Solo Leveling- Ragnarok

Chapter 156:

...

Baek Yunho.

If you stop by and ask passers-by in Korea who Baek Yun-ho is, the answers you get will be very diverse.

S-class hunter.

The guild leader of the White Tiger Guild.

Korea's best beast hunter.

But if you catch them and ask them again, this time 'what kind of' Baek Yunho is.

Surprisingly, the answers that came back were almost similar.

as soon as possible.

hero.

Yes.

The president of a large guild?

S-class hunter?

Hunters with that modifier were everywhere in the world.

However, none of them were struggling for the safety of citizens as sincerely as Baek Yun-ho.

Hunters have always been people who work for money.

They all became rich that way.

Of course, such utilitarianism was by no means a bad thing in this obvious capitalist world.

However, even in a world like this, it was natural for a guild that gave up extremely reasonable practicality and sincerely stepped forward to save the citizens to receive praise from the citizens.

That was the case with this villain incident.

Wasn't the White Tiger Guild the only one that put all their efforts into a case that all hunters neglected, saying it wasn't worth the money and was just a waste of time?

That's exactly why people respect Baek Yunho.

Therefore, Baek Yun-ho was a proud hero of Korea recognized by all citizens.

but.

Baek Yun-ho also did not have this image from the beginning.

When he first awakened as a Hunter.

The special ability he realized was none other than the ability to 'transform into demonic beasts.'

Demonization is a skill that changes the body into an appearance reminiscent of a demonic beast and gains wild power.

Even in the early days of the cataclysm, Baek Yun-ho, who possessed that skill, was not viewed very kindly.

No, there was no need to go that far. Hunters with the lower level skill, Beast Transformation, also received the same cold gaze.

The reason was extremely reasonable and natural.

No, isn't that too scary!

The ability to transform your body like demonic beasts pouring out of the gate!

-You never know when those people might suddenly turn into real monsters.

-A gate has appeared, and now people are gradually turning into demonic beasts.

-What if they are nearby and suddenly turn and eat us?

-Before that, shouldn't they at least be put to death first?

-No, since he still has some humanity left, he should at least be locked away... ....

At the time, numerous concerns about wild beast hunters agitated public opinion on the Internet.

Such public opinion continued until the Hunter Association was launched and its president, Woo Jin-cheol, supported wild beast hunters on a large scale under his name.

However, no matter what Woo Jin-cheol said, people's concerns about wild beast hunters did not disappear.

Moreover, the problem was that even the beast hunters themselves were thinking like that.

When will they suddenly lose their senses and turn into magical beasts? Who can guarantee that that will never happen?

So, they were always ashamed of their abilities and lived in fear so as not to lose their senses.

And it was the same for Baek Yunho.

He already had an unusually large physique, and he had a formidable look as if he could strike down all the demon beasts with one hand at any moment.

Because of his appearance, there was always a mixture of fear and terror in the eyes of people who looked at Baek Yunho.

but.

There was someone who gave Baek Yunho courage by his side.

-Yunho.

Baek Yun-ho lived his entire life as a firefighter until the cataclysm.

When he raised his head, he saw the senior he respected the most, Captain Seong Il-hwan, with a warm expression on his face with his hand on his shoulder.

-...Yes, sir.

Baek Yun-ho looked into Seong Il-hwan's eyes.

Seong Il-hwan's hand, which was holding his shoulder, was hard with old calluses.

Veteran.

Or a famous general.

Captain Seong Il-hwan, no matter how he was called, was an outstanding firefighter who always demonstrated an unrivaled presence at the scene of a fire.

He looked at Baek Yunho's face and advised in his calm and reliable voice as always.

-No matter whether you awakened or gained some abilities, nothing has changed.

-....

-No matter what the world says, you are still a firefighter and my subordinate Baek Yunho.

-....

-So, just like it was until now.

As always.

Captain Seong Il-hwan spoke with a faint smile, black soot smeared all over his face.

-Save the people.

-...!

Baek Yunho was shocked by those words as if he had been struck by lightning.

Anyone could say something like that.

But who was the one who said that?

It was Captain Seong Il-hwan who risked his life and struggled to save people for the past several decades!

Because these words came from the mouth of someone who lived and lived those words.

Because it was Baek Yunho who watched it closer than anyone else.

There was no need for any more words between the two.

-You're a firefighter, right?

Sigh.

A confident smile finally appeared on Baek Yun-ho's lips as he looked into the eyes of Captain Seong Il-hwan, who was smiling at him.

And that very day.

in Korea,

A hero is born.

S-class hunter Baek Yun-ho.

He went straight to the most famous reaper guild in Korea.

More than anyone else, he deployed his demonic skills at the forefront and began tearing the demonic beasts to death.

Even his colleagues were afraid of his intense and terrifying power.

'Does not matter.'

Baek Yunho didn't care.

Because it was for the people's sake to kill at least one more demonic beast in front of them while they were paying attention to those gazes.

'Just saving people.'

which....

Over the past few decades.

This was the most important lesson he learned from Captain Seong Il-hwan as he followed in his footsteps.

That was only two years ago.

And just last year.

Baek Yun-ho, who became famous through his tremendous performance in just one year, went so far as to establish his guild under his name.

But that move was never about making money.

Quite the opposite.

At the time, the beliefs of Baek Yun-ho and the leader of the Reaper Guild, who were only pursuing practical purposes like other hunter guilds, clashed with each other.

Baek Yun-ho called in all the wild beast hunters in the country who were still living in fear, fighting against people's prejudices, established the 'Baekho Guild', and began rescuing citizens in earnest.

Why does he do this?

There was only one reason.

-You're a firefighter, right?

The last word he heard from Captain Seong Il-hwan.

This was because that calm and heavy voice was still deeply engraved in Baek Yunho's heart.

* * *

"...Hehehe! So, hi! Captain Seong Il-hwan said, "I have a firefighter..." ...! Ugh!"

"No, I understand the situation, so please..." ...."

"Dad, stop crying. Guild members are watching. "Blow your nose."

"Heung!"

Baek Yun-ho, who was engrossed in an old story, took the tissue Baek Mi-ho gave him and vigorously blew his nose.

But even then, I saw tears streaming down from his eyes... ....

Baek Mi-ho sighed softly and placed the entire roll of toilet paper in his hand.

Then he apologized to Suho with an expression of sincere regret.

"I'm sorry, Hunter Seong Su-ho. "My father is getting older these days and he is crying more."

"Yeah, whatever. I understand."

Suho just looked dejected.

The image of Baek Yun-ho, who roared and attacked with overflowing charisma upon his first appearance, did not match the image of Baek Yun-ho now, crying and squeezing snot.

He was also fascinating at the same time.

'Is there such a coincidence? I can't believe my grandfather knew Hunter Baek Yunho.'

Suho also knew that his grandfather Seong Il-hwan worked as a firefighter all his life and then retired.

But of course, he did not know every one of his grandfather's former colleagues.

But who would have guessed that the famous Baek Yun-ho was his grandfather's subordinate?

However, from Suho's point of view, it was a matter of wonder, but from Baek Yunho's point of view, this fact was a very important issue.

Pang!

"Hehehe. "Suho, Suho?"

Baek Yun-ho, who vigorously blew his nose again, approached Su-ho and spoke to him.

Unlike the first time, his tone was very cautious, as if he were handling glasswork that would break if he touched it.

"Hmm. I think there was a minor misunderstanding between us earlier. There is no way Captain Seong Il-hwan's grandson can fall in a bad direction. "Cancer, cancer."

Baek Yun-ho knew the personality of Captain Seong Il-hwan better than anyone else.

Didn't he even go on to live as hard as he could to save others with just a few words?

'There is no way his grandchild could ever stray. I was wrong earlier. 'Cancer, cancer.'

With that in mind, Baek Yunho gave Suho a subtle look and spoke to him.

"Well, I don't think you'll ever tell his grandfather about such a trivial matter...."

"ah! Now that I think about it, I haven't been able to call my grandfather to say hello these days!"

"Huh! Now, wait! Calm down!"

Baek Yunho was surprised to see Suho suddenly taking out his cell phone.

However, no matter how surprised he was, he did not use force to snatch the cell phone from Suho's hand.

Instead, he just hovered around Suho, sweating and struggling, trying not to touch a single hair of his head.

Sigh.

Seeing that, Suho smiled mischievously and put his cell phone down again.

"Haaa...."

Then, seeing Baek Yunho sighing in relief with an almost corpse-like face, an even deeper smile appeared on Suho's lips.

'Anyway, that's good. 'I can't believe I owe this much to the Baek Yunho of the world.'

Since one day I would have to deal with Itarim's apostles, the more strong allies I had, the better.

This time, he became close to Thomas Andre, but since he was working in the United States, it was difficult to get help when an urgent situation arose.

Suho, who had been thinking for a while about how to cook Baek Yunho, finally decided what to do with him.

"President Baek Yun-ho, don't worry, I won't contact your grandfather for now."

"Yeah? Hahaha! I knew it! "Maybe it's because he takes after his grandfather, but he has an angry personality!"

"However, I have a favor to ask."

"Hmm? "A favor?"

Baek Yun-ho, who was greatly relieved by Suho's words, suddenly looked anxious when Suho put a condition on him.

But surprisingly, the conditions Suho proposed were ordinary(?).

"Could you please find Hwang Dong-su for me? "Since he hasn't shown up here yet, I think I'll have to go find him myself."

"..."Do you want me to find Hwang Dong-su?"

At those words, Baek Yunho's expression, which had been flustered from before, turned cold.

"Why are you looking for Hwang Dong-su?"

"What other reason does a bounty hunter need to catch a villain?"

What Suho held out along with the answer was the 'Association Certified Bounty Hunter' certificate.

"...Right."

After checking the certificate issued by the association, Baek Yun-ho nodded in understanding.

But the uneasy feeling remained.

"Hwang Dong-su, we were planning to find Baekho anyway, so leave it to us. "But there's one thing I'm curious about."

Baek Yun-ho's eyes, which were suddenly looking at Su-ho, were full of doubt as before Seong Il-hwan's name was mentioned.

Doesn't saying that he wants to catch Hwang Dong-soo ultimately mean that he has the confidence to deal directly with even an S-class villain?

If that's true, then why on earth does he hide his level of power and still work as a C-class hunter?

"If you find Hwang Dong-su, will you kill him yourself?"

In response to his direct question, Suho tilted his head as if asking what he was talking about.

"no? If you kill me yourself, of course, I'd be happy. "It's standard for S-class villains to be directly dealt with by S-class hunters."

"Ah, that's what you said."

Only then did Baek Yunho let go of his doubts.

However, he couldn't help but widen his eyes again at Suho's words that followed.

"Even if you kill me instead, please leave behind Hwang Dong-su's body."

"...Yes? "Why the corpse?"

"Oh, I want to see the body. "It only takes a moment."

"...?"

No, Captain Seong Il-hwan.

What kind of grandchildren do you have?

Baek Yunho felt like he should at least call his captain to say hello to him after a long time.

[My beloved grandchild?]

"...."

The profile photo of the captain, who is living leisurely after his retirement, was full of love for his grandchildren.

So it was even more confusing.