Chapter 119

When he heard those words, Baeksa’s eyes turned sharp.

Realizing the enemy’s presence, Baeksa was convinced he had to take him down now.

Baeksa’s body moved like a snake, swiftly gliding toward Ha-chan.

Yet, Ha-chan remained completely still, not even flinching.

Just as Baeksa began to feel puzzled.

Ding-a-ling-

A bell rang from somewhere.

The moment Baeksa sensed something was off and raised his head, he found himself lying on the ground.

Simultaneously, a painful sensation, as if hundreds of snakes were writhing in his stomach, struck his brain intensely, and he saw a flickering white tail before his eyes.

Flowers began to scatter before his eyes.

It was clearly the middle of the city just a moment ago, but now it felt like a flower field.

‘This is a mental attack related to the illusion realm.’

As soon as he realized this, he struck his own body with a fist, delivering a shock.

Boom!

With a thud, his consciousness returned.

Baeksa, who enjoyed martial arts, was vulnerable to mental attacks.

Of course, those who could invade his mind were few and far between.

But the fact that he had been invaded meant the opponent was undoubtedly a formidable mental ability user.

Realizing this, as he tried to regain his senses, he noticed he was being crushed under a tall woman wearing an eyepatch.

Enraged, he reached out his hand.

“Humiliate me!”

But what his hand touched was a giant old tree.

Was he still trapped in the illusion?

“Shh.”

At that moment, a voice whispered in his ear, and despite his strong mental fortitude, Baeksa’s eyes rolled back, and he lost consciousness.

Meanwhile, Ha-chan was approaching someone.

It was none other than Yoo Woo-jung, covered in blood.

Seeing her in critical condition, Ha-chan rummaged through his pocket.

What he pulled out was the Hwandan that Ayu always told him to carry.

“……Mr. Ha-chan?”

“You’re a mess. Ms. Yoo Woo-jung, take this first.”

With faintly opened eyes, Yoo Woo-jung looked at him.

The red lightning from earlier—it was definitely his doing.

Because the report he received for the mission had mentioned his red lightning.

Why did he save her?

Did he not know she was from Alters?

That couldn’t be.

Judging from Baeksa’s earlier conversation, someone must have informed him of her identity.

So why did he save her?

“Why… did you save me? You must have heard I’m a spy.”

She doesn’t trust others.

Having lived in a world where betrayal was common, she had betrayed and been betrayed countless times.

Growing up in the slums of Brazil, where only 2 out of 100 people reach adulthood, even after joining Alters, she couldn’t forget the life ingrained in her.

So, even after becoming an S-class Hunter, she didn’t make herself known to the world.

Even within Alters, she only took on missions and cooperated moderately.

The Queen of the Slums was such a being.

“That’s one thing, but Ms. Yoo Woo-jung, you’re officially part of our team now.”

Hearing those words, she felt an inexplicable sadness welling up inside her.

She doesn’t trust people.

Men only see her as a woman they want to have or as expendable.

She had never been treated as more than that.

But Ha-chan had never approached her.

And now, the way he looked at her showed no love or romantic feelings.

He truly came to save her simply because she was a teammate.

“……Mr. Ha-chan, do you like me? Otherwise, why would you save a spy?”

“No, I don’t like you. Spy or not, I came to save you because you’re a teammate. Honestly, it’s obvious you’re a spy, so I didn’t even care.”

Hearing such a clear rejection, Yoo Woo-jung began to laugh bitterly.

After all that seduction, to be treated as just a teammate—she wondered if she was that unattractive.

But amusingly, hearing that made her realize he truly saw her as a teammate.

‘I’m weak to this kind of thing.’

Perhaps because she had never experienced it before.

For the first time, Yoo Woo-jung realized she was weak in this aspect.

‘This feels worse than being sniped by the Beam Sniper earlier.’

Can’t he take some responsibility?

Thinking this, Yoo Woo-jung admitted she had been completely defeated.

After giving Yoo Woo-jung the Hwandan, I looked at the unconscious Beam Sniper.

‘As expected, hitting them with a high-output Aura in one go leaves them unable to react.’

Having just experienced this firsthand, I clenched and unclenched the fist that had sent the Beam Sniper flying.

‘Ayu said that even Returners would underestimate me, so I could land a hit.’

That’s why, even though the Beam Sniper was an S-class Hunter, he couldn’t keep up with my instantaneous movement.

But Ayu also warned me.

This only works against those not skilled in martial arts; if it’s someone professionally trained, the moment they dodge my strike, I’ll be the one getting hit.

I’m high-output, not highly skilled.

I just move faster than my opponents can follow.

Even Eun-namu managed to catch me when I unleashed my full-power Aura back then.

‘This won’t work as it is.’

Full-power Aura is a last resort.

At best, it’s only useful against one opponent.

If there are two enemies, my chances of winning drop drastically.

No matter how I try to conserve it, I’ll only get weaker over time.

‘Right now, my average Aura output is at 3%.’

Thanks to Ayu and Baeksan’s training, and recent events, I’ve managed to raise my average Aura usage to 3%.

Of course, even at 3%, I know I can amplify its power by focusing it.

I still remember using a 1% Thunderbolt to obliterate the Shadow Tentacles.

‘But that’s not easy without concentration.’

It requires extreme focus, which isn’t easy in everyday situations.

As a result, my current physical average is roughly at a B-class Hunter level.

But my instantaneous output is at a Returner level.

‘Still, thanks to that, I was able to take down the S-class Hunter Beam Sniper in one hit.’

Destroying his weapon with my ability momentarily stopped his thoughts, delaying his reaction—a stroke of luck for me.

‘If it had been him…’

I looked at the white-haired old man pinned under Eun-hyeon’s butt.

That man is definitely the S-class Hunter known as Baeksa from Hong Kong.

He seems to have a bad matchup with Eun-hyeon, but if I had faced him, I probably would have been the one defeated.

“Hey, Mr. Ha-chan……”

While I was thinking this, I noticed Yoo Woo-jung barely managing to sit up and look at me.

Thanks to the Hwandan, she seemed to have recovered somewhat.

“Earlier, you told me to drop formalities, so I thought we were on casual terms. Guess not?”

“Ugh, you knew it was an act, so don’t be mean.”

“Fine.”

I shrugged and sat down in front of her, turning my back.

“Hop on. I’ll take you to the hospital.”

Since Yoo Woo-jung had deactivated her beast form, I could easily carry her.

Seeing this, she looked around awkwardly before finally giving up and climbing onto my back.

The weight on my back reminded me that she was still a woman.

Hearing this, Yoo Woo-jung muttered.

“……I don’t usually believe in this kind of thing, and I know you’re just saying it. But in this situation, saying things like ‘teammate’ makes me believe it, so don’t.”

“But it’s true. Ms. Yoo Woo-jung is officially part of our team, so as the person in charge, I have to protect her.”

“Since when do people in charge protect their team’s Hunters with force……”

“You shouldn’t see the world with such a narrow perspective.”

Amusingly, being open with her made it easier to talk.

She must have realized that too.

Perhaps embarrassed by her past memories, she buried her face in my shoulder and didn’t lift it.

“Brother Ha-chan!”

“Wow, what a mess.”

Seo-ho and Josia, who came after receiving my call, looked at the scene of Hunters sprawled everywhere.

Josia tapped one Hunter’s face before spotting the Beam Sniper I had embedded in the wall.

“Ugh, this guy’s the Beam Sniper. Ha-chan, aren’t you playing on too big a scale? This guy’s in the top 100 for long-range combat.”

“He couldn’t react in close combat.”

“Really? Well, he’s a long-range sniper, so it makes sense.”

Josia expertly restrained the Beam Sniper with handcuffs she pulled out from somewhere and looked at me.

“Anyway, if foreign Hunters keep invading like this, our Bureau Chief won’t stay quiet.”

“The Bureau Chief you’re talking about is the Korean Hunter Management Bureau Chief, right?”

“Yeah, you know his name? He’s been pretty upset about the Alters situation lately.”

Wasn’t Josia the one who caused the Alters situation by leaving?

Whether she knew it or not, she tied up all the Hunters and made a call somewhere.

She seemed to be arranging transportation for the Hunters.

With S-class and A-class Hunters engaging in combat in a civilian area, they couldn’t avoid legal punishment.

“But if this keeps up, Ha-chan, you’ll get involved too, right?”

I was the one who took them down.

So Josia also seemed to think this situation couldn’t be overlooked.

Of course, I had no intention of avoiding it.

I was partly responsible, and to clarify the situation, it was unavoidable.

Meanwhile, Eun-hyeon smiled and spoke to me.

“We’ll help. Let’s talk with the Hunter Management Bureau together.”

Fortunately, the World Returner Association also seemed willing to help.

‘Besides, we can’t keep this up forever.’

There’s internal conflict within Alters, and it’s spilling over to our side.

We need to resolve the situation with Alters one way or another.

“……I’ll take care of all the Alters bastards.”

At that moment, Seo-ho, grinding his teeth, spoke with anger in his eyes.

He’s going to cause trouble.

I glanced at Josia, and she subtly moved next to Seo-ho.

“Hey, don’t be like that. We’ve been investigating this too. Seo-ho, if this escalates to Korea vs. Alters, it’ll get too big. As S-class Hunters from Korea, if we clash with Alters now, it’ll give them an excuse.”

“If you hadn’t spouted nonsense and left Alters, this wouldn’t have happened, right?”

“No, you left Alters first, Seo-ho!”

Seeing Josia protest, I turned to Yoo Woo-jung on my back.

“Ms. Yoo Woo-jung, what do you think about Alters?”

She’s the spy Alters planted on our side.

So, to hear the opinion of someone most involved, I asked, and she buried her face in my shoulder and sighed.

“Originally, there were conflicting opinions within Alters. One side argued that Korea should be actively restrained, while the other side questioned why they should interfere with the Korean Hunter Market, which is protected by the World Returner Association.”

That conflict was inevitable.

“One thing is certain: Alters isn’t happy about this situation either. If Korea becomes an exception, there’s no guarantee similar incidents won’t happen in the future.”

“Maintaining the status quo, huh? But what Alters is doing is pretty petty, isn’t it?”

“I won’t deny that. Alters has become quite stagnant since its founding. But Alters wasn’t originally formed to do petty things.”

She clicked her tongue, as if troubled by the tangled interests.

“In the past, Hunters were treated as weapons to protect a nation, though not as much as Returners. The number of high-ranking Hunters determined a nation’s power, right? So, each country tried to bind high-ranking Hunters to them.”

Seo-ho and Josia didn’t seem to disagree with that.

“That’s why high-ranking Hunters needed a way to protect themselves from the state. No matter how powerful a high-ranking Hunter is, it’s hard for an individual to overcome an organization. So, they decided to form their own group.”

“That group is Alters.”

“Right. A group formed by high-ranking Hunters to protect themselves from the state. That’s Alters.”

But Seo-ho didn’t seem convinced.

“Doesn’t that seem meaningless now?”

“As I said earlier, the initial purpose has become meaningless.”

She agreed with Seo-ho.

“They’ve grown more powerful than most nations. What started as a way to protect themselves from power has turned into wielding power themselves.”

That’s how people are.

What starts as a means of self-protection often turns into something else once stability is achieved.

It was a clear indication of why Alters fell in Baeksan’s world.