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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: The Filial Son, Kim Bong-gu
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Kang-jun stared at the status window that appeared before him, a grin spreading across his face as he murmured softly.
“Iriel.”
She was one of his five most loyal subordinates, bound to him by a ‘Vassal Pact’.
One of the five Ministers who oversaw the five core institutions within the Imperial Court.
She had held the weighty position of head of the Ministry of the Imperial Household, responsible for serving him, the Emperor, and managing all events within the Empire.
No, that wasn't quite right.
There was a much simpler, clearer way to describe her.
While their relationship on the surface might have been merely that of a lord and vassal…
She was a comrade who had shared in his joys and sorrows for a very long time, a friend to whom he could bare his soul.
Kang-jun then stretched his hand out into the empty air.
“Succubus Empress, Iriel.”
At the same moment, with a sudden “C-C-CRACK-!” sound, a fissure began to form in the space directly in front of him…
The fissure gradually widened, and beyond it, something resembling the form of a woman started to appear.
“Answer my call.”
As soon as Kang-jun chanted the incantation for the vassal summoning spell, a sinister and chilling aura erupted from where he stood, spreading in all directions…
“B-Bro?”
Bong-gu, instantly overwhelmed by the menacing energy, couldn't help but inch backward repeatedly.
The form of the woman-shaped being, which had been visible only as a blurry, shadow-like silhouette, slowly began to sharpen.
“My Lord…?”
At that, Kim Bong-gu stared blankly at the source of the voice, as if possessed.
Was this what the voice of the mythological Siren, said to have captivated sailors with her voice alone, sounded like?
The ‘form’ of the mysterious woman, which had been nothing but a blur, gradually came into focus…
*‘Beautiful.’*
Skin as white and smooth as white jade, contrasted by long, dark, straight hair.
Features so exquisite they seemed to have been painted with the utmost care by a master painter using a fine brush.
A voluptuous body that looked as if it had been painstakingly sculpted by a dying potter with the last of his strength.
She boasted a beauty so sublime it could be called the very standard of beauty itself, without the slightest exaggeration.
But if one had to pick the single most captivating feature that drew the eye…
*‘Her eyes….’*
Her reddish eyes, like freshly bloomed roses, had completely mesmerized Kim Bong-gu.
“Iriel, have you been well?”
At Kang-jun's question, the woman, who had been watching him from beyond the rift, asked back in a deeply emotional tone.
“I-Is it truly you, my Lord-?”
Then, she suddenly burst out of the fissure and threw her arms around Kang-jun in a tight embrace.
“My Lord, how could you…!
She looked up at him, her eyes welling with tears, and spoke in a voice thick with emotion.
“My Lord, for the past several decades, this servant believed you had truly entered eternal rest!”
“Uh, I thought so too, but somehow…”
“M-My Lord! Is your noble body well? I worry, for the light in your royal eyes and on your royal lips seems dimmer than before!”
“I'm fine,” Kang-jun replied, gently pushing Iriel away as he added.
“What are you doing-?”
“Ah-!” Iriel exclaimed, her cheeks flushing as she quickly took a few steps back.
“M-My apologies….
She immediately dropped to one knee, bowed her head, and added in a solemn tone.
“Iriel, Minister of the Imperial Household, greets her Lord.”
“Enough with the pleasantries…” Kang-jun said, tilting his head slightly as he asked.
“How have things been?”
At his words, Iriel once again adopted a perfectly formal tone and began to answer softly.
“After you and the Grand Duke entered eternal rest, everyone has remained in their positions and carried on as usual.”
“And the next Emperor?”
“Nazgûl, the former Minister of Military Affairs, has succeeded you as Emperor and is overseeing the affairs of the state.”
Kang-jun nodded, satisfied.
“Good, everyone's doing well.”
He himself had considered either his strategist, Crabslie, or the Minister of Military Affairs, Nazgûl, as potential successors.
*‘Since Crabslie came to Earth with me, Nazgûl is the most fitting person for the throne….’*
Just then, Iriel let out a soft "Ah," and asked in a voice filled with concern.
“My Lord, I apologize for asking, but the Grand Duke, who volunteered to be buried with you and enter eternal rest…?”
Kang-jun answered nonchalantly.
“Crabslie? He went to the supermarket with my sister.”
“Pardon?”
“Never mind. Anyway, he's doing fine.”
Kang-jun, mumbling vaguely as if explaining it all was too much trouble, looked at Iriel and added.
“We shouldn't just stand here. Let's talk more on the way back to my place.”
He had a mountain of questions he wanted to ask Iriel.
And there were just as many things he needed to tell her.
Kang-jun turned his head slightly and looked at Bong-gu.
“My praiseworthy Bong-gu.”
“Yes….”
“My one and only disciple.”
“Yes…?”
Then, giving him a thumbs-up, he added quietly.
“The thing is, I snuck out, so I have to get back before my sister does.”
“B-B-Bro?”
“I can leave you to clean up the mess, right? Shouldn't be a problem?”
“W-Wait a minute!”
“Bong-gu, Bong-gu, watch me disappear. One, two, three…”
As soon as Kang-jun finished counting to three and said, "Poof!", the two of them vanished in an instant.
And so, only the corpse of the Frost Giant Hrimthurs, buried deep in the snow, and Kim Bong-gu were left behind on the vast, snowy plain…
“Ah….”
A low sigh escaped Kim Bong-gu's lips and fell limply to the ground.
A Disaster-rank Gate, no less.
This was clearly not a matter that could be swept under the rug like the Guro Digital Complex Station Gate.
Meanwhile, in the present. The area around Sillim Intersection Station was rife with anxiety and tension.
To prevent a wave phenomenon, a host of formidable ranker-class Hunters had been summoned by the Bureau and were on standby…
Reporters from various media outlets, risking their lives for the public's right to know, were also holding their positions.
Just then.
A middle-aged man in a sharp suit stepped out from the back seat of a sedan that had just arrived on the scene.
From his hair, slicked back without a single strand out of place, to his custom-tailored suit, free of any wrinkles.
One look at his appearance was enough to tell he was the epitome of a perfectionist.
“Bureau Director Seo Do-cheol.”
He was the head of the Awakener and Gate Management Bureau, a government agency.
He had rushed to the scene immediately after finishing a public announcement informing the nation that the new Gate was Disaster-rank.
He loosened the tie that was constricting his neck and spoke politely to an official on site.
“First, I'd like to see the list of Hunters in the first assault team.”
“Yes, Director,” the official replied, immediately handing over a file.
“A total of twenty Hunters were deployed, led by Chu Ji-hun, the Swift Sword, ranked 10th among S-rankers.”
“Any other noteworthy personnel besides Hunter Chu Ji-hun?”
“Shin Jun-hyeon the Burly, ranked 2nd among A-rank Hunters, and ranked 19th among A-rank Hunters…”
The official, after listing several other fairly famous Hunters, added cautiously.
“And finally, one C-rank rookie Hunter who's been gaining attention lately was hastily added to the first assault team.”
Bureau Director Seo Do-cheol, who had been flipping through the papers, frowned deeply and asked carefully.
“A C-rank?”
“Yes, Director,” the official confirmed, adding a few more details.
“Yes, he's the up-and-coming Hunter who recently subdued an A-rank Murderer from the Anti-Bureau Alliance at the Guro Digital Complex Station Gate.”
“Ah, that fellow,” Bureau Director Seo Do-cheol murmured, tilting his head slightly.
*‘What was his name again?’*
Though he couldn't recall the name right away, he definitely remembered receiving a report on that incident recently.
He had even personally signed the report requesting that the Hunter be granted eligibility for the year-end Promotion Evaluation.
“Tsk, I thought he was a promising young man just starting to make a name for himself. What a shame…”
As he finished speaking, a dark shadow slowly fell over Bureau Director Seo Do-cheol's face.
A Disaster-rank Gate was a place where success could not be guaranteed, no matter how many S-rank Hunters were sent in.
Even with renowned Hunters like Chu Ji-hun the Swift Sword deployed…
*‘This level of force will never be enough to clear it….’*
The document in his hand would soon become a list of Hunters who died in the line of duty.
The on-site official nodded once and continued in a somber tone.
“We had to deploy the 'assault team' in a hurry, before the Gate's danger level could be fully measured…”
At that, Bureau Director Seo Do-cheol gently patted the official's shoulder and added.
“Thanks to them buying us time, we were able to gather all these ranker-class Hunters in one place, weren't we?”
“Yes….”
“For the sake of those who sacrificed for the greater good, it is our duty to prevent any secondary damage, no matter what.”
He had witnessed countless Hunters fade into the annals of history time and time again.
But as is often the case, some things never get easier, no matter how many times you experience them.
For him, watching the noble sacrifice of promising young Hunters was one such thing.
*‘What a wretched world….’*
Just as he began to stare at the Gate in the sky above Sillim Intersection Station with calm, heavy eyes…
“W-What…?”
The massive fissure in the distance, the ‘Gate’, began to fluctuate wildly.
C-C-CRACK-!
Not just Bureau Director Seo Do-cheol, but everyone stationed nearby stared wide-eyed.
“D-Don't tell me they succeeded…?”
This was a classic precursor symptom that appeared just before a successfully cleared Gate began to dissipate.
How much time had passed?
The fissure in the sky began to shrink, until it finally vanished completely, as if it had never been there in the first place…
At the same moment, several Hunters appeared in the sky and came crashing down to the ground like a sudden downpour.
As always, when a Gate collapsed, it spat back out the living beings it had swallowed.
Although only five or six Hunters had returned alive, and most of them could be considered in critical condition…
“N-No way, did they actually clear it?”
“My god…”
“The Disaster-rank Gate has been cleared!”
Excited shouts and cheers began to erupt from all around.
They had managed to stop a Gate dangerous enough to have potentially led to the nation's downfall, and without any significant damage.
Just then, an on-site official yelled at the top of his lungs in Bureau Director Seo Do-cheol's direction.
“We have a conscious survivor!”
At those words, Bureau Director Seo Do-cheol, who had barely managed to collect himself, strode quickly toward the group of survivors…
“Y-You are….”
In response to the Director's cautious question, the only survivor still holding onto consciousness moved his lips and answered.
“I-I am….”
At that moment, the official standing right beside him shouted in his stead, his voice filled with elation.
“D-Director! It's him!”
“What?”
“This is the one I mentioned earlier….”
Bureau Director Seo Do-cheol's gaze shifted to the official…
The official, unable to contain his overwhelming emotion, replied.
“The most talked-about C-rank rookie Hunter these days, Hunter ‘Kim Bong-gu the Filial Son’!”
