Chapter 181
Compared to the other countryside homes in Yangpyeong, Sung Ilhwan’s house was rather modest.
Around the house were small rice paddies and a vinyl greenhouse.
“It’s a bit small, right? I suggested building it a little bigger, but your grandfather said a big house would just be harder to clean…”
Suho paid no attention to Sung Jinah’s voice beside him, focusing solely on his sensory field.
His expression was dead serious.
‘…No presence.’
Suho’s senses swept across the greenhouse and farmland surrounding his grandfather’s home.
But he couldn’t detect any signs of life.
‘Beru.’
SWOOOOOSH—
At Suho’s signal, Beru’s shadow quickly spread out to survey the area.
“Huh? Maybe they went out again?”
Despite ringing the bell repeatedly and getting no answer, Sung Jinah merely tilted her head.
But knowing her parents often went out for farm work or other errands, she wasn’t too worried.
They were unusually healthy for their age.
“They’re never home, seriously. I built a whole hospital here, and they’ve never even come in sick once. Not that I’m complaining…”
Chuckling, Sung Jinah entered the door code she had memorized for emergencies and opened the door.
BEEP BEEP BEEP. CLICK—
“Suho, go ahead and wait insi—”
But the moment the door opened and the interior came into view—
They froze.
“What is this…?”
A chill ran down their spines.
The air felt hollow.
Items were scattered messily.
A place that was always neat and tidy every time they visited now felt completely unfamiliar.
“M-Mom?”
An icy unease gripped Sung Jinah’s chest, and ominous thoughts raced through her mind.
“Mom! Are you home?!”
Growing pale, she frantically searched every corner of the house for her parents.
Meanwhile, Suho looked for something else.
He had known from the beginning that no one was inside.
So what he needed to find was…
‘The phone.’
Suho pulled out his own phone and called his grandfather.
A ringtone echoed from the corner of the living room.
It was his grandfather’s phone, still plugged into the charger.
When she realized this, Sung Jinah’s face turned ghostly white.
“No way, Dad left without his phone?! Then—what about Mom’s phone?!”
This time, she called Park Kyung-hye, Suho’s grandmother.
Fortunately—or unfortunately—her phone was nowhere to be found in the house.
“Looks like she took it with her? But seriously, how did they leave the place looking like this?”
Still, it did nothing to ease their worry.
[Young Lord! I’ve checked the garage, and the car is still here!]
Just then, Beru whispered to Suho after scouting the area.
Suho immediately ran outside to check the garage.
“S-Suho! Wait!”
Following him, Sung Jinah also saw the truck quietly parked inside and widened her eyes.
“The car’s still here? They didn’t even drive out?”
Her expression grew even more grave.
The area around Sung Ilhwan’s house was surrounded by fields, making it nearly impossible to go anywhere without a vehicle.
With a grim face, Suho looked down at his feet and spoke.
“Arsha.”
[Yes, Suho.]
A voice answered immediately from within the Shadow Dungeon.
“Do you have any worker bees stationed in Yangpyeong?”
[It’s my first time in Yangpyeong, so not many. But there are plenty of nearby farms—I can increase their numbers if needed.]
“Start now.”
[Understood.]
BUZZZZZZZZZZZZ—
Suddenly, the sound of wings filled the area from all directions.
Arsha first sent out her avatars to check every photo frame in the house.
After carefully memorizing the faces of Suho’s grandparents, she dispersed her worker bees far and wide.
All the bees in Yangpyeong were beginning to convert into Arsha’s worker bees.
But even that wasn’t enough to put Suho at ease.
Even if it were just a case of two elderly people going missing, it would be serious enough.
But if the Church of the Outer Gods was involved?
“[Summon Gray].”
SHWAAA—
A small wolf, Gray, emerged from Suho’s shadow.
“…!”
Startled for a moment, Sung Jinah quickly calmed herself—she already knew from her husband that Suho had awakened as a Hunter.
Instead, seeing the wolf sparked an idea.
“R-Right! The Hunter Association!”
Luckily, there was a Hunter Association branch not far from here.
And that branch had recently established a partnership with Ajin Hospital, the best medical center in Yangpyeong.
“Suho! I know someone at the Association! I’ll contact them right away!”
As Sung Jinah hurriedly called her contact—
“Gray, find anything you can. And Rakan, you’re listening, aren’t you?”
Suho decided to use every method at his disposal.
[The King of Beasts, the Fang Monarch is observing you.]
He could feel Rakan’s gaze upon him.
Looking in that direction, Suho asked,
“You can tell from the situation, right? Can you use your sense of mana to figure out what happened here?”
Controlling a dead Monarch directly would be far more efficient than using Gray.
Sensing Suho’s intent, a grin spread across Rakan’s face.
[The King of Beasts, the Fang Monarch proposes a deal in exchange for his assistance.]
“Another deal, huh?”
As always, dead Monarchs never gave help for free.
[The King of Beasts, the Fang Monarch explains that in order to exert his influence, a sacrifice is required.]
That much was true.
Normally, a deceased Monarch could not exert any influence in the living world.
But there was a way to make it possible—through a ritual of offering and prayer known as a sacrificial ceremony.
Understanding the situation, Suho nodded without resistance.
After all, Rakan’s previous request had only involved handing over an item he no longer needed to Gray.
“Fine. What do you want? We don’t have time, so make it quick.”
[The King of Beasts, the Fang Monarch grins, saying it’s a proposal that won’t be bad for you either.]
At that moment, Rakan’s presence began to grow stronger.
And then—
“Suho! She’s at the Association right now!”
Suho’s head snapped toward the voice as Sung Jinah, still on the phone and looking grave, shouted.
“What? Grandma is?”
“Yes! A staff member from the Association picked her up and brought her there!”
And simultaneously—
[The King of Beasts, the Fang Monarch lets out a low sigh.]
Rakan’s expanding presence quickly faded away.
Suho no longer paid him any attention.
“Why did Grandma go to the Hunter Association? Is Grandpa there too?”
“No… that’s exactly why she went.”
“Huh?”
At Suho’s question, Sung Jinah replied with a trembling voice.
“It’s your grandfather… Something happened to him…”
Upon hearing the rest of what she said, Suho’s face hardened as he shouted,
“Gray!”
“…Grrr!”
Responding to the sharp command, Gray’s body swelled as he stopped sniffing the area.
“Get on!”
Suho had Gray carry Sung Jinah on his back.
Then he dashed off, heading straight for the Yangpyeong Branch of the Hunter Association—where his grandmother was.
—
The Yangpyeong Branch of the Hunter Association was managed by Branch Chief Min Daeseok—a man full of complaints.
‘They say it’s a personnel transfer, but this is basically a demotion.’
As with most countries, the Hunter Association had branches set up across South Korea.
Depending on the local environment, the staff duties varied wildly.
Of course, the core responsibilities remained the same:
Ensuring public order while Hunter guilds raided dungeons.
And constantly scouting the area to detect any gate appearances.
But there was a problem.
What if no dungeons ever appeared in the assigned jurisdiction?
Would citizens be pleased they could live in peace?
There are many kinds of people in the world, and some resent that very peace.
“I mean seriously, why does someone like me have to rot away in a backwater town like this?! Why the hell am I stuck in this dump—?!”
‘…Here we go again.’
‘Don’t make eye contact. If he catches you, he’ll start picking fights like last time.’
There was nothing to do.
Nothing at all.
In this seemingly endless quiet, Branch Chief Min Daeseok would regularly burst into angry rants.
The only thing the staff could do was pretend not to notice.
But the worst part was—he wasn’t wrong.
‘There is work to do…’
‘We’re constantly getting civil complaints.’
‘He just dumps everything that’s not directly dungeon-related onto the police.’
Those familiar with Min Daeseok’s work ethic could only sigh.
Then again, it was also hard to completely blame him.
The Hunter Association was barely two years old.
The division of responsibility between the police and the Association still wasn’t clearly defined.
Everything was a gray area.
Still, someone had to speak up.
“Um, Chief… Park Kyung-hye is here.”
“What? Why is that old lady back again?! I told her to go to the police!”
Min Daeseok, in the middle of a long yawn, snapped awake and glared.
The employee stammered.
“N-No, we brought her this time. After some checks, it really seems like Sung Ilhwan is missing…”
“Then she should go to the police!”
“……”
“Ugh. Fine, fine. So where and when did this grandpa supposedly disappear?”
At that, the staff member sighed inwardly.
‘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?’
Startled, the staff member wondered if he’d just spoken his thoughts aloud.
But fortunately, it hadn’t been him who said it.
RUMBLEEEEEEE—
“…!”
“…?!”
Suddenly, an overwhelming pressure slammed into the building.
Standing behind the staff member…
Was Suho, radiating a murderous aura so fierce the entire Association branch seemed to tremble.
[‘Skill: Killing Intent’ has been activated.]
[‘Skill: Killing Intent’ has been activated.]
[‘Skill: Killing Intent’ has been activated.]
…….
Exposed directly to that terrifying aura, Branch Chief Min Daeseok’s face turned white as a sheet.
“W-Who… COUGH?!”
His body abruptly stiffened and began to rise into the air.
Suho walked forward, his expression cold, and checked the name tag hanging around the man’s neck.
And then…
He looked at the other “necklace” the man wore.
“So you’re the branch chief…”
CHILL—
Why did that one simple line send chills down everyone’s spine?
The sudden, horrifying spectacle made the entire branch flare with magical energy.
‘V-Villain!’
“……A villain’s attacking the building!”
