Chapter 516 – Fate

Finally, the day has dawned.

The unavoidable day of reckoning.

A day marking the beginning toward the future.

And the last day of all the hardships we’ve faced till now.

And on this last day, we were on the move.

“Shinwoo, how’s it? Did I do well?”

“……Not really…”

It was just me, feeling quite drained.

[Chinpo is dead…!]

‘….F*ck.’

The heroines, who were assuring me everything was alright, were likely feeling some anxiety themselves.

They hadn’t taken a single breath of relief as they clung on.

Through the long night until the sun rose above the horizon.

Trying to hide the anxiety that this could be our last.

Of course, I had no intention of letting this be the final showdown.

Anyways, we arrived at the gate at a suitably late hour, just in time for Korean Hunter time.

What I saw was both unexpected yet as predicted.

It was only natural.

[There’s no one here.]

‘Exactly, these f*ckers.’

Not a single hunter was present related to this gathering.

“We’re here!”

“Long time no see, everyone. And Hyeji.”

The Association President welcomed us, beaming.

“After calling everyone, why the hell are you so late?!”

“Things happened…”

“……You look seriously unwell. Are you really okay…”

“For now…”

Except for Cheonma, who was burning with fighting spirit, he was worried about me.

“By the way, President, are there any hunters besides us?”

“……Everyone’s ignoring calls… All association hunters are on strike…”

“As expected…”

This wasn’t surprising at all.

“Not even anyone to get potions or recovery abilities… I’m sorry…”

“It’s fine. Hunters are naturally more sh*tty than beastmen.”

“Honestly, if it weren’t for the money, I would’ve quit being President. Those f*ckers…”

From my perspective, such people were better off not being around.

In the future before regression, so many hunters had been wiped out.

Sure, they might have fought valiantly but more likely they would have been a hindrance.

“If I can’t trust those so-called hunters, I’d rather have none at all.”

“I agree with the Great Demon.”

If there were two pieces of bad news here.

“Ayeon, what about the succubus standby team?”

“Sorry… Their support seems a bit difficult.”

First off, the succubuses Ayeon gathered couldn’t assist us.

“Was there something happening?”

“It’s just a staffing shortage. I got urgent word that the business area has started to get busy since morning.”

“…… It’s definitely those f*cking hunters.”

“Indeed. If we don’t bring the succubuses in immediately, they’ll threaten to start a fire.”

A bit disappointing, but this couldn’t be helped.

Most of the hunters not here were probably out enjoying themselves.

Which meant they’d need extra succubuses to deal with them.

If neglected, those hunters would only stir chaos instead of providing help.

[What on earth are those f*ckers doing, tripping us up until the end.]

‘Because they’re hunters.’

[No, f*ck! Hunters are supposed to be all-powerful in terms of probability!]

That could be a variable, so it’s best to prevent any losses, no matter how minor.

“Shinwoo, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I think I’m starting to get it.”

And the other thing was that thanks to Hyeji, moving the military through her father was also a challenge.

“It seems like there’s a procedure, and Japan said they could carry out military provocations.”

“Ah, f*ck. Did we go overboard?”

This was also quite a predictable issue.

After our visit to Japan, they suffered a major blow to their pride.

So to restore their shattered pride, they would activate various actions.

Even if it could lead to direct conflict between nations.

Especially with the unprecedented appearance of a gate causing chaos.

This was the perfect golden opportunity for them to recover their pride.

Thus, moving the military for the gate was out of the question.

“At this time, my sister should have dropped the third nuke!”

“Long time no hear a true word from our Ear Goblin.”

“I agree. They keep crawling over because we’re barely hitting back, just like Shinwoo.”

“Why the hell am I being dragged into this, you f*cking cat.”

Additionally, the gate was not their jurisdiction either.

There’s also the civil servant culture of only taking care of their own matters.

After all, hunters exist to deal with such gates.

So, it was absurd for hunters to ask the military for help.

Objectively speaking, it could be seen as a bit grim.

We’ve lost our means of recovery, and expected assistance was out of reach.

But I wasn’t thinking about that at all.

“President, the reward is secure, right?”

“I’ll give you more than the usual amount.”

Didn’t I mention earlier?

That ‘no one related to the hunters is present’ at this gathering?

Plus that Cheonma noted ‘everyone was called here.’

At this point, it should be clear.

That’s right.

Since they responded to the call.

“Other than me, right?”

“Of course.”

At least those who might be connected to us.

「Do-mo. Granny Punch!」

“Do-mo. Granny Master!”

The AI Ninja who gained enlightenment from me and gained independence from Japan.

“Mine Fuhrer! It’s nice to see you!!!”

“I told you, if you keep calling me that, I’m really going to die, right?”

“Sor-sorry! It’s just a habit…”

Haruka, the magic cannon promised to be Hyeji’s tactical weapon.

『……You seem to be getting thinner every time I see you.』

“……Very true…”

『Shall I whip you up a three-minute soft-boiled egg? It might not taste great since it’s not in season.』

“Don’t do that, you f*cker.”

The Red Dragon, who handed over a jade as a token of friendship, along with his wife.

“I wanted to rest today. Why’d you call me?”

“What kind of f*cking bum gets a day off!?”

“You sh*tty Ear Goblin…”

Spencer, who was just idling at home with nothing to do.

“I’ll give you an extra fee for this job. And send you off on leave after it’s done.”

“I’ll seriously follow you for life, Saintess.”

The Holy Knight directly under Caressy, and the strongest force of the Beastman Kingdom.

And the last person too.

Has just shown up.

To cap off this thin thread of fate.

“Hey, didn’t you tell me to go fishing?”

“So I hooked you.”

“Ah, this f*cking bastard.”

The long-standing nemesis and old friend, Ryu Kang-hyuk.

But Kang-hyuk seemed to have anticipated my trickery.

He had brought a bunch of dildos as weapons.

It was a bit embarrassing to have a bunch of dildos on display.

“Now I know why you called us here…”

“You did bring weapons this time, for all that complaining. They’re a bit odd-shaped though.”

That was certainly the hard tsundere that was Kang-hyuk.

“I was going to use this to catch fish.”

“……Apologize to the fish, you f*ck.”

No, he was just a total idiot.

[So this is how you abuse the fish, huh.]

‘This is animal abuse…’

Suddenly, Kang-hyuk gave me a look.

“By the way, are you sick? You look like you’re on the verge of death.”

“I don’t think you’re in a position to talk about that. What happened to you?”

“……None of your business, you bastard.”

As I said, Kang-hyuk’s state was miserable.

He was already looking like a walking corpse, barely resembling a human.

It’s surprising he didn’t seem any different from me.

“Your face looks awfully drained; have you taken deworming pills?”

“Why bring up deworming of all things?”

Kang-hyuk tilted his head at my words.

Honestly, deworming and his miserable state were unrelated, so it was a natural reaction.

But I was half sure that had some relation to Kang-hyuk.

Because it was true.

“You’re an insect, so it’d be dangerous if you took that.”

“Can’t you just die first, you f*cker!”

This bastard was the real bug among all the bugs I’d seen.

Anyways, time for jokes ended, and I asked Kang-hyuk about his state again.

He was one of the top forces here, and I was a bit concerned about how awful he looked.

He might not be able to exert his power as expected.

“But Kang-hyuk, why’s your state so serious?”

“Why do you keep asking?”

“Because we need to work now. Is there something major going on?”

Then Kang-hyuk suddenly made a face at me and raised his voice.

It was such a sudden change that the previously cheerful atmosphere turned slightly tense.

“F*cking bastard!!!”

A sudden silence fell, exchanging uneasy looks.

Among them, I carefully opened my mouth to Kang-hyuk.

“Don’t tell me you’re saying not to get married?”

“Ah, it’s truly killing me… Raising a kid is f*cking hard…”

Somehow I understood why Kang-hyuk had come without a fuss.

When I suggested fishing, he likely seized the chance and escaped home.

Making an excuse, he’d freed himself from the true torment of parenthood.

Even the world’s strongest seemed to struggle with parenting.

“If it’s too hard, you could just go home?”

“No! Just let me work! I’m damn good at killing something, please!”

He was so desperate to get back to work without knowing what it was about.

Anyways, with that, everyone who needed to come was here.

Not a single hunter to be found.

But we had gathered people who were much more reliable than those hunters.

“Ryu Kang-hyuk, you bastard!!! No matter how old I get, I’m not watching that disgusting old man video!!!”

“Nice to see you, you f*cker. You ding-dong ditched my house last week? Because of that, the kid woke up and it was a nightmare.”

Of course, as I felt there was something slightly amiss, I was still quite anxious.

[……One side is a granny… The other side is a night bell ringing…]

‘Is this how the world’s strongest are fighting…?’

No matter what, they sure looked like angels compared to those hunters.

---