Misunderstanding (1)

We started searching in earnest for Shim Chun-hoo's location, but as expected, it wasn't as easy as it sounded.

Even with Yeon-ji's help, we still needed to narrow down his position to some degree.

"He's supposed to have the ability to turn into a shadow, right? Then isn't it basically impossible to pinpoint his location?"

"He can't maintain it all the time, though. And he seemed mentally unstable, so hiding out in one place would be difficult for him."

If that was the case, then there were actually a limited number of places he could go.

First, since he couldn't let himself be spotted, he would have run off to somewhere with few people around. Among such places near Sillim...

"Mount Gwanak is the most likely."

"That's what I thought too. The odds of running into people are lowest there."

Of course, it was possible he fled to another area, but from his condition at the time, he wouldn't have made it very far.

So, the first place we could specify was Mount Gwanak, right next to Sillim.

Mount Gwanak was bigger than you'd think and had plenty of places to hide from prying eyes.

"Have there been any missing hikers recently...?"

"Fortunately not. Of course, that could just mean he's not here."

Yeon-ji nodded lightly at my words.

"We'll have to check it out either way. But if we really get close, he'll be able to sense that I'm a demon, right?"

"That's for sure."

"It's a bit funny to be asking this now, but that 'demon'—it's something you met in another world, isn't it? What did you do over there anyway?"

Yeon-ji asked me with a rare look of curiosity.

Well, it made sense. Demons weren't a race that existed on Earth.

"That would take a long time to explain, so just ask Shin Ah-yeon later."

"What? You told her?"

"There was a chance to explain when we visited the Awakener Museum in Jeju last time."

We finished our preparations for heading to Mount Gwanak, chatting as we went.

Whether Shim Chun-hoo would really be there, we had no idea.

"... He's not here."

Although I had been sure Mount Gwanak was the place, unexpectedly, there was no sign of Shim Chun-hoo.

But to say it was a complete waste would be wrong.

"I get what you meant now. You really can feel the 'kin' aura this way."

Yeon-ji said this as she drew with her finger above her head, as if forming an antenna.

At first, she said, it felt like a tingle from static electricity on her scalp, but soon she began sensing a strange energy.

"So, a demon was here?"

"That's for sure. But..."

"But?"

"I think there was one besides Shim Chun-hoo. There are two traces of demonic energy left behind, and their intensities are different."

One was quite a strong demon, while the other was apparently rather weak.

While surveying the forest where Shim Chun-hoo had been, I was able to spot something odd.

"... He really was here."

I muttered as I brushed the oddly dark ground with my fingers.

The grass growing there had withered up into a shriveled mess.

"Oh, is that what happens when demonic energy touches it?"

"No, this is the life force being drained."

Did Shim Chun-hoo not only possess shadow clan abilities?

It seemed there was blood of several races mixed in him.

'This is strange.'

It was a sensation familiar to me.

But that familiarity was precisely the problem. This wasn't a demon's technique.

"Looks like Shim Chun-hoo made contact with a demon here."

Did they agree to meet here in the first place?

Or did the demon come looking specifically for Shim Chun-hoo? I wasn't sure.

"Manager Park."

"What is it?"

"By the way, I'm a little concerned about the direction Shim Chun-hoo moved off."

Yeon-ji raised her hand and roughly pointed in the direction the energy had trailed.

"He went back toward the city."

"Can you tell when he moved?"

"I'm not certain...but I'd say about a day ago."

After saying this, Yeon-ji's face darkened.

The fact that he was heading back to the city was never good news.

"This isn't good. Still nothing in the news?"

"I just checked. Nothing so far."

"We'd better hurry and catch up to him."

I put on a mask to cover my face and pulled my hood deep over my head.

It would have been easier if Shim Chun-hoo had stayed in the mountains, but now that he was moving through the city, I had to hide my identity.

If I hunted him down as 'Manager Park Jung-woo', things would get chaotic in the worst way.

"Huh?"

When I did my best to hide my identity, Yeon-ji stared blankly at me for a moment.

Then, with a shaky finger, she pointed at me.

"T-That person was you?"

"That person?"

"The one who closed the S-rank gate in Jeju Island!"

I was actually surprised that Yeon-ji was surprised.

"Didn't you already know?"

"How would I know!?"

"I thought you'd have guessed, since you know I came from another world."

"I can't with you."

Yeon-ji shook her head in disbelief.

"With that much power, why do you need my help? You could just kill them all."

"It's not as easy as it sounds."

"How can you use that sort of power, when you're not even an awakened?"

Given that what I'd shown back then was something even S-rank Hunters couldn't do easily, it made sense that Yeon-ji was curious. She'd aimed to become S-rank ever since the days of Ji Yeon-hwa, so her sense of shock was even greater.

"... I don't know."

"I figured you wouldn't tell me anyway. Still, if you closed that Jeju gate, then Shim Chun-hoo shouldn't be a problem."

Yeon-ji said it offhandedly, but I doubted things would go so smoothly. More importantly, the fact that another demon had contacted Shim Chun-hoo meant there was a demon managing him.

'Depending on the circumstances...'

I might be better off targeting that demon.

Of course, that would only be if the thing showed itself.

Only then could I get to the bottom of the strange discomfort I felt when I saw Shim Chun-hoo.

***

"She started all this reckless business and all people do is praise her. Just because she's an S-rank hunter, she gets to break the rules?"

"She must've wanted to hog all the glory for himself."

At a café in the busy downtown of Sillim.

Two men sat there, reading the latest article with clenched teeth.

They were Lee Hyun-sung and Choi Seung-chul, the two hunters who, along with Soo-ah, had been appointed as ambassadors for awakener crime prevention.

They had become absolute allies ever since the public had found their new enemy in Lee Soo-ah.

"Because Lee Soo-ah stirred things up like that, we need to do something too."

"But how are we supposed to find the guy who fled?"

Amazingly, Shim Chun-hoo had completely slipped through the investigation net and vanished.

The investigation was ongoing, but his whereabouts were still a total mystery.

"At this rate, the only thing we'll get when our ads come out is flak."

"If that woman hadn't stirred up trouble for nothing...!"

These public service ads were only meant to clean up their image; it's not like they were very profitable or did much for their popularity. They'd only planned to pretend to help the investigation, soaking up as much benefit as they could.

But now, thanks to Lee Soo-ah's actions, if they didn't actually contribute to the investigation, viewers would surely turn on them.

That would wreck their image even further.

"So no matter what, we have to find him... hm?"

As Choi Seung-chul said this, he sensed a commotion in the surrounding air.

People in the café were pointing and whispering towards the window.

"Hey, is that weird guy out there Shim Chun-hoo? He looks just like the news photos!"

"That's him! That's Shim Chun-hoo! Call the police, hurry!"

Shim Chun-hoo? For real?

Lee Hyun-sung and Choi Seung-chul looked at each other instantly.

What incredible luck was this?

Unlike Soo-ah, who fought him in a deserted alley, Shim Chun-hoo was now walking right through a busy part of Sillim.

If they captured him here, countless people would film it and upload it to every community online.

"E-Everyone stand back! We'll catch him! We will!!"

Lee Hyun-sung yelled in a hurry, sprinting out of the café.

If they called the police, detective Sim Hyuk-soo would show up with his officers for sure.

They had to subdue him before that happened, or the glory would be lost.

"But Hunter Lee Hyun-sung-nim, can the two of us handle this? According to the report, isn't he estimated to be over A-rank?"

"That's before he got injured. Didn't you hear? He barely escaped after being utterly wrecked by Lee Soo-ah. Not much time has passed, so those injuries shouldn't have healed."

If he was over A-rank, it would be daunting for the two of them to attack.

Lee Hyun-sung and Choi Seung-chul were A-rank too, but someone 'over A-rank' was on a different level.

They were basically close to S-rank but hadn't been officially rated so; that was what 'over A-rank' meant.

Recently, only Ji Yeon-hwa, who had gone missing, had ever approached over A-rank status in Korea, so Choi Seung-chul's caution was understandable.

"Shim Chun-hoo!!"

Lee Hyun-sung, in his impatience, yelled Shim Chun-hoo's name and ran toward him.

Shim Chun-hoo didn't even look his way.

He just wandered around aimlessly, as if searching for something.

'Is he out of his mind? This is incredible luck.'

Intent on subduing Shim Chun-hoo before he came to his senses, Lee Hyun-sung charged at him.

His sword, drawn from his belt, cut through the air sharply.

Kang!!

"Huh?"

Lee Hyun-sung had tried to cut off Shim Chun-hoo's arm so he couldn't fight, but his sword simply bounced off the arm.

Instead of flesh, it felt as if he'd struck a hunk of metal—the shock numbed his hand.

'And I even reinforced my sword with magic power?'

As an A-rank hunter, Lee Hyun-sung's blows were more than enough to slice cleanly through solid steel.

But not only did he fail to cut Shim Chun-hoo's arm, he couldn't even leave a scratch.

"Hunter Lee Hyun-sung!!"

With the sword rebounding, Lee Hyun-sung's chest was left unguarded.

Shim Chun-hoo lightly swung a hand at the opening, and with this simple attack, Lee Hyun-sung was flung into a nearby building's wall.

KWAANG!!

"Kyaaah!!"

People on the street screamed at the sight of Lee Hyun-sung crashing through the wall.

Shim Chun-hoo then began walking slowly toward the disoriented hunter.

"N-No!"

Unable to stand by, Choi Seung-chul hammered Shim Chun-hoo with one fire spell after another.

Even though fireballs battered Shim Chun-hoo, his steps didn't falter.

He kept walking as if the attacks meant nothing, just as when he was hit by Lee Hyun-sung's sword.

"Kyaaah!!"

The next sight was horrifying.

Shim Chun-hoo reached the dazed Lee Hyun-sung, and with an expressionless face, shoved his hand into the man's stomach.

Then, slowly pulled his blood-stained hand out.

In his grip was a blue-glowing orb, slick with blood.

It was Lee Hyun-sung's mana hall.

"..."

Shim Chun-hoo stared at it for a moment, then opened his mouth wide and started shoving the orb in.

Choi Seung-chul had seen this before.

It was in the CCTV photos Detective Sim Hyuk-soo had shown them.

Shim Chun-hoo had always ripped out the mana halls of the hunters he killed and noisily chewed them up.

"N-No..."

Choi Seung-chul, paralyzed with fear as he saw the lifeless body of Lee Hyun-sung after his mana hall was torn out, started to inch backward. If things stayed like this, he'd end up the same way.

But he was already too late.

After devouring the entire mana hall, Shim Chun-hoo's gaze turned to Choi Seung-chul.

"Ah... Ahh..."

Magic didn't work—there was no way for a mage like Choi Seung-chul to shake off or outrun this monster.

The moment Shim Chun-hoo reached out toward the paralyzed Choi Seung-chul...

KWAANG!!

Someone small came running up and kicked Shim Chun-hoo's body.

For the first time, his body, formerly unmoved by even Lee Hyun-sung and Choi Seung-chul's attacks, was blasted several meters away.

'... A girl?'

Startled at the sight, Choi Seung-chul simply stared at the figure who had stepped in front of him.

A girl who looked to be only in her early to mid teens.

Despite having just witnessed the horrific scene Shim Chun-hoo had caused, she looked completely calm.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】

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