Chapter 230 – The Inside Story (1)

-The Deliveryman’s Fall!

-A Seismic Shift in Korea’s Hunter Community Without Hunter Lee Hyunbin!

-The Collapse of the Disaster Agency! The Hunter Management Bureau Takes Over!

All sorts of news swirled around.

Kim In-ho couldn’t understand the current situation. He had only been on a short trip to Jeju Island, but in just a day or two, the world had changed.

The media, which had always followed Lee Hyunbin with near-worship, had done a complete one-eighty overnight, spewing out aggressive articles about him.

-Hunter Lee Hyunbin? Honestly, there are plenty of other hunters, right? Who would’ve thought he was such a crazed murderer?

-It’s just horrible. The children who died were around the same age as my own kids…

-As a fellow woman, I was rooting for the Lakshmi Global Hunter, but to think she’d die in our country…

At first, when the video of Lee Hyunbin killing children was released, people weren’t swayed by the media.

They were called children, but their movements were as agile as a hunter’s, and they were even armed, leading some to suggest they might have been villains.

But then he killed even global-rank hunters and massacred the private soldiers who accompanied them.

A hunter specialist was spouting nonsense, claiming that Lee Hyunbin had been suffering from mental instability due to numerous battles and that this tragedy was the result of PTSD.

For anyone who knew Hyunbin, it was a story that would make them go crazy.

“Damn it. What is all this? Isn’t that Lee Hyunbin the one you were talking about, sis?”

“Yeah, that’s him. But… this can’t be right.”

Even Baek Hyun-joo, a real power player in the Hunter Management Bureau, seemed completely unable to grasp the situation.

No, she hadn’t received any reports at all.

Shocked by this, Baek Hyun-joo started making calls to various people in the Bureau.

“Hey, beanpole. Are you really going to let us meet that dimension mage or whatever? If you suddenly back out now that things have gone to hell, you’re going to get wrecked. Our Kang Cheol here is pretty violent, you know? He’ll slice you up without a second thought. He’s a dangerous man!”

“I made a promise, so you don’t have to worry.”

Kim In-ho placated the growling Lee Hyun-ah.

He had been texting Seo Hyun-ji and Kim Tae-yang for a while, but neither had responded.

‘Should I call her?’

Kim In-ho thought of the Prophetess.

As a fervent believer in the Hero—no, Hyunbin—she had followed him like a stalker and would know the current situation better than anyone.

He dialed the number she had given him.

The phone rang a few times.

-Have you brought them?

“Yes. Something seems to have happened to Hyunbin hyung. Do you know what’s going on?”

-There’s no need to worry. Everything is going according to plan. For now, just bring them to the location I give you.

Her words—’no need to worry’—made Kim In-ho’s brow furrow.

The situation was serious. Videos of Lee Hyunbin killing people were circulating everywhere.

Children, and even heroes from other countries.

The videos didn’t show any context. They were just cleverly, maliciously edited to show only the scenes of him cutting people down with his sword.

It literally looked as if someone was desperate to bury Lee Hyunbin.

“No need to worry? How can you say that? Everyone is cursing Hyunbin hyung right now. I heard he was arrested for murder.”

Kim In-ho had acted for Hyunbin’s sake in the first place.

A suspicious cult leader.

He had already seen the disastrous future they had shown him. Setting aside the absurd story that only the Hero could save them, the world was supposedly doomed to end when extra-dimensional forces invaded after a large-scale gate incident.

-If you come here, all your questions will be answered.

Kim In-ho felt an increasing sense of unease.

Lee Seo-yeon, the girl who stayed by Hyunbin hyung’s side.

Just a cheerful, bright girl. After becoming her teammate, he had experienced her incredible healing powers.

Without that power, his own son might have already died.

To Kim In-ho, Lee Hyunbin and Lee Seo-yeon were his saviors.

The girl he’d thought was just kind and pretty, albeit a bit of a glutton, had become a completely different person when he saw her recently.

A smileless, expressionless face. Her indifferent reaction to his greeting made him think she was someone else entirely.

At least, from what Kim In-ho had seen, there was no trace of such darkness in the Lee Seo-yeon who had been by Lee Hyunbin’s side.

He didn’t know if that was her true personality or if she had undergone a recent change of heart.

“I’m heading to the Bureau for now. I’ll call you later.”

“Okay, got it! Sis.”

“I’ll text you the address for your lodging.”

“Don’t you worry.”

It was clear that a major commotion was underway.

Colonel Baek Hyun-joo hurried toward the Hunter Management Bureau.

“Alright, beanpole. Where are you planning on taking us next?”

Lee Hyun-ah asked Kim In-ho, her arms crossed.

Her tone might be rude, but she was a first-generation awakened who had saved many people—a hero.

Even if she was now forgotten.

“Just a moment. Let me get my thoughts in order.”

“Get your thoughts in order? We’re busy people. You think this bear-like guy here is going to stand by if you tell us this was all a joke? Kang Cheol, body slam!”

Lee Hyun-ah pushed the muscular Kang Cheol’s back as if ordering him to attack.

Kang Cheol simply stared at Kim In-ho, expressionless. He showed no particular reaction.

He had met many people and seen many personalities over the years. As such, he believed he had a decent eye for character.

Kang Cheol didn’t think Kim In-ho was the type to spout nonsense.

In fact, he was favorably impressed by how visibly flustered Kim In-ho became when something happened to his mentor-like figure.

There would be no point in dealing with someone who lacked that much loyalty and faith.

Regardless of what Kang Cheol thought, Kim In-ho coolly analyzed the current situation.

Lee Hyunbin had been arrested.

The videos circulating now. They showed Lee Hyunbin killing children and brutally murdering global rankers from overseas.

There were comments saying that a man who would raise a sword against a child couldn’t possibly win against two global rankers, and others saying that targeting a child was crossing the line.

The video was now becoming famous overseas as well.

‘The movements of these children are clearly those of hunters.’

Even to Kim In-ho’s eyes, the children’s movements were formidable.

It was only because their opponent was Lee Hyunbin that they were cut down so easily; any other hunter would have likely been defeated.

‘The media is completely one-sided.’

From the very beginning, the media had been relentlessly attacking Lee Hyunbin. As a result, even those who initially defended him were slowly being swayed by the media’s incitement.

‘Even though hyung saved so many people.’

In a short period, Lee Hyunbin had saved a truly countless number of people.

But people saw the murder video and didn’t try to understand if there might be a reason.

They were simply being manipulated by the media.

No, more than anything, the fact that the state wasn’t controlling a video so brazenly showing someone being killed was suspicious.

In any case, the situation was turning against Lee Hyunbin.

‘As long as hyung allowed himself to be arrested, they won’t be able to kill him recklessly.’

He might be in prison for a while, but it would be difficult to kill him.

‘There must be a full version of the video.’

The video was too obviously, maliciously edited.

It showed nothing of the context, only the scene of him killing people.

*There’s no need to worry. Everything is going according to plan.*

Kim In-ho’s brow furrowed.

The Prophetess had just said that.

As if she already knew everything, as if there was no problem.

Kim In-ho made a call.

-You’ve called again?

“I’ll be blunt. This whole situation—did you arrange it?”

-This situation?

“The articles about Hyunbin hyung. The video. Everything.”

Could she, a mere cult leader, have the power to move the entire media?

It didn’t make sense. But something was suspicious. They could see the future, and if so, they could use that knowledge to orchestrate anything.

-And if we did?

Just as he’d expected.

“Then everything we discussed is off the table.”

-You’ve done so well until now. Just come here, and you’ll understand everything.

“No. You keep hiding your cards while we talk. What am I supposed to trust? I’m hanging up.”

-Wai—!

Kim In-ho didn’t wait and hung up the phone.

Seeing this, Lee Hyun-ah frowned.

“What? Infighting? Are you kidding me???”

Kang Cheol and Lee Hyun-ah. These first-generation heroes needed the power to cross dimensions. And the others needed the military strength they possessed.

That’s why they wouldn’t give up easily. Even though they had shown him the future, Kim In-ho felt he had to see their cards, as they kept hiding things.

“Please wait a moment. They’ll call back.”

“What nonsense.”

At that moment, as if on cue, the phone rang again.

Kim In-ho let the phone ring three more times. Then he answered.

“Hello.”

-In-ho oppa.

For a moment, Kim In-ho couldn’t believe his ears.

The voice sounded slightly different over the phone, but it was one he definitely knew.

“Seo-yeon?”

The phone number was definitely the cultist’s.

The fact that she was calling from that number meant Seo-yeon was with her.

-It’s all for Ajeossi.

***

Yeomje muttered.

Seeing the overwhelming amount of mana, Seo Hyun-ji berated herself for provoking her opponent too much.

“Hunter Hwang Jae-yeon! Such a dangerous attack is—!”

“Shut up! She’s skilled enough to dodge it without getting killed!”

Yeomje fired the mass of flames he had gathered straight at Seo Hyun-ji.

Orbs of flame rained down.

Fwoosh, KABOOM!

The orbs of flame exploded in all directions. The intense heat instantly turned the surroundings into a hellscape.

“…?”

Hwang Jae-yeon saw that the spot where Seo Hyun-ji had been was scorched black. But Seo Hyun-ji was nowhere to be seen.

He hadn’t really intended to kill her. He just knew her mana was less than his, so he planned to make her expend as much of it as possible.

“Ha.”

Yeomje laughed in disbelief.

Seo Hyun-ji had emerged from the flames, cloaked in ice.

Steam billowed from the meeting of ice and fire. Bursting through it, Seo Hyun-ji was charging at Yeomje for a close-quarters fight.

There was no way Seo Hyun-ji could handle Yeomje with pure flames. Not just because of his accumulated mana, but because of the difference in their proficiency.

That’s why Seo Hyun-ji chose a method that favored her.

Close combat.

Yeomje formed a hand seal and drew a pattern in the air.

“I deploy the Formation of Flames.”

“Huh? Retreat! Everyone, fall back!”

Centered on where Yeomje stood, a formation of flames was summoned and descended.

The guard who saw this didn’t even dare to try and stop him, simply evacuating.

The reason they had asked Yeomje for help was to stop the fight.

After all, he was the man known as the strongest, aside from the Deliveryman.

They thought that if Yeomje appeared, Seo Hyun-ji and Kim Tae-yang would stop their reckless behavior.

But instead, an even bigger incident had erupted.

Fwoosh-! Sshhh-!

A vicious blaze swept over the area. A corresponding wind, mixed with frigid ice, was pushing back against the flame formation head-on.

“They called that a doll? Those bastards must be blind.”

Watching Seo Hyun-ji confidently dismantle the flames he had poured his all into, Yeomje ground his teeth.

If he didn’t focus, he would come to regret underestimating her just because she was a woman.

He couldn’t secure an easy victory. No, he might even be defeated.

In this situation, the only one he could rely on was his colleague, Karl Thomas.

His opponent wasn’t a fellow S-rank, but an A-rank.

If he finished quickly and came to support this side, they could easily suppress her.

That was how it should have gone.

“That idiot!”

Instead, the tables had turned.