"Where is Ria?"
"She is still in the healing chamber."
At the chief secretary's report, Gu Geon-yi let out a short groan. It was called a healing chamber, but in there, Maria tore her own body to shreds. It was just that her healing ability was so strong that it left no trace.
Her sense of morality, bordering on mysophobia, always pushed her to the edge. Whenever someone died in battle, when she couldn't save a critically injured Hunter, or when there was a mistake in the Guild's operations. Whenever such things happened, Maria would harm herself.
A secret known only to a few within the Guild. Gu Geon-yi never felt at ease when Maria entered the 'healing chamber'. Weren't the Guild's mistakes ultimately his own as the leader?
If she stayed in the healing chamber for too long, Gu Geon-yi, unable to watch any longer, would often pull her out.
However.
This time, even Gu Geon-yi could not set foot in the healing chamber. This was because of Maria's warning that no one was to enter until she came out on her own. 'She was a child who had never spoken like that before.'
There was only one person in the Glory Guild who would dare step inside while Maria was in the healing chamber. She was now clearly refusing to meet with Gu Geon-yi. In the past, Maria had been direct with Gu Geon-yi, but she had never refused to see him like this.
The change between the two could be explained in a single word.
Distrust.
Maria was now openly distrusting Gu Geon-yi. 'It's no wonder. How many times have I repeated such obvious lies...'
He tried to console himself by saying it was all for the future of the Guild, but the bitter taste in his mouth remained. The time Yoo Ji-won was injected with Ether at the Guild research labs before getting his Hunter license. During the qualification test, Yoo Ji-won received preferential treatment while Cheon Hae-seon was given a difficult mission.
The illegal procedures performed on Yoo Ji-won after he became a Hunter, and so on. Each time, Maria had questioned him sharply, and Gu Geon-yi had consistently feigned ignorance. However, this time, there was no way to feign innocence.
Despite having witnessed Yoo Ji-won eat a person together, the deaths of their comrades were recorded as simple combustion, and although they had received Cheon Hae-seon's help, there was no record of it to be found anywhere. Gu Geon-yi thought that this time, he would not be able to escape Maria's interrogation.
But unexpectedly, Maria did not ask Gu Geon-yi about this incident. Was it said that no comment is scarier than a malicious one? Gu Geon-yi actually felt afraid of Maria's silence.
On the other hand, the actions of Yoo In-won, who had lost his son, also weighed on his mind. 'I expected him to pull some strings, but... to think he would use Tenebra...' The image of Yoo In-won screaming before his dead child was still vivid in his mind.
He had thought he would try to harm Cheon Hae-seon in some way, but for Gu Geon-yi, Tenebra's intervention was beyond his expectations.
'Kang Hyeon...'
He could figure out that Oh Jin-ah and Na Ji-hwan were part of Tenebra without the Association's help. He also knew who their leader was. Gu Geon-yi recalled the day he had a duel with Kang Hyeon in the past.
The day he was helplessly thrashed in front of most of the nation. Even now, the name 'Kang Hyeon' was practically a taboo word within the Glory Guild.
The scene of him getting beaten that day was so deeply ingrained in people's minds that even now that he was number one in the rankings, there was still a public opinion that did not acknowledge Gu Geon-yi. 'That bastard... he'd be capable of it...'
Kang Hyeon.
A name that would make him jolt awake from his sleep. But at this moment, he held a sliver of hope for him. Knowing Kang Hyeon's personality, he would not give up on the request just like this.
He would kill Cheon Hae-seon even if it meant he had to do it himself. 'I can just watch the fun and reap the rewards.' The moment he thought Cheon Hae-seon might surpass him, Gu Geon-yi gave up on recruiting him and classified him as a 'watchlist target.'
To him, a watchlist target was a Hunter who could die anytime, or rather, a Hunter he wished would die. Because he had to remain the top Hunter in the Republic of Korea forever.
'Kang Hyeon... Cheon Hae-seon...
I hope they both die on this occasion.' Imagining the two of them in a Mutual Destruction, Gu Geon-yi smiled a satisfied smile, forcing himself to erase his anxiety about Maria.
"So, you want me to tail the Vice Chairman of the Association?"
"Yes."
"And the payment?"
"Your exam fee."
Bi-soo's pupils trembled slightly. There was no need to ask what exam fee it was for. After all, she was planning to become a 'new Hunter' in the coming quarter.
Iron Arm had recommended she try becoming an actress or a singer, but in the end, Bi-soo chose the path of a Hunter. It was for the strange reason that these days, outstanding Hunters were more popular than celebrities. The problem was the application fee for the Hunter Qualification Test.
There was no way Bi-soo, who had just begun to live independently, would have a large sum like fifty million won. Hadn't I also secretly snuck into a Poison Dungeon to raise money? It wasn't just a few pennies; at the mention of receiving fifty million won in one go, Bi-soo was completely won over.
"Deal. I've actually done a lot of it on the black market. Tailing."
"I'm sure you have."
"I like how blunt you are. Is it true you've earned over ten billion?"
"Not quite that much yet."
But it was true that he had earned in the billions. I was looking for a house to live in with my sister, away from the Gaebang District rental area. Preferably, I was looking for a large house in a secluded area.
Public attention was one thing, but I also needed to protect Dr. Jin for the time being.
[Oh my... Please, come in for now.]
As soon as my sister saw Dr. Jin's haggard appearance, she immediately prepared a place for her. In truth, I was more worried about Dr. Jin's reaction than my sister's. Although I had treated her with the Gold Eternal Flower, Dr. Jin's paranoia had not been cured. Should I call it a great fortune?
Unlike other people, Dr. Jin did not feel particularly afraid of my sister. The perfectly natural reason that followed was, 'I feel at ease because she seems to resemble you.' Although she had found some stability, Dr. Jin's mental health was in a state like a ticking time bomb.
It was necessary to move to a place with as few people as possible. The three of us couldn't stay in this small house forever. Coincidentally, my sister and I had also been wanting a quiet neighborhood, so there was no issue with the choice.
"When you move, can I live there too?"
"No." "Why, we've already lived together."
"Don't say things that are prime for misunderstanding."
"Hehe. What misunderstanding? It's all the truth."
Bi-soo wraps an arm around my neck and lets out a sultry breath. Any normal man would be sweating bullets, but that wasn't the case for me.
"It's also true that you climbed onto the sofa I was sleeping on."
"Wh-who climbed on top of you!"
Bi-soo's cheeks flushed as red as her hair. See, why start a fight you can't win.
"The job starts the morning after tomorrow. The Vice Chairman has taken that day off."
"How do you know something like that? It should be internal information."
"I have a very skilled hacker working under me."
The treasure chest named V1. Bi-soo made a face as if she didn't know what I was talking about, then shrugged her shoulders.
"Well, as long as I get paid, I don't care about anything else."
"You're easy to work with. I'll see you then."
Although the sudden vacation messed up the schedules of related personnel, not a single person expressed their dissatisfaction to Yoo In-won. To anyone's eyes, he looked like he needed a rest. His always gentle attire was completely disheveled, and his neatly trimmed beard had become like that of a homeless man.
The Association staff hoped that Yoo In-won would take this opportunity to refresh his spirits, and some even sighed in relief at the news of his vacation. However, Yoo In-won's next move was the complete opposite of what people thought. Today, he planned to meet Kang Hyeon.
Sssst.
In the botanical garden, where there were few tourists due to a recent Monster appearance. Kang Hyeon stood there.
Click.
Whether he knew Yoo In-won was approaching or not, he took a leaf of an unusual purple color from a palm-sized container.
Fwoosh.
For some reason, the leaf burst into flames without any spark. However, if one were to recall what his 'Type' was in the past, that mystery would be quickly solved. In the past, this was something he would have done while hiding in a suitable place.
But he burned the purple leaf even with Yoo In-won watching, no, as if to flaunt it. And then, he deeply inhaled its fragrance.
Poison chips.
He was an addict to the so-called drug of the Poison Dungeons, poison chips.
"... Still at it, I see. Even after that stuff ruined your life."
Despite Yoo In-won's malicious words, Kang Hyeon didn't even blink. His one visible eye, not hidden by his eye patch, was filled with mockery.
"Ruined? It's the opposite. I gained my freedom through this."
"And so, you spread a distribution network across the country to share that freedom with others?"
"Let's leave the past where it is. It's not good for either of us to stir things up, is it?"
How can he be so arrogant when he failed the request? Yoo In-won ground his teeth.
"Fine! Let's not talk about the past, let's talk about the present! If you took a whopping ninety billion won, shouldn't you have handled the job properly!"
"On the contrary, I'd like to ask you something."
Kang Hyeon was in his forties. He had always been on the thin side, but perhaps due to the side effects of the poison chips, his cheeks were particularly hollow. With an expression as sharp as a blade, Kang Hyeon asked Yoo In-won.
"If you had given me accurate information from the beginning, none of this would have happened."
"What did you say? You shameless bastard..."
"Listen carefully."
Kang Hyeon took a drag from the remaining bit of the poison chip before continuing.
"You have ears, so you must have heard the report. A pit hundreds of meters deep was bored into the site. That's a physical level impossible for anyone but an 'S-rank'. The 'S-rank Hunter' we sent was Oh Jin-ah, not Na Ji-hwan."
"...!"
Only then did Yoo In-won realize that something was strange. At the time, he had been so fixated on the fact that Cheon Hae-seon had survived, he wasn't in a state to look for any other oddities.
"There has never been a single time Oh Jin-ah and Na Ji-hwan have failed when they went out together. Moreover, Cheon Hae-seon is nothing more than a support-type healer, not a combat-type. Not an 'S-ranker', but even the grandfather of an 'S-ranker' couldn't beat those two."
Despite having inhaled so many poison chips, Kang Hyeon logically reconstructed the incident.
"Then, only the following conclusion remains."
Kang Hyeon formed a gun with his fingers and aimed it at Yoo In-won.
"Cheon Hae-seon possesses a special killing ability."
"...!!"
"A killing ability comparable to an 'S-rank'."
At that, Yoo In-won screamed.
"That can't be! Cheon Hae-seon definitely had no other abilities detected besides being a healer! It hasn't even been a year since he took his Hunter qualification test!"
"Ha..."
Was it because of the poison chips? Or because of the overwhelming feeling of pity? Kang Hyeon let out a deep sigh.
"Since the Vice Chairman is of this caliber, it's no wonder the Korean Hunter Association is always getting stabbed in the back."
"...!!!"
"Still, you didn't hide it on purpose, so I'll let it pass. If I had known you were pretending not to know, your head would have flown off right here, today."
"You... suspected me?"
"Isn't that obvious? We lost one of our top assets by accepting your offer. All because of unconfirmed information."
To be suspected on top of having thrown everything away after losing his son. Yoo In-won felt his blood boil.
"But thanks to your foolishness, my suspicions have been cleared. Summon Cheon Hae-seon to this spot tomorrow. Quietly."
"Tomorrow?"
"Yes. It looks like this place closes after 10 PM. It's a fitting place to kill him quietly."
After failing the first attempt, now he wants to be spoon-fed the next? Yoo In-won felt anger surge, but he couldn't voice it. There were no noticeable flaws in Kang Hyeon's theory.
"Fine. I will cooperate. But if you fail this time as well..."
"There will be no failure."
For the first time, a faint smile touched Kang Hyeon's lips. The smile was so eerie that Yoo In-won shivered without realizing it.
"Isn't it for the best? This time you'll be able to witness it with your own eyes. Cheon Hae-seon's death."
He was right. As long as he brought Cheon Hae-seon, the job would succeed without a problem. The man before him was the strongest Hunter of his time.
"I'll trust you one last time."
Yoo In-won nodded with a grave expression. And then, 'Wow... this is insane.' Fifteen paces away.
In a place imperceptible to the two men, someone was breaking out in a cold sweat.