Chapter 40 : Apology Broadcast (3)

“D-Do you think the Hunters will forgive me after this much?”

Dang.

What kind of physical ability is that?

Even the way she speaks so casually is legendary.

Well, she is SSS-rank, so of course she can be chill about it.

A full kneel isn’t a big deal.

Even D-ranks can act chill though.

Honestly, Gumiho never really felt like an SSS-rank, so this looks more impressive than usual.

Just from her looks, she doesn’t seem like she’d have SSS-level strength.

Damn, she’s dressed properly under that jeogori.

Damn.

All bundled up nice and tight, what a shame.

“W-Where do you think you’re looking!!!”

People kept telling me to just do a full kneel and get it over with, so I did it.

Since I tied my skirt around my legs and was properly dressed under the jeogori, there wasn’t any unnecessary exposure.

‘…If I ever drink again, I swear…!!’

Swallowing my deep irritation, I cursed my past self.

Guys, guys! Is it true that Hunters are being gathered for cleanup and victim support around the Gumiho Tower?!

Looks like now that Gumiho Tower turned friendly, they’re trying to stabilize the area.

At that moment, those chats popped up.

I forgot about the kneel and hurriedly rushed to the camera, asking,“Is it true?! How is it?! Are the victims going to get proper compensation?! H-How many people died…!!”

Whoa, whoa.

C-Calm down.

LOL, the world’s first tower boss that cares about the victims.

Is this the first friendly-rated monster…?

She’s just a total goat lol.

W-We’ll look into it and let you know.

Talks about compensation for the victims.

Hope that I might be able to lessen my guilt, even just a little, started appearing in chat.

My heart began to pound faster.

***

A shabby concrete building that reeked of mold and had dust rolling around everywhere.

In the middle of it, a girl in a hoodie was biting her nails nervously.

She trembled on a couch, yet oddly enough, her face was expressionless.

A man asked her in a blunt tone,“…What’s wrong?”

“Gumiho… what the hell is she doing?”

The girl kept biting her nails as she stared intently at her phone.

Gumiho’s broadcast continued to play from it.

[…I-I’m sorry, Hunter. I didn’t mean to do that……]

Gumiho, seemingly awkward, avoided looking at the camera and scratched her cheek as she apologized.

Eventually, she even did a full kneel, and the girl watching grew increasingly disgusted.

The mocking and teasing comments from humans in the chat only added fuel to her anger.

‘…What does a monster think she’s doing, acting like that toward humans?’

She couldn’t understand what her junior was thinking when she started doing all of this.

With a hardened expression, the girl continued watching the stream.

She remembered how her own attack had been effortlessly brushed off.

The shared vision was abruptly cut off mid-way as Gumiho suddenly vomited and muttered for help.

The girl had assumed Chanseok’s skill had succeeded after that.

After all, the magic she had implanted in him could no longer be sensed.

But today, she confirmed it: Gumiho was alive and well.

‘…If she could shrug off that attack……’

She was at least on the same level as them.

“…Why? Why is she doing this?”

“W-What’s the reason?”

“Why is she going out of her way to stand against us? She’s a monster, right? Isn’t she?”

A monster standing on equal footing with them, trying to cooperate with humans for some reason.

It made no sense.

A true monster—one aware of what it means to be a monster—should never do that.

Anyone who opposed their cause had no right to exist.

Those kinds of beings couldn’t exist anymore, since they had already been personally annihilated.

“……”

“What the hell is this?”

The woman muttered and let go of the hair she had been clutching, as if she couldn’t make sense of anything.

She began fixing her tangled hair, lost in thought.

“…Can’t we talk to them directly?”

“You think that’s possible? They said the opponent is on our level.”

“…Sorry.”

“Useless and stupid, you pathetic old man.”

The man flinched at the chilling tone and apologized.

The woman, with dead eyes, took the candy out of her mouth.

“…You’re neither from the Tower nor the Demon Realm. Just a half-baked being.”

“Then shut it. You hate humans, don’t you?”

The man nodded at the woman’s question.

Only then did the woman smile in satisfaction.

“Then it’s all good!”

“……”

“Hooah… Well, I guess our junior has a plan. I don’t really like the method though… should we watch a bit longer?”

“…Feeling a little better now?”

“Mm, somewhat?”

She smiled and turned off Gumiho’s broadcast.

Putting the candy back in her mouth, she started browsing the internet again.

The man looked at her and voiced a question.

“…What exactly are you people?”

“And how were you able to turn me into this?”

Without taking her eyes off her phone, the woman replied.

“Wanna know~?”

“…Yes.”

“Nope!”

She giggled and stuck her tongue out, and the man let out a sigh.

“…You’re really not going to reveal your true identity even to your partner?”

“You know what species I am.”

“…A succubus.”

“Then that’s all you need to know.”

Her tone implying, “What more do you want?” made the man want to argue, but he just sighed instead.

“…Fine.”

“Then, let’s continue working on your cover identity~”

“Sure.”

“…Isn’t it about time to change it though? I’m getting tired of living as Choa-rin.”

“…It’d be unnatural for the 15th-ranked hunter to suddenly disappear.”

The man sighed and scolded her not to say such nonsense.

The succubus pouted at him.

“…Why did you bother building such a big fanbase anyway…? What’s so great about being famous?”

“Fufu… The magic power I can get every night is on another level♡”

“Haa……”

Watching the succubus lick her lips, the man rubbed his forehead.

“Anyway, isn’t it about time you swapped bodies? The current one’s reaching its limit.”

“…I was supposed to switch by now, but you’ve been drawing too much attention. How about just living as Choa-rin?”

“…Eh? I hate it, she’s ugly……”

The succubus pouted again, and the man sighed in annoyance.

“There’s no human who can beat that awakened one in terms of looks.”

“…Didn’t I tell you not to go overboard?”

“You ignored all the warnings—what are you doing? Just live quietly.”

As the man expressed genuine anger, the succubus smiled and suddenly approached, starting to grope his body.

Her hand slid from his shoulder downward.

“…Don’t be so mad~♡”

“What… what are you doing?”

“…If you keep acting like this, I’ll eat you up, you know? Hmm?”

The man noticed a pink mist beginning to fill the area and quickly drew his sword.

The blade crackled as it sliced through space, slashing the succubus cleanly.

“Gah…!!”

“…Wow, you came out real fast. Guess you’re getting used to it?”

“…Enough already…!!”

“Pffft, sorry sorry. I just didn’t want to hear your nagging~ Honest mistake~♡”

The succubus admitted she hypnotized him because she didn’t want to hear his nagging.

Watching her, the man felt his fist clenching involuntarily.

“…You know it’s a joke, right? Relax that fist, will you?”

“Mister, if I hadn’t held back, you’d be a dried-up husk rolling around somewhere by now.”

The succubus said that expressionlessly.

And since it wasn’t a bluff but the truth, the man collapsed onto the couch with a thud.

The succubus moved behind the man and draped her arm over his shoulder.

“Hmph~ Tired today?”

“…Thanks to you.”

“…Wanna have some fun?♡”

Hearing the succubus whisper in his ear, the man let out a hollow laugh.

“…Don’t you have anything better to do?”

“Why not~? Don’t you, ahj— I mean, oppa, have any thoughts about it?”

The man didn’t push her away and simply ran his hand down his face as the succubus chuckled.

“You just need high-quality mana, right? Not like I’d die.”

“…If you die by my hand in a dream, that’s a blessed death.”

“Then, ask me when you’ve achieved your goal.”

The succubus gently patted his shoulder with a smile.

“Alright, got it~”

“…Where are you going?”

“Got a call~ Another emergency alert about the gumiho.”

The top 20-ranked hunters had been getting frequent calls lately due to the committee’s recent busyness.

Naturally, the succubus, who was impersonating Choa-rin, was among them.

“…Why not lower your rank to below A-class by holding back more?”

“…That’d be more annoying, you know? I’m already holding back a lot~”

The succubus spoke playfully, then let her hair grow longer.

With a flick of her hand, the black hoodie turned into a black dress.

“I’m off.”

She waved as she said that, fully taking on the appearance of 15th-ranked hunter Choa-rin.

The man watching her couldn’t help but marvel.

“No matter how many times I see it, it’s amazing how your appearance changes with a few gestures.”

“Our faces are similar, aren’t they? I just got a little uglier.”

“…If you say so.”

To the man, both appearances were perfectly aligned with the ideal standard of beauty.

It was just that the succubus loved her own flawless face so much that she considered Choa-rin’s face “ugly” in comparison.

“If you don’t want to be in and out of prison again, try behaving yourself.”

“But~ back then, I really wanted to feed off some mana outside~ Why, do you want to provide it yourself?”

“…Just get lost already.”

“You’re so mean~”

Giggling as she said that, the succubus waved and exited the building.

“…The fact that she has no flaws makes her even creepier.”

The man muttered inside the shabby building the succubus had just left.

Indeed, the succubus’s face was so perfect it evoked discomfort—an ironic paradox.

But of course, unless one looked her in the eye, it was impossible to even remember what she looked like.

“…If I can just get my revenge.”

He said as he stared at his sword.

Each time he looked at it, he heard the voices of his former comrades and saw their final moments reflected in its blade—driving him even more mad.