Chapter 427: Crash!
Under the rippling light, every single window shattered. The glass fragments scattered downward, glittering in the morning sunlight. Shouts of “What’s going on?” rang out, but it seemed they couldn’t easily come outside because of the powerful electric current flowing along the outer walls of the building.
When lightning strikes, indoors is safer.
Rumble, crash!
The building walls crumbled and blackened as they burned away. Since electricity was an attribute whose power dropped when it spread out, it was difficult to bring down a special building simply by pouring in raw power. The Hunter Association building had been reinforced with dungeon byproducts, and by this point in time it would have been enhanced with all kinds of items and skills too.
Even so, crash, crash, parts of the exterior wall kept collapsing. Why isn’t he stopping? I glanced sideways at Sung Hyunjae, who was recklessly throwing around magic power, mana.
“…At this rate, you’re going to run out of mana.”
“Even for me, this is not the sort of thing I could do twice.”
Mm, would he really be unable to? Well, in reality Chief Song would come running over to stop him. But the current Song Taewon was only standing there watching Sung Hyunjae’s atrocities. Even though this was inside a dungeon, it was still such an unreal sight. I wanted to take pictures—no, a video. Had recording items not been fully developed yet?
‘Good thing there’s hardly anyone in the Hunter Association right now that Chief Song knows.’
The personnel turnover had been complete. Even if they were the same people, there was bound to be a huge difference between having a face you recognized and one you didn’t. Even if you weren’t especially close. News that some neighborhood person you often ran into had died felt completely different from news that some nameless person on the other side of the world had died.
The same went for Yerim, but with Yerim, making her harm monsters that were no different from humans was unpleasant from the start. I knew I shouldn’t treat her as just a fifteen-year-old. Even if they weren’t Awakened, if a minor had the strength of an adult or greater and held a powerful weapon like a gun, then you would still have to risk your life against them regardless of age.
Even so, how you felt was another matter entirely.
“Yerim, fall back now!”
It was about time for S-rank—well, in this place, SS-rank—Hunters to start appearing. Yerim, who had already heard that the SS-rank Hunter was melee type, withdrew reluctantly. At the same time, the whipping current died down as well. Sung Hyunjae also stepped back.
“From here on, I shall leave it to Chief Song Taewon. It should collapse quite easily.”
Had he weakened the building down to its core? I wanted to see Chief Song destroying the Association too, but really. That was the kind of sight that wouldn’t even show up in dreams.
The me from before the regression and Yoon Yoon stayed outside the area together with Young Chaos, and Yerim and Sung Hyunjae also fell back to where Noah and I were, leaving only Yoohyun and Chief Song in front. In terms of numbers, of course, and with an SS-rank on the other side too, it could be said they were at a qualitative disadvantage as well.
Even so, I didn’t feel much tension.
“Mr. Noah, I’m counting on you for support skills. Especially that, uh, forced one.”
“Yes, don’t worry.”
Noah nodded confidently, then spread his wings and flew up into the sky. He shone brilliantly for a moment, then used his stealth skill and disappeared. Nest of Descending Light had too long a cooldown to use, but since the Hunter Association wasn’t the last stop anyway, he probably wouldn’t have used it from the beginning. If he just gave some support to Teacher’s skill, that would be enough. Of course it would.
“…That person, no way!”
After the lightning stopped, the Hunters who came outside the building looked shocked. Their gazes shot straight toward Song Taewon. From their perspective, a dead man had come back perfectly alive.
“That makes no sense, is that a monster… Haeyeon’s Guildmaster, and Sung Hyunjae?”
“So I can’t even hear you called the Seseong Guildmaster anymore.”
Sung Hyunjae pretended to sound disappointed. Officially, up until just before the regression, Sung Hyunjae was still the Seseong Guildmaster and Ms. Soyoung had only been acting in his place.
“Could it be that lightning just now was…….”
“No, but!”
“Doesn’t the Haeyeon Guildmaster look younger too?”
“It looks like there’s someone up there too…. That one’s young too, but looks like a Hunter.”
“…Why is the Haeyeon Guildmaster’s older brother here?”
Why shouldn’t I be.
Among the murmuring voices, the current SS-rank Hunter, Choi Iram, stepped forward. He raised his brows slightly as he looked at Yoohyun.
“Are you the Haeyeon Guildmaster?”
“Yes.”
“Then should this situation be taken to mean that Haeyeon Guild intends to treat the Hunter Association and the other guilds as enemies?”
Choi Iram spoke with an expression that said he genuinely could not understand. The current Hunter Association could be said to be an alliance of the large guilds, including Haeyeon. Choi Iram could also be called an S-rank Hunter jointly affiliated with them. So if they suddenly attacked like this—
“Think whatever you like.”
As if he couldn’t be bothered to explain at length, Yoohyun answered that much and lowered the Ruler’s Sword into a ready grip. It was a gesture that said, stop talking and come at me. Choi Iram’s face twisted.
“…So that’s what it was! Sung Hyunjae and Song Taewon were working together, pretending Song Taewon died! It was all to bring down the Hunter Association!”
No, that wasn’t it at all. At those words about them plotting together, a faint shadow crossed Chief Song’s face. Even if it was fake, it seemed he didn’t like getting misunderstood like that.
“You were deliberately reducing Seseong’s influence within Korea, and once Haeyeon grew big enough, you intended to swallow everything whole, was that, that the scheme?!”
Well, Sung Hyunjae’s disappearance wasn’t exactly voluntary, but it was true that he’d originally intended to hand Korea over either to Haeyeon or to Breaker. That was one hell of a lucky backward guess.
“Sung Hyunjae, Song Taewon, and even Han Yoohyun joining hands!”
“We have never joined hands.”
“We’ve never joined hands.”
“For now, I am merely holding Han Yoojin-gun’s hand.”
“I’m the one holding ahjussi’s hand, though.”
She was holding it so she could teleport me away if anything happened. Our S-rank Hunters really do look close, haha.
“Haeyeon Guildmaster! You may be young, but I respected you as a fellow Hunter!”
Did he? That actually made me feel a little sorry. Well, judging by how rude he’d been to me, he did seem favorable toward Yoohyun, and toward Haeyeon. I just hadn’t realized it went as far as respect.
“Young master seems quite popular.”
“Honestly, he is cool. Right now he’s the strongest in Korea, and practically the real number one in the world too. His skills are cool, too. Not just plain red either, but pitch-black fire, and his weapon’s a sword. Even the willow leaves look stylish.”
“Ahjussi, have some shame.”
“It’s the truth. Yerim, put your hand on your conscience.”
Yerim’s face crumpled, and she clamped her mouth shut. Even people who hated Yoohyun would admit he was cool. Unless their eye for things had fallen below human standards.
“I swear I’m absolutely, definitely going to beat Han Yoohyun.”
“You’ll be very busy, little lady.”
“Seseong ahjussi is second on the list.”
“As expected of our Yerim. You’ve got a good eye.”
Of course he’s second.
Grinding his teeth, Choi Iram aimed his spear at Yoohyun. The other Association Hunters, still flustered, took up fighting stances too.
“I’ll handle this.”
Yoohyun said that to Chief Song, and dark blue-black flames flared up. At the same time, Song Taewon’s body shot forward. A fist wearing SS-rank handcuffs broke a blade and drove upward to the lower jaw. Bam! The sounds of bones cracking rang out one after another.
A melee Hunter capable of nullifying all skills. And once high-rank armor was added on top of that, he became even more unstoppable. Even apart from Choi Iram, the Hunters here were A to B-rank. In other words, S to A-ranks within this dungeon. And yet Chief Song’s body tore through the Hunters without hesitation, like a tiger plunging into a herd of deer.
Boom!
A Hunter Association fighter sent flying by a roundhouse kick smashed into the building wall. A huge hole burst open in the already weakened structure, and one side of it came crashing down. Debris rolled all the way to Choi Iram’s feet. He ground his teeth so hard it showed as he glared at Yoohyun.
“I’d wanted to fight you at least once, but not like th—”
As though he had no intention of listening further, Yoohyun began to move. The Ruler’s Sword dug for Choi Iram’s throat as he closed the distance in a flash, and the spear shaft blocked it. I remembered it as an S-rank weapon, but maybe the weapon had gotten a dungeon buff too, because it withstood the heat-flowing blade without much trouble.
But then—
“……!”
Just when it seemed the strike had been blocked, the Ruler’s Sword transformed into a flexible blade and bent sharply. Drawing a curve like a beast’s claw—crunch!—it pierced straight through Choi Iram’s shoulder. He had been wearing shoulder armor, but the blackish-red flames ran along the blade and melted it away. Choi Iram hurriedly pulled back, but Han Yoohyun gave him no opening. Using the ceremonial robe’s acceleration skill, he chased him down even faster than Choi Iram could retreat.
“You were hiding—!”
I bought that for him! Me! What do you mean hiding!
“It’s the weapon the supposedly useless older brother of the Haeyeon Guildmaster gave him! Why! I gave him that coat too!”
They’re both SS-rank, you bastard! It was a bit childish, but after shouting it out, I felt so much better. Before I even finished shouting, Yoohyun’s knee drove hard into Choi Iram’s abdomen. As his body floated up into the air, the Ruler’s Sword whipped in a half-circle.
Clang!
The spear shaft barely managed to block the sword, but Choi Iram flew backward like a baseball hit by a bat and slammed into the wall. Craaash! The Association building, already half-destroyed thanks to Chief Song, shook so violently it looked like it might collapse any moment.
“Damn it!”
Choi Iram sprang back to his feet. Since he was still SS-rank level, it didn’t seem the damage had been quite as great as I’d expected. His face grew even more cautious, as though he would not lower his guard any longer, and a cluster of light gathered at the tip of his spear. The speed with which he kicked off the ground and charged Yoohyun was no joke. That tremendous force—
“…Ugh?!”
Suddenly the speed increased even more, and he slipped right past Yoohyun instead. It was Mr. Noah’s skill. In that instant of losing his balance, Yoohyun slashed at Choi Iram. Thanks to his SS-rank stats he avoided a fatal wound, but one of Choi Iram’s arms was split halfway open.
Mr. Noah’s skill really is devastating in a fight against an upper-rank Hunter of a similar level.
“What is this, don’t tell me that bird!”
What bird. He wasn’t even fully transformed; he only had his wings out. Though he’d used a stealth skill, it seemed Choi Iram still couldn’t avoid spotting him, because he glared savagely at Noah. But there was no way for him to go after Noah. Choi Iram had no flying skill, and before he could even get there, he would have to pass Yerim and Sung Hyunjae.
In the end, Choi Iram did not last much longer, and yielded up his neck beneath the pitch-black blade.
The other Hunters nearby were in similar shape. The last Association Hunter collapsed under one of Chief Song’s kicks.
Ruuumble, crack!
The Hunter Association building collapsed in full. A huge cloud of dust rose, and the scenery that had been hidden behind it came clearly into view.
Ah, what a lovely sight.
“You did great, Yoohyun. You worked hard too, Chief Song! Thank you too, Mr. Noah! That timing was perfect!”
With this, the Hunter Association had been cleared too. So now, with a much lighter heart—well, going there would probably still be hard, but—
[Haeyeon Guild area has been opened!]
A message window appeared. It seemed the others had seen it too. Yerim looked up at me a little worriedly.
“This time, wait outside, ahjussi.”
“It’s fine. It’s the last boss. How can I sit it out?”
We’ve got Teacher’s skill, and the double skill too. On top of that, we’ve got several people, and there should be plenty of Haeyeon Guild members too, so if it comes down to it, I can use Our Kid’s Skill as well.
Yeah, I probably couldn’t sit it out after all. It’s the boss. Usually that means it’s stronger… then again, maybe not. Maybe the demon king who made this dungeon is waiting inside.
…I wish.
“Let’s replenish mana, rest a little, then go. It’s probably a little too early for lunch. It’s better to fight while you’re still feeling light.”
Of course going hungry was a bad idea, but if the timing was awkward, lighter bodies were better. I looked once over the ruined Association, then started walking.
Haeyeon Guild wasn’t all that far either. Even after resting and moving at an easy pace, we were able to arrive before noon. The moment I saw the familiar building, my mouth went dry all on its own.
“Wouldn’t it be wise to send one or two ahead to take a look?”
Sung Hyunjae said. Reconnaissance probably wasn’t a bad idea. It would give us time to prepare ourselves mentally too.
“Then Yoon Yoon and I can go!”
Yerim stepped forward. Yoon Yoon also readily agreed, since it was scouting and not combat.
“You both have to be careful. Yoon Yoon, spatial movement can’t be blocked the way teleportation can, so I’m counting on you to look after Yerim.”
“Don’t worry!”
Yoon Yoon was a bit less reliable, but spatial movement was extremely reliable. The two of them stepped forward, saying they’d go take a look. Please let it be the demon king, please….
“Huh?”
Yerim, who had leaped forward, slammed into an invisible wall with a thud. The same thing happened to Yoon Yoon. What? The area had definitely been opened.
“Ahjussi, we can’t get in!”
“That’s right, Captain Kim Seobang! It’s blocked here!”
At the two of them saying that, Chief Song and Noah came forward. Their hands were blocked in midair too. Then Sung Hyunjae also tapped the empty air with the back of his hand.
“Did the rookie mess up again?”
No, after saying he’d open it…….
“Ah!”
The hand I’d fully expected to be blocked sliced right through the air. Yoohyun quickly caught me as I staggered.
“Ahjussi, you can go in?”
“Th-that’s true?”
What the hell is this. Just what is going on here?
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