๐๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐๐๐: ๐๐ฆ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ง๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐
In the conference hall of the Round Table, familiar and unfamiliar faces mingled.
The people dragged their tired bodies to their seats and waited for the meeting to begin.
Their physical wounds had been healed by potions or healing, but their exhausted minds and bodies had yet to recover.
“President, shall we begin the meeting?”
Choi Sung-il spoke cautiously.
It seemed that everyone necessary had gathered, but Choi Dae-soo remained silent, and everyone was watching him.
“Not everyone is here yet.”
“[Stahl Guild] Guild Leader Felix Hunter and Baek Geon-ho, the branch manager, as well as Chae Woo-dam, the president of the association. . . Are there any more people coming?”
“The host of this meeting should be here.”
Choi Dae-soo replied, chewing the end of his cigar.
The Min Siwoo he knew was a man who despised meetings like this.
He was the kind of guy who would send a proxy to meetings he did attend, so if he was the one who called for the meeting, it must not be a trivial matter.
Creak.
The door to the conference room opened and three people entered.
“Oh, Hunter Felix. How is your body?”
Choi Dae-soo greeted the first person who entered, pretending to know him.
It was Felix, whose arms had been torn off by Balok.
“Thanks to Sir Hunter Siwoo, I’ve fully recovered. In fact, it’s even better now that my old shoulder pain is gone.”
“Hahaha. Hunter Min Siwoo is the best healer in South Korea.”
At the untimely compliment, Siwoo, who was standing next to him, frowned as if he really hated it.
He didn’t want to hear compliments from anyone else but that guy.
Of course, even that was just diplomatic talk.
“Ah. This is Hunter Layla. She is the Guild Leader of [Stahl Guild], the top guild in Germany.”
“Hello, I’m Layla.”
“Nice to meet you! I’m President Choi Dae-soo.”
Chae Woo-dam, who was sitting next to Choi Dae-soo, also stood up and greeted them.
“Nice to meet you. I am Chae Woo-dam, the president of the ใKorea Hunter Associationใ.”
Contrary to his nickname ‘Buddha,’ he had a unique appearance with a face full of scars.
“You are the famous Hunter Chae Woo-dam.”
“Oh, no. . .”
Chae Woo-dam replied with a modest face.
After a brief greeting, everyone sat down and the room fell silent.
Those who had not heard who would be leading the meeting looked around with their eyes.
And then Siwoo stood up from his seat.
“I will proceed with the emergency meeting. By the way, one more person will be joining us for this meeting.”
He opened his laptop and turned on the video conference.
And as a person’s face appeared on the screen, the Hunters in the room gasped.
โNice to meet you. I am Edward C. Blackwood, the vice president of the ใInternational HSIU Headquartersใ.
“Mr. Blackwood?!”
“Ah, hello!”
People greeted Blackwood with murmurs.
Of course, Kang Yeo-hwa and Min Si-joon, who were close to him, exchanged brief eye contact to save time.
“The meeting will consist of three main topics. First, let’s talk about the most urgent matter. First of all, there is no magic stone in that Gate.”
“No magic stone?”
Siwoo had gotten into a fight with the chief of staff to bring this up. . . .
‘๐๐๐จ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐๐จ ๐ฃ๐ค ๐ข๐๐๐๐ ๐จ๐ฉ๐ค๐ฃ๐?’
Choi Dae-soo asked with a question in his voice.
“Can a Gate exist without a magic stone?”
“I will explain the reason later. Anyway, it’s better for us to focus on searching for the missing and deceased since there’s nothing we can gain from there.”
Siwoo used honorifics when speaking to Choi Dae-soo, considering that this was an official occasion.
“Let’s move on to the second topic right away.”
He continued, placing a backpack on the table.
“What is this bag?”
“It’s about the owner of this bag.”
When Lee Ye-ji asked, Siwoo continued to speak.
“As of this moment, Ryu Ji-hwan, the Guild Leader of [Gold River Guild], will be put on the wanted list for first-degree murder, drug distribution, illegal organization operation, and assault of an HSIU Hunter.”
“What. . . what are you saying?”
People looked shocked at Siwoo’s words.
Do Kyung-hoo, in particular, asked Siwoo with a very complicated face.
“Yes, it is true that Ryu Ji-hwan made a mistake in the Gate. Because of that, the monster went on a rampage. But first-degree murder. . . I don’t understand it all.”
It is true that dozens of people died or were injured because Ryu Ji-hwan attacked the eyeball monster without thinking.
However, whether it was intentional murder or not would require a legal battle.
“Let me add an explanation. During the ‘Doberman’ operation, I missed ‘McJester,’ a key figure in . At the time, I obtained McJester’s magic traces, and after comparing them to Ryu Ji-hwan’s magic traces in the Gate, I found out that the two match.”
Siwoo handed the printed document to Choi Dae-soo along with his words.
“Well, if you say it matches, it matches. So I understand that Ryu Ji-hwan of and McJester are the same person. What about the murder?”
“Murder. . . is about the vice president of the Hunter Association, Kim Eun-ju.”
“What?!”
Some people jumped up from their seats.
“Is Kim Eun-ju dead now?!”
“She’s still missing. . . There’s no evidence, is there?”
Do Kyung-hoo and Choi Sung-il denied it urgently, as if they couldn’t believe it.
“I have evidence.”
Siwoo displayed a photo on the monitor.
It was a picture of a woman’s severed head.
Everyone’s expressions hardened and a cruel silence followed.
“It was found in Ryu Ji-hwan’s backpack. The process of obtaining the backpack was recorded on a body cam, and the head is currently in the possession of an HSIU Hunter. The bag containing the evidence is on the table.”
Do Kyung-hoo clenched and unclenched his fists.
A stream of blood flowed from his lips.
Do Kyung-hoo finally leaned over the table and burst into a cry that sounded like a groan.
Chae Woo-dam’s scarred face was crumpled and his eyes were red, and Choi Sung-il covered his face with both hands.
The meeting paused for a while as a time of mourning was held.
After a few minutes, Choi Dae-soo cleared his throat and changed the atmosphere slightly.
“The meeting is not over. Let’s mourn at home. Mr. Blackwood and Vice President Felix are waiting.”
“Then let’s continue the meeting.”
Siwoo accepted Choi Dae-soo’s words and proceeded with the meeting.
It was unfortunate for the other Hunters, but they had no time to indulge in sadness and sorrow.
“The last third is. If Hunter Ryu Ji-hwan is a personal. . . or a problem for South Korea alone, this Gate is not. It will soon become the beginning of a global problem.”
โI’m sorry to interrupt you, but doesn’t an ใS-Rank Gateใ happen that often? It seems like a leap to say it’s a global problem.
Edward asked Siwoo with a puzzled voice.
In fact, this was one of the questions Edward, who had contacted Siwoo in advance, asked to persuade the other HSIU headquarters staff.
“This is related to the magic stone I mentioned earlier.”
“Yes. What do you mean there’s a monster but no magic stone?”
Choi Dae-soo asked.
Siwoo displayed a photo on the screen.
“What is that? Isn’t it a black stone?”
“It looks like mud to me.”
“That’s a Gate Heart.”
When Siwoo answered, the eyes of the Hunters who had seen Gate Heart changed strangely.
“I don’t doubt your skills. But it’s much different from what I know?”
Do Kyung-hoo was the first to speak.
Siwoo nodded as if he agreed with that and continued.
“Actually, this is the first time I’ve seen it. . . I think a Gate Heart was created to artificially implement an ใS-Rank Gateใ.”
“. . .Are you kidding me right now?”
“I’m not kidding, Hunter Do Kyung-hoo.”
“Creating a Gate Heart is beyond my comprehension.”
The room fell silent as if they had lost their words.
Of course, if it was possible to create a Gate artificially, it would not end as a terrorist attack.
A global disaster.
โThis is something I can’t just listen to. The Ryu Ji-hwan incident makes it look funny. We’re going to need more concrete evidence?
Edward asked Siwoo in a slightly acting tone.
“The enemy already knew the location of the Gate Heart. Of course, it’s possible that they simply found out the location first. . . .”
Siwoo turned over one more photo.
There was a picture of a jewel left inside the Gate Heart, which had turned into ash.
“But like most great criminals, they left their signature.”
โWhat does it say?
Siwoo looked around the room.
His expression was more serious and solemn than ever.
“Pandemonium. That’s the name of their organization.”
๐ท๐ท๐ท๐ท๐ท๐ท
Bang bang!
“Food!”
The guard knocked on the iron door and shouted.
Jiang Chen walked slowly, picked up the food tray that had been placed on the floor, and sat down in the corner.
This was the ‘One Pyeong Prison’ in Cheorwon.
The prison, where inmates used one room per person, was famous for being exclusive to Awakeners, but Jiang Chen was imprisoned here despite being a non-Awakener because his crime was serious.
“Damn it. I hate this f*cking country. The food sucks, the weather sucks, the prison sucks!”
He ate some of the food and threw the tray against the wall.
He had tried to be repatriated to China through a lawyer to be tried.
The problem was that Awakener drugs were also considered drug offenses.
Of course, if you gave money to a communist party official, you could get over it somehow, but. . . the problem was that China had started to get nervous because it was such big news in Korea.
‘๐๐๐๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐ก๐ก ๐๐ค ๐ ๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ค๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ค๐ช๐ฉ?’
HSIU is conducting a full-scale investigation, and if this continues, he will rot away in this prison forever.
‘๐’๐ข ๐จ๐ช๐ง๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ก๐ก ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ช๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐ฌ๐๐ค ๐๐๐ฃ ๐ง๐๐๐ ๐ข๐๐ข๐ค๐ง๐๐๐จ. ๐๐ ๐ข๐ฎ ๐ข๐๐ข๐ค๐ง๐๐๐จ ๐ค๐ ๐ฟ๐๐-๐จ๐ช๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ค๐ข๐ ๐ค๐ช๐ฉ ๐๐ซ๐๐ฃ ๐ ๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฉ, ๐. . . ๐. . .’
At that moment, something strange caught his eye.
A very small piece of paper appeared between the discarded food tray and the food.
Jiang Chen carefully unfolded the paper.
ใTonight. At 11 o’clock sharp. Stand under the window sill. Eat this paper.ใ
Escape?!
Jiang Chen couldn’t hide his excitement, read the contents of the paper several times, and then put it in his mouth and swallowed it.
That evening.
The cold night air cooled the old cement floor and sent chills through the prison uniform.
He roughly estimated the time by the sound of the guards’ patrols, stood under the window sill, and leaned back.
His skin was so cold that he cursed involuntarily.
Rustle.
A faint shadow rose over the window sill.
“Are you Jiang Chen?”
“Yes. . . it is. Who is this?”
“Dae-sung sent me.”
“Mr. Dae-sung!”
Jiang Chen’s body was covered in goosebumps with joy and emotion.
If he worked under Dae-sung again, he would be able to rebuild the organization within 10 years.
“Jiang Chen, have you heard the news?”
“What news? This is a prison.”
“McJester’s identity has been revealed.”
“. . .Really?! Who the hell is it?”
“They say it’s Ryu Ji-hwan of the [Gold River Guild].”
Jiang Chen let out a chuckle.
He had felt that he was not an ordinary person.
“So he’s been caught?”
“No. He killed the vice president of the Hunter Association and escaped.”
“. . .What the hell is going on?”
“Don’t worry about it. Get ready.”
“W-What should I do?”
“Just stand up straight.”
Jiang Chen stood up straight as he said and looked straight ahead.
A thin line came down in the moonlight.
Soon, the line that wrapped around Jiang Chen’s neck rose into the air.
The struggling movement fluttered in the wind for a long time before falling asleep.