Chapter 226 – Melee (1)

Hunters naturally draw attention.

Where celebrities were once the objects of envy, now it was hunters.

They possess the power to face monsters, save people, and gain wealth and fame in the process.

Among them were some who were handsome enough to rival celebrities.

Just like Hunter Seol Ji-hoon.

A handsome young man with a mysterious aura. Thanks to that, he even had a fan club called ‘Seoraksan’.

Then, the incident broke out where Seol Ji-hoon was revealed to be a Villain.

But that didn’t shake the fan club.

They actually liked it!

That was what the fans thought.

They had thought the reason he, with his handsome, good-guy image, was always so quiet was simply because he had suffered so much to become a hunter.

But he had a dark side.

A handsome, famous hunter. With the image of a bad boy on top of that.

It would be stranger if he *didn’t* have fans at this point.

“I wonder what our guy is up to today.”

A high school that trains hunter cadets.

Hye-kyung, a student at Raon Academy, was fangirling on her phone again today.

She happily logged into the Seoraksan community cafe. There seemed to be a lot of new posts today. It looked like it would take a while to read them all.

She scrolled through the posts with the most recommendations. Then, one particular post caught her eye.

-Whoa, huge, huge! The Delivery Man caused a massive incident!!!

It was a post full of clickbait.

The Delivery Man, Lee Hyunbin. Currently, the undisputed strongest hunter in the country.

‘And Seo-yeon’s uncle.’

Hye-kyung knew Lee Seo-yeon’s secret.

To think that a major hunter, one who had the attention of not just South Korea but the entire world, was her uncle.

She felt a surge of envy just thinking about it.

‘Her family must be well-off, so why is she always starving?’

Despite her thin frame, Lee Seo-yeon ate an incredible amount.

Enough for others to mistake her for a ssireum wrestler.

“…!”

Hye-kyung’s eyes widened as she read the information in the post.

A screenshot from a video. A floor soaked in blood and the corpses of dead children. And there was Lee Hyunbin, having committed the merciless murders, holding a sword and moving on to his next victim.

“Whoa, is the thing posted in the chat room for real?”

“Isn’t this photoshopped?”

“I’m a Photoshop master, and this is legit.”

“….”

Hye-kyung looked worriedly at Seo-yeon’s empty seat.

Seo-yeon hadn’t come to school and wasn’t answering her messages. She worried that her friend might have gotten caught up in something.

Not just the Seoraksan fan cafe, but the kids in her class were in an uproar too.

Comments began to flood the articles claiming that Lee Hyunbin, the nation’s top hunter, had murdered young children.

-Bullshit, say something that makes sense.

-This reeks of being photoshopped.

Thanks to the image Lee Hyunbin had built, the majority of public opinion dismissed the flood of news articles.

Above all, the fact that most media outlets had published the articles simultaneously, as if by agreement, fueled even more suspicion.

But as if to mock such public opinion, a video was released.

In the video, Lee Hyunbin was brutally murdering young children.

The cold face of South Korea’s hero, a man always thought to be righteous, now seen on the other side. And the sight of corpses strewn about horribly.

This horrific video, with its original, unedited version leaked from an unknown source, created a gory scene that plunged many into shock.

-Whoa, it’s a warzone out here. Is it for real that the military is being mobilized to arrest one guy?

The rumor that the incident occurred at a disaster agency spread quickly.

Barricades were set up to block the crowds flocking to see it.

Reporters sneaking into buildings just to get a single photo.

A war also began between those trying to enforce control and those trying to evade it.

-A raid is on!

Another post went up.

The photo included in the post showed hunters from various guilds, clad in power suits and preparing for battle.

Among them was the Tushin Guild, which was thought to have been disbanded.

-Crazy! Yeomje is here? If Yeomje and the Delivery Man fight, won’t we finally find out who’s really rank 1?

Clickbait posts, completely out of place in such a serious situation, were flooded with comments, creating a grim free-for-all.

-But still, it’s the Delivery Man. There must be a reason, right?

Even with the original video leaked, there were still many who supported the Delivery Man.

-And the dead kids were holding weapons, weren’t they? I think we need to hear the Delivery Man’s side of the story.

-Those kids look like hunters too, right? I’m not sure, but they look like they could be A-rank.

⌞Bullshit. They’re obviously elementary schoolers. A-rank? LOL???

In an instant, the entire nation of South Korea learned of the incident.

Every broadcasting station treated the situation as a disaster. News departments, one and all, began to cover the incident as a major story, reporting on it in real-time.

***

“Something’s weird, don’t you think?”

Karl muttered, a cigarette in his mouth. It was his first leisurely vacation in a while, and now it was all ruined.

“Asking for support to arrest the Delivery Man.”

Karl continued, exhaling a cloud of acrid cigarette smoke.

“Don’t you think?”

“Not my business. A request came in, so I’m doing it. That’s all there is to it.”

“Hmph, you’re no fun.”

Karl said to Yeomje, who had muttered as if he wasn’t interested.

Yeomje was, true to his word, uninterested in the current situation. A special forces team had already been sent in, and a formation was established to arrest him, preparing for any contingency.

“What is this, feels like we’re raiding a boss monster or something.”

The atmosphere was like they were facing a calamity that had come through a Gate.

At first, Karl was skeptical. A request for support to arrest the Delivery Man, Lee Hyunbin.

“That video was weird from the start, wasn’t it?”

As if to show his dissatisfaction, Karl dropped the cigarette he was smoking to the ground and put a new one in his mouth.

The video of Lee Hyunbin killing children.

Of course, it was clearly an unedited video. But the opponents Lee Hyunbin killed were definitely hunters. High-ranked ones at that.

Anyone with a decent eye for a hunter would know.

The attacks of the young-looking kids were sharp, and the skill patterns they used were of a type never seen before.

If his opponent hadn’t been Lee Hyunbin, any other hunter would have surely been annihilated by those kids.

“The authenticity of the video isn’t for us to judge.”

“Hwang, don’t be so stiff. Honestly, we owe that guy, don’t we? If he hadn’t helped, we would’ve gotten wiped out by that monster in the gat.”

Yeomje frowned.

A shameful memory surfaced. Even as rank 1, he couldn’t always dominate the battlefield. In that fight, he had been giving his all, his life on the line at every moment.

Then Lee Hyunbin appeared and ended the situation in an instant.

Everyone chanted his name, and Yeomje, too, stared as if possessed at Lee Hyunbin, who had just hunted a 6-star monster.

He felt ashamed.

Because of that battle, he lost his rank 1 position. He had lost the title of the strongest man in South Korea.

“Honestly, if that guy decides to really go at it, none of us stand a chance.”

“If you’re planning to tuck your tail and run before the fight even starts, just go home, Karl.”

“Oh, can I? To be honest, I wasn’t feeling it anyway.”

“Do as you please.”

Yeomje wasn’t an idiot either. Just as Karl said, the situation in the video was hard to understand. Even if they were just kids, they were no ordinary opponents.

But Lee Hyunbin had always mercilessly slaughtered Villains. Without any mercy or forgiveness.

There were certainly people who looked upon him with displeasure for that.

Human rights groups and the like had even derided him with the name ‘Butcher of the Streets’.

Of course, the act of killing people is wrong.

But when a person acquires awakened abilities and commits crimes that forsake their humanity… they may not be holding a gun, but their very bodies become weapons capable of harming others.

Simply subduing such an opponent without killing them is dangerous.

“But trying to catch the Delivery Man might start a war, don’t you think? It’ll be a headache if everyone from the Hanul Guild shows up.”

“They won’t come.”

“The reason Hanul grew so much is thanks to the Delivery Man. He has a lot of disciples, too.”

Most of the hunters who flocked to the Hanul Guild were people captivated by Lee Hyunbin. That’s why if he were in danger, the situation could escalate into a serious confrontation.

“I said, that won’t happen.”

Yeomje, Hwang Jae-yeon, crossed his arms and looked in the direction of the disaster agency.

“Because the Hanul Guild requested support from the Shinhwa Guild.”

“What?”

Karl was genuinely taken aback by Yeomje’s words.

Because Yeomje wasn’t one for jokes.

“What in the world is going on?”

Karl scratched his head. They were comrades who had shared life and death, yet now they were pointing swords at one another.

Public opinion was now clamoring about the illegal acts of slaughter Lee Hyunbin had committed over the years.

It didn’t feel good to see a man who was a national hero just a few hours ago now being talked about as if he were a vicious criminal.

“Damn it, are they trying to start a real war? Call for more support teams! Summon the support guilds!”

Suddenly, the situation began to escalate rapidly.

The soldiers’ movements became frantic, and radio communications and reports buzzed back and forth.

“What, don’t tell me….”

To be honest, Karl hadn’t thought there would be a fight. Lee Hyunbin was the man who had saved him. He had no intention of pointing a sword at him. No, in the first place, he wasn’t confident he could stop him. They might both be S-rank, but the difference in their levels was like heaven and earth.

Most importantly, there was no need for Lee Hyunbin to blow things out of proportion.

After all, the video itself was just a misunderstanding. If he let himself be captured peacefully, the problem could be resolved.

“Requesting support units! Hunter Hwang Jae-yeon, Hunter Karl Thomas. We’re going to need your help!”

The request came from an operations officer who entered the temporary command post.

“Don’t tell me Lee Hyunbin made a move?”

Yeomje, too, had predicted that Lee Hyunbin wouldn’t fight recklessly.

“No, sir. The fight isn’t with Hunter Lee Hyunbin, it’s broken out elsewhere.”

“Elsewhere?”

“Yes, uh… Hunter Kim Tae-yang of the Hanul Guild….”

Kim Tae-yang, along with Kim In-ho, was like a disciple to Lee Hyunbin.

Whether due to his outstanding talent or excellent training, he was someone who had shot up to A-rank in no time.

“He kept insisting on entering a restricted area, and a fight eventually broke out… and there’s an S-rank involved.”

Besides Lee Hyunbin, there are two other S-ranks in the Hanul Guild.

“Seo Hyun-ji.”

Yeomje muttered.

David Henri had left for France just yesterday with Danny McGuire of the Union Hunters after hearing of a crisis in his home country. That naturally left only one person: Seo Hyun-ji.

Especially since she was close enough to Lee Hyunbin for scandals to be frequently mentioned, he had thought it was natural she might come to help.

‘Still, this is too reckless.’

To step forward knowing it would obviously worsen the situation.

“The two of us will go.”

“What? Me too? I don’t want to go.”

“Shut up and follow me.”

Protecting one’s family is a good thing. But making a move now is foolish.

It would only put Lee Hyunbin in a more difficult position.

He didn’t want to admit it, but Lee Hyunbin was a necessary existence.

Yeomje decided to take this opportunity to teach the rookie hunters a lesson.

***

“Urghhh!”

The guards lying on the ground let out low groans.

“You hit first. I said I was passing through, so why did you block me? Huh?”

“Do you have any idea what you’ve just done?”

“Self-defense?”

“Self-defense, my ass! You just struck an officer in the line of duty! You get that?”

The operations team’s guard shouted, furious. But Kim Tae-yang didn’t even blink.

“So who told you to point a gun at an innocent citizen? It’s scary, makes my fists fly out on their own.”

“This guy, seriously…!”

“Look, Hyunbin-hyung is over there, and I’m going to see him. Why are you stopping me?”

Further conversation was pointless. Though he spoke playfully, Kim Tae-yang’s face was filled with suppressed anger.

The current hottest A-rank hunter. Kim Tae-yang was especially rumored to be skilled in PvP.

“The Hanul Guild is also supporting this operation. Aren’t you a member of the Hanul Guild, Hunter Kim?”

“Don’t know anything about that crap.”

Kim Tae-yang walked toward the guards he was confronting. The guards held guns loaded with mana bullets, but they couldn’t fire.

In South Korea, murder is a felony under any circumstances.

Even for a hunter, even in a situation of self-defense, recklessly taking a human life is an unacceptable act in a democratic nation.

“When he saves you, you’re all excited and thankful, but the moment you don’t like something, you call him a villain. Do you guys have no shame?”

“….”

As if a sore spot had been hit, the guard team leader couldn’t answer.

He, too, didn’t understand this operation. An operation to arrest a national hero like Lee Hyunbin, of all things.

“Tae-yang, this road is completely blocked.”

“As expected of my noona, you’re the best!”

“Ms. Seo Hyun-ji! What are we supposed to do if you join in too?”

The guard team leader shouted in frustration as he watched Seo Hyun-ji begin to forcibly blockade the area by summoning rocks in all directions.

Celebrities treat their image as their life. The guards were appalled to see her, a celebrity before a hunter, go this far.

It was a moment that shattered their illusions.

“Do you realize you’re complicating things?”

“I wonder. It seems things are already complicated, aren’t they?”

Seo Hyun-ji said coldly.

Gunshots had started ringing out a while ago. From the direction of the disaster agency.

She didn’t know why the situation had become like this. She, too, had moved after receiving an urgent call.

-Create a diversion there. If an S-rank like you, Ms. Seo Hyun-ji, makes a move, the two S-ranks on their side will move as well.

Though she was reluctant, Seo Hyun-ji was moving under someone else’s instructions.

The woman who was always with Hyunbin. The one who was always with him, both in the country and abroad. Deputy Manager Kim Min-ah.

-Yeomje and Kaldoma from the Shinhwa Guild will be here soon. Will you be okay?

“You just worry about yourself, Director.”

-Yes, thank you.

They could converse without a phone. If one had an awakened ability linked to the System.

She hadn’t expected the Association Chairman’s aide to have such an ability. But what bothered her more was…

“Why is she the one thanking me?”

The one who should be thankful is Hyunbin.