A Father's Warning
Father’s answer was surprising. It was quite unexpected coming from a man who had devoted his entire life to the nation. He had followed his late grandfather into the Naval Academy, graduated, and commissioned as a naval officer. Later, drawn to special warfare, he applied to the Naval Special Warfare Flotilla. After becoming a special warfare officer, he even studied abroad with the U.S. Navy’s special forces—an elite among elites. Even now, with monsters invading humanity, he had re-enlisted in the Defense Forces and was still active as a field operative and commander. I never imagined someone like him would tell me not to register as an Awakened and to live as a non-Awakened instead.
“Why would you say that?”
“Being a hunter isn’t something you do with a clear head.”
“Well… you’re not wrong.”
“Hey.” Father’s expression hardened. “That’s not the kind of thing you answer with ‘you’re not wrong.’”
“Right.”
“You don’t know. You have no idea what hunters actually do or how they slowly break down.”
I couldn’t bring myself to say that I knew better than anyone, so I simply listened in silence.
“I’m not a hunter myself, so I don’t know the details. But from what I’ve seen, heard, and felt… hunters aren’t just people who fight monsters.”
“What do you mean?”
“Their world is far dirtier, more political, more complicated, and more dangerous than you think.”
“Is that so?”
“Hunters don’t exist solely to sacrifice themselves for the nation or humanity. They’re a double-edged sword. They might be humanity’s saviors, but in another sense, they could become humanity’s enemies.”
…! A chill ran down my spine. In those few words, Father had captured the true nature of hunters that I had witnessed over the past ten years. Was this what they called insight? Just as he said, even though he wasn’t a hunter, his perception was sharper than mine.
He was right. Becoming a hunter didn’t mean becoming humanity’s savior. I was living proof of that. Hadn’t I blown up the academy out of nothing but personal revenge? The nation, the Republic of Korea, humanity—none of it had mattered to me in that moment. Even knowing that my revenge would let the Dragon Lord devastate not just Korea but the entire world, I had gone through with it. And now my father was indirectly pointing it out.
“I’ve eaten government rice my whole life, but I can’t tell my own son to become a hunter. If you want to serve the country and its people, becoming a special warfare officer and fighting monsters is meaningful enough. Strength or weakness isn’t what matters.”
Father paused to drink some water, then continued.
“And like I said earlier, I’m against you becoming a hunter just because you need a place to live right now. If you do it just to live comfortably, you’ll regret it.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Hmm.” Father narrowed his eyes and looked me up and down. “Are you going to register tomorrow?”
“How did you know?!”
“It’s written all over your face. I’ve known from the start.”
“Then why did you try to stop me even though you already knew?”
“So you’d at least hear this lecture and steel your resolve.”
Father grinned. Mother, standing beside him, was also smiling faintly. They must have already discussed this between themselves.
“Haha.” A hollow laugh escaped me. To think that even after regressing, I was still completely in my parents’ hands.
“Think it over. Think hard. Why do you want to become a hunter, and how do you plan to live once you are one? Never lose yourself. Protect yourself before you try to protect anyone else. Living as a hunter might turn you into a monster. I won’t stand by and watch my son become one.”
“Yes. I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Good. Let’s eat.”
Father picked up his spoon again.
* * *
Of all the emotions humans possess, few are as harmful as the melancholy that comes with dawn. Yet humans are foolish creatures who repeat the same mistakes. I was no exception right now.
It was 2 a.m. Unable to sleep, I slipped out of the tent and breathed in the night air.
‘Might as well look at the night view.’
The refugee camp sat on a hillside, so climbing a little higher should give me a view of downtown Seoul. I started up the mountain. At this point in time, I was still a young man in my early twenties preparing for enlistment, so my physical condition was excellent. With my body further enhanced by awakening, hiking was nothing. Even after reaching the summit, I hadn’t broken a sweat.
I plopped down on a rock and looked out over Seoul, the capital of the Republic of Korea.
“Still looks fine.”
The night view was beautiful. However, areas where transfers had occurred or battles with monsters had taken place were swallowed in darkness, like sinkholes punched into the cityscape. The closest one had once been my family’s home.
I thought of the future. As time passed, the number of those sinkholes would only grow. In my memories, ten years from now, the places still lit up would be far fewer. After “that incident” seven years later, Seoul would be reduced to ruins, and the Republic of Korea would begin to collapse rapidly.
A question suddenly occurred to me. Could I light up those darkened places again? Could I fill in those sinkholes? Honestly, I didn’t know. I had no idea how to stop the coming apocalypse. Still, since I had returned to the past, I should at least try to delay it as much as possible.
‘For now…’
I carefully considered my plans going forward. I had returned to the past and awakened in a completely different role, so I needed a plan suited to that. This was the beginning of the age of destruction. Surviving in this world, let alone preventing the future catastrophe, would be no easy task.
My thoughts continued until the first light of dawn began to break. The sun was slowly rising, and the dawn melancholy that had gripped me was starting to fade.
— I won’t stand by and watch my son become a monster.
Father’s words suddenly flashed through my mind.
“I’m already a monster.”
I was a sinner who had committed countless atrocities. Even before my revenge, I had shed rivers of blood while making my plans. The original me—the one who had been loyal to the nation and its people, willing to burn himself for humanity while quietly supporting his comrades—had died three years ago.
“And I… will gladly live as a monster. In this insane world, being a monster is the better choice.”
Already broken beyond repair, I wasn’t so lacking in conscience that I would pretend to be some noble saint now. I would become the most terrifying, cruel monster of all. But I had no intention of letting my family find out. A monster wearing the skin of a sheep. That was who I was.
* * *
As soon as the sun rose, I headed for Do-hyun’s tent. I wanted to apologize and ask a favor. From a distance, I could hear the laughter of children playing in the empty lot of the refugee camp.
“Kyaaah!”
“Kiyahoooo!”
It was strange. Even in times like these, children were being born, growing up, and running around like that.
“Kuuuuurgh!”
Do-hyun was sprawled out on the ground, fast asleep.
“He must’ve been exhausted.”
Empty delivery food containers and crushed beer cans scattered around gave me a rough idea of what had happened.
“Our poor Do-hyun must’ve been so tired. Haha.”
Feeling a sting in my nose, I pulled the blanket he had kicked off back over him.
“Sleep well.”
I placed the side dishes Mother had packed and some cash on the small table, then picked up the motorcycle keys instead. I had somewhere to go, and since I didn’t have a vehicle I could use right away, I had no choice but to borrow his bike. Of course, I planned to repay him properly beyond just the food and rental fee. Money? In this era, was there any higher earner than a hunter? For a hunter, becoming rich was as easy as breathing.
“See you later.”
I borrowed Do-hyun’s motorcycle and left the refugee camp. My destination was Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province—the headquarters of the Defense Strategy Department, the most powerful institution in the Republic of Korea. One of its roles was to register and manage the Awakened.