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The moment the explosion happened, the hunters felt an extreme wind pressure against their skin. Their faces wrinkled like tissue at the impact while they still held onto their guns. With a resounding shock, the hunters were bounced in every direction like bouncing balls. One hunter was stuck to the wall like bubble gum, spitting blood. Another was thrown against the ceiling then to the ground, bounding off. The hunters that were too close to the explosion were ripped to pieces, and their remains were spread on the ground like food leftover. A hunter that had flown the farthest wriggled on the ground. 

“Eugh... Ugh...” Every time he breathed, he felt as if the air was refusing to leave his lungs. Instinctively, he breathed in deeper. With the left hand that could still feel, he touched his pants. Click. He opened the small potion he took out and poured its contents into his mouth. His face cringed. 

“Keheuk! Heuk... Keuk!” He calmed the mana going against the current in his heart with the potion. He had been standing in the middle of the half-circle aiming at the door when the explosion happened. He could not even grasp what had happened. 

With a deep breath inward, he got up onto his knees then feet. His ears were ringing. He could see flames in front of him, and a smoky air made its way into his nostrils. 

“”Dammit,” cursing, he pressed the button on his walkie-talkie. A message from the entrance guard team was playing on repeat. 

“Cough!” He spat out blood and answered. “Get the guys over here. There was an explosion.” 

Perhaps the walkie-talkie broke in the midst of the shock. After a few bursts of noise, the connection broke. The hunter left to go find his colleagues. He noticed something wriggling on the floor. It was the remnants of a hunter’s wrist, burned from the explosion. It moved by itself on the floor, perhaps because its nerves were still alive. 

“Agh... Euh...” a hunter nearby moaned. The hunter looked through his pockets and took out a potion. 

“Hurry to the entrance and get help from the guys over there. Cough! Tell them the office exploded, and that one returner and four attack squad members from the guild...” he trailed off. The hunter standing in front of him was looking behind him. They looked at each other. 

“Shoot!” 

Instinctively, the hunter turned his body around. He aimed towards where the hunter in front of him was aiming and pulled the trigger. Bang! Bang! A heavy hand fell on the muzzle of the gun. It was a guild member that had exited the office. 

“Keuk!” 

With his gun caught in the guild member’s hand, they fought each other. It was dark, but through the flames in the hallway, he could see the hunter’s silhouette. It was a familiar face but with bleeding cuts and a broken front tooth. His eyes did not seem to contain life. 

“Hyung-nim! It’s me! It...” 

The dead guild member could not hear his teammate’s pleas. A vein popped in his eye. Then, suddenly, an aggressive explosion swallowed the survivors. 

***

At an office located in Gangnam, Seoul owned by the Charnel House Sect, a largely-built man put out his cigarette. 

“So... You want me to take care of your subordinate?” he asked. On the back of his hand holding the cigarette was a skull tattoo. It depicted a skull with powdered bone flowing through the jaw like sand. It was the current nation’s biggest criminal organization Charnel House Sect’s symbol. 

Sitting across from him was Goo Changwoo. “Just for a bit.” 

“You’re supposed to tell me why I have to keep him here.” 

Hwang Kyuho was sitting next to Goo Changwoo. He gave a sly smile.  “Kyung Tak hyung-nim, don’t be like that. It’s not like it’s our first time meeting.” 

“Don’t smile at me like that, you bastard. I’ll beat you up,” the man threatened. 

“Yes, sir!” 

“I hate how you look, how you act, and I hate how you sound even more,” said the man. “I hate each and every cell of you, you bastard.” 

“Kyung Tak, don’t be like that. He’s still part of the family whether you like him or not, no?” asked Goo Changwoo. 

“Family? Since when were the bastards that crawled under Kang Min’s wing my family?” 

“No, Tak hyung-nim, that’s...” 

“I said you shut the fuck up!” shouted Kyung Tak. At his sudden uproar, the side door opened. 

“Hyung-nim, is something wrong?” They were a bunch of hunters whose muscles looked on the verge of exploding. 

“No, go inside and wait,” ordered Kyung Tak. 

“Yes, sir.” 

Kyung Tak gazed over at Goo Changwoo and Hwang Kyuho. “You never even contacted me when Kang Min was alive, but after he died, you’re crawling back to me?” 

“We can resolve things later if you’re upset about anything, but please just do this for me right now. I’m running short on helping hands,” pleaded Goo Changwoo. 

“Go somewhere else. Don’t you know a lot of people?” 

“Kyuho,” called Goo Changwoo. 

“Yes, hyung-nim,” answered Hwang Kyuho, 

“Go get us coffee,” replied Goo Changwoo. 

“What should I get?” asked Hwang Kyuho. 

“Whatever.” 

Once Hwang Kyuho had left, Kyung Tak spoke up. “Why are you taking care of that speaking trash?” 

“Kyung Tak, you know about Cha Yoohyuk, right?” 

“Returner Association’s first president Cha Yoohyuk?” 

“Yes, that monster.” 

“What about him?” 

“That bastard’s half brother is that Hwang Kyuho bastard.” 

“What? Is that true?” 

“If it weren’t for Cha Yoohyuk, I would’ve killed that bastard 40,000 times over with my own hands.” 

“Hah! For fuck’s sake. I knew he was arrogant because he had a backup, but...” 

Kyung Tak thought for a moment. “Then when Kang Min was hunting, the monstrous bastards’ owner was...” 

“Right, it was Cha Yoohyuk. It was an elite division that the monster’s clan was raising in secret.” 

“Hmm, then can I also warm up to him a bit?” 

Goo Changwoo let out a snort of laughter. “Is there anything you want from him?” 

“There’s a lot,” answered Kyung Tak. “Not all hunters are the same as you know. There’s no other group where power is the most important thing as ours. But there are a few things that are hard even for the Charnel House Sect’s strongest guys.” 

“We can talk about that next time,” replied Goo Changwoo. “Keep that bastard with you for a while. Then I’ll say something to Cha Yoohyuk.” 

Sucking in the cigarette, a murky smoke dissipated from under Kyung Tak’s nose. His front teeth appeared as the smoke went away. “How long should I keep him?” 

“I’ll call you when things are settled down a bit,” replied Goo Changwoo, taking out his cigarette. While turning on his lighter, he recalled Kang Hyuk. He had seen a lot of terribly strong people on Earth. Even then, he felt an unknown feeling of danger when he met eyes with Kang Hyuk. I should’ve gotten a call from the incineration plant by now... Why aren’t they contacting me? He suddenly wondered how the plant got rid of Kang Hyuk. He took out his smartphone. He dialed in the number and inhaled his cigarette smoke. 

Why aren’t they picking up? He called again on the office phone in the incineration plant. His face expression became suddenly serious. Neither the team leader nor the incineration plant were picking up. Did something happen to them? His lips twitched. At that moment, his phone rang. It was the club’s guard team. 

“Hyung-nim! It’s an emergency!” a hunter shouted through the phone. 

“What is it?” 

“There was an explosion in the office, and the guys took a hit!” 

“What? What kinda bastards came in?” asked Goo Changwoo. 

“It was Kang Min’s older brother that came by when you were still here,” answered the hunter. “He came back after you left. The office told us to let him in, so we did...” 

Goo Changwoo held his hand in a fist. The end of the cigarette in his mouth burned with a flame. 

“Hey! Hey! Don’t be playing with fire in here! What are you doing? You bastard!” yelled Kyung Tak. 

With an exploding noise, the flame increased in size like a firework bursting, and it was sucked into Goo Changwoo’s hand. He closed his hand into a fist. His left hand became red and hot. His eyes were full of murderous intent. He dialed a number on his smartphone. 

“Hey, it’s me. Get all the attack squad members from the guild headquarters.”

***

In the outskirts of Seoul, there was a vacant lot without a single building in sight. It was owned by Gargoa Guild, and there were bodies of guild members spread throughout. They were security guard team members who had nothing to do in such a desolate area other than to just eat and nap to pass the time. They had paid the price for spending their days doing nothing in a place no one visited. They had died defenseless, and they were now following Kang Hyuk’s commands to stay by his side. 

Kang Hyuk had killed the guild members in the club office and looked through their memories. This vacant lot is what he had found in their memories. 

“Um, returner hyung-nim. I mean, returner-nim. Goo Changwoo keeps calling me. Should I take it?” asked Oh Taeho. 

“Take it.” Kang Hyuk wasn’t looking at Oh Taeho but into the distance instead. He was still looking through the hunters’ memories for anything useful. 

Oh Taeho picked up the phone. 

“Hey!! You bastard!! Where are you right now?!” 

“Uh... Well...” stuttered Oh Taeho. 

“Tell him where we are,” ordered Kang Hyuk. 

Oh Taeho answered Goo Changwoo in a shaky voice. 

“What? You bastard... You stay right there. I’ll kill you if you run off. Do you understand?” 

“Y-yes!” Holding his smartphone, Oh Taeho stood staring into nothing just like Kang Hyuk. He imagined all the terrible things that would happen soon. What do I do...? There’s no way Goo Changwoo would just come here. He’s definitely heard about the incineration plant and club situation. He fell to the ground. This is my end. My hunter life is gonna meet such a pitiful end. 

Oh Taeho had hoped for a colorful hunter life. The beginning was not so bad. He had expected his life to change up until Kang Min died, but after his death, Oh Taeho felt that normal newbie hunters like himself had no way to make it up the ladder. Oh Taeho’s eyes teared up. 

On the other hand, Kang Hyuk’s eyes took on a more murderous intent. Desmond, report on the current situation. Soon, he heard a voice only he could hear. 

“They have noticed that Your Lord has left.” 

Have they acted? asked Kang Hyuk. 

“Not yet, My Lord, but they’re trying to figure out where Your Lord is in Hela,” reported Desmond. “If they figure out that Your Lord has left to another dimension, they will attempt to invade.” 

His enemies in Hela were aiming for his position. 

“There’s another thing to report. The current first legion up to the seventh wish to be summoned to Earth with Your Lord. The desire for blood and death are growing bigger within Your Lord’s subordinates. 

Tell the first up to the fifth to stay put. Protecting the Demonic Palace is the most important right now. I will return to Hela as soon as I’m finished with business here. 

There were many legions of death under Kang Hyuk’s command in Hela. They all protected Gargoa Demonic Palace that Kang Hyuk resided in and rested by his side. If he were to call them to Earth, it would only be a matter of time before he eliminated the entire human race. However, he could not do that rashly. His enemies would be on the move as soon as they realized he was not in Hela. The first five legions, as the strongest under Kang Hyuk’s command, were guarding the Demonic Palace. Kang Hyuk needed to divide the legions’ power for use. 

I can afford to summon the sixth and seventh legions. 

“There is an increased number of souls approaching Your Lord currently,” observed Desmond. “Considering that their souls seem to belong to fairly strong humans, the number of dead Your Lord summon will not be enough.” 

Let the seventh legion know that I will call them if need be. 

“I shall follow the orders, My Lord.” 

Once the dismal voice vanished, Kang Hyuk observed a familiar sight in front of him. It was of the guild members conversing with dead Kang Min. From small talk to dungeon raid prep meetings to plotting wars with other nations guilds... As countless scenes passed in front of his eyes, a large number of SUV’s arrived at the lot. The space between the vehicles and Kang Hyuk started becoming distorted. The split in the space was linear and increasing in size. Goo Changwoo and the hunters stepped through the space. The cars increased their speed then stopped behind Goo Changwoo. Hunters exited the cars quickly, all equipped with magic weapons aimed at Kang Hyuk. 

Goo Changwoo had a cruel smile on his face. It was a different expression from the one Kang Hyuk saw back in the office. Having brought all the attack squad members he could, he said to Kang Hyuk, “Is this where you wanted to die? I’ll send you to where your brother is.”