Chapter 154
Chapter 154
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 154
Chapter Title: The Demon-Slaying Sword's True Form
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'How many hunters are gathered?'
Daisy, the branch manager, shouted inwardly.
No matter how loudly she cried out in her mind, who would hear it? But Daisy had a special hunter at her side.
An S-Rank hunter dispatched by GHO as her direct bodyguard.
A telepath so rare that there were fewer than ten in the entire world.
Mind Listener, codename White.
He quietly cried out from amid the staff.
'In this room, excluding me: two world S-Ranks, two regional S-Ranks, twenty-two A-Ranks, and sixty-two B-Rank and below.'
Of course, White's voice didn't echo aloud.
His lips merely moved soundlessly, yet every word resounded clearly in Daisy's ears.
Shring.
Yong-un slowly drew the Demon-Slaying Sword.
The blade gradually emerged from between the scabbard and the handguard, catching the light.
Not a single staff member, nor even Daisy herself, relaxed their tension.
'Branch manager, what happens if that's the Demon-Slaying Sword?'
White asked.
And Daisy replied with an expression more tense and grave than ever before.
'He's the one who stole GHO's precious asset. Subdue him and take it back.'
White's face darkened.
The branch manager's office was stocked with elite forces comparable to a major guild's primary combat strength.
Yet why was it...
That just one enemy filled them with such unease?
Shring.
White prayed silently.
Please, let it not be the Demon-Slaying Sword.
Please, let the day pass quietly without incident.
And White's wish...
Swish.
...came true.
"Huh?"
The Demon-Slaying Sword, which had been sliding out slowly, was suddenly drawn fully in one motion.
Numerous hunters dropped into low stances, assuming combat positions.
But.
"P-purple?"
Every hunter who checked the blade was so shocked they even released the mana they'd gathered.
It wasn't a dark red blade.
The handguard and hilt matched perfectly.
But the blade's color—the key identifier of the Demon-Slaying Sword—was completely different.
"Branch... manager?"
Could they confidently call that the Demon-Slaying Sword?
The gazes of many hunters shifted from the sword straight to the branch manager.
"......"
With things unfolding contrary to expectations, they urged her for the next command.
However, Daisy was just as stunned as the hunters.
Her eyes were wide, her lips parted in speechless shock.
'Branch manager, you need to respond. If you freeze up here, that hunter will find it suspicious.'
White shouted at her.
The voice of White, the Mind Listener and Teller, exploded in Daisy's ear like thunder.
"Ah...."
She couldn't help but snap to her senses.
After blinking a couple of times, Daisy took a deep breath.
"It's... not the Demon-Slaying Sword."
"Phew...."
The words everyone had been waiting for finally fell from Daisy's lips.
The hunter staff, who had been braced for battle, let out sighs of relief and eased their tension.
Voices murmuring "Thank goodness" rose here and there.
It was a small glimpse into just how intense their anxiety had been.
Everyone thought the situation was over.
With the commander's firm confirmation, there would be no battle now.
That was when it happened.
"Is that so? How laughable."
Yong-un, having grasped the Absolute Cut, hoisted the now-purple-bladed Demon-Slaying Sword and snorted derisively.
Then, with a casual flick of his wrist, he added,
"You claim it's yours when you can't even recognize the Demon-Slaying Sword right in front of you."
"......"
The branch manager's office grew ice-cold.
The expressions of every hunter shifted moment by moment.
It didn't take long for disbelief to turn to horror.
Their eyes widened to their limits and stayed there.
Their gaping mouths stretched endlessly.
Their breaths and heartbeats quickened in unison.
"B-branch manager....."
Even the world S-Rank hunter called out to her in a trembling voice.
'Branch manager....?'
White's voice rang in the branch manager's ear.
"Wh-what.... what do we do...?"
The eyes and voices of every hunter locked onto Daisy.
Yong-un's icy gaze upon her as well.
Everyone in the branch manager's office stared at Daisy.
A single word from a world-ranking S-Rank hunter carried immense weight.
Even if it was a lie, countless hunters would believe it. That was the stature of a top-ranked S-Rank.
Yet here was such a figure stating without so much as a twitch,
That a sword with a blade color utterly unlike the one in the official document was the Demon-Slaying Sword.
"Nonsense."
Many hunters looked to her, believing his words.
She had nearly believed it herself.
Daisy knew for certain.
That was not the Demon-Slaying Sword.
The Demon-Slaying Sword had to have a dark red blade.
The shape was similar, and the purple blade was intriguing, but it wasn't the item GHO sought.
That... wasn't it.
"Branch manager? Then...."
"Everyone, withdraw."
"Pardon?"
The world S-Rank shot her a startled look.
But Daisy's command was unwavering.
"Withdraw."
Even the S-Rank who had spoken sensed something off about the situation—far more than one or two things.
"Yes, understood....."
Still, he kept his thoughts to himself.
"Withdraw."
He bowed to Daisy before issuing the order, then turned around.
His eyes fell on the man who had put them all on edge.
'Hunter Yong-un.....'
The S-Rank hunter clenched his right hand with his left arm.
Only then did the trembling stop.
'That guy's a monster in his own right....'
He had come with sky-high expectations, hearing even the War God had acknowledged him as divine.
But facing him directly, those expectations crumbled into an unbreakable wall.
A massive, unyielding wall that not even everyone here charging together could dent.
"Then...."
He wanted to say it might actually be the Demon-Slaying Sword.
The words had nearly spilled out.
But the S-Rank clenched both fists, enduring with all his might.
'If we fight..... we'll die for sure.'
Even if it was the Demon-Slaying Sword...
The S-Rank wanted to retreat from there.
He wanted to flee even a second sooner from before that wide-open dragon's maw.
Face-to-face, the rumors felt understated...
Even to him, an S-Rank, the man's presence was that of a monster incarnate.
The S-Rank bowed hastily and fled the office like his life depended on it.
As their leader figure departed, the hunters packing the room began rushing out one by one.
"......."
White, left alone after the rest, bowed to Daisy.
He held the bow longer than the others before slowly raising his head and turning to leave.
With White gone too...
Only Daisy and Yong-un remained in the office.
"I thought you didn't wield a sword. What changed?"
As he sat on the sofa, the tea he'd requested earlier steamed gently atop the table.
Yong-un tapped the Demon-Slaying Sword at Daisy's words.
"I've always used a sword. I just couldn't until now."
Daisy's eyes refused to leave the scabbard containing the Demon-Slaying Sword.
"I've done you a favor too, so now it's your turn to hear why I answered the summons."
Yong-un lifted his teacup and savored the tea lightly.
Daisy finally tore her gaze from the sword and nodded.
"Do you need something?"
He set the cup down.
Then, staring straight at Daisy, he said,
"Do you know of the Demon Cry?"
At the mention of Demon Cry, Daisy's body froze.
Her eyes met Yong-un's.
"How do you know about them?"
Her voice carried shock, as if he shouldn't know.
"Because I killed them all."
"....?!"
Daisy's eyes widened.
To the point her eyes ached.
What kind of man was this Yong-un hunter?
Today alone, being around him had made her eyes widen and narrow countless times.
But Daisy's widened eyes soon returned to normal.
"No way."
"Why so certain?"
"Everything I say from now is top GHO secret."
Yong-un let out a smirk.
"I get it. Speak."
Daisy smiled faintly too.
"The Demon Cry... still exist. I'm actually surprised myself. Even GHO had no idea there were Demon Cry in Korea until a month ago."
Demon Cry exist?
Yong-un nodded.
"Makes sense. The world's vast—I figured ones like that would exist elsewhere besides Korea."
Beings craving strength could be found anywhere.
Not particularly surprising information.
"But why the Demon Cry...."
"I have business with them."
But what mattered wasn't their existence.
He drained his teacup in one gulp.
Then stared straight at Daisy and asked,
"Do you know their location?"
Yong-un's eyes briefly darkened to crimson before returning to normal.
A fleeting, chilling aura.
Cold sweat beaded subtly on Daisy's forehead.
The silent pressure said plenty.
'Even if I don't tell him..... he'll take it anyway.'
She didn't want to imagine how.
Yong-un's actions today had completely overturned all her prior data on him.
As someone who had risen to branch manager swiftly, Daisy quickly composed her expression.
And decided.
"We have a recent sighting."
No point hiding it anyway.
Better to say it herself and turn it into a debt.
"Speak."
Yong-un rose from his seat.
Daisy flashed a friendly smile at his demeanor, as if ready to head out immediately.
"Try Sokcho."
"Sokcho?"
He had been thinking of another country, like China or Japan.
But this?
"About a week ago. Right here in Korea! In Sokcho, three suspected Demon Cry were spotted. Two were killed on the scene, but one survived."
He had thought them all eradicated, yet they crawled out again like this.
Yong-un gripped the Demon-Slaying Sword.
As he seemed poised to leave right then, Daisy added,
"If you're going now, think it over. We saw one, but we can't guarantee how many are holed up inside."
"Doesn't matter...."
Daisy's eyebrow twitched.
She looked up at the towering Yong-un.
"Ten or a hundred—I'll kill them all. I only need one."
Yong-un's cold gaze looked down at Daisy.
In that instant, an indescribable chill swept over her entire body.
A sensation like ants crawling from her toes to the crown of her head.
Yong-un turned.
And grasped the door handle to the outside.
"I've already paid for the information."
Daisy wore a puzzled expression, unsure what he meant.
Then, in her eyes, she saw a dark red glow spreading across the purple blade of the slightly drawn Demon-Slaying Sword.
It was the dark red Blood Heaven Demonic Qi, the very symbol of the Demon-Slaying Sword, along with the engraving 'Demon-Slaying Sword' upon the blade.
And Yong-un stepped out.
"So he already knew....."
Yong-un walked out slowly.
She could halt his steps even now with a command, but Daisy didn't.
She gave an awkward smile.
Then White rushed in through the wide-open office door.
"Branch manager!"
"I told you during the farewell before he left. He already knew."
"But I don't get what he meant by those last words."
"Simple. He's paid the price by sparing us, who recognized the Demon-Slaying Sword. Whatever happens next, he'll handle it."
"Ah....."
White nodded as if understanding.
Then he glanced at the wide-open door and shuddered.
"What an incredible person."
"He has the skills to match. But..."
Mid-sentence, Daisy's face suddenly turned shocked.
She turned to White, who was staring blankly outside, and asked,
"You said you don't know what his last words meant... what do you mean by that?"
She'd noticed something off during their casual exchange.
White was one of the world's rarest hunters, a Mind Listener.
He could read minds and use telepathy to send or receive intentions.
Yet such a White was asking about the meaning of Yong-un's final words?
At her question, White scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed grin.
He shrugged and said,
"I told you there's one person whose mind I can't read."
"The GHO director..."
"Yeah. Well, today that became two."
"..... Pardon?"
"It felt like staring at a pitch-black crimson wall. Nothing... visible or readable."
Daisy's mouth gaped open once more.
'At least on par with the director..... a hunter....?'
Her head whipped around with an audible whoosh.
Yong-un was already gone from the door he'd exited.
Yet Daisy's eyes lingered there, unwilling to move.
'Is this why the War God said that......'
Humans truly were curious creatures.
The hunter staff wouldn't listen no matter how much she explained.
But show them once, and they finally grasped the gravity—more effectively than a hundred words.
Daisy realized it today.
That she was the same kind of creature.
Only after witnessing Hunter Yong-un firsthand did she comprehend the War God's warning.
Such creatures.
"Branch manager? What now? GHO headquarters is eagerly awaiting your response."
At White's urging, Daisy let out a blank chuckle through dazed eyes.
She placed her hand on the cooling teacup and said,
"We're at a crossroads. Just as the War God warned, we never should have started this in the first place."
"Branch manager...."
"But what can we do? The summons happened, and he's made the first move. Now it's time to choose."
White's face grew uneasy.
Daisy suddenly smiled and said,
"Thanks to you, the choice got a lot clearer."
"Pardon? What..."
Daisy rose from her seat.
With a resolute expression, she strode out of the office.
"Tell GHO headquarters. I want to meet the director in person."