The Hunter took a deep breath to ease his nerves.
It had been three years now since he'd been discharged from the military and entered solo activity.
He was starting to feel, bone-deep, that there was no future in this field with his ability. He'd grown nostalgic for his earnings during his soldier days.
While he was wrestling with whether to go back to the military, he happened to hear about this event.
The fact that figures from the SPECAB Command would gather, the talk that a bigwig might possibly attend, and the fact that, though it was a privately held after-party, any Hunter qualified to attend.
After that, he'd begged a hyung he knew and barely scrounged up an invitation. It was possible only because he was a guild leader, ruined guild though it was.
A hard-won chance that might just be a turning point.
From here on is what matters.
The Hunter put on his mask and entered the hall.
A splendid scene unfolded. Maybe two floors had been combined, because the ceiling was quite high.
A chandelier hung from the ceiling. He had his gaze stolen by the chandelier above for a moment, then turned his eyes away. What mattered wasn't the look of the hall.
The Hunter lit a fire in his eyes. Thinking of a future returning to the military, he planned to build up connections.
When he scanned the surroundings diligently, one person caught his eye.
A man with a simple but luxurious-looking mask, an expensive suit, and a relaxed air about him.
He was dressed wrapped in all manner of high-priced items. The wristwatch alone had diamonds densely set into the bezel. Looking closely, it was, as expected, a watch from a brand famous for being expensive.
They said bigwigs might come… could it be?
I want to make a connection.
But the atmosphere made it hard to strike up a conversation. While he hovered around hesitating, he spotted the companion beside the man.
The companion of the man who looked like a bigwig was eating dessert. Very ravenously, like someone who knew nothing of manners.
Seeing that lowered his psychological barrier.
Maybe he's not such a big deal after all.
Right. If not now, when would a chance like this come again?
The Hunter mustered his courage and spoke to the brown-haired man.
“Hello there.”
“Hm? Hello.”
The man returned the greeting with a smile. Without rising from his chair. The bleached-hair one beside him didn't even lift his head from where it was buried in his plate.
What's this?
The Hunter, feeling he was being ignored, was put off. But since he didn't know what kind of person the other was, he held it in for now and introduced himself.
“I'm Jo Wooyeon, of the Mirae Guild.”
The other had no reaction.
In this flow, shouldn't he naturally introduce himself too? Just as it was getting strange, the man scratched his cheek as if troubled and opened his mouth.
“Um… do I have to as well?”
“!”
What does that mean?
At the man's attitude, acting as if it were obvious he wouldn't, confusion rushed in.
Don't tell me he's someone high enough that everyone knows him without him bothering to introduce himself? Was there a reason he hadn't risen from his seat when receiving a greeting?
The Hunter hurriedly answered.
“Ah, n-no. You don't have to.”
Even so, he broke into a cold sweat, wondering if he'd made a mistake.
But…
The man before him, Seo Sinwoo, wasn't even a Hunter. He was thinking about how to smooth this over, recalling the alias Kim Cheolsu.
Wasn't concealing your identity the rule?
These Association bastards sure love their socializing. No wonder the Boss can't stand the Association. Thinking that.
Fortunately, a situation calling for the name Kim Cheolsu didn't arise. The Hunter let it pass without saying anything.
Asking to be excused, the Hunter took a seat, hesitated, then opened his mouth.
“I was a little late today because I'd gone into a Gate that opened over in Incheon and was just getting out. Being late, it's hard to break into the others' conversations.”
“Is that so?”
The truth was, the Hunter hadn't exactly come late.
Even though he'd cleared it together with his guild members, having raided a Gate so recently was a badge of honor in itself.
It was just a line he'd tossed out to show off his ability.
Contrary to his expectations, the other showed little interest even at his pet appeal. If anything, he answered indifferently, as if he'd heard something trivial.
…What's with this man?
The Hunter threw out a question, partly to feel the other out.
“Do you go into Gates often, sir?”
It might come across as a little impudent, but it was a question worth the risk.
Whether he was an active Hunter or not. On top of that, knowing the frequency with which he entered Gates would narrow down his department to some degree.
He kept up his calculations diligently in his head and waited for an answer.
But.
“…I used to, but these days I don't go in personally.”
The Hunter thinks.
He used to go into dungeons often, but doesn't now? And if he's a figure everyone would recognize.
This person… is at least general-officer rank.
Wrong.
Seo Sinwoo had simply omitted the latter half.
Like the Boss said, I've been holed up in the hideout, so I've barely done anything for nearly a week.
Prior knowledge about the event's attendees, Seo Sinwoo's rude attitude treating the other like a subordinate, and the Hunter's nerves combined to birth an absurd misunderstanding.
The Hunter, gone stiff, gulped.
“So, then…”
That's when it happened.
Someone abruptly cut into the conversation.
“Can I go grab more?”
“As much as you like.”
The bleached-hair one, busy demolishing desserts, had tossed the words at the man presumed to be a military higher-up.
The moment permission was granted, the bleached-hair one promptly picked up his plate and stood.
Casual speech without the slightest hesitation… who is this person?
The Hunter looked at him, full of doubt.
It was the brief moment the bleached-hair one passed in front of the Hunter. Suddenly, the red eyes beyond the mask met his gaze faintly.
“…!”
An intense red.
The instant he saw it, a buried memory invaded his mind.
It was the memory that had caused his discharge.
…During my service, I once accidentally wandered into a restricted-access area while looking for a bathroom.
There, the Hunter had, by chance, peered into the Association chief's secret room.
He'd fled quickly without anyone catching him… but the scene he'd witnessed then was something he still couldn't forget.
A blood-soaked room visible beyond a small window. Eyes that met his as if to pierce through him. They'd definitely been lifeless red eyes just like these.
The Hunter stared for a moment with a dazed look at the back of the bleached-hair one piling up food.
…A figure connected to the Association chief?
This wasn't a level he could handle.
“So then what?”
The man before him asked after the latter half of his cut-off words. But…
“I, I think my party's arrived, so I'll be off… Enjoy your meal, sir!”
His face ashen, the Hunter said a hasty goodbye and scrambled away.
“What's with him?”
A masquerade ball.
When everyone's wearing a mask, security naturally gets lax. Who planned a party like this, and with what in mind?
I leaned against my chair without hiding my boredom, jiggling my leg.
“Everyone's got it so easy…”
No one comes near us.
Whether it's because we're obviously unfamiliar figures, or because of that bleached-hair one shoveling down desserts like a man possessed.
At first someone did come over, but he babbled on about stuff I wasn't even curious about all by himself, then left soon enough.
Bored, I started observing the masked people.
Even though it was an event running like an after-party once the important schedule had ended, everyone was being rather formal.
The majority of them are probably Association personnel and Hunters. Like that man I met earlier.
The Association… its official name is the Special Abilities Command.
Just think of it as a military that handles awakeners and it's easy.
At first opinions on it were fairly split, but by now it had come to be evaluated as an indispensable institution.
And this was a 10th anniversary event held by that very Association.
If a person died at the event's finale, no less, in a place packed with Hunters, it would surely put a scratch on the Association's prestige.
That was what the Boss was counting on.
Fail, and I die.
Succeed, and I'll probably get killed by the system or by Choi Haegang.
It looks like a situation where every choice is a problem, but the way to solve it was simple.
Just don't kill Yeom Hajae and stay still, that's all.
[Breaking: Monster charges Association building… numerous critically injured]
Because even without me jumping in, this party ends in shambles.
My plan was to make a vague show of killing Yeom Hajae, then dress up the monster's incursion as terrorism to make things even more of a mess, and bolt.
That much should satisfy the Boss, no?
“Ooh…”
Jang Yijung, who'd been diligently scarfing cake beside me, licked the cream off his thumb and marveled.
“This cake is seriously good.”
“Is it?”
He looks damnably carefree. Come to think of it, this spy is essentially back home right now, isn't he?
As I stared dully ahead, Jang Yijung spoke up.
“Are you looking for 'that person'?”
“Yeah.”
That too, but… the truth is, I've been feeling a strange gaze from somewhere this whole time.
It's not Choi Haegang, is it?
I didn't want to think the owner of the gaze could be Choi Haegang.
The mask I'm wearing has a special ability attached that disrupts others' perception. But I had a foreboding feeling that even that kind of cheap trick wouldn't work on Choi Haegang.
A sigh came out on its own, and I parted my lips.
“Aah.”
“?”
Sweet cream touched my tongue and melted.
“Up… what's this?”
“Coming all this way and eating nothing would be a waste, right?”
In the past I'd have spat it right in his face.
“Ah, haha… I'm fine. You eat plenty, Yijung.”
I had no choice but to chew and swallow the bread in my mouth along with a curse.
“'That person' still hasn't come.”
“You're right. It's about to start soon, too…”
As I answered while checking my wristwatch, Jang Yijung tapped my shoulder.
“There.”
When I lifted my head, I saw a man in a black mask entering the venue. Striking red-tinged hair. It was Yeom Hajae.
I checked right away for any companions trailing him.
There was no one around the glancing-about Yeom Hajae. It seemed he'd come alone.
Just as I was feeling relieved, Yeom Hajae suddenly turned to look this way.
?
The instant our eyes seemed to meet beyond the mask, the venue's lights went out.
The timing…
It had gotten hard to track Yeom Hajae's movements. As I frowned in displeasure, a spotlight clicked on and an emcee with a mask covering his face appeared.
“We will now begin the conclusion of the 10th anniversary commemoration ceremony.”
The emcee, dressed like he was about to do a magic show, droned on with nothing but tedious talk. The program that followed was nothing but dull things too—the pledge of allegiance, the national anthem, and so on.
“This occasion was prepared for all of you who have devoted yourselves to the nation up to now. For tonight at least, we hope you'll set down the burdens on your shoulders and enjoy yourselves at ease. Thank you.”
I scoffed. Enjoy yourselves at ease, he says.
Without even knowing a villain had walked into the center of the banquet.
A monster's about to storm in and people are scheduled to start dropping dead, and they're carrying on about setting down the burdens on their shoulders.
This is why they can't even properly handle an attack and end up taking the blame.
When the emcee exited, the lights slowly came on and a classical song played.
People began sitting at tables or wandering around exchanging greetings. They wore masks, but everyone seemed to subtly know one another.
Jang Yijung had outright piled up a heap of desserts in front of himself. I couldn't even begin to guess how many plates in he was.
“Still hungry?”
“Yeah.”
Still, to avoid being faulted by the Boss, I had to at least put on a show of following orders. I planned to bring Yeom Hajae over before Jang Yijung emptied this plate.
Right, Yeom Hajae…
…where did Yeom Hajae go?
I was concentrating right up through the pledge of allegiance!
Frantically, I searched for red hair among the people.
Fortunately, finding him wasn't hard. Yeom Hajae was standing.
He was hovering by another table. Then, after a bit of conversation while standing, he left the table.
After that, something similar repeated several times.
At first I wasn't sure, but observing continuously, I felt it for certain.
I didn't know the reason, but people were avoiding Yeom Hajae.
Are they dividing by rank or something?
No. More than something like that…
Fear?
As it happened, Yeom Hajae, having lost a place to go, leaned against the wall.
I smiled and rose from my seat.
