CHAPTER 130: He Must Be Caught

"It's ordinary soil."

At Chartia's words, the team members looked at one another. The short silence that had felt so long was broken, and they began to cheer. "Ordinary" was the answer they—no, the entire world—had been hoping for more than anything.

"I heard that was the case, but it was true! The Black Land is really gone!"

"I couldn't really believe it until I saw it for myself. I thought Hong Kong might have been pulling some kind of trick..."

"If Hunter Chartia guarantees it, then it's trustworthy. Of course, we'll need a more detailed analysis, but..."

Touching the dirt and examining the soil, they talked animatedly. They didn't have large-scale equipment on site, but they had brought several analysis kits. They conducted experiments, shared the results, and began to formulate their future plans.

"The plants are growing properly, too. Normally," Chartia told Jinwoo, who was nearby. There was a slight tremor in her voice, which Jinwoo recognized as something close to deep emotion.

Until now, she had traveled the world searching for land where plants could grow, and when she found it, she planted seeds and raised trees. But on an Earth covered by the Black Land, such places had become incredibly rare.

Areas near cities where people gathered were still fine, but the more remote and untouched a place was, the more likely it was to be covered by the Black Land. Hunters were a limited resource, and they were already at their limit just dealing with the Erosion that appeared near cities.

No one was willing to voluntarily deal with Erosion in uninhabited lands, and there were no clients who would pay them to do so. That was why everyone said the Earth was doomed to fail, that humanity would be extinct within a few generations. It was a fact that few people refuted.

"But now, there's hope. This is the beginning."

"I see."

Chartia was burning with motivation, saying she would throw her entire being into this work. Her power was indeed perfect for this task, allowing her to extract far more information than any analysis kit.

Which plants grew well, how they grew, and what they became when they matured—each of these processes revealed the properties of the land, its nutrients, and more.

However.

"There is one thing that bothers me..."

"You mean this boundary line?"

"Yes."

Even as she analyzed with such enthusiasm, something seemed to be nagging at her. Jinwoo knew what it was.

The boundary between the White Land and the Black Land. It was drawn so perfectly, as if someone had cut it with a knife, that it looked anything but natural.

"I hope it's just a needless worry, but... what if this wasn't a natural recovery, but someone's ability?"

"You've heard about what happened on the 3rd Floor, right?"

"Yes."

"The Castle of Light there had a similar feel to this."

Jinwoo explained that he suspected the Lord of Light. The story of being trapped on the 3rd Floor by Rondar was a well-known event experienced by many Hunters anyway.

Plenty of Hunters had stayed at the Castle of Light, so there was nothing to hide.

"The Castle of Light was like this? Did you sense a similar energy?"

Chartia didn't understand right away. It was only natural. The publicly known story of the Castle of Light and this White Land didn't have much in common.

The reason Jinwoo sensed the Lord of Light's presence in this incident was because he knew her true nature from their meeting back then.

"The Lord of Light is more malicious than she's known to be. Rather than bestowing her blessing on everyone, she gives special treatment to a select few and makes them compete. The ecosystem of this White Land feels just like that."

"Ah..." Chartia fell into thought.

There was no way to know if Jinwoo was telling the truth. But she trusted him. Besides, he had no reason to lie.

"If that's the case, does this power belong to the Lord of Light?"

"I'm not certain either. It's just a possibility I'm considering."

"Could it be that one of the recently awakened Hunters has a power similar to the Lord of Light? And that person created this White Land..."

"It's not impossible."

If the Lord of Light really was the culprit, how would she have intervened on Earth?

A direct descent would be impossible. If that were possible, Earth would have become Jerakson's playground long ago.

Even the arrogant Jerakson had needed various things to interfere outside the Spirit Realm, like his scabbard, his minions, or sending the Erosion.

Chartia's suggestion of an Awakened related to the Lord of Light wasn't entirely out of the question. The timing, however, felt a bit too coincidental.

"If such an Awakened exists, we have to secure them, no matter what. Everyone will want to monopolize a power like this."

Chartia said in a lowered voice. She herself had no intention of monopolizing power, but she couldn't speak for others. Even Mayor Ma Doo-sik, if he got his hands on such an Awakened, might secretly hide them away and force them to use their power solely for Seoul.

Still, that would be far better than letting them fall into the hands of another city. If Seoul could secure them, Chartia would at least have some influence. With that in mind, she sharpened her resolve.

"Though, we don't know if they actually exist," Jinwoo said with a shrug.

"That's true, haha."

Chartia's expression softened, and she let out a small laugh. There was no need to worry about hypotheticals. For now, her mission was to analyze this land.

Jinwoo went out with the other Hunters to deal with monsters. The research of Chartia and the investigators wasn't finished yet, but monsters had begun to swarm them.

The accompanying Hunters belonged to the Management Bureau, their usual job being to handle the Erosion that appeared near the city. With the Erosion no longer appearing, these standby agents had been selected for the investigation team.

"Cover this side!"

"Yes!"

They were used to working together, so they had no problems on this new ground. They supported each other, flawlessly eliminating monsters.

They couldn't dispose of them as easily as Chartia, but everyone here was A-class. They were more than capable of handling monsters of this level.

Nevertheless, Jinwoo sensed the dangerous ones first and cut them down. Though he wasn't officially part of their team, he had no problem blending in. His sword never got in their way, and their attacks never landed on him.

Jinwoo's movements, as he naturally eliminated threats without anyone noticing, were quiet, but there were no weaklings here who would fail to recognize it.

"Ah, thank you. That was close."

"It's fine. But look ahead!"

Although it was their first time working together, they fought like a single team. The novelty of it made Jinwoo blink.

'Come to think of it.'

It had been a really long time since he'd moved in a group like this. Until now, he had acted alone or in a pair. His partner had changed between Kalesian and Chartia, but it had been a while since he'd moved in a group of this size.

'Is this the first time since Tokyo?'

It was the first time since he had worked with Ayaka's guild in Tokyo. He had been with many people in Ireland, but he had effectively acted as a duo with Kurenai.

'It's... a little more inconvenient than being alone.'

There were inevitably more things to pay attention to than when he was by himself. They were all A-class Hunters, classified as strong by worldly standards, but they paled in comparison to Jinwoo.

It seemed better for him to move separately, but since this was a national mission, he couldn't just act on his own. He decided to suggest it to the team leader later.

"#$%$#?"

While clearing out monsters, they encountered another group. They were Hunters from Hong Kong, likely from the Muryeon Guild, as he recognized a face among them.

"!$@#$!%"

"Kang Jinwoo, we meet again in a place like this. Master Jang is also pleased to see you."

At the center of their group were Jang Rye, whom he had met yesterday, and the subordinate who also served as an interpreter. The subordinate greeted him with a somewhat welcoming expression, while Jang Rye, with his sharp eyes, was still staring at Jinwoo's sword.

The sword that was stained with the blood of a beast he had just cut down.

"Was this what you meant by 'looking forward to seeing my sword'?"

"Hm? What are you talking about?"

"Tsk."

Jinwoo clicked his tongue pointedly, but they didn't even flinch.

"You're not thinking of following us, are you?"

"We have no intention of interfering with your work. We'd just appreciate it if you'd let us watch from a distance."

He couldn't stop them from doing that. Jinwoo and his party passed the Muryeon Hunters and continued their work.

The Muryeon Hunters also drew their swords and began killing monsters. They too needed to clear away the sea of monsters to move around here.

Even amidst the chaos, Jinwoo felt a blatant stare. Without even looking, he knew it was Jang Rye's.

The battle continued, with both groups maintaining a suitable distance, never interfering with one another.

The two groups didn't get any closer, but Muryeon didn't seem to have any intention of returning to the city either. They seemed more interested in Jinwoo's sword than in the restored land.

The research continued for some time. They traveled back and forth to the city, conducted analysis on-site, and extracted results through various methods Jinwoo didn't understand.

This wasn't a mission that would end in a day or two, so Jinwoo consistently accompanied them. And because Jinwoo moved, Muryeon moved too.

Days passed with daily monster battles but no other major incidents.

That changed when they began to explore a certain forest.

"Lin Shenlin?"

Lin Shenlin was discovered in the forest. The S-class Hunter from Hong Kong, who had been the subject of a search by Hong Kong's Hunters including Muryeon, had been found. It seemed the rumors of his Qi Deviation were true, as he was spotted unable to control his body properly.

"@#$@#%"

"!#$%@#@#$"

The members of Muryeon were the first to move. Jang Rye shouted an order, veins bulging in his neck, and the Muryeon Hunters drew their swords in unison and charged.

Lin Shenlin turned to flee. Though he was stumbling, he was strangely fast—so fast that even Jang Rye, chasing at full speed, couldn't quite catch him.

And as he watched the fleeing Lin Shenlin's back, Jinwoo found his confirmation.

'The Black Flame. And that mass of light next to him.'

He had two pieces of evidence. Unlike when he'd seen him on the 3rd Floor, Lin Shenlin's flame was now dyed black, and a mass of light that resembled a spirit, but wasn't, hovered around him.

He didn't know what process had led to it, but the man had become an apostle of the Lord of Light.

'Did he lose all of the Sky God's blessings and get picked up by the Lord of Light?'

According to Jang Rye, he had been suppressing his Qi Deviation with Jerakson's power. Jinwoo guessed that after being stripped of that blessing, the pain must have returned. The Lord of Light must have exploited that opening.

If that was the case, then it meant one thing.

'I have to catch him. Before Muryeon or the hunters from other cities do!'

There was a high probability that this White Land was the power of the Lord of Light, manifested through Lin Shenlin as a medium. Therefore, he had to catch him before he was taken by someone else. Just as Chartia had urged.