Chapter 24

Chapter 24
## Chapter: 24

### Chapter Title: Dan-gun’s Descendants

—

Once I was certain that communicating in Korean wouldn’t be an obstacle, I spoke without delay.

“Get me through to them immediately.”

— Understood, sir.

A brief moment passed with the rhythmic drone of a dial tone before the connection was successfully routed to the Japanese Association.

— This is the Japan Hunter Association! Are we speaking with a hunter from South Korea?

The accent was clumsy and strained, but the meaning came through clearly enough. Unlike the calm tone of the Korean branch, this voice was laced with a sharp, jagged edge of panic.

“This is Yoo Chan-seok. I’m the hunter who was notified about the emergency situation in Fukuoka City.”

— Yoo Chan-seok… one moment, Yoo Chan-seok? Please hold! I am transferring you to a priority line. Please, do not hang up!

The line clicked and whirred again, and almost instantly, a much more authoritative voice took over.

— This is Kondo Tetsuya, the president of the Japan Hunter Association. Am I indeed speaking with Hunter Yoo Chan-seok?

“That’s me. I received the alert regarding Fukuoka.”

Before I could finish my sentence, Tetsuya cut in, his voice trembling with desperation.

— We are fully aware that you are currently engaged in a separate commission! However, I beg you to look at our plight and give our request precedence. We are clawing for every available hunter at this hour. Your intervention would be a godsend to us!

Because I had used a meal break as a pretext to deflect the initial request, I wouldn’t face any professional blowback for choosing my current mission over their emergency. The association president clearly realized this, and the fear of me simply walking away was palpable.

“Regarding that request… it actually appears to be linked directly to the task my unit is handling right now.”

I laid out the circumstances and my theories with clinical brevity. On the other end, President Kondo let out a heavy, audible gulp.

— Are you suggesting that you intend to neutralize the Grade 2 Erosion Core on Tsushima Island this very moment?

His tone was thick with doubt, a reaction I found entirely reasonable. On paper, my only significant achievement was the suppression of a single Grade 3 Erosion Core.

Claiming I was about to dismantle a Grade 2 out of nowhere probably sounded like a delusional boast to him.

“Be honest—do you think my physical presence in the city would actually turn the tide?”

— …

Silence met my question. The man wasn’t pleading for me because he believed I was a savior.

To use a local expression, they were so desperate they would welcome the help of a kitchen cat—and that was the only reason he was groveling.

“Rather than having me show up just to be another body in the fray, why not take a gamble? Bet on the possibility of me destroying that Grade 2 Erosion Core here.”

— You are using the fate of Fukuoka City as a gambling chip?

He made it sound far more cold-blooded than it was.

“Chip or not, we aren’t moving an inch unless you agree to the terms, Mr. President.”

Han Sang-ah started to intervene, her lips parting to speak, but I silenced her with a sharp gesture of my hand. Quiet down, rich girl.

The grown-ups are finishing the business deal.

— If that is the case, why bother contacting us at all?

It was the logical question to ask.

“If you give us the green light, we will put everything on the line to shut down the Grade 2 Erosion Core. And logically, that success should be recognized as our response to Japan’s emergency call…”

— So, you are seeking the compensation fee?

Did you honestly expect us to risk our lives as a charity project?

“If that’s a problem, fine. We’ll just loiter here for a while and then catch the first flight back to Korea.”

— You arrogant brat…

In reality, I didn’t have that luxury. I had my own compelling reasons to obliterate the Grade 2 Erosion Core on Tsushima. But he was blind to my motivations.

My bluff had teeth. Ultimately, President Kondo found himself backed into a corner with no exit.

— Very well. Hunters Yoo Chan-seok and Han Sang-ah—your current operation will be officially logged as fulfilling the Japanese emergency request.

“I assume this conversation is being taped for the record?”

A frantic “Yes, I understand!” nearly blew out the speaker. As I ended the call, Han Sang-ah turned her gaze toward me, her expression unreadable.

“You could have just handled it as a favor, you know.”

“There’s a fine line between being a Good Samaritan and being a fool who works for nothing.”

If my efforts create value for someone else, then I am entitled to a portion of that value.

Leaving your rightful earnings on the table isn’t a sign of virtue—it’s just poor judgment.

“I suppose when you’re as wealthy as I am, you don’t mind letting things like that slide.”

Han Sang-ah snapped back instantly.

“I may be wealthy, but that doesn’t mean I’m oblivious to the value of a dollar. I’ve been classically educated in finance.”

“I was implying it’s a non-issue for you—not that you’re a spendthrift.”

She gave a curt nod. I’m sure some people would roll their eyes at the idea of a pampered heiress understanding the grit of money.

But then again, you don’t have to have lived through the occupation to have a grudge against Japan, right?

“Nothing is following us.”

“It seems every beast on this rock took a literal bridge to Fukuoka.”

If that was the case, our path was clear. With Han Sang-ah’s aggressive, borderline terrifying driving, we streaked like a projectile toward Tsushima Airport.

“That has to be the place.”

Without encountering a single obstacle, we screeched to a halt right at the airport’s main terminal. The monsters had indeed vacated the area completely.

A gaping maw leading into the Erosion Core sat wide open in the heart of the facility. And standing directly in its path…

“A girl.”

A striking woman clad in ink-black taekwondo gear, detailed with a shimmering golden dragon, was leaning casually against a parked vehicle.

“Good grief. Did she have her face repaired with an industrial stapler?”

Actually, she was just covered in an absurd amount of metal. Ten studs in her ears, four piercing her lips, two through her tongue, two in her nostrils…

By a quick count, there were at least thirty pieces of jewelry embedded in her skin.

There’s such a thing as overdoing it. If I wasn’t exaggerating, all that metal probably weighed a kilogram on its own. She had a human silhouette, but the sheer volume of piercings made her look like something else entirely.

“Watch your mouth, asshole. But hey, good to see you. I’m Kim Ji-hyun. Here’s my version of a ‘hello’.”

She didn’t carry a blade or a gun. It looked like she preferred the intimacy of her fists. Clearly annoyed by my remark, she slammed her hand onto the car she had been leaning on—bang—then gripped the frame and launched the entire vehicle at me.

Who the hell hurls a car like it’s a piece of trash?! I threw myself to the side to avoid the impact, letting out a dry, disbelieving chuckle as the metal hunk rolled and sparked across the pavement.

“You’ve got the strength of a general, I’ll give you that.”

This was going to be a legitimate fight.

“And that general-level strength is going to take you in alive. It looks like butchering a few civilians didn’t generate enough monsters to keep this place fed.”

“Are you… actually human?”

Kim Ji-hyun smirked at my question and wiped a stray drop of moisture from her lip.

“As human as they come.”

“So you’re telling me humans are murdering other humans just to farm more monsters. That’s a real tragedy.”

She responded by triumphantly raising her middle finger.

“It’s a necessary sacrifice. The higher-ups told me to explain the ‘big picture’ to you lambs before we use you for the cause.”

The metal studs in her skin began to vibrate with a low, rhythmic hum, glowing with an eerie light. They weren’t just decorative after all.

As Kim Ji-hyun balled her hand into a fist, the sound of her joints cracking was like small gunshots.

“We are the descendants of Dan-gun. We are a collective moving toward a singular vision.”

I couldn’t have cared less, but she was determined to finish her speech.

“Our objective: To secure and fortify Korea’s global supremacy, building a superpower so formidable that no one will ever dare to challenge us again.”

Yeah… the stench of extreme nationalism became unbearable the moment she mentioned “Dan-gun.”

“Just as my physical form cannot belong to another, this land cannot belong to any other power. There is nothing as permanent as a people united by blood and a shared path.”

She thumped her fist against her heart and grinned.

“Those are the words of the great Kim Gu.”

“Korea is already a global power.”

The won was currently the second most stable currency on the planet, trailing only gold. People were dying to migrate there. Hunter officials across the globe were forced to learn Korean as a primary language, and that influence was spreading everywhere.

If that isn’t superpower status, what is? Kim Ji-hyun’s eyes burned with a manic light at my observation.

“It isn’t enough. We will transform this glorious nation into a permanent, golden monument of power—unshakeable and absolute.”

She threw her arms wide, her voice rising.

“Look at our history. We begged China for the right to even name our own country, paid them in gold and blood, and bowed like dogs to their messengers! The Gate of Welcome and all that garbage…”

“You really spent a lot of time with the history books. Why not go for a teaching degree?”

She glared at me with eyes like ice.

“The era of ‘opening’? The West threw fits, using their cannons and fleets to force us into lopsided deals while they bled us dry. The colonial years? I don’t need to remind you of that hell.”

Her face contorted with a deep, seething rage as she tightened her grip. She was a true believer.

“We are going to pay them back for every single indignity.”

Dictating unfair treaties to steal resources, the forced labor of women, horrific human experimentation, overstepping into foreign politics to nullify their elections…

Kim Ji-hyun went through her entire list of grievances. I caught the drift.

“So, the plan is to trample other nations with sheer force and settle every historical debt?”

“You have an issue with that?”

Honestly, it wasn’t my concern. If their map for the future didn’t cross my own path, I had no reason to get involved. But I had one more point of curiosity.

“What is it that actually put Korea at the top of the food chain? It’s the Erosion Cores and the hunters.”

She gave a sharp nod.

“If the Erosion Cores were to vanish tomorrow, Korea’s leverage would disappear with them.”

“Precisely.”

So these ‘descendants of Dan-gun’ enthusiasts…

“Have zero intention of actually closing these things.”

“Bingo.”

This was where our interests diverged.

“The planet is literally falling apart. Don’t you think you should get your priorities straight?”

“It’s not a problem. We’ve discovered a method to harness and direct the Erosion Cores—and it’s effective.”

“Wait, for real? Well, that changes the conversation.”

If they actually possessed the technology to stabilize and control the Cores, that would be fantastic. The world was a mess after my return; if they could tame the chaos, it meant a peaceful life for me too.

I’d be the first person to sign up and help. I have no desire to fight a group that can fix the world.

But I needed to verify the reality first.

“So, what’s your success rate?”

“…That is none of your concern.”

So, more disasters than successes. If she had a winning record, she’d be shouting the numbers from the rooftops. What a letdown.

“Come back to me when you can at least win a coin toss. Until then, don’t ask for my help. I’m out.”

But not today. Ranting about global dominance and revenge when your technology is still in the ‘oops, it exploded’ phase? That’s like trying to build a galactic empire after failing to launch a model rocket.

There was no way I was joining that circus. Kim Ji-hyun looked at me like I was insane.

“Why the hell would we ever want your help? You and the girl are just fuel for the monsters now.”

“Even that’s just a bunch of hot air.”

Who decided I was going to be fodder? I stepped toward her, the Paradox Flame igniting with a roar at the tip of my spear.

“Square up, Staple-face.”

Everything you’ve spent your life building is about to turn to ash.

“You’re dead, you arrogant little—”

Boom! The air shattered as I lunged toward Kim Ji-hyun.