The #1 Hunter Rankings
decided to live.
***
A long time ago, cracks began to appear in the world. Holes created by the cracks appeared worldwide. It all began when a hole opened in the sky. Humanity encountered something inside the holes that appeared everywhere. It was a monster that could not be defined in any form at all. In other words, an unidentified life form. It came to be called a monster.
And so, with the appearance of monsters, humanity was on the brink of destruction. Monsters showed indiscriminate aggression. Their savagery seemed born from the joy of hunting humans. The moment the holes appeared, war between humans and monsters began. A war in name; in reality, it was a disaster. The monsters' power drove frail humans, powerless against force, to the point of annihilation.
As humanity was on the verge of immediate collapse, a few Awakeners began to appear among humans. They had gained the ability to face monsters. Something absurd, the kind of power you only see in movies or comics, was happening. Some anthropologists even view this as humanity's second evolution. Awakeners—they were humanity's hope.
Quickly, the world turned that tiny hope into an opportunity. After the holes appeared, the first system began to take shape. Monsters and Awakeners were analyzed by their respective abilities. Monsters and Awakeners were ranked from A to F. Their levels were divided. The rank assigned to each monster rank raised the odds of Awakeners. The odds of humanity surviving. As long as an S-rank disaster-class threat didn't appear, this system could be sustained with national manpower. Until that day came.
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"Boss, do you have a remote here?"
Ding.-
[The Seoul S-rank Hole Gate disaster has marked its 10th anniversary. Among 1,028 casualties and missing Hunters, the disappearance of the #1-ranked Hunter remains unconfirmed, causing nationwide chaos...]
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These days, the media, including the news, gets noisy around this time of year. It's about the Seoul S-rank disaster from 10 years ago. The reason this disaster was etched into the public memory, apparently, was because the result that the #1-ranked Hunter sent for support at the time was [survival unconfirmed], which left a huge shock. The Hunter who earned the title of hero for holding the Hole Gate until the end, then vanished like a wisp of water vapor. His full name is Lee Woo.
"Two bowls of shellfish stew, please."
"Thank you, boss ^^"
What were the odds that he would become the owner of a shellfish stew place? That was also a rather shocking story.
"Boss, do you have a girlfriend?"
"...Huh?"
Flustered, Sanghyuk glanced at Yeoju and blinked, dumbfounded.
"No?"
So the reason I came here is because of that man, Lee Sanghyuk. I, Kim Yeoju, the director of a private Hunter headquarters, set up house in this shellfish stew restaurant. I stayed here after learning that Lee Sanghyuk was Lee Woo, the #1 Hunter from 10 years ago, who had hidden himself from the world for all this time. For what purpose?
Well...
Isn't he the talent the nation coveted?
I'm the kind of person who won't be satisfied until I get what I want...
I needed this man.
Without a doubt, he's the man who would bring me benefits—through the truth of the Hole Gate and through Hunter recruitment.
...
But this man isn't easy.
-
"I don't have one, and I'm not interested"
I stared blankly at the back of Sanghyuk's head as he turned away with an indifferent, resolute tone. 'So cold...'
Well, I hadn't expected much.
I was planning to hold out until closing anyway.
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"We're closed."
Sanghyuk shoved a wet mop in front of my table. With an annoyed expression, he nodded for me to leave now.
"Talk to me a little."
Smiling as I pushed my way in by force, I sat at the table with my chin in my hand.
"...Why on earth are you like this?"
Sanghyuk let out a long sigh and looked somewhat enlightened. Well, I'd been stubbornly camping out in front of his restaurant for months, so it made sense he'd be fed up.
"I want you to come to our HQ. Casting? Something like that, haha."
"Why would I?"
"I came here knowing everything."
As if to provoke Sanghyuk's bland nerves, I took on a defiant posture. At those words, Sanghyuk tilted his head, and I spat the truth in front of him.
"You're Lee Woo, aren't you? The #1 Hunter from 10 years ago."
"..."
But he wasn't shaken so easily. Instead, he calmly leaned the mop against the wall and came toward me.
"So?"
His face as he asked back was cold. The pressure, so matter-of-fact as if asking what else I knew, was heavy. Just as you'd expect from a former #1... an incredible aura.
"I need you."
"I've been retired for a long time. You won't get much out of this, so go back."
"It's not retirement. It's running away."
"...Hah?"
Sanghyuk frowned. It can't be helped if it's unpleasant. What excuse could he possibly make? Because it wasn't [survival unconfirmed], but a cover-up disappearance disguised as missing. I don't know why he made that choice. I've always wanted to ask. Why he chose to vanish from the world.
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'What does that have to do with you...'?
Someone appeared, asking why I disappeared. The question from that persistent bastard, who wouldn't leave me alone, pierced straight through me.
Yes, the reason I hid myself after the Seoul S-rank Hole disaster was my cowardice. That day 10 years ago was an utterly horrific disaster. The Seoul S-rank Hole Gate was in a state where no response was possible at all. What shook the long-standing system to its core was the appearance of unverified unidentified monsters and mysterious mutants. The monsters and mutants were so severe they couldn't even be distinguished from each other. In terms of numbers and rank, manpower was hopelessly insufficient.
And more despairing than that was the fact that the mutants were human. I couldn't endure that. A teammate I'd fought alongside on the front lines turning a blade on me—that was a huge variable. I saw comrades mutating right before my eyes and attacking me. It led to everyone killing each other.
The one whose head was severed in front of my eyes had clearly been a comrade joking with me last night while groaning from a hangover. So many lives were sacrificed. Among them was a father who was about to welcome his wife's child, a senior colleague who was due to marry soon, and a diligent junior supporting his widowed mother.
Can you believe that if I had to kill them with my own hands?
It was hell on earth. The unbearable guilt and despair swallowed me whole. In the end, the S-rank Hole Gate closed, but I lost so much there. Those memories consumed me in that day's disaster. The result of losing more than I gained made me an embarrassing existence before the world. So, the moment the gate closed, I ran from the world. I vanished as if evaporating, with no way to confirm whether I was alive or dead.
Isn't it ridiculous, that someone like me once dreamed of ordinary life..?
I always wanted to live an ordinary life.
But
after manifesting as an S-rank Awakened at age 16, my life changed completely. The state forced me, a mere 16-year-old, onto the battlefield, and due to the manpower shortage, started pushing Hunters, me included, into the cracks. Because of that, within a year I sat in the position of #1-ranked Hunter, and I spent my life exterminating monsters.
I thought I had gone numb because I was so busy. I had to live with hearing the occasional news of comrades' deaths. I wanted to ask when this weight would finally start crushing me...
But in the end, once I lost everything, I was left carrying even more weight.
Ah... right. It was a futile thought. I couldn't escape this disaster until the day I died. So I decided to run away.
Afraid of my own cowardice.
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With the money I saved during my days as a Hunter, I opened a tiny shellfish stew shop in a back alley and made a living running it. I thought I'd lived quietly like that for 10 years, but
one day this guy suddenly showed up in my calm everyday life.
"If you're looking for a Hunter, try somewhere else."
"I need you."
"...I mean, I..!"
I swallowed the words that I didn't want to be a Hunter anymore. Why me, of all people? There are plenty of capable Hunters besides me. No S-rank disaster-class Hole Gate had appeared since that day 10 years ago. In a world that had finally found stability, what more was I supposed to do? What more could I...
"There's an irregular crack appearing."
Yeoju said with a suddenly serious face. At her words, Sanghyuk froze, and the signs from that day 10 years ago came back to him.
Before the Seoul S-rank Hole Gate appeared, the once regular cracks had started becoming irregular a few weeks before the disaster. It was like a signal flare. Like a warning of disaster.
"No way..."
Sanghyuk's face gradually darkened. Seeing that, Yeoju carefully continued.
"If you don't believe me, check it yourself."
Yeoju placed a memo with an address written on it on the table in front of Sanghyuk. Then she disappeared, as if leaving the choice up to him.
"..."
Sanghyuk stared quietly at the memo. The memory of that day flashed through his mind.
Really... again, just like that day...
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-
What she called a crack wasn't a lie. I realized it only after seeing the small cracks near Seoul with my own eyes.
"See? They formed a few days ago."
Yeoju explained those cracks while shrugging her shoulders. They all overlapped with the warning signs from before that day.
"..."
This is another variable I didn't anticipate. If another S-rank Hole Gate disaster happens, I'll truly collapse beyond what I can bear.
"Now you understand how serious this is, right?"
"...But I'm officially missing and presumed dead under the law right now. How am I supposed to..."
"That's not a problem. I'll take care of it."
Yeoju winked as if to say to leave it to her. Sanghyuk just stared at her. It was the look of someone thinking, What is this woman, really? There were too many suspicious points to just grab hold of the offer out of nowhere to come to his HQ and believe it.
That was when it happened. Crack.-
With the rupture, a monster emerged from outside the small crack. It was a giant spider monster with poison stingers on eight legs.
"..Damn."
For the first time in a while, Sanghyuk felt a sharp tension at the appearance of such a huge creature. Dust swirled around them, and the monster's roar echoed. Poison stingers flew toward Sanghyuk and Yeoju.
"...It's dangerous!"
Sanghyuk pushed Yeoju behind him. Then
[A barrier is forming.]
along with that message, a shield spread around Sanghyuk and Yeoju.
"...?"
Sanghyuk looked flustered by the barrier. Yeoju, the one who had used the defense barrier skill, was smiling as if nothing was wrong. Seeing her, Sanghyuk was stunned all over again. What on earth... is she an Awakened?
"I guess this weapon will do."
Yeoju opened her pocket dimension and handed Sanghyuk a sword. Sanghyuk took the sword in a daze and leaped toward the monster. It was one of the more common kinds of monsters he had once hunted. Its eye was the weak point, so he thrust the blade straight in. With a hiss, the monster sagged as if melting. Watching it die with a foul stench, Sanghyuk grimaced.
'Being unable to get used to it is the same as always'
"How many of that rank have you already taken down?"
Sanghyuk asked calmly as he pulled the sword from the monster's eye.
"Five so far."
"...You're making fast progress."
Then it happened. Just before the spider monster completely melted, a poison stinger shot toward Sanghyuk.
"Ow, that stings.."
"...!? Are you okay?"
"...I won't die thanks to the poison antidote buff."
Sanghyuk answered indifferently. Yeoju scooped him up in her arms.
"W-what are you doing?"
"Are you crazy? You need treatment."
Lifted up suddenly, Sanghyuk struggled in Yeoju's arms. With a face that seemed to ask, Why are you going this far? he looked at her. No, more than that, what kind of strength was this...
...
By the time they arrived at the HQ infirmary Yeoju had mentioned, Sanghyuk was spent. He lay stretched out on the bed, drained of strength. He was tired after not facing monsters for 10 years. And maybe because he had been stung by the poison, his mind felt foggy too... Then a man in a white coat and Yeoju approached the listless Sanghyuk.
"It's real. The #1-ranked Hunter was alive after all.."
The man in the white coat examined Sanghyuk, his eyes sparkling as if amazed. On the name tag by the coat, the three characters Kim Donghyun were visible.
"No issues, right?"
"Well, you're sturdy."
"..."
He felt like a monkey in a zoo enclosure. Annoyed, Sanghyuk half-listened to their chatter and grabbed the snacks beside him. Ah... my blood sugar's dropping...
"Are you all right, director? I heard you were at the site.."
"I'm sturdy too, haha."
Her bright laugh raised questions. So... you too...
"Are you an Awakened?"
Sanghyuk asked Yeoju. At his question, Yeoju smiled again with that unreadable expression. And then came an unexpected answer.
"Nope? I'm just an ordinary person?"
"...What?"
Then how had she been able to use Awakened skills so freely? There was no way an ordinary person could pull out something from the status window like a barrier. If she wasn't an Awakened... it should be impossible.
"Hmm, I don't think I've introduced myself properly."
Yeoju rummaged through her pocket and handed Sanghyuk a business card. Taking it, Sanghyuk confirmed the name Kim Yeoju and the words [Hunter Private HQ R] on the card.
"R is a place that trains Hunters, but it's also a place that makes tools for ordinary people like me to use power in place of Awakened abilities. You could call it a private company outside the state?"
"I thought Hunter businesses weren't allowed."
"We're also the first place the state approved to operate privately. Since there's already a shortage of Awakened supply, we make equipment. Tools that let ordinary people use Awakened power."
"...Then earlier,,"
"Right, that was a tool I made. Once you learn how to use it, it's easy. Of course, its performance is lower than a real Awakened's, but we're researching that too ^^"
"...I see."
The world had changed a lot. It was no longer a strategy of pushing forward with a handful of Awakened; it was moving toward a direction where everyone could protect themselves.
"...Then why me?"
"You mean why I need you?"
Sanghyuk nodded.
"Like I said earlier, my tools put power that mimics Awakened abilities into the tool itself. So they're a long way below an Awakened's original stats."
"There are hardly any humans who can use them properly."
Donghyun added to Yeoju's explanation.
"So that's why I need your power. I need a sample to copy the abilities of a high-rank Hunter like you. And just in time, the first S-rank Hunter, Lee Woo. You're the perfect fit."
"How did you know I was alive?"
"At first, I didn't. I really thought you were dead."
"...?"
"I happened to get a report about a suspicious person suspected to be a Hunter at the shellfish stew place, so that's when I went to look. And at a glance, it was obviously you. Lee Sanghyuk."
Yeoju looked down at Sanghyuk with a confident expression. Sanghyuk had no idea what that certainty was based on. While he was active as a Hunter, his face wasn't visible to people because of one of his skills, [Hidden Face]. Since he worked like that, Hunters who knew his face were rare, and most of those who did had already died in the disaster 10 years ago. On top of that, even the state couldn't identify Lee Sanghyuk's whereabouts and had concluded him as presumed dead and missing... how had this woman figured out at a glance that I was Lee Woo?
...
"So, cooperate with me."
Yeoju held out her hand to Sanghyuk. Her face was full of resolve. After a brief moment of thought, Sanghyuk opened his mouth.
"What's the compensation?"
"Just say the word. I'll grant anything. If it's money, I've got more than enough."
She had said that so confidently...
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...
"And you call this just a queen-size bed?"
"Please come this way."
Sanghyuk gestured to the delivery man from the bedding service to a small room inside the restaurant.
What kind of life was this, living for 10 years in one tiny room attached to a restaurant? Yeoju couldn't hide her shock. If the public found out that the national hero who closed the Seoul S-rank Hole Gate 10 years ago was living in a one-room place like this, the whole country would be turned upside down.
"What did you do with all the money you earned?"
"I bought this building and put the rest aside as retirement money. I can't keep working forever when I get old."
"...No, but it still seems like you'd have enough left to eat with."
Sanghyuk let out a snort of laughter. She wasn't wrong, but he also knew he wasn't exactly good at spending money. He'd spent his whole life going around killing monsters, and once money went beyond an ordinary amount, he started thinking of it only as a number. He wasn't particularly greedy for material things either... so it didn't matter much. If he had to think about it, he supposed it would be nice to have a bed. One a little softer to sleep on...
"...I really don't get it."
Yeoju clicked her tongue. A humble man like that, and he's the #1-ranked Hunter? It doesn't match at all.
"But why a shellfish place?"
"...Huh?"
"You could've retired from being a Hunter and lived lavishly, so why go out of your way to run a shop?"
"Didn't you even look at our sign?"
"...What?"
[Darling's Shell Grill] Why...
"Don't otters eat shellfish..?"
Sanghyuk seemed to be recalling something at her questioning look. Darling is the otter character from a children's anime that was popular 10 years ago. Even Yeoju herself used to watch that anime a lot as a kid. But why was that?
"Because I like Darling."
Sanghyuk's face, as he answered, was shaded by nostalgia. Behind his low laugh, there was a bitter expression. Yeoju remembered something in that expression. That day back then.
...I was just forgetting it for a moment, and now you've made me remember.
...
"Come with me. I'll teach you how to spend money."
"..?"
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Yeoju took Sanghyuk shopping. With shopping bags hanging from both hands, they left the department store.
"We don't need that much."
"Think of the clothes as service."
"...;"
Sanghyuk awkwardly held the shopping bags. He'd gone home carrying clothes and odds and ends she'd loaded up while saying she'd teach him how to spend money. So it wasn't a lie that she had money to burn... Come to think of it, seeing her serve as a director at that age, maybe her family was just...
"But how old were you?"
"Me? Hmm, I think I'm 20 this year?"
"...What?"
I had thought she was young, but she was even younger than I expected. A full seven years younger. Seven years, seriously;; He was dumbfounded by Yeoju, who had been speaking to him so casually the whole time. Sanghyuk muttered,
"Kids these days have no manners."
"Huh? What is it, Lee Sanghyuk, are you old-fashioned?"
Yeoju freaked out and started arguing, saying things like, What are you saying only now? Sanghyuk couldn't even get the words out and could only click his tongue. He was thinking that there wasn't much he could do with such a kid anyway.
...
Come to think of it, he remembered himself eagerly accepting who-knows-how-much in clothes and things from someone that young. He felt a little ashamed. Ha... what even...
"Lee Sanghyuk! Want a waffle?"
Yeoju raised her hand toward Lee Sanghyuk in front of a waffle shop before he knew it.
"...I'll buy it."
No, let me buy it... It looks ridiculous to be getting treated by such a young kid. It's not like I'm broke;;
In the end, they sat on a bench with the waffles Sanghyuk bought. Eating something sweet after so long felt strange. During his Hunter days he used to keep snacks on him now and then, but over the past 10 years he'd lived forgetting the taste of sweetness. He had deliberately avoided everything that reminded him of his life as Hunter Woo while living an ordinary life. Food, anything—he'd erased everything about Hunter Lee Woo. It was easier that way. That's how I lived.
"Mmm, this is good~"
Yeoju ate with a face full of happiness, not even noticing the whipped cream smeared on her face. Seeing her like this, she really looked like a child, and it made him laugh.
Swish.-
Sanghyuk wiped the fresh cream from Yeoju's cheek with his hand. Yeoju flinched at the gesture. The unexpected touch gently wiped away the cream. It was so soft and delicate that Yeoju's face reddened for no reason.
"...What, did I get something on me..?"
She acted like nothing was wrong, but her face was already a ripe tomato. 'How can you do that so suddenly..' While she was trembling, she lost the words to say because that trembling felt as if it were directed at Lee Sanghyuk.
"You're really a kid, huh, the way you get messy while eating."
"N-no, I'm not!!"
Yeoju bristled at Sanghyuk's words. She took offense at being treated like a child. She exploded in anger, asking how on earth she looked like a kid. It was funny, and it made him want to tease her even more.
...
"I'm stronger than most Awakened, you know-"
Yeoju went on and on about the weapon she'd made. She was boasting about it proudly. For someone her age, that kind of achievement was impressive, no doubt. Reality would be harsher than that, though...
If she knew the reality of Awakened, she'd probably be shocked. The battlefield was a death game where your life was on the line.
...
"Want to know why I ran away?"
"...Huh?"
Sanghyuk finally spoke about what happened that day, with his own mouth. It would be the first and last time. He didn't want to remember it anymore.
"On that day 10 years ago, I lost a lot of comrades in front of the Hole Gate."
"...Yeah, I know."
"Do you know who killed those comrades?"
"...Huh?"
"It was me... it was almost a massacre. I hadn't expected the mutants to appear."
Sanghyuk's expression darkened. It was as if he was remembering that day. 'Mutants'... yes, that's right. What caused chaos worldwide were the mutants. Those horrific things where humans turned into monsters had happened in the disaster 10 years ago.
"Even now, the comrades who died back then come to me in my dreams. With their heads horribly severed."
"It's not your fault.."
"Yeah.. I know.."
But it must have been unbearable. The weight of being the only one left alive would have been an unimaginable guilt. He lived with that guilt for 10 years. Remembering the comrades who died.
"When the gate closed, there was one child I saw last, buried under concrete and just about to lose the last of their breath."
"...You saved them?"
"Yeah, that was the last life I could save."
"...I see."
"They were so young, but maybe my face scared them..? They were crying when they looked at me.. So I covered my face with a mask I found nearby. The [Hidden Face] skill had been worn down by then, so I probably looked pretty hideous."
"..."
You were never hideous, never, not you.
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[10 years ago, that day]
I was caught up in the Great Crack. At age 10, when the city collapsed due to the Great Crack, the collapsing buildings buried me. I barely regained consciousness, pinned under a concrete wall. Around me, the roars of monsters and human screams were everywhere. As the ground of the city shook and the concrete pressed down on me, I saw the damage of the Great Crack with my own eyes. A tragic, helpless disaster. As if it were a sin and punishment falling upon humankind, God was far too cruel to humans. How many days had passed...?
The Great Crack Hole Gate closed. After not eating or drinking for days, all I knew was that I had survived. Then someone came up to me. They pulled me up from where I was buried in concrete. It was Hunter Lee Sanghyuk, ranked #1. The damage from the Great Crack was so horrific that there wasn't a place on him without wounds. Dark red blood dripped down through his torn clothes, and he looked so haggard it was a miracle he was still standing. The worst part was the childish face visible through the hidden face. Blood was running down his forehead and had dried there, leaving a scab and one bloodshot eye visible. One half was clearly a blacked-out surface, but on the remaining half that could still be taken as a face was the real face hidden behind the broken mask. He looked like a boy in his late teens at most—far too young.
At that moment, tears came to my eyes without my even realizing it. I didn't know if it was relief that I was alive, or pity for that boy I'd never met before. Because I was crying so hard, he seemed flustered. After fumbling around nearby for a moment, he found a mask from somewhere and put it on his own face. It was the 'Darling' otter character mask that was popular back then. Kind-hearted, he hid his face with a mask to comfort little me. Then he took me to a safe place where I could be rescued. When I turned around to thank him, he was already gone.
That was the first and last time I saw him. Afterward, the news buzzed with reports of his disappearance and death. I also thought he had died. Back then, his condition had been such that it was a miracle he was still breathing. It would have made sense.
Until I met you again 10 years later.
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-
Ding...-
"Yes, the scan is complete."
Donghyun gestured to Sanghyuk in front of the scanner and told him he could come down now. Sanghyuk awkwardly stepped down from the machine. He realized anew that, having lagged behind the world by 10 years, all sorts of strange things had come into existence.
"How do you feel?"
Yeoju asked Sanghyuk.
"Not much..., just a bit loud."
"Hahaha"
"But why are you being polite all of a sudden?"
"You said I was rude, so do you hate it..?"
Yeoju glanced at Sanghyuk nervously.
"Not really..."
"Then I'll speak casually. Lee Sanghyuk really rolls off the tongue, you know."
"...Hah,,"
He was so dumbfounded he couldn't speak. They say a puppy doesn't know fear because of a tiger... Lee Sanghyuk really does sound good. It had been so long since anyone had called him Lee Sanghyuk that his own name felt unfamiliar.
All through his life as a Hunter after awakening, he had only been called by the Hunter name 'Lee Woo,' and only after 10 years did people start calling him by his real name, Lee Sanghyuk. In front of you, I wasn't Hunter Woo, but human Lee Sanghyuk.
What's unfamiliar always feels strange...
"Lee Sanghyuk!!"
At Yeoju's voice calling him as if to wake him from his thoughts, he came to his senses. Being called by my name with such a bright smile felt awkward for no reason.
"Tell me everything you know about the Great Crack."
Yeoju asked as she organized the charts. Even while guessing that the story from that day would darken Sanghyuk's expression, she had no choice but to ask him.
"I know it's hard to bring up, but you're the only one.."
"..."
Sanghyuk laid out everything that had happened that day in detail. The memory of that desperate, hopeless day.
The appearance of mutants. We have to prevent human mutations occurring in the Great Crack zone. Before eliminating the monsters, stopping human mutations comes first. At the time, the only human in the Great Crack zone who did not mutate on his own was Lee Sanghyuk. We analyzed his DNA to find the cause, but found nothing unusual. However, we discovered that one of his skills protected him from mutating. [Hidden Face]
While scanning Lee Sanghyuk's abilities, we decided to copy the stats of [Hidden Face]. The tool that extracted those stats would grant Hunters a shield as a skill. It was a way to prevent mutations. Protecting Awakened people first—that is my strategy. If my copying technique and the power of S-rank Awakened Lee Sanghyuk come together, we may be able to stop the Great Crack from returning.
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So,
the Great Crack we didn't want began. A crack suspected to be similar to the Seoul S-rank Hole Gate from 10 years ago appeared. An S-rank Hole Gate alert was issued nationwide, and nearby civilians headed to shelters. Compared to 10 years ago, preparations could be made quickly. We already knew the outcome from that day. The response was proceeding smoothly. And then, as if announcing the beginning, monsters started forcing their way out of the crack.
Barricades were set up and shields were formed within the controllable range. It was to prevent secondary damage. Thanks to Yeoju's tools. Everything was being carried out under her strategy.
"Be careful."
Yeoju said to Sanghyuk, who was heading toward the Great Crack. When Sanghyuk looked back at Yeoju, there was a smile on his face. A gentle smile that seemed to say not to worry.
"...Lee Sanghyuk!!"
In Yeoju's hand as she grabbed Sanghyuk was something. She handed it to him, looking at him shyly. It was the 'Darling' mask. A specially made mask just for him.
"..."
'It was you. That little child back then.' Sanghyuk recalled Yeoju's face from 10 years ago. He realized that the girl he had saved then was Yeoju. She had been so close all along. A wave of belated joy rose in him. 'I'm glad she's alive.' It was the first thought he'd ever had like that.
"I'll be back."
Sanghyuk smiled softly, turned away, and waved to Yeoju. Leaving behind a promise that he would return.
"I'll do my best too."
Yeoju murmured quietly. It was a prayer for him. A wish that he would be safe, and a promise that she would never let him fight alone again. I will fight with you. For you.
Just as you saved the world from that day 10 years ago, Lee Sanghyuk, the life you saved last will save many people again. I'll prove that your efforts, fighting alone all this time, were not in vain.
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+) Lee Sanghyuk, as a Hunter, was carrying a life too heavy to bear alone. Butyour efforts, though you were brought to despair by countless sacrifices, were not denied. The last life you saved is proof of that. She will save you and the world. Now, I hope you can live as human Lee Sanghyuk in front of her.At ease happinessto be ready to face it.
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***
It's been a while since I did a one-shot
I haven't written a long piece in a long time, so I'm not sure I'm used to it
I originally planned to make it longer, but since it was a one-shot, I think I ended up wrapping it up in a hurry,,haha
If I get ideas now and then, I'll come back with more 😊
Subscriptions, comments, and support give me strength..hehe
Thank you 🙇🏻♀️