Chapter 345 – Trust from Afar, and Everyone’s Last.
Generally, when a storm blows over.
In the wake of that overwhelming disaster,
there’s usually a heap of debris left behind.
Rocks that flew along with the storm,
messy trash scattered everywhere,
and even fish that ended up here for no reason at all.
And then—
– Waaahhh!
“Ha, doing this again after so long is tough.”
That also applied to Ryu Kang-hyuk.
He was busy gathering up the unconscious Hunters and tying them together.
Finding something to tie them up wasn’t that difficult.
After rummaging through a few unconscious Hunters, he quickly found what he needed.
Since they were part of a group that specialized in hurting people, he figured they would have it.
And that assumption turned out to be spot on.
Now, all that was left was to use it to subdue them.
“Oh, this one has an empty mouth.”
– Pfff!!!
He didn’t forget to block all the holes with his dildo in between the work sessions.
While repeatedly subduing quite a number of them,
one Hunter whose mouth wasn’t stuffed instinctively mumbled.
“…monster…”
As he blocked that Hunter’s mouth too, Ryu Kang-hyuk recalled.
That word was undoubtedly one he often heard back when he was a Hunter.
“Monster, huh… ha…”
Of course, seeing Ryu Kang-hyuk’s strength would prompt such a natural reaction.
He also had some confidence in his own strength, believing he was strong enough to deserve that title.
However, not too long ago, he had neatly shelved that thought.
To be specific, a few months ago when he randomly saw a girl on TV with red hair named Hyeji Kim for the first time.
Thanks to Kim Shinwoo, he recognized the name, but he had no idea about her in person, only vaguely knowing she had a strong sexual appetite.
And that day, he witnessed something beyond dimensions.
A living catastrophe.
A power beyond reach.
The difference in levels.
A real monster.
He felt to his core that his own strength was worthless.
In the first place, there was no reason for him to be disappointed or despairing about his insufficient abilities.
That was an existence beyond the realm of the normal one shouldn’t even consider competing against.
He even thought about the odds, just in case.
What if he clashed head-on with Hyeji, the fully armed version of himself in his prime?
He quickly concluded.
No matter what he did, he would never win.
It was completely meaningless.
A person couldn’t block a typhoon or meteor head-on.
‘……Kim Shinwoo, you better not ever argue with your wife.’
No matter how strong or legendary he was,
nothing hurt more than a wife’s back smash.
What if Kim Shinwoo got into a domestic fight?
He’d definitely die.
He’d just be lucky to be alive.
Even if he died, the insurance would recognize it as an accident-related injury.
Anyhow, thanks to his hard work, he managed to tie up all the Hunters.
He carelessly tossed them over the balcony.
It was a bit high, but they wouldn’t die.
This was originally a rough world of Hunters.
If they were gonna die from this, they shouldn’t have appeared in the first place.
Still feeling a bit upset after the unexpected hassle, he sent a message to Kim Shinwoo.
Me: [F*ck, what the hell did you touch?]
Shithead: [Well, I’ve gathered some more, so I’ll send those along too.]
Me: [Actually, I meant to say you touched my prostate!!!]
Shithead: [Have you gone insane, you piece of sh*t?]
He could feel Kim Shinwoo ranting through the mobile phone,
but that didn’t matter at all.
Anyway, he’d worry about his future wife less for a while.
Just as he finished clearing the trash over the balcony,
the door to Kim Shinwoo’s house suddenly burst open.
“Oh dear, I was going to come over, but this works out nicely.”
“Ah, hello.”
The one who appeared at the door holding a jar of kimchi was Kim Shinwoo’s mother.
Seeing the heavy jar of kimchi brought a sense of comfort,
but the situation right now was a little awkward.
With the aftermath of the earlier fight,
bullet holes and broken things were strewn everywhere.
Bloodstains here and there made it look not much different from a murder scene or a battlefield.
Ordinarily, a regular person would panic upon seeing this.
Not to mention calling the police.
“Um… what’s going on here?”
“Well, you see…”
Now look, even Kim Shinwoo’s mother was about to panic.
In the moment Ryu Kang-hyuk was contemplating how to explain the situation,
a scream escaped Kim Shinwoo’s mother’s mouth.
“This will drop the property value!!! We’re in big trouble!!!”
“……That’s true.”
It was a scream of a somewhat different meaning.
Kim Shinwoo wasn’t exactly in his right mind either,
but he couldn’t help but think, cautiously, that it might just be genetic.
“But Mom, can I ask you something?”
“Hmm? What is it?”
Ryu Kang-hyuk quickly posed the question that had just popped into his mind.
“Why do you treat me so well, but are so harsh on Kim Shinwoo…”
“Ah…”
At that, an expression of awkwardness crossed her face.
“I apologize. I misspoke.”
“No, it’s not like you can’t answer.”
She took a deep breath for a moment,
then, after a brief wait, she began to speak slowly.
“I’m also aware that I haven’t been a proper mother to Shinwoo.”
Then she smiled.
A somewhat self-deprecating smile.
“Indeed, I’ve treated him too harshly to be called a good mother.”
“That’s not true.”
“……Thank you. But to be honest, I treated Shinwoo well until he entered middle school, you know?”
“Really?”
Ryu Kang-hyuk was genuinely surprised by the unexpected remark.
Of course, he couldn’t be sure since he hadn’t seen him from such a young age,
but at least when Ryu Kang-hyuk started to take him seriously as a student, he hadn’t seen any sign of that at all.
He was half convinced that it wouldn’t be to that extent, even if he was adopted.
“But what happened in middle school…”
“You know the young man next door is a guy, right? Most boys during middle school are usually quite lustful.”
“…….That’s true.”
“Maybe because of that, our Shinwoo collected quite a bit of adult content…”
“Ah.”
At this point, he vaguely understood.
Kim Shinwoo had collected too much of that stuff.
His mother must have treated him a little harshly because of that.
Ryu Kang-hyuk cautiously opened his mouth, thinking that.
“His collecting must have gotten a bit out of hand.”
“Honestly, he did collect a lot, but I’m not mad about that.”
“……Really?”
The response was completely unexpected.
“It’s perfectly normal for guys to be like that. In fact, it’s good that he has a strong sexual appetite.”
“But why…”
Besides, there were parents who would be upset about a son collecting adult content.
Moreover, it was incomprehensible why she had acted like that if she partially understood the unique lust of a teenage boy.
“For everything but that, why the hell, Grandma!!!”
“……”
Only Ryu Kang-hyuk could fully understand.
The artworks of Grandma that he had once given to Kim Shinwoo while fishing.
He never expected it would come back around like this.
“Ever since then, every time I saw him, I kept thinking of Grandma, damn it!!!!!”
“……”
Probably, who saw that must have been shocked and treated Kim Shinwoo harshly.
That, however, wasn’t something he felt the need to clarify.
In the first place, Ryu Kang-hyuk didn’t have the conscience or intelligence to do that.
“Shinwoo’s taste is a bit unique.”
“Thankfully not a grandma this time, but a real girlfriend, so that’s a relief. Though he does have a few too many…”
“Still, Shinwoo was pretty good with you, Mom, right?”
“……That’s true? For sure, he’s a bit of an undeserving son to a lousy mother like me.”
With a somewhat meaningful face, Kim Shinwoo’s mother smiled gently.
Then she carefully stroked her arm.
It seemed like a faint scar remained on that arm.
However, since this was a sensitive topic, Ryu Kang-hyuk didn’t pry any further.
Instead, he cautiously offered some words of comfort.
“Well, don’t worry too much. After all, you raised him well, so he turned out to be quite a decent guy.”
“No, I think if it weren’t for the young man, our Shinwoo would have probably died somewhere. Anyway, I’m really grateful.”
“It’s nothing compared to the side dishes you give me every time.”
Then the two looked up at the night sky, as if they had made a promise.
Usually so dark that nothing could be seen,
but curiously, on this night, a particularly bright star was visible in the night sky.
“Shinwoo will do well. He’s your son, after all.”
“Yeah, just like you said, our Shinwoo can accomplish anything.”
Watching that, Kim Shinwoo’s mother smiled nostalgically.
Thinking of someone who wasn’t here at this moment.
“I believe in my son.”
And at that moment at the Academy.
With a human cake still blazing in the center,
everyone, including Kim Shinwoo, was toasting and swaying together.
Humans, animals, monsters.
They seemed to not care about the boundaries between species.
They were just intoxicated together, expressing their happiness.
Accompanied by raucous laughter and strange dancing.
In the midst of it all, a heavily inebriated monster belted out “We Are the World,”
and the rest joined in a chorus.
It was truly a festival that showcased genuine harmony.
Generally, people say that they’re weak to symmetrical endings.
To prove this, Kim Shinwoo let out the words he first shouted.
“Yokoso!!! To the Academy Park!!!”
As if that word was a signal, Hyeji, who was so drunk that her face was as red as her hair, conjured numerous sparklers.
She sent them soaring into the sky, creating a beautiful sea of fireworks that covered the night sky.
A short while later, waves of fireworks began to rain down on the entire Academy.
It was already a mess created by the monsters.
As the flames descended, they splendidly adorned the Academy’s finale.
“TAMAYAAAA~!!!!!!!”
Meanwhile, everyone gave Kim Shinwoo a shoulder ride for planning all this.
With various feelings tucked into each touch.
Amazement.
Admiration.
Emotion.
And gratitude.
Thus, Kim Shinwoo rose high into the sky.
High.
Higher.
Then, as he floated high above, Kim Shinwoo surveyed the entire Academy.
Not a single intact building was left,
and even the remnants that barely remained were now disappearing into the flames.
What would be left here was likely just ashes, where even embers would not cling.
A smile began to blossom on Kim Shinwoo’s face as he took in the sight.
The happiest and brightest smile he had worn since coming to the Academy.
“Waa-ii!!!! Tanoshiii!!!!!!!”
