NOVEL NEXT Chapter 175
Chapter 175: The Emperor?
Deputy Director Seo looked at Lee Si-hyun as if he were someone saying a ridiculous word.
Seeing that reaction, Si-hyun added, “I’m talking about the Emperor of the Hyris Continent.”
“Hyris, you mean… the Emperor from there?”
“That’s the one.”
“…Are you serious?”
Deputy Director Seo asked in disbelief.
Si-hyun nodded silently.
A moment of silence filled the room.
Deputy Director Seo’s expression showed that he found Si-hyun’s words too unexpected, his eyes squinting in thought.
After a while, Deputy Director Seo spoke again.
“…No, how did you come to know about the Emperor in the first place?”
It was common knowledge that there was an empire on the Hyris Continent; naturally, one would know there was an Emperor.
But that wasn’t the question he meant to ask.
Si-hyun had stated that the enemy’s power was overwhelming.
That meant he knew who the Emperor was.
Awakened Beings of A-Class and below had no memory of the other world.
Therefore, the only way to gain knowledge of that world was through S-Class Awakened Beings.
Even Deputy Director Seo, being an A-Class himself, only learned the true nature of the emperor after being officially appointed as the team leader of the Inspection Bureau.
The terror of a ruler that stained the continent with blood, often described as the most powerful individual.
Yet, how did this man know all of this?
“I heard it from an informant.”
Si-hyun replied.
“Who is this informant…?”
“I can’t disclose that.”
“….”
Deputy Director Seo confirmed once more how resolute Si-hyun was. Therefore, asking who the informant was would be futile.
He swept that thought from his mind and changed the subject.
“However, this is an incredibly hard story to believe. For the Emperor to plot to break out Choi Gang-hyuk… honestly, that sounds absurd.”
“I understand.”
Si-hyun replied.
But then he added, “However, it is the truth.”
“The truth….”
Deputy Director Seo muttered, shaking his head as if he couldn’t comprehend.
“But why would the Emperor want to break out Choi Gang-hyuk from detention?”
“Because Choi Gang-hyuk is a Predator. It seems the Emperor needs his power.”
“…Predator?”
Hearing this for the first time, Deputy Director Seo raised a questioning eyebrow.
“I can’t say for sure. I can only guess that the more Awakened Beings he kills, the stronger he becomes…”
“The more he kills Awakened Beings, the stronger he gets?!”
Cutting off Si-hyun mid-sentence, Deputy Director Seo sprang up from his seat unbidden, his face filled with shock as he muttered in stunned thought.
“Could it be…?”
“What’s wrong?”
Si-hyun looked at him with curiosity.
“…If that’s the case, it all clicks into place. Hmm….”
Deputy Director Seo shook his head.
Biting his lower lip, he returned to his seat.
“…Did the informant say that as well?”
“The informant told me about the Predator, but the speculation is my own. It seems there was a gain in only targeting Awakened Beings.”
“Impressive.”
“Yes?”
“Why haven’t we thought of that?”
“….”
In fact, Si-hyun was only able to make that guess because he had experienced encountering a Predator; otherwise, he wouldn’t have considered it.
Yet, he refrained from saying that.
“There was a pattern to Choi Gang-hyuk’s murders. First, it was E-Class, then D-Class, and then C-Class, and B-Class… Ultimately leading to A-Class.”
“I see.”
That information had not been made public by the media.
It seemed intentionally covered up.
“But we thought it was just one of the patterns of serial killers, just as each has their own habits. It’s obvious we never even considered that Awakened Beings could become stronger. But thinking in those terms, everything fits perfectly. If he started off weak and targeted E-Class, then as he grew stronger, he moved on to higher ranks…”
Deputy Director Seo frowned, lowering his head.
Still, he couldn’t believe it.
But if this speculation was true, then the more strong Awakened Beings Choi Gang-hyuk killed, the stronger he would become endlessly.
If he started killing A-Class, he would become S-Class, and if he killed S-Class, even higher…
It was a horrifying thought, causing Deputy Director Seo to shake his head.
His gaze turned once more towards Si-hyun.
“However, I’ve really never heard of the term ‘Predator’ before. I doubt even the Hunter Association head would know.”
He hadn’t been able to figure out Choi Gang-hyuk’s motive for murder because of this ignorance.
If he had known, he might have been able to guess the motive.
“I also heard it from the informant for the first time.”
Though he had already known because of Cheonbyeon, Si-hyun answered that way.
He thought it would help elevate the credibility of what the informant said.
“I’m really curious about the identity of that informant.”
“That’s….”
“I know, of course. I won’t pry further.”
“Yes.”
“Well.”
Deputy Director Seo intertwined his fingers, contemplating something.
Si-hyun watched him and asked, “So, what about the Hunter Association? Are you able to take action?”
“If this information is true, it’s definitely a matter that requires action.”
“It is true.”
“Yes, I also believe the informant’s words have a high degree of credibility.”
Though he took Si-hyun’s words seriously, Deputy Director Seo still held a bit of skepticism.
However, the moment he heard the word “Predator,” his heart tilted towards belief.
The situation of Choi Gang-hyuk and that term aligned too perfectly.
Since substantial portions of information regarding Choi Gang-hyuk had been concealed from the media, not just anyone could know.
The fact that he had gradually murdered higher-ranking Awakened Beings was also not publicly known.
Yet the informant seemed to be fully aware of all this, even going so far as to mention the term Predator.
It did seem that the informant was no ordinary person.
Deputy Director Seo continued, “Hmm… Do you have any more information? For example, when exactly they might try to break out Choi Gang-hyuk…?”
“Unfortunately, I don’t know that either.”
“Don’t you have any rough idea?”
“No, I do not.”
“…I see.”
Deputy Director Seo’s expression became somewhat troubled.
If they didn’t know when it would happen, they had no choice but to keep preparing.
An A-Class wouldn’t matter, but this time they were dealing with the Emperor, so it was absolutely necessary to mobilize S-Class.
Of course, they could mobilize an S-Class for this matter.
However, telling an S-Class to just keep watching Choi Gang-hyuk indefinitely without knowing when it would end or whether something would happen could lead to complaints.
Having experienced the pride of an S-Class himself, he knew it was beyond imagination.
“If we don’t know when something might happen, we can’t take action?”
Si-hyun asked upon seeing Deputy Director Seo’s expression.
“That’s not quite it…”
“But to prepare for this situation, we truly need strong individuals.”
“Yes, of course I know that. And I believe the head of the Hunter Association would think the same.”
“I believe he would.”
“Don’t worry. S-Class will mobilize.”
“Okay.”
If he had heard the term S-Class during his rookie days as a clueless Hunter, he might have felt completely relieved.
But now he understood.
There was a distinct difference even among S-Class.
So, there was no relief in his heart.
Si-hyun opened his mouth again and asked, “…But all five S-Class individuals won’t be able to mobilize at the same time, right?”
“To do that, there would need to be something more definitive to provide certainty. This alone is insufficient.”
Unfortunately, there was no such thing.
However, just hearing that they could mobilize S-Class was already a significant matter.
If it weren’t for all the things Si-hyun had built up until now, they would have likely ignored him the moment he mentioned it.
‘Yeah… this should be enough.’
Si-hyun thought to himself.
Even so, this was the best preparation he could make in his capacity as a Correctional Officer.
Of course, it was still insufficient.
Thus, Si-hyun also planned to prepare something on a personal level.
“Oh, and one more thing.”
As a thought suddenly came to him, Si-hyun spoke up.
“Yes? Please go ahead.”
“I forgot to mention who the Emperor is.”
◈ ◈ ◈
-Two S-Class along with two A-Class will be guarding Choi Gang-hyuk.
Yesterday, that message had reached Deputy Director Seo.
Two S-Class…
The Hunter Association was clearly not taking this lightly.
They had indeed mobilized two out of only five S-Class.
However, this was still far from enough.
They likely had some doubts about the credibility of the information and thought it unlikely that the Emperor would come himself.
It was undoubtedly low probability that the Emperor would come in person.
Nonetheless, the entire force would surely be immense to attempt to orchestrate Choi Gang-hyuk’s breakout.
But to convince them, he had to clarify that they were mistakenly perceiving him as a Sword Master.
‘…Should I just reveal it?’
Having gained confidence from acquiring a secret technique from Po-ahim, Si-hyun felt he was robust enough.
He was confident that he wouldn’t be outmatched by an ordinary S-Class.
Under these circumstances, revealing that he was Po-ahim didn’t seem too problematic.
‘No… that can’t happen.’
Si-hyun’s face paled as he pressed a hand to his chest.
The moment he reveals his identity to the Hunter Association, it would swiftly become known that he was Po-ahim.
Then Hyris too would find out.
Would she realize she had been deceived by Po-ahim all this time?
In that moment…
…It was undoubtedly the worst scenario he never wanted to even think about.
So he mustn’t carelessly reveal his identity without sorting out his relationship with Hyris.
Thinking about it, he had indeed been quite lucky in the U.S.
Despite having no choice but to reveal he was Po-ahim, it had been salvaged by sheer luck.
While Si-hyun was pondering such thoughts, a knock resonated from the Ward Office door.
“Yes.”
Si-hyun responded.
Soon after, the door to the Ward Office opened.
“…Lee Si-hyun Section Chief?”
With the door opened stood a man in his late thirties, appearing somewhat drowsy.
He wore an expression of fatigue as if his hangover had yet to lift.
“But… who are you?”
Si-hyun asked, casting a puzzled glance.
The visitor was not dressed as a Correctional Officer.
This was the Ward Office, a place that absolutely should not be entered by civilians.
So those disapproving looks were natural.
“Ah, so it’s really you. Hmm, let’s say I’m… a person who’s become tired because of you.”
The man suddenly made an unexpected comment.
Si-hyun raised a questioning gaze, unable to comprehend.
“Choi Gang-hyuk.”
As the man pronounced each syllable deliberately, Si-hyun finally figured out who he was.
He was certainly one of the S-Class Awakened Beings dispatched this time.
But how did he know about himself?
For a moment, those thoughts crossed Si-hyun’s mind, but he soon realized it made sense.
To mobilize an S-Class, he may have needed to reveal details about himself, and even if not, since he had shared the information with the Security Department head, it would be no issue for news of his identity to circulate.
“Thanks to you, I’ve been dragged here since this morning.”
“….”
Si-hyun fell silent, unsure of how to respond.
Looking at the man’s face, it was clear he wasn’t in a cheerful mood.
“Honestly, I don’t think your words are very credible. Well, I suppose the head of the Association found some degree of credibility in them, or I wouldn’t be here. So while it’s bothersome, I plan to do the job I was assigned.”
“Okay….”
Si-hyun nodded with a vague expression.
Truthfully, he didn’t know what kind of expression he should make.
“I don’t expect anything to happen… but just in case your words are correct….”
The man mumbled.
“Uh… what brought you here?”
Si-hyun interjected as it seemed the man would continue rambling indefinitely.
“I came to tell you to generally avoid where Choi Gang-hyuk is.”
“That’s only natural….”
After all, it was a place unrelated to Correctional Officers.
“I don’t mind, but the young woman who came with me is really irritated. I mean, a vibrant twenty-something girl would definitely find it frustrating and annoying to watch over prisoners here.”
…Watching over prisoners.
Si-hyun had heard of “guard” many times, but hearing “watching over prisoners” felt refreshingly amusing.
Laughing internally, Si-hyun looked at the man.
It was clear he understood what was going on.
It seemed that the companion who came with him was quite unhappy about this whole affair.
He had likely come to warn him to avoid standing out as much as possible.
“Well, take care. I’ll do my job as well. Although, I don’t expect anything to happen.”
With that, the man waved goodbye and exited the Ward Office.
Si-hyun chuckled in disbelief.
He seemed like a typical unmotivated worker.
Hearing his words, it appeared his companions were filled with frustrations about the situation.
Indeed, it was understandable for an S-Class Awakened Being to feel disgruntled at being put in the position of watching over a prisoner due to one piece of information they had brought.
But still.
“Well then….”
Si-hyun clicked his tongue.
After all, he could not leave everything to such people.
Being S-Class, they surely had skills, but they didn’t feel as strong as the Little King he had seen in the U.S.
That Little King was a swift defeat against a Sword Master.
They needed the real deal.
Not someone like him, but the true powerhouse.
Si-hyun had one person in mind.
The strongest person he knew: the silent Great Sorceress, Hyris.