Chapter 32

A Small Gift

In South Korea, a global powerhouse in hunting, there are a total of 37 Rankers, and 20 of those 37 are in Seoul.

And if you were to pick five of the relatively younger Rankers among those 20 hunters in Seoul?

Rank 20, Berserker Jang Dae-ung.

Rank 58, Archery Master Gi Parang.

Rank 380, Dark Emperor Gi So-yul.

Rank 510, Black Sword Lee Seon-ah.

Rank 830, Baekdon Yoo Sang-don.

These are the ones who come up.

Young blood in their twenties, rising stars who will lead South Korea into becoming a hunting powerhouse in the future.

Internet gossips call them the five stars floating in Seoul.

They are called the Seoul Five Stars.

“……”

Gulp.

I swallowed.

‘Jang Dae-ung……’

As someone who dreams of becoming a Ranker, how could I not know him!

I stared blankly at the monster that had fallen from the sky.

World Rank 20.

Domestic Rank 2, and the eldest brother of the Seoul Five Stars.

A man known to be able to crush an entire mountain with a single punch.

‘To think that the acquaintance Gi So-yul said she would call is such a big shot.’

I admired inwardly.

Well, Gi So-yul is a big shot too, isn’t she?

[08:31:01 PM]

“I’m exactly one minute late, but thankfully, it seems I’m not too late.”

Jang Dae-ung slightly raised the corner of his mouth.

“Excluding the man here, are all of you Hellhound’s lackeys? Ah, for reference, Hellhound is my own nickname for Hellhound. Hahaha.”

He clenched his fist and stood up, laughing heartily.

However, there was not a single person who could look at him and laugh along.

“Huh……”

“Ugh, ughm……”

All the Dark Shadow Unit hunters were sweating profusely, watching his every move.

Some were secretly trying to slip away, but they couldn’t.

All of them.

Were being crushed by the overwhelming power of the Berserker.

It was just the appearance of one person.

But like a giant Siberian tiger appearing before dozens of sheep.

The Berserker’s aura was making everyone’s hearts tingle.

In the midst of all this.

“B, Berserker-nim.”

The assassin, Go Jae-young, cautiously stepped forward.

“Did you call me?”

Jang Dae-ung stared intently at Go Jae-young.

“Y, yes. Excuse me, but may I ask what brings you here?”

“That’s certainly rude.”

“Kugh.”

Jang Dae-ung’s energy intensified.

Go Jae-young’s spirit was completely broken by just his gaze.

Even so, Go Jae-young didn’t give up.

No, he couldn’t give up.

Because the moment he gave up, he would be dead.

“T, this is a personal matter between our Dark Shadow Unit, Parang, and the man named Ju Dong-hoon in front of you……. O, of course, I’m not trying to challenge the Berserker-nim who has personally come here, but wouldn’t it be better not to be on bad terms with our Dark Shadow Unit……?”

“Hmm, that’s an interesting thing to say.”

Jang Dae-ung smirked.

“It’s not good for me to be on bad terms with the Dark Shadow Unit?”

“……”

Go Jae-young flinched as if he was in trouble.

“Hahaha, that’s truly an unimaginable statement? Unfortunately, I knew the opposite. A relationship where the Dark Shadow Unit has to make every effort not to be on bad terms with me. It seems like there’s a misunderstanding between us!”

Jang Dae-ung, who had been holding back his laughter, burst into laughter.

‘Damn it.’

Go Jae-young gritted his teeth.

There was nothing wrong with his words.

The ranking of the Dark Shadow Unit’s leader, Hellhound, is 92nd.

The man in front of him is ranked as high as 20th.

An absurd gap.

In fact, being on bad terms would 100% be a loss for the Dark Shadow Unit.

“Friend. First of all, there’s a very big error in your words. From the moment Hellhound fearlessly hit Gi Parang, this matter stopped being a personal one.”

“S, surely. An alliance with Parang?”

Go Jae-young’s eyes widened.

‘Oh?’

I was surprised as well.

Because the Seoul Five Stars was just a name given by gossips.

There had never been any public display of them being close.

Jang Dae-ung continued to speak.

“And secondly. I really hate Hellhound, especially the Dark Shadow Unit. In fact, I hate them to the point of despising them. Hahaha.”

“……”

“They’re like mosquitoes sucking the blood of the weak. A social ill. Unmanly bastards.”

Jang Dae-ung clenched his fist tightly and raised it.

Whooong! Woong!

An immense amount of energy began to gather there, making it hard to breathe.

“And thirdly. Is it really just me who came here?”

Jang Dae-ung’s meaningful question.

As if to respond to that question, someone else fell from the sky.

It was a woman with black hair and a long rapier.

“Wow, as expected of the Berserker. Amazing! I ran here as fast as I could, but I’ve only just arrived!”

Rank 510.

Black Sword Lee Seon-ah smiled brightly.

And.

Soon, another figure fell.

Kooong!

A heavy sound that shook the world.

“Hey, hey! I also got a call and rushed over here right away. Anyway, the Gi siblings will be enough for Hellhound…… Besides, I’m also curious about the person So-yul wanted to introduce? For her to introduce someone first? Keehya, isn’t that a world-shattering event?”

Rank 830.

A fat man commonly known as White Pig.

Baekdon Yoo Sang-don as well.

‘Wow.’

I admired.

With just one call from Gi So-yul.

Three of the Seoul Five Stars had gathered at once.

Beings that could each be considered a national asymmetric force.

‘Besides, they’re all…… familiar faces.’

People you would only see on various media outlets.

Rankers who shine in South Korea and are respected by all hunters in the world.

Such people were moving vividly before my eyes.

Only then did I realize what Gi So-yul had said.

[I am willing to introduce you to many connections. Connections that can directly change your life.]

The identities of those connections were clearly the beings in front of me.

“Hahaha, it’s been a while, everyone!”

Woowoong!

The energy gathering in the Berserker’s fist continued to amplify.

“It’s been a while, so we should say hello. But if we don’t get rid of the bugs in front of us first, wouldn’t those bugs feel left out? Haha.”

“As expected, Berserker! You’re so cool!”

“Hey, hey! Jang Dae-ung! You’re not planning to handle everything alone in such a boring way, are you? Leave some for me too.”

The relaxed conversation of the Rankers.

“……”

I thought I was envious of them being able to have such a conversation with the entire Dark Shadow Unit present.

Because it meant they were so strong that they didn’t even care about them.

“D, damn it!”

Go Jae-young shouted as if he was in a predicament.

Now that three Rankers had appeared, there was only one choice they could make.

Desperate struggle.

“Everyone, attack with all your might! There are ten of us! Focus on one guy!”

As Jang Dae-ung said.

They had no choice but to struggle like bugs.

However.

“F, fight?”

“I can’t do it!”

“There was no talk of this!”

In a criminal organization where the goal of the group is only the personal success of individuals.

It was difficult to expect proper control.

The hunters began to scatter and run away like frightened rats.

“……”

A complete reversal of the situation.

I bitterly watched the scene and approached Kim Jun-seo.

My brother, who has been causing accidents lately.

Sizzle! Sizzle!

While untying the restraints, I watched the Rankers’ battle.

No, the massacre.

Kwaagaaga!

The ground cracked like a crater from the fist swung by the Berserker.

Whooong!

The swung strike tore through the air and flew, embedding itself in the backs of the fleeing hunters.

Kwaddeuk!

It was truly a strike of annihilation.

The hunters who were hit directly had their entire bodies torn apart, leaving not even a corpse behind.

If there was anything left, it was only the blood-red blood buried in the chaotic floor.

‘C, crazy.’

Go Jae-young trembled.

‘With just one punch, all the fleeing guys disappeared?’

This was the power of Rank 20.

He was terrified.

Like a prey caught in a trap, his entire body froze.

Lee Seon-ah, who was wielding black sword strikes.

Jang Dae-ung, who was constantly shouting [Hahaha!] and destroying his opponents.

In his eyes, they could only be seen as ferocious death gods.

‘D, damn it. Where did things go wrong?’

Was coveting Gi So-yul such a great greed?

One thing was certain.

Those Rankers were definitely dealing with the fleeing guys first.

The probability of dying was 99% anyway.

But for the 1%, Go Jae-young gave up on running and racked his brains.

‘I have to escape for now.’

He hid in the nearby shadow.

‘Even if you go into the tiger’s den, you can survive if you keep your wits about you.’

In the shadow, Go Jae-young quickly used a skill.

[Using skill ‘Corpse Creation’ (B-grade).]

His survival secret technique, corpse camouflage.

Swish!

A corpse that looked exactly like him appeared before his eyes.

A corpse as vivid as if it had just died.

‘Hehe. No matter how much of a Ranker they are, they won’t think this is a trick when they see this……’

It was then that Go Jae-young’s eyes widened as he wore a satisfied smile.

Poke poke.

Someone was poking his back with the end of a stick.

“Human.”

Surprisingly, the identity of the one poking him was a Skeleton.

Ju Dong-hoon, the damn human’s Skeleton that he calls ‘Tae Yangi’.

“What are you doing hiding there?”

That Skeleton even spoke strangely.

“H, how did you know?”

Go Jae-young was flustered.

“Do you think such a trick would work on me, who has lived without eyes my whole life?”

Tricks are meaningless to Tae Yang-chang.

In the first place, sight was just a strange amusement to him.

Flash!

Light flashed from Tae Yang-chang’s spear.

The pouring light instantly erased the shadow where Go Jae-young was hiding.

Naturally, he couldn’t help but receive the attention of the Rankers nearby.

“Sh, shit!”

Go Jae-young, who spat out a curse, gathered his energy.

Since it had come to this, he would go all out.

He thought he would feel better even in death if he took Ju Dong-hoon with him.

“Die!”

Tung!

Just as he was about to step forward to stab a dagger into his neck.

Thwack!

“Keu, keuheok!”

His chest was blocked by something, and he could no longer move forward.

Go Jae-young’s gaze slowly fell downwards.

Then, he saw a bone spear brutally stuck in his chest.

Puhwak!

Blood gushed out of his mouth.

“How amusing, human. You dare try to pass me and go to my liege?”

“Keuheo…… Keueok!”

“You also have an unclean feeling that is no different from the humans in the world I lived in.”

Tae Yang-chang’s spear slowly spun around.

As if he knew how to maximize the pain that humans feel.

“J, just…… to a Skele……ton?”

Spitting out blood, Go Jae-young shook his head.

He couldn’t believe it.

That his life, which had been spent wanting to become a Ranker, would end so miserably.

A skull with a cold expression came close to Go Jae-young’s face.

“Looking at your eyes, I can clearly see what you’re thinking?”

Tae Yang-chang’s voice was cold.

“Do you think your life is over?”

“Kkeu, kkeuheuk. Kkeueueuk!”

Go Jae-young, who had tightly closed his mouth, lowered his eyes.

There was no anger or anything.

Resignation.

The pain continued to increase, and he had now reached the point where he wanted to give up on life.

“I thought so too. But, there is definitely an afterlife. I am proof of that. Look. Didn’t I, who was dead, live in reality now?”

“Keu, keuheuk?”

The afterlife exists?

Go Jae-young’s eyes shook.

“You will have to pay for your sins even in death.”

“W, wait……. S, save me. Please save me. I, I’ll pay for my sins while alive! While alive! Please!”

Go Jae-young desperately begged for his life.

Puhwak!

However, Tae Yang-chang pulled out his spear without hesitation.

Whiririk!

The gracefully spinning spear instantly stabbed into Go Jae-young’s neck!

Go Jae-young, who was trembling, soon slumped down.

“……”

The end of a criminal who had not chosen means or methods to achieve his goal.

On Seonyudo Island, where all the Dark Shadow Unit hunters had already been annihilated without leaving a single corpse behind.

“……”

Thud, thud.

I bitterly looked down at the dead Go Jae-young.

In fact, all the actions and words that Tae Yangi had done were all ordered by me.

“Farewell. Don’t think it’s too unfair, since you’re just getting back what you did.”

To make him tremble with fear and end his life.

That was the small gift I had prepared for him.

A very small gift compared to what he had done.