Chapter 78
Chapter 78
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: Gwanghwamun Protests and the Shinchon Chase
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"I don't think Hunter Seong Yona is here."
I said it a bit awkwardly, since I'd been the one insisting we head to Gwanghwamun today.
"Still, since we're here, let's at least take a quick look around before we go."
Unlike yesterday, we all moved together this time.
It didn't look strange for a few people to be walking around together in a protest area.
That didn't make it easy to push through the crowds, though.
Thud.
I accidentally bumped the shoulder of a guy who was chatting with his friend.
"Oh, sorry...!"
"Watch where you're going!"
What the hell, asshole?
Since it was my fault first, I tried to swallow my anger and let it go, but someone suddenly stepped between me and the jerk who'd started picking a fight.
"Let's both be more careful in crowded places."
"Huh? Oh, yeah."
He'd been glaring at me like he was about to throw a punch any second.
But the moment Kang Han—tall and built—spoke up, the guy tucked tail and backed off.
He even hurriedly grabbed his friend and bolted.
"Tch. I should bulk up too, huh?"
Normally, Lee Yu-eul would have jumped in with something like, "Even if you bulked up, sis, you'd still be short." But she stayed quiet.
"Yu-eul, you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
She answered readily enough, but her face was stiff.
I turned to look, and the other guild members had sour expressions too.
"Sigh."
I'd been short-sighted.
The eastern side of Gwanghwamun where we stood was where the doomsayers had gathered.
"The end is nigh! Awakened, submit to the Prophet and obey!"
"Glory only to the faithful!"
This cult calling themselves the "Church of the Apocalypse" revolved around a single figure known only as "the Prophet."
They'd started as a fringe group no one paid attention to, but at some point, they'd begun steadily growing their numbers.
What they preached was exactly as it sounded: "The end is coming, so hunters must surrender their freedom, submit to the Prophet, and meet a glorious death in preparation."
They start with a kernel of truth and drift off into left field.
It was true that the end of this world was approaching.
But their solution? Hunters abandoning all free will and submitting?
They weren't even talking about stopping the apocalypse.
It was more like, "Accept the inevitable future, believe in the Prophet, and you'll go to heaven after you die."
Oh, and the Prophet had to pray for the masses and die last, so hunters needed to protect him.
In the end, it's all about protecting himself.
I shook my head.
The Prophet and all his gullible followers were out of their minds.
"Noona, you saw that news report, right? We gotta be careful."
Lee Yu-chan grabbed my hand, pulling me to the center of the group as he whispered.
"Oh, that one."
I'd caught the short edited clip on NewTube while killing time.
It was a report where an awakened reporter had risked his life going undercover in the Church of the Apocalypse.
"It was pretty weird."
The hidden camera footage was grainy, but it captured shocking scenes crystal clear.
B- and C-rank awakened were genuinely submitting to the Prophet.
They treated every casual word from the veiled figure like divine revelation.
As if they had no free will at all.
"Cheongsu-ya, come here."
I called Cheongsu over and hooked my arm firmly through his.
The kid acted smart, but he had a soft spot and seemed like the type to get suckered easily.
After sweeping the eastern side of Gwanghwamun and concluding Seong Yona in disguise wasn't there, we headed west.
The situation on the western side, where the semi-awakened group had gathered, was even worse.
"Isolate the awakened from society!"
"Protect society and citizens from these rampaging monsters!"
Their demands were just as inhumane as the doomsayers'.
No, they didn't even see awakened as human.
They treated them like ticking time bombs.
Hence the calls to quarantine them on some island and manage them like animals.
All while oblivious that those "animals" protected them from gates and the monsters inside.
"We're not some plague... "
Jang Su-ho muttered lowly, his face hurt and disgusted.
It was understandable.
Rampaging hunters were dangerous.
But they only rampaged if they entered gates.
In fact, awakened who survived to old age usually retired to rural areas where gates rarely opened.
That way, they could live normal lives with their healthier-than-average bodies.
In other words, rampaging hunters were the ones grinding their bodies down to protect the country.
Not to mention supplying mana stones that replaced polluting fossil fuels.
So the government gave awakened tax breaks, guaranteed pay above a certain level, and encouraged them to keep working.
"The Association must disclose all awakened skill lists!"
"Disclose them!"
"Prevent hunters from monopolizing assets!"
"Prevent it!"
This side even had more supporters than the cult.
"Hey, let's go."
Staying here would give me liver failure before the apocalypse hit.
Especially when they owed their cushy lives to us.
The guild members must have felt the same; they followed silently without a word.
Or maybe they were holding back to avoid saying something nasty.
And so, day two of our Seong Yona hunt ended on a sour note.
Day three was different.
We got an urgent call from Fantasia Guild early that morning.
"Seong Yona was spotted at Ihwa Women's University."
Ihwa Women's University was one of the colleges in Sinchon.
Which meant today was the day.
Today, Seong Yona dies.
There was no way Fantasia had tipped us off exclusively.
By now, every guild with the commission would be heading to Sinchon. No matter how crowded the streets were, she wouldn't last long.
"Hurry, let's go."
We rushed to Sinchon.
It was still early, so Sunday Sinchon was quiet.
But around lunchtime, it filled up with students and people out for fun.
"Oh? Magma Guild over there."
The tall Jang Su-ho spotted hunters searching near Ihwa Women's University main gate and pointed it out.
I stood on tiptoe to confirm.
"They're heading inside."
Since the last sighting was at Ihwa Women's University, they must have decided to search the campus.
"Should we go too?"
Han Ji-seong asked Kang Han and me.
"No."
"Not a good idea."
We both shook our heads at the same time.
"Even if the campus is big, escaping from inside isn't easy," Kang Han explained.
He was right.
A women's university might be good for blending in unnoticed, but not when hunters were laser-focused on hunting one person.
"Let's check somewhere with more alleys and crowds."
Following my suggestion, we headed to central Sinchon.
But we found nothing noteworthy.
Except spotting Ragnar Guild members pretending to sip coffee or smoke in corners while scanning the area.
"They're all gathering here."
Lee Yu-chan rubbed his tired eyes after staring at faces all day.
"Yeah. We need to find her first."
I replied, glancing at the darkening sky as the sun set.
I hadn't expected to find Seong Yona easily, but still.
"What if she already moved to another area?"
Han Ji-seong ventured cautiously.
I'd considered that too.
She might have made a different choice from the original story.
"Then..."
I was about to suggest checking elsewhere when—
"Hwacheon?"
We spotted Hwacheon Guild rushing into an alley. They were disguised with masks like us, but couldn't ditch their modified hanbok getup.
"Follow them."
Something felt off.
My instincts screamed it.
I bolted without checking if the others were following.