EPISODE 136
Swing-!
Something appeared, shining, in Yoo-seong’s hand.
A few minutes ago, Han Jae-gyu, who was following at Yoo-seong’s side, had been relieved that things had gone well.
Joo Hwan-jin’s heart was beating fast as he stood by President Han Kwang-ho’s side.
Shwak-!
Yoo-seong immediately swung the Scissors. Joo Hwan-jin stepped forward to protect the President but soon realized that Yoo-seong was not targeting any of them.
“Well, that—!” President Han Kwang-ho exclaimed.
A blue line had been drawn in the air right in front of Yoo-seong.
It was a crack.
“Hmm.” While no one was paying attention to him, Yoo-seong quickly pressed the Auto-Hunt button and went straight into the crack.
“This… Mr. Joo! What am I seeing right now…?”
President Han Kwang-ho was trying his best to process what he saw. Even without receiving an answer, he had an idea what it was, but…
“It’s ridiculous. What the hell are you going to do?”
President Han Kwang-ho was more surprised than amazed.
“President Han! You have to get out of here right now!” Joo Hwan-jin exclaimed.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"}) “Leave? I have you and Jae-gyu. Why do I have to leave?”
“Mr. Joo is right, Grandpa!” Han Jae-gyu agreed.
“Hey! What are you doing?!” President Han Kwang-ho shouted as Joo Hwan-jin grabbed his arm.
Joo Hwan-jin already had his phone in his other hand.
Before wondering why there was a crack in the room, he was already prepared to call on the Special Defense Agency and report the situation. Just then…
Wam-!
Yoo-seong’s feet made a cool tapping sound as he stepped on whatever had come out of the crack. He no longer held the Scissors in his hands.
Instead, he held something much larger, something heavy and terrible.
“Oh my god!”
President Han Kwang-ho was astonished.
“You might have seen one of these before.”
Putting down what he was holding, Yoo-seong placed his weight on his feet and stepped onto it. Then he took out the Sky Needle and quickly began to seal the crack he had opened.
Meanwhile, the thing under his feet continued to scream and make a ruckus.
Guwook-! Guwook-!
It was an all-too-familiar sound, coming from a creature with eight legs that wriggled nonstop.
It was an Octolisk. Its size suggested it might be a baby that had just come out of its shell. And yet, despite its size, it was already big enough to be a great predator.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"}) “What are you trying to do? Get rid of that terrible thing right now!”
President Han Kwang-ho had already regained his composure.
He had not been even a bit worried when Yoo-seong brought out a weapon or when a crack opened right in front of his eyes. However, the fear produced by the Octolisk wriggling under Yoo-seong’s feet sent shivers down his spine.
On the other hand, Han Jae-gyu and Joo Hwan-jin were somewhat relieved that what had come out of the crack was nothing but a small Octolisk.
With the crack already closed, the worst of what could have happened was already over. The danger level of the small Octolisk that Yoo-seong was standing on should not exceed two stars at its best.
Even if he were to release it right now, it would not be a difficult monster for Han Jae-gyu or Joo Hwan-jin to subdue. Even with their bare hands, it was prey they could defeat without much difficulty.
However, President Han Kwang-ho was not a hunter. He knew nothing of its danger levels.
“Right now! Get rid of it right now!” he shouted.
No matter how old and strong the person, upon seeing a predator from the other world for the first time, their body was bound to react just from being in the same space.
Fear of this kind, fear at the biological level, paralyzed reason.
“That’s funny,” Yoo-seong said in half-amusement.
And yet, he was not smiling at all.
“He didn’t budge when he saw the crack. He kept calm. And now, he is acting like this just from seeing a one- or two-star monster? Even when he has a group of hunters at his disposal?”
Joo Hwan-jin immediately stepped in.
“It is not something to laugh about. This is a room with civilians. I have no idea what you’re planning to do, but I suggest you kill it right now.”
He had no idea what Yoo-seong was thinking, but as the President’s security officer and a former hunter, he had to take the best action he could.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"}) However, Yoo-seong’s answer was simple.
“No.”
“What?!”
Joo Hwan-jin could not believe what he was hearing.
“It’s captured and perfectly under my control. I do not see any reason for killing it and losing its value as my property.”
President Han Kwang-ho raised his voice in anger. “Money? Is money the only issue?!”
The President was losing his patience over this fiasco.
“I had already guessed you were different, but this is truly beyond imagination! How much is it?! Whatever the value of that monster, I’ll give it to you!”
“Oh, you don’t have to. No matter how much you offer me, I won’t sell it.”
Cutting the negotiation off right away, Yoo-seong stepped down from the monster and removed his foot. President Han Kwang-ho screamed.
Han Jae-gyu and Joo Hwan-jin were on edge. Even though Yoo-seong had lifted his foot, the Octolisk would not be able to run away.
A fine thread of Aura, invisible to the naked eye, had already surrounded the monster’s entire body.
“I believe you.”
Yoo-seong was not speaking to President Han Kwan-ho. Rather, he was looking at the two hunters before him and speaking to them.
“I am sure you two are nothing like some fool who does not understand the situation.”
Yoo-seong took a step toward the President with the fine thread of Aura and the Octolisk in his hand.
“Mr. Joo! Jae-gyu! Can’t you hear me?”
With each step Yoo-seong took with the wriggling Octolisk, President Han Kwang-ho screamed loudly.
Thud-!
Yoo-seong placed the Octolisk down on the table. Neither Han Jae-gyu nor Joo Hwan-jin could do anything. Was it because they feared Yoo-seong? Even they were not entirely sure.
Only one thing was for certain. There was no way to stop him. That was… unless they were willing to use force.
However, with Yoo-seong, they knew that was impossible.
“What are you doing?! Get rid of it right now! Hurry!”
In some ways, President Han Kwang-ho was right about wanting the monster to be disposed of. However, hunters could not wield their own power against others unless they were in operation.
They did not even know if Yoo-seong could be considered to have attacked first.
Yoo-seong had just opened a crack out of nowhere. A monster had come out, which he had taken under his control.
There were no laws restricting this behavior. It was a strange blind spot.
Of course, no one would have imagined that this might happen. And they knew… they knew that Yoo-seong knew it.
“As long as I don’t loosen the net and put the tentacles right in front of your face, they can’t do anything about it either.”
“What complete nonsense! This is my hotel! I invited you, and you are now making a fuss about it. Didn’t you ever learn manners?!”
“I’m not the one who did not learn,” Yoo-seong said with a low sigh.
President Han Kwang-ho was something else. He seemed to be trying to get used to the monster in front of him. Nevertheless, the cold sweat on his face and the fear in his eyes were unmistakable.
“Are you scared?” Yoo-seong asked.
“What?”
For a moment, President Han Kwang-ho’s mind went blank at Yoo-seong’s question.
“I asked if you are scared of what you’re looking at right now.”
Of course, Yoo-seong knew. It was a question he didn’t need to ask.
He continued without waiting for a response. “I just told you. I have no intention of selling this monster to you. Of course, I will sell it for a reasonable price, but only to people knowledgeable enough to handle it.”
A person who knew monsters well, in other words. That person would have to buy the monster for an appropriate reason and have an appropriate use for it.
It also had to be someone who knew the dangers of monsters and took proper care of them so that no problems would occur.
That was the minimum. The law didn’t specifically stipulate it, but of course, that was how it would have to be.
“Monsters are not a joke.”
Even a beast known to be harmless, if handled incorrectly, could cause enormous damage.
On the other hand, despite such dangers, monsters and products of the world beyond the crack were treasures that brought huge benefits to humanity.
Even if they could be considered trivial and dangerous goods, they should still never be used in vain.
To be a part of the hunter industry meant that you had to at least be familiar with monsters, even if you were not necessarily a hunter on the front line.
Even if you were not in the field risking your own life, you had to be aware of both the risks and values of the industry you were in.
“But when I look at you, I see nothing but a joke.”
To Yoo-seong, President Han Kwang-ho was nothing but a man who bluffed. He was scared out of his wits at a mere two-star monster. He knew nothing about his grandson and bodyguards’ skills as hunters. He also knew nothing about the social constraints they always had to carry on their shoulders and always needed to consider.
Considering his position, he should be calmer and more capable of a counterattack.
Yet, he could not.
No, he would not.
He sounded as if he were trying to get rid of a bully who was making a disturbance.
That was how this old man dealt with the industry.
“You think of this as nothing but a business,” Yoo-seong said as he pushed the monster to the other side of the table. “But the issue isn’t that simple. What you’re doing in this country’s industry is far beyond a simple bottom line.”
The danger of the unclosed crack in the Military Demarcation Line was still the most important matter at hand. A few days had already passed since it appeared.
The crack’s operation was consuming a lot of manpower, all because of the words of a greedy old man.
“The one you’re looking at right now? It is not a threat for hunters. If a real threat arises, these are the ones you won’t even be able to see. The danger will be to civilians living near the scene, not you.”
At this, President Han Kwang-so trembled in silence.
“If you understand what I’m getting at, I think there’s only one thing left for you to do.”
“Okay. I know for sure,” the President agreed in a shaking voice. “You jerk!” Suddenly, his voice turned to anger. His eyes glared at Yoo-seong.
His anger was more intense than his fear of monsters.
“You’re making this show because you think you’re doing your own thing. That is a shame. But it worked pretty well.”
Interestingly enough, the trembling of his voice had stopped in an instant. President Han Kwang-ho had found his answer.
“You know that there’s no chance of winning if we play by social rules. So you came in here and involved me in that shallow trick of yours. You and your empty threats.”
Monsters and hunters were things foreign to President Han Kwang-ho.
Yet, looking at it from a different perspective, he saw Yoo-seong, who had threatened him with shallow tricks. This was something he had already been through countless times.
With such a simple change in perspective, he had been able to regain his balance through a combination of ridiculous self-conviction and logic.
“Now then, have you shown me everything you’re going to blackmail me into?” President Han Kwang-ho took a deep breath and pointed at Yoo-seong. “You now have two options left. Show me something new and somehow work with it or get out of my sight right now! And take that hideous thing with you! As you said, I have no intention of paying for something like this!” he shouted.
It was a perfect declaration of victory. The Octolisk on the table no longer scared the President. After some time getting used to it, it was now just a terrible and disgusting thing that wriggled nonstop.
Yoo-seong pulled back the net containing the Octolisk.
“It’s rather unfortunate, really,” Yoo-seong said as he looked down. “It would’ve been nice if it had ended here.”
“What a shame,” President Han Kwang-ho said mockingly.
“Yes.”
As soon as Yoo-seong said this, he looked at the President.
It was just a single word, but it was enough to put everyone on edge, even Han Jae-gyu and Joo Hwan-jin. Unlike President Han Kwang-ho’s angry voice, Yoo-seong’s was rather calm and soft.
“It’s a pity. It could have ended like a fairy tale without causing any damage to anyone.”
The Octolisk had stopped wriggling completely. It was tied up and covered in Yoo-seong’s thin thread of Aura.
It sounded as if Yoo-seong were sincerely comforting the President. The reason he was no longer angry was quite simple.
Hunters did not mix their emotions, even when hunting monsters.
The emotions that Yoo-seong had previously shown were evidence that he did not see President Han Kwang-ho as prey.
At least, until now.
“As if you could do anything to me right now? Do you have any cards left besides threatening me? What other hideous things are you planning to try?” President Han Kwan-ho asked, his voice dripping with confidence.
Yoo-seong considered for a few moments before speaking in a thoughtful tone. “Well, I’m not really planning to bring out a monster, but…”
