Chapter 28

After clearing the ‘Final Rampart’ Theater, Taewoon fell into a cycle of deep sleep and waking, as if he had completely exhausted his energy.

His physical condition was fine, but it was because his mental fatigue had accumulated to that extent.

And a few days later.

At the sound of a smartphone ringing loudly and jarringly in his ear, Taewoon hurriedly sat up, answered the phone, and spoke.

“This is Seo Taewoon.”

[No way, hyung-nim. Did you just wake up? We’ve already arrived.]

“What? Arrived where?”

[Huh? Did you perhaps forget? You promised to treat us to a lavish meal last time…]

Hearing that, a vague memory surfaced. It must have been right after he agreed to speak informally with the two members of the Baran Guild.

“Ah, damn… Sorry, I’ve had some complicated things going on lately.”

[It’s fine. Then would you like to come out now? If you don’t have time, we can push it back to another day.]

“No. I’ll leave right away.”

With that, Taewoon hurried to get ready, hailed a taxi, and headed to the destination.

It felt like only a month ago he was paying for things while worrying about next month’s living expenses, but now, the hand handing over the card felt light and effortless.

‘A lot has changed in a short time.’

Feeling that vague sentiment, he arrived at the appointed place and saw Harim and Minjun waiting for him, dressed in casual clothes.

After apologizing to the two once more, the three headed straight to the restaurant and lightly exchanged updates on their recent lives.

“Is your body okay? Any lingering discomfort?”

“Yes, oppa. I’m all healed now. Our Guild Master isn’t the type to skimp on things like this…”

It certainly sounded like something Hongyeon would do. Regardless of other things, it really was a guild with great employee welfare.

“Come to think of it, is everything alright? Regarding the matter you mentioned earlier…”

“Ah, that’s been resolved. I just poured so much effort into it that I spent a while doing nothing but sleeping, which is why I was out of touch.”

“Is that so? That’s a relief. Actually, there’s been an unfortunate incident at the guild recently, so I was wondering.”

At the sudden change of topic, Taewoon tilted his head and focused his gaze on their faces.

“An unfortunate incident?”

“Ah, yes. Do you happen to know about the Gwangseong Church?”

Of course. There was no way he wouldn’t.

The Gwangseong Church was a rising religion that worshipped Saint Kyurihi, a Level 8-rank Hunter from France, as a god and was expanding its influence across the globe.

“That Gwangseong Church recently began missionary activity in South Korea, and it seems one of our guild members has fallen deeply under their spell.”

“To what extent?”

“Well… contact became sparse for a while, and now we can’t even determine their location.”

“So they’ve completely gone into seclusion.”

However, if someone fell into a religion to the point where they couldn’t fulfill their contract with the guild, the solution would be to simply cast them out and hold them accountable without hesitation.

No matter how family-like the atmosphere was, Hongyeon or Saebom didn’t seem like the types who couldn’t make such a decision.

“Normally, that would be the case, but the situation is a bit different. That member had high loyalty to the guild and was one of the most diligent people we had.”

“But from one day, their behavior became strange, and they started rejecting us as if they were a completely different person. It’s not impossible, but the change was so abrupt that…”

“The guild assumes there is some abnormal intervention involved in this?”

“Yes. Exactly.”

It was a distinct possibility.

After all, this was a world where all sorts of bizarre crimes committed by Awakeners were rampant.

“So, what is Baran’s response?”

“The Guild Master personally requested cooperation from the Association and government agencies, but the response has been more lukewarm than expected.”

“They feel burdened by touching the Gwangseong Church on an official level.”

“Yes. Since they are such a massive power… that’s how the situation stands.”

Having heard the gist of it, it was clearly a dead-end situation.

In the end, to resolve the matter quickly, the guild would have no choice but to take the risk and intervene directly, wouldn’t they?

‘…What a cold-hearted world.’

It couldn’t be helped.

It was truly cruel, but that was the era he was born into.

A world where power equals justice, and the weak cannot even have their rights guaranteed.

It meant that corporations, guilds, and even nations weren’t obsessed with securing high-level Hunters for no reason.

“The guild must be worrying a lot.”

“Yes. As for us, we just trust the Guild Master and wait quietly.”

After finishing their meal while chatting about various things, the three decided to head to the Baran Guild headquarters for some light training.

Taewoon felt stiff because he hadn’t engaged in any proper activity for a while, and he was also quite concerned about the missing guild member.

“Oh? Taewoon-ssi, you’re here? You should have sent a text.”

“I just happened to drop by. Are you busy?”

“I am. Come to think of it, Hongyeon-unnie was looking for you. Do you want to go see her in a bit?”

It was a bit unexpected, but since he intended to greet her anyway, Taewoon gave a light nod.

After finishing his brief training, Taewoon headed to where Hongyeon was and knocked on the door a couple of times.

“It’s fine, just come in.”

“Yes.”

As Taewoon opened the door and sat on the sofa, Hongyeon continued to organize a pile of documents on her desk with a nonchalant expression, without even looking at his face.

She likely already knew Taewoon had visited the training center through her unique senses.

“I heard you were looking for me urgently. Do you have something to tell me?”

“Huh? I wasn’t exactly looking for you urgently… regardless, I do have a proposal.”

Hongyeon stood up from her desk and sat opposite Taewoon. Only then did he see her, and he tilted his head with a puzzled expression.

“What is it? I thought you looked more noticeable than last time. Did you swallow some Spiritual Medicine in the meantime?”

“Spiritual Medicine?”

“I’m just saying. I mean your presence has grown.”

She brushed it off lightly, but her gaze was surprisingly burdensome.

Resting her chin on her hand and scrutinizing Taewoon, Hongyeon eventually muttered as if it were absurd.

“No? That’s strange… This shouldn’t be possible…”

“What exactly is the matter?”

“Who are you? Why is your growth so fast? You’re practically a different person from last time.”

At Hongyeon’s exaggerated reaction, this time it was Taewoon who tilted his head.

Looking at him, Hongyeon continued.

“Can’t you feel something yourself? This isn’t a difference you wouldn’t notice.”

“I know I’ve gotten stronger. But is it enough to make such a fuss?”

“By my standards, it’s just a slight difference, but among chicks, it’s a world of difference. It’s the most unrivaled speed I’ve ever seen… At this rate, you might actually be the right person for this job.”

Having reached a conclusion on her own, Hongyeon nodded and brought up her original business.

“You know about the Gwangseong Church situation, right? What you were chatting about at the training center.”

“You heard that too?”

“Why wouldn’t I? I’m curious about what the kids talk about.”

“….”

“Anyway, the situation is very complicated. The Association and the government have no intention of stepping in for now, and they’re just busy talking in circles… In fact, the way things are going is more ominous than I thought.”

At the sight of even Hongyeon speaking pessimistically, Taewoon asked back with a genuinely surprised face.

“Is it that serious?”

“Yes. That serious. Looking into it this way and that, it turns out the problem didn’t just happen on our end. Quite a few people, whether Awakeners or ordinary people, have been caught up in this.”

If that were true, it was no longer a situation that could be dismissed as a simple mishap.

As Taewoon’s face turned serious in an instant, Hongyeon also cast a sharp gaze and began to release detailed information.

“Sigh, these crazy cultists of the Gwangseong Church are absolutely desperate to establish a foothold in South Korea. Just looking at it, their missionary methods are far from normal… There must be an ulterior motive beyond what’s visible on the surface.”

“If the situation is that serious, are the Association and the government just standing by and watching the whole time?”

“Yeah. Well, what are they going to do? Deport them all? The Gwangseong Church?”

It was a truly irresponsible statement, but that was the reality.

In the face of a massive power like the Gwangseong Church, a Hunter-weak nation like South Korea had no choice but to be in a completely subordinate position.

“Well… even so, their reaction is particularly strange. There’s probably some undisclosed internal circumstance, but anyway, it means getting any decent help is a distant hope.”

“Then what do we do?”

“I did negotiate, though. We handle the action ourselves, and in exchange, they’ll cover the aftermath as much as possible.”

That meant a minimum safety net had been prepared. Even so, the next step was the problem.

“Do you have no intention of stepping in personally, Hongyeon-nim?”

“…Let me tell you, no matter how many of the husks that entered South Korea gather, they aren’t my match. But if a Hunter of my level steps in, do you think they’ll just stay quiet? It would obviously be a choice that only makes things worse.”

Although Hongyeon was one of the top Hunters in the country, there were as many as four Hunters in the Gwangseong Church who were equal to or superior to her.

“You know Kyurihi’s Five Fingers, right? Except for the two scrubs among them, I can’t guarantee a victory. As for the first Finger or Kyurihi herself, it’s a waste of breath to even talk about it.”

“….”

“So the conclusion is, we have to wrap this up as a ‘kids’ fight’ somehow. It’s truly unfair, considering who started the trouble.”

With that one sentence, he roughly understood the full story of the situation. And he felt he knew why she had called him.

“Do you want me to personally find and bring back the guild member who lost contact?”

“Correct. And as a bonus, conduct a field investigation of the situation. Since they’re just low-level spies who entered South Korea, they’ll all be about the same, and since you’re an unknown Hunter, there’s no ground for them to find fault.”

It was a convincing selection. However, he couldn’t deny that it was a perilous commission in many ways.

“Of course, the reward will be generous, and I’m not sending you alone. I’ll attach one Level 3 Hunter and two Level 2 Hunters from Baran.”

“What if a situation arises that we cannot handle on our own?”

“There probably won’t be a situation that becomes that problematic… Since it’s someone else’s living room, they’ll at least be mindful of their surroundings. If it really doesn’t work out, you can just wash your hands of it and retreat.”

“I understand. Are there any other behavioral guidelines?”

“Whether it’s brainwashing or delusion, as long as you secure evidence, you can use force after that. As long as you don’t kill them, I’ll resolve whatever happens.”

He wondered if she was being too reckless, but it was a truly clear answer.

And Taewoon, coincidentally, was also feeling a significant amount of displeasure toward the Gwangseong Church’s tyranny.

“For now, it’s fine. I will accept if the conditions are met.”

“Clean and simple. Saebom will handle the contract. Then I’ll trust you and wait?”

As the conversation concluded, Taewoon stood up and prepared to leave the room to get ready quickly.

Watching Taewoon’s departing back, Hongyeon shifted her gaze and added one more thing.

“I’m telling you this, but this is strictly a commission from ‘Baran.’ The top priority is securing the missing guild member, and you don’t need to take responsibility for anything else. You… understand what I mean?”

“…Yes. I’ll keep that in mind.”

Taewoon, who was walking through the door, paused for a moment, let out a small sigh, and then moved forward again.

While letting out a bitter, hollow laugh at the breeding ground of an era where he didn’t know where things had gone wrong.