A Night of Being Hated
Lily, Yukino, and Grandine had all claimed the throne of the strongest in their respective worlds, but Yukino's power stood out from the other two in a particular way.
While Lily and Grandine had risen to the top through their sheer personal strength, Yukino's dominance came not just from her power, but from her utterly unique and irreplaceable abilities.
One of those was her great miko power to purify beings possessed by malice—or those she clearly recognized as enemies—or to implant horrific memories directly into their souls.
Yokai or monsters composed purely of evil would vanish into nothingness upon being struck by Yukino's purifying arrows, while for humans, she could forcibly send their souls to the underworld.
Villains hit by her purifying arrows wouldn't spill a single drop of blood or suffer any physical injury whatsoever, but their souls would be ejected from their bodies and hurled straight into the underworld.
They would witness themselves burning endlessly in agony across the eight hells of the abyss, and that terrifying sight would be seared indelibly into their souls.
Since it forcibly extracted the souls of the living and sent them to the underworld, the underworld would promptly eject them, and once the souls returned to their bodies, even the villains struck by her purifying power would snap back to their senses.
But the memories imprinted on their souls would torment them for life, filling them with dread, and those who didn't want to burn eternally in purgatory would soon repent their sins and come to their senses.
Only the truly irredeemable ones who still refused to reform after that would have Yukino take their lives...
Ugh, memories of the old days...
I shuddered involuntarily as I turned my head and spotted Lee Min-ho, whose soul Yukino had ripped out for a forced underworld tour.
The first time I met Yukino at the Mikami Shrine she guarded, she'd mistaken me for a thief after the shrine's treasures and shot a purifying arrow at me right off the bat, leaving me in that exact state.
I guess I wasn't quite a full-blown villain, since I didn't get the hell tour, but I could never forget that suffocating pressure that crushed me.
What had Yukino said when I came to? ...Oh, right.
"I don't know what you've been up to, but this is the first soul I've seen that's piled up so much karma. What kind of person are you?"
...In hindsight, it felt like prophecy.
Anyway, after ejecting Lee Min-ho's soul, Yukino, blazing with fury, issued commands to the subjugation team hunters.
"From now on, I'm in command here! Everyone, stop fighting and cooperate with the dimensional transferees on the mountain as Mr. Jeong Hyun-soo instructed. Guide them peacefully—now!"
"Y-yes, ma'am!"
They'd all heard through the grapevine during training that Yukino was pretty skilled, so none of the subjugation team hunters even thought to resist her orders.
And besides, she'd just taken down a First Class Hunter in one strike right in front of them, even if it was a surprise attack...
Hunters on the subjugation team were never supposed to attack each other during operations—it was a strict taboo—but overwhelming power made taboos and rules meaningless.
"Dimensional transferees on the mountain, can you hear us?!"
"We won't attack! We'll guide you to safety, so please show yourselves!"
Watching the subjugation team hunters head up toward the upper mountain calling out for the transferees, I thanked Yukino.
"Thanks so much, Yukino."
"Hmph. Good that you know."
She wasn't as far gone as Lily, but she was still pretty heated, pursing her lips and giving a curt reply.
I never imagined the "karma-piling soul" Yukino mentioned back in Omitamano meant this...
I bowed my head to her and hurried up the mountain after the subjugation team hunters.
Taebaek Mountain had nearly erupted into a massive armed clash, but aside from the wildfire, it mercifully ended without any bloodshed.
But we couldn't just pretend nothing had happened...
"Stretcher! Contact the nearest hospital and mobilize all medical staff! These two are critically injured!"
"All healing hunters, get out here! Provide emergency treatment now!"
"Hunter Lee Min-ho?! A First Class Hunter unconscious? What the hell happened up on that mountain?!"
...Because Lily and Grandine had gone at each other with real killing intent, leaving both so gravely wounded they were hovering between life and death.
And because Lee Min-ho—one of the country's only three First Class Hunters—had been carted in unconscious.
"No visible injuries, yet comatose? Did he fall victim to some mental attack? A First Class Hunter going down to something like that? What happened? Was it the dimensional transferees from Taebaek Mountain? Subjugation team! Anyone at the scene see something?!"
"N-no... We didn't see anything..."
Things could have escalated further, but thankfully, the subjugation team hunters kept quiet about what happened to Lee Min-ho, averting that crisis.
Of course, it wasn't voluntary silence on their part.
...
"Lee Min-ho passed out from inhaling too much smoke from the wildfire while carrying out his mission. Nothing happened here, and you saw nothing."
"Th-that means... you're telling us to keep our mouths shut?"
"Hasn't he always said it? In the subjugation team, the strong one's word is law, and on-site, the commander's word is law. If you can't follow mine, shall I demonstrate with force, one by one?"
A few subjugation team hunters couldn't hold back at Yukino's bold declaration and stepped forward in anger.
"Sneak-attacking someone from behind and now talking big! Want us to sort out the pecking order with raw power like you said?!"
And those who stepped up were subdued by Yukino's talismans in under ten seconds, screaming from the infernal chill of the underworld flames.
"Chilling flames" was an odd way to put it, but anyone who'd experienced it couldn't describe it any other way.
"Aaaagh! It's cold! Hot! Wh-what is this?! Gaaah!"
"N-no way... Hot? That guy's a fire ability user, right? And he's screaming it's hot? What the..."
"Still doubters among you? Come on out. Gang up if you want. I'll oblige until you're convinced."
Not only had the whole group been taken down in seconds, but witnessing a fire ability hunter scream about the heat broke the others' will—they didn't dare step up.
Yukino, now firmly in control, ordered everyone to keep her attack on Lee Min-ho under wraps, warning that anyone who spoke out would face brutal retribution.
Having witnessed her power firsthand, the hunters had no choice but to obey.
...
Thus gagged, the hunters said nothing about why Lee Min-ho was unconscious. Baffled by his doll-like state—body intact, consciousness simply gone—the medics reported the situation to the Dimensional Transfer Countermeasure HQ.
And not even thirty minutes after the report reached HQ, my phone started blowing up.
Bzzz— Bzzz—
Checking the incessantly ringing phone, I saw Sharl had called fifteen times already.
As I looked, the sixteenth call came in, and I cautiously picked up.
"H-hey, Shar—"
"Sunbae!!!!!!!!!!!!"
A shout so loud it nearly burst my eardrums exploded from the phone.
Then came Sharl's machine-gun rap.
"I heard! What the heck were you doing going there?! You're not even on the subjugation team—what could you do?! Are you insane!? Got nine lives or something!? You in your right mind? Hurt anywhere? There was a wildfire, right? No burns? Smoke? Inhaling wildfire smoke wrecks your lungs! Can you move? Where are you? Hospital? Nearby countermeasure quarters? Hurry up and tell me the address!"
Her near-screaming rap left my ears ringing.
I hurriedly cut her off and calmed her down first.
"Sharl, I'm fine. But yeah, hospital."
"Aaaah!!!"
Sharl shrieked like she was seizing up on the other end.
"Fine but in a hospital why?! You're hurt! Don't lie just 'cause I can't see you! I know you—dense as hell, never taking care of yourself, pushing too hard till shit hits the fan, then confessing! Which hospital! Nah, I think I know! Stay put!"
Click.
Half out of her mind, screaming in full casual mode, she abruptly hung up.
I tried calling back, but she didn't pick up.
After the Sharl storm passed, I went back to nursing Lily and Grandine without sleep.
Wiping sweat, changing damp towels, placing them on their foreheads—I shuttled between their rooms, worried one of them might take a turn.
About three hours later.
As I changed the towel on Grandine's forehead in the dead of night, a commotion erupted from the reception desk outside.
"I'm Sharl from the Settlement Support Division at HQ! Where's sunbae?! I know this is the hospital they called—hurry!"
"P-please calm down! Making a racket at this hour might wake the patients—"
"Hurry! Where's sunbae! Jeong Hyun-soo! Settlement Support Division chief!"
Hearing Sharl causing a scene, I bolted into the hallway.
"Sharl! Sharl! I'm here! I told you I'm fine! No screaming in the hospital at dawn—quiet down and come here!"
Sharl froze mid-motion and stared my way.
Without a word, she dashed over, checked me head to toe, confirmed no major injuries, and collapsed right there on the spot.
"Waaah... I can't live 'cause of you, sunbae..."
Today really was a day I got hated by a bunch of women.