90. This Guy Is More Dangerous.
“So, you didn’t call me here about Eul-ji’s dinner event?”
“No, ma’am. BTA’s the top priority, like I said.”
“What did you just call me?”
Pyo Beom-hee shot her a glare, and Go Eul-ji shrank like a mouse in front of a cat.
‘What’s with this lady? Her mouth’s smiling, but those eyes are killer.’
Maybe still rattled from Joo Se-ah, Go Eul-ji caught her slip-up right away.
“Uh, unnie?”
“Yeah, that’s better. Don’t forget it.”
Kang Moo-hyuk reined in the conversation before it wandered off-topic again.
“Enough joking around. Let’s focus, Hunter Go Eul-ji.”
“Y-yes, sir……”
“Mr. Jo. Briefing, please.”
Mr. Jo crossed his arms and laid out the situation step by step.
“Putting together what the boss told me and the intel I dug up, the targets are the Iga-jo, Japan Guild Union’s assassination squad. I’d only heard rumors about them myself—they’re supposed to be real brutal. They handle all the union’s dirty work, you know? Anyway, they’re in Korea. Officially, they’re entertainment reps pushing BTA’s Japan concert. Real goal? Assassinate Boss Kang.”
“What?! Assassins sniffing around my oppas… Fine, I’ll be quiet. No, I’m not pissed. These aren’t defiant eyes. They’re just naturally fierce.”
Ignoring Go Eul-ji—who folded under Joo Se-ah’s glare—Mr. Jo pressed on.
“Not sure on the exact motive, but it seems like a way to pressure Guild Master Joo Se-ah. Iron Will’s growing fast, after all. Japan’s always pulled every trick to keep Korean hunters down.”
“So Iga-jo’s working with Big Bro Enter, right, intel guy?”
Mr. Jo nodded at Pyo Beom-hee’s question.
“Yep. Former employer of mine.”
He was tense around Pyo Beom-hee.
She didn’t know his true identity, but he knew all about her. They’d even worked at the same place once.
‘Even back at Titan, she was my boss.’
Before Kang Moo-hyuk blew his cover, Mr. Jo had hidden as a regular staffer in Titan Guild’s management department.
She’d been in deep trouble then—sneaking into Slayer Guild for secrets, only to get caught by Seong Seon-je and nearly sent to the afterlife. Rookie mistake at a critical moment.
To evade Slayer’s pursuit, she’d holed up at Titan. Desperate, she spotted a new hire posting, applied on the spot, and got in.
Even Slayer couldn’t scour another guild, so Titan stayed safe. Perfect hideout from the storm.
‘But of course, that’s when Boss Kang was in the department.’
Kang Moo-hyuk had been on the management team then, rotated through departments by Guild Master Lee Cheol-jung to build experience before strategic ops.
‘Fate kept tangling us up till we ended up here. Guess I owe him from back then.’
Their business ties were solid, but something still felt off.
While Mr. Jo spaced out, Kang Moo-hyuk briefed Pyo Beom-hee.
“Team Leader Pyo, head to Big Bro Enter and scope them out. Swing by under the guise of Eul-ji’s dinner event meet-and-greet. Dig into Iga-jo’s schedule here in Korea too.”
“Want me to check their hotel?”
“Mr. Jo’s already got that. They bought a few apartments, not staying at hotels.”
“Loaded bastards. Some of us are crammed in North Pocheon flood-damaged studios.”
“I thought the dorms were fine? Any flood damage there? If there’s an issue, we’ll handle it right away……”
“Just talking. Can’t even joke around here. So, I head out now?”
“Yes. Can’t have a knife at my back with so much on the plate. Plan to handle it fast and quiet.”
“Big Bro? Me too! Me too!”
Go Eul-ji shot her hand up and bounced excitedly, but Joo Se-ah grabbed her by the scruff.
“Where do you think you’re going? You’re training with me.”
“Eek! W-wait, training…… Training?!”
With zero say in the matter, Go Eul-ji got dragged off. Joo Se-ah planned to test her skills while knocking out Kang Moo-hyuk’s requests.
Watching Go Eul-ji get hauled away like a lamb to slaughter, Pyo Beom-hee remarked,
“She’s still in high school, right? Association Chairman’s granddaughter?”
“Yes. Young, but top-tier talent and potential. Awakened at nine; Han Byung-gu trained her Spartan-style.”
“How hard did that old man push her? She smashed those orcs like it was nothing. Acts all high-and-mighty too—total S-rank material in arrogance alone.”
“Could be.”
“What? You really think she’s S-rank potential?”
“Similar growth rate to Guild Master Joo Se-ah at that age. Just not public yet. Han Byung-gu can’t hide her forever. Time for real combat and a solid mentor. Protection too, of course.”
“Joo as mentor’s solid, but…… Pairing two of the same wild type feels risky.”
“She’s extreme, but a model hunter in every hunting aspect.”
“M-model…… Haha. Boss hasn’t tasted why they call her witch or disaster yet.”
Meanwhile, Go Eul-ji—who’d taste it first—freaked at Joo Se-ah’s training plan.
“Dig up the ground?”
“Not just dig. Find the mines swept away in the flood.”
“How am I supposed to find those? Heard there’s tons.”
“You’re a telekinesist, right? I know it’s not just moving stuff and smacking monsters. It’s space manipulation. Push it to the limit.”
“Even so, underground’s…… And this whole huge area……”
Go Eul-ji eyed the vast land ahead in dismay.
Joo Se-ah’s zone covered everywhere the flood hit—basically all west of Sanjeong Lake.
“This isn’t training. It’s manual labor. Cleaning up their mess. Employer abuse. Child labor exploitation.”
Joo Se-ah let her rant, then dangled Kang Moo-hyuk’s bait.
“BTA solo concert in LA a few months out. Want a plane ticket?”
“Where do I start? Up to Cheorwon?”
Joo Se-ah shook her head at Go Eul-ji charging off without complaint.
“Even with a carrot, wrangling a top telekinesist with one idol…… Boss was right. Profitable deal.”
“So Chairman Tae suspects Kang Moo-hyuk?”
“Just suspicion. No other reaction. To him, the guy’s irrelevant.”
Kim Myeong-jun stroked his chin at Jeong Sil-jang’s report—his plant as the chairman’s secretary.
‘Jo Choong-hyeon vanished? Deserved it for what he pulled. But would Kang go that far? Or did he bolt from failure anxiety?’
Unable to decide, Kim Myeong-jun asked,
“What’s your take, Jeong Sil-jang?”
“I’d say he killed him. You think so too, Executive Kim?”
“Yeah, but Kang’s extreme yet sticks to lines.”
“Your eye for people’s spot-on. So he ran.”
“But he doesn’t always play predictable.”
“Then he killed him?”
“Hmm……”
“Even if not Kang, Iron Will’s got plenty of killers. Joo Se-ah’s bagged hunters aplenty. And Jang Deok-gu……”
“Right! Jang Deok-gu!”
Jang Deok-gu never let hunter criminals slide. Half the hardcore inmates at Ujungdo twitched at his name.
Kim Myeong-jun pondered again.
‘Key is: ordered hit or rogue action?’
That decided who to frame and how.
Iron Will might ditch Taeseong, but still felt the parent company’s shadow.
‘Hope it’s Kang. Need a card to stab the boss with.’
Aila convened the World Hunter Federation elders.
The Round Table—seven permanent members, four rotating every two years, four Ain representatives for forests and lands, plus two non-hunter reps for global politics and economy—totaled seventeen.
“Apologies for the remote video; couldn’t meet in person.”
-No worries. Gave us idle folks something to do.
Chairman Ekhisar—top seat, long white hair and beard, intrigued eyes—greeted her warmly.
The rest (sans Ain) looked displeased. Not at Aila, but her agenda.
Reading the room, Aila thanked them again.
“I know you’re all busy. Thank you for making time. Everyone joined?”
-World’s not ending. Non-hunters skipped as usual—swamped.”
“Can’t be helped.”
-So why the emergency Round Table, Aila?
“As mentioned: proposing a new member.”
Ekhisar feigned ignorance.
-Not membership season.
“Yes. That’s why the emergency.”
-Regular meeting in three months.
“Can’t delay this.”
-How big to drag non-hunters into an impromptu?
“Candidate…… encountered an Unknown.”
-Everyone knows that. Surviving’s rare, but thin for membership.
“And spoke to it.”
The screen flickered with sharpened gazes.
Ekhisar straightened, rapped his dark-glowing gavel.
-Definitely urgent. Round Table for new member review begins now.
-Kang Moo-hyuk.
Hearing the unwelcome voice, Han Byung-gu gruffed,
“What? Calling about the Federation?”
-No. Need to confirm a few things.
“Spit it out.”
-You’re Japan-savvy, Chairman. Old war buddies too?
“And?”
-Any recent Japan Guild Union moves?
“Union? Why those petty shits?”
Han Byung-gu’s brows furrowed upside-down, face souring at the thought.
-Intel on hunters crossing from Japan. Vibe’s off for regular guilders.
“Vibe? Japan’s always annoying as…… hell.”
A gut hunch cut him short.
‘He wouldn’t call for nothing. Fishy. If Union-related…… No way?’
Bad vibes creasing his face, Han Byung-gu pressed,
“Source? How’d you get it?”
-Coincidence.
“Which coincidence?”
-Your granddaughter.
“Eul-ji?! Why?!”
-BTA fan meet and dinner event lined up. Japanese firm pushing the deal with their enter company. Super shady.
Cold sweat down his spine.
‘Targeting Eul-ji?’
Japan hunters had long hounded Korea’s.
Post-Great War, S-rank potentials retired or died mysteriously pre-ascension.
Japan lurked behind it.
They’d backed off Joo Se-ah, but Korea hunts persisted.
Thus, Han Byung-gu hid and honed Go Eul-ji.
Keep her secret till the top.
-Oh, and she’s safe with us. No worries. Update you on intel.
“What? Eul-ji’s there……”
Tu-tu~
“That slick bastard hung up again?!”
Han Byung-gu finally got it.
‘Japan’s bad, but this guy’s more dangerous.’
He vowed again: get his granddaughter out of there.