127. An Unexpected Reunion

“Drag!”

Ko Byeong-gap took the lead.

“Pull!”

“Hey!”

“Come on, let’s go!”

Dozens of Goblins, plus the hunters who offered to use their strength, pulled the ropes they held as hard as they could. The giant creature was dragged along behind them, leaving a long, red line along with the sweeping marks on the ground.

“That’s it! I came here after smelling blood!”

“Don’t come close!”

Kunta commanded the Spirits of fire, and they poured out their flames all at once. A huge barrier of fire appeared to block the crowd’s access. In the meantime, the dragon was moved into the castle, and the commotion faded away once the gate was locked.

Ko Byeong-gap wiped the sweat from his forehead and reviewed the dragon’s condition again. In short, it was a mess. Ko Byeong-gap hurriedly summoned a healer to heal the dragon. They readily cooperated, but they didn’t seem to know what they were doing.

“It’s… what the hell is this? Isn’t it a monster?”

“It’s Seo Si-hee.”

“What do you mean?!”

“First of all, please focus on treatment. You can’t let them die.”

“Oh, okay.”

Her wounds gradually recovered as Ko Byeong-gap brought over a basket of dumplings and potions he anxiously fed her. Seo Si-hee didn’t wake up, however. Ko Byeong-gap dragged her to a sunny place and set up a bonfire around her.

As a result, the disturbance concluded.

It was a slow afternoon the next day when she woke up as the dragon wriggled her huge body, the Goblins passing by scattered. A few split off, running to their Lord to report. Ko Byeong-gap hurried to where he had moved her. On his approach, he could tell the situation wasn’t good.

The dragon stood wary of the Goblins around her. The Goblins wouldn’t dare to approach, however.

“Hey!”

Before any horrible incident could occur, he caught the dragon’s attention. Seo Si-hee turned her head to regard Ko Byeong-gap. It was only then that the fierce atmosphere evaporated.

Ko Byeong-gap stood, facing the dragon. What should he say first? He had to take a moment.

“It’s you, right? Are you alright?”

“Crrr…”

After a brief growl, the dragon quickly transformed into a human female. Several spectators felt their jaws drop as Seo Si-hee walked toward Ko Byeong-gap.

“I failed.”

Ko Byeong-gap noticed that her eyes were trembling.

“I… I…”

“Hey, calm down.”

“Humanity is about to collapse.”

Ko Byeong-gap had a bitter taste in his mouth, feeling her words sounded like a death sentence from a judge’s mouth. He spoke into the air, hiding his disturbed mind.

“Dorma, are you there?”

“Did you call me?”

Dorma walked out of the black fog.

“Call a meeting right now.”

“I will follow your orders.”

Ko Byeong-gap took Seo Si-hee aside to eat for the meantime. He asked Ea to prepare a simple meal. However, Seo Si-hee shook her head.

“I don’t want to eat.”

“But still eat it. Do you know how much blood you’ve lost?”

“…Humanity will come to an end. I can’t stop it now.”

“Uh-huh, okay, so let’s eat.”

He forced a chunk of potato into her hand. Seo Si-hee crushed it, and tears ran down her cheeks. Ko Byeong-gap suddenly realized that she hadn’t arrived with anyone.

“The children you had with you….”

“They’re dead.”

She sobbed. However, Ko Byeong-gap didn’t feel sorrow from her. Rather, it was something closer to emptiness.

“Did Go Geon-ryong kill them?”

“He killed Beta and Omega. Alpha tried to escape with me but died of recoil from surpassing their limitations. In the end, the children were killed because of me.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“All those little ones died, but I survived alone again this time. I survived and flew all the way here, ugly and dirty. I… what am I…”

Ko Byeong-gap clicked his tongue and then raised his head. Ea was staring their way, blinking her big eyes.

“Ah, put this away.”

“What? But she didn’t eat anything.”

“It’s okay. She won’t be able to eat anything even if we have a feast.”

“By the way, shouldn’t you comfort her? She’s crying.”

Ko Byeong-gap glanced at Seo Si-hee.

“It’s not going to work.”

Seo Si-hee didn’t eat a single potato, so Ko Byeong-gap guided her to the conference hall. The people called by Dorma filled the seats.

As Seo Si-hee entered the hall, the hunters jumped to their feet. They were restless like freshmen meeting a distant senior. The sight of well-known S-class hunters hurriedly pulling out their chairs was even better, though. Of course, the reaction from Kunta and the Goblins was lukewarm.

“It’s Seo Si-hee.”

The meeting began with someone whispering. Seo Si-hee drooped like seaweed in her chair. Still, she answered questions steadily and told them what she had been through.

The grand narrative was summarized: she faced Go Geon-ryong and eventually lost. There was nothing more to add.

“What is Go Geon-ryong’s ability?”

When Seo Si-hee shut up, Hunter Ho Chan-myung asked if he had been waiting. She shook her head.

“He doesn’t have an ability.”

“What? What does that mean?”

“Go Geon-ryong doesn’t have a superpower, nor is he anything special.”

The people were dumbfounded. Come to think of it, information about Go Geon-ryong was veiled. The only explanation for him was the qualifier ‘the world’s strongest man’ that followed him like a tag. Thus, there was rampant speculation about what his abilities were. It was said that he had a powerful mind-control ability and could manipulate space-time.

Seo Si-hee calmly added.

“The problem is his Karma. The Karma he releases is very dense, and it’s infinite.”

“Infinite? Did you just say infinite?”

“Yes, that’s why Go Geon-ryong is said to be able to engage in an all-out war with the U.S. In addition, his Karma is so dense that if he decides to defend himself, you can’t even scratch him.”

“How can we defeat him?”

This time, Hunter Shin Ye-ji asked.

“A surprise attack is the only way to get rid of Go Geon-ryong… but in the end, I failed. Unless he’s a fool, he won’t get caught by the same trick twice. I can’t think of a way anymore.”

There was a gloomy silence in the conference room. Seo Si-hee met each person’s eyes slowly before speaking.

“By the way, what are you guys doing here?”

“I’ll tell you quickly.”

Ko Byeong-gap briefly explained what had happened so far. He talked about the monster wave that covered Korea, the human hunting of Illumination, and currently, how they were gathering people to prepare for a counterattack. After listening to all his stories, Seo Si-hee wore a blank look without emotion. Then, she lowered her head and muttered in a pessimistic tone.

“Stop it. It’s meaningless now. You don’t know what’s going on over there across the sea.”

“…”

Ko Byeong-gap felt dissatisfied with her attitude. Everyone had been holding out day by day to live, but she was quitting here.

“Then why did you come here? Did you come to blame me for rejecting your offer? Or did you fly all this way to tell me to stop?”

“That’s…”

“You have regrets, don’t you? That must be why you came all the way here with your injuries.”

Seo Si-hee hesitated to respond and soon quit. She couldn’t organize her thoughts.

“Why don’t you cooperate with us if you don’t want to die? We desperately need your strength.”

“It’s meaningless. Even if you drive out all the Illumination and the monsters in the Korean Peninsula, across the sea….”

“What the hell? That’s something we can think about then. Or do you want to say let’s just put our hands up and watch?”

“…”

“If it’s you and no one else, you have to work hard until the end. That way, you’ll be able to see the people who went first with your head held high.”

Seo Si-hee lost herself in thought while chewing her lip. Meanwhile, Jeong Seon-kyung spoke from the other side.

“Si-hee, please fight on our side. We need to have at least one SS-class when fighting. Doesn’t everyone think so?”

“That’s right. If Seo Si-hee joins us, we’ll feel more reassured than getting a thousand troops.”

“Okay, let’s fight until the end, even if everything’s over!”

The rest of the hunters agreed with Jeong Seon-kyung. Seo Si-hee still appeared confused but eventually nodded.

“…Okay. I’ll try to help you guys.”

“You made a good decision.”

The hunters were all delighted. She was an SS-class power that couldn’t be hired with money, after all. They applauded and welcomed her.

Once the applause died down, Ko Byeong-gap drew their attention.

“Now, please focus on me again.”

‘Done. Now the conditions have been met…’

There was another person who could open the door to Ashvilam. Currently, there was no need to postpone their operation.

Ko Byeong-gap said, suppressing his excitement.

“Let’s get ready for war.”

***

Their espionage activities continued for several days, led by assassin hunters who concealed their presence. Their mission was to find the Illumination base, and they ran day and night to find it.

‘No matter how much an enemy looks like an iron-clad Goblin, its essence is still a person.’

Their first target was the Design Plaza located in Dongdaemun.

“Then, I wish you good luck.”

“Be careful.”

“Byeong-gap, take care of yourself.”

“Why are you worried about me when it’s you who’s going to fight? Don’t worry, I’ll see you later.”

They would rely on a classic strategy where their infiltrators destroyed the target while the other teams ran distraction. Ko Byeong-gap volunteered as the group’s tank, and the other twenty-three S-class hunters were attached to Seo Si-hee.

Was it because he was strong enough to be unmatched? No, he had subordinates as loyal and fierce as an S-class hunter.

“Guys, let’s go.”

“Yeah!”

“I’ll take the lead.”

“As expected, it’s the most comfortable when I work with you.”

“It’s the best when we’re with the Lord!”

Eight Goblins worked with Ko Byeong-gap, each of the generals who took the souls of the ancient spirits. Ko Byeong-gap and his party approached the target, thoroughly concealed, and hid roughly a kilometer away.

He caught his breath as he checked his watch. It was 12:27 am. Three minutes left before the operation would be carried out.

In the meantime, Ko Byeong-gap recalled the details of the operation.

“Everyone, keep in mind our mission is not to annihilate the enemy but to attract as many as possible.”

“Yes, I remember clearly.”

“Okay. You must make as much noise as possible.”

“Lord! I’m confident about that!”

Doran answered enthusiastically. The corners of Ko Byeong-gap’s lips rose.

Finally, the clock pointed to 12:30. Ko Byeong-gap drew his sword.

“Let’s go and make a mess!”