Chapter 14: Back of Head

Outpost 32 in the United States.

A place solely for us Korean hunters.

Younghak Hyung and I stood on the podium, and the hunters gathered on the training ground below us.

They were looking up at the two of us quietly.

“First, let me ask. Who has received threatening calls from Korea?”

Many hands were raised at my question.

Except for a few who either had no family or were estranged from them, most had received contact from Korea.

“They said if we don’t return immediately, our families might have to pay huge fines.”

“They even mentioned prison sentences in the worst case.”

“They said if we don’t want to see our families go to jail, we should return immediately.”

I nodded.

Of course, they would resort to that.

The outpost was gone, and to restore it and hunt the rifts simultaneously, they’d need a lot of manpower.

They must have decided to bring back the runaway hunters immediately.

In a situation where they don’t know when the rifts will open, they must have made a rash decision in their desperation.

Threatening our families was beyond the pale.

It reminded me of the now-gone Kim family from the north rather than the south.

It was so irrational that it made me think that way.

The hunters on the training ground had expressions like volcanoes about to erupt.

No matter how much one crosses the line, they didn’t expect it to go this far.

I quietly observed the faces of the hunters, then turned my gaze to Younghak Hyung.

“Hyung-nim, are you angry?”

“Of course, I am, you bastard!”

“Do you want revenge?”

“Of course!”

Younghak hyung’s thunderous roar echoed across the training ground and then faded.

I asked the hunters too.

“Do you all want revenge on South Korea?”

An immediate response erupted.

“Of course, hyung-nim!”

“Those bastards!”

“Let’s kill them!”

It was like a blast furnace of anger and resentment.

Younghak-nim was also swept up in the mood, unable to control his fury.

I let everyone vent their anger for a moment before raising my hand to calm them down.

“Let me tell you a story.”

The training ground fell silent.

“There was a man with a loving family. It was a happy family of three, with a wife and daughter. But one day, while the man was out, a serial killer from next door raped and dismembered his wife and daughter, displaying their bodies in the living room.”

My voice, filled with mana, echoed throughout the training ground without a loudspeaker.

“Overcome with rage, the man kidnapped the killer to prevent him from going to court, cut off his limbs, and locked him in the basement. Then he got a gun and shot the killer in the forehead. The killer died, and the man’s revenge ended there.”

“What kind of ending is that?”

At Younghak hyung-nim’s incredulous remark, many hunters nodded.

I laughed at that.

“Is this a satisfying revenge story?”

Everyone shook their heads.

I also shook my head.

“A satisfying revenge story requires the killer to be alive for a long time. Ironically, for sweet revenge, the target must survive as long as possible.”

I lit a cigarette.

“We could set the whole of South Korea on fire with 200 wyverns and an ancient dragon. We could burn the country that exploited us like hell and just leave with our families. If that’s what you want, we can do that.”

It dawned on everyone what my short story was about.

“Is this the satisfying revenge you want? For South Korea to die immediately without paying a proper price for what they did? Is this really the ending you want?”

No one answered.

Then someone stepped forward.

A familiar face. Go Jaewan.

A peer who was close to Seo Youngchul.

“Sungho hyung, what’s your ideal revenge then?”

“I’ve been thinking a lot about that question these past few days. How should we handle South Korea? How can we get the most satisfying ending? And I’ve come to a conclusion.”

I tossed the cigarette butt to the ground and stamped it out.

Exhaling the smoke, I shouted with mana.

“One week from now! There will be a meeting in Washington, D.C.! South Korea will try to pressure the U.S. with Russia, China, and Europe! To force them to give us up! And I’m going to stop it! I’ll isolate South Korea!”

Go Jaewan clenched his fists and asked.

“And then?”

“South Korea will try to handle the rifts without us. But they will fail! They can’t succeed without our expertise! And when they are in the most desperate situation! I will extend a hand! Offering to protect their security! That’s what I’ll propose!”

“Go back to South Korea and protect that damn country? That shitty place?”

I shook my head at Go Jaewan’s question.

“Not protect it. Jaewan. We’ll devour South Korea under the guise of protecting it.”

“What?”

“I’ll make it so that South Korea has no other option but us for handling the rifts. And I’ll force them into an unfair contract. Using that contract, we’ll infiltrate deep into Korean society and slowly cut off its limbs. Make it so they can’t live without us. Then.”

I mimicked slashing with a knife.

“We’ll slowly kill everything that pissed us off. Miserably and pathetically. Don’t you want to see those scumbags who mocked our noble sacrifices shrivel up and die? The country that called heroes idiots and treated them like trash, regretting and becoming desolate? The homeowners who finally realize their fear and shed tears when the dogs guarding their homes disappear?”

Silence fell over the training ground.

Everyone seemed to be deep in thought.

And they all seemed to reach a conclusion.

To try it my way.

“What should we do, hyung-nim?”

Go Jaewan asked me in a subdued voice.

“Tomorrow, we’ll fly to Europe, Russia, and India. Chairman Volkov has already discreetly contacted them. There, you will show them what you can do with wyverns. Using that, we’ll bring them to America’s side and thwart South Korea’s schemes. So, prepare thoroughly. You need to show them an imposing presence.”

“Understood.”

“Don’t worry about your families. Once this is over, your families will be released. No one will go to prison or pay fines. I promise. So, focus on your tasks.”

“Yes!”

The hunters answered in unison and dispersed to do their tasks.

After everyone dispersed, I threw my burnt-out cigarette butt to the ground.

“Hyung.”

“Speak.”

Hyung seemed quite pleased with my speech just now.

I smiled at the hyung, who was smiling contentedly.

“South Korea crossed the line.”

“Messing with our families is crossing the line.”

“So, we need to cross the line too.”

“What are you planning?”

“I want an incident during the meeting a week from now.”

“What kind of incident?”

I told hyung what kind of incident I wanted.

It was only natural that hyung’s smile grew wider as he listened.

***

‘How did I end up like this?’

Joo Cheolwoo, the head of the Korean Hunter Association, tried to steady his trembling hands as he got off the plane.

If this mission failed, his lifelong career would vanish like a bubble.

He had to prevent that at all costs.

The president was out of control.

Desperately trying to hold onto power, he was flailing wildly.

All sorts of noises were being made, and public opinion was far from favourable.

Everyone was worried about a second Apgujeong incident.

Hunters were needed urgently to stabilize the situation beyond the gate.

‘Just re-enlisting the remaining discharged hunters in Korea isn’t enough. To rebuild the outpost, we need to gather all the hunters who fled to America, the discharged hunters, and all the young people between 10 and 30 with high mana affinity.’

In other words, this was a mission that could not afford to fail.

Joo Cheolwoo fiercely racked his brain the entire way to the meeting hall in the limousine.

“China has had longstanding grievances with the United States and is worried that its superior hunters might defect to the U.S., just like ours. Although they don’t conscript their hunters like we do, they also provide few benefits to their hunters while the state takes most of the profits. So, they are bound to support Korea.”

China was not an issue.

However, the problem lay with Europe and Russia.

“For some reason, their attitude seemed lukewarm.”

Contrary to expectations, their attitude wasn’t enthusiastic.

They wouldn’t offer absolute support like China.

Nevertheless, he had desperately tried to persuade them.

He pointed out that this wasn’t the first time the international laws were violated but that it happened repeatedly.

He warned that next time, it could be Europe and Russia.

His efforts seemed to have some effect as they responded that they would consider supporting Korea.

Joo Cheol-woo had no choice but to trust their words.

“The problem is India.”

India. One of the countries with the strongest voice beyond the Gate, India approached the Gate from a different perspective than other countries. True to their polytheistic traditions, they revered the Gate almost as a religion. They were solely interested in the strengthening of their monks and hunters.

“They say they don’t want to participate in international disputes and lose time for training. What nonsense.”

Joo Cheol-woo, the association president, had tried to persuade them but concluded that they were peculiar. It was unfortunate that he couldn’t gain India’s support, but since they had always maintained strict neutrality, it wasn’t a significant loss.

“I must succeed. Absolutely!!!”

With this thought, Joo Cheolwoo entered the meeting hall.

Representatives from the U.S., Russia, India, China, the EU, and Korea were all present.

These were the countries with the strongest voices beyond the Gate.

Joo Cheolwoo sat down and anxiously scanned the faces of the association presidents from each country.

Volkov, the Russian association president, maintained a blank expression, while the Chinese representatives looked furious.

The representatives from Russia, the EU, and India were smiling and exchanging greetings with each other.

“Alright! Let’s get started!”

After some time, Volkov’s relaxed voice signaled the beginning of the meeting.

“This emergency meeting was convened at the request of South Korea. President Joo Cheolwoo, please speak. What is the purpose of your request?”

Joo Cheolwoo pulled the microphone closer and hardened his expression as much as possible.

“The Republic of Korea officially requests the return of our hunters who were forcibly abducted by the U.S., in violation of international law.”

“As I mentioned in the interview, it was a humanitarian rescue, and the hunters in question voluntarily applied for U.S. citizenship.”

Joo Cheolwoo gritted his teeth at this statement.

That damned Secretary of Defense.

If only he could prove that the wyvern that set fire to the Daejeon military base had a person on it, it would be much easier to pressure the U.S.

But due to the incompetence of that fool who couldn’t find any useful evidence, he was at a loss for words.

But Korea didn’t have much time.

So, even without evidence, he had to push through.

“No matter the reason, invading another country’s territory within the Gate without government consent is a severe violation of international law. We cannot recognize any rescue operations conducted through such illegal actions. We demand the immediate return of the hunters!”

After finishing his speech, Joo Cheolwoo looked at the representatives from other countries.

Now was the time for them to support his words.

With insufficient evidence, they needed to create momentum and pressure together.

‘There shouldn’t be any problem. They are on my side.’

As expected.

“China agrees with Korea’s statement. Taking hunters from another country while violating international law? It’s called humanitarian aid, but it seems more like a covert operation to seize another country’s hunters under the guise of a monster attack!”

The Chinese association president supported his words.

Joo Cheolwoo’s expression brightened a bit.

Now it was Europe and Russia’s turn.

He anticipated that they would firmly pressure the U.S. as they opened their mouths.

“The EU speaks. It seems that there were stories of hunters being exploited by Korea. If they fled to another country due to inhumane treatment, we cannot support Korea’s request.”

Joo Cheolwoo’s face, which held a subtle expectation, froze.

“Russia speaks. We’ve heard that the hunters who went to the U.S. had their families taken hostage and were threatened. Sending people back to such an inhumane country is not humane, so we do not support Korea’s request.”

This can’t be right?

Joo Cheolwoo’s expression began to crumple miserably.

“India speaks.”

Even the Indian association president, who seemed more like a Hindu temple monk with his white beard, opened his mouth.

“We will not support a country that does not treat the practitioners who cross the Gate for trials with respect.”

Even India, which had been neutral, turned its back on Korea.