183 – HGL 183

183

Multiple Thoughts

Aaaaaah, a scream erupted. After the scream subsided, a small whistle began to be heard. Scream, whistle, scream, whistle, save me, whistle. The whistle was getting closer and closer. The man glanced nervously at the door, frantically tearing the papers on the desk.

But it was too vast an amount for one person to tear up completely. Damn it! The man bit his lip. Blood welled up.

It was then.

Knock, knock, knock.

A polite knock was heard. So, it finally came. The man swallowed and took out a button from his pocket, clutching it tightly.

“…Who is it?”

“Me? A guest~”

A cheerful, low voice replied. It was a voice he had never heard here before. The man pressed himself against the wall and put his finger on the button. At that moment, a higher voice interjected.

“Why are you even talking? Just open it.”

“They could be crazy, you know? Could be a monster. Gotta check if their head’s on straight.”

“Haa….”

“Well, since it seems like communication is possible….”

The man gritted his teeth and pressed the button.

Beep—

Whoosh!

As soon as the button was pressed, the door was violently opened, and something flew in. The man’s eyes widened. As his frozen body relaxed, something trickled down from his ear. The man covered his ear, no, the place where his ear had been, with his hand. Terrible pain washed over him.

“Ah, ah, ah….”

Aaaargh! The man crouched down and howled like a beast.

Two people stood at the doorway. A man leaning casually with his hands in the pockets of his white field jacket, and a woman wearing a black leather jacket, her face thoroughly covered with a cap and mask. The woman lowered her mask to her chin. Her red lips twisted. A small, sharp voice whispered.

“Handle it cleanly. What if blood splatters on the documents?”

“More nagging….”

“If you’re hired, shouldn’t you listen to your employer?”

“Sorry~? I only listen to employers who guarantee my freedom.”

“How much money did I give you? Do something worth the money?”

“Ah, right. That’s true. Hmm, should I…?”

The man, who had been standing with his arm raised as if he had thrown something, finally raised both hands.

“Sorry! I meant to throw it as a threat, but I accidentally hit you~”

“Haa…. What if he dies from excessive bleeding?”

“You don’t die from having one ear cut off~ I’ve done it all before. But anyway….”

Amidst the screams, something growling was mixed in. The man in the field jacket pointed to the corner with his chin.

“Should I take care of it if it’s too much for you?”

“I’m fine. Just spray him with an Elixir.”

“How generous of you.”

In an instant, the woman in black disappeared from sight. At the same time as flashes of light burst out everywhere, splat! Blood splattered in a long streak on the white wall. Meanwhile, the man in the field jacket staggered closer. His gait was unsteady, like a drunkard.

He pulled out the blood-stained hand axe stuck in the wall, then squatted down in front of the researcher who was collapsed and trembling. Blood dripped from the hand axe.

Pop, the man opened the Elixir cap and grabbed the researcher’s hair, pulling it up.

“Okay, let go of your hands~”

“Ugh….”

“If I were you, I’d listen quickly before my hands get cut off too.”

The blood-soaked hands hurriedly fell away. The man poured the entire bottle of Elixir into the ear. The severed surface began to heal quickly. The pain subsided, and the monster’s cries also subsided.

A moment later, the woman who walked out of the darkness had nothing changed about her except for a drop of blood splattered on her cheek. Swish, the woman swung her Rapier, shaking off the blood that had gathered. She asked in a voice with gritted teeth.

“How many guys have you kidnapped to do this shit, you guys?”

“……”

“Okay, look here~”

A hand suddenly popped into view and snapped its fingers. The researcher looked up with fearful eyes. The man took off his hood. Tousled hair popped out. Light sky-blue hair shone under the lights. The researcher’s eyes widened.

“Y-you, why, why are you here….”

Gray eyes curved like crescent moons. Ban Gyu-min, Gyu-Gyu, who was resting his chin on his hand, grinned, revealing his teeth.

“Well, I got paid~? I’ll do anything if you pay me.”

A blood-stained Walker approached. The Rapier hilt pressed hard against his back.

“Got time to chat?”

“Yes, yes. I understand~”

Gyu-Gyu grabbed the researcher’s face with his hand. And he raised his eyebrows and looked up at the woman.

“So, what do I need to find out?”

The woman roughly took off her black cap. The black hair that had been fixed inside the cap cascaded down like a waterfall. Golden hair was mixed in here and there among the black hair. Bright brown eyes shone sharply. It was Honeybee.

“Information related to the drug you fed Matthew….”

She paused for a moment and shook her head.

“No, it doesn’t have to be related. Just get anything out of him. Everything you know.”

“That’s a broad range~”

“Looking at the things inside, it seems like these guys are making Mutants too. Everything, scrape it down to the bottom.”

“Ah, that’s kinda fun.”

“S-sav….”

Crack, veins stood out on the hand holding the face. The researcher screamed pitifully, but even that was muffled in the grip. Gyu-Gyu’s gray eyes gleamed. The corners of his mouth turned up.

“Could you not cry? And don’t get spit on me either…. I have something like mysophobia~”

“Ugh, eugh!”

“Tsk, if you keep screaming, I won’t let go of my strength?”

“……”

“Good, that’s a good boy.”

Gyu-Gyu, with a bright smile, released the strength in his hand and turned around.

“But, Master. You know my ability, right?”

“I know.”

“You also know that there’s no guarantee that you’ll get what you want?”

“I know, so do it.”

Honeybee sat on the desk and picked up the torn documents. As she pieced the documents together, she snorted and looked down at the researcher with cold eyes.

“Because there are plenty of guys to ask, even if you die.”

“How scary~”

Gyu-Gyu, who smiled slyly, stared intently into the researcher’s tearful eyes.

“Well, I’ll try my best.”

“……”

“I’m starting to get curious too….”

Gyu-Gyu took something out of his pocket. It was a 10-sided die. He put the die on his thumbnail, then flicked the die as if flipping a coin. The spinning die was thrown into the air. Gyu-Gyu clasped his hands together and closed his eyes.

“Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored throughout the world….”

A rapid-fire prayer followed.

“…the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours forever.”

The rotation of the spinning die gradually stopped.

“Amen.”

The die, which had been floating in the air, rolled and fell to the floor. Clatter, clatter…. The rolling die hit the researcher’s leg and stopped.

Gyu-Gyu sighed and scratched his tousled hair. A moment later, sharp claws, like those of a beast, had grown on the hand that had fallen from his head.

“I didn’t skip church this month. I have no luck.”

“Did something else come up?”

“Yeah~… What should I do?”

“What else can you do?”

Honeybee crossed her legs.

“You have to do something else you’re good at. That’s why I gave you money, right?”

“Ah, right….”

A rough hand gagged the researcher and pulled him up. The researcher was dangling in the air with only his head held up. Sharp fangs gleamed between his open lips. Gray eyes curved slyly. Snap, his pinky finger was broken. The scream was swallowed in the rough grip.

“If you don’t want it to hurt, you better talk fast? I’m starting with your fingers….”

The secret relationship between the 1st and 2nd place.

The scandal between the 1st and 2nd place, which had greatly shaken the country, subsided faster than expected. It was thanks to the intervention of the dark information broker, Mackerel.

Mackerel diluted the information by spreading all sorts of gossip. Since Mackerel had sown the seeds, Mackerel had to clean it up. Mackerel shouted to guarantee freedom of the press, but he was weak in the face of J’s intimidation, who had stormed in with a fierce momentum.

“Since when has freedom of the press applied to fabrication? Huh?”

“It’s not fabrication, Hyung! No, isn’t this a fact? What about the handprints on the Guild Master’s neck!”

“What do you mean, it happened because I did this!”

“Aaaagh! Keuaaak!”

No, I heard that Lee Sa-young had handprints on his neck, they seemed to be on friendly terms, they were strangely close, the story was passed down like an urban legend through Hunter Net, anonymous sites, mouths, and ears.

The uneasy atmosphere, which seemed to be calming down thanks to the secret circumstances of the 1st and 2nd place, continued. The Awakened Management Bureau was suffering from the news of the missing low-ranking Hunters. Despite issuing several official documents telling them not to go alone and cooperating with each Guild, the number only increased instead of decreasing.

The Awakened, who had been a symbol of safety and success, were slowly becoming a new threat. A troublemaker who could Mutate at any time. Of course, it was still just a conspiracy theory….

“There is a limit to silencing the witnesses.”

“……”

Jung-bin, who was tapping the table with a pen, sighed briefly. More and more people are recognizing that the Mutants were originally Hunters. A deep concern settled in his brown eyes.

“This is troubling….”

“Ah, that’s right!”

Someone raised their hand with a bright expression.

“I just met J, how about asking J for help?”

“J?”

“Yes, he visited the Awakened Management Bureau.”

“Ah, then….”

“No.”

A firm answer cut off the story. The smile had rarely disappeared from Jung-bin’s face. The team members glanced at each other, but it quickly returned. He clasped his hands together and said.

“J is busy with other things.”

Faint steam rose from the white coffee cup. Ham Seok-jeong liked to put a machine in the Director’s office and make her own coffee. When Eui-jae came to visit with his aunt, he would get a cup too. He didn’t drink it, though. He liked that back then.

His aunt’s nagging about why he was giving coffee to a kid, and Ham Seok-jeong’s joke that he was old enough.

Now I can’t even use the expression “come to visit.”

Instead of sitting at the head of the table, Eui-jae stared at Ham Seok-jeong, who was sitting across from him. Her black hair had streaks of white in it, and her face had more traces of time and small scars.

Ironically, he felt the passage of time anew every time this happened. Cha Eui-jae hadn’t changed from eight years ago, so he could only feel it when he saw other people. Jung-bin, Ham Seok-jeong, Song Jo-heon, and even Lee Sa-young.

Clack, Ham Seok-jeong put down her cup. A faint smile appeared on her sharp eyes.

“It’s been a while.”