Chapter 55 - Chapter 53: Episode 52 - Side Story) Karma Always Returns
Yu-rin had been serving as a vanguard for a C-rank hunter team for two months.
Park Hye-in, a fellow C-rank hunter and team leader, grumbled.
"These damn monsters, how are they hiding in every nook and cranny? It's so annoying that we have to call in the Clearing Team for the final sweep."
Yu-rin asked, looking curious.
"Isn't it easier if we just let the Clearing Team handle the finish?"
The team leader shook her head.
"No, it's better for us if they don't get involved."
"Even if it's a small-scale Gate, it's still pretty big. Wouldn't it be more efficient to have more people finish it quickly?"
"The problem is that once the Clearing Team is deployed, we have to fork over 20% of the Gate's revenue. Our cut shrinks."
Honestly, Yu-rin didn't need the extra cash.
Her family was loaded, and she had plenty of personal wealth to boot.
Still, she thought there had to be a faster way.
No matter which team she joined, there was always a reluctance to call the Clearing Team because of the hit to their income.
That was why they spent so much time scouring the area after the main monsters were dead—just to avoid calling them in—which was a huge factor in why closing a Gate took so long.
The constant back-and-forth to coordinate with the Clearing Team was another major time-sink.
A thought occurred to Yu-rin.
She remembered back when Seon-ah and she were kidnapped.
She recalled how the monsters had prioritized kidnapping Seon-ah because he was male.
"Didn't we have a guy among the supply hunters in the Combat Support Team?"
"Hyo-won? Yeah, we do. Why?"
"It seems like monsters have a tendency to target men first. If we bring him into the Gate, wouldn't the monsters just gather around him?"
"That's a violation of Hunter law. Bringing a non-combatant into an uncleared Gate... that's not something a decent person does. Are you really Executive Director Yu-ra's daughter?"
Executive Director Yu-ra was known for having a strong conscience.
In reality, as Yu-rin had implied, there were guilds that used 'male hunters' as bait to finish jobs as quickly as possible.
"Still, our combatants are stronger than you think. We just need to protect him while we finish up."
"Hmm..."
The team leader seemed to be weighing her options.
The choice was between losing 20% of their pay or using the boy as bait to save it.
Perhaps her conscience wasn't as ironclad as she thought; she decided to bring him in.
They agreed to give the boy 5% of the earnings, far less than the 20% the Clearing Team would have demanded.
A moment later, Park Hye-in gestured outside the Gate and called for Kim Hyo-won.
"Hey, Hyo-won! Get over here for a second!"
The team leader was the highest-ranking person on the scene; no one could ignore her.
Hyo-won, a low-ranking supply hunter, had no choice but to enter the Gate.
He was drenched in sweat from running over so fast.
As far as the team leader knew, he was twenty-one, the same age as Yu-rin.
Hyo-won's ability was Regeneration.
At first glance, it sounded powerful, but it was a low-tier version, significantly inferior to proper Healing or Recovery abilities.
It could only heal his own body very slowly, and even with a physical-related ability, he couldn't fight properly due to his strength being inherently lower than that of female hunters.
"Hyo-won, I'm sorry, but just head to the center of the Gate and come back. I'll make sure you get a decent reward."
It was a terrifying prospect for a man who knew what happened to men caught by monsters, but Hyo-won, having no way to refuse, followed her orders.
"Yes... I understand..."
They were heading toward the center of the Gate when it happened.
A B-rank monster—a Vampire—spotted Hyo-won and closed in on the Vanguard Team.
Their combat force consisted of four C-rank hunters.
Even against a B-rank Vampire, it would be a struggle.
The team leader said in a trembling voice.
"No wonder I didn't see any boss-level monsters. A bastard like this was hiding..."
Strong monsters didn't always command every Gate, but usually, one or two would be mixed in to act as commanders.
The team leader, who had assumed only weaklings were present, broke out in a cold sweat.
Park Hye-in was only C-rank, but she was a veteran with 13 years of experience.
That was why she held the team leader position among her peers.
She shouted to the team.
"Combat ready! It's a B-rank! We're outmatched, so don't surround it—stay close and protect Hyo-won!"
Following her instructions, the team gathered around Hyo-won.
The Vampire didn't rush in, wary of their combined attack.
"Inferior species, you dare..."
The Vampire growled, clearly annoyed.
It moved with blinding speed, attacking the team leader first, who was slightly out of position.
As she scrambled back, the other three hunters, including Yu-rin, swung their weapons at the Vampire simultaneously.
The team leader had acted as bait to draw the attack.
The team members, prepared for the tactic, protected Hye-in as she retreated and launched their own counter-offensive.
However, the Vampire grabbed the weapon of the female hunter on the far right with its sturdy hand, and
drove its other hand into her head.
Just like that, she slumped to the ground, a corpse.
It was now a 3-on-1, but the Vampire wasn't unscathed.
The team's weapons had struck true, leaving the Vampire with deep, bleeding wounds.
The team leader stepped in to fill the gap left by the fallen member.
"Fucking hell... Ye-in... She said she was getting married next month..."
Do Ye-in had indeed been engaged.
The ring on her finger was now glowing with a faint, dark red light.
No matter how often casualties occurred, the death of a teammate always shook them.
In the chaos, Hye-in's mind raced.
If they stalled, the Vampire would recover, and their formation would collapse entirely.
They couldn't just stand there.
It was their turn to strike.
"Fucking hell, I'll attack first! Yu-rin, you take the right, Seyun, you take the left!"
Yu-rin and Seyun braced themselves.
As the team leader lunged from the center, they swung their weapons at the Vampire's right flank.
Seyun attacked too, but she was visibly terrified and a beat too slow.
The Vampire dodged and blocked, then grabbed Seyun's weapon when she faltered.
Knowing what was coming, Seyun immediately let go of her weapon.
Thinking she could grab Ye-in's discarded weapon, she scrambled back.
The Vampire rushed forward and bit into Seyun's neck.
It was drinking her blood, true to its name.
Seyun was dying, but this was their chance.
All living things are at their most vulnerable when feeding.
The team leader seized the moment, stabbing her knife into the Vampire's neck.
Yu-rin followed suit, striking as the Vampire moved.
However, the near-death Vampire lunged forward with a final burst of speed.
In that direction,
was Hyo-won, the male hunter they had left out of the fight.
The Vampire gestured quickly and shouted something.
Yu-rin recognized it instantly.
Something she had seen before.
It was the ability Miel had used when she kidnapped Seon-ah and her.
If she didn't act, Hyo-won would be taken.
With that thought, she threw her sword, striking the Vampire.
It pierced the monster's heart, killing it instantly.
But it was too late.
The ability hadn't activated perfectly, and the Vampire collapsed onto Hyo-won, enveloped in a faint, bright red light.
In an instant, both the Vampire and Hyo-won vanished.
Miel's teleportation ability had triggered, albeit unstably, and dragged Hyo-won away.
Along with the relief of survival, the team leader felt the crushing weight of losing two members and a civilian hunter.
If she had just called the Clearing Team, there might have been no casualties.
She had ruined everything for a moment of greed.
Even though Yu-rin had suggested the idea, it was she who had decided to execute it.
With the disciplinary committee looming, her career as a hunter was over.
Hye-in's future went dark.
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The Vampire had used its last bit of strength to deploy teleportation magic, but it failed.
It knew the warp would be unstable, but it didn't matter.
A sword was already lodged in its heart.
It was clear that it would stop breathing any second.
As its consciousness faded, the Vampire collapsed toward the male in front of it.
An unstable warp was a dangerous method that defied the laws of space and time; there was no telling where or when they would end up.
Since time-related movement hadn't been properly researched even in the Demon World, the instability was extreme.
Hyo-won couldn't move his feet as the Vampire approached him.
His mind was paralyzed by fear; his legs wouldn't listen.
The price was paid.
The corpse of the Vampire collapsed on top of him, and he found himself in a landscape he had never seen before.
And a feeling that made it hard to breathe.
Before long, he realized what kind of place this was.
Hyo-won was imprisoned inside a cage.
He felt a chill as the monsters outside stared at him intently.
Ah...
Those times when he was merely curious about where kidnapped people were dragged off to were better.
Now that his curiosity had been resolved...
Hyo-won burst into tears as he felt his body being licked continuously.
Realizing there was no hope left.
After quite a long time, a female monster came to buy him.
It was a Succubus.
She had blonde hair, brown skin, and sheep-like horns.
Hearing the slave merchant, she offered her congratulations.
She said he was lucky to be sold to the Lord of a certain territory.
Hyo-won couldn't forget the words of that sarcastic slave merchant.
Contrary to his expectations, the Succubus didn't violate him.
Instead, she treated him with great hospitality.
As if he were a precious guest...
He felt his heart being drawn to her more and more.
Eventually, he asked her.
Why she treated him so well.
The Succubus Lord replied that Succubi don't originally violate men as they please.
She said she was treating him well because she wanted to make him her mate.
A few months later, I told her to make me her mate, and she carved a Yin Mark on my abdomen.
After a long period of effort, we were able to have many children.
Even if they were mixed with my genes, they were all Succubi, but they were such cute children.
The youngest daughter had small wings and a small body.
The child's name was Miel...
Monsters like strong things.
Because she was a Succubus born prematurely, my wife and daughters tried to abandon her, but I promised to take good care of her.
Five years since I started taking care of my youngest daughter.
My wife, the Lord, revealed her jealousy toward our daughter.
I just wanted to protect my daughter, but.
My values as a human and her values as a Succubus were very different.
She said she would sell me to another territory tomorrow.
Even though she called me her mate, she had originally bought me as a slave, so such a thing was possible.
Although I felt disappointed, I just thought it was my fate.
Seeing the youngest, Miel, who would be sad that we were being separated, I burst into tears.
Grow up strong... Miel...
Karma Comes Back Around End