Chapter 447 – Friend or Enemy (1)
An S-class villain who is said to be the antithesis of an S-class hunter.
Their existence was not created overnight.
People who had to escape the boundaries of society for some reason.
They turn the world against them and face countless crossroads between life and death.
And every time he miraculously survives, he gains power.
The birth of great evil is usually like that.
Survive, survive, survive again.
Only those who have survived an extremely long time against the world are qualified to threaten the world.
There are not as many people as you might think who were S-class hunters but then turn into villains.
Wealth, honor, power.
We have all the elements that stimulate human greed at our fingertips, so why bother?
However, just as there is no such thing as ‘absolutely’ in this world, there are some people who abandon everything and change their ways.
For example, you may have been influenced by a dangerous idea or gained enlightenment in the wrong direction.
One more thing here.
A case of engaging in a very attractive growth method even though you know that it is an extremely evil method.
Taeyang Kim is this last example.
“It’s hilarious to see something like this.”
Shin Yu-jeong, lying naked next to her, pours out her random words.
I wanted to know something, so I took a look at the smartphone he was looking at, and it seemed like he was looking at an article related to Kim Tae-yang.
I reach out my hand and lightly grab his chest and ask.
“What’s so funny?”
Then the guy said.
“No, that’s right. If you are S-rank, you have a lot of money and are strong enough.”
“But?”
“I don’t understand why people are so greedy about a topic like that and end up ruining it.”
“Uhm, well.”
I know that there are many stories related to Kim Tae-yang in the community.
Most people have the same doubts as Shin Yu-jeong.
Why do you become an S-class hunter and commit murder to become stronger?
However, I and other S-class hunters think differently.
“I understand to some extent.”
At my words, the guy turns his head and looks at me with wide eyes.
“… You understand? “That kid?”
“Uh.”
S-class is perceived by others as the end.
You might think so because there is no level higher than that.
In fact, among A-level hunters, there are many who think that only S-level is enough.
I was like that too when I was in grade A.
But once I got there, I changed my mind.
“S-Class is not the end, but a new beginning.”
“New…, Start?”
“Yes.”
S class is one admission ticket.
A world that others cannot see and that only those who have reached the S rank can glimpse.
An admission ticket that allows you to set foot there.
“But the steps there are very slow.”
“Why?”
“Because I have to pioneer with only my own strength.”
As the hunter society grew longer, various knowledge accumulated in the world.
A growth method that focuses on the abilities you want.
It’s a training method to quickly learn skills that must be learned for each job.
Juniors walk comfortably on the path paved by the incorrect answer notes of seniors who pioneered the path.
That is why modern hunters have grown faster and more comfortably than first generation hunters.
“But from S-level onward, no one’s knowledge works.”
“Why?”
“The directions you walk in are all different.”
Even if they are the same wizard, or even wizards who have learned the same attributes, their paths do not overlap.
At first glance, they seem to be looking in a similar direction, but upon closer inspection, they are clearly different.
Since they are somewhat similar, wouldn’t we be able to share knowledge?
Not so.
Even if the problem uses the same mathematical formula, wouldn’t the answer be different if the numbers in it were different?
The path that S-class is taking is the same.
Slight, but obvious differences give rise to countless variables.
If you try to follow along hastily, you might end up losing your way and wandering around for a long time.
The guy who heard the explanation frowns with a sullen expression.
“… “What on earth do you mean?”
I guess I didn’t understand.
This guy lacks understanding of the theoretical part, but it’s not his fault this time.
Just as a frog who has lived only in a well cannot sympathize with the world outside by talking about how it is like this, the present story is the same.
“There is something like that. “Once you reach S-class, you will naturally understand.”
Then the guy pouts his lips and glares at me with an innocent expression.
“… “Unlucky bastard.”
“…”
I didn’t mean to deceive you, kid.
Anyway.
For that reason, I understand his feelings to some extent.
In a situation where his growth rate was already slow, he was defeated in a promotion match by a junior who was far away, so he must have been so angry at his personality.
In this way, I can somehow understand how he feels.
However, there is one part that I still don’t understand.
Who actually taught him that method?
And of course, aiming for the time when the greed for power is strongest.
That is what we need to find out from now on.
Who is the person who caused this guy to become corrupted?
Which of the seven deadly sins do you belong to?
Before that.
“Aren’t you rested enough now?”
“… I don’t know. I’m in a bad mood, so I won’t do it anymore today… ♥”
Whoever wants.
My slightly cooled body quickly warmed up, heating up the entire room.
* * *
The level of punishment for Kim Tae-yang, who was charged with the heavy crime of special serial murder, was quickly discussed.
There were several reasons for this.
One of them is that the public’s attention is too focused on this incident.
【Kim Tae-yang’s predicted downfall.】
【S-Class Hunter’s S-Class Crime.】
【‘Special serial murder’ Kim Tae-yang, what is the level of punishment?】
Provocative articles keep coming out.
The reporters, who had been crying and keeping their mouths shut under Kim Tae-yang’s violence until now, have begun to vent their anger.
As a result, the public’s interest, which was already strong, became even hotter.
The only way to cool this down is to quickly conclude the case.
The second reason was Kim Do-jin.
He went to the association’s board of directors and high-ranking government officials and declared to their faces that not a single day would pass.
“I don’t want anything else. Please punish me according to my crime.”
If you wanted, you could have shot him.
But the reason I didn’t do that was to show it to the victim’s family and everyone else.
It is very obvious that if you commit a crime, you should be punished accordingly, but it is not properly observed.
Because I hate Taeyang Kim?
No.
I just think that’s the best consolation I can give to the victims’ families.
For this, Kim Do-jin bit down very strongly.
“I don’t know if you know, but I’ve been getting a lot of international calls these days.”
“Well, what is that… ?”
“If you just close your eyes and change your nationality, they will give you a life that is incomparable to what you have now, or something.”
“… !”
It was said to threaten them, but it was not a lie.
In fact, the number of countries contacting him is increasing.
If you just change the name Kim Do-jin to Muhammad Do-jin, he will let you live like a king
“Of course, I flatly refused because I am proud to have been born as a Korean, but…”
He smiled and continued.
“Because we don’t know the future. Right?”
“…”
There was nothing we could do when the S-class hunter who was responsible for the future of Korea appeared here.
An S-class hunter with a severed arm who committed a heinous crime and was arrested as a criminal.
An S-class hunter whose stock price is skyrocketing every day after beating that criminal.
Isn’t it obvious even without looking at whose side we should take?
Just one month later, Kim Tae-yang’s sentencing date arrived.
Kim Tae-yang, who appeared tightly bound in specially made chains, changed his appearance significantly within a month.
His massive muscles collapsed like a deflated balloon, and his hair turned black.
Above all, his expression was dead.
In a way, it was natural.
Not only was he arrested as a special serial murderer, but his arm was cut off in the process.
Even Sejin Group, his last close associate, turned their backs on him.
That means there is no longer anyone in Korea who can help him.
Completely isolated, he stood in court with an ecstatic expression on his face.
“I judge.”
I thought it didn’t really matter what the content was.
What does it matter what the sentence is when everything has already been lost?
But he didn’t know.
The fact that there exists a deeper abyss below what we thought was the bottom.
“Defendant Kim Tae-yang is sentenced to 30 years in a special prison camp called ‘Prison Belt.'”
“Well, well… !?”
As soon as the judge’s sentence was over, Kim Tae-yang jumped up and reacted.
“Pfft, a prison belt.”
Prison Belt.
This is a vast artificial island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
There is a large main island in the center, and it is surrounded by small islands connected to each other by a thick chain.
There is only one reason for the existence of this island.
This is to separately accommodate villains who have committed heinous crimes.
It is also called by another name by criminals.
‘Hell of criminals.’
No one really knows what exactly happens there.
This is because magical fog surrounds the island all year round, making it impossible to look in from the outside.
Those who experienced that place and came out into the world?
It doesn’t exist.
Clearly, there are people in the records who have completed their sentences and been released.
However, they have not appeared anywhere in the world since then.
So people always wonder.
Are they really released from prison?
Perhaps, he died there long ago and was only released on record.
Still, no one knows the answer except the loudmouthed officials.
That’s why it’s even more terrifying and scary.
“Hey, this isn’t it… ! I have only saved so many people in this country so far, so how could you do this to me! Huh?!”
Kim Tae-yang, weighed down by the notoriety, began to struggle.
“You saved thousands of lives! Then wouldn’t it be okay to just kill a few people?!”
“…”
Everyone in the court was angry at his words.
“Um, that crazy guy… !”
“Where do you get such sophistry?”
Amidst the stinging glares pouring down, Kim Tae-yang knelt down towards the judge.
“Please, I’ll beg like this, so just bear with me…” ! I would rather be sentenced to life in prison, so just don’t let me go there!”
A desperate cry.
But even so, there was no way that the decision, once decided, could be overturned.
The judge opened his mouth with an even colder look.
“Take it with you.”
The detectives who were waiting immediately grabbed his arm and led him away.
Kim Tae-yang, who was forced to leave the court, finally let out his anger.
“These bastards…, I will kill you all! I will somehow get out of there and destroy all of you, no, this entire country! Huh?!”
A gruesome declaration of revenge.
But his revenge will not be real.
Because that place.
“You have to be able to get out.”
This is a place where not a single person has successfully escaped from prison in the past 20 years.
Kim Do-jin, who quietly got up from his seat and left the court, eventually faced one person.
“As expected, Hunter Kim Do-jin also came.”
A man who speaks in a friendly manner.
He was Park Se-jun.
A person who contributed greatly to helping him arrest Kim Tae-yang.
Thanks to this, Sejin Group was able to avoid public anger.
If it weren’t for him, Sejin Group’s stock price would have been in a disastrous situation by now.
“30 years in prison belt… “It’s 30 years, but it’s practically a death sentence.”
“That’s the way it is.”
Kim Do-jin’s power was not the only factor in determining the level of such extreme punishment.
“I heard that the Sejin Group also put in some effort.”
Sejin Group worked behind the scenes just like him.
“Haha, I told you to keep it a secret…”
Park Se-jun trails off with an expression of disapproval.
Since learning of this fact, Kim Do-jin has been curious.
“Why did you do that?”
Sejin Group’s stock price was preserved just by quickly stopping losses.
After that, whatever happened to Taeyang Kim, it no longer had anything to do with them.
But why did he use his connections at the Sejin Group to push Kim Tae-yang into a deep abyss?
To this he answered.
“I did it because I was afraid of revenge.”
“If it’s revenge…”
“No matter how much your arm is cut off, you are still an S-class hunter. It occurred to me that I might be able to escape some form of prison.”
It wasn’t wrong.
Even with just a small gap, an S-class hunter can escape prison.
Even more so for Kim Taeyang.
If it were his characteristic, he would break down prison walls and run away.
‘It’s not wrong…’
It’s definitely plausible.
But it doesn’t really reach my heart.
It felt like I was being told a story that had been prepared in advance to somehow make me understand.
Maybe that’s why suspicion keeps turning to Park Se-jun.
‘Maybe.’
Is it possible that the person in front of you is the culprit who taught Kim Tae-yang the wrong way?
Just as the suspicion, like a vague fog, gradually spreads out into a sharp shape.
“I’ll just go. “The next time we meet, I’ll see you at a convenient location.”
“Yes, of course.”
“Haha, did you agree? We will contact you soon.”
Okay then.
Park Se-jun leaves with his last words.
Kim Do-jin watched his back.
Until he disappears completely from sight.
