Chapter 24

: Southbound (Part 2)
An executor was different from a hunter in the sense that an executor only worked for the Wargrave organization without any reward. It was possible that they’d dispatched Charl to the Korean Peninsula to resolve the issue.
She looked very young, but she could have been a recent hire.
As an inexperienced executor, she could have been dispatched at the relatively less dangerous East Asia region to gain experience. Zin was able to infer that Charl was an executor of the Wargrave. The actual rank of the executor didn’t matter much. Executors even had the right to execute a warlord, the leader of a fortress, if it was for a good reason. Therefore an executor was feared by all ranks of Wargrave soldiers.
All this information wasn’t known to a regular civilian. Zin knew about this, and he was able to judge the matter at hand based on these facts.
Leona sat still when she saw Zin fall into deep thought. Leona had very good instincts, and she chose not to interrupt Zin during such times.
On the other hand, Zin wasn’t quick to notice her actions.
What kind of problem would make an executor react so hastily…
It was clear that Charl had acted because something was going on.
In the Korean Peninsula, there are two Wargrave fortresses—one in Seoul, the other in Busan.
In the peninsula, two MCP’s had appeared in total within those two places. Wargrave built a fortress around every MCP, so there was a fortress in Busan as well.
However, the MCP at Busan has no more activity. They closed down the fortress after that…
It was rare for an MCP to cease activity. However, for whatever reason, the Busan MCP had stopped, and no more monsters came out of it. Zin had heard about the news, and he visited Korea to confirm it. It was an event that had happened thirty years ago.
At that time, the Wargrave forces had heavily guarded the closed-down Busan fortress, and Zin hadn’t infiltrated the fortress to investigate further.
He’d assumed that there was some issue inside the fortress.
Hmm… I suspected that the Wargrave conducted some secret
experiment, but now it all makes sense.
There were many suspicious activities happening around the world. And there was no reason to be curious about every one of them. But in this case, it was different. Zin wondered if the gathering of the solitary monsters, their attack, and subsequent destruction wasn’t just some chance occurrence, but rather, an intentional accident. He wondered if the Wargrave’s top-secret experiments were directly related to this incident.
Charl probably knew about the truth behind the inactivity of BMCP and the closure of the Busan fortress. Or perhaps she had some speculations. It was possible that they’d sent her to investigate the unusual event that happened in the peninsula.
Once again, Zin remembered Baek-Goo’s words.
It’s the devil’s deeds.
At first, he hadn’t accepted or believed those words. But, as Baek-Goo said, a group of Giant Wolves destroyed Zado. Zin smiled bitterly.
Baek-Goo, looks like you had some foresight.
Zin couldn’t shake off his suspicion that the words of the dead Baek-Goo might be true.
The executor was connecting the dots between the past incident at the Busan fortress and the collapse of Zado. And it was very possible that the collapse of Zado had been an act of the devil.
Zin thought.
What did the Wargrave do in Busan?
Charl is a Wargrave executor.
The inactivity of BMCP and the closure of Busan fortress are related, and both are connected with the Wargrave experiment.
Zado’s collapse is related to the Wargrave experiment in Busan.
It will be worthwhile to verify what the experiment was about.
Zin looked at Leona and said:

I’ll have to postpone taking you to the promised place.


Why?

I need to head south.

It was obvious that Leona was extremely mad. Their destination was northbound, but they kept going south.

We are going to Busan.

It was possible that there might be no reward for this activity, but Zin was willing to use some of his time after receiving chips from Charl. Charl’s urgency implied that Wargrave had not been thorough with its operation somehow.
Zin was sure that he’d be able to find some clues when in Busan.

Get to bed early today. We’re heading southbound.


Ahhh…

Leona lamented that the travel was about to be extended. It would not be possible to head south to Busan and then come back north within a month.

Our destination is northbound, but why are we going south?


I’m curious about that as well.


… You’re the one suggesting that we go south, mister.

They were about to head to the southernmost region on Korea past Ard Point. The two went past Ard Point and headed south. Zin found the sudden change in circumstances amusing.
Wasting time meant wasting his lifespan. This was true for any person, but Zin didn’t have much time left. And this was an important decision for him as well.
But Zin did not tell Leona about this.

I thought you told me that your hometown was somewhere south.


Yeah, I don’t even face the south anymore.

Leona said in a disgusted voice.

Did something happen when you were there?


Hmm, isn’t it harder to not get into something horrible?

A daughter of a prostitute.
It was obvious to see how people would have treated Leona while growing up. In a crazy world, people were even meaner to each other.
Even though everyone was lowly, some people thought contemptuously of others. They felt more precious by comparing themselves against others who were just as unfortunate. Zin found it ironic that such wretched people like to make comparisons amongst themselves.
Zin realized that the world hadn’t changed much—there were still ranks and statuses that divided people.
Leona smiled as if she remembered some past memories.

Well, I wasn’t the type who was bullied around.


Hmm, you do look like the type, though.


I can tell you about the time when I fought against five people by myself.


That’s interesting. You have a nasty temper, but I can’t imagine you as a good fighter.

Leona shrugged as she clenched her fist.

It wasn’t that hard against kids. When fighting against multiple people, it’s not possible to beat up everybody. I focused my attacks on one enemy. I don’t stop even if the others punch me in the face. I focus and beat the crap out of one single person. When that happens, it scares the others and they run away.


Hmm… that’s impressive. But how were you able to beat one guy up when there were five people attacking you?

It was hard to overcome the disadvantage of being outnumbered. It was very likely for the outnumbered one to get mobbed.

In a kid’s fight, girls have the advantage.

Leona talked boldly and pointed at Zin’s groin. At the sudden move, Zin moved back.

Boys have a weakness called balls, and that’s easy to exploit. I pounded them as hard as I could. At the first hit, he’d get knocked down. And after a couple of hits, they would beg for mercy. At that point, the other guys would get scared. Isn’t that funny?!

Leona laughed out loud.

When I first attacked like that, the other guys blanked out and ran away. Later, I heard that first dude had ended up with one busted ball.

Leona was not the type of person to show mercy. When attacked, she fought back like a beast with all that she had. It was amazing that she’d survived as a physically weak person.
More than anything, Zin was shocked to see Leona point at his groin in a surprising move. He was shocked at this little girl who would point at an old hunter’s groin without hesitation.

… what has the world come to?

Leona kept on laughing. She was someone who the people of her hometown had looked down upon, and her personality didn’t help much either. She added by saying:

And I even killed my own father. People were calling me a witch and tried to kill me.

It was clear that she had to leave her hometown, and she had no fond memories of it. And Leona did not want to head south towards her hometown.
Zin laughed.

A witch? Do people still use that to curse someone? That’s amusing.


It’s not amusing for the person being cursed.

Leona stared angrily at Zin.

They were cursing at a kid who didn’t know what a witch was… no, even they didn’t know what a witch was. They cursed me as a witch because they simply hated me.


That’s how people curse others. Whether it’s now or back then.


It’s messed up to call someone as a witch. Why don’t they just say ‘go and die’? That’s more straightforward and to the point, isn’t it?

Leona shrugged. Zin remembered the times before the devils disappeared. Although people didn’t often refer to others as witches, but as Leona mentioned, people referred to despicable people as witches. Leona grimaced, unhappily thinking about her past memories. In a moment she thought of something and started to talk again.

That’s right. Mister, you’re a hunter! You’d know what a witch is all about?


It’s a type of devil.


Is a witch a monster-like devil?


There are many types of devils, and a witch is one of them.
There’s nothing similar about the different types of devils. People just started referring to all of them as devils.

People referred to horrendous monsters as devils, but they did not have much in common.

Then, what is a witch all about?


It has many traits… First of all, a witch controls monsters.


…what?


A witch can use monsters as servants. Does that make sense?


Controlling monsters? How is that possible?


Yes. Witches can control monsters.

Monsters also had traits, instincts, and their own willpower. A witch was able to disrupt the minds of monsters to control them.
If a devil was behind the collapse of Zado, it was clear that it was the deed of a witch. Monsters that normally acted solo or were hostile against each other had joined forces under the control of a witch.
This meant that a witch was a serious threat.

A witch can bring together a group of monsters to create a great force. It means that a witch can make a city of monsters. A witch can order the monsters to attack or even mobilize them strategically.

As long as the monsters were under control, it meant that the witch could lead an army of monsters. This trait alone made the witch a threatening presence.

At one point, a single witch conquered the whole region of Alaska up in the north. You wouldn’t know where that is anyway.

Witches had conquered large regions and built a nation of monsters. This had all happened in the past, but Leona talked without thinking about what that all meant.

That’s pretty convenient.


Haha… that’s an interesting point of view.


Isn’t that so? It would be safe since the monsters would be guarding you. And if you needed some chips, you could slaughter one of the monsters.


Hmm… from the witch’s point of view, that’s probably the case.

Zin laughed out loud at Leona’s thoughts.

It would have been very convenient if I was actually a witch.

She meant that she would not go through such hardships if she had that convenient power. Zin understood what Leona was talking about, and smiled bitterly.
He remembered all the innocent people who were killed after being accused of being a witch. And past memories flashed through Zin’s head.
Tell me the difference between a devil and a devil hunter.
When you kill the last devil, how will you live?
What’s the difference, tell me now!
In a devil-less world, what are you going to do?
You don’t even know what to do.
O devil-less devil hunter, what are you going to live for?
You’re just a devil hunting a devil.
You cruel bastard.
When your time is up, you’ll realize that you really loved us.
Kill me, go ahead and kill me.
It’s over, finish me off.
Devil hunter.

Mister?

As Leona nudged Zin, he came back to his senses.

Why the blank stare? Are you sleepy?
Leona found it strange that Zin stopped walking and was standing still.

Never mind.

Zin gnashed his teeth to snap out of the past memories that suddenly appeared in his mind. After feeling a sharp pain in his mouth, he started walking forward.

You have a sour face.

Leona grumbled as she looked at Zin moving forward, but he didn’t reply.
Some of the unforgettable memories would come back powerfully. Sometimes, Zin couldn’t keep himself together, caught in the heavy memories. Humans lived with such memories as a burden for the period of time they lived.
And Zin had a burden heavier than anyone else.