Her Desperate Cry
A faint ripple of agitation stirred in Yoon Ji-young's pupils at her cry, and Seo Ji-hoon along with the management department staff all shouted in unison.
"That's right! No one else but our section chief could pull this off!"
"Yeah, big bro's here. Taemin bro...!"
Their reactions finally brought a spark of relief to Yoo Hyuk and the remaining hunters.
"I see. An invisible attack. If it's Section Chief Park Taemin, then it's possible."
They let out sighs of relief, thrilled and glad that he had survived. Just looking at the current situation, the tide had completely turned. The enemies, who had numbered nearly a hundred, were down to about twenty, and their leader had long since fallen dead. Even without Taemin, they could handle this now.
Amid it all, the enemies kept losing men one by one. As they crumbled rapidly, leaving only about ten, they finally grasped the nature of the assault.
A mysterious man emerged from empty space. As the hunters had guessed, it was Park Taemin. Fresh, vivid red blood dripped from the swords in both his hands, as if he'd just sliced through them.
"As expected! It was the section chief! It's over now. We're really gonna live!"
Someone among the hunters shouted that, and people jumped with joy. On the other hand, the near-annihilated enemies fell into panic.
This can't be happening...
Having lost their leader, they huddled around the only remaining S-rank sorcerer—the natural choice, as he had been second in command. He scanned the surroundings and quickly assessed the situation.
No chance of winning like this. I need to escape and report this.
"Everyone, get it together and focus on marking that guy. I'll back you up."
With that, the man summoned his most powerful attack spell. Blazing cyan flames rose from his hand, forming a massive orb that shot straight toward Taemin.
Taemin effortlessly dodged the incoming magic, then swung his sword at the charging men. Three who had rushed in aggressively flew back as bloody messes, but in that gap, swords from others aimed at his flanks.
Smiles crept across their faces simultaneously. He was committed forward, dealing with the two in front, arms extended. Meanwhile, their blades were already at his ribs. It looked like a clear opening anyone would see—but then, something unbelievable happened.
His body half-tilted forward, unable to move back, yet he impossibly backstepped, evading the attack. Their eyes bulged like dead fish at his gravity-defying movement. At the same time, Taemin's sword cleaved through their skulls.
The remaining four threw their lives into a desperate assault, while the sorcerer in the rear unleashed an AoE spell and opened a portal. Wolfsrein's hunters threw up shields in horror, but the AoE and portal vanished into thin air simultaneously.
It was a feint.
After mopping up the last enemies, Taemin seethed with frustration at letting one escape, but with no way to pursue, he quickly composed himself.
Having dispatched nearly a hundred foes in a flash, he approached the hunters. As he drew near, they cheered fervently, and the HR section chief stepped forward to greet him.
"Thank you. We survived thanks to you."
"What the hell happened here?"
"Just like you saw—an invasion. We were caught completely off guard."
"Who would do something like...?"
"Who knows. As far as I know, only Hwarang, Blue Flag, or Blue Moon would dare something this bold... Just a guess, though. Anyway, did you come because of the call? We were really in deep shit without you."
"We got hit too. Hunters speaking Chinese. Our escorts were wiped out, and three on guard duty lost their lives."
"What? That happened there too?"
"Yes. I suspect not just our spot—probably all portals got the same treatment. No reason to target only us, right?"
"Hm. So that's why the other hunters couldn't return right away."
"That might be part of it, but coordinates here weren't locking on either. That's why I came up from the village below."
The HR section chief nodded as if it made sense.
"Probably magic interference. Anyway, this is bad. Does that mean all our hunters outside got wiped out?"
"Not certain. But if the same thing happened everywhere, it won't be good. We hunters aren't trained to kill people, after all."
"I think the same. Let's try contacting them again. Everyone, make calls. Reach out to the guild master too. And search the enemy bodies. Might find clues."
At the HR section chief's words, the hunters sprang into organized action.
Meanwhile, Taemin approached Yoon Ji-young.
"Ji-young."
As he neared, she threw herself into his arms, eyes brimming with tears.
"Don't cry. It's okay now."
"I thought I'd die without seeing you... Sob. So glad you're alive."
He patted her heaving shoulders for a while. Once she seemed somewhat calmed, Taemin gently pushed her back to meet her eyes.
"You hurt anywhere? No injuries?"
"...Good."
"Relieved. I was so worried coming here. Whew... Let's clean up first. Something big's going down."
She nodded silently at his words. Given the situation, they couldn't afford personal time.
Then Seo Ji-hoon approached from behind.
"Bro."
"Yeah, Ji-hoon. You okay?"
"Brooo!"
"Whoa? What the—?"
Taemin couldn't hide his bewilderment as Seo Ji-hoon suddenly leaped into his arms. He was even sniffling. Taemin stood with arms wide, pondering how to handle it, but soon patted his back with comforting words.
"Big guy crying like that."
"We thought we were all dead. This shit's straight out of a movie. Never dreamed it'd happen to me."
"I get it. So, uh, can you let go now? This looks weird."
Seo Ji-hoon flashed an awkward smile and finally pulled away.
"Sorry, bro. Just so happy... You're really like a brother to me."
"Didn't you say you had no bro?"
"You know what I mean."
"Fine, whatever. For now—"
As they talked, one hunter shouted after spotting something.
"Here! Section chief! It's a hunter license!"
At that, the HR section chief and Taemin hurried over. The chief took the blood-soaked license, wiped off the blood roughly with his sleeve, and checked it.
Hwarang Guild
"As I thought. Hwarang Guild. No one else would pull this off."
Taemin asked curiously at the chief's words.
"Why would Hwarang do this? Territorial dispute?"
"Could be, or some other reason. But this is too big for a mere dispute. Wiping out a whole guild... Even unofficially, this is unprecedented."
All additional licenses found were Hwarang Guild too. Then, reports came in one by one from those contacting external hunters.
"Chief, no responses."
"Guild master?"
"Same. From chief of staff on down, key officers aren't picking up."
The HR section chief's brow furrowed deeply. Everything was unfolding as feared.
"Did they really all get taken out?"
As he agonized, an urgent call came from one side.
"Chief! Chief! Look at this!"
"What's the commotion?"
The man was Sin Dong-hyun, HR deputy. He rushed over and handed the chief a smartphone.
"What the...? Hm..."
The HR section chief read the phone intently and let out a heavy groan. It was filled with a just-posted article, its contents utterly shocking.
Corrupt Government Falls. Hunter Agency's New Dawn. New Regime: Hwarang Guild?
"What the hell is all this?"
"Looks like Hwarang hit the Hunter Agency. National leader Park Dae-hyun was killed on the spot, and the outside world's in chaos."
"Nonsense. How could a single guild attack the Hunter Agency?"
"Read to the end. They've already gone public. Scroll down—Blue Moon Guild, one of the Big 7, fell to them. Blue Flag and the Capital Region Alliance sided with Hwarang. Plus, it seems they pulled in Chinese personnel and Japanese hunters."
"What? How could such absurdity...?"
The HR section chief couldn't comprehend the situation. In less than a day, two massive guilds obliterated, national leader assassinated, and the Hunter Agency—the heart of hunters—collapsed. Could this really happen in under a day?
"They must've planned it long ago. More importantly, we need to leave now. The article lists Wolfsrein as enemies. If they know we're alive, they'll send more forces."
"Abandon HQ?"
"Regrettable, but no choice. Seoul's essentially theirs. Fighting with this force is like an egg against a rock. Better to bide our time. Even with the management chief here, one chief can't hold them."
Sin Dong-hyun's assessment was spot-on. If no survivor had escaped, maybe—but a hunter who saw Taemin's skills got away, so they'd come prepared. And numerically overwhelmed, engaging meant certain defeat.
The HR section chief turned to Taemin after hearing him out.
"What do you think?"
"Agree with Deputy Sin Dong-hyun. If the article's true, their forces number tens of thousands. Objectively, our odds of holding are near zero. Retreat to safety, assess properly, then move."
"We abandon this place, then... Where to? Got a spot?"
Sin Dong-hyun answered immediately.
"For now, into the mountains. Safest. Hiding this many in the city would get us tailed quick."
"Ha... How'd it come to this...?"
Sighing as he looked around, he soon ordered the hunters.
"Prepare to move now. Oh, first—burn all data here. Every scrap. Secure backups."
"Yes, chief."
Everyone banded together to incinerate the data room, info room, and intranet. They torched HR and management docs too, erasing all traces.
"They won't dig anything up now."
"Portal now? But to where...?"
As people hunted coordinates, Taemin pulled Yoon Ji-young aside for a private multi-portal request.
"Before we go, gotta grab Hana. Open a portal to the shanty town."
"She came too?"
"Yeah, to the neighborhood. Only we two... made it back alive. If I'd come a bit sooner, I could've saved them all..."
Taemin's face soured at the resurfacing grim memories.
"Don't blame yourself. They're the bad guys. Not your fault."
Comforted by her words, Taemin vanished into her portal. Moments later, he reemerged with Kim Hana and re-entered the main one.
Thus, all the hunters abandoned headquarters and vanished.