24
24 - If They Die By My Hand
Ma Du-sik's words telling him it was dangerous weren't wrong either.
Ma Du-sik didn't know Jin-woo's abilities precisely. Only that he showed exceptional talent in the exploration category and had the unique ability to detect Erosion cores.
Since he didn't know about Jin-woo's abilities that held considerable merit specifically against assassins, it was natural for him to oppose them.
However, after much deliberation, Jin-woo ultimately decided to go.
It wasn't for any other reason, but because after finishing his bath, he checked the email that came from Tokyo.
"The monsters appearing from the Erosion appear to be Elves that became monsters in the past..."
There was such a phrase in the explanation about the Erosion.
Jin-woo went to find Ma Du-sik, who was busy applying lotion to his face, and asked.
"Mayor. Have you heard that Elf-type monsters appear from Tokyo's Erosion?"
"Huh? Oh, there was talk like that. That's why the work of finding the core is even more sluggish. When Elves just shoot arrows from far away, there's nothing more troublesome."
"If it's an Erosion where Elf-type monsters appear, then the core would likely be an object related to Elves."
"You can't say that's necessarily the case, but it's possible. Are you interested in Elven objects?"
Of course, he had tremendous interest. If he destroyed an Elven object that became a core, wouldn't he be able to gain abilities related to it?
That decided Jin-woo's trip to Tokyo.
***
In the end, he decided to respond to the support request. Ma Du-sik had opposed it for various reasons, but once Jin-woo made his decision, he now did his best to provide convenience.
"There can be various opinions until the leader makes a decision. But once a decision is made, it must be carried out with the utmost effort."
"Why am I the leader? The leader of this city is you, Mayor."
"It's just a figure of speech, hahaha."
Although it was just one E-rank Hunter going to provide support, it was a matter between nations. Since there were plenty of things to extract from the diplomatic arena, Ma Du-sik said he would take responsibility and extract them.
And he would also arrange escort personnel for any unforeseen circumstances and personnel for interpretation through the Management Bureau.
That very evening, someone from the Management Bureau came to visit.
"Jin-woo! Is it true that you're going to Tokyo?"
"Shartia?"
Jin-woo's escort and interpreter assigned through the Management Bureau was Shartia.
"How did Shartia end up... Is it okay for an S-rank to do such menial work?"
"Menial work? Tokyo is so dangerous!"
Wasn't it putting the cart before the horse to have an S-rank as escort for an E-rank going to provide support?
He had such thoughts, but Ma Du-sik said he would pay appropriate compensation, and above all, Shartia herself had volunteered.
He had felt it before, but Shartia seemed quite overprotective.
"That's reassuring. It'll be more comfortable than going to an unknown land with unknown people."
"You even went to the Gate, but you're not resting more..."
"I've rested enough. Now I want to become stronger."
Having crossed swords with Rona for several days, this leisurely time felt very empty.
No matter how much he swung his sword alone in his house's yard, there wasn't the same thrill and joy as then.
Moreover, he wanted to acquire abilities suitable for using with the Sky Sword. Wasn't it said to have affinity with wind, water, and lightning?
He didn't know if the core that appeared in Tokyo would give such abilities, but in any case, he wanted to go destroy the core.
"Sigh, alright. Then I'll prepare quickly too. When do we depart?"
"In two days. The Management Bureau has a private jet."
Two days later. The two people, having completed perfect preparations for going abroad, headed to Gimpo Airport.
A Management Bureau employee was dispatched to complete all procedures for departure. Thus, the two boarded Seoul Management Bureau's private jet.
"Wow."
It was his first time on an airplane, but it was even more his first time on such a luxurious airplane.
The narrow, cramped seats he'd seen in movies and dramas were nowhere to be found, and it was like a hotel room had been installed.
In the spacious area, there were seats for 20 people, and when the seats were folded, they became 10 beds. Moreover, there was a separate cabin for entertainment with a large screen installed, and there were not just one but two bathrooms.
In that luxurious space, excluding the flight attendants, there were only two people.
"Please have a comfortable trip."
The flight attendant who had finished guiding them through all the cabins bowed politely and departed for the crew area.
Jin-woo and Shartia spread out a side table and sat down, laying out simple materials.
"It's quick to Tokyo, so there's no time to play. First, look over the local materials."
"Kurenai... This guild is Tokyo's number one guild?"
"Not only number one, but a guild that completely dominates."
Tokyo's assassination guilds each had their territories and power, but at this point, there was no guild stronger than Kurenai.
An assassination group of hundreds centered around Guild Master and S-rank Hunter Kurenai Masato.
Masato was the very person who assassinated the previous mayor and brought down the government and was also the godfather of the current mayor.
He was virtually Tokyo's behind-the-scenes power broker.
"Then Tokyo's Management Bureau is also under Kurenai's control."
"You can almost consider it so. There might be a few other factions, but they won't have much voice."
Other guilds were also risk factors, but by far the top was this Kurenai Guild.
Setting Jin-woo aside, knowing that Shartia was also accompanying, there would definitely be some sort of action.
Just an S-rank from another country entering the country was enough to sound an alarm, and that S-rank happened to be Shartia.
An S-rank in a completely hostile position with New York, Tokyo's ally.
'I should prepare.'
The possibility of just handling business peacefully and returning without fighting... Didn't seem very likely.
***
Setting aside the relationship between New York and Tokyo or the relationship with Shartia, and such delicate positions, Tokyo citizens were trembling with anxiety.
└ When will the Erosion that formed outside the city be resolved? It's already spread enough to be visible as a dark blur outside the barrier!
└ There are rumors that they can't find the core. It can't be scanned from outside, and they can't work inside either.
└ Why can't they find it inside?
└ Elf-type monsters appear, and it's very difficult to search for the core while dealing with them.
The Erosion that formed outside Tokyo.
If it had formed very far away, they wouldn't worry about it, but the Erosion formed very close to the city.
Those living on the outskirts could see it with the naked eye, and even from tall buildings, if you looked carefully, you could see the Erosion's boundaries.
Seeing the Erosion's boundaries grow day by day, Tokyo citizens had no choice but to tremble.
└ Good news! There's a Hunter in Seoul who can detect the location of cores, and he's accepted the request and decided to come to Tokyo!
└ Really? Then the Erosion can be cleared soon!
└ I heard his name is Hunter Kang Jin-woo. Does anyone know him?
└ I went to Seoul Management Bureau's homepage and he's E-rank... Is it okay to entrust it to an E-rank?
└ Won't we just end up with one more corpse...
└ What's there to worry about? Tokyo's Hunters will protect his body. Hunter Kang Jin-woo just needs to detect the core from a safe place.
They believed. The scene of Tokyo's Hunters protecting Kang Jin-woo and Kang Jin-woo finding the core to clear away the Erosion.
They were rejoicing as if the Erosion spreading ominously in the distance would be cleared away immediately.
***
What greeted Jin-woo upon arriving at Haneda Airport was a balding employee from the Tokyo Management Bureau.
Wearing a shabby suit and sweating profusely on his forehead, he was extremely nervous.
"A-Are you Hunter Kang Jin-woo? And you're Hunter Shartia, right? Welcome. I'm Ikeda from the Tokyo Management Bureau."
"Nice to meet you. You speak Korean well."
"When I was young, I was obsessed with Korean dramas."
Following Ikeda's guidance, Jin-woo got into a van waiting at the airport.
After seating Jin-woo and Shartia in the back seats, Ikeda took the driver's seat.
"I'll take you to the hotel. If you have any questions, please ask me anything."
"Then, please tell us about the Erosion."
Jin-woo promptly asked about this Erosion.
He had information received by email and materials that Ma Du-sik and Shartia had separately investigated, but information gathered by the local Management Bureau was also very important.
Ikeda wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief and answered.
"Yes, yes. You must have received the email, but elf monsters appear in this Erosion."
At the mention of elf monsters, Shartia's face unconsciously hardened. Still, she didn't interrupt and calmly listened to Ikeda's words.
"As you know, Elves are quite troublesome creatures. They're fast on their feet and good with swords, but above all, their archery skills are exceptional. This Erosion, unfortunately, spans across mountains."
"Mountains would make it more difficult."
"The Japanese archipelago has a lot of mountainous terrain. Erosions appearing around mountains aren't rare, but Elves appearing there make searching almost impossible."
The core couldn't be detected from outside, so they had to enter and conduct a search with numerical superiority, but even that was impossible due to the elf monsters around the mountains.
If they knew the core's location, they could just charge to the core while enduring the Elves' attacks, but the problem was that there was no way to know that location.
That's when someone who knew of Jin-woo's existence made a suggestion.
There's a Hunter in Seoul with the ability to detect cores, so let's invite him.
"What exactly are Elf-type monsters?"
"Literally, those who are Elves yet monsters. The monsters appearing from Erosions are those who were swallowed by Erosions in the past, so those who suffered Erosion in the elf world became monsters and appeared on this side."
"Those who were swallowed by past Erosions..."
A frightening imagination occurred. If Elves swallowed by Erosion became monsters and appeared in this world, the reverse was also possible.
Oneself being swallowed by Erosion, losing self-awareness and reason, becoming a monster and appearing in another world.
No, it might not necessarily be another world. Humans swallowed on this Earth might appear on Earth and go around killing people. They might end up killing their friends and family with their own hands.
Imagining such things was both scary and pitiful. In the end, they were only victims, yet they were being used as tools of perpetrators.
"Jin-woo. If it's alright, please kill all the Elves inside."
"Shartia?"
"Elves don't fear death. Instead, they fear not being able to be reborn. Elves swallowed by Erosion are pitiful beings who cannot die but also cannot reincarnate."
Hearing those words, Jin-woo understood why Shartia had followed him.
While it was true that Shartia cared for him, that alone was a bit weak as a reason to follow him to Tokyo.
She had accompanied him to kill all the Elves inside the Erosion.
'If they die by my hand, can they reincarnate?'
Jin-woo had some doubts.
The Dark Elf had feared him as a swordsman who steals souls. Rona had said he was a Demon spirit that devours souls.
If one was cut by his sword, wouldn't they become unable to reincarnate just like being swallowed by Erosion?
Then, to Elves, wasn't he an existence no different from Erosion...
'Useless thoughts.'
His random thoughts had gone on too long. Jin-woo shook his head to clear it and answered Shartia with agreement.
Being cut by him might not be happiness for Elves, but it would at least be better than being used as tools of Erosion.
Just then.
"You can see it now. That hotel you see there. Tokyo's pride, a 5-star..."
Clang!
The car's windshield shattered. A dagger that completely smashed through the glass flew toward the forehead of Ikeda, the driver.
Ikeda, who was just an employee, couldn't react. He only opened his eyes wide at the fact that something had happened, not perceiving the dagger flying toward his forehead.
Vines rapidly growing from Shartia's embrace reached out to block the dagger, but...
Jin-woo was faster.
'Jin-woo!?'
Shartia was greatly surprised by the fact that he had moved before her plants. At that moment, Jin-woo drew his Fang Dagger and deflected the flying dagger.
However, there wasn't just one flying dagger, as several poured toward the driver's seat.
"Aaaahhh!"
Thanks to Jin-woo, he protected his head, but daggers lodged in Ikeda's forearm and shoulder. He hastily turned the steering wheel, and the van crashed into the guardrail.