I Should Have Done This Sooner
“Hah. I’m fucking exhausted.”
After finishing a round of sparring with the Death Knight, I flopped down right where I stood.
I couldn’t even twitch a finger.
When was the last time I’d fought without stopping like this?
Even during large-scale raids, it had never been this bad.
“Well, it is that bastard I’m up against…”
I let out a dry laugh as I watched the Death Knight walk toward me.
He was making a point of stomping as he came, as if he wanted to show off that he was still perfectly fine.
I clapped for him and humored the bastard.
“Hmph. Sucking up to the winner? You really have no pride, do you.”
“So what? It’s not like we were really trying to kill each other. More importantly, you’re no joke. I couldn’t even see some of your attacks.”
I admitted it honestly. If this had been a real fight, I would’ve been dead several times over by now.
I’d been through countless gates, but this monster was on an entirely different level.
There probably wasn’t anyone in Korea who could take him on.
He was a monster, all right, but I couldn’t help admiring his skill.
“…Come to think of it, you weren’t half bad yourself.”
He glanced at me and went on.
“You even countered my last attack. As expected, you’re exactly the sort of person I had my eye on.”
“Oh yeah? Guess it’s because I was facing you. I can feel myself getting stronger pretty fast.”
“Ahem…”
He cleared his throat and turned away.
For some reason, his steps looked lighter. He seemed to be in a good mood.
“Wait. Come to think of it, what time is it?”
In the middle of all that fighting, I’d completely lost track.
Jian was probably waiting for me, so I should head back soon.
When I got to my feet, the bastard gave me a sidelong look.
“What, you still want to fight? Hah. You really are hopeless…”
“No. I’m asking what time it is.”
He froze for a moment at my answer.
“…Why would you ask me that?”
What the hell. He suddenly looked annoyed. Was I imagining it?
Anyway, enough time had probably passed, so there was no reason for me to linger here any longer.
“Fine. I’ve been here long enough, so I’m heading back.”
“…….”
He didn’t answer. Well, that was just how he was.
We had simply been keeping each other company for a little while for our own reasons. Given the relationship between us, that was only natural.
“I owe you one.”
Still, I thanked him. No matter what, what had just happened was one of a kind.
Once I stepped out of the gate, I found myself back in the alley from before.
Chi-zi-zi-zip— The moment I emerged, the gate closed behind me and vanished without a trace.
Come to think of it, how had that bastard known my situation?
He’d clearly figured out not only that I’d been betrayed, but also that I was hiding in this alley.
It wasn’t as if he’d spent the whole day searching for me, was it?
“No idea. I’ll think about it when I get home.”
When I looked up, the moon was already high overhead. At this hour, the reporters and the rest of those bastards had probably gone home.
I headed straight back, avoiding people’s eyes as I made my way home.
*
At a time when the blue moonlight drifted through the world, most of the hunters had already left, but Yoon Seah was still at the guild.
She sat there in the training hall, staring blankly into space.
“…….”
Her hair was disheveled, her shoulders slumped.
Her usual confident expression looked like she might burst into tears at any moment.
No matter how many people tried to comfort her after seeing that, it did no good.
All they could do was look on with pity.
“Seah…”
“Shh. Let’s leave her alone for now.”
So everyone quietly cleared out, leaving her alone in the training hall.
Once she confirmed that everyone had left, she quietly took out her phone.
“…….”
The news was already plastered with stories about Lee Seoyun.
No, not just the news—every corner of the internet was the same.
Even other S-rank hunters were condemning him, while sympathy for Cha Seojin and Yoon Seah kept pouring in.
Since the incident was such a hot topic, the number of fan club members had shot up far more than before.
But even after seeing that, she didn’t smile.
Instead, she got to her feet and walked to the hallway to check her surroundings.
“They’re gone, right…?”
This should be enough, shouldn’t it?
Click. She locked the door and quickly checked Hunter Blind.
As expected, there were posts from Orion Guild members.
“…Ahaha.”
Reading the posts, she couldn’t help bursting into laughter.
Sure enough, it had been worth staying here this late.
She tidied her hair, then used a cotton pad to wipe the tear tracks from her face.
Then she stretched and let out a satisfied sigh.
“Haah. Maybe I should give acting a try while I’m at it.”
They always said tears from a victim were the most powerful evidence. Who would’ve thought a single round of crying would fool them all?
It was an utterly satisfying result.
She smiled brightly as she read the news of Lee Seoyun’s fall into hell.
“Heh. I can’t believe it turned out like this.”
Of course, she hadn’t intended for things to go this far from the beginning.
Up until the incident happened, she’d even been thinking of telling the truth.
She didn’t care what happened to Cha Seojin, and as for the holy water he’d discarded, a little self-reflection would’ve been enough to smooth things over.
She’d planned to ignore whatever Guild Leader Choi Jinchul said.
That was, until Kang Hanna sided with Choi Jinchul.
“Hehe, what can you do? This is the fastest and surest way.”
So please, keep sinking a little deeper into hell.
She walked over to the window and smiled softly, imagining him somewhere out there.
*
Chirp. Chirp-chirp.
I slowly opened my eyes to the sound of cheerful birdsong.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t a good morning for me.
I sat up and let out a sigh instead of a stretch.
“Haa. Morning again, huh…”
Had there ever been a time when I hated the next day this much?
When I stepped out into the living room, the wreckage from yesterday’s raid on the Association was still everywhere.
“Bastards. They just left without even cleaning up.”
And that wasn’t even the worst of it.
Out on the street beyond the living room window, hunters were clustered around with cameras, broadcasting live.
“Oh! There’s Lee Seoyun Hunter right there, everyone, do you see him? If that bastard comes out, I’ll give him a nice, refreshing lesson in discipline!”
“Hey! Lee Seoyun! Get out here. Come out and fight me one-on-one. What, you scared? They said you were S-rank, but you’re scared of a C-rank!? Everyone, this is the true face of S-rank Lee Seoyun. If you liked what you saw, please hit like and subscribe!”
“…….”
I didn’t bother dealing with them. That was exactly what those pieces of trash wanted.
At least Jian not being here was a relief.
When I came back, I heard that Grandma had already come up from the countryside and taken her away.
So I didn’t need to worry about her for the time being.
First, I needed to think about how to clear my name. Though I had no idea whether that was even possible.
With nothing more than some bread and a drink in hand, I was about to head back to my room when a question suddenly surfaced in my mind.
…Why am I so hung up on things that won’t even work?
At this point, was it even possible to prove my innocence? People had already branded me a criminal.
Why was I suffering like this over a crime I hadn’t even committed?
“…….”
I looked out the window.
There were still more than a hundred people gathered there, all of them shouting abuse at me.
Watching them, I couldn’t understand it at all.
…Why the hell do I keep putting up with this?
“Hey. Lee Seoyun! Why the hell aren’t you coming out? Come on, let’s fight. Or should I go play with your little sister instead? Heh heh. You son of a bitch. I’m going to show you exactly what justice looks like today—”
Crash!
The next moment, my body moved on its own.
The window shattered, and the startled faces of those bastards flashed past me.
By the time I came to my senses, I was already gripping their throats and dragging them into the house.
“Kh, kgh!?”
“That fucking—!? I-It’s all being recorded right now! You’re fucked now, yo-”
“I know.”
I looked down at the men thrashing in my grip.
They beat at my arm, trying desperately to escape, but it was pointless.
If anything, it was so ridiculous I started laughing.
“Pfft.”
I’d spent all this time protecting people like this, and somehow I was the idiot.
“Say that again. What were you going to do to my little sister?”
I lifted them high into the air.
“Y-you! What are you, khk—!?”
“D-don’t! Please, don’t do it!!”
Then, without hesitation, I slammed them into the floor.
With a deafening crash, screams burst from their mouths.
“Aaaaaagh! You son of a bitch!”
“Kkhh!? I-I’ll fucking ruin you somehow. Just you wait. You son of a—”
Smack!
I drove my fist into their faces.
Smack. Smack. Crack!
Whether they covered their faces with their hands or kept shouting, I didn’t stop.
By the time my hand was stained red, I finally drew back my fist.
Their faces were so wrecked they were barely recognizable, and broken teeth lay scattered around them.
“U-uhh. P-please, s-save us…”
“H-healer… p-please call a healer…”
The men twitched and begged, but I ignored all of it.
I swept blood back through my hair with my hand.
I felt far better than I expected.
“Haa. I should’ve done this sooner.”
Wail-wail-wail—
Then, from far away, the sound of sirens came rushing in.
Police, and hunters too, would be here any minute.
Maybe I’d even lose my life.
And yet, for some reason—
“Hahaha. I’m really fucking screwed.”
I kept laughing.
I wasn’t afraid, and I didn’t regret it.
If anything, I almost thought this was for the best.
Rather than being dragged along by a crime I never committed, it would be better to do whatever I wanted and die on my own terms.
I counted the hunters racing toward me and worked through the possibilities in my head.
Just the hunters I could see were already around fifty, conservatively.
Could I break through all of them and make it to the Orion Guild?
“Hunter Lee Seoyun! Put your hands above your head and do not move!”
“You are under arrest on suspicion of murder—”
Thud!
I grabbed the hunter in the lead by the neck and smashed him straight into the wall.
He went limp without even getting the chance to scream.
After wiping the blood that had splattered across my face, I slowly turned around.
The hunters who’d been charging forward only moments ago had all frozen in place.
“Why are you all just standing there and staring? You came knowing this would happen anyway, didn’t you?”
I shrugged off my coat and glared at them.
“What, did you think I’d just take it quietly?”
“…….”
No one answered.
One of them seemed to realize something was very wrong and started backing away.
I didn’t care.
With my ability fully unleashed, I charged the hunters.