Chapter 153
The village was silent.
Unnaturally so.
To the point where it seemed almost peaceful.
At least, that’s what Baek Miho had thought—before realizing the truth.
“Vice President! This house is empty too!”
“No one in this shop either!”
As the reports kept pouring in, she frowned and scanned her surroundings.
‘What on earth happened in this village?’
It would have been easier if they had at least found some bodies. Then they could have had some clue as to what had taken place.
But no matter how thoroughly they searched, there were no signs of any people.
‘How is this even possible?’
The entire village had vanished without a trace.
If the villagers had fled, there should have been tracks, signs of movement—something.
Yet, there was nothing.
As if… as if the entire population had simply ceased to exist in an instant.
“Vice President, none of the villains from Jisan Prison had any skills capable of causing something like this.”
“…Yes, I know.”
That left only one possibility—one too unrealistic to ignore.
“Could a Gate have opened somewhere in this village?”
“That would make sense, but… there’s no blue mist.”
“……”
Exactly.
If a Dungeon Break had occurred, there would be a telltale blue mist seeping from the Gate.
But there was none.
With a serious expression, Baek Miho took out her phone to contact the Association.
“I’ll call this in—”
Crack!
Above their heads.
A single crack split across the clear blue sky.
“…!”
“L-Look!”
“The sky!”
At someone’s startled shout, every Hunter snapped their heads upward.
Crack! Crack-crack!
The fissure widened, branching out like shattered glass.
Then—
KWA-RA-RU-RUNG!
A sound like the sky itself collapsing.
“W-What the?!”
“Regroup! Now!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
At Baek Miho’s sharp command, the dispersed White Tiger Guild members rushed to her position with incredible speed.
“Prepare for battle!”
Clack-clack-clack!
Even before the order had fully left her mouth, her elite Hunters were already in combat stance, their eyes ablaze with fighting spirit.
But then—something far more shocking happened.
The invisible dome that had encapsulated Yamiri Village shattered completely.
Crash!
“……!”
The Hunters recoiled in shock, immediately covering their noses.
“Ugh!”
“T-That stench…?!”
A thick, nauseating scent of blood flooded the air.
They had expected the ground to cave in or buildings to collapse when the sky fractured.
But nothing had changed—at least, not visually.
The village still looked the same.
Except now…
The missing people had returned.
But not as they had been before.
Countless skeletal remains lay strewn across the blood-soaked streets.
A grotesque sea of corpses, as if their very life essence had been drained from them.
“Don’t tell me… these are all the missing villagers?”
Then—
“…!”
“S-Someone’s there!”
In the midst of the carnage, standing alone among the bodies, was a single figure.
Baek Miho’s eyes widened in recognition.
“Hunter Sung Suho?!”
“…Ah.”
At last, Suho lifted his gaze, locking eyes with the gathered Hunters.
When he met Baek Miho’s stunned expression, he smiled faintly.
“Perfect timing. I was too lazy to count. Can you confirm if it’s exactly 500?”
“…Excuse me?”
As his words sank in, the Hunters finally took a closer look at their surroundings.
And then—
“Wait… all these bodies—?”
Their eyes went wide.
“Gasp! Villains!”
“These corpses… they’re all villains!”
“What?!”
To their astonishment, every skeletal corpse bore a metal band around its ankle—electronic tracking anklets.
“T-They really are!”
“Then… all these villains…?”
“Did he take them down alone?”
As realization dawned, every eye turned back to Suho, their gazes filled with awe and disbelief.
Yet amidst their shocked stares, Suho merely ran a hand through his blood-and-sweat-soaked hair and let out a sigh.
“Hah… Feels gross.”
Even leveling up only restored stamina.
His clothes, drenched in blood and sweat, remained the same.
‘Guess I should go take a shower.’
Step.
“……”
Baek Miho almost flinched back when Suho started walking toward her.
Something felt… off.
‘When I saw him yesterday, he didn’t give off this kind of presence.’
What happened?
What was he?
Something was wrong.
Her heightened senses, pushed to the extreme by her Beastification, screamed at her to run.
“Sung Suho.”
“…Yes?!”
His voice snapped her out of her thoughts.
Suho smirked as he brushed past her.
And then—simply, casually—
“Handle the cleanup, please. As you can see, I was alone… Oh, and the bounties? They’re all mine.”
“W-Wait!”
“…?”
Mustering her courage, Baek Miho called out to stop him.
Then, she asked the most important question of all.
“If all these bodies are villains… then where are the villagers? Are they… all dead?”
At her words, Suho paused.
He slowly lowered his gaze… and looked at his feet.
“…?”
Baek Miho followed his gaze—only to see nothing but his shadow.
No bodies.
No signs.
Just darkness.
“Wait… are you saying they’re underground—”
“Ah.”
“Ahhh!”
Suho suddenly lifted his head, and Baek Miho let out an involuntary scream.
Startled, Baek Miho instinctively covered her mouth with both hands.
Seeing her reaction, Suho smirked.
“Seems like there are still quite a few survivors. Check the town hall.”
“…!”
Just as he said, when they reached the town hall, they found numerous people collapsed inside, unconscious.
Their faces were pale, drained of all color, as if vampires had sucked them dry. But at the very least, they were still alive.
“This is… what on earth happened here…?”
The Hunters of the White Tiger Guild stared at Suho with confused and questioning eyes.
But Suho merely shrugged.
“Maybe there was a villain who could absorb people’s life force? If they wanted to use them later, keeping them alive in one place would be the best way to do it. Makes for an effective hostage situation, too.”
“…?”
That didn’t add up.
The White Tiger Guild had complete data on every villain from Jisan Prison.
None of them possessed any skills remotely similar to this.
So what was the real explanation?
Had someone been hiding such an ability all this time?
“Vice President.”
Right then, a group of Hunters who had been investigating near the town hall returned with a report.
“A significant number of citizen corpses have been found in the surrounding area.”
“Upon examining the cause of death, all cases match the skill descriptions of known villains.”
“There are no other bounty hunters present.”
“Except for… Hunter Sung Suho.”
“…I see.”
Baek Miho nodded, her mind still a whirlwind of questions.
What exactly had transpired in this village?
Outside the town hall, they found citizens slain by the villains.
Inside, they found others still alive, but seemingly drained of their vitality.
However—
‘One thing is certain.’
Hunter Sung Suho.
This man had single-handedly killed all 500 of the villains.
And in doing so, he had saved every last citizen who still had a breath left in them.
He was… a hero.
“Hunter Sung Suho.”
Now that she understood the situation, Baek Miho stepped forward, blocking Suho’s path as he prepared to leave.
Then, she bowed deeply.
“Thank you.”
“……”
“Because of you, the citizens of this village are alive.”
As soon as she spoke, the other White Tiger Guild Hunters behind her followed suit.
They all bowed their heads to Suho in unison.
“Thank you.”
“Thank you.”
“Thank you.”
Their sincere gratitude made Suho’s expression shift.
‘White Tiger Guild.’
He could now see why they were the most respected guild in Korea.
Most Hunters chased dungeons purely for profit.
No one faulted them for that—it was only natural for those with power to seek financial gain.
But…
At least the people standing in front of him were different.
They hunted monsters not for profit, but to protect civilians.
Feeling the sincerity of their gratitude, Suho gave them a respectful bow in return.
—
Suho sat on a mountainside, far from Yamiri Village, watching as the White Tiger Guild coordinated the survivors’ rescue.
[……Young Lord.]
Beru’s voice rang out from behind him.
[This one… still has some strength left, it seems.]
“Raise a leg.”
[……Y-Yes, sir.]
Behind him, Harmakan, who had been bowing deeply with his head to the ground, hesitated before lifting one trembling leg.
His entire body was quivering pitifully.
[Harmakan Lv.1]
Elite Knight Rank.
After killing Harmakan and leveling up, Suho’s capacity for Shadow Soldiers had increased.
Naturally, he had extracted Harmakan’s shadow immediately.
And the result—
‘Elite Knight Rank, huh.’
No wonder he had been such a tough opponent.
Harmakan was now the highest-ranked Shadow Soldier under Suho’s command.
However, rank didn’t equate to durability.
Harmakan’s true power lay in his curses and magic. Even a simple punishment like this was excruciating for him.
Given all the atrocities he had committed, he would be disciplined thoroughly… over time.
[Master.]
Suddenly, a Shadow Soldier materialized from the empty air.
He knelt before Suho and lowered his head in earnest.
[Please… grant me a name.]
‘Ah, right. This guy.’
Suho’s gaze fell upon him.
Kang Taeshik, the former bounty hunter.
His abilities as a Shadow Assassin had already proven useful in battle.
But something about him had changed.
The name above his head had been altered.
[?? Lv.5]
Knight Rank.
‘It must be because my capacity for Shadow Soldiers increased… And he’s already reached Level 5?’
When Suho had first extracted him, he had only been Level 1.
Just how much had he achieved in a single day?
Suho glanced at the kneeling figure, considering his request.
A name…
After a moment’s thought, a grin spread across his face.
“Kira.”
A name that had suddenly popped into his head from an old anime he once watched—a character who killed without hesitation.
“From now on, your name is Kira.”
[Thank you, Master.]
As soon as Suho bestowed the name, the Shadow Assassin Kang Taeshik bowed even deeper.
At that moment, his information updated.
[Kira Lv.5]
Knight Rank.
