9 A dumb brute, not a hero

Hojosa watched the bills fall from the burnt envelope and froze.

"That.....Why did she give you money ?" Hojosa pained voice cracked once more as he asked this. Now it wasn't just unbridled anger, there was a hint of a sadness that clawed at his heart.

Sen wanted nothing more than to disappear in that instant. He was easily afraid, just like he was easily pissed. He was always a very emotional person, or in another words he was very un-hunter like.

Not that Hojosa was any different. Many hunters liked to be at least a little expressive, to not appear like they were robots.

"She said you would know what it is for. She said something about the slums of seoul."

And with that, Hojosa's head went down as his teeth nearly shattered due to how much he was grinding.

"Great...Fucking great !" Hojosa exploded, a literal wave of red energy washing over the entire area. The man in the yellow pinstripe suit had to calm his subordinates before they shot Hojosa in their panic.

"Now I have to go watch over Sung's little sister and I have to deliver this money to all those people...All those people who placed their lives and dreams in that kid. " Hojosa snarled.

He got up and looked at Sen.

"You don't know shit about us man, I am sorry you have to get into all those damn troubles because we are such dumbasses." Hojosa apologized and Sen was shocked by how genuine it sounded.

"I....It's not a problem. The life of a hunter is like that. I always get into troubles, and I guess strong hunters like you are no different." Sen offered a smile, a forced one.

Hojosa looked at his team, he saw his teammates bawling their eyes out and cursed under his breath.

"We don't have as much experience as we should have, be it for our level or just for the dungeon we just attempted to clear. I mean we were doing good until that thing popped up, but still. I don't think you've heard of the 'crunch', right ?" Hojosa asked Sen who was wondering why the man was even talking to him. He looked like he wanted to burn the whole world down in that single instant.

' I wouldn't be able to force myself to appear calm even though I am shaking with fury inside.' Seneos thought as Hojosa explained what he meant.

"It's a process, much like in other industries, in which you just crunch down on the employees and make them work as fast as they can. No matter the result, no matter the quality, they gotta be ready quickly. That's what crunch is like for some hunters. Some powerful people take randoms with talent and turn them into hunters as fast as they can. It's frowned upon but hey, look at me. Turned out good didn't I ?" Hojosa asked, and Sen wasn't sure if the question was a genuine one.

He looked like a bundle of mental issues at the moment, not like a brave adventurer in shining armor. Though Sen guessed it was a bit unfair, only children imagined hunters to be like that.

"Well you surely turned better than I did," Seneos noted somberly. However Hojosa immediately began to laugh.

"You think so ? You ain't the one feeling like a piece of shit currently. Hell I could bet my left nut that you would have handled this better had you been at my level of power. " Hojosa retorted. Seneos wanted to be angry at him, yell that he did feel bad for the girl. However it seemed like Hojosa already knew more about him than he should have.

'Curse those damn hunters and their senses'

"Let's not mention the fact Jimin sacrificed herself for you...I know you don't care as you much as you want to. You can't feel that bad, huh ?" Hojosa looked at Sen with his burning eyes and the porter squirmed a little under that flaming gaze.

"I...I'm pretty sure you'll want to hit me if I answer this."

Hojosa frowned as he looked at Sen.

"I won't. I am not a righteous person. I am hunter who only knows how to hit like a moron. I am only an attacker. I would have said a defender too...But seeing how I failed to protect those two lives today...I don't feel like I deserve to be called that. I am good old brute with strength to back up my claims, but I don't have the heart to accept the responsibilities that come with said strength. If those responsibilities even exist to start with. "

"I still feel like you would hit me If I answered honestly."

Hojosa once again burst into laughter. One might have started to think that he had forgotten about his sadness, about his anger, but it wasn't the case. He was making a poor attempt at hiding it. The pitying glance thrown at him by the shadow mage was very indicative of that.

"Oh no, not really. I can't fault ya. Don't start to think I'm a good guy because I feel bad about those people. Like many people, like many hunters...I care only about myself and my closed ones. Had you been the one to die, I would've ignored it. I am filled with emotions only because those two were close to me. I would've died with them if I could. Me facing that monster on my own wasn't arrogance. I just don't care about my life. I am scared of nothing and I can easily take the jump for those I appreciate. " Hojosa gained a pensive look after he said that. As though he was reminding himself of all the moments he went through with Sung and Jimin.

"Sung was the only one who could put up with my attitude, the only one who would follow me into my weird jokes. Hell he would follow me right into hell as I would've done for him, and I might do just that soon. Jimin was a precious little thing. I never liked weaklings, be they weak in body or mind. But her goal was more noble than my entire damn fucking life. Sung wanted to see his little sister grow and Jimin wanted to raise the living conditions of the people she was surrounded by during her childhood, in those accursed slums. " Hojosa bristled.

It was quite crazy to Seneos, how the mage's temper was literally causing flames to appear randomly over his body. He had a terrifying mastery over fire.

'I wonder what rank he is at...He can't be at the same as the others from his team.'

" I heard him talking about his sister, before....You know. He seemed really attached to her." Sen said, trying to continue the conversation. He didn't have anything else to do whilst waiting for the KHG agents to come to him. He didn't know a lot about how the hunter society worked, but Jeol had told him countless times that he couldn't afford to anger the KHG. You don't spit in the hand that feeds you.

Hojosa pictured Sung's sister in his mind, that cute girl who thought he was so cool and spent hours asking him so many questions he was left with a dry throat at the end.

"Yeah, he didn't like many things in life, just like me, but she was his crowned jewel. I really don't know how I am going to announce this to her...Especially if she wins her first match. She wanted to become a hunter ever since she was a kid and sung only recently accepted, because he finally felt like he was good enough to protect her....I'm gonna have to watch over that little devil now." Hojosa said. He turned back to face Seneos once more and smiled. This was perhaps the first warm smile Seneos had seen on that face, and it could very well be the last one. He could tell Hojosa wasn't in his usual state at the moment.

"I'll hand over the money to Jimin's family. Thank you for holding onto the envelope. Now I'm going to need a strong drink to fry my brain before I go to face Sung's sister."

Hearing that, Seneos perked up and coughed in his hands.

"There is this place I go to...It's a cheap bar but cheap drinks can hammer you real good. It's right behind that fancy cafe, the Notteria, that's a few blocks away from the KHG building. The bar doesn't look like one but you'll recognize it. The walls are black while every other building on the street is grey." Seneos offered. Hojosa sighed and thanked Seneos before walking towards his teammates.

Sen watched as the fiery mage talked with the man in the pinstripe suit before said man directed his agents towards Seneos. His turn had come.

The man stopped right in front of Seneos and handed him a smoking cup of coffee. A savage smile appeared on his face as he spoke.

"You are the F rank hunter Seneos I presume ? Your friend Jeol talked about you when I was interviewing her for her promotion, and she was quite surprised when I received news about what was happening here. I am Gumiho, an officiate of the Hunter Guild serving as an Inspector. "

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