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Oh Taeho stepped off the car after Kang Hyuk. A desolate building resembling an abandoned factory greeted them. 

“Huh? Are we here?” Oh Taeho asked. 

“Do you know this place?” questioned back Kang Hyuk. 

“We call it the incineration plant,” replied Oh Taeho. “It’s where the Gargoa Guild’s members that do the cleanup gather. Is this where he said Hwang Kyuho will be?”

Oh Taeho was confused. Hwang Kyuho was a leader of the attack squad. As his underling, Taeho knew that he hated this place. There was no way someone who hated this place would be here. What’s Goo Changwoo planning? There’s no way Hwang Kyuho would come here. 

Oh Taeho felt that it was dangerous to be here. He was a new hunter, at the very bottom of the food chain in the guild. To survive, he had to at least have a good sense of predicting danger. He had told himself many times after witnessing Kang Hyuk’s power in the dungeon that if a situation came in which he’d have to take either the guild’s side or Kang Hyuk’s, he would choose Kang Hyuk’s. Of course, that would only be possible if Kang Hyuk would accept him. 

Looking around, Kang Hyuk spoke, “Explain what this place is for.” 

Kang Hyuk’s reaction was different from Oh Taeho’s. He didn’t seem confused by the location. He didn’t even seem interested. Oh Taeho felt that Kang Hyuk was different from all the hunters he had seen before. He’s only interested in finding Hwang Kyuho. What a strange person.

All returners that returned to Earth tried to fit into society. It was common sense to figure out what had changed in the time they were gone and what they can do. There were many such returners in the Gargoa Guild, and Oh Taeho was aware of this too. Only Kang Hyuk acted differently from the rest of the returners. It was as if he had a purpose in coming back to Earth, and he was going to leave as soon as he had taken care of it. Oh Taeho felt Kang Hyuk’s gaze and answered. “There’s a team that’s in charge of hunting down spies from other guilds and traitors. If that team finds such a person, the incineration plant team goes on the move. They bring people here to torture and question them to get a confession.” 

“I see.” Kang Hyuk’s response was flat. 

Oh Taeho was careful not to say the wrong thing. “Just as a side note, this has nothing to do with guild master Kang Min. They made this place after he died.” 

Kang Hyuk didn’t react. It was as though he did not care what his brother had been doing on Earth. 

What a weird person. Why doesn’t he care at all about a guild his brother was a part of? wondered Oh Taeho. 

There was no way Oh Taeho could understand Kang Hyuk. Kang Hyuk was sure of his purpose in coming to the incineration plant: he was going to find Hwang Kyuho, who had killed his brother, and the others involved. 

“Are you sure Hwang Kyuho is in there?” he asked. 

“I’m not sure either. We’d have to check,” answered Oh Taeho. 

“Lead the way,” ordered Kang Hyuk. 

“Me?” asked Oh Taeho. 

“You’re the guild’s member, so the guys inside must know you, right? Go tell them it’s you and to open the door.” 

“I’ve never been to the incineration plant...” 

“Do as I say unless you want to die.” 

“Okay!” 

Oh Taeho quickly walked past Kang Hyuk. The entrance of the plant was sealed with an old metal door. Blood-like red bricks made up the wall, and there was no presence to be felt anywhere. It was as if the building was pretending to be oblivious to any of the happenings that went on inside. Kang Hyuk watched Oh Taeho as he looked for a way into the plant he’d never visited before. 

Hidden in the wall was a camera watching the pair. With a slight humming noise, its lens turned sneakily. There was a man watching from beyond the lens at a monitor. 

“Hey, we have customers,” he said. 

“Who is it?” 

“Dead Kang Min’s older brother.” 

The hunters looked at each other. 

“He’s really here?” 

“Wow, he’s dumber than I thought. He really came here on his own?” 

“He’s similar to Kang Min in the sense that he just trusts his skills because he’s a returner.” 

“That’s why Kang Min died.” 

“You shitheads! Go out there!” the man at the monitor shouted at the hunters. “I got a call from Changwoo earlier. Come bring them in and tell them we have Kyuho here.”

“Yes, sir!” 

The hunters went outside snickering among themselves. 

***

A building somewhere in Seoul. Here, a secret meeting was being held. Hunters gathered around a table were all talking about Kang Hyuk. Hwang Sangwook, who had greeted Kang Hyuk, made his report to the hunters. 

“What kind of ability does he have?” one asked. 

“That’s not yet known,” answered Hwang Sangwook. 

“Where is he staying?” 

“I sent him to the penthouse where Kang Min resided,” said Hwang Sangwook. “That’s the best place to monitor his movements.” 

“Was he suspicious about his brother’s death?” 

“There’s no way. The timing of Kang Min’s death and Kang Hyuk’s return was just coincidental. How would someone summoned to a different dimension know what’s happening on Earth? I told him Kang Min died of an accident, and he seemed to understand.” 

The hunters agreed in silence at Hwang Sangwook’s answer. 

“Well, let’s not overthink about just one returner,” reassured Hwang Sangwook. 

“Overthinking? Did you forget how many we had to sacrifice to get rid of Kang Min?” 

“I agree that Kang Min was strong, but it’s unlikely that his older brother would be stronger than him.” 

“Why? He could be stronger. Don’t rashly assume things when we don’t know anything about him.” 

There was tension in the conversation between the hunters due to Kang Hyuk’s return. They could still feel the power of Kang Min, whom they had fought against not long ago. They were in a position where they could not lightly take any kind of information whether Kang Hyuk was weaker or stronger than Kang Min. 

A hunter spoke up in an effort to change the atmosphere, “There’s no need to be so nervous. There are many returners on Earth, and there are also plenty that are getting stronger as we speak. Did you all forget that we killed Kang Min with the force of returners? Even if his brother is stronger, he can’t defeat us alone,” he continued. “Hunters around the world have already established their own powers. Plus the hunters that returned the fastest have already established a system, and the returners that joined later have added to its strength. Kang Min tried to break the system, but how would it have worked? No one could beat him 1v1, but just a single strong person cannot take on a crowd.” 

“Kang Min was rash. We’ll have to watch how his brother acts, but if he walks the same path as Kang Min had, we’ll just get rid of him,” someone else commented. 

“Right. We’ll just get rid of him if he turns out to be bothersome,” agreed another. 

“At the meeting with the president, he had also ordered to just watch Kang Hyuk for the moment. I thought it’d be smart to pass this onto this group of South Korea’s guild masters,” said Hwang Sangwook. 

“Hey, department head, go find out what kind of ability Kang Hyuk has. Don’t contact me about any other matter. Do you realize how many projects I’m in charge of right now?” 

“I’m sorry for wasting your time, guild master,” apologized Hwang Sangwook. 

The hunters began getting up from their seats. 

“Go tell the president to get rid of all the files on Kang Min.” 

“I did that the day Kang Hyuk returned. The file I gave him was something like a personal profile. Haha,” laughed Hwang Sangwook. 

“Watch him closely and report to us.” 

“I understand!” 

The hunters each took out a Return Stone and crushed it with their fists. With a whoosh, a split seam appeared and swallowed each hunter. 

Left alone, Hwang Sangwook loosened his tie, saying to himself, “Dammit, they always send me into meetings where I’ll get shit on.” 

***

Oh Taeho and Kang Hyuk entered the incineration plant and came face to face with the hunters. 

“We’re a bit surprised to find you here,” said the man who had been watching the pair through a monitor while entering the scene. He was of average build and wore a work uniform with a cigarette in his mouth. There was a handgun attached to his waist. 

“I’m the team leader in charge of Gargoa Guild’s incineration plant ever since I returned to Earth,” he introduced himself. He looked Kang Hyuk up and down. 

“I got a call from Changwoo... He said you were Kang Min... I mean guild master’s older brother?” asked the team leader. He approached Kang Hyuk with the cigarette still in his mouth. The handgun swung side to side as he adjusted his belt. He was showing it off on purpose, but the only person intimidated was Oh Taeho alone. 

“Can I ask why you want to see Kyuho?” questioned the team leader. 

“You don’t need to know. Just bring him. I heard he’s here,” replied Kang Hyuk. 

Kang Hyuk’s demanding voice annoyed the team leader. 

“Ah... Haha. But I don’t enjoy hearing you talk so casually to me when it’s our first time meeting, don’t you think?” 

“Hey, don’t order me around here,” spoke a hunter that had been standing behind Oh Taeho and Kang Hyuk. 

Kang Hyuk looked steadily into the team leader’s eyes. Meeting his gaze, the team leader brought his hand to the gun, thinking, What is this bastard? He has no emotion in his eyes. He had looked into countless eyes of hunters that were dragged down to the incineration plant as the team leader. Every one of them held fear, having predicted their deaths. Even if one was to use magic or special powers like those in novels and games, it was impossible to win against a large number. After all, the opponents were also ability users who could use magic power. 

That was why the team leader wasn’t necessarily afraid that Kang Min’s brother had returned. There were many humans that returned to Earth before Kang Hyuk and Kang Min. The team leader was a returner himself, and he had trained metahumans who had grown stronger fast. When comparing the same magic skill, the only difference between a returner and a metahuman on Earth was the power gap and the quantity of magic skills one could use. 

“Bring me Hwang Kyuho,” ordered Kang Hyuk. 

“You’re gonna have to tell us why you want to see him,” answered the team leader. “We don’t sell out our guild members to others so easily.” 

“You have one chance.” 

A sly smile appeared on the team leader’s face upon hearing Kang Hyuk. “Why not two?” he mocked. 

The other hunters close by covered their laughters. Oh Taeho looked over at Kang Hyuk, but he did not seem fazed at all. Is he not mad? 

Kang Hyuk took a step towards the team leader. Simultaneously, the hunters took two steps forward. 

“You said you were the team leader, right? What I’m looking for is Hwang Kyuho. If you won’t bring him to me, I’ll go find him myself,” said Kang Hyuk. 

The team leader watched Kang Hyuk and inhaled his cigarette smoke deep. 

Thick smoke came over Kang Hyuk. 

“Gargoa Guild isn’t Kang Min’s anymore. Meaning, you can’t just come around here ordering us to do things,” retorted the team leader. 

Kang Hyuk grinned, watching the team leader and hunters’ reactions. “What? Are you guys laughing at me?”  He called on Desmond silently. Tell me how many souls are watching me right now. 

After a few seconds, Desmond’s dull voice made its way into Kang Hyuk’s ears. There are twenty-five souls where you are, my lord. 

There were seven total including the team leader surrounding Oh Taeho and Kang Hyuk. He communicated to Desmond, report their locations. 

After hearing Desmond’s response, Kang Hyuk said, “Awaken.” 

At this, the hunters stopped talking. The team leader spat out his cigarette. “Hey, did someone fall asleep? Kang Min’s brother is saying to wake up.” 

“Hahaha!” 

“No one fell asleep, team leader.” 

“He’s just as psycho as Kang Min!” 

“It’d be fun to play around him before killing him. Should I get all the others?” 

The moment they started laughing again, a loud crash sounded, and with the sound came skeleton soldiers through the ground. When the hunters turned to look, all they could see were blades.