Auto Hunting

EPISODE 124

Yukio Murata had a will strong enough for him to stand as a country’s Prime Minister. No matter how much the whole country hated him right now, even if the citizens were spitting on his photos and tearing them apart, he was strong enough to endure it.

The road to the top was not without hardships.

The only difference was that, in this case, there was no sign of an end.

Still, his strong will was the only thing holding him back from a mental breakdown. That was because, right in front of him…

Beep-!

The phone on his desk began ringing. Murata tried to pick it up, but an old man’s voice stopped him.

“How about focusing on what is in front of you?”

It was the sarcasm in the old man’s voice that stopped Murata’s hand.

‘Tatsuo Sukune.’

He had come to visit the Prime Minister.

“Shouldn’t we know what’s going on right now?” Prime Minister Murata asked.

“Are you sure that you want to answer the phone?’ Tatsuo Sukune retorted.

The Prime Minister eventually gave up on answering the phone and decided to focus on the Chairman. A girl in her mid-teens was standing behind the Leto Group Chairman’s wheelchair.

“Did you say you were the Chairman’s youngest daughter?” Prime Minister Murata asked as he turned to her in an attempt to ease the mood.

However, as if she weren’t remotely interested in the Prime Minister, she looked at the other side of the room and scanned his office.

The Prime Minister had intended to leave all of this morning’s schedule blank. Even though having some time alone would not give him the answers to his problems, he’d still wanted to at least have the time to breathe. However, about ten minutes ago, two uninvited guests had appeared at his door.

They had not even bothered to inform him about their visit.

The Prime Minister directed his attention to the door. He wondered what was happening outside.

There was no fuss, or even a phone call informing him that something was wrong. The reason for this was not hard to guess.

“It is a bad habit to avoid the topic at hand, Prime Minister.”

The old man was an expert in mental manipulation. It was said that he had no rival, not only in Japan, but also in Asia and the entire world.

And even without this ability, he had a strong influence over half of Tokyo’s hunters. It would be easy for him to neutralize the security protecting the Prime Minister’s residence.

“I did not come to you because I wanted to waste my time,” Tatsuo Sukune stated. “I have already listened to your request. You asked for the forced detention of Oh Yoo-seong at the Korean Embassy, as you’re well aware. So, isn’t it only natural that we proceed with the next step?”

‘No. It’s not normal,’ Murata thought.

“Think carefully, Prime Minister. Whose gold was it that gave you the seat you’re sitting in now?”

The Chairman’s words were not wrong.

“It’s not that I do not understand what you’re saying.” Prime Minister Murata closed his eyes. “But even for the Chairman of the Leto Group, and even for one in my position, what you’re asking for is just too much,” he added.

“There is no such thing as absolutely too much. You are the Prime Minister of this country.”

“That’s right.” Prime Minister Murata opened his eyes and nodded. “I am the Prime Minister, but just a Prime Minister. I am not an Emperor or a King. What you are asking for is something that I cannot do. What I can do, however, is to help the future of this country and its people.”

The old man’s eyes widened.

“That’s the most ridiculous nonsense I’ve ever heard.” It was Chika Sukune who spoke this time.

She looked bored and was commenting without a second thought. Tatsuo Sukune burst out laughing.

“My, my. My Prime Minister seems to have developed a sense of duty all of a sudden!”

Before Prime Minister Murata was even able to answer, the old man lifted his index finger and shook it from side to side. “If you were really thinking about that, you wouldn’t be in this position, would you? Prime Minister, I’ve seen all your videos. Everyone, including my daughter and me, saw it. I heard what you said to Oh Yoo-seong.”

Upon saying this, Chairman Tatsuo Sukune began laughing again. “You weren’t thinking about your country and its people then. You gave up!”

“I admit my decisions have not been perfect, and I’m just trying to figure out how to regain my honor,” Prime Minister Murata replied in a humble tone. “If I ordered his arrest, that would immediately result in more backlash. Unless it’s something that the whole country wants…”

“You idiot!” the old man yelled. “You have the power to make decisions that move and shape the country!”

Suddenly, Chika Sukune was behind Murata, with her hands on his shoulder. The pressure of those childlike hands was unbelievably strong.

“Ugh!” Murata groaned.

“Shall I break it?” A horrifying question came out of the girl’s mouth.

“I’m still talking to him. It is not the time for you to step in.”

“But I’m bored, Papa,” Chika complained.

“I’ll remind you that it’s not your place to step in,” Tatsuo Sukune said sternly.

Yet, contrary to his stern voice, Prime Minister Murata could tell that the old man was embarrassed. The girl’s attitude was not very submissive to the old man. In fact, no one else had the guts to talk to the Chairman that way.

“Sheesh!” Chika exclaimed as she removed her hands from the Prime Minister’s shoulder.

The old man then continued speaking. “The problem with you is your guts. A man standing on a high cliff should not be afraid of the waves beneath it. I don’t think you have the guts to do what I’m asking.”

The Prime Minister noticed what the old man was trying to do.

No, he had been aware of it right from the beginning.

“Yukio, look into my eyes and listen to me…”

Tatsuo Sukune was planning to control the situation by placing the Prime Minister under the influence of his Tech.

“This. Think this over rationally!” Prime Minister Murata exclaimed in desperation. “Do you think people won’t notice that I’ve been hypnotized? Everyone knows you are a Puppeteer. Everyone will notice, and what happened will be obvious to everyone.”

“So what?!” The old man laughed harder. “I told you, it’s just a matter of guts. And unlike you, I’m not scared.”

The old man’s eyes bore straight in his direction.

“I’m going to take everything I have given you and this country so far. That is my right and your duty.”

Prime Minister Murata struggled and tried to turn his head away but a pair of hands was holding the sides of his head firmly.

“Get it done quickly. Be quiet. It doesn’t hurt much.” It was Chika’s voice, trying to hold back a yawn.

“You don’t have to worry too much. I have no intention of making you a ‘puppet.’ Your mind will be fine. Have you ever heard of Geis?”

Of course, the Prime Minister had.

use of them on humans were strictly regulated under international laws regardless of type.

Geis was a British Tech that was especially notorious. It was something that could only be used on humans, not monsters. Once caught in it, a great deal of pain came to the “puppet” if they violated the instructions of the “puppeteer.”

A British family, who owned Geis’s secrets, had tried to use this to extend their influence across the political and financial world.

Fortunately, they were discovered by the British sheriffs. The family members had been sentenced to life imprisonment, and the secrets to their Tech had been confiscated and hidden by the British government.

“I got a copy of it by chance. I even improved it to another level. Even if you don’t violate my command, I can still trigger pain at the slightest use of my CE.”

With a scream of terror, Prime Minister Murata tried to close his eyes.

“How will it be? Can you resist the pain from the Geis? Would you suffer ‘for the people,’ as you said?”

“Hah! Stop! You’re insane!”

“I hope so.”

With sinister laughter, the old man’s fingers danced in front of the Prime Minister’s eyes. As with all Tech, it required preparation.

For Geis, the victim needed to see a series of gestures from the puppeteer’s fingers. Once the series had been completed, Prime Minister Murata would completely be under Tatsuo Sukune’s control.

‘Please.’

Screaming and howling, the Prime Minister begged.

‘If I don’t watch those fingers…’

‘If I don’t move…’

It was then…

Ting-!

The sound of metal bouncing off a hard surface.

From behind Tatsuo Sukune, a silver flash flew in and got stuck in the Prime Minister’s desk.

Chairman Sukune’s fingers immediately stopped moving as he looked at what had flown in.

“A hundred yen?”

Murata, whose eyes were still firmly shut, doubted what he had just heard.

‘A hundred yen?’

‘What is he talking about?’

“What the-”

Tatsuo Sukune felt the pressure of something invisible holding his body down. He tried to turn around, but he couldn’t move, as if he were caught by something.

“Oh my. The more I use it, the more convenient it gets,” a familiar voice said in Korean.

Prime Minister Murata’s eyes opened, and he saw Yoo-seong at the doorway.

“I didn’t mean to come in without permission.” Yoo-seong shrugged at him before continuing his explanation. “You weren’t answering the phone, and your security guys look a little weird, so I was wondering if something had happened.”

“Chika!” Tatsuo Sukune shouted for his daughter.

The Spider Thread was holding him down firmly, but he recognized Yoo-seong’s voice even if he could not turn around to confirm it.

How could he not?

Yoo-seong was the hateful bastard that had ruined everything. However, this time, it would not be easy for him.

At this point, Chika had fully recovered. If he could somehow remove the thread that was confining his body, Yoo-seong would have to deal with the two of them.

“Go ahead and untie me! Make that cheeky guy kneel before me at all costs!”

However, even before he finished speaking, the old man’s eyes widened in horror. His youngest daughter, standing behind Prime Minister Murata…

Chika Sukune had a very strange expression.

“I do not want to,” she answered her father.

“What?!” The Chairman could not believe what he was hearing.

“I don’t want to, Papa.”

There was a hint of laughter on her face. It was her unique, pure laughter that everyone in the family feared. “I don’t want to fight him right now. I want something else.”

Then Chika’s upper body jerked and shook violently.

Tatsuo Sukune was a person who took thorough precautions.

Not only his subordinates but also members of his family, even his precious daughter, were under his Tech’s control. There were no exceptions.

The pain it caused was similar to the entire nervous system getting torn apart. The solution to stop the pain was simple.

Follow Tatsuo Sukune’s instructions. However, somehow…

“It has been quite a while…”

Upon hearing this, the Chairman’s jaw dropped.

While convulsing with pain, Chika Sukune was talking.

The pain was enough to render anyone speechless, so this shouldn’t be happening.

“Whatever I do, I just can’t seem to feel anything. It’s not just with pain, but even eating or drinking. That is why I get sick and tired of everything right away.”

Chika raised her head.

Dark red veins embroidered her white face.

“So, at times when I can feel something, it makes me really happy. It often starts out as fun, but after a while, it gets boring.”

As she spoke, the dark red lines on her face were gradually disappearing. Her upper body was going back to a comfortable, upright position.

In addition to this, the smile on her face was growing larger.

Tatsuo Sukune was filled with unspeakable horror as he watched Chika overcome Geis right before his eyes.

“The pain I get when I don’t listen to you felt really, really good at first. So I disobey you on purpose sometimes just to feel it. But after a while…”

“Ch-Chika…”

“I think maybe since I was fifteen? I got tired of it. I was just pretending that it hurts so you would feel that you’re still in control, but…”

Tatsuo Sukune was shaking with fear.

Even when Yoo-seong appeared, he hadn’t felt afraid at all. He had a perfect weapon he could control at will.

But now, the weapon seemed to be aimed at him.

“But now, Papa, you don’t entertain me anymore.”

Swish-!

In the blink of an eye, Chika’s smiling face appeared right in front of her father.

“So now I will do whatever I want without your permission.”

The next moment, she was grabbing her father’s hands.

Crack-!

“Ga-aaaah!” Tatsuo Sukune yelled in agony.

He had never been a close combatant.

It was also true that he had little experience in dealing with monsters.

“You, you! What, what, what, what… ugh!”

“What? Can’t you see?” A cold laugh flowed out of her throat. “I am taking your throne, Papa.”

Then she threw Yoo-seong an unexpected wink.

Crunch-!

There was the sound of something breaking.

Chika grabbed her father’s face in her palm and crushed his teeth and jawbone.

The screams had stopped by this point, but it wasn’t enough for her. With her thumb and middle finger, she pierced Tatsuo Sukune’s eyeballs.

“You don’t have to worry about the future,” she whispered to her father in a cheerful voice. “My brothers are in critical condition. You, unfortunately, met with an accident while you were dealing with the Prime Minister. I’m the only one left in our family, so the succession isn’t complicated at all.”

Only then did Chika untie the threads Yoo-seong had placed over her father. Then she turned her head toward Yoo-seong.

“You looked surprised,” she said.

Yoo-seong did not know Japanese, so he did not have the slightest idea of what she was saying.

She seemed not to have realized that, as she continued talking.

“I wanted to take my time doing this to my father, but I didn’t expect we’d see each other so soon. It’s really fascinating. It’s the first time I’ve felt alive since middle school,” she added cheerfully.

“Say something, why don’t you?” She smiled back at him.

Yoo-seong’s expression didn’t change as he looked back at her silently.

She licked her lips. “I want us to fight as long and hard as the last time. However, I’m going to be patient. No matter how much fun it is, if I experience it too often, I will soon get sick of it. Besides, I have a lot of things to play with right now.”

Chika turned the wheelchair around and began pushing it.

A frenzy would erupt within the Sukune family as soon as she arrived home.

The giant Leto Group would soon fall apart with her father’s demise. However, she was looking forward to enjoying all the trouble that would happen in the future.

“I’ll make sure to see you next time,” Chika said as she pushed the wheelchair past Yoo-seong.

Soon after, they disappeared out of the office.

“Hooh…” Yoo-seong shivered slightly as he let out a sigh.

He then approached Prime Minister Murata. After all that had happened in front of him, the Prime Minister seemed out of his senses.

Yoo-seong pulled up a chair and sat down to face him. He sat in the same spot where Tatsuo Sukune had been just a while ago.

“Well, anyway, based on the circumstances, it would have been quite a big problem if I hadn’t arrived.”

Yoo-seong leaned back in the chair, sitting comfortably.

“Shouldn’t we begin?”

“What, what?”

“Don’t we have stuff to talk about right now? I believe you know it well.”

At this, Yoo-seong gave a unique smile.

To Murata, it looked a lot like those of the two monsters they had just encountered.

What options did one have in this kind of situation?

The negotiation was brief. Soon enough, Murata found himself bowing down.

The floor felt very hard against his knees.