Leveling Up Alone

Chapter 294 – Drama, Protest, Suppression, And (5)

The protesters faced the riot police with renewed determination, bringing a bright smile to the face of the leader of the Death Snake raid party, Viper Dokgo Jin-Cheon.

Coming from a pro-Japanese family and having connections to Japan, the only reason he and his gang of thugs had been able to establish a significant presence in South Korea was due to the support of the Japanese Yakuza.

There was a particular reason he accepted the government's request despite the meager pay they offered.

‘The Japanese want South Korea to become even more politically destabilized,’ he thought.

Japan was grappling with its own internal issues, limiting its influence on other countries. However, they hadn't abandoned their imperialistic ambitions and were ready to expand into neighboring nations as soon as they had their internal affairs in order.

‘They want me to sow discord in South Korea before they stabilize,’ he realized.

Viper Dokgo Jin-Cheon, a Korean born in South Korea, had been so influenced by his allegiance to Japan. After all, it greatly lined his pockets. This led him to follow in the footsteps of his ancestors.

"Alright, listen up, boys!"

"Yes, hyung-nim!"

"Those kids say they don't want to go home. What should we do?"

"We should cut their organs out and marinate them with salt!"

Kekekeke!

The members of the Death Snake raid party burst into laughter.

"No, we need to keep them alive. Oh, don't forget that I'm not so petty that I can't forgive mistakes, okay?"

In other words, they were subtly implying that they had the freedom to 'accidentally' kill a few protesters.

"Yes, hyung-nim!" the Death Snake raid party members responded in unison.

It was a crime for a Hunter to kill an ordinary person.

‘Ha! But it's the government that requested us to do this in the first place, so any accidental casualty is going to be their responsibility.’

As a consequence, public opinion regarding the government was likely to deteriorate further, leading to increased discord and chaos within the country. Surely, another wave of impeachment requests would sweep across the nation, providing Japan with the perfect opportunity to act as they pleased.

‘The Korean Peninsula will fall into the hands of Imperial Japan once again.’

This was the outcome that Viper Dokgo Jin-Cheon was aiming for, and he intended to seize every opportunity he encountered in the process, much like his ancestors who had betrayed the country to foreign invaders.

‘Kekeke!’

Whoosh! Tak!

“W-What?!”

It was at that very moment when the riot police and the protesters were on the brink of a standoff that a group of Hunters suddenly landed between them.

"H-Hunters?!"

"Why are they here?!"

"How is this possible?"

The Hunters were deployed to suppress the protesters? But the protesters had been peaceful until now?

"Hey, I think it's time for you kids to head home. The folks up there don't really appreciate this neighborhood getting noisy, you know?"

Kyaaa… Ptooey!

The Hunters behaved like thugs, edging closer to the protesters while making menacing gestures.

"Hey!"

The protesters began to retreat with each step the Hunters took, but...

"Hey, why are you retreating?"

"Yeah! Keep marching!"

People from the back started pushing those in the front toward the Hunters.

"Hey! Stop pushing! There are Hunters up ahead!"

"Go back! Go back!"

"W-What?!"

With so many people bunched together, it was challenging for information to spread effectively.

The student on the stage, Ye-Seul, glared at the retreating protesters and thought, 'No, I can't let things end like this.'

Dispersing now would achieve nothing, and the first day of the protest was crucial in determining whether their demands would be met or not.

'No wonder...'

She grabbed the microphone, ready to rally the protesters, when someone suddenly snatched it from her hands.

Tak!

“Leader?”

It was none other than the main organizer of the protest, Jae-Hyung. He smiled and said, "I'll take it from here."

"But...!"

"It's okay."

He patted her head before moving to the edge of the stage with the microphone in hand.

[Ah! Ah! Mic test, one two, mic test, one two. Can everyone hear me?]

“Yes!”

The response wasn't very loud, as the protesters were not in a situation where they could respond leisurely.

[We are here today to address the wrongs in our country's government. The current administration is grossly incompetent, which is why we have taken to the streets. However, this administration refuses to acknowledge its incompetence and seeks to silence our voices. But we will not be silenced! Our voices will be heard far and wide!

[Unfortunately, we won't be able to keep any evidence of what they're about to do. My fellow citizens, we will become their slaves once again if we back down now! The true owners of this country are us, the people, but they're pretending as if they own the country. We need to show them who the real owners of this country are with our very own hands!]

Jae-Hyung earnestly appealed to the crowd. Most people might have cringed upon hearing him say things like this, but this was the perfect time and place for him to tap into the people's patriotism.

Wooooong!

Jae-Hyung suddenly felt something welling up deep within his chest.

‘W-What is this feeling?’

It was indeed a peculiar sensation, but he didn't have the luxury to dwell on it; he had to continue rallying the crowd.

“He’s right!”

“Yes! He’s absolutely right!”

Fortunately, it appeared that his earnest appeal did not fall on deaf ears. Instead, the crowd's morale, which had dipped upon seeing the Hunters, started to soar once again.

“Tsk… They give us no choice…”

Whoosh! Seuk!

“Kyak!”

“…!”

Both Jae-Hyung and Ye-Seul were shocked as someone suddenly appeared in front of them, and it was none other than the scar-faced leader of the thugs, Viper Dokgo Jin-Cheon.

"Hey, you arrogant punks, did nobody teach you that you will be held accountable for the words you spout?"

Seuk... Seuk...

Viper Dokgo Jin-Cheon waved his dagger around playfully to threaten the duo. Not only that, he slightly channeled his mana to further instill fear in them.

Ye-Seul's legs started trembling after experiencing a Hunter's mana for the first time in her life.

'I... I'm scared...'

She felt as if her body was going to get sliced into pieces by the dagger.

Chwak!

Jae-Hyung spread his arms and stood in front of her.

‘L-Leader…!’

She felt slightly better now that he was standing in front of her.

Viper Dokgo Jin-Cheon raised an eyebrow and said, "Hmm? You awakened in that short period of time?"

Yes, the strange feeling Jae-Hyung felt while rallying the crowd was none other than mana. He had suddenly awakened without warning, which was often the case with awakenings.

"Not bad for a punk, but unfortunately, both of you will have to die right here," Viper Dokgo Jin-Cheon said with a smirk.

“Heh.”

Jae-Hyung did not say anything in response.

“…”

On the other hand, Ye-Seul summoned her courage and shouted, "Y-You can't do this to us! You're Hunters!"

The only thing a person could use to protect themselves against a Hunter was the law, but her opponent today was a malicious individual.

"The law? Well, I'll just have to rot in prison for a few years and come out, right? Besides, what I'm about to do is not murder but an 'accident' that happened while in the process of suppressing protesters," Viper Dokgo Jin-Cheon replied with a shrug.

"W-What did you just say?!"

"…"

Ye-Seul screamed in disgust, but Jae-Hyung remained silent.

"Fortunately, the government requested us to suppress all of you, so all blame for anything that happened today will be on them. Besides, one or two casualties are bound to occur when suppressing violent protesters, right? Ah, as a result of an accident, of course."

"…"

Viper Dokgo Jin-Cheon was right. There was no way Jae-Hyung, a student at the country's most prestigious university, wouldn't be aware of this.

"Ah~ South Korea is a good place for criminals to live. I could even get a suspended sentence if I play my cards properly. Did you know that? Hahaha!"

He was right again this time.

Clap! Clap!

Viper Dokgo Jin-Cheon clapped and said, “Alright, I think I gave you plenty of time already. You’re free to resent me—in hell.”

Whoosh!

“Kyahk!”

Viper Dokgo Jin-Cheon swung his dagger at a speed slow enough for them to witness but fast enough that they couldn't react. He had a sick hobby of instilling as much fear as possible in his victims before killing them, but...

Whoosh!

“Hmm?”

He could feel something flying toward him.

“…!”

He tried to avoid it, but it was too late.

Puk!

“Aaargh!”

Bam! Bam!

A blunt hammer attached to a chain suddenly flew out of nowhere at an unavoidable speed and struck him in the abdomen. He was slammed onto the stage and crashed beneath it, but that wasn't the end of it.

The hammer showed no signs of stopping as it continued to drive itself into Viper Dokgo Jin-Cheon's stomach.

"Kwaaaaak!"

Viper Dokgo Jin-Cheon ended up screaming twice, feeling excruciating pain that was unbearable even for a Hunter.

Whoosh! Tak!

Then, someone landed on the stage.

“H-Han-Yeol Hunter-nim!” Jae-Hyung exclaimed.

“Good work, Jae-Hyung,” Han-Yeol replied with a smile and thumbs-up.

“Hunter-nim…”

“L-Leader, why is he…?” Ye-Seul stuttered and asked.

She couldn't comprehend why Han-Yeol had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and started helping them.

"I asked him for help."

"What...?"

What she heard only added to her confusion, causing her head to throb as she tried to make sense of it.

‘Argh… my head hurts…’

Puk! Puk!

“Ack!”

“Help me!”

“You punks need to learn your lessons!”

Puk! Puk!

While Viper Dokgo Jin-Cheon might have been subdued, the entire square was in chaos. The protesters gathered their courage and advanced, but they were no match for the Death Snake raid party, a group of thugs who had awakened as Hunters.

Violence erupted everywhere as blood began to spill on the ground.

“Kyaaah!”

A Death Snake raid party member grabbed a woman’s hair and yelled, “You fucking bitch! You dare to bite me?!”

“L-Let go! You hit my boyfriend first!”

Kwachik!

“Kyaaah!”

The thug pulled her hair forcefully and dragged her around.

"T-That bastard! H-Hunter-nim!" Ye-Seul exclaimed before she looked at Han-Yeol with pleading eyes.

He was the only one who could resolve this situation. However, Han-Yeol simply stood still and watched the scene from the stage.

"H-Hunter-nim...?" Ye-Seul muttered, slightly taken aback.

‘Don’t tell me… He’s trying to use this situation for his own benefit…?’

Han-Yeol may have come and saved them from Viper Dokgo Jin-Cheon, but she couldn't help but suspect that he was here only for his own benefit. After all, the Hunters, just like the Death Snake raid party, only acted when it benefited them, and they cared very little about ordinary people like her.