The All-Time Best Talent was F-Class Purification - Chapter 82

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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82
Chapter 82 – An Elite Talent Awakened as an F-Rank Purifier
[Present – Safe House in Guro Market]
Park Jae-jung’s story had ended. Silence hung heavy in the warehouse. Seo Eun-ha kept her head bowed, tears streaming down her face.
“…It’s my fault. I should have burned all those bastards back then….”
Her shoulders trembled faintly.
“Seung-ryong’s people… they saw me as they were dragged away. Begging me to save them… but I ran. An S-Rank, and I even betrayed Team Lead Ji-young and fled.”
She stared down at her own hands with revulsion. Revulsion at her own powerlessness. It was consuming her.
I rose from my seat and approached Seo Eun-ha, placing a hand on her trembling shoulder.
“It’s not your fault, Eun-ha.”
My voice was calm, but beneath it churned a molten rage.
“Blue Tower calculated human lives in currency. Dominion took the weak as hostages and extorted them. They’re the garbage—not you for choosing to survive and escape.”
I turned to look at Park Jae-jung. He too was crushed beneath the weight of guilt.
“The same goes for you, Park Jae-jung. Getting everyone out in that situation was the best decision possible. Without you, there would be no one standing here right now.”
Park Jae-jung looked up at me with reddened eyes, his fists clenched tight.
“Team Lead Ji-young is likely being held at Dominion Headquarters. They won’t kill her carelessly—her Eye of Truth has value.”
“But Seung-ryong’s people….”
Han Su-jin trailed off. D-Rank Hunters. Ordinary citizens with no backing and no power.
“They’re probably still alive.”
I gestured toward the TV mounted on the wall with my chin. A familiar face appeared on the muted news screen—a man with bruises on his face, his expression terrified as he gave an interview. It was Lee Seung-ryong.
[Caption: Survivor Testimony – “The Guild Master of Munglade forced dangerous experiments upon us in the Lower District.”]
Seo Eun-ha clenched her teeth as she watched the TV.
“Those bastards….”
“He’s being forced to give false testimony. They may have tortured him. Something’s wrong with Seung-ryong’s eyes.”
I stared at the screen with cold, calculating eyes.
Kang Chang-gyung. He doesn’t merely want us dead. He wants to systematically destroy our honor, our convictions, our relationships—to bury us socially. He’s even trying to turn Team Lead Ji-young’s Eye of Truth into his own tool.
‘S-Rank….’
His exact abilities remained unknown, but Kang Chang-gyung’s S-Rank status was certain. The true power behind Dominion. Rumors swirled about his special skills, yet no one who had witnessed his ability had ever returned alive.
“To be honest, with our current strength, we can’t even stand against Kang Chang-gyung alone.”
Seo Eun-ha lifted her head upon hearing my words.
“He’s S-Rank. The true power of Dominion, a monster even the Association won’t touch carelessly. We don’t even know what skill he possesses.”
“Then how….”
“Direct confrontation won’t work.”
I walked toward the whiteboard, picked up a marker, and wrote a single word.
Counterattack.
“If we expose the truth they’re desperate to hide, they’ll crumble from within. That’s our opportunity.”
I turned back to face the three of them. In their exhausted eyes, the spark of determination ignited once more.
“Everything we’ve lost. Team Lead Ji-young, Seung-ryong and his people, and our honor.”
I drew my dagger and pointed it at Dominion Headquarters on the map.
“No matter how long it takes, we will reclaim it all.”
Glug, glug.
Above an old portable gas burner, the pot lid clattered rhythmically. Beneath the crimson glow of the butcher shop lighting, the frigid freezer warehouse began to fill with the pungent, tangy aroma of instant ramen broth.
“How many are you making?”
“Five. That’s all we have stocked in the warehouse.”
Park Jae-jung tore open the ramen packets as he answered. He dumped all five nests of noodles into the pot at once, and the water erupted into a rolling boil. He stirred the noodles with wooden chopsticks, dissolving the broth. As the red liquid spread, the spicy aroma intensified.
Seo Eun-ha crept closer and peered into the pot before speaking.
“Park Jae-jung, don’t you have any eggs?”
“No.”
“Green onions?”
“None of that either.”
“Just plain ramen?”
“Just ramen.”
Seo Eun-ha smacked her lips, but her complaints ended there. Under normal circumstances, she would have grumbled, “Do I really have to eat this cheap garbage?” But now she simply stared at the pot in silence. It was obvious she hadn’t eaten a proper meal in over two weeks while being hunted.
“It’s almost done.”
Park Jae-jung turned off the flame. He set the steaming pot in the center of the table and distributed the wooden chopsticks that had been piled in the corner. No one complained—they all picked up their chopsticks.
“Let’s eat….”
Han Su-jin carefully picked up a nest of noodles. She blew on them gently, put them in her mouth, and squeezed her eyes shut.
“…It’s delicious.”
Her voice trembled. Not because of the taste, but because it had been so long since she’d eaten something warm.
Seo Eun-ha slurped down her noodles as well, even drinking the broth. Park Jae-jung ate in silence, satisfying his hunger. Here were South Korea’s elite hunters—the very pinnacle of the nation—finding solace in a single pot of ramen in a foul-smelling market district freezer warehouse. The sight of it made my chest ache.
‘How much have these people suffered?’
Two weeks, they’d said. For two weeks, they’d been fleeing from Dominion’s pursuit. Without proper food or sleep. The bullet lodged in Park Jae-jung’s leg was proof. The aftereffects of Han Su-jin’s sacrifice were proof. Seo Eun-ha’s bloodshot eyes were proof.
“Guild Master, please eat too. Blow on it first.”
Park Jae-jung poured my portion into a paper cup. I nodded and picked up my chopsticks. The warm, salty broth slid down my throat. My internal organs, rigid from tension, finally released a cry of relief and began to relax.
No one spoke. We simply ate. The sound of chopsticks clinking, noodles being slurped, broth being sipped. That was enough. For this moment, it was more than enough.
The meal ended. Empty pots and paper cups lay scattered across the table. Silence returned. Each of us leaned back against worn sleeping bags and chairs, breathing heavily. Outside, the sound of coolant and rainwater dripping continued.
An old television mounted on the wall caught my eye. I picked up the remote, lowered the volume to minimum, and switched to the news channel.
[Breaking News: Dominion Raids Terrorist Hideout in District 7… Suspects Escape]
The screen showed the machinery building we’d escaped from earlier, now cordoned off by Dominion forces. Yellow tape was strung around it, and soldiers in black reinforced suits moved about frantically.
[Anchor: Dominion has stated that the terrorists fled the scene and they are currently pursuing them with all available resources. Now, let’s hear testimony from a survivor.]
The screen switched. It was an interview with a man in hospital clothes, sitting in a wheelchair.
“…Those people were demons.”
It was Lee Seung-ryong. His face was covered in bruises, and his eyes had lost focus, trembling severely. He stumbled over his words like he was reading from a script someone had written for him, unable to look directly at the camera.
“In the Lower District… I was forced to undergo Ma Seok experiments. Lee Tae-hyun—that man threatened us. He said if we didn’t do as he commanded… he’d kill us….”
My chest tightened. This wasn’t the Lee Seung-ryong I knew. This wasn’t the man who had fought for survival in the Lower District with us, who had desperately tried to protect his comrades.
The screen changed again. A different face this time.
[Caption: Survivor Lee Chung-hyung – D-Rank Hunter]
Lee Chung-hyung. The Ranger. The man who wielded the crossbow. He too wore hospital clothes. Half his face was wrapped in bandages, and his exposed eye was hollow and vacant.
“We… we just wanted to live…. Mun Glade… the Munglade Guild Master took us hostage….”
His words trailed off. Lee Chung-hyung suddenly stared blankly into empty space. It sounded like someone off-screen was whispering something. Then he opened his mouth again.
“…Yes. We are the victims. Munglade is the root cause of everything.”
She sounded robotic. Not like a person speaking, but a machine.
The screen changed again.
[Caption: Survivor Han Ae-ri – D-Rank Hunter]
A short-haired woman. Han Ae-ri. The Assassin. The one who wielded a short blade. Unlike the other party members, she lay not in a wheelchair but on a bed. Her face was pallid, and deep dark circles hung beneath her eyes.
“….”
She said nothing. Even as the camera filmed her. Someone off-screen seemed to be urging her, but she merely stared at the ceiling. Her eyes were devoid of life. Yet unlike the others, she did not waver.
‘Ae-ri is… different somehow.’
The other party members seemed completely broken, but Han Ae-ri still had something left. Whether she was resisting or had already surrendered everything, I could not tell.
The screen returned to Lee Seung-ryong.
“Munglade is… a terrorist organization. Please arrest them. Please….”
Crunch!
Seo Eun-ha crumpled the paper cup she’d been drinking from and hurled it.
“Those insane bastards…!”
Betrayal and fury blazed in her eyes.
“We tried so hard to save them! I… I’m sorry I ran, but that’s not right! How can they tell such lies?”
“Please calm yourself, Eun-ha.”
I spoke in measured tones. Lee Seung-ryong’s condition on screen was abnormal. Behind his terrified expression, his pupils were dilated unnaturally. Lee Chung-hyung was the same. Speaking like a machine, responding to instructions from off-screen.
“Those people are D-Rank.”
“So what! Does being D-Rank mean you can stab your savior?”
“No. What I mean is, all they have to lose is their lives. From Dominion’s perspective, it’s not even worth the effort to track down their families and take them hostage. They’re Lower District residents, after all.”
“Then why….”
“Fear and drugs.”
I paused the TV and pointed to Lee Seung-ryong’s neck. The red marks visible between the collar of his hospital gown.
“That’s not just an injection mark. It appears to be a side effect of the memory-manipulation drug or brainwashing narcotic that Dominion was developing.”
Han Su-jin covered her mouth.
“A D-Rank Hunter’s mental fortitude cannot withstand an A-Rank drug. Right now, they’re likely responding mechanically to the fear Kang Chang-gyung instilled in them, their sense of self half-shattered.”
“Those bastards….”
Park Jae-jung clenched his teeth.
“They reduced people to this state and conducted interviews?”
“That’s Kang Chang-gyung’s method. Cruel and efficient.”
I looked back at the TV. Han Ae-ri’s face flashed past. The one who said nothing. The one who did not read from a script, unlike the others.
‘She’s still holding on.’
Either the drug hadn’t fully taken hold, or her mental strength was formidable. Either way, she hadn’t completely broken.
“Seung-ryong and his people aren’t traitors. They’re victims too.”
The direction of our anger shifted. My companions began burning with murderous intent toward Kang Chang-gyung rather than betrayal toward Lee Seung-ryong’s group.
“But… wasn’t Kang Chang-gyung just the Strategic Planning Department head?”
Seo Eun-ha furrowed her brow as she asked. Now that her anger had subsided, doubt had surfaced.
“Back at the Port… when I was about to set the fire, something felt off. I’m clearly S-Rank and that bastard’s just some suit, but… I instinctively sensed danger. That’s why I couldn’t attack immediately.”
An S-Rank’s instincts don’t lie. I nodded in agreement.
“That person isn’t an ordinary civilian.”
“What?”
“He’s known to the public as a business expert, but there are rumors he’s an unregistered S-Rank Hunter. His ability type is unknown.”
“An unregistered S-Rank…?”
My colleagues’ faces hardened. This wasn’t merely a villain with power and money. He was someone who could threaten us through sheer force.
“That’s why he remained so composed even before Lee Ji-young’s Eye of Truth. Why he didn’t even flinch with Eun-ha right in front of him. He knew he was stronger.”
Seo Eun-ha bit her lip.
“If I’d rushed him back then… I could have lost?”
“That’s quite likely.”
“….”
She clenched her fists tightly. A reality she despised but couldn’t deny. An enemy who might be stronger than herself—an S-Rank Hunter.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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