Chapter 48

33. Moving (4)

When the Awakened first appeared, there were numerous debates about their identity.

The initial opinion was a clear denial.

They argued that the Awakened (then known as patients with posterior lobe hyperplasia receptor syndrome) were a kind of previously unreported human mutation and were extremely dangerous, and should be isolated from the world.

As always, the world runs on money and efficiency, and theories are often mere handmaidens to the "good flow."

Our old-school hunters had long been criticized.

Compared to trained soldiers, these hunters, who were not much different, wore the badge of "hunter" and received higher salaries and more important positions.

In countries like South Korea, where wealthy neighbors siphon off all the good things, the information about hunters was kept secret, and their identities were tightly concealed. However, in the United States, there were professional hunters who openly hunted mutations and monsters under their own names, boosting their recognition and contributing to the psychological deprivation of many soldiers.

In fact, being a hunter is not an easy job.

Many hunters met their end on the battlefield.

The high cost, from the government's perspective, is not about the level of salaries but the excessively high loss rate.

In our 13th batch, out of 1,200 people, only 300 survived.

A remark by my mentor, Instructor Jang Gi-yeong, a first-generation hunter who strongly advocated for the call sign "Professor" for me, suddenly came to mind.

"Park Gyu. If there were a hundred more like you, we wouldn't have been pushed to the back."

The concept of a new human suddenly emerged.

That new human was none other than the Awakened.

Movements to support the Awakened began to appear here and there, led by the media, and before long, they were regarded as a superior version of the old hunters.

My classmate played the biggest role.

Kang Han-min and Na Hye-won.

In a desperate war, both of them awakened as Awakened simultaneously.

Their awakening was carried out with a grandeur as if the gods themselves had descended to save the world.

I was nothing in that coronation of the gods.

They soon became the mainstream of the monster front, and we, the old-school hunters, gradually retreated to the back, eventually becoming marginalized.

The fate of old-school hunters who couldn't amass wealth can be seen in Baek Seung-hyun.

The case of Defender is even more severe.

He was betrayed by the times themselves.

Probably the 17th or 18th batch, considering the age difference between us.

He joined the old-school hunters during the transitional period before the hunter system changed to the Awakened system, experienced only hell in China and North Korea, and returned to Korea as a cursed batch.

"Phew......"

Even going downhill, running at full speed down a mountain path while carrying a body is quite a difficult task.

Especially when you have to be alert to hidden traps and the movements of soldiers.

"How do we do it, bro?"

At this moment, the voices of the Defender siblings can be heard through the communicator.

"Be quiet. Let's try that first."

"That?"

"Yeah."

What are you planning to do?

Could it be a seduction tactic?

I don't particularly like that.

"Even if they're Awakened, they're just ordinary humans once they penetrate the reflective field."

"That's not true."

I said.

"They probably have a couple of defensive techniques."

"Skeleton?"

The siblings asked simultaneously.

"Try to hold out as long as possible. Don't fight. I'm on my way."

"Skeleton. What about Father's body?"

"I'll take it with me, don't worry."

"No, Skeleton."

Defender's voice grew louder.

It seemed he had brought the microphone closer to his mouth.

Defender's rather loud whisper was clearly transmitted to my ear through the communicator.

"Just go. Forget about Father's body and everything."

"Just go?"

"You came for us. I'm grateful for that. Thanks to you, I feel the warmth of this damn era. I was harsh earlier, sorry."

This guy.

I didn't know he could speak so cutely.

He seems cuter than his sister.

"We'll handle it from here. The opponent is an Awakened. I don't want to involve you."

At that moment, a voice from beyond the microphone seemed to come from someone speaking loudly from a distance.

"Hey, siblings! Don't worry! We won't harm you. We are doves of peace and harmony."

This voice probably belongs to the fanatic who attacked the Defender siblings.

The Manryu-kei religion.

In China, the last days were mostly spent dealing with these human scum.

While the Chinese imagination can be seen in works like "Journey to the West" and "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," it seems they couldn't imagine a scene where humans and monsters flooded into the capital together.

Over 100 million fanatics, along with their founder Ma Yuanjia, suddenly disappeared, but new fanatics spread like mushrooms, engaging in deadly proselytizing activities alongside monsters.

While the monsters seemed to ignore them rather than accept them as comrades, when humans and monsters—two enemies—overwhelmed the defense lines, we had few options.

"Stay still."

I said one last time.

"I have a plan."

"A plan?"

"Yeah. Just buy as much time as possible."

"I'll try to buy some time."

Defender's sister said.

Da-jeong, I think.

Her natural voice came through the microphone.

"Hey, the engine is broken~."

She communicated with me via text, but she can talk well to the fanatics.

While his sister was buying time, I asked Defender a few questions.

About the enemy's weapons, numbers, and information on the Awakened.

There's one thing I'm particularly curious about.

"How does the wave feel?"

"Skeleton, were you a hunter too?"

"Not exactly. Now, the answer?"

"It feels like an upward wave. It seems to resonate upwards."

"How big is it?"

"It doesn't seem very large."

"Sounds like at least level 5."

"Maybe they're hiding their power."

When I say "Awakened," I mean the psychic abilities of the Awakened, which can vary greatly even among the same Awakened.

There are those like my classmates Kang Han-min and Na Hye-won, who are called saviors just by being on the battlefield, and there are countless insignificant newcomers who only pretend to be tough in front of the capsules I brought.

The level of an Awakened is determined by strict criteria, unlike the grades of our old-school hunters. For example:

The stage of recognizing the power of another world.

The stage of recognizing and touching the power.

The stage of using the power in a limited way.

The stage of using the power freely.

The stage of using sufficient power freely.

The level is assigned based on whether the testee passes the tests that define these criteria.

"Siblings! Siblings!"

There he is.

The Awakened Defender mentioned.

Blasphemously, this Awakened is dressed as a priest.

Behind him, five men and women stand like a screen, holding baseball bats and ropes.

No guns.

Or perhaps they're not needed.

Judging by their equipment, which seems more for capture than killing.

Anyway, they arrived just in time.

"Ah, siblings. There seems to be another person in the car. Why isn't that person coming out?"

The Awakened gestured, and the men and women behind him approached the truck with their bats.

Defender opened the car door and aimed his gun.

The fanatics retreated in fear, but the Awakened remained calm in front of the gleaming gun barrel.

"Ah."

Instead, he smiled calmly and unleashed his divine power.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

This guy is at least level 5.

The shockwave he generates is the same as the one called a pulse, which monsters produce.

"Another lost soul still trapped in prejudice."

Defender and his sister seemed overwhelmed by the shockwave.

"Is, is he human?"

The sister's reaction is, in a way, the most natural response a regular human could have.

When an Awakened manifests their power, they honestly don't look human.

Anyway, while the sister is like that, why is Defender so scared?

If he was active in China, he must have faced Awakened before.

Or maybe the rumors are true.

The cursed batch, being considered expendable, didn't receive proper training at school.

"S-Skeleton."

Defender said in a trembling voice, uncharacteristic of him.

"Run. You don't need to die too."

I appreciate it.

Thank you.

For thinking of me, a worthless human.

But, Defender.

The waves this fanatic creates.

"......"

Compared to the waves my dear comrades emitted, they are so insignificant.

"Put down your gun. It won't work on me."

I checked the fanatic's equipment again.

No other weapons in the man's hands.

The same for the person standing behind with unnecessarily kind eyes.

"I have been chosen by God. Perhaps you too have been chosen by God and can reach a higher realm like me."

"Defender."

I put down the cart and spoke into the communicator.

Defender closed the car door and responded.

"Yeah."

"Have you ever killed an Awakened?"

"I've dealt with them using non-lethal rounds."

"Never. What about monsters?"

"Also, with hunter equipment and firepower support......"

"Good. Go put your sister back in the car."

"Alone?"

Ping!

The pistol, always in a state of disuse, spun on my fingertip.

"Watch closely."

"What?"

"It might help."

We hunters are given a call sign, a kind of nickname, after graduation.

The call sign is not chosen by the individual or a single instructor.

It is decided after careful deliberation by the instructors to give the graduate a true name that fits them.

My call sign "Professor" was decided unanimously.

The reason is probably due to my flawless, impeccable skills.

Many hunters have learned from me and even imitated me to learn more.

Although my lectures ended with the appearance of the Awakened, after a long gap, it seems I will teach another young hunter.

"Put down your gun."

I approached the man quickly and aimed my pistol.

The disciples behind the Awakened murmured, but the Awakened remained calm.

Boom!

A shockwave erupted near the Awakened's heart.

"I warn you."

I aimed my pistol at the Awakened.

The moment I raised my gun, a black crack appeared in front of the man.

A monster's ability.

The reflective field.

Defender's cry was heard.

"Skeleton!"

"Watch closely."

I said without turning back.

The reflective field reflects all types of physical attacks that enter its domain in the same direction, like a mirror.

My seniors who suffered from the reflective field soon developed a method to counter it.

Bang!

I fired a bullet.

Almost simultaneously, another crack appeared in front of me.

The exit of the reflective field.

This exit immediately spat out the bullet I had fired at me.

"Skeleton!"

The sister's scream was heard.

The bullet did indeed fly towards me, but it only grazed past my side.

Defender muttered as he saw this.

"Is, is this intimidating?"

A feint, called a "false move" by Chinese hunters.

Since the reflective field returns the opponent's attack in the same way, the idea is that if the initial attack misses, there's nothing to return.

Monsters can't distinguish between jokes and serious attacks, and the reflective field has both physical and practical limitations, so it can't be used infinitely or consecutively. This characteristic allowed us to hunt many monsters.

Kim Da-ram, a shooting expert, and I together slaughtered hundreds of monsters.

We once killed twenty in a day on the outskirts of Beijing.

While the number of monsters is infinite, the significance lies in revealing that they have a learning effect.

This skill is also why the Chinese couldn't say anything about our slacking.

"Hey, siblings?!"

The distance between the man and me narrowed.

A little more, and I'll be within the minimum range of the field.

The man raised his hand.

A strange current flowed around me, and fine threads spread like a spider web in all directions.

The moment I moved to the side to avoid the threads, a flash of light appeared, and the area where the threads were etched burned white.

It's called "ignition."

An offensive psychic ability developed by the Awakened.

But that level of attack doesn't leave a strong impression on me.

I raised my gun again.

The man deployed the reflective field.

This time, he stared intently at my gun barrel.

He probably doesn't want to waste his power.

I fired the gun.

Bang!

The bullet flew straight towards the man.

The man grinned and deployed the field in front of his face.

A black area opened its mouth in front of me and sent another bullet.

The bullet,

Whoosh-

grazed my hair and passed by.

Scalping.

The extreme form of intimidating.

A trick used against entities that are immune to feints due to the learning effect.

Kim Da-ram and I, who are no longer in contact, survived many such tricks.

Swish-

I felt a light stream of blood flow from my side where the bullet grazed, and I drew my axe.

I was within range.

"Stop!"

The fanatics tried to block me, but,

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

I emptied the magazine in an instant,

Crack!!

and finished the rest with my axe.

Now, only the self-proclaimed chosen one remains.

Sensing his impending death, he closed his eyes and raised his arms in a praying posture.

"......Finally, I return to the Manryu."

I didn't want the fanatic's peaceful martyrdom, so I ended it in a cruel way.

I kneed him loudly, making him kneel, and struck his head with the axe handle, smashing it into the ground. Then I stabbed the back of his head with the axe, already stained with the brains of others.

Crack!

"......"

I pulled out the axe, wiped the bloodied blade on the dead man's clothes, and turned around.

The siblings were looking at me with wide eyes.

"Let's go."

Today's lecture ends here.

*

The full moon, obscured by clouds all night, seemed to be trying to release its sorrow as it remained in the middle of the ecliptic, not far from the rising sun at dawn.

Under the sunlight and moonlight, we are about to send off a body.

Son and father faced each other.

After 2 years and 5 months.

The murderer, who had killed many fathers, looked at the dried-up face of the corpse with trembling eyes.

"Father."

A beautiful hand with long, white fingers caressed the face of the corpse.

"......I'm sorry."

Defender bowed his head.

He didn't sob or shed tears, but he remained bowed for quite a while without moving.

His sister, holding a match, glanced at me.

She bowed to me.

I returned the bow and left.

As Defender said, it's a family matter.

Unrelated to outsiders.

A while later, a plume of smoke rose into the morning breeze.

In the distance, a combat helicopter was heading north.

*

Despite the eventful start, we didn't interact with the Defender siblings for a while.

The communicator I gave them remained silent, and Defender didn't appear in the community.

In the past, if Defender didn't show up for a few days, it would have been a topic of conversation, but with the frequent appearance of PaleNet invaders and the fact that our users preferred to read high-quality content on PaleNet rather than our quiet bulletin board, there wasn't much of a big topic.

Jonnae-nun.

Was this the plan all along?

Truly a chilling man......

Defender contacted me again a week and a day after the father-son reunion.

"Hey, Skeleton! Skeleton! Bro has something to say."

The sister initiated the conversation.

Maybe a thank-you.

Not that there's much to be thankful for.

Honestly, just knowing that a friendly force has increased in the neighborhood makes me feel more secure.

But I underestimated this sibling pair.

After a long silence, Defender spoke.

"S-Sunbae......!"

"?! "

"Let's have a housewarming party, Sunbae!"

What is this?