Chapter 114
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 114
What happens when a habitual evildoer gets fried in the fires of hell and somehow makes it out alive?
“…Fuck…”
The answer: they don’t change all that much.
“Son of a bitch… Seriously, why the hell am I…”
Park Eun-gyeom’s daily life had been turned upside down overnight.
He was a 1st-Grade Citizen and a B-Rank Hunter. He had decent looks, and since his body was his livelihood, his physique was top-notch. It felt like only yesterday that he was looking down on the fools who clung to him, enjoying the sweet perks of his status while they failed to grasp their own place in the world.
But ever since I fell into that dungeon…
The tables had completely turned.
“Is that him…?”
“I heard he’s a repeat offender.”
“What is the world coming to?”
People whispered as they watched him pass.
“Hunter Park, I heard you got dragged into the Black Cloak’s dungeon and back.”
“…Yes, well, that’s true.”
“The aftereffects must be brutal. Why didn’t you take a proper rest instead of coming out?”
The hunters he knew were no different.
“Rumor has it you’re exhausted from all the Association’s requests for cooperation lately.”
The B-Rank Hunter who said this cast a quick, wary glance around, his eyes filled with a strange mix of anxiety and annoyance. He clearly didn’t know the exact details, but his expression showed he knew Park Eun-gyeom had been dragged to the Association for questioning multiple times.
He’s probably wondering if I’m still being watched right now.
But that suspicion wasn’t entirely off-base.
Damn it, why am I being treated like this?!
In truth, he was indeed under the Association’s surveillance.
He couldn’t understand it at all. A precious 1st-Grade Citizen and a capable B-Rank Hunter had survived a mysterious dungeon. Shouldn’t they be showering him with praise, encouragement, and compensation for damages? He couldn’t comprehend why everyone’s eyes were so cold and sharp.
“Well, a Hunter… has to work. If I don’t work, who’s going to protect the citizens?”
“…Is that so? Well, do whatever you want, then.”
The other hunter clicked his tongue and walked away.
“…”
It was a reaction dripping with blatant contempt and pity.
…What the hell was that? Even if I’m just a B-Rank Hunter, isn’t this a bit much? I knew that guy was territorial, but to be this blatantly hostile…
He gnashed his teeth.
He was a mere 3rd-Grade Citizen until recently. He’s too vulgar to associate with.
It was sickening to see a country bumpkin who used to survive on monster meat putting on airs just because he’d had a lucky Awakening.
He tried his best to ignore the whispering voices as he set out to find work. There were plenty of people looking for B-Rank Hunters. He wasn’t about to let himself crumble like this.
However…
“We’re sorry.”
“…Look, I don’t know what kind of rumors you’ve heard lately, but…”
“We are sorry, Hunter Park Eun-gyeom. Our brokerage cannot arrange any work for you.”
“Are you seriously pulling this shit because you believe those fucking rumors? Hey! Do you have any idea how much money I’ve made for this place?!”
“We apologize. Please visit another brokerage.”
To think he was being looked down upon by a mere office employee, not even a Hunter.
“Ha, this is ridiculous. Does watching Hunters sweat and bleed from this filthy little office make you think you’re actually someone important? A weakling like you who’d die from a single tap dares to treat a Hunter like a joke? Fuck!!”
“…P-please calm down…”
“Do you think I’m just going to let this slide? You think I will? Don’t bullshit me, you worthless piece of trash… I came here in person to find work. Huh? What grade are you? What grade are you to act like such a piece of shit?!”
He felt a brief moment of satisfaction at the employee’s terrified expression, but it was short-lived.
“Hunter Park Eun-gyeom, please leave.”
“What? No, you’re telling me to leave? Are you insane?”
“Leave. Now.”
The brokerage guards stepped in and threw him out of the building.
Since this was a brokerage frequented by Hunters who were also 1st-Grade Citizens, most of the guards were C-Rank Hunters. Even if he held a higher rank, he had no choice but to back down when outnumbered.
“No, you—you crazy bastards…!! Are you out of your minds?! Do you not know who I am?! Do you?!”
“Oh, we know you very well. Didn’t we just call you Hunter Park Eun-gyeom?” one of the guards said, clicking his tongue. “Aren’t you that Hunter who doesn’t know the value of a porter and throws them to monsters as bait? Hmm?”
“Th-that…!!”
What on earth was so wrong with that?
“…I-I’m not the only one who does that! Huh? Was it just me? No, it wasn’t! Besides me, no—you know what? Let’s be real here. Do you guys honestly look at those F-Rank porters and see them as human? Do they look like fucking humans to you?!”
Yes, that was the goddamn rumor that had spread.
Abandoning a porter in a dungeon when things got rough was something everyone did on the down-low. It was infuriating enough that their only job was carrying bags, yet they still had to be fed. It was only natural to want to dump such useless freeloaders.
I was in a tight spot, too. It’s not like I had the luxury to look after a porter when my own life was on the line.
“Of course, I know it’s a bad thing. But, hey! Think about it. Does everyone wait for the light to turn green before crossing the street? No! I know it’s wrong, so I also, in my own way… in my own way…!”
“In your own way? What, you hid it well in your own way?”
“…”
“Wow, this guy is completely out of his mind,” the guard snickered, turning to his colleague.
“He’s a murderer who doesn’t even realize he’s a murderer.”
“Tell me about it. These are the real psychos. Ugh, disgusting.”
“Even a 5th-Grade Citizen would have more self-awareness than this.”
Anger flared inside him.
“Who are you comparing to a 5th-Grade Citizen?!”
But no one listened.
“No wonder the Association is keeping tabs on him.”
“He’s a repeat offender of the worst kind. It’s hilarious that he’s out here looking for work when the rumors have spread this far.”
“It’s a total comedy. Do precious 1st-Grade Citizens also suffer from financial difficulties or something?”
“Hey, hey, our esteemed 1st-Grade Citizen is getting pissed. Let’s head back inside.”
“Ooh, scary. If he gets mad, is he gonna give us a roundhouse kick, too? Like this, whack!”
“Ah, you crazy bastard. Stop being so funny. We’re on the clock, cut it out.”
Being treated like cheap entertainment left him speechless.
“…Wh-what…”
He wanted to cry.
In the end, he was left standing all alone before the whispering crowd.
“…”
He had lost count of how many times this had happened.
He was just a Hunter trying to do a Hunter’s job, but the brokerage employees kept turning him away as if they’d lost their minds. This was all because the Association had openly summoned him.
“…I-I’m… I’m not under surveillance, I’m being protected…”
The Association staff had definitely said so. They claimed it wasn’t surveillance but a protective measure. They said they were just monitoring his progress because they didn’t know when the Black Cloak might appear to harm him again. They had practically begged him not to take offense.
Even though he had been in a foul mood after being toyed with by a monster, he had graciously accepted their protection out of pity for the Association staff. It was laughable that mere civil servants dared to talk about protecting a B-Rank Hunter, but he had let it slide.
“…Do they have any fucking idea how dangerous the Black Cloak is? How could they…”
He had personally experienced the danger of the Black Cloak, which the public treated as nothing more than some trivial event.
“Do they know how hard I fought to escape…?”
That was why he had done it.
“…”
“…”
“…Is that him?”
The rookie hunters hanging around the brokerage whispered among themselves.
“You know, the guy who beat up his porter and got dragged away by the Black Cloak…”
“I heard he didn’t just beat him up; he tried to abandon him in the dungeon entirely.”
“What a complete psycho.”
Someone muttered, “Honestly, he deserved to get dragged away by the Black Cloak.”
Anger flared up inside him once more, and he screamed.
“What do you mean I deserved it, you bastards?!”
“Ah, no, we were just…”
“Do you even know how dangerous that bastard Black Cloak is?! Huh?! Do you?!”
“Well…”
“He kidnaps perfectly innocent people and turns them into ruins…!!”
A hunter who looked like a mere kid grimaced.
“P-perfectly innocent, my foot… Excuse me, but the rumors have already spread everywhere.”
He looked terrified, yet his words were incredibly mocking.
“I heard the Black Cloak only takes bad people.”
“Yeah, and they said he doesn’t even take you unless you did something really bad, like murder or abuse.”
“He’s not a monster that kidnaps people for jaywalking. What nonsense are you talking about?”
When a bunch of idiots gathered, there was no reasoning with them.
“Of course he’s a scary monster to him, because he’s a bad guy. Why would people like us be scared of him?”
“Well… he’s a monster, so he must be dangerous, but I heard he doesn’t really harm people unless they deserve it…”
“Did you hear about the gifts he gives when you meet him? Man, hearing that made me want to meet him, too.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. No matter what, he’s still a dangerous monster classified by the Association. Anyway, as long as we’re careful, we’ll be fine.”
“Oh, you’re being too cautious. I heard the gifts that monster gives are incredibly delicious.”
“Yeah, and they say the effects are amazing. It’s practically medicine.”
Rather than believing a notorious scumbag, they chose to embrace the bizarre ghost story currently spreading through the city.
“I heard you might miss out on the Black Cloak’s gift if you’re unlucky, though.”
“Still, I’m a bit scared. What if I get dragged away for a sin I didn’t even know I committed…?”
“He’s a monster, so we should be on guard, but don’t worry.”
“Yeah, unless your personality is as utterly trashed as his, you won’t get dragged away.”
“I heard the Black Cloak’s works are absolutely stunning. I want to go see them.”
The Black Cloak, who rewarded the good and punished the wicked, was highly popular among the citizens. A polite humanoid monster who rarely harmed ordinary people fulfilled the romantic fantasies of the city dwellers to the absolute maximum.
While some feared him, no one hated him.
“But why is that bastard taking his anger out on us?”
“Who knows? Probably thinks we’re easy targets… This is why I hate classists…”
“He’s bringing shame to all 1st-Grade Citizens by himself. Tsk, tsk.”
On the other hand, there were plenty of people who would hate an Association-recognized criminal for no reason at all.
“Hasn’t his Hunter license been revoked yet?”
“He brought shame to all Hunters. Where does he get that confidence…?”
In the end…
“…”
The man named Park Eun-gyeom was completely isolated.
“…You—you—you…”
The injustice of no one understanding his pain. The rage at being treated like this for the first time in his life, and the terror hidden beneath it. The sheer humiliation of being disgraced in front of so many people.
Having held back out of fear of being dragged back to ‘Void City’, he finally drew his weapon.
“You pieces of trash!!!”
“Kyaaa!”
“Stop him!”
“Fuck off, you bastards! You—you goddamn…!!”
And watching this scene…
“…”
The Gray City looked on.
*
Identification Number
0S-328-D-01
Response Rank
B (Avoidance)
Entity Type
Humanoid (-)
Entity Name
Black Suit (-)
Authority
Plunder (-)
A humanoid entity first discovered by B-Rank Hunter Park Eun-gyeom of the Korea Hunter Association. Created by Identification Number 『0S-328-D (Black Cloak)』, it resides in ‘Void City’, which is understood to be the dungeon under the primary control of said entity.
It takes the form of a black suit with a three-dimensional volume, as if worn by an invisible person. The shape of the suit varies slightly from entity to entity. There was some dispute during the naming process. A proposal was made to name the entity ‘Invisible Man’, but it was discarded after it was revealed that the body was not transparent, but rather non-existent.
Although designated as a humanoid entity for convenience, this classification is subject to future revision. It appears necessary to adjust the entity name once additional information is acquired.
According to the testimony of an A-Rank Hunter belonging to the Collector (Yoo Seong-un), the entity possesses enough intelligence to communicate, though this may be a characteristic unique to specific individuals. Its height is estimated to be approximately 185 to 189 cm.
As indicated by its identification number, it exhibits characteristics highly similar to 『0S-328-D (Black Cloak)』. Its height and behavior resemble those of the Black Cloak.
It perceives evil humans as harmful entities that exert a negative influence on their species. Upon encounter, it forcibly teleports the target to the dungeon ‘Void City’ for isolation and disposal. Escape is possible with the permission of 『0S-328-D (Black Cloak)』, the master of the dungeon, but a prolonged stay appears to result in the target becoming part of a ‘Work’.
If one becomes a Work of 『0S-328-D (Black Cloak)』, a ‘price’ is required to escape.
In the case of the first witness, B-Rank Hunter Park Eun-gyeom, he paid his ‘evilness’ as the price. However, immediately after exhibiting the ‘evilness’ that had been taken as the price, he was deemed to have violated the transaction. Consequently, his external physical characteristics were plundered by 『0S-328-D-01 (Black Suit)』, and his original body was turned into paint.
The methods of 『0S-328-D-01 (Black Suit)』 are meticulous and subtle. Only when the target violates the transaction does it plunder their voice, eyes, muscles, and skin, in that order. Upon completing the transaction, 『0S-328-D-01 (Black Suit)』 staged a suicide in the form of Park Eun-gyeom.
Associates testified that they did not notice any sense of incongruity. Judging by the fact that Park Eun-gyeom complained of hysterical pain and terror during the seven-day plundering period, it appears the target of the transaction can perceive the plundering process.
Once it was proven that 『0S-328-D-01 (Black Suit)』 was not Park Eun-gyeom, it vanished. Park Eun-gyeom’s body has turned into black paint and is currently stored in the Association’s research facility. Some researchers have analyzed it as living paint that exhibits biological activity.
Countermeasures and Considerations
Refrain from committing evil acts within the visual range of 『0S-328-D (Black Cloak)』 or its dungeon, ‘Void City’. Escape is possible either by paying a price after direct dialogue with 『0S-328-D (Black Cloak)』, or without paying a price.
Regardless of the type of attack, both 『0S-328-D (Black Cloak)』 and 『0S-328-D-01 (Black Suit)』 are impervious to damage. Avoidance is established as the default response protocol for the two aforementioned entities and the dungeon ‘Void City’.
We are currently accepting related requests and additional information.
*
Today’s Status_ 'Void City'
"Void is working hard for Dad! (ง˙∇˙)ง"