Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Empty cans clinked inside the recycling bag. It was an alley in front of the villa complex that would normally have been peaceful, but now a raw tension hung in the air. Men in black suits stood blocking Jina's path, cultivating a threatening atmosphere.

"Hunter Kang Jina, you think our guild is a charity? All that equipment we provided and the training facility fees—what are you going to do about all of that?"

The man in the lead snickered and gave Jina's shoulder a shove. Fury burned in Jina's eyes, but she was biting her lip and holding it in. They were right in front of the house where her family lived. Causing a scene here would surely frighten her mother.

That was when Somyeong approached, hunched over. One hand held the garbage bag, and on his face was a smile so kind it could not look more harmless.

"Oh my, what's all this about? Are you here regarding our Jina's party contract?"

Somyeong squeezed between the men, bowing and scraping. The sudden appearance of a porter made the men's brows furrow.

"Who the hell are you? Move."

"Oh, I'm her older brother. Kang Somyeong's the name. Our Jina's running late for the training center right now. You seem like important people—why don't you take your time and talk with me instead? Jina, you go on ahead."

Jina stared at Somyeong in bewilderment.

"Oppa! What are you saying?! These people are from the Black Lion guild. They're not people you can handle!"

"Come on, you don't trust me? I said go. I'll talk things through with them."

Somyeong gave Jina's shoulder a light tap. In that moment, an infinitesimally faint and warm energy flowed from his fingertips into her entire body. Her seething anger settled as if by magic, replaced by an inexplicably calm sensation. Jina gazed into Somyeong's eyes as though entranced. It was his usual carefree smile, and yet something beyond it put her at ease.

"......You'll really be okay?"

"Don't worry. Your brother's got a way with words, remember? Now go."

The men smirked, thinking the F-rank porter was stepping in because he was scared. They seemed to have decided to make Somyeong their prey instead of holding onto Jina. Holding a family member hostage would be more advantageous for negotiations.

"Fine, talking to this 'brother' should be quicker. Hunter Kang Jina, have a good time at training."

Jina left the alley, looking back several times. At last, her figure turned the corner and disappeared completely.

***

Silence arrived.

Somyeong, who had been bowing so low it bordered on groveling just moments ago, slowly straightened his body. The foolish smile plastered on his face vanished in an instant. In its place settled an expression so cold it was beyond chilling—colorless and void.

"Hey, porter. You heard, right? Word's spread that your sister took down a boss yesterday. Triple the signing fee and get her to stamp the re-signing papers. Otherwise your life is—"

The man's sentence cut off mid-word.

For an instant, it felt as though all the oxygen in the alley had been sucked away. The air grew heavy as lead, and an invisible, enormous pressure bore down on the men's shoulders.

"......Wh, what—?"

The men could not breathe. The man before them suddenly looked like an enormous mountain. No—it was something vaster and darker than any mountain. They had prided themselves on having weathered every kind of hardship as C-rank hunters, but this breed of terror was unlike anything they had ever known.

Somyeong looked down at them with indifferent eyes and opened his mouth.

"In my sect, there is a set way of dealing with cockroaches when they catch your eye."

"Wh-what do you—"

"You track down the sewer they crawled out of and burn it to the ground."

Somyeong lightly flicked his fingers.

CRACK—!

With a grotesque sound of shattering bone, both men's knees buckled simultaneously. They did not even have time to scream. Somyeong had crushed their vocal cords with his energy. The men clawed at the ground with tears streaming, but there was not a shred of sympathy in Somyeong's eyes.

"I already know where the sewer is. No need for directions."

Somyeong grabbed the men rolling on the ground by the scruffs of their necks, as though they were luggage.

***

The third floor of a shabby commercial building in downtown Seoul. The place bearing the sign 'Black Lion Guild, Branch No. 2' was, in truth, a den of scum engaged in loan-sharking and coercive contracts.

The branch chief, Park Taesik, was sunk deep into a sofa, puffing out cigarette smoke. A B-rank hunter, he was drunk on the unchecked power he wielded in this neighborhood.

"That Kang Jina bitch, they'll bring her in today, right? Talented ones need to have their spirit crushed early on."

That was when it happened.

CRASH—!

The steel office door crumpled like paper and flew inward. Park Taesik reflexively threw himself behind the sofa.

"What the—?! Who is it?!"

A man walked in through the thick dust. In each hand, he held the scruff of an unconscious subordinate. Somyeong tossed the human luggage into the middle of the room.

"So this is the sewer."

"This son of a—...... How dare you! What are you all doing?! Kill him!"

Five hunters who had been standing by inside the office rose as one. They generated fireballs or swung blades of wind as they charged at Somyeong. Modern magical techniques and skills lit up the room in a dazzling display.

But Somyeong did not dodge. He simply walked forward, step by step.

The raging flames scattered in every direction before they could even touch his body, as though blocked by an invisible wall. Somyeong casually extended his right hand and struck the air.

BOOM—!

It was a simple palm strike. But the wind pressure generated in its wake was more powerful than a cannonball. The charging hunters were driven through the wall along with their own skills. The sound of breaking bones and screaming filled the office.

"I-Impossible......"

Park Taesik was horror-struck. His elite subordinates had been annihilated with a single gesture. He gritted his teeth and drew his primary weapon, a greatsword. The powerful magical energy characteristic of a B-rank hunter surged across the blade.

"I don't know what hole you crawled out of, but you won't be able to stop this!"

Park Taesik swung the sword with every ounce of his strength. A heavy cleaving strike that split the very air came crashing down on Somyeong's head.

Instead of dodging the blade, Somyeong raised a single index finger and lightly met it head-on.

Where a sharp metallic ring should have sounded, a dull rupture echoed instead. Park Taesik's greatsword crumbled to dust from the base up.

"Where is my sister's contract?"

Somyeong's voice was low and calm. But to Park Taesik, it sounded like a death sentence from the reaper himself.

"O-Over there...... inside the safe......"

Park Taesik collapsed to the floor, trembling violently, pointing at the safe in the corner. When Somyeong walked up and placed his hand on it, the thick steel door peeled off as easily as popping a lid. Inside were stacks of unfair contracts steeped in the blood and tears of countless hunters.

Somyeong found the one bearing the name 'Kang Jina.'

Crimson demonic energy bloomed from his palm. The paper caught with a flare and turned to ash in an instant, scattering into the air.

"If you are born human, you should live like one. Why go out of your way to choose the path of vermin?"

Somyeong stepped in front of Park Taesik. Park Taesik tried to retreat, but his body had already seized up. Somyeong's foot drove into Park Taesik's lower abdomen—his dantian, the wellspring of his magical energy.

"GHURK—!"

With the sensation of his dantian being shattered, Park Taesik vomited blood and crumpled. Not only was his career as a hunter finished—the injury was severe enough that he would struggle to walk properly for the rest of his life.

"Never come crawling near my family again. Next time, I will make you forget how to breathe."

Somyeong spat the words coldly and walked out of the office without looking back. In the space he left behind, the demonic energy Somyeong had left in his wake began to generate friction in the air, igniting into blue flames.

***

That evening.

The living room of Kang Somyeong's home could not have been more peaceful. Laughter from a variety show drifted from the TV, and from the kitchen came the savory aroma of the soybean paste stew his mother was cooking.

"I'm home......"

Jina opened the front door and stepped in, looking completely drained. The moment she entered, she spotted Somyeong sitting on the living room sofa peeling an apple, and her eyes went wide.

"Oppa! Are you okay? What happened with those people? What's going on?"

Somyeong popped a slice of apple into his mouth and answered nonchalantly.

"Hm? Oh, those guys? I talked it out with them. They said there was a mistake in the contract and apologized. Then they bowed very politely and just left."

"No way. Those vipers backed off that easily?"

Jina looked Somyeong up and down with suspicious eyes. But his clothes were spotless, without a speck of dust, and his expression looked as dopey as ever.

Just then, a breaking news ticker scrolled across the TV.

[Breaking: Fire, believed caused by gas explosion, at Black Lion Guild branch office in Seoul's OO District.]

[All hunters inside found with total loss of magical energy and severe injuries...... The Association is investigating the possibility of an unregistered high-ranking hunter as the perpetrator.]

The building on screen was charred black, a wretched sight. Jina stared back and forth between the TV and Somyeong, her jaw hanging open.

"Oppa...... don't tell me this is......"

"Wow, scary. Better be careful with gas, right?"

Somyeong grinned and popped a slice of apple into Jina's mouth. Sweet juice spread through her mouth, but her mind was nothing but chaos.

Somyeong sank deep into the sofa and murmured to himself.

'Recycling really does feel best when you take it out the same day.'

He pressed the remote and changed the channel as though nothing had happened.

"Mom, I'm hungry! When are we eating?"