NOVPUB
Chapter 107
Thomas Andre. He was the guild master of a major guild in the United States, the Scavenger Guild. Although he was nearing the age of seventy, he was still a global star and actively making waves as an S-rank hunter.
Even before his awakening, he was already the “Demon of the Ring”—a renowned figure with a history of achievements. In an era before the world knew of mana or magic beasts, Thomas Andre was an undefeated UFC champion, a fighter whom no one dared to challenge. In his twenties, he had already claimed the title of the “strongest human” solely based on his brute force as an MMA fighter. Many challengers had attempted to dethrone him, but none succeeded.
He intended to retire undefeated, but fate had other plans. After the Great Cataclysm, Andre was enjoying a leisurely retirement, sipping coffee with his friends. At that moment, he was among the first to awaken, and as an S-rank hunter. He began to effortlessly eradicate the magic beasts that appeared in the United States, showcasing his overwhelming power.
“Hahaha! This is true power! I never realized how weak I was before!”
He entered his second prime. From that moment on, his UFC nickname, the “Demon of the Ring,” was overlaid with a new one, “Goliath.”
Having always had complete control over his highly developed physique, it was incredibly easy for him to adapt to his awakened abilities. It feels like I’ve regained a power that was always mine to begin with! he thought, reveling in his new power like a fish returned to the water where it could move effortlessly.
Andre realized anew how confined he had been within the square ring. While he couldn’t bring himself to tear apart his human opponents, he could rip as many magic beasts as he pleased to shreds. After all, doing the former would make him a murderer who was despised by all—but the latter would earn him praise and gratitude.
What a world! Where are the beasts, huh?! Let me at them! Anyone who witnessed his brutal bare-handed slaying of magic beasts, either in person or via video, left similar comments.
—Omg. it’s hard to tell who’s the real beast here
—I feel worse for the beasts, tbh
—Please stop hating on magic beasts :(
—What if they go extinct because of Thomas?
—Lol true
—Should we start a magic beast protection organization? Lol
While S-rank hunters were quite rare, there were still a considerable number of them globally, each of them possessing a level of force that rivaled that of Thomas Andre. However, since they rarely fought one another, it was impossible for them to compete among themselves for supremacy. Still, when someone claimed Andre to be the strongest hunter alive, nobody would dare deny it.
The organization he built around himself was the Scavenger Guild. The Scavenger Guild revered only one thing—power. Consequently, the hunters who joined the guild were mostly violent in nature, and reining them in had been the cause of multiple recent headaches for the U. S. Government.
I wonder why the leader of such a violent guild has decided to visit Korea. The Black Tortoise Guild’s director swallowed dryly after looking over the news.
Typically, an S-rank hunter of such caliber wouldn’t visit another country without reason. Such hunters were essentially walking war weapons. They were dangerous individuals, and if they desired, they could overthrow an entire city on their own—and Andre was known to be the most lethal and unpredictable among them.
“What’s going on? Why is Thomas Andre in Korea?” the director asked.
“They’re airing live interviews with him, but he’s only making cryptic remarks.”
“What do you mean, cryptic? What exactly is he saying?”
At the director’s urging, the guild employee scrolled through the live interview feed. “Something about a prophecy,” he reported, eyes fixed on the phone. “Huh, what does he mean...?”
“A prophecy? What in the world...”
At that moment, Suho flinched. He had been listening to their conversation the entire time. His face stiffened subtly.
Wait... The Scavenger Guild? Could it be... A memory flashed through his mind. The Scavenger Guild and prophecy...
Beru suddenly peeked out from the shadows. “Young Monarch, those we encountered in the pyramid seemed to mutter about similar things.”
“This can’t be...” Suho murmured.
Beru drove the point home. “May I jog your memory, Young Monarch? Remember, you must not ignore the forest for the trees. I believe I taught you that when you were learning idioms as a child...”
Dogyoon suddenly called out to them. “Here we go! A live broadcast!” He showed them a live stream of the airport, where Thomas Andre was responding to questions from journalists.
The white-haired veteran was standing in the center of the screen. The rugged, muscular old man pushed his sunglasses up his nose slightly and stared straight into the camera as he began to speak. “Yes. I have come because of a prophecy.”
“What? He’s speaking Korean?”
Surprisingly, the American was speaking Korean fluently. “Hehe. What is the prophecy, you ask? Surely you don’t think I’d reveal such a thing so easily.” Even more astonishingly, his pronunciation was almost as proficient as a native speaker, as if he had been practicing for years.
With a mischievous grin, Andre said, “Anyway, let’s put that aside. I’m here to seek the angle of death, the one who killed my guild members... Wait, or the angel of dearth? Hmm... Ah, I believe I mean angel of death. That’s the right term, isn’t it? Hmm...”
Suho was certain that by “angel of death,” he could only mean one person.
“Young Monarch, he’s talking about you,” Beru whispered while everyone was intently watching the stream. Suho looked at the ant and nodded slightly.
There is no getting out of this, Suho thought. Although Lee Yeongho’s death might have been at the hands of demons, Suho had definitely been the one to kill the Scavenger Guild’s hunters in Ammut’s pyramid. But of course, they had attacked first.
Beru shook his head. “Such excuses are hardly of consequence. Anyway, it seems we may have been caught despite ensuring that the evidence was destroyed. Ah! Perhaps the members of the Asura Guild whom we spared have spoken out? We should have polished them off when we had the chance...”
What’s more troubling is this prophecy. Until recently, Suho would have dismissed such claims as superstition. But having come to know his father’s divine nature, he couldn’t afford to ignore things related to prophecies or mysticism. After all, Thomas Andre was the strongest S-rank hunter in the world. He certainly wouldn’t visit Korea based on something as frivolous as a daily horoscope.
If it’s that prophecy... Suho recalled the “prophecy” he had heard about in Egypt.
—Soon, life born from death will break free from its seal. And that power will raise the dead.
The prophecy was told by some fortune-teller, but thinking about it again, it still seems to be referring to me, Suho thought.
Since the Scavenger Guild had gone to the pyramid after hearing that prophecy, it was highly likely that the prophecy Andre mentioned was similar. Which essentially meant... Hmm. Yeah, it’s got to be about me.
“What will you do? If he’s really here to find you, Young Monarch...” Beru looked at Suho with concern.
Suho just shrugged nonchalantly. “Whatever. What can he do without evidence? I’ve taken the whole pyramid with me.”
“Eh?”
“We’ll just deny everything.”
The Young Monarch seems to have matured recently, Beru thought, nodding in satisfaction. Suho was becoming more and more like his father. 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒑𝒖𝙗.𝒄𝒐𝒎
***
“Huh? You dare block my way?” Thomas Andre smirked in amusement at the Korean Hunters Association representatives blocking his exit from the airport. The old man’s face resembled that of a mischievous child pondering how they were going to dismantle a new toy.
The hunters that were confronting him shuddered.
“Thomas Andre, your sudden visit constitutes a violation of international laws.” Leading the Association hunters, team leader Han Jaehyuk swallowed his fear and stepped forward.
“Are you the one in charge here?” As Andre’s shadow loomed over Jaehyuk’s face, the team leader clenched his teeth with a resolute expression.
Is this how my life ends? Being this close to Goliath, the most fearsome S-rank hunter in existence, was overwhelming. A suffocating aura emanated from the old man’s entire body as if he was deliberately sending it out. Jaehyuk felt as if he were being pressed into the ground.
At that moment, the old man’s secretary sighed lightly and spoke up. “Thomas, enough with the jokes. It’s been a long day, so let’s go find a place to stay.” As soon as she finished speaking, the oppressive aura crushing Han Jaehyuk vanished as though it had never been there.
Wheeze.
Nearly collapsing on the spot, Han Jaehyuk gasped for air. He and the other hunters quietly watched the old man chatting with his secretary.
“I’m not tired yet, though.”
“I am, though. You keep forgetting, but I’m not an awakened being like you.”
“Ah! Right, I won’t have my Laura all tuckered out. Let’s head to the hotel and start getting over our jet lag.” Andre laughed heartily alongside his secretary of thirty years and strolled past the Association hunters.
“W-wait! Mr. Andre! Stop right there!”
At the team leader’s anxious shout, Andre turned back and grinned. “You know something? In all my life, no one has ever dared to block my path.”
A collective chill ran down the hunters’ spines as that menacing aura, akin to that of a giant beast, emanated from the old man once again.
“Thomas...”
From behind him, Laura attempted to dissuade him once again. But this time, she couldn’t stop his outburst. He glared at the Association hunters fiercely. “You understand what I’m getting at? If I say I’m going, I go. If you want to stop me, you should bring your country’s S-rank hunters along with you. It will take more than you lot.”
“Thomas.”
The airport floor rumbled as if it might collapse under his terrifying aura.
“Thomas...”
“No more, Laura. Even you couldn’t...”
“I got us a taxi.”
“Oh, already?”
Suddenly, the fear in the air vanished, and the atmosphere in the airport lightened instantly. Everyone snapped back to reality and turned their gazes toward Thomas Andre.
“Ugh, it’s cramped in here!” He was in the airport pick-up zone, busily squeezing his massive frame into a taxi.
