Chapter 26
Upon receiving a call from the Association, detective Jo Kyung-yeon arrived at the scene just after the firefighters had extinguished the blaze.
Seeing the first floor completely charred, he began to understand why he had been summoned.
“That was the work of a Hunter, huh?”
His junior, who had followed him, quickly pulled out a notepad to check the reported details.
“Yes, it’s stated that a masked Hunter used a skill inside the departnt store around 11:34.”
“What skill was it?”
“‘Fla Storm.’”
“Is he insane? Using that indoors?”
Jo Kyung-yeon was affiliated with a special departnt responsible for incidents involving Hunters, thus well-versed in the common skills used by them.
He could imdiately recall the effects and destructive power of any skill rely by its na.
“What’s the damage situation?”
“As you can see, the scene is practically total devastation. There are 25 injuries and 7 fatalities.”
“Damn. He sure took a lot of companions with him.”
Jo Kyung-yeon retrieved an electronic cigarette from his front pocket and took a long puff.
His junior looked on, fascinated, as if witnessing sothing extraordinary.
“Hyung, when did you switch to an e-cig?”
“Well, I’m getting older. I have to take care of my health.”
“Why not quit smoking altogether? I heard e-cigs are just as harmful.”
“Co on. Are you telling to keep doing this without any nicotine?”
Due to the nature of their departnt, Jo Kyung-yeon was always arriving at scenes of tragedy.
Having to confront corpses on a near-daily basis, he might snap if he didn’t at least rely on nicotine to manage the stress.
“Enough with the chit-chat. Where’s the person who reported it?”
“They said he’s behind the fire truck.”
“So which fire truck?”
“Um… well…”
His junior hadn’t heard the details well, so he began scanning the area cluttered with fire trucks.
As he rolled his eyes around, he finally spotted a person matching the description of the reporter.
“Over there! Behind that left fire truck!”
“Never seen that guy before… Did he catch that lunatic who did this?”
“Yes. He turned him into a complete ss.”
When his junior showed Jo Kyung-yeon the photo he had saved on his smartphone, Jo furrowed his brow.
Seeing a headless corpse in broad daylight would elicit such a reaction, quite understandably.
“Why do you keep those ghastly pictures?”
“Is it not acceptable?”
“Well, I guess it’s okay as long as it doesn’t leak outside…”
Most civilians would hesitate to save such morbid images on their personal phones.
But this audacious junior proudly boasted about ticulously saving every single scene he had encountered without fail.
From the very first day on the job, he had followed around without even throwing up, indicating that this might indeed be his true calling.
“A Fla Storm is quite a high-level skill. It must be tough to counter for anyone less than proficient.”
This ant the assailant was at least a B-rank magician.
To burst a Hunter’s head in a single strike required considerable stats, clearly out of reach for a C-rank or lower.
“Well, there are witnesses, so it shouldn’t be a lie.”
“That’s true. Unless they’re ntally unstable, they wouldn’t confess to killing soone.”
During his ti working in this field, Jo Kyung-yeon had encountered plenty of ntally unbalanced people.
However, the reporter didn’t appear to hold such a distinct “crazy” deanor.
Aside from looking a bit pale, he seed like an ordinary young man.
“What was the na of that guy again?”
“What? You don’t rember that?”
“Hey, do you think I just got off another case? I’m allowed to not rember sotis!”
After Jo Kyung-yeon playfully smacked his junior’s head, the latter winced and cupped it.
“Hey! That’s a bit much!”
“Quit being a brat.”
“The reporter’s na is Kang Jin-hyuk. He recently rose to C-rank.”
“Kang Jin-hyuk?”
The na struck a familiar chord.
Jo Kyung-yeon began to ruminate over the recent news he had co across online.
“Isn’t he the guy who caught that new breed of monster?”
“Is he the one who erged during that large incursion the Titan guild underwent?”
“Yeah, that’s him.”
Among the newly discovered monsters in recent tis, it was widely acknowledged that this newcor posed a significant threat, provoking considerable discussion in their community.
“But rumor has it that it wasn’t such a big deal.”
“Right. They said it was just an ordinary monster.”
“Right, or so they say. But did an A-rank hunter’s team sustain serious injuries fighting a ‘re’ C-rank? I don’t think that adds up.”
If it was as inconsequential as claid, the infamous Titan wouldn’t have sent out a plea for help.
The people belittling Kang Jin-hyuk’s accomplishnts were rely jealous of the attention a C-rank was receiving.
Professionals anticipated that Kang Jin-hyuk possessed hidden potential, not rely a weak monster.
Jo Kyung-yeon was one of those individuals.
It felt quite peculiarly fascinating to et a person he had only read about online like this.
“Let’s head over and get his side of the story.”
Standing idly by after observing the cri scene, Kang Jin-hyuk noticed two detectives approach him.
Upon locking eyes with them, Jo Kyung-yeon presented his badge.
“Are you Kang Jin-hyuk?”
“Yes, that’s .”
Facing the detectives made Kang Jin-hyuk’s deanor stiffen, as he felt a sense of responsibility weighing on him.
Not being able to hold his head high was a result of feeling sowhat guilty about what had transpired.
Jo Kyung-yeon believed Kang Jin-hyuk’s disposition stemd from his distress regarding having taken a life.
To ease him, he decided to speak.
“What you did was self-defense. You don’t need to be so frightened.”
“Self-defense? But I killed soone.”
Kang Jin-hyuk’s concerns were completely valid.
Whether it be a villain or not, killing soone would still be viewed as a personal vendetta.
In principle, justifying self-defense would require a court ruling.
However, this incident would be treated as an exception.
“If you can keep one detail to yourself, you won’t have to make it to trial.”
“Is that true?”
“Of course. We’ve got clear evidence.”
“Clear evidence?”
Kang Jin-hyuk couldn’t make sense of what the detective was implying.
What could possibly constitute clear evidence to dismiss the incident without trial?
To clarify, Jo Kyung-yeon threw a question back at Kang Jin-hyuk.
“You killed a person, yet you were never dubbed as ‘evil’ in essence, right?”
“Uh, how did you know that…?”
Jo Kyung-yeon revealed a knowing smile.
“It’s a widely recognized secret among our departnt. When self-defense occurs, the term ‘evil’ isn’t applied.”
Kang Jin-hyuk’s expression reflected confusion.
He had assud he was the only person endowed with that knowledge.
“So, you an for to keep this a secret?”
“Correct. If word spreads, it will beco quite a hassle.”
When murder transpires, an automatic title of ‘Evil’ is assigned by default.
This served as a sort of restraint for Hunters.
If any few Hunters began assuming roles as vigilantes, that would lead to chaos.
The governnt and the Association wanted Hunters focused solely on monster extermination.
They didn’t wish for heroes, as seen in movies.
“I see…”
Kang Jin-hyuk nodded in understanding as Jo Kyung-yeon explained.
The Association sought stability since the inception of Monsters and Hunters.
They had put in imnse effort to control Hunters aiming to wreak havoc after their ergence.
The last thing they wanted was a return to more chaotic tis.
Regardless of the motivations driving good or evil actions, overstepping their bounds would spark unrest.
“I’ll be sure to keep it to myself.”
“While I want to believe you, it’s a pretty significant matter.”
Verbal promises held little weight.
Jo Kyung-yeon followed protocol and handed Kang Jin-hyuk a small brooch-shaped device.
“From now on, keep this on you.”
“What’s this?”
“In layman’s terms, it’s a tracking device. If you ever let slip one of the three taboo words, it will send a signal to us.”
“Taboo words?”
“Right. ‘Murder,’ ‘Evil,’ ‘Self-defense.’ If you forget them, we’ll be searching for you often.”
Though Kang Jin-hyuk accepted the device, he struggled to comprehend the rationale behind such policy.
Even should they filter out these words, it could easily be communicated through writing.
No matter how he pondered, it felt like the governnt was operating inadequately.
“So, if I receive this, can I go ho?”
Curious whether there were any further conditions, he received a positive response instead.
“Of course. You’ve just gone through a significant shock. I recomnd you take it easy for now.”
Jo Kyung-yeon did not ntion that the device had a functionality to filter conversations and words.
Typically, Hunters assud such capabilities weren’t technically feasible, thereby being caught off guard.
Provided Kang Jin-hyuk didn’t disclose anything, he would be considered a trustworthy individual and the device would be reclaid within a year.
If he attempted to convey these matters via writing, the level of monitoring would only escalate, resulting in much larger constraints on his life.
Although Jo Kyung-yeon intentionally kept this condition obscured, Kang Jin-hyuk had no idea he had vaguely picked up sothing amiss.
‘There’s no way the governnt and the Association would do such careless work.’
If those in authority began slacking off, it would typically signal their rivals possessing considerable funds or connections.
Whenever they dealt with an ordinary person like Kang Jin-hyuk, they remained ticulous and cautious. They wouldn’t let matters slip through their fingers.
‘Perhaps I should ask that dwarf uncle about this later.’
Although uncertain whether the dwarf could fix up human-made devices, it wouldn’t hurt to ask.
“Could I ask one last thing before I go?”
“Of course. What concerns you?”
“…When a Hunter kills in self-defense, does anything else happen other than the absence of the evil title?”
“Why do you ask that?”
“This is my first experience, and I’m just a bit curious.”
Jo Kyung-yeon instantly sensed that Kang Jin-hyuk had sothing to hide.
Yet, he refrained from prying further.
It was known for Hunters to hold at least one or two secrets.
Jo Kyung-yeon ultimately decided that Kang Jin-hyuk didn’t appear to be the type capable of committing cri, so he dropped the inquiry.
“Other than what I ntioned, I haven’t heard of any other phenona.”
“Ah, okay. Thanks for letting know.”
Kang Jin-hyuk bowed his head in gratitude before hastily departing from the scene.
His swift exit appeared akin to soone attempting to flee, casting suspicion in Jo Kyung-yeon’s junior.
“Sothing feels off about him, don’t you think?”
“If you feel that way, it must be nothing out of the ordinary.”
“Hey, am I being too harsh with my judgnt here?”
“Well, prove your worth as a detective by building your performance. Let’s not jump to conclusions.”
Jo Kyung-yeon had completed his investigation into Kang Jin-hyuk, therefore turning his attention to the aftermath of the incident.
His junior started babbling on about having “sensed the scent of cri,” wondering if Kang Jin-hyuk staged this whole performance.
While Jo Kyung-yeon harbored so instinctive wariness towards Kang Jin-hyuk, it was not the scent of foul play.
His experiences indicated that victims of such violence acted overtly different from what his junior was perceiving.
Nevertheless, he kept his thoughts to himself.
His investigations revealed Kang Jin-hyuk might have obtained a Hidden Class or Hidden Skill.
When he returned ho, the first thing Kang Jin-hyuk did was check for notifications regarding his newfound abilities.
Reviews
All reviews (0)