85. I Heard He's the Culprit.
“I never expected you'd want to meet in a place this wide open.”
Aila stood in the open plain, eyes closed as she faced the wind. She savored it like she was deeply appreciating the subtle differences in the special zone's breeze.
Kang Moo-hyuk watched her intently.
'Mana... it's flowing around her body, wrapping her up.'
The woman in the robe reached out, her hand caressing the mana-infused wind. With every gesture, the mana churned. And each time, it popped into visibility in Kang Moo-hyuk's eyes like tiny sparks.
The mana glowed green—not the ominous kind summoned by the goblin high shaman, but a refreshing, invigorating energy.
Strangely, what Kang Moo-hyuk saw seemed invisible to everyone else, even these hunters who were closer to mana than most.
'I have no idea what's causing this. It feels connected to my mana addiction, but...'
As Kang Moo-hyuk pondered, Aila turned her attention to Joo Se-ah.
“And you're Lady Joo Se-ah?”
“Whoa, weird way of talking.”
“Wow, it's amazing that a human can be this strong. By local standards, that's S-rank territory. And with your potential, you could aim even higher.”
“No way. I'm not there yet...”
“No need to be modest. You are S-rank already—you just don't realize it. All it takes is a little spark to awaken that realm.”
Joo Se-ah was speechless. Who was this woman to declare her S-rank with such certainty? Being told by a stranger about a level she hadn't even sensed herself felt profoundly strange.
“Congratulations, Mr. Han. It looks like Korea's finally getting the S-rank you've been hoping for.”
“You mocking me, Alex? Where's an S-rank that even the guy himself doesn't know about?”
“Lady Aila's insight is impeccable. From what the Federation elders told me, breakthroughs to that realm happen in an instant—you realize it later. Once you can sense and wield that power, S-rank certification won't be far off.”
Kang Moo-hyuk was less focused on Joo Se-ah hitting S-rank and more on the two men flanking the robed woman.
'Her becoming guild master-level S-rank was just a matter of time, so no surprise there. But those two... they're intriguing.'
Every hunter here was at least A-rank, but the woman's escorts stood out as exceptionally powerful. Excluding Joo Se-ah, they were top-tier even by Korean standards.
Ironically, non-hunter Kang Moo-hyuk felt it viscerally. Whether it was the mana addiction or not, the pressure bearing down on his shoulders was unlike anything he'd sensed from countless hunters before.
He shook it off without showing a hint of strain.
That's when Aila spoke up.
“You seem to have sized us up already, so shall we do proper introductions? I'm Aila Priga of the World Hunter Federation.”
“Lady Aila!”
Aila casually pulled back her hood, prompting Alex to shout in alarm. Even Han Byung-gu, who had arranged the meeting, let out a groan—he clearly hadn't expected her to reveal herself.
“Your ears...”
Joo Se-ah trailed off, stunned by her appearance.
In contrast, Kang Moo-hyuk introduced himself without a flicker of emotion, almost casually.
“Kang Moo-hyuk of Iron Will Guild.”
“Not surprised?”
“Like I said on the call, I suspected you might be Ain.”
“Ah, that scout from before! He must've leaked my info. Impressive guy. These two rarely miss anyone. If it's not too rude, could you tell me how you spotted us watching the Hunter Association?”
“The Federation wasn't my focus. I was just checking around the chairman for other reasons.”
“What? You little punk, first you nagged me for support troops, then you seduced my granddaughter, and now you're openly digging into the Korean Hunter Association chairman? Did you learn that arrogance from your own guild master?!”
Han Byung-gu jumped in, fuming at Kang Moo-hyuk's words. And with him speaking up, Joo Se-ah naturally fired back.
“Yeah, yeah, Gramps. I learned all my arrogance from you.”
“You learned it from Deok-gu—why drag me into it?”
“Uncle Jang learned it from you. One degree of separation, so ultimately, I learned it from you too.”
“By that logic, you're my disciple's disciple. You treating your master's master like this?”
“Didn't you say Uncle Jang wasn't your disciple? That he was an ungrateful brat, so you taught him a few moves out of pity, but he got cocky and you kicked him out?”
“Aigoo, no wonder you're such a brat—learning from an ungrateful wretch like that.”
“So what do you call someone who taught ungrateful wretches and brats?”
The two bickered relentlessly, neither yielding an inch.
Kang Moo-hyuk and Aila stepped away to create some distance. Once clear of the noise, Aila introduced Alex and Raven in turn.
As soon as the greetings wrapped up, Alex handed over some documents and got to the point.
“The goblin high shaman report. This is yours, Mr. Kang?”
“Figured it was about that. Yes, I wrote it.”
“Do you know anything about the goblin high shaman?”
“I know an A-rank Brazilian guild got wiped out in the Amazon. Not the exact details, though.”
“That's from foreign reports, not public here. Impressive how you dug that up.”
“Hobby of mine. I check other countries' raids and monster info.”
“The report doesn't cover the wipeout reason. What's your take, Mr. Kang?”
“Something to do with the summoning?”
“...”
Alex hesitated for a moment.
'Overreaching? Or does he actually know something?'
Before he could gauge the man, Aila spoke.
“The Federation calls it an 'unknown entity.'”
“Ah, Lady Aila, please...”
“Why hide it, Alex? He's the only one who survived after one was summoned. We're the ones at a disadvantage.”
“The only one? Sounds like there are more cases beyond the Amazon.”
“Exactly. Like the 'Sader Necromancer' incident.”
“Sader?”
“An event in the African nation of Chad.”
“Chad... You mean the undead outbreak? That was a necromancer?”
“Yes. In their tribal language, it's called Sader—that's how the tribe that first discovered it named it: 'Sader's Necromancer.'”
Kang Moo-hyuk recalled an old raid record. A gate in unstable rural Africa had burst, unleashing undead.
The numbers were significant enough to escalate to war-level, and as corpses kept rising, neighboring countries joined the response.
It eventually hit extinction-level, requiring Africa's top hunters to barely contain it.
“Heard a lot of hunters died back then. That's why half of Africa's a monster-villain hellscape now... The necromancer came from a gate?”
“No gate. That's the public report.”
“Didn't you just say a necromancer emerged?”
“Not emerged—created. It transformed an ordinary human into one.”
“Created?! From a person?!”
Joo Se-ah, having wrapped up her argument, rejoined with a shocked gasp.
Kang Moo-hyuk knew why she was especially rattled. Back in Slayer Guild days, she'd hunted a gate necromancer.
She knew their terror better than most. One manifesting outside a gate? Natural to be stunned. He felt the same.
Aila nodded and continued.
“In the end, the entity the necromancer summoned as a last resort wiped out the African hunters. But the root cause of creating the necromancer was elsewhere. We suspect that was another 'unknown entity' too.”
“What was the cause?”
“A certain book.”
“Book?”
“Conveniently, there's a perfect term here: Book of the Dead. We call it the Necronomicon.”
* * *
“What the hell?! The 'Iga Unit' entered Korea?!”
Kim Myeong-jun's shock was justified. A Japanese guild alliance assassin squad had suddenly infiltrated Korea.
And it was the elite Iga Unit, said to carry the ninja lineage.
The famed 'Iga ninjas' of Hattori Hanzo, vassal to Tokugawa Ieyasu.
'Ninja my ass. Just slapped a ninja label on their assassin group 'cause they needed a name. Damn bastards. Do they think it's the Sengoku era?'
Kim Myeong-jun couldn't hide his distress. Blame Slayer Guild.
Would a group that trembled at Japanese forces miss the Iga Unit's entry?
They ruled Korea like kings. Even if it took time to ID them, they'd spot Japanese hunter meddling.
'Even a mutt owns half its yard. Korea's hunters fell once, but Slayer's no pushover. The alliance is underestimating this place.'
Slayer's intel could sniff out his Japanese ties from scraps.
The moment of truth might be near. This situation screamed it.
A no-win trap either way.
Success or failure, his cover would blow.
'Guess I lasted long enough. No big changes in Korea's hunter scene till now.'
That thought revealed why this mess happened.
“Kang Moo-hyuk... Crunch! Nothing's gone right since that bastard became raid leader. Damn it, why'd he have to stick to Joo Se-ah?!”
Dismissing a non-hunter leader as a joke was his mistake. He should've intervened early, sowing discord with the Hunter Association and other guilds wary of the system.
Kim Myeong-jun took a deep breath to calm down.
'No point dwelling on the past.'
His eyes narrowed to snake-like slits—the very gaze No Song-rin called capable of sudden cruelty.
“They're in Korea now, so time to meet.”
He headed to the meetup spot Chae Dae-su of Union Asset Management had tipped him off about, to link with the Iga leader.
The venue was unexpectedly lively.
“Kyaa! Oppa!”
“BTA! BTA! BTA!”
A upbeat dance track blared amid flashy choreography on stage.
Behind the scenes at a packed arena theater.
“Hanta Ryushin.”
“You like noisy spots, huh? Smart for dodging eyes. Hanseong Enterprise Executive Director Kim Myeong-jun.”
Kim Myeong-jun offered a handshake in fluent Japanese, but Ryushin ignored it.
“Just business. Iga's in entertainment. Official story: scouting Korean idol concerts for Japan.”
“And Joo Se-ah on the side?”
“We're no S-rank—how'd we snag her? We don't overestimate ourselves.”
“Then why Korea...”
“Cut off the head to rout the herd.”
“No way...”
“Kang.Moo.Hyuk.”
Kim Myeong-jun swallowed hard.
“I heard he's the culprit.”
* * *
'Damn, Japanese? Can't understand a word. Something about Kang Moo-hyuk. Gotta snag a translation skill or something. Wait, too pricey?'
Mr. Jo lurked in the shadows, eavesdropping.
He usually used minions to surveil Hanseong or tap phones, but tailed Kim Myeong-jun personally when he moved.
Today, pure instinct—and he caught the shady meetup.
'Japanese means Union ties. High-level hunter, some Japanese guild. Tough to get closer—too many hidden presences around. Kim knows they're there but not exact spots. Well, only someone like me could pinpoint 'em.'
Mr. Jo had the hidden hunters' positions locked. They hadn't clocked him at all—proof he outclassed them in the trade.
'Heard Japan has groups like this... ninjas? Yeah. These guys?'
An anachronistic hunter crew specializing in assassination, infiltration, espionage.
Mr. Jo recalled Japan's guild-backed ninjas.
'Heh, whatever. These punks reek of cash. Client Kang, adding this to the Hunter Association gig for billing.'
* * *
“Ugh, so annoying.”
“Huh? Eul-ji, what'd you say?!”
“Nothing!”
“What?!”
“I said nothing!”
Shouting over the cheers, Go Eul-ji waved her fan club light stick and sang along to BTA.
Kim Nari turned back to the stage, but Go Eul-ji couldn't focus. Blame the presences mingling backstage.
'What the—hunters swarming an idol fanmeet? Not even bodyguards. So irritating.'
She'd only used her ability pre-show to check BTA's stage time, but snagged these suspicious auras instead.
Go Eul-ji's trait: telekinesist.
Commonly called telekinesis, a superpower. But it wasn't mere physical force—it dominated space itself. Lumped as telekinesis because it moved objects in space.
Space control held vast potential beyond raw combat power.
Kang Moo-hyuk knew, calling it a gift from the heavens and recruiting her on sight.
'Especially that one. Whoa! Without my power, even I'd miss it—totally concealed. Man, that's grating. Lose it if I blink.'
She looked like a typical idol-fan high schooler, but Go Eul-ji was top A-rank tier. Even forcing disinterest, those stealthy, sticky auras triggered her instincts.
She fumed at the jerks ruining her long-awaited fanmeet.
'Got meal vouchers with BTA oppas anyway—blast 'em away? Nah, rude to other fans. Ugh... hold it together.'