Chapter 211: #A Destroyer’s Hunter War

Yu Shin-Ja was in the audience for the 64th round of Hunter War. She watched the Greece vs South Korea match with a dumbfounded look.

“W-what’s this?! Is he really our Il-Shin?”

“

Wow!

Uncle is so cool!” Seong-Yeon squealed in her mother’s arms, beaming at the sight of Yu Il-Shin fighting the opponents.

“

Ah,

my dearest Sword God...” Lin Xiaoming was entranced, drooling.

Meanwhile, Sam-Shin, who was on her lap, glanced around before looking at Seong-Yeon. He tilted his head.

“Des...troy? (Is that cool?)”

“Yeah! Very cool!” Seong-Yeon exclaimed gleefully, smiling widely like a flower in full bloom.

The look in Sam-Shin’s eyes grew serious.

That night, on the hotel roof...

“Dammit! That mad clown must be hiding somewhere! I’ll make sure to kill him with my own hands!”

Yi-Shin was scanning the vicinity with his Blind Eyes of God by the railings. Sam-Shin stealthily appeared from behind, tapping him on the butt.

“W-what are you doing here?”

His face reddened as soon as he realized that the little, ghostly Sam-Shin had caught him off guard.

“Des...troy!”

“What are you saying?”

“Des...troy! Des...troy!” Sam-Shin flailed his hands, evidently trying to convey a message, but Yi-Shin couldn’t understand at all.

“Wait a minute.”

As he channeled divine power into his mind, Sam-Shin’s thoughts flowed to him. He’d used the same method to communicate with foreign Hunters. A god could do it effortlessly, yet the main body could never achieve it due to his preconceived notions.

“You want to join the Hunter War?”

Sam-Shin nodded in response.

“

Haha,

funny. You think this is a playground? Get lost.”

Yi-Shin wanted to crush the masked clown and win the Hunter War in the process—the Faith gained from the crowd made it worth the effort.

He then added, “

Hmph.

You’re too weak.”

Sam-Shin glared at Yi-Shin and clenched his tiny fists, then pointed at him. “Des...troy!”

“

Huh?

You want to fight me?” Yi-Shin was dumbfounded.

The nerve of this little bastard! Did he not know his place? How dare he challenge the embodiment of evil and the god of battle!

“Des...troy!” Sam-Shin’s eyes narrowed.

Yi-Shin popped a vein. “You little rat!”

Grrr!

Thick murderous intent enveloped Yi-Shin. “Come, you lowly alter ego! Let me show you that you’re no match for me!”

“Des...troy!”

Baaaam!

That night, a thunderous explosion rang out in the silent sky.

***

The next day, during the first match between France and South Korea, victory went to SS-rank Hunter Zan Le Mang.

Sung Mi-Na finally regained consciousness on Team Korea’s bench. Her first reaction was to grit her teeth.

“That fucking hag!”

“

Geez,

Unni, stop moving! How am I supposed to apply ointment on your wounds?”

“

Ouch!

Mi-Ri, be gentle!”

“Stop whining, it’s just a scratch.”

“Hey, don’t you see the bruise on my neck?”

“Again, it’s just a scratch. Consider yourself lucky, she went easy on you.”

“

Tsk!

No one asked her to?!”

Zan Le Mang didn’t even use her trademark giant sword, and instead used her bare hands to defeat Sung Mi-Na. Sung Mi-Na still remembered Zan Le Mang whispering in her ear while holding her in a chokehold.

"Sung Mi-Na, you've achieved a lot for your age. I wish we could fight side by side someday."

Sung Mi-Na clenched her teeth in fury.

How dare that old hag look down on me?!

Despite appearing to be in her twenties, Zan Le Mang was actually a thirty-year-old veteran with over fifteen years of experience as a Hunter. Moreover, their personalities clashed, with Zan Le Mang’s mental fortitude on a whole different level. If most S-rank Hunters were sailboats, then Zan Le Mang was a huge aircraft carrier.

“Fucking hell! If I hadn’t used up my mental strength, I wouldn’t have lost to that bitch!”

“Unni!”

“You scared me! Why are you yelling?!”

“I told you to stop swearing!”

“

Geez,

how is this swearing?”

“Unni!”

“Alright, I got it.” Sung Mi-Na pouted.

For some reason, her younger sister’s nagging seemed to have gotten worse. Still, this was much better than the cold treatment from before.

“But...What’s with him?”

Sung Mi-Na pointed at the kid in black helmet who had joined the match after her.

Ding!

Then, the LED announcement board notified details of the next match.

Hunter War Quaterfinals

Second Match: Zan Le Mang vs Yu Il-Shin

“Where the hell is Il-Shin, and what is that kid in the arena?”

“Mr. Yu said he had some urgent business to attend to.”

To Sung Mi-Na, there was only one Hunter named Yu Il-Shin in South Korea. He could probably take on Zan Le Mang. However, he and Director Gal Joong-Hyuk had sent a substitute—and a kid, no less? None of it made sense to her.

“

Haa,

I’m speechless.” Sung Mi-Na sighed, resigning to fate.

Their opponent, Zan Le Mang, was equally baffled. “Are you really Hunter Yu Il-Shin?”

In fact, she had watched the match between Greece and Korea, when Yu Il-Shin fought on the field. For the first time in a while, excitement surged within her, and that was why she made the starting lineup. But why was she up against a kid instead?

“Des...troy!” Sam-Shin nodded confidently, but his oversized helmet slipped off, forcing him to grab it hastily with both hands.

The audience’s reaction wasn’t that far off from Zan Le Mang’s.

“Where did Yu Il-Shin go? Why would they send this kid?”

“Well, they sure as hell ain’t fooling anyone. Is Team Korea nuts or something?”

“Maybe this is staged? Still, this is just too much...”

Zan Le Mang clutched her head. “

Haa...

Organizer, please verify his identity.”

“P-please wait a moment!”

A staff member from the organizing committee rushed into the arena, surrounding Sam-Shin.

“Are you really Hunter Yu Il-Shin?”

“Des...troy!”

“To be fair, there are occasional cases of transformation among Reinforce-type Hunters... Hey, why don’t you do a biometric check?”

“He is a 100% match with Hunter Yu Il-Shin’s biometrics.”

“Well, this is awkward. Director Gal Joong-Hyuk, is this really Hunter Yu Il-Shin?” the staff asked Gal Joong-Hyuk, who stood crossing his arms sternly like a gargoyle.

After a moment’s silence, Gal Joong-Hyuk nodded. “Yes, I’m positive.”

In fact, Gal Joong-Hyuk was prepared for this situation. At dawn, two bruised and battered men had shown up outside his hotel room, nearly smashing down his window.

“Hey, send this kid up in my stead.”

“Des...troy!”

𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

“What? Are you listening to yourself right now? Also, what time is this?”

“Rest assured, this kid is me.”

Gal Joong-Hyuk was about to cuss, but Yu Il-Shin’s next sentence shut him off like magic.

“If you cooperate, I’ll give you your armor back.”

The offer was too tempting to refuse, so a deal was struck.

“

Hmm,

we’re left with no choice.”

With Director Gal Joong-Hyuk’s confirmation, the organizing committee had no choice but to comply. Although Sam-Shin was a bit suspicious, no rules were broken, so there was no reason to stop the match.

The staff shook their head and walked out of the arena. Meanwhile, after learning the situation, the MC picked up the microphone with a grim face.

—According to the organizing team, his appearance might be slightly different, but he’s still Hunter Yu Il-Shin.

“

Huh?

How is that

slightly

different?”

“What’s going on?”

Among the audience’s chattering came a little girl’s faint cheer.

“Uncle Sam-Shin! Good luck!”

Sam-Shin’s ears perked up, and he vigorously drew a V in the direction of Seong-Yeon’s voice.

—Let the second match begin!

W-what?

Zan Le mang was puzzled. She never imagined she’d end up fighting a kid in the Hunter War.

Okay, well, since he passed the biometrics verification, he should still be Hunter Yu Il-Shin.

Zan Le Mang tried to convince herself.

Clunk!

Just then, Sam-Shin raised the visor of his helmet, revealing a part of his face.

Zan Le Mang was taken aback.

He was no more than ten years old, and his face was eerily pale, with eyes as dark as rubies.

Sam-Shin stared at Zan Le Mang, then shook his head.

“Des...troy? (Are you not going to fight?)”

H-he’s too cute!

She too, had a child in middle school around his age. He was in his rebellious period now, but he was just as adorable when he was younger. Seeing Sam-Shin only brought back memories for her, which worried her even more.

What should I do? I can’t fight that child! There’s no way I can strangle him until he passes out like Sung Mi-Na! Who knows what side effects will surface for him?!

—Both Hunters are just standing there! We’re unable to predict how this match will turn out!

Pzzz!

“

Huh?

”

Just then, Zan Le Mang noticed red sparks scattering from Sam-Shin’s eyes.

Sam-Shin yelled, “Des...troy!”

The world was dyed red in an instant. Zan Le Mang gasped in horror when a giant beam of light descended on her.

“

Hyii!”

Ruuumble!

The red beam soared into the sky. The invisible barrier, which should’ve been able to withstand even an S-rank Hunter’s attack, was torn like paper.

Swoosh!

“Oh my gosh!”

“Oh. My. God...”

The crowd gasped as the beam disappeared into the stars. Who knows what would have happened if that beam had hit them?

Zan Le Mang was the most appalled one. She breathed heavily, trying to catch her breath. For the first time in the Hunter War, she drew her giant sword—yet even then, she barely deflected the beam. Her arms were still trembling from the impact.

He isn’t an S-rank, but at least an SS-rank!

Without her divine sword, she wouldn’t have been able to parry his attack at all!

“...Did he plan to catch me off guard with that new look?”

The eyes of a warrior returned to Zan Le Mang as she looked at Sam-Shin.

She pointed the giant sword at the kid. It was the ill-fated sword—Dragon Slayer—that was originally forged to slay the Despair Dragon, but ultimately rendered obsolete by Ragnarok, a joint effort between America and the elves.

“I won’t hold back anymore.”

As if he had been waiting for this moment, Sam-Shin yelled, “Des...troy!”

On the other hand, Yu Il-Shin—no, Yu Yi-Shin, who had sent out Sam-Shin as his substitute...

“

Ho?

”

Tzzz!

He was surrounded by the elves’ swords, which glowed as if they had some sort of sword qi.