“First of all, thank you for worrying about me and coming to my house.”
I spoke, sitting in the middle of the living room. I usually spoke casually with most of the Jeong Si-woo Division members. But I always used honorifics in serious situations because it kept me alert and reminded others of the gravity of the situation.
“The bottom line is, I know about the situation. It’s hard to explain how I know, but… I think our Hunters have gotten used to this by now, right?”
Some burst out laughing at my words. Yeah, I was sure they were because of my countless antics since I came back in time.
I didn’t have to explain much to them, unlike other people. It was convenient, and I was able to proceed quickly.
“The strange people appearing in the world are ‘Returnees’.”
“Returnees?”
“Yes, as it said on the news, they were involved in a Dimensional Distortion Phenomenon.”
I knew the Returnee Situation better than anyone else because I had commanded Hunters on the front line to fend off the Disaster. And… to be honest, it was an unforgettable event.
“They all went missing for years after they were caught up in the Distortion. Where were they?”
“…….”
“The theoretical realm that exists beyond the Rift. They were sucked into a different place. A world like that of fantasy novels or cartoons.”
It was a groundless statement. Anyone with any knowledge of Phenomenon Analysis or any seasoned Hunter would have laughed, calling it nonsense. But no one in the Jeong Si-woo Division thought my words were false.
They were listening to me, and their faces were sincere. Their attitude came from the trust I had built up over the years and a firm belief that I was never wrong.
“They were originally ordinary humans, and they developed their strength to survive in the world they were transferred to. Some stayed for five years, some stayed for ten years, and some came after spending a very long time there.”
“…….”
“What they have in common is that they are all stronger than a 1st class Hunter.”
Upon hearing me, the members’ faces hardened.
“Some are friendly towards humanity, and some are hostile.”
“…….”
“We have to pick out the ones who can be our allies and quickly filter out the ones who can be our enemies. This is what we need to do from now on. Do you understand?”
Sung Hyun-woo nodded first at what I said.
And.
“But don’t you have information on who’s going to help us and who’s going to be our enemy? If you know all this, don’t you know that as well?”
I was going to finish up, but Lee Jin-woo asked me a question.
I answered his question with a small smile.
“I don’t know.”
There was no way I knew that.
Before I came back in time, the world was in chaos when the Fourth Disaster was about to happen.
It was so broken that humankind was about to perish any moment, and it was difficult to eat and survive from day to day.
So we killed every single Returnee as soon as they appeared.
The Hunters were full of spite, and people were bent on survival. They had no mercy to spare. In the past, we took their lives and, in turn, suffered great damage.
‘So, it has to be different this time.’
Just like the way I turned Seong Hyun-woo into my ally and prepared Seol A-rin as an asset.
I could perhaps gain something from the Returnee Situation.
“Well, then. Let’s move. Everyone has a lot of work to do.”
I was the first to get up.
“Please move in groups of two and stop the Returnees from harming civilians. I’m going to write a Phenomenon Analysis data file on the Returnees and submit it to the public, then join you. Since we need help from other people, I need some material to support any requests for help.”
“…….”
“Oh, and Hyun-woo, stay with me for a while. There’s something else you can help me with.”
Han Yeon-soo, Yoo Ji-yeon, Zhang Wei, and Kim Seung-hyun stood up one after another. Lee Jin-woo was scratching his head, looking around with a look on his face that said, “Why don’t I have a partner? Didn’t he say a group of two?”
“Jin-woo, you wait too. Go with Hyun-woo when he’s done.”
“Huh? Oh…okay.”
He was still clumsy as usual.
* * *
“Let’s start with the first place a Returnee showed up.”
Said Yoo Ji-yeon, sitting in the passenger seat.
“Isn’t it better to go to the most recent place they appeared?”
“I think it’s better to go where they first appeared. That’s where the underlying cause of the situation will be.”
“No, I think it’s better to go where they recently appeared. There may still be Returnees nearby, and if we can find the cause in the first place, wouldn’t we also find it at the most recent place?”
“No, the most important thing to do in situations related to mana, like Dimension Distortion Phenomenon, is to figure out the cause of the first occurrence. That’s where the critical problem lies. You’re not familiar with Phenomenon Analysis, are you?”
“I know a lot better than you do.”
“But you didn’t graduate from an Academy, right?”
Hearing those words, Han Yeon-soo furrowed her eyebrows and glared at Yoo Ji-yeon. Her face seemed to say, ‘You’re aren’t going to give in even a little bit, are you? You young little punk.’
“I guess you don’t know how to drive because you graduated from an Academy. How will you accompany Mr. Si-woo that way? He’s always reading Analysis papers, so he needs someone to drive.”
“It doesn’t matter because I can teleport anyway.”
“You don’t know anything. Then you can’t talk in between. That’s why you haven’t made any progress yet.”
This time, Yoo Ji-yeon frowned. As Han Yeon-soo said, Yoo Ji-yeon spent almost no personal time with Jeong Si-woo. But Han Yeon-soo and Jeong Si-woo spent a lot of time together. And you could tell that Jeong Si-woo depended on Han Yeon-soo more, just by looking at his attitude.
“… You’re so annoying.”
Yoo Ji-yeon was the one who lost today. It was a quarrel that always happened when the two were put together.
“And you asked about Phenomenon Analysis, right? As you said, it’s true that the decisive problem lies in the initial occurrence of mana-related incidents. But our Analyst Si-woo will find it anyway. Our role is to predict where the Returnees will appear, move quickly, and catch the missing ones. So it’s better to go to the most recent place where they were seen. You got nothing else to say, right? I’m the one behind the wheel anyway.”
Yoo Ji-yeon didn’t reply, and she turned her head towards the car window. She neither agreed nor did she refuse. It meant, ‘Do as you please.’
Yoo Ji-yeon was yet to be a match for Han Yeon-soo.
‘Trying to walk all over me, huh? But you’re still a baby.’
Han Yeon-soo grabbed the wheel and hummed.
* * *
“Ajusshi, are you serious?”
Said Sung Hyun-woo with a deep sigh. I understood. If anyone heard what I said, they’d behave like that.
“Hey, you’re kidding me, right? Since I’m his partner… you want me to go with him too? Huh?”
“Yes, of course. You’re the only one who can handle that person. You’re the only counter.”
I said to the perplexed Lee Jin-woo. He beat his chest out of frustration when he heard my reply.
“But, it only worked because other people were holding on, and this time it’s just the two of us! How are we supposed to control that monster…?”
“It’ll be different now. It won’t be too dangerous. There weren’t any problems when we laid down that person in a hospital room without any restraints.”
Both Lee Jin-woo and Sung Hyun-woo looked uncertain. It was all because of what I told them to do.
“You can do it. Go to Seol A-rin in the hospital and do whatever you can to make her our ally to stop the Returnee Situation. Manipulate her memory, give her what she wants, whatever it may be. And when Hyun-woo uses his powers, protect him as much as you can, Jin-woo.”
I told them to make the Third Disaster, Seol A-rin, who we barely overpowered, into our ally.
“You two are important. If the Returnees reach a certain level, we can’t deal with them on our own. I need a powerful secret weapon that can destroy anything. And there is no one in this world right now who has a more powerful ability than Seol A-rin.”
It was a very important role. If the hospitalized Seol A-rin remembered all of her past by mistake, it would be like the Third Disaster and the Fourth Disaster happening simultaneously.
But if these two were successful, it would be the perfect play—using the Third Disaster to defeat the Fourth one.
“I trust you guys. And I’m telling you, Seol A-rin isn’t that dangerous. She’s never been out of her hospital room, and the nurse said that she’s a very quiet patient….”
And the moment I said that.
Ring, ring.
My phone rang in my pocket.
“Yes, this is Jeong Si-woo. Who’s speaking?”
I didn’t know the number. But the voice coming from the phone was familiar.
-I think you should come right away. Well, I’m not sure. But it looks like someone died because of patient Seol A-rin.
“…….”
Why now? I looked at Sung Hyun-woo and Lee Jin-woo with my cell phone to my ear. They still looked uneasy. I forced a smile and looked at them.
“You guys should go there now. There’s no problem, but they need a guardian to come over for a bit.”
And I told a white lie.
* * *
-Good job today, Hunter Lee Hyun-seung.
After checking the message that arrived, Lee Hyun-seung walked down the street with an indifferent face. He had finished hunting as usual today. There was no crisis, and the hunt ended without difficulty. It was a lucky day without any injuries or deaths.
-Mr. Lee Hyun-seung, if you have time, maybe we can…….
-Hello, this is the Guild Union. Do you happen to…….
There were so many messages on the cell phone screen. It was all because of his name’s value.
The world’s most recognized 1st class Hunter. Unreplaceable achievements and overwhelming results. Not a single failure in his long career, and ‘the biggest shield’ that staunchly protected humanity. The name Lee Hyun-seung shone bright and carried a lot of weight.
“… I’m tired. I’m going to bed early today.”
His schedule was full tomorrow as well. There was no holiday for him. If he took a day off, dozens more would die, and if he took two days off, hundreds would die. If he could save more people by pushing his body to the limit, Lee Hyun-seung was willing to sacrifice as much as possible. Wearing a mask and a hat so that no one recognized him, he hurried along.
And at that moment.
“Excuse me.”
Someone grabbed him by the shoulder.
“May I ask you something?”
“Yes?”
“What’s wrong with the sky… And why are people walking around dressed up in weird clothes… And why are people talking about Hunters and Monsters and Rifts everywhere? Could you explain?”
Lee Hyun-seung remembered hearing on the news that there were “strange people” asking common knowledge questions. He slowly drew up his mana inside his body and replied without changing his calm expression.
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