Chapter 221: Chapter 220

The whole world was in an uproar.

– What, what's this?!

– What the hell is going on?!

– Did a dungeon break just happen?!

– What is this, really?!

People all over the world watching the live video couldn't help but be astonished as they saw the frozen last scene. An army of thousands suddenly rising from the empty ground! The overwhelming pressure from the shadow soldiers, with black smoke billowing from their bodies, seemed to be felt even beyond the screen.

– What, what is that? Could that be one of the variants that Siddharth Bachchan experimented on humans with?"

– Is that really it? They even have wings like dragonids!

– There were some without wings too.

– Hey, you Chinese! Keep showing us what it was!

The captured image of that last moment began to spread throughout the world. And the news reached the ears of various influential figures around the world.

* * *

– Russia.–

"Huh? What's this again? China?"

"It happened in Manipur, India, Prime Minister."

"Hmm."

Yuri Orloff, Russia's strongest S-rank Hunter and the country's de facto leader, narrowed his eyes and stared intently at the screen his secretary showed him. Thousands of black shadows. Yuri Orloff's eyes gleamed like a snake's as he scrutinized the sight of the obviously ominous magical beasts. The calculator in his head started working.

"If it's Manipur, there's no chance it will reach us, right?"

"Yes. Considering the distance and the fact that China is in between, we've determined there's no chance it will reach our country."

"What if this isn't a dungeon break?"

"Th-That..." The secretary stammered, a little flustered by Yuri Orloff's sharp question.

"If these black creatures aren't ordinary magical beasts, there's a slight possibility that it's a Hunter's summoning skill..." Even as he answered, the secretary thought it was ridiculous. Could one Hunter control this many summons?

'That's impossible.'

Summoners were mediocre guys who could only play a supporting role in battle. Even if an irregular appeared among them, how much mana would be needed to summon this many? Could a human body even withstand that amount of magic power...? But it wasn't like there was no method of achieving it at all.

'No way.' A single possibility came to the secretary's mind as he stopped mid-sentence. Wasn't the man standing right in front of him proof of that?

"If this is really a Hunter's skill, it's highly likely that they're using a method of drawing in external magic power."

"External magic power... Heh. That's my specialty."

"..." The secretary flinched as Yuri Orloff's gaze turned to him. His back was drenched in cold sweat from his chilling gaze.

Gulp.

He should be used to it by now, but whenever he stood before this man, he felt like a frog in front of a snake.

Russia's Prime Minister, 'Yuri Orloff.'

This old man, now smiling genially at him, was the one who suddenly took office as Minister of National Defense a year ago. At the time, he had no political experience, but no one considered that a disadvantage. Because he was an S-rank Hunter. Who would object to a superhuman, a walking strategic weapon, taking the lead of national defense? Especially his main skill, 'Barrier,' was the most essential ability in Russia, where dungeon breaks frequently occurred due to the vast landmass. Moreover, his barrier magic circle was maintained by absorbing surrounding magic power, and the more concentrated it was, the more robust and massive the barrier became. In short, the stronger the opponent, the more powerful his skill became. As soon as he became Minister of National Defense, he drew magic circles in Russia's major cities and created wide-area barriers. Although a large amount of magic stones collected by other Hunters were consumed in the process, Yuri Orloff, hoarded all the achievements and glory for himself, gaining the nickname 'Savior' and the enthusiastic support of the entire nation. But in retrospect...

The source of all the problems was giving control to a superhuman with the power of an S-rank Hunter. Even if it was a support type, the strength of an S-rank was beyond imagination. Thus, Yuri Orloff, who gained the support and welcome of the entire nation, seized the post of 'Prime Minister,' the second-highest position in the country, less than half a year after becoming Minister of National Defense. The previous Prime Minister was found dead the very next day, but who would dare to step up?

'Actually, all the citizens knew who the culprit was, but they had no choice but to keep their mouths shut if they didn't want to die.'

Yuri Orloff, suddenly became Prime Minister right after the previous one died, as if he had been waiting for it. Even though he blatantly revealed his ambition, no one could object. It was because of a single sentence he declared along with his claim to the position.

– Don't worry! As long as I'm here, Russia will be safe forever!

That's right. There was no choice in the first place. Russians were already living under the protection of the wide-area barrier he created. If this man had tried to become president, there would have been opposition. That would be a coup. A Hunter's rule by force was an act that would be condemned both internationally and locally. Perhaps even the International Hunter Association would have intervened to stop him. But strangely, Yuri Orloff didn't want the presidency. What he aimed for was the position right below that, the Prime Minister, so there wasn't much opposition from the people. He was still responsible for national defense, after all. But Orloff's secretary had recently learned the hidden truth that other countries didn't know yet.

'...This man has already made the president his puppet.'

The president, who happened to be the nation's highest authority, had a lot to lose, and that was his weakness. Even his own life was like a candle in the wind before an S-rank Hunter. On the other hand, Orloff had nothing to lose. He had been single until this age, and his parents had long since died of old age before the Cataclysm. Therefore, there was no way to stop his ambition, either by force or strategy.

'Russia already belongs to Yuri Orloff.'

No one would know if it wasn't revealed. It had been a long time since Russia became a world where everything was possible through force, and on the surface, the country maintained the same peace as before.

'As long as I keep my mouth shut.'

"So, are you saying that someone with an ability like mine has appeared?"

Flinch.

The secretary, startled by Yuri Orloff's voice, spoke cautiously.

"...It's just a hypothesis."

"What are the chances that he's Russian?"

"Extremely low. In the first place, it happened in India, and there are rumors that he's either a Chinese or Korean Hunter. Circumstantially, the Korean side is more credible."

"Korea... Tsk. Of all countries, it had to be the ones right below us."

Yuri Orloff drained his wine with a displeased expression and threw the glass on the floor.

Clang!

The secretary's shoulders flinched at the sharp sound of the glass shattering.

"Go on. Keep reporting as new information comes in."

"Yes, sir."

After the secretary left, Yuri Orloff, left alone, opened a new bottle of wine, took a swig and then turned his gaze to look out the window, where he had a panoramic view of the city.

Smirk. A faint smile crept onto his lips.

"...Should I kill him?"

Army and barrier.

Spear and shield, the worst possible matchup.

It would be perfect if he could bring him over to his side. But then it was obvious who would become the supporting role.

"I need to collect more magic stones." Yuri Orloff's eyes gleamed ominously.

* * *

– America –

"Haha. Look at this guy? He really made a scene this time." Thomas Andre chuckled and spoke to Laura as he read the news on his tablet. As expected, Laura was shaking her head and sighing.

"This is a first. A man causing more of a stir than you, Thomas."

"Oh, Laura! That hurts my feelings! Even if I'm an old man, I can still get things done!"

"Don't get competitive about that kind of thing, please."

Thomas Andre thoroughly enjoyed Laura's disgusted reaction and turned his gaze back to the tablet with a mischievous smile.

"Thanks to China, he had quite the debut. I don't know if this will be poison or not, but one thing's for sure." Although his lips were smiling, his fierce eyes gleamed like that of a predator.

"This will be the trigger for the vermin hiding in the shadows to crawl out." Whether intentionally or not, Sung Suho had practically declared an all-out war against the world. Against the apostles of Itarim and the Outer Gods cultists, who had been lurking like insects all over the Earth.

Crack! Crack!

Thomas Andre clenched his fists and snarled.

"Alright. I'll accept that challenge."

"So it's not a competition... Sigh."

The hunt for vermin had also begun in America.

* * *

– North Korea –

"Association President! I think you need to see this!"

"What is it?" Association President Woo Jinchul turned his head at his secretary's voice.

Kaboom!

Behind him, a super-large rock golem was collapsing with a tremendous explosion. No one was surprised by the sight, as if a building was being demolished. It was none other than Korea's strongest Hunter, Choi Jong-in, who was leading the subjugation of the magical beasts.

"Something big seems to have happened in India."

"...Hmm?"

Association President Woo Jinchul, who received the tablet from his secretary, pushed up his sunglasses. Then, an emotion rarely seen appeared in his sharp, hawk-like eyes.

Astonishment.

"W-Wait! Is this...!"

"...Association President?" Everyone around him couldn't help but be bewildered by his reaction as he checked the tablet again in a fluster. It was because no one here had ever seen Association President Woo Jinchul so flustered.

In the first place, why was Association President Woo Jinchul praised in Korea? He was someone who predicted and prepared for all possible scenarios, as if he was living his second life. In fact, his predictions were almost always accurate, making people wonder if he had a skill like prophecy or foresight. His greatest achievement was undoubtedly bringing Korea's strongest Hunter, Choi Jong-in, who was currently active in North Korea, into the Association immediately after his awakening. He also immediately enacted the Hunter Act to prevent villains from running rampant outside the law. It was Woo Jinchul who calmly went through all the procedures and created various bills during that turbulent time, more so than any politician. But this epitome of calmness, was now extremely flustered and astonished, at a loss for what to do.

"H-How could this happen! Could it be that he has returned? No, it's a bit... Wait, could it be?!" Woo Jinchul, who had been rambling to himself for a while after seeing the broadcast capture, finally found it. The face of the Hunter who had blown up the giant magical beast like a balloon with one punch before the thousands of shadow soldiers appeared.

"...Haha." Finally, a hollow laugh escaped Woo Jinchul's lips. It ended up being good. Unfortunately, it wasn't the face of the man he had been waiting for all this time. But... He could figure out who this Hunter, who looked so much like him, was. And what the identity of the 'ant', so small next to him that he could barely be seen even after zooming in on the screen was. Woo Jinchul could sense quite a lot of things. He adjusted his sunglasses and calmly spoke.

"Secretary Jung."

"Yes, sir."

He handed the tablet back to Secretary Jung, who was tense due to his unusual behavior, and said, "Could you find one person from the list of Hunters registered with our Association? If there is any information related to him, I need everything, even the smallest details."

"Alright. But who..."

"Sung Suho." The only son of his old friend, comrade, and the 'him' he respected and eagerly awaited. A somewhat empty yet relieved smile appeared on Woo Jinchul's lips as he mentioned his name.

"It seems we've left the house empty for too long." It looked like quite a lot had happened in the past few months.