The Villainous Director Is Raising a Child!

Kitted out head to toe in artifacts, we slipped into the factory — and I saw the back of someone I knew.

Teacher...!

In the middle of the factory, past the blown-out front gate, Kim Sunja stood alone, leaning on her cane. Facing her, five men in black masks were squared off against her.

"Where is my granddaughter."

Her voice was low, but savage enough to freeze the air in the whole factory.

At which the one who looked like the leader of the five stepped forward.

"Whoa, whoa~ easy now. We're taking very good care of your granddaughter."

At that shameless lie, watching from my hiding spot, I swallowed a disbelieving "Hah!"

Just as I thought... Awakened Liberation Front.

Even the masks they were wearing gave it away.

They were the same masks as the assassin who had hit me.

Why the hell are those terrorists going after Teacher Kim Sunja—

Before I even had time for the question, the man showed his hand.

"If you want your granddaughter alive, surrender quietly. Come with us like a good girl, and we'll send her back without a hair on her head touched."

A bald-faced threat.

But the woman on the other end of it was Kim Sunja.

"Surrender?"

She snorted, incredulous.

"Are your heads packed with udon noodles instead of brains? Eight years ago or now — the routine's the same, isn't it."

"!"

"If I surrender, you'll let Ari live? Don't make me laugh. The second you slap a collar on me, that child dies too — quiet, no witnesses. You think I don't know that?"

She slammed the cane into the floor — Kwang!

At which the concrete cracked out in webs, and a huge mana pulse burst from the point of impact.

"No deals. Bring Ari out in front of me. Right now. Otherwise..."

She pointed at them one by one, delivering sentence.

"I'll tear your arms and legs off you until you cough up where she is."

That blade-cold killing intent had the masked man who seemed to be their leader visibly on edge.

Of course. They didn't have Ari on hand — there was no way to drag out a real hostage and use her as leverage.

They had one option left.

"...Get her! Just kill her!"

The order was barely out of the leader's mouth when Kim Sunja kicked off the ground first.

Kwang—!

Impossible speed for a small old woman to be moving at.

"Gwak!"

The tip of her cane drove into the solar plexus of the biggest one, planted right up front.

He couldn't even manage a scream — he foamed at the mouth and dropped.

"You — you old hag—!"

The other four, thrown, pulled out their Awakened abilities in unison.

Faint sparks of what looked like static electricity crackled — zzik — from one man's hands. Another lifted the rusted nails and screws scattered across the factory floor into the air.

The last one summoned thin blades of wind and charged.

"Slow."

She tilted her head a hair to dodge the crackling fist coming at her face, and swatted the flying nails and wind blades aside with her cane, like she was shooing off a pesky fly.

Tak! Ugk! Whak!

The cane bent like a snake, and hit the sparking man's temple dead center.

Turning through the motion, the handle of the cane snapped the shin of the man lifting the nails, and finally, riding the rebound back, drove into the wind-blade user's solar plexus.

"Gwak!"

Ten seconds. Just ten.

In no time three of them were rolling on the floor.

That was when—

"Die!"

The one who'd looked like the leader came at her, hurling a fist juiced up with monstrous strength.

He was another animal — leader of the pack, apparently.

[Bestial Transformation].

Muscles bulged grotesquely, fangs shot out — quite the sight, and quite the threat.

But Kim Sunja didn't dodge.

If anything, she stepped one foot in and drove a strike into the inside of his wrist, precise.

Puk—!

"Gkuwaah!"

The strength drained out of the arm that had looked ready to shatter boulders, as if by magic.

Kim Sunja seized the reeling leader by the collar and slammed him straight into the floor.

Kwaaang—!

She leveled the tip of the cane at the fallen man's throat and looked down at him, ice cold.

"Now talk. Where is my granddaughter."

"Kh-uk... hehe..."

He didn't bother to wipe the blood at the corner of his mouth — just gave an ugly little sneer of a grin.

"Kill me... kill me, and you'll never know where your granddaughter is..."

But Kim Sunja's eyes didn't waver.

If anything, a blazing killing intent lit up in them, blue-white as a torch.

"Fine. Then die."

The instant she raised her cane high without a moment's hesitation—

"Wait!!!"

I burst out from behind the wall I'd been hiding behind, shouting loud enough to tear my throat.

At my shout, Kim Sunja's cane stopped just above his throat.

She slowly turned her head to look at me.

"...The Chae boy?"

"Don't kill him! Ari... Ari's with me!"

"......What?"

Her eyes went feral, sharp as a predator's.

She hit the transformed man over the head with her cane — whak — knocking him cold, then came toward me, footfalls heavy — kung, kung.

Wuuung—.

An enormous pressure that made the whole space vibrate rolled toward me.

"Don't tell me... I turned down your teacher offer, so you laid a hand on my blood? Doing the exact same thing your father did?!"

"That's — it isn't that—!"

She gave me no room to explain.

The real anger of an S-rank Hunter.

My legs buckled at that overwhelming killing pressure.

The cane came at me with enough speed to take my head clean off — a life-or-death instant.

Tak. Tak. Tak.

Small figures stepped in front of me, blocking her path.

One, two, three... six.

Six kids came scampering out and lined up in front of me like a wall.

"What in the—"

While Kim Sunja stood, thrown, mana burst out of all their bodies at once.

Weeng—!

A transparent hexagonal barrier bloomed from Lee Sea-ah's fingertips and cut across Kim Sunja's path. The twins lifted the rebar strewn across the factory floor and leveled it in midair like spears.

Red energy blazed at Cha Yul's fists, and the shadow under Sihyeok's feet rippled like a set of sharp fangs.

"Don't lay a finger on our Director!"

"Not even for a grandma!"

Even in the face of an S-rank Hunter's killing intent, they didn't back down — a desperate escort.

Kids... you kids...!

But this wasn't a moment to be moved.

"Hey, hey! Stop! This lady isn't an enemy!"

I got the kids off her, panicking.

Then I shouted urgently at Kim Sunja, whose killing intent was still up.

"Teacher! Ari's safe! I got her out!"

"......What?"

"She's asleep in the car right now!"

At my desperate shout, Kim Sunja's cane came down, slowly — but the fire in her eyes hadn't gone out.

Her face said she wasn't going to take it on words alone.

"Come with me. I'll show you."

I gently coaxed the kids blocking her path aside, cleared her way, and led her out.

We stopped in front of the black car hidden in the brush.

Careful, I opened the back door and showed her the inside.

Ari was inside, sleeping peacefully.

Not a hair on her out of place — dead to the world, peaceful face and all.

A little later.

We were sitting around a small patch of clear ground in one corner of the factory.

The kids were still on guard against Kim Sunja and orbited around me. Kim Sunja, apparently finding the sight of them interesting, leaned against her cane and looked them over carefully.

I handed her the mask one of the men had been wearing.

"Take a look at this."

Kim Sunja took the mask and flipped it inside out.

A gray tower cleaved by red lightning.

The [Awakened Liberation Front] logo.

"This is..."

Her brow furrowed deep.

"Awakened Liberation Front... those crazed terrorist bastards?"

"Yes."

"But why on earth..."

Kim Sunja pushed the question out through the deep lines in her face, unable to make sense of it.

"At first I thought those vicious bastards from eight years ago had made their move again."

She rapped the cane once on the floor.

"But... this outfit didn't even exist eight years ago, did it? Something without a shred of connection to my daughter's death — what in the world are they doing coming after me."

"You're right. The timing doesn't fit."

I nodded, heavy, agreeing with her question.

"The ones who came after you eight years ago and these ones now... there's a strong chance they're different parties."

"Come again?"

"The truth is... in the early hours of this morning, an assassin came for me too."

Kim Sunja's eyes went wide.

"They went after both of us — you and me. Actually, it might not have stopped at us. They may be trying to use the chaos to purge everyone who's been a thorn in their side."

"Chaos?"

"Gate breaches. All across Seoul, all at once."

I pulled out the terminal and projected the breaking-news screen into the air.

["Currently, thanks to a rapid response by the Awakened Management Bureau and the major guilds, a first defensive line has been established! Fortunately, the breaches this time have been determined to be primarily D-rank or lower low-tier Gates."]

On the screen, Hunters were easily putting down the monsters that had spilled out and getting the fires under control.

"These Gate breaches... and the assassination attempts on the two of us."

I said, quiet.

"There's no chance it's a coincidence."

At my cold analysis, the air over the factory grounds settled, heavy.

Deep shadow drew across Kim Sunja's lined face too.

I hesitated a moment, then spoke, heavy.

"...I'm sorry."

I bowed my head deeply.

"It looks like... your location was found out because of me. If I hadn't come to see you..."

Guilt weighed on my chest — that my exposed movements were what had put them on her trail.

Eight years of peace, broken because of me alone.

"Useless talk. Why would that be your fault."

She said it flat, as if this had always been on its way.

"Eight years. Mountains change in less time. I hid as thoroughly as I could. I'd already been thinking it was about time I got found."

"..."

"It isn't your fault. It was just... time."

She got to her feet and dusted the dirt off the seat of her pants.

"Anyway... thanks for saving Ari."

Her eyes settled on the six children a little way off, watching her.

"Are these the ones you told me about?"

"Yes."

I nodded, level.

"The 'soldiers' I mentioned that time."

"Ha!"

At my answer, she let out a disbelieving little laugh.

"Soldiers? These kids are chess pieces to you? Use them and throw them out?"

She pointed at the eyes of the children glaring at her from a distance, and muttered, half under her breath.

"Tools that are meant to be used up and thrown away don't look at their owner like that... tsk."

"Excuse me? What did you say?"

"Never mind. Nothing."

She waved a hand and looked the kids over once more, careful.

"Well... impressive lot, no question. There's promise in them."

"Right?"

"But."

Her voice went firm.

"My answer hasn't changed. I'm not going."

"......"

"I told you before, I've got something to protect. There's no guarantee something like today won't happen again."

I let out a small bitter smile and nodded.

"I know. After what you went through today... you're in no shape to help me."

Her granddaughter had almost been kidnapped — revenge and ambition weren't going to make it past her ears.

"Right. Then I'll be on my way. I'll take good care of Ari."

Kim Sunja gripped her cane and turned to go.

"Yes. Get home safe."

I gestured toward the kids.

"You say goodbye too. She's leaving."

At my prompt, the kids still had unhappy looks on their faces, but they gave a small bow.

"Bye, ma'am..."

"Yeah. Get home."

Kim Sunja waved a hand and had just turned away when—

Kwaaang—!

Along with a huge boom, her body was flung out like a cannonball and slammed into the factory wall.

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