39

As he had told Lee Hwan, Lee Ho was riding on his airplane.

He could have arrived in an hour, but he decided to take his time. He had a plan in mind, and aside from that, he had something else to think of as well.

But it seems like he had to change that plan because Jong-Geun was calling him. His chief secretary was on vacation. Why would he contact Ho? Did he encounter a problem?

However, the news from him was much more surprising than Ho had imagined.

[ I found him. Jeong Jae-Hyeon from Han-La High School. He is nineteen years old and he can levitate. ]

While his previous words were already astonishing, the next bit of news shocked Ho.

[ He has made a connection with the Chinese, and… ]

“Go on.”

[ He committed a murder. ]

“That’s good to know… but aren’t you supposed to be enjoying your vacation?”

[ … The Hunter deployed in Jeju contacted me. I guess he didn’t know that I was on vacation, so I went back and teleported to Jeju Island immediately. ]

Lee Ho quickly decided to give him more vacation time, then took a deep breath. In circumstances such as these, he should be acting faster. He had a lot of thoughts, but the main priority was to resolve this issue quickly.

One of his secretaries came up to inform him that the plane was ready to land. “Master Lee, the plane is ready to…”

The man could not finish his sentence because Lee Ho was shaking his head.

“Tell the pilot that I’m sorry.”

The teleport skill could be learned through a skill stone. It was expensive and rare, but Lee Ho could buy it immediately. He had even supplied this to his guild members, but he didn’t like using it himself.

Teleport required users to consume quite a bit of aura. It should be recovered later on, but it was not an optimal condition to be in. Lee Ho wanted to remain in optimal conditions at all times, so that was why he didn’t use it. But this situation is different.

He immediately spoke the activating words.

“Teleport.”

In an instant, the view around him changed, blurring and shifting until he arrived at Jeju Island.

He breathed in and smelled the scent of the sea, but he wasn’t here for enjoyment. Jong-Guen told him that he was near the port, and it was not far from here.

Lee Ho’s aura gathered in his legs and he moved forward.

***

Meanwhile, Hong Jong-Geun was smoking quietly. From a distance, he saw a student wearing his school uniform and walking with three adults. One of them shouted at Jong-Geun.

“我叫你滚犊子! 听明白没?”

It was Chinese. Jong-Geun could speak at least four languages, and fortunately, Chinese was one of the languages he knew. That was why he could understand their words.

However, they were in Korea. Jong-Geun sighed, annoyed. Why were they messing around in his country?!

“We’re in Korea. Speak the Korean language.”

“滚开!”

They didn’t understand what Jong-Geun said, so they continued to use Chinese.

If you translated their words, you would hear that they were saying, “Fuck off.” They were just repeating the phrase in several colorful versions.

Hong Jong-Geun took a puff from his cigarette and called out to the student.

“Jae-Hyeon.”

“…Yes, sir.”

“As a person who has lived longer than you, let me give you some advice. Don’t run away from what you have done.”

“……….”

“So, you killed your parents?”

There was a very precise story that Hong Jong-Geun hadn’t told Lee Ho yet. Nineteen years old seems young, but he must be ready to face his responsibilities.

“I don’t know your motivation for the crime, but we can easily find the reason. Unlike in the past, we now have some people who can speak with the dead. I would like to hear from you first. What happened?”

“…What if I don’t want to tell you?”

With this, Hong Jong-Geun took another puff.

“Parricide, one of the heaviest crimes that a human can do, but according to the Hunter’s rule, you can volunteer for a certain amount of time to compensate for your crime. You don’t have to go to jail. Just admit your crime, and if you behave well, you can request leniency.”

Jong-Geun’s words surprised the student.

“Why don’t you help me get acquitted?”

“Why should I?”

“…You are from Cheon-Myeong guild. Don’t they have the power to do that?”

Hong Jong-Geun laughed and threw away his cigarette.

“We do. But why must Cheon-Myeong help you?”

“…Don’t you need me? My ability?”

“We do, but this is not something we can do for you.”

Hong Jong-Geun brought out a new cigarette and warned the boy.

“Cheon-Myeong doesn’t lend a hand to runners, so don’t run.”

At this, Jae-Hyeon glanced at the Chinese men next to him.

“These guys said they would do what I want.”

“What exactly did they say?”

“They said they’ll give me anything I want. If I go to China with them, I can earn what I want!”

Jong-Geun smirked.

“So you’re going to run away?”

“…I don’t want to be caught by the law. I want to earn money and live freely.”

“And that’s why you killed your parents?”

Jae-Hyeon immediately expressed his fury.

“They were in my way.”

“In your way?”

“I wanted to become an awakener and live a cool life, meet some girls and earn a lot of money! Those fools wanted to hide my ability, so I killed them! They never helped my life!”

Jae-Hyeon’s voice became louder and louder as he spoke. He had already lost his temper.

There are indeed several cases of teenagers committing crimes. Hwan and Ho, for example, had to experience abuse from their dad. Some teenagers who had similar backgrounds usually commit crimes against their parents in self-defense.

This kid, however, was not like that. His parents had just been worried about their son. This fool committed a crime just because of his greed.

“I’m an awakener! An awakener with unique skill! I know my value! What’s wrong with killing people? I’ll kill more monsters and save more people.”

“………”

“Awakeners and ordinary people are different. I am chosen to be a unique skill holder, so why would I go to jail? Get lost, old man!”

Jae-Hyeon should have thought about the reason why Jong-Geun had led him to this conversation. Also, he had to think about the reason why the Chinese men beside him were so quiet. The furious Jae-Hyeon did not have the chance to think about these things.

“Get out of my way. I’ll just go to China. Volunteer? I guess that sounds better now. I don’t know how long it will take, but I would have killed you after volunteering.”

“……..”

“By that time, you would have aged a lot, gotten married, and had a child too, I suppose? I’ll kill everyone. If your child is a daughter, she will not end up well.”

When someone gets this furious, they begin to express their true thoughts; at least, this was the case for Jae-Hyeon.

“Get out of my way. Don’t bother a unique skill holder. Get lost.”

Hong Jong-Geun quietly extinguished his cigarette, and that was when Jae-Hyeon noticed that something was not right. Jong-Geun, ignoring his sudden reaction, spoke to someone.

“Those are his words, master.”

It was easy to infer who he was talking to.

“Yes, I heard him. Thanks for your help.”

Jae-Hyeon knew that man. Everyone in this country knows him. The Manifester, Lee Ho.

He finally looked around and noticed that three Chinese men beside him had frozen as if they were being tied down. Their eyes and mouths were shaking.

He knew Lee Ho had made this happen. He just took them down as easily as if they were nothing.

Ho then stepped forward, revealing himself and reaching out for one of the Chinese men. From one of their pockets, he brought out a wallet with an image of a snake.

One of the Chinese men was named Wang Jou Sen.

Ho stood in front of him and asked him a question.

“Are you from an anti-Hunter organization?”

He then raised his right hand along the man’s body, with Wang’s eyes following his every move. His eyes stopped when Ho’s hand was at his arm.

“I suppose that’s where the evidence is.”

These Chinese anti-Hunter organizations force their members to tattoo the symbol of their organization on their bodies. Ho stared at the man’s eyes and saw that he was nervous. He then knew that he had found the right target.

With a loud tearing sound, he forcefully ripped the man’s shirt open. A tattoo symbolizing the anti-Hunter organization was revealed on his arm.

“Taking Korean Hunters as well? …Interesting.”

That was when Wang spoke.

“We didn’t do anything.”

Unlike when Jong-Geun was talking to them, he spoke the Korean language properly. Huh, so he did know how to speak Korean. Hong Jong-Geun laughed, and Lee Ho followed suit.

“I don’t think your statement is correct.”

“…We won’t do anything to that boy. We’ll leave him here. Please let us go.”

Lee Ho asked them some more questions.

“Did you know that I was hunting your organization?”

“…I did.”

“Then why are you in Korea?”

“…..”

“Don’t you know what I mean? I asked all of you to get out of this country, but you didn’t listen to my words.”

The atmosphere around them changed. Everyone present was scared beyond belief, which was natural. This was the Manifester Lee Ho.

Everyone saw him as a hero, but all heroes had their back story. Unlike the conventional image of a hero, they had to go through a lot of battles, battles that forced them to grow up to keep their glory.

Lee Ho’s actions were also covered by his image as a hero.

In China, people called him the devil.

Three years ago, faced with an S-rated gate, three guilds from China clashed with Cheon-Myeong. Lee Ho killed every last one of them. Everyone still remembered that incident, and that was how Lee Ho was portrayed as a scary devil by the Chinese people.

“I suppose that’s enough.”

The three of them, including Wang, wondered what was going to happen next.

Without warning, Wang’s heart suddenly exploded, followed immediately by two of his companions. It was Ho’s technique of letting his aura invade other people’s bodies and explode their hearts right away.

Lee Ho turned away from them and smiled.

“I heard you saying some interesting words.”

“I… I’m sorry.”

Ho shook his head.

“Mr. Hong is one of the most valuable people I have. He is a married man and does have a child.”

He patted Jae-Hyeon’s head.

“Ironically, that child is indeed a daughter, and I am her godfather. Remember what you said?”

“…..”

Jae-Hyeon had no idea what will happen to him. Ho’s voice was so kind that he truly believed the Hunter might forgive him if he apologized.

“What I said was just nonsense… I’m truly sorry.”

“….”

“Would you please accept my apology?”

Lee Ho looked up for a while. His dream was to eliminate the gates so that he could make a world where children could have hope. He wanted a world where children could laugh and play without worrying about the gates. That was his ultimate goal. That was his desire.

To do that, he could bear with anything. He could do anything as well. People could call him a hypocrite, but he would risk anything for his goal.

However, there was one exception.

He wouldn’t allow someone to cause harm to his people.

Meanwhile, Jae-Hyeon smiled and told them his plan.

“Call the police. I’ll face my punishment.”

At this, Jong-Geun quietly turned his head. He knew what was going to happen next.

Lee Ho silently grabbed Jae-Hyeon’s neck, and that was the point when the young man realized that something was going wrong.

“When I became a Hunter, I learned a skill to detect when someone is lying.”

“…Huh?”

Awakeners can sense each other’s power; it can be called somewhat like a sixth sense for Hunters. Awakeners, especially, have high sensitivity.

“What you said was real. By the way, do you know how I managed to keep my position?”

“H—hold on…!”

Jae-Hyeon had no idea. His story was famous, but not every part of him was revealed.

“It’s nothing special. I just kept one simple rule.”

That was the moment when Jae-Hyeon felt Ho’s emotions. The man was not showing any emotion; not even a single expression was portrayed on his face.

“I killed every single one of those who might become my potential enemy.”

Oh, this man is going to kill me, and he means it. He’s already made his decision.

Lee Ho knew that what Jae-Hyeon said was true, but he didn’t care. Jae-Hyeon cried out for help, but, again, Lee Ho didn’t listen.

And so, the boy died.