Chapter 60
Chapter 60
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Find the Right Path (6)
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14.
“We need to execute Do Ye-jin right here, right now.”
Cha Seung-hyeon looked around at the others as if seeking their agreement.
“And hand that soulstone over to the Lead Hunter. He’s got the most contributions, after all.”
A few people nodded.
Then Seo Hwa-yoon raised her hand. All eyes instantly turned to her fluttering white robes.
“I propose we weaponize Do Ye-jin.”
In that moment, the conference room erupted in noise.
“Call it a subordinate armament, perhaps?”
It wasn’t because it was a brilliant idea. Most faces twisted in expressions of sheer lunacy.
“A subordinate armament?”
Seo Hwa-yoon responded to Choi Uk’s question with unusual seriousness.
“Everyone knows that casualties from battles against subordinates have been overwhelmingly higher than against regular heteromorphs.”
“…….”
“It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say nearly all casualties in raids come from the subordinates in those raids.”
“So?”
“What if we turned that absolute power into our own? Wouldn’t our win rates and survival rates skyrocket in the next raid?”
Suddenly, the conference room fell silent.
Some seemed swayed, exchanging glances with one another. Raid Leader Choi Jeong-gyun of the National Army stepped forward.
“That’s nonsense! How do you trust a monster like that enough to take her outside Paradise? What if she betrays us?”
“There’s always a chance of betrayal. But is this the time to let emotions rule? No. We need to look at the possibility of victory.”
“Possibility my ass! That bitch slaughtered twelve raiders. That’s the only truth! And the moment she came to, she proved her violence all over again!”
Choi Jeong-gyun jabbed a finger at Do Ye-jin and yelled irritably before turning to Choi Uk.
“We need to execute her on the spot. I’ve said it over and over in the officer meetings. Damn right I have! Isn’t that right?”
Choi Jeong-gyun’s roar reignited hatred in the raiders’ hearts. As Do Su-jin’s face twisted, the raiders began shouting one by one.
“Kill her!”
“Kill her! Kill her! Kill her!”
As the cries for murder swelled into a chorus, Choi Uk looked at me.
“Let’s hear from the Lead Hunter one last time.”
Now.
This was the moment to win.
I quietly warned Do Su-jin.
“No matter what I do, don’t step in. Got it?”
Then I strode forward, vaulted over the makeshift barrier, and stood tall right in front of Do Ye-jin.
I stood there motionless for a long while.
gazes and silence pressed in heavily from all sides.
I drew the Dawn Sword from my back. With a sharp sching—the sheath came free, and the blade sang out clearly.
Everyone probably thought I was about to cut Do Ye-jin down…… But I didn’t.
Instead, I used the sword tip to carve ‘it’ large into the stone floor.
Scraaape. Scraaape. Scraaape.
The grating metallic sound echoed through the room for a good while. Finally, someone couldn’t take it anymore and shouted.
“What the hell are you doing?”
I had just finished writing ‘it’.
I stepped half a pace aside so everyone could see. The raiders who checked it looked baffled.
“What…….”
“What is that?”
That was when I noticed.
Over my shoulder, Do Ye-jin’s eyes were turning red.
What I had written was none other than.
Do Ye-jin’s basic personal information.
I drew the revolver from my waist.
Slowly opened the cylinder, loaded six live rounds, and snapped it shut. Only then did I speak.
“If any of you aren’t human, step forward and shoot this child’s head with this gun.”
No one stepped up.
No one spoke.
One of two things: either they didn’t understand me, or they did and couldn’t bring themselves to act rashly.
“Are you playing word games now?”
It took Choi Jeong-gyun a long moment to narrow his eyes.
“No.”
“That bitch is a monster. Why are you suddenly looking for humans?”
“Monster?”
I pointed the barrel at Do Ye-jin’s face.
“Sure, her face is small and her features are sculpted. Great proportions. Unrealistically beautiful, I’ll grant you.”
I shook my head with a sigh.
“But that’s it. She doesn’t drool like the heteromorphs, her eyes aren’t pitch-black like the subordinates’, and she doesn’t charge at people to kill. This girl is human. Human, just like us.”
A brief silence.
Then someone objected.
“You’re saying we treat a freak like that as human?”
“Not treat. She is human.”
“She killed twelve of our own. Even ripped someone’s arm off. You saying we go easy on her for vehicular manslaughter because she was drunk?”
“Vehicular manslaughter? Did this girl choose to become a subordinate?”
The raider was at a loss for words.
“Let me ask: did anyone here ever hope to become a hunter in this nightmare? Abandoning family for it?”
Of course, no one had.
“No. We were forced to take up the sword. No choice. Because the stars said we had to.”
I still remember it.
The day after the apocalypse. The bitter helplessness of having my fate toyed with by the Star Messenger in the cathedral.
“She’s the same! She was dragged into it by force. Just like us. Family, friends, daily life, past, present, future…… all stolen away.”
I still remember.
The screams of the dying.
The heat of blood and flesh splattering my cheek. I couldn’t do a thing. Because.
“We’re all human. Pitifully weak humans compared to those stars.”
I cried out desperately, pleading.
By then, nearly half the group wore complicated expressions.
The problem…… was the other half still burned with hostility.
Damn…… Do I have to go that far?
To beat this mad world, I have to go mad too. I muttered to myself.
—Bang!
A sharp gunshot rang out.
A half-beat later, Do Ye-jin let out a horrific scream.
“So this is it? This is the scream you all wanted?”
The impact was her side.
I deliberately chose the spot that hurt the most. Next, her left kneecap.
“Right? Feeling better now?”
Do Ye-jin’s pitiful screams echoed in my ears.
Bang— Bang— Bang—
Now her right kneecap.
Then her shoulder blade. The crack of bone was drowned in the gunfire.
“Is this the agony you wanted? This stench of blood?”
Starlight flickered at the impact sites. The ‘stars’ healing’ effect had kicked in immediately.
But the pain was real.
Do Ye-jin lay face-down on the floor, barely managing shallow breaths.
“Ah…… Ah…… Ah…….”
My hand trembled on the gun grip. Sorry…… I said it in my mind as I raised my head. Many raiders averted their eyes.
“Is this really what you want? Then step up! Come and shoot her yourself!”
Silence.
No one urged me to continue.
Just as planned.
The raiders watched me with their own expressions. Bewilderment. Fear. Pity.
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
Anyone would waver seeing a fellow human suffer like this. This violence was meant to shake their hatred.
“Everyone.”
I spoke in a weary voice.
“What we need to hunt is the nightmare that destroyed our daily lives, and the stars that toy with us. Not this girl…….”
Do Su-jin and Shin Tae-yeop rushed out to check on Do Ye-jin.
In the meantime, I took the raiders’ silence as assent and moved to the main point.
“You’ve all realized it from this battle. The enemy is overwhelmingly powerful, while we are infinitely weak.”
What Choi Uk wanted was organizational unity. I’d guarantee that first.
“We must fight as one from now on. That’s why I propose right here the creation of a hunter organization.”
Choi Uk, who had been silent, finally spoke.
“Don’t we already have raid parties as a hunter organization?”
“No. I’m not talking about small, exclusive groups like raid parties.”
I spread my arms wide toward the assembly.
“A grand unified organization where all hunters and all raid parties can collaborate freely. Not vertical hierarchy, but horizontal relations where everyone is treated equally in a democratic structure.”
Then I clapped my hands together.
“The creation of the <Association>.”
In that instant, the room collectively sucked in a breath.
Park Ji-yeon had united the hunters under the Suburban Knights organization. How? By.
“Designating Do Ye-jin as a subordinate armament there.”
Common ownership of the armament ensured unconditional cooperation.
“Not my personal property, nor any one raid party’s, but the <Association>’s armament to be used for nightmare subjugation. I propose it here.”
What I wanted was Do Ye-jin’s survival. To that end, I’d imbue her with the value of a weapon.
Now, the dice were cast.
I just had to wait for the result.
A long, heavy silence passed, then murmurs burst forth like a flood.
“Not bad…….”
“Yeah. If we can use that subordinate’s power like a weapon…… no need to kill her.”
“And it’s communal property.”
The raiders began exchanging positive words, glancing at me and Do Ye-jin. Choi Uk asked me.
“The <Association>’s creation and Do Ye-jin’s weaponization…… There’s one fatal flaw. What if she betrays us?”
“Then I’ll take responsibility and end her myself.”
At my firm answer, Choi Uk looked to Im Yong-gon.
“What’s your take?”
“Doesn’t seem impossible. Kim Baek-jun’s contributions to the subjugation were absolute. The subjugation team barely did anything but stand around.”
I’d quelled the popular hatred.
I’d instilled certainty in organizational unity.
I’d pointed out the explosive potential for victory.
“Kim Baek-jun controlling a subordinate armament…….”
Choi Uk had probably grasped everything I intended in an instant.
“Let’s vote. Those in favor of Do Ye-jin’s survival and joining the <Association> as inaugural members, raise your hands.”
As expected, Choi Uk’s calculations were swift. And his method was clever.
Bundling Do Ye-jin’s survival with the honor of inaugural membership.
As anticipated.
Choi Uk had wanted her dead to prioritize raid party unity.
With unity secured, he had no reason to ignore her potential and kill her.
“Raise your hands!”
Seo Hwa-yoon raised hers immediately.
Then Do Su-jin. As if in competition, Jeong Ha-kyeong raised hers too.
Almost simultaneously, Shin Tae-yeop and Choi Uk raised theirs.
“Me too!”
“I’m in favor as well.”
The former and current raid leaders raising their hands.
That was the signal. Raiders began raising hands one by one, and more, and more.
“Absolute majority in favor…… That settles it.”
Even as Choi Uk spoke, the only ones who hadn’t raised their hands to the end were Choi Jeong-gyun and Cha Seung-hyeon.
Cha Seung-hyeon stared at me blankly.
I nodded as if persuading him, and he reluctantly raised his.
But not Choi Jeong-gyun.
There wasn’t even time to persuade him. He glared at his subordinates in disbelief.
“What a bunch of pathetic fucks.”
Snarling, he kicked open the door and stormed out.
This was unexpected……?
I stared blankly at his retreating back when someone grabbed my shoulder. I turned to see Choi Uk.
“If you’re building a community like that, you’ll need a symbolic headquarters and a chairmanship to lead democratic procedures.”
“How about…… using this Gyeonghui Palace building as headquarters?”
“As you wish.”
“You’re agreeing right away?”
Choi Uk gave a subdued smile.
“If it’s what you want, I’ll advise. But you’re the leader, so the final decision is yours.”
This was another surprise.
“No. I’m not cut out to be a leader. You should take it, Choi Uk.”
“I’m the raid leader of <Romance>.”
“Then……?”
“The Shin Tae-yeop you’re looking at now would say the same about taking <GodSpring>.”
“Then who the hell is supposed to do it?”
“I told you. You.”
I was speechless.
“You, who stood at the vanguard in every raid as Lead Hunter, who became a role model for all humanity through devoted victories.”
I looked around, feeling eyes on me. Everyone whose gaze I met nodded in agreement.
“Without you, the <Association> wouldn’t have formed. So I declare: the <Association> is yours to lead. The honor of inaugural chairman belongs to Kim Baek-jun—you.”
Do Ye-jin
16 years old this year. Student at Seonhwa Middle School.
Youngest daughter of Do Ji-woong and younger sister of Do Su-jin.