Chapter 122: The path that the Kanora religion must take.

Japanese Prime Minister’s Residence

Japan had long struggled to recover from the devastation caused by the Great Cataclysm.

It had only recently begun to regain stability, and as a result, the Prime Minister’s residence was busier than ever.

However, a new trend had been developing there lately.

“Oh, yes! This is it. Ahh!”

The young Japanese Prime Minister, a former Hunter, knelt in front of his computer screen, gazing at it tearfully.

He ignored the piles of paperwork around him, focusing solely on the monitor, resembling a child neglecting homework to watch TV.

-The goddess Kanora teaches us that death and life are equal rights given to all living beings, and our lives are gifts from her. When we die, we return to her embrace and rest eternally. So let us all believe in the goddess Kanora.

The Prime Minister nodded along to the voice of the Saintess coming from the monitor, tears streaming down his face.

“Kanora, please protect Japan and the Yamato spirit!”

It’s often said that when people are struggling, they seek something to rely on.

The young Japanese Prime Minister had recently discovered the K-Succubus movement, which had become a hot topic in Japan.

At first, he thought it was just another female Hunter streamer live broadcast, something commonly seen in Japan.

But it was far more than that. He soon learned about the overwhelming beauty of the Saintess and the Kanora Church, which had even reformed the Succubus into a force leading the Korean Wave.

Consequently, he became captivated by the church’s promotion of Kanora and the abilities of the revolutionary leader.

He became so absorbed that he even learned Korean to understand the Kanora Church better.

“How about I ask the Korean president to spread the Kanora Church for the sake of strengthening relations between our countries? Or perhaps invite the Succubus and the Saintess from the Kanora Church to Japan!”

***

A Gate in Seoul

Kanora Guild founder, Frost Queen, Lee Si-yeon, was standing before a dungeon, facing a group of Awakened individuals.

“What on earth is going on here?”

Lee Si-yeon initially thought they were just some greedy individuals blocking the way, but upon closer inspection, she noticed there were some Hunters from a familiar guild.

Though they were insignificant compared to Karina’s forces, it was still necessary to figure out what was going on.

“That’s our question. Frost Queen, have you lost your mind, joining a cult and making enemies of other Hunters?”

It was laughable, truly ridiculous.

Now that she had joined the Kanora Church, she was ready to do anything for Karina.

Even if it meant not forgiving the Hunters she used to cooperate with.

“How foolish. What are you going to do if we’re enemies? Fight me? I’m just here to clear the dungeon as I wish. Aren’t you the ones trying to block the dungeon, just like when you fought over the rewards in the Dragon Dungeon?”

“What did you say?”

“Did I lie? No, I didn’t. When the Saintess of Kanora went to clear the Dragon Dungeon, all of you were too busy dividing up the rewards, weren’t you?”

“You think we’re fools? At that time, we didn’t have enough information about the dungeon, and we needed time to form alliances! Meanwhile, you and the Kanora Church have been wrecking the Hunter society! Anyway, we’ve already claimed this place. Go find somewhere else!”

It’s true that a fight could break out at any moment.

But Lee Si-yeon, having survived numerous life-and-death situations since the Great Cataclysm, wasn’t foolish.

If she broke through them now, the Kanora Church would face blatant scrutiny, and the public might begin criticizing them, saying they were acting recklessly with the president’s support.

That couldn’t be allowed.

“You’d better give up the thought of going somewhere else. If you don’t leave that guild, you won’t last long here either.”

They were right.

She had visited other dungeons too.

“Sorry, but this place belongs to us.”

“Why don’t you cult lackeys just go back?”

There were people blocking her in various places.

She briefly considered breaking through them, but breaking such a massive group could cause serious problems.

If it were just a few guilds teaming up, she could frame it as a power struggle and crush them.

But if all the major guilds in the metropolitan area had united, breaking through them would only burden the Kanora Church.

They probably knew that too, which is why they were boldly standing their ground.

‘Such petty fools.’

Or was it petty of her, still unable to forget Park Si-woo and projecting him onto Karina?

Still, it seemed wise to retreat for now.

***

[“Karina.”]

Lee Si-yeon, who had been using Karina well, made a call.

She had a bad feeling about this, like something ominous was coming.

“Yes, Lee Si-yeon.”

[“There’s a problem with clearing the dungeon.”]

As they say, speak of the devil.

She had a feeling she knew what the problem was.

“A problem? What kind?”

She had expected issues, but what kind exactly?

It was probably dungeon-related.

[“They’re blocking me, saying they’ve already claimed it.”]

“Hmm, come back for now.”

Lee Si-yeon was summoned back.

“I’ve visited a few dungeons, but they all claimed them for themselves.”

“If that’s the case, it seems the existing Hunters have formed alliances to monopolize the dungeons.”

“So what should we do now?”

It’s not that there were no solutions.

In fact, the guilds’ reactions allowed them to decide their next course of action.

“There are two ways.”

“What are they?”

As everyone’s eyes focused on me, I cautiously opened my mouth.

“The president will grant us unilateral approval to crush the Korean guilds head-on.”

“How?”

“By spilling some blood or using force to take over all the dungeons ourselves.”

It was an obvious option.

Since the guild of returnees wasn’t a local force, they lacked the foundation to engage in a head-on power struggle.

They’d made it this far thanks to the president’s support, but the bottom line was that they would eventually have to resort to force.

“But aren’t we outnumbered?”

“Not all hunters will side with the guild alliance. The smaller, unaffiliated hunters who’ve been observing us might start weighing their options.”

In conflicts like this, it’s the small players who get hurt the most.

While the major guilds would fight it out, the weaker guilds and solo hunters would see things differently.

Most would avoid going against the rising Kanora Church, except for the guild alliance and a few outliers.

Even now, the guild alliance was on the defensive, which indicated they were already feeling the pressure and couldn’t retaliate physically.

“Right, all we have to do is break the guild alliance.”

“If we enlist the help of the Murim, it’s possible.”

Indeed, enlisting the Murim would give them significant strength.

“But that’s a worst-case scenario. What’s the other option?”

“With the K-Succubus phenomenon spreading worldwide, we could expand into other countries like China or Japan. Our warrior is already in the UK, so that could be an option too.”

Neither choice was bad.

“The first option would involve some bloodshed, right?”

“It would succeed, but it would also cause the collapse of the entire Korean hunter system. The president might even prefer this outcome.”

Even if it wasn’t the worst scenario, the old president would probably agree, as he’d never been happy with the current hunter society.

He’d likely want to tear it down and start over.

The truth is, the hunter society is a mess.

While some hunters might disagree, from the perspective of the returnees—who stood in opposition to the current system—the hunters were more of a nuisance.

“But what about Korea? If the hunters fall, what will happen to national defense? Won’t the world see this as odd?”

“The president is counting on us. As long as we’re here, Korea will be fine. If the hunters collapse, they’ll have no choice but to scrape by, maybe even take on manual labor just to survive.”

National defense wouldn’t be an issue.

The returnees could take charge, and even if the hunter society crumbled, the top-ranked hunters would remain.

Only the guild alliance would collapse.

The returnees didn’t need to crush all hunters—just the ones causing them trouble.

“And what about the aftermath?”

“That’s not a problem. The Hunter Academy still exists, and if we dismantle the current hunter society, the new generation of hunters will grow under our control. The returnees will lead them to establish a new society. Of course, there will be some backlash.”

“That’s right. There are people connected to those hunters, and their supporters won’t stay silent.”

If they suppressed the hunters now, their allies would inevitably resist.

Given that, the second option might be the better route.

“With the second option, we can slowly tighten the noose on the Korean hunters by expanding our influence overseas.”

“What if our hunters lose credibility abroad?”

“That’s their problem. They overstepped, so they don’t deserve recognition abroad. If the hunters fall, the returnees and the Kanora Church can fill the void.”

It wasn’t impossible.

After all, they were no longer Korean citizens in spirit.

They were only using their past identity and memories of Korea to secure their place as returnees.

“Still, the second option seems better, right?”

“Yes, it’s less troublesome. There’s no need to rush into a fight when we have other options. We just need to explore them.”

“So, what’s the next step?”

“We should explore opportunities in Japan or China. For now, we could ask our warrior in the UK for help.”

Targeting the UK could be a good strategy.

At that moment, the Succubus burst in.

Given how busy she’d been promoting the K-Succubus recently, her hurried entrance was typical.

“Hey guys, I’m here! I’ve got good news!”

“Oh, the pride of Korea, the K-Succubus!”

“So, what’s the good news?”

What could it be this time?

I had a lot on my plate already.

“I’ve been invited to Japan! Along with the returnee guild and the Kanora Church!”

For a moment, I couldn’t believe my ears.

Could it really be that this opportunity came to us?

And from Japan, of all places?

Why?

Was there any reason for Japan to reach out to us?

“Why?”

“The Japanese Prime Minister was moved by the Kanora Church. Apparently, the Japanese Hunter Administration invited us.”

Hmm, suspicious.

It’s always suspicious when Japan is involved.

We didn’t make the offer, so why are they coming to us first?

Are they really that captivated by us?