novelraw Chapter 260 : Chapter 260
Chapter 260 : Chapter 260
Chapter 260: Hunt (3)
Pu-ook—
My sword pierced the monster's eyeball.
In the past, despite using my full power, I couldn't penetrate its outer shell due to an unknown strength and hardness.
But today was different.
My sword dug into the monster's eye with surprising ease.
[———!]
A disagreeable noise, unlike a human or animal, like a broken siren, wailed out as a scream.
The monster's body staggered violently.
Simultaneously, it thrashed its arm, trying to swat me away.
Before it could, I quickly retreated and landed back on the ground.
The swinging arm swept through the air a couple of times, then dropped right onto the spot it had predicted I would be.
Bwoo-oong—!
Kkwang—!
Yet, I easily dodged the subsequent attack as well.
Instead, I lightly sliced off one finger, which was larger than my entire body.
A red line was drawn, and blood gushed out.
The monster seemed furious and shouted.
[......You human!]
It hadn't expected to be struck first without warning.
No, to be precise, it didn't think my attack would even reach it.
This was a problem beyond the mere magnitude of power possessed.
No matter how strong one was, the important thing was the realm.
And if one hadn't achieved Transcendence, no attack would even land.
The man it met again clearly hadn't achieved Transcendence.
Even as he stood there now, only a fragment of Transcendence was felt from him; he hadn't reached the most crucial realm.
That's why the monster had ignored me.
To watch me slowly, and surely, have all my plans ruined and fall into despair.
That was the most suitable end for a mere human who had arrogantly held his head high in front of it.
However, my sword reached the monster.
The eye covered by the palm slowly disappeared.
Instead, it reverted to its original hard, smooth form.
Perhaps its anger had subsided somewhat.
The monster let out a scoff of disbelief.
It could somewhat understand the phenomenon of how the attack had reached it.
It was only surprising because a mere human had accomplished it.
A mere few months was such a trivial and short period that it was embarrassing to even call it a duration to the monster, which had lived for an unimaginably long time compared to humans.
Yet, what process and change had I undergone in that short time to reach that point?
The Trait, which defied the world's principles, warped everything just by its mere existence.
As a result, even without achieving Transcendence, it could grab hold of the monster's ankle from the same place as Transcendence.
The Trait, with its preposterous nature, could already stand on par with Transcendence, having partially overcome the wall.
The monster looked at me and asked.
After all, the eye was just a visual effect to intimidate the opponent; it wasn't difficult for the monster to see ahead even without eyes.
[You've surpassed the limit given to humans. What do you intend to become?]
"Haven't really thought about it."
Even if I were suddenly asked about my future dream, nothing immediately came to mind.
"First, how about I crush you and then think about it?"
I took my stance again.
Beep-beep-beep—
However, the walkie-talkie strapped to my waist loudly rang, breaking the atmosphere.
Looking slightly awkward, I dropped my stance.
Instead, I pressed the power button on the in-com clipped to my ear.
[The preparation for spatial compression and Gate shutdown is all done! Come out quickly!]
Se-ah's noticeably excited voice was heard.
For her, she couldn't help but be delighted that all operations had been nearly perfectly successful so far.
Frankly, it was nothing short of a gamble with less than a 20% chance.
[Only you need to come out! The Swordmaster and that villain bastard are already out!]
The Swordmaster and Slasher, too, would have tried to deal with the monster if they had the capacity.
However, even the monster fragments were more powerful than they had imagined.
Their nature of continuously reviving even after being struck down eventually sapped their strength.
All they could do was barely neutralize them by erasing them spatially without leaving a trace.
Since the operational time was upon them, they had no choice but to retreat out of the Gate.
As my reply didn't return, Se-ah asked with a slight panic.
[Are you still fighting that big monster bastard? Are you that busy? Can't you pull out?]
According to the operation Se-ah knew, the mission was supposed to end with me, who was buying time and controlling variables, escaping, and simultaneously the Gate entrance being completely closed.
Conversely, if I didn't come out, the mission would fail no matter how well everything else went.
Only then did I slowly raise my hand and press the button on the in-com.
"I'm not coming out."
I revealed the truth I had been hiding until now.
[What?]
At Se-ah's question mixed with confusion, I shook my head.
"The plan I told you about, the important part was actually missing. Blocking the Gate entrance to collapse it is just buying time, too. Maximally suppressing it with missiles while blocking the entrance and collapsing the internal Gate space? That's ultimately nothing more than buying time. 10 years, 20 years. Maybe it could pop out again tomorrow."
I sighed deeply.
"So, I'm just going to kill it myself."
[Then how are you going to get out?!]
"Why? It's simple. The ways to get out of a Gate are to find the exit, or......"
I slowly turned my head and looked at the monster.
Amusingly, because it had intelligence, it was waiting quietly for the call to end.
Was it because it was overflowing with confidence?
Or was it to extract at least some information through my conversation?
Either way, its lack of reaction was welcome to me.
"To destroy the Gate's core."
[Wait! Hey! What kind of nonsense is that?!]
Se-ah's reaction was furious.
The problem wasn't that I was arbitrarily changing the plan.
[Why are you dangerously messing around by yourself again?!]
It was always the same.
He talks enthusiastically about honesty being a virtue or whatever, but when the situation gets dangerous, he always shuts his mouth and tries to solve everything by himself.
For the person who has to watch this anxiously from the sidelines, it was truly maddening.
[You son of a bitch! You're trying to—]
"I."
I cut off Se-ah before she could fully curse.
"I don't want to do this either. Obviously. I could die if I mess up."
[Then come out right now!]
"But you see."
I continued with a self-deprecating smile.
"If I temporarily evade this situation now, and it returns later in a more serious state. And if you guys get hurt or something happens? My mental fortitude isn't strong enough to endure seeing that."
The worst-case scenario I envisioned wasn't that the monster would appear in just a few days.
10 years, 20 years.
The prime of an awakener is short.
Since Traits are closely related to both the body and mind, if either collapses, one instantly weakens.
And the weakened me could never defeat that monster.
There was no guarantee that an awakener comparable to me or Smiley would appear then.
And more than anything, I didn't want to entrust my safety and the safety of those around me to others.
That's why I could be confident.
Maintaining the sharpness of my villain days, combined with the resolve to protect my loved ones.
And my physical prime.
The current moment was undoubtedly the strongest period in my life.
If I couldn't defeat it now, I would never be able to defeat it again.
"I have to catch it, right now."
[......You crazy bastard. Then you should have at least gotten support.]
"Why am I fighting in the Gate? I'm fighting here because there's nothing to protect. So it's inconvenient if what I need to protect gets involved."
Se-ah was silent for a long time.
She knew well that whatever she said, I wouldn't listen to her anyway.
[Don't just promise to come back alive. Come back without even a small scratch. Otherwise, I'll kill you.]
"Could you at least forgive a bruise?"
[No. Then...... I'm closing off the Gate entrance.]
"Alright."
Communication was possible now somehow through the Trait and technology, but once the Gate entrance was completely sealed, even this short call would end.
[You, come ba—]
Chizizik—
Se-ah's last word didn't reach me as the Gate completely closed.
I took off the in-com, which was only emitting static noise, and gave a bitter smile.
"Right. Guess we won't be able to have dinner together."
Simultaneously, the air changed.
The sensation was like dipping into a highly viscous swimming pool.
I lightly flexed and unflexed my hand.
And a time distortion was also felt.
"It's closed."
I had researched the phenomenon of a Gate closing multiple times, so the theory was perfect.
Originally, there was a difference in the flow of time between the Gate and the outside.
When I checked last time, the ratio was easily over 10 times.
However, even that couldn't compare to a 'closed Gate.'
Time had already stopped here.
"Now, preparations are complete."
Only two things were necessary for me to catch that monster:
Time and space.
And this closed Gate was the only place that perfectly satisfied those conditions.
The monster infinitely regenerates and claims to be immortal.
To face such a thing, I couldn't hold back my output.
However, my power sends massive shockwaves into the surroundings.
My Trait, which crushes space itself, wasn't just about destruction; it left its mark in that space for a long time, destroying everything.
Furthermore, the new realm I had reached made even that seem laughable.
I took a step.
Grass grew over my footprint.
But it immediately rotted away.
Life and destruction.
I was accomplishing all cycles at once.
Not only in the city center, but even in remote areas, I could hardly exert my full power without causing severe damage to the surroundings.
But this place was different.
Turning the world upside down a few times over wouldn't matter.
Since it was completely closed, there was no chance of being bounced out of the Gate interior.
And as for time, even if it resurrects a few times, if I keep killing it, won't it eventually truly die?
"Let's give it a try."
Boredom was an emotion I had completely overcome while being locked up in prison for nearly 10 years.
I muttered to myself and turned my gaze.
"I appreciate you waiting, but I don't plan on keeping you alive, you know? You're not unfairly treated, right?"
[What emotions and thoughts move you, and how you reached that realm. I cannot empathize, but I understand.]
The monster also hadn't waited simply out of consideration for me.
Its ideology, will, motive, and goal.
It perfectly understood and grasped everything from the communication just now.
And the result was.
[Humans are truly foolish. To abandon a brief peace and come here to die.]
Although it had been slightly nervous when I first climbed to this realm, it was ultimately just a kind of glitch, not true Transcendence.
Fake Transcendence could not defeat the real thing.
"Ah, and there's this too."
I opened my palm one last time.
A sphere of power floated above my palm, the power Smiley left behind at the end.
That power, which usually thrashed around, trying to seep into someone's body or disappear, was incredibly quiet today.
I smiled lightly at the result, which was as expected.
I always had to dedicate a certain amount of power and attention to it.
But in this stopped time, it was similarly just stopped.
I clenched my hand, drawing the sphere of power back in.
I always spoke the phrase "full power"—but that was merely the relative full power I could exert in that situation.
Full power, in an absolute sense, was impossible as long as I possessed this force.
No, it had been impossible.
Furthermore, my opponent was a monster whose life I didn't need to worry about.
At this very moment.
I could dedicate my genuine feelings and full power.
I put my hand on my waist and took a long breath.
"It feels good. This feeling. It's truly refreshing, perhaps because the heavy lump that was always placed on my chest has gone down."
This moment was definitely my prime.
"I feel like I could kill anything."
[Give it your all. That way, crushing you will be worthwhile.]
"Looking at the way you run your mouth, I guess your jaw definitely achieved Transcendence."
At the monster's confident declaration, I gripped my sword with both hands.
I will kill it, and kill it again, and keep killing it until.
"I'll make sure you never want to come back to life."