Unlike the lunatic imperialist serving as Defense Minister, Japan’s prime minister proved surprisingly easy to reason with.
“I cannot remove the Defense Minister immediately, but I will grant you and the other Koreans independent operational authority, Jinsang1.”
“Please also guarantee us supplies and military support through the Defense Ministry,” Team Leader Choi said, polite but firm. “We came at your country’s request to cooperate, not to be sacrificed.”
The prime minister nodded. “Agreed. I shall do everything within my power.”
If it were up to me, I’d dunk the idiots at the Defense Ministry in a radioactive hot spring. Even that wouldn’t be enough.
But what could we do? The damage was done. We had to make the best of what we had.
“How, though, do you intend to deal with a monster that has already escaped?” the prime minister asked.
“I have a way.”
The answer came out of nowhere. The Skeleton King was staring at the prime minister with his usual arrogant glare. I made a throat-cutting gesture at him, and he flinched.
“I have a way, yo,” he corrected himself.
That was a form of polite speech found in no family tree, but the prime minister—already famous for his collection of memorable quotes—didn’t seem to mind. If anything, he looked pleased.
“Ah, Stomu-King. I have heard much about you.”
“Me? I mean… me, sir?”
“Of course. I knew of you even before this incident, when you helped suppress several mutation Gates in Korea.”
The Skeleton King had been known here and there among the public even before the vigilante incident came to light. The appearance of a previously unknown top-tier Hunter had briefly drawn attention, but the story was soon buried.
Magic Johnson had done a thorough job of laundering his identity. Besides, the truth was so ridiculous that no one had suspected he might be a monster.
…Actually, I just took so much shit that nobody paid attention to him.
“It is a pleasure to meet you at last, Stomu-King.”
The Skeleton King had been looking rather proud that a country’s prime minister knew who he was. Now his brow furrowed.
“The pleasure is mine. But I am—no, my name is Stone King.”
“Yes, that is what I am calling you. Stomu-King.”
“I said Stone King. Here, repeat after me slowly. S. Tone. King.”
“S. Tone. King.”
“Now a little longer. Stone. King.”
“Stone. King.”
“Excellent! Now put it together.”
“Stomu-King.”
“Good heavens. I’m going to lose my mind. I can’t believe this! What is wrong with your tongue?”
The cursed archipelago’s pronunciation system had met Demon Realm mangled-speech in a collaboration for the ages.
Team Leader Choi squeezed his eyes shut. Unable to watch any more, I stepped in.
“Enough. Stone King, Stomu-King, stalking—what difference does it make?”
“It makes a tremendous difference, you Jinsang1 bastard!”
“More difference than the crack I’m about to put in your skull?”
“Hmm. On second thought, perhaps not.”
“See?”
“Of course. Call me whatever you like. That can be my name.”
“Good attitude, Fucking. Now tell us how to track Leviathan.”
The Skeleton King muttered a curse at his new name, then spoke.
“First, your premise is wrong. We shouldn’t track Leviathan. We need to lure it as close to land as we can.”
“Lure it?”
“Yes. The sea is entirely its territory. Try to follow it with some half-baked scheme, and we may lose it for good.”
“You mean…”
“It was too badly wounded to flee far. Leviathan can’t have gone far yet.”
Team Leader Choi raised a question. “Although Leviathan suffered a heavy blow thanks to Mr. Jin Taekyung, I understand that it obtained an unrefined S-rank Magic Gem. Wouldn’t that be enough for it to recover from its wounds and then some?”
“Heal?”
The Skeleton King gave a quiet snort.
“Leviathan could absorb all the magical power in that gem, however much it holds. But even once it makes that power its own, completely healing its injuries is another matter.”
“Hmm.”
“It would need more magical power to heal wounds like those. By now, it must have realized that too.”
The assessment from an actual monster was persuasive.
On top of that, One Annihilation was a killing blow powerful enough to wreck even its caster’s body.
True to its name, Leviathan had twisted its body at the last moment, but those were not wounds that could heal in a short time.
Lure it. Lure it, huh.
I turned the word over in my mind. “It sized up the situation, took exactly what it wanted, and ran. Would something that cunning fall for a trap?”
The answer was simple.
“It will, if the conditions are right.”
“So we set a trap it has no choice but to enter, even knowing it’s a trap?”
“Think of Leviathan as a hungry, wounded beast. Hunger brought it here in the first place.”
Team Leader Choi spoke almost with a groan. “We’ll need one hell of a lure.”
“Yes. We need bait so delicious that Leviathan will risk its life to charge at it.”
And at this point, there was only one thing that could lure Leviathan in.
“Excuse me, Prime Minister?”
Koizumi had been following the conversation with glazed eyes. He looked up at my gentle tone.
“Ah, yes. Go ahead.”
“Does Japan happen to have a few of those?”
“A few of what?”
“Don’t play dumb. S-rank Magic Gems.”
“…Eh?”
“Let us borrow them for a bit.”
“…Ehhh?”
“Why so surprised? We’ll catch Leviathan and give them back. Promise.”
I held out my pinkie to the wide-eyed prime minister.
We’ll win one and pay it back. Win it.
In the modern world, S-rank Magic Gems were treasures of tremendous value.
Before even considering that they were the finest energy source capable of powering an entire metropolis, there were only around a hundred of them in the entire world. Their rarity alone was astonishing.
Perhaps that was why the Japanese prime minister, despite promising his full cooperation, had initially been horrified. Of course, in the end, he had no choice but to hand them over, even if it was against his will.
“Here they are.”
Click.
The security Magic disengaged, and a soft velvet box opened. Inside lay two Magic Gems, shedding brilliant light.
“Hmm. Only two?”
The prime minister saw my expression and answered in a rush. “These are all the S-rank Magic Gems the Japanese government owns.”
“Really?”
“Not a word of a lie! Do you know how hard I had to work to persuade the cabinet and His Majesty the Emperor?”
“If I search the place and find more, that’s one S-rank Magic Gem for every—”
“…Mr. Jin Taekyung?” Team Leader Choi said.
“Oh. Sorry. Force of habit.”
Habits are scary.
At Team Leader Choi’s intervention, I scratched the back of my head. The Japanese prime minister, who had been edging backward for a while now, hurriedly slipped out of the room, repeatedly begging us to return the Magic Gems safely.
But once he was gone, the mood in the room was rather lukewarm.
“Hmm. Two…”
“Not quite enough.”
“I agree,” the Skeleton King said. “They still hold a considerable amount of magical power, but not enough to lure Leviathan.”
The number of S-rank Magic Gems didn’t matter. What mattered was the amount and quality of the magical power left in them.
Normally, they should obviously have been refined… but this time, we have a different use for them.
We had two S-rank Magic Gems in front of us. What we needed was bait—something Leviathan would rush for even if it knew there was a trap.
A massive mass of pure magical power, like the one it had taken.
Even if we use both of these together as bait, they still won’t come close to an unrefined Magic Gem.
I wasn’t alone in thinking it. As we exchanged looks, the Skeleton King spoke up.
“No matter how I think about it, these will not be enough. What about bringing more?”
“Bring more from where…? Oh.”
I remembered Area A, hidden inside Ares Guild headquarters. The place had held staggering amounts of cash, artwork, and Magic Gems—including five S-rank Magic Gems.
“But those were refined too.”
“That… is true.”
The Skeleton King smacked his lips. “Still, better than nothing. Is there no way to get them?”
They were better than nothing, but adding five more wouldn’t change much. The more thoroughly a Magic Gem was refined, the more valuable it became, and the S-rank gems Lee Jungryong and Go Jun had stashed in Area A were top of the line.
There was another problem: the owner had the final say.
“They were probably acquired through illegal channels to begin with,” Team Leader Choi said. “If word gets out, the media will have a field day.”
Especially now. It’d turn into a fucking shitshow. Camera-toting hyenas were everywhere, ready to pounce at the first opening.
The Skeleton King thought for a moment. “Then what about gathering unrefined Magic Gems? If we collect everything coming out of the nearby Gates and bring it here—”
I beamed and patted his shoulder.
“Congratulations. You’ve been sentenced to life in prison for violating international law.”
“Goddamn it!”
“Welcome to the bright and cheerful twenty-first century. It’s surprisingly fucking hard to live here.”
Crack.
The Skeleton King ground his teeth. “Then we have no choice. We use those gems as bait, or we assemble a raid team from our strongest fighters, track Leviathan down, and kill it ourselves.”
“Wow, what a time to be alive. A monster suggesting a raid against another monster.”
“What else can we do?”
What else, huh?
I exchanged a covert glance with Team Leader Choi. Then, watching the Skeleton King’s temper, I spoke carefully.
“I didn’t say there was no other way.”
“What?”
“There is one.”
His face lit up. “What is it?”
“Before I tell you, you need to know something. If we form a raid team… you’re sitting this one out.”
“Leaving me out? What are you talking about?”
It must have been more unexpected than he could have imagined. I continued as he stared at me with perfectly round eyes.
“I can’t help it. Too many people are watching us right now.”
He wasn’t stupid. His face hardened as he caught my meaning.
“You’re leaving me out of the fight with Leviathan because my power might give me away?”
“You got it.”
“Have you lost your mind? How can you say that now?”
Bang! Crunch!
His fist came down, shattering the table. Suddenly he was right in front of me, his eyes full of anger and disappointment.
“You treacherous human. I was wrong about you. How could you say such a thing at a time like this?”
“What does it matter? You’re a monster.”
“…What?”
“Even if we catch Leviathan, once your identity is revealed, you’re finished. I’m only trying to avoid that.”
Wood crackle.
Bones shifted in his clenched fist. He stared at me in disbelief, then cried out as if the words were blood he had to spit up.
“I don’t care! If I can save them, I’ll do anything! Leviathan caused this disaster, and—”
“Anything?”
“Huh?”
Got you. Hooked.
I looked at the Skeleton King with a satisfied smile.
“You said you’d do anything. Right?”
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