The Hero's Streaming Life with the Saintess-Chapter 62: The Hunter and the Prey

The zone suspected to be Del Norte’s main base... had disappeared.

It wasn’t a tragedy caused by bombs or civil war.

It had literally disappeared.

As if it had never existed in the first place.

“Jesus... Are we sure this is a human?”

It was the United States that first bore witness to the unbelievable atrocity that took place in Mexico.

When the footage arrived at a classified operations room in Washington, D.C., even the commander watching it muttered without realizing.

Song Hun and Lyla.

Those two had always been different from the start.

Song Hun was simple to describe.

Overwhelming physique. Power beyond human limits.

A pure concentration of brute force.

But Lyla was something else.

Her powers defied the laws of physics.

Sure, Hunters often had supernatural abilities, but this was a force that transcended everything. Everything.

“...We’ll need to revise our operation plan.”

Officially, the United States maintained a friendly stance toward them.

They quietly supported their actions and passed along useful intel.

But they were always watching. Closely.

“So, is Hollywood shooting a new blockbuster or something...?”

“M-Mr. President...”

“Kidding... mostly. This is just too much...” freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

The President of the United States, having received the report at the White House, laced his fingers together and tried to crack a joke.

“The Hero and the Saintess, huh...”

He watched the footage again. Then again.

Read the documents again. Then again.

He took off his glasses and rubbed his temples.

“Judging by the damage, he’s the Hero... and she’s the overburdened porter tagging along.”

He looked at the photos of Lyla and Song Hun side by side and let out a short laugh.

Originally, he’d planned to send a stunning woman and a handsome man to try and win them over.

“Too bad they’re already a couple. Can’t even use seduction...”

****

High above the safe house.

In the middle of a forest stood a single mansion, utterly isolated.

“You’ve arrived.”

“?”

As if he had known we were coming, someone greeted us.

But it wasn’t the man from the cartel boss’s photo.

“The Boss is expecting you.”

‘...The hell is this?’

I stared silently.

His eyes were hollow. He moved like he had no soul.

We followed him inside the mansion.

“Welcome. So you’re the famous S-rank Hunters from Korea?”

‘...’

He must’ve been briefed on us.

So what the hell gave him this much confidence?

For a moment, I considered snapping his neck right then and there—

—but I held back.

I was curious what he had to say.

— Thud...

The boss tossed a box at my feet.

When I opened it, there was a human head inside.

“They were the ones who stole your property.”

“What, you punished the thieves so now I’m supposed to just walk away?”

“No, that was merely punishment. I intend to properly repay you.”

He stood and began walking toward me.

He tried hard to act composed, but I could hear his heartbeat, his erratic breathing.

We stood one meter apart. Eye to eye.

Then suddenly, he lunged at me.

It was so slow I could’ve yawned.

But I stayed still.

I wanted to see what kind of pathetic flailing he’d try.

And I wanted to see his face the moment he realized it was all pointless.

— Fwump...!

****

“That... Is that true?”

“Yes...”

If I hadn’t seen the photos with my own eyes, I would’ve blown this idiot’s head off just for saying it.

“...Haaah...”

Fear—and ecstasy—coursed through me.

If I could make those two mine, I could become ruler of Earth.

“They didn’t attack first.”

If it had been him, he would’ve just bombarded the entire area from the sky without giving anyone a chance to respond.

That meant there was a chance to make contact.

“Boss, they’ve arrived.”

“Bring them in.”

While his subordinate went to fetch them, he did his best to calm himself.

Buried the anxiety, the fear, the excitement.

He prided himself on having iron control over his emotions.

He showed them the corpse.

Then slowly walked toward the man.

‘Just a little closer... almost there... just a little more... All I need is physical contact...’

While Song Hun let his guard down, the man quickly stepped forward and placed his hand on Song Hun’s head.

— Fwump...!

‘Heh... Got him! It’s over!’

The moment his palm touched Song Hun’s head, his power activated.

Mana shot deep through the gap in his consciousness, trying to seize control of his mind.

‘...What... the hell...?’

— Ripple...

Something was wrong.

He had only stepped into a shallow puddle...

But beneath it—

was an endless abyss with its jaws wide open.

His consciousness began to sway.

His vision blurred.

‘What... what kind of hell has this man been through...?’

A city in flames.

Comrades dying.

Hands stained in blood.

Under a burning sky, amidst the howls of monsters, he survived.

The expedition that had set out with cheers and support from the people...

Once veiled by a curtain of mist...

When it emerged again, only five remained.

‘And two of those five were...’

Santiago’s pupils trembled violently.

Blood dripped from his eyes, ears, and nose.

His heart pounded erratically.

“...What... is this...?”

The edge of the abyss, where emotion, language, reason cannot reach.

A realm of chaos that even monsters scream and flee from.

And within it—

Something was watching.

“Guhhh...!”

He collapsed to his knees.

Cold sweat drenched him.

His mind stood teetering on the cliff of collapse.

This man—

He wasn’t someone you could touch.

He might look human on the outside, but inside...

He was hell itself.

****

“How was it? Fun?”

I lightly tapped his head and gave him a wide grin.

The boss looked at my face and started trembling in fear.

He bit down so hard on his lip that it bled as he screamed—

“K-Kill them!! Kill them now!!!”

At his command, the ones who’d guided us here rushed to attack.

And that bastard? He ran like hell.

“Lyla, what about them?”

“Hmm... Their minds have been corroded, but honestly, they were trash to begin with.”

I’d wondered if maybe they were just victims—brainwashed by him.

But Lyla shook her head without hesitation.

I grabbed two of the guys rushing in from either side by the backs of their heads.

And then—smashed them together.

— CRACK...!

“Lyla, how far did he get?”

“He’s already fled pretty far.”

I let him run on purpose.

If I was going to clean house, I was going to clean everything connected to him.

– Hunter-nim, we have additional intel to report.

A call came in from the embassy agent.

– There’s a training facility the cartel operates.

“A training facility?”

– Yes. A compound they use to train new recruits and operatives.

I was so dumbfounded I couldn’t even speak.

What the hell? Not even a military force, and they’ve got an official training program for cartel soldiers?

After the call, I pulled up the location.

“Huh. Same direction.”

Coincidentally—or maybe not—it was the same way he was running.

“Shall we go?”

This was a hunt.

And for the hunter’s amusement, the prey’s throat was being slowly, methodically crushed.

****

“B-Boss...?!”

Santiago was fleeing toward the secret training compound his organization operated in private.

The cartel members who saw their boss rushing in like that stared in shock.

“From now on, eliminate anyone approaching this place!”

“E-Everyone, sir?!”

He headed straight down into the underground bunker.

Even if this place were found, he had escape tunnels below. He could still get away.

‘H-How the hell did they even find the factory and the warehouses...?’

Now that he was in flight mode, some of the things he’d missed before started to click into place.

His tension faded, replaced by paranoia.

‘Not even the Americans knew about those sites... Could there be a mole?’

But then he shook his head.

Sure, he’d deliberately leaked info about the safe house.

But those places? No.

Even the agents in charge of those areas were under deep brainwashing.

They physically couldn’t talk.

‘Hoo...’

He pulled out a thick, untraceable phone.

And began ordering the politicians he’d bribed.

He told them to pressure Korea.

Have Song Hun detained.

Do whatever it takes to drive him out of Mexico.

“Fuck!!! I don’t care if you send the army or slap on diplomatic sanctions—JUST MAKE IT HAPPEN!”

– Boss...

“You want your daughter to end up like his son?”

– ...Understood.

****

They may have taken his bribes, but more than that—

they cared about the safety of their families.

And so, they moved swiftly.

– The pressure campaign has already started.

“I expected as much.”

Simultaneously with the diplomatic pressure, a media narrative was being pushed:

A rogue armed group is conducting unauthorized military actions on foreign soil.

That messaging was being broadcast to citizens nationwide.

– People in Mexico are... afraid of you, # Nоvеlight # Hunter-nim.

“Afraid of me?”

– Yes. To them, you’re just another cartel.

When cartels go to war, civilians are always the ones who suffer the most.

And now the public feared that a new cartel had emerged.

– Hey, amigo.

A voice broke in—it was Esteban, standing beside the embassy agent.

– I can help with that.

“Help?”

– Didn’t I tell you? They kept me alive as their clown.

“...!”

Everyone in the country knew Esteban’s tragedy.

They all knew what happened when you resisted the cartel—

You became another “Esteban.”

If he, the man who endured that hell, stood up and spoke—

He could turn the tide of public opinion.

– Let me dance once more... as the clown.