NoveLight ™
Hunter Association
S-rank Hunter Seo Ji-yeon, known as the "Photographer of Death," wearing tattered clothes that looked like rags, met a man with his hair tied up in a topknot.
The man was Lee Heung-bu, a Hunter affiliated with the Blue House.
As soon as Seo Ji-yeon saw him, her face contorted.
How long is this guy going to keep insisting on that broke-down look? Annoyed, Seo Ji-yeon forced herself to maintain a neutral expression.
"Old hag. How've you been?"
"Hah, your tone has really changed in the time since I last saw you."
"If you’ve been playing the lapdog for Ha Jung-seok, shouldn’t you expect to be treated like this?"
Thinking about the past with those Hunters who had been Ha Jung-seok's lackeys, this level of insult was practically being lenient.
"Hey, Ji-yeon. Still, the head of this country is the president. The Hunter Association can’t take over the government, can it?"
"Ha! Sitting at the Blue House doesn’t make you the president, you know. Are you talking nonsense?"
Seo Ji-yeon sneered at Lee Heung-bu, who shook his head in disbelief.
"Ugh. What am I doing, talking to a kid like this?"
"I don’t really want to talk more with an old hag either. It’s better to figure out the exploration route," she replied.
"Right. What does Shin Geom say?"
At Lee Heung-bu's question, Seo Ji-yeon recalled Yoo Jin-seok’s words from earlier.
Even without Yoo Jin-seok’s words, there was no reason to say anything to someone from the Blue House. Since Heung-bu was just a narrow-minded radical, their opinions wouldn’t align on the Baekhwa exploration.
It was better to just explain things plainly.
"I think it’s south of Incheon. But the demonic energy is so thick it’s hard to enter."
"Hmm. You said they’ll understand you, right?"
"Will the ignorant old man try to solve it with force again?"
"Monsters usually use force."
I knew it.
That’s exactly why he’s playing the president’s dog.
"Ugh. This is why you get called an old man. You’re like a fossil. Don’t you know how to communicate? Even Jin-seok, who can take down your brothers in 10 seconds, told you to at least try talking first?"
The meaning here isn’t about strength; it’s about trying to compromise.
"That guy's past his prime now."
"You, at retirement age, are telling a twenty-something like Jin-seok that? You’re strong enough to make your wife and kid go hungry, tsk tsk."
Seo Ji-yeon clicked her tongue and shrugged her shoulders.
Heung-bu's ability was the "Power of Poverty."
The less you had, the stronger you became—that was Heung-bu's unique ability.
Back in his student days, he used to walk around almost in his underwear, and in the worst cases, he fought naked against his enemies.
Because of that, he was often labeled a pervert and had been to the police station more times than he could count. If his older brother Nolbu hadn't been around to bail him out with money, he would have long since ended up homeless.
At least, after continuously developing his ability, he had reached a point where he could cover himself with clothes, but his wife and children still lived in poverty because of it.
"Cough! Still, it’s for the country, so it can't be helped!"
"Ugh. Stop with the nonsense. How are all the Blue House-affiliated guys like this?"
The Hunter Association members weren't as shady as the Blue House Hunters.
At least, if it hadn’t been for the recent Kim Jae-su rebellion, the association would still have been lively.
"What’s that supposed to mean?"
"Did I say something wrong? Even your so-called older brother Nolbu gets stronger the more greed he has, right?"
Both brothers had unpleasant abilities.
Seo Ji-yeon couldn’t understand how she ended up as a partner with this man.
"Alright. Fine, I give up. We’ll do it through conversation, so let’s keep it decent."
"You should’ve said that earlier. And by the way, we’re watching the broadcast first, just so you know."
At Seo Ji-yeon’s teasing remark, Heung-bu, who was about to leave without listening to the association, clicked his tongue in frustration.
***
Before showing the broadcast of the survivors, I briefly inspected Songdo.
Songdo New Town. This neighborhood, which had been abandoned after a great upheaval, had changed a lot after I took control.
With the support of the Cheonsan Group and the golems from Lee Yoo-jung, we managed to build decent houses, though not at apartment level.
I placed the survivors rescued from the demon area here and used Kate to ensure they had food and everything they needed, with support from the Cheonsan Group.
"For now, should I just show some buildings that don't look too much like Songdo?"
If I showed intact buildings, people might suspect this is Songdo. That would be troublesome.
The real problem is that the humans who managed to avoid the demon areas are fine, but those who got deeply contaminated by the demons have already turned into monsters.
If I show them on the broadcast, I wonder how the media will react.
"Speaking of which, how’s my community reacting?"
Entering the Hunter community, unsurprisingly, the most mentions were about me.
Well, for example, I clicked on a random post on the first page of the bulletin board.
Title: Baekhwa, isn’t she just damn hot?
Isn’t it always the monsters or villain women who are the most attractive compared to regular hunters or civilians?
And when she fought with Yoo Jin-seok, I swear her panties were T-back.
Just from scanning this, it’s already like this. And there are a lot of comments about how I’m more attractive as a monster.
But in the end, pretty women are justice. Even if they call me a monster, there were more people willing to support me.
Now that I think about it, I once made a fan club for a woman who had even been wanted before. In the end, if you’re pretty, that’s all that matters.
"Anyway, this look of mine, and the T-back. It’s not even a thong."
I didn’t take it off to prepare for anything.
At the time, Rachel had been complaining about me coming late, so I had left it there as a decoy in front of the bath.
It wasn’t because I found the nun’s uniform more comfortable without panties or because I enjoy exposing myself. Absolutely not.
As proof, I’m wearing panties now.
"Still, this seems fine. Should I just cause some trouble?"
Anyway, today I was planning to emphasize the survivors more. Whether they curse me for being a monster or whatever, I didn’t care.
BaekhwaTV itself had that purpose.
It was time to introduce the villain Baekhwa to the world.
I turned on the broadcast using the redeveloped Songdo area as the backdrop.
"Hello, everyone~! It’s your eternal idol, Baekhwa!"
The chatroom was also on fire.
Should I get a manager? But BaekhwaTV wasn’t really intended for long-term use.
"Okay, for now, let’s kick out those being rude, even more so than that monster villain."
Songdo was now activated, and there were quite a few people living here.
I showed that scene live in real-time.
And right now wasn’t the time to argue about who’s stronger.
"Baekhwa, hello!"
"Yes. Hello."
"Thanks to Baekhwa, my daughter and I didn’t die. Thank you so much."
"No problem. Here, kid, have some candy."
A mother and daughter I rescued recently thanked me, so I gave the candy I had to the daughter.
This is called image management.
Unlike the hypocritical politicians, I was truly gaining the trust of the survivors as Baekhwa, the monster villain.
Do I really need to explain that? It’s not like I gave her a kiss I can’t get back.
"Ah, by the way, since she’s a virgin, she really couldn’t kiss. And in the quarantine zone, even underwear is a rare commodity, so this is all I have."
Oh, looks like the bludgeoning woman’s pissed.
"Anyway, if the Association catches on, I won’t be able to show more, but you can think of it like thousands of people live here."
That was enough, so I turned off the broadcast.
Who’s coming next? Probably one man and two women.
Since Yoo Jin-seok must have gone and informed the Association, they’ll at least try to soften things by sending out a woman, and maybe they’ll bring a strong character in case of trouble.
I think Baekcheonggang and Seo Ji-yeon will come.
Aside from Yoo Jin-seok, those two are the most powerful members of the Association. Or maybe someone from the guild will come, but the guild would need permission from the Blue House.
Oh? Wait a minute.
"Heung-bu might come?"
If it’s Heung-bu, this could get annoying.
His ability is the Power of Poverty, right? The less he has, the stronger he becomes. That’s why Heung-bu always wears the least amount of clothes possible without getting arrested by the cops.
In other words, his clothes alone could be a huge blow to me.
Not that he’s handsome, though. He has that typical rough, manly face. You know, the kind you see in gay porn—exactly that type.
Heung-bu is the only man in the world whose very existence forces me into a deal.
If he strips down to use his ultimate move, I’ll have to give up visual perception entirely.
It’s strange, but the artist Yoo Eun-ha really drew Heung-bu’s scenes in high quality, which makes it worse.
"In the previous work, he made female villains kneel down with his nakedness."
It’s irritating, so I covered my eyes.
But I shouldn’t jump to conclusions. Maybe I should check the situation for a bit.
"Hey, Eun-ha. Someone’s arrived near Songdo."
Rosemary, who had been patrolling outside Songdo with her four clones, hurriedly came to report to me.
"Who is it?"
"One is the Photographer of Death, Seo Ji-yeon. The other is Heung-bu, the God of Poverty."
Just as they say, "Speak of the devil."
Yeah, just as expected. It’s lucky that Seo Ji-yeon is with them.
I’ll definitely make sure to deal with her in the future, but for now, compromise is necessary.
Elize is impossible. Even though I’ve gotten stronger, going up against two S-rank Hunters from Korea is different.
Elize can’t handle Heung-bu, and if things go wrong, there could be diplomatic issues with the U.S.
"Just as expected. Sia."
"Yes, Master."
"I’ll give you some mana stones later, so handle Heung-bu. Can you manage it?"
It’s a rare opportunity, so I should make the most of it.
"If it’s a fight to the death, it’ll be tough with my current body."
Sia is using some of the power of the constellations, but the issue is with Choi Si-woo inside her.
If I want to keep the lustful Choi Si-woo in check, I can’t fully use her power.
"No, if that happens, the lust will awaken, and Heung-bu would be better off alive."
That guy’s rigid and might get in the way, but he’s useful when it comes to power.
Aside from Yoo Jin-seok’s generation of Hunters, Heung-bu, along with his older brother Nolbu, is one of the best martial artists in Korea.
He uses a weird technique called the "Power of Poverty," and apparently, there’s a Hunter in Japan with sumo abilities who has already thrown in the towel.
In the end, it’s because he fights naked, which makes the visual terror hit him first.
I should probably just drive him away for now. The problem is, even if I kick him out once, he might keep showing up. Eventually, the location of Songdo will be discovered.
Should I make Seo Ji-yeon an ally instead?