Chapter 73

Yes, that was the truth.

Their real plan was to cooperate with influential politicians who would shield them and reshape the political landscape in their favor.

Still, wasn’t killing S-Class hunters and plunging the entire country into chaos going too far?

They had no choice.

Representative Kim had been driven so far into a corner that he needed an incident shocking enough to overturn everything.

“Lead the way.”

“Yes, sir!”

A small villa stood deep in the mountains.

Before long, a secret meeting began in its reception room.

And some time later—

“I’ll be going now~”

Click.

‘You only just got your badge back, and you’re already acting so cold, Representative.’

Su Yehwi muttered his displeasure as he walked away down the corridor.

***

Representative Kim.

To tell the story of that man, one had to go back seven years.

The Dungeon Shock had changed countless lives.

The only daughter of a wealthy family could become an orphan overnight.

A recluse abandoned in the corner of his room could suddenly become a savior protecting the world.

Representative Kim was also one of those whose life had been swept away by the great currents of the era.

Though in his case, the change had hardly been for the better.

[“A Modern-Day ‘Exodus’... Four Lawmakers Flee the Country. Citizens ‘Outraged’”]

When the gates first appeared, Representative Kim made a decision he would regret for the rest of his life.

He had received a report stating that the Korean military’s weapons were ineffective against the monsters emerging from the dungeons.

Germany was the only country where no gates had appeared.

Believing it to be safe, he fled there.

Monsters were pouring out one after another.

Bullets did nothing to them.

And only three days after the catastrophe began, even the underground bunker beneath the Blue House had been overrun by those strange creatures.

At that point, whom could anyone trust?

Everyone had to look after themselves.

Representative Kim had believed he was merely doing everything he could to protect himself and his family.

[Special News Report: [Full Video] Unexplained Phenomena Discovered Across Major Cities, Including Texas and Washington]

[The Existence of “Superpowers” Confirmed!!]

[...World Security and Cooperation Organization Announces International Term: Awakener]

Awakener.

Until that concept appeared...

“Damn it!”

For convenience, elementary school textbooks taught that gates and awakened individuals had appeared at roughly the same time.

But a closer examination of the timeline revealed that awakeners had emerged much later than most people believed.

Humanity’s first evolution had occurred only ten days after the dungeons appeared.

“How did a political novice like me end up ruined over something so absurd...?”

Nothing had ever bewildered Representative Kim more.

[Breaking News: Northern Seoul Successfully Reclaimed on the 7th Thanks to Newly Awakened Individual Choi Jin, 22...]

The war on the Korean Peninsula, which had become indistinguishable from a living hell, was reversed by a single awakener.

[Downward Trend in ‘Dungeon Shock’ Continues]

No one had imagined that the seemingly endless flood of monsters would suddenly be brought to a halt.

“Ugh!”

After seeing how the situation had changed, Representative Kim hurried back to Korea.

But his brief act of cowardice had already left a stain that could never be erased.

In the by-election held shortly after the Dungeon Shock, he was fiercely condemned for fleeing overseas during the national crisis.

[—Runaway—]

[When lives are at stake, people show their true colors. Truly disappointing.]

[The country was falling apart, yet he fled abroad to save himself. Shouldn’t every won of salary he received be returned to the treasury—]

Representative Kim lost the election.

Worse still, the scandal threatened to end his political career entirely.

The Dungeon Shock had been a catastrophic disaster in which everyone had lost something.

There was no satisfaction in cursing monsters incapable of understanding blame.

So the public turned its anger toward another human being, desperate for someone to hold responsible.

“Ugh...”

Representative Kim sank into despair.

The thought that his political career might truly be over plunged him into a deep depression.

And during the most unstable and vulnerable period of his life, the person who approached him was...

[Tak Gwangjo ]

One day, he received a call from a high school classmate he had long since forgotten.

Tak Gwangjo.

The current leader of Rakshasa Temple.

***

Colluding with politicians.

That was a sound strategy.

Building close relationships with influential figures could produce returns far exceeding the original investment.

‘With our church’s countless votes and untraceable funds, we can decide whether someone wins or loses.’

Su Yehwi briefly considered this as he adjusted his raincoat.

‘Especially in a by-election, where voter turnout is low...’

Who could possibly have imagined it?

Demonic beasts are angels sent to test mankind.

A new holy land shall be established upon this world.

The followers of a religion that preached such nonsense—and claimed that accumulating merit would grant entrance to the glorious 4444—were secretly plotting something entirely different.

Dungeon-break terrorism.

↓

Exploit the ensuing chaos to have monsters assassinate politicians.

↓

Trigger by-elections and manipulate public opinion in favor of Representative Kim’s faction.

Their true objective was to increase Representative Kim’s chances of being elected.

Every terrorist attack they had carried out so far had been nothing more than a rehearsal for the final plan.

There were, of course, easier alternatives.

They could simply have allied themselves with powerful figures who were already firmly established in politics.

However, Rakshasa Temple was a latecomer to that world—a fledgling organization.

The true heavyweights, those influential enough to cooperate with pseudo-religious groups, were already deeply tied to older and more established sects.

There was no space left for Rakshasa Temple to interfere.

Thus, they had been forced to make use of political castoffs like Representative Kim and his faction.

These people had once possessed fame and influence.

If revived properly, they could still prove useful in countless ways.

Su Yehwi had invested considerable effort into the scheme.

He had completely concealed Representative Kim’s existence from the ordinary members of the church.

He had also refused to share his knowledge of gate manipulation with anyone else.

To the believers, he had issued only a simple command from above:

‘This is necessary for the coming of a new era.’

“Hmm.”

So far, everything had proceeded smoothly.

The organization’s true purpose had remained perfectly hidden.

‘This God-given ability is extraordinarily convenient.’

The only remaining question was how to create an act of counterterrorism powerful enough to overturn the political world.

But Su Yehwi had already found the answer long ago.

Everything had been planned with meticulous precision.

Every detail.

Yet as the plan approached its final stage, a vague sense of unease began to trouble him.

“Kim Kiryeo.”

Kim Kiryeo.

An unknown hunter who produced not a single result no matter how thoroughly one searched the internet.

For some reason, Su Yehwi could not rid himself of the feeling that something about that man was deeply suspicious.

‘The rank disguiser who frightened Pyo Nagil...’

And so, Su Yehwi came to a decision.

“I can no longer stand back and merely observe.”

Rustle.

He took an old feature phone from his pocket and placed a call.

—Click.

“Hello? Ah, Mr. Broker. It’s me. Yehwi.”

The person he contacted was a broker who specialized in connecting clients with professional killers.

“Last time, you boasted that you had a highly capable awakener working for you, didn’t you? I would like to see that person’s skills for myself.”

He paid an enormous sum to hire an assassin and eliminate the nuisance.

In short, that was how an unexpected guest came to visit Kiryeo’s home...

***

—Creeeak. Creeeak.

“What a piece of shit!”

I cursed and stared up at the ceiling.

Even now, the barrier was being chipped away little by little.

Of course, as long as the core retained power, the barrier could restore itself repeatedly.

“I’m so nervous I could die...!”

But frightening things remained frightening.

How was anyone supposed to sleep when someone had been trying to break into their house for four days straight?

With dark circles under my swollen eyes, I clutched my head.

—You’re saying an awakener tried to break into your house?

—Not at this exact moment.

—That’s because they ran away when they saw the police! They’ll definitely come back tonight. Please catch that bastard.

I had already called the police several times, but it had been useless.

The unidentified intruder always disappeared whenever someone arrived at my house.

—Ha... Sir, we’re busy too. There’s nothing we can do for you right now. So please stop wasting our time. If something serious actually happens later, then report it...

The officers had looked at me as though I were a liar, issued an irritated warning, and left.

Eventually, they stopped answering my calls altogether.

“Damn it.”

Was this why Kang Changho had questioned whether the police could be trusted?

—Crack, crack.

Judging by the mana I could sense, the intruder was most likely a high-ranking awakener.

Not quite S-Class.

Roughly A-Class.

And if someone that powerful was determined to force their way into another person’s home, their intentions were obvious.

‘They can’t possibly be here for anything good.’

Kidnapping.

Or murder.

It had to be one of the two.

I pressed a hand to my forehead and groaned.

How long had it been since I escaped that pseudo-religious group?

And already, my life was in danger again.

‘No. Fundamentally speaking, wasn’t escaping that place the only reason I survived at all?’

I could also make a rough guess about who might be behind this visitor.

Kang Changho.

Jung Haseong.

Those two had uneasy relationships with me, but both possessed power close to the S-Class level.

It was difficult to imagine either of them hiring such an inferior thug.

‘If you’re an S-Class hunter, it’s far more efficient to handle the matter personally.’

That narrowed the possibilities considerably.

Frankly, only two suspects remained.

Park... Juntae, or whatever the name of that lunatic Earthling I met in the park had been.

And Rakshasa Temple.

“Ugh...”

For a moment, I considered asking Seonwoo Yeon for help.

Then I immediately abandoned the idea.

The unwelcome visitor was clearly far more skilled than Seonwoo Yeon.

What would happen if I carelessly dragged an association employee into this?

Crack, crack.

At that very moment, another section of the barrier was damaged.

“...”

I stared at the fractured spell for a long while before muttering to myself.

“Enough. What’s the point of working this hard?”

My voice sounded hollow.

“I want to stop. I’m tired...”

Fine.

Suppose I somehow managed to deal with this situation on my own.

Suppose I pushed myself as relentlessly as I always had and overcame this threat too.

What difference would it make?

Several organizations already regarded me as a thorn in their side.

Even if I resolved this problem, another threat would inevitably appear sooner or later.

And then what?

How would I deal with the one after that?

Could I truly continue guaranteeing my own safety forever?

‘With this worthless body.’

The endless succession of problems had exhausted me.

So I decided I would no longer struggle against them.

Unable to withstand the pressure, I finally gave up.

‘I lived a long life on Alphauri. And I’ve had several months on Earth.’

‘That’s enough.’

It was fine.

In a way, I had always believed that dying at any time would be acceptable.

Simply experiencing freedom in Kim Kiryeo’s body had already fulfilled my greatest wish.

“Yeah. I might as well die.”

Beep, beep, beep.

I took out my phone and immediately called a hunter.

Why would someone who had resolved to die suddenly make a call?

Even so, the dignity of a great magician had to be preserved.

What would be the point of falling into the hands of some nameless thug?

My life should at least be spent on something more worthwhile.

“Hello?”

Rather than resignation, it was closer to a reckless gamble made in a fit of anger.

—Speak.

At last, the call connected.

I calmly answered the voice coming through the receiver.

“Hello, Hunter Kang Changho.”

Come to think of it, Jung Haseong had once said something similar.

A wizard with valuable abilities but no power of his own.

What did such a person need more than anything else?

Security personnel.

“Do you have a moment? There’s something I’d like to discuss with you in person.”

It seemed the time had finally come to hire a bodyguard.

“Is the offer you made before... still valid?”

Without hesitation, I continued speaking while rolling the core—the heart of the barrier—between the fingers of one hand.