Chapter 141
Chapter 141
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 141
Chapter Title: Contact Request, Nowon-gu Hunters (3)
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4.
Splash…… splash…… splash……
Footsteps.
Every time a foot stepped forward.
The sound of half-frozen pools of blood squelching and crumbling stickily.
“Aim!”
The Lead Hunter……?
“I’ll fire first, so use that as the signal and shoot!”
A chilling shiver raced across my heart. I quietly gripped the hilt of the Dawn Sword.
The Dawn Sword wasn’t trembling.
Which meant…… It happened in an instant. I knocked Jeong Ha-kyeong’s gun barrel high into the sky.
Baaaaang………………….
A gunshot echoing blankly beneath the starry sky. Jeong Ha-kyeong stared in a daze.
“What the hell? What did you do?”
“She’s not an enemy!”
“What bullshit is that? Who else is alive here besides enemies!”
How should I explain this? That the Dawn Sword isn’t ringing out? No.
“Listen carefully to the footsteps…… They’re staggering, aren’t they?”
“…………!”
“If it’s an enemy, we can just take her hostage. Trust me.”
From within the swirling remnants of snow, a single shadow emerged.
Tall at a glance.
Strikingly dressed in a bloodstained coat…… Wait…… That’s a white coat?
“Seo Hwa-yoon?”
At that moment, the staggering shadow collapsed to the ground.
No way.
No way this could be happening.
I rushed over in a frenzy and scooped her up.
It was Seo Hwa-yoon…… Seo Hwa-yoon.
Her condition was incomprehensible—how was she even alive?
“Snap out of it, Hwa-yoon! Seo Hwa-yoon!”
Her entire body torn to shreds.
As if struck by hundreds, thousands of sword strikes…… Flickering from those wounds, the ‘stars’ healing.
“Ah…… Baek-jun……”
Seo Hwa-yoon spoke in a voice barely above a whisper.
“Yes, I’m right here. So please……”
“I…… I didn’t die…… The great Seo Hwa-yoon…… barely survived by a hair’s breadth……”
As she said that, she suddenly vomited a clot of blood. I shouted behind me.
“Stretcher! Get a stretcher! To the hospital──”
“No…… Not me…… More than me…… Ye-jin…… Our poor Ye-jin…… That pitiful child……”
Ye-jin……?
The one who reacted instantly to the name wasn’t me—it was Shin Tae-yeop.
“Do Ye-jin…… That idiot’s still alive?”
“Probably…… Probably…… I saw her…… getting captured……”
Seo Hwa-yoon tried to rise as she spoke, but let out a pained groan and began to sob.
“It hurts…… Not my body…… Ye-jin’s heart…… Her heart must be shattered in pain……”
“……?”
“How…… could it not……? Right in front of her…… They killed…… her own sister…… like it was a show……?”
In that instant, my mind went blank.
Do Su-jin…… was dead?
No…… They killed her right in front of Do Ye-jin, on purpose……?
“Ha……”
A cracked sound tore from my throat along with a sigh.
- I want to live……
I felt it.
A cold fireball surging up from the depths of my heart.
- I want to live with my sister again…… I…… want to live……
It flashed in my mind.
How much pain…… How immense was the despair that child felt back then……
Unknowingly, my fist clenched until my knuckles cracked.
You bastards……
I, Kim Baek-jun, will never forgive you.
“Seong-mi.”
I handed Seo Hwa-yoon to Shin Tae-yeop and stood.
“Yes.”
“What time is it now?”
“3:32 p.m.”
“Enough time to reach the rendezvous point?”
Lee Seong-mi unfolded a map and glanced back and forth at her pocket watch.
“Seongbuk-gu Anam-dong…… Not too close, but not far. We have to cross a Hunting Zone, so it’ll take some time……”
“If we hurry, can we make it on time?”
“Yes. Probably.”
“Select five combat personnel. Only those ready for immediate deployment.”
“…………!”
“Including me and Seong-mi, that makes seven total.”
Lee Seong-mi looked up at me with an expression demanding confirmation, so I nodded.
“We’re heading to the rendezvous point. We have to rescue Choi Uk and Ye-jin.”
At my declaration, two voices answered in unison.
“I’m…… I’m going too.”
“Of course I’m coming.”
Shin Tae-yeop and Jeong Ha-kyeong.
But I firmly shook my head at both.
“Ha-kyeong, you stay here.”
“What? Screw that. If you’re worried about me──”
“It’s not that.”
I handed the RinRin strapped to my back into Jeong Ha-kyeong’s arms.
“If Seong-mi and I don’t return, you’re the only one who can lead the <Association>.”
“Bullshit! Don’t talk crap! What do you mean ‘don’t return’?”
“And they might attack again. We need someone to lead the <Association> while we’re gone.”
“Look at your condition! Who’s gonna protect you? I’m coming. If we die, we die together! If we live──”
“──Choi Uk would!”
In that moment, I unleashed the pent-up rage since the Jigido raid without thinking.
“Say……”
I barely regained composure with a deep breath.
“He’d say to move like this. Assuming the worst.”
“………!”
“I’m not saying we’ll die, Ha-kyeong. So listen to me—trust me.”
Jeong Ha-kyeong bit her lip helplessly and cast her eyes downward.
What was needed here?
A thought flashed through my mind.
“Do you remember when you lent me your pistol before?”
“…….”
“You said to come back for sure. Because you wanted it back.”
I held up my left hand.
And…… I removed the precious wristwatch I always wore.
- I came to save you.
Then I took Jeong Ha-kyeong’s small hand.
And placed the wristwatch into that small, rough palm.
“You know this is like my talisman, right?”
“…………?”
“This was my father’s keepsake—the man I admired more than anyone.”
Jeong Ha-kyeong slowly lifted her head.
I could see the moisture gathering in her eyes.
To shield it from others’ view, I stood close in front of her.
“It’s truly precious. I’m leaving it with you, Ha-kyeong.”
What I left behind was a promise.
A promise to return no matter what.
“So wait for me.”
Jeong Ha-kyeong silently took the watch. And nodded.
“I’ll definitely come back to retrieve it.”
Shin Tae-yeop needed no convincing.
He’d declared he was coming, then passed out right after.
“Association Chair.”
Lee Seong-mi, who had left at my words, returned about ten minutes later.
“Squad composition is done.”
“Let’s move.”
A mission that might turn into a suicide squad.
“That’s why I picked volunteers from the veterans. Can’t force anyone, right?”
“Exactly.”
Maybe that’s why.
Two familiar faces stood out.
“You two……”
The new First Hunting Squad.
Heo Cheon-gyeom and Ryu Hyeon-ji.
“I-I’m not doing this for that idiot Do Ye-jin! I’m just here to help the Association Chair!”
“E-Even if you tell me not to go…… I’m going! So……”
Unlike their resolute master, the black-and-white duo circled her comically.
「We’re going! Going! Going!」
「Go! Ing! Go! Ing!」
I shook my head with a sad yet pleased smile.
“No. I wasn’t trying to stop you. I was going to say thank you.”
“……?”
“……!”
I stood before the six lined up in formation.
“Everyone. If I say die, can you die?”
“…………?!”
“That’s the mission you’re taking on now. I won’t stop you. Anyone who doesn’t want to can step back.”
I should have been surprised.
Not a single one exchanged glances—they all stood resolute.
The <Association>…… is strong.
From that, I drew a truly heartfelt comfort.
But why then?
Why did the anxiety coil inside—wondering if we could even match the enemy?
5.
Seongbuk-gu Anam-dong, Seoul.
This was the border between Seodaemun-gu and Nowon-gu. Naturally, one of the 13 districts’ [Hunting Zones].
“So in short, we must proceed with caution.”
“………!”
“That’s why we’re moving only via rooftops.”
“Won’t we be late?”
“Safety first. And we should arrive right on time.”
I felt the same impatience.
Having to hurry in a situation where we couldn’t hurry.
“Y-Yeah…… Back then it took less than an hour or two……”
Ryu Hyeon-ji muttered regretfully. Everyone felt the same.
“Alright, let’s go.”
We moved all evening.
As the starlight faded into the distance and ominous darkness blanketed the city streets at night, we camped.
Then morning again.
Once the starlight sharpened, we resumed, arriving in Anam-dong around 10:50 a.m.
“Look over there. Korea University.”
10:52 a.m.
I climbed the skyscraper rooftop railing and peered intently at the rendezvous point below.
Korea University Anam Campus.
Is this really…… that university from the old world that basked in the glory of being called SKY……?
Beneath the faint, hazy starlight.
The campus buildings were decrepit ruins, rotted yellow like decayed teeth.
Maybe that’s why—it felt ominous.
I quietly called Mun Ji-hyo and ordered her to scout the area with 《Thousand-Mile Eyes》.
“You look troubled.”
I approached Lee Seong-mi and spoke.
“Something’s been bothering me for a while.”
“……For a while?”
“Since we found Ye-jin. Doesn’t something feel off?”
“Don’t just ask—explain in detail.”
Lee Seong-mi glanced at the subordinate hunters, then spoke softly.
“The [Nameless Demigod] is our enemy, right? Master of all Subordinates. And above all, the one who destroyed the world.”
“Yes.”
“And the Holy Apostles try to protect us from it.”
Holy Apostles…… protecting us?
It grated against my instincts, but I listened quietly for now.
“Here’s the problem. Why would the [Nameless Demigod] just leave Ye-jin alone?”
“……?!”
“See? It’s not acting according to its will, is it? Remember…… that first day at the chapel?”
I started to nod, then flinched.
“The people executed as examples for defying the Holy Apostles……”
“Yeah. The Holy Apostles have that power. Same principle with Ye-jin. Just different contract holder.”
I had to be stunned.
Why hadn’t I questioned this until now?
[Nameless Demigod]……?
What were you scheming to leave Do Ye-jin untouched like this?
“One guess…… Curiosity……?”
As proof, I was still alive. Free from threats by the Star Messenger and Holy Apostles.
“I thought that too until now. But after this raid…… No.”
“What is it?”
“Why take only Ye-jin? They targeted her from the start, right?”
Hearing it laid out, it was definitely strange.
After capturing Do Ye-jin, they vanished like their business was done.
“Not certain, but…… There might be [Nameless Demigod] Hunters in Nowon-gu too.”
“What do you──?”
“Meaning they took her to turn her into a proper [Nameless Demigod] Hunter.”
Then.
Brainwashing is the goal?
- Mister, I’ll open the path for you.
Ye-jin turning enemy……?
The thought made it impossible to maintain the forced smile I’d been wearing.
“Scouting done.”
Mun Ji-hyo, sitting cross-legged.
She slowly opened her eyes right then.
“No unusual movements for now. Even the Heteromorphs are quiet.”
“So it’s safe?”
“On the surface. What now?”
Habitually, I rolled up my left wrist. Right…… Left it with Jeong Ha-kyeong.
“What time is it?”
“10:55 a.m.”
“We go.”
A heavy shiver passed through the group’s eyes.
“Mun Ji-hyo, keep watch here with 《Thousand-Mile Eyes》.”
“Got it.”
“Cheon-gyeom. You stay too and guard her. Ring the bell if danger approaches.”
Heo Cheon-gyeom looked like she wanted to come, but obeyed meekly.
“Alright…… Let’s go see who called for us.”