Chapter 191
Chapter 191
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 191
Chapter Title: Royal Classes Arrive
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Trrrrng.
The phone, which had been silent for the past few months, suddenly began blaring its ringtone incessantly from some trigger point.
And every time she answered those calls, they brought up problems too overwhelming to handle.
"This is Daisy, Branch Chief of GHO Korea."
[This is Torres, secretary to the Vice Bureau Chief.]
"I've been waiting. What brings you to call without even an official document..."
[Soon, along with the official document, those people will head your way.]
"Th-those... people, you say...?"
[You'll know when you see them. Consider this an informal heads-up. Goodbye.]
Click.
True to GHO headquarters' style.
After the one-sided call ended, Daisy's mind grew chaotic. She'd been waiting for this very call.
"What on earth is about to happen now?"
Her brows furrowed involuntarily.
Normally, she'd review the official document first and decide on her course of action.
But this time, they were sending people without even that.
Daisy let out a deep sigh and gazed out the window at the Seoul skyline of Korea.
"What's so special about this tiny piece of land that keeps making HQ stir?"
Whoosh.
A sudden wave of heat.
Daisy flinched and shrank back, turning to the source of the blaze.
"F-Fire?"
Flames erupted in the empty air out of nowhere.
And then they vanished.
There was no situation that could have sparked a fire.
'But why?'
With her sharp mind and quick reflexes that had propelled her to branch chief in one go, Daisy instantly pinpointed the cause even in this abrupt moment.
'A skill?'
Nothing else explained it.
And this was the ironclad fortress of GHO Korea Branch, guarded by hundreds of hunters.
On its top floor, in her branch chief's office, only a handful could use a skill without drawing the attention of those hundreds.
Whoosh.
Flames surged again.
Unable to spot the caster, Daisy reached one conclusion.
'No way...'
That conclusion made her stagger back and clap a hand over her mouth.
It was just a hunch starting with "no way," but if it proved true, it would be bigger than anything she'd faced before.
And that "no way" became reality right before her eyes.
Pop.
As the second blaze faded, three figures leaped out from within.
"Is this the place?"
Key figures anyone in a branch chief position at GHO had to know.
Royal Class.
Light of Fire, Ignito.
Light of Ice, Spellro.
And finally, a man whose face she didn't recognize—not a Royal Class, it seemed.
"Yeah, that's Daisy."
"Gasp..."
Daisy, hand still over her mouth, desperately composed herself.
Royal Class.
Two of them, no less.
Whoosh.
Flames flickered at Ignito's feet and vanished.
With a blast of scorching heat, Ignito appeared right in front of her eyes.
"Here's the document."
A single sheet of paper dropped from Ignito's hand.
Daisy took it but couldn't even glance at it, her eyes fixed on Ignito and Spellro.
"What're you doing? Open the damn thing and give us the intel already."
Seeing Daisy's dazed expression, Ignito scratched the back of his head with an annoyed look.
"S-Sorry."
Finally snapping out of it, Daisy followed his order. Pushing down her trembling heart, she swiftly tore open the envelope.
She confirmed why they were here.
[GHO Assault Incident Suspect Capture Operation]
[Suspected Culprit: Korean Hunter Lee Yong-un]
That name—the source of all her unbearable troubles—entered her eyes once more.
'Hunter Yong-un... again?'
It was the first thing that jumped out at her.
Daisy lowered the document at the mere sight of the name.
Ignito placed both hands on her shoulders and asked,
"This Yong-un guy. Where is he now?"
Demon Cry.
High-ranking demons.
And finally, the God of War.
All these events had led to two Royal Classes showing up.
"I've got a lot to say to him."
Ignito smirked, while Spellro stood behind him, arms crossed, watching silently.
The two Lights of Humanity.
Massive beacons of light known as Royal Class were closing in on Yong-un's darkness, one step at a time.
= = =
The meeting with the two Royal Classes was brief.
It hadn't even been ten minutes.
When Ignito asked about Yong-un, Daisy spilled everything she knew without holding back.
In just those ten minutes, the two Royal Classes and the unfamiliar man vanished in a blaze of crimson flames.
"Haa..."
But why?
Why had those ten minutes felt like ten grueling hours?
Creeeak.
Her secretary approached Daisy, who had collapsed over her desk.
"Are you okay? I heard everything from outside."
Just looking at the secretary's trembling hands told the story of what had happened.
Royal Classes, only seen when the worst gates on earth opened, had truly landed in Korea.
Two of them!
"Water... please get me some water."
"I already have it."
The secretary handed her a cold bottle of mineral water.
Gulp. Gulp.
Uncharacteristic for the poised Daisy, she was utterly drained as she chugged half the bottle straight.
Staring blankly at the ceiling, she muttered,
"Yong-un. Just what kind of person is he?"
"This time too... because of Hunter Yong-un?"
"Yeah, him again. He's evolving, it seems. First he summons those Death Demon Cry guys to freak us out, then the God of War to freak us out more, and now this. Heh."
Royal Class.
The absurdity made her burst into laughter.
Daisy let out an empty chuckle and looked at her secretary.
"What's next? He's already called in Royal Classes. Will he summon the Demon King now?"
"..."
The secretary bowed her head silently, unable to disagree.
From what she'd seen so far, Yong-un really seemed capable of it.
"But this time, even Hunter Yong-un can't do anything about it."
"Trying to comfort me?"
The secretary nodded at Daisy's question.
Daisy gave a mad little snicker, stood from her seat, and shook her head.
"Don't jinx it. Who knows if he can even take on Royal Classes."
Her weary steps carried her to the window with a clear view outside.
A slice of Seoul, Korea, unfolded before her eyes.
Fidgeting with the half-empty water bottle out of habit, Daisy shook her head side to side and murmured to herself,
"It's not Korea that's weird. It's Hunter Yong-un."
After a string of hollow laughs, another ridiculous guffaw escaped her. Inwardly, she prayed,
'Just get captured already. Please...'
She couldn't handle any more. Just vanish.
She prayed to a god she didn't even believe in.
= = =
At that moment.
Training was in full swing at the Guisalhonmyeol residence.
Thud. Thud-thud.
The gusts of wind and puffs of dirt from the ground hinted at something moving at blinding speed.
Bang! Bang-bang!
Simultaneous sparks bursting in midair suggested an invisible duel raging on.
And then, a fierce mana storm erupted.
Boom! Whoooosh.
Several figures suddenly appeared in the Guisalhonmyeol courtyard, which had seemed empty.
Demon Dragon Squad members gasping for breath, Ghost Souls relatively steady, and Sword Tiger—captain of the Demon Dragon Squad—grimacing fiercely in the center as he raised his sword toward Myeong-su.
"You punk, what's gotten into you lately? You nearly blew away the whole courtyard wall!"
Judging that solo training wouldn't yield faster progress, the Guisalhonmyeol residents and Demon Dragon Squad had started sparring like real combat at the same time each day to sharpen each other's skills.
But ever since Death Demon Cry had secretly met with Guisalhonmyeol without the Demon Dragon Squad knowing...
The light, practical spars had completely changed in intensity.
Grip.
"One more round."
"Ilgwi-hon, our numbers give us the edge, but the Demon Dragon Squad needs a break."
At the Poison Witch's words, Ilgwi-hon Myeong-su glanced at the Demon Dragon Squad members before turning back to Sword Tiger.
"You lot rest with the Demon Dragon Squad. The captain and I still have plenty left."
"Hey!"
Sword Tiger's shout fell on deaf ears.
"One more round."
Myeong-su kicked off the ground and vanished.
"Damn it."
Sword Tiger vanished right after.
Only the mana shockwaves from clashes and the ringing of steel on steel betrayed their duel.
"Um..."
Jong-hyun, catching his breath, approached the Poison Witch.
"I heard Death Demon Cry showed up and caused a huge ruckus."
"A massive one. Nearly took out not just the Supreme One's family home but the whole alley."
"What happened? Ilgwi-hon wasn't with you as usual..."
The Poison Witch sighed deeply at Jong-hyun's question.
"He's blaming himself."
"Blaming himself? I heard the Ghost Souls took down those Death Demon Cry guys this time."
"We did. But Ilgwi-hon doesn't see it that way."
"What? What was left?"
"Yeah, the one who sadly died because of Death Demon Cry turned into a monster and became an even bigger threat. Unlike with Demonus, the Supreme One helped out, but after that threat emerged, we couldn't do a thing—just like with Demonus. That's weighing on him."
Bang. Bang-bang-bang.
Guisalhonmyeol was like one family now, no doubt about it.
They all knew why Myeong-su was pushing so hard without him saying it.
'Faster.'
Bang. Bang-bang-bang.
In the blur of unseen speed, Myeong-su's demonic energy and the shortsword devouring it unleashed wildly.
While Myeong-su trained, Sword Tiger didn't slack.
He countered Myeong-su's speed advantage with raw power, nullifying every strike in one go.
Whoooosh!
Sword Tiger's fierce sword wind turned into a dragon and hurled Myeong-su back.
Or rather, Myeong-su had flipped backward along the wind to neutralize it entirely.
"Hey! Myeong-su!"
Sword Tiger, breathing heavily now, pointed his sword tip at Myeong-su and yelled,
"Snap out of it! You'll fall into qi deviation at this rate—don't you know that!?"
Gulp.
Dry spit slid down his parched throat from the exertion.
He steadied his ragged breaths with deep chest rises and falls.
But despite Sword Tiger's warning, the feral glint in Myeong-su's eyes didn't fade one bit.
'This time too... I couldn't help.'
Wiping sweat, Myeong-su gathered his demonic energy again.
"One more... please."
He bowed to Sword Tiger and hurled a demonic-energy-infused shortsword with his First Kill technique.
Sword Tiger, reading the motion from Myeong-su's arm alone, raised his sword to deflect it.
Then he surged his own demonic energy and shouted,
"Fine! Wanna hit the dirt again? You're done for!"
Myeong-su's form appeared at the spot where the deflected shortsword soared.
In one fluid motion, he slashed down at Sword Tiger with both shortswords.
Boom!!
'I staked my life on that vow... and failed to uphold it again.'
Grinding his teeth, Myeong-su pressed Sword Tiger with the same momentum.
Bang. Bang-bang-bang-bang.
"Huh?"
Myeong-su's speed doubled from before, accelerating further.
Sword Tiger's eyes widened at the shortswords blurring beyond visual tracking.
'Deserve to die. How long will you keep relying on others? How long! Will you live forgetting that man's grace!?'
Bang. Bang-bang-bang-bang-bang-bang-bang-bang-bang-bang.
"Stop!"
Sword Tiger, fending off the frenzy, bellowed.
'I can't let that happen. I must grow stronger. To keep that life-or-death vow from that day...'
Bang. Bang-bang-bang.
"I said stop!!"
Sword Tiger's shout rang out again.
Myeong-su's pitch-black eyes showed no sign of hearing.
'I must surpass myself now!'
As he roared inwardly and wound up for the final strike—
"The Supreme One!"
Whoooosh.
The flying word pierced Myeong-su's thoughts, heedless of Sword Tiger's cry.
Myeong-su's shortsword halted inches from Sword Tiger's throat.
His sweat-soaked head snapped around.
Toward Mu-hee, who had uttered "Supreme One."
"We've identified that fire-using hunter you mentioned!"
Mu-hee, deadly serious and urgent, shouted,
"He's Ignito, a Royal Class! The problem is... according to Wild Slaughter Society intel, Ignito's come to Korea!"