Fukuoka's Dual Catastrophe
The Japanese Prime Minister decided to formally reject every single clause in the agreement Korea had proposed to the International Hunter Union.
In response, Defense Minister Tanaka Mitsuo rushed back from Fukuoka to Tokyo and requested an emergency summit of each nation's leaders or their aides via the 'International Video Conference' line, which had been kept open nonstop since the holy relic incident.
"The current holy relic crisis is a problem for all of humanity, so it must be viewed from a different perspective. We demand revisions to the clauses."
It was a statement aimed squarely at Korea. This was a far cry from the face that had showered Director Baek with deep gratitude just days ago.
Politics is like the sea, after all—yesterday's bonds get swept away by today's waves. It was just the natural law of cause and effect.
However, most nations in the International Hunter Union were holding back their comments. In this situation, only countries with the capacity to provide aid held any real sway.
Baek Moon-seong, who had been sitting silently and listening, spoke up as if there were no good options left.
"Can we take that as a rejection from Japan's side?"
"Yes."
"However, this director has one point he'd like clarified. What's the difference between the Cartibes incident and the holy relic crisis?"
I'd expected that response.
If we're going by logic and legal grounds, the director's point holds water. But politics doesn't work that way.
Tanaka's statement wasn't aimed at forcing Korea to back down immediately and turn into a tree that gives endlessly—that was impossible.
It was just about raising a moderate flag of defiance to subtly shift the balance of power toward Japan.
Then, if they returned the holy relic 'Jackal Mask' and shook Korea to its core, international opinion would turn against Joseon, and all the upward momentum left there would flow straight to Japan.
"Until there's public discourse on the matter, Japan cannot agree to any resolution."
"......We'll wait."
Baek flashed an inscrutable smile. That black-hearted old fox. No matter how much he dreamed of Korea's glory in his head, all that awaited was an even bigger wave. At that moment,
- Clang!
The conference room door burst open violently. The noise echoed loud enough that the leaders of nations around the world likely heard it through Tanaka's mic.
"Defense Minister! Defense Minister! Defense Minister!"
A strategy officer rushed in and whispered urgently into Tanaka's ear. The scene was being broadcast to the world.
"Why the hell now?!"
Tanaka, stunned by the report, forgot his mic was on and bellowed.
"The relic was fine until just now!"
The leaders on the video call began prepping their camera offs one by one, murmuring.
"Looks like another incident's broken out in Japan."
"......Defense Minister. Let's reconvene after you've sorted out the situation in Japan."
'Damn it!'
Panicking from his blunder in front of the world's bureaucrats, Tanaka hastily wrapped up with, "I'll request another assembly later," and bolted for the situation room.
The strategy officer's report was as follows.
A highest-grade gate was about to open in Japan.
Two of them.
One in Fukuoka.
The other also in Fukuoka.
- Whiiiirrr......
"W-What's happening?!"
Suzuki Hiroshi, who had layered high-level spells upon the relic, was facing the impossible. The Jackal Mask's eyes were gradually glowing purple.
Until moments ago, Yoon So-i's sanctuary seal on the relic had been flawless. Even though it was B-rank, it had been certified by dozens of holy hunters.
- Be careful. It's a dangerous item.
Now he finally understood Yoon So-i's words. And why she'd documented that the chance to return the relic was always open.
"Th-The sanctuary is holding steady!"
"It's just the internal power surging!"
It meant the relic's true tier was far beyond expectations. Had it entered dormancy right after Korea retrieved it, only to awaken now?!
"No. The crisis hasn't erupted yet. I won't let it."
Suzuki drew on his full power to prepare his ultimate barrier. Using it could endanger the surrounding holy hunters' lives, but now wasn't the time to worry.
The relic is a vessel for souls anyway. If I stuff corrupted souls in as impurities, I can buy some time!
Onmyoji Arts | Soul Absorption
"Gaaahhh!"
As he unleashed the spell treated as a killer move, two or three nearby holy hunters clutched their hearts, groaned, and dropped dead in an instant.
"!!!" "Suzuki! What the hell?!"
- Shoooo!
"Shut up, you lowly scum!"
Suzuki extracted pure souls from the freshly killed hunters, gathered them in his hands, and corrupted them with dark energy.
Churn inside. You need to go back into dormancy for a while!
He fired the souls into the awakening Jackal Mask. But,
- Booom!
Due to Yoon So-i's advanced sanctuary, the souls bounced right off instead of entering.
Now spouting curses in Fukuoka's distinctive Hakata dialect, Suzuki still didn't realize his mistake.
- Crack. Crack.
"!!!"
His S-rank killer move 'Soul Absorption' had instead dealt massive damage to Yoon So-i's sanctuary.
The fragile barrier barely suppressing the Jackal Mask began developing cracks.
"Damn it! Goddamn it!"
- Crack! Craaaack!
"We'll report this!"
"That maniac Suzuki—we'll make sure—!"
The surrounding holy hunters bolted from the lab to report the crisis.
"Die!"
Losing his reason, Suzuki absorbed and killed their souls en masse.
He compressed the gathered souls to the extreme, forming what was essentially a soul-energy bomb.
Yoon So-i's sanctuary was on the verge of total destruction. The crisis had erupted, and he was the only one who could resolve it.
Fine. Good. I'll blast through the sanctuary and shove it in.
At Suzuki's level, he could suppress a mere relic for three or four days, dead silent.
He corrupted the soul-energy bomb pitch-black. Then,
- Whiiiiiir!
"!!!"
Another unexpected event. From the Reverse Cross, kept at a safe distance from the Jackal Mask,
Purple energy began emanating as well.
"N-No!"
Through an onmyoji's eyes, the Jackal Mask's alien energy was surging wildly, massively stimulating the Reverse Cross.
I have to split it.
Suzuki tried dividing the hyper-compressed soul-energy bomb in half.
But in his agitated state, the ultra-high-difficulty spell was enough to cause a mistake,
- KABOOOOOM!
"Guhk......"
A slight glitch in the separation process caused the bomb to explode in his hands with a deafening roar.
Suzuki took the full brunt of his own dark soul-energy bomb with his body.
Cough. Black blood poured from his mouth, his chest caved in deep enough to expose bone. But enduring through sheer willpower, he checked the relics first.
"!!!"
The relics' energies, crudely stimulated externally, began surging.
Shatter! The sanctuary around the Jackal Mask shattered completely.
Forcing his heavy eyelids open, two status windows appeared before the barely conscious Suzuki.
"N-No... No......"
With a final scream like a death rattle, Suzuki's consciousness faded.
"Two supreme-grade gates in Japan! Location: Fukuoka!"
"Where's the other one?!"
"Fukuoka!"
"......!!!"
《Hunter Management Bureau of the Republic of Korea》
Cheon Seung-hyuk was waiting for the order to deploy to Japan.
Truth be told, if asked whether he wanted to help Japan, he wouldn't respond kindly. He'd been irked ever since Japan's Rank 1 threw that "that's the sorrow of a weak nation" line at him before the Cartibes battle.
But excessive civilian casualties don't sit well with me.
His job was Hero from the start—a vessel for heroism. He'd set aside personal feelings and was ready for immediate dispatch.
But there was a problem.
"We'll handle it internally in Japan!"
"Defense Minister! Do you really think that's possible?!"
The U.S. bureau chief roared in reprimand.
High-ranking bureaucrat Defense Minister Tanaka was flatly refusing all aid from the International Hunter Union.
Even powerhouse nations like the U.S., China, and Russia were only slightly better off themselves and in no position to help others.
So the moment Japan requested aid from the Union, Korea would be the only place extending a hand—which was exactly why they were acting this way.
As if something mattered more than Japanese hunters' and citizens' lives, Tanaka sweated bullets, dead set on refusing aid.
On the other hand,
"Still wanna play savior for Korea? Go ahead."
With his mic off, Baek Moon-seong maintained a serene expression and gentle tone.
His eyes fixed straight on the Defense Minister's screen, mouthing the words clearly.
'Did he predict this would happen?'
Japan's side probably wouldn't have the wits for lip-reading anyway. Seemed like he was doing it on purpose.
"Director."
"Hm? What's up? Get ready, Hunter Cheon."
Director Baek's style in these pissing contests was ruthless, bloodless, tearless. Everyone in the Korean bureau knew it subconsciously.
He always seemed the mild, kindly elder, but there was a reason his nickname was White Tiger.
Yet the Defense Minister stubbornly held out even watching Fukuoka shake in real time. Now even Cheon Seung-hyuk was getting worried.
Overwhelmed by the silent war among the world's top bureaucrats—including Director Baek—Cheon contacted Seol of Hongmaehwa Guild, who was in Japan for investigations.
"What's the situation? Report now."
"What's it like?"
Seol adjusted the system to switch Cheon Seung-hyuk's voice call to video. A large screen popped up before him, showing Seol's cold face.
"Wanna see?"
- Kyaaaah!
- Guuhk! Gruuuh!
"!!!"
Japanese hunters dying in real time. Burning mountains, collapsing buildings. A torso impaled on a utility pole, lower body at a subway entrance.
"That ramen joint I used to hit up was right there. Ah- fuck. This pisses me off."
Seol said it with a laugh.
"......On my way."
Cheon, fed up, gripped his holy sword and stood before the emergency portal. He'd jump in the second the order came.
• Japan RANK 1 = Sato Kenji
The kabuto-wearing samurai Sato Kenji instantly unleashed his killer move, wrapping his katana in black flames and charging.
"Hah!"
BOOM! A massive roar spread blistering heat through the area.
But the supreme-grade boss, Remnant of Barrog, took it unfazed, still intact. Instead, it reached out a giant hand toward Sato.
At that moment,
• Japan RANK 3 = Ono Yuji
Oni Transformation
"Groooar!"
A massive red beast with sprouting horns shielded Kenji from the hand.
Protected by Japan's top tank, Kenji prepared his next attack—but it couldn't go for Barrog's Remnant; it had to target elsewhere.
- Thud...... Boom......
The Diamond Golem was flattening Fukuoka's land in real time.
"Goddamn it!"
Even one gate would require two or three high-rankers to minimize civilian damage, but with two open and only Kenji and Yuji as high-rankers,
- Four more high-rankers en route! Hold out!
"De-fense-Min-is-ter-!!!"
- ......
Over half the hunters stationed in Fukuoka were already dead. A literal hellscape battlefield. Even when domestic measures were pointless, why couldn't they swallow their pride?!
The Diamond Golem was even tougher than Barrog's Remnant—utterly exhausting. No meaningful damage no matter how many hits.
It didn't even attack, just crushed everything with its overwhelming size and defense, leaving Kenji in despair.
"We're doomed. Doomed!"
And that wasn't all.
As time passed since the gates opened, the surrounding area began turning pitch-black. Corrosion was spreading. Normally not this fast, but two supreme-grades overlapping accelerated it.
'It'll turn into a field boss soon.'
Gate conquest failure loomed. Two overwhelmingly strong bosses, and even the implicit clear timer ticking down fast.
'Only Korea can help.'
Sato Kenji had recently rejected Cheon Seung-hyuk's personal aid request, citing weak-nation woes.
But could he afford pride now?
Activating the direct system line audible to the Defense Minister and all Self-Defense Forces, Kenji shouted.
"Beg Korea for help!!!"
At that moment, Defense Minister Tanaka was getting hammered by the International Hunter Union and murderous public backlash.
Citizens mobbed the bureau entrance, hurling Molotovs and screaming "Save our people!" Breaking news feeds wailed prophecies of Japan's doom.
'No. Begging Korea ends everything.'
This wasn't just his view. The Prime Minister's life hung on it. Sign that treaty with Korea, become traitors—would their heads stay attached?
'Hold out. High-rankers are coming!'
Then, the strategy officer urgently reported to the Defense Minister.
"......How could this happen? Why do this to us, Japan?"
A high-grade gate had erupted in Tokyo.
- Japan... requests support from the International Hunter Union...
The Japanese Prime Minister and Defense Minister had raised the white flag.
What an excruciatingly long waste of time.
- BOOM! RUMBLE!
The moment the agreement was signed, Cheon Seung-hyuk portaled to Fukuoka via emergency portal, facing hell itself. Yoon So-i came too, rapidly suppressing the rampant corrosion.
'Kyushu's as good as gone.'
Even for Cheon, this level of devastation was a first. Two supreme-grades. Far off, Sato Kenji zipped like lightning, barely surviving against Barrog and the Golem.
"I'm going."
- Whiiiish!
Cheon charged in.
.
.
.
"!!!"
Kenji, who'd spat venom earlier, spotted Cheon. "......You take the Golem!" No time for chit-chat, he assigned the Golem to Cheon and charged Barrog.
But,
"......"
Cheon froze mid-air, staring into the sky instead of heading to the Golem.
"What the hell?! Cheon Seung-hyuk! Get over there and fight—!!!"
"Oh. That one?"
Crunch. Veins bulging on his forehead, Kenji grabbed Cheon's collar. Cheon looked utterly unconcerned.
'This bastard...!'
Come all this way just to toy with him? Drag personal grudges into this?!
Cheon, tension nonexistent, said,
"Well... no need for me to go."
"What?"
Utter nonsense. With Fukuoka burning like this? Rage boiled up. Then,
- CRAAAAACK!
"!!!"
Kenji clamped his ears. Even as Rank 1, the pain felt like ruptured eardrums.
Before his eyes, diamond shards exploded outward, pixelating into nothing.
"......Looks like another one from our Korea showed up, y'know."
Before Cheon's eyes floated a message only he could see: [Ally 'Unregistered' Joined].
"......!!!"
Kenji's shock leaked out. And so,
The scene was being watched live worldwide.
Even non-hunters watched the footage in worry.
Video titles were mostly like this.