Chapter 132 - Chapter 132 (1/2)

Plop.

Matsumoto Shigeo fell down on his knees.

A boss of an organisation – not only that, a man representing the opinions and positions of every Hunter in the country called Japan, was kneeling in front of another person.

'…...'

Even in this brief moment, countless thoughts raced through Matsumoto's brain.

However, no matter how hard he wracked his brain, he couldn't come up with a way to get out of this predicament.

This was not the time to worry about his pride or honour. If any of this got out, then its ensuing aftermath wouldn't end with him just losing his position.

"President Goh Gun-Hui…. Please, forgive me."

Unfortunately for him, Goh Gun-Hui's glare remained icy and unmoving.

This man was shouting blue murder when there was no proof of his wrongdoing, but as soon as the situation turned disadvantageous, he obediently lowered his tail.

Who'd look at such a man with sympathetic eyes?

"Get up."

Goh Gun-Hui's icy voice advised his Japanese counterpart to stop wasting time with this hollow apology, but Matsumoto didn't heed that and slammed his forehead on the office floor repeatedly.

Thud! Thud!!

"Our nation, Japan, has lost half of her top-ranked Hunters and we will soon have to beg the international community for their aid."

No matter how excellent the Hunter system in Japan was, they would eventually see the gaps in their defences opening up sooner or later with half of their rank S Hunters dead.

Their remaining combat force would be enough to deal with rank A Gates for the time being, but....

But, Japan would have to be on their toes the moment a rank S Gate opens up somewhere in their territory. Even worse, the repeat of the tragedy that occurred on Jeju Island could happen in Japan, too.

"If that sound file gets out, then we'll be completely isolated from the world. I beg of you, President Goh Gun-Hui. Please, think about the innocent Japanese citizens and forgive our transgressions just this once....!"

"Think of it as your due punishment."

Goh Gun-Hui ruthlessly cut Matsumoto's words there.

"Think of it as the punishment for the sin you and your Hunters tried to commit and gladly accept it."

Carry around a bomb that might go off at any given moment, and wait for the hour of reckoning – that's what Goh Gun-Hui was implying here.

However, Matsumoto didn't show any sign of lifting his head off the floor.

"President Goh Gun-Hui.... Until I appease your anger, I shall not rise up again. I beg of you, please, please! Consider it one more time!"

"You leave me with no choice."

With a displeased expression firmly etched on his face, Goh Gun-Hui pulled out his mobile phone.

"You have five minutes."

What could he mean by that?

Unable to win against his curiosity, Matsumoto raised his head and looked up at Goh Gun-Hui. The Korean man slowly waved his phone around.

"If you don't get out of here in the next five minutes, a message will be sent to the numbers of every reporter saved on this phone. It'll be a message about the President of the Japanese Association grovelling before me."

If you cling onto me in fear of the bomb going off at any second, then I'll just let it go off, right now – he wasn't threatening anymore. No, it was a declaration.

"But, that..."

Matsumoto bit his lower lip.

Goh Gun-Hui's determination wasn't soft enough to be shaken up by nothing but a pitiful plea for leniency. Matsumoto belatedly realised this fact. And this was also the moment his last-ditch attempt to save this situation at the cost of his pride ending up in total failure.

Powerlessly, Matsumoto stood back up.

Goh Gun-Hui's glare remained icy, his phone gradually being lowered. He then spoke to the unsteady Japanese man.

"You should thank Mister Seong Jin-Woo."

The light of pure anger flickered dangerously within Goh Gun-Hui's beast-like eyes.

"Not at the hands of that mutated ant, no, but if my Hunters got hurt from the schemes of your people, then you wouldn't have walked out of this room alive."

Matsumoto's trembling hands packed up his belongings and without taking a single look back, he escaped from the Korean Association's building in a hurry. Not one lick of his former pride and confidence he displayed during his last visit here could be seen from his departing back now.

"Fuu...."

Meanwhile, Goh Gun-Hui was leaning against the back of the couch. It felt like all of his pent-up stress was cleared away in one shot. Of course, he wasn't planning to end things here.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he now held the lifeline of the Japanese Hunter Association.

'If you committed a crime, then you get punished for it.'

From early on in his life, Goh Gun-Hui was taught how to treat his friends and enemies accordingly.

It was then, his mobile phone resting on the table suddenly issued a loud racket.

'Mm?'

He tapped on the 'Answer' icon, and an urgent voice came out from the speaker. Goh Gun-Hui quietly listened to what happened, and his eyes progressively grew wider and wider.

"What?! A Gate formed in the middle of a road??"

Not only that, it was rated to be a rank B Gate that no regular raid team could do something about, too!

"Where is it located?"

The best course of action for this problem was to contact a major Guild and have them send over a capable raid team. But, then....

'….Hold on.'

Having heard the report from the agent on site, Goh Gun-Hui's expression became a bit strange.

'Didn't Hunter Seong Jin-Woo get an office for his Guild around there?'

***

The road suddenly became really clogged up.

Jin-Woo was in deep contemplation as he found himself stuck in the middle of an unmoving sea of traffic.

'That lady, she definitely saw something.'

That woman called Madam Norma Selner. She must've faced countless powerful Hunters, yet she couldn't even meet his gaze because she felt a crippling fear of him.

Just what did she 'see' in him?

Was it the traces of his System?

The System would make a few ridiculous demands from him every now and then, sure, but it was certainly not a scary existence.

'Instead of being scary, that thing's my greatest ally.'

However, how would it look like in other people's views?

The deputy director asked him back then if it was fine to get in touch at a later time. The thing was, though, the woman regaining some calm behind him suddenly got startled again and began shuddering as soon as he asked that question.

Even if Jin-Woo wanted to see that woman again, she'd avoid him of her own volition. Her entire body displayed her unwillingness quite clearly. Jin-Woo then came to a realisation.

Maybe, that woman's power didn't work on him. He was very different from normal Hunters, after all.

'Well, I guess there's no need to waste more of my time with those folks, then.'

That was why he already told the American deputy director that there wouldn't be a need and tactfully declined their invite. The frozen-stiff expression of the deputy director was particularly memorable, to say the least.

'Besides all that, what is up with this traffic, man?'

Jin-Woo furrowed his brows at the road ahead utterly mired in congestion as far as his eyes could see.

'This is why taking the subway is so much more convenient.'

Just as he began wondering if there was an accident up ahead or something....

Vrrrr....

His phone stuck in the car charger vibrated rather noisily. Jin-Woo checked the ID of the caller.

'...It's the Association President?'

They saw each other in the funeral venue only a few hours ago, so what business did he have in calling him so soon? Jin-Woo tapped the 'Answer' icon.

- "Hunter-nim. It's Goh Gun-Hui speaking."

The Association President explained the situation taking place in the middle of Seoul in a calm voice.

"Excuse me? A Gate opened up in the middle of the road?"

He was beginning to think that this traffic jam was far too heavy to be normal, but there was a good reason behind it, as it turned out.

Hoping to turn the van around, Jin-Woo scanned around the vehicle. Unfortunately, there were simply too many cars tightly packed around him and it was not possible to move an inch. He helplessly shook his head and returned his gaze to the front of the road. It was then.

A welcoming piece of news capable of washing away the wave of dissatisfaction rising up from the traffic jam jumped out from his phone.

- "Our agents have evaluated it as a rank B Gate. Would you like to take care of it for us, Hunter-nim?"

'Heot!'

Jin-Woo struggled to suppress the giggles of joy this truly excellent news managed to awaken. As a matter of fact, he shouldn't be pleased about something that was greatly inconveniencing so many citizens like this. Yes.

Jin-Woo managed to straighten his voice and cautiously asked.

"I don't have the raid permit, so can I just enter like that, sir?"

- "Huhuh. Hunter-nim, who issues the raid permits?"

"It's issued by the Association."

- "And who am I?"

Jin-Woo suppressed his laughter again and replied seriously.

"You're the President of the Hunter's Association."

- "Huhuhuh. That's why, don't worry about anything and please take care of it."

"Well, in that case, thank you for the me.... No, I mean, thank you for the opportunity."

Jin-Woo clenched his fist.

He climbed out of the van and began walking after the trace of the magic energy leaking out from the Gate. Because of the cars packed tightly in all sides, he didn't even need to park the van somewhere else, too.

"....Yes. Everyone, the black hole in the air you see behind me is the Gate that has appeared in the city today....."

"....According to my sources, this Gate has been ranked at B, a high-ranking Gate that requires the participation of a large Guild...."

Reporters had already formed a cordon around the Gate by the time he got there, and the Association employees, as well as the members of the local police force, were restricting the access.

'Hmm...'

Jin-Woo brushed past the wall of the reporters and approached the Gate, but then, a female Association employee with a by-the-book demeanour abruptly blocked his path.

"Please hold it! What do you think you're doing?!"

She pushed at his chest and spoke loudly.

"You can't just barge your way in here like this!"

Too bad, no matter how hard she pushed with her small hands, Jin-Woo didn't show any signs of budging from the spot. Only then she belatedly realised that the guy standing in front of her was a Hunter – and a pretty high-ranking Hunter at that.

"Are you... a Hunter?"

Jin-Woo pulled out his licence and showed it to her. Naturally, her eyes grew super large.

'A r-r-rank S? Seong Jin-Woo???'

Wasn't he the same guy who killed all those ant monsters on Jeju Island....?

Finally learning of Jin-Woo's identity, the female Association employee raised her head to take another look.

Jin-Woo looked a lot different from when he appeared on TV, so even though she was an Association employee, she ended up failing to recognise a rank S Hunter.

However, it was also natural for people with discerning eyes to exist within the large crowd gathered here.

"Uh??"

"Isn't he...?"

"It's Seong Jin-Woo!"

"I think Seong Jin-Woo came here to deal with the Gate personally!"

People feeling fed up from being stuck here began recognising Jin-Woo, and their complexions brightened greatly. Some people among them with appointments to get to even cried out in elation, too.