Chapter 32
South Korea, one of the world’s hunter powerhouses, has a total of 37 rankers, with 20 of them based in Seoul.
And if you picked five relatively young rankers from among those 20 in Seoul?
Rank 20, the Berserker, Jang Daewoong.
Rank 58, the Master Archer, Ki Parang.
Rank 380, the Shadow Empress, Ki Soyul.
Rank 510, the Black Sword, Lee Seonah.
Rank 830, the White Boar, Yoo Sangdon.
These are the ones.
Young blood in their twenties, the rising stars who would one day lead South Korea as a hunter superpower.
Online enthusiasts called them the five stars of Seoul,
the “Five Stars of Seoul.”
—
“……”
Gulp.
I swallowed hard.
‘Jang Daewoong….’
As someone who dreamed of becoming a ranker, how could I not know him?
I stared blankly at the monster who’d dropped from the sky.
Rank 20 in the world.
Rank 2 in the country, the eldest of the Five Stars of Seoul.
A man said to be able to crush an entire mountain with a single punch.
‘I didn’t think the acquaintance Ki Soyul mentioned calling would be someone this huge.’
I marveled inwardly.
Well, then again, Ki Soyul’s a big name herself, isn’t she?
[08:31:01 PM]
“I’m only a minute late, but looks like I made it in time.”
Jang Daewoong’s lips curled into a slight smile.
“Everyone here except that man is one of Hellhound’s lackeys, huh? Oh, and for the record, ‘Hellhound’ is just my personal nickname for him. Hahaha!”
He stood with his fists clenched and laughed heartily.
But not a single person could return his smile.
“Heh…”
“U-uh…”
Every Shadow Severance hunter was sweating and glancing around nervously.
Some tried to quietly slip away, but couldn’t.
All of them—
Were crushed under the overwhelming force of the Berserker.
Just one man’s presence.
But it was like a massive Siberian tiger had appeared before a flock of sheep.
The Berserker’s aura made every heart seize.
Then—
“M-Mr. Berserker.”
The assassin, Goh Jaeyoung, stepped forward cautiously.
“You called me?”
Jang Daewoong’s eyes fixed on him.
“Y-Yes. Excuse me, but… may I ask what brings you here?”
“That’s certainly rude.”
“Kgh.”
Jang Daewoong’s pressure intensified.
Just his gaze alone completely crushed Goh Jaeyoung’s spirit.
Even so, Goh Jaeyoung didn’t give up.
No—he couldn’t.
The moment he did, he was a dead man.
“T-this is a matter between our Shadow Severance, Parang, and that man over there, Joo Donghoon… O-of course, I’m not saying I mean any disrespect to you, sir, but there’s really no benefit in making enemies of us—”
“Hmph, interesting way to put it.”
Jang Daewoong smirked.
“No benefit in making enemies with your Shadow Severance, huh?”
“……”
Goh Jaeyoung flinched awkwardly.
“Hahaha, that’s beyond laughable. Sadly, I’ve always thought the opposite. That it’s the Shadow Severance who should be doing everything possible not to make enemies with me. Seems we’ve had quite the misunderstanding here!”
Failing to suppress his laughter, Jang Daewoong burst out laughing.
‘Damn it.’
Goh Jaeyoung gritted his teeth.
He wasn’t wrong.
The Shadow Severance’s leader, Hellhound, was ranked 92nd.
The man before him was ranked 20th.
The gap was absurd.
If they clashed, the Shadow Severance would lose. One hundred percent.
“Friend, there’s a huge flaw in what you said. The moment Hellhound recklessly attacked Ki Parang, this stopped being a personal matter.”
“Y-you mean… an alliance with Parang?”
Goh Jaeyoung’s eyes widened.
‘Oh?’
I was surprised too.
After all, the Five Stars of Seoul was just a name given by enthusiasts.
There had never been any public sign they were actually close.
Jang Daewoong went on.
“Second— I hate Hellhound, especially the Shadow Severance. In fact, I despise you.”
“……”
“You’re like mosquitoes feeding on the weak. A blight on society. Pathetic excuses for men.”
Jang Daewoong clenched his fist and raised it.
Vwooom! Vwooom!
A suffocating amount of energy began gathering there.
“And third—do you really think I came here alone?”
His loaded question was immediately answered when another figure dropped from the sky.
A black-haired woman wielding a long rapier.
“Wow, as expected of the Berserker! I ran here as fast as I could, but I’m only just arriving!”
Rank 510.
The Black Sword, Lee Seonah, smiled brightly.
And then—
Another figure crashed down.
Thud!
A heavy impact that made the ground shake.
“Hey, I came straight here after I got the call. Hellhound’s nothing Ki siblings can’t handle… and besides, I’m curious about the person Soyul wanted to introduce me to. Knowing her, she’s never done that before. That’s like the sky falling!”
Rank 830.
The man known as the White Boar, a large, rotund figure—
Yoo Sangdon.
‘Wow.’
I was in awe.
With just one call from Ki Soyul—
Three of the Five Stars of Seoul had shown up at once.
Each one could be considered a national-level strategic weapon.
‘And they’re all… familiar faces.’
People you’d only see in the media.
The ones who lit up South Korea and earned the admiration of hunters worldwide.
And here they were, moving right in front of me.
Only now did I truly grasp what Ki Soyul had meant when she’d said—
[ I’m willing to introduce you to some acquaintances. Ones who could change your life directly. ]
The identities of those “acquaintances” were standing right before me.
“Hahaha, good to see you all again!”
Vwooom!
The energy swirling around the Berserker’s fist kept building.
“I should greet you all properly since it’s been a while. But first, if we don’t take out the bugs in front of us, won’t they get upset? Hah!”
“As expected of you, Berserker! So bold!”
“Hey, hey! Jang Daewoong! Don’t tell me you’re planning to take them all yourself? Leave some for me!”
The rankers’ exchange was relaxed.
“……”
I couldn’t help but envy how they could speak that way about the entire Shadow Severance.
It meant they were strong enough to not even consider them a threat.
“D-damn it!”
Goh Jaeyoung shouted in frustration.
With three rankers here, they had only one option left—
Desperation.
“Everyone, go all out! We’re ten! Focus on one target at a time!”
Just as Jang Daewoong had said—
They could only flail like insects.
But—
“F-fight them?”
“I can’t!”
“This wasn’t part of the deal!”
In a criminal group whose only goal was individual gain—
Control was impossible.
The hunters scattered like frightened rats.
“……”
A perfect reversal of the situation.
I glanced bitterly at the scene and moved toward Kim Junsu.
My ‘brother’, the trouble magnet.
Rip! Rip!
As I untied his restraints, I watched the rankers’ battle—
No, their slaughter.
—
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The Berserker’s punches split the earth into craters.
Whoosh!
A swing tore through the air and slammed into the backs of fleeing hunters.
Crunch!
It was a blow of annihilation.
Those who took it head-on were torn apart, leaving not even a corpse behind.
The only thing left was blood soaking the ruined ground.
‘H-holy…’
Goh Jaeyoung trembled.
‘Just one punch and they’re all gone?’
This was the power of Rank 20.
He was terrified.
Like prey caught in a trap, his whole body froze.
Lee Seonah slashed with her black sword.
Jang Daewoong laughed ‘Hahaha!’ as he crushed his opponents.
To Goh Jaeyoung, they were nothing but vicious reapers.
‘D-damn it. Where did it all go wrong?’
Had it been such greed to covet Ki Soyul?
One thing was certain—
These rankers always finished off the ones trying to flee first.
He might have only a 1% chance to live—
But for that 1%, Goh Jaeyoung gave up running and started thinking.
‘I need to hide first.’
He slipped into a nearby shadow.
‘They say you can survive even in a tiger’s den if you keep your wits about you.’
From within the shadows, he quickly used a skill.
[Skill: ‘Corpse Creation’ (B-rank) activated.]
His survival technique—corpse disguise.
Rustle—
An exact duplicate of himself appeared before him.
Fresh, like it had just died.
‘Heh, even a ranker wouldn’t suspect a trick like this—’
But then, his eyes widened.
Poke, poke.
Someone was jabbing him in the back with the end of a spear.
“Human.”
To his shock, the one poking him was a skeleton.
The skeleton Joo Donghoon called “Sunny.”
“What are you doing hiding there?”
The skeleton could even speak.
“H-how—?”
Goh Jaeyoung stammered.
“You think such a trick would work on me, who has lived his entire life without eyes?”
Deception meant nothing to Sunny.
Sight was just a curious novelty to him.
Flash!
Light blazed from Sunny’s spear.
The glow erased the shadow Goh Jaeyoung had been hiding in.
Naturally, every ranker nearby turned to look.
“S-shit!”
Cursing, Goh Jaeyoung summoned his energy.
If it came to this, he’d take Joo Donghoon down with him—
Even if he had to die.
“Die!”
Thump!
He stepped in to drive his dagger into his neck—
Thud!
“K-kgh!”
Something blocked his chest, stopping him cold.
Slowly, his gaze dropped—
To the bone spear buried deep in his chest.
Splurt!
Blood poured from his mouth.
“Foolish human. You thought you could pass me and reach my liege?”
“Kgh… ghhk!”
“You reek of the same filth as the humans from my world.”
Sunny’s spear slowly rotated—
As if he knew exactly how to maximize human pain.
“K-killed… by a… skeleton…?”
Bleeding out, Goh Jaeyoung shook his head.
He couldn’t believe it.
That his dream of becoming a ranker would end so miserably.
The skull’s cold visage drew close to his face.
“By the look in your eyes, I can guess what you’re thinking.”
Sunny’s voice was icy.
“You think your life is over?”
“Kgh… kghhh!”
Goh Jaeyoung lowered his eyes, sealing his lips shut.
There was no rage left.
Only surrender.
The pain was so great, he just wanted to give up.
“I thought so too once. But the afterlife exists. I’m proof of it. Look at me—dead once, yet here in the flesh.”
“Kgh…?”
The afterlife exists?
His eyes wavered.
“You’ll pay for your sins even in death.”
“W-wait… Spare me. Please. I’ll atone while I’m alive! Please!”
He begged frantically for his life—
Splurt!
But Sunny pulled his spear free without hesitation.
Swish!
The elegant spin ended with the spear driving straight through his neck.
Goh Jaeyoung’s body shuddered, then went limp.
“……”
The end of a criminal who’d used any means necessary to reach his goal.
On Seonyudo, where no trace of the Shadow Severance remained—
“……”
Step, step.
I looked down bitterly at the dead Goh Jaeyoung.
In truth, everything Sunny had said and done was at my command.
“Goodbye. Don’t think it too unfair—you’re only getting back what you’ve done to others.”
To end his life trembling in fear—
That was my little gift for him.
A small gift, considering the things he’d done.