novelraw Chapter 150 : Monster (2)
Chapter 150 : Monster (2)
Monster (2)
'I need to make Alencia Walker draw their attention first.'
While keeping a lookout for any signs nearby, Mikhail walked through the forest.
Since it was difficult to pinpoint Jung-woo's location, he had to make the man get distracted in order to more easily steal the Saintess' bracelet.
'To be honest, I actually wanted to fight him once, though.'
He had heard that this was the very man who closed an S-rank gate and destroyed the Ice Tower.
No one would have guessed that this mysterious S-rank awakener would be working as a mere manager.
Mikhail himself had a desire to fight such a powerful being, but getting the Saintess' bracelet came first.
'Even if I can't kill her, if I inflict serious injury, that guy will have no choice but to come to this deserted island.'
Then, in the meantime, I just have to attack the association and take the bracelet.
It might have seemed like a reckless plan, but with the artifact Mikhail possessed, it was a very simple matter.
'Mark of Return.'
Mikhail grinned as he looked at the dagger in his hand.
The reason he could have gotten away with serial killings for so long without ever being caught was all thanks to this artifact.
Its effect was simple.
It was an artifact that allowed him to teleport to a location where he had carved a mark using the dagger.
Its range was 30km, allowing for a broad variety of uses.
'The drawback is that I can only set one mark.'
If it could be used multiple times, he wouldn't just use it as an escape tool; it was a shame.
Still, it was an artifact he had obtained from an A-rank dungeon, so this level of performance was more than plenty.
'If an ordinary A-rank artifact is like this, just how amazing must the Saintess' bracelet be?'
Even without containing the Saintess' authority, it had been evaluated as an 'A-rank' artifact.
If he could use the supposed 'Authority of Wishes' they spoke of, it could wield a power beyond imagination.
'Still, I don't want to hand it over to those guys.'
Wouldn't it be better if I stole it first and broke the alliance with them?
It's not like they trusted me very much to begin with, anyway.
Rustle.
'Oh.'
At that moment, he heard the sound of someone stepping on dry leaves nearby.
Squatting down in a hurry to hide his presence, Mikhail gripped the dagger tightly in his hand.
'How about I warm up before killing Alencia?'
The Hunters on this deserted island ranged from A to C-rank and were fairly skilled, but none could compare to S-rank awakener Mikhail.
'If I just hide the bodies properly, no one will even find them, and meanwhile...'
It had been a while since he last killed.
Two months ago, after killing twelve awakened in Texas, he had been told in UnderStellar to lay low for a while.
But it wouldn't matter this time, since it was a mission.
"What the—?"
Mikhail turned his gaze toward the direction of the sound, but frowned when he saw nobody there.
He was sure he had sensed a presence—had he imagined it?
'That can't be.'
There was no way he, of all people, could sense someone by mistake.
Just in case, as he turned his head to scan his surroundings—
"......"
Red pupils were right before his eyes.
He didn't know when the figure had approached, or how long it had been there.
A monster with long, black hair hanging down was staring at Mikhail from a distance close enough that he could feel its breath.
"... Body."
As the monster muttered something, Mikhail's hand moved.
Though he was briefly surprised by the sudden appearance, he was an S-rank awakener who had been through countless battles.
He stabbed the dagger in his hand toward the monster's heart.
Stab!!
"You dumb bastard."
If there was an opening, he should have attacked immediately.
Mikhail twisted the dagger embedded in the monster's heart.
Any ordinary human would have died instantly.
"... You are a sinner, aren't you."
Yet Mikhail's thoughts could go no further—the red pupils continued to gaze at him.
"Become my food, and repent."
In that instant, Mikhail felt it.
Something was stirring—something other than magic power, another force entirely.
***
"I heard we're all supposed to stick together today, not move separately?"
"They say there's a monster wandering around the island. Hunter Alencia-nim was already attacked, apparently."
"What? Really?"
Since the filming crew couldn't go to the island, they had no choice but to relay the situation to the Hunters as much as possible.
That there was a currently unidentified monster wandering there, and that its strength was not ordinary.
So they told everyone to stay together and not move rashly until the storm lifted at daybreak.
"Hunter Alencia-nim, did you perhaps see its face?"
"Well... I didn't really get a good look."
It was dark in the forest, and its hair was matted and hung down like an animal's, so she couldn't see its face clearly.
"I only caught a glimpse of its red eyes peering out between all that seaweed-like hair?"
"... That sounds straight out of a horror movie."
That was said by an A-rank Hunter standing beside Alencia.
Given the situation, the twenty Hunters agreed to a temporary truce and gathered at one spot.
"Chang-shik-ssi, you be careful too. It looked way stronger than an A-rank Hunter."
"Huh?! Is, is that for real?"
The Hunter called Chang-shik shuddered at Alencia's words.
So did the other Hunters nearby.
If Alencia said this much, then it meant it was too much for even A-rank Hunters.
"It makes sense that the filming crew told us to stick together."
"But, hunter Alencia-nim, how did you end up losing the monster?"
"It just suddenly threw an axe at me. I wasn't sure if it was some sort of gimmick..."
She should have caught it then, Alencia sighed as she recalled.
"... You got hit by an axe, so why are you fine?"
"I guess the blade was dull. It just bounced off."
Could a dull blade really just bounce off the human body?
The Hunters wondered but just assumed S-rank awakener must have tough bodies.
Bzzz.
"Yes, manager-nim. I've gathered everyone just as you asked."
When her phone vibrated in her pocket, Alencia answered quickly.
Jung-woo's worried voice came through from the other end.
「Well done. It seems the monster Alencia encountered is not an ordinary human.」
"So it's a monster, not a human?"
「It's not a monster...but. Is there anyone around who might overhear?」
"Hm? No, it's just me now."
Deciding that Jung-woo wanted to speak privately, Alencia distanced herself from the others.
Even at some distance, with her speed, she could respond to any sudden situation, so there was no big problem.
「I suspect that monster originated from the dungeon where the Saintess' bracelet was found.」
"Really?"
「Yes, but when the dungeon first spawned and was explored, they said there was no monster.」
"Huh? That doesn't make sense. If the monster first showed up in the dungeon but wasn't there when it was explored..."
「However, during the initial dungeon exploration, several people went missing. Afterwards, regular searches were attempted but soon stopped.」
"Why?"
If they wanted to get to the truth, wouldn't they have kept searching?
「Every time they sent in search parties, a few more would disappear. So they stopped before things got worse.」
"... But why was that dangerous island picked for filming, then?"
「I suppose they hid it, since having rumors like this get out would be bad. Plus, since all disappearances happened in the dungeon, they figured it was safe as long as no one entered.」
In other words, they kept it quiet lest negative rumors damage Taean's image.
Even if the broadcasting station wanted to film on the island, they wouldn't have admitted it was a repeated site of disappearances.
If reporters came, people would ask what the Taean Hunter Association had been doing all this time.
So, they just restricted access to the problem dungeon and kept quiet.
「It's unbelievable, isn't it?」
"So the monster is..."
「My guess is that it's someone who went missing. Most likely, there was a monster in the dungeon capable of 'possessing' a human body.」
"Something like that exists?"
「Among spiritual-type monsters, there are some with possession-like abilities. It's not impossible. Still... It's abnormally strong.」
Even with possession, it's nearly impossible to manifest strength that exceeds the original host.
However, looking at the force the monster displayed against Alencia, it was definitely not at the level of a missing Hunter.
「For now, I'll look further into it and contact you again, so please protect the other cast members.」
"Okay, but... there's a problem."
「A problem?」
Protecting the cast from the monster was no issue.
As long as Alencia still had enough electricity left.
"I think I'm about to run out of power."
Alencia had about two days left.
During that time, she had to find some way to recharge.
***
"Have you lost your mind? Of all things, how could you hide something like that?!"
PD Do looked enraged, as if he was about to grab the Taean Hunter Association President by the collar.
"So far, all incidents happened near the dungeon. There've been no recent problems, and this is the first time the monster's been spotted. Besides, you visited and checked the dungeon yourself with us beforehand, didn't you?"
"Is that what you call an explanation...!"
It was PD Do's fiery temper, which he hadn't shown in a long time.
From the association's perspective, this was the first time the monster was seen, and as all incidents happened near the dungeon, they thought just restricting that area would be enough.
In fact, PD Do had visited the dungeon himself beforehand just in case.
Since it was fine then, they must have gone ahead with filming.
"If so, why didn't you mention the storms that strike every two weeks?"
"......"
Taean Hunter Association President, Kim Byung-han, couldn't find an excuse for this part and shut his mouth.
From his scrunched expression, it was clear he could guess what would happen next.
If this got reported to the press, the association would get chewed out.
"For now, we need to make sure those on the island are rescued. Hunter Alencia-nim is there too, so there's no need to worry too much."
"But if Hunter Alencia-nim runs out of power, she can't do anything, can she?"
"Well, yes, but..."
How could they possibly charge electricity on a deserted island?
He suggested a few methods, but whether they'd work was unknown.
"By the way, what about the artifact kept by the association?"
"We've sent someone, it should be here soon. But even so..."
This incident was related to the dungeon found on Gwehyeoldo.
Naturally, it was possible that the bracelet discovered there might have some connection to this incident, so they'd asked to check it.
"But I fail to see the point in looking at the bracelet."
Kim Byung-han looked at me sharply, as if to say, what could a mere manager possibly glean from the artifact?
"President, here it is."
About ten minutes later, a Hunter from the association arrived, placing a small box on the table.
"... Then, let's take a look."
Reluctantly, Kim Byung-han opened the box, and the familiar gold bracelet came into view.
Seeing it in person again left me with a strange, indescribable feeling.
It hadn't even been a year since I'd last seen that bracelet.
Yet now, here I was, seeing it as if confirming a keepsake.
"Manager Park, what do you think?"
There was impatience in PD Do's voice.
It was as if, grabbing at straws, he desperately hoped to find some clue on the bracelet.
Of course, the likelihood was low.
'I'm only looking just in case, but...'
The odds that this bracelet was related to the monster...
'Wait.'
I squinted as I felt a force emanating from the bracelet.
I could definitely feel some kind of authority from it.
It was likely Estella's authority contained in the bracelet.
The authority of wishes the Saintess once held.
What I had felt from Shin Ah-yeon before was a little different in nature so I hadn't properly recognized it, but this was different.
This was pure, undiluted Estella's authority.
Though, based on how faint it was, calling it a fragment of the authority would be more accurate.
'Why did this come over to this world?'
According to Ardan, this was the object swallowed by the rift along with the cardinal.
A dungeon appearing on the deserted island, and an unidentified monster.
As I considered their connection, I came up with a certain hypothesis.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
And there you have it.
It's because the Taean association didn't want bad publicity.
They probably haven't heard of the Streisand Effect.
Also, I'm guessing the monster is the Cardinal who stole the Saintess's Bracelet.
【ദ്ദി(⩌ᴗ⩌)】