novelraw Chapter 259 : Chapter 259
Chapter 259 : Chapter 259
Chapter 259: Hunt (2)
Following that, missiles poured into the Gate one after another.
I chuckled forlornly, watching the nearly one hundred missiles.
"It really hurts my heart to see the money I earned over 10 years disappear in just one minute."
Hiring the Hunters today and buying the supplies needed for the hunt, including the missiles, had finally emptied my pockets.
The only remaining assets were a couple of islands that were difficult to liquidate and, even if they were, had little value.
And a few banknotes in my pocket.
If the facility requested financial support for the Twins' situation, I was so poor that, seriously, I would have to borrow money to give them.
"A fine mess you've made."
I let the Swordmaster's sarcasm flow past one ear and stared into the distance beyond the Gate.
Whoosh—!
A fierce gust of wind exploded from within the Gate.
The acrid smell of gunpowder wafted out.
Raising the back of my hand to roughly shield my face, I nodded slightly.
"As planned, the Hunters set up the tools at the entrance. We'll breach immediately."
"I was just waiting for those words."
"Slasher" popped out from where he had been hiding.
The Swordmaster's expression became visibly uncomfortable upon seeing him.
Even if he didn't harm civilians, he was an S-rank villain.
It was physiologically repulsive for the Swordmaster, a hero, to simply leave him alone.
He tightly suppressed the urge to capture him immediately and throw him in prison.
The Swordmaster was here as a Hunter today, not a Hero.
In contrast to the Swordmaster, who tried hard to ignore him, Slasher's eyes sparkled as he looked at the Swordmaster.
He approached him, his eyes shining like a fan who had spotted a superstar on the street.
"Wow. It's the Swordmaster! The strongest, greatest hero!"
They had never met because their activities rarely overlapped.
However, despite the difference between a hero and a villain, the commonality of being S-rank and both using swords made the Swordmaster a rather welcome presence to him.
Slasher put his hand on his sword in a relaxed tone.
"I have quite an interest in you too."
For Slasher, who only sought fights with the strong and the pleasure derived from them, the Swordmaster was definitely an attractive opponent.
"Arrogant."
Naturally, the Swordmaster, who regarded a villain as nothing more than a villain, found Slasher's attitude considerably irritating.
I sighed, watching the two of them twitch their hands as if they were about to draw their swords immediately.
"Cut it out. Before I actually kill you."
At my single, intensely murderous remark, Slasher immediately took his hand off his sword.
"Ah, of course."
He intended to listen to me today.
He had come because he heard there would be a fight that would literally "kill" them.
A fight with the Swordmaster could happen anytime later.
And more importantly, my eyes glaring at him for a moment were genuinely dangerous.
I seemed ready to explode if he provoked me even a little more.
I put the communicator on my ear one last time.
Communication was normally impossible in and out of the Gate, but it was sufficiently possible if we used a communicator operated not by simple technology but through a Trait.
I tapped the income clipped to my ear.
"Can you hear me?"
[Yeah.]
Se-ah's voice was heard.
"We're going in now, so set things up properly according to the plan."
[Okay. Be careful.]
"I will."
[Well, when you come out after it's all over...... how about we have dinner together? I heard there's a famous restaurant nearby.]
I let out a small laugh.
Se-ah's casual dinner invitation conveyed a belief that I would return safe and sound without any problems.
Or maybe, she just wanted to believe that.
"Alright. Then."
I replied lightly, as if to live up to her expectations.
I moved my feet and stood in front of the Gate.
I slowly put my hand in first.
I entrusted my body to the sensation of being sucked in, and instantly, the world flipped upside down.
The scene was distinctly different from last time.
Originally, a dense fog should have obstructed my vision and all my senses, but now, there was no trace of fog before my eyes.
"It's as expected, if I expected it."
I had judged that the fog was not due to the special environment inside the Gate, but one of the monster's abilities.
That fog didn't just obscure vision; it completely dominated the space itself.
With the thick fog, even awakeners below a certain level would instantly get lost the moment they set foot here.
Since staying would only create a favorable environment for the enemy, it was an issue that had to be handled first and foremost.
The Swordmaster and Slasher, who followed me in, immediately drew their swords.
Even with minimal experience as a Hunter, they knew well that they couldn't relax from this moment on.
I spread my senses wide.
Actually, there was no need to spread them; an unreasonably intense presence was felt from one side ever since I entered this space.
At least there was no chance of getting lost in this wide space.
I moved my feet without hesitation.
The canyon I returned to was, literally, a total mess.
The canyon where the ochre wind twisted and turned, and massive pits were scattered across the dried-up ground.
The traces of the missiles, I supposed.
With every step I took, hot air rose up from beneath my feet.
And a sound was heard from far away in the parched land where not a single blade of grass was permitted.
It wasn't a normal animal.
The Swordmaster, who was the first of the three to confirm its appearance, frowned.
"Surely that isn't that monster?"
Slasher and I then properly confirmed what was rushing towards us.
I clicked my tongue.
"As if."
Lumps of hideous form.
The half-melted things crawled across the ground, maintaining their shape even as they continuously dripped.
Legs, arms, face, all indistinguishable.
They were all merely clumped together in one mass.
They were still far away, but the repulsive stench that emanated from them was also noxious.
"Then what are those? Indigenous monsters originally in this Gate? I hadn't heard of such a thing."
"The smell is making me really not want to fight."
I casually nodded my head.
"A fragment of that monster? A subordinate? A part of it? It's hard to explain exactly. But one thing is certain."
I drew my sword immediately too.
I had fought other monsters, which could be called clones of this monster, back in Black Oskopf.
Since it could surely create more, I had anticipated this situation.
My prediction was precisely correct.
The previous monster, which clearly had a consciousness, was a little difficult to deal with, but these didn't seem that smart.
If so, they were nothing more than tough punching bags.
That's why I asserted.
"An enemy. No, prey."
"It's easier if it's prey."
"Well, as a warm-up, I guess. I just hope the smell doesn't stick to my sword."
I laughed wryly.
They definitely wouldn't say such things if they felt the regeneration speed or the tenacity of those things firsthand.
Since they had no intelligence, there was a chance that if we avoided them slightly, they wouldn't follow.
However, if they were to exit the Gate, that would be a terrible outcome, so we had to deal with them here.
"Since there are only five of them at most. Handle them yourselves."
I dumped all the fragment monsters on the two of them.
I had verbally invited them to fight together, but in truth, calling them for this purpose was the greater reason.
An unforeseen variable.
I wanted to conserve my energy as much as possible until I faced the real monster.
I suddenly turned my head in all directions.
Krrrrrng—
A deep pressure instantly suppressed me, and furthermore, the space itself, as if gravity had intensified.
It seems they were starting to move.
"If you can't deal with them quickly, you won't even get to see the monster. You know that, right? If any problem arises, just pull out."
"We'll handle it immediately and join you."
"Good."
The two immediately drew their swords and rushed toward the monster fragments.
Watching the two fight better than expected, I moved my feet again in the direction of the monster.
How much further did I walk?
In the distance, the Giant.
No, the Giant-type Monster came into view.
It was a colossal body, easily over 100 meters tall, and even though it was standing on the ground deep in the canyon, it was looking down from a point far above me.
I stroked my chin, looking at it.
"Did it get a little smaller than last time?"
It looked like less than half its size from last time.
And its appearance had changed slightly.
Its entire body was covered in a smooth, metallic shell.
Its head wasn't much different, so it was embarrassing to call it a human form, with only limbs attached.
Whether this was evolution or devolution was, unfortunately, impossible to distinguish.
The Giant reacted to my muttering.
Kugugugung—
The ground shook as if an earthquake had occurred, just from it slightly twisting its body.
[The small human from that time......]
The monster's intent was transmitted directly to my brain, not through sound, a most unpleasant sensation that made me narrow my brows.
[What is the meaning of this?]
"A hunt."
I said briefly and drew my sword.
The Giant's body heaved.
As if laughing.
No, the monster was actually laughing.
But just the act of stifling its laughter was enough to make the surrounding canyon walls collapse.
[I know exactly what schemes you are plotting outside this domain.]
The monster slowly turned its head and looked at me.
[Was your plan to destroy this space, block the entrance, and seal it as is?]
The center of its smooth face crack— split open, and a giant eyeball popped out from the gap.
The vertically slit eye squirmed up and down, as if it had seen something amusing.
[Such a pathetic thought, that you're only scrambling to avoid the situation because you lack the confidence to defeat me, much less stop me.]
The monster's guess was precisely correct.
The spatial compression, Gate closure, and sealing they prepared.
All were tools intended to prevent the monster from getting out.
In fact, outside the Gate, Hunters were in the process of blocking all three entrances.
No matter how great the monster, it only becomes a threat when it comes out of the Gate, and it cannot exit without passing through the Gate's entrance.
If they blocked the Gate's entrance and completely collapsed the space inside, no matter how great the monster was, it couldn't withstand it.
Block the Gate entrance, and then collapse the internal space.
A very simple and easy hunting method.
Yet, no Hunter used this method.
Because there was no money in it.
The monster's corpse and byproducts are worth money.
They are miracles themselves, capable of reproducing substances and phenomena that don't exist in the world.
If a nation's budget is poured into it, and the monster's corpse isn't even obtained.
Naturally, not a single penny falls into their hands.
What fool would pour money into such a useless endeavor?
But I was different.
I willingly opened my wallet just to catch the monster, just to prevent the danger.
[Do you think I will die from such a trivial trick?]
Immortality.
To the monster, which had never experienced death and never would, my plan was so laughable that it could only snort in derision.
[Of course, even if I don't die, blocking the entrance can be called a success. Yes. Is continuing this conversation also a scheme to buy time?]
In fact, the reason only me, the Swordmaster, and Slasher entered the Gate—unlike the Hunters outside—was to buy as much time as possible to prevent the monster from coming out while the Gate entrance was being blocked.
[Yes. I don't have the ability to open a Gate. But I will survive, and the Gate will open someday. You are merely postponing all responsibility and obligation to the distant future.]
The monster openly sneered at me and let out a sigh.
[I thought you might be able to reach Transcendence, but you're just a mere human after all. You haven't overcome that limit.]
"What are you even saying."
I clicked my tongue and tapped the ground with my toe.
"To think that blocking and confining the Gate entrance is merely to prevent you from coming out. That monster bastard's thinking is truly simple."
For the first time, a look of doubt crossed the monster's eye.
"What you talked about is their plan. My plan is a little different."
Of course, when gathering people and setting the stage publicly, my plan perfectly matched the monster's prediction.
Because it was logical and reasonable.
An absolute disaster that absolutely cannot be stopped.
If it can be avoided, there is no need to confront it.
If someone can risk their life to buy time, it's a success.
No, even sacrificing just that one person would almost guarantee success if necessary.
My plan, though seemingly absurd, was the most realistic.
That's why I concocted the plan with such a lie.
"The reason I'm confining you and creating a completely independent space in my real plan is."
I had already drawn my sword.
Because if anyone heard my true plan, no one would help me like this.
"To prevent you from escaping from here."
[What?]
For the first time, the monster questioned me in a perplexed tone.
I scoffed at its reaction.
"A monster bastard wouldn't have pride. It's obvious you'll run away right before you die, so I'm locking the door in advance. Do you not understand what I'm saying?"
I stomped my foot and instantly closed the distance.
I climbed onto the monster's shoulder, gripped my sword in a Reverse Grip, and raised it high.
"You are going to die here, today."
Simultaneously, I plunged the sword into the monster's eyeball.
Kwaaaang—!
A fierce gust of wind exploded from within the Gate, accompanied by vibration.