EX-Rank Awakening Candidate (2)
Hell Witch Ju Minjeong.
She was a first-generation hunter who had awakened a Mystery when abnormal phenomena first began to ravage the world.
After standing against countless Calamities for the sake of humanity, the mental pollution inside her had piled so high that corruption was no longer a distant threat.
Her Mystery was peculiar. The power she wielded—drawn from hell itself—sat closer to a Calamity than a true Mystery. That was why the Phenomenon Interpretation Bureau estimated that if she ever fully corrupted, she would be reborn as one of the highest-tier SS-rank Calamities in existence.
After reviewing the Bureau’s report, the South Korean government negotiated terms that kept her deployments to a bare minimum and folded her into the National Rapid Response Force.
They meant to keep a tight leash on her, wring every last drop of use out of her until she stood on the brink of corruption, then have her put down by the very elite comrades she served alongside in the Force.
She refused that fate. Quietly, carefully, she extended her claws and turned those same comrades into her thralls, one by one.
Unwilling to die alone, she bound most of her team to her will. And then a healer capable of stopping a hunter’s corruption appeared before her eyes. Losing her reason and going berserk was, in a way, the only natural outcome.
I can’t let him slip away.
Hell Witch Ju Minjeong’s sticky, hungry gaze locked onto the F-rank healer Lee Jinwoo. She had already reviewed every scrap of his personal file on the way here; the basics were locked in her mind.
To a woman who had been drowning in mental pollution, destined to fall as a Calamity and die at her comrades’ hands, Lee Jinwoo’s existence was nothing less than salvation itself.
“Get a hold of yourself, Ju Minjeong… Don’t even think about doing something stupid.”
Gangwon Doryeong’s hands shook as he drew a talisman. He was ready to face the Hell Witch if it came to that.
Lee Jinwoo had stopped Baek Soyeon’s corruption and, in doing so, had also saved Jeong Manho’s life. Standing against Ju Minjeong was the least he could do.
“Look at all of you, eyes rolling every which way. You’re all thinking of snatching my prince away from me, aren’t you?”
“Prince?”
The hunters tilted their heads in baffled incomprehension. Ju Minjeong only grinned wider.
“He’s the man who saves princesses stuck with miserable fates like mine. Calling him a prince seems fair enough, doesn’t it?”
“Y-you crazy bitch…”
“An A-rank talking back to me? You must want to die.”
Ju Minjeong lifted her left hand and fixed a cold glare on the Blue House-affiliated hunter who had dared call her a crazy bitch.
The National Rapid Response Force hunters she had already turned into thralls flared with crimson eyes and started to step forward—
“That’s far enough, I think.”
Sharp, murderous auras flooded in from every direction.
Dozens of powerful enemies, at the very least, were closing in. Even with her thralls, Ju Minjeong had no confidence she could handle them all. She withdrew cleanly.
“See you next time.”
She had no intention of giving up on Jinwoo. She simply judged that the timing was wrong.
“Sh-she’s gone…”
“Hah… Thought I was dead for a second there.”
The moment Ju Minjeong vanished with her thralls, the tension shattered. Awakened hunters let out long, shaky breaths of relief.
Many simply collapsed where they stood, strength gone from their legs.
“A villain of the highest order has just been born.”
Gangwon Doryeong’s muttered words drew grim nods from the hunters around him.
She had caused this much chaos and still refused to surrender, disappearing without a trace. The Supreme Council would almost certainly register her as a Villain before long.
“We’re from the Foundation’s Special Task Bureau. Gangwon Doryeong? And the director of Donghae Central Public Health Center? Please come with us.”
Men in suits approached Jeong Manho and the health center director. The director nodded at once, but Gangwon Doryeong answered with a slightly crooked tilt of the head.
“I don’t get a right of refusal, do I?”
No answer came.
But the silence was answer enough.
When I opened my eyes, an unfamiliar ceiling stared back at me.
“You’re awake?”
An unfamiliar ceiling, but a familiar voice.
I turned my head and found familiar faces waiting.
People I know.
The health center director and Gangwon Doryeong were both there.
“Kwak Taehyun, director of Donghae Central Public Health Center. We’ve met before, haven’t we?”
Taehyun offered a warm, easy smile as he introduced himself first. I had run into him a few times while working as a contract healer on assignment, so he felt more familiar than Gangwon Doryeong.
“Jeong Manho. Just call me that.”
Gangwon Doryeong gave his own name as well.
“Lee Jinwoo.”
I returned the introduction. Unlike Taehyun, this was my first time meeting Jeong Manho.
“So… where exactly is this? A hospital?”
Once the names were out of the way, I asked the obvious question.
Looking around, the place looked like an expensive VIP room.
I don’t have that kind of money.
Maybe the government had covered the bill in advance for the hero who stopped an S-rank hunter’s corruption.
“Healer Lee Jinwoo. I’ll explain everything step by step, so try not to be too startled.”
“Sure. Take your time.”
I answered with a relaxed smile. Nothing hurt, and the fact that I had woken up in a hospital bed at all meant Baek Soyeon probably hadn’t fallen either.
“I should start with Hunter Baek Soyeon’s condition.”
Taehyun began in a calm, steady voice.
“Thanks to you, Healer Lee Jinwoo, Hunter Baek Soyeon’s corruption has been halted. Her mental pollution levels are still high, but not high enough that we need to worry about an immediate fall.”
“Really?”
“I confirmed it myself first, and multiple agencies have verified the results through detailed examinations. I can say with confidence that the findings are solid.”
“That’s a relief.”
I had expected as much, but hearing it from a professional still eased something tight in my chest.
“There are a few matters I need to convey regarding the power of the Mystery you displayed.”
Taehyun cleared his throat lightly and continued.
“Regarding the power you showed against Hunter Baek Soyeon while she was in the middle of corrupting… the Bureau has judged that it is highly likely to be an EX-rank Mystery.”
“EX-rank?”
“Yes. At present, Healer Lee Jinwoo, you hold the status of EX-rank awakening candidate.”
I never imagined the words “EX-rank” would come out of Taehyun’s mouth.
EX-rank.
A designation that meant “beyond the scale.” Only eight EX-rank awakened existed on Earth right now.
Ordinary awakened were managed by their national governments or the international body known as the Human Alliance. EX-rank awakened, however, fell under the direct jurisdiction of the Foundation.
They were Mystery resources of such immense value that even the phrase “national-power level” felt inadequate. Not even ordinary heads of state could treat them lightly. That was the pinnacle of power known as an EX-rank awakened.
I awakened something that absurd?
It was hard to believe.
Secondary awakenings were reported often enough, but EX-rank awakenings were vanishingly rare. Only eight people out of seven billion humanity, after all.
“Feels like a dream, doesn’t it?”
Gangwon Doryeong tossed the remark out from the corner, voice flat. I nodded.
“Yeah. It’s so unreal I’m half-convinced you’re joking.”
“It’s not a joke, and it’s not a dream. It’s just cold, hard reality.”
I gave an awkward little laugh at Jeong Manho’s words and looked back at Director Kwak Taehyun.
“If it’s true that I’ve become an EX-rank candidate… why are you the one delivering the news, Director?”
I raised the question carefully.
In a world crawling with abnormal phenomena, a little caution never hurt.
“You’re affiliated with a local government agency, and EX-ranks fall under the Foundation’s direct control. Candidates should be the same. Shouldn’t someone from a national-level institution be the one explaining this to me?”
It seemed like a reasonable point.
“You’re right. Originally this would be the Special Task Bureau’s jurisdiction.”
Taehyun laughed lightly. There was no offense in it.
“Someone from the Foundation asked me to explain things gently so Healer Lee Jinwoo wouldn’t be too shocked.”
Ah.
“If that’s the case, it makes sense. I’ve heard the rough outline, so you can come out now.”
The door opened. A woman in a white blouse and short skirt walked in.
“Rebecca, first-class secretary of the East Asia Branch Special Task Bureau, Humanity Survival Foundation. Forgive the discourtesy.”
Rebecca bowed as she introduced herself.
She spoke in English, but thanks to Babel—the EX-rank Mystery owned by the Foundation—there was no difficulty understanding her at all.
“I don’t consider it a discourtesy. You were being considerate of me.”
I smiled as I answered.
If I had opened my eyes to a room packed with people in black suits, I really would have been startled.
Still… they sent someone pretty high up.
I knew a little about the Foundation’s hierarchy.
Born from the Freemasons and the shadow governments, the Foundation was a secretive organization, but the rough outlines of its ranks were known.
“I never expected someone higher than a cabinet minister to come see me. Haha.”
The atmosphere felt a little too stiff, so I threw out a joke. Rebecca didn’t so much as twitch. She only tilted her head slightly, face still expressionless.
“I believe there has been some misunderstanding, Candidate.”
I had no idea what misunderstanding she meant.
“I did not come here to see you. I came here to attend you.”