Chapter 26

Chapter 26. King of the Back Alley (1)

“What?”

Park Se-min, the ruler of the Ganghwa Back Alley, shot to his feet.

“Special Division?”

“Yes! One Special Division Hunter is causing a rampage in the casino district right now!”

Park Se-min's face twisted.

“The Special Division? Those crazy bastards.”

His furious mana mixed with killing intent and spread throughout the room.

“What was the checkpoint doing?! What the hell was Kim Kyung-il doing?”

Checkpoint Chief Kim Kyung-il.

A man whose motto was to live quietly and live long.

He had faithfully managed the checkpoint until now.

He understood better than anyone what betrayal meant in the Back Alley, and he was a fairly capable Hunter himself.

And yet Kim Kyung-il had allowed a Special Division Hunter into the Back Alley without even reporting it?

There were limits to negligence.

That bastard Kim Kyung-il wasn't off drinking somewhere, was he?

Park Se-min clicked his tongue and prepared to head toward the casino district.

His subordinate hesitated.

“Well...”

“Stop dragging it out. Where is Kim Kyung-il?”

“He's... with the Special Division Hunter!”

Park Se-min froze.

“What?”

It wasn't the fact that Kim Kyung-il might have betrayed them that shocked him.

Kim Kyung-il was a Back Alley man through and through.

He hated the Association.

Especially after that incident.

A Special Division rookie had once come into the Back Alley as part of some initiation stunt.

Because of what happened then, Kim Kyung-il had been forced to pay compensation to the Association's Special Division.

He probably hated the Association more than anyone.

And now he was moving together with a Special Division Hunter?

“...Park Min-ho? Did that bastard come?”

Maybe the mad dog himself had appeared.

If the opponent was an S-Rank Hunter, even Kim Kyung-il would've had no choice but to back down.

But the subordinate gave an unexpected answer.

“No! They said it's someone they've never seen before!”

“Hah.”

Park Se-min laughed dryly.

“Kim Kyung-il has lost his mind.”

Given the situation, it was obvious.

That lunatic Kim Kyung-il must have joined hands with the Special Division.

An A-Rank Hunter like Kim Kyung-il wouldn't have been threatened into submission by some ordinary Special Division Hunter unless it was Park Min-ho himself.

Park Se-min briefly wondered if freezing the man's salary for ten years had finally pushed him over the edge.

Then the subordinate, apparently receiving another report, spoke urgently.

“They're trying to leave through the checkpoint now!”

“What?”

They caused all that trouble just to leave immediately?

At last, everything made sense.

Kim Kyung-il had clearly joined hands with the Special Division to steal or smuggle something valuable enough to make him abandon his life in the Back Alley.

“The Special Division bastards have forgotten how high the sky is.”

Park Se-min hefted an enormous spear onto his shoulder.

“Raise the mana barrier. Block every escape route. I'll go myself.”

But that wasn't the end of his orders.

“Call out the trash in the Back Alley.”

“What are you planning...?”

“What else?”

There was little point ordering random Back Alley thugs to fight the Special Division.

Even if the intruder wasn't Park Min-ho, the Special Division was still the Special Division.

A B-Rank Hunter from the Back Alley obviously couldn't compare to a B-Rank Hunter from the Special Division when it came to actual combat.

That wasn't why Park Se-min was gathering the local scum.

“It's a festival.”

“A festival...?”

“Tell everyone who wants to watch to come.”

Park Se-min finished preparing and threw the door open hard enough to nearly break it.

“I'll sacrifice that arrogant Special Division bastard and show everyone that Park Se-min, the ruler of the Ganghwa Back Alley, is still very much alive.”

It would be a festival.

One where he punished a Special Division Hunter for violating the rules and reinforced his control over the Back Alley.

“But the Special Division...!”

“The Special Division?”

“Urgh!”

Park Se-min unleashed a fierce wave of killing intent at his subordinate.

“They need to understand something. We've never avoided the Special Division because we're afraid of them.”

His eyes turned cold.

“We avoided them because they were annoying.”

“S-Sorry!”

At last, the king of the Ganghwa Back Alley began to move.

Without knowing which side would become the real spectacle.

Mana.

The most basic requirement for becoming a Hunter.

I finally felt like I was beginning to understand what that strange power actually was.

A goldfish born into a tank full of water knew how to breathe through its gills without anyone teaching it.

It was similar for me.

The moment I entered the Back Alley, I became capable of recognizing mana.

So this is what they meant by high mana density.

I could have knocked Yang Chi-seok unconscious with the red light.

The reason I didn't was because I wanted to try using the mana that had been stirring inside me ever since I entered the Back Alley.

Clench.

With unconscious Yang Chi-seok slung over one shoulder, I clenched my free hand into a fist.

I finally managed to use mana.

That was almost as encouraging as capturing Yang Chi-seok.

Still, it wasn't perfect.

I had no idea whether I'd still be able to use mana once I left the Back Alley.

Then...

“Over here! The Special Division bastard is here!”

“Hahaha! He really is alone! What a lunatic!”

“Over there!”

Disgusting laughter and rough voices echoed from every direction.

“...!”

Startled, Choi Yoon-seo turned toward Kim Kyung-il.

“You bastard! You reported us, didn't you?!”

“N-No! It wasn't me!”

Kim Kyung-il hurriedly protested.

“We caused so much noise! Of course someone noticed! It must be because of the commotion when you captured that bastard! I didn't rat you out!”

Bwooooooo!

Speakers mounted on utility poles began blasting the sound of war horns.

“W-What the hell is that?!”

Choi Yoon-seo sounded alarmed.

He had visited the Back Alley several times, but even he had never heard that sound before.

Kim Kyung-il, however, apparently knew what it meant.

His face went pale.

“Shit... The Butcher! That's the signal that the Butcher himself is moving!”

“The Butcher?”

“Park Se-min! He's the ruler of the Ganghwa Back Alley! He's basically the king around here!”

Hunters had already begun surrounding us.

Most looked like common thugs.

But several gave off a far more dangerous presence.

“The organization members too...!”

These were high-ranking criminals who actually divided up and managed districts within the Back Alley.

There were already several dozen around us.

And that was only for now.

Bwooooooo!

The louder the war horns became, the more Hunters poured in.

“It's a hunt!”

“That's a Special Division bastard!”

“The Association! It's an Association dog!”

They were shouting excitedly as though this were a festival.

I watched them in silence before speaking quietly.

“We're leaving.”

I made the decision immediately.

Yang Chi-seok was slung over my shoulder.

Choi Yoon-seo could be considered baggage.

And then there was Kim Kyung-il, who stood on my side for now but could betray us at any moment.

In some ways, it was the worst possible situation.

But...

“This way.”

I was used to situations like this.

Escaping a place surrounded by countless zombies was one of the most basic survival skills required in a world destroyed by the undead.

“This way is faster!”

Kim Kyung-il, apparently having decided to stay on my side, stopped at an intersection and shouted.

“No. This way.”

I didn't hesitate.

I continued in the direction I'd chosen.

If Kim Kyung-il refused to follow, I was prepared to leave him behind.

He hesitated briefly.

Then followed.

“Haah, haah!”

“Huff!”

Behind me, Choi Yoon-seo and Kim Kyung-il were breathing hard.

We continued for some time.

Then...

“How...?!”

Kim Kyung-il stared at me in shock.

At some point, the Hunters flooding after us had vanished.

“How did you lose all of them...?!”

“Watch the roads.”

I briefly scanned the terrain and answered.

“...!”

Kim Kyung-il's eyes widened.

Watch the roads? That's all?

Kim Kyung-il couldn't believe it.

He lost them completely. Even I couldn't do that, and I've lived in this Back Alley for more than twenty years...!

Now he was even more certain.

Kim Si-hyeon was an unbelievable criminal born from the Back Alley.

Killing intent so immense that even criminals who had killed dozens or hundreds couldn't approach him.

Movement so smooth it seemed as though an entire map of the Back Alley existed inside his head.

And the audacity to hunt down a Special Division Hunter, steal the combat suit, and wear it openly.

I've never seen his face, so he must be one of the legendary criminals who disappeared from the Back Alley a long time ago...!

Then suddenly...

Kim Kyung-il thought he understood Kim Si-hyeon's identity.

Goosebumps rose across his body.

He muttered quietly.

“...Dark King...”

A legendary figure of the Back Alley.

The man said to have designed and created the entire Back Alley system across Korea.

After he suddenly disappeared, countless rumors spread.

Some said the Association captured him.

Others said he fled to China.

Some claimed Yoo Jin-gyu of the Destruction Society was actually the Dark King.

Kim Kyung-il had always considered them ridiculous.

If the Association caught the Dark King, they would've proudly announced it. If he fled to China, someone would've found out. And Yoo Jin-gyu is only S-Rank. There's no way he's the Dark King.

But if Kim Si-hyeon was the Dark King...

Everything fits!

Of course, the Dark King had existed since before the Back Alleys were even established.

Kim Si-hyeon looked far too young.

But there were plenty of possible explanations.

Someone like the Dark King could have obtained one of the fewer than three legendary Elixirs of Rejuvenation said to exist in the world.

Or undergone an illegal procedure and consumed blood to maintain his youth.

“This way.”

The back of Kim Si-hyeon walking ahead looked completely different to Kim Kyung-il now.

For a man whose lifelong motto had been to survive quietly and for as long as possible...

His heart began pounding.

Then Ganghwa Bridge finally came into view.

BOOOOM!

An enormous spear flew through the air and stabbed into the ground.

Kim Si-hyeon's steps stopped.

There was only one meaning behind that massive spear embedded in the road.

“Kim Kyung-il!”

The ruler of the Ganghwa Back Alley had arrived.

Park Se-min.

The moment his spear struck the ground, a huge man leapt down from above.

BOOOOM!

He emerged from the cloud of dust.

“You piece of trash. You dare betray the Back Alley?”

Park Se-min casually pulled the man-sized spear from the ground and spun it once.

WHOOOSH.

The pressure of the wind alone demonstrated just how powerful he was.

Park Se-min had once been considered a highly promising Hunter.

Awakening Rank: S.

The Korean Hunter Association itself had paid close attention to him, and every major Guild had tried to recruit him.

He had even risen to the position of Vice Guild Master in a major Guild.

There was no grand reason someone like him had ended up in the Back Alley and eventually become its ruler.

Boring.

Hunting monsters had simply become boring.

He was a born predator.

But the prey he wanted was not monsters.

It was people.

The Back Alley was the perfect place to satisfy that desire.

And he had entrusted the important entrance to his playground to Kim Kyung-il.

“I thought something felt wrong on the way here. I never imagined a cowardly rat like you would actually betray the Back Alley. You cling to the Special Division and help them escape?”

“I-I didn't betray anyone!”

Kim Kyung-il stepped forward and shouted.

“You didn't betray us?”

Park Se-min laughed in disbelief.

“Then you're saying that Special Division brat lost all those people on his own?”

“That's right!”

“...?”

Park Se-min stared blankly for a moment at Kim Kyung-il's firm answer.

Then his face twisted like a demon.

“You lunatic... You're going to insult me to the end?”

But Kim Kyung-il was the one getting frustrated.

“Listen carefully, Butcher! This person is—”

Then...

“There!”

“That's really Park Se-min!”

“Whoa! The ruler of the Back Alley!”

Hunters who heard Park Se-min's spear strike began gathering again.

Hundreds of them formed a massive wall across Ganghwa Bridge.

Park Se-min in front.

A wall of Hunters behind.

“...”

Kim Si-hyeon watched everything.

Feels like home.

Beyond that bridge, behind Park Se-min, stood modern civilization that had survived intact.

But on this side of a single blocked bridge...

It's exactly the same.

It looked eerily similar to the world I'd lived in after its collapse.

A ridiculous king playing ruler.

Old-fashioned speech that had disappeared from normal society long ago.

The same sense of authority.

The same violence.

Perhaps the reason the Back Alley felt so comfortable wasn't only the high mana density.

At some point, we were completely surrounded.

There was nowhere left to escape.

“Looks like everyone's here.”

The surrounding Hunters focused on Park Se-min.

“Then from this moment onward...”

A broad grin spread across his face.

Park Se-min shouted,

“The execution begins!”