Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Interest is Poison
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The gate, which had been noisily spewing black sparks, began to crack open.
Hundreds of hunters who had staked their lives to block the demon's descent stood dumbfounded.
It had just been on the verge of completion.
But how in the world had this happened?
"Isn't it a demon gate?"
"Black sparks flew everywhere. That's definitely a demon gate."
"Then who the hell..."
All the hundreds of hunters mobilized by the Hunter Management Agency stared fixedly at the entrance of the cracking gate.
And then, Yong-un stepped out from within.
"Wh-what...? The gate wasn't even fully formed yet. Who went inside?"
The murmurs from the surrounding hunters grew louder.
However, the eyes locked on Yong-un soon shifted back to the gate's entrance.
But.
Shoooooo!Pop!
Right behind where Yong-un had emerged.
A sound like water gurgling down a sewer rang out, and the cracking gate vanished with a pop.
All the hunters' jaws dropped simultaneously, their gazes now frozen on Yong-un.
The prickling stares they felt.
And the burning curiosity blazing within them.
Yong-un scowled under the weight of all that attention.
He turned his head for a moment, then summoned his demonic energy.
When he looked up again, it wasn't Yong-un's face staring back—but a completely different one.
'High interest can be poison. Our family wasn't some lotus blooming on a lake of attention.'
Yong-un wanted to turn everything back, but he had no desire to burden his family.
Selling his name was one thing.
But if his face got out there too, his family would get dragged into all sorts of hassles.
'It was the same in the martial world.'
A hidden master of advanced acupuncture, the Vital Needle Master.
Just for saving Jeokgal Cheong—the Murim Alliance strategist no one else could—with his needles, he'd gained immense wealth and fame.
But the Vital Needle Master's end was a pitiful one, despite all that envy-worthy riches and popularity.
'All his family members left him because they couldn't take it anymore.'
When Yong-un first heard the story, he'd been baffled.
Shouldn't they have been thrilled? he'd wondered.
But after hearing what happened to the Vital Needle Master and his family afterward, Yong-un had nodded in understanding.
'Fame and fortune can only be borne by those prepared for their weight.'
The Vital Needle Master hadn't realized that the very fame and attention others envied could be poison to his family.
The constant stares no matter where they went, the need to live hyper-aware of them.
In the end, his family could no longer live like a normal one and left his side.
And the Vital Needle Master himself flickered out like a candle in the wind before the lure of even greater wealth and fame.
Thus, he vanished from the martial world.
"Who the hell is that guy?"
"Did he solo clear a demon gate?"
"Hey! Film him! Go take a picture!"
"The gate's cleared! Hurry up and ask him!"
Yong-un's story wouldn't end up like the Vital Needle Master's.
He couldn't burden his family like that.
With his altered face, Yong-un watched the surging crowd for a moment before vanishing from the spot.
The next morning.
As soon as Yong-un arrived at the office, he was summoned to the guild master's room.
"Take a look at this."
It was articles on a tablet PC thrust at him the moment he entered.
'The gate in Imundong—was it really a demon gate?'
'Hunter solos a demon gate. Who is he?'
'It might not have been a demon gate. Hunter Management Agency statement.'
'The hero who saved Seoul. Who is he?'
The media was ablaze over yesterday's events.
But Yong-un tilted his head at the last article's wording.
"It was decent enough, but not enough to raze this area to the ground."
The guild master's expression twitched.
"I had a hunch, and it was right?"
"Don't worry. I changed my face."
The face was mosaicked, so unrecognizable—but it had already spread across community sites.
That's why the guild master had shown it to him, just in case.
But for it to be real.
Goosebumps erupted all over the guild master.
"It was really a demon?"
"Called itself Partagon Viscount. Pretty decent."
"...A real demon... not just any demon... a viscount-rank?"
The guild master's face turned visibly strange.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing... so it really was a demon gate."
He hadn't seen Yong-un in a long time, so he didn't know much about him, but a few things were clear.
He was ridiculously strong, and brutally honest—no concept of joking.
The guild master clutched his head at Yong-un's deadpan delivery.
He was shocked by Yong-un's actions transcending common sense.
"Oh, I forgot to hand this over yesterday amid the chaos."
To the stunned guild master, Yong-un dealt another blow.
Thud.
A mana stone landed on the desk.
Not the usual gray-black one, but pitch-black through and through.
"Ah..."
"How much for something like this?"
So intensely black, no gray in sight.
The guild master had never seen one like it, but knew instantly what it was.
"No way... from that demon..."
"Right. Figured it'd fetch a good price, so I brought it."
A demon's mana stone.
Rare as they come, worth whatever you could name, with only a handful in the world.
And here it was, right in front of him.
Wobble.
The guild master's arm gave out from under his head, and he staggered.
Yong-un shook his head at the sight.
"Tsk tsk. So fragile. The guy called himself a viscount—surely not like that marquis fellow?"
"...Yes, marquis and viscount are different."
Yong-un shook his head again at the guild master's dazed, limp reply as he stared at the stone, then stood up.
"Guess I'll head back then. I'm resting today too—don't look for me."
And with that, he vanished from the office.
To Yong-un, his family's safety was paramount right now.
Now that he knew viscounts and marquises were different, he had to move to protect them.
Just like how he'd guarded them all night, he returned to the rooftop.
"Is that you over there?"
But someone was waiting for the returning Yong-un.
The moment he spread his demonic energy to scan the surroundings, a voice called from below. Yong-un looked down.
Black hood, gold necklace dangling from neck to navel.
Thick beard, burly build, and two swords strapped to his waist.
A middle-aged man who looked quite seasoned gazed up at him.
It was a back alley with plenty of foot traffic, but he'd paid it no mind before. This was the first to spot and address him directly.
"You got something to say?"
In response, the man grinned and drew his two swords without a word.
"Searched all night for you. Who the hell's spreading this thick aura everywhere? Turns out it's you."
He'd sensed the demonic energy Yong-un had scattered around.
The middle-aged man kicked off the ground and charged at Yong-un.
"Wanted to test you!"
He swung his blade aura as if to kill.
Yong-un wrapped his hand in water energy, just like blade aura, and parried.
Clang!
The clash of blade and water energy sent a faint shockwave across the rooftop, knocking the middle-aged warrior below.
The warrior landed lightly, grinning wider now that his attack had been so easily thwarted.
"As I thought!"
"This world's got as many lunatics as the martial world."
Yong-un scowled briefly and glanced at his feet.
The tile collision had shaken the house slightly.
Irritation flared at the threat to his family's home.
"Guess I should brush off annoyances quick."
Yong-un's body dipped downward.
The warrior below crossed his blade-aura-wreathed swords and shouted.
"Come on!"
Whoosh.
Yong-un's blurring form seized the warrior's back in an instant.
Had he expected him just to drop down?
"What...!?"
The startled warrior tried to twist around.
But Yong-un's palm struck his abdomen first.
A louder impact than before boomed out.
Boom!
"Guh!"
Thud.
The warrior collapsed unconscious before he could turn.
"No malice, so this ends it. Don't come back."
Yong-un grabbed the sprawled warrior's collar.
Then his form vanished with the man—and reappeared alone.
Of course, sans the unconscious warrior...
Under the elevated Hwarang Guild road in Imundong.
Nearly ten people stood where the presumed demon gate had vanished.
Even after four-plus hours, they held their position, drawing sidelong glances from passersby.
"What happened?"
"I don't know either."
"We're past the appointed time by four hours already."
"He definitely said he'd be here. And he's always punctual to the minute... Could something have happened on the way?!"
The hunter's earnest worry creased the brow of the man at the front.
The air around grew icy cold.
"Do you realize who you're worrying about?"
"S-sorry!"
The frontman straightened his suit.
He looked down at the bowing hunter.
"Korea's one and only S-rank."
"I-I was just worried... I misspoke..."
"You, a mere B-rank, worrying about Sword Tiger, who soloed a B-rank orc gate?"
"Sorry!"
"You should be. Sword Tiger meeting with mishap? Tsk tsk."
He clicked his tongue and shook his head.
It was absurd nonsense even on second thought.
Korea's sole top hunter, Sword Tiger.
For him to run into trouble on the street and be late?
'I'd sooner believe orcs turned human.'
But despite his words, worry was creeping in.
Sword Tiger, who always taught guild members that promises were ironclad.
For him to be four hours late without a word?
"What if... a marquis-rank demon on the way?!"
"If it was a monster, we'd have met it already."
"...? Sword Tiger!"
The suited man clapped—just as the long-awaited Sword Tiger appeared.
Silent as ever. With him, their group of ten swelled to over thirty in seconds.
Hidden hunters emerged to see him.
"Sorry for being late, after always drilling punctuality into you."
"No problem!"
Sword Tiger scanned them all and gave a small smile.
The hunters, forgetting the four-hour wait, beamed back.
But the suited man, curiosity piqued by Sword Tiger's words, couldn't hold back.
"Sword Tiger, sir—did you really encounter that disaster-level marquis demon?"
Sword Tiger snorted at the eager question.
"Is the guild vice-master deaf?"
"Pardon?"
"When did I say I met that marquis?"
"B-but you said monster..."
"Yeah, met a monster. Slept for four hours straight because of it—that's why I'm late."
He tossed it out casually.
But the implication shattered every guild member's ears, despite the light tone.
"...J-joking too far, sir. Ha, hahaha."
"Hahahaha."
The vice-guild master forced an awkward laugh.
Sword Tiger wiped his smile clean instead.
"Does it sound like a joke?"
"...Then..."
"It's real. Makes being late this fun, heh."
As Sword Tiger grinned again, the vice-guild master and members' faces darkened.
Like a bolt from the blue.
"Wh-who... another demon...?"
"Relax. Human. Eyes, nose, mouth like you—breathes through his nose."
"Contracted with a demon then...?"
Snap!
"Ack!"
Sword Tiger flicked the vice-guild master's forehead.
As he rubbed it in pain, Sword Tiger smiled deeply, reminiscing.
"Could be. But who cares? Sky's got something I can snap now—kahahaha!"
"......"
"Kahahahaha!"
Sword Tiger's throat-rattling laugh filled the quiet underpass, amid the thirty-plus guild members' silence.
"Kahahahaha!"
For over thirty minutes.