Chapter 486. Temporary Alliance (4)
"This is bad."
I almost dropped my phone into the pool. But I prevented that accident in advance using [Telekinesis] magic and quickly moved my body.
"My magic isn't quite abundant enough, so I'll have to prepare for guests in advance, just like I've done since the old days."
Still, the fact that the S-rank who had been abroad had returned was, in a way, good news.
"By the way, where has that primitive being hiding all this ti?"
I was planning to intercept the primitive mage who was approaching the country's airport.
***
A few hours before the news reached Kim Gi-ryeo.
[Dinnnnn.]
High-pitched.[Dinnnnn.]
Dark. The sound echoed between the old concrete buildings.
[Dinnnnn.]
The place where the phone rang was a residential area in Hoi An, and, following the alert from the mobile device, soone checked their pocket.
Hello?
Upon answering, the voice that ca through spoke Korean—a language not commonly used in this area.
Sir?
For now, only the caller's voice could be heard. However, the person holding the phone to their ear seed to already anticipate what the other would say and quickly took the initiative.
"...That S-rank must have already finished the raid, huh?"
The caller, who began the conversation using the honorific "Sir," was actually an operative that this side had directly placed in South Korea.
Yes. And regarding the congressman you ntioned, Hunter Kim Giryeo successfully rescued him and got him out safely.
The figure standing by the window slowly reacted while holding the phone.
"The paynt for your work will be transferred to your account shortly."
Although this statent didn't completely line up with the earlier report, it didn't really matter.
Tuk.
Anyway, since the compensation would be paid accurately, hanging up without further greetings was no issue at all. The phone's owner skipped all unnecessary steps and ended the call. Imdiately afterward, he turned on the internet and checked the successive objective reports
[Breaking] Missing OO Party congressman found in EX-rank gate - Dramatically rescued by S-rank Hunter]
Kang Changho. The person who had been hiding in Hoi An all this ti was, in fact, an S-rank Hunter from South Korea by that na. But this person wasn't interested in reports about Korean corporations, nor in information about Seoul housing prices. The reason he had been fixated on this particular type of news all along needed separate explanation.
"Oh my, so the politician was found alive, not as a corpse."
The kidnapping incident at the EX-class Gate was chaotic enough, but... what would happen to the world if it were revealed that most of the disturbances up to now were actually caused by this S-rank Hunter?
"Beside, the interview that Congressman Oh gave as a survivor is even more absurd."
Colluding with political figures. Actively supporting their plans to suppress minority groups and orchestrating online and offline public opinion manipulation. Or, anonymously funneling operational funds to organizations that hate espers. That had been his past life.
In fact, the money that went to the reporter who was tailing Kim Giryeo was actually funneled by Kang Changho, who had impersonated soone else. Moreover, the operational costs of certain extremist groups, or even the funds for the politician kidnapping, had in reality originated from his side.
"Hmm."
Ah, just one thing. Still, the case of the crazy citizen who sued Kim Giryeo was genuinely a naturally occurring exception.
[Seonhan Daily]
[Press Release 1. (CCTV Footage) Survivors and an S-rank Hunter are seen exiting the EX-class Gate.]
Anyway, this is how the truth really stands. Kang Chang-ho originally had zero interest in dostic Hunter authority or politics. So why did he suddenly throw his full support behind a particular political party? Simply put, it was purely to piss off the one superpower he knew.
"Hmm."
Soone tailing people every day with a cara. Annoying articles spreading everywhere. And on top of that, even so of the citizens he had painstakingly protected criticizing him—any Hunter in that situation would have every reason to get irritated.
Kang Chang-ho intended to deliberately create this uncomfortable situation to provoke South Korea's 4th S-rank Hunter to the fullest. He wanted to push him repeatedly, to make him express hatred, anger, or similar emotions. Moreover, even if this operation didn't successfully stir up genuine feelings, it didn't really matter in practice.
"It's difficult to capture photos with a digital cara in a space saturated with magic..."
A brief thought passed by.
"Moreover, another world has the property of vanishing the mont it's fully cleared. There's no better place to let murder happen."
That was why Kang Changho had used an EX-rank gate as a trap.
"But if the results turn out like this—"
So might find it strange that an S-rank Hunter is testing others while throwing around huge sums of money. However, from Kang Changho's perspective, this was a perfectly logical course of action.
"Maybe it's about ti I stop avoiding that Awakener."
From a third-party perspective, soone who isn't particularly fond of the other, Kim Giryeo was, after all, a "thing" with far too many strange traits.
"At this point, even if I confront him head-on, he probably won't make any aggressive, sudden moves."
Not just a matter of a strange personality—this was an assessnt that the other wasn't even fully human. The reason for such thoughts was simple: the peculiarity of that man with the Sambagaen eyes was far from minor. He had smashed through a gate that top-tier hunters in the U.S. had struggled with.
Moreover, that water-attribute S-rank was able to skillfully use the [stun] status effect—sothing completely unrelated to their usual skills. Was that even possible given the latent potential of modern humans?
"..."
It honestly seed extrely unlikely for a genius like that fake blonde man to appear at this point in ti.
Still, according to my usual theory, I wouldn't go so far as to say the probability is completely 0%..."
Even without using any specialized knowledge, it was easy for anyone to see that Kim Giryeo had slightly surpassed the limits of humanity. Therefore, Kang Changho remained wary of him once again. Since the other could very well be a monster wearing a neighbor's skin, he hastily moved his body out of the way.
"Hmm."
Of course, Kim Giryeo had often shown enough of his human side... And for a while, he had accepted that and let the "lung cancer patient" rest quietly.
"A person should act a little strangely sotis."
Anyway, that was that. Kang Changho rarely believed in anything with 100% certainty. So he used every trick in the book to repeatedly verify the existence of others. To anyone watching, his actions were clearly sinister, but Kang Changho felt no pangs of conscience.
"Hmm."
At least, until the news from Korea returned... It really was like that. But what was this outco?
Whoosh.
The man with teal-colored hair took a mont to admire the Hoian scenery outside the building. Amid this view, his thoughts were simple and clear.
"Kim Giryeo didn't touch a single hair on that dungeon rat's head."
First of all, no matter how monstrous the target, if it's wearing a biological shell, it still has the sa limit on magic usage. Thus, Kang Changho had placed the politician beyond the sixth door—a door that would require consuming imnse amounts of power to pass through. Of course, it wasn't so that any attack using a bomb artifact would deliver a fatal blow.
It's just that all skill users naturally beco more sensitive as their energy depletes. Kang Changho had chosen this setting to infer Kim Giryeo's true nature.
"Even though I used a rare, discontinued item like [Collapse Particles], well... there's still plenty of it on the black market."
Moreover, drawing Kim Giryeo to a specific location didn't really require any special effort. Korea's fourth S-rank Hunter was a weirdo who always paid attention to high-difficulty gates.
"This part is just simple statistics."
It was expected that Kim Giryeo would attempt the EX-rank gate. But, how on earth did that blond hunter manage to bring back the alive weakling who had betrayed him?
"Did the instigation of the conflict go wrong? But I was careful with my personnel selection from the beginning to prevent that from happening, and I even had soone properly place the [Shell Bomb]..."
Kang Changho scrolled through his phone with an expression of disbelief. Yet the article displayed on the screen remained the sa.
"It says that the rescued politician ntioned... Kim Giryeo treated the victim so kindly throughout the entire raid that it was almost overwhelming"
The report stated that the opponent had carefully protected a civilian who even had a bomb attached to their body and brought them back safely. Regrettably, if they assu all of this is true, it only makes things more confusing from this side's perspective.
"Hoho well, this is quite sothing."
If Kim Giryeo truly possessed the kind of power capable of creating a gate, then humanity on this land would feel like "insects" to them. And if he treated others as re vermin, it's only natural that psychologically he would feel a strong resistance, unable to recklessly bow down even in front of a politician.
Could it be that Kim Giryeo was an ideal hunter even in that dungeon where no one was watching?
"If that's the case, it actually makes them even more terrifying..."
Of course, Kang Changho didn't blindly trust a person based on just this result. After all, he placed more weight on the hypothesis that Kim Giryeo wasn't entirely human.
"Not human, yet rciful to humans."
With that in mind, Kang Changho paused to think briefly. What followed was a topic eerily similar to the recent concerns of a certain archmage.
"So... could it be that Kim Giryeo is a third party? A completely separate monster from those brats I know? Well, it would make sense to think that way, considering his personality is entirely different from the gate creatures."
Truly a chilling deduction.
"If that's the case, what on earth has Earth done to deserve this?"
Dealing with a dungeon shock alone is already overwhelming, but if there's even one more unidentified lifeform on this planet, who knows how much trouble that would bring.
"Seriously, what on earth..."
Kang Changho rolled his eyes for a mont. But the more he thought about it, the less likely it seed that Kim Giryeo was a third party. According to everything humanity had observed with its scientific technology so far, living beings were by no ans common in this universe. The man with the bluish-purple hair adjusted sothing on the phone he was holding.
Swoosh.
"Still, thanks to this news, there's no need for any more guessing gas."
What followed was a thought close to a conclusion.
"At this point, all the short-term asures I could try have been done. If that guy is a competent monster, honestly, no matter how I think about it, there's no reason he'd go to all this trouble to deceive ..."
If the Hunter Kim Giryeo's personality was a mask that wouldn't co off no matter how much trouble he caused, Kang Changho decided there wouldn't be much benefit in wasting ti. Of course, this didn't completely erase his suspicions, but—
[Searching]
[...]
[Arrival -> Republic of Korea (KR)]
He had certain circumstances.
"Either way, I'm caught between a rock and a hard place. Leaving Seoul unattended would just be another risk."
He chose to return to the country with a truly do-or-die mindset.
"Now, it's probably better to pretend to be moved by that kindness, and quietly create an opening to strike from the side."
In fact, that blonde alien had treated politician Oh Youngin kindly for exactly the sa reason. But Kang Changho couldn't have deduced that information.
Kim Giryeo, a superpowered adult in their late twenties... There was no way Kang Changho could have guessed that he had forcibly brought the ordinary human along just to "torture him properly later with magic." In truth, the mastermind behind [Dungeon Shock] that the bluish-purple haired man had encountered until now were nothing but beasts who knew nothing of kindness.
Yet, unlike Kim Giryeo, they would never go so far as to seek petty revenge against re mammals... A species with such extraordinary abilities would normally just eliminate anything annoying outright. Kang Changho, failing to grasp the reality of the situation, drifted off into other thoughts.
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