Jin-Woo read the article about himself on his way here. The fact that Hunters' gazes kept landing on him over something he had no connection with told him the article must have had quite an impact. When Jin-Woo looked around at the Hunters, their eyes quickly scattered.
'This is getting old...'
Jin-Woo sighed inwardly upon spotting the fear in their eyes.
'Seems like everyone's got the wrong idea about me.'
There was nothing to do but wait for the Hunter Bureau to issue a correction. In that vaguely tense atmosphere, Dr. Belzer glanced over at Jin-Woo and cracked a joke.
"I read this morning's article too, but you really don't need to look back at Mr. Sung Hunter like that. If someone can push mana around up in the sky like that, they're not really a Hunter anymore."
Haha—awkward laughter rippled from various directions, and Dr. Belzer continued with a thin smile.
"As you may have guessed, we found no commonalities among the regions I mentioned earlier."
No commonalities meant the cause was hard to pin down. With no precedent, predicting the outcome was equally difficult. As he spoke, the doctor brought up a new photograph.
"Here. This is the sky over those nine locations I mentioned."
The doctor explained that he had added special effects to the satellite mana-detection camera footage to make it easier to understand. As his explanation suggested, dark masses of mana had clustered like storm clouds over the nine skies. He said special effects had been added, so it wasn't as severe as the raw images, but it still looked far from anything natural.
"Huh..." "Hmm."
Hunters groaned as they reviewed the large screen. The fact that neither the cause nor the effect of this anomalous phenomenon was understood was hardly good news. Seoul's sky looked even worse. Jin-Woo studied the satellite imagery showing mana formed like the eye of a typhoon over Seoul and wondered why it had to be nine of them.
'Could this be related to the number of Monarchs?'
It was too coincidental to call a coincidence. But the Giant King was already dead, so the number nine no longer held meaning. Just then, Dr. Belzer glanced at Jin-Woo. Their eyes met once more. The difference from earlier was that he was no longer smiling.
"Not knowing the reason means there's no way to respond. That's where we stand."
The doctor ended his lengthy presentation on that note.
"However, the inability to respond does not mean there is no need to respond. This world may be on the verge of another transformation."
* * *
When the schedule was nearly at its end, the Director stepped up to the podium. He had an important announcement to make. His unexpected appearance stirred the crowd of Hunters into a murmur. Could it be an official statement from the Hunter Bureau regarding last night's incident? As the Hunters looked on with curiosity, the Director politely asked for silence.
"I have something urgent to tell all the Hunters gathered here."
Every person in attendance was a first-rate Hunter—one whose name alone was enough to command recognition in their home country. None of them were reckless children or a ragtag militia.
"..." "..."
A cold silence fell in an instant at the Director's words. Focus. A heightened concentration beyond what ordinary people could compare to was instinctively ingrained in the bodies of the top-tier Hunters. Satisfied with the atmosphere, the Director nodded, surveyed the faces before him, and locked eyes with Jin-Woo.
'Hunter Sung Jin-Woo...'
Having heard every detail of the previous day's events, the Director gave Jin-Woo a subtle nod. It was a gesture of gratitude for sparing Thomas. But the Hunters who didn't know the full context murmured again upon seeing the head of the American Hunter Bureau greet Jin-Woo first. After a brief pause, the Director spoke.
"I find it just as heavy-hearted to deliver this news."
Finally. Jin-Woo intuited that the moment he had been waiting for had arrived. The Director spoke in a low voice.
"Approximately two weeks ago, Hunter Christopher Reed was killed by unidentified hostile forces."
* * *
'...!'
The Hunters were stunned. One of the world's strongest Hunters murdered? It surpassed even the shock they had felt upon hearing about Jin-Woo's article. This was an entirely different matter from two powerful Hunters fighting each other and one coming out on top. The Director brought up a display. Lingering flames that hadn't yet gone out, a mansion reduced to ashes. And the body of Christopher, a hole blasted clean through his chest. The Hunters who confirmed the death of a national-power-level Hunter firsthand through the footage and photographs let out low groans. Not a single person denied the fact that he had been murdered. Questions poured from the stunned Hunters, but the Director shook his head.
"I'm sorry, but I will take questions after the presentation is finished."
There was something far more important remaining. The Director stole a sidelong glance at Jin-Woo. Jin-Woo was simply sitting quietly in one corner of the lecture hall, his eyes faintly glowing. His composure stirred complicated emotions in the Director. But there was no more time to hesitate. As the Director operated the remote, the screen changed.
"Here. This is a man we suspect of being involved in this case as a suspect."
A man's face filled the screen. The Hunters quickly noticed something was off. That Eastern man's face—it was a dead ringer for someone sitting right here in this room. But. The Hunters, recalling what had happened to Thomas Andre, didn't dare speak it aloud.
"..."
Jin-Woo clamped his mouth shut in a straight line. The identification photo, taken the moment he'd arrived at the Hunter Bureau, was an exact match for the father in his memories. Jin-Woo bit down hard on his lower lip.
'Why did they take Father's...'
Dungeons were the domain of Rulers. Why the Rulers had sent a magical beast wearing his father's face, he didn't know. But whatever their intentions, Jin-Woo felt fury welling up from deep inside his chest. The Hunters, misunderstanding the source of Jin-Woo's anger, tried their hardest not to look his way.
'Don't look. Don't look.' 'It's just someone who looks like him. Just someone who looks like him.' 'All Easterners look pretty similar, right?' 'But no matter how you look at it...'
The Director referred to Sung Il-Hwan as "Suspect S" and explained the details. Where he had been discovered, what had happened during that process, and what had occurred afterward. In particular, the Hunters were startled by the account of how Suspect S had taken down Hwang Dong-Su during interrogation and fled. Who was Hwang Dong-Su? He had been scouted by the American Hunter Bureau after his abilities were recognized, crossed over to the United States, and served as the ace of the S-class Scavenger Guild—a Hunter of the highest caliber in the world. Since news of Hwang Dong-Su's death had not yet been released, the Hunters' shock was even greater. Certainly, a being with that level of power might be difficult for even a national-power-level Hunter to handle if multiple ones attacked at once. The Director's reasoning for suspecting "Suspect S" became understandable.
"It is highly probable that strong humanoid magical beasts that escaped from a dungeon targeted Hunter Christopher Reed simultaneously. That is the Hunter Bureau's assessment."
As the Director continued, footage of "Suspect S" trampling on Hwang Dong-Su's neck played behind him. Wondrous strength, crushing Hwang Dong-Su—who far surpassed an ordinary S-rank—like a bug. A flash of disbelief crossed the Hunters' faces as they watched. But for Jin-Woo, it wasn't a particularly surprising scene. "Suspect S" was a magical beast intentionally created by the Rulers, beings who possessed the power to generate Dungeons.
'A magical beast like that losing to Hwang Dong-Su would be the strange part.'
What bothered Jin-Woo more was S's actions. S had been trying to talk to Hwang Dong-Su.
'He was... talking to him?'
Jin-Woo's eyes went wide. Focusing with the same intensity he used in combat, time began to slow to a crawl. His razor-sharp senses read the shape of S's lips.
—Don't set foot in there. Not for my son's sake, but for your own. Even in death, you won't be able to close your eyes.
Thud! His heart lurched. Those last words.
'Even in death... I won't be able to close my eyes?'
If what he had read was correct, that meant S was aware of Jin-Woo's existence. Fortunately, there was an easy way to verify the conversation. Suppressing his pounding heart, Jin-Woo called the name of the most recent soldier to join his Shadow Army.
'Grid!'
Grid, who had already understood the question through Jin-Woo's thoughts, answered immediately.
[What my Liege believes is correct.] '...!'
As Jin-Woo's mind grew more and more tangled, the Director's lengthy explanation was drawing to a close.
"We plan to request that every Guild in every nation put out a warrant for 'Suspect S,' and if you encounter this man, please contact us. That concludes my presentation."
Once the Director finished, the barrage of questions that had briefly subsided erupted once more. Hunters raised their hands from every direction.
"That Hunter there?"
The Director pointed to one Hunter, who spoke as if he'd been waiting.
"Do you have proof that Suspect S is not human?" "His mana wavelength was identical to that of a magical beast. Next." "He claimed to be a Hunter who went missing in a Dungeon. Did the Hunter he mentioned actually exist?" "Yes. He was a real person. Next." "Then why won't you disclose that Hunter's identity?" "Ah..."
The Director hesitated, then answered while turning as far away from Jin-Woo as possible.
"The individual in question is connected to one of the Hunters here, so we've decided not to disclose the identity."
The questioning stopped dead. The "just maybe" had turned into "just as expected." Taking in the sudden quiet around him, the Director prepared to step down from the podium.
"Are there any more questions?"
Just then. Far away, at the very end of the seating, someone raised their hand. And before the Director could even call on him, the man spoke up.
"Wouldn't it be better to release the identity, to make it easier to capture him?"
A middle-aged man's thick Chinese. Without turning around, the Hunters knew who was asking. China's Seven-Star Hunter, Liu Zhikang. One of the national-power-level Hunters, he looked down at the Director with a serious expression. Surrounding him on all sides were dozens of China's top Hunters, including his Guild members. The Director wore an awkward look, and Liu Zhikang pressed him again.
"Isn't that right, Director?"
Left with no choice, the Director brought up the Suspect S identity information he had hastily decided to suppress that day. Click. The moment he pressed the remote button, Sung Il-Hwan's information filled the screen. Gasps erupted from every direction. The first humanoid magical beast to appear inside a Dungeon—how could it look exactly like Hunter Sung Jin-Woo's missing father? Was such a coincidence possible? The hall that had gone quiet began filling with Hunters' voices once more. Liu Zhikang, who had been staring at the screen, raised his hand again. The Director called on him.
"...Hunter Liu." "This time, I'd like to ask Hunter Sung Jin-Woo something."
The Director turned to look at Jin-Woo. Jin-Woo gave the Director a nod, then turned his body to face Liu Zhikang. Liu Zhikang's deep voice soon reverberated through the hall.
"If Suspect S really is your missing father, and Hunters move to hunt him down, what will you do?"
After a moment's thought, Jin-Woo answered.
"If it's a magical beast, I'll deal with it myself. But if it's not a magical beast and truly my father..."
Truly his father? What came next? The Hunters swallowed dryly, and Jin-Woo spoke firmly.
"Even if it means turning every Hunter in the world into an enemy, I will protect my family."