Chapter 49: Unexpected Encounters and Hidden Truths

A sharp cry echoed crisply through the surroundings. Passersby stared at Ju Uiryeong, utterly bewildered. Among them were not only the post-operation workers but also the raid hunters waiting in front of the gate.

“Why are you here?!”

The loud shout drew an astonishing amount of attention.

As people widened their eyes in surprise, Dokyeom found himself startled in a different sense. His gaze had met with that of the raiders visible over Ju Uiryeong’s shoulder. More precisely, when his eyes locked with one of them, the world around him had utterly turned black.

Sounds faded into a dull roar, and the ground beneath his feet swayed. Despite this unsettling sensation, Dokyeom smiled.

‘It had to be Kang Taesan.’

Shhhk—

The sound of cards flipping brushed past his ears. The man’s life unfolded and faded like vivid seasons. His entire existence flashed before him like a biography, starting with the beast-like image of him on a ring, one eye swollen, guard raised. It encompassed his past, present, this very moment, and even his future.

[Hey, look at him. Everyone was bragging that he’d awaken as an A-rank, but when push came to shove, he was just a C-rank, wasn’t he? It just goes to show you can’t truly know someone until you see them in action.]

[I don’t know the cause. We can only explain that there was an abnormality in his awakening…]

[If it were me, I would’ve quit. I don’t know why this guy has such a hard-luck life. He just barely shed his amateur tag and became a professional, and then he awakened. Good heavens, the rumor that he’s an incomplete awakener has already spread far and wide.]

Something felt off.

Dokyeom meticulously scanned every passing scene. The repeated mention of ‘C-rank’ kept his thoughts spinning in confusion. ‘C-rank?’ Kang Taesan was an A-rank. And Kang Taesan’s eyes weren’t that golden color… were they?

In a flash, Dokyeom realized something profound. Before that thought could fully settle, the world snapped back to its original state, returning to the moment he had locked eyes with someone.

A pair of striking golden eyes met his. Dokyeom found himself unable to move, his gaze utterly captivated by them.

This was an entirely unexpected turn of events. Understandably so, as the person whose eyes he had met wasn’t ‘Kang Taesan’. It was the C-rank hunter with the hard-luck life, whose name and face he didn’t even know.

‘What is going on?’

Before he could push away his confusion, Ju Uiryeong’s voice rang out once more.

“Mr. Han Dokyeom, can you not hear me?!”

That shout jolted him back to his senses. His gaze, which had been fixed on the hard-luck man, now returned to the person before him.

Ju Uiryeong’s face was tinged with bewilderment. He even let out a sigh, as if utterly dumbfounded by whatever he was thinking. Ju Uiryeong immediately strode confidently towards Dokyeom.

‘Let’s deal with this first.’

With that thought, Dokyeom initiated the conversation.

“Hello. Uh, what was it again? Mr. Ju Uirang… was that it?”

“Ju Uirang? It’s Ju Uiryeong, and unlike you, I’m an A-rank hunter…!”

“Oh, was it? My memory’s hazy; why did I recall you as a D-rank?”

Ju Uiryeong’s eyes immediately narrowed into sharp points. Dokyeom nonchalantly acknowledged him, then glanced down at something in Ju Uiryeong’s hand. It was a business card.

It was clearly a business card intended to entice Kang Taesan. Sensing Dokyeom’s observation, Ju Uiryeong swiftly hid it behind his back. His furrowed brow revealed a subtle displeasure. A complicated mixture of emotions was also discernible.

From Ju Uiryeong’s perspective, ‘Han Dokyeom’ was a figure he barely remembered, so he must have been bewildered as to why this person, who had suddenly appeared from nowhere, exuded such a distinct aura. The repeated clashes between them must also have been a source of profound mystery for him.

“You said your name was Mr. Han Dokyeom, right? I’ve actually heard about you from the news, so I know a bit. I imagine you’ve been through a lot, getting caught up in an illegal contract right after coming out of the gate. I was quite astonished to see how truly unfortunate a person’s life could be. But even so, this isn’t the proper way to approach someone, is it?”

“What do you mean?”

Whatever misconception he harbored, Ju Uiryeong’s face twisted into a venomous expression.

“You followed me, didn’t you? Did you come here to resent me? To demand why I left only you behind in the gate that day? But what am I supposed to do if you stalk me like this, tracking my every move?!”

Dokyeom wondered what he was talking about; Ju Uiryeong wasn’t just mistaken, he was digging himself into a deep hole. He was practically drowning in his own delusions.

“Still, you managed to return alive thanks to that hunter, Mr. Han Yuseong, didn’t you? If I had tried to take you, Mr. Han Dokyeom, with us that day, we would all have died. I made the best choice.”

[‘Orias’, a demon of ‘Lemegeton’, reveals their true name to the opponent.]

[‘Orias’, a demon of ‘Lemegeton’, rages at your preposterous remarks!]

It was Orias who erupted from the ground at Ju Uiryeong’s words. Just thinking about that day made Orias’s blood boil, their eyes turning crimson as they unleashed their killing intent towards Ju Uiryeong.

At Orias’s true name, Ju Uiryeong’s face instantly went pale. Stumbling backward, Ju Uiryeong flailed their arms in the air as if pleading for help. Their gaze was far from ordinary.

“D-do you think you’re the only one with a Sacred Authority?”

‘Right, it takes that much nerve to steal someone else’s power.’

Immediately, black letters bloomed like smoke before Dokyeom’s eyes.

His throat felt parched, and a chill enveloped his entire body. As Dokyeom gasped for breath, a dense killing intent choked him. It was the arrival of a Sacred Authority.

[‘Gapp’, a demon of ‘Lemegeton’, reveals their true name to the opponent.]

[‘Gapp’, a demon of ‘Lemegeton’, glares at the opponent with bulging eyes.]

[‘Orias’, a demon of ‘Lemegeton’, blinks blankly with wide, round eyes.]

Feeling a wave of embarrassment, Dokyeom ran a hand over his face. ‘Orias’ likely hadn’t known the identity of the opposing demon.

The demons of ‘Lemegeton’ adhered to their own order and strict rules, so unless a true name was revealed, they couldn’t discern which hunter possessed which Sacred Authority.

Moreover, while rank didn’t entirely prove their power, it at least indicated their average influence.

Here, ‘Orias’ was a demon ranked 59th, while ‘Gapp’ occupied the superior position of 33rd. If Ju Uiryeong’s Sacred Authority had been an angel, the situation might have been different, but since they were both demons, Orias was naturally in a position where they had to yield hierarchically.

The reaction was immediate.

[‘Orias’, a demon of ‘Lemegeton’, snorts, declaring that ‘Gapp’ is not even worth dealing with, and turns their back.]

‘Yes. Well done, well done. Oh, our little lion did so well. Hooray.’

[‘Orias’, a demon of ‘Lemegeton’, grumbles that they don’t know why that fellow suddenly appeared here, and hides behind you.]

Returning as if searching for a place to hide, Orias then sat with their back turned, grumbling and observing the opponent as if spying. Their demeanor was like that of a wild animal, fleeing from a predator to hide in reliable thicket while cautiously assessing the situation.

Conversely, as the Sacred Authority retreated, Ju Uiryeong became just as emboldened. His round eyes grew fiercely defiant, and his steps approaching Dokyeom mirrored that assertiveness.

“Are you using your Sacred Authority to threaten me? Mr. Han Dokyeom, I didn’t think you were like this, but you’re more frightening than I imagined. I tried my best to understand, but how could you go so far as to involve a Sacred Authority like this?”

[‘Orias’, a demon of ‘Lemegeton’, grumbles, asking why merely showing a bit of anger is being twisted into a threat.]

‘It’s okay, you did well.’

Dokyeom silently showered praise on the words floating before his eyes, then met Ju Uiryeong’s gaze, which was filled with reproach.

“Mr. Ju Uiryeong.”

“If it’s an excuse, you don’t need to bother. I don’t know why you followed me all the way here, but this can be seen as retaliatory stalking. I’m not letting today’s incident just pass. I’ll have the guild initiate an investigation into Mr. Han Dokyeom for privacy invasion or whatever else it may be….”

“No, why are you throwing a fit all by yourself?”

In that instant, Ju Uiryeong’s eyes, which had been excitedly chattering, twitched and froze. His lips, which had been forming words, did the same. As if unable to comprehend what he had heard, Ju Uiryeong blinked his trembling eyelashes several times.

“Just now… what…. What are you talking about? I, a… tantrum….”

“I’m asking why you’re throwing such a fit all by yourself over what I said. If you simply saw an E-rank, you could just think, ‘Oh, they must have been deployed as a guerrilla unit to raid something.’ I don’t understand why you’re grabbing onto someone and having such a dramatic reaction all on your own.”

“No, Mr. Han Dokyeom. Don’t you… understand the current situation?”

“No, I don’t. Do you have any evidence that I followed you, Mr. Ju Uiryeong? I was even here, in this very spot, first.”

Ju Uiryeong’s face filled with bewilderment and indignation. He clearly hadn’t expected his opponent to be so brazen, yet Dokyeom was experiencing an equally profound confusion. The first reason was that ‘Kang Taesan’ wasn’t registered in his skill, and the second was—

An entirely unknown hunter was now subject to that skill. Just like this moment.

[Fated Partner]

‘Beom Yeonhu.’

Dokyeom had never even heard that name before. The utterly unfamiliar name drove him to distraction.

He wondered where this person had appeared from, but he couldn’t for the life of him recall any ‘connection.’ He had no idea why this particular hunter had been caught in Dokyeom’s radar, drawn into his network.