The One Who Saved a World Before Will be Best at Saving Another

After I was confirmed that it was okay to speak in Korean, I spoke immediately.

"Then, yes. I’d like to speak to them right away.”
— Yes, understood.

A moment later, I heard the ringtone, and then the call was transferred to the Japanese association.

— This is the Japan Hunters Association! Are you a Hunter from the Republic of Korea?"

Their pronunciation was awkward, but not to the point where communication was impossible. Also, unlike the Korean association, their voice sounded very urgent.

"This is Hunter Yoo Chan-seok, and I received the emergency request from Fukuoka City."

— Yoo Chan-seok... Yoo Chan-seok? Just a moment. I’ll transfer the call. Please hold on, just a moment!

The call was transferred again, and in an instant, I heard a different person’s voice.

— This is Tetsuya Kondo, president of the Japan Hunters Association. Are you really Hunter Yoo Chan-seok?

"Yes, I received the contact regarding Fukuoka..."

Before I could say anything more, Tetsuya hurriedly spoke first.

— We understand that you are in the middle of a request! But if you could please consider our situation as well, could you prioritize our request? Even one person would make a big difference. If you come, it would be a great help!

They had used eating as an excuse to ignore a request before, so not responding due to being on a mission wouldn’t be punished either. That must be what the association president was most nervous about.

"About that request... it seems to be related to the one we are currently working on."

I quickly explained the situation and my speculation. President Kondo gulped nervously after hearing me.

— Are you saying you intend to eliminate the grade 2 Erosion Zone on Tsushima Island?

His question was full of doubt, which was understandable. My accomplishments only extended to successfully eliminating a grade 3 Erosion Zone.

It must have sounded ridiculous for me to suddenly say I was going to take out a grade 2 one.

"Honestly, would my presence really make such a difference?"

— …

He couldn’t answer. He didn’t sound so urgent because he expected something great from us.

Using a Japanese proverb, it was a situation so desperate that he would even borrow a cat’s paw.

"Just think of this as a gamble and bet on me handling the level 2 Erosion Zone. It’d be better than me being useless there."

— Are you asking me to stake Fukuoka City as the wager?

Why was he saying something so cold?

"It’s not about wagers. We have no plan of going whether you agree or not.”

At my words, Han Sang-ah opened her mouth to say something, but I held up my hand slightly to stop her. Calm down, lady from a rich family.

The adults are negotiating here.

— Then why did you contact us at all?

That was a perfectly natural question.

"If you agree, we’ll do our best to eliminate the grade 2 Erosion Zone. And since it would count as responding to Japan’s emergency request..."

— Are you asking for compensation?

Did he think we were going to do it for free?

"We’re fine without it. In that case, we’ll just kill time here and go back home."

— Damn it...

In truth, I had plenty of reasons why I absolutely had to destroy the level 2 Erosion Zone in Tsushima. But there was no way he would know that.

Therefore, this bluff was going to work. In the end, President Kondo only had one option left.

— Understood. Hunters Yoo Chan-seok and Han Sang-ah. We will consider your mission to be a response to Japan’s emergency request.

"You know this call is recorded, right?"

I heard him shout ‘I know!’ from a distance away from his phone. After the call ended, Han Sang-ah looked at me.

"You could’ve just done it without all that, right?"

"Doing a good deed and doing it for free like a fool are two different things."

If what I did benefited someone, then I deserved part of that benefit.

Not claiming what should land in your bowl wasn’t kindness. It was stupidity.

"Well, you’ve got plenty of money, so I guess it doesn’t matter if you throw it around."

Han Sang-ah answered my comment.

"It’s true I have a lot of money, but that doesn’t mean I lack financial sense. I studied a lot."

"I said it doesn’t matter, not that you actually do throw it around."

At that, she nodded. Though some people might say that a rich girl’s sense of money learned from books doesn’t mean much.

But it’s not just people who lived through Japanese colonial rule who hate Japan, you know?

"There are no monsters tailing us."

"Looks like all the monsters from this island have headed for Fukuoka."

If that were true, it might actually make our job easier. Thanks to Han Sang-ah’s terrifying driving skills, we shot straight toward Tsushima Airport like an arrow.

"That must be it."

With no interference, we arrived smoothly in front of the airport. It really looked like all the monsters had vacated.

In the center of the airport, the entrance to the Erosion Zone was open.

And in front of the entrance...

"Kids."

A woman with a shocking appearance was leaning against a car, wearing a jet-black taekwondo uniform embroidered with a golden dragon.

"My God. Did someone sew that face onto you with a sewing machine or something?"

Yikes, just how many piercings did she have on her face? Ten in her ears, four in her lips, two in her tongue, two in her nose...

Roughly counting, there were about thirty piercings on her face.

This was excessive. Exaggerating a little, those piercings probably weighed at least one kilogram. Even though she clearly looked human, something about that many piercings made her seem less than human.

"Watch your mouth, brat. Anyway, nice to meet you. I’m Kim Ji-hyun. This is my greeting."

She carried no weapon. She probably specialized in bare-handed fighting. And maybe she didn’t like my comment, because she smacked the car she had been leaning on, lifted it up in one go, and flung it at me.

Who throws a car like it’s a soda can?! I dodged by diving out of the way, and watched the car tumble across the ground. I laughed in disbelief.

"You’ve got the strength of a general huh."

She was a pretty powerful opponent.

"And that general intends to capture you alive. Looks like just sacrificing a few ordinary people wasn’t enough to summon enough monsters."

"Are you even human?"

At my words, Kim Ji-hyun smirked and wiped the corner of her mouth.

"Of course I am."

"Then you’re saying a human is sacrificing other humans to summon monsters. That’s truly heartbreaking."

She flipped me off and answered.

"It’s a necessary act. The Elder said we should at least explain the situation to you, the sacrifices for the greater good."

The piercings on her body gave off a low vibration and glowed. It looked like those holes weren’t just for decoration.

As Kim Ji-hyun clenched her fist, her knuckles cracked menacingly.

"We are descendants of Dangun. We are united and move for a single purpose."

I wasn’t really interested, but she seemed ready to give a speech whether we listened or not.

"Our goal is to maintain and strengthen the hegemony of the Republic of Korea, to make it an overwhelmingly powerful superpower no one can defy."

Huh… No wonder from the moment I heard "descendants of Dangun," I was able to smell nationalism.

"Just as one body cannot become another, no nation can become another. There is no greater eternity than a people who share blood and history."

After saying that, Kim Ji-hyun poked her chest and laughed.

"That’s a quote from Baekbeom Kim Gu."

"Isn’t South Korea already a strong enough country?"

The won had become the second most trusted currency after gold, and foreigners were desperate to enter Korea.

Hunters from around the world were required to learn Korean, and from the looks of it, Korean was probably a near-mandatory language in other fields too.

Wasn’t that enough of a superpower? To my words, Kim Ji-hyun’s eyes sparkled.

"Not enough. We will make this proud nation into an unshakable golden tower of absolute strength."

She spread her arms and continued.

"Think of the history of the Korean Peninsula. We bowed and paid tribute to China, even needed their permission to name our country, and we bowed to envoys sent by those Chinese bastards! Yeongeunmun, Mohwagwan..."

"You studied a lot of history. How about taking a certification exam?"

Kim Ji-hyun gave me a cold look.

"During the Enlightenment, the Westerners barged in with warships and troops, forcing unequal treaties and plundering our resources. The Japanese occupation? Do I even need to explain?"

Her clenched fists and face were full of rage. She was a very angry person.

"We will return it all. Without leaving a single thing behind."

Unequal treaties, resource theft, forced drafting of women into comfort stations, human experimentation, nullifying other countries’ presidential elections without Korea’s approval...

She listed them all off like a bucket list. I roughly understood her point.

"So, in short, you’re saying you’ll crush other countries with overwhelming force and repay all past humiliation and disgrace, right?"

"What, got a problem with that?"

Honestly, I didn’t really care. Whatever goal they had, if it didn’t conflict with me, I had no reason to interfere. But I was curious about one thing.

"South Korea only rose to this unique position because of the Erosion Zones and Hunters."

Kim Ji-hyun nodded at my words.

"If all the Erosion Zones disappear, it’ll be hard for Korea to maintain its position."

"Right."

So this group, the so-called descendants of Dangun...

"You have no intention of ending this situation."

"Exactly."

Now I was starting to feel like we might have a serious disagreement here.

"The world is falling apart. Don’t you know what your priorities should be?"

"It’s not a problem. We found a way to control the Erosion Zones, and we actually succeeded."

"Wait, seriously? Then this changes everything."

If the Erosion Zones could be controlled and used, then I had no problem. The world I had just gotten back on was now collapsing, but if we could use the Erosion Zones at will, I too could live a stable life.

In that case, I was more than willing to cooperate. No, not just cooperate, I wouldn’t even have a reason to fight them.

But first, there was one thing I needed to confirm.

"So, how many successful cases are there?"

"...That’s none of your business."

So the failures outnumbered the successes huh. If they had more, they would’ve bragged confidently. What a shame.

"Once your success rate surpasses a coin toss, then come and ask me to cooperate. I’ll gladly join you."

But now wasn’t the time. It was like launching a water rocket and dreaming of firing a nuclear missile.

There was no way I’d agree to cooperate with that. Kim Ji-hyun looked at me as if I was being ridiculous.

"Why would we need your cooperation anyway? You two will be sacrificed right here."

"After all that nonsense, now you’re back to nonsense again."

Who said I was going to be the sacrifice? Facing Kim Ji-hyun, I lit up the tip of my spear with the Paradoxical Flame.

"Come at me, Sewing Machine Face."

Everything you’ve built up your whole life might disappear today.

"Come at you? You’re not even worth a punch- "

With an explosive sound in the air, I burst forward at Kim Ji-hyun.