Chapter 181

Sung Il-Hwan's house was quite modest compared to the other villas in Yangpyeong. A small field and a greenhouse were surrounding it.

"The house is a bit small, isn't it? I suggested building it bigger, but your grandfather insisted that a larger house would only be harder to clean..."

Suho ignored Sung Jinah's words and focused solely on his senses. His expression was serious.

'...There's no presence.' He swept through the greenhouse and fields surrounding the house. But he couldn't detect any humans other than them.

'Beru.' 

Fwoosh! At Suho's thought, a shadow quickly separated from his own and started to scan the surroundings.

"Oh my, are they out again?" Sung Jinah tilted her head, puzzled that no one answered the doorbell no matter how many times she pressed it. But they often went out for farming and other errands, so she wasn't too worried. They were also quite healthy for their age.

"Anyway, I've never seen them stay home quietly. I even opened a hospital, but they've never come in sick. Of course, that's a good thing, but..." Sung Jinah chuckled and entered the door code she had memorized for such occasions. 

Beep beep beep. Click!

"Suho, go in first and wait..." But as the front door opened and the interior of the house came into view. They stopped, expressions hardening simultaneously.

"What the...?"

Suddenly, their hearts sank. The empty air. The scattered belongings. The house, always neatly organized whenever they visited, now felt unfamiliar.

"M-Mom?" A chill ran down Sung Jinah's spine, and countless ominous thoughts flashed through her mind.

"Mom! Are you home?!" Her face rapidly paled, and she frantically searched every corner of the house for her parents.

On the other hand, Suho's eyes searched for something else. He knew from the beginning that there was no one inside. So what he needed to find was...

'The phone.' 

He took out his phone again and called his grandfather. Then, he heard a phone ringing from a corner of the living room. His grandfather's phone, plugged into the charger, was ringing all alone. Sung Jinah turned pale upon seeing this.

"No, where did Dad go, leaving his phone behind?! Th-then, where's Mom's phone?"

This time, they called Suho's grandmother, Park Kyung-Hye. Fortunately or unfortunately, her phone was nowhere to be found in the house.

"It seems Mom took her phone with her? But how urgently did they leave to make the house look like this?" But the anxiety remained.

[Little Monarch! I checked the garage, and the car is still there!] Beru, who had been checking the surroundings, whispered. At his words, Suho immediately went outside to check the garage.

"H-Hey! Where are you going?!"

Sung Jinah followed Suho and widened her eyes upon seeing the truck neatly parked in the garage.

"Why is the car here? They didn't even take the car?!"

Sung Jinah's expression became even more serious. Sung Il-Hwan's house was surrounded by vast fields, making it difficult to go anywhere without a car.

Suho looked down at his feet with a grim expression and said, "Arsha."

[Yes, Suho.] Arsha's reply came immediately from the Shadow Dungeon.

"Are there any of your worker bees in Yangpyeong?"

[This is my first visit to Yangpyeong, so there aren't many. But there are many farms nearby, so I can increase their numbers as much as you want.]

"Start right away."

[Yes, understood.]

Buzz! Suddenly, the sound of bees flapping their wings could be heard from all directions.

Arsha first used a doppelganger to check the picture frames hanging in the house. After carefully examining the faces of Suho's grandfather and grandmother, she dispersed her scouts in all directions. The bees in Yangpyeong began to transform into Arsha's worker bees one by one. But Suho couldn't be relieved just yet. Even if it were just his elderly grandparents suddenly becoming unreachable, it was still a serious situation. But what if the Itarim were involved?

"Come out Gray."

Fwoosh!

A small wolf appeared from Suho's shadow.

"...!" Sung Jinah was momentarily startled but quickly calmed down, remembering that her husband had told her about Suho's awakening. In fact, seeing Gray gave her a good idea.

"Th-that's right! There's the Hunter Association!"

Fortunately, there was a Hunter Association branch not far from here. And it had recently established a cooperative relationship with Ahjin Hospital, the best hospital in Yangpyeong.

"Suho! I know someone at the Association! I'll ask them for help!"

"Gray, find anything you can. And Rakan, are you listening?" Suho decided to use every means at his disposal.

[King of Beasts and the Monarch of Fangs, is watching you.]

He felt Rakan's gaze and looking in the direction of his presence, Suho spoke. "You understand the situation, right? Can you use your ability to smell mana or something to figure out what happened here?"

It would be much more efficient to directly utilize the Dead Monarch than Gray. A dark smile appeared on Rakan's lips as he realized Suho's intention.

[King of Beasts and the Monarch of Fangs, proposes a deal in exchange for his help.]

"What is it this time?"

As expected, the Dead Monarchs never offered help without conditions.

[King of Beasts and the Monarch of Fangs, explains that he needs a sacrifice to exert his influence.]

That was true. Ordinarily, a Dead Monarch couldn't exert any influence on the real world. But there was one way to make it possible: a 'ritual' where sacrifices were offered and prayers were made. Understanding the situation, Suho nodded in agreement. After all, Rakan's previous request was merely to hand over useless items to Gray.

"Alright. What do you want? We don't have much time, so speak quickly."

[King of Beasts and the Monarch of Fangs, grins, saying it won't be a bad deal for you either.] At that moment, Rakan's presence began to grow stronger.

And then.

"Suho! She's at the Association right now!" His head snapped towards Sung Jinah, who was on the phone with a serious expression.

"What? Grandma is…?"

"Yes! An employee personally drove her there!" 

[King of Beasts and the Monarch of Fangs, lets out a soft sigh.] Rakan's growing presence suddenly diminished. But Suho's attention was already far from him.

"Why would Grandma go to the Hunter Association? Then what about Grandpa? Is he there too?"

"No... She went there because of that."

"Huh?" At Suho's question, Sung Jinah answered with a tearful voice.

"It's because my dad... your grandpa..." Suho's expression hardened at Sung Jinah's following words, and he shouted.

"Gray!"

Growl! At the stern command, Gray, who had been sniffing around, puffed up his body.

"Get on!"

Suho had Sung Jinah ride on Gray's back and immediately started running towards the Yangpyeong branch of the Hunter Association where his grandmother was.

* * *

Min Dae-Seok, the branch manager of the Hunter Association's Yangpyeong branch, was a man full of complaints.

'They call it a transfer, but it's practically a demotion!'

Like any other country, the Hunter Association had branches all over Korea. And the work of the Association employees varied greatly depending on the characteristics of their jurisdiction. Of course, the most basic tasks were similar. Maintaining public order while Hunter guilds raided dungeons. And constantly searching the area for any abnormalities, as gates could appear anytime, anywhere. But there was one problem here. What if, no matter how hard they searched, dungeons rarely appeared in their jurisdiction? Would the citizens be happy, feeling safe and secure? There were all sorts of people in the world, and sometimes, there were those who loathed such peace and tranquility.

"Why do I have to waste my youth in this countryside?! Why am I stuck here..."

'...Here we go again.'

'Look away. Don't make eye contact, or he'll pick on you like last time.'

Branch Manager Min Dae-Seok frequently threw tantrums due to the lack of work. His subordinates' way of coping was simply to ignore him as best they could. But the biggest problem that made them sigh was that he wasn't complaining because there was actually no work.

– No work, my foot…

– We keep getting complaints.

– It's because he pushes all the minor incidents to the police station, saying they're not our jurisdiction.

The employees, well aware of Branch Manager's usual work style, could only sigh quietly. But then again, it wasn't entirely fair to blame Min Dae-Seok. The Hunter Association had only been around for two years. The distinction between the police's duties and the Association's duties in handling incidents was still blurry. It was a matter of interpretation. But even when dealing with such a superior, someone had to eventually gather their courage.

"E-Excuse me, Branch Manager... Ms. Park Kyung-Hye is waiting outside."

"What? Why is that old lady here again?! Tell her to go to the police station!" Min Dae-Seok, who had been yawning lazily, glared at the news. The employee, expecting this reaction, stammered,

"N-no. We brought her here this time. We investigated, and it seems Sung Il-Hwan is indeed missing..."

"That's all the more reason she should go to the police station!"

"..."

"Sigh. Alright, alright. So, when and where did the old man disappear?" The employee couldn't help but sigh inwardly at Min Dae-Seok's words.

'If we knew that, it wouldn't be a missing person case.'

"If we knew that, it wouldn't be a missing person case."

'...Huh?' The employee was startled by the sudden cold voice, wondering if they had accidentally spoken their thoughts out loud. But thankfully, it wasn't them.

Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!

"...!"

"...?!"

Suddenly, an overwhelming presence pressed down on the air from behind the employee. There stood Suho, radiating a chilling aura that shook the entire Association building.

[Skill: 'Bloodlust' activated.]

[Skill: 'Bloodlust' activated.]

[Skill: 'Bloodlust' activated.]

Branch Manager Min Dae-Seok, directly exposed to the terrifying Bloodlust, turned pale and shouted,

"Wh-who, gah…?!" At that moment, his body stiffened and began to float in mid-air. Suho walked towards him with a chilling expression and checked the name tag hanging around his neck. He also found the other 'necklace' he was wearing.

"A branch manager, huh..."

Shiver

Why did that simple phrase send chills down their spines? The sudden and terrifying scene made the Association employees simultaneously draw upon their mana.

'A-a villain!'

"...A villain has invaded!"