33

When Lee Ho was younger, he had to overcome a lot of challenges. As more awakeners appeared, the world only became more and more chaotic. Ordinary people became aware of the existence of awakeners, and some awakeners were isolated, even killed. It was a time of extreme terror and confusion.

However, what was happening now was quite unusual.

An organization that seemed to be made up of a group of ordinary people didn’t riot. They followed the law and acted peacefully. However, as they went through the case, Ho and his guild members realized that they had recruited members from the Hunter Authority. The group utilized its members’ powers to develop anti-Hunter weapons.

How many of them still existed? The information that President Dong-Hoon had was just partial and incomplete. Lee Ho was very upset about this. He was doing everything he could to achieve the goal of eliminating the gates. He shouldn’t be wasting his time on stuff like this.

He sighed. This was all his fault. That was what he, at least, thought. If it hadn’t been for Hwan and Park Soo-Ho’s stupid actions, he wouldn’t have known this was happening.

However, it was better to have discovered it now than too late.

“Please… Spare me…”

It was pathetic to hear pleas like that. Lee Ho’s dagger immediately hacked through the spies from the anti-Hunter organization. He was surrounded by the dead bodies of their members, with only eight people left alive. One of them tried to quickly run away from him.

That was when someone rushed toward the man and struck his head, killing him with one blow. It was Jong-Geun, the chief secretary of Cheon-Myeong.

“Good.”

Jong-Geun stood up and walked back to the door to stand guard. He was always a reliable person. Ho slowly stepped forward.

“I have a lot of questions to ask.”

The remaining spies from the anti-Hunter organization stepped back in fear. Some of them were members of the Hunter Authority, and others were reporters. It was surprising to discover that there were even some members from the Cheon-Myeong guild.

“How many are you in that organization, who else is in it, and who is the leader of the organization. Those are the things I want to know.”

Ho’s hands were spotless. Despite the numerous people he had killed, there was no trace of blood on his hands. Some of them even thought that Lee Ho was some sort of nobility.

“But I won’t be asking you. I do have clear evidence already.”

One of them suddenly called out, “Master Lee, you know me. I’m Park Jeong-Min from the government. You must be mistaken.”

Ho shook his head. He knew that he was unmistakably correct.

He kept walking toward the scared men. Jeong-Min was afraid of him; that was why his mouth was spouting words almost mechanically. “That reporter from the anti-Hunter organization… I don’t have any kind of relationship with him. I just had a meal with him once. That’s it!”

Ho ignored the man’s panicked words.

“Deport! I’ll be deported! That is the law, isn’t it?”

His pleas were worthless. Lee Ho grabbed the man’s head and whispered.

“Deport, huh?”

“…Yes…”

“Why would I do that?”

“…I beg your pardon?”

“You know my style. In fact, weren’t you the one who campaigned for me? That was your job. I’m quite disappointed to hear that.”

“I—I’m sorry.”

“Also, did you forget that you stole three hundred thousand dollars?”

“…I’m sorry for that as well.”

Ho could see that Jeong-Min was very nervous. He ignored the man’s responses and continued talking.

“Next time, don’t live like that.”

His voice was soft and comfortable, so Jeong-Min would not catch his true intentions. The man truly believed that he would only end up getting deported.

When the man smiled briefly with relief, Lee Ho smashed his head violently.

Jeong-Min could not think of anything else. In fact, he was dead before he even had a chance to think about anything.

Now, there were only six people left.

Ho approached them while taking out his dagger. With a single slice, there were just five people left. One by one, they became four, three, and two. Soon, the last person was eventually killed.

Lee Ho and Jong-Guen were the only ones left standing.

“We’ve eliminated all of them. Nicely done, sir.”

Ho nodded. Even if that was not all of the members, they had gotten clear evidence about that organization. The simple step for eliminating the enemy was to kill every single one of them. If they continued doing this, the more powerful members of the group would eventually appear.

Hiding forever? That did not matter. They could trace them and track them down easily.

Lee Ho had declared war with the anti-Hunter organization, and he was doing his best. The entire building was filled with bloodstains.

“Did you call a cleaner for the mess?” He asked his chief secretary.

“I already did. Now let’s go back.”

Lee Ho dusted off his hands and nodded.

It was time for him to return home.

***

A country with a great Hunter force was different than the strongest country. In the world, several countries could be considered to have a great Hunter force. They were those that had their own Hunter Authorities. Korea, Japan, China, and the UK are some examples.

However, the US was undoubtedly the strongest country in the world. No one could deny that. The US alone had four unique skill holders. One of them was originally from Mexico, but was naturalized and is now a US citizen.

Despite having such a large territory, China only had two unique skill holders. The rest of the countries only had one each.

And so, it was extra shocking to discover that there were two unique skill holders in Korea. It was reported all over the world, so the entire country of Korea was buzzing with excitement. Some people, including Lee Ho and Hong Jong-Geun, knew that there would have been three if Park Jeong-Nam was still alive.

Lee Ho was on his way back home, and Hong Jong-Geun was driving his car for him.

He found himself searching for cigarettes unconsciously. Jong-Geun, seeing him, smiled. “I thought you quit smoking.”

Ho smiled awkwardly, but it was true that he did not have any cigarettes on him. Since he had thrown away all his cigarettes, the only thing in his pocket was his wallet.

“I should work harder to remove that habit.”

“I know I’m the one who asked you to quit smoking, but would you like to have one?”

Hong Jong-Geun opened the glove compartment in the dashboard. Inside was a box of cigarettes, the brand that Lee Ho usually smoked.

“You didn’t throw that away?”

“I thought I could use it later. In fact, it seems that you might need one right now. You’ve seen a lot of blood today.”

Ho shook his head. His secretary was right; he did kill a lot of people today. Every one of them was from the anti-Hunter organization. Referencing the list of names they had gotten from Dong-Hoon, Lee Ho and the members of his guild tracked down the perpetrators.

Meanwhile, it was easy to spot the common factors. The spies were earning money from China. All of them tattoo symbolizing the group. There were two hundred eighty-six spies, and Lee Ho and his troops eventually killed them all.

He shook his head, wanting to think of something else. He remembered the girl who had just become a unique skill holder.

“Mr. Hong.”

“Yes, sir.”

“What do you think about that girl? The unique skill holder?”

Hong Jong-Geun then shared the information he had researched.

“Kim So-Eun is a senior at Han-Seong High School. Her parents died when she was just eight years old. She did have some properties left to her, but her uncle became her custodian and used it all up.”

“Shouldn’t it be direct lineage?”

“Indeed. He was supposed to keep the properties for her.”

“So what he did is illegal.”

“It is.”

Lee Ho didn’t care how he had used it; the important thing was that he did. He must have had a connection with the lawyer who handled the case. Lee Ho felt sorry for the girl. She was living with her uncle, and her appearance and countenance showed that she was not happy.

He did some research. She was not sexually abused, but it turned out that he did violate her. What a poor child. But the important thing was that she was a unique skill holder.

“There are two unique skill holders.”

“If you are including Park Jeong-Nam, then yes.”

“Why do you think they appeared?”

“………….”

“Nothing happens without reason. There must be something behind it. Jeong-Nam awakened his power last week and died a few days later. Soon after that, this girl then awakened her power.”

Jong-Geun listened to him carefully.

“I don’t know much, but there should be a reason behind it.”

“Your guesses are never wrong. Should I investigate?”

Lee Ho did not answer. He looked out the window, then sighed.

“I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I shouldn’t have said that to a person on vacation. Forget about it. I’ll do it by myself.”

Jong-Geun answered him with a smile. “You have nothing to worry about.”

“So… you’re heading to Jeju Island?”

“Yes, in about five days. Weren’t you the one who paid for it?”

Lee Ho smiled awkwardly. Hong Jong-Geun knew that Ho was that kind of person. He seemed to be perfect, but he sometimes slipped up and showed his carelessness. He was still human, after all.

However, his master was strict on certain decisions. For today, it was supposed to be Jong-Geun’s job to kill the traitors, but Ho had stopped him, saying that it was his job to do. Jong-Geun was going on a vacation with his family. Ho did not want him to greet his family with blood on his hands.

Jong-Geun smiled. That was why he was the leader of the Cheon-Myeong guild. He always looked after his people.

Soon, they arrived at Ho’s home.

“Rest well and say hello to Ji-Eun for me.”

Ji-Eun was Jong-Geun’s daughter; she was five years old.

At this, Lee Ho walked up and opened the door of his house. He was greeted with a surprising view.

Kim So-Eun, the new unique skill holder, was sobbing loudly as she held a spoon. Lee Hwan was standing in front of her.

At the sound of the door opening, Lee Hwan turned around and smiled. It was the smile that Lee Ho always wanted to see.

“I bet you haven’t eaten yet. Come and sit.”

Lee Ho was getting comfortable. It was undeniable that his home was a comfort zone for him.