Chapter 176: A Changed World
“Here is your coffee,” a Hunter said as they handed over a steaming cup of coffee to Lee Jun-Kyeong. The Hunter’s hands moved slowly and carefully, almost as if they were handing something to their first love.
“Thank you.”
Lee Jun-Kyeong accepted the offered coffee and thanked the Hunter. Instead of accepting the thanks, the Hunter responded with gratitude as well, “Th…thank you!”
After realizing what he had said, the Hunter quickly left the room, embarrassed.
"Pfft."
“Puhaha!”
Yeo Seong-Gu and Jeong In-Chang, who were sitting together by the side, finally burst into laughter, unable to hold it in any further.
“What, no date?” Yeo Seong-Gu teased.
“You’re so popular,” Jeong In-Chang added.
Lee Jun-Kyeong shrugged in response to their teasing and drank the coffee. They were currently residing in Seongnam, staying at the temporarily erected Hunter Association building.
“It’s already been a month since we arrived in Seongnam,” said Yeo Seong-Gu as he looked out of the window.
With the curtains drawn back, they could see a view of the city through the window. It was as vibrant and safe as it had been before the cataclysm. People weren’t afraid to go out into the streets, the markets were active, and even schools were running. This place was completely different from the other cities they had been to so far.
“We’ve stayed here too long,” Lee Jun-Kyeong said, putting down the coffee cup.
Originally, it had been a place they should have just passed by, but unfortunately, they had been forced to stay for unavoidable reasons. Something was keeping them from going to Gyeonggi-Do, their original destination.
When they were about to leave and head to Gyeonggi-Do, a veil that had already grown completely out of control appeared in front of them, blocking them from passing forward. It was a barrier that couldn’t be crossed even with the Bifrost.
Lee Jun-Kyeong, Yeo Seong-Gu, and Jeong In-Chang all tried to tear down the veil somehow, but it was to no avail. Thus, they stayed in Seongnam as they looked for a way across.
“Well, you’ve gotten the affection of the residents because you’ve stayed here for such a long time,” Yeo Seong-Gu teased.
The reason that the Hunter from before had reacted in such a manner was that the party hadn’t just taken a break while staying in Seongnam. Rather, they had moved even more madly.
Lee Jun-Kyeong had finally been able to conduct a hunt that he had been too busy to handle before. In the end, he had not only cleaned up the surrounding area around Seongnam but had also gone all the way to Gwangmyeong to take down the monsters.
He was a Hero to both the people and the Hunters. Lee Jun-Kyeong was praised as a true Hero by everyone, and it wasn’t just him as well. Jeong In-Chang and Yeo Seong-Gu were also raising their reputations even further.
“I mean, the difference in performance is absolutely overwhelming. I have nothing to say.”
Still, as Jeong In-Chang said, Lee Jun-Kyeong and their activities were worlds apart. Lee Jun-Kyeong was destroying hordes of monsters single-handedly, saving people and wiping out anything in his path. He was acting like someone who was angry about something.
“Whew…” Lee Jun-Kyeong let out a sigh.
“How is the situation?” he said, changing the subject.
Not only had they been clearing the monsters in the area, but they had also been driving their information gathering.
“There still isn’t any response from Seoul. It’s impossible for us to cross the veil or even make any contact,” Yeo Seong-Gu responded.
The Hunters in Seongnam had explained it to them: Seoul had become hell. Many of the hunters currently in Seongnam were those who had fled from that hellscape.
‘A ruler…a ruler…’
A ruler had suddenly appeared in Seoul, but no one knew what it was. Moreover, just how strong could it be that it had built such a solid barrier and taken over Seoul?
They tried all kinds of things in order to get that information, but they couldn’t find an answer.
“It’s the same overseas. Everyone’s situation is getting more and more serious. Cities that used to be safe are now facing the aftermath of the cataclysm as well.”
“Is there any news from Egypt or Europe?” he asked.
“Well…”
Yeo Seong-Gu frowned as if he was placed in a problematic situation.
“We’ve been able to get in contact with Egypt, but the situation isn’t very good. They lost too many Hunters during Set’s rebellion. Although they seem to be holding together somewhat so far, it's not a good situation.”
“...”
“As for Europe,” Yeo Seong-Gu said, his hand kneading his brow.
“London has completely collapsed, and we can’t get in touch at all. I also only heard this from one of the Hunters who had escaped.”
Lee Jun-Kyeong, Yeo Seong-Gu, and Jeong In-Chang all looked out of the window. Seongnam, the city, still had its original appearance.
‘It’s a changing…’
No.
It was a changed world.
***
“Mr. Underdog!”
“Siegfried!”
Whenever Lee Jun-Kyeong and Jeong In-Chang went out together, people came up to say hello. They were celebrities in Seongnam.
“Where are you going today?”
“We will follow you!”
Whether it was the Hunters of guilds that supported Korea, Hunters who belonged to the Association, the League Guild members, or even those who had only just become Hunters, everyone was fond of Lee Jun-Kyeong and Jeong In-Chang. Whenever they would go out, monsters would disappear, and people would be saved.
“This time, we plan to go to the border of Gyeonggi-Do,” Jeong In-Chang said to them.
“We, too, will…”
“Thank you, but this time, only the two of us will go,” Lee Jun-Kyeong responded firmly to the request of the Hunters.
The Hunters all lowered their heads in response. However, it wasn’t because they had been rejected.
“We apologize. We will work even harder.”
No, they seemed to think it was because they had become a burden.
Because the two had always shown such an overwhelming gap compared to them, the Hunters were not only envious of them but also self-deprecating about themselves.
“It’s not like that.”
"Then…”
“Like we said before…”
Their faces stiffened as Lee Jun-Kyeong relaxed his smile.
“We have to move on from here. We’re only going alone because we intend to examine the veil.”
“Ah…”
The Hunters’ expressions hardened at Lee Jun-Kyeong's words. It was something that the party had said from the very beginning as they arrived at Seongnam, that they were planning to go to Gyeonggi-Do.
“Gyeonggi-Do is dangerous. Don’t you think gathering more Hunters in Seongnam and traveling all at once…”
The Hunters made the same suggestion every time.
“We can’t wait. We have people waiting for us.”
However, they were rejected every time.
“We understand.”
In the end, the Hunters retreated, and Lee Jun-Kyeong finished his preparations.
Rumble.
A car revved its engine and was making noise in front of them. As stated earlier, Seongnam was a stable city. No one had to worry about being attacked by monsters or worry about roads being cut off, and thus, they were able to travel by car.
“Hunter Lee.”
During their time here, their driver had always been this man.
Lee Jun-Kyeong smiled at the voice that called out to him. The person who was calling him Lee Jun-Kyeong in this situation, and not the Underdog, was “Mr. Kim.” It was Kim Su-Yeong, the member of the Association with whom he had had a relationship with since he had become a Hunter.
Surprisingly, his manager was in Seongnam. It wasn’t that Kim Su-Yeong had also fled from Seoul, but that around the time Lee Jun-Kyeong had been traveling abroad, Kim Su-Yeong had been managing Hunters all over the country, so he had been in Seongnam when the cataclysm began.
“Let’s go.”
Lee Jun-Kyeong shook hands with Kim Su-Yeong. It was destiny, and Kim Su-Yeong had no idea exactly how grateful Lee Jun-Kyeong was that his manager was still alive. Kim Su-Yeong also smiled as he looked over at Lee Jun-Kyeong, and they all entered the car.
Rumble.
The car vibrated slightly and started to move forward.
‘Soon…’
Lee Jun-Kyeong thought to himself as he looked out at the city out of the window.
‘We’ll be leaving.’
They had stayed here too long. The only reason they had stayed here was to find a way.
“Did you find a way to get to Gyeonggi-Do?” Kim Su-Yeong asked.
“I think so,” he responded.
Now, they seemed to have found a way.
***
The intangible veil now looked like a physical barrier that was blackened and hardened. It seemed to be formed of some strange sort of material rather than energy like before.
Shhh.
Lee Jun-Kyeong touched the veil as he walked forward with the corpses of monsters piled up around him. Behind him were Kim Su-Yeong and Jeong In-Chang.
Shhh.
He continued to touch the veil as he walked forward, and there was no wavering of the wavelength of the veil or any changes as he interacted with it. It was just something hard and completely stiff like stone.
“...”
This was why they couldn’t leave. They had tried to pierce through the veil with the Bifrost, but it had just been a waste of its power.
Lee Jun-Kyeong said, “Please back up a bit.”
Kim Su-Yeong and Jeong In-Chang nodded and took a step back. Looking at the veil, Lee Jun-Kyeong held Muspel’s Spear in his hand.
The spear of flame burned red. It had consumed the blood of monsters and grown accustomed to the flames, so it was glistening like blood.
“Ha-eup.”
Lee Jun-Kyeong took a deep breath and gathered his aura. He would use all of the experience he had accumulated so far and the strength to accompany it.
Boom, boom, boom, boom!
He thrust forward in a straight line. A single line of fire hit the curtain, the First Flame. Acrid smoke and flames burst out. A wave of heat blew over them.
“Whew…”
When their sight returned, they could see that the veil stood, undamaged.
“How ridiculous,” Kim Su-Yeong said in amazement.
The aura that Lee Jun-Kyeong had just exuded had been so strong that it had taken his breath away, even as he was growing as a Hunter. But even still, the veil stood without a single blemish.
“It seems that the answer isn’t to attack it in one place. As the entire veil is interconnected, as long as it’s not pierced…”
They wouldn’t be able to cross it.
“Didn’t you say you seemed to have found a way?” Kim Su-Yeong asked.
Just like his question, Lee Jun-Kyeong had said that he thought he had found a way.
“Yes.” Lee Jun-Kyeong nodded as he waved his hand.
Then.
Shhh.
“Damn it!”
They heard Jeong In-Chang exclaim.
Jeong In-Chang was still frightened by the blurry shape that suddenly appeared in front of him, perhaps still not having gotten used to it yet.
“Hel.”
Lee Jun-Kyeong’s Familiar, Hel, had appeared. It had been wandering around the vicinity following some kind of orders.
“How are the preparations?” he asked.
–I’ve finished, master.
Hel nodded and replied. It was an unusual Familiar, different from Fenrir or Hyeon-Mu.
As for what that unusual Familiar had prepared…the earth roared, and clouds covered the sky.
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DDDDDDD.
“...!”
Suddenly, thousands of corpses appeared, and they were all corpses of monsters. Hel waved its hand like a commander and gave orders to the undead.
Oooughhhhh. Oooghhhh.
The half-dead, half-revived monsters moved forward with strange screams.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Moving quickly, they slammed their bodies directly into the veil, over and over.
Smoke rose from the veil from where they collided, and blood and flesh flew everywhere as the resurrected monsters returned to their graves.
“Is it working?” Jeong In-Chang asked, but Lee Jun-Kyeong simply watched the scene unfold without giving an answer. After quite some time, the monsters that seemed to appear endlessly had all disappeared.
“...”
And as for the veil, it was stained with the blood and flesh of the undead monsters.
“What do you think?”
–Hmm…
“Can you do it?”
–Please give me a moment, master.
Hell asked Lee Jun-Kyeong for a moment and began to spread its aura. The familiar was preparing something with the energy borrowed from Lee Jun-Kyeong.
BOOOOM!
A huge explosion occurred.
–It seems possible, master.
In the midst of the cloud of smoke that completely obscured their field of vision, the only thing that rang in the ears of Lee Jun-Kyeong and his party was the voice of Hel.
***
“Are you really leaving?” someone asked.
A great number of people were camped out in front of the temporary Association building established in Seongnam, and they were all looking at someone with their respective expressions. Their focus was on Lee Jun-Kyeong as he was saying his farewells to the crowd with a large backpack on his shoulders.
“There are many Hunters here in Seongnam. We’ll select a few to follow you.”
“Can’t you just stay a little bit…”
Although the words were the earnest wishes of the Hunters mixed about, Lee Jun-Kyeong was adamant.
“No,” he said.
“Everyone, please protect Seongnam. Also, there is Gwangmyeong and Incheon as well… you all must protect Korea.”
“...”
“Thank you for everything,” he concluded, turning around without hesitation. In front of him were Jeong In-Chang and Yeo Seong-Gu.
“Are you coming with us?”
Kim Su-Yeong was waiting as well.
They looked back at Lee Jun-Kyeong with their own respective heavy loads on their backs and nodded in assent.
"Then, let's go,” Lee Jun-Kyeong said.
It was time they would set off.
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