Chapter 102
“Ms. Yena, please wait here.”
“……”
After passing through the gate, a massive boulder blocked the way ahead.
When Ju-hyeok glanced to the side of the rock, he immediately spotted a demon.
From Ju-hyeok’s perspective, there were no other presences nearby aside from that demon.
Just as Ju-hyeok was about to quickly subdue it with his sword and gun—
Yena asked in a small voice,
“Is there anything I can help with?”
“Not yet.”
As a D-rank hunter, there was neither a need nor a way for her to help right now.
If she could at least use buffs it might be different, but Yena wasn’t a support-type class.
“Hey! Who’s there?!”
The demon’s voice rang out.
It must have sensed the gate that had just opened, along with the magical energy of the two who came through it.
Hearing that voice, Ju-hyeok spoke quietly to Yena.
“This won’t be the only time I’ll need you in the future, Ms. Yena, so don’t worry.”
“…Okay.”
Yena replied, though her answer sounded oddly unsettled.
Ju-hyeok more or less understood why she reacted that way, but there was something more urgent to deal with than soothing her feelings right now.
“Come out only when I tell you to.”
Leaving those words behind, Ju-hyeok planted a foot on the boulder and leaped high into the air.
Suppressing all sound, he rose into the air and faced his target.
“Hah!”
The demon immediately prepared a counterattack the moment their eyes met.
The magical power Ju-hyeok had sensed beyond the rock was, at best, D-rank.
He was certain this demon belonged to some fool who had wandered into a high-rank gate without knowing better.
From time to time, there were idiots who, dreaming of striking it rich, entered gates far beyond their level.
The demon assumed this was another case like that—and let his guard down.
Ju-hyeok seized that opening and shot forward like an arrow, grabbing the demon by the face.
“Huh?”
That speed was impossible for someone with only D-rank mana.
The demon had intended to go through a preparatory motion, leisurely showing the difference in their levels—
But before he could even pull his arm back, his face was already being grabbed.
The next moment, his head was slammed backward and smashed into the ground.
“Gkh—!”
“Stay still if you don’t want your head flying off.”
Terror closed in before he could even cry out in pain.
He tried desperately to break free of the force restraining him, but it felt as though he were being crushed beneath a massive wall—he couldn’t move at all.
It made no sense.
The demon’s mind couldn’t keep up with what had just happened.
“W-What in the world is this…?”
“Want me to explain the situation?”
Seeing that the demon’s momentum hadn’t completely faded, Ju-hyeok decided to carve the fear in deeper and fired a shot into the demon’s arm.
“Gah!”
At point-blank range, the demon experienced the true power of a shotgun firsthand.
The pain stabbing into his brain made him want to thrash around—but even that freedom was denied to him.
“You’re standing at the crossroads between life and death. If you want to live, answer my questions quietly.”
“Ugh….”
As time passed, his thoughts gradually became clearer.
He had been subdued by a human who was, at best, D-rank.
And no matter how much he struggled, he couldn’t escape.
A strong one.
The man before him had lower mana, yet at this moment, he held the demon’s life in his hands.
“…What do you want?”
“You’ve recently made contracts with humans. And those humans are mass-producing gates on Earth. Is that right?”
A straightforward question.
The demon offered no resistance and answered obediently.
“That’s right. I made contracts with four people recently, and they’re currently creating gates in South Korea.”
“Have many others made contracts like you?”
“There are demons assigned by country. In places with large landmasses, multiple demons divide territories and form contracts.”
The gate-increase phenomenon was more systematically planned than expected.
Hearing this, Ju-hyeok immediately understood why entire nations were struggling with the surge in gates.
“Erase the gates created by the ones you contracted with. Immediately.”
“…I can’t. To do that, I’d have to break the contracts.”
According to the contracts, severing the relationship unilaterally without conditions was forbidden.
Only when certain legitimate conditions were met could the contracts be terminated.
“What happens if you break the contract?”
“I’ll probably die. Before you even separate my head from my body.”
Whether he died from breaking the contract or from Ju-hyeok’s blade—
Either way, death awaited him.
“Then either way, dying is your fate.”
“Then you’d regret it too.”
Even with his life on the line, the demon’s mind worked quickly.
No—precisely because of this situation, he searched desperately for a way to survive.
“They operate as an organization. If you kill me here, the gates will disappear—but you’ll lose any way to track them.”
“So?”
“I’ll open a gate to the location of the contractor I’m bound to. If you deal with them, the contract will naturally dissolve, and the gate will disappear as well.”
“……”
Ju-hyeok fell silent, thinking.
Unless that organization was run by idiots, the ones who triggered gate increases worldwide wouldn’t be caught so easily.
‘Even if I catch the ones contracted with this demon, I probably won’t get information about the organization.’
Still, that didn’t mean they weren’t worth catching.
If all the contractors in South Korea were dealt with, the organization would surely sense a threat and make a move.
‘They might hide, but that’s fine.’
If they didn’t come, he’d go to Japan next and deal with the gates there.
If they still didn’t show themselves, then the United States.
If he traveled country to country eliminating their contractors, they wouldn’t be able to ignore him forever.
“Fine. Open the gate.”
“Could you let go of my head first?”
The demon asked with forced cheer.
Ju-hyeok hesitated—what if he let go and the demon immediately fled?
At that moment, the demon’s face suddenly went pale.
“Hii—!”
Even though he’d been speaking smoothly while facing death, the demon now looked utterly terrified.
Feeling something was off, Ju-hyeok turned around—
And saw Mephisto walking out from behind the rock, having crossed through a gate at some point.
“Let him go. He won’t dare pull any tricks in front of me.”
“M-Mephisto-nim… why are you here…?”
“You were being so noisy. Enough chatter—open the gate already, will you?”
“Y-Yes, understood.”
Confirming Mephisto’s arrival, Ju-hyeok slowly stepped back.
Without even a moment to complain about the pain, the demon snapped upright and opened a gate.
“Once you’re done, I’ll open the next gate right away.”
“Is it really okay to go in there?”
“Of course it is. You don’t think he’s stupid enough to risk his life by playing tricks in front of me, do you?”
At her words, the demon bowed deeply.
“You are absolutely right. How could I, not knowing my place, dare deceive anyone before Lady Mephisto?”
“Then hurry up and go.”
“Got it.”
Ju-hyeok stepped toward the gate—
Then stopped and turned back.
“Don’t say a single word to Ms. Yena while I’m gone.”
“You make it sound like I’m some terrible demon.”
“I’m going.”
Ignoring her, Ju-hyeok entered the gate.
Not long after, he returned, carrying an unconscious human.
“So you didn’t even get a chance to talk.”
“Open the next gate.”
At Ju-hyeok’s command, the demon created another gate.
After four gates in total, four humans had been gathered.
Four unconscious humans, all bound.
The moment Ju-hyeok finished tying them up, he shot each one in the foot, one by one.
“Aaaargh!”
“W-What the hell are you doing?!”
Each screamed as they woke up.
Watching Ju-hyeok shoot without hesitation, Jia muttered,
“I can’t even tell who the demon is anymore.”
“My dear, demons aren’t that barbaric.”
Ignoring the conversation behind him, Ju-hyeok calmly watched the group writhing in pain.
“Who the hell are you?!”
“You think you’ll be fine after doing something like this?!”
Their voices grew louder as they screamed at Ju-hyeok.
Then they noticed the demon they’d contracted with, cowering nearby.
Shock spread across their faces.
A gate had opened, Ju-hyeok had emerged and knocked them out—
And now the demon they’d contracted with was here too.
Betrayal?
Without any explanation, the four quickly realized what kind of people the others were.
As they finished piecing things together, Ju-hyeok spoke calmly.
“Out of the four of you, I’ll let the first one who gives me information about your organization live.”
He slowly walked in a circle around them, dangling a sliver of hope before their eyes.
Of course, none of them believed him.
Dragged all the way to hell after being kidnapped—who would trust a promise of survival in exchange for betrayal?
All four kept their mouths shut, glaring at Ju-hyeok with defiant eyes.
‘Right. Of course you won’t talk.’
“Seong Jia. Take Ms. Yena and go back.”
“All of a sudden?”
“Now.”
Ju-hyeok turned to Yena and smiled.
“I’ll finish up quickly and come back, so go wait for me.”
“…Why?”
Yena felt suspicious—why send her away at this exact moment?
He raised the corner of his lips slightly and spoke gently.
“I don’t know what these guys might do. We’re basically done for today anyway, so I’ll be back soon.”
“……”
An unnatural smile.
Something about Ju-hyeok sending her away at this moment bothered her deeply, but before she could dwell on it, a gate opened beside them.
“Let’s leave while we can. There’s nothing left for us to do anyway.”
She almost added you weren’t needed in the first place, but noticed Ju-hyeok watching and swallowed the words.
Jia pushed Yena toward the gate.
“Let’s go. Don’t get in the way.”
“O-Okay.”
Before entering the gate, Yena looked back at Ju-hyeok and asked,
“You’ll be back soon, right?”
“Yes. You two wait at the bakery.”
“Okay.”
With that, Yena was pushed into the gate by Jia’s hand.
As soon as she disappeared, Ju-hyeok wiped the smile from his face.
Step. Step.
He walked toward the hostages.
With no one left to worry about watching him, he began to act.
He stopped in front of the man who looked middle-aged.
The first one he’d abducted.
Ju-hyeok aimed his gun at him.
“Even if you threaten me, I won’t say anything about the organi—”
“Oh. You don’t need to talk.”
Bang!
Half of the man’s head blew away with a single shot.
He died instantly, without even a scream.
“Your crying is disgusting.”
“……”
Everyone held their breath.
The fragments of the shattered head filled the others with terror.
This was the future awaiting them if they didn’t open their mouths.
They understood that clearly now.
‘Phew….’
Good thing he had a gun.
If he’d used a sword, hesitation would’ve shown when cutting down humans, making it seem less brutal.
With a gun, the guilt was lighter—and the visual impact of a half-blown head was amplified.
‘They deserve it. Bastards who created gates.’
He repeated that to himself, steadying his heart.
Still, he closed his eyes to hide his trembling pupils.
“Pfft….”
Mephisto snorted with laughter.
Ignoring her, Ju-hyeok took a deep breath, savoring the smell of blood.
When even the faint tremor had vanished, he opened his eyes.
Everyone was trembling in fear as they looked at him.
A very good sign.
“Now then—out of the remaining three, who’s going to answer?”
