#87
Before entering the Great Hunter Era—that is, before gates opened in South Korea, before it became common knowledge that monsters existed within those dungeons and that killing them was the only way to make gates disappear—the nation went through countless trials and errors during that transitional period.
Now, when dungeons suddenly appeared, guilds immediately dispatched hunters, and systems had even been developed to predict when and where dungeons would open. But back then, such things were unthinkable. Far from predicting dungeon appearances, there wasn’t even an efficient system established for dispatching hunters when gates burst open, so responses were inevitably delayed.
It was hard to imagine now, in an era where Hunter Management Bureau branches had been established in every major city and hunters were overflowing, but back then, failure to respond quickly often resulted in monsters breaking through into the real world.
So what Baek Sa-jin was talking about from the past wasn’t entirely exaggerated.
“……So what happened?”
When Yoon Woo-bin asked, Baek Sa-jin looked at him with clear eyes and opened his mouth.
“They say the village was left in ruins. There were quite a few casualties among them.”
As the content grew heavier, Ha-seong also uncrossed his legs and focused on the story.
“When the hunters arrived, it was already too late. The villagers were injured and dead. The foundation they had lived on their entire lives also crumbled that very day.”
Ha-seong could roughly understand the situation. The hunters would have arrived, successfully defeated the monsters, and closed the rift in space-time—the gate—but the results clearly weren’t good. That was also why people of that time were so enthusiastic about hunters and elevated this country to the Great Hunter Era.
Because there was no one who could handle dungeons as efficiently as hunters and save their lives.
“Who did you hear about that incident from?”
At Do-hyeok’s question, Baek Sa-jin let out a low laugh.
“I didn’t know at first either. Not until I discovered my father’s old belongings long after he passed away.”
Baek Sa-jin had discovered his father’s diary. It was like a chronicle recording everything Baek Seong-hyeon had done over the years. Among those diary pages was a silver necklace bearing the sparrowhawk symbol. Finding this belatedly, Baek Sa-jin added that he finally learned vividly about that day’s events.
“Then let me ask you all something. Where do you think all the resentment of the survivors was directed?”
That was simple. The ones dispatched to maintain the village’s security under that pretext had been Sparrowhawk. Regardless, while they weren’t hunters, they were still soldiers protecting the country, and they would have been the only target for people who had lost everything to pour out their grief.
“My father wrote this in his diary: The voices crying out, asking why they didn’t save them. He said he finally understood how frightening it was to see eyes of trust instantly transform into eyes of contempt.”
“How ridiculous.”
Do-hyeok, who had been quietly listening to the story, snorted.
“Clearing dungeons and closing gates is the hunters’ mission. There’s no reason for soldiers like Baek Seong-hyeon to feel guilty for not being able to save them, or to crumble from receiving resentment from survivors. Are you saying you killed innocent people as revenge just because your father couldn’t endure that one thing?”
At the somewhat harsh tone, Ha-seong pressed his forehead. Provoking that guy who was recalling past events like this would only lead to…
“How dare you babble! You hunter bastard who knows nothing about my father!”
Baek Sa-jin immediately shot up from his seat and, still handcuffed, grabbed Do-hyeok’s collar and pulled him up. Seeing him, who had maintained composure until now, suddenly glaring with flashing eyes and shouting, Ha-seong let out a deep sigh.
“Hey.”
Ha-seong, with an attitude that suggested he’d expected this, approached the two men with tensions running high.
“If you lay a hand on him, this time it won’t end with just your forehead.”
Ha-seong firmly grabbed and knocked away Baek Sa-jin’s hand that was gripping Do-hyeok’s collar. He couldn’t understand why everyone was so obsessed with grabbing Cha Do-hyeok’s collar.
“Baek Sa-jin-ssi, we still need to hear your story. Please calm your excitement.”
It was Woo-bin’s voice that sorted out the situation. The guy who had been breathing heavily in excitement also seemed to think those words were reasonable, as he sat back down. For now, no one spoke to him until Baek Sa-jin’s emotions settled down. Ha-seong restrained Do-hyeok, who was still frowning, then returned to his seat.
And a few minutes later, Baek Sa-jin, having regained his composure, opened his mouth again.
“Nameless Guild Leader, what you just said—I once tried to think that way too. That my father had honorably stepped down from his soldier’s position while protecting the country to the end. Of course, the country abandoned my father, but even so, he had endured while maintaining his pride to the end.”
There was no way non-awakened individuals who couldn’t use abilities could face the monsters in dungeons. Based on the situation they’d heard so far, the damage to that village was simply a case of being born in the wrong era.
“But it wasn’t long before I learned that it was all a fabricated script.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I’d like to ask you, as a Hunter Management Bureau employee, whether you know what the organization you’re part of has done for their own interests and stability.”
Cracks appeared even on Woo-bin’s face, which had maintained composure throughout.
“There was something my father used to mutter often when he drank after quitting the military. That he should have thought it was strange from the beginning. That everything went wrong from the moment those people, who hadn’t even given them work to make them give up, suddenly handed down a mission.”
Could it be… Ha-seong’s eyes narrowed.
From what he’d heard, the organization called Sparrowhawk had resisted dissolution to the end, even among the disappearing military units. Naturally, they would have been a thorn in the side of the country’s higher-ups and hunters. If they had chosen a different method to eliminate them, rather than endless neglect?
“No gate had opened in that village from the beginning.”
The three men’s eyes widened. Even Do-hyeok, who had maintained an expressionless face throughout, seemed quite surprised by this story.
“It was the work of hunters called Taming Masters.”
“But why on earth…”
Yoon Woo-bin’s eyes began to shake with confusion.
“To create a situation that could bring despair to Sparrowhawk?”
Baek Sa-jin nodded at Ha-seong’s words. It had been a setup orchestrated by the state from the beginning.
“The operation was a great success. My father and the other members all lost their passion after that incident. Sparrowhawk proceeded straight to dissolution.”
Special forces members who had only ever protected things. Unable to overcome their first experience of losing everything before their eyes and the cold voices of people’s resentment, all the Sparrowhawk members at the time agreed to disband the unit. Now he understood why the documents stated they had voluntarily dissolved.
“To create a world for those hunter or whatever bastards, the corrupt nation’s dogs destroyed an innocent village to erase my father from this world.”
After all the stories ended, only heavy air could be felt inside the interrogation room.
“…Even so, your actions cannot be justified.”
Yoon Woo-bin seemed to be struggling to regain his composure, letting out a somewhat frustrated breath. The person who would have been most affected by what Baek Sa-jin had just said was surely Yoon Woo-bin, who belonged to the Hunter Management Bureau. Ha-seong looked at him with somewhat worried eyes.
“Aren’t you also someone who killed innocent people?”
“My father didn’t die from illness.”
“……”
“He barely held on with the guilt of not being able to protect the village people, and eventually chose suicide. My mother lied to me that he had died of illness so I wouldn’t be hurt. After that, our family fell apart. Not long after my father passed away, my mother also left us, suffering in silence.”
Baek Sa-jin cynically recounted past events with composure.
“At first, I couldn’t understand why my father made that choice. But after seeing that diary and learning the whole truth, I understood everything. Why my father made that choice!”
At this, Woo-bin’s eyes shook even more violently. With his deep consideration for others and his strong sense of mission about work, it seemed difficult for him to handle those words right now. Ha-seong, thinking this wouldn’t do, got up from his seat and approached Baek Sa-jin.
“It seems you didn’t know what kind of events took place behind the environment where you hunters are now revered and live in luxury, enjoying all the rights of this country, or whose blood and tears were mixed into it.”
Finally, Woo-bin let out a long sigh and ran his hands through his hair forcefully. No matter how much it was a past event orchestrated by people who had already lived in the past, it would be a big blow to Woo-bin, who worked for the country. Ha-seong was equally surprised, but honestly, the shock wasn’t as great as expected.
The Hunter Association of the previous world—that is, the government—had also been bastards who did all sorts of trash things. They disguised their own interests as the country’s interests and treated hunters like dogs. Of course, Ha-seong had also been one of those hunters being treated that way.
Since Ha-seong was a hunter, in a way he belonged to the group that Baek Sa-jin hated, but he had a scar from great wounds, and the target that left those wounds was quite similar. Therefore, only Ha-seong could maintain his reason in this situation.
Ha-seong looked at Woo-bin, then thinking this wouldn’t do, got up from his seat and approached Baek Sa-jin.
“So you caused the incident from 10 years ago with the single determination to take revenge for your father?”
Though it had taken a roundabout way, it was time to steer the conversation back to its original course. The ultimate purpose of catching Baek Sa-jin in the first place was to find out whether he had any connection to the artificial gate incident from 10 years ago, and whether he was indeed the culprit.
“……”
Baek Sa-jin silently stared at Ha-seong. Ha-seong didn’t avoid it and met those eyes. The human body tells quite a lot more than one might think. Eyes were especially so. If they shook anxiously or showed small signs of agitation, it meant the other person was flustered.
But the more he met Baek Sa-jin’s eyes, the harder it became to read his intentions. If he were the culprit of the incident from 10 years ago, he should either be flustered or show a completely relaxed demeanor, but Ha-seong couldn’t sense either from him now.
“The memo you left at each crime scene.”
Do-hyeok also joined Ha-seong’s side and began to help.
“What connection do you have with the incident from 10 years ago? Are you indeed the culprit of that incident?”
Do-hyeok clenched his fists tightly. If that were really the case, he might finally be able to end his long-sought revenge.
“……”
Baek Sa-jin continued to maintain his silence.
“The incident from 10 years ago…”
He, who had been staring blankly at the ceiling, finally moved his lips.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
