A Cradle to Avert Apocalypse C3

Chapter 3

At this point in time, potions were only capable of treating superficial injuries. They were nothing like the potions of his previous life, which—if consumed in sufficient quantity—could perfectly restore everything from C-rank poisoning and below to even internal injuries.

The reality of having returned to the past struck him anew.

Choi Kanghyun looked at Nam Shinhoo and let out a sigh.

“Alright. If you change your mind, tell me right away. The same goes if something else is bothering you. Don’t carry it alone.”

“I will. Don’t worry.”

Nam Shinhoo lied smoothly.

The moment he became aware that he had returned to the past, Nam Shinhoo made a decision. He had no intention of telling anyone about what he had experienced.

In his previous life, Choi Kanghyun had died standing in front of him—without even closing his eyes. And it wasn’t just him. Everyone had sacrificed themselves for Nam Shinhoo.

He had no intention of placing an unbearable burden on people who had already sacrificed themselves once. The future that lay ahead was a problem Nam Shinhoo had to resolve alone, and this time, he was determined to see it through on his own.

Besides—

It’s not like I have no leads at all for clearing the quest.

The moment he heard the words true savior, one particular figure surfaced in Nam Shinhoo’s mind. In his previous life, that person had been an S-rank Hunter—someone prophesied by Han Wooyeon, a Hunter known by the alias Divine Younger Brother.¹

The damned future? Just give up. It’s already beyond saving. Everyone’s going to struggle like idiots and die, and then that’s it. Completely over. A solution? There is none. The only Hunter capable of responding to annihilation died a long time ago.

Despite the grandiose title Divine Younger Brother, Han Wooyeon had been a Hunter with a bold, boisterous personality—the kind who seemed like nothing could ever truly surprise him. Yet after delivering such a despairing prophecy, Han Wooyeon drowned himself in alcohol and ultimately took his own life.

Back then, Nam Shinhoo had rejected the prophecy outright. He arrogantly believed that if one tried hard enough, a new path would always open—that he himself could protect the world.

But the Divine Younger Brother’s prophecy had come true. All that remained for humanity was despair, and the city had become a vast, desolate grave.

The true savior mentioned by the quest and the person Han Wooyeon had spoken of were likely one and the same. If so, it had to be someone who was a Hunter, who had died young in the previous life, and who was strong enough to stand against Nukelabi.

As the clues came together, a single name rose clearly in Nam Shinhoo’s mind—an S-rank Hunter who had died in his previous life, but who was still alive now.

“If you’re not feeling well, it might be better to cancel today’s meeting,” Choi Kanghyun said.

At his words, Nam Shinhoo checked the calendar. Retracing his memories of what meetings he had attended during this period, he scanned the schedule written under today’s date.

The timing couldn’t be better.

Nam Shinhoo confirmed the name written there. Coincidentally, today was the day he was supposed to meet that person. When they were younger, he and that man had crossed paths in meetings frequently—and today’s meeting was one of them.

“I’m going. I need to see his face anyway.”

“…You’re not going to fight again, are you?”

“Of course not. I’m not a child.”

Unfortunately, Nam Shinhoo and the Hunter singled out in the prophecy did not get along. It was someone he was lucky to part with after nothing more than a verbal spar. From one end to the other, there wasn’t a single thing about them that aligned.

“Thinking about seeing him again after so long… it almost makes me glad.”

“……”

“Don’t worry. This time, I’ll really just talk and leave.”

Choi Kanghyun narrowed his eyes. Unable to openly refute his friend and superior, he nevertheless looked like he had a great deal he wanted to say.

“By the way, what about the task you gave this morning?”

“I passed it down. I’ll report as soon as the information comes in.”

“Good.”

At the reliable answer, Nam Shinhoo nodded. They departed immediately for the Hunter Association, where the meeting room was located.

Standing at the entrance of the building crowned with a massive statue symbolizing harmony, Nam Shinhoo looked up at the towering structure. It had been a long time since he’d come to the Hunter Association.

More precisely, it had been a long time since he’d seen the Hunter Association intact.

The stylish building clad entirely in glass had once been reduced to ruins, leaving behind only traces of its former self. When the statue at the main gate collapsed, numerous people had been injured.

“Hunter Nam Shinhoo, you’ve arrived.”

An Association staff member who had been waiting at the entrance hurried over upon spotting him.

“You’re early. I’ll escort you to the meeting room.”

As Nam Shinhoo surveyed his surroundings, the parking lot seemed oddly emptier than usual. Civilian access was often restricted before meetings, but even so, it felt unusually quiet.

Moreover, there was no sign of the other party’s vehicles.

“It seems the Epic Guild hasn’t arrived yet.”

“Yes. We received word that they’ll be a bit late. Um…”

The staff member hesitated, glancing at Nam Shinhoo’s expression.

“They said there was an issue with a dungeon they’re in charge of. A crack suddenly occurred, so they couldn’t help being delayed…”

The way the staff member trailed off, eyes flickering uneasily, was the reaction of someone well aware that relations between Nam Shinhoo and the Epic Guild were strained.

At the time, the relationship between the two guilds was at its worst. Whenever possible, they preferred written communication and came up with every excuse imaginable to avoid meeting face-to-face. This meeting itself had only barely been arranged at the Hunter Association President’s request.

It was only natural. Saint Guild was the number one guild in the country, while Epic Guild was a newly risen force rapidly closing the gap. There was no way such a relationship could be amicable.

“Th-then… what should we do?”

The staff member’s voice grew softer and softer. When Nam Shinhoo didn’t respond right away, he bowed his head deeply.

“If it’s uncomfortable for you, we can reschedule. Hunter Nam Shinhoo is a busy person—waiting would be difficult, wouldn’t it?”

“It’s fine.”

“…Pardon?”

“If it’s crack containment, it’ll be over within an hour. With both sides busy, it would be more troublesome to reschedule. We’ll wait.”

“Th-thank you. Then please come this way.”

Afraid Nam Shinhoo might change his mind, the staff member hurriedly led him toward the conference room. His brightly smiling face was full of relief.

Was I really that frightening a person?

Turning his head, Nam Shinhoo met Choi Kanghyun’s gaze behind him.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“It’s nothing. I was just surprised…”

“You thought I’d insist on leaving right away?”

“Honestly? Yes.”

The Nam Shinhoo of the past would have gladly taken the excuse to cancel the meeting the moment he was told to wait for Epic Guild. Even in his forties, Nam Shinhoo had been willful—but in his twenties, it had been even worse.

Having built the nation’s number one guild with his own hands, his warped values and obsession with efficiency led him to divide the world into what was necessary and what was not. He believed that wasting time and effort on useless things was the greatest folly of all.

That was why he had so readily accepted the idea of the weak being sacrificed.

They were people who would die anyway without the help of the strong. Rationalizing that a small number of sacrifices was unavoidable, he had carried out plans that demanded such sacrifices.

Never imagining, in his foolishness, that those selfish thoughts would take everything from him.

“……”

As memories of his previous life surfaced, his shoulders stiffened involuntarily. Crushing self-loathing and regret weighed heavily down his back.

“We’ve arrived. Please wait here in the meeting room. What kind of tea should we prepare?”

“No need. I’ll stay alone for a bit.”

Waving his hand casually, Nam Shinhoo entered the meeting room and took a seat alone. As always, Choi Kanghyun waited outside. Left by himself in the empty room, Nam Shinhoo organized the chaos in his mind.

His thoughts turned to the person who would arrive shortly—the meeting counterpart, Epic Guild’s guild master.

Kwon Haeju.

An S-rank Hunter like Nam Shinhoo. Four years younger than him. If Nam Shinhoo was twenty-eight now, then Kwon Haeju would be twenty-four.

Voices he had heard countless times in his previous life echoed in his ears.

If only Hunter Kwon Haeju had been alive, would things have been different?
If Kwon Haeju had been there, it wouldn’t have collapsed this easily.

Kwon Haeju was the Hunter most frequently mentioned alongside Nam Shinhoo by those drowning in despair. Even five years after his death, he was still regarded as the strongest in history.

When Kwon Haeju died, the world was thrown into uproar. Shocked by the sudden news, people refused to accept reality until the very end of his funeral.

And Nam Shinhoo alone had been shaken by a different truth—because the cause of death, which had been concealed from the public…

“I’m late.”

A man burst in, flinging the door open roughly.

It was Kwon Haeju, his curly bangs disheveled, shirt sleeves rolled up. It was an appearance wholly unlike the always immaculate image Nam Shinhoo remembered—and that wasn’t the only difference.

His gray suit trousers and white shirt were splattered with blood here and there, and a couple of buttons on his shirt were undone. Anyone could tell he had come straight from the scene without even having time to change.

Yet even in such disarray, his naturally confident posture and strikingly handsome face were exactly as Nam Shinhoo remembered.

Kwon Haeju’s rapid rise in fame and the swift growth of his guild were attributed to his overwhelming ability. But some claimed that his clean, attractive appearance had also played a significant role in the guild’s expansion. Even when saying the same things as others, Kwon Haeju’s words tended to draw far more public attention.

notes

1. Divine Younger Brother (신제, 神弟): A unique title combining religious and prophetic connotations, often used in hunter fiction to refer to a figure believed to receive revelations or divine insight, rather than indicating literal divinity.