Could it be called a blessing? Sung Jin-Woo's voice, which everyone in the world had heard simultaneously, wasn't in any human language, so most people simply took it as thunder rumbling from the sky. There were plenty of theories as to why everyone heard the same thunderclap, but that question was hardly a problem in the face of the world cheering and sighing with relief over Sung Jin-Woo's victory. The same went for the scene on the ground. Hunters who had been standing by at a distance with anxious hearts erupted in cheers upon hearing the news that the monsters had been slain. Choi Jong-In and Baek Yoon-Ho, the two men who ran the country's top guilds, each let out a breath of relief, looked at each other, and grinned.
"Baek, you looked pretty pale earlier—feeling better now?" "Choi, you were sweating more than me. Wipe your forehead before you talk." "I've got some Cheongsimhwan on me, in case your heart's still racing?" "Oh my, you're drenched. Here, take my handkerchief."
The sharp psychological sparring between the guild masters who vied for first and second place in the country. They could joke around like this only because the situation was over—until moments ago, neither man could even swallow properly from the tension. And with good reason. The enemy had been monsters that treated a national-power Hunter like Thomas Andre like a toy. It wasn't just their own lives at stake—a wrong move could have endangered every single member of their guilds. It wasn't just the two masters. Every Hunter who had been summoned for the emergency felt it: if Sung Jin-Woo Hunter lost, their lives were as good as gone. The two men expressed their relief from the crushing pressure through banter under the name of sparring. Baek Yoon-Ho, smiling as he exchanged words with Choi Jong-In, had his gaze suddenly fixed over Choi Jong-In's shoulder.
"Uh…"
Choi Jong-In turned to follow that gaze. A man walking alone out of the city center, now reduced to rubble. Jin-Woo, having finished his battle with the Monarchs, was quietly making his way toward them. Before long, other Hunters spotted Jin-Woo one by one. The scene, once buzzing with exclamations and cheers, quickly fell silent. In the stillness that settled over the area, only the sirens of arriving ambulances could be heard. Even though the fight was over, Jin-Woo's gaze still radiated a sharp intensity that dominated the atmosphere. No one who noticed Jin-Woo dared to open their mouth. The battle had been so fierce that a faint heat haze still rose from Jin-Woo's shoulders. For some reason, Baek Yoon-Ho, upon meeting Jin-Woo's eyes, bowed his head in a nod. That was the beginning. As if saluting a soldier returning from a dangerous mission, Hunters bowed their heads toward Jin-Woo, one after another. Respect. How could they not feel reverence for a Hunter who had shown them such a battle? None of them did it because someone ordered them or out of social pressure—it was a gesture that welled up from the heart. Engraving their regards into his memory…
'…'
Jin-Woo passed through the parting Hunters and walked toward where a familiar-looking van had stopped. Thomas Andre and Renat Niermann, who were about to board an ambulance, saw his retreating figure too. Renat spoke with a worried expression.
"Hunter Sung Jin-Woo doesn't look well."
Thomas, who had been much improved after the healers' emergency treatment, nodded in agreement.
"Seems that way." "Why? He fought and won against such powerful monsters and came out alive."
Hunters understand a Hunter's heart. The feeling of clearing a high-difficulty Dungeon and breathing the outside air again was beyond words. So why did Hunter Sung's face look so dark? To Renat's question, Thomas gave a clear answer.
"He wasn't happy with how the fight went." "…!"
Renat was stunned. So he was unhappy with it despite showing movement that transcended the limits of humanity, and that made his face dark? Was that even conceivable? As if he knew exactly what Renat was thinking, Thomas nodded and continued.
"I can hardly believe it myself… but he was probably disappointed in himself for struggling against the monsters."
Ah, that moment. Renat recalled the image of Jin-Woo pierced through the chest by the beast's claws and let out a low exclamation. And when the ancient Ice Elf plunged a dagger into Jin-Woo's chest, his own vision had gone dark. But wasn't that because the enemies were too strong? How many people in this world could endure even one of them, let alone both? As Renat thought this, he shook his head.
'No…'
Of course. Thinking that the enemies being strong made the struggle inevitable—that was the thinking of ordinary Hunters like them. Perhaps. A fighter of Hunter Sung Jin-Woo's caliber might take victory for granted and instead focus on how he won. At that thought, a chill ran down Renat's spine. To him, still reeling, Thomas added one last remark.
"He truly is a terrifying man. Sung Jin-Woo." "…I think so too."
While Thomas was being carried off to the ambulance, Renat found himself vowing over and over never, ever to make Hunter Sung Jin-Woo an enemy. Squeak! Ah-Jin Guild's Bongo came to a stop and Yoo Jin-Ho jumped out of the driver's seat. The moment he saw Jin-Woo get hurt by the monsters, Yoo Jin-Ho had jumped in the car and rushed over without a second thought. Despite not having the heightened Ki sense that upper-tier Hunters possessed, Yoo Jin-Ho spotted Jin-Woo among the many Hunters on the scene in an instant and ran over with tears in his eyes.
"Hyung-nim!"
Watching Yoo Jin-Ho come running with tears pouring down like a waterfall, only then did the malice that had been dwelling in Jin-Woo's gaze soften. Yoo Jin-Ho came running straight into an embrace. Normally, Jin-Woo would have dodged it effortlessly, bothered by the fuss. But today was different. Jin-Woo slowly patted Yoo Jin-Ho's back as the younger man clung to his chest, sobbing uncontrollably. The warmth of someone who genuinely cared about him seemed to thaw, just a little, his frozen heart. Maybe. Perhaps the one who truly needed comfort today wasn't Yoo Jin-Ho, but himself. Jin-Woo offered a faint smile as he comforted Yoo Jin-Ho. Having finally calmed down, Yoo Jin-Ho pulled his face—streaked with tears and snot—away and asked.
"Hyung-nim, are you okay?" "I'm not." "What?"
Yoo Jin-Ho's eyes went wide in shock, and Jin-Woo pointed at his own upper body, soiled with tears and snot.
"Gah!"
Yoo Jin-Ho hastily wiped his eyes and the area under his nose with his sleeve and bowed his head.
"I'm sorry, Hyung-nim. Seeing you safe and sound was just so moving that I…"
Jin-Woo chuckled. He'd always been an oddball, from back then until now. But when it came to Jin-Woo's affairs, he had become a younger brother sharper than anyone. Yoo Jin-Ho, having barely gotten his tears under control, spoke with a bright face.
"Hyung-nim, I figured this might happen, so I brought a change of clothes." "Clothes?"
Jin-Woo looked down at himself. His outfit, torn and tattered from the fierce battle with the Monarchs, came into view.
"If you went home like that… your mother would just worry again, wouldn't she? So I brought some clothes for you."
Jin-Woo gave Yoo Jin-Ho a look of appreciation, and Yoo Jin-Ho rubbed the area under his nose, trying to hold back his delight.
"Let's go, Hyung-nim. I'll drive you home."
After a moment's thought, Jin-Woo nodded.
'Mother and Jin-Ah were probably watching on TV, so the priority is to let them know I'm safe.'
While Yoo Jin-Ho climbed into the driver's seat, Jin-Woo took one last look at the city center that had just been a battlefield. A large number of personnel who had rushed in to assess the situation were hard at work on the cleanup. The greatest treasure salvaged from all that ruin was this. Jin-Woo raised the daggers his father had left behind. It felt as though the warmth of his father's hand still lingered on the grips.
'Father…'
Jin-Woo gently kissed the hilt of a dagger, stored it in his Inventory, and climbed into the passenger seat. As the Bongo pulled away from the scene, the sun slowly sank below the horizon. A long day was drawing to a close.
* * *
In the end, the Hunter's Association announced that the monsters that had appeared in Seoul were of an unidentified species. The scale of the damage they left behind was enormous. Many people were killed or injured, and the number of collapsed buildings and destroyed vehicles was staggering. But. Not everything had been a loss. Didn't they call it a blessing in disguise? The ability to respond to a sudden crisis—and especially the overwhelming power that Hunter Sung Jin-Woo had shown—had changed the world's thinking. The changed mindset soon manifested in action. Those signs began in a country no one had anticipated. That very night, Association Chairman Woo Jin-Chul visited the Blue House to discuss the cleanup from the monsters in Seoul and the response to the ultra-large Gate. Given the gravity of the matter, President Kim received him courteously. After exchanging brief greetings, Woo Jin-Chul asked.
"Would it be all right for you not to relocate elsewhere?"
The President hesitated, wearing a troubled expression, then let out a heavy sigh and spoke.
"I acknowledge that I made a mistake toward you. I'm sorry about that. But please don't think I've forgotten my duty because of it."
He spoke with an expression that showed he felt human fear, yet was determined to overcome it.
"If I were to leave Seoul, how much would the public panic? I don't want my name to go down in history as a blemish."
Woo Jin-Chul, who had remembered the President as nothing more than a politician looking to scrape together votes, let out a brief, dry laugh at the unexpected resolve. It might have been seen as rude behavior, but given the mistake he himself had made before, the President did not reprimand Woo Jin-Chul.
"Very well."
Woo Jin-Chul pulled out the prepared materials and was about to begin his briefing. However. A Blue House staff member who had rushed over whispered something to the President.
"What? Is that true?"
The President stood up abruptly as if he couldn't believe it, and the staff member answered with a serious face.
"Yes, Mr. President. What would you like to do?" "Put the call through. Let me take it."
The staff member handed the President a phone that was already connected. As the President took the receiver, a voice that any citizen of the Republic of Korea would recognize flowed through the speaker.
—I've given it a lot of careful thought over a long time… and I've come to the conclusion that this time, we should help our friends in the south.
The voice of the North Korean leader. Unable to fully comprehend what he had said, the President tilted his head and asked.
"Help… help with what?" —The Gate that appeared over Seoul. We'll send Hunters as well.
North Korea was just the beginning. Neighboring countries that had been lukewarm about cooperating, even as a Gate of unprecedented size appeared in Korea, changed their stance in an instant. Korea must not fall. That was the conclusion each country had reached after watching the battle between Jin-Woo and the monsters. Near and far—from North Korea, Japan, China, and Russia to the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, and France—Hunters hurried toward Seoul to make the most of the little time left. In their minds was a single thought.
'Help Hunter Sung Jin-Woo and stop the monsters in Seoul.'
Thanks to Jin-Woo's exploits, the concept of a last line of defense had taken root. And so. Now, not only all of Korea's Hunters, but Hunters from around the world began converging on the Republic of Korea's capital.