Chapter 32: Father-Son Bonding, Planning & Commencement of Castle Conquest

A/N :

" " : Dialogue,

' ' : Thought,

[ ] : System, Akasha, Minerva,

"Italicized text" : Telepathy,

« » : Artificial Intelligence,

| | : Sung Jin-Woo's System Panels, Sung Jin-Woo's System Messages,

"Bold text" : Shadows & Deathborns.

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Yu Jin-Ho POV

Was this what Dante was talking about yesterday? Now I understand why he was so confident that I'd call him back. Seeing this news would make anyone in that situation go back without thinking twice about it.

"It seems that S Ranks are in season, seeing as a third S Rank Hunter has awakened merely a month after the last two." I turn off the TV and think on the fact that Hyung-nim had been an S Rank, yet he had chosen to continue hunting wifh me.

Shaking myself from my thoughts, I pull out my phone and open up my recent calls where Dante's call from yesterday evening is the most recent. Taking a deep breath, I tap his number to call him, and a few seconds later, he answers the phone.

"Hello, Jin-Ho. Glad to see you're still doing fine. So I take it that you're calling to take my offer from yesterday. You can come by the building later today, I've sent you the address." He says and cuts off the call.

My phone pings and a notification showing the address that Dante is staying at pops up. Sighing, I head to the bathroom to clean up, then head out and call a taxi to take me to Dante's address. 'If Dante isn't lying to me, I think I could safely leave the company behind and start my own guild with them, and without having to be bothered by some succession battles or anything like that.' I think hopefully to myself with a sigh.

Sung Jin-Woo POV

After being reunited with Dad yesterday, we spent some time catching up on stuff that happened with the family. I still kept the incident of the double dungeon secret from Mom, since I didn't want to cause her any more worry, but it was clear that Dad knew about it from Dante.

As for today, Dante called both me and Dad to his place, that he has planned to make the guild building, for a discussion. We got in the van and I drove there. "You know, when I found out that the Shadow Monarch had awakened, I was prepared to lay my life down to kill him, if possible." Dad says gravely.

"Then Dante came around and told me that you were chosen to succeed the Shadow Monarch, rather than become his vessel. I couldn't believe him at first, until he showed me that no matter how things go down, you would end up as the new Shadow Monarch." He continues with a slight scoff.

"It kind of lessened the burden for me. I wouldn't have to fight the most powerful Monarch, and at the same time, I'd be able to spend time with my family. I don't think I can thank Dante enough for that." I keep my eyes on the road as I swerve the van through a gap between two cars.

"And more than anything else, I'm proud of you, son. You kept going strongly to keep our family together, you helped your little sister through her education and bore the weight of your mother's hospital fees, on top of being a Hunter. If I could feel prouder of you, I would." He says as he lightly pats my back.

I think of everything that he said and of the life I had lived since he was taken and I awakened. I think of the number of times I was maimed, the number of times I was lucky enough to escape death, and more than anything, the number of times I could go back home to see Jin-Ah and go to the hospital to see Mom.

As the thoughts cross my mind, a small tear comes to my eye and I wipe it away. "Thanks, Dad. That really means a lot to me." He nods and turns his head to the road.

Sung Il-Hwan POV

Getting this off my chest was more liberating than I would have expected. Dante had told me of the struggles that Jin-Woo had gone through as a Hunter and as the stand-in provider for our home, and it had pained me that I wasn't there to be the one in that place instead of him.

Then hearing of the incident at the Carthenon dungeon almost devastated me. He had risked his life many times before then, but that singular raid almost killed him. If I didn't know any better, I'd have done everything to remove him from the life of a Hunter.

Learning that Jin-Woo was the one chosen by the Shadow Monarch had left me torn between my duty as a Hunter and a vessel for one of the Fragments of Brilliant Light, and my duty as a father. But to hear that he was chosen as a successor and not a vessel was something out of left field, as every time the Monarchs were involved, they took over their vessels, practically extinguishing the souls that were originally in those bodies.

The relief I had in knowing my son would remain himself even after gaining the full power of the Shadow Monarch was immeasurable. It meant that not only would I have an ally in the know of the true situation of this world, but we'll also demoralize the Monarchs when he comes out with the powers of the Shadow Monarch.

I don't know where Dante came from or why he had chosen to help us, but I'm highly appreciative of his aid. If he hadn't pulled me out of the Gate, only God knows where I would have ended up, and how many delays I would have faced. I probably won't have even had the chance to meet my family again.

As these thoughts run through my mind, two final thoughts stand out the most; I would make absolutely sure that I won't lose any member of my family and I would make sure to repay Dante for his help.

Dante POV

After getting off the phone with Jin-Ho, I initiated another call, this one to Go Gun-Hee. The amount of time that Jin-Woo will stay for isn't going to be longer than 3 days, at least after today, and he'll be gone for 8 to 10 days afterwards. So getting our plans together before then would be the best decision to give as much advantage to Earth as possible.

"Yes, Dante." Gun-Hee says as he answers the call. "Hey, Gun-Hee. We're going to be coming to meet you for a talk regarding the the war, so clear your schedule for today. It won't take all that long, but it will be extremely important." The call goes silent for a few seconds. "Okay, then. I'll prepare for you." He says, then cuts off the call.

"Shiro, you want to get in on the meeting?" "Nah, I'll just stay here playing games with the kids. Send Jin-Woo my regards." She says and shuts off the telepathic connection. "Well, she always wanted to relax and have fun." I say as I get up head down to the ground floor.

Staying there, I just choose to wait for them, and about 15 minutes later, a van and a taxi pull up in front of the building, with Jin-Woo and Il-Hwan coming out of the van and Jin-Ho coming out of the taxi.

After they greet each other a d exchange pleasantries, they walk into the building's reception, where I am waiting for them. "Hello, guys. It's nice to see that you're all sorting through your own issues, but now it's time for our discussion, so let's head up." I say and snap my fingers, teleporting the four of us to the room that I intend to make the guild master's office.

"Please, take a seat. Getting to today's order of business, we're going to create a guild." As I said that, Jin-Woo looked at me like I was crazy, but didn't say anything as he wanted me to explain.

"There's a talk that Go Gun-Hee gives most S Ranks when they're confirmed to be S Ranks. If they're going to remain in this career for the money or for the survival of mankind. The only reason you weren't given this talk by Go Gun-Hee is because Shiro and I told him about you. And with how things are now, the only way that you're going to be able to freely hunt in Gates on your own, is to not only be in a guild, but also to be acknowledged as a full raid team on your own as well." I explain to them.

"I see. That way, I can hunt monsters alone and cause no risk to other Hunters who would definitely be weaker than me. I see no issue with that then." Jin-Woo says after a few moments of deliberation. "I second that." Il-Hwan says in agreement.

"But, Dante. Are you really okay with me being the Guild Master?" Jin-Ho asks, still unsure of my motives. "Yeah. It'll clear up more time for each of us to go hunting or taking care of our business and personal lives, and since we won't be a lot, there's little stress being put on you. Not to mention, it'll be better than taking over your family's business."

After a few moments of contemplation and daydreaming, Yu Jin-Ho looks up with a smile and puts out his hand. "I'll be honored to be your Guild Master." I shake his hand with a smile. "Glad to have you with us."

"Okay, before we get moving to the Association, why don't we decide on the name for the Guild." I say, keeping a poker face, as I know the names that will come out of Jin-Woo's mouth would be absolutely horrendous.

For the next few minutes, Jin-Woo and Jin-Ho suggested names that wouldn't come out of my mouth even if I'd bit my tongue after burning it with hot and spicy barbecue. These are just a few of them: Solo-Play Guild, One Man Guild, S-Quad Guild, Sung-Yu Guild, Yu-Sung Guild, Woo-Ho Guild. I would mention the rest, but I think they would bypass my Survival Overlord and give me cancer.

Il-Hwan remained silent throughout the time they were suggesting names, but he was really just rendered speechless by the absolutely stupid names he was hearing.

"Okay! That's enough out of you two." I say, silencing them. "I knew you guys' naming sense was out of whack but I didn't think it'd be that bad initially. Either way, I'd already decided on a name for our guild from the get go." They look at me with confusion, then expectation.

"Dominion. Our guild will be called the Dominion Guild. The three of them look at each other's eyes and see agreement then nod. "Okay. That works just fine"

"Good. Here's the paperwork for establishing the guild, and as for the money, don't worry about it. The profits I've made from my potions are enough to lay for everything we'll need." I say as I teleport a stack of papers onto the table, in front of Jin-Ho.

"As for you two, follow me. We're going to meet Go Gun-Hee." I say to Jin-Woo and Il-Hwan. "And by the way, Jin-Ho. If you need help with anything, just call out to Aurora, she'll help you out." Jin-Ho just looks at me with confusion.

"Who's Aurora?" As soon as he asks that, Aurora projects a hologram of herself beside him. «I'm Aurora.» Her sudden appearance causes him to jump and let out a short squeal.

"Since that's clear, let's get going, you two." I say to Jin-Woo and Il-Hwan. We head outside the building and enter the van that Jin-Woo drove in. As I enter, I quickly scan the van and repair it, making everything about it good as new.

We got to the Hunter Association building quickly and entered into the reception. "Hello, Sung Jin-Woo Hunter-nim, Dante Hunter-nim. How may I help you?" Activating a tiny bit of my CHR stat, I tell her that we're here to meet Go Gun-Hee and she immediately sends a call to his office. Not even a minute passes and she sends us up to his office. She was thinking of giving me her number, but I suppressed that thought until it disappeared from her mind.

Entering the elevator, we quickly go to the top floor, where Go Gun-Hee is waiting for us. "Good morning, Dante, Mr Jin-Woo and... Sorry, who are you?" He says as he looks at Il-Hwan.

"About that, we'll have to talk about that in your office, privately." He nods in understanding and we walk to his office, ignoring the murmuring of the few nosy staff.

After we enter his office, I lock the door and soundproof the room. "So, do you mind introducing yourself, sir?" Gun-Hee says to Il-Hwan. "Of course. I'm Sung Il-Hwan and Jin-Woo is my son. I'm also one of the Fragments of Brilliant Light, like you, Mr Go Gun-Hee."

Go Gun-Hee looks at him in surprise then at me with inquiry. "It's exactly as he's told you. Like you and every National Rank Hunter, he's also one of the Fragments of Brilliant Light." He takes a deep breath and exhales before sitting down.

"So, now that we're all here, let's get to business." I say and the atmosphere in the room turns serious. "First off, there's granting Jin-Woo the right to raid dungeons by himself. How's that coming?" I ask Gun-Hee.

"Hah, it's been rocky so far, especially since those idiots(read politicians) are still being greedy. They're saying that he has to show that he can actually raid high rank dungeons, otherwise they aren't going to support the decision." He says with annoyance.

"But you're the chairman and a powerful Hunter. Why would they have any right to overrule your decision?" Il-Hwan asks him. "It's not that they do, it's that their argument makes sense. If he has actual proof that he can raid high rank dungeons, they'll have to shut up and accept it, otherwise I'll just choose to force it down their throats." Gun-Hee says with an intensity he'd never shown before now.

"Okay, so we can see that as a done deal then. Now, concerning the other National Rank Hunters, I'll take care of their security. I'll send one of each of my deathborns to keep watch over them." They all look at me quizzically. "Deathborns?" Jin-Woo asks.

"Remember when I told you that I wanted to try and replicate Ashborne's authority, I succeeded a bit too well and got a greater authority. So instead of shadows, I have deathborns." I say, summoning Aefernox for them to see.

"Wait, isn't that Igris?" Jin-Woo says, noticing the similarities between them. He summons Igris just to be sure. "My name is Aefernox, not Igris." Aefernox tells Jin-Woo, then looks down at Igris, as he's considerably taller than him. "So this is how I would be as a shadow. Not mediocre, but also not particularly impressive."

Igris clenches his fist at his words. "Worry not. The difference between us is owed to the virtue of our masters' power. You still have my respect as a knight." Aefernox says with full seriousness, clearing the hostility near instantly.

"Great. So, quick question. Will any of my shadows ever gain the ability to speak?" Jin-Woo asks and I nod. "They will, it's just that they won't evolve to gain that ability. Rather, it's that you'll get one or a few that'll be able to speak from the instant you raise them." I explain to him.

"As I was saying, I'll send maybe one or two of my deathborns to stay in their shadows to protect them from the Monarchs, should they get attacked by them. For you, Gun-Hee, you'll have Escarcha in your shadow." I say, summoning the soldier I got by raising the Frost Monarch.

"Malius will be in your shadow, Il-Hwan. For Christopher Reed, I'll send Diablo to protect him. For Liu Zhigang, I'll send Adamas, for Siddharth Bachchan, I'll send Tyra'zix, and for Thomas Andre, I'll send Felgin." I say, referring to the soldiers I got from Rakan, Baran, Tarnak, Beru and Baruka respectively.

"That way, even if the Monarchs blindsided them, they'll be protected." They nod in understanding. "By the way, Il-Hwan here is going to be a part of our guild, he just won't be registered on paper. We need to keep the Monarchs from finding out how much opposition they're going to face in this war." Gun-Hee nods, then tells us that he has a few things to discuss with Il-Hwan.

Jin-Woo and I leave the building, but he also makes sure to leave the keys to the van with Il-Hwan. He stops about 50 meters away from the door and looks back at the building.

"So I take it that you're going in today." He nods while looking at the building in silence. "Despite my stats being as high as they are, I know that I'm not as strong as I would like to be, at least when looking at my army. So I'll go into the Tower later today, and see how far I can go in the next week." He says as he brings out the key to the Demon Tower from his inventory.

Nodding in acknowledgement of his decision, I bring out a few supplies; some cooked food, water and potions, from my inventory and using Quantikinesis, I multiply them to what would easily last him a week, taking into account the possible damage that he would receive from the demons.

"Take these and don't worry, I'll make up an explanation for them. And by the way, Shiro sends her greetings." I say and hand him the supplies. I made sure to keep our interaction veiled in an illusion of us going our separate ways, so as not to draw attention to either of us. He takes the supplies and puts them in his inventory, then thanks me before walking closer to the building and using the key to enter into the Demon Tower.

Narrator POV

Upon using the key, a Gate that seems to be dyed in fiery orange manifests and Sung Jin-Woo walks into the gate to see a fiery landscape. He focuses in front of him, seeing 3 pairs of eyes looking at him.

In front of what looks like the Hunter Association building, he sees a a large beast with three canine heads with demonic horns, long fsngs and red eyes. Looking above its head, he sees its name in white.

|Hell's Gatekeeper Cerberus|

Quickly switching his active title to Wolf Slayer, he uses Shūndō to dash to the back of its head while holding the Sanguine Ripper and one of Baruka's Daggers in his hands, and unleashes his Intimidation skill on the beast, reducing its stats by 50%. Taking advantage of its weakened state, he uses his Mutilate skill to attack its necks, bereaving it of all three of its heads, killing it.

After it dies, a few small lights are splayed in front of the Cerberus' corpse. Reaching his hand out to receive the loot that dropped from the Cerberus, some notifications pop up, showing descriptions of each bit of loot gotten from the beast.

|Item: Warden's Necklace|

|Item Class: A

Type: Necklace

Agility: +20

Perception: +20|

|Item: Castle Door Key|

|Item Class: A

Type: Key

A key that can open the Demon Castle's door.

Obtained by killing the gatekeeper.|

|Item: Cerberus' Fang|

|Item Class: None

Type: Material

A fang that can be obtained by slaying Cerberus.|

Taking the Castle Door Key, he opens the gigantic door that the Cerberus was guarding. As he steps beyond the door, he enters an empty hallway with gargoyles lining the walls and receives a quest.

|Normal Quest: Collect Demon's Souls! (Part 1)|

|Demon Castle is filled with demons.

Hunt down demons and collect their souls for special rewards.

Quest completion requirement:

•10,000 demon souls|

|Rewards:

1. One item of your choosing

2. Bonus Stats: +20

3. Hidden Reward|

Accepting the quest, he walks down to the end of the hallway to a door that he opens, only to see what looks like a version of Seoul that is partly destroyed and is perpetually on fire. "A field type? I didn't expect that."

A few seconds later, a group of demons comes forward to attack him, but they quickly die as he slashes their heads off at high speeds. Looking at the notifications that are popping up, he sees one that interests him a bit. "There's an experience indicator now? That's convenient." He says as he dashes deeper into the dungeon to get more demons to kill.

Chapter End.

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A/N: Since almost no names were suggested, I'm putting down the name I chose for Dante's deathborns.

Igris - Aefernox,

Baruka - Felgin,

Tank - Cull,

Tusk/Fang - Thrall,

Vulcan - Krai'lash,

Cerberus - Fido,

Metus - Kharon,

Jima - Oughon,

Beru - Tyra'zix (Combo of Tyranid and Kha'zix),

Kaisel - Kyragax,

Kamish - Ragnar,

Baran - Diablo,

Rakan - Malius,

Tarnak - Adamas,

Queresha - Rovina,

Yogumunt - Andern,

Legia - Talos,

Sillad - Escarcha,

Antares - Andras.