Chapter 151: The King of the Dead (3)
…
In that case, the same situation.
What thoughts are crossing Kim Gi-ryeo’s mind?
“Help me, please.”
Thud, thud.
After running for a while, Gi-ryeo finally stopped at the end of an alley, gasping for breath.
Unlike Sophia, whose abilities had temporarily dropped due to skill penalties, the F-Class users here were just as slow in normal times…
Gack.
Straight to the point.
Kim Gi-ryeo simply couldn’t catch up to his opponent due to his physical capabilities.
Though he even pushed his body’s limits with enhancement magic, chasing down an A-Class when you’re F-Class is a fundamental impossibility.
“I feel like I’m going to puke.”
But for some reason, he didn’t want to give up the chase.
At first, he only wanted to see what kind of face the summoner had.
However, the effort it took for the exhausted Awakened to run was surprisingly slow, and he felt as if he could catch up with just a bit more effort.
“Those who use summoning magic are usually incredibly weak…!”
Summoners had clear weaknesses.
So, if he could just get close enough, he could corner her with the combo of [Surprise Box!] and [Hydra].
“They stopped!”
A few seconds later.
Sophia, drained of stamina, paused for a moment, and Gi-ryeo capitalized, quickly adjusting his posture and preparing to act.
He aimed to close the distance while his opponent was resting.
Tap, tap, tap.
But his approach was slower than the enemy’s recovery.
The moment Sophia realized an S-Class was on the move, her face paled and she forced her legs to move.
“Damn it!”
Eeek…!
Kim Gi-ryeo wanted to uncover the identity of the caster who had attacked him.
Sophia was worried that if an S-Class caught her, it would be a big deal.
Thus, they continued their relentless game of tag, each fueled by their own desperate desires for exhaustion and recovery.
But then, at some moment.
Gi-ryeo suddenly stopped running.
Of course, this time he wasn’t stopping to catch his breath. He intended to cease the chase after reaching this alley.
“Cough, urgh!”
In fact, this kind of chase was something he, as a grade decoy, should avoid.
If S-Class was slow on foot, someone would definitely start to raise suspicions.
“Ugh, I thought I was going to die pretending not to be out of breath all this time.”
He had been patient, fearing the road might collapse, or something like that…
Sure, he had a shameless excuse, but it was better to minimize potential problems.
“After all, my body is reaching its limit.”
Before entering a busy street with a lot of pedestrian traffic, Gi-ryeo decided to let the enemy go.
So, he came to a complete stop. Sophia, without noticing the status of the pursuer, fled in a panic.
In an instant, the summoner vanished from sight.
Swish.
Gi-ryeo, hiding his disappointment, sheathed the Hydra he had drawn.
Sigh, my back hurts.
And at that moment, the enhancement magic he cast on his body wore off, bringing an overwhelming fatigue to his muscles.
Yet, he ignored it and contemplated in his mind.
Su Ye-hwi and Park Jun-tae.
Those who had been hostile to him were all dead, so where on earth did this summoner come from?
“The second terrorist? Or revenge from the remnants of an organization?”
No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t come up with an answer.
So, Gi-ryeo made a decision. It was best to prepare for any additional threats that might arise.
*
A few days later.
“So…”
In America. Spectrum Guild.
A woman with silky, blonde hair crossed her arms, looking down at the sofa across from her.
On the red sofa sat an Awakened person.
A glimpse of an exposed nape between her bobbed hair. Her skin was adorned with butterfly-shaped black tattoos.
“What were the results of the investigation into Korea’s S-Class?”
Brooklyn asked the figure before her.
But as soon as the tattooed woman heard those specific words, she trembled and showed an unusual reaction.
Then came a voice filled with dread.
“He’s a demon.”
Sophia murmured with a pale face.
“What did you say?”
Brooklyn tilted her head, watching that reaction.
But even as time passed, the fear of her opponent showed no signs of easing. In fact, the agent who returned from Korea had been engulfed in unexplained anxiety for three whole days after completing her mission.
“U, um, I’ll report first. That man is definitely an S-Class Awakened. No doubt about it. He’s not just any S-Class; he’s extraordinarily capable.”
Sophia maintained a somber expression throughout the conversation.
“As you said, Brooklyn, I did summon Demirich to attack… But there was no need to count how many times he could withstand [Soul Strike].”
“You mean he’s that quick to take down Demirich?”
“No.”
“Then?”
“My summoner’s pets simply did not work at all.”
“What?”
“Not at all, completely ineffective.”
Sophia explained the situation.
How Kim Gi-ryeo remained unharmed even while enduring Demirich’s attacks.
How Demirich collapsed in front of Kim Gi-ryeo.
Moreover, how an S-Class Awakened saw through her concealment.
“He recognized you from that far away? Wow, that’s certainly impressive.”
Brooklyn smiled in curiosity, but what returned was her subordinate’s shrill scream.
“But that’s not even the problem right now…! Do you know what that brutal Hunter did to me?”
Sophia still couldn’t forget.
An S-Class Hunter should be able to easily catch up to an exhausted summoner.
However, for some reason, Kim Gi-ryeo remained far away every time she glanced back, and no matter how many times she tried to run away, that distance was always maintained.
“Ugh…”
Shiver, shiver.
Sophia trembled as if she had the chills.
A monster that made even Demirich bury its head in fear stood still in every alley.
There was no way an Awakened of that caliber could run out of breath after just a few dozen meters; this was clearly a deliberate lethargy on the hunter’s part.
If so, what did that situation ultimately mean?
“H-How could he treat an A-Class Awakened like a mere toy…?”
Sophia interpreted all this as a mockery from a top-tier Awakened.
Like a gluttonous predator toying with a rabbit.
She mistakenly believed that Kim Gi-ryeo had deliberately let the summoner go, enjoying the sight of her terror.
Yet she couldn’t stop moving her feet, fearing that if she were caught even for a moment…
She would never return home safely.
“How could he handle another human like prey with such ease? Without hesitation?”
This damn sociopath.
Sophia felt her fingertips curl up in fear.
A man with a cold demeanor dragging a sharp longsword across the ground.
Come to think of it, Kim Gi-ryeo had cut off his enemies’ throats with just a single sword during the Unavoidable Malice incident. So, was that the tool that had cleaved a serpent?
Sophia now had no doubt that Korea’s fourth S-Class was truly a strong person.
Naturally, this thought also crossed her mind.
Had that Hunter wanted to, she could have ended up just like the transformed Imugi.
With her mouth slit open and body mutilated—meeting an end not much different from the miserable corpse of a snake.
Hoo.
Shudder.
Thinking that way, the trembling didn’t cease.
“Th-that man saving me was just a whim…!”
Gi-ryeo had toyed with her long enough, only letting her go when she was completely exhausted, crying tears and snot.
In any case, Gi-ryeo hadn’t chased her after a certain moment.
But knowing this, Sophia was still scared for many more hours.
With her magic power in tatters.
Due to the special nature of her opponent, she could not recognize it if Kim Gi-ryeo grew close again.
“Brooklyn, don’t you feel anything after hearing my story?”
Thud!
Sophia slammed her pale face against the table, asserting herself.
“Why do you think Kim Gi-ryeo let me go? He doesn’t even see my actions as something he needs to take revenge against!”
“Hmm.”
“He treated me as though I wasn’t even a worthy opponent! And yet you still think of him as fake? Seriously?”
In the Hunter industry, where A-Class Hunters are perceived as elite, how could she be toyed with like a little gazelle in front of another hunter?
Sophia shuddered, reminiscing on her nightmare.
At that moment, Brooklyn’s clear voice rang out in the air.
“Yeah. Sorry, but not yet.”
How casually she expressed her ongoing suspicion of Kim Gi-ryeo.
“What?!”
When you strip away the emotional elements of fear or shock, her subordinate’s experiences could be summarized as follows:
1. Kim Gi-ryeo was inactive the entire time he faced Demirich.
2. When an exhausted Sophia tried to escape, he merely followed at a certain distance.
Doesn’t something seem off?
In fact, this was a question that had been bothering her for a long time, but oddly enough, Korea’s fourth S-Class had never formally revealed his combat abilities.
The Unavoidable Malice, Japan’s Dragon Raid, even hunting miscellaneous monsters like Sirens.
He somehow concealed his abilities in public spaces.
“I’ve learned the skills he used in the raid by bribing a Japanese Hunter, but…”
Overall, Brooklyn thought the situation was suspicious.
But no matter what her superior thought, Sophia did not want to get involved with that Eastern Hunter any longer.
“Then next time, why not confirm it yourself?!”
Bang!
With an expression of exasperation, Sophia stormed out.
Thus, Brooklyn was left alone, lifting the coffee cup on the table and muttering to herself.
“Hm, just how did he suppress Demirich…?”
To be honest.
Brooklyn was now estimating Kim Gi-ryeo had a 50% chance of being S-Class.
In comparison to her earlier estimation of just 10% while at the Gate Star party, this was a steep rise in evaluation.
At this point, the opponent’s true grade didn’t seem as important.
Even if his awakening level was extremely low, that guy seemed to possess traits that could make one forget their weaknesses.
“Interesting.”
But what if that Hunter was indeed S-Class?
From then on, he wouldn’t just be treated as a peculiar Awakened.
Based on his past actions, that oriental man likely had the potential to be considered a top-tier strong person even among S-classes.
“I wonder what sort of abilities he’s hiding.”
If he were to go all out, just how strong would he be?
Perhaps he had finally found a friend he could stand shoulder to shoulder with.
Humanity has always been sensitive to the word “best.”
Even before the era of Awakened, they often ranked fighters by their prowess.
People always wanted clear distinctions on who was the strongest in the world.
[World Hunter Ranking]
[1. Brooklyn Morgan]
And as a result of reviewing this newly established interesting criterion, Brooklyn naturally found herself at the very top…
However, she placed little value on this kind of scorecard.
No one dared to say it out loud. In truth, the Hunters in America had long since decided in their hearts who the true king was.
“Mm~”
Four years ago.
The Nukelavi Killer that suddenly appeared during the S-Class Dungeon Break in Hawaii.
The hunter who killed the Nukelavi wore a black mask made from elk bones on his head, and from that appearance, the witnesses dubbed him “Beast.”
Beast.
An enigmatic hunter whose identity no one knew.
Many had sought to track that hunter since the Hawaii raid, but all attempts ultimately ended in failure.
Beast was only occasionally found in the worst difficulties of the most difficult dungeons.
“Who would win if Beast and this Korean hunter fought?”
Brooklyn threw out a drunken fighter-like joke as she organized Sophia’s documents.
But at that moment.
An intriguing piece of information caught her eye from the profile in her hands regarding Kim Gi-ryeo.
[179cm]
The same estimate as the height of the Nukelavi Killer.
Moreover, it was quite amusing that such a daunting dungeon-lover like Beast had remained silent during Japan’s S-Class gate.
“Oh.”
As she put the pieces together, Brooklyn gazed at the printed photo of the hunter.
A Korean man in his mid-twenties.
“Hmm.”
Brooklyn squinted one eye, envisioning an elk mask over the S-Class’s face.
“Not bad.”
Then, her melodious voice echoed through the office.
