A New Wind Sweeps Through the Guild of Justice
The winter wind was brutal that day, the kind that bit straight through your coat and into your bones. Before dawn, Dio Guild’s black van was already on the move.
Inside were my classmates, Bang Su-hwan and Ha Se-na, along with a few other hunters from Dio. Every one of them looked uneasy, and they kept tossing out nervous little remarks as if talking would somehow make the tension easier to bear.
“I’ve never been to a scene like this before in my life.”
“You think you’re the only one? Everybody here feels the same.”
“Yeah, well... huh.”
The air inside the van was heavy.
I couldn’t exactly reassure them, either. This was my first time doing this, too.
“Don’t let your guard down. Keep your heads on straight.”
I was a bona fide B-class hunter now. I’d reached the rank where I could lead a team as a commander in the field.
Today’s mission wasn’t to seal a gate or go on a monster-clearing raid.
Today’s job was...
“We’ve arrived!”
At the agent’s shout, the van door swung wide open.
The outside world spread out before us: a shantytown built on a steep uphill slope.
“Let’s get out.”
I stepped down with the other hunters.
None of them were carrying frightening weapons or wearing heavy armor. Over their Dio Guild athletic wear, they’d all thrown on full-body plastic rain covers to protect themselves from contamination and keep the coal dust from getting all over them.
The agent who’d been driving came forward with a camera.
“We’ll take a photo first. Someone in the back row, please hold up the banner.”
Love Coal Briquette Sharing
That’s right. Today’s mission wasn’t a life-or-death struggle. It was volunteer work delivering coal briquettes.
“There’s another truck coming up behind us.”
“Let’s move faster.”
“Wrap this up quick!”
With inflation running wild, the price of a single coal briquette had climbed past 1,500 won. People had even started calling them gold briquettes.
And it wasn’t just the briquettes themselves. Delivery fees were charged separately, which made things even more burdensome. In narrow alleys and high hillside neighborhoods, briquettes often couldn’t be delivered at all, so every winter the vulnerable were left scrambling.
Every year, there were stories of old people dying from hypothermia after sleeping in freezing rooms that felt like blocks of ice.
That’s exactly why coal briquette delivery volunteer work is so necessary.
The reason I’d been able to save up a billion won in the first place was because interest had kept quietly stacking up on the money sitting in my account.
I knew very well that poverty also accrues interest.
The poorer people are, the wider the information gap becomes, and the dumber the ignorant get.
The poorer people are, the more likely their health is to deteriorate.
I didn’t want to live this life like some lone wolf with a chip on his shoulder.
I’ll share what I have with as many people as I can.
I rolled up my sleeves with grim determination.
“Let’s go.”
The coal briquette delivery volunteer work began in earnest.
Even in an age where hunter gear was made from cutting-edge materials, there were still people who depended on coal-briquette boilers.
My grandmother’s house was like that, too.
One briquette burns for about six hours. A household uses at least four a day, and the number needed just to make it through winter is...
At least six hundred.
For the neglected and left-behind, plenty of hands were desperately needed.
Dio Guild, the organization that had once been smeared as a gathering place for trash, was suddenly doing volunteer work.
Yeah, it didn’t suit us.
A few hunters muttered under their breath.
“Tsk. Never thought I’d touch a coal briquette in my life. Ugh. Look at all this ash.”
“Tell me about it. I thought I’d only ever be moving goblin heads.”
Originally, Dio Guild’s hiring standards weren’t very high. Drunk drivers, alcoholics, rage cases, people with criminal records—if they had the skill, we’d take them.
This time, Dio Guild had changed its hiring policy.
Character.
Even if someone didn’t have talent right away, even if they were still too green to be thrown into the field, we gave them a chance if they had decent character.
People who trained sincerely, received good team evaluations, or had volunteer records got bonus points.
“Tch. What choice do we have? It’s Representative Lee Yu-seol’s order.”
“I heard it was the new chairman’s order. That funnel guy, or whatever he’s called.”
In truth, the one who’d given Karki the orders was me.
Thanks to my faithful role as the man behind the curtain, a new wind had begun blowing through Dio Guild.
The hunters lined up in a long chain like a train, passing briquettes from hand to hand.
“One, two, three—!”
“Whoa, slow down.”
“Be careful. You’ll crack them!”
After the gates began appearing, donations and volunteer work had dropped sharply.
People were too busy trying to survive the constant threat of monsters to worry about anyone else. That was the reason.
Dio Guild’s change was even going to be covered by the press.
Some people would no doubt sneer and call it a publicity stunt.
Didn’t matter.
Being a hero wasn’t just about beating villains and saving lives.
A true hero...
“Hup!!!”
At the roar, everyone turned to look.
Carrying one briquette at a time was inefficient.
The fastest way was—
“Hah!”
Bang Su-hwan stood up with a mountain of briquettes piled onto his carrying frame.
One briquette weighed 3.65 kilograms. With that much stacked on his back, he was easily hauling over two hundred kilograms.
“Move it! Move! Hercules is coming through!”
Bang Su-hwan shouted his call sign as he surged ahead.
I went into an old house with Ha Se-na.
Ha Se-na knocked on the door.
“Grandma. We’re here.”
Someone opened it for us.
An old woman with a face full of wrinkles broke into a wide smile when she saw us.
“Well, would you look at that. Young folks as bright and pretty as flowers.”
Through the crack in the open door, I looked around the one-room house.
There was no bed, no sofa, nothing like that. The only thing on the floor was a thick quilt.
A TV sat against the wall, blaring loudly.
Fortunately, the room itself was warm.
Ha Se-na spoke to the grandmother in a soft, gentle voice.
“Are you cold?”
“Oh, no. It’s nice and toasty.”
“We’ll make sure you have plenty of briquettes, so don’t hold back. Use them as much as you need.”
The grandmother looked at me, standing quietly at her side.
Then she took my hand.
“Goodness. Your hands are freezing, young man. You must’ve had such a hard time.”
Looking at her wrinkled hands, I thought of my own grandmother.
“I wondered how we were going to make it through this year... Thank you all so much. Oh, dear me, what am I thinking? Please, take this...”
The old woman pulled some folded bills from her pocket.
I handed them right back.
“Keep it. Buy yourself something tasty, Grandma.”
Up close, I could see that her eyes had grown wet.
The warmth in her palm as she held my hand was unmistakable.
One coal briquette weighed 3.65 kilograms.
About the same as a newborn baby.
The weight of life itself.
A human body temperature is around 36.5 degrees.
It was just hauling coal briquettes, nothing more, and yet something like human kindness passed between people.
“Someone, come out here!”
Someone shouted from outside.
After saying goodbye to the grandmother, I stepped back outside.
A massive tree had toppled in the narrow alley.
The neighborhood residents were whispering to one another.
“What the hell is this?”
“It poured like crazy last week. They said lightning struck it and brought it down.”
“Damn it. How are we supposed to move this? The alley’s too narrow for a backhoe.”
Just as they were fretting helplessly, I stepped forward.
“I’ll do it.”
I grabbed the base of the trunk and shifted it to the side.
Something like this didn’t require Judgment of the Superhuman.
“Whoa... what crazy strength. It’s like he’s moving Styrofoam.”
“You don’t know who that is? That’s Choi Yongki.”
“Ah, Haeundae’s Savior?”
I sometimes wondered what awakening really was.
What meaning did it have in the life of a person?
Some called it a superior gene chosen by God.
Others said it was an unavoidable curse you had to carry for the rest of your life.
To me, it seemed like... maybe it was just luck.
If you were fortunate enough to gain special power by chance, then the best thing to do was to be grateful—and share that luck around.
By lunchtime, the coal briquette volunteer work was over.
“Good work, everyone!”
“Ugh, I’m starving.”
“Let’s eat!”
I handed Bang Su-hwan a card.
“Use the company card. Put the team meal on this.”
“Aren’t you coming with us, hyung?”
“I’ve got somewhere to go.”
“Where?”
I raised the corners of my eyes with both hands and mimicked someone.
“To meet someone who looks like this.”
A man with his eyes rolled upward and his lips curled in a vicious, rabid snarl glared at me.
“Choi Yongki. Why are you here?”
Instead of wearing flashy gear, Na Sang-min had thrown a floral apron over plain everyday clothes.
On his head, he wore a white maid-style cap.
And to finish the look, instead of a silver spear, he was holding a ladle.
A banner hung behind Na Sang-min.
Love Free Meal Program
Under Dio Guild’s supervision, the S-class hunter Na Sang-min was volunteering at the free meal center.
“I came to eat after finishing the briquette delivery.”
“You wanna die? Who the hell do you think you’re teasing? Get lost.”
Na Sang-min waved the ladle around like a spear, threatening me with it.
The people lined up behind me in the queue started grumbling.
“Come on, move it already.”
“There are people waiting behind you.”
Na Sang-min clicked his tongue and ladled out the soup.
“Tch. Go sit over there. I’m eating with you, too.”
“Yes, sir.”
I took my tray and moved to a seat.
The meal was stir-fried pork, seaweed soup, kimchi, white rice, and half an apple.
It was a free meal, sure, but the spread was surprisingly solid.
Na Sang-min finished serving everyone, then sat down at the table still wearing the floral apron.
“Ugh. I’m starving to death.”
“Thanks for your hard work. So? Is it bearable?”
“Bearable enough. Just embarrassing as hell.”
Grumbling all the while, Na Sang-min shoveled a huge mouthful of stir-fried pork into his mouth.
Even though this was Dio Guild policy, I honestly hadn’t expected him to go along with it so quietly.
I thought he’d flip the whole place upside down.
There weren’t just homeless people at the free meal center. Quite a few younger people had shown up, too.
As the economy worsened, youth unemployment had shot up.
Young people pushed out onto the streets had tried looking for day labor, but even that market was brutally competitive.
For them, buying even one meal was a serious burden.
Na Sang-min gulped down his seaweed soup.
“We’ve got to do another serving tonight, too. God, this is such a pain in the ass.”
He complained about everything under the sun, but he didn’t seem inclined to leave his post.
“Hunter Na, you’re more diligent than I expected.”
“What the hell do you mean, ‘more than expected’? I’m always serious when I do anything.”
He was diligent, all right.
He just complained like a grumbling Smurf while doing it.
“What do you think, Hunter Na?”
“About what?”
“About Dio Guild using hunters to help civilians.”
“No idea, jackass.”
Na Sang-min emptied his tray in no time at all.
It had barely been five minutes since he’d started eating.
“I don’t know anything that complicated.”
He looked around the room.
“But those people have to eat, too. I know better than anyone how miserable hunger is.”
There had to be some private story behind Na Sang-min, who always carried himself with that arrogant, rough mouth of his.
Every now and then, he’d reveal a warmth he tried hard to hide.
I wondered what kind of childhood he’d had.
And how he’d become so strong.
I was curious about a lot of things, but I didn’t ask.
A man usually carried at least one story in his chest.
“Eat up. I’m going to peel onions.”
Na Sang-min stood, tray in hand.
“I’m done, too. Thanks for the meal. I’m heading out.”
“Where to?”
“To see Lee Ji-jun.”
“Ah, that guy went to the orphanage, right? I wonder if that rude little punk will actually do a decent job.”
“Exactly my thought.”
Lee Ji-jun was just as unsuited to volunteer work as Na Sang-min was.
“If that bastard’s slacking off, beat the hell out of him.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll see you later.”
I hurried off.
Not long after leaving the free meal center, I stopped in my tracks.
Grace Orphanage.
It was where children who had lost their parents to monsters gathered after being left as orphans.
It was also where Nike’s younger sister, Ji-ye, lived.
I went inside the orphanage.
Not long ago, thanks to my support, Grace Orphanage had been newly renovated.
A wide playground with green grass had been laid down, and new soccer goals, a basketball court, swings, and a slide had all been installed.
Out on the playground, hunters and children were mixed together, playing soccer.
“Over here! Here! Pass it, mister!”
“Hup!”
One hunter leapt about three meters into the air and, flying through space, slammed the ball in with a header.
“Yes! Back-to-back goals!”
“That’s cheating! You used mana!”
“If you’re jealous, you should awaken too.”
“What kind of adult does that?”
“Puhahaha! Actually, I grew up in an orphanage, too. It’s been a while since I came back here, and this is great!”
The Dio Guild hunters and the children got along well.
As expected. That’s more surprising than not.
Let’s see.
Lee Ji-jun wasn’t on the playground.
Did he hide somewhere and fall asleep?
Then I noticed two familiar figures beneath the wisteria trellis.
“Seriously, you clumsy fool. How did you end up like this?”
Lee Ji-jun was sitting across from Ji-ye.
Her knee was bleeding, apparently from some kind of fall.
“Hehe. I tripped while playing tag with the other kids.”
“Nice going. Real nice. You’ve got to be careful. Let me see.”
Lee Ji-jun clicked his tongue and pulled out a bandage.
Ji-ye scratched her head with a sheepish grin.
“But, big brother...”
“What.”
“The other kids say you’re super handsome! They say you look like an idol.”
“Ahem.”
At the compliment, Lee Ji-jun’s cheeks went red.
“You’re even as handsome as Brother Yongki!”
“What? You little— Damn it, that Choi Yongki again.”
The moment he heard my name, Lee Ji-jun’s face hardened.
“Hey. Me or Yongki? Pick one.”
“Hehe. I wonder.”
“Oh, you little brat.”
“Ow, ow. My knee hurts.”
“Ah, sorry.”
Lee Ji-jun looked awkward, then held both hands out in front of him.
“Want to see something cool?”
He spread his palm and injected it with mana.
A drop of blood floated up from Ji-ye’s knee.
Lee Ji-jun moved his fingers.
The drop of blood scattered, then gathered again, changing shape as freely as he wished.
Flowers and clouds.
Then a puppy, then a cat...
Ji-ye’s eyes widened, and she clapped with a delighted cry.
“Wow, that’s amazing...”
It was a quiet little miracle, so unlike the blood knives and war axes Lee Ji-jun usually swung around.
“Hah. So? I’m better than Choi Yongki, right?”
“Hehe. Yes. Brother Joon is the best.”
Ji-ye smiled and gave him a thumbs-up.
Lee Ji-jun looked momentarily flustered.
Maybe it was because Ji-ye’s smile in the sunlight was so pure and unguarded.
“Hey, brat. Don’t smile like that.”
Lee Ji-jun stuck a bandage over Ji-ye’s knee and then turned his head sharply away.
“Why not?”
“...Because I’ll get attached.”
The white-haired hunter’s mouth curved faintly upward.
It was a face he’d never shown anyone in Dio Guild.
Guess I worried for nothing.
Rather than go over to Lee Ji-jun and start a conversation, I turned away.
My phone vibrated with a new text message.
There wasn’t anything particularly special in it. It was just the usual.
Seen from far away, the world looked like a comedy. But once I held a magnifying glass up to it, all kinds of tragedies came into view.
Hm?
As I kept reading, one article jumped out at me.
— One firefighter rushed to the emergency room from Club Red Moon.
My brow furrowed on its own.
...Damn. So that’s the one.
A vague memory surfaced.
A firefighter got hurt at a club. At first glance, it looked like a trivial little incident.
It didn’t seem like much.
But this case would later trigger a massive social uproar.
It caused damage worth tens of billions of won.
It hadn’t been caused by a gate.
It was human versus human.
A historic incident in which police and firefighters ended up in a large-scale physical clash.
What am I supposed to do about this?
Heroes kill monsters and save people.
But how was I supposed to resolve social conflict?
I’ll need a plan.
After Cheonyang-ji, it was time for the Purple Devil, who had been sleeping, to wake up.