Chapter 36

[ Eun Morae is the daughter of Eun Jisung and Han Nokyeong, the couple who founded the West Sea Legion.

Raised in an extraterritorial zone, she was dissatisfied with life on the island and is attempting to expand into the mainland.

It is a well-known fact that Eun Morae has spent years approaching important figures from various fields and persuading them to fall from grace. She lures people in and uses them by dangling the enormous funds generated by the intellectual property Eun Jisung built up.

Over the past three years, seven government and association officials, including Mr. Yu, have fallen into Eun Morae’s grasp and been recruited by underground hunters. This number does not include those who temporarily accepted her requests after receiving bribes.

Mr. Yu is merely one of the unfortunate hunters caught in Eun Morae’s web.

What drove him down the path of an underground hunter?

What reason could a promising hunter have for becoming an underground hunter? Most officials involved speculate that Mr. Yu developed personal feelings toward Eun Morae.

This is because Mr. Yu’s behavior became suspicious after coming into contact with Eun Morae during a subjugation operation.

After meeting Eun Morae, Mr. Yu suddenly began defending underground hunters.

He even committed the incident of unilaterally releasing criminals.

Although Eun Morae herself was not a serious criminal, his actions still threatened public safety.

Mr. Yu denied the accusations, but it is impossible to believe anything other than that someone had manipulated him.

The opinion that this was related to personal feelings gained strength because his financial records were clean.

Some suspected gambling debts, but no suspicious records could be found anywhere in his assets.

Mr. Yu had no debts and no records of receiving bribes.

His spending habits were ordinary, and there was no evidence of gambling or drug use.

Mr. Yu’s private life was clean.

He turned his back on the association purely because of a momentary change of heart.]

It was a ridiculous accusation.

People who supposedly knew everything were saying things like this?

It was better than being accused of betraying the association for personal gain or because of debt, but this was just as pathetic.

Pado had released Morae because it was what his sense of justice demanded, only to be thoroughly accused of colluding with her.

An association filled with prejudice and slander had put a leash around Pado’s neck.

Pado had grown sick of the association because of that incident.

After paying them back for what they had done, he stepped into the underground world.

And now they were slandering him again.

It was only natural that he would be angry.

Suppressing the irritation rising inside her, Morae continued reading the article.

[After his mother’s death, Mr. Yu lived a lonely life.

During his school years, he was unable to control his own power, so the facility restricted his personal relationships.

Women who become involved with hunters inexperienced in controlling their strength are likely to suffer severe mental and physical injuries.

Prioritizing the safety of ordinary people, the facility was unable to satisfy Mr. Yu’s desires.]

This part was complete nonsense.

Pado had been able to control his strength reliably since middle school.

Besides, if they were truly worried about a difference in strength, they could have simply introduced him to another hunter.

Even Morae herself wasn’t someone Pado could casually overpower with only physical strength.

At the very least, she was strong enough that her arm wouldn’t break from one of Pado’s playful hits.

There were countless powerful hunters.

This was nothing more than an attempt to portray Pado as a lonely man tormented by sexual desire.

The only true part was the sentence claiming they had prevented him from dating.

Which made the whole thing even more ridiculous.

[ Eun Morae took advantage of that weakness.

Eun Morae, who would stop at nothing to obtain someone she had set her sights on, tempted Mr. Yu, who was starved for affection, and dragged him into the West Sea Legion.

With her outstanding appearance, Eun Morae easily toyed with Mr. Yu, who had no experience with romance.

He fell into the arms of a woman who treated him kindly and ended up making a reckless choice.

“Becoming an underground hunter because of a woman… He will regret it someday. That woman only sees Mr. Yu as a tool. He may not be able to think clearly now because he is blinded by her, but affection always has a lifespan.”

A hunter who had managed Mr. Yu since long ago spoke.

He sincerely regretted seeing Mr. Yu abandon the path that had been prepared for him in the Blue Star Guild.

Lee Yeonhee (female, in her 20s), the second generation of the Blue Star Guild, felt the same way.

Will he ever be able to return to the bright side again?

The association stated that if Mr. Yu voluntarily returned and admitted his crimes, they would grant him amnesty.

Although he had briefly stepped onto the wrong path, he had not yet committed any crime serious enough to be imprisoned in a maritime prison.

“We hope that he pays for his sins and lives in the light once again.”

Everyone from the facility who knew Mr. Yu said the same thing.

The writer also hopes that Mr. Yu escapes from under Eun Morae’s skirt as soon as possible.]

The article ended there.

Although his name had been anonymized, it was an article that directly targeted Pado.

Just like saying a C-rank hunter born between the founders of the long-established underground organization would immediately remind people of Morae, anyone who read the description would think of Yu Pado.

Pado was fairly well-known because he had participated in the International Ability Competition and had even been an A-rank hunter.

It wasn’t to the point where a stranger could hear his name and immediately know his entire history, but searching his name would quickly bring up information about him.

Searching the keywords “A-rank hunter Yu who participated in the International Ability Competition” would reveal his name soon enough.

Because of that, Yu Pado’s name was overflowing everywhere, from article comments to social media and video platforms.

“Since everyone knows this is about Pado, their reactions are insane. They’re cruelly mocking him, saying he ruined his life because of a woman.”

News sites were flooded with articles about Pado.

There were seven articles with the exact same content but different publishers, along with five different follow-up articles.

His name was also appearing on streaming channels covering social issues and various online communities.

The comments were filled with ridicule.

People said he ruined his life chasing after a woman because he was thinking with his dick, asked why romance mattered so much, and mocked him for stupidly falling for a cunning fox-like woman.

Some people went as far as making insults that Morae didn’t even want to repeat herself.

Those comments had thousands of likes.

Morae looked at Pado, who was focused on fighting, while deciding that she would destroy this bastard’s phone later.

He was being violently struck by Nokyeong, yet his fighting spirit only burned brighter.

On the large face shown on the screen, flames seemed to burn in his eyes.

Seeing him filled with determination was unfamiliar.

If he was being attacked by public opinion based on distorted facts, he must have been extremely irritated.

“A report like this would definitely make him angry.”

“Right? Pado is still a newcomer, so he’ll probably be even more sensitive about it.”

Feeling troubled, Morae bit down on her lip and chewed it slightly.

Morae felt uneasy not only because people were insulting both Pado and herself. The fact that Pado had not fallen for her, and that she had not actually tried to seduce him with her looks, was a secondary issue.

The real problem was that Morae herself had said things to Pado that were disturbingly similar to what the media was saying right now.

When he told her he had received a scout offer from Downtown Workshop, how much had she scolded and pressured him? She had told him not to think with his lower half, that he would regret it later… And now the mainstream media was saying the exact same things as her.

Could it be that Pado had been just as furious back then as he was now?

Was that why he disliked her and was only pretending to be interested so he could torment her?

The thought that she might have made him hate her made her anxious.

‘…Did I really say things that bad?’

While Morae anxiously tapped her foot, Nokyeong’s fist slammed into Pado’s stomach. Not once, but three times in succession.

Every hair on Morae’s body stood on end.

After taking the hits to his abdomen, Pado was sent flying backward and raised his hand.

A declaration that he was done. Essentially, a surrender.

-The match is over! Challenger Yu Pado! He has no external injuries, but he’s clearly exhausted. To withstand this much against Heavenly Demon and still come out unharmed… Amazing!

As the announcer shouted the end of the match in an excited voice, applause and cheers erupted. The camera zoomed in on Pado lying on the ground.

His body and face showed no significant injuries, but he was visibly worn out. This was what happened when someone fought against Diamond Body: they collapsed from exhaustion without a single wound.

He had basically fought a solid cliff with his bare body. Of course he would be exhausted.

-As expected of Yu Pado! He showed the spirit to push our champion back multiple times! We can’t wait to see how far he’ll grow if he fights seriously! Everyone, give a round of applause for both the champion and the challenger!

Morae pushed through the crowd of people clapping so hard it looked like their arms would fall off and approached the center of the training ground.

Han Nokyeong brushed the dirt off her ruined clothes and walked toward Pado. She crouched down beside him as he lay sprawled on the ground.

“You could have kept going.”

“It’s training, so I’m stopping here. I didn’t expect this many spectators.”

Pado panted and fanned himself with his hand. Sparring with Nokyeong was more exhausting than strength training while carrying an extra 200 kilograms.

His entire body was drenched in sweat, sticky and damp, and he was completely drained from losing too much water.

“I guess everyone was curious about your true abilities. Your momentum was frightening. You’ve improved a lot.”

“You don’t have to say nice things to someone who lost. I lost anyway.”

“In a spar, there’s no way for you to beat me. But a real fight is different, isn’t it? If this had been a real battle, I might have lost.”

She wasn’t just saying it to be nice. It was the truth.

Within the rules and limitations of a spar, there was no way Pado’s power could defeat Diamond Body.

But if they changed the battlefield and actually fought for real, all Pado had to do was push Nokyeong into the sea or a lake.

No matter how much she had Invulnerable to Water and Fire or Diamond Body, she still couldn’t breathe underwater. If Pado came at her with the intent to kill, he had several ways to overpower Nokyeong.

“…It’s not like that would ever happen.”

But if things reached that point, everything would end in disaster. Pado didn’t want to imagine such an outcome.

He waved his hand dismissively, then grabbed Nokyeong’s hand when she offered it and pulled himself up. With a smile, Nokyeong brushed the dirt off the back of the young man who was old enough to be her son.

“You didn’t need to protect Morae.”

She leaned closer and whispered.

“You used a lot of strength worrying about keeping the flames away from Morae, didn’t you? You didn’t have to do that. This is Morae’s home. My daughter won’t get hurt because of me.”

Pado’s eyes shifted around awkwardly. He felt embarrassed that she had seen through his true intentions, but even so, he couldn’t possibly make a sarcastic remark toward Nokyeong.

Nokyeong was strong, kind, and Morae’s mother. She was someone Pado couldn’t dare to push down or treat lightly.

Whenever Morae was involved, nothing ever went smoothly.

“Still, as her mother, I’m happy that you looked after my daughter. Thank you.”

“Uh… yeah.”