Chapter 314

A foreigner tilting his head and muttering in an incomprehensible language was, to any observer, hardly a good sign.

Sensing the change in atmosphere, the man who had originally intended to trade with him spoke again. For the record, English was not his native language either, which was why they had been relying on a PinyCorp translator from the beginning.

"Sir, may I ask—do you truly have no intention of resolving this situation through discussion?"

"That's right."

"Please calm down. I'd appreciate it if you could reconsider. I may have caused you some inconvenience unintentionally, but the truth is, here and now, I'm prepared to offer you several times the amount I originally proposed."

"Really?"

"I promise. It's just..."

This was, in a sense, a new request.

"There's only one minor condition. All you have to do is agree to take part in a few simple conversations with us from now on, Sir."

With the trader's betrayal, the two of them had been trapped inside the dungeon.

No matter how much additional money he offered, the first question was obvious: how could they trust someone who had already stabbed them in the back?

The other man seemed to have anticipated that reaction. The foreigner, dressed in traditional Indian attire, immediately offered an explanation.

"Ah, and..."

He had personally heard that Kang Changho possessed the "Scales of Truth."

So he suggested using it right here and now. If Kang Changho did, he would easily be able to confirm that everything the man was saying was true.

However, the moment Kang Changho heard the item's name leave the other man's mouth, his brows drew together.

It was only a slight change in expression, but it clearly revealed his displeasure.

"The Scales of Truth?"

Yet what followed made it clear that the matter could not simply be brushed aside.

"What are you talking about? I don't have that anymore. I already sold it."

"Yes?"

The Epic-grade item Justitia.

It was one of the reasons the authority of the British courts had grown even stronger, and the very artifact that still allowed the word faith to retain meaning in the modern era.

Moreover, even after every available intelligence network had been mobilized, only two of those exceedingly rare artifacts had ever been confirmed to exist anywhere in the world.

And yet this Korean Hunter had already sold his?

The man in traditional attire could not hide his momentary bewilderment.

Kang Changho, however, paid no attention to his reaction and continued speaking as though nothing had happened.

"I mean, honestly, I've got to make a living too."

"What did you say?"

"What, did you think the fuel for the private jet I used to get here just sprang out of the ground? I've got compensation to pay, expenses piling up, all sorts of things to deal with. And since I hardly run dungeons anymore, I don't get many chances to build up... clean assets like that."

"Huh."

"Wait. Should I correct myself? Come to think of it, I sold something I practically picked up for free in a dungeon. So I guess saying the jet fuel came out of the ground isn't entirely wrong."

Grrrrrrr...

For reference, they were not standing somewhere near the entrance.

They were deep inside the dungeon.

From what seemed to be one of the upper levels, a constant growling echoed down toward them.

"Anyway, the Scales of Truth wasn't something I particularly needed. It's already crossed the border and found its rightful owner."

"Oh my God. How can anyone not need [Justitia]?"

"Well, that's because I usually don't care much about other people..."

Naturally, the Hunter with bluish-purple hair paid little attention to the beastly cries coming from above.

"Lately, there have been a few rare occasions when I actually needed to use it. But even then, I'm so skeptical by nature that I couldn't bring myself to trust the artifact's result. So in the end, it became pointless."

"..."

"No matter what some mystical scale tells me, if the person using it doesn't believe it—well, you can see the problem."

Kang Changho shrugged and glanced around.

"I still have a few copies of the Knight's Oath lying around in a box somewhere, but it'd be a waste to use one here. So how about I just assume your offer is genuine and let it slide for now?"

It seemed there were several other Hunters inside the dungeon besides the spatial manipulator who had broken off the deal at the last moment and trapped him here.

Kang Changho swept his awareness across another Awakened detected through the Dragon's Eye, then straightened his posture.

If this truly was the work of a criminal organization brazen enough to imprison an S-rank Hunter in another realm, then surely they had prepared more than a few expendable people as traps.

"So basically, what you're saying is that if I turn a blind eye to whatever happens in some little country, you'll compensate me for it."

"...Well."

"You trap someone in a dungeon and suddenly start spouting nonsense like this. What else am I supposed to make of it?"

Kang Changho spoke.

He said he would believe the offer, just this once.

He would take the man at his word—that if he simply spent some time sitting quietly in this deep, dark cave, an enormous reward would be waiting for him afterward.

It was an extraordinarily generous assumption.

But after all that consideration, his final answer was still a refusal.

"Alright, then. Now that we've cleared that up, let's stop wasting time and get to the point. I'm not interested in the money anymore."

"Is that so?"

"I have absolutely no intention of doing what you want. I just want to get out of this cave right now and find out what's happened at my legal residence."

The mysterious foreigner who had imprisoned the owner of the Dragon's Eyes soon found himself regretting the decision.

"So I'd prefer it if you stepped aside now. Unfortunately, though, it doesn't look like there's much chance of you suddenly changing your mind."

Of course, the kidnapped victim standing opposite him felt much the same way.

"...I want to live a decent life, but when you think about it, the world keeps pushing me in the opposite direction."

What followed sounded more like the grumbling of an ex-convict than the words of someone like him.

Sssk, ssk.

The S-rank Hunter with his wild, spiky hair suddenly replaced several accessories on his hands with different ones from his item box.

Changing equipment right in front of someone who might become an enemy.

Wasn't that alone enough to make his intentions obvious?

The man in traditional attire finished making his judgment and quietly closed his eyes.

"Then go ahead. I had a feeling it would turn out this way."

They had anticipated Kang Changho's refusal from the beginning.

With a sigh, the man pulled a stick of monster-luring incense from his coat and threw it onto the ground.

That single act set everything in motion.

The monsters on the upper floor began rushing downward, while the Awakened who had been hiding nearby moved in at the same time.

And just as Kang Changho's gaze followed the sudden wave of movement—

"Ah, wait a second. I know I just said I wasn't particularly interested in other people, but sorry. I take that back."

The Korean suddenly continued.

"Now I'm curious. If you've gone to all this trouble to set up something this elaborate, there has to be someone pulling the strings behind you. So—who the hell sent you?"

The foreign kidnapper, whose name and affiliation remained unknown, fell silent.

"You seem awfully interested in gate technology. Germany, maybe? Or Russia?"

"If that's wrong too, then maybe... Ploy?"

But the Korean never received a proper answer.

"Excuse me. Awakener Changho."

The mysterious superpowered individual standing across the cave decided to put an end to the pointless small talk.

There was no reason to indulge the other man's whims any longer.

"Since things have already come to this, let me ask something I've been wondering about. Honestly, it's not just me. No one here understands it."

"What?"

"Why are you so obsessed with your homeland? I've heard you're a Hunter who barely ever leaves Seoul. Crossing national borders is practically unthinkable unless someone offers you an astronomical amount of money..."

This foreigner had been prepared to offer a reward comparable to the annual budget of an entire country, so long as Kang Changho agreed to turn a blind eye to the safety of his homeland.

He had even gone so far as to make sure every bit of the money had been thoroughly laundered and would cause no problems if traced.

Even if the order had come from someone "higher up," openly antagonizing an S-class Hunter was never desirable.

That was why he had genuinely wanted to settle the matter peacefully and send Kang Changho back unharmed.

Yet despite all of that, Kang Changho had chosen to accept the loss and return home.

The calm, unwavering certainty of that decision stirred a flash of frustration in the foreigner.

"You're filthy rich, and it's not like you can't speak English. So why?"

In the distant past, traveling from one region to another meant walking until one's straw shoes wore through.

But times had changed.

At last, the figure in traditional attire voiced a question he had been holding onto for some time.

Kang Changho ignored the unsettling fact that this stranger knew the limits of his usual movements and instead focused on the familiar question itself.

Why do you almost never leave that tiny peninsula of a country?

"That woman named Brooklyn asked me the same thing. And now you people too."

The third S-rank Hunter of a certain country had remained surprisingly indifferent throughout most of the conversation, save for a handful of brief moments.

"Ah... seriously."

But around then, the corners of Kang Changho's lips slowly curved upward.

It was a clear sign that he had finally decided what he was going to do.

"Seriously, why does everyone care so much about the business of an outsider like me?"

After finally agreeing to answer, the words that came out of his mouth were so absurd that even the professionals hired to stall for time were left speechless.

"You think it's strange that I rarely leave Korea? You seriously can't understand such a simple reason?"

"Yes."

"I'll tell you. That country happens to have a whole lot of real estate registered under my name—including some inheritance I ended up receiving by chance."

"Hmn?"

What did he just say?

The foreign Awakened was so taken aback that he actually stammered when he asked again.

"What? Real estate? Don't tell me... you've really avoided leaving the country all this time because of something like that?"

The mixed-race man at the end of the corridor kept his expression calm as he answered.

For reference, that was the last smile he would ever see on Kang Changho's face.

"Haha. No. Of course it's all a lie."

It happened immediately afterward.

A violent cracking sound rang through the cave, like bones being snapped apart.

***

Ttut—ttut—ttut.

At the same time.

The scene shifted back to the troublesome Asian country.

This was the area in front of a certain abnormal gate incident in South Korea.

"As expected, he's not answering."

Kim Giryeo tried calling Kang Changho several more times before finally giving up.

"I'm not sure, but maybe someone connected to that Beast group did something to Kang Changho."

Something unusual had clearly happened to the Hunter overseas, but Kim Giryeo already had more than enough trouble on his hands here.

"My fate."

The blond man raised his head and looked at the situation before him.

Once again, his vision was filled with the familiar sight of wavy purple hair.

Esther and Kim Giryeo were currently standing at the scene of the incident, waiting for the remaining personnel to arrive.

"Hunter Esther."

During that brief lull, Kim Giryeo suddenly brought something up.

"Yes, Giryeo-ssi!"

"Sorry for mentioning this so late. But now that I think about it, I may be able to call in additional reinforcements. Could we delay entering just a little longer?"

Even after reviewing the reinforcement list, which contained as many as eighteen names, Kim Giryeo still believed that facing the horde of beasts with their current forces was too dangerous.

So he made another suggestion to Esther.

"The S-ranks from Japan. Their names... the one I remember right now is Montake, I think? Anyway, the four from the Imabari Guild. I have an arrangement with them, so if I call, they'll come."

Since reaching Kang Changho appeared impossible, he intended to strengthen their forces by making use of the connections he had formed during the Black Dragon raid.

"Wasn't that agreement only for the appearance of an S-class dungeon?"

Kim Giryeo replied firmly.

"That's what the official announcement said, but... this is a secret. Actually, that Montake guy owes me a bit of a favor."

"Oh my goodness."

"When I went to Tokyo last time and saw how things were, I got the impression they'd be willing to be flexible because of that debt."

After all, whether it was an S-rank dungeon or a horde of beasts, both were equally powerful and dangerous, weren't they?

With that reasoning in mind, Kim Giryeo asked Esther whether it would be acceptable to call in the Japanese Hunters.

The woman hesitated for a moment, then...

"But, um... I'm a little against it."

Esther shook her head.

"Against it?"

"Of course, someone like Giryeo-ssi has probably already considered this, but the beasts' nationality hasn't been clearly identified yet."

Naturally, the alien had not considered that at all.

He simply did not let it show.

"There's no proof that the beasts have no connection to Japan."

Since this was an emergency in which every second mattered, there was no reason to interrupt the flow of the conversation by pointing that out.

"Besides, in a sense, this is a serious mistake made by our own Association. Exposing something so embarrassing to another country so openly... well, that's a little..."

"Is that so?"

"If an S-rank Hunter from another country comes to the scene, it'll be difficult not to explain the situation properly, right?"

"That's true."

"When I was younger, I used to think a country and an individual were completely separate things. But in times like these, when disasters happen so often, if a nation's credibility is low, it can't secure additional support for its citizens when necessary. These days, you really can't afford to ignore the social side of things..."

With a serious expression, Esther continued explaining her reasoning at length before eventually relaxing again.

"Well, anyway, those are the reasons I'm against it. But hearing your suggestion, Giryeo-ssi, does make me feel a little more reassured."

"Why?"

Contrary to her intentions, however, the alien's expression only became tenser.

"If you're willing to bring in four rankers from a neighboring country, that means you're at least somewhat confident you could handle the situation even if an outsider betrayed you—"

"..."

"Haha. Well, you wouldn't make that kind of suggestion without having that much confidence. Yes, I understand."

"..."

"Anyway, I'm glad I asked a dependable Hunter like you for help. Since you've already encountered every beast inside the dungeon, that one phone call alone basically confirms you aren't the criminal. Honestly, that made me happy too!"

Seeking help from Imabari apparently looked like an expression of confidence.

"Hmm."

Kim Giryeo briefly avoided the curse sorcerer's shining gaze and sank into thought.

As he had already heard over the phone, thanks to the efforts of that second S-rank Hunter, the area around the gate would soon be crowded with top-tier experts.

At that point, a particular question suddenly returned to the archmage's mind.

"Why on earth didn't they seal the entrance?"

On Earth, using a red orb-shaped obstacle-destruction item could temporarily erase the blue magical passageway, effectively creating what was known as a "closed dungeon."

If a dangerous individual like Yehwa, who possessed certain sensitive information, had explored this dungeon, there would have been no need for cumbersome measures such as bribing guild managers.

They could simply have sealed the entrance from the beginning and concealed the dungeon's existence entirely.

But the beasts had not done that.

Those creatures had taken possession of a rare gate while behaving as though they knew nothing about the additional functions of the destructive artifacts that had spread during the sales ban.

"Well, dungeons where you can obtain [Collapse Particles] disappeared quite a long time ago, so it's possible those impostors simply never managed to get their hands on any."

Several possibilities flashed through his mind.

Which one was correct?

The blond Hunter rolled his dark sambae eyes toward the empty air and once again sank deep into thought.

Wooooooooooo...

The gate before him continued to give off an ominous sound, like the open maw of a beast.