Catching a Thief (1)

As soon as we reached the entrance to Incheon Airport, I linked up with Bang Su-hwan and Ha Se-na.

"Brother!!"

Bang Su-hwan was wearing a straw hat and a flashy Hawaiian shirt.

The weather really was sweltering, so I could understand it to a point, but...

Ha Se-na, who was dressed in plain workout clothes, clicked her tongue at him.

"Hey, pig. What the hell are you wearing?"

"Come on now, sister. This is our first overseas trip together. I figured I should dress for the occasion."

"Jeju Island isn't overseas. And where the hell do you think you're going? You idiot!"

When Ha Se-na scolded him, Bang Su-hwan scratched his head and then glanced at me for confirmation.

"Brother. Was I overdoing it?"

The reason we were going to Jeju Island was to catch Quarter.

It was a mission with a fair amount of weight behind it.

But there was no reason to start acting grim before we’d even arrived.

That didn’t mean we could afford to get careless in the field, of course.

If you let your guard down in a real situation, your life—or your teammate’s—could disappear in the blink of an eye.

Complacency was the one thing we couldn’t allow.

But if you stayed tense and rigid the whole time, you’d fail to perform when it actually mattered.

"We don't need to go around advertising that we're hunters. This is perfect for blending in."

Bang Su-hwan finally looked relieved.

"See? Sena sister. It’s all part of the plan."

"Ugh. Can you stop with the whole 'sister' thing already?"

While the two of them kept bickering, another person joined us.

"Brother Choi! I’m here!"

Prosecutor Ryu Su-hon came striding toward us, waving from a distance.

The closer he got, the more I found myself at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a loss for words.

"What the hell are you wearing?"

"What’s wrong with it?"

Ryu Su-hon struck a shameless pose and lifted the corners of his mouth.

He had on a pink cap, enormous dragonfly-shaped sunglasses, shorts, and even sandals.

"I wear suits every day. When else am I supposed to wear something like this? I wanted to have a little fun."

Ryu Su-hon greeted Bang Su-hwan and Ha Se-na as if they’d known each other for years.

"So these are the new members. Welcome to The Courageous Prosecutor team. Oh! You’ve got excellent taste."

"Now that’s a man who knows style. I’m Bang Su-hwan, hunter extraordinaire."

Ryu Su-hon and Bang Su-hwan seemed to hit it off immediately, because they were already shaking hands the moment they met.

Ha Se-na, on the other hand, let out a long sigh and walked off without even saying hello.

"H-hey! Wait up!"

Once the four of us entered the airport, the reporters who had been waiting for interviews spotted us and swarmed in.

"Hunter Choi! Are you confident you can win War on Villains?"

"How dangerous do you rate Quarter? Do you have a special strategy?"

"After the operation succeeds, what are your plans going forward?"

This was exactly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠what I’d expected.

At the press conference, I’d openly said that we were going to arrest Quarter.

The footage had been broadcast nationwide, on every public and private network alike.

The reporters weren’t about to miss an event the entire country was watching.

Ryu Su-hon, squeezed in among the journalists, said, "Brother Choi, let’s just get through this quickly. If you answer every question, we’ll be here forever."

I agreed.

To keep from wasting time, I quickened my pace.

"Hunter Choi, if Quarter refuses arrest and resists violently, what will you do?"

The reporter pressed on.

"Will you handle it with the Choi Yongki Law?"

Article 21 of the South Korean Criminal Act stated that an act committed to defend oneself or another person against an unlawful present infringement was not punishable if there was reasonable cause.

At least, that was how it looked on the surface.

In practice, South Korea rarely recognized legitimate self-defense.

People who subdued a knife-wielding attacker often wound up convicted of assault or bodily injury.

Someone who beat a burglar who’d broken into their home to death with a club would end up serving prison time.

The same went for villains.

Quarter and the others were mostly monstrous criminals.

They used every weapon they could get their hands on, and they attacked with murderous intent by channeling mana into their bodies.

And yet, self-defense was often denied anyway.

Needless to say, the public was furious.

Every article covering those cases was buried under angry comments.

└ So if a villain comes at you with a knife, you’re just supposed to stand there and get stabbed?

└ In America, if someone trespasses into your house without permission, you can shoot them, right?

└ So if you run into a villain, the only thing you can do is run away?

With that anger showing no sign of dying down, the National Assembly reflected public opinion and enacted the Hunter Special Act.

The official name was the Special Act on Punishment, etc., for Villain Crimes.

Under it, hunters had the right to summarily judge villains if their lives were in danger.

People called it the Choi Yongki Law.

Up until now, whenever I killed a villain, I had always worn a purple mask.

I had never personally killed an ordinary civilian as the Purple Devil, as Choi Yongki.

And yet that law still bore my name.

I stopped walking.

I still didn’t have enough information on Quarter.

I didn’t know the bastard’s gender, face, or build.

Most of all...

There was no telling how he’d react.

He might accept defeat obediently.

Or he might come at us like a cornered animal, ready to die fighting.

I looked at the reporter and said, "I’ll make that call on site."

After that brief answer, I moved quickly ahead.

That was when something unexpected happened.

"Yongki!!"

A woman shouted at me.

She wasn’t the only one.

"Please take my letter!"

"Sir! Please just look this way once."

Countless women closed in around me.

I knew my fame had grown and that I’d picked up a lot of fans, but...

Not this many.

We already had three high-rank hunters with us, so I hadn’t hired ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠any separate bodyguards, and that turned out to be the mistake.

I’d faced death more times than I could count and never lost my nerve in front of stronger enemies, but...

"Please just hold my hand once. Please!!"

"Me too!!! Yongki!!"

The women’s hands shot out from every direction like a swarm of zombies.

One of them stroked my cheek, another grabbed my shoulder.

They were tugging at me from every side, and with a sharp rip, the armpit of my T-shirt tore open, exposing my collarbone.

"Eek!"

"W-what, that’s indecent!!"

Even in a situation like this, the female fans only screamed louder.

For a second, fear crawled over me.

It felt almost like Dirty Kraken’s tentacles were surging in from every direction.

I swallowed hard and ordered, "Su-hwan."

I pointed straight ahead and said with grim resolve, "Break through."

"Yes, sir, Brother!"

Bang Su-hwan drew in a breath, then shoved forward with both arms and forced a path open.

"All right, move aside! Move!"

Dio Guild’s top tank barely managed to carve a way through.

The plane bound for Jeju Island took off.

Ryu Su-hon muttered under his breath with a dazed expression, "Hah. We haven’t even started and already I feel half-dead."

Bang Su-hwan looked at me and gave me a thumbs-up.

"As expected of you, Brother. You’re more popular than most celebrities. I’m jealous. I wish I had that many female fans, but for some reason only gym rats seem to like me. Ugh."

Ha Se-na said nothing, only stared out the window at the clouds drifting past.

That was enough small talk.

We’d be arriving in the battlefield soon.

One of the reporters had asked a question that hit the real point.

Our strategy.

"All right, let’s do one last check. Quarter is probably watching us."

Since every network had rushed to cover it, there was no way he didn’t know that prosecutors and hunters were coming to Jeju Island to catch him.

Given Quarter’s combative nature—and the fact that he hated losing—the chances of him fleeing off the island were slim to none.

And he had his own objective too.

He was planning to kill the Jeju Island executive of the Dark Alliance.

He wouldn’t leave Jeju until he’d accomplished that goal.

If that was the case, then...

"We’re four people total. Split up east, west, north, and south. If you spot Quarter, call immediately and regroup. As for the one rule we absolutely need to remember..."

Bang Su-hwan finished for me.

"No one-on-one duels with Quarter."

Based on everything we knew so far, if I tried to infer the character of the mysterious Quarter...

He was ruthless.

And also...

A master.

Someone on the level of an S+ class hunter was the only way to describe him, the kind of monster even most S class hunters couldn’t hope to handle.

"Right. Catching Quarter is our objective, but..."

I paused for a moment.

Then I looked at Ryu Su-hon, Bang Su-hwan, and Ha Se-na in turn.

They were all precious connections I didn’t want to lose.

"The team's safe return comes first."

Ha Se-na, who had been quiet the whole time, gave a small snort.

"Yes, boss."

We arrived in Jeju Island.

"Mr. Choi Yongki. One long sword and one dagger, is that correct?"

The airport employee handed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠White Revenge and Heoksikdo back to me.

Ordinarily, passengers weren’t allowed to carry blades onto a plane.

Hunters were the exception.

"Please sign here."

I received my weapons and collected my luggage.

Bang Su-hwan hoisted my suitcase and nearly staggered under the weight.

"Whoa. Brother, what did you pack in here? This is ridiculously heavy."

I’d planned a variety of tactics for dealing with Quarter.

One of them was...

I’d brought a trump card.

I took the suitcase back.

"I guess I got carried away and packed a bunch of stuff."

"Haha. I get that."

Once we stepped outside the boarding gate, the scene was almost identical to Incheon Airport.

"It’s Yongki!!"

Female fans swarmed us in a rush, but this time I didn’t panic.

I could have ignored them and kept walking, but the text message I’d received from Lee Yu-seol after arriving at the airport still stuck in my mind.

At Incheon Airport, I’d answered the reporter’s question once and then boarded the plane without paying any mind to the fans who swarmed me.

She’d basically sent me a message saying that I should at least put on a show for Dio Guild’s sake.

"Hmm."

This mission wasn’t about going out as a hero.

Since I’d officially come here as Hunter Choi Yongki, I supposed I had a responsibility to act like it.

"Thank you for the gifts."

I gathered up the stuffed animals and letters pouring in around me.

I even signed a few of them.

That was when I noticed him.

"Could I get an autograph too?"

He stood out immediately.

The man was wearing a bucket hat, thick-rimmed glasses, and a mask.

He was wedged into the crowd of female fans.

To anyone looking, he had a suspicious air about him.

Trying to hide his face, huh.

The man trailed off. "I’ve always been a big fan of Hunter Choi."

...

Instinct, maybe, but I felt something off about him.

"Do you have a pen?"

"Ah, I didn’t bring one."

Normally, someone asking for an autograph would hand over a pen and paper, right?

"Yongki! Here! I’ve got a pen! Please sign mine too."

Luckily, one of the female fans handed over a marker.

I took it and signed the bucket-hat man’s paper.

"Thank you."

As the bucket-hat man turned to leave, I caught him by the shoulder.

"Wait."

The man looked back.

Our gazes collided in midair.

"Want me to take a picture for you too?"

...

The bucket-hat man shook his head.

"No, that’s fine. I’ll be going now."

He slipped away from the spot almost as if he were fleeing.

Bang Su-hwan worked hard to clear a path through the fans.

"Let me through, please. You’ll get hurt. Everyone, be careful!"

Amid the crowded confusion, I said, "Ha Se-na. Tail that bastard."

"Got it."

Ha Se-na, quick on the uptake, caught my intent immediately and moved with agile speed to follow behind the bucket-hat man.

The rest of us had to wrangle with the fans for a while longer before we could finally get out of the airport safely.

Ryu Su-hon was already waiting inside the van he’d prepared in advance.

Bang Su-hwan and I climbed in after him.

"Hello. I’m Detective Gong, and I work with Prosecutor Ryu."

A man with round cheeks and a belly that jiggled when he moved was sitting in the driver’s seat.

Bang Su-hwan let out a breath of relief.

"Whew. Being famous really isn’t easy, is it?"

I exhaled as well, then immediately made a call.

He’d only disguised himself as a fan to get close to me.

There was no question that he had bad feelings toward me.

What exactly was the bucket-hat man’s identity?

Judging by the situation, the odds were high that he was Quarter.

No matter how well he’d disguised himself, I had to admire the boldness of moving alone into enemy territory.

He’s got guts.

Ha Se-na’s voice came through the phone again.

"What now? Keep following him?"

I slipped a hand into my pocket and pulled out the Witch Mirror.

It was time to ask it a question and catch the thief.

"Among the people I met today, who’s the strongest?"

There was one condition when I used the Witch Mirror.

It could only track someone I had physically touched.

The silver surface rippled, and someone’s face surfaced within it.

It was the man in the bucket hat, thick-rimmed glasses, and mask.

"Bingo."

The Witch Mirror showed me exactly where the bucket-hat man was.

I adjusted my grip on the phone and said, "Keep tailing him. I’m heading there right now."