Chapter 10

Chapter 10

My father’s answer surprised me.

It was quite unexpected, coming from a man who had devoted his entire life to the nation.

Following in the footsteps of my late grandfather, my father entered the Naval Academy and, after graduating, was commissioned as a Navy officer.

Afterward, he set his sights on special warfare, volunteered for the Naval Special Warfare Flotilla, and after becoming a special warfare officer, even went abroad to train with the U.S. Navy Special Forces. He had been a soldier, an elite among elites.

And now, even with monsters invading humanity, had he not re-enlisted in the Regional Defense Force and continued serving as both a field operative and a commander?

I had never imagined, not even in my dreams, that such a man would tell me not to register as an Awakened and to live as a Non-Awakened person.

“Why would you say that?”

“Being a Hunter isn’t something a sane man should do.”

“Well, that’s true.”

“Now hold on.”

My father’s expression turned stern.

“This is not something you should answer with, ‘Well, that’s true.’”

“Hmm.”

“You don’t know. You don’t know what Hunters do, or how they slowly sicken.”

Unable to bring myself to say that I knew better than anyone, I quietly listened to my father’s words.

“I’m not a Hunter either, so I don’t know every detail. But from what I’ve seen, heard, and felt...... Hunters are not simply people who fight monsters.”

“What are they, then?”

“Their world is filthier, more political, more complicated, and more dangerous than you think.”

“Is that so?”

“Hunters are not people who exist only to devote themselves to the nation and to humanity. They are a double-edged sword. Hunters may become humanity’s saviors, but depending on how you look at it, they can just as easily become humanity’s enemies.”

......!

A chill ran down my spine.

Those remarkable words of my father’s contained, whole and entire, the very essence of what I had seen, heard, and felt over the past ten years.

Was this what people called true insight?

As he himself had said, my father was not a Hunter, yet his discernment was sharp enough to astonish even me.

He was right.

Becoming a Hunter absolutely did not mean becoming humanity’s savior.

I myself was proof of that.

Had I not torn my own raid team apart out of personal vengeance?

In that decision, the state, South Korea, humanity...... none of them had mattered to me at all.

It was I who had gone through with it even knowing that if my revenge succeeded, the Dragon Lord would reduce not only South Korea, but the whole world, to ruin.

Never had I imagined that my father would end up rebuking my actions so precisely, and without even knowing it.

“I too have spent my whole life living on the state’s pay, but I still cannot bring myself to tell my own son to become a Hunter. If you want to serve the nation and its people, then fighting monsters as a special warfare officer is meaningful enough. What matters is not whether you are strong or weak.”

My father, perhaps feeling thirsty for a moment, drank a glass of water before continuing.

“And as I said earlier, I oppose you becoming a Hunter just because you need a house right now. If you become a Hunter merely because you want to live in comfort, you’ll regret it bitterly.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Hmm.”

My father narrowed his eyes, looked me up and down, and then asked,

“You’re going to register tomorrow, aren’t you?”

“H-how did you know?!”

“It’s written all over your face. Truth be told, I knew from the start.”

“Then why did you say you opposed it when you already knew?”

“I had to lecture you like this so you’d steel your resolve.”

My father grinned.

Seeing Mother smile softly beside him, it seemed the two of them had already discussed this beforehand.

“Haha.”

A hollow laugh escaped me.

To think that even after regressing, I was still right there in the palm of my parents’ hands.

“Think about it, and then think about it again. Why do you want to become a Hunter, and how will you live if you do? Never lose yourself. Before you protect anyone else, protect yourself first. If you live as a Hunter, you may end up becoming a monster. I cannot bear to see my son become a monster.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll remember that.”

“Good. Now eat.”

My father picked up his spoon again.

***

Of all the many moods human beings were prone to, none was probably as toxic as pre-dawn sentimentality.

But human beings were foolish creatures, and they repeated the same mistakes over and over.

That was exactly what I was doing now.

Two in the morning.

Unable to fall asleep, I quietly slipped out of the tent to get some night air.

‘Maybe I’ll take in the night view.’

The refugee camp happened to be set at the foot of a mountain, so it felt like if I climbed just a little higher, I would be able to look down over Seoul.

So I climbed.

At this point in time, I was still a young man in his early twenties preparing to enlist, so my stamina was excellent.

On top of that, I had Awakened, and my physical abilities had been strengthened, so even climbing a mountain was nothing.

I had not broken a single drop of sweat even after reaching the top.

Thump. I sat down on a rock and looked out over Seoul, the capital of South Korea.

“It’s still holding up.”

The night view was beautiful.

But the areas where Transference had occurred or battles against monsters had taken place were swallowed by darkness.

As though sinkholes had opened up here and there.

And the nearest of those sinkholes was the place that had once been home to me and my family.

I thought of the future.

As time passed, the number of those sinkholes would continue to increase.

If memory served, ten years from now the lit-up areas would be rarer instead.

Because after Seoul was reduced to ruin in the wake of ‘that incident’ seven years from now, South Korea would begin collapsing at a terrifying speed.

A question suddenly came to me.

Could those darkened places be lit again?

Could those sinkholes be filled in?

Honestly, I did not know.

I knew of no way to stop the destruction that was drawing near.

Still, now that I had returned to the past, I ought to at least try to delay it as much as possible.

‘For now......’

I carefully thought over my plans for the future.

I had returned to the past, and I had Awakened into a completely different role, so I needed to make plans suited to that.

This was, after all, an age of ruin.

In a world like this, merely surviving would be difficult enough. Preventing the great catastrophe to come would be harder still.

Those thoughts continued until dawn began to break in the distance.

And just as the sun slowly rose and the pre-dawn sentimentality that had gripped me began to fade—

-I cannot bear to see my son become a monster.

My father’s words suddenly passed through my mind.

“I am already a monster.”

I was a sinner who had committed countless horrors.

Even before carrying out my revenge, I had stained my hands with blood countless times in the course of planning it.

The old me?

The one who had been loyal to the state and its people, who had devoted this one body to humanity, and who had quietly supported his comrades......

That man died three years ago.

“And I...... will gladly live as a monster. In a mad world like this, it is better to be a monster.”

I had already been ruined beyond repair. I was not shameless enough to start acting noble and virtuous now, like some lofty saint.

I would become a monster more terrible and more cruel than anyone else.

But I had no intention of letting my family find out.

A monster in sheep’s clothing.

That was me.

***

As soon as the sun rose, I headed for Kim Duhyeon’s tent.

I had gone there partly to apologize, and partly because I had something to ask of him.

“Hee-hee!”

“Wheeeee!”

From the open square of the refugee camp came the sound of little seeds of hope running about.

It was strange.

That even in an age like this, children were still being born, still growing up, and still running around like that.

“SNOOOORE!”

Kim Duhyeon was sprawled out flat on his back, fast asleep.

“He must have been exhausted. Haha.”

Seeing the delivery containers and crushed beer cans scattered beside him, I could more or less guess what had happened.

“Our Duhyeon really must have been tired. Haha.”

Feeling a strange sting at the bridge of my nose, I pulled the blanket Kim Duhyeon had kicked away back over him.

“Sleep well.”

I set the side dishes Mother had packed for him, along with a modest amount of cash, on the folding table, and took his motorcycle key instead.

I had somewhere to go, and since I had no vehicle I could use right away, I had no choice but to borrow his motorcycle.

Of course, aside from the side dishes and the cash I had left as rental money, I fully intended to repay him properly.

Money?

In this age, what profession offered surer wealth than being a Hunter?

For a Hunter, becoming rich was as easy as breathing.

“See you later.”

I borrowed Kim Duhyeon’s motorcycle and left the refugee camp.

My destination was Gwacheon, Gyeonggi.

More specifically, it was the headquarters of the Ministry of Defense Strategy, the most powerful institution in South Korea.

And one of the Ministry of Defense Strategy’s roles was to register and manage the Awakened.