Chapter 78- Aftermath

[Federal Bureau of Hunters]

[America]

"But, the two newly evaluated S-rankers are priced hunters of Korea. I don't think, they would let us pluck them off, that easily, like they did with Hunter Hwang Dong-Soo." One of the council members of the Hunter Bureau stated his thoughts on the matter of recruiting two S-ranked from Korea.

Despite being a small and particularly not-so-exceptional country when it comes to contribution toward humanity, the Americans thought, it would be not so difficult to snatch two hunters from Korea.

Considering the job options here and the lifestyle Jin-Woo and Haru would be able to enjoy here, the plan to scout them seemingly sounded quite easy to accomplish.

However, it was also a fact that Koreans also learned from their mistake. The last time, an S-ranked hunter Hwang Dong-Soo left his mother nation, the Korean Association must have added some rules, contracts, and privileges for hunters, to retain their loyalty.

"But, considering that neither Hunter Nanase nor Hunter Sung has joined any guilt, including the Korean Hunter Association, signifies how they still are unsure. I think we should exploit our chances when we have the time." Another man spoke up, earning a great amount of nods from the others.

All this time, the Director remained silent, hearing the advice from everyone. When every eye turned in his direction, for the last decision, David turned toward the deputy director before relaying his thoughts,

"I am certain this won't be easy this time either, so we may need to bring out 'her' into play."

The said Deputy Director raised his brows before a name left his lips,

"Norma Selner."

********

Jin-Woo stood in the lobby of the high school where the sound of laughter and gossiping should have been resonating, however, for the past half an hour, only the battle cries and screams of agony could be heard from the otherworldly beings.

Jin-Woo wasn't injured, however, he indeed was breathing a little heavily, given that he was handling all the orcs all by himself. More than fifty orcs were to be cleared and none were spared by his Demon Daggers.

His level has elevated by one and he finally has reached the three digits he was longing for. And now, the leveling up has halted all at once, leaving Jin-Woo to contemplate his further growth.

However, that could wait for later since at the moment, his focus was trained on the boss of the dungeon who stood merely ten meters apart from him, holding its club in the hold and with an agitated expression that made the orc look uglier.

"So...you are the remaining one?"

[And I would be enough to bisect that head off your shoulder!]

The Orc roared before launching forward, unaffected by the fact that its comrades were all sent off to the other side by this single human, one-sidedly.

Jin-Woo's eyes sparkled with a cold glint, as he retracted his daggers back into his inventory and balled his fist. The desire behind the decision was to discern his raw strength against this S-rank monster, which clearly was not in the right mind to play rationally.

Discarding every other thought, the onyx-haired youth, reeled his punch and before the orc could land his club on top of Jin-Woo's head, the latter sprinted forward and successfully landed his fist square down the inhumane's right chest plate.

*BOOOOOOOM*

*TREMBLE*

Not only the monster was smashed into a pulp just by the connection of his fist, but all the windows of the floor were shattered into small pieces and the whole building shook under the pressure of a being that easily surpassed a typical S-rank.

Looking at his purple blood-stained fist, Jin-Woo nodded slightly in appreciation before he used tissues to clean himself before approaching the students.

**

[Ten minutes earlier]

Back in the auditorium, the students were grouped up at the corner in fear. The reason for such a dramatic change even though the dungeon sprouted almost an hour ago, was because of the sudden arrival of a certain someone.

Haru was leaning on the wall near the window while gazing outside, listlessly. He has already patched up every student and the only casualties that he wasn't able to save were those who were near the dungeon gate. Those six students were already dead when Haru arrived, leaving him with no other option than to save the others.

'It feels a little bitter…' Knowing that this would happen, yet just because of his carelessness, those six had to die…well, this indeed made his mood a little off.

"H-Haru…what are these tremors and why are those beings shouting so wildly?" Hearing Song-Yi's query, asked in a shaking voice, Haru raised his brows.

"Your Oppa is on a rampage. Don't worry, this will be sorted out soon-" It was then, that a destructive sound of something getting destroyed accompanied by the tremble of the ground made everyone fall to the ground.

Haru held Song-Yi by her arm before she could hit the ground as his eyes traveled toward the front and a grin spread across his lips,

'He finally seems to be in that league…' Previously, Haru was quite concerned about Jin-Woo's growth and his reach toward level hundred, where he would have obtained the key to access the double dungeon. But now, that necessity was finally fulfilled.

But, does that mean, Jin-Woo is ready to face the Architect? For some reason, Haru is unsure, and to gain surety, Haru is about to do something he never could have expected from himself at the time when he entered this world.

Haru would bring Jin-Woo to the Gate of Divination.

*****

The rest of the rescue operation was done within an hour with the help of the Association staff and the medical team which was waiting at the entrance of the school, impatiently.

The state of those parents, who lost their child wasn't good, to say the least. And more so, when everyone was saved except for a few.

Haru and Jin-Woo could only share a fleeting regretful look before making their way out of the place. It was given that they couldn't save everyone, and if not for Haru's quick reaction to the incident, many more lives would have been exhausted today.

"How about we have a chat before going to the Association, Subnbae?" As the two individuals made their way out of the crowd without getting noticed by the media, Haru suggested.

Jin-Woo was unaware of what Haru wanted to say, but he nodded nevertheless.

Jin-Woo thankfully had already changed his clothes back in school so he didn't feel embarrassed walking inside the nearby cafe alongside Haru.

The two were about to move toward the cornermost seats and order some strong caffeine when suddenly, both Haru and Jin-Woo halted at the same time.

'This energy...' Jin-Woo frowned his brows sensing a different kind of energy. Probably one of the most domineering yet calm at the same time.

Haru had the same feeling as Jin-Woo as both of them wordlessly turned to look at the person emitting such an aura...only for Haru to find himself getting baffled.

A Ruler has descended.

*******

A/N:- Things have changed. A lot. But the final fight would remain the same.

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Next Chapter: Saturday or Sunday.