Chapter 97 – Moderates and Hardliners (1)

The day of the meeting.

It was the day when those who had moved to Earth from another world, from another dimension, gathered.

The moderates and the hardliners.

Though they came from the same dimension, the clans that had never once united gathered in the hall.

“Well, well, ain’t this fancy.”

A middle-aged man belonging to the hardliners muttered.

The building they entered for the sake of harmony was one built by the moderates.

A figure symbolic of the moderates.

Thanks to Seo Hyun-ji, the clan was adapting to modern society.

On the other hand, the hardliners were putting down roots in the darkness.

They were involved in illegal crimes and had done anything for money.

“Looks like everyone’s alive and well.”

The hardliner middle-aged man stepped into the building, stuck a cigarette in his mouth, and lit it.

“Excuse me, but this is a non-smoking building.”

“Non-smoking? Ah, you worried about my health? It’s fine. I won’t die, I won’t die.”

“It’s not that, this building is designated as a non-smoking area…”

At the building manager’s words, the middle-aged man laughed.

“And it’s okay for things worse for your health than smoking to happen?”

“…That’s.”

“This guy’s a real stick-in-the-mud. Got no tact. Looks like he’ll die young.”

At the middle-aged man’s words, the building manager shut his mouth.

Just as he said, the atmosphere was far from good.

Even during their usual meetings for harmony, the atmosphere was never good.

They were always full of suspicion toward each other.

But today, an openly hostile atmosphere flowed.

The reason was.

“You all did something interesting last time.”

The middle-aged man said, exhaling cigarette smoke.

Sitting at the head of the conference room table, the middle-aged hardliner looked at the moderates and provocatively crossed his legs.

“What’s with the long faces? It’s a compliment. For a bunch of guys who never left their corners out of fear, you pulled that off with some guts. This old man was a little impressed, you know.”

“How about showing some basic courtesy?”

“Courtesy?”

The middle-aged man spat a thick glob onto the conference table, extinguishing his cigarette.

“Don’t you think not ripping your heads off right now is me showing courtesy, you cowards?”

“What did you just say?”

Provoked by the hardliner, the moderates stood up from their seats.

“Sit.”

“…Yes, my apologies.”

The one who calmed the moderates was a young child.

Commonly known as the Elder.

The head of the clan.

Seeing him, the middle-aged man’s lips curled up as he spoke.

“My, my, our Elder seems to be getting younger by the day, doesn’t he?”

“It’s not necessarily a good thing.”

“I’m envious, Elder. You must take good care of your skin. Haha, look at that fair complexion on someone more than twice my age.”

“Watch your mouth!”

“Who told you to interrupt while the adults are talking? Huh? This old man is holding back because of the Elder. Huh? You wanna test this old man’s patience?”

The hardliners also rose from their seats.

The moderates would have normally endured it, but they wouldn’t just stand by while their clan’s elder was treated so disrespectfully.

The atmosphere was ripe for bloodshed at any moment.

“Everyone, sit. This is not why we met.”

The Elder spoke while eating a spoonful of chocolate parfait.

The middle-aged man gestured to the hardliners.

Everyone finally sat down.

“That child is nowhere to be seen.”

“That child? I think everyone who was supposed to come is here.”

“The child named Kei.”

“Ah, Kei. I had something else for him to do. Why, should I call him if you want to see him?”

“No, it doesn’t matter.”

The Elder wiped his lips with a handkerchief.

The middle-aged man smiled, put another cigarette in his mouth, and lit it.

*Hooo*, after a deep exhale, the middle-aged man continued.

“But Elder. Is this how you’re going to play?”

“You crossed the line.”

“Ha, but this ain’t right. Backstabbing us after we took over the organization, that’s not right. Huh? While you folks were hiding like cowards, we fought fiercely and made sacrifices to survive. But fuck!”

The middle-aged man slammed his fist on the table.

“Damn, got spit on it.”

As he said that, a subordinate behind him took off his own clothes and wiped the man’s hand.

*Hock, ptui.*

After spitting on the floor, the middle-aged man glared at the Elder.

“The reason we left you alone until now wasn’t because we were scared of you. You know that, right? Elder. We put up with it because of you.”

In truth, even within the hardliners, there was much dissatisfaction with the moderates’ lukewarm attitude.

There were many who suggested attacking the moderates to absorb them.

But they didn’t.

For his sake, the one who possessed the power to traverse dimensions, they had endured until now.

“But you’re supporting those Hunter bastards? Did you think we wouldn’t find out? Huh?”

“Did I not tell you? You crossed the line.”

“Line? What line?”

“We came from another world. This place has its own laws. That is the rule for immigrants.”

At the Elder’s words, the middle-aged man cackled, drool dribbling down his chin.

“Khuhuhuk. Ah, this. Our Elder sure has a way with words. From the start, we didn’t come as immigrants, but as inhabitants. It wasn’t our land before, but now that we’re here, this place becomes our home. We’re here to make it so.”

“That is the difference between us.”

The Elder said calmly.

Seeing his completely unafraid face, the middle-aged man tilted his head and put out his cigarette.

“Elder, but.”

A bitter sneer spread across the middle-aged man’s face.

“Shouldn’t you not have come here?”

The hardliners’ members drew weapons from their inventories.

The moderates’ members also drew their weapons to protect the Elder.

“Did you really think we’d keep letting you off the hook just because you’re the Elder?”

“I never thought you’d be so foolish. At least that friend Kei wouldn’t have made such a choice.”

“Aigoo. Elder. Kei, that kid is too young. And too scared. Shouldn’t the adults handle the big stuff?”

Twenty hardliners. Nineteen moderates. They were in a standoff.

The moderates couldn’t lift a single finger.

The moderates were trained in combat, but they hadn’t fought since coming to the modern era.

On the other hand, the hardliners had experienced frequent combat.

In other words, they were elites.

“I’m telling you this out of concern, Elder. The reason you were valuable was your dimensional power. But it turns out there’s another child with dimensional power.”

At his words, the Elder let out a sigh.

“Yes, I thought you would find out sooner or later.”

“She’s quite a spunky kid. Overflowing with talent. Unlike you, Elder, whose limits become clearer the more you use your power.”

The conference room door opened.

The moderates, wary of the newcomers’ appearance, surrounded the Elder in a protective circle.

“Our family has grown a bit.”

“These, these bastards…!”

It was never a gathering for harmony in the first place.

“We have big things to do. And we can’t keep a thorn in our side forever.”

The atmosphere suggested they had already come here with war in mind.

“Causing a disturbance in a place like this will be troublesome.”

This wasn’t some forsaken land, but the heart of the city.

If a battle broke out, Gaders would be dispatched immediately.

The security in this country was particularly high. Unlike overseas.

Even before the Gate incident, it was a clean zone with no drugs or guns.

“That’s why you guys are failures. The moment you start worrying about what the people of this world think, you’re a coward.”

“Idiots. Didn’t you know it would come to this? What did you trust in to come to this meeting?”

The hardliners jeered openly.

They already disliked how the moderates lived in hiding like cowards.

“What did we trust in?”

Just then, one of the moderates spoke up.

“We came because we can wreck you all.”

A moderate member who jumped in without reading the room.

The middle-aged man’s thick eyebrows furrowed.

“Elder. Did you bring an outsider?”

At the middle-aged man’s words, everyone in the conference room flinched.

The moderate member who had spoken took off his hoodie.

In that moment, the eyes of several hardliners trembled.

“A Special Gader.”

The Special Gader, Lee Hyunbin.

“Didn’t I tell you? You crossed the line.”

“You’re the one who crossed the line!”

At the middle-aged man’s command, the hardliners charged the moderates, weapons in hand.

“Backs to the wall, form a shield wall.”

Lee Hyunbin drew Sword #1 from his inventory.

“I’ll clear the way.”

***

Looks like Seo Hyun-ji really made a lot of money.

Is it because she’s a pretty popular celebrity?

Hunters have to face death to make a profit, but celebrities just have to smile pretty for the camera and the money rolls in.

Of course, I’m only dissing Seo Hyun-ji.

At a glance, there look to be over forty of them.

Seeing all these Villains charge at once with their tools reminds me of a gangster movie I saw recently.

I kicked the conference table.

The guys who were on the table lost their balance and fell.

*Thwack!*

I kicked the first guy falling in the stomach. The ones following him got a fist straight to the jaw.

“Fuck!”

Tsk, tsk. Use your pretty words.

I blocked the blade coming sideways for my neck by holding Sword #1 vertically.

At the same time, I slid along the flat of the blade and took a step forward.

*Shnk!*

Easy, right?

The hardliner whose shoulder I’d cut screamed. In that opening, I dodged a blade coming for my side and swung my sword diagonally.

I remember it being pretty hard when I first learned to use chopsticks.

My fingers had no strength, and it wasn’t familiar, so it always felt awkward.

It’s the same with a sword.

Swinging this weight is harder than you’d think.

It feels like my muscles are being overworked.

But when you can swing it like you’re picking up food with chopsticks, it starts to feel like an extension of your finger.

*Shnk!*

Isn’t this that whole ‘mind and sword as one’ thing?

“Fuck, how would I know!”

Ah, I must have asked him without realizing.

I guess I asked something unnecessary of a guy who’s dying of pain from a hole in his shoulder.

-Close Quarters Combat has been activated.

-Phantom Step has been activated.

All movement around me seems to slow down. When I make a decision and move, my consciousness rapidly accelerates.

The opponent’s attack appears in slow motion.

I can see where his bloodshot eyes are looking. I can also see the friend next to him looking at me with fear.

Did the guy next to him not brush his teeth after lunch? His bad breath attack is no joke.

*Thwack, shnk!*

I swung the sword a few more times.

The trails drawn by the blade created a dizzying pattern, and the red blood that had floated in the air pattered onto the floor.

“Ghhhk!”

“Aaargh!”

“Fuck, fuck!”

Voices full of resentment toward me came from all directions.

“We should retreat for now!”

A group that seemed to be the middle-aged man’s lackeys said as much, blocking my path.

How admirable.

The middle-aged man’s arrogant demeanor vanished in an instant.

I know what that look in his eyes means.

The king who had made an enemy of me, who had betrayed me.

He had that same face when he was dragged down from his throne.

“Hero, we have to catch that man!”

One of the moderates, fighting while protecting the Elder, shouted to me.

I know.

I’d heard he was the most violent figure among the hardliners.

“It’s fine. The building is already surrounded.”

No matter how strong I am, I can’t chase down and catch dozens of people by myself.

My fellow Gaders have already surrounded this building. Which means no one is getting out of here.

In an instant, the hardliners lost their morale.

They were dropping their weapons one by one without me even telling them to.

“Khuhu.”

One of them suddenly starts laughing.

Is he crazy?

“Hero, you’re strong indeed. This old man is impressed.”

“Oh, thank you.”

“But, is your family that strong too?”

The captured bastard sneered, as if he wanted to see me flustered.

“Probably?”

“This old man will tell you something interesting. My other colleagues have gone to your house right now.”

Oh, is that so.

“The little lady lord you were protecting. Surely you didn’t leave her alone, did you?”

I smiled as I answered the middle-aged man’s sneering question.

“Of course.”

“…?”

Of course, she’s not alone.