Chapter 1: Mission Start

[Today’s Hot Issue Breaking News! “HERO achieves 1,000 Monster Subjugations!” Congratulations!]

Holy sh*t, lol.

Can’t believe I’m witnessing this miracle with my own eyes… lmao.

He’s insane—no, he’s absolutely out of his mind—and yet, he really did it.

It’s been only a year since his official debut as a Hunter, but it feels like he’s been at it for at least three.

Well, people started talking about him three years ago, so yeah, no wonder.

Isn’t he the first guy to get this famous even before becoming an official Hunter?

Ah—well, except that guy, haha.

Wonder if that guy ever found what he was looking for.

The definition of pure madness, seriously.

Even senior Hunters with ten years of experience couldn’t do this, and this lunatic pulled it off in just three? LMAO.

Joker: Fake Madness.
HERO: True Madness.

Even his name is HERO—how fitting, damn.

Foreign agencies must be losing their minds trying to recruit him.

Let’s see how good an offer the Hunter Association will make to keep him.

He even cleared the infamous X-Gate… he’ll come back now, right?

At this rate, that place’s tougher than military service. The guy didn’t step out of the Gate for three whole years!

Well, if you leave mid-mission, you have to start all over again, but still.

Man, this is glorious.

The world’s top Hunter— and he’s homegrown.

Flap~

When he returns, it’s gonna be absolute chaos.

Damn it, I just wanna see him in person once.

*****************************************

–Holy crap, the madman actually did it.

 – That means he killed almost one monster every single day?

–So f*cking badass, lol. What does it feel like to be born with that powerful?
   Please, let him be ugly.

– Nah, bet he’s hot. Look at that physique.

– Haven’t we only seen his silhouette? I don’t think he’s ever done an interview.

– Then please, god, let him have a tiny d*ck.

–  My girlfriend hasn’t shut up about him for days.

–  I’m a dude and even I can’t stop talking about him.

–  Maybe ‘cause you’re gay?

–  Haang~

–  ;;;; Gross. You’re nasty. Don’t you dare slander HERO.
Honestly, I thought X-Gate would never be cleared in my lifetime.

–  Fr, lol. You can’t even get your Hunter license without serving in X-Gate, and this guy volunteered to stay there for three years straight—and now he’s destroyed it? He’s basically a national hero now.

–  Wonder what his annual salary’s gonna be.

–  If it were me, I’d leave this tiny-ass country and move to the US. They treat Hunters the best.

–  Yeah, true. Over there, Hunters are managed by private corporations, not the government.

–  So now we don’t have to go to X-Gate to become Hunters?

–  Obviously not. The Gate’s gone.

–  Crying my eyes out, broㅠㅠㅠㅠ I’ve lost so much sleep because of that sh*t.

–  X-Gate really is hell… only the strong survive in there.

–  You’ve no idea how many Hunters come back half-dead. It’s a total blackout zone—classified. I know a guy who’s been protesting alone for years because of it. His first comeback interview’s live on national TV today! Get ready, boys.

–  So that’s what my sister’s been obsessing about all day.

–  Wonder if he’ll join a party now that he’s free? God, I just wanna raid with him once.

–  Heard he’s got a nasty temper though. Won’t he slice up his teammates?

–  If it’s HERO, I’d die happy, lol.

–  LMAO same, that’d be my life’s greatest honor, bro.

*****************************************

Blinding flashes burst all around.

The man standing in the middle of it all frowned, as if the light hurt his eyes—or maybe he was just in a bad mood.

He peeled off his blood-stained gloves in irritation, then ran his bare hand through his disheveled hair.

Dust from the shattered battlefield billowed around him, and somehow it only made his sharp, handsome features more surreal—like a scene out of a movie.

Thick eyebrows framed eyes of perfect symmetry, a sculpted nose cut through the light, and his dry, rose-colored lips were cracked yet striking.

He had conquered the dreaded X-Gate, so people had expected him to crawl out in rags—half-dead, half-mad.

Instead, he looked freshly showered.
If not for the tattered combat suit and the scratches scattered across his skin, no one would’ve believed he’d just returned from three years inside hell.

He licked his lips, tasting the metallic tang of blood.
His tongue brushed over the split skin.

The Gate had been like a desert— its flora long burned to ash by fire-type monsters, its skies blackened by volcanic soot so thick he couldn’t tell day from night.

Three years.
That’s how long he’d lived in that inferno.
No wonder the open air and sunlight felt foreign to him now.

He looked out at the crowd blocking his path— reporters swarming like bees, badges marked [PRESS] swinging from their necks as they thrust microphones toward him.

“HERO Hunter! You’ve finally cleared X-Gate after three years—how do you feel?”

“You’ve also broken the world record with 1,000 monsters defeated! How does it feel to be MVP?”

Voices buzzed around him, a cacophony drilling into his skull— no different from the howls of the monsters he’d faced.

The man known by the Hunter name HERO, Yoo Heero, scanned the cameras until he found the one he wanted— just one that would carry his words clearly.

[TL Note: Yoo Heero can also be spelled or written as Yoo Hee-ro or Yoo Hero or Yu Heero or Yu Hero]

He stepped close enough for the lens to catch his breath, snatched the mic from the nearest reporter, and said—

“I kept my promise. So… marry me.”

With that, he dropped a bomb that would make headlines across the globe the very next day.

[Hunter HERO proposes publicly upon return—Who is his fiancée?]
[Exclusive Breakdown: The Truth Behind HERO’s Engagement!]
[HERO Announces Hiatus—Return Date Undecided…]

---

“You insane bastard! That’s all you could say after coming out of the Gate?!”

Throwing his hands through his hair, Son Sungcheol, Heero’s manager, screamed at him.

Heero, utterly unfazed, replied flatly, “Yes. That’s what I thought about the entire time I was clearing the last dungeon.”

Sungcheol groaned.

He was far too tired to point out how ridiculous that was.
In truth, he was less of a manager and more of a handler—a government-assigned watchdog.

This isn’t what I signed up for when I joined the Hunter Association, he thought, pressing his temples to ease the pounding headache. It didn’t help.

“That interview was broadcast worldwide! X-Gate is one of the Eight Great Gates—”

“So I cleared it.”

Heero’s tone was flat, almost bored— as if he’d just finished a round of some game.

The world hailed him as a hero, but he neither basked in the glory nor cared for it.

If anything, he looked… annoyed.

“Isn’t this enough? You said I’d get free time after the press conference. I even put the restraint back on. So get lost. You’re not my manager anymore.”

Sungcheol opened and closed his mouth soundlessly.
There was nothing to argue.

In truth, he’d done nothing while Heero was inside the Gate— just sent supplies, letters, and reports to headquarters.

Heero had been cooperative enough—God knew why.

Then, when Heero tried to leap into the air like before— he promptly fell flat on the ground.

The shadow beneath him didn’t even twitch.
Cursing under his breath, Heero realized too late that he was still wearing the restriction cuff.

He walked awkwardly, like an astronaut just returned from space.

“Give me the keys.”

Sungcheol pulled them from his jacket and handed them over without protest.
The car wasn’t even his— a custom-built government-issued vehicle registered solely under Heero’s name.

Domestic brand, sure, but one-of-a-kind— so high-spec it could rival any foreign luxury car, the kind that would cost millions if sold publicly.

Sungcheol had secretly looked forward to driving it at least once— after all, he was the “manager.”

But Heero didn’t give him the chance.

He left him standing on the pavement, slammed the door, and sped off.

The heavy thud of the car door echoed in Sungcheol’s chest like heartbreak.

Heero’s car—on its very first day— roared through the streets.

Its sleek, predatory design made other vehicles instinctively swerve aside.
Heero pressed down the accelerator, eyes fixed straight ahead.

Bang.

The car door slammed shut as he stepped out.
He stared up at the shabby old building before him.

“You really thought I wouldn’t find you hiding in a dump like this?”

He let out a dry, humorless laugh.

A worn wooden sign read: <Seongji Pilgrimage General Store>, its white letters flaking off with age.
Blatantly honest.
So him.

After three years of hell,
Heero had finally found the person he’d been searching for— Seong Jiwoo.

[TL Note: Seong Jiwoo can also be written or spelled as Sung Jiwoo or Song Jiwoo]

He had once loved Jiwoo’s shamelessness and boldness.
Now that affection was tangled with resentment and fury.

“Who the hell is Pilgrimage, huh?”

Scowling at the extra word on the sign, Heero walked up and knocked.

Knock, knock.

He kept his wrist movement gentle— in case Jiwoo got spooked and refused to open the door.

“Do you have an appointment?”

The soft, familiar voice slipped through the crack of the door.
Polite, welcoming— but the visitor wasn’t a customer.

Jiwoo’s eyes widened when he saw the man before him, clad in dust, blood, and monster ichor.

“I’m back.”

He spoke casually, like someone returning home after work.

“Come on. Welcome me properly.”

As if expecting to be greeted at the door.

Jiwoo froze.

Heero’s face had matured—sharper, more striking than three years ago.
That, more than anything, left Jiwoo stunned silent.

Heero reached out first.
Grabbing Jiwoo’s wrist, he tugged him outside.
The door shut behind them with a heavy thud.

“I kept my promise. I saved the world. I even hit rank one. Everyone calls me a hero now— just like you said they would. So please… f*ck, don’t abandon me now.”

The curse broke on a choked breath.

Heero pulled Jiwoo into his arms, holding him tight—again and again, as if to make sure he was real.

The warmth he’d imagined hundreds of times, the embrace he’d longed for thousands more— was worth every battle, every drop of blood he’d spilled.