Plotting [26]

There was a silence for several minutes minute. It was hard to believe that Yogumunt was there, and then he just… wasn't. He disappeared in an instant, leaving destruction in his wake.

In the silence, Jin-Woo looked up about Miyoung's head.

[The Galaxy's Enveloping Void]

[Miyoung Goh]

When he used Umbra Observation, he was stunned. For the first time ever, he simply couldn't see her stats. Despite her title being shown to him, everything else was hidden under a veil of mystery. He instantly understood to respect her strength.

After a moment of carefully glancing over Jin-Woo, Ichigo, and Fanzer, Miyoung was swift to start evaluating the situation, looking at the damage of the situation and seeming to assess the costs of everything in a matter of minutes. However, beyond that, she was quick to move to Alnair, seeing Jino in his arms.

"She's injured. She can be brought to the Association building for now," Miyoung nodded to Alnair, who didn't hesitate to listen. He was powerful for sure, but Miyoung seemed much, much stronger than him. Strong enough that he didn't hesitate about following her orders.

Jin-Woo got up to his feet, the cold of winter sweeping over him. He swayed back and forth; his was body exhausted beyond his understanding. Unlike other Hunters, his mana didn't help him with the cold, so he ended up shivering. He never looked away from Jino.

"I'll go with her. I'm her brother so I should—"

"Rest. She's in good hands," Miyoung softly interrupted Jin-Woo. But before he could say anything else, the exhaustion that built up within him started to spill out, and a fit of dizziness came over him.

A quick look to his status screen showed that he was regaining his HP, but it was not at a fast rate. Jin-Woo looked to his home, seeing holes riddling the walls, as if it was shot through.

Miyoung followed his gaze. She softly nodded. "The Hunter Association will handle the clean-up. Consider it a favor for Sung Il-Hwan's efforts. I apologize for it taking so long to arrive."

Jin-Woo looked back at Jino, the deep scowl on his face slowly leaving. He glanced at Fanzer and Ichigo, who stared at him with worried expressions on their faces. His shoulders slumped, and before he knew it Fanzer, and Ichigo were assisting him in walking back to the Hunter's Association. He let them help him without fighting it.

"Just running out like that was pretty worrying, Jin-Woo," Ichigo smiled softly. "I'm glad we got here before anything irreversible could happen."

"Yeah, what were you thinking, man? You could've easily gotten us and Cha and probably Choi to come here too!" Fanzer sighed, shaking his head dramatically, clearly trying to make a joke to life Jin-Woo's clearly soured mood.

Jin-Woo laughed sourly. "I'm joining the raids. I couldn't even touch that bastard who hurt my sister, not even after all our training. I'll be strong enough to handle him on my own, without worrying. That's the only way I'll be able to protect my sister."

Fanzer and Ichigo were quiet for a moment.

"On your own?" Ichigo shook her head.

"Have you learned nothing?" Fanzer questioned.

"Huh?"

Fanzer and Ichigo smiled. They spoke at the same time. "You won't have to fight him alone again. We'll be with you next time."

Jin-Woo smiled. He didn't try to hide it. "Okay… yeah, okay."

Several minutes later, at the Korean Hunter's Association, Alnair glanced at Miyoung nervously, the Chairwoman looking down at Jino with troubled eyes.

Only the two S-Ranks and the Unawakened remained in the room. The Healer Miyoung requested momentarily left to obtain a more fitting set of rings to enhance his healing capabilities.

Miyoung spoke without looking up to the golden-eyed man.

"The monster's name was Yogumunt, and it could speak, correct?" She repeated what Alnair informed her of, nodding to herself softly. "If it could be captured, humanity could take leaps and bounds forward in understanding monsters. Are you positive that it was a monster?"

Alnair gestured to his eyes, momentarily activating Elder Dragon's Eye, "My eyes don't tend to lie to me, so yeah, I'm positive he was a monster. He had several mana crystals within himself, guaranteeing that he's not human."

Miyoung slowed nodded, "I understand. Is there anything else?"

Alnair opened his mouth, but then closed it. Miyoung glanced up to him.

"Even if you think it's unimportant, someone else may know far more than us," Miyoung spoke patiently, causing Alnair to let a small sigh.

"He called me 'Antares,' and he… he called me a Sovereign, like those old stories. He said something about reincarnation, but… it just sounded like nonsense. He also said that I started some war," Alnair told Miyoung, causing her to look at him with confused eyes. He shrugged. "I've got no idea what war he could be talking about though. There haven't been any major wars in decades now."

"Not between humans," Miyoung added. The two Hunters were quiet for a moment.

"Are you saying that the Gates could be… what, some sort of war tactic that monsters are employing? That's ridiculous. That would be the same as saying that monsters were intelligent—ah."

Miyoung nodded, satisfied that Alnair caught his words.

"It sounds like…." Miyoung's voice faded away, her getting abruptly pulled into her thoughts.

"What does it sound like?" Alnair questioned.

Miyoung didn't answer Alnair, walking to the door of the room in deep thought. She opened the door and started leaving, but before the door closed, she posed a question.

"Do you believe in reincarnation?"

Alnair's expression hardened. He understood the subtext of what Miyoung was saying. "I believe that I deserve the consequences of my actions, only mine."

Miyoung nodded. "Let's hope you only have your actions to account for."

Miyoung closed the door behind her, leaving Alnair to his thoughts. He glanced down at Jino with hard eyes. His expression softened.

Miyoung pulled her phone from her pocket, noticing a message from Jin-Chul, confirming that he talked to Ms. Cha, the landlord of the Sung's apartment complex. She quickly shot a reply to him before tapping in a number and holding her phone up to her ear.

After a few moments, someone picked up. A man's voice, not ignorant with youth but not old with age, came though. He sounded somewhat surprised.

"Oooh, I haven't had anybody calling my personal phone in ages. What's up, Miyoung?" The man let out a soft sigh, relaxing for a moment. "Or, uh, Chairwoman of the Korean Hunters Association, if we need to be professional."

Miyoung let out a soft sigh. "Good evening, Su-Ho-nim. I've recently learned some information that may interest you."

The man told her to go on, and Miyoung told him everything she knew about Yogumunt. From his ability to talk to his position as a Sovereign. The man let out a small hum.

"Hmm, Sovereigns, huh? I understand. It may not be of much help now, but I'll have Faust come your way. Ah, speaking of…." The man moved away from the phone for a moment. Miyoung could hear the two voices, one Su-Ho, and another a man she didn't recognize.

"Master, you need to do all of this paperwork!"

"Aww, but Faust but I'm enjoying this phone call!"

"You're behind on these important documents. I'll take over, now give me that phone."

There were a few sounds of shifting before a new person picked up the phone and spoke. Their voice was light and scientific, filled with a matter-of-fact tone.

"Master Su-Ho told me you recently ran into Yogumunt, correct?"

Miyoung let out a very low hum.

"Well, monsters being able to speak isn't very special. Nevermore-Ranked monsters do it casually. It's not common knowledge because it would mean very little to those who have no chance of ever encountering them, like yourself. If there's anything, the monster speaking in Korean was the most notable thing. However, it is possible that it was speaking in a specific runic language, only possible for Awakened to understand. Still, that's nothing notable. Tell whoever you please, it won't matter either way."

Miyoung heard Su-Ho's voice in the distance saying, "Hey, Faust! Be nice!"

Faust let out a sigh. "Beyond that, the movement of a Sovereign is very important, so please try to keep the information as discreet as possible. Was there anything else, Chairwoman?"

Miyoung was quiet for a moment. For her, an indescribable feeling settled inside of her stomach, spreading through her body like fire. For others, they'd describe it as rage. Faust looking down on her didn't sit right with her, not at all.

She held herself back. "Beyond Yogumunt's presence, a man named Sung Jin-Woo has been recently confirmed to be Sung Il-Hwan's son. I'm not sure if he has necromancy yet like Su-Ho-nim suggested, but he does have a connection to Mana of Death."

Faust conveyed the information to Su-Ho without hesitation, not omitting any of Miyoung's words. Su-Ho was quick to grab his phone back, to the clear lamenting of Faust.

"Sung Jin-Woo has been found?! Really?!" Su-Ho sounded elated beyond belief, and he didn't try to hide it either. "Would it bother you if I traveled to Korea personally?! It would definitely be a lot of trouble for you, but I just have to—"

Sounds of intense struggling filled the phone for a few seconds before Faust spoke into the phone, sounding abruptly exhausted.

"Master Su-Ho will not be going to Korea, because he's too busy for that right now. However, he did want you to 'show Jin-Woo the remains' whenever he becomes a licensed S-Rank Hunter," Faust said, seeming to consider Su-Ho's words as somewhat tedious.

Miyoung's eyes widened a bit. "Those remains?"

Faust sounded unbothered, "Yes, that overgrown lizard's remains. Show them to Sung Jin-Woo."

Miyoung hesitated for a moment before nodding to herself. "Understood."

-----

Jin-Woo never went unconscious. Through some combination of pure grit and a desire to get stronger, he stayed awake. Even as they walked back to the Hunters Guild, he went through what he knew.

Yogumunt was a Sovereign. And beyond Yogumunt, there was one other Sovereign Jin-Woo heard about frequently, the Sovereign of Hunters and the Protector of Humanity, Su-Ho.

One Sovereign that supposedly spent his every-waking-moment dedicating his life to improving the safety of Hunters and general humanity.

The other one was a scientist who uses the souls of humans and monsters to create Constructs—humanoid monsters with varying levels of intelligence.

One seemed to care about humanity, while the other didn't care much at all.

A sovereign was a king, or queen, or monarch, or leader.

A Sovereign was something similar but different. Su-Ho described the word as a role, as a responsibility, and as a—

"Who was that guy, really? Sure, he was named Yogumunt, but what does he even want with us? What does becoming a Construct even mean?" Fanzer asked no one in particular. His expression was perplexed, and it was clear that he was rethinking every detail he saw to hopefully obtain a new outcome. His purple-colored eyes met Sung's golden ones. His wild light brown hair fluttered in the rushing cold air.

He was supporting the exhausted necromancer solidly, albeit with Ichigo's help, who was on the other side of Jin-Woo.

The redheaded woman shrugged; her expression was equally inquisitive. "Whoever he is, he's powerful. Jin-Woo, do you know anything?"

Jin-Woo slowly nodded. He began telling them what he knew. He stuck with what he knew confidently while emitting any details that he felt were unnecessary, like how he got into Jill and Kabuto's Gate. By the time he got done, he felt okay enough to start walking on his own again, so Ichigo and Fanzer let him do so.

They continued their way towards the Hunter's Guild even as they continued talking. The streets were lit up by the many streetlights as the frosty cold air breezed past them. Fanzer and Ichigo started pumping up their auras, keeping them warm even despite the piercing chill.

"He's clearly bad news. I sensed a few mana crystals within him, so he must've been a monster. Humans definitely don't just have mana crystals in us," Fanzer noted, receiving an approving nod from Ichigo.

"Yeah, he's clearly a threat to humanity, so we've gotta stop him, right?" Ichigo asked, causing Jin-Woo to stop walking. Fanzer stopped immediately after him staring at him with an understanding expression, and Ichigo only caught on a few steps after them. She glanced between them with a confused expression on her face. "That's… the only option for us, isn't it?"

Jin-Woo was quiet. He looked down at the ground. Fanzer let out a slow sigh.

"I can't get you guys pulled in my mess. He hurt my sister so—"

"Well, it's good that you aren't pulling me into anything. Yogumunt hurt a civilian, an innocent bystander for the sake of doing so. Beyond that, we were all pulled into a Red Gate, where our lives were put at stake. That's not even mentioning how many Hunters have probably lost their lives just to become his science experiments! And that's not even mentioning the most important thing, he attacked us!" Ichigo approached Jin-Woo a serious expression on her face. It was the most serious expression that he'd seen on her yet. They stood face-to-face, Ichigo looking down to Jin-Woo. "And you want us to sit this one out? You expect us to sit this one out?"

"No, I just—"

"Good, you don't expect us to sit out. Did you already forget what you said?" Ichigo asked, giving Jin-Woo a soft smile, and laying her hand on his shoulder. "You're not working alone. Not against someone like Yogumunt, okay?"

Jin-Woo stared at his feet.

Fanzer sat his hand on Sung's other shoulder, nodding softly. "When we arrived, you told us you'd been waiting for us. You don't do that if you didn't believe we'd show up. We're in this together now, whether you like it or not."

Jin-Woo glanced between the two Awakened. His gaze was rough, but it softened when he saw the expressions of the two.

Ichigo's green eyes shined with determination. It was an unwavering determination, and certainly heroic to a fault. She was fighting for the sake of others, as if her personal desires were second to anything else.

Fanzer's purple-colored eyes shined with tenacity. It was a defiant tenacity, but it was aimed at the right person, making it a powerful emotion. He was fighting on his own desires, leaving no room for regret.

He could see their spirits clearly, and, as if they were layered over them, he could see two familiar friends of his past. But rather than them running away, Fanzer and Ichigo stood sturdily.

Even above their heads had changed, gaining two titles alongside their names.

[Phantom Thief of Golden Luck]

[Fanzer Leblanc]

[Gourmet Warrior]

[Ichigo Jin-Sol]

They'd gotten stronger since he met them, and he had a feeling they'd catch up to him sooner rather than later.

He swallowed once before steeling his heart and nodding.

"We'll defeat Yogumunt together then. I wouldn't be able to do it on my own, and he needs to be stopped," Jin-Woo nodded.

Fanzer let out a sigh of relief as Ichigo let out a hearty laugh.

"Good! Now… how are we supposed to do that?" Ichigo questioned, becoming suddenly stumped.

Fanzer sighed dramatically. "Well first, I guess we need to actually find him."

Ichigo nodded, "And we need to be strong enough to defeat him."

Jin-Woo tapped his finger against his jaw, continuing towards the Hunter's Guild. "I work best in Gates. Getting Summons. You both need to use mana crystals to increase your mana pools, although you'll both grow more proficient by just mastering your abilities naturally."

Fanzer hummed softly, staring to walk alongside Jin-Woo. "In that case, our path hasn't changed, has it?"

Ichigo turned her head, confusion rising to her face as she caught up with the two young men. "Huh?"

"Now, we'll actually be using the Hunter's Guild like they're using us," Jin-Woo nodded to himself, a grin rising to his face.

"Mhm. If we can find Yogumunt in a Gate with the Hunter's Guild, we'll definitely be able to defeat him," Fanzer agreed.

"Wait, wait! Explain yourselves!" Ichigo huffed, causing Fanzer to turn to her with a mischievous grin on his face.

"Listen closely, Ichigo. Although they're pretty transparent about it, the Hunter's Guild is using us to up their status. It may not be for some awful reason, but they still are using us. And in turn, we'd get a few things. But now…." Fanzer slowly wondered off his topic, allowing Ichigo to pick it up.

The redheaded woman's eyes widened in understanding. "Now we can defeat Yogumunt with their help, getting even more out of the raids than we thought!"

Fanzer pumped his fist up into the air. "Ding ding ding, we've got a winner!"

Jin-Woo let out a soft hum, causing Ichigo's and Fanzer's eyes to fall to him. "But do we tell them or not?"

They were quiet for a few moments before Ichigo spoke up. "I think we should."

Fanzer let out an exasperated sigh, "I don't think we should."

Ichigo looked at the Gambler, blinking, "But why not?"

The Thief let out a low hum, running his hand through his hair. "If we tell them about Yogumunt they'll either a, stop us from going after him, or b, take too long to actually try to go against him. We need speed here. He said he'd be making more Constructs, right? It wouldn't surprise me if—"

As the three strolled past a closed shop, a single screen with some news was playing. The trio stopped, staring at the screen. The woman on the screen was the well-known anchor for the Hunter's Newscasting Station, her pale skin, heterochromia eyes, and small horn making her identifiable to any Hunter.

She spoke with a serious expression on her face. "As of the last thirty minutes, the identified number of Red Gates over East Asia has shot up dramatically. Although the Sovereign of Hunters has confirmed that a member of the Divine Five has been sent to East Asia to help, it has been advised that Hunters postpone raiding Gates until this problem has been properly resolved."

Fanzer said nothing, gesturing towards the television. "My point. We don't have much time."

The Gourmet slowly shook her hand back and forth in a 'so-so' manner. "True, but there's also the chance that—if we provide solid evidence showing that we know where Yogumunt is—they help us when it comes to defeating him."

Fanzer looked at Ichigo disbelievingly, "Or they'll just send one of the Divine Five to do it."

Ichigo went silent.

Fanzer continued, "And while that may take care of the problem at hand, how do we actually even know that the Divine Five are our allies here?"

"Huh?" Ichigo looked at Fanzer, her eyebrows furrowed curiously.

"Okay, listen, we all know that the term 'Sovereign' came from that old story, right?" Fanzer asked, receiving a nod from Ichigo but nothing from Jin-Woo. Fanzer blinked. "You… you do know what I'm talking about, right Jin-Woo?"

Jin-Woo shook his head. "No, I have no idea what you're talking about."

Fanzer sighed, nodding softly. "Well, I guess it's not as well-known as I thought. I'll give you the most basic overview of it. Essentially, there were two siblings, and they were the first Awakened ever. Both were originally human, but one became a dragon through their training. The other became the first Black Wizard. They were seen as a lot of things, but things get a little fuzzy from there, with the result called them 'Sovereigns,' as they seemed to have supreme power while using it to help instead of hurt."

Jin-Woo's brain suddenly shot to the past, when he used Umbra Control.

The voice within his soul mentioned being the first Black Wizard. He wasn't quite sure how to say, "Hey, a voice within my soul may be connected to that old story," but he didn't get much time to think about it.

"Hm? Is something wrong, Jin-Woo?" Ichigo looked at him, noticing his expression.

"Ah… no. It's just… well, have either of you experienced a voice come from within you that didn't entirely feel like your own?"

"Like an intrusive thought or something?"

"No, no, like it sounds close to yourself in a way that's hard to explain."

Ichigo hummed. "I think I felt something like that when I Awakened my Soul Attribute."

Fanzer nodded, "Definitely. I did too. It's supposedly your Soul speaking to you, so it makes sense to feel so unnatural."

Jin-Woo slowly nodded. "I experienced something similar, but that story you just told me about reminded me of something. Despite not unlocking my Soul Attribute yet, something within me spoke about being the first Black Wizard. I just couldn't understand what it was talking about until right now."

Fanzer blinked, staring at Jin-Woo. "If I'm not crazy, then… could you possibly be a Person-Type of Ashborn?"

"Ashborn? Isn't that what Yogumunt called you?" Ichigo questioned.

Jin-Woo slowly nodded, and Fanzer shook his head. "Well, what else do you know? Was that everything you heard from him?"

Jin-Woo shrugged. "It's still fuzzy, I can't remember perfectly. But if I have a Person-Type Soul Attribute of Ashborn, surely, I'd know whenever I Awakened my Soul Attribute, right?"

Fanzer nodded, "Right. I guess we'll just have to wait for now then."

Ichigo hummed. "Anyway, that's where the Sovereign of Hunters got his name from, that old story. It was the idea of protection without conditions." She turned her attention back to Fanzer. "But how does that have anything to do with not trusting the Divine Five?"

Fanzer softly gestured towards Jin-Woo, getting back on track, "If you can recall, did that guy ever call himself a Sovereign?"

Jin-Woo blinked, slowly shaking his head. He didn't gain the knowledge through Yogumunt directly, but rather through the title he had. Even then, the title system seemed quite questionable.

Fanzer nodded. "That information was gained through one of your skills, and you seem to trust it. If that's the case, then I'll trust it as well. Maybe it's a bit preemptive to think they're both against humanity, but how could such a powerful Hunter like Su-Ho not know about a monster who's been attacking Hunters for God-knows how long? It's too suspicious to just ignore outright. And even if Jin-Woo has a Person-Type S.A. of Ashborn, it seems very different from Yogumunt and Su-Ho, who are carrying these titles."

Ichigo nodded very slowly. "I…."

Jin-Woo spoke up, "So you're saying we don't know who our allies are or not."

Fanzer nodded. "Yeah, that's exactly what I'm saying. And with no confirmation, it's risky to share information with anyone else."

Ichigo groaned, rubbing her hands through her hair wildly. "But it's not right to keep that information from the Hunters Guild and possibly lead them into life-threatening situations!"

Fanzer sighed dramatically before pointing a finger at Ichigo, "And if they're somehow working with the Hunters up top, we'll be the ones in more life-threatening situations!"

The two kept on going back and forth, steadfast in their personal beliefs. After a few minutes of going in circles, Jin-Woo interrupted them.

"Okay, this is going nowhere! Both of your points make sense. Yogumunt's existence at all makes me question Su-Ho's reliability a little bit, but actively leading the Hunters Guild into danger especially after Choi isn't forcing us to follow them anymore only makes us worse. We need the best of both," Jin-Woo told them, humming as he thought up a proper alternative. The two listened to Sung attentively.

After a minute or so, Jin-Woo started walking again, Fanzer and Ichigo following him.

"Let's share our information with a select few trustworthy people. We can't reliably do this on our own otherwise," Jin-Woo nodded to himself, glancing at Fanzer than at Ichigo. They gave him small nods in agreement. "Cha's reliable, for one."

Fanzer blinked, staring at Jin-Woo suspiciously, "That powerhouse? And how can you know that she's reliable?"

Before Jin-Woo spoke, Ichigo did. "She just… is. She's heroic to a fault, and if her choice to stop fighting us didn't show that, I don't know what will."

Sung nodded. "Yeah, she's our ally, without a doubt about it."

Fanzer sighed dramatically, shrugging in cooperative submittance. "Alright, so we'll tell her. Who else?"

They were walked in inquisitive silence for half a dozen steps before Fanzer spoke up. "What about my sister?"

Jin-Woo's eyes widened hopefully. "Yeah, she's really powerful. If we can have her as an ally, we'd definitely be able to defeat Yogumunt."

Ichigo spoke next. "What about Choi?"

Jin-Woo and Fanzer glanced at one another before staring at Ichigo.

"What about Choi?" Fanzer asked. "I feel like calling him reliable or trustworthy would be our mistake for about 15 seconds, right before we'd croak."

Jin-Woo slowly nodded. "I've gotta agree. Despite his newfound kindness, how well do we know him? I don't know if we want him behind us."

Ichigo shook her head. "No, I think we definitely do want him with us. He's strong. If he's working with Yogumunt, it would be better to have him with us than anywhere else."

Fanzer turned his head, confusion striking each of his features. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Think about it. With Cha, we've got a stronger hold on Choi than anyone else does. She's got an elemental advantage over him with her water, and that's not mentioning any of us either. It's a risk, but if Choi really is our ally, we lose nothing while gaining a lot," Ichigo explained, receiving slow nods of acceptance from two Awakened.

"Anyone else?" Fanzer asked after a few minutes of silence passed.

Jin-Woo opened his mouth, but he stopped short of speaking. Alnair flashed in Jin-Woo's mind. He didn't want to admit it, but Alnair was an extremely strong Hunter, and he had the potential to be an extremely powerful ally.

"I don't think so," Jin-Woo said, deciding not to mention his thoughts. "Now, for the more important thing…. How are we supposed to find where Yogumunt even is?"

Fanzer let out a thoughtful hum. "That's a good question. Did you nick him at all? Like, did any blood get on Legacy? That wolf Summon of yours—Tempest, I think you said—may be able to follow the blood through its… mana or something."

Jin-Woo summoned his pitch-black dagger, but there was no blood on its edge. He shook his head, accepting that it may've been absorbed by Legacy. However, after a moment, he suddenly opened his eyes. "There's no blood here, but I think some of his blood hit the ground. It may be frozen or dried-up by now, but I'll try to see what I can do. We should split up."

Fanzer nodded, gesturing towards the distance, towards where he thought his sister may be. "I'll try and talk to Lolikiano. If possible, I'll try to speak to her in person, just in case our phones could be traced or anything."

Ichigo stared at Fanzer, blinking. "You may be overthinking it just a little bit." She shook her head. "Either way, I'll head back to the guild. I'll tell Cha about our plan first, then Choi next."

Fanzer held his hand out towards Jin-Woo, and after a moment, Jin-Woo took it. They shook hands before Ichigo and Jin-Woo bumped fists with one another. Then Ichigo and Fanzer just waved at one another.

"I'll meet you guys back at the Hunters Guild," Jin-Woo told them, receiving soft nods from the two. After a moment, the three turned their separate ways and continued towards their own destinations.