Chapter 79: Sweeping the Villains (3)

Villains.

Criminals who have Awakened their abilities possess physical bodies and powers that far surpass those of ordinary people.

Fortunately, bullets still worked on them, allowing Special Forces to conduct suppression operations.

To wipe out the orphanage Villains who had recently become a major social issue, elite Hunters from each Guild took the lead as the main force, while the Military provided support.

The Republic of Korea is a country where firearms are strictly regulated.

Gangs carrying guns like in foreign countries is a story only possible in movies. However, despite the strict management, loopholes began to appear due to the Awakening ability known as Inventory.

The orphanage Villains were armed with firearms.

It was an absurd situation.

A mere criminal holding a submachine gun.

Hunters moved in to secure the orphanage, and the counter-terrorism unit waiting outside took up sniping positions to suppress the Villains before contacting Team Leader Lee Hyunbin.

“Hunter Lee Hyunbin. This is Alpha Team. May we proceed with the entry?”

A battle where someone would lose their life was about to unfold.

However, it was something they were always prepared for.

The unit members held their firearms, ready to provide suppressive fire at any moment.

-Please wait a moment. It will be over soon.

That was Hunter Lee Hyunbin’s reply.

The unit commander was bewildered, wondering if he had heard correctly.

‘There are thirty Villains right now. Ten of them are holding submachine guns, and he wants us to wait?’

He clearly intended to fight.

Hunters can use mysterious powers because they have a Connection to the System. That did not mean they were invincible.

They could be wounded by blades and killed by bullets.

The Villains got out of their cars and surrounded Hunter Lee Hyunbin. Then, one fellow stepped forward.

As if preparing a Ring for a one-on-one fight.

The one who came out to face Hunter Lee Hyunbin was a Villain with ignorantly thick muscles.

Commonly known as One Punch.

He was a criminal with a multiple record of beating people to death with his bare fists.

The duel between the 두o began.

The Villains poured out boos and ridicule as a tense exchange of blows took place.

No, it only appeared that way.

After dodging several punches, Hyunbin delivered a counter-punch to One Punch.

The match was decided with that single blow.

Silence hovered among the Villains as they watched One Punch collapse powerlessly.

‘What is he trying to do?’

What Hunter Lee Hyunbin pulled out was a sword.

His blade sliced into the arm of the fallen One Punch.

“…!”

Provocation.

The Villains raised their muzzles at the act that served as a catalyst.

‘Damn it, it’s dangerous!’

It would have been better if he had overwhelmed the atmosphere by just taking down One Punch.

The unit commander raised his hand.

He intended to give the signal to move in, anticipating that Hyunbin would be in danger.

But his hand had no choice but to come down quickly.

“Sergeant Yoon, what on earth is that?”

“……”

The Special Forces member watching the situation spoke up as he witnessed an unbelievable scene.

Hyunbin threw a Dagger just like that.

The Villain struck by the Dagger screamed, firing the submachine gun blindly in a useless direction.

A comrade hit by a stray bullet gripped his blood-splattered shoulder while spewing curses.

The Villains fired their submachine guns.

Rat-tat-tat-tat!

Though the accuracy was poor, the MAC-10’s bullets, which had an incredible rate of fire, continuously kicked up dust.

Hunter Lee Hyunbin moved as if he could see the bullets.

No, he was too fast for them to even keep their muzzles aimed at him.

Thud, smack!

“Aaaaagh!”

Crack!

“My leg, aaaaagh!”

Rip!

“Block him, kill him!”

The leader of the Villains encouraged them, but the tide of battle had already turned.

The Villains were unable to rush at Hyunbin.

“Su, Surren—”

“Don’t surrender. If you surrender, I can’t kill you.”

“…!”

The lucky ones had their arms or legs cut off, while the unlucky ones were decapitated and died instantly.

Self-defense laws in Korea are ambiguous. In fact, there are even clauses favorable to the perpetrator.

In particular, there is public opinion that criticizes Hunters with superhuman abilities for taking excessive measures.

However, right now, Hyunbin was facing off alone against criminals armed with submachine guns.

No one could call this excessive suppression.

“Wow, is that even possible? It’s like a hero movie.”

Sergeant Yoon ended up saying that as a joke.

It truly was over in an instant.

The Special Forces members stuck their tongues out in amazement as they watched Hyunbin fight while even dodging bullets.

The remaining Villains threw their submachine guns aside, knelt down, and trembled.

The powerful confidence brought by the rifles had crumbled before a true Monster.

“Team Leader, the work here is all fin— What is this?”

“It’s over here too— Who are all these people?”

The Hunters who had gone inside to clear out the orphanage also wore stunned expressions at the situation outside.

This was because the number of Villains outside was overwhelmingly higher than the number suppressed inside.

The cleanup operation ended more anticlimactically than expected.

Transport vehicles arrived, and the Villains were all hauled away while under Restraint.

One of the Special Forces members picked up the radio to receive an update on the situation.

“The other locations have also ended safely without any casualties.”

“Ours is probably the only side without any injuries.”

“I guess so.”

They felt a bit hollow since they had nothing to do, but they had witnessed a famous Hunter engaging in a melee firsthand.

How should they put it? It felt like their pride was swelling.

They felt like just having operated with such a person would be a badge of honor.

Simultaneously with the transport, the investigation team began to search the orphanage thoroughly.

Hyunbin also asked for cooperation and looked around the orphanage.

There didn’t seem to be anything special on the desk of the Villain leader, the director of the eastern orphanage.

“Ugh, blegh!”

“You punk, don’t puke here!”

A Newbie investigator who looked into the basement room could not hold back his vomit upon seeing the horrific interior.

It was an outrageously gruesome sight. An environment that looked as if human experiments had been conducted.

‘Simply to create Mana Stone Bomb Humans?’

Hyunbin felt a sense of doubt.

Of course, if a Mana Stone Bomb explodes, blowing up a single building is trivial.

It was true that the explosive power was that strong. In fact, Mana Stone Bomb Humans existed in that world as well.

However, the most terrifying thing was that an innocent child would approach without any murderous intent and explode as a bomb.

Above all, he could not understand committing such madness using children.

There were no documents of the sort Hyunbin was looking for inside.

If he looked closely, some traces might remain, but it wasn’t the kind of thing he could find immediately.

The children who had become terminally ill after being sacrificed for the Villains’ conspiracy came to Hyunbin’s mind.

The thought of children who would wither away without even knowing why they were dying left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Just then, a conversation stimulated Hyunbin’s ears.

“What’s this? What language is this?”

“For now, if we collect it and take it to the Agency… Ah, Hunter Lee Hyunbin.”

“Can I take a look for a moment?”

He had a gut feeling.

It was a sealed document handed over by the investigators. In that place, a language other than Korean was written.

‘Continental Common Language?’

It was precisely the language of that other world.

Secretive contents contained within a secretive document.

-…The product shipment delivery date is early July, and it is necessary to paralyze the Government agencies for the Day of Harmony to unite the powers of the Awakened.

The Villains’ plan.

In other words, the plan to overthrow the Government agencies had already been thwarted.

-…Special ability manifested in Product No. 2 of the West Workshop.

Arrogant records that treated children as products.

It was written very dryly which child had which ability and how many died in today’s procedure.

-…Payment of 10 submachine guns completed.

-…Additional equipment support and delivery plan for the Day of Harmony.

All instruction documents were issued to a single person.

‘K?’

It was a nickname that blatantly avoided a real name. However, he felt a sense of unease.

The moment he turned to the next page.

Hyunbin couldn’t believe his eyes.

-…Scheduled disposal of Mana Stone human explosion in Guild Town.

The start of this incident was the result of a child who luckily escaped the orphanage fighting to save their friends and to inform the world about dangerous illegal Magic Stones.

That was how it was supposed to be.

-…Disclosure of workshop information. Concentrate the attention of the Agency or Hunters.

His brow furrowed.

-…Minimal resistance during the massive cleanup.

The document detailed the Villains’ movements thus far.

And for all those movements, the Government’s response had been assumed.

From start to finish. As if it had been drawn in a picture.

“Do you know what this says?”

The investigator asked.

It must have been because he had been staring at the document for a long time.

The contents written so far were things that had already happened.

However, there were still pages left in the document.

Hyunbin turned to the next page.

-…Occupation of the National Disaster Management Agency.

-…Announcement of criminal statement.

Somehow, the cleanup had been too easy, too simple.

A chill ran down his neck.

The Villains’ plan was still in progress.

No, even before that.

All the circumstances fit perfectly. As if someone had orchestrated all of this.

No, as if someone had already seen it happen.

It was right after that Hyunbin heard Olivier’s communication.

-Hero!

The National Disaster Management Agency has been occupied.

“It’s all on me, so eat up!”

“Wow, you’re the best!”

“Thank you for the food!”

Karin was staying at the Agency to look after the children.

Seeing the bright-eyed children tearing into Chicken covered in thick sauce made her feel full and proud.

If I said that, Coach would have laughed and asked if I was actually full.

Karin pulled the corners of her mouth into a smile.

“Wow, this is totally delicious!”

Emptying her Check Card had been worth it.

“I’m thirsty.”

“We’re out of drinks. Wait a second.”

Karin stood up to buy some sodas.

“I’ll go with you.”

Lee Ho followed Karin closely.

Lee Ho followed Karin very well. Karin didn’t dislike it either.

The two felt a sense of kinship with each other.

Through the artificial Magic Stone Awakening, Lee Ho had gained a weak but present Priest Power.

And it was a complex type very similar to Karin’s.

The two didn’t talk about it, but they felt a deep kinship just from possessing the same power.

“I’m so happy to see everyone eating and playing so well.”

Even though she was the same age, Lee Ho spoke quite maturely.

Despite being at an age where she should be running around just like the others.

“We were saved,” Lee Ho whispered with a beaming smile.

Karin gave a faint smile.

It was hard to offer comfort carelessly. The artificially created Magic Stones would soon turn into poison and kill all the children.

There was still no way to cure it.

A week at the shortest. A month at the longest.

That was the remaining life of the children right now.

“I only lived in the darkness, and I thought I would never be able to get out of there. But I saw a very faint light. In a dream.”

Clink. Rattle.

Lee Ho pressed the soda button after putting coins into the vending machine.

“It feels like a dream.”

The fact that she could walk around on her own like this.

The fact that she could freely get a drink from a vending machine.

“It’ll feel even more like a dream from now on.”

“Do you think so?”

“If you go to a theme park, it’s really fun. There are ghosts, and trains fly around.”

“That sounds fun…”

“There’s also bead ice cream at theme parks.”

“That sounds amazing…”

“There are also super big churros.”

“Whoa…”

“There’s cotton candy as big as a person’s head. It looks like a cloud, and if you take a bite, it just melts away.”

“But from the first time I saw you until now, you’ve only talked about food…”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Yes, you have.”

Lee Ho and Karin looked at each other and laughed.

Step, step.

Just then, someone was walking down the hallway.

“Newbie?”

Lee Ho, clutching the drinks, spoke up.

“Hm? Who is it?”

“Oh. He’s someone who was at the orphanage where I was.”

“The orphanage?”

At those words, Karin tilted her head.

The adults at the orphanage where Lee Ho had been were people involved with the organization.

In that case, he was a criminal.

But Lee Ho’s reaction seemed happy.

“That man is a good person. He was kind to us.”

Karin nodded at Lee Ho’s words.

The only kind adult in a place full of Trash.

It wouldn’t be unusual for Lee Ho to be this happy to see him.

‘But why is he walking around?’

Karin felt a sudden sense of doubt.

She had heard from Coach that all the Villains from the orphanage were locked up in the Agency.

Even those with the slightest connection were in custody for investigation.

Yet, the man who worked at the orphanage was walking around inside the Agency quite naturally.

“Ah, you were here?”

The Newbie waved his hand, looking very pleased to see Lee Ho.

“Mister Newbie. You were here too?”

“Yes. What about the other kids? Are the other kids here too?”

“Yes, they’re eating Chicken right now. It’s my first time having it, and it’s super, super delicious.”

“Really? I wanted to buy it for you.”

The Newbie smiled genially while stroking Lee Ho’s hair.

He was a man whose impression seemed faint, somehow lacking a presence.

Bang! Bang!

Just then, the sound of gunfire rang out.

Following that were screams.

Lee Ho, who had been spending her day peacefully, began to tremble upon hearing the all-too-familiar sound of someone dying.

The sound of gunfire continued to ring out from here and there.

Karin pulled Lee Ho into an embrace. Then she became wary of the man in front of her.

‘He’s not flustered at all.’

The man called Newbie was suspicious.

“Lee Ho, do you want to come with me?”

“M-Mister. There are bad people outside…”

Lee Ho felt a sense of foreboding and murmured.

The Newbie shrugged his shoulders as if telling her not to worry.

Just then, an Instructor from the nursery room came running out.

“Both of you, come this— Wh-Who are you?”

At the Instructor’s words, the Newbie gave a clean and clear self-introduction.

Fwip.

Something grazed past Karin and Lee Ho.

Thwack.

The Instructor staggered before leaning against the wall and sliding down.

Blood poured from the hole in her body like a backed-up sewer.

Lee Ho screamed while hugging Karin.

“We were in the middle of a conversation, and she interrupted.”

The Newbie put the pistol back into his jacket and gave a simple laugh.

“Now, come with me.”

The sound of scattered bullets hitting their targets and the screams of death ringing out like an aria echoed from behind the Newbie.

Karin saw the faint Magic Power flowing from the Newbie’s eyes.