The First Hunter

Chapter 96: Episode 96 – Freezer, Part I

Chapter 34. Freezer, Part I

Translator: Khan

Editor: RED

1.

Before the appearance of the monsters, Kojima was a policeman. As a special note, he had a fourth grade in kendo.

But after the monsters appeared, he had changed. He became a warrior fighting against monsters. He survived in Tokyo, as a warrior. That was enough. Surviving in Tokyo, which had become a hell, was its own medal and evidence for Kojima, proof that he was strong.

“Do you know how to handle a sword?”

There was no reason for him to step down against Kim Tae-hoon. No, he was enjoying the situation.

‘I was bored, that’s good.’

Since he had stepped in Korea, everyone he dealt with was weak. Not only were they weak, but they were not able to fight properly. Even those with the marks on the back of their hands did not know how to handle the relics, and most of them did not handle guns in a skilled manner.

It was ridiculous. It was so absurd that he was annoyed beyond his boredom.

In such a situation, Kim’s appearance was a pleasant stimulus to Kojima, and enjoyed the battlefield.

Swish! As if to enjoy the pleasant stimulus, Kojima moved his sword. He added his left hand to the sword he had held in his right hand.

‘Higekiri will taste the blood of a man after a long time.’ He held Higekiri, his favorite sword, with both hands.

Of course, Higekiri was not an ordinary sword. The first thing to consider was its name. When they cut a person’s head off with the sword, they cut his beard along with it. Because of that, the name Higekiri was given to it.

(TL Note: Hagekiri literally means ‘Beard Off’)

At the same time, it was a treasure formerly on display at the Kitano Tenmangu Shrine in Kyoto, Japan, as a national important cultural asset.

It was a sword sharp enough that it was not unusual to cut a person’s body in two even if he swung it with one hand. The fact that he held such a sword in both hands meant that Kojima would fight with all his might from now on.

In front of Kojima, Kim also picked up the other Sword. Tsreung! He pulled the other Sword out of the remaining sheath of the two he had in his arms.

The Sword that appeared was splendid, decorated with the same gold as its sheath, and on the end of the hilt was attached a ring ornament.

Cheonmachong Hwandoodaedo.

It was a Sword that Kim had newly acquired; it was evidence that Kim had changed. So far, he has only used the Sword of the Imperator, because it was the only sword he owned.

Kojima, who did not know that, moved as soon as Kim grabbed the Sword. Kojima concentrated his Energy on his toes, and he injected Energy into his sword. Tsu-tsu-tsu! Higekiri took the Energy and began to emit purple energy with a scream.

‘The first attacker gets the victory!’ What Kojima aimed was as clear as daylight.

But the first attack was Kim’s share.

‘Huck!’

It was Kojima who moved first, but the Sword that Kim swung toward the coming Kojima was faster. There was no particular reason. If their weight and physiques were similar, the car with superior emissions and horsepower was faster.

If Kojima was a pretty good sports sedan, Kim was a sports car made by Bugatti. Even if Kojima pressed the accelerator first, Kim would have been the first to take the lead.

‘Let me stop it once!’ In the end, Kojima gave up on the first attack. Instead, he lifted the sword with both hands over his head to parry Kim’s sword, which was coming down to split his head with great force. He drew a horizontal line with the sword over his head.

Clank! The two swords clashed and a rough sound came out.

“Ugh!” At the same time, the two legs of Kojima, which prevented Kim from hitting his sword, were stuck in the ground. The footprints of the Kojima were carved into the cement floor.

‘What, what power!’ Even though Kim held the sword with one hand and Kojima with both hands, Kojima could not push him back.

“Aahhhhh!” Kojima screamed and squeezed all his strength out, but nothing changed. Kojima could barely endure Kim’s crushing power.

‘Next, next attack…’ At this moment, Kojima waited only for Kim to make his next attack.

Kim, however, did not intend to do so from the beginning. As said earlier, Kim carried two Swords because he had a good reason. The reason was now apparent.

Swish! The Sword of the Imperator, which was rolling on the floor, began to move by itself.

The number of swords that Kim could handle perfectly was two. That’s why Kim had two swords.

‘This, this crazy monster, where…’ Only then did Kojima see properly. Kim was a monster incomparable with any monster he had faced in Tokyo.

Kim spoke slowly to Kojima in Japanese, “I won’t kill you.”

2.

“Oh, my God.”

The Résistance was created to resist the perpetual violence of the Second Operations Command. They were David and the Second Operations Command was Goliath. It was never a good story. David originally could not beat Goliath. The same was true of the Residence. It was virtually impossible for David’s men to defeat Goliath’s Second Operations Command.

“Is it really true what we are seeing?”

“Oh, it’s real.”

The Second Operations Command has been controlled most of the people who rushed to the city of Daegu. They early identified the Awakeners and the existence of the relics, and they made the Awakeners their own forces. The Second Operations Command was not just a force, but a group of already privileged people with power.

On the other hand, the Résistance was a gathering of exploited people who did not have power. Therefore, the Résistance could not win the fight against the Second Operations Command in the first place.

But now the Second Operations Command was being taken down by a man.

“Only one man…”

The Second Operations Command was screaming in front of only one man. No, now, there was no screaming to be heard anymore.

The survivors ran away without looking back, and the only ones left were the dead.

‘That’s absurd.’ Lee Yeon-ah and the members of the Résistance who watched the scene felt fear rather than excitement at this moment.

‘How the hell did this happen…’ It was the fear that the world had changed while they were trapped in the land of Daegu, and that it had turned into a form that they could not even imagine.

In that fear, Kim appeared on the roof of the building they were at.

Thump! Kim appeared with a heavy sound, with two Swords on his back and a third in his hand. He was an overwhelming figure.

Kim made a one-sided gesture. “Come along.”

“Yes?” Everyone was just as surprised as they were.

“How did you know where we were?” Lee asked in return.

There was no answer to the question. Kim immediately headed toward the stairs that led up to the roof.

Lee turned her head once again following Kim, and she looked down at Daegu City Hall.

‘I know one thing for sure.’ Lee, looking at the burning Daegu City Hall, was able to be sure of one fact at this moment. ‘I must not make him an enemy.’

‘Don’t make Kim an enemy.’ It was a very important lesson.

3.

A building which was not far from Daegu City Hall…

“Leader!”

“Hey, nice to meet you, I’m so glad to see you.”

In the building, Lee and his colleagues were able to meet their leader. But the meeting was not pleasant.

“What the hell have you been through?”

It was because of Cho Sung-yeon’s terrible appearance. It was hard to find a good place on his whole body as he lay on the floor.

If the eyebrows like a pine caterpillar and the eyes still glistening under them were not the same, they would not think of him as Cho Sung-yeon. They could not believe that the last time they saw his face was only five days ago.

“Suddenly the samurai and the ninjas came into the secret hideout, killed everyone else, and tortured me after they saved me.”

“What the hell was that…”

“We’ll talk about it later.” In addition, Cho did not intend to make this moment a pleasant situation.

“Tell everyone through the emergency contact network right now, leave the hideouts and wait until they hear from me.” Cho’s eyes were serious.

“Move right away.” Cho reiterated with his eyes. It was more important to act than to talk about his body and his wounds. That was the driving force when everybody became David and fought against Goliath. When everyone turned away from what was right, he was facing what was right and dignified. He was the most honest lighthouse. If the lighthouse showed what it had to do, it was only necessary for them to do it.

“I understand.”

“I’ll move.”

The moment the Résistance moved again, Kim was downstairs. He wasn’t alone. Kojima was sitting on the iron chair in only his underwear, where Cho had sat a few hours ago. Kim was boiling water with Kojima in front of him.

At the fact, Kojima opened his eyes wide and asked Kim why he was boiling water. “Ahhhhhh!”

However, the gag in his mouth made it impossible to have a proper conversation.

“I’m going to make some coffee.”

Nevertheless, Kim managed to understand Kojima’s words, and began to pour water into the coffee dripper he had prepared after the answer.

Dribbling! With the faint sound of water, the subtle aroma of coffee began to spread.

The eyes of Kojima at the sight were full of fear and doubt. ‘What the hell are you doing?’ He was expecting to be tortured. But the act of making coffee before torture was not something he expected.

Fortunately, Kojima’s doubts did not last long; Kim, who poured as much water as he wanted in the coffee dripper, approached Kojima with the kettle and tilted the kettle over his right thigh.

Dribbling!

“Aaaaaaargh!” The hot water scalded his thigh, and moaning came out of his mouth.

“Aaaaaaargh!” The crazy pain stopped only after Kim’s tilted kettle found its original horizontality again.

Chalang! Chalang! Kim shook the kettle to check the remaining amount of water and filled the kettle with more water. He put the kettle back on the flames of the burning solid fuel.

“I have some ideas to think about when torturing people,” Kim spoke calmly.

“I think you thought, ‘when I torture someone, I will never be tortured like this. I can’t get hurt, and I’m safe’. I’m sure you thought that when you tortured Cho, because it was too much to see.”

“Aaaaaaaargh” In front of Kim’s eerie notice, Kojima looked at the melted skin on his thigh as he screamed.

Kim did not speak to Kojima any more. He did not ask questions or notify him. Now was the time to wait. It was the time to wait until this pain and his words were rooted in the mind of Kojima.

Then, Kim organized the questions that he was going to ask. He looked at the mark of Kojima’s right hand with his black eyes.

‘The sum of Strength and Health is 310, the Energy rank is B, the Defense is C+ rank, and the remaining Mana and Mana Resistance ranks are D+.’ Kojima’s abilities were excellent.

‘He was raised.’ It was evident that an Awakener named Kojima had eaten monster stones through proper monster hunting. It’s not just what he had killed; he could not make that much if he hunted and ate alone, so he also ate what others killed.

Kim turned his eyes and looked at the Sword he had obtained from Kojima.

==[Higekiri]

• Relic Grade: Grade 2
• Relic Value: Special
• Relic Ability: It is a noted sword that boasts a cutting force. It cut down an Oni, a supernatural Ogre, and it has a mysterious power that even cuts down unreal things, as if to match the nickname Onikiri.]==

It was a second-grade special relic; not a common relic, but a weapon of great value. It was a thing that would not be given to ordinary people. These two things were telling him the value of the man named Kojima in Japan.

‘He is an important person. He is in a very important position.’

But Hayato didn’t know much about Kojima. The problem was that Kim did not have any information about Kojima from the information he obtained by torturing Hayato. Hayato could not have forgotten an important person like Kojima at all.

And if Hayato had known, Kim would have known about Kojima, because Hayato had vomited everything he had known to Kim.

‘Kojima came to Korea after Hayato had come to Seoul, and that fact was not told to Hayato.’

In other words, a new operation was established while Hayato was performing his mission in Seoul, which meant that Kojima was newly dispatched to carry out the operation. The man named Musashi, who was currently called the master, would have given the mission to Kojima.

Kim combined the information and created questions that would penetrate Kojima’s shaking mind.

“What is the new command that Musashi gave you?”

The question that penetrated the core caused Kojima’s eyes to open wide. Then, Kojima pressed the gag tightly, displaying his willingness not to tell.

It was also the reaction Kim had hoped for. So, he picked up the kettle again, and finally, he warned Kojima, “Don’t think Koreans will tolerate Japanese who are playing tricks on the Korean Peninsula.”

4.

Jang Sung-hoon was actually the second most powerful person in the Republic of Korea, and he was sitting in a chair and chewing on his anguish.

‘I’m crazy.’

There had been a lot of work for him recently. Once the full authority of the Capital Defense Command was delegated, the Mac Guild had to make a major reorganization. But it was not tormenting Jang now. In fact, that part was easily processed.

‘When one organization is reorganized, the most problematic part is the backlash from the losers.’

However, the reorganization was smoothly proceeding, as there was no such rebellion under the Mac Guild. It was because there was no bigger deterrent than having Kim as an enemy.

‘Japan…’

It was none other than Japan that worried Jang. Japan was once again burning its will to invade Korea, and it was already on the move. If the information obtained through the ninja and Colonel Jang So-gook was true, it was more serious than expected.

‘It’s a real war now.’

It was not a normal problem. In fact, the confrontation that had existed on the Korean Peninsula had been close to a civil war, but the minimum line was not crossed.

‘But if we start a war with Japan, it is literally a national war. There is no line to keep each other separate. But if the target is Japan and Korea, they will be beyond the line that they shouldn’t cross at all. So far, the history of the Korean Peninsula and the history of the Japanese Archipelago has proved this fact.’

‘There’s nothing strange about what Japanese people do. So we have to keep in mind whatever they can do.’

That was the reason for the agony. Japan would do whatever it could do to Korea, and the scope of what might happen had to be taken into consideration.

“Hmm?” Jang, who was looking at Daedongyeojido hung in his office, rose from his seat.

“Er?” A number of lights on Daedongyeojido, which was reflected in Jang’s eyes, began to move quickly.

“Huh!” The moving lights were green and blue ones.

‘Why are these bastards moving all of a sudden?’

And the movement was centered around the Sobaek Mountains. Green and blue lights were moving to Mt. Gaya and the city of Daegu. It was clear proof.

‘It’s too creepy, isn’t it?’

It was proof that the huge wall, which had been blocking the monsters so far, had disappeared. It was evident that someone had crossed the line that should not have been crossed. Jang searched through the mountain Gaya.

‘What’s in Gaya?’

“Shit, Haein Temple is there!”