Everyone Has a Plausible Excuse (3)

The incident ended with Michael Kang passing out.

The wildfire was put out and the cold air was removed, so no traces remained.

At the same time, I completely altered the memories of all the Hunters who had been knocked out together.

No one would know that I interfered in this incident today.

Except for a select few.

A few days later, I went to visit a hospital room with some fruit in hand.

There, I saw Sung Chohyung lying down with bandages wrapped around her back.

"What happened after that?"

"The police found the scene while searching the mountains and arrested Michael. They did the same for the Hunters who were lying around nearby."

The Hunters who aided and abetted Michael's crimes.

Because the charges were clear, they were also taken in as accomplices.

During the investigation, all their past criminal records would be revealed, and those who had been assigned as Michael's guards wouldn't come out unscathed either.

"They were 'Murderer' Hunters attached to both the Hwasan Guild and the Sura Guild. On the surface, they pretended to be ordinary Hunters, but as soon as the request came in, they immediately switched to Murderer Hunters."

The image blow to the Hwasan and Sura Guild, who had been secretly running such people, would be enormous.

They'd try to cut ties, saying those Hunters acted on their own, but it wouldn't be easy to cover this up.That's because Sung Chohyung's family, the victim, caused a huge uproar.

"I never knew that Senior Chohyung's family was one of Taiwan's richest."

"Why are you acting like it's new? You know I'm rich."

"My dad could easily give me enough allowance to eat out every weekend too, you know."

"What does your dad do?"

"He's a prosecutor. He got promoted recently."

Just like Michael, Sung Chohyung's family was quite wealthy.

Their company created outstanding potions, and even overseas guilds frequently used their products.

Even the Hwasan Guild, one of Korea's four great guilds, used potions from that company.

But the company president's daughter lost one of her wings, and it was revealed that Hwasan Guild Hunters participated in the crime.

This would certainly sever all trust between them.

"But the Hwasan Guild Hunters are really stupid, aren't they? Did they kidnap me knowing I was the daughter of the potion company president?"

"I'm not sure about that, but even if they did know, they probably didn't care. You didn't know which guild those Hunters were from at first, right?"

"Hmm... that's true."

Their affiliations only came to light recently through news reports.

Before then, there was no way to know that those guys belonged to the Hwasan Guild.

If it hadn't been revealed, from Sung Chohyung's perspective, they would have just remained mysterious Murderer Hunters.

"I looked it up, and they say your company's potions are so effective—it's like kicking away luck that came rolling in."

"Thinking about it that way does make me feel a bit satisfied."

"..."

"By the way, how did it happen? Just who was it that took down all those Hunters?"

The moment I heard those words, I shut my mouth.

I couldn't say it was me.

Not that anyone would believe it in the first place.

How could a mere first-year middle school Hunter candidate take down over 100 Hunters, including two A-ranks?

Even if this were a novel, readers would call it an outrageous plot device and I wouldn't have any excuse.

"According to the investigation, it was internal conflict. Apparently, there was friction between the Hwasan and Sura Guild."

"Is that so...? Hmm..."

Sung Chohyung stared at me with a look of suspicion.And then said,

"I definitely heard about it."

"Heard what?"

"Sumin said he met you when he was running with me on his back. He told me you ran straight to the scene as soon as you heard what happened."

"All I did was bring Sang-ah back. I'm pretty good at hiding my presence, you know."

"Is that so? Hmmm..."

Even after hearing that explanation, chohyung still felt a sense of unease.

It was good that the incident had been resolved safely, but ever since I appeared, things felt like they had gotten terribly tangled.

They reached the conclusion, but the route to get there was warped and twisted.

"Anyway, Sang-ah is the daughter of the Hwasan Guildmaster, right? Maybe that's why they split up internally."

"Yeah... maybe."

The Hwasan Guild not wanting to touch their own leader's daughter, and Sura Guild insisting that it doesn't matter and wanting to carry out the crime anyway.

If that's how the split happened, it adds up.

But how someone like me, just a "shrimp" in a fight among "whales," managed to rescue Kwon Sang-ah is still a mystery.

"Anyway, thanks for saving Sang-ah."

"No need for thanks."

"By the way, where's Sang-ah? She didn't come with you?"

"She said she'd come next time. Ever since that incident, her eyes have been burning with determination."

Just from that fired-up look, Sung Chohyung could guess what Sang-ah was up to.

Unlike other students, she never slacked off on training late into the night.

I was worried she might be overworking herself because of the helplessness she felt from what happened this time.

"She should come see me together with you... I might not get to see you again."

"What do you mean?"

"I might fail to enter the high school division. For fairies, wings are crucial even in battle."

Ordinarily, fairies use powder imbued with magic power when they fight.

That powder comes from their wings.

Once the wings are torn, the loss in combat power is tremendous.

"Once I get discharged, my ranking will probably drop from 2nd place to below the 200s. Hahaha, that's a difference of 100 times."

Even in such a grim situation, Sung Chohyung managed to smile.

A girl's life was turned upside down by the madness of some thug.

But there was no resentment on Sung Chohyung's face.

She was just full of gratitude toward me.

"Seongjin, there's something I want to ask you."

That's why Sung Chohyung spoke.

She began to say the things she'd been worried about throughout school life.

****

'This can't be real... This must be a dream...'

Locked up in a stinky, dusty cell, Michael muttered to himself inside his head.

He had completely blacked out in the forest, and without realizing it, found himself behind bars.

He was taken to court together with the Hunters.

On top of attempted murder, the body of the steakhouse staff member he had murdered was found.

It was also caught clearly on surveillance camera—there was no way out.

—The defendant, out of mere anger, mercilessly murdered an innocent person. As a result, the victim's lover had to lose someone precious. Furthermore, for grievously injuring a fellow school student in attempted murder, I sentence you to 20 years in prison.

That was the verdict Michael received in court.

But since it wasn't just murder, but dismemberment, public opinion was that even 20 years wasn't enough.

He had dismembered the body like a puzzle from head to toe and dumped the pieces in trash bins all over Hand.

Was this really the work of a student? Some even doubted whether he was really human.

The law exists to protect humans. To Michael, who seemed no longer human, that meant nothing.

—Does the defendant have anything to say?

At the judge's question, Michael racked his brains.

He was accompanied by a lawyer, determined to get a lighter sentence, so he couldn't let the chance slip by.

But then—

"Damn bastard! Damn bastard!! Uaaaah...!!"

Michael suddenly began to curse.

Even when the judge asked, he only cursed, looking extremely aggrieved.

His mouth wouldn't move as he wished.

"Damn... damn...! (Why... why...!)"

He couldn't say what he wanted.

His mouth just spewed nonsense curses—not what he was thinking inside.

So Michael shed even more tears.

"Damn... you bastard... (Why is this happening to me...)"

Like some animal going, "quack-quack, ohoong—," all Michael could do was bark out curses.

Nobody could understand what he was really saying.

He just looked like some senseless foul-mouthed punk—which explained the furious look on the judge's face.

Even the elite attorneys brought in with his father and Emily's help were horrified.

"Damn! (Also...!)"

His arms wouldn't move.

He tried to explain, but couldn't remember who had done it.

And even if he could, all he could say was "Damn."

The diagnosis was that all the tissues in his body had collapsed beyond repair by modern medicine.

A literal death sentence.

His arms didn't work, and apart from cursing, he couldn't say anything else.

It was clear what would happen if he remained in prison like this.

As a result... his body was soon covered in blood.

"Damn bastard! (It's unfair...! It's so unfair!)"

He couldn't hold a spoon, couldn't communicate.

He had lost the ability to eat and speak—hell on earth.

His father and Emily said they would get him out somehow... but he doubted he could last till then.

More than a week had passed since his incarceration, but he hadn't properly eaten.

On top of that, after being beaten, his eyes had lost their light.

Having decided to give up on everything... Michael finally slammed his head against the wall.

There happened to be a protruding piece, which seemed reassuring.

It looked like he could end it all at once.

****

Scene of the mountain incident, where the abandoned building had stood.

A man wandered nearby, leading some people who trailed behind him.

There was no way he hadn't heard about what happened here.

He was the Chairman who ruled over Hand.

"Why did you bother coming out to a place like this? The case was resolved some time ago."

"You're so busy, chairman, why stop by here?"

The subordinates following him asked.

Hand's Chairman, Raven Holbat, smiled at their questions.

"I just... want to confirm something."

"Is it that important?"

"If you call it important, then yes, it is."

The two men tilted their heads at Raven's answer.

For the Chairman of such a major educational institution, his youthful features betrayed no inside thoughts.

"How many days has it been since this ended?"

"About two weeks."

"In the meantime, what happened to that perpetrator student?"

"He was imprisoned... It was recently reported that he committed suicide."

"I see."

It was regrettable that someone died.

Even more so when it was a boy.

But there was no sympathy for what that boy had done.

Even if you were the Chairman running Hand.

"Any unusual features about that student?"

"He reportedly couldn't speak properly. Every time he tried to say something, all that came out was 'Damn! Damn!' so communication was impossible."

"On top of that, both his arms received a 'death sentence'. The tissue was completely severed—his arms were considered dead."

"..."

Raven walked among the rubble of the ruined abandoned building.And spoke.

"Who do you think made this student end up this way, as well as wreck this place like this?"

"According to investigators, it was internal conflict among the Hunters."

"Would that really explain all this?"

Raven gazed off somewhere with a faint smile.

It was the exact spot where Michael had been found collapsed.

"There's no way it was just that."

Raven sensed a very cursed energy emanating from that place.

Even when investigators combed through, no one else had sensed this energy, causing his brow to furrow.

"For a being that invaded from another world, no less."

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=What does Raven know?Is he Sungjeon's follower from the other world?【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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