Chapter 596
Just because the sun had set and the clock ticked past midnight didn’t mean the day was over.
As long as there were people who hadn’t fallen asleep and stories worth sharing, their time continued.
That night was exactly like that.
A particularly cold afternoon in mid-January, with a biting wind blowing.
[Breaking News – Rank 5 Hunter Jin Taekyung. Solo Assault on Ares Guild Headquarters.]
The sudden news turned South Korea upside down. No, it shook the entire world.
And the moment the news broke, countless posts and comments flooded online forums.
Yo. What is this?
– What do you mean?
A notification popped up and I checked… holy shit, the Madman just stormed Ares Guild by himself?
Stop talking nonsense—no, wait, I was just watching the news. They said he vanished in Pyeongchang, and now he suddenly stormed Ares Guild HQ?
– Bro, it’s real. What the hell.
– What is this, The Truman Show? You’re not just trying to mess with newbies like me, right?
– If it were The Truman Show at least the ratings would be good. What would we get out of fooling you? It’s real. Turn on WBS. It’s an exclusive report. Capital Defense Command is being dispatched; it’s chaos.
– Why the fire department?
– Not the fire department—Capital Defense Command; get it right.
– Okay but just because that Madman went to Ares Guild doesn’t mean he “stormed” it. He might’ve just gone to have tea with Seok Gojun.
– Unlikely. Over a thousand eyewitnesses at the scene say Jin Taekyung walked up and decked someone in the solar plexus before entering the building. Even if he came for tea, all the teacups inside must’ve been smashed.
– You got proof? A thousand people saw it, right? Someone must’ve taken a video. Drop the link.
– The thousand witnesses part is true, but no one recorded anything. No videos, no pictures. They say everyone stood frozen, like possessed, watching him walk in. Only came to their senses afterward.
– There were so many people, and yet not a single piece of evidence? That makes it more likely to be a false report.
– Nah. The Madman disappearing for a bit doesn’t mean he went there. Even if it’s true he went, the rest sounds like tabloid fiction. The media’s just fueling the fire with clickbait.
When the media first broadcasted the breaking news, most people didn’t believe the shocking story.
After all, it made no sense that the hero who had vanished after quelling two consecutive monster waves would storm the Ares Guild, of all places, on his own.
But less than a few minutes later, as the Jongno area was declared a temporary disaster zone and Capital Defense Command began evacuating civilians and forming a defensive perimeter, the mood shifted drastically.
– This… this might be real.
– What the hell is going on.
– Why all of a sudden…
– I’m currently in the U.S. They’re broadcasting it here too. CNN, FOX, all major news outlets are tracking the situation.
It’s not just the U.S. This has gone global. Domestic and international media are in a frenzy.
Everyone who saw the news, both locally and abroad, felt a suffocating weight settle in the air.
President Baek Hanseong issued an emergency statement, and experts in every field scrambled to analyze the situation and its cause.
But before any real answers could be formed, the person at the heart of it all stepped forward.
– Hunter Jin Taekyung.
Pushing aside his aides’ protests, President Baek Hanseong appeared in front of the press, and the young man he called raised his head. Their faces were broadcast live, not just across the country, but to the entire world.
It was Jin Taekyung.
Drenched in the red and blue blood of humans and monsters, he looked exhausted, and his eyes were clouded with unknowable sorrow.
His cracked, dry lips parted. His voice was bleak.
– I… merely did what needed to be done.
For the millions watching in breathless silence, that was all they were allowed to see.
At the request of the Blue House, the broadcast was abruptly cut, and for reasons unknown, all the reporters on-site fell completely silent.
And what remained at the end of that day was a single, enormous question.
Jin Taekyung and the Ares Guild.
The Ares Guild and Jin Taekyung.
An unprecedented clash between an individual and an organization.
No one could say for certain what had occurred inside.
But the aftermath of the hour-long battle ravaged the Jongno area, and Jin Taekyung walked out on his own two feet, standing before everyone.
This meant that two globally influential names had collided for reasons yet unknown—and in the end, it concluded with an individual’s victory.
The fact that the opponent was the Ares Guild made it an earth-shattering event.
Yet the thing everyone was most curious about—the reason behind it all—remained.
Why did a young hero in his twenties, a new powerhouse, head to the Ares Guild alone?
That night, a major news outlet ignored an established embargo and lit the fuse.
[Exclusive Report – Hunter Seok Gojun (Deputy Guildmaster of Ares) and 25 Others Confirmed Dead. Over 500 Total Casualties.]
[Editor-in-Chief Lee Kanghee – Jin Taekyung. The Hero’s Backside, The Devil’s Front.]
It was a bombshell.
A chain of monster waves unlike any in the aftermath of the Great Cataclysm—before that shock even faded, this explosion rocked the globe.
Like a furnace over a bed of embers, all of South Korea ignited, and the heat spread worldwide.
Even after midnight passed and the dawn deepened, the shockwaves refused to settle.
Once opened, the cannon’s mouth spewed fire as if it would never close again.
Some called Jin Taekyung a devil.
Some filed formal petitions demanding he be executed.
But not everyone pointed fingers at him.
In fact, most people were caught between trust and suspicion.
The belief that someone like Jin Taekyung, with so many accomplishments, couldn’t possibly have done such a thing.
The suspicion that, without an official statement, all this was nothing but tabloid trash.
As that unbelievable night gave way to morning—
[Close associate of the late Hunter Seok Gojun, Mr. Go, turns himself in.]
[10 a.m. – Official Press Conference at the Blue House. Global Attention Focused.]
A heavy rain poured down to quell the raging flames of criticism.
And under the rain, which fell nonstop for two whole days… finally, one man woke up.
—
Drip… drip…
The sound of rain stirred my consciousness. I blinked blankly.
Through the slowly clearing haze of my vision, the first thing I saw was a grand, familiar painting.
A ceiling I knew well. A painting I’d seen too many times to forget.
‘Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam.’
That was when I realized where I was.
I was lying in Chief Choi’s mansion.
Raindrops tapped against the glass wall occupying one side of the room.
‘No way.’
A single thought flashed through my empty mind, and my heart began to pound.
What if… what if this was all just a nightmare?
What if nothing had happened yet—
What if I had just logged out of Hanam?
But that ridiculous hope vanished the very next moment.
“You’re awake. I was just coming to check on your condition—good timing.”
A soft, deep voice.
Younger and harder to read than Butler Kim’s.
It was strange that I hadn’t noticed until now.
When I confirmed the face of the uninvited guest who broke my deep thoughts, I clenched my teeth.
‘President Baek Hanseong.’
It was him.
And for the president of an entire nation to be here and not at the Blue House… it meant everything I remembered was real.
“…Ah.”
“Hunter Jin Taekyung?”
What more was there to say?
I was just… exhausted.
Instead of answering the president’s call, I sank back into the bed.
Pulling a chair close beside the bed, he spoke again, concern written on his face.
“You still seem unwell. A doctor will arrive soon, so please rest—”
Doctor, healer, it didn’t matter.
Thanks to a long rest, I felt fully recovered. My body wasn’t the issue.
“How long… how much time has passed?”
“…Ah.”
Startled by my cracked voice, President Baek held out the newspaper in his hand.
“This morning’s paper. It’ll be faster if you see it for yourself.”
The moment I received it, I checked the date.
Two days had already passed.
My face took up the entire front page.
Along with a bold headline.
[The Truth Behind the Day Tainted by Misunderstanding. The Unawakened Hero.]
Just from the headline, I could tell how much the media had talked about me and what happened that day.
But what gripped me wasn’t anger or frustration—it was a heavy sorrow.
‘So it was real. It really happened.’
Butler Kim… Kim Hwajong was dead.
Burdened by that heavy truth, I stared blankly out the window.
President Baek spoke again, cautiously.
“One outlet broke embargo early, and the initial public opinion wasn’t great… but the misunderstanding has been cleared up. Thanks to Go Sewon stepping up, things were resolved quicker than expected.”
“Go Sewon?”
I turned away from the window.
President Baek nodded as our eyes met.
“Yes, the same Go Sewon you know. Former bodyguard captain of the late Seok Gojun.”
“He turned himself in. Even subdued the last resisting members of Seok Gojun’s faction. His testimony was solid.”
It was unexpected help, something I never predicted when I chose to spare him.
Looking down at the paper again, I noticed it wasn’t just my photo on the front page.
Go Sewon’s stoic face, standing in front of cameras and mics, was printed in the center.
Two days ago, he testified that Seok Gojun had instigated the double monster wave.
“A critical piece of testimony. And…”
President Baek trailed off, furrowing his brows.
“It also supported the condition of Seok Gojun’s corpse.”
A horrifying hybrid of human and monster.
His body alone served as undeniable proof.
As if he’d seen it himself, Baek Hanseong shuddered.
“Go Sewon played a huge role. Thanks to him, most of the charges against you have been dropped.”
I nodded numbly.
Charges. The law. Punishment.
Scary words, but I felt nothing.
“I see.”
“Yes. He’s currently held in a special facility… but he’s hoping to meet with you soon. Says he owes you a debt.”
A debt.
I muttered to myself and shook my head.
Meeting Go Sewon wasn’t something I minded, but right now, there was something more important.
‘Butler Kim. And Chief Choi.’
Had the old man’s funeral started?
Had Chief Choi regained consciousness?
That’s what I needed to know.
Just as I opened my dry lips—
Bang.
The door swung open without a knock.
A blonde foreigner walked in with a grim expression, ignoring even the president.