From Now On, We'll Do It Our Way.
Hunters had a thing called a hunter's instinct.
But for Lucas, a soldier's instincts came first.
He had been a soldier who swore loyalty to his country long before becoming a hunter.
After serving his nation and its people for many years as a soldier, he retired and awakened as a hunter.
It was a bit later than the average awakening age, but he leveraged his military combat experience to climb the ranks quickly.
Reaching A-rank in less than ten years without guild support was proof of his considerable talent.
True to his exceptional gifts, Lucas could gauge an opponent's general level just from their stance.
Yet the man standing before him now was someone he couldn't read at all.
'Too many openings.'
Sitting casually on a pile of rubble with his spear resting on his thigh, he looked utterly defenseless to anyone watching.
But Lucas sensed the man was a hunter of higher rank than himself. His instincts told him so. The dignity woven into the man's voice was not something a weaker hunter could possess.
And then the hunters slowly emerging from behind him.
They moved as if out for a leisurely stroll—an air of composure impossible amid the monster-ravaged cityscape.
"State your affiliation and name."
"Who the hell are you to demand our names?"
A man with a criminal vibe among the group bared his teeth as he spoke.
Lucas responded calmly.
"We're with the U.S. Army Hunter Special Forces. I'm Captain Lucas Dunn. And who might you be?"
"Iron Will Guild from Korea."
The man descending from the air answered.
A woman below muttered at his words.
"I'm not with Iron Will, though..."
"You never know. You might end up working with us like me, Johanna."
"No thanks. I plan to slack off for another ten months. This is just an exception."
"You can transfer after slacking off."
"No way. This guild's weird."
While Lucas was momentarily distracted by their casual banter, the man introduced himself.
"I'm Iron Will's raid leader, Kang Moo-hyuk. I had no idea the U.S. had a military hunter unit."
"I can't disclose that. It's classified."
"Fair enough. Then let me ask just one thing. Are you here on orders from the White House? Or is this a solo Defense Department op?"
"Classified."
"Another question, then. You're here looking for Director Alexander Hamilton, right?"
"Classified... You seem to know where Director Hamilton is. Is that correct?"
"Hey, answer our questions first."
"It's fine, No Song-rin hunter."
Lucas tensed as he watched the hunter—who had scowled fiercely and drawn a karambit knife from who-knows-where—back off at a single word.
'At least A-rank like me. And he shuts him down with one sentence. This Kang Moo-hyuk guy's some hunter(?). Makes sense—he didn't get to raid leader by being a smooth talker.'
Addressing Kang Moo-hyuk, whom he couldn't fully assess, Lucas spoke cautiously.
"Soldiers just follow orders and carry out missions. We were commanded to rescue Director Hamilton, so that's what we're doing."
"Is it just a rescue mission?"
"We were also ordered to assess the LA situation. All comms are down, so command doesn't have accurate intel."
"Even the monster surveillance satellites? I hear they have high-res cameras."
"U.S. domestic surveillance satellites have been redirected elsewhere."
Lucas didn't elaborate, but Kang Moo-hyuk inferred why the satellites couldn't be spared.
'Must be gates or monsters tying them up. Resources are focused there, so they can't shift to this uncertain situation.'
He was spot on. An undiscovered gate had opened in the Midwest, pulling all available monster surveillance satellites to that area.
"So, is Director Hamilton safe?"
"Yes. He's at the HCF LA branch."
"Good to hear."
"You mentioned reporting this area's status to command earlier. Can you contact the outside? The Hunter Crime Division said jamming waves block even satellite comms."
"That's exactly why we're heading to the Hunter Crime Division—for comms. They have a hotline routed around to San Francisco. It's approved by Congress and the state government; just not activated yet due to political hurdles like state stubbornness. We brought the activation code. We'll route through San Francisco to regular lines on the East Coast."
"Classified my ass—you're spilling everything."
No Song-rin's grumbling briefly interrupted, making Lucas and his team flinch at every move the group made. Ignoring their reactions, Kang Moo-hyuk got to the point.
"Alright. We'll guide you to the Hunter Crime Division."
"No need. We can get there ourselves."
Unaware of their intentions, Lucas declined Kang Moo-hyuk's offer.
'High-rank hunters with unknown identities are a threat just by being near.'
In Korea, Kang Moo-hyuk's face might serve as ID, but not in America. He was famous there, but not yet globally renowned.
To Lucas, he was naturally someone to avoid.
Explaining the Rider Wolf in detail might have jogged a news memory, but this wasn't the time for life stories.
"No offense, but you won't make it to the Hunter Crime Division with this group."
"We admit we're not better than you, but we can handle a few carnivorous wasps."
"One by one? Sure. But the city is swarming with them—far more than anyone expected. Major guilds like Gunpowder are responding, but the city's vast, and the wasps are overwhelming them."
Kang Moo-hyuk's words were half truth, half exaggeration.
The major guilds were struggling because it was a defensive battle to protect the city and evacuate civilians.
Plus, the crisis hit during gate expeditions, hunts, or downtime, scattering them into isolated fights.
Comms were gradually linking up, improving things, but they were still hard-pressed.
Omitting those details and emphasizing the major guilds' difficulties naturally unsettled Lucas.
"That bad?"
"Unfortunately, this LA incident will claim many lives. The fastest resolution saves the most civilians. Contacting the federal government is key. No games or power plays. I'm offering help out of pure concern."
When persuasion failed and Lucas still hesitated, Kang Moo-hyuk changed tactics. No time for bickering.
"I get you're soldiers, but this is frustrating. Thought we'd do it the easy way. From now on, we'll do it our way."
"What...?"
"Jang Deok-gu hunter."
Jang Deok-gu rose, thrusting his spear forward as he growled.
"Die, or follow?"
* * *
"So this is what you did?"
Hamilton glared at Kang Moo-hyuk while eyeing the bruised-faced hunter special forces soldiers.
Kang Moo-hyuk briefly averted his gaze.
Go Eul-ji turned away too, whispering to Jang Deok-gu.
"Grandmaster, I told you not to hit their faces."
"Won't touch 'em next time."
"So you're saying you'll hit them next time too?"
No Song-rin, unlike his initial disdain, now looked at the team with pity.
He knew exactly how infuriating it was to get owned by Jang Deok-gu.
Lucas stepped forward from his rigid stance.
"Director Hamilton, the White House held a National Security Council meeting. They still can't grasp the situation here. Drones get shot down by monsters—no clear footage. We'll connect comms, so brief them on the status."
"President's in Europe, so who... Ah, the VP! Got it. I'll tell the branch chief to assist with the hotline activation."
While Lucas set up comms with the branch chief's guidance, Hamilton spoke with Kang Moo-hyuk.
"Got reports from Crime Division scouts, but how'd it go?"
"Gunpowder in the west, Call My Name in the center, Ithaca in the east are leading defenses. With mid-to-small guilds joining, clearing wasps from the city is just a matter of time."
"Phew, lucky break."
"The real issue comes after. If there's a hive underground, it'll be massive. We need a raid team assembled ASAP for extermination."
"What do the major guilds say? Will they join the raid?"
"Ithaca's out. The others say yes in words, but..."
"But?"
"Key is how many generations the current queen has evolved."
"That crucial? This is America—the world's top hunters."
"No one's denying North American hunters' strength. But carnivorous wasps are dangerous regardless. The queen's power is one thing, but the bigger problem is the wasps evolving with her. First-gen are just basic workers, but later gens diversify into soldiers, warriors, generals. Mutants called champions emerge too. For reference, the fifth-gen queen wiped out Botswana in Africa."
Hamilton's face darkened. His position required considering worst cases.
Kang Moo-hyuk continued.
"One thing to note: when did these carnivorous wasps arrive in LA?"
"Important?"
"Timing lets us estimate generations."
"How long for Botswana's fifth-gen?"
"One year, eight months."
"Relief, then. If it takes that long, hiding in LA without hunters noticing for so long is unlikely."
"Botswana's population is under two million. LA city's over four million, metro area over ten. Plus gates-era homeless and unregulated zones. Food supply dwarfs Botswana's."
"Meaning... they could evolve much faster?"
"That's what rapid-evolution species do. With environment and food, they grow unimaginably quick."