Somewhere on Jeju Island.
Thud.
With a mechanical hiss, the restraints on a white straitjacket disengaged, and a woman collapsed to the ground with a dull thump, opening her eyes.
“…”
A woman with disheveled black hair.
She looked like she hadn’t even touched shampoo, let alone soap—her body had only been doused repeatedly in cold water, not bathed properly even once.
And yet, perhaps due to the traits of being an Awakened, her appearance hadn’t become completely wretched.
A former S-rank, now reduced to a state worse than even F-rank—the fallen Awakened known as Ironblood.
“Cough, cough.”
Ironblood coughed up blood that had pooled in her mouth as she slowly lifted her body.
Though there were no bruises on her body, the straitjacket she wore was riddled with dents and gouges as if something had tried to pierce through it.
“What… is this…?”
She tilted her head, confused at her sudden release.
Her previously blank, lifeless eyes slowly began to regain light, and she clenched her teeth as if sensing something—or someone—approaching from outside the cave.
“Damn it…!”
Not even knowing who she was swearing at, Ironblood bit down hard as footsteps echoed deeper into the cave.
If, for any reason, they realized her restraints had been undone—
“Do you seek power?”
“?!”
In front of her.
A person cloaked in a black robe had appeared.
Their voice was clearly modulated, and beneath the deep hood, they wore a traditional brown Hahoe mask, like one you’d find in a Korean folk village.
“Do you seek power?”
“What in the world…?”
“I am the one who can give you the strength to rise again.”
“……!!”
“Even if a shattered vessel is repaired, its cracks remain. In that case, the only solution is to completely break the vessel, grind it into dust, and forge a new one—reborn from scratch.”
The masked figure extended both hands forward.
“Choose.”
A red pill.
A blue pill.
There was no need to ask which one to take.
“If I take the red pill… can I go back to the way I was?”
“That depends on your will.”
“…I’ll take the red pill.”
“A wise choice.”
Whoosh.
Ironblood snatched the red pill flying toward her.
Without water, without hesitation, she bit down and swallowed it whole.
And then—
Fssshhh—
“!!!”
A crimson aura began to rise from Ironblood’s body, and tears welled up in her eyes.
“Ah, ahh…!”
Regaining the sensations she had lost, Ironblood broke into tears as she saw mana beginning to form at her fingertips.
“This kind of miracle…!”
For someone whose body could no longer gather mana to regain it just from one pill?
Even if it was an illusion.
Even if it was a deal with the devil.
In this moment of joy—
With this regained mana—
“If I can get my revenge…!”
If she could take revenge on the one who pushed her into this pit of ruin, then anything would be worth it.
“Are you planning to take revenge against the Master?”
“Of course!”
“And why is that?”
“Because that bastard’s the reason I ended up like this!”
“I see.”
Click.
“Then die.”
“Huh?”
The face behind the Hahoe mask—was eerily similar to the one Ironblood had thought of countless times.
Bang!
A projectile fired.
A flash of light soared toward her.
Flash!
The man had already vanished.
And from beyond the cave, that light came surging toward her.
“You son of a—!”
A blue bombardment.
And with it, Ironblood felt her body shattering even more violently than before—until her consciousness was ripped away.
* * *
[A short while later, aboard the bridge of Illinois.]
“So much for saying you’d kill her.”
“I said I’d kill her as a Hunter.”
As I emerged from the cave with Elaine’s help, I immediately peeled off the black raincoat.
“Ugh, the smell. I heard about it, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad.”
How should I put it—
The inside of that cave was just… beyond what human words could describe.
The woman imprisoned inside had been abandoned by powerful figures in politics, experimented on, and then deemed ‘useless’—after which she was turned into a human sandbag by those very elites.
A rather tragic backstory, sure—
But the researchers who led those experiments had all mysteriously died from sudden heart attacks.
And as for the ones who used her as a sandbag… well…
“Master. The Governor of Jeju and the Mayor of Seogwipo are approaching Illinois.”
“Can’t we just cause a wave and flip their boats over?”
“At first, they approached with a fishing boat. Now, they’re trying with a fairly large passenger ship. With journalists on board, too.”
“How annoying. It’s probably because we docked Illinois right at the spot where we had Ironblood stashed away, huh?”
They’re clearly desperate to get close to us somehow, but I have no intention of meeting with them.
“Do they think just pulling up their boat means I’ll show up to greet them?”
“Maybe they believe if they push hard enough, something will work out? Should I go and give them a warning?”
“No need for them to hear your voice. Illinois, fire a warning shot. Coordinates are… here.”
BOOM!
A shell crashes down near the vessel approaching Illinois.
Massive waves rise, shoving the passenger ship back toward the coast, and the expressions of those clinging to the railings are clearly visible through the CCTV.
“What, they seriously didn’t think we’d actually fire?”
“This is Korea, not America.”
“Hmm… true.”
They clearly didn’t expect an actual bombardment—even as a warning.
Normally, people would try to stir public outcry, labeling this “a war crime—firing naval artillery at civilians.”
But I really don’t care about that.
“You think they’ll say our aim is trash even though it was a warning shot?”
“If they do, just tell them next time a shot goes wide, it might ‘accidentally’ land on their house. That should shut them up.”
“Fair enough. Good thinking. If someone Awakens after that, we’ll just wipe out their mana with a follow-up strike.”
I’m not the vengeful type, but I’m also not about to give favors to someone who curses me behind my back.
“Thanks to Ironblood, we’ve confirmed that even someone as far gone as her can return to being a Hunter after taking an Awakening Pill. So from now on, anyone acting like Ironblood won’t get a second chance—we’ll just erase their mana without hesitation.”
Wiping out mana entirely.
It’s not something only Illinois can do.
Elaine can do it with her sword.
Kiharu can do it with a magic-infused special attack.
Even if Drei just grazes the right spot with a bullet, it works.
And if Justice swings a greatsword with a finishing move—it’s the same.
All under my control.
If they’re just swinging weapons or firing bullets, it’s normal damage. But the moment I give the command through my smartphone, it hits their HP—and their very status as an Awakened.
The first case was Illinois hitting Ironblood with the main battery, sure, but with summons like these, it’s far from the only method.
“Alright. Then let’s begin. Let’s kick off a miracle performance—by the EX-rank Hunter who cleared Babel itself.”
Now was the perfect time.
“If we’re going to cause chaos, let’s do it big. Drei, how’s the video editing going?”
“Final touches now~”
“Upload it as soon as possible. Even an hour earlier might be enough to reveal people’s true colors.”
Plus, it’ll keep them busy handling the fallout.
“That way, once we finish the test here, we can implement a more refined version over in the U.S.”
Apologies to my homeland, but hey—everything’s hard the first time.
It may be a social experiment, but I believe in the maturity of our citizens.
“Viva democracy. Viva capitalism.”
Let those who fulfill their duty—
Be granted the opportunity for miracles.
* * *
[A little later, somewhere on Jeju Island.]
“Damn it, I can’t believe the Master actually did something this crazy…!”
Soaked from the waves, the people onshore clenched their teeth and shook the water off their clothes.
The waves weren’t even that rough, and yet those who had been on the ship near the blast site looked like drowned rats, muttering complaints as they tried to dry off.
“How can something like this happen in Korea?! Where are the police? The military?! That ship fired on a vessel carrying citizens and politicians!”
A middle-aged woman with ruined makeup raised her voice, but no one around her dared to respond.
What could they say?
Whether it’s the police or military, not even the S-rank Towers, let alone Babel—floating up in the sky—stood a chance against this individual.
They hadn’t personally witnessed the raid inside Babel, true—but they’d all seen the videos.
A-rank monsters pouring out as the Tower cracked, annihilated by long-range bombardment from the U.S. West Coast to the East.
“Mayor, for now—”
“Mayor! Please look at this!”
Click.
“The Master just uploaded a video!”
[To all Korean citizens, whether in Korea or abroad—greetings.]
The Master appeared onscreen with a serious expression.
[The reason I came to Korea is to cast my vote—as a citizen.]
“Voting…? What nonsense…”
[Let’s skip the boring speeches. I’ll get right to the point—because we all know that’s what people prefer. I’ll explain it in three simple lines.]
The Master raised three fingers.
[One: Vote.]
“A foreigner talking about voting?!”
[Two: Among those who vote, 300 will be randomly selected to receive a Hunter Awakening Pill.]
“…What?”
[Three: It doesn’t matter who you vote for. As long as the National Election Commission verifies your participation, you’re eligible. Just vote.]
Then the Master pulled out a single ticket.
[Just vote, and you get a guaranteed chance to Awaken. That’s it.]
Click.
“…”
“…”
