Chapter 157: Blue Mist (1)
Han Yuhyun, disguised as Kim Minui, stepped out of the car. He had arrived in front of a large mansion. There was no sign of life in the surrounding houses. It wasn’t that the residents were out—it was that no one lived there at all. Most likely, the adjacent houses had been purchased for heightened security.
Han Yuhyun approached the front door and pressed the doorbell. Instead of a reply, a surveillance camera focused on his face. Han Yuhyun raised his head without hesitation. On the monitor connected to the camera, his face would appear blurred and distorted—an effect of the glasses he was wearing. If the observer wasn’t a living being, his image would appear like a pixelated mosaic.
A moment later, someone came out from inside to open the door. A man who appeared to be a high-ranking Hunter checked Han Yuhyun—or rather, Kim Minui.
“Please, come in.”
Han Yuhyun moved forward slowly. His steps, unhurried and almost hesitant, carried him past the garden and into the mansion.
The drawing room he was led to was slightly dim, and the smell of new furniture lingered in the air. It seemed to be a house not in regular use.
Not long after, Choi Seokwon appeared. Han Yuhyun put on a surprised expression. In truth, it was unexpected. He hadn’t thought the MKC Guild Leader would show himself so readily.
‘I guess he wants to secure my recruitment before I finish the dungeon attack.’
It was understandable. The last dungeon raid had been completed exceptionally quickly, which could have left him feeling pressed for time. With a genial smile, Choi Seokwon approached Han Yuhyun.
“Hunter Kim Minui, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“This is our first meeting, Guild Leader Choi Seokwon.”
“Let me get straight to the point. Help us kidnap Han Yujin.”
Choi Seokwon spoke in a tone that failed to conceal his arrogance.
“That’s unexpected. I thought you’d want to talk about recruiting me.”
“Recruitment? Everyone’s hyping you up as some new S-Rank Hunter, but that can’t possibly be true. If you were a real S-Rank, that fox Seok Gimyeong wouldn’t have left you alone to be approached from all sides. Since you’re stuck close to Han Yujin, you’re not a B-Rank supporter at least. At best, you’re probably an A-Rank combat type, am I wrong?”
Choi Seokwon smirked with confidence.
“By spreading rumors that you’re S-Rank and assigning you to protect Han Yujin, it would create a similar effect to having a real S-Rank Hunter at his side. No one would dare make a move recklessly. It’s an efficient strategy.”
“You truly believe your assumptions are correct?”
Choi Seokwon frowned at the calm voice that carried a hint of coldness.
“Even if I’m wrong, you’re still just a rookie S-Rank. Just answer me.”
As he spoke, Choi Seokwon pulled out a contract.
“If you cooperate willingly, we’ll ensure you’re well-compensated. The fact that you rejected offers from other places and came here suggests you’re not entirely against switching affiliations.”
“What’s the reason for this hasty and sloppy approach? Who do you plan to trade Han Yujin with after kidnapping him?”
“That’s none of your concern! Let’s keep things amicable. What do you want?”
Han Yuhyun silently stared at Choi Seokwon. The man’s arrogance couldn’t mask the nervousness etched into his entire body. He resembled a prey animal being pursued by a predator—an impression that didn’t suit someone dealing with an S-Rank Hunter.
‘Is it because of the contract with the Filial Duty Addicts?’
Regardless, if he had no intention of talking while alive, then there was always the option to ask his corpse.
“Grab him.”
As soon as the commanding words left his mouth, Choi Seokwon sensed something was wrong. There was another presence in the room. But it was already too late.
Poison-tinged claws touched the back of his neck. Almost simultaneously, a razor-sharp blade was pressed to his throat. Even though reacting to the presence behind him was slow, he hadn’t even been able to follow the movements of the one right in front of him.
Not an A-Rank. Not a rookie.
“You…!”
Choi Seokwon gritted his teeth. The sword aimed at him was one he recognized.
“Han Yu—ack!”
Poison spread instantly, wrapping around him like a web, and Choi Seokwon’s knees buckled. Dropping venom from the tip of his claws, Noah glared coldly at Choi Seokwon.
“Do not issue commands. I’m cooperating purely for Han Yujin’s safety.”
Instead of replying, Han Yuhyun lowered his gaze. Noah’s poison, while relatively weak in terms of lethality for an S-Rank skill, excelled at paralyzing the body and restricting movement. Once it took hold, even strong detoxification abilities had difficulty neutralizing it.
“Break your contract with the Filial Duty Addicts. If you do, I’ll spare your life.”
Han Yuhyun spoke, though it was, of course, a lie. He had no intention of letting someone targeting his brother live. However, killing him outright might lead to his corpse being exploited, as had happened with Yun Kyungsu.
Han Yuhyun bent down and picked up the fallen contract from the floor. The long fingers holding it lightly flicked the parchment, made of monster-hide leather.
“I’ll even write you a new contract.”
Though the illegal contract was effective even on S-Ranks, invalidating it would be simple with his brother’s power.
Choi Seokwon tilted his head upward with great effort, his strength rapidly waning. He stared up at the young face before him, now shed of its Kim Minui disguise. It was Han Yuhyun who stood there, his cold, expressionless eyes harboring a single crimson hue.
The moment he met those eyes, a certainty struck him—he wouldn’t survive. Choi Seokwon’s face contorted with frustration. It had to be that guy who killed Yun Kyungsu. Likely for the crime of targeting his brother. Knowing that, he had been cautious.
At least, until the Filial Duty Addicts decided to send Diarma’s successor.
[Even failing the task given to you by Yongyong, losing all your usefulness… why would I have any reason to keep you alive?]
Choi Seokwon couldn’t muster any response to the mocking voice.
[Still, I do need spare pieces, so I’ll give you exactly one month. In that month, get your guild in order and make it useful. If it doesn’t meet my expectations, then I’ll have no choice but to use you as materials~.]
One month. It was far too short a time to reorganize a guild that was already in complete disarray. Having barely escaped imprisonment as a criminal, Choi Seokwon’s position was at rock bottom. He had tried to align with the Association to at least maintain MKC’s standing, but all he got in return was a purge of the Hunter Association.
His connections to the upper echelons had vanished one by one, leaving him to face rival guilds alone. Sesung, which had been beyond his reach from the start, had grown stronger with the addition of two more S-Rank Hunters. Haeyeon was maintaining its position without any losses, and Breaker, unlike MKC, remained untouched and just as powerful as before.
The image of MKC, once the second-ranked guild in the country, tumbling not just to third but all the way to fourth place, was vividly clear in his mind. Even Hanshin couldn’t be ignored anymore.
Cornered, Choi Seokwon had turned his gaze overseas.
‘If you hand over Han Yujin, we’ll lend you an S-Rank Hunter.’
It was an offer from China. They promised a combat-type S-Rank Hunter with two years of experience on a five-year contract. On top of that, they would allocate a fixed percentage of the Monster Mounts and Hunters Han Yujin was expected to produce. The proposal was tantalizing.
Even though Haeyeon now had two new S-Rank Hunters, they were just fledglings. If MKC could secure an experienced combat-type S-Rank Hunter, it could firmly reclaim its position as the second-ranked guild. Not only that, but dominating the domestic supply of high-tier Monster Mounts in the future would also become possible. The damage other guilds would suffer from Han Yujin’s disappearance was an added bonus. Since MKC was no longer involved with Han Yujin, they wouldn’t bear any responsibility.
It had seemed like the only clear and certain escape route. That belief had led Choi Seokwon to act rashly, resulting in the situation he now faced.
“…Damn it, Han Yuhyun. You say you’ll let me live? You spout lies so easily.”
“The contract doesn’t lie.”
“Even if I’m just a puppet leader, I’m still the guild master. Someone in your position could easily break a contract like this. You could even find a Saint to beg for a way out.”
“I don’t have the luxury to travel overseas, leaving my brother behind. If you don’t trust the contract, we can end it here.”
Crack.
The sword in Han Yuhyun’s hand tilted, piercing the floor right next to Choi Seokwon’s hand. Fine cracks spread across the polished marble surface.
“Choi Seokwon, I only need your corpse.”
“Then why not just kill me right now?”
“I feel a little bad framing the person I borrowed this appearance from for murder.”
“Bullshit.”
A twisted chuckle escaped Choi Seokwon’s lips. If this was the end, he might as well try to drag this arrogant kid down with him.
“Han Yuhyun, you’ve been a pain in the ass from the moment I met you. Acting like there’s no one above or beside you, like you’re some untouchable brat. And now? Watching you cling to your precious ‘brother’ like some anxious wreck is hilarious. Is it even real? Huh? Damn it, you’re the kind of bastard who wouldn’t flinch if his brother or parents were ripped apart right in front of him.”
“Are you asking me to kill you?”
“I’ll decide my own fate, you crazy little bastard.”
Still laughing bitterly, Choi Seokwon recalled the voice of the woman he’d recently made a new contract with.
[Even for a loser like you, I’ll give you a choice: suicide or murder. I do enjoy burning everything to the ground, so I’ll even throw in a special bonus.]
“A bonus, huh? I reject the contract with Ru Ga Pheya.”
The moment he uttered the predetermined words, Choi Seokwon’s body, which had been barely holding on, collapsed completely. And then—
Hissss.
A dull, faded blue mist began to envelop the area in an instant.
As soon as he got into the van, Han Yuhyun borrowed a phone and called Haeyeon Guild. Though he was initially treated like a salesman when he asked to be connected to the head of HR, he eventually managed to speak with Seok Gimyeong.
[Aren’t you supposed to be at Sesung Guild?]
“I got bored and went for a walk. More importantly, where is Hunter Kim Minui? This doesn’t have anything to do with the recent movement restrictions and evacuation order, does it?”
[Of course not. As you know, he’s sleeping peacefully.]
Do you really think I called because I was genuinely curious about Kim Minui? You’re just being blatantly evasive, as expected.
“Team Leader Seok, you should prioritize Haeyeon above all else. I’m not saying you need to abandon your family, but you should at least put it before an outsider like me. Don’t you agree?”
If I could rely on Do Hamin to track him down, it would be easier, but there’s nothing Yuhyun’s had in his possession for over a year.
“And I’m not going back until I see his face. Right now, I’m with four Hunters I’ve never even met before.”
[…It’s related to Hunter Kim Minui.]
Seok Gimyeong reluctantly confessed.
[He went to meet with someone from MKC.]
MKC. Choi Seokwon was under contract with the Filial Duty Addicts. If he were killed outright, it’d lead to a repeat of what happened last time. And breaking the contract requires my presence. Why the hell would you try to handle this alone, you stupid little brother?
“Could you contact Noah for me?”
[Hunter Noah went with him.]
“Yu— Minui is with Noah?”
The corners of my mouth lifted involuntarily at the words. They were sticking together and moving around without me? After all the effort I put into pairing them up, it seemed they’d grown a little closer. How rewarding, truly. It made me happy. I didn’t want to intrude on the two of them working together unnecessarily, but considering who their opponent was, I had no choice.
“Please contact Chief Song Taewon and ask him to bring Liette along if possible. No, wait, he’s probably already on the move. I’ll need to ask the Association for help. Tell Liette I went out with Belare—that should get her to cooperate without a fuss. And let Sesung know my location as well.”
If it were just Choi Seokwon, Yuhyun and Noah would be more than enough to handle him. However, if that jellyfish got involved, it would be a different story. Even in the last dungeon, it would’ve been tough to clear without the Mermaid Queen lending her skill.
Just in case, I decided to pull in Liette and Seong Hyunjae for support. Maybe I should’ve asked them to bring Kang Soyeong too. Still, it felt a bit too much to call in an A-Rank Hunter so casually.
“We’re low-rank Hunters, so we can’t enter the restricted area.”
The E-Rank Hunter driving the van said this. There was no need to drag these people into it, so I told him to stop the car. Then, I pulled out a card.
“Use this to get yourself a new car.”
“W-what…?”
“Something expensive. A foreign car, a sports car, whatever you want. You could each get one if you feel like it. Go wild, no need to hold back. Pay it all in one go—none of that installment nonsense.”
It wasn’t even my card, anyway. I handed Seong Hyunjae’s card to the stunned C-Rank Hunter. After that, I made all four of them get out of the car and moved into the driver’s seat myself.
‘A manual, huh.’
I did have the proper license, but it had been a while. After stalling the engine once, I managed to get it moving again.
“I wanted to live with a renewed sense of abiding by the law…”
-Hissss.
Belare coiled around my wrist, flicking her tongue. She seemed to be scolding me. Still, I hadn’t blatantly broken the law… had I? The arrest case was dismissed, and aside from that, well, I’d only ever run my mouth.
I placed Belare on my shoulder and activated the teacher skill to share her vision. While glancing at the situation articles on my phone, I followed the navigator’s directions. Just a note: regular people should never look at their phones while driving.
Fortunately, Belare, though a snake, had far better eyesight than me. Combined with her heat-sensing ability, I didn’t even need to look at the rearview mirror to monitor the movements of the vehicles behind me. Her heat detection range was surprisingly wide.
At first, traffic was a little heavy, but as I drove on, the roads grew increasingly empty. Eventually, all the other vehicles disappeared, and in the distance, I could see a barricade blocking the road.
‘Sorry about this. I’ll be passing through.’
There was no time to stop and explain at length. I activated Grace and floored the accelerator.
Bang!
With a loud crash, the blinking barricade was sent flying. The impact was considerable, but the car maintained its speed and kept moving down the road.
This vehicle was sturdier than I expected. Was it slightly modified? Vehicles designed for Hunters were often allowed a certain level of reinforcement to prepare for dungeon breaks.
I thought I heard someone yelling something from behind, but I ignored it. I’ll pay the fine later. Wait—if I get caught for driving without a license, will that restrict me from getting one in the future? That’d be a problem.
“…Fog?”
After driving a bit further, the surroundings suddenly grew murky. A thick, misty haze tinged with a dull blue hue began to settle heavily in the area.
–TL Notes–
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