Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 06
Chapter Title: Friend or Foe (2)
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Agents sprinted at full speed toward the sound of the explosion.
'Survivors?!'
Beast-type magical beasts couldn't make a noise like that.
Firearms were humanity's exclusive domain.
Monsters weren't fazed by guns, but the continued gunfire meant someone was still putting up a fight!
......
But the sound of gunfire soon fell silent.
Flash!
The helicopter's spotlight swept over the monsters.
The agents arriving at the scene wondered if they were seeing things.
"That... those are monsters, right?"
The missing soldiers, presumed dead, were alive and unscathed, while the monsters lay motionless, devoid of any aggression.
Monsters slaughtered even their own kind without mercy if they weren't packmates.
Only higher species could command different breeds.
Rumors spoke of upper-tier monsters resembling humans in form.
"No, but... that really looks like a human."
Bloodied and clothes torn, but unmistakably human in appearance.
Humans and monsters coexisting peacefully!
A project even the nation had failed at.
It was infamous how North Korea had tried weaponizing monsters and self-destructed in the process.
Impossible to distinguish friend from foe.
Verification was needed.
"Kyle. Looks like you've figured it out. What now?"
The magical beasts bared their fangs toward the agents' position.
"Could be more than human. Stay on high alert till the end."
The agents emerged from the brush and shouted at them.
"Hands up!"
The wolf magical beasts flattened themselves to the ground on Seo Dae-hyun's command, while his comrades raised their hands in surrender.
He had no desire to antagonize the American Hunter Association.
The agents swallowed dryly and advanced.
They approached slowly, tense as could be, scrutinizing them.
Seo Dae-hyun ordered his soldiers to halt and stepped forward alone.
He was their spokesman now.
Stepping out to prevent them from attacking out of fear it was a monster.
"Don't move!"
"A-Are you human, or a monster?!"
Kim Hyun-jun called out to Seo Dae-hyun.
"Hyung."
"It's fine. I'll handle it."
First, he needed to explain the situation.
"...He's human."
Even after Seo Dae-hyun confirmed it, the agents didn't drop their guard.
It only made things more suspicious.
"I'm Kyle, agent with the Iowa State Hunter Association. Can you explain what's going on here?"
Seo Dae-hyun recounted everything to Kyle.
It was too late to hide the soldiers, so to clear the misunderstanding, he revealed a portion of his abilities.
"So... you're saying you can bring the dead back to life?"
The agents' eyes widened at the ability.
"Not reviving."
It was closer to necromancy than resurrection or resuscitation.
If their ranks rose higher, who knew.
Not certain yet, so he kept it vague.
Even so, it was an extraordinary power.
'A hunter with this ability, wasting away in the countryside...'
Kyle eyed Seo Dae-hyun suspiciously, then it hit him—reawakening.
'Reawakening!?'
A second awakening after the first.
A chance granted to less than 0.0000001% of hunters.
It explained everything if it was reawakening.
A hunter with such power reduced to farming.
"Did you... reawaken by any chance?"
Seo Dae-hyun nodded slightly.
Too late to deny it.
He knew his power was exceptional.
Rank: SSS-Rank.
Better to leverage it fully in cooperation with the U.S. government than hide it.
He couldn't fully trust them, given his history of betrayal by his own nation.
But if he grew stronger with their support, he might restore Kim Hyun-jun to normal...
Even now, his thoughts weren't on personal grudges but taking care of his own first.
"Knew it!"
"That's gotta be the first unique ability for any awakener!"
The agents reacted as if they'd expected it.
Unique ability!
Seo Dae-hyun's value skyrocketed.
Kyle asked the other agent.
"No awakening stones on you, right?"
No time to grab them rushing out on the report.
No stone to measure rank, but the beasts cowering behind him made it unnecessary.
Monsters frozen, ignoring the humans they should crave to kill—like docile sheep.
"Mr. Seo Dae-hyun. Mind cooperating briefly?"
Only Seo Dae-hyun among the survivors.
Kyle asked politely.
He might not be S-Rank yet, but he would be.
At the suggestion to head to the Association, Seo Dae-hyun glanced back at his soldiers.
"Do I have to go right now?"
Protocol demanded investigation, but not against a potential S-Rank.
No stone, but all agents inferred he was future S-Rank material.
Couldn't strong-arm him.
Even lower rank with rare ability could grow in dungeons.
S-Rank hunters could bend certain national laws.
He had potential beyond S-Rank.
"Could you give us a little time?"
First, notify their families.
They were human, not monsters.
Dead didn't mean they were his.
They were someone's family, son, husband.
They needed to return home.
"Please."
Seo Dae-hyun bowed, pleading for time.
"Understood."
Kyle granted it.
"In exchange, I'll assign two agents."
For surveillance and to help families accept reality.
Hunter Association leader Kyle.
"M-Me too?"
And rookie agent May.
Seo Dae-hyun boarded the Association helicopter.
Limited seats—no room for all soldiers.
Wolves shrunken still weighed 100-200kg each.
Abandoning them would halve his forces.
"Rest easy."
Black hole-like artifacts formed beneath the standing soldiers.
At a glance, they resembled dungeon gates.
"G-Gate?!"
Only Seo Dae-hyun's soldiers could enter.
They sank from feet to head, like quicksand.
Once all were inside the circle, it contracted and sealed shut.
"Why isn't that one going in?"
Kim Hyun-jun, unlike the others, stayed out of the gate.
He still had his wits and was heading home by chopper.
"I-I... wanna... see... the... inside..."
Even now, Kim Hyun-jun casually expressed his desire to peek inside.
The agents startled at his words.
"We thought they were all dead..."
"They were."
Dead.
Torn apart by wolves in his place, bones crushed, blood spraying as he fell in battle.
"Th-Then how's he talking now?!"
Couldn't make out the words, but human speech unmistakably.
"My power lets him retain his reason."
Gasp!?
The agents' faces filled with horror.
Dead yet holding life's memories and reason?
A terrifying ability that sent chills down spines.
If this leaked, it would sow global chaos.
Kyle contacted the Iowa State Hunter Association branch chief.
Discovered a hunter presumed S-Rank—no, national asset level!
They arrived at Kim Hyun-jun's home by helicopter.
The savory aroma of dinner wafted from the vent.
......
Seo Dae-hyun hesitated to open the door.
Kim Hyun-jun had died because of him.
No face to show the parents who'd treated him like a son.
Creeeak.
Seeing his hesitation, Kim Hyun-jun opened the door himself and entered.
'It'll be okay.'
No words spoken, but Hyun-jun's thought reached him.
"You're late today."
The father saw Seo Dae-hyun and Kim Hyun-jun and fell silent.
"I made Dae-hyun's favorite for din—"
Crash!
The mother from the kitchen dropped her utensils.
Ignoring the shards at her feet, she rushed to Seo Dae-hyun and Kim Hyun-jun.
Her warm hands caressed her cold sons' faces, asking what happened.
They looked like soldiers who'd rolled through a battlefield, ragged and worn.
"I-It's... f-fine..."
She sensed something off with her son's condition immediately.
"Hyun-jun, you—"
Then the father spoke.
"What happened to you two? Who's behind you?"
Two Association agents stood behind Dae-hyun and Hyun-jun.
"Kyle, agent with the Hunter Association."
Kyle flashed his badge to prove his identity.
"Why's an Association agent at our house?"
Association agents visited homes for only two reasons.
1. Monster.
2. Villain.
If a monster, emergency broadcasts or phone alerts would blare.
"...Did you boys get into some accident?"
Bloodstains marred their tattered clothes.
"If it's hard for you to say, I can relay it."
Kyle offered, seeing the furrowed brow.
Seo Dae-hyun couldn't meet their eyes, guilt weighing heavy.
The magical beast outbreak was unforeseen disaster, but still...
"...Hyung."
Kim Hyun-jun urged to leave it if too tough.
"No. I'll say it."
This was his duty.
The parents were speechless, stunned.
"This is all true?"
They couldn't believe the death notice with their son standing there.
And understandably so—son alive before their eyes.
"N-No way. He's right here, alive!"
Kim Hyun-jun was dead, sustained by Seo Dae-hyun's power.
"D-Dad... M-Mom..."
The mother hugged her protesting son, tears flowing endlessly.
Seo Dae-hyun bowed in apology.
"I'm sorry."
They had every right to blame him, yet didn't.
He wished they'd curse him instead.
"...No. Thank you for watching over Hyun-jun to the end again."
The father placed a hand on Seo Dae-hyun's shoulder, thanking and encouraging him.
Pretending nonchalance, but tears broke through.
They waited for the parents to compose themselves.
"There's more I need to tell you."
Unfinished business.
Just a hypothesis, but higher rank might grant new life.
"Really!?"
"...Not certain."
He didn't know his powers fully yet—no guarantees.
If it failed...
He couldn't bear their despair.
Kim Hyun-jun sought permission to become a soldier.
He followed basic orders, but this was pure self-will—a 'thought' from his own resolve.
"...Alright. Take care of our boy."
The father replied after long thought, resolute.
Heavy with deliberation.
Short six months, but he'd felt family here.
"Yes."
To Seo Dae-hyun, Kim Hyun-jun was like an oxygen tank.
Release the power, and he'd revert to a cold corpse.
All movement and speech stemmed from his influence.
Seo Dae-hyun notified the others' families too.
Ethical issues barred using people as soldiers.
Best to let the dead rest.
Couldn't grant all ranks.
Emergency choice back then.
Their bodies, mauled by monsters, bore no wounds now.
Healed upon becoming soldiers.
Their bodies dissolved into fine sand-like particles, ascending to the heavens.
Only Michael remained a soldier; the rest rested in peace.
Michael's young sibling didn't answer calls—too young to decide.
Just started elementary school, right?
Bitter.
The Association would handle their bereaved families responsibly.
...Unlike Korea.
"Thank you."
Seo Dae-hyun bowed to the agents who'd helped seamlessly.
"Just doing our job."
"It's what we're here for."
With everything settled, Seo Dae-hyun headed diligently to the Association for questioning.