Ch. 225 - I'm Really Sorry

No Songrin sat at the table opposite Kang Mu-hyuk, keeping watch over him while remaining alert for any unusual signs nearby. As Jang Deuk-goo dealt with the guards, No Songrin sipped his coffee, using his messaging skills to assess the situation.

"Stay sharp and focus on your escort mission."

'Why does this guy keep nagging me? What is he, some prison guard?'

No Songrin had many complaints about Jang Deuk-goo but kept them to himself. Despite their shared guild affiliation right now, Jang Deuk-goo's infamous reputation in Ujungdo made others instinctively avoid him. Still, he couldn't afford to appear weak.

"Don't worry about us. Right now, I'm right behind him anyway---"

That was when an ominous force swept through the air. No Songrin turned sharply, searching for the source. His eyes landed on Thomas, whose eyes were glowing golden, surrounded by swirling mana.

Right next to him stood Kang Mu-hyuk. Jang Deuk-goo sent him a message, but he had no time to respond.

"Damn it, Guild Leader...!"

No Songrin quickly leapt into action.

Bang!

"Kyaaah!"

"Aaaack!"

The wind blew, scattering people in all directions. Windows shattered, tables and chairs toppled, and teacups smashed against walls. On the outdoor terrace, customers terrified by the aftershock dove to the ground.

Those who failed to react were thrown onto the sidewalk. Pedestrians were scattered onto the road, but luckily, there were no passing cars, so no accidents happened. Inside the café, the aftermath looked like it was a storm's wake.

"Guild Leader, are you okay?"

Kang Mu-hyuk was pinned beneath No Songrin. It was a close call for him. He had been dangerously close to the explosion's epicentre. A little later and he could've been seriously injured.

'And if that happened, I'd be as good as dead too.'

A chill ran down No Songrin's spine as she thought of Ju Se-ah and Jang Deuk-goo, looking monsters with horns. Considering Kang Mu-hyuk's position in the Iron Will Guild, failing to escort him safely meant death.

"I'm okay. How's Hunter Thomas?"

"Come on! Is this really the time to be worrying about someone else?"

Kang Mu-hyuk tried to push No Songrin away and stand, but his strength was no match for the trained hunter.

"How's Thomas?!"

Frustrated, Kang Mu-hyuk yelled. No Songrin stepped aside but quickly blocked his path to protect him and stayed in front. Without a choice, looking over her shoulder, Kang Mu-hyuk checked on Thomas.

He looked fine.

'Wait, is he really okay?'

At least at first glance, he seemed okay, but his eyes still glowed golden, and his hands were trembling. Kneeling on the floor, Thomas looked at his shaking fingers.

"Hunter Thomas, are you okay?"

"Don't come any closer!"

As Kang Mu-hyuk tried to go near him, Thomas raised a hand to stop him. A faint line appeared on the floor, following the motion of Thomas's hand, extending all the way to Kang Mu-hyuk.

Clang!

No Songrin intercepted the invisible force with his karambit sword. The deflected energy shot upward, slicing clean through the ceiling like a blade. Kang Mu-hyuk immediately recognized the nature of the power.

'Wind magic.'

Among the elemental magics---fire, water, earth, wind, and light---Thomas was able to manifest wind magic which was notoriously difficult to control, second only to light magic. Yet Thomas wielded it as naturally as breathing.

The problem was he couldn't control it. No Songrin noticed it as well.

"Wind, huh... Guild Leader, this guy is dangerous."

His words made Kang Muhyuk uneasy. It was rare for an A-rank hunter to describe a C-rank as dangerous. Seeing his confusion, No Songrin wordlessly held up his karambit sword, which had blocked the magic.

"!!"

Half of the blade was broken.

"I blocked it with a mana sword. Even if it's a mass-produced one, it shouldn't break from C-rank magic."

"That means...."

"He's not a C-rank. If we consider someone on par with me in rank and compatibility, he must be similar."

Meaning he was at least an A-rank. Even No Songrin, aware of Thomas's background, couldn't believe it.

'So, he jumped five ranks at once? No... it's more like he regained his original rank.'

That would explain why Thomas's condition was so unstable now.

"Ugh, why is this happening...? Back away... Take everyone with you..."

Thomas crouched down, clutching his arms with both hands. The magic spreading out around him uncontrollably began to subside, but the whirlwind swirling around him only spun faster.

At this point, Kang Mu-hyuk could clearly see it: Mana was rushing into Thomas like a wild, untamed force.

'He can't control his power.'

Kang Mu-hyuk was able to infer that from a similar case with Ju Se-ah. Typically, hunters rank up one level at a time. But S-rank wasn't just a step up from A+; it was a massive leap in power.

Ju Se-ah had only mastered her full powers after fighting the tyrant, and since her body was physically at S-rank, she didn't go berserk or get swayed by her powers. Thomas, however, was different.

It was natural that he would not be able to control his power if he suddenly regained his rank while his body was not in a normal state due to illness.

'If he were just a melee hunter, this wouldn't be a problem. But his specialization in mana manipulation is turning into a curse.'

Considering Kang Mu-hyuk's own experience with mana poisoning, it was clear that Thomas's body was hypersensitive to mana right now.

"Hunter No Songrin, can you knock him out?"

"By breaking through that?" No Songrin looked down at his half-broken sword.

'I'm not the Guild Master, and I don't have an armour coat. Taking this magic head-on is risky.'

As he hesitated, a voice of salvation cut through the tension.

"I'll do it," Jang Deuk-goo said.

"Please."

Jang Deuk-goo nodded, drawing his sword.

Thomas flinched as he caught sight of him. Though Jang Deuk-goo wasn't trying to harm him, his aura was quite intimidating. The stress only agitated Thomas's mana to spiral out of control and eventually bared his teeth at the approaching Jang Dueuk-goo.

"If you don't settle down, I'll have no choice but to get rough with you."

"It's not me... I can't... control it....Ugh!"

"Really? Well, don't worry. I've dealt with wild pups before."

Kang Mu-hyuk immediately understood the reference.

'Hm, I heard about how Guild Master's training was pretty harsh back in the day.'

He had heard about the methods too--- no, he had even seen them. Because Ju Se-ah sometimes used it herself.

"It'll all be better after a beating."

"..."

In an instant, Jang Deukgoo's sword sliced through the wind, creating a narrow gap. He followed it up with a powerful kick, striking Thomas without mercy. Despite the wild mana swirling around and shooting wind magic, it seemed powerless against Jang Deuk-goo's sword. Each swing of his sword tore through the wind into pieces.

And as the magic tried to recover, Jang Deuk-goo struck again, exploiting every opening.

Kang Mu-hyuk's heart sank as Thomas coughed up blood.

"Don't kill him!"

"Trust me, Guild Leader Kang. This is the best way to drain excess power--- or to kill someone. Even the Guild Master approves of it," Jang Deuk-goo replied with a grin, his eyes looking the same as Ju Se-ah's.

'Didn't that work just because it was Ju Se-ah?'

Kang Mu-hyuk thought but couldn't stop Jang Deuk-goo since, true to his word, Thomas's rampant magic began to subside. Slowly, he regained control over his mana.

"It actually worked."

Kang Mu-hyuk muttered, bewildered.

"Stop... hitting me..."

Thomas managed to utter this weakly before collapsing.

"See? It worked, right?''

***

Cleaning up Thomas's accident turned out to be easier than expected.

"I'm so sorry."

Kang Mu-hyuk said, bowing his head to No Songrin.

"Why am I...?"

No Songrin's hands were cuffed, and a stranger's arms were locked under his armpits.

A Hunter investigator wearing a dark blue armour coat with "HCF" emblazoned on it arrested No Songrin.

"Hey, wait a minute. Guild Leader! Is this really happening? This can't be right!"

"I've asked the Federation for help. You'll be released soon. Think of it as a short break."

"This is your idea of a vacation? Wait a second. Wait! Hey, it wasn't me!"

Despite his protests, the investigators shoved No Songrin into a special transport vehicle without mercy. As the convoy moved away, Jang Deuk-goo handed something to Kang Mu-hyuk.

"I got it back. He won't be talking any nonsense," Jang Deuk-goo said, passing over an interpreter item.

This item was provided to everyone travelling to the US, but he had confiscated it from No Songrin. Without it, No Songrin's poor English would make sure that even if he said the truth, the police wouldn't realise for a while.

'The Guild Leader is no ordinary man. He managed to pin this mess on No Songrin. I like it considering that it was an on-the-spot measure.'

Kang Mu-hyuk explained it was a necessary move, but he hadn't sought No Songrin's consent. If he had run from the police and the Hunter Crime Force, it would have made the situation far worse.

And if they were to mention Thomas, they'd have to mention his sudden rise in rank. If this information reached the Ithaca Guild leadership's ears, it could derail their plans for getting Thomas out of there. Even Jang Deuk-goo's earlier efforts to silence the watchers following them would have been for nothing.

So, their only choice was to throw in a scapegoat. Given No Songrin had been a prisoner in Ujungdo, a simple search under the Hunter-Criminal Agreement between Korea and the US would reveal his criminal record.  He was the most likely to be suspected of this incident.

Kang Mu-hyuk whispered to Jang Deuk-goo, careful not to alert the officers cleaning up the scene.

"What about the café CCTV?"

"The storage hard drive has been destroyed. It's unrecoverable."

"Well done. Where's Hunter Thomas?"

"I gave him a sedative and left him on the roof of the building across the street."

No way he had a sedative. Kang Mu-hyuk's face turned pale when he looked at Jang Deuk-goo's tightly clenched fist.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Don't worry. I've done this plenty of times before.''

By his "experience", he meant his days as a detective.

'Just what kind of life has this guy lived?'

Kang Mu-hyuk wondered. Even he, unshaken by most things, found himself curious.

"What about No Songrin?"

"We'll admit it was a mistake and compensate for the damage at the guild level. I've already informed the Federation. They agreed to provide maximum support for this incident since it happened during a test, so they won't be able to ignore us."

"That's too bad. I hear the bread in Area 66 isn't bad.''

Area 66 was like the Ujungdo of Korea. Considering it was one of the world's four most notorious Hunter prisons, it is said to be even worse than Ujungdo.

"There's also Kim Myung-jun. Hunter No Songrin still has a lot of work to do in Korea. Losing him to Area 66 would be a shame."

If someone else had heard this, they would have dismissed it as a joke gone too far. But in reality, he was absolutely serious. Jang Deuk-goo, too, meant it.

'Really, what a shame.'

Kang Mu-hyuk shrugged as he had just sighed.

"Bring Hunter Thomas. I'll meet you two blocks away in thirty minutes. I'll get a car."

***

"Gyaaaah!"

Sofia Stadium in LA was electric with excitement. The BTA concert hadn't even started, yet the arena was already filled with the deafening cheers of fans before the curtain rose.

Go Eul-ji couldn't believe she was here. Attending a world tour had always been her dream. She hugged her friend tightly, cheering and singing along to a medley of BTA's hits.

"Nari, am I dreaming? No, right? Pinch me!"

"Even if I pinch you, it won't hurt. You're a Hunter. But no, this isn't a dream."

"Then hit me with a baseball bat!"

"Yeah, I can't do that either. I'm just a normal person. But trust me, this is real."

"So I can relax? Enjoy the concert?"

"Yeah, enjoy it!"

"Kyaaaah! BTA! BTA!"

Go Eul-ji felt certain she would forever remember this concert.

Comments