.
The Acting Guild Master? For real?
Why would someone of that caliber show up at the Legal Team Leader's house? They hadn't even officially hired the man yet. This was just some guy who'd walked in for an interview today.
But even so, behind Hwangryun stand the Chinese guilds and the embassy itself.
Dokgo Jun forced his crushed jaw to move and shouted.
"You need to understand that what you're doing right now isn't just making an enemy of Hwangryun—it's making an enemy of the Chinese embassy behind us—!"
"I've decided."
Hanul cut him off mid-sentence and pointed at one of the Hwangryun Guild hunters under Dokgo Jun's command.
"That one. Hatchery, handle the rest however you like."
"Yes! Perfect timing—I just let some Goat Demons loose at the farm last time, so I'll send these guys over as toys for them~yong!"
Hatchery clapped her hands.
Crack— A grotesque magic circle erupted from the living-room floor. A vortex of mana swirled up and swallowed every Hwangryun Guild hunter whole.
Crack-crack—
In the next instant the scenery before Dokgo Jun and his hunters changed completely.
They had no idea where they were, of course. This was the black-goat farm once run by Hanul's older brother, Kang Junwu. Hatchery had already laid down magic circles keyed to Hanul's mana so they could travel here whenever they pleased.
"Mehehe!"
Black goats came trotting over. Hatchery was already there, stroking them affectionately.
"Have my cute little Goat Demons been playing nicely?"
"Mehehehehe!"
"I brought you some wonderful toys."
"Mehehehe! Mehehehehe!"
In a flash the goats' eyes turned blood-red. Their bodies swelled. Horns thrust upward.
Standing before the hunters now were Goat Demons well over two meters tall, thick with muscle.
"These are special toys I went out of my way to bring, so have fun with them!"
"Mehehe!"
Drool dripping from their maws, the Goat Demons tightened the circle.
"Mere goat monsters—!"
Dokgo Jun swung a mana-charged fist. Goat Demons were only Rank-3 monsters. An A-rank Hunter should have been able to put them down without much trouble.
But the Goat Demon casually sidestepped and snagged Dokgo Jun's thigh with a hooked weapon.
"Gyaaaaaaah!"
Crunch— Flesh tore free with the scream. Dokgo Jun barely managed to wrench himself free. No—he hadn't torn free at all. The Goat Demon had simply allowed it.
It let him run, then chased him down, seized him again, and this time folded his knee the wrong way.
"Gyaaaah! Guhhhh…"
Exactly the same method Hwangryun had used on Im Yunchan: leave an apparent escape route open, then inflict even greater pain.
"Please! Stop! I was wrong!"
"My leg! My leg won't move! Save me! Somebody save me!"
It wasn't only Dokgo Jun. The other Hwangryun hunters clawed at the dirt and howled.
"Ugh, stay away! Get back! Get the hell back!"
Of course Dokgo Jun suffered the worst of it. An A-rank Hunter's pride? Already ground into the goat-dung-smeared dirt. He had pissed himself.
Hatchery, ease up a little and give them a Demon Realm tour as well.
Hanul's voice rang through the empty air. Hatchery immediately snapped a crisp salute.
"Yes! Understood, sir~yong!"
Crrrack—
A pitch-black hole yawned open beneath Dokgo Jun's feet.
"W-what is that?! Please—!"
Countless hands thrashed and wailed inside the hole. One glance was enough to know it was nothing good—hell itself given form.
"Please… please… Aaaaagh!"
Dokgo Jun was sucked into the black pit. Off on a Demon Realm tour. And the rest of the Hwangryun hunters?
"No! I only did what I was told! Uwaaah!"
"Save me! Please get me out of here!"
"I'm sorry! I'll never do it again! Aaaaagh!"
Same fate for all of them. A few managed to claw their way out of the pit—only to find waiting for them…
"Mehehehe!"
They had dug until their fingernails tore free, yet the moment they surfaced a Goat Demon's hook snagged their throats and flung them straight back in.
"L-let go! The guild ordered me! I was just— Gyaaah!"
The last thrashing men vanished into the darkness. Only one hunter remained in a corner of the farm—the one Hanul had marked as the messenger. He had watched every second of his comrades being toyed with and dragged away. He let out a ragged breath of relief.
I lived. They didn't take me.
A smile was just beginning to tug at his lips when—
"Mister, what are you so happy about~yong?"
Hatchery was already squatting right in front of his face, grinning as she locked eyes with him. The man's face went paper-white.
"Mister still has a job to do~yong."
"I-I…"
Hatchery's fingers brushed the corners of his eyes.
"Aaaaagh!"
Both eyeballs were ripped free. Hatchery flicked the blood from her hands and giggled. Hanul's cold voice drifted down from the air.
Go deliver the message. Anyone who harasses our people doesn't get to die cleanly. Tell them to prepare themselves.
"Hey, you heard that, right~yong?"
Hatchery kicked the man and continued.
"Your arms and legs still work, so crawl or whatever—just make sure you tell your boss properly. Get ready to die!"
With that she left the half-crippled Hwangryun hunter alone among the Goat Demons. Crack— Hatchery stamped her foot and the magic circle activated once more.
Hanul returned to the villa. Hatchery, back through the magic circle, followed close behind. The living room was still a wreck. Im Yunchan held his terrified wife and children tightly in his arms.
"Team Leader Im, aren't you going to introduce us?"
At Hanul's words Im Yunchan finally snapped out of it, soothed his family, and rose.
"This is my wife, my children, and my mother. And this is Acting Guild Master Kang Hanul of the Veteran Guild."
Hanul gave a short nod and gestured to Hatchery beside him.
"Pleasure to meet you all. This child is my subordinate. Her name is Hatchery."
"Master's most capable right hand, Hatchery~yong! I cleaned up all those pieces of trash just now, so don't you worry~yong!"
The children were still trembling. Even though Hanul had appeared and saved them, the rampage the Hwangryun hunters had just put on was not something they could shake off so quickly.
"Hmm… The bad guys are all gone. They won't be coming back."
Hanul tried to comfort them, but it did little good. He turned to Hatchery and ordered,
"Hatchery. Make the kids laugh somehow."
"Yes, Master!"
Hatchery strode forward, face set in heroic determination, and clenched a tiny fist.
"Who's the poorest king in the world?"
"…"
"The minimum-wage king!"
Just a dad joke. But coming from cute little Hatchery, the children first looked dumbfounded—then a faint smile appeared.
A reaction. Encouraged, Hatchery's eyes sparkled.
"Next one's even better~yong!"
She hopped lightly in place, clapped both hands beside her ears, and bounced like a rabbit while shouting,
"What kind of comb does a rabbit use? Neng-neng? What is it~yong?"
"I-I don't know."
"Me neither."
"A rabbit comb—Rabbit~yong!"
The pun was pure groan material, but the physical comedy sold it. Her adorable looks didn't hurt either. The smiles on the children's faces deepened.
The atmosphere had clearly lightened. Mission accomplished, Hatchery stepped back.
"Our Legal Team Leader can't keep living in a place like this."
While surveying the ruined house, Hanul made a call.
"Hey, Manager Seo. It's me."
Yes, Acting Master!
"Send a car to Legal Team Leader Im Yunchan's house and book a hotel. Have them stay there for a while."
Ah, yes! I'll send the car right away. It'll be there within thirty minutes!
He hung up.
"A car will be here in thirty minutes. Take it to the hotel and rest. We'll find you official housing soon enough."
"…"
While Im Yunchan stood there speechless, Hanul gave a small wave of his hand. Hatchery quickly produced chocolate and candy; Hanul pressed them into the children's hands.
"Your father is an excellent man. You can be proud of him. We'll be going now."
Hanul stepped out the front door, Hatchery trailing after him.
"Ah—!"
"Thank you! Thank you so much!"
Im Yunchan and his family rushed out of the villa a moment later, but Hanul and Hatchery were already gone. Still they bowed deeply at the empty street.
In the heart of Seoul, camera shutters poured down like rain. Hwangryun Guild Master Cho Taehyung stood at the podium.
His expression was grave. The muscles around his mouth, however, twitched ever so slightly.
"Recently, production of Magic Ingots has plummeted. This is due to changes in mana density within the dungeons."
A lie. The warehouses were already stuffed with the ingots they had siphoned off. They were simply choking supply to drive the price through the roof. And of course they hadn't done it alone—the Chinese government had joined the party for a perfect collaboration.
"Hwangryun is doing everything in its power. We urgently need the government's full support. And, of course, international cooperation from our close neighbor as well. That is all."
The press conference ended. Escorted by his retinue, Cho Taehyung entered the waiting room. The heads of the other major domestic mana-production guilds—who had been in on the scheme—filed out with him. Waiting for them behind the scenes was…
"Guild Master Cho, that performance was first-rate!"
Secretary Chen, temporarily filling the post left vacant by the missing counselor.
"Haha, did you see their faces? Those reporters went white as sheets."
The other guild masters snickered. The solemn expressions they had worn for the cameras were nowhere to be found. They were simply drunk on the sweet scent of monopoly and collusion.
"If we hold out just one more month, ingot prices will jump fivefold."
"Secretary Chen, the rebates will be prepared exactly as promised."
Sordid laughter filled the room.
"Dinner's on me tonight! Secretary, shall we?"
Just then the door burst open. It was Cho Seung-hyun, Cho Taehyung's son and Hwangryun's Planning Director.
"Father, you need to see this."
"What is it? The Im Yunchan matter? Report that later. Right now everyone's enjoying—"
"It's… the situation is strange."
"What?"
"If it's about yesterday, I'd like to hear it as well."
Cho Taehyung, Cho Seung-hyun, and Secretary Chen moved to a corner. No need to air their own guild's dirty laundry in front of the other masters. Seung-hyun lowered his voice.
"Director Dokgo Jun's team—the ones we had watching Im Yunchan—has gone missing."
"Missing? A team that included an A-rank Hunter?"
"We've had no contact for quite some time. And just now…"
Seung-hyun stopped. In the corridor outside the waiting room, a man sat in a wheelchair.
"Who the hell is that?"
The man's condition was horrific. Both eye sockets were empty holes pouring blood. He scraped at the wheelchair handles, babbling like a madman.
"Monster… monster…"
"One of the hunters we sent with Dokgo Jun yesterday."
"What? Why did he come back looking like that? Where's Dokgo Jun?!"
Cho Taehyung strode over and demanded answers. The man shrieked as if in a seizure. A blood-flecked voice tore from his throat.
"Veteran… Acting Guild Master…"
"What?"
"Said you won't die cleanly… prepare yourselves… gurrrk!"
The moment the words left him he foamed at the mouth and collapsed.
"…"
In the sudden uproar, the faces of Cho Taehyung, Cho Seung-hyun, and Secretary Chen all hardened at once.