Chapter 75: Illegal Mana Stones (2)

-A shocking incident occurred this afternoon.

-A young boy triggered an explosion in an area commonly known as Guild Town…

-The police are viewing this as a Villain-related case and are reviewing CCTV footage while…

A boy who suddenly caused an explosion.

Witness interview clips were also appearing on the news.

-He kept telling me not to come near him…

-He looked very ill. He kept stumbling around.

-As seen in the obtained CCTV footage, the deceased was unable to keep his balance. Authorities are forming a special investigation team to…

A death that occurred in broad daylight.

To top it off, a young boy’s body had burst apart like a bomb.

Witnesses were traumatized by this bizarre incident, and voices grew louder, demanding the capture of the perpetrator behind this horrific event.

-It’s true that a contaminated Magic Stone caused a mutation and triggered the explosion.

I shared the same thought as the Demon King.

-Presumed to be a Gate Orphan.

“No confirmation on where he was or what he was doing?”

-No, that’s still under investigation. Anyway, what’s certain is that the chance of that child being an Awakened is close to zero.

That makes sense. One of the reasons contaminated Magic Stones are discovered is because the user is unable to utilize the Magic Stone properly.

In fact, the cause of Magestone Disease is that one needs Awakening abilities to consume the Magic Stone that has formed within the body, but they are unable to do so.

The body is overflowing with energy beyond its capacity, and that energy needs to be discharged. Since it can’t be released and simply circulates inside, it ends up damaging all the internal organs.

“Contact me if you find anything out.”

-Right. Also, Villain sightings have increased significantly lately.

The appearance of Villains has been on the rise recently.

-It might be related to the recent increase in the Gate generation probability.

Lately, Gates have been spotted frequently.

Even in our cramped country, this is happening. I can only imagine what a headache it must be for large landmasses like China or Russia.

-We’ve held a meeting among the high-ranking Guilds for now, and we’re planning to operate a Vigilante group.

“A Vigilante group?”

-Yeah. The property value around areas with a Guild will likely rise once again.

In times like these, when one never knows when a Monster might appear, many people want to build houses near a Guild.

It makes sense, as they would be able to receive support the fastest.

-Olivier will contact you if anything is confirmed.

“Okay.”

After hanging up with the Demon King, I drove the car toward my destination.

“Oh, hello. If it isn’t Hunter Lee Hyunbin?”

“Hello, Chairman.”

The gray-haired man in front of me is the Chairman of the One Love Foundation.

He is a truly respected figure, known for cherishing and caring for underprivileged children as if they were his own family.

“I should have invited you for a meal and treated you. My apologies.”

“Not at all. I know you’re busy doing good work.”

At my words, the Chairman smiled, the very symbol of a good-natured man.

“Since we’re on the subject, Hunter. If you have time today, how about a meal?”

“No. Actually, I came today because there’s something I’m curious about.”

“Curious about something? Oh, you’ve donated so frequently that we’ve been able to rescue many children. Hasn’t the frequency of Gate appearances increased suddenly? There are so many unfortunate incidents, so many.”

The Chairman even let out a sigh as he lamented.

“Those donations. Are they being used properly?”

“Pardon?”

The Chairman blinked in surprise at my question. He soon chuckled and stroked his chin.

“Oh dear. Every single bit is being used with great care. That’s a given. Otherwise, I should be slapped on the palm by you, Hunter. Haha.”

My eyes kept wandering toward the wrist of the cheerfully responding Chairman.

I know that watch costs as much as a car.

“I’d like to see the donation records.”

“Ah, the newsletter has been delayed recently. Haha, an employee we had before quit. We’re in the middle of hiring a new one, so the accounting side hasn’t been processed yet.”

His shoes and Belt are high-end, too.

“Ah, I see. Then I suppose I’ll have to see them next time.”

“To reassure the angels of our foundation, I’ll quickly restore the computer System to normal and pay my respects.”

Since he says I can’t see them, what can I do? There’s no other way.

“Would you like to have dinner together this evening?”

The Chairman suggested with a very apologetic face.

I declined the offer with a faint smile.

“I think I’ll be a bit busy today.”

“That fucking bastard. Did he catch a scent just because he’s a Hunter?”

The Chairman completely wiped away the good-natured persona he had shown until a moment ago.

He felt piqued that the man had repeatedly refused his dinner invitations.

He immediately made a phone call.

A few rings followed.

-Yes, Boss!

“Hey, manage the area around the workshop thoroughly. Pay attention to the shop display.”

The Chairman, speaking irritably, frowned as he saw the door suddenly swing open.

Thud. Thud.

The Chairman was startled to see someone he hadn’t expected to walk in, and spoke into the phone.

“Hey, hey, I’ll call you back in a bit.”

After hastily ending the call, the Chairman returned to his good-natured face, wearing a broad smile as he spoke.

“Oh, Hunter Lee Hyunbin. You’ve come back…!”

Crack.

The Chairman couldn’t even finish his sentence before being hit by a straight punch, falling backward along with the sofa.

“Gah! L-Lee Hyun. No, what do you think you’re doing right now…!”

“I told you.”

Hyunbin continued speaking, the corners of his mouth curling upward.

“That I’d be a bit busy today.”

While his mouth was smiling, his eyes were filled with murderous intent. The Chairman gasped upon seeing that gaze.

It wasn’t the gaze of an ordinary Hunter, but the gaze of a true fighter.

“Ah, fuck, these goddamn pieces of shit. Why the hell are they coming here?”

“They should just drink some booze and wash their feet and go to sleep on the weekend!”

A man, an employee of the One Mind Foundation who managed the orphanage business site, spat out his irritation.

A kid had died in Guild Town today after a Magic Stone exploded.

It was just one insignificant life, but the ripples it caused were quite large.

An official document was delivered stating that nearby orphanages would be inspected to verify the identity of the boy known to be a Gate Orphan.

Thanks to that, the employees, now in an emergency state, cleared out the orphanage’s basement storage.

Since the document was sent down, the inspection would happen within two days at the earliest or a week at the latest.

There was no point in getting caught for something minor.

“Hey, you brats, move faster! We can’t help but curse at you. We’re doing good work, and, uh, earning good money to spend.”

The donations received had never been used for the children.

If they had, the clothes the children were currently wearing wouldn’t look like rags.

The children were grimy because they hadn’t been able to take a simple bath.

And every single one of them had a suspicious necklace around their neck.

The basement they were cleaning and organizing was bathed in red lights reminiscent of a butcher shop.

Inside, various types of butcher knives were lined up.

If you went further in, there was a room filled with surgical tools, anesthetic solutions, and suspicious storage items.

“Hey, grab the Magic Stones first! Do you know how much one box of those is worth? You couldn’t even buy one of those if you sold all your organs, you bastard!”

The director roared while glaring at a clumsy employee.

The employees knew it wasn’t just a day or two that the director acted like this, and they knew what would happen if they even looked at him the wrong way, so they kept their mouths shut and focused on their work.

The most important Magic Stones were carried to a car, and suspicious boxes were stacked neatly into a truck.

“Hey, you klutz. Put all the brats in the car and move them to the storage warehouse!”

“U-Uh, Director. I-I don’t know where the storage warehouse is…”

“Ha, seriously. This is why people say ‘experienced workers, experienced workers.’ You bastard, just put the address into the navigation and go!”

The rookie’s face flushed at the director’s thunderous scolding.

The children began to board the van one by one.

The children, who had dead eyes, even felt a sense of terror at the adults’ sudden frantic behavior.

It was light.

A young girl—no, Lee Ho—shaded her eyes with both hands because of the light she hadn’t seen in a long time.

The scent of the forest she hadn’t smelled in a long time.

The refreshing scent of grass carried by the wind was different from the smell of medicine she had smelled in the basement.

She was being dragged somewhere again.

Lee Ho’s body trembled.

How much she had longed to see the outside. However, she knew that this brief freedom would disappear even if she reached out her hand.

Tears dripped from Lee Ho’s eyes.

“I-It’ll be o-okay once you go inside.”

The rookie employee said that as if he felt sorry for Lee Ho upon seeing her cry.

But Lee Ho didn’t believe those words.

A deeper darkness was approaching.

She felt that she would be trapped there and never see the light again.

At that moment, the young girl’s pupils slowly dilated.

The child rejected the rookie employee’s touch and turned around to look at someone.

The rookie employee looked in the direction of her gaze, wondering why the child, who had been as vacant as a doll, was suddenly moving with such life.

“Huh, what is that?”

A bear?

No, it wasn’t a real bear.

A man wearing a Bear Doll costume was walking toward the orphanage alone.

“What’s with that guy? Hey, today isn’t the day for the event part-timer. It’s tomorrow, you bastard!”

The director frowned at the sight of an event company employee who had suddenly shown up.

Occasionally, when outside visitors came, they called event company employees for show.

The event company employees were people who could make the children, who were being used as materials, smile even just a little.

They were planning to do some event work starting tomorrow, but those idiots must have gotten the date wrong.

Lee Ho walked slowly.

“H-Hey, where are you going? You have to get in this car. Otherwise, you’ll get in trouble.”

Despite the rookie employee’s attempts to stop her, Lee Ho’s walk turned into a run.

Even though her body didn’t move properly after being trapped for so long, at this moment, she had to run.

She could live.

Lee Ho’s Fairy was telling her. That a trustworthy adult who could save her had come here.

Oppa kept his promise.

She could feel her Oppa’s Fairy from the Bear Doll. It was surely someone her Oppa had brought.

Lee Ho said that her Oppa, who secretly left the orphanage at dawn, told her he was going out to find an adult who could help.

It was hard not seeing her Oppa for a few days, but she endured it because she knew that once they left here, they could be together for the rest of their lives.

“What the, catch her!”

Lee Ho ran and threw herself into the arms of the Bear Doll she was seeing for the first time.

Even so, the child, who barely reached above the Bear Doll’s knees, began to tremble violently.

She had been fine until now, but at the thought that she might actually be able to live, her body began to shake.

“Right, this must be the place.”

The Bear Doll muttered to himself.

Lee Ho raised her head and looked at the Bear Doll.

In the Bear Doll’s hand was her Oppa’s Fairy, broken.

If it was broken like that…

Lee Ho finally realized.

Her Oppa had kept his promise, but he wouldn’t be able to return.

“Hello, I’m the Bear Coach.”

The Bear Doll waved both hands in an exaggerated manner.

Even though scary adults were walking toward him with devil-like faces, the Bear Doll seemed lively, as if there were no problems at all.

“Storage.”

Light emanated from Lee Ho’s body, and she disappeared into a Hexa Block.

“Hey, you bastard. It’s not the right date today. What the—where did she go?”

The Bear Doll muttered lowly.

“I came to see how my money is being spent.”