Chapter 13
Chapter 13
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Clash with the Demon Viscount
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Yong-un, who had been curious about just how strong a Marquis-level demon really was, decided to tag along to the regular meeting.
"I'm sorry, but only one guild master is allowed to attend the regular meeting. Please wait here."
However, Yong-un wasn't permitted to enter.
This had been the rule since the very first regular meeting: only guild masters could participate.
As the guild master looked embarrassed, Yong-un shrugged and said,
"No need to wait around, then. I'll be off."
"If you stop by later to wait, I'll let you know."
"Sure. Oh, and if you see the Hwarang, Sareung, Iron Army, or Garosu guild masters there, make sure to pass along a message. Tell them to cut the nonsense."
The guards blocking the meeting room entrance flinched and trembled at the mention of all four major guilds.
But the guild master just smiled nonchalantly and nodded.
"Yes, I'll make sure to relay it."
"Good. See you."
Yong-un gave a brief nod to the guild master before turning away.
In the blink of an eye, he vanished from the spot.
The startled guards reached for their radios to report something.
But at that exact moment, sirens blared throughout the entire Hunter Management Agency.
The guild master returned to the office after the regular meeting.
But he was three hours later than expected, so the guild members asked,
"The meeting ran longer than usual, huh?"
"Yeah, there was an issue midway through."
"An issue?"
"They said a demon's weapon resonated."
All the guild members stopped what they were doing and stared at the guild master.
"It resonated?"
"Does that mean a demon came to the Hunter Management Agency?"
"It's not confirmed, but the possibility is high. Apparently, this was a weapon that hadn't resonated once in the month since it appeared, except for that very first time."
"Talk about perfect timing. Damn, so that demon's in Seoul?"
The guild master nodded at one guild member's words.
"They'll send individual notifications once they confirm the details, so we just wait. For now, they're asking all registered guilds in Seoul to stand by for deployment."
Every guild member's expression turned grave.
'They're making those death-march faces again.'
Their looks were no different from back when they were deployment targets.
Well, deployment meant heading to your death, and fighting a Marquis-level demon was the same thing. It was only natural.
But.
"Bro..."
Myung-un was different.
He couldn't let someone like Myung-un feel that kind of fear.
Nor his family, for that matter.
"Guild master."
"Yes?"
"Do I have anything to do today?"
"No, nothing in particular."
"Then I'll take the day off."
"Pardon? But if a deployment request comes in..."
Yong-un, lounging on the sofa, drew up his demonic energy.
Black demonic qi rose like heat haze around him, rippling outward in all directions.
Though low-ranked, the guild master was a magic-type hunter and immediately sensed the air grow heavy.
As the guild master fell silent, Yong-un spoke.
"No one needs to go. I'll already be there."
Yong-un stood and headed outside.
"Ah! Yong-un, I caused a bit of trouble."
Yong-un paused at the guild master's words and turned to him. The guild master gave an awkward smile.
"I announced it to the entire meeting room. That Yong-un is an Unwoo Guild member. Asked them not to try recruiting him anymore."
"Heh, that's amusing."
With that, Yong-un vanished from the spot.
The fledgling registered guild Unwoo had just openly declared as much in front of the major guild masters.
It was trouble of the highest order.
The guild members, who understood the implications perfectly, gaped and shouted in unison.
"Guild master! Are you insane?!"
But the guild master just shrugged at their reactions.
"Eh, it'll work out somehow."
A few guild masters lingered at the Hunter Management Agency after the meeting.
They were there for additional discussions on the demon weapon's resonance.
Naturally, they were from guilds close to the major powers in Korea or the four great guilds themselves.
"Unwoo Guild's gone mad."
"With an A-rank hunter on their side, they think they can take on anyone."
But the additional meeting kicked off with talk of Unwoo Guild master's antics.
There weren't many words to describe it.
'Historically insane' or just 'madness.'
A newly registered guild daring to declare war on the majors? It was suicidal unless they were trying to destroy themselves.
But some guilds saw Unwoo Guild master's actions differently.
"That one A-rank hunter has done some incredible things, so it's hard to just label him as such."
"From the rumors, we haven't even seen his full potential yet, so calling him A-rank definitively might be premature."
It was Garosu Guild, home to the Sword Tiger, Korea's top hunter, and Hwarang Guild.
Though unspoken, Hwarang Guild had actually met Yong-un first—before any other guild.
Not just any member, but their elite-of-elites casting director.
'Called him a monster. Said he could be the second S-rank if handled right.'
Hwarang Guild master Shin Ra-chang nodded.
If the casting director was right and Yong-un was S-rank material, no demands would sway him.
Worse, excessive pressure might force even a major guild to face his wrath.
Yet Shin Ra-chang was a major guild master too.
Greed was inevitable.
'But we don't know yet. If that's his limit, maybe we can still recruit him.'
With clashing views, the guild masters glared at one another.
They couldn't let go of the hot potato that was Yong-un.
But the meeting wasn't about Yong-un.
"Is the atmosphere already this heated before we've even started?"
As the guild masters engaged in a staring contest, the meeting room door opened, and one woman entered.
"I heard it was about some new hunter named Yong-un. Was I right?"
All the guild masters averted their eyes from the woman's smiling remark.
Her smile was gentle, but her eyes clearly held a reprimand.
"No? Sareung Guild master?"
"Ahem..."
The Sareung Guild master awkwardly dodged her gaze with a cough.
It was understandable.
The woman in the suit was none other than Hunter Management Agency Minister Baek Myung-hee.
A cabinet-level official, no less.
No matter how powerful the major guilds, they couldn't defy Korea's minister—especially the one overseeing hunters.
"Shall we proceed with the meeting, then?"
Everyone nodded and cleared their throats at Baek Myung-hee's words.
"Thank you. Now..."
Baek Myung-hee wiped the smile from her face, turning serious as she activated the projector.
The projector played a video from CCTV footage.
It showed what appeared to be a Marquis-level demon's weapon vibrating and emitting black demonic energy.
And with that, the video ended.
"As you can see, it was a definite resonance. And our agency's researchers have reached a conclusion."
Bam.
"A demon came and went. Right here at the Hunter Management Agency."
At Baek Myung-hee's desk slam, all the guild masters gravely watched the looping footage.
Night had fallen, darkness settling in.
Yong-un stood on the roof with arms crossed, eyes closed, while his family slept soundly below.
He merely seemed to have his eyes lightly shut, but in truth, ever since leaving Unwoo Guild's office, he'd been subtly spreading and maintaining his demonic qi within a hundred jang radius.
All to detect any demon faster than anyone else.
'If you're going to show, then hurry up.'
They say even tigers come when mentioned.
Sensing something quietly, Yong-un's eyes snapped open.
His head whipped around, and his figure vanished from the roof.
He reappeared before a gate crackling with black sparks.
The energy felt familiar, unlike any gate he'd cleared so far.
'Demonic qi?'
But this demonic qi was peculiar.
'Turbid. The kind that'd cause internal injuries if used for demonic arts.'
Demonic arts involved refining demonic qi safely within the body.
Yet the qi from this forming gate was intensely impure.
Soon, sirens echoed from somewhere.
Wee-ooo-wee-ooo—
Yong-un wondered at first, but quickly realized it was the agency's deployment alert.
Decent hunters began gathering from all directions.
They crossed in front of Yong-un, pulling out devices like computers at the forming gate and tapping away.
Then one shouted loudly to everyone,
"Demon gate! Prepare for battle!"
Those words ignited the fuse, causing all nearby hunters to erupt with energy.
Amid the bursting auras from every side,
Yong-un uncrossed his arms and muttered softly,
"A demon, huh... Excellent."
He strode toward the gate, not yet fully formed.
"Huh...? Hey? Who's that guy?"
"Stop him! Some rookie idiot's charging into an incomplete gate! Block him!"
But before anyone could react, Yong-un's figure slipped into the gate's black sparks.
He forcibly aligned the twisted energies.
The chaotic flows gathered into a long passage.
"Not a bad formation array."
Even Zhuge So-cheon, the Jeonju Zhuge family's genius array master, might not match this.
It would take someone like Dae Myeong, the Heaven's Brain who knew all things under heaven.
But all arrays were manipulations of energy.
Only after reaching the Profound Realm, unifying all energies under demonic qi, did such feats become possible.
'And only then could I achieve perfect vengeance.'
All meaningless now.
Family was all that mattered to Yong-un anymore.
"Wait your turn."
Anyone threatening his family?
Be it the Murim Alliance leader, the entire murim world, or the imperial court—Yong-un feared none.
He had the power now.
Passing the long passage, the gate's other side came into view at last.
A hellscape: earth ablaze, mountains engulfed in flames.
In its midst, a figure with a massive black spear stabbed into the ground trampled demon beast corpses. It lifted crimson eyes.
"The gate isn't complete yet. Who are you?"
"You're the demon?"
"I am Viscount Partagon. And you?"
"Sword... no, Yong-un."
Yong-un kicked off the ground.
The red-eyed demon yanked its spear from the earth and thrust at Yong-un.
Boom!
Yong-un's demonic-qi-clad hand clashed with Viscount Partagon's black spear blade.
The impact roared like thunder, shaking the surrounding ground.
A sound unbelievable for flesh against weapon echoed everywhere.
Viscount Partagon was pushed back a long way.
Screeech.
Two long furrows gouged the earth.
"What...?"
Viscount Partagon's eyes trembled at the unbelievable sight.
But unlike the shocked viscount, Yong-un burst into laughter.
"Kahahahaha! Excellent!"
He'd aimed to bisect him in one blow.
Yet Viscount Partagon had blocked it.
Blocking his hand technique meant at least first-rate peak expert.
Facing a foe he couldn't meet in this world, Yong-un's blood boiled.
But that hope was swiftly dashed.
Splat!
"Gah!"
Viscount Partagon failed to block the renewed attack, his throat pierced clean through.
"Finger Flick Technique doesn't work, huh? Tsk tsk. Barely first-rate and peak realm."
What a pity.
Thud.
Clutching his throat, the demon dropped to his knees, spewing blood as his head hit the dirt.
Yong-un had figured he'd block this too after handling the hand strike.
But the demon's limit was hand techniques.
Shaking his head regretfully, Yong-un approached Viscount Partagon.
As he reached to extract the mana stone from the heart, the supposedly dead viscount's eyes flew open, blasting demonic qi.
"Die!"
His trump card, but the opponent was wrong.
The moment Viscount Partagon stirred, Yong-un moved faster.
Crunch!
Flipping backward through the air, Yong-un seized the viscount's head and ripped it off.
Drip. Drip drip.
"Even with a pierced throat, you still move."
Demonic beasts were demonic beasts, after all.
At the unexpected reaction, Yong-un tossed the head aside and shook his own.
"Strong, but not quite what the guild master described. Viscount, right? This can't be the one he meant."
He'd just ask later. Yong-un extracted the mana stone from the heart and turned.
Then the gate shuddered violently, cracks spiderwebbing across it.
"This is clearing it, right?"
Yong-un glanced at the crumbling gate world without regret and turned away.
A demon who nearly brought catastrophe to central Seoul.
Leaving Viscount Partagon's corpse behind.