episode_0056

Bags filled to the brim.

The plastic bag contained numerous snacks and souvenirs.

Long white hair and red eyes.

But he wasn’t wearing an eye patch, and instead of a dagger or bow.

A long purple katana was slung over her shoulder.

She just returned from Japan.

Natsuki’s teacher and one of the last remaining [S] class hunters in Japan.

Mikoto was standing near the subway door, watching the scenes passing by through the window.

‘I wonder if he’s coming back after so many years…I wonder if Natsuki is doing well.’

She looked again at the luggage bag in her hands.

Natsuki and countless children who follow Natsuki.

I was on my way back after buying all the snacks and souvenirs that the kids might like.

The landscape of Korea was foreign yet familiar at the same time.

I wanted to stay for a long time, but when the management bureau calls, I am in a situation where I have to return to my home country and clear the gate with my colleagues.

Even when I left this country two years ago, leaving Natsuki alone,

Even when we brought that little child and raised him in this country.

It was a country that I always missed, but at the same time still felt awkward about.

“Currently, a huge monster appears beyond the level 5 gate discovered near Sokcho Beach…”

「You bastard~♥ You’re a piece of trash that can’t deal or tank~♥ Ah~♥ I’ll protect you, Mr. Weak~♥」

“With numerous hunters gathered, we recorded the fewest casualties and the shortest time compared to previous level 5 gate subjugation records. According to the management bureau, this monster eradication strategy is…”

“It has been confirmed that monsters can be suppressed more effectively under the tactics directly commanded by the Chairman of Central Academy. Accordingly, if a level 5 or higher gate opens in the future…”

‘I’m jealous… I never thought we’d take such different paths even though we’re neighboring countries.’

Mikoto smiled sadly and turned off her cell phone.

Korea not only established the Hunter Academy more quickly than other countries,

Compared to other countries, it was a country with an ideally low death rate due to Gate and terrorism by villains.

Of course, the land is small and there are so many people who want to become heroes.

And the bureau’s regulations, which were horribly tight compared to other countries, played a role.

There were so many differences compared to my home country where I was right now.

‘Natsuki…what if…if you were born in this country. ‘I wouldn’t have had to go through something like that.’

Even if there are complaints, they don’t speak up, and even if a problem arises, they don’t speak up.

That’s what she felt was the chronic culture of Japanese society.

We processed it faster and more accurately than anyone else from above, but

On the contrary, no matter how unreasonable the order is,

It seemed like no one came forward and raised an objection to the superiors.

“Master…why…we…have to leave…? “This is my house…and all my friends live here…”

“Natsuki, that’s…um…yeah, everyone said that there are almost no monsters in Korea. So huh? When Master is away from home, I’m afraid to leave Natsuki alone. “We’ll all be safe there, do you understand, Natsuki?”

“Yes… But, if I become strong like my teacher in the future and can defeat all the monsters…! You can come back, right? Right? 」

“huh! of course. “It’s a promise.”

When a child less than 10 years old looks up with bright purple eyes,

I hated myself for not being able to tell the truth even after seeing that face.

I felt disgusted with myself for not being able to change this horrible society.

The hatred toward the cult that took away one of the eyes of such a tiny child did not subside over time.

“That child is a devil…! “It’s the devil…!”

The thing about sending Natsuki to Korea.

This was because all of Japan was already ruled by the religious order.

The absurd logic is that gates and monsters will soon attack where the hunter is.

As if there was always a fire where there was a fire truck,

It was a place full of psychopaths who insisted that all the fire trucks had to be destroyed to stop the fire.

However, if you are already a level 4 or higher hunter, starting with politicians across the country,

Most people join a religious denomination and remain loyal to it.

Even though she was renowned as an [S]-class hunter, there was nothing she could do.

As a member of the “Guinhoe”, he joined forces with Korean hunters and succeeded in assassinating several high-ranking priests.

Ever since the day when a vengeful cult took away one of Natsuki’s eyes while she was alone at home.

She decided to keep her mouth shut.

Then, nothing will happen.

‘There are many talented hunters here, and even the church has not taken over yet. So…at least this country is still safe.’

Just like that, Mikoto looked out the window and straightened her thoughts.

Anyway, if I just closed my eyes, I couldn’t see anything painful.

If you just keep your mouth shut and follow the script given by the Japanese branch of the church and the administration,

Because Natsuki and herself were both safe.

It’s like driving an iron core into a withered chrysanthemum,

All it does is make the flower that is about to die look fine.

nevertheless,

It was worth it.

I know this peace won’t last long,

Still, he was such a helpless being.

“The next station is Yangjae Station. Passengers who will transfer to Line 3…”

“What…what…is that?!“

“The sky…is so…bright red…!“

“ㄱ…The gate is also open…!“

‘gate?’

At that moment, Mikoto opened her closed eyes and looked out the car window.

A huge red magic barrier.

And then a huge gate appeared from far away in the sky.

Magical power flows out of the two gates as if they would open at the same time,

It was giving off a very gloomy aura.

‘There won’t be any hunters in Seoul right now…’

She adjusted the katana on her shoulder.

Although all the wounds suffered in the battle have not yet recovered,

If she were a level 4 awakened person, I didn’t know if she would be able to quickly clear the gate and then disappear leisurely.

Of course, when I arrived at the airport, I received a message asking all foreign hunters to come to Sokcho regardless.

If I didn’t see Natsuki right away, I didn’t know when the management office I had changed my mind would call me.

If that happens, I didn’t know if I would be able to see Natsuki until a few years later.

Mikoto tried to get out, making the excuse that she had been seriously injured in a previous battle.

‘But… I didn’t know I’d get caught up in something embarrassing like this.’

She looked inside the subway while holding the sword.

As expected, there was no trace of a useful-looking hunter,

Most of them were made up of ordinary citizens or students from the green academy.

“This station is Yangjae, Yangjae Station. The door to get off is on the left.”

‘…I hope it’s not a big deal.’

Mikoto blinked several times as soon as the subway arrived at the station.

Numerous citizens gathered on the platform,

Because they continued to look at the edge of the entrance stairs with frightened expressions.

Tuk…

As soon as she got off the subway, she immediately put down her bag containing souvenirs on the bench.

Afterwards, he hung the katana on his waist and walked towards the direction where he felt the presence.

At that moment.

She frowned and placed her hand on the scabbard.

‘clown…?’

A man wearing a colorful cone.

He had a clown mask on his face and was shaking his maracas vigorously.

He then raised the coin in the air in the middle of the crowd.

“Ahh…! Old mother…! Even though I haven’t been able to offer a living sacrifice yet… please show me with a merciful heart…!“

‘shit…!’

Mikoto immediately started running towards him.

However, there were many citizens gathered near Jingles,

It was obvious that if he swung his sword in a place like this, too many people would get caught up in his sword strikes.

‘shit…! There are too many people…!’

Before throwing that coin in the air to open the gate.

If only I could cut off his head before then,

Somehow, we were able to prevent a future catastrophe.

But no matter how much I squeezed through the crowd, I couldn’t reach it.

The clown was tossing a coin in the air and stretching out his arms.

Clink—!

“Stop!!! Stop it now!!!“

“Aang~ Something~ Another saboteur…!“

Kugugugugugugung…!

Squeak… Squeak…!

At that moment, the inside of the subway station began to vibrate like crazy,

The ceiling shook and tons of dust poured down on people’s heads.

“Aaaah!!!!“

“Earthquake… It’s an earthquake…! Another earthquake…!“

“Now…wait…look at that…! That…!“

Coo coo coo coo coo….

“Damn…!“

A red gate began to appear on top of the platform,

Citizens began to scatter in all directions in panic.

Although it was relatively smaller than what I saw out the window earlier,

Nevertheless, another gate with a sufficiently threatening level was opening.

“Ahh~ You can’t do that~ It’s the finale~! If a saboteur shows up again, it’s banned~“

The clown raised his index finger and flicked it towards Mikoto.

She immediately raised her katana and pointed it at him.

“You…are you really a member of a religious sect?”

“That’s right~ I’m Jingles, a loyal subject of the Great Mother and a cute clown~“

‘Damn…is Korea already being swallowed up…’

Mikoto clutched the handle tightly with both hands and frowned.

“I’m not the type of person to be mischievous to begin with…but I can’t just pass by after seeing something like this.“

“That means… you are a very bad saboteur!!!!“

Jingles got angry and threw something at her.

Suddenly—!

Mikoto quickly split the flying object in half.

Tiri…tiri rirring…

The sorrowful sound of the music box was heard through the broken fragments,

‘Is this…a wind-up box…? There’s no way you could use something like this as a weapon…’

The moment she glanced at the floor.

Pachiiing—!

“Pfft…!“

A small clown-shaped doll inside popped out,

Then, a strange red light poured out from it and filled my vision.

“Tch…you…what on earth did you do…“

“Even if you split it in half! Even if I cut you down! Even if you tear it apart, there is no use~ The beautiful sacred object that the high priest gave you~ is right~“

Mikoto’s body stiffened, and moments from the past flashed before her eyes.

Nightmares I wanted to forget.

Those terrible memories that made me want to forget about something that never happened.

It was playing vividly in my brain, gradually digging into my heart.

My mind was being sucked into such a distant abyss that I even forgot that I was holding a sword.

Click—!

The sword body, shining bright blue, was aimed at his own neck,

Slurp—!

It felt like they were going to cut off that pure white head at any moment.

Wait, just swing the sword just a little bit.

I can wake up from this nightmare.

That he would be able to become a free body.

That I could be free from this pain forever.

It felt like the devil was whispering.

Pop—!

“Ugh…!“

“No~ Such bad behavior is prohibited~! You must be handed over to the brothers as compensation for your apology~”

Cradangtang—!

Before she could even react, she was immediately knocked down by a single blow from the clown’s hammer.

Afterwards, I was astonished at the sight of monsters crossing over the gate.

“That…that…“

Something green in the shape of a human.

Although he was wearing military uniform clothing and a hat,

Instead of eyes and nose, the face was covered in strange mucus.

On its forehead was a pair of antennae, presumed to be those of an insect.

Gulp…gulp…

“Now~ This time, I dealt with the saboteur myself! There must have been a problem~ Brother Shambleton~ and other brothers!“

The clown bowed his waist and said, “Tanttaran-!” He took a pose as if

They all raised their fingers at the clown and muttered.

“You…so many family members died because of you. Even two nests burned down and two queens were lost. There will be a huge loss in raising my family in the future. How are you going to take responsibility? Jingles Brothers.“

“Ah~ I don’t think it’s my responsibility~ Of course, I didn’t expect it either! Wait a minute…“

The clown stopped speaking and looked in the direction where Mikoto was.

Her entire body was paralyzed and she could barely hold her sword, but

It felt like his weapon would fall through his hands at any moment.

“If you need a breeding stock… I happen to have one over there, right?“

“M…what…! What do you mean…b…it’s for breeding…!“

For a moment, she was startled and tried to get up, but

All of his energy had gone out and he was drooping helplessly.

The Plaga commanders looked at her closely,

He seemed to like it and slowly approached Mikoto.

“Oh…don’t come…! Don’t touch me!!“

“Hehe…quite a beautiful population. If you have a wide pelvis, you will be able to give birth easily to children… and if you have this assertive and attractive torso… newborn children will definitely not starve.“

“ㄱ…Stop it…! away…! Fall!!!“

Sigh—!

They ripped off Mikoto’s clothes without mercy,

Then, a greenish liquid began to flow over her body like saliva.

A white dress shirt, torn like a piece of paper, was lying on the floor.

Their hands were ruthlessly tearing the suit she was wearing.

“Aang~ I have something to tell you in advance, saboteur. Brothers and sisters, the world beyond this dimension is… men actively courting women? It’s amazing how completely opposite our world is~ Puhahaha~“

“…I lost so many family members…I have to make up for the deaths. You must take responsibility for those murderers.“

“Stop it…! Don’t touch my body…! Phew…!“

Commander Plagas slowly began to surround her,

Hands began to reach out from all directions towards Mikoto.

A new entity to replace the deceased queen.

That was her newly assigned role.

“Okay then, let’s start again! Even here, live sacrifices are collected and offered…“

Trash…Trudge…

“The screen door opens. Be careful not to step out, be careful not to step out.”

Clown, Plaga, and even Mikoto.

Inside the dark, blackout platform, beyond the opaque screen door.

A black figure appeared.

Cheap profit—

When the door opened, the figure walked towards them.

Then, without saying a word, he took out a flashlight from his waistband.

“Who…who is this…?“

“If you are going to interfere… I will not forgive you.”

“A hunter has appeared again, so deal with it quickly. Clown Brothers.“

“Now…wait a minute, where is my surprise box…”

His face could not be seen beneath the black robe,

He spoke to them intimidatingly.

In a very cold, strong voice full of anger.

“I found it…the clown…and…the fucking parasites…“

“What…what…?! It’s so rude to say that from the first time!!!”

“All personnel, we will suppress that person from now on. Charge.”

KEEECK!

Buuuung—!

Inside a dark subway station,

A red ray of light rose from the tip of the flashlight.

I’m going to cut down everything.

As if that lightsaber had made a promise.

The plasma light is infinitely red and full of murderous intent.

The end of the flashlight was burning like crazy.