[Cheon Hae-seon, Exposing the Rotten Underbelly of the Association] [From Noble Hunter to National Hero! The Rising Star Hunter Who Crushed Tenebra!]
[How Did a Healer Do It? Public Interest in Cheon Hae-seon's Abilities Skyrockets!]
[Defeating the Former No. 1 Ranker! What is Cheon Hae-seon’s Current Standing Now That His Combat Abilities are Revealed?]
[Reconstructing the Incident: Is Cheon Hae-seon a Multi Ability Hunter?!]
[The Duplicity of the Association Laid Bare. What Kind of Man Was Yoo In-won?]
[Growing Suspicions… The Culpable Negligence of Glory Guild at the Scene.]
Though the focus of each media outlet differed slightly, the essence was the same. The deeds of the S-rank Healer, Cheon Hae-seon. Whether they watched the press conference live or later, everyone showered Cheon Hae-seon with praise. └He caught Kang Hyeon, who even the Association's special ops team couldn't handle?
And it was the healer, Cheon Hae-seon? └Isn't this truly a once-in-a-century event!? └How could a healer possibly catch Kang Hyeon? Did he bring some state-of-the-art offensive device? └Kang Hyeon has an S-rank physical level. Do you think a weapon would even work on him? └Ah, the curiosity is killing me.
Why isn't there any video of Cheon Hae-seon fighting Kang Hyeon? └I know, right? Surely the Hunter Association isn't planning to release the video for a fee ㅡㅡ └I'd gladly pay to see it. This is the same Kang Hyeon who crushed Gu Geon-yi like a rat.
How on earth did he catch a guy like that? └You think Cheon Hae-seon will take the top spot in the country at the next ranking match? └Wow... from silently clearing Poison Dungeons to resolving the train incident. And now he’s even wiped out Tenebra.
This is on the level of a national hero. └According to my secret source, Cheon Hae-seon has S-rank physical strength. That's how he beat up Kang Hyeon. This is a very reliable source. └Don't lie.
I heard Cheon Hae-seon knows how to use Illusion Technique. He manipulated Kang Hyeon's brainwaves to make him commit suicide! └All these bastards trying to get a rise out of people with lies should be locked up ㅡㅡ └Wow, a healer who beats up Knights. That’s so badass.
He's practically a Hunter with no weaknesses, right? A perfect union of offense and defense!! Public opinion in the country was past the boiling point and on the verge of exploding.
People wanted Cheon Hae-seon to appear for an interview, but a man who didn’t even show up for the press conference was unlikely to appear in the media. For a while, he focused on clearing the Poison Dungeons that Do I-su had predicted. Of course, even that was only done in the dead of night, when people were deep asleep.
As Cheon Hae-seon remained quiet, the public's interest began to shift in a different direction. Disappointment with the Hunter Association and Glory Guild. The criticism against Glory Guild, in particular, was spreading like wildfire.
When the news spread that Gu Geon-yi and Maria were at the scene of Yoo Ji-won's death, the public was seized by a sense of betrayal. Glory Guild belatedly released a statement, claiming that 'the misinformation about Yoo Ji-won's death was due to pressure from the Vice Chairman,' but the only response was the public's scorn.
There was no one who didn't know that the Vice Chairman and Glory Guild had been in a collusive relationship for many years. Because the incident was so shocking, minor news stories were quickly forgotten. The Yeoncheon Explosion was no different.
A large number of bodies, believed to be Awakened, were discovered, and the DNA of some of them was confirmed to belong to wanted fugitives. If there hadn't been any other major issues, it would have been quite an interesting case.
However, with the revelation that the Association's Vice Chairman had ordered the murder of one of his own Hunters, no other story could possibly be more sensational. Perceptive people realized that this was a dispute among the remaining factions of Tenebra over 90 billion won.
But the person who deposited the money was dead, the person who received it was dead, and those who could have split it among themselves had all perished together in their excessive greed. And so, the largest criminal organization in the country vanished without a sound.
“Maria contacted me.”
“Maria?”
Dr. Jin's voice was filled with surprise. It was only natural. Even I, who had taken the call, had suspected it was someone else.
Though it wasn't my intention, the person hit hardest by this revelation was Maria. Gu Geon-yi had always seemed shady, so that was one thing, but Maria was a person with a morally perfect image, enough to earn her the title of 'saint'. It is often said that the greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment.
The public felt an even greater sense of betrayal from her than from Gu Geon-yi. If the Association was messing up, shouldn't you have stepped in to set things right? That was precisely why people were disappointed in Maria.
“She sounded like she was at death’s door.”
“She would be…”
Dr. Jin clicked his tongue and averted his gaze. He was not one to enjoy talking about the past. No, 'enjoy' was an understatement.
It would be a relief if it didn't trigger his trauma. However, Dr. Jin showed no particular reluctance when it came to talking about Maria. It was as if he had a blind faith that she, at least, would never harm him.
After a moment of silence, Dr. Jin said something unexpected.
“Maria might have genuinely not known.”
“Pardon?”
“A person's nature doesn't change easily. Maria was a child who focused only on saving people and Hunters, with no interest in anything else.”
“Hmm.”
“I heard this story a long time ago as well… but they say there are times when Maria goes into seclusion.”
“Seclusion?”
“After clearing a high-difficulty dungeon or after a major incident, Maria would vanish without a trace. This happened repeatedly. Of course, Glory Guild would naturally deny it…”
“Maybe she goes off somewhere to confess her sins?”
I scoffed and dismissed Dr. Jin's story. Regardless of her true intentions, the fact remained that Maria was a member of Glory Guild. That was why I couldn’t fully open my heart to her.
It was Glory Guild that had abandoned the residents of Gaebang District, and it was Glory Guild that had clearly witnessed Yoo Ji-won's death. On the day Yoo Ji-won was killed, hadn't they even received my help? Unless she was truly locked up in some back room for days on end, there was no room for understanding.
“Oh. And, Doctor.”
“Hm?”
“I received an offer from Representative Do I-su. He wants to support your research.”
Dr. Jin was silent for a moment, and I continued my explanation.
“He said he would provide a space and equipment for you to conduct your research alone. He also said he wouldn't interfere with your research results at all. The conditions seem almost too generous… I wanted to hear your thoughts.”
“I should go.”
Oh?
The answer was much more immediate than I had expected.
“Will you be okay?”
“I can't keep imposing on this household forever. We're living together now out of necessity, but I was planning on finding my own place around the time you move.”
“Hmm…”
It was like leaving a child unattended by the water. Since he was in a mentally unstable state, I couldn't bring myself to readily agree. I had actually prepared a separate space for Dr. Jin in the new house I was moving to.
“Haha. Don't worry. Representative Do I-su is a trustworthy person.”
“I can't remember the last time I heard you say something like that.”
“You might have noticed that day, but Do I-su and I go way back. We used to share research data in the past. About the special waves emanating from dungeons.”
I had a feeling that's what it was when they looked at each other in the helicopter. A relationship where they knew each other but acknowledging it would be problematic. It was Do I-su’s consideration for Dr. Jin, who had been a fugitive.
“Still, I'm worried.”
“Don't trouble your heart too much. Umbrella Industry's research lab is safer than the place I used to live. Besides, with the strongest Hunter in the country looking after me, who would dare to target this old body?”
Seeing him laugh so heartily, it seemed he had truly found some peace. We hadn't spoken of it, but the situation had been quite awkward for both of us. My sister had brushed it off, just as she had when Bi-soo came, saying, 'It's just a matter of setting one more spoon,' but life isn't always that simple.
The house was already small, and there must have been many inconveniences.
“The care you’ve given me until now is more than enough. So…”
Dr. Jin took out a small chip set from his pocket. Most of the devices he made were extraordinary. But the chip I had just received was an ordinary storage device that could be found anywhere.
“What is this?”
“I heard your sister, Song-hwa, is studying at the Hunter Device Engineering Department.”
“Yes. She’s studying so hard these days, she’s practically getting nosebleeds. It’s her exam period.”
“Most of its contents will be incomprehensible to her now, but what’s stored in here will be of great help to Song-hwa later on.”
“Haha. You say that as if the very essence of your research is in here.”
“That’s exactly right.”
“That's exactly… pardon???”
I could only stare at Dr. Jin with wide eyes. What, he’s just giving me something this valuable? It was no exaggeration to say that Dr. Jin's abilities were astounding.
Even now, countless scientists at the research labs under the Hunter Association were wracking their brains trying to understand the mechanisms of the devices Dr. Jin had left behind. And these were things he had made over five years ago.
When the research director of the Association had rebuked them, asking 'Why haven't you been able to replicate the mechanism yet?', the researchers' reply was a masterpiece. 'Regrettably, we are not Dr. Jin.' That single sentence in the article clearly demonstrated Dr. Jin's prestige.
“Why are you so surprised? Is this not something I can do for the person who saved my life?”
“No, but still, this is…”
This was a priceless treasure, something whose value couldn't be measured in money. Any Hunter device engineering student would give up everything to have it. I could already picture my sister's face, looking like she was about to faint in shock.
And that wasn't all. Dr. Jin enthusiastically said he would give my sister private lessons once she had mastered the basics. Nowhere in the Hunter Association's records had I ever heard of Dr. Jin dedicating his efforts to nurturing the next generation.
'No wonder he always looked at my sister with the face of a professor.' For an engineering student, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He waved his hand dismissively, saying 'it's not that big of a deal,' but it seemed like he intended to raise my sister as his successor.
Dr. Jin's research successor. The sheer scale of the benefit was enough to make my head spin. I wanted to end the conversation in this heartwarming atmosphere if possible, but there was one more thing I needed to confirm.
“Um, I recently visited the Spirit Realm.”
“The Spirit Realm?”
A strange light appeared in Dr. Jin’s eyes. Even for him, a man who had been through thick and thin, information about the ‘Spirit Realm’ was scarce.
“Yes. I drank the liquid Yaksha gave me, the Soul Separating Water, and a completely new world opened up.”
“Soul Separating Water… It seems there’s truly nothing you can’t find in the black market. So, what was your experience of the Spirit Realm like?”
“It felt very… strange.”
“Strange?”
“Yes. At first glance, it didn't seem different from the real world, but the more I looked, the more it felt like it wasn't of this world. It was like seeing a Poison Dungeon without the poison. And…”
Dr. Jin was painting a picture of the Spirit Realm in his mind, using my words as nourishment. But his innocent expression didn't last long.
“I saw Kiril there.”
“……!!”
It was something I had wanted to talk about for a while. I had intended to bring it up at Dr. Jin's place, but I hadn't had the chance because of the attack from those Tenebra bastards.
“Kiril… in the Spirit Realm…”
“You didn't know, Dr. Jin?”
At that, Dr. Jin gave a faint, bitter smile.
“Isn't she an incredibly elusive child? It wouldn't be surprising if she were in the underworld, let alone the Spirit Realm.” …Isn't the underworld crossing the line a bit?
“Before that incident happened to Kiril… there was something she said to me.”
A twitch started in Dr. Jin's chubby cheeks. Just thinking about 'that day' seemed to drain the blood from his face. But even so, Dr. Jin didn't stop talking.
“War…”
“War…?”
Dr. Jin’s dark, anxious pupils turned toward me.
“Kiril said we had to prepare for war.”