Yoo Jin-Ho's older sister, Yoo Jin-Hee, was driving home after getting nothing of value from her visit, all thanks to her brother's stubbornness. She carefully pulled her car to the side of the road. Squeak. The Hunter she had just bumped into on her way out of Ahjin Guild—Sung Jin-Woo. There was no one in South Korea who didn't recognize his face. So it wasn't hard to explain this nagging feeling that she had crossed paths with him somewhere before. If she had been the indifferent type, she might have just accepted it and moved on. But. She was the eldest daughter of a famous chairman, renowned for never forgetting a face she had seen even once. While she may not have matched her father, she too had a remarkably good memory for faces. The outline of Hunter Sung Jin-Woo that had briefly brushed past her peripheral vision the moment she looked up was unmistakably familiar.
"When was that...?"
She dug through her memory, and as she traced it back, her eyes widened. That hospital—the one where her father had been admitted. Near the entrance, a man with that exact same outline had brushed past her. Why hadn't she realized it then? Was it because she had been half out of her mind with the news that her father had collapsed?
"That's right. I'm sure of it."
The person who had passed her that day was Hunter Sung Jin-Woo. And then her father—who had been diagnosed as never opening his eyes again—had woken up from his sleep as if it were all a lie. Could this really be dismissed as mere coincidence? A chill spread through Yoo Jin-Hee's entire body, and she pulled out her phone and dialed her father's number. Beep, beep, beep. But before she could finish dialing, she hung up.
"What am I even doing right now...?"
Connecting her father's illness to Hunter Sung Jin-Woo based on nothing more than the fact that she had crossed paths with him outside the hospital that one time—there was no delusion more absurd than that. If Hunter Sung Jin-Woo ever found out, it would be the kind of thing that would have him kicking his blankets before bed. Grateful to her own rationality for preventing that outcome in advance, Yoo Jin-Hee was about to start the car she had parked on the roadside. But right then, with perfect timing, her phone rang.
[Secretary.]
Yoo Jin-Hee glanced at the caller ID and let out a small laugh. This had to be her father, curious about the results of the Ahjin Guild visit, sending his secretary to ask on his behalf. Even now, just like before, her father still couldn't be straightforward with his own children. Suppressing her smile, she picked up the phone.
"Hello?"
Just as the completely predictable conversation was drawing to a close, Yoo Jin-Hee figured now was a good time and asked Secretary Kim.
"Secretary. Is Hunter Sung Jin-Woo perhaps someone my dad knows well?" —Excuse me?
Through the receiver came Secretary Kim's startled voice.
—What do you mean all of a sudden?
Caught off guard by the unexpectedly strong reaction, Yoo Jin-Hee blurted out an answer.
"It's nothing really... I saw Hunter Sung Jin-Woo leaving the hospital that day. I was wondering if Hunter Sung was also a visitor who came to see my dad." —You mean Hunter Sung visited the hospital on the day the chairman collapsed? "Yes. Right before I received word that Father had woken up, we passed each other at the hospital entrance." —Are you certain? Could it have been someone else or a different day? "No, I'm sure. I was so shaken at the time that I couldn't remember who it was, but seeing him at the guild today I'm completely... But why does your voice sound like that?" —Ah, it's nothing. I'll call you back in a little while.
Not "I'll hang up now," but "I'll call you back."
"Did I say something wrong?"
Yoo Jin-Hee tilted her head in confusion, and before she could even lower the phone from the finished call, it rang again. Her eyes widened slightly when she checked the caller ID.
"...Dad himself?"
Seeing the number of the famous chairman on her screen, Yoo Jin-Hee finally sensed that something extraordinary was going on. Perhaps. Perhaps there really was some connection between her father's recovery and Hunter Sung Jin-Woo, just as she had suspected. She cautiously picked up the phone.
"Dad?"
* * *
Beijing Capital International Airport. China's largest and busiest airport was packed shoulder-to-shoulder with people, with not a single inch of floor space to spare. There was one reason for this. China's top Hunters, who had departed to support Korea, were returning home today. Other countries might have been the same, but in China, a top-tier Hunter was a celebrity who could draw crowds as thick as clouds. Among them, the representative of this Korean support team and a Seven-Star Hunter, Liu Zhikang, enjoyed a popularity that defied description. A reporter covering the airport atmosphere spotted Liu Zhikang and raised her voice.
"Oh! There's Hunter Liu Zhikang entering now!"
Waaaah—! Fans who had come to the airport just to hear his voice erupted in thunderous cheers. Liu Zhikang held his trademark pair of long swords in one hand and waved to the fans with the other. The young female fans squealed and jumped at the sight of his distinguished, masculine charm. Behind Liu Zhikang, the special team Hunters poured out in a swarm. Waaaah—! The onlookers' gasps of amazement—born from the awe of seeing Hunters they had only ever watched on TV with their own eyes—filled the airport. The reporter turned to the camera with the recording light on and continued.
"Right now, you are witnessing the proud Hunters who had departed to support Korea entering the airport in full."
As her bright expression suggested, this was truly a satisfying outcome from China's perspective. First, as Chinese people who cared deeply about face, they could now loudly proclaim that they had not turned a blind eye to a neighboring country's crisis. And that wasn't all. Because the Great-Rank Gate had ended as a non-event, none of the special team Hunters had been injured. They had gained both face and substance. Because the results were favorable, many Chinese citizens applauded Liu Zhikang for assembling this special team. But. Wherever you go, there are always those who complain. Not a few people online criticized both Liu Zhikang and Korea.
—So Liu Zhikang is running off to Korea when our country spent all that money feeding him to protect us? —Is that guy a Chinese Hunter or a Korean Hunter? Does anyone know which bloodline Liu Zhikang has? —Someone check Liu Zhikang's bank account. See if he took money from Korea. —Does a great nation like ours need to help an ungrateful small nation? This must never happen again. —The special team Hunters' individual bounties alone are worth a fortune, and we sent them on a volunteer mission? Calculate every single day's pay and bill it to the Koreans! —I heard Sung Jin-Woo made a ton of money dealing with the Japanese giant, so he should just cover it all with that money!
While comments that looked like they could give you cancer scrolled in real-time beneath the live broadcast, the reporter stood before Liu Zhikang on behalf of the many who were curious.
"Many people are applauding Hunter Liu's courageous decision, but there's also no small number of voices asking why we should help Korea. Does Hunter Liu have anything to say about this?"
Liu Zhikang took off his sunglasses and glared at the reporter.
"Who's going around saying such stupid things?" "Excuse me?"
Unfazed by the reporter's wide-eyed stare, Liu Zhikang narrowed his eyes and continued.
"Don't those people who walk around using their heads as decorations know how to read a map? Do they really not know what lies just above Korea if you move your eyes a little further up?" "Ah..." "The giant-type monster that Japan couldn't stop was about to cross the sea and set foot on Chinese soil. Everyone must have seen me catch that thing on TV."
Liu Zhikang turned his head and this time directed his sharp gaze at the camera.
"What I'm saying is that the same thing could have happened on a far, far larger scale. My colleagues who joined me in this decision were trying to prevent exactly that."
The barrage of hateful comments that had been running in real-time cut off abruptly. Liu Zhikang, as if speaking directly to the trolls, fixed his piercing gaze on the camera and said.
"If there are still people making such frustrating remarks, you can tell them this: I, Liu Zhikang, went to help because I don't have the confidence to stop accidents that Hunter Sung Jin-Woo couldn't, so if you've got a problem with that, go catch the monsters yourself..."
He had been delivering a long tirade, bringing joy to his supporters, when he suddenly stopped mid-sentence. Did he just realize the cameras were rolling? No. Liu Zhikang was the only person on Chinese soil who could spew whatever he wanted without having to watch anyone's reaction. Yet even he fell silent, staring fixedly outside. What on earth was happening? First it was the reporter. Then the Hunters, and the staff supporting them. Eventually, everyone in the airport turned their gaze outward. Even Liu Zhikang, a man rarely surprised by anything, let a low groan escape his lips.
"Oh my God..."
Over the skies of Beijing, darkness was slowly descending.
* * *
"Hunter Sung... Have you heard the breaking news?"
Jin-Woo shook his head. Ever since the Great-Rank Gate raid, he had been in Japan the entire time and had only just now returned to Korea, heading straight for the Hunter's Association. He hadn't had any chance to catch the news. No—if the problem had erupted while he was away, Jin-Ho would have told him first. Seeing the grave expressions on the Association staff, Jin-Woo's own face hardened.
"What's going on?"
Woo Jin-Chul took out his phone and showed him the videos that were spreading in real-time.
—Jesus! Do you see that? —Wow! —It looks bigger than the Gate that appeared in Korea?
Eight Great-Rank Gates had revealed themselves in the skies across the world. People, half terrified and half mesmerized, were filming the Gates and spreading the footage on social media. The eight countries in question had announced the Gates' appearance as breaking news to the entire world. Gulping. The sound of Woo Jin-Chul swallowing beside him was loud. Jin-Woo watched each video calmly.
"Hunter... Could these also be...?" "No."
Jin-Woo cut him off flatly. He drew a definitive line—these Gates had nothing to do with him. Woo Jin-Chul's face, which had been clinging to a sliver of hope, darkened dramatically enough to notice. If, like the skies over Seoul a few days ago, hundreds of thousands of monsters were to pour out of each Gate simultaneously. That would be no different from the preordained end of humanity. After watching every video to the end, Jin-Woo spoke to Woo Jin-Chul.
"Shall we move somewhere else?" "Ah, yes."
The two men went up to the Association President's office and sat facing each other.
"You said you had something to tell me..."
When Woo Jin-Chul asked cautiously, Jin-Woo replied.
"Mr. President, do you trust me?"
Woo Jin-Chul thought it over for a moment, then nodded.
"Yes, I do." "Then please trust what I'm about to show you as well." "Excuse me?"
Just as the previous Shadow Monarch had once done to him, Jin-Woo extended his index finger and tapped Woo Jin-Chul lightly on the forehead. In that instant, Woo Jin-Chul's eyes filled with darkness as countless images flashed through his vision.
"Gah!"
Jin-Woo showed the Association President only as much of the truth as was necessary. The Rulers and the Monarchs. And the armies that the Monarchs were summoning to the surface.
"Hah, hah, hah..."
Having witnessed the power of the Monarchs firsthand, Woo Jin-Chul gasped for breath.
"That's impossible... How can these things be..."
Woo Jin-Chul had believed. That God had gifted special powers to a select few humans in order to save mankind. That Hunters existed to fight monsters and protect humanity. But if what Hunter Sung Jin-Woo had shown him was the truth. That belief was arrogance. A delusion. Hunters—no, the Awakened—were nothing more than the process of cultivating humans who could survive the aftermath of the real war. This was not a war between humans and Monarchs. It was a war between Rulers and Monarchs. And into that conflict, one human they had never anticipated had inserted himself as an enormous variable. Because the Monarchs' armies had arrived far earlier than the Rulers had predicted, there was now only one person to rely on—the man who had become the Shadow Monarch, Hunter Sung Jin-Woo.
"Oh my God..."
Woo Jin-Chul's fingertips trembled as he raised a gaze glistening with tears.
"Hunter Sung... You're going to fight those things? Alone?"
Even if the enemy's forces were overwhelming, one couldn't simply give up before even beginning. At the very least, that was not how Jin-Woo had lived his life until now. So he simply nodded.
"Yes."
Desperate to find some way to help Jin-Woo, Woo Jin-Chul asked.
"Then what about us... or rather, how can I help you, Hunter?"
This was a question Jin-Woo had anticipated, and he gave the answer he had prepared in advance.
"Please gather the world's leaders in one place."