“Where is your supplier?”
“W-what are you saying…?”
Returnee, transitioning to Hunter.
I drew out the No. 1 sword, the Longsword, from my inventory.
As my mana infused into it, the blade of the Longsword was coated in a faint bluish Ether glow.
“P-please spare me! Ah, as I said before, I have a daughter about to get married…!”
“Where is your supplier? If you lie… Ah, finger diets are in fashion these days. Let me give you a taste.”
Kim Kimon’s pupils dilated at my threat. He probably thought I was joking.
But I wasn’t looking at Kim Kimon as a person. How could I see a man who trafficked people as human?
“…It’s the Winners Guild.”
The Winners Guild. It’s a guild located in the same district as Hanul.
It has a bad reputation for producing Hunters by turning clueless beginners into Hunters and mass-producing them.
“Is that the only place?”
“I’ll tell you everything, please…!”
There was no composure or dignity left on Kim Kimon’s face. He knelt down, his expression desperate.
Quite a few guild names came out of Kim Kimon’s mouth, including Hanul and Hwarang.
“But…”
I crouched down to meet Kim Kimon’s gaze.
“I don’t think you’re being completely honest yet.”
“I’ve told you everything.”
He trafficked people, multiple guilds were involved.
Did he really plan such a big crime alone? I didn’t believe it.
I pulled out the Tactical Knife from my pocket. It was a gift from Karin when I awakened as a Hunter.
Seeing me naturally draw the knife, Kim Kimon’s pupils widened in fear. I grabbed his wrist as he tried to pull away, pinning it firmly to the ground.
“W-wait…! Stop, pleeease!”
“Oh dear, why didn’t you say so sooner? Do you think your pinky will stick if I just touch it lightly? No, better go to the hospital quickly, right?”
“Ugh, ughhh! You’re crazy!”
I spoke kindly to Kim Kimon.
“I don’t want to waste time, and you, Deputy Director Kim, don’t want to waste your fingers, right?”
I wiped the knife with a cloth. I could see Kim Kimon trembling.
He who was numb to others’ pain was incredibly sensitive to his own. Thanks to that, the conversation flowed much more smoothly afterward.
“I was introduced to the Winners Guild by Director Beom Jeonghun, and then to the Mercenary Guild. I really don’t know. I was just following orders from above.”
Kim Kimon confessed everything about what he did and how he handled distribution.
I’d seen many like him before.
Lies, truths, and that familiar look and tone of calculating intent.
Right now, Kim Kimon was laying out only the cards that were safe to reveal. And he tried to buy as much time as possible.
Mixing truth with lies.
It didn’t matter. He was already telling me the information I wanted.
Once the Gate closes and we’re outside, there are soldiers and civilians.
He knew well enough that no one would recklessly harm him.
Also, as long as he survived, there were always other options.
A faint smile involuntarily appeared on my lips. Did Kim Kimon think I wouldn’t see such a disgusting and crude mindset? As time passed, a faint relief formed in his eyes.
- The Gate is closing.
Finally, the time was up.
Kim Kimon smiled, then showed me the severed stump where his pinky used to be.
“You’ll pay dearly for my finger.”
“Considering what you’ve done, isn’t that a bargain?”
“I admit it. You’re pretty strong for a porter. But that just means you’re stronger than me, not stronger than ‘us.’”
Behind Kim Kimon was a surprisingly large organization.
I thought there would be some big villain, but this was unexpected. Or rather, it made sense.
What one always believed was justice wasn’t necessarily justice.
Each side chooses what benefits themselves while claiming it’s justice.
Soon, everything around us began to vanish.
The rolling hills shattered like glass shards.
Before long, the surroundings transformed into a concrete jungle atop asphalt, lit with dazzling neon signs.
“The only chance is over.”
Kim Kimon said with a smile.
Soldiers guarding the Gate were controlling the civilians.
Mercenary Guild members who hadn’t died yet were writhing in pain, screaming.
Some had severed wrists; others were gasping from injuries.
And the only one without a scratch was me.
“Pathetic. You’d have been better off dead. But thanks to me, you’re not.”
Kim Kimon grinned, showing yellowed teeth.
Hunters who had just cleared the dungeon emerged all covered in wounds, some letting out screams. Even the soldiers seemed to gasp for breath.
Suddenly, Kim Kimon began to scream.
“S-spare me! A-ambulance… now…!”
He was acting like he was dying. Almost as if tears would spill out. Actually, tears welled up.
Crawling on the floor, he muttered softly to me.
“Lucky… there’s police here.”
Indeed, just as he said, police were present.
Plainclothes men accompanying them were obviously detectives.
“This man suddenly went mad! Please help!”
Kim Kimon performed the act of a helpless middle-aged man to the fullest, as if aiming for an acting award.
I quietly lifted the corner of my mouth.
“Olivier.”
At my call, someone’s voice suddenly started echoing.
- I was introduced to the Winners Guild by Director Beom Jeonghun, and connected to the Mercenary Guild. I really don’t know. I was just following orders from above.
Kim Kimon stared blankly at me.
- The Winners Guild leads illegal activities. They’re a subcontractor guild, meaning they cooperate with large guilds.
- We call the Hunters caught in our nets without knowing what’s what ‘fish at the market.’ I’m only here because I was threatened and forced into this…!
Kim Kimon’s face trembled.
“N-no way. E-electronic devices can’t be used inside the Gate, so there’s no way you recorded this…!”
Kim Kimon shouted desperately.
Electronic devices don’t work inside Gates or Dungeons. Recording is obviously impossible.
But Olivier supports me.
She can share my vision—and of course, my hearing.
All of Kim Kimon’s testimony was recorded.
“Go ask them.”
I whispered with a smile to the stunned Kim Kimon.
“You have more to answer than questions to ask.”
Kim Kimon couldn’t understand my words.
But recalling what he had said, he had to realize a bigger enemy had appeared.
- Because the Gate disables recording, he spoke honestly just to survive. But if ‘they’ find out, he would surely be killed.
“Kim Kimon?”
As if adding insult to injury, a detective approached Kim Kimon with a business-like expression.
“You are under emergency arrest for the murder of Ansangjin.”
“W-what?”
“You have the right to appoint a lawyer, and to remain silent…”
“Wait! Why are you doing this to me?!”
Kim Kimon refused to listen to his Miranda Rights and looked at me.
There was no need to kindly explain this man.
I shrugged once.
- I’m Im Jaejoon, the new head of the Hanul Guild. I apologize for the unfortunate incident. Something unacceptable happened within Hanul.
- We will not hide the rotten flesh within our organization. All involved will be punished, and we will cooperate fully with investigations to ensure appropriate penalties.
- A Hunter organization should protect the powerless because it has power. The fact that we committed such an outrageous act is unforgivable, as a member of the Republic of Korea and as a Hunter.
- We at Hanul will fight. We will excise the rotten flesh ourselves and confront all related organizations.
The shocking internal whistleblowing from Hanul.
Following this, investigations moved quickly.
Evidence was already secured, and a list of suspects involved was in hand.
Beom Jeonghun, director and right-hand man of former Hanul Guild leader Im Jaeho, was urgently arrested.
The media broke the story with emergency reports about Hunter trafficking.
People showered Hanul Guild with all kinds of curses after news that some Hunters there had committed crimes.
Since Hanul had many Hunters with previous records of drunken assaults on civilians, the guild’s image was at rock bottom.
At the same time, support for the new head Im Jaejoon grew.
Because he bravely exposed corruption that anyone might have quietly covered up.
Though he wasn’t personally guilty, he took responsibility for the grave misconduct within his organization.
Im Jaejoon looked like a person at the forefront of justice.
His handsome appearance didn’t hurt either.
The incident involving Hanul’s director Beom Jeonghun and Kim Kimon was quickly buried.
The reason was simple.
They were merely the tail of the lizard.
The truly corrupt guilds who committed all kinds of vicious acts were exposed.
The Winners Guild was suddenly under a burning spotlight.
Their countless evils began to be continuously revealed.
I headed toward Hanul Guild.
Passing naturally through Guild Town, I saw a lone woman holding a one-person picket protest in front of Winners Guild.
The placard was still up.
A mother wanting an apology.
A mother wanting to know why her child never came back.
How long had she been standing there?
The woman had no tears left to shed as she stared at the Winners Guild lobby on behalf of her son.
Now, the mother’s fight was over.
Cars began to stop along the main road.
Reporters carrying cameras armed to the teeth started moving in.
The woman was bewildered by the sudden commotion and glanced around.
Before long, reporters swarmed her.
“Are you Ansangjin’s mother?”
“This is Hunters News Bureau. What have you heard from the Winners Guild so far?”
As an executive left the Winners Guild lobby, reporters started to rush after him.
Realizing he was in deep trouble, the executive hurriedly turned back, but the reporters doggedly pursued.
I passed the Winners Guild and arrived at Hanul Guild.
Reporters swarmed there as well.
Going up to the royal floor, I found Im Jaejoon slouched on a sofa.
“Damn reporters.”
“You shouldn’t say that if you’re the Apostle of Justice.”
“Apostle of Justice? Me, the former Demon King?”
Im Jaejoon muttered with a hint of amusement.
It was nothing short of a tragedy.
“Easy roads are nice, but sometimes you have to walk the hard one.”
“All fine, but the thought of getting nagged by old men is a bit exhausting.”
“Don’t worry.”
I smiled and replied to Im Jaejoon’s whining.
“It will actually work in Hanul’s favor.”
Sometimes, taking the first hit is advantageous.
Hanul and Hwarang were not the only guilds connected to this matter.
The guild at the center of all this would soon make a move.
They would try to erase their dirty footprints.
A few days later.
Kim Kimon was no longer coming out of prison.
Those involved were arrested one after another.
Public outrage showed no signs of calming.
At the same time, the entertainment world suffered one scandal after another.
Actors with a sincere image were caught for drugs.
Celebrity couples rumored to be perfect were caught cheating.
All kinds of gossip surfaced.
As if the media was trying to cover up the Hunter incidents with sensational news.
“Whatcha looking at?”
“I wasn’t looking.”
I was casually doing strength training at the team training center after a long time when Seohyeonji picked a fight with me.
Well, I am the team leader, and she’s a team member.
Her tone was disrespectful.
Ugh. I was this close to snapping.
“Don’t worry. I have nothing to do with scandals like that.”
Seohyeonji scoffed, speaking words no one asked for.
Seriously, this girl should just focus on training.
How many dumbbells has she lifted? About five? And yet she looks like she just saved the world with that proud expression?
I definitely need to put her in her place.
I was about to get up to properly train Seohyeonji when someone entered the training hall.
A confident-looking man with blonde hair and a sturdy build.
“Hello, I’m Kim Taeyang. I’m joining Hanul Team 3 starting today.”
Kim Taeyang greeted me with a smile.
He seemed genuinely glad to see me, probably because I had trained him before.
But thinking about the tough road ahead for him now, I couldn’t help but smile bitterly.
I had prepared to give Kim Taeyang a serious scolding once he returned. He seemed to have lost some edge while away.
“Hello.”
Another person entered behind Kim Taeyang.
A sincere-looking man with a usually expressionless face, but today, a faint smile played at his lips.
“I’m Kim Inho, joining Hanul Team 3 starting today.”