Chapter 139

“Suho, even if you don’t want to move with my guild, why don’t we continue to exchange information?” Miho said. She had given Suho all the information she had, and this was the final suggestion she made before returning to her guild. “You’re not planning to capture all of the villains anyway, are you? Hmm... If you’re doing this to establish a guild of your own, you’ll only need about fifty.”

Recognition for catching villains was not based on headcount, but the amount each villain was worth. Suho only needed fifty if he was hunting low-ranked villains, but if he went after villains with higher bounties, he could meet the requirement with fewer. Miho had already heard why Suho wanted to do this, so she decided to focus on resolving the current situation instead of trying to recruit him.

“Oh, and just like you, we’re not after the money,” she added. “We need to get these villains behind bars as soon as possible for the sake of the citizens’ safety. We don’t care if you take all the bounty money. Let’s just help one another.”

Suho had nothing to lose from such an arrangement. He nodded and responded, “Why not?” With that, he shook Miho’s outstretched hand.

***

After parting ways with Miho, Suho headed to Pocheon, where Jisan Prison was located.

Que appeared, sliding into view en route. “Master, do you intend to start tracking the villains at the prison?”

“Que... What do you think you’d be doing right now if you were one of them?” Que had been a villain himself, and he knew their thought processes.

“Well, I planned to leave the country right away.” There weren’t many other choices available to the likes of the villains wanted by the association. “No matter how strong the prisoners might be, they can’t beat stronger hunters that come after them all at once. They must hide and stay out of sight.”

It was for this reason that the five hundred escaped villains were staying under the radar and not making too much trouble. From the citizens’ perspectives, of course, this was even more unsettling. Criminals with supernatural strength could be mixed among them without their knowing. They would be easy to avoid if they kicked up a riot, but if they continued to stay in hiding, it would be impossible to evade them if they suddenly revealed their true colors. It was such a latent danger that it made the people even more afraid.

“For example, a woman who looked completely ordinary chose a victim, stalked them, and murdered their entire family in their home just so she could hide out there,” Que said. In that instance, an already-accused villain had committed another crime while on the run. In most cases, the awakening of special abilities changed nothing about a person on the outside, and it was difficult to tell them apart visually. Of course, villains were incomparably more powerful than the ordinary criminals that had been around since before the Great Cataclysm, so the threat of them remaining undetected was that much greater.

“But such a thing was only possible back then.” In South Korea, it was near impossible to avoid being tracked by the Hunters Association, as persistent and determined the association was. “So leaving the country is the only way to avoid being found, and there are only two ways to accomplish this.” Villains’ passports were canceled immediately, and given the geographical location of South Korea, there were limited ways for them to leave. “They either have to try to swim across the ocean, like I did, or if that is beyond their ability, to go north.”

“To North Korea...” Suho murmured.

“Yes. As it happens, Jisan Prison is in Pocheon, nearer to the border. So North Korea is the much more convenient option.”

“But Choi Jongin is in North Korea, luckily for us.” Jongin, the president of the association and an S-rank hunter, was currently stationed in the north. The escaped villains would have to be very rash to head that way of their own accord.

Que nodded emphatically. “Of course. That means the middling ones who can’t swim through the ocean will be trapped in Pocheon.”

“Right. And the instigator of the escape, Hwang Dongsuk, is C-rank—I’d call that middling, wouldn’t you?” This was the first reason that Suho had chosen to head to Jisan Prison, but he had another reason as well.

“My goodness! Such intelligence, Young Monarch!” Beru, who’d been listening quietly, suddenly raised his head. His eyes glowed with excitement. “In order to save Hwang Dongsuk, Greed will be compelled to rush to Pocheon!”

Beru had already told Suho about Hwang Dongsoo. In the previous timeline, he had become one of Jinwoo’s shadow soldiers, going by the name of “Greed.” But after time was rewound, he was returned to his human state and once again lived as Hwang Dongsoo. Like the others, he had forgotten all his past memories.

Beru didn’t care about this bit of backstory, however. Ever since he learned of Dongsoo’s involvement in the current situation, he had been elated. “This is wonderful news! You must seize the opportunity to kill Hwang Dongsoo and turn him back to Greed! I’m sure he wants it himself!”

“It’s not as easy as that,” Suho said skeptically. “You said he was an S-rank villain.”

“S-rank or not, any human can be killed by detaching their head from their shoulders.”

“My mother is an S-rank, too, you know.”

“Kieeek!” Beru seemed to be at a complete loss for a moment. Then he dropped to the floor, prostrating. “Forgive me. I have spoken like a treacherous servant and a foolish—”

“Anyhow...” Suho said, turning away and looking forward. “We’ve arrived.”

As they approached the prison, Suho frowned at the smell of blood that filled the air, emanating from the very gate. The stench alone allowed him to guess what terrible violence had occurred here two days ago. But as it happened, he had someone on his side with an even better sense of smell.

“Gray...”

With a howl, a gray wolf appeared from Suho’s shadow.

[Gray - Level 35 - Fang Wolf]

“Let’s get tracking.”

***

Two days before, it was business as usual at Jisan Prison. At yard time, the inmates all came out to the field to go about their outdoor activities. Some engaged in light exercise in the middle of the field, and others gathered in groups in the corners, chattering and snickering. Even if Jisan specialized in villains and boasted the greatest security level in Korea, the prisoners’ daily routines were not so different from those in an ordinary prison.

“Well, now, this is some great weather we’re having!” A man walked out into the field, stretching, and everyone present there tensed. This was Hwang Dongsuk, the king of the castle—or the prison, as it were. He was a C-rank villain who reigned supreme among the inmates.

“Oh, yes, hello. Don’t worry about me. Go about your business.” Dongsuk smiled with satisfaction as the inmates he made eye contact with bowed to him politely. He sat down on a bench and his men gathered around him as if on cue. His followers were also known as the Hairy Gang.

The other prisoners, conscious of the group, turned their heads to avoid meeting Dongsuk’s eyes. “Hey, Hairy! Don’t scare them,” said a guard sternly.

“What did I do? You’re gonna hurt my feelings. Heh...” Dongsuk simply rubbed his thick beard and responded playfully. His smile and tone of voice might have been friendly, but his eyes were icy as he looked the guard up and down.

The man felt a chill from Dongsuk’s eyes, which were somehow like those of a snake, but he tried to keep his face impassive. As a guard, he had nothing to fear. Dongsuk was a petty criminal and a C-rank villain—the real problem was his younger brother, Hwang Dongsoo.

“Oh, by the way,” Hwang Dongsuk said in passing as if he’d just recalled something. “Has my brother been caught yet?”

The guard said nothing.

“My goodness. From your face, I’d wager he hasn’t. You should pick up the pace if you want to ensure the safety of the citizens.”

The guard quietly gritted his teeth, reading the threat in his words.

“My brother is still out and about. Watch your back, my man.”

Dongsoo, the younger brother, was no less than an S-rank villain, and as Dongsuk said, he had yet to be caught. In fact, he was so dangerous that it was doubtful if he would ever be captured. Dongsuk made good use of this fact, enjoying great popularity among the other inmates because of it. His S-rank villain of a brother was not behind bars, so no one in the prison dared to cross him. It wasn’t like every prisoner was here for life—one day, their sentences would be fully served and they would leave this place. Only their families were vulnerable to Dongsoo right now, but returned to civilian society, they would have even more reason to fear him. The prison officers were no exception, of course.

“Phew... What a lovely day, I must say.” Having promptly shut up the impertinent guard, Dongsuk snickered and took in the bright sunlight. The grass was green and neatly trimmed, and the flowers were colorful. Bees and butterflies fluttered about freely above, lending to the most peaceful mood possible.

However, it didn’t matter that he’d become the bona fide king of this place or that life had become comfortable within its walls. Jisan was still a goddamned prison. He wanted to be like the bees and the butterflies, free to go where he wished.

Hehe... Perfect weather... for an escape.

Dongsuk grinned, and his eyes drifted down to the anklets he wore. Until now, the sight had been enough to ruin any good mood, but today was different.

“Boss,” whispered one of his men as soon as the guard had moved away. “Everything is ready.”

“Hehehe. All right, well done.” A suggestive smile appeared on Dongsuk’s lips.

All the efforts I’ve put in to finally get out of this dump!

It was now at an end.

The airtight security?

The hunters of the association?

None of it matters.

He knew that if all the villains here rebelled at once, they could get out, no problem—if the sickening inhibitors around their ankles could somehow be dispatched, that was.

“Tonight,” Dongsuk said, his eyes gleaming, “we leave this place.”

And in the end, they’d figured it out. Indeed, there was a way to use mana even with these anklets on. Dongsuk’s gang had distributed a blue pill to all the villains in the prison without catching the eye of the guards—Stardust. Dongsuk had used all sorts of pathetic and bothersome methods to smuggle this mana enhancer into the prison, and tonight, his efforts would see the light.

At ten in the evening, every villain in the prison took a pill at Dongsuk’s command, amplifying their mana output. Surprisingly enough, the inhibitors did not respond to their altered mana.

“Phew... He was right. How did he figure it out?” It had been so long since Dongsuk had felt mana bubbling inside him, filling him entirely. Even though he’d checked the strategy multiple times by having his men test it out, he’d never taken the Stardust himself. A grin of satisfaction was plastered on his face.

“Shall we begin?” Dongsuk’s eyes were perfect beacons of cruelty as he commanded, “Kill the guards. All of them.”

Sirens went off, and the riot began. Screams filled the air. The sudden noises caused the bees and the butterflies, resting on the flowers in the darkness of the yard, to flutter into the air.