Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 29
Chapter Title: Historic Solo Clear
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South Korea erupted into a frenzy in an instant.
The demon gate that had forced the evacuation of all of Seoul and the Gyeonggi region had been cleared.
A perfect clear with zero casualties.
The hunters, who had been trembling at the feel of the black mana, let out a massive cheer.
"We're alive! We made it!"
"Ahh! Father! We protected it! We did it!"
"Sob sob..."
The relief of surviving the brink of death, even bringing tears to their eyes, washed over them as pure ecstasy.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The sound of the hunters' cheers echoed all the way into Bupyeong Station's subway platform.
But in stark contrast to the club-like roar outside, the inside of Bupyeong Station subway was wrapped in silence.
Crackle crackle crackle.
A harsh sparking sound filled the quiet subway interior.
The gate's cracking clear phenomenon, along with the complete disappearance of the black mana's traces.
Maria, who had witnessed the entire process with her own eyes, finally spat out the feelings she'd been holding back.
"No way..."
She couldn't believe it.
How could someone solo clear a demon gate?
And not just any run-of-the-mill demons, but ones led by a viscount-ranked demon!
"I need to confirm it."
Biting her lip, Maria strode toward the demon gate.
It was just as she was about to pass by the spectacle.
Yong-un emerged from the demon gate showing its clear phenomenon.
"Not a marquis after all."
Everyone fell speechless at Yong-un's voice, dripping with regret.
This was the historic moment of solo clearing a viscount-level demon gate.
Yet the first words out of the gate were ones of disappointment.
"I-It really got cleared, right?"
Maria shouted at Yong-un, who lightly examined the demon's sword in his hand.
Had she forgotten in her shock?
Yong-un shook his head at Maria's fluent English and glanced at the spectacle.
"Stubborn or just stupid? Tsk tsk."
Clicking his tongue as he looked at Maria, Yong-un shifted his gaze to the demon gate causing its cracks.
Then, loud enough for the minister to hear, he said,
"There was a guy named Myung-su left inside."
"...Just who the hell are you?"
Yong-un had pinpointed the existence of Myung-su, which even the demons hadn't detected.
To think such a person existed in South Korea.
She stared at Yong-un with eyes full of disbelief.
In response to the minister's question, Yong-un answered with action instead of words.
"Guess you couldn't hear it."
Suuuuck.
The sound of air escaping right before the gate vanished.
Just before that sound reached them, Yong-un thrust his hand into the gate and yanked it back out swiftly.
Pop.
In the briefest instant before the gate disappeared, Yong-un's hand emerged gripping Myung-su by the collar.
Thud.
Myung-su, dragged out, collapsed limp on the floor as if passed out, all strength drained from his body.
"They call this a skill, huh. Interesting qi manipulation."
Looking down at Myung-su on the ground, Yong-un grinned with amusement.
Then he shifted his gaze to Maria beside the minister.
"He released qi in a different way from the Trance. Is what you used a skill too?"
"......I don't understand a word you're saying."
With no communication possible, Yong-un shrugged helplessly.
"Can't be helped. Guess I'll ask Sword Tiger."
The gate had vanished, and cheers from the crowds outside filled the air.
Whether this gate had been the harbinger or not, the nagging instincts prickling Yong-un's body had completely faded.
Gazing at the ceiling, Yong-un subtly lowered his head to look down at the minister.
"Does this mean the crisis on this land is over?"
His arrogant demeanor and tone strangely compelled the minister to nod automatically.
"I see. Then we're good."
"W-Wait!"
The minister reached out with a loud shout, as Yong-un seemed ready to leave at any moment.
But all that returned to him was a faint breeze from the spot where Yong-un had vanished.
The demon gate that had thrown South Korea into chaos had disappeared.
The public's judgment on the minister's decision, now surfaced, flipped 180 degrees.
The choice not to call in the S-rank Sword Tiger amid the national crisis.
With the demon gate cleared, the criticism turned to praise.
"Just last night they were demanding the minister's dismissal, and now they say he deserves an award? What bullshit."
The furious secretary general of the Hunter Management Agency vented his anger in front of the minister.
But the minister himself seemed unfazed as he replied to the secretary general,
"You know the public cares more about results than the process, don't you?"
"But it still pisses me off every time."
The secretary general clenched his fist at the news praising the minister.
Not only had he protected Seoul and Gyeonggi, but he'd secured a spot in the world S-rank competition too, they said.
Even the politicians who'd clamored for impeachment now sided with the minister opportunistically. The secretary general finally turned off the news.
"Don't watch it. It's stressful."
"Seems like you're more stressed than I am."
The minister covered his mouth, chuckling.
"Was I...? Heh heh."
Embarrassed, the secretary general scratched the back of his head and clapped his hands.
"Ah! Right. His Excellency asked me to pass on a message."
The minister's smile faded at the sudden mention, his expression returning to normal.
"His Excellency... said something?"
"Yes, didn't I attend the morning cabinet meeting in your place? After it ended, he approached me personally and asked me to relay it."
After the demon gate cleared and the hunters vanished yesterday, swarms of reporters had filled their spots.
Thrusting mics at the minister, they brought up the public's other big interest.
Who was the one who cleared the gate?
The minister tossed out the prepared answer for a question he knew he'd have to address eventually.
'Fortunately, three foreign S-rank hunters visiting South Korea for tourism stepped in to help. They agreed readily to my request—that's why I didn't call Sword Tiger.'
It was a pre-planned response to cover the top-secret deal with GHO.
Of course, a follow-up question was inevitable.
'Who are these foreign hunters?'
The reporters demanding the foreigners' identities.
Already scripted, the minister ended all interviews with his next reply.
'Per the hunters' request, I can't disclose that.'
The minister's choice to protect the top-secret GHO deal with South Korea.
"His Excellency said he watched the interview, called it a good choice, said it prevented a lot of trouble, thanked you, and told you to keep proceeding as is."
The secretary general looked puzzled at the parts about preventing trouble and proceeding as is.
But unlike him, the minister instantly grasped what His Excellency meant.
'Praise for upholding the GHO deal and its secrecy.'
After all, His Excellency knew about the GHO deal with South Korea—it was an opportunity made using his name.
"Is he talking about asking those foreigners?"
At the secretary general's question, unaware of the truth, the minister nodded with an awkward smile.
"Probably something like that."
True to the secrecy, even from the secretary general, the minister turned his chair to gaze at the sky outside the window.
A faint smile tugged at his lips as he sank into thought.
"Yong-un..."
Murmuring the small yet monumental name, the minister lingered in contemplation for a while.
"Feels refreshing."
Back at the hotel, Yong-un rubbed his eyes and looked at Sword Tiger approaching.
"Huh!?"
Sword Tiger, seeing Yong-un's appearance, stopped rubbing his eyes and hurried over.
Pointing at the faint sweat on Yong-un's forehead, he said,
"Are you... sweating right now?"
"I exercised."
"Exercised?"
"Go wash up."
Sword Tiger stared with eyes twice their normal size at Yong-un's back as he headed to the shower.
"What kind of exercise makes even you sweat, when you never do?"
The mere fact that Yong-un had sweated sparked wild imaginations in Sword Tiger's head.
Like swimming to South Korea and back, or circling the globe on foot.
"You're so beyond imagination... I can't even guess what you did."
Scratching the back of his head, Sword Tiger glanced at the closed shower door.
"Eh, whatever."
No matter how he imagined, he couldn't figure it out, so Sword Tiger shook his head and cleared his mind.
Thus, in the late dawn hours, Sword Tiger and Yong-un lay down for what little sleep they could get.
The information about the demon gate clear was no longer a secret.
The secret request the minister had made to GHO was gone, and the info reached Sword Tiger and Yong-un too.
"Yes!?"
Hearing it, Sword Tiger shot up from his breakfast.
Sensing something off, he whipped his head around to look at Yong-un.
"No way..."
Sword Tiger's face turned serious at Yong-un's calm demeanor even during the viscount-level demon gate.
'Did he... arrive last night at dawn...?'
But after a moment's thought, Sword Tiger roughly shook his head with a smile.
'No way. How could he go back and forth between America and South Korea in that short time? Ridiculous.'
If Yong-un were an S-rank magic hunter with long-range warp skills, maybe.
But a pure physical-type hunter with no magic affinity—how could he traverse that distance on foot?
"Hahaha."
Even he found his imagination absurd, so Sword Tiger burst out laughing.
'I must be going crazy.'
Still, it was a relief.
The demon gate was cleared—no more worries.
"Hahaha... ha... ha..."
But even as he kept laughing, unease crept up at Yong-un eating impassively, his expression unchanged.
More like shocked disbelief than anxiety, but whatever it was, it made Sword Tiger's laughter awkward.
"Nah, no way."
"You're drumming and cymballing all by yourself."
At Sword Tiger's cycle of laughing, stiffening, then laughing again, Yong-un finally spoke.
Sword Tiger forced an awkward smile and asked,
"It's not, right?"
"What're you talking about?"
"Nah, nothing. I must be crazy. Master's so amazing, I had this ridiculous idea..."
Sword Tiger waved it off like shooing a fly, forcing his gaze back to breakfast.
But midway through his words, Yong-un's voice made Sword Tiger freeze.
"Whatever you're thinking, yeah, I did it."
Snap.
Whoosh!
Sword Tiger's head whipped around as if blown by wind.
His maximally widened eyes pleaded with Yong-un for confirmation.
"Felt weird, so I checked it out. Turned out to be that situation, so I handled it."
"......"
Was he a stone statue?
Yong-un finished breakfast, set down his spoon, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and stood.
Leaving the shocked, speechless Sword Tiger behind, he tossed a casual remark as he headed out.
"Hurry up and eat, then come down."
Thud.
The hotel door closed.
Alone now, Sword Tiger dropped the spoon in his hand.
"Ha... haha... hahahahaha."
Then, as if losing his mind, he clutched his stomach and roared with laughter.
"Jokes, huh, hahaha... ha..."
Unable to believe Yong-un's words, Sword Tiger laughed.
Then, mid-laugh, he bolted up and dashed out of the hotel.
"I-Is it true?!?!"
Screaming a question like a banshee.
The boisterous morning notwithstanding, Yong-un and Sword Tiger's competition journey sparked even greater cheers across all of South Korea.
To the point of etching legend in the world competition.
And drawing the attention of the top-10 monsters worldwide.