Chapter 60 

 This Is the Men’s Restroom

“…It really is.”

Oh Hyeonseong sat on the edge of a flower bed, staring at the screen of his phone.

News reports were appearing everywhere about the visit of a foreign head of state and the summit meeting.

He had deliberately stopped paying attention to what was happening in the world over the past month, but he couldn’t help feeling a little embarrassed that he hadn’t even known about something like this.

In any case, now that he knew the circumstances, he understood why they wouldn’t even let people near the building.

The problem is… the traces of Yoon Seolha lead inside that building.

His former junior, Yoon Seolha, had been a specialist in VIP assassinations and espionage operations.

She had mainly operated in foreign countries as an intelligence agent, and she was a highly capable operative who could accomplish even the most difficult missions without trouble.

Simply being strong and good at fighting was one thing.

Being good at getting the job done was another.

She had been a reliable junior who possessed both qualities.

But then, a problem arose.

When China was devastated by the emergence of new Special Species, all the members of the Special Operations unit had once been drafted and deployed to the front lines.

The situation had been the same not only in Korea, but in every neighboring country.

It was a period when Hunters from every nation were being slaughtered in staggering numbers.

Oh Hyeonseong and Yoon Seolha repeatedly fought off monstrous waves of unimaginable scale and confronted Special Species that overturned everything they had previously understood.

By then, the front lines had long since become a land of death, saturated with murky energy.

Even for people who had experienced all kinds of battlefields, it had been a hellish and horrific environment.

Wherever they looked, there was nothing but corpses and monsters crawling across a grim, dark landscape.

Even in such an extreme environment, they accomplished miraculous feats and stubbornly survived through the constantly shifting front lines in China.

But eventually, tragedy came.

At the time, high-ranking Hunters were believed to be immune to Awakened psychosis, commonly known as “psychosis.”

High-ranking Hunters had much greater resistance to murky energy, and because their thresholds were higher, there had never been a case of psychosis manifesting in them.

But after being continuously exposed to the brutal environment and dense murky energy, their bodies had reached their limits.

And Yoon Seolha became the first high-ranking Hunter to be consumed by Awakened psychosis.

When psychosis manifested in a Grade 12 Hunter, someone considered a national-level asset, she became a massive disaster.

Her very existence was enough to tear a huge hole through one section of the front line.

In the end, she had to be put down.

By the hands of the comrades who had fought alongside her, risking their lives together all that time.

But… if she’s currently being consumed by psychosis, then every road along the way should already have been reduced to rubble. But that didn’t happen.

A Hunter consumed by psychosis lost all reason, their aggression became extreme, and they attacked humans indiscriminately.

Yet while following the traces of earth all the way here, the streets hadn’t been destroyed.

There wasn’t even a single dead person.

That would have been impossible if she were in a state of psychosis.

Of course… there are still far too many things I can’t understand even if I assume she simply overcame psychosis.

If she had really regained her sanity, then why had she killed a Hunter with whom she had no connection?

And why had she come here of all places, where a summit meeting was taking place?

There were still countless questions.

At this point, he couldn’t make any proper assumptions.

But whichever way he looked at it, something felt wrong.

“Let’s go.”

Oh Hyeonseong abruptly stood up, picked up Mertz, and headed toward the building.

One way or another, he had to get inside first.

Of course, the security personnel standing guard around the building like an iron wall had no intention of letting him in.

“It’s urgent. I need to get inside right now.”

“No. Who exactly are you?”

From their perspective, there was a suspicious man carrying a dog who was insisting that he urgently needed to enter the building.

Naturally, they couldn’t let him through.

Oh Hyeonseong glanced around.

Then he subtly tightened his grip.

There’s no way they’ll be persuaded under these circumstances. I’ll have to force my way through.

I can clean up a little commotion later. But if a major incident happens here, it won’t be something I can simply clean up afterward.

Just as Oh Hyeonseong raised his hand, intending to knock the two men unconscious simultaneously and rush inside—

“Huh? Aren’t you Hunter Oh?”

Seo Hoyeon, the director of the Public Security Office of the National Security Bureau, appeared.

She was one of Baek Jisu’s subordinates, the employee who had helped him obtain the original seed varieties of the rice that had been distributed on the black market.

Oh Hyeonseong’s eyes widened at her unexpected appearance.

“Was the Security Bureau here as well?”

“Ah, yes. Normally, the Presidential Security Service would handle this exclusively, but there are some connections to matters our department is handling.”

“That’s good, then. Please let me inside. It’s urgent.”

“If you say it’s urgent…?”

“Something could happen inside right now.”

“An incident? I’m not sure how you knew about it, but you don’t need to worry. We’ve already taken care of it on our end.”

Oh Hyeonseong was surprised by her words.

Had the Security Bureau already noticed Yoon Seolha’s movements?

But when he heard the details, it turned out to be something else entirely.

“…The IAE is targeting this place?”

The IAE was an extremist organization advocating the “superiority and liberation of the Awakened.”

Awakened extremists had spread underground throughout the world like a trend, but the IAE was an international terrorist organization with enormous power.

They were lunatics causing havoc all over the world with a scale and military strength that would have been impossible for an ordinary terrorist organization.

The reason they could wield that kind of influence was because they maintained strong ties with various dictatorial countries in the Third World where Hunters had seized political power.

“Korea and France are representative non-Awakened governments, so they were plotting to assassinate both heads of state during this summit. Of course, we detected it beforehand and have already taken action.”

The IAE members who had infiltrated the country had been arrested.

Near the current site alone, nineteen people had already been killed or captured.

All without the crowds or media outside noticing a thing.

There was a reason not only Hunters from the Presidential Security Service but also Security Bureau agents had been deployed here.

Oh Hyeonseong, unsure where to even begin explaining, shook his head once before speaking.

“Can I at least get inside first?”

“Of course.”

They already knew each other, and Baek Jisu, the head of the Security Bureau, had personally vouched for his identity.

There was no reason for Seo Hoyeon to stop him, so she readily nodded.

The moment she gave a single word of instruction, the Presidential Security Service Hunters who had been stubbornly blocking the way stepped aside.

But just as they were about to enter, a man suddenly rushed over and blocked their path.

“What the hell are you people doing here?!”

Jung Pilho, chief of the Presidential Security Service.

A large man with a fierce-looking face strode toward them with several Hunters at his side.

“Hey, you bastard! Who the hell are you? What are you doing hanging around in front of the conference hall?!”

“…”

Saliva sprayed from Jung Pilho’s mouth and landed on Oh Hyeonseong’s cheek as he ranted.

I can’t believe I’m getting hit with an attack like this out of nowhere.

Seo Hoyeon saw Oh Hyeonseong wiping his cheek with a disgusted expression and immediately stepped in with a deeply annoyed look.

“Jung Pilho, watch your language. Don’t do something insane to our guest.”

“Your guest? Is this the Security Bureau’s own living room? You suddenly barge in here and start poking your nose into everything! You’re letting outsiders in and punching holes in our security. If something goes wrong, are you going to take responsibility?”

“Don’t talk nonsense. He’s someone we called in regarding the counterterrorism operation we’re handling. Go back and guard the entrance.”

“Ha… We let you people get away with things because we’ve been too lenient, and now you think we’re a fucking joke.”

Crack.

Jung Pilho shot Seo Hoyeon a murderous glare.

Oh Hyeonseong had a pretty good idea of what was going on just by watching them, but he didn’t have time to play along with their argument.

“Can’t you stop there?”

“What…?”

“I don’t have time to listen to you two bicker over some stupid power struggle. Your President is about to get his head blown off.”

“You bastard…! What kind of piece of trash dares to even mention His Excellency’s head?!”

Oh Hyeonseong let out a hollow laugh at his furious shouting.

It’s definitely the Seventh Republic right now.

Did we somehow go back to the Fourth Republic?

Jung Pilho became even more enraged by his attitude and attempted to stride toward Oh Hyeonseong.

Thud.

At that moment, someone grabbed Jung Pilho by the shoulder.

Jung Pilho irritably shrugged, trying to shake off the hand.

But the heavy force pressing downward didn’t budge.

Only then did Jung Pilho turn around.

And he froze.

“What are you guys doing here?”

Baek Jisu was staring at Jung Pilho with cold eyes.

Jung Pilho was a famous Hunter.

Even Oh Hyeonseong, who had never personally met him before, recognized him immediately.

He could be considered one of the major figures in the Hunter world.

An 11th-grade powerhouse who had risen to the important position of Chief of the Presidential Security Service.

But even someone of his caliber wasn’t remotely on a level where he could challenge Baek Jisu.

So the situation was resolved quite simply.

“…You said Yoon Seolha’s traces lead here?”

“Yeah. Just in case, we need to evacuate the President.”

Oh Hyeonseong walked down the corridor with Baek Jisu.

As soon as she heard him, Baek Jisu contacted the lower floors and ordered a vehicle to be prepared in advance.

They continued walking quickly as they spoke.

“I need to stay beside the President while he’s being evacuated. What are you going to do, Senior?”

“I need to find Yoon Seolha.”

“Han Suyeon would have a fit if she heard that.”

Baek Jisu chuckled.

“You’re giving in surprisingly easily. I thought you’d try to handle it yourself. That’s unexpected.”

“I don’t intend to overprotect Senior like she does. But if something goes wrong, I’ll kill Yoon Seolha myself. So whatever conclusion you reach, come back alive.”

Bang!

They entered the conference hall.

Several people flinched at Baek Jisu’s sudden appearance, especially with the long sword clenched in her hand.

But she paid them no attention and walked straight toward the President.

She whispered something into his ear.

The startled President immediately stood up.

Soon, the people in the conference hall began murmuring and hurriedly filed out.

But as the President passed by the doorway, he suddenly stopped and stared intently at Oh Hyeonseong.

“Haven’t we met somewhere before?”

“…You must be mistaken.”

“You need to go now.”

Baek Jisu led the President out of the conference hall.

The head of state from the other country was also soon approached by his security detail and hurriedly escorted away.

With Baek Jisu beside him, at least I don’t need to worry about the President.

Of course, there’s still the real problem I need to deal with.

Oh Hyeonseong left the conference hall and looked around.

He had noticed it on the way in as well, but since this was where national leaders had gathered, the security was truly airtight.

There was no way a bunch of amateur terrorists could break through this security.

But if the person in question was Yoon Seolha, then all the security here would be nothing more than a collection of scarecrows.

Oh Hyeonseong set Mertz down.

Mertz sniffed the air and looked around before chasing after the traces that had grown stronger.

By now, Oh Hyeonseong could tell that she was nearby even without borrowing the Spirit’s senses.

Thud.

Hyeonseong entered the restroom.

The space was filled with the smell of blood.

The bodies of several Hunters lay scattered across the floor, hacked to pieces.

It was a scene that looked utterly inhuman, as though a bout of madness had swept through the place and vanished.

Oh Hyeonseong’s expression naturally hardened.

This…

At the center of it all stood a woman.

Her face was covered in blood, and a faint red glow lingered in her eyes.

But when she looked at Oh Hyeonseong, she slowly lowered the sword she had been holding.

“Se… Senior…”