Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The visiting room of the underground penitentiary.

"Sir, I've brought him."

The man in the suit entered and bowed at the waist.

The middle-aged man seated on the sofa nodded.

"Thank you, Secretary Jeong."

Behind the bowing secretary, unhurried footsteps followed.

The Mask, hands shoved into the pockets of his leather jacket, crossed the threshold of the visiting room.

Red eyes squinted with displeasure at the bright lights inside.

The Association President greeted him with a smile.

"It's been a while, Sahyeon."

The Mask cast a flat gaze at the Association President, then walked over and opened the refrigerator tucked into one corner of the visiting room.

He pulled out a can of cola with an indifferent hand, then dropped heavily into the seat across from the Association President.

"Haven't been called by that name in a while."

After all, the inmates had only ever called him by names like devil or monster.

Sahyeon let out a snort, then hooked his thumb under the chin of the mask.

CLICK—

He removed the mask just like that, revealing the face hidden beneath.

The secretary, who had been watching Sahyeon with guarded eyes, widened his gaze ever so slightly.

'He looks more normal than I expected.'

It was the secretary's first time seeing the Mirror Mask's bare face as well.

Sharp eyes, lips pressed shut with casual indifference.

He was far from the hideous or terrifying appearance the rumors suggested.

If anything, he was on the handsome side.

CLANG—

Sahyeon tossed the mask carelessly onto the table and took a swig of his drink.

He let out a thin sigh as if he could finally breathe, then sank deep into the sofa's backrest and opened his mouth.

"What brings you all the way down here."

Not the voice distorted by the mask, but his real voice filled the visiting room.

A low, quiet baritone laced with a sigh.

Irritation and fatigue were etched across his face as he cracked his neck side to side.

"You never show your face, so I had no choice but to come down myself. How is it possible to not come up even once in five years?"

The Association President chided in a familiar tone.

"I doubt you came all the way down here just to check on me......"

Sahyeon's tone, on the other hand, was dripping with sarcasm.

The secretary's brow furrowed sharply at the insolent attitude.

But Sahyeon paid the secretary's reaction no mind and took another swig of cola. The carbonation eased the throbbing headache.

Before coming up to the visiting room, he'd given Number 18 one last going-over.

The guy had the nerve to be A-rank, so Sahyeon had put in more effort than usual.

Sahyeon smoothed out his furrowed brow and blinked a few times.

The Association President watched closely as Sahyeon's reddened eyes returned to their original color, then asked.

"You're not pushing yourself too hard, are you? Take it easy."

Sahyeon smirked and drained the rest of his cola.

CRUNCH—

His leather-gloved hand squeezed the empty can, crushing it flat in his grip. He tossed the crumpled can with an indifferent flick.

THUNK.

The can arced through the air and landed squarely in the trash bin.

Sahyeon dusted off his hands with casual indifference and spoke.

"Skip the pleasantries. Get to the point."

He had no intention of making small talk with the Association President.

Once again, the secretary flinched as if about to snap.

"Excuse me—"

The Association President gestured for the secretary to stand down.

Now was not the time to provoke him.

There was a critical matter to discuss with Sahyeon.

"...My apologies."

The secretary bit his lip and stepped back.

"All right, Sahyeon. I'll get straight to it."

When the Association President opened his mouth, Sahyeon gave a lazy, half-hearted jut of his chin as if to say, go ahead.

The Association President lowered his gaze as if lost in thought, holding his words for a long while.

Just as the crease between Sahyeon's brows was deepening again, a heavy voice broke the silence.

"We need you on the surface."

A short, weighty statement.

A brief silence fell.

Every eye in the visiting room was fixed on one spot.

"The Dungeon Break must be pretty serious, then?"

Sahyeon half-closed his eyes and tapped his knee with a leather-gloved index finger.

He already had a rough idea of the situation on the surface.

Between Number 18 earlier and all the new inmates running their mouths.

Pitch-black Gates appearing without warning across the land. Monsters pouring out of them.

A phenomenon that had first occurred twelve years ago.

People called it the Dungeon Break.

Every time a Dungeon Break struck, it produced casualties beyond imagination.

And this was already the third one.

"So the people upstairs can't handle it, and you've come to chain me down...... You haven't forgotten why I came down here in the first place, have you?"

A languid voice. Beneath it lay a subtle edge.

When the uncooperative response came back, the Association President let out a contemplative hum, as if he'd expected it.

"...I know that better than anyone. That's exactly why we need you."

It was bound to rub Sahyeon the wrong way.

But letting a talent like him rot underground was foolish.

The Association President had tried time and again to get him out, but Sahyeon's resolve had never wavered.

This time, however, would be different.

The Association President pressed his lips together firmly, then opened them with a grave expression.

"...Hunter Haje has died."

Sahyeon had been idly bouncing his crossed leg — the movement stopped.

"The Lee Haje I know?"

The Association President gave a solemn nod.

"Yes."

"Ah."

Sahyeon pushed his black hair back.

'Lee Haje — an S-rank Hunter and first-generation Awakened — is dead......'

It was unexpected news.

But it wasn't something to get sentimental over.

All the more so because hunters lived close to death.

Even Sahyeon himself had lived through a time when death was never far away.

"Cause of death?"

Sahyeon asked in a flat tone.

The reason the Association President had come all the way down here was starting to make sense.

The dungeons inside Gates were spaces teeming with all manner of outlandish monsters.

A Dungeon Break was a phenomenon in which the monsters inside a Gate suddenly burst out.

It was clearly a dangerous situation, but even so, the death of an S-rank Hunter was exceptional.

Especially Lee Haje, whose Deadly Venom trait made him a combat-type Hunter optimized for hunting monsters.

The Association President let out a deep breath and spoke.

"...Awakened Rampage."

For the briefest instant.

A crack ran across Sahyeon's impassive face.

The Association President, who had been silently watching, slowly continued.

"Exactly like that day five years ago."

Sahyeon slowly straightened the upper body he'd been leaning forward.

Every trace of amusement had been wiped clean from his expression.

"...It was the same?"

An ice-cold, low voice.

A brief silence fell.

The atmosphere of the visiting room shifted in an instant.

An oppressive pressure, as if something were bearing down on the skin itself.

The Association President swallowed hard and nodded.

"A week ago, Hunter Haje and three of his teammates entered an S-rank Gate together."

"......"

"On the second day, a distress signal reached the Association. By the time the rescue team went in......"

The Association President hung his head as he continued.

"They were barely recognizable. All of them had been hit with Deadly Venom."

A phenomenon in which an Awakened loses control of their own body and indiscriminately attacks every living thing in their vicinity.

This was called an Awakened Rampage.

Lee Haje's Rampage had wiped out his entire team.

"Ha."

Sahyeon's mind tangled into a dizzying knot.

Wretched screams, the stench of blood stinging his nostrils, lives crumbling before his eyes.

Memories so vivid it was as if they were being replayed.

Sahyeon squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them, trying to erase the gruesome afterimages.

"...Hunter Haje also died on the spot."

The Association President added carefully.

Sahyeon understood what that meant better than anyone.

Lee Haje, having come to his senses too late, had taken his own life.

"That's just like Haje."

After all, despite having a trait as deadly as Deadly Venom, the man had always had a rather soft personality.

Five years ago, Sahyeon had voluntarily chosen to go underground. To isolate himself and to track down a lead on the one who had dragged him into hell.

But the results had been meager.

And in the middle of all that, the same thing had happened again.

"So, the culprit?"

Sahyeon's lips curved into a sharp smile.

A cold smile steeped in fury.

Some circles regarded the Awakened Rampage as a type of psychological breakdown.

But Sahyeon still vividly remembered the sensation.

A mind fogged over as if shrouded in mist. Limbs moving on their own.

A bizarre, revolting sensation — as if someone were controlling him.

That was no psychological breakdown.

"...You couldn't find them despite five years of effort. There's no way we could find them in chaos like this."

The Association President shook his head and continued.

"Gates are still forming across the entire country as we speak. We're holding on somehow, but the gap left by Hunter Haje is enormous. It wouldn't be strange if a city collapsed at any moment."

"......"

"The Dungeon Shock did produce new hunters, but......"

The Association President added his explanation.

"Sending freshly Awakened hunters into the field carries too great a risk."

Across the three Dungeon Breaks experienced to date, each one had produced more than double the usual number of upper-tier Awakened.

As if trying to restore a balance of power. But newly Awakened individuals didn't know how to control their own strength.

It could easily lead to an even bigger disaster — a true dilemma with no good options.

The reason the Association President had come to Sahyeon was obvious. Another S-rank, one whose existence had never been publicly revealed—

"We desperately need your support."

To bring Yeom Sahyeon back as a hunter. And moreover.

"Above all, you'd make an excellent role model for the newly Awakened recruits. If you do that for us, I'll mobilize every last researcher in the Hunter Association to track down that culprit."

The Association President spoke with a steely expression.

At this, Sahyeon let out a light snort.

"...Support, you say."

Then added casually.

"You mean a deal."

Words that drew a clear line.

The Association President nodded.

"...Yes."

Only then did Sahyeon's lips curl up in satisfaction.

"Fine."

At last, an affirmative.

The Association President let out a sigh of relief and extended his right hand.

"I'm counting on you."

Sahyeon said nothing, merely raised the corner of his mouth and clasped the offered hand.

Along their joined hands, a thin golden thread materialized.

The Association President's skill — Soul Oath.

In an instant, the trace of the golden thread vanished.

The contract was sealed.

***

Hunter Association Headquarters.

Sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

"...Disgustingly bright."

Sahyeon squinted and glared out the window.

It was his first sunlight in five years.