Ch.45Chapter 45 – S-Class Meeting

In the middle of the garden stood an old man.

He was an elderly man with an aura reminiscent of a Taoist immortal. His snow-white hair matched perfectly with his frost-like beard. His Japanese kendo uniform fluttered with his measured movements.

The old man was painting.

He had set up an easel in front of a bare tree that had lost all its leaves, placed a canvas on it, and was wielding his brush. With each stroke, a delicate line appeared, making the tree in the ink painting look increasingly real.

A woman wearing sunglasses approached the old man as he concentrated on his brushwork.

“お年寄り, すぐに会議の時間です.”

“Elder, it’s almost time for the meeting.”

The old man looked down at his brush—his katana. His beloved sword called ‘Kusanagi.’ Not a single drop flowed down the blade; only the tip was stained with ink.

He had been painting with his sword. Yet on the canvas, there wasn’t a single cut mark—only a majestic old tree standing firmly with its roots, rendered entirely in ink.

“もう時間がそうなったか。年齢をすぎ食べてみると、時間の感覚がますます曖昧になるというね…。”

“Is it that time already? They say when you get too old, your sense of time becomes increasingly vague…”

The old man wiped the blade with a blood-stained cloth and sheathed his katana. With a smooth sound, the sword settled into its scabbard without resistance, following a familiar path. The woman respectfully received the katana.

The old man headed toward the main building of the estate. It was a massive Japanese-style mansion that he used alone. Though excessively spacious for one person, he was someone who deserved such luxury. After all, the Japanese cabinet had presented this mansion specifically for this one old man.

He arrived at a specially modified room—a video conference room where the entire wall was a massive screen. He seemed to have arrived late, as the images of his meeting counterparts were already moving on the screen. A woman who noticed the old man’s attendance greeted him in Portuguese. An interpreter translated in real-time.

“Sword Demon Grandpa! Long time no see. What wind blew to make you lift your heavy behind?”

It was a mischievous greeting that could only be exchanged between close friends. But from the woman’s sneering tone alone, it was clear that the interpreter had toned down the expression as much as possible. Apparently displeased with her attitude, a British teenager interjected.

“How stupid, it means the agenda is that important. You’re the only money bug here who came just thinking about making money.”

“…Are you picking a fight with me, kid?”

“Bring it on, lady. I’ll crush you again.”

Teleporter, Adriana Manoela, was countered by Zeus, Euphemia Taylor. Sparks flew between the two women as they glared at each other. Their bad relationship was well-known.

The atmosphere grew increasingly hostile. Just as a fight seemed about to break out, the old man spoke.

“Ho ho, this old man is merely looking for the strong… If you seek an opponent to fight, I would be happy to oblige personally.”

Sword Demon, Sasae Takahashi’s wrinkled eyes gleamed ominously. The interpreters flinched at the palpable killing intent that was clearly felt even through the screen.

‘This is the presence of an S-rank!’

This was an S-rank meeting urgently convened by Victor Andreyev, the Russian A-rank Hunter and the second Hunter Association President. It was a gathering of superhumans worthy of being called the strongest.

Only the Association President and S-rank Hunters could participate in S-rank meetings, without even inviting branch heads or other executives from national associations. This was possible because S-ranks were not only Hunters but also each a member of the Association’s highest board of directors.

Takahashi, who had calmed the gathering with his presence alone, surveyed the meeting participants.

“Kekeke, and aren’t you all equally reluctant to move your heavy behinds? How long has it been since the ‘Hero,’ the ‘Sky Demon,’ and the ‘Esper’ gathered for one meeting… But surprisingly, the ‘Pharaoh’ is not in attendance?”

“He has been facing the S-rank boss, Monster Tree Nepenthes, in the Sahara Desert for a month now. It’s an unavoidable absence, so there won’t be any penalty for missing the summons.”

Victor, who was moderating the meeting, resolved Takahashi’s question.

The Sword Demon, who was only interested in the strong, had heard the news a few weeks ago. Something about creating a sand dome to block light and water to face a giant tree the size of a large city. Since neither could deliver a decisive blow, it had naturally evolved into a war of attrition. The one-on-one battle between Nepenthes and the Pharaoh had continued for a month because any outside interference that allowed even a little light to enter would let Nepenthes instantly recover through photosynthesis.

“That fight still hasn’t ended? Both the boss and that friend are quite tenacious, indeed… Anyway, it’s good to see your faces after so long.”

“Good to see you too, Elder.”

“…”

“…”

Henry Clark, known as Sky Demon in the East and Skyscraper in the West, responded to the Sword Demon’s greeting. Hero Kim Jaemin also nodded slightly after reading the interpreter’s lips. Esper Zhang Wuyi was too busy handling his backlog of Chinese presidential duties to show any reaction.

“Aish, such unsociable fellows…”

“Kekeke, who would like a battle-crazed old man who only thinks about fighting when we meet?”

S-rank meetings were held exclusively via video conference not only to save the trouble of taking flights but mainly to prevent clashes between S-ranks. Each one was a superhuman close to a natural disaster—if a fight broke out, it would be like two calamities visiting the host country on their own feet. And in a battle between a typhoon and an earthquake, neither the typhoon nor the earthquake dies. Only civilians perish.

In fact, after Zeus and Teleporter once nearly caused a major catastrophe when they fought, the Association’s policy was to keep S-ranks as far apart as possible. Beyond civilian casualties, if an S-rank suffered serious injury in a duel between S-ranks, it would be tantamount to a loss of strength for all humanity. Fortunately or unfortunately, the confrontation between Euphemia and Adriana had ended with Adriana retreating after having her left ear burned off.

“Now, now, stop fighting. It seems everyone is here except for Pharaoh, Muhammad Sharif. Let’s begin the meeting.”

Victor, who had calmed the commotion, played a video on the screen. It was currently the hottest video on social media and internet communities—a pillar of light falling from the sky was melting a boss monster the size of a building. Some expressed admiration at the spectacular strike.

“Ohhh… This is.”

“As I informed you in advance, today’s agenda concerns an incident that occurred in a city called Incheon in South Korea.”

“You mean the incident where a new S-rank is presumed to have appeared? Has their identity been confirmed?”

The Sword Demon, eager to find strong individuals, showed enthusiasm. Unfortunately, the Association President shook his head.

“Not yet. We requested cooperation from President Park Jugwan, but he’s playing dumb. It seems he intends to hide the identity…”

“Tsk, that’s disappointing.”

I seem to have digressed. Victor cleared his throat and returned to the main topic.

“This incident is not an ordinary gate outbreak.”

Everyone silently agreed. They knew from the reports.

Coincidentally, as the Civilization Combat Level experience reached 99.99%, five gates opened in succession. The terrifying boss presumed to have opened these gates surpassed existing S-ranks. One of the Four Heavenly Kings whose outline was indirectly revealed through messages from other bosses.

“The ‘Four Heavenly Kings’…”

“They were mentioned in messages from the Seoul Lava Giant, the Amazon Crocodile, and the Berlin Lizard, right? I was half-skeptical, but they actually exist.”

Twirling her long blonde hair with her finger, Euphemia pretended to recall the contents of the report.

The Four Heavenly Kings—leaders of monsters testified by dozens of messages. If the information about the Four Heavenly Kings was true, then the existence of a “Demon King” was also highly likely.

The S-ranks’ expressions grew serious at the threat looming before them.

In fact, in the case of Belial, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, his raw power was comparable to an S-rank Hunter, but the speed at which his strength increased was unparalleled. If any of them had to fight Belial one-on-one, they would have been unable to keep up with Belial’s growth and would have been devoured after a war of attrition.

And if one of the Four Heavenly Kings was this strong, how terrifying would the other Kings or the Demon King be?

In the somber atmosphere, no one dared to speak. Fortunately, the awkward silence didn’t last long. Zhang Wuyi, who had just finished signing one document and picked up another, bluntly said:

“Do you remember the system log that appeared the moment the boss was defeated?”

Henry Clark, who had been busy with vigilante activities and had no time to check the system, flipped through the report. He easily found the relevant section.

「 ===

Civilization Combat Level Up.

Lv. 0 > Lv. 1

Providing civilization reward.

-Holy Power Awakeners unlocked

=== 」

“Holy Power? What is Holy Power?”

“It’s presumed to be a new type of energy like mana. I’ve been receiving reports that people claiming to have awakened despite not being detected with mana have been increasing for the past few days, and surprisingly, they actually use abilities. Using a golden energy as seen in the video.”

Victor switched the screen to skill test videos and explained. The new awakeners were healing wounds, summoning golden hammers, and performing other skills—abilities completely different from existing forms.

Adriana Manoela, who was carefully examining the video, asked sharply:

“Come to think of it, it seems quite similar to your power. Any insights? Kim Jaemin.”

The attention of the meeting participants turned to Kim Jaemin. Everyone was secretly curious. The golden pillar of light that appeared when Kim Jaemin used his signature technique <Storm of Time> looked quite similar to this energy.

Surprisingly, Kim Jaemin readily admitted it.

“Yes, that’s right. It’s an energy specialized for fighting demons. Against demons specifically, it can exert greater power than mana.”

“I see… An effect of compatibility? It’s like an RPG game.”

Those who learned the secret behind his exceptionally fast gate clearing speed, even among S-ranks, nodded in understanding. However, not all reactions were positive. As expected, the twisted Adriana started another provocation.

“Hmph, I thought so. So there was a reason you could defeat bosses so easily. I bet you killed the Incheon boss too, and you’re pretending a new S-rank appeared, conspiring with the president?”

“Wait, aren’t you being too harsh?”

Adriana, the boss of Brazil’s largest criminal cartel, disliked Kim Jaemin the most among the meeting participants after the British bitch who kept contradicting her words. She resented how enthusiastically he cleared gates in other countries. The more desperate the other party, the better terms they would offer, but this guy didn’t even know the basics of mercenary work.

Originally, other S-ranks weren’t very interested in clearing gates in other countries. At most, the Sword Demon Grandpa might show interest if a strong boss was discovered. Skyscraper was busy protecting his own home like a watchdog, the Esper couldn’t live up to his name as he was swamped with presidential duties daily, and the cowardly Zeus woman and Egypt’s Pharaoh were also passive about mercenary work.

Thus, the only meaningful S-rank personnel in the mercenary market were essentially herself, Teleporter, and Hero Kim Jaemin. But Kim Jaemin filled his schedule with gates whenever he had free time, clearing them at bargain prices. As a result, only he suffered losses.

“Why don’t you explain yourself? ‘Hero’ sir.”

Adriana shot back with personal grudge and irritation. Though it would have been natural to be angry at such insulting words to his face, Kim Jaemin remained indifferent. He was accustomed to distrust and hostility. He expected nothing from others.

Instead, he attempted a more productive inference. Holy Power. He knew exactly one person in Korea besides himself who used Holy Power. The man who was a regular at his mother’s store, whom he hadn’t met since the Gwanak District gate incident.

‘Shin Jaehyuk… But his Holy Power wasn’t strong enough to take down a Heavenly King in one strike. He couldn’t even defeat a top-tier Archduke-class demon.’

He seemed to fight quite well at the police station—could he have hunted diligently in gates to level up? But according to his mother, he was a serious hikikomori. Would such a Shin Jaehyuk have worked hard enough to reach S-rank? Kim Jaemin couldn’t be sure.

‘Anyway, I won’t know unless I meet him in person.’

Having organized his thoughts, Kim Jaemin stated his position.

“I was in the Philippines that day, so I know nothing about the Incheon disaster. To be honest, I’m not even that curious. It’s good news that a new S-rank has emerged to protect the country, as it means I can more actively clear gates abroad.”

Yes. All he had to do was defeat those damned demons. To create an environment where his mother could live safely… Only to return home, to his mother’s side, just as he had done for a hundred years in Eden.

No one doubted his statement. There were more than enough official records and evidence that Kim Jaemin was in the Philippines when the gate opened in Incheon. Even Adriana had just been venting her frustration with a probing question, so she made no further gesture. Victor resumed the meeting after summarizing the situation.

“Hmm. If even Hunter Kim Jaemin doesn’t know anything… Perhaps President Park isn’t hiding anything, and the identity truly hasn’t been identified. Well, we’ll look into this matter further through the Korean branch head later. Now, let’s discuss the Civilization Combat Level and future policies…”