The S-Rank Warden Devours the Academy - Chapter 9

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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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Episode 9

Support personnel arrived at the scene.
While Hae Sung briefed them on the situation, Sa Hyeon returned to the Hunter Association.
After washing away the blood and filth in the shower, what greeted him was….
“Sa Hyeon! You’ve come out!”
It was Hae Sung, his demeanor suddenly far more formal.
His voice trembled slightly. His waist bent in a half-bow. Both arms pressed stiffly to his sides.
“…This isn’t some back-alley gang boss we’re talking about here.”
Sa Hyeon gazed down at the brown-haired figure with obvious displeasure.
‘He saw the status window, so he’s figured out what I was doing.’
He’d thought he could finally move about freely on his own….
‘So why is he still following me around?’
Hae Sung trembled like a puppy yet stood his ground with stubborn determination.
Perhaps the boy simply had too much sense of responsibility.
Sa Hyeon shook his head slightly and began walking.
Hae Sung’s joints creaked as he lifted his head.
“Wait! Sa Hyeon, where are you going?”
“The Association President’s office.”
At Sa Hyeon’s reply, he hurried to fall into step beside him.
“Ah! You’re going to report, I see. I’ll contact his secretary right away.”
Not that Sa Hyeon was going to make any official report.
He merely shrugged without interest and continued walking.
Hae Sung tapped his phone a few times, then quietly informed him.
“He’s currently in a meeting with the Director of the Hunter Management Bureau. If you wait a moment—”
“That works out perfectly.”
Sa Hyeon answered firmly.
“Pardon?”
Hae Sung looked confused for a moment.
Then Sa Hyeon’s steps halted before the Association President’s office door.
“Wait—”
Before Hae Sung could stop him.
Sa Hyeon turned the doorknob without hesitation.
Click—
“—do you believe will happen?”
The office had been filled with raised voices.
Sa Hyeon’s entrance suddenly brought complete silence.
The Association President sat in the seat of honor. A middle-aged man sat on the long sofa, his face flushed with anger.
All eyes turned toward him.
‘So that’s the Director of the Hunter Management Bureau.’
Sa Hyeon’s gaze passed over them coolly.
“It’s been a while, Sa Hyeon.”
The Director spoke first.
“‘Sa Hyeon’?”
At a title he hadn’t heard in ages, Sa Hyeon’s eyes narrowed.
“Do we know each other?”
“Ha. So you really don’t remember, then.”
The Director gave a harsh, hollow laugh and shook his head vigorously.
The Association President smiled quietly, then turned to Sa Hyeon and asked.
“Are you alright? Thank you for handling it so quickly. Thanks to your swift action, the damage was minimized.”
As the Association President spoke, the Director snorted sharply.
“Minimized? What damage was minimized? From what I heard, he went wild and turned the whole area into rubble. Vehicles, buildings, all the surrounding structures—he demolished everything without mercy.”
“Still, it’s better than having people demolished, isn’t it?”
Sa Hyeon muttered while shoving his hands into his pockets, and the Director let out a breath of exasperation.
“What? How dare you speak that way in front of your superior.”
The Director’s eyes raked over Sa Hyeon from head to toe, clicking his tongue.
“You’re not my superior.”
Sa Hyeon’s brow furrowed in clear displeasure, and the Director turned to the Association President as if tattling.
“Look at him—not a shred of basic courtesy. What were you thinking, entrusting him with anything at all?”
So that’s what he’d been on about.
I’d anticipated resistance to my return. It simply hadn’t concerned me.
After all, the Association President was the one who’d dredged up my objections under the guise of negotiation in the first place.
The Director swiveled toward the Association President.
“Association President. Surely you’re not genuinely considering reinstating an Interrogator? What will you do if the Hunters find out?”
The Director spoke with barely concealed agitation.
“If word spreads that the person holding that position was an Interrogator who tortured fellow Hunters? Will they really stand idle?”
“Hah.”
I’d been listening to the Director’s rambling in silence when I finally let out a laugh.
The Director ground his teeth, glaring at me.
“What’s so funny?”
“It is funny.”
I answered with laughter still threading through my voice.
“You, worried about the opinion of a bunch of criminal scum.”
“This is a disaster situation. Every single Hunter’s strength is vital. Don’t you understand? You’ll drag one man into the light and lose other Hunters in the process!”
The Director stabbed a finger at me as he shouted.
Talking utter nonsense.
I leaned back heavily against the chair, raising one corner of my mouth.
“Fine, maybe those guilty of crimes aren’t your preference.”
Especially the Hunters with something to hide.
A thought crossed my mind, and a low chuckle escaped me.
“Ah. Director—is there something weighing on your conscience? Is that why you’re objecting?”
“.…….”
The Director’s lips trembled.
His eyelids quivered. His breathing came sharp and ragged with panic.
Looks like I hit the mark.
I crossed my legs and smiled coolly.
“Start living clean from now on. Then we won’t meet underground.”
“How dare you—!”
The Director stammered through his words.
“Gentlemen, let’s put an end to this.”
The Association President stepped in to mediate.
“I understand your concerns, Director.”
He continued calmly.
“We have no intention of revealing Sa Hyeon’s history as an Interrogator to the public. Of course, Sa Hyeon has agreed to this as well.”
“I don’t need the trouble anyway,” I said lightly.
I shrugged without concern.
Over the past five years, all manner of criminal Hunters had passed through my hands.
There wasn’t one released offender who hadn’t harbored resentment toward me.
The Association President nodded in agreement.
“As you know, at this juncture we have no combat personnel to replace Sa Hyeon.”
But the Director pressed on undeterred.
“No one? There are plenty of newly Awakened Hunters from this Dungeon Break! Send them instead!”
“You want to get them killed?”
I twisted my mouth as I spoke.
A freshly Awakened Awakener doesn’t know how to control their own strength.
What was the point of sending them out only to have them suffer worse for it?
Despite the lethal look in my eyes, the Director flinched but mumbled stubbornly.
“Surely greenhorns are better than someone who can’t be predicted…”
Nothing had changed.
‘Men like him only learn when they experience it firsthand.’
I rolled my tongue and began toying with my Leather Gloves, and the Director jumped visibly.
“L-Look! He threatens people without hesitation! Will there be any control?!”
The Director reacted with exaggerated alarm.
I wanted to shut that mouth of his.
‘Should I flip his desk?’
I was genuinely considering it when—
“If any problems arise, you may hold me responsible.”
The Association President spoke with firm finality.
A persistent gaze that pressed against his cheek.
When Sa Hyeon met the Association President’s eyes, the older man gestured silently toward his hands and smiled without speaking.
The contract’s golden cord—woven by the Association President’s skill—shimmered faintly in the air.
“…Who exactly is doing the threatening here?”
Sa Hyeon reluctantly pantomimed removing his hands from the Leather Gloves.
The Director finally released his grip and stood, adopting an air of indifference as he clasped his hands behind his back.
“…Ahem! Well, for the Association President’s sake, I suppose I can overlook this just this once.”
Then he shuffled toward the door, muttered some hollow words about keeping watch, and vanished.
At last, silence returned to the room.
The Association President sighed softly and turned his head.
“I’ve shown you both a rather shameful display. Dragging you here only for this—what a spectacle.”
“It’s fine.”
Hae Sung answered on behalf of a bewildered Sa Hyeon.
“As Hae Sung Hunter already knows, Sa Hyeon should understand now as well. I’ve arranged a position for you.”
He exhaled deeply and continued at a measured pace.
“From today, the two of you will take over the zone that Lee Ha Je Hunter was managing.”
“A zone?”
“That is…”
Hae Sung swallowed once before launching into his explanation.
“Four years ago, once the Hunter Association established its system, this zone was created.”
While Sa Hyeon remained underground.
The surface was divided into three zones.
Three S-rank Hunters shared responsibility for each zone.
Baek Yi Won Hunter oversaw the Central Defense Zone—the vital area housing government and the Hunter Management Bureau.
Jo Sung Won Hunter, a defensive Awakener, managed the Evacuation Zone, where monster appearances were relatively sparse and which served as a refuge for non-Awakeners.
“And Lee Ha Je Hunter… was in charge of the Combat Zone.”
Hae Sung moistened his lips and continued.
“The Combat Zone is where unexpected Gates appeared frequently even before Dungeon Breaks began occurring.”
It was a region where Gates appeared with relative regularity—the zone where most monster suppression operations were conducted.
“The danger level is extremely high, so non-Awakeners are forbidden entry.”
As Hae Sung finished his explanation, the Association President added his thoughts.
“If that zone is breached, both the Central Defense Zone and the Evacuation Zone will be in danger. It’s a critically important location.”
“No people around. Actually, it’s perfect for destroying things without restraint.”
This worked out well enough.
If it was the zone Lee Ha Je Hunter had managed, it would also be where he’d died.
There, Sa Hyeon could find clues about Awakener runaway incidents.
The reason Lee Ha Je had chosen to end his own life.
The destination was set. Just as Sa Hyeon was about to leave his seat.
“There’s one more thing Lee Ha Je Hunter was responsible for.”
The Association President added with a smile.
“What else?”
Sa Hyeon stopped irritably in his tracks.
That conspiratorial squint in his eyes suggested something else was coming.
Then the Association President’s lips finally parted, just a beat too late.
“A zone?”
“Adjunct professor at the Academy.”
“…What?”
“Lee Ha Je Hunter’s courses focused on practical combat.”
……
“The Hunter Academy is right next to the Combat Zone. You can handle zone management while based at the Academy, and occasionally take students on field training exercises.”
What have I just heard?
“…This is ridiculous.”
Sa Hyeon burst into an absurd laugh.
So that’s why he’d made such a point during the contract about replacing Lee Ha Je.
“You’re telling me to teach new recruits?”
Mental discipline training, perhaps, but not this.
“Ha…”
At Sa Hyeon’s hollow laugh, Hae Sung’s pupils flickered uncertainly.
“Did you not know about this, Sa Hyeon?”
Now it seemed that fool knew about it too.
Sa Hyeon pressed his fingers to his forehead, at a loss for words. Yet the Association President remained unruffled.
“You know better than anyone that the greatest education for a Hunter comes from real fieldwork.”
When Sa Hyeon narrowed his eyes without responding, the Association President continued slowly.
“If we develop new Hunters quickly, we’ll be able to suppress Dungeon Breaks all the faster.”
……
Sa Hyeon fell silent, his gaze turning sharp.
If personnel numbers increased, then Sa Hyeon would have more time to devote to his own work.
The Association President’s scheming irritated him, but there was no room to argue.
Sa Hyeon exhaled slowly.
“So this was your aim all along.”
“I won’t deny it.”
The Association President admitted it readily.
He was clearly determined to extract full value from this arrangement.
…Train new Hunters?
“Damn it.”
Sa Hyeon let out a sigh of resignation.
It looked like he was being forced into a teaching role he’d never asked for.

An S-rank Hunter Devours the Academy — Chapter 9

Author
Baek Ruga
Publisher
Daon Creative
Planning / Editing / Production
Yoon Tae Ri
Cover Design
Tonk

UCI
G720:N+A036-20260512043.0010

ⓒ2026, Baek Ruga

※ This e-book is protected under the copyright law of the Republic of Korea.
No part of this work may be reproduced, modified, or repurposed in any form without the express permission of the author and publisher.

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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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