Chapter 16

16

Every time Set swung its ax, it was powerful enough to cut at least a few meters. But why was it flowing like that? No matter how crazy the world seemed, it couldn't go as crazy as this. Lee Ho's expression clearly contained such thoughts.

Set's ax was completely deflected and pushed to the opposite side of where he aimed, neatly chopping off the neck of Osiris, who was running from that side.

Slash-!

Osiris' head rose high into the sky.

With this, Lee Ho felt as if time was flowing slowly.

Next, Lee Hwan turned his body, getting ready to swing his right foot containing centrifugal force.

Kwaaazk-!!

His kick smashed the head of Set, who was still holding the ax dumbfoundedly. In an instant, the S-rated fighters Osiris and Set had been killed.

Suddenly, Lee Ho fell to one knee where he was standing and coughed. Dark red blood burst out of his mouth.

This was one of the things that he didn't tell Hwan, his penalty as an Implementer. It was a deceptive ability, so of course, there was also a penalty. That was, when the summoned beings were killed, the soul of the Implementer was also damaged. To be more precise, his innate spirit was consumed.

This was the reason why Lee Ho's overall appearance looked dwarfed and why his skin had turned pale. He was now fighting with the risk of cutting off his own life at any moment.

For ten years, since Hwan had disappeared and since the beginning of the opening of Heaven and Earth, he had fought like this at every opportunity. He was not called a hero for nothing, and he was not being praised for nothing.

Lee Ho was a great man who deserved respect from everyone.

He raised his head. Lee Hwan's appearance was unusual; he was like a black object that painted the sky blue. Looking at him was simultaneously overwhelming and overbearing.

Kwaaaaargh-!!

With a powerful fist, Lee Hwan punched Apophis in its head. The simple attack made the mountains ring and their surroundings shake. He balled up his fist and gave it another punch.

Kwaaaaargh-!!

Apophis' head, which had been messed up by the first punch, did not stand a chance. It was completely crushed. However, slowly, Apophis began to regenerate its head.

Lee Hwan looked at it for a moment before putting his hand deep inside the neck of Apophis, who was trying to sprout a new head.

Puukh-!

Then...

Baaaaaaaang-!!

The huge body of Apophis exploded as if a bomb had detonated inside it. Pieces of its body scattered everywhere like gruesome confetti.

Hwan had killed the snake and stood near where the body exploded, but there were no pieces or fragments of Apophis on his body. It was impossible.

Cough-

Lee Ho vomited blood once more. He looked up to see Hwan approaching him.

Anubis' army was long gone.

How long did it take Hwan to dispose of the whole army? Excluding the time they were having a conversation, it had taken him two to three minutes at most. All the bosses of the S-rated dungeon, which were attacked for two days by the best members of the Providence Guild and the American Striker Team working together, had just died in vain like this?

It was certainly surprising for their fight to end like this.

Lee Hwan looked down at Lee Ho, who was kneeling on the ground. Slowly, a smile spread across Hwan's mouth. Looking at his smile, Ho felt a lightning bolt strike in his head.

That was it.

His eyes had turned red.

Lee Hwan had always been like that, standing in front of him reliably. Hwan had been working since middle school, giving out flyers part-time and also delivering newspapers at the break of dawn.

Working part-time while still in middle school was very difficult. It was like losing an important part and time of your childhood.

giving out flyers to promoting businesses at night. He went to sleep at 1 am and woke up at 5 am to work. He lived like that, sacrificing himself for his family.

When he became a high school student, he ran out of time to work. He didn't have a fiery temper, but many bullies made him fierce. He was always getting into fights because he couldn't stand it when they made fun of his family. That was why he dropped out of school. If he kept getting involved in fights, it was going to get in the way of his work.

He was a man who lived that way. How could you not respect such a man? He is the kind of person who will never admit that he is having a hard time even if he lived like that since a very young age.

The smile that was always present on Hwan's face was deeply imprinted in Lee Ho's heart. A bright, dependable, determined, and radiant smile.

Looking at him, hope burned in Ho's heart. He wanted to be just like that. A man who always confronted the world head-on and was a reliable figure to everyone.

He had become a hunter, earned tons of money, gained worldwide fame, and changed himself from being weak. However, what he hoped for the most, the figure he was yearning for, was right in front of his eyes.

It was that smile.

Lee Hwan's smile, which an impostor could never imitate.

This person, who was looking down at him now, was real.

Tears flowed down unabashedly on Ho's face. Everything became clear, and his heart was beating violently. He wanted to call out to him after the longest time. He wanted to call out to him with all his heart.

"Brother... All this time..."

He couldn't even finish his sentence before Lee Hwan's fist flew toward his face.

Pugh-!

That was the last thing Ho remembered before his vision went dark.

Chapter 6

Hunter Jeong Gi-Hoon opened his eyes to the sensation of something tapping his cheek.

'Am I alive?'

'Did I lose my mind?'

His ears picked up the sound of a good, resonant voice.

"You'll catch a cold if you sleep in a place like this."

His mind flashed back to the last thing he remembers. He was lying on the ground and looked up to see Lee Hwan, the older brother of Master Lee Ho.

Groggily, Jeong Gi-hoon opened his mouth.

"How about Master...?"

Lee Hwan smiled and quietly gestured to the side with his chin.

Gi-Hoon turned to the side and gaped in surprise, his eyes opening wide. He had caught sight of Lee Ho, but the cause of his surprise was that his boss looked much better than he thought. There were traces of small wounds on his body, but there were no other injuries except for his face that was swollen as if he had been hit with a single punch. His side, which Jeong Gi-Hoon thought had to be a mess because he had been stabbed, was also fine.

Who came and gave him some recovery magic? If someone had healed him, his face should also be healed, though. Why was it left so swollen like that? No, there was something wrong.

Apart from Ho's face, no recovery magic in the world could completely restore the wounds made by the rare artifact Mara's Breath. It would be impossible even for American Saints to heal his body to that extent. Or even if it was, there should still be visible scars, at least. What on earth is this?

'No way. Did I have a dream?'

"That's enough. Get up. And wake up the people around you."

Jeong Gi-Hoon, trying to get up from where he was lying on the ground, stopped as if he was disoriented. In a half-sitting posture, he turned to Lee Hwan and asked.

"...What the hell happened?"

Lee Hwan's smile still remained, a smile that somehow seemed familiar.

"Didn't I tell you?"

"What do you mean?"

"I'm sure I told you I don't like anyone interfering in my affairs, remember?"

There was no way he could ever forget. However...

"Isn't this a different case?"

Gi-Hoon was being sincere. He was asking from the bottom of his heart and with good intentions. In a good way, it can be perceived to be a kind of loyalty, and in a bad way, it could be said that he was not good at judging a situation. Either way, Lee Hwan was satisfied because he took it to mean the former.

"Lee Ho is really blessed."

Jeong Gi-Hoon's brow furrowed at those words. When he was about to ask again, Hwan stopped him.

"It's no big deal. It's just that my younger brother, who I haven't seen in a long time, has developed a strange habit, so I disciplined him a bit. As you know, brothers sometimes argue with each other. You don't seem to agree. Do you have any brothers?"

"...I have a younger brother. He's in high school."

Hwan widened his eyes.

"You have a younger brother? What, you're similar to me. Suddenly, I feel closer to you. Is that just me?"

"...Yes, maybe it's just you. At least my younger brother isn't one of the world's top three Hunters."

That was harsh. Muttering, Lee Hwan reached out his hand. Jeong Gi-Hoon hesitated for a bit before grabbing the outstretched hand and standing up.

Lee Hwan then asked Gi-Hoon.

"Lee Ho, what is his schedule today?"

"...Meeting with the President of the World Hunter Association, Invitation to dinner with the President... Gate assignment... He's quite busy. "

"Cancel them all."

"...Pardon me?"

Hwan reached out his hand and patted Jeong Gi-Hoon on the shoulder.

"Today, Lee Ho will be very busy. We have a lot to talk about."

"......."

"I don't want to be disturbed. The President of the Hunter Association, the President, low or medium-rated Hunters... cancel all of them. This is more important than anything else."

At this, Jeong Gi-Hoon puffed his mouth. Actually, even though this was called a World of Hunters, there was no way this world was for Hunters only. There was a kind of boundary between the world of the ordinary people and the world of Hunters. The problem was that they kept each other in check.

Hunters were stronger than ordinary people. This could be explained from a sort of evolutionary point of view. Neanderthals were made extinct by the evolution of Homo sapiens. That was the flow of the world. In such a strange relationship, the world's top three Hunters were certainly a big deal.

Their role was to mediate the world of the ordinary people and the Hunters. Therefore, it was equally important to have dinner with the President and a meeting with the President of the World Hunter Association. No matter from what angle he looked at it, he still thought these were more important.

"Are you thinking of something rebellious?"

"You're mistaken."

Lee Ho was definitely strong. But then.... Here came a monster that was powerful enough to play with his strength. And the monster was Lee Ho's own brother.

Gi-Hoon felt that the delicate tug-of-war balance between ordinary people and Hunters was now out of balance.

"I'll cancel everything as you said, Mr. Lee Hwan."

Hwan gave him a weird look.

"After all this, you just now call me mister?"

"You're the Master's older brother, so I have to be more respectful."

Lee Hwan smirked, and upon seeing this, Jeong Gi-Hoon also smirked.

"By the way, is your younger brother attending a high school?"

"Yes. He goes to Ga-On High School in Seoul. He's in the second grade."

Hwan made another strange expression. Strangely, he seemed to have a deep relationship with the school.

It was also his alma mater.

***

A savory, mouthwatering smell wafted toward him, waking Lee Ho up. However, he didn't open his eyes yet, the first thing he did was to check the condition of his body.

His arms and legs were fine, as well as his internal organs. He was, strangely, too perfectly fine.

He had been stabbed in the side, and his flesh had been tattered, but he could feel that his injuries had been completely healed. His head was okay, with no headaches and no abnormalities. Excluding the slight pain he felt in his right cheek, he was totally healthy and unscathed.

Eventually, Lee Ho opened his eyes.