Ch.69Chapter 69 – Reminiscence (2)

The Incheon Catastrophe had ended.

While the end of the disaster was a relief, no one could celebrate the victory. The damage was far too severe to be dismissed.

Most of Incheon’s infrastructure was destroyed, and 90% of its population perished. It was essentially the annihilation of Incheon. The surviving citizens abandoned the ruined city, scattering throughout Gyeonggi Province and the metropolitan area.

If that had been all, Korea’s future wouldn’t have looked so bleak.

“That Kim Jaemin has suffered permanent damage to his lungs.”

The condition of Kim Jaemin, the hero who defeated Belial, was not good. After a fierce battle, he succeeded in defeating Belial but inhaled dozens of times the lethal dose of toxic gas from the hellfire whip, causing permanent damage to his lungs. And lung damage meant compromised breathing.

“With reduced lung capacity, he won’t be able to engage in strenuous activity, and even uttering skill activation words will be difficult. He’s essentially lost more than half his combat ability… To think that Kim Jaemin, who we thought would always protect Korea, has suffered such a serious injury.”

Cha Eunkyung muttered to herself while watching the news. Beside her, Kwak Taewoo, who was practicing swordsmanship while drenched in sweat, asked:

“So where did that boss come from anyway? I heard it was spotted before the gate even opened. The police, Hunter Association, National Intelligence Service, and others are investigating, but have they found anything yet?”

“Results came out yesterday. Apparently, there was a collaborator who summoned Belial.”

Kwak Taewoo was startled by this ominous revelation.

“What?! Summoned? You mean someone deliberately called the boss here?”

“Shh! Lower your voice… There hasn’t been an official announcement yet, but they found a suspect. The body was discovered half-eaten, and they barely identified him through a suicide note in his pocket… The note also detailed how he summoned the boss.”

“Who was that bastard?”

“Song Sujeong, the chairman of Sujeong Corporation, who had two sons named Song Sukwon and Song Suhyeong.”

“Song Sujeong, Song Suhyeong, Song… Damn it. Why are all these names so similar? It’s confusing.”

As Kwak Taewoo grumbled, Cha Eunkyung shared her concerns.

“The Incheon disaster has already happened, so there’s nothing we can do about it… but I’m more worried about what comes next.”

“Why?”

“Even Korea’s only S-rank, Kim Jaemin, was devastated by just one boss, and there’s no guarantee that more World Bosses won’t appear. If something like that were to appear in Seoul…”

Cha Eunkyung swallowed the rest of her words. The consequences were obvious without saying.

Trying to shake off the ominous thoughts, Cha Eunkyung gritted her teeth.

“…I need to increase my leveling speed.”

“More than now? How? Even with an Awakened’s stamina, you’re already working yourself sick with overtime. How will you find time to run more gates?”

Cha Eunkyung pondered deeply. Then, with eyes full of determination, she said:

“I’m going to quit the police force.”

“What?”

Shocked by this bombshell, Kwak Taewoo was startled. She was a police officer by nature. With her righteous heart to save people and her dedicated attitude, Kwak Taewoo had always thought she would remain with the police organization forever.

“It’s true that being a police officer is crucial in times like these, but being bound by my position means I’m only handling the gates that are dangerous and unprofitable—the ones everyone else avoids. That’s why my growth rate is slower than professional hunters, and it’s harder to gain experience. At this rate, I won’t be able to keep up with the rapidly changing times…”

With each word she spoke, her expression grew more resolute. Kwak Taewoo could tell she was serious.

A few days later, Cha Eunkyung submitted her resignation as promised. She then joined a gate assault team affiliated with the Hunter Association. Following her lead, Kwak Taewoo also quit the police force. He had become a police officer primarily to follow Cha Eunkyung, so he had no hesitation.

***

The two fully immersed themselves in the hunter industry. They honed their strength by entering gates daily. With their exceptional determination and skill, they soon made names for themselves as part of Korea’s top gate assault team. Despite amassing enormous wealth and fame—enough to retire and live comfortably for the rest of their lives—they never ceased their struggle.

Cha Eunkyung and Kwak Taewoo became mercenaries, seeking more battlefields. They traveled to the most dangerous combat zones around the world, hunting monsters and saving people. Their main destinations were places other mercenaries avoided—high risk with little reward.

Cha Eunkyung accepted minimal compensation for her missions, making her work almost like charity. From the beginning, her goal wasn’t material desire but driving monsters from the world. Gradually, her reputation spread through word of mouth among clients.

There’s a swordswoman who fights for people, not money.

Hunters impressed by Cha Eunkyung’s noble intentions began to gather around her. Though not everyone initially joined with pure motives, all were gradually inspired by her charm and noble will as they fought alongside her—like fireflies drawn to an intensely burning light.

Thus, the mercenary group that started with just two people gradually grew, with Cha Eunkyung at its center.

Then one day…

BANG-!

“What did you say?!”

Cha Eunkyung suddenly slammed her desk while watching the news. Her voice revealed undisguised shock. Kwak Taewoo, who had been lying on the sofa in the commander’s office, asked curiously:

“What’s wrong? Did an S-rank gate open somewhere?”

“No… But it’s something even more serious.”

Cha Eunkyung swallowed hard.

“S-rank Hunter Zeus has been assassinated…!”

“What! By whom? How?!”

Kwak Taewoo was aghast at the shocking news.

An S-rank Hunter was an absolute being—like a sun that would never set. Having fought on the same battlefields as Cha Eunkyung, Kwak Taewoo knew painfully well how transcendentally superhuman she was. If even Cha Eunkyung was only A-rank, Kwak Taewoo, a mere B-rank, couldn’t begin to imagine how powerful an S-rank would be.

Such a powerful being was assassinated?

‘Impossible…’

“They’ve released CCTV footage. It’s coming on now. Look.”

As Cha Eunkyung said, the footage began playing on the news. The location appeared to be an upscale restaurant. A beautiful blonde girl was sitting by the window. Her identity was clear: Zeus, Euphemia Taylor.

The British S-rank superhuman, famous for freely manipulating electricity, was sitting at her table reading a letter while waiting for her meal. She moved her lips as if reading the letter aloud. A perfectly peaceful scene…

And then 0.6 seconds later, a black spear pierced through the window and lodged between her eyebrows.

“—Huh? W-what is this—!”

Kwak Taewoo stammered in shock. His brain couldn’t process the sudden turn of events.

Meanwhile, the video continued playing. In the footage, blood spurted from where her forehead had once been. Though the gruesome scene was pixelated for censorship, the truth behind the blurry image was not difficult to discern.

‘That’s instant death…’

The dazed Kwak Taewoo muttered:

“An S-rank, so easily? No matter how fast the spear was, it shouldn’t have been beyond an S-rank’s reaction speed?”

Cha Eunkyung, who was researching the incident online, answered:

“According to the police investigation, her vision was restricted by her status window. That’s why she didn’t see the spear coming. But the problem is… that letter.”

“The letter from the beginning of the video? What about it?”

“The letter had the word ‘status window’ written in English. It was meant to prompt her to open her status window, blocking her view of the incoming spear. This means someone planned her murder…”

“Who could have done this?”

The assassination of Zeus was a global incident, so the investigation proceeded at an unprecedented pace. Within less than a day, images of the culprit captured on nearby CCTV were circulating online.

Looking at the photo, Kwak Taewoo immediately blurted out his impression:

“A black knight?”

The culprit in the photo was a knight clad entirely in black armor. He carried a unique combination of weapons—a spear in one hand and a mace in the other. Due to the ominous black helmet concealing his face, neither his appearance nor ethnicity could be determined. Cha Eunkyung explained:

“They’re calling him the Dark Knight on social media. They haven’t figured out why he killed Zeus or where he is now. But…”

Cha Eunkyung wore a grave expression. Kwak Taewoo was very surprised. He had only seen Cha Eunkyung make such an expression twice before: first when the initial gate opened, and second when Belial destroyed Incheon.

Cha Eunkyung murmured in a low voice:

“…I have a bad feeling about this. A feeling that the Dark Knight won’t stop here. …I have an ominous thought that we might clash with him someday.”

Her premonition proved accurate.

A few months later, news of Skyscraper’s death arrived.

The cause of death was, again, the Dark Knight.

***

After that, world affairs took a dramatic turn. With two S-ranks dead, everyone realized the Dark Knight’s objective. It was so obvious even a newborn could deduce it:

To kill all S-rank Hunters.

Skyscraper had died in a direct confrontation with the Dark Knight, and the footage of their battle delivered a shocking blow to humanity’s psyche. Contrary to expectations, the fight was completely one-sided. In the video, New York’s hero was being toyed with.

Even though Skyscraper was considered the lowest among S-ranks, he was still an S-rank. Yet someone overwhelmed him. The video alone made it clear that the Dark Knight’s power level was several tiers above Skyscraper’s. The reason he assassinated Zeus instead of confronting her directly wasn’t because he lacked confidence in a direct fight, but because she could transform into lightning and escape if cornered…

The image of the Dark Knight wielding evil black lightning was deeply imprinted in the minds of those who watched the video. He resembled a boss monster more than an Awakened—not just any boss, but an extreme boss that even S-ranks struggled against. Like the World Boss, Belial.

Terrified by the consecutive murders, leaders of nations with S-rank Hunters kept them hidden domestically, refusing to deploy them abroad. With humanity’s strongest forces no longer available for mercenary work, casualties skyrocketed whenever high-level gates opened in foreign countries.

Even as people died with desperate pleas, humanity’s beacons hid from the Dark Knight, whether by choice or by force.

Nevertheless, the Dark Knight somehow found the shelters and hideouts, attacking them. Most of his assassination attempts failed due to thorough defensive measures, but he obsessively continued hunting S-ranks.

Conversely, humanity could not locate the Dark Knight. He appeared and disappeared like a ghost, effortlessly evading all attempts to corner him. It was as if all information in modern society was within his grasp…

***

Amid the chaos caused by a single individual, the second Heavenly King descended upon North Korea.

To defeat this World Boss, all surviving S-ranks emerged from hiding and gathered in North Korea: Hero Kim Jaemin, Psychic Jang Wooi, Teleporter Adriana Manoela, Sword Demon Takehashi, and Pharaoh. They all assembled on the North Korean front.

Learning from the Belial incident that World Bosses possessed terrifying power far beyond regular S-rank bosses, the Hunter Association gathered all S-rank Hunters to maximize survival chances. They also believed that with S-ranks gathered in one place, even the Dark Knight wouldn’t dare attack.

After terrible sacrifices, humanity defeated the second World Boss, Belphegor. But the victory was too costly to celebrate. The Sword Demon died during the battle with Belphegor. Worse, the Dark Knight infiltrated during the boss fight and killed Kim Jaemin, stabbing him from behind before vanishing from the scene.

It was a victory marred by wounds. Of the original seven S-ranks, only the Psychic, Pharaoh, and Teleporter remained. The deaths of two S-ranks who were needed to face future World Bosses was a fatal blow to humanity’s future.

In an attempt to replace the fallen S-ranks, the Hunter Association lowered the S-rank threshold, hastily promoting A-rank Hunters. However, none of these new S-ranks were as powerful as the original seven. Instead, they became targets for the Dark Knight and died one after another.

As the lights guiding humanity dimmed, the world grew darker. Under the dark sky, demons and fiends ran rampant. More people abandoned hope and sided with demons. Thus, humanity gradually entered a path of decline.

Around this time, Cha Eunkyung reached the realm of S-rank. Unafraid of confrontation with the Dark Knight, she traveled to various countries, clearing gates and growing her mercenary group.

She was the only new S-rank comparable in strength to the original seven. Survivors from fallen nations called her the “Sword Saint” and gathered around her. This massive group of survivors was known as the Human Resistance, and its mercenaries fought solely to exterminate monsters as resistance members.

Nevertheless, the forces of hell were too powerful. As some countries collapsed and the mercenary system between nations broke down, neighboring countries that depended on them fell like dominoes. The world population gradually decreased from billions to hundreds of millions, and then to tens of millions.

By the time the third Heavenly King descended, followed almost immediately by the fourth, the remaining population was only in the tens of millions. And Cha Eunkyung’s Human Resistance truly became humanity’s last stand.