Chapter 133 – Unlucky Boy (2)

“Lee… Hyunbin?”

At this late hour, just before dawn, Lee Hyunbin was suddenly standing before him.

In that instant, Lee Han-seong realized.

Lee Hyunbin’s inventory storage skill. He’d been caught by it.

A chill ran down his spine.

It was the terror of facing a supernatural entity so immense it was beyond his power to handle.

“A Talisman. You use things like this?”

“…!”

The existence of Talismans was knowledge lost to the modern world.

And yet, Lee Hyunbin knew about them.

No, even before that, a necklace glinted ominously in his hand.

It was the Dark Talisman he had secretly kept.

“Using a Talisman to carve a tattoo on your body might seem like an omnipotent power, but it’s actually akin to a contract or a summoning. It’s no different from engraving a demonic pact onto your body with your life as collateral. It’s incredibly bad for you. Of course, things are about to get a lot worse for you.”

“You… you. What the hell are you!”

Hyunbin smiled at Lee Han-seong’s shout.

“I came to keep a promise. I told you I’d put you in my inventory once.”

Lee Han-seong’s pupils began to tremble.

He was here, alone with Lee Hyunbin.

In other words, even if he were to kill him, no one would ever find out.

No, if he used that inventory skill to hide the body, it would be the perfect crime, undiscoverable by anyone.

“I-I’m sorry.”

“…?”

“I was wrong. I was truly wrong, so please… We’re fellow S-ranks.”

Lee Han-seong begged Lee Hyunbin again, humiliating himself.

Pride wasn’t important right now.

There would be plenty of chances for revenge later. As long as he didn’t die a dog’s death here.

For the first time, Lee Han-seong knelt before someone, tears streaming down his face.

“You don’t need to be sorry to me.”

Hyunbin began.

“R-Right. The victims. I must apologize to the victims. I’ll do it first thing tomorrow.”

Lee Han-seong grasped the intention behind Lee Hyunbin’s words and replied.

“That’s right.”

“!”

Hearing Lee Hyunbin’s affirmation, Lee Han-seong thought he was saved.

“But in my opinion, there’s something more important than an apology.”

“C-Compensation? If it’s money…”

“Nope.”

Lee Hyunbin shook his head and smiled.

“Your death.”

“…!”

Lee Han-seong knew Lee Hyunbin was being serious.

Even when they fought, he had felt a vicious killing intent.

Someone only moderately strong wouldn’t have known. But because Lee Han-seong himself was powerful, he had felt that every one of his opponent’s punches was swung with the intent to obliterate him.

“A gate is about to open.”

“!”

Distracted by Lee Hyunbin, Lee Han-seong hadn’t even noticed the ominous energy emanating from right behind him.

An unreal fissure was carved into the empty air. It was a sign that a gate would soon open.

“It’s the lowest rank, so you should be able to handle it.”

“H-Handle it?”

Feeling a disconnect in the conversation, Lee Han-seong asked again.

Lee Hyunbin answered his question with a smile.

“You’re the one who has to handle it.”

“I-I can barely even walk right now…!”

“That’s not my problem. Who knows? You get friendly with strangers pretty quickly, right? Good at starting conversations. If you chat casually with them, you might even make some new friends.”

Lee Hyunbin didn’t kill Lee Han-seong. He simply turned his back on him and started down the mountain.

“For your final act, try being a real hero. Whether it’s to survive or to atone for your sins.”

“Fuck, why are you doing this to me! Did I kill your family? Did I touch your lover? Huh!”

Lee Han-seong screamed at Lee Hyunbin’s back, but he didn’t even react.

The fissure gradually widened, and dark mana began to pour out.

“Information, you want information, right? Chimera PMC! That’s what you want to know about! Right?”

Lee Han-seong remembered that Lee Hyunbin had asked about Chimera PMC.

If he knew the information he wanted, he wouldn’t just let him die.

“It’s fine.”

Without looking back, Lee Hyunbin waved his hand in farewell.

“You already told me.”

“What? What are you talking about! You lunatic, come back! I’m Lucky Boy, Lee Han-seong, you crazy bastard!”

Lee Han-seong shouted again, but Lee Hyunbin no longer answered.

In the dim light of dawn, only Lee Han-seong and the fissure remained on the mountain.

“Fuck, that crazy bastard! Did he really just leave me here?”

When he could no longer feel Lee Hyunbin’s mana, Lucky Boy spat out a curse.

It was dangerous.

Just as Lee Hyunbin had said, it didn’t seem to be a high-rank gate.

‘A Garder will come to close the gate soon.’

The old Wizard system would have been able to detect a gate even in an outlying area like this. But could the current mass-produced systems possibly detect a gate that was just beginning to form?

‘Fuck, I will survive. I’ll survive and get my revenge on that bastard.’

Lee Han-seong gritted his teeth and tried to stand, but sucked in a sharp breath at the excruciating pain.

While lying in the hospital, he had been continuously injected with painkillers, but their effects had already worn off.

Unable to walk properly, he moved by crawling.

He remembered laughing at the people he had murdered as they crawled like insects to survive.

*Wooooong!*

The ominous light from the fissure intensified, and the air began to tear apart.

The gate was about to open.

He didn’t have a single weapon in his inventory.

When he killed people, using a weapon dulled the sensation, so he never carried one.

The gate opened, and one by one, green-skinned goblins began to emerge from within.

‘Just goblins.’

Seeing them, Lee Han-seong felt his chances of survival had increased significantly.

No, he would live.

What was his title? Wasn’t it Lucky Boy?

The goddess of luck was smiling on him until the very end.

Lee Han-seong crawled toward the bushes. Just then, a grating shriek came from behind him.

A goblin had spotted him.

Lee Han-seong threw a rock at the goblin rushing to hunt him.

*Crack!*

The goblin’s face exploded as the rock Lee Han-seong threw struck it.

Although his body wasn’t in its normal condition, Lee Han-seong was a superhuman.

And creatures like goblins were bottom-tier predators; they didn’t challenge the strong.

If he showed his strength, the goblins would naturally move on to hunt other prey.

That was the natural order of the food chain.

Just as Lee Han-seong predicted, the goblins flinched and backed away.

They were frightened after seeing their companion instantly killed by a thrown rock. But then, their dark eyes fell on Lee Han-seong’s lower body.

They grinned, revealing their filthy teeth.

Seeing the situation unfold contrary to his expectations, Lee Han-seong frowned.

Mere goblins.

Insects he could normally kill with a single finger were stealthily moving to surround and hunt him.

The goblins had already increased from two to six.

“You monstrous bastards are asking to die. You picked the wrong guy. I’m Lee Han-seong, you sons of bitches!”

Lee Han-seong picked up another rock.

Just then, a goblin raised a sling and attacked first.

*Swoosh!*

A stone flew through the air. Normally, he wouldn’t have even blinked at something like this.

His body was so durable that even a sword couldn’t cut it.

*Thwack!*

Then, Lee Han-seong felt a wave of dizziness. He couldn’t see out of one eye, and thick blood began to stream down his cheek.

“Gyaaaah!”

Lee Han-seong screamed. The excited howls of the gleeful goblins filled his ears.

‘Lee Hyunbin, that son of a bitch!’

Thanks to the severe beating he’d taken, his HP shield was completely depleted.

Therefore, there was nothing left to protect his body.

He felt something climb onto his back.

*Pshk!*

He felt the sensation of a blade pushing through his flesh, something he normally couldn’t feel.

Lee Han-seong roared.

Even if his body wasn’t in its prime, he couldn’t possibly be defeated by mere goblins.

Whether they knew their prey’s thoughts or not, the goblins charged all at once.

Lee Han-seong’s intermittently twitching body finally fell still.

* * *

-Garder Lucky Boy, Lee Han-seong, was discovered dead at the scene in front of a lowest-rank gate…

-While the number of S-rank Hunters in our country has now dropped to five, attention is turning to the ranking of Hunter Ryu Ji-yeon of the Tushin Guild, who is considered a quasi-S-rank.

The incident of Lee Han-seong’s death in front of a gate sent South Korea into an uproar.

There was much speculation and debate about the mysteries surrounding Lee Han-seong’s death.

Why was Lee Han-seong, a critically injured patient, there?

Who moved him?

To be honest, I had intended to just subdue him and leave it at that. But after seeing his memories, I realized he was someone who absolutely could not be left alive.

He had killed far too many people. And he would have continued to do so.

I was now at the Disaster Management Agency.

“Hunter Lee Hyunbin. The director is waiting for you.”

Following the aide’s guidance, I entered the director’s office for the first time in a while.

“Ah, our very own Hunter Lee Hyunbin.”

As I entered, Director Shin Chae-ho stood up from his seat to greet me.

Even though his right-hand man had just died, the atmosphere wasn’t the least bit mournful.

Of course, it wouldn’t be.

To him, Lee Han-seong was a double-edged sword.

In this modern age, no matter how much you suppressed things with power, there was a high chance Lee Han-seong’s actions would eventually be exposed by the media.

If that happened, it would be a huge blow to Director Shin Chae-ho as well.

Whether he had ordered it or not, he had turned a blind eye to Lee Han-seong’s illegal activities until now.

“I heard the news.”

“Well, it can’t be helped. That’s just how this business is, isn’t it? Have a seat.”

The director spoke bluntly as he offered me a seat.

I sat down across from the director.

“I can’t help but feel uneasy, thinking that Garder Lee Han-seong’s death might be my fault.”

“Yours?”

“It feels like what happened to Garder Lee Han-seong was because of me. If it weren’t for his injuries, he wouldn’t have been taken down like that.”

I said, putting on a grim expression.

The director looked at my face, then chuckled and waved his hand dismissively.

“No. You did the right thing. If you hadn’t, there would have been unnecessary civilian casualties. Thanks to Hunters like you, our public image has been good, but that could have gone down the drain in an instant.”

In the early days, Hunters were symbols of fear.

Because those with great power often caused trouble.

Incidents and accidents were constant.

“Now, you’re the only special Garder affiliated with the Agency. Your responsibilities are about to get a lot heavier.”

“Couldn’t you just add more?”

“Granting the authority of a special Garder to a Hunter from a guild was an exception made only for you. It was a special case.”

“I’m aware.”

It was about time for him to get to the main point.

“Ah, have you eaten? How about we have a meal together?”

Not yet.

“I’m sorry. I have to oversee the new Hunter training in a little while.”

“Haha, being busy is a good thing. Yes, most people have a hard time just looking after themselves, but our Hunter Lee Hyunbin takes such good care of others. That Team 3. I hear those kids are all doing quite well these days?”

“They’re just seeing results that match their hard work. It’s not because of me.”

I feigned modesty and waited for his next words.

“I certainly have a good eye for people. From the moment I first saw you, I thought you were a really fine young man.”

“Thank you. I’m doing my best not to disappoint your expectations.”

“By any chance, have you ever thought about working for the country in a more official capacity?”

“For the country?”

“Yes.”

I had a feeling from the moment he called for me today.

He wanted to bring me into their special group.

“The truth is, our country… no, the entire world is under a great threat. From beings from another dimension.”

“Other beings?”

“Yes. You’re already well aware of the gate phenomenon. In reality, these gates are acts of invasion by beings from another dimension. Our Agency has been working behind the scenes all this time to prevent an unprecedented crisis.”

Lee Han-seong’s interests had been focused solely on the act of killing.

Thanks to that, he never knew the true nature of the Agency in detail.

But the director was different.

“You have my interest.”

I replied.

I could see the director’s expression relax slightly.

He chuckled.

To catch a tiger, you must enter the tiger’s den.

I’m about to step into the battlefield between the Villains and the Agency.