Chapter 102. Unavoidable Malice (4)
‘What should I do?’
I still don’t fully understand the physical structure of Earthlings. That makes things even scarier.
I couldn’t even figure out the critical condition that Kang Chang-ho in front of me was in.
‘What if that Earthling dies because of this!’
Panicking at the loss of consciousness of my opponent, I started moving frantically.
To be precise, I attempted to pull the S-Class out from under the debris.
But as you know…
F-Class Hunter strength is comparable to that of passing insects.
‘Huuuh!’
Honestly, it drives me mad.
I can’t pull or push him at all.
How on earth is an F-Class like me supposed to remove that heavy rock?
‘What if I help, and the Earthling ends up like this…’
For now, there were no visible external injuries, but it seemed the heavy debris was pressing against his chest, as his breathing had become barely audible for a while now.
‘Is this really going to end badly?’
Fearing for Kang Chang-ho’s shallow breaths, I used every means at my disposal.
I even tried to pull him out from under the debris.
“Grrk!”
But even my last-ditch attempt had no effect. No matter how much I pulled at the arm protruding out, Kang Chang-ho didn’t budge at all.
“Please, get out…!”
In the end, I started shouting at full volume as I strained for strength.
“Just get out already!!”
But no amount of shouting was going to suddenly make an F-Class stronger.
Huff, huff.
I stood on the stone crushing Chang-ho, taking a moment to breathe. Damn it, this situation isn’t going to work out the ordinary way.
‘Should I dig into the ground to create some space…’
Boom!
At that moment.
I lifted my head at the sudden loud noise.
Come to think of it, I had been so focused on Chang-ho that I completely forgot we were in the center of a city caught up in a Dungeon Break.
‘Damn! What collapsed this time?’
Fortunately, this noise didn’t seem to be related to where I was standing…
Click!
I couldn’t just ignore this.
The camera shutter sound meant there were other Earthlings nearby.
‘Huh?’
But that sounded… a bit too close, didn’t it?
I quickly turned my gaze towards the source of the shutter sound from my left.
And what I saw were several Earthlings with shocked expressions.
“What’s going on?”
“Is there a fight?”
“Huh! There’s someone down there.”
Chatter, chatter.
They seemed to be ordinary citizens in the process of evacuation. After all, they were all non-awakened.
‘Why aren’t they running away? What are they doing?’
They were looking over here, acting rather timid.
Moreover, one of them was mumbling something under their breath while lifting their cellphone.
So, I perked up my ears a bit to hear what they were saying…
Thud thud thud!
“Ahhh!”
“Ah, so it’s here too!”
“Run!”
The noise that followed halted my actions.
It was none other than the footsteps indicating the emergence of a new monster.
‘Oh no…!’
The creature that appeared this time was the small turtles summoned by the giant turtle.
But just because they’re small doesn’t mean I can let my guard down. They were still B-Class monsters.
I hurriedly fled, dodging the small turtles.
‘I’m sorry!’
Yet here I was, abandoning Kang Chang-ho on the street, but there was no helping it in this situation.
After all, the living should take priority, right?
“Huff, huff…”
A little while later.
After shaking off the small turtles, I leaned against the alley wall, gasping for breath.
This is life or death. What good is my magic tool that increases movement speed if my stamina is shot?
‘Oh, really…’
Anyway.
After catching my breath for a moment, I pulled out my cellphone.
Kang Chang-ho, who had lost consciousness, would still be lying at the junction.
“F-first I need to report this…!”
I decided to inform the emergency responders here about Kang Chang-ho’s situation.
“Hello? This is 119, right?”
Fortunately, despite the chaos in the city, I managed to get through normally.
The operator on the other end said they would send awakened firefighters to the location where Kang Chang-ho was pinned, but the problem was how long it would take for them to arrive.
“Excuse me? You said I’ll have to wait because there are many reports coming in?”
But up until this point, it was okay.
Those missing bosses were all B-Class or lower, except for the Imugi.
‘Phew.’
Given the current situation, the chances of the S-Class Hunter Kang Chang-ho suffering damage from a monster were extremely low.
In the end, I just had to keep an eye on that black snake.
‘Then, should I slowly head back to where Chang-ho is?’
Hah.
I stood up, ready to regain my stamina to run again at any moment.
But I still held my cellphone in hand.
Because there was still something left to do with this device.
‘Now that I think about it, I clearly saw Esther on the video a while ago…’
Tap tap tap.
I moved my fingers to access the familiar site.
[(Live) ‘Unavoidable Malice’ Hunting Scene!]
Soon enough, the feed showing the disaster arrived on the screen.
‘Oh!’
I thought I needed to gather information during such chaos, so I checked the broadcast without hesitation.
‘I wonder where Esther is fighting right now?’
But what was shown in the video was…
Grrr!
Director!
Ahh! What to do!
Everyone, don’t touch the head! The head!
A petite woman was caught in the mouth of a gigantic snake like a cave.
She was holding the mouth open with her arms to prevent it from closing, but her resistance was wearing thin.
Esther seemed to have hit her limit, trembling her arms.
No, this… Hah, Haha!
The curse mage in the video burst out laughing incredulously, her face stained bright red.
This won’t do!
And with that exclamation, the snake’s fangs pierced her abdomen dead-on.
Thud!
I’m not sure if I’m an alien, but there’s something off about the broadcast rating here.
“Aha.”
Checking again, it turned out that the video I just saw wasn’t an official broadcast but a civilian’s personal livestream.
So, it seems that they didn’t skip even the bleeding scenes.
Well, anyway, that’s not what really matters.
The meaning of this video is ultimately one thing.
‘The S-Class Hunter has lost…?’
Shockingly.
Esther was defeated in the showdown against the Imugi.
*
[Currently, six high-ranking hunters equipped with curse-resistant gear centered around S-Class Seo Esther are attempting to stop the fiend. Therefore, nearby residents are advised to be careful and avoid being caught up in an awakened one’s skills…]
As the news anchor on TV delivered the calm report, hunters out on the scene were locked in a life-and-death struggle against the monster.
“Where in the world is its weak point?”
“Burn it! That seems to be the fastest reaction!”
“Ugh, this was totally Ha-seong’s idea?!”
Boom!
From burning flames to raining lightning.
The skills unleashed by the hunters to kill the Unavoidable Malice were so dazzling they lit up the area.
But among all those attempts, the hunter who dealt the most damage to the enemy was undoubtedly this figure.
“Hm, if this keeps up, I might finish this before Ha-seong shows up.”
S-Class Hunter of South Korea, Seo Esther.
Her awakening ability showcased truly terrifying power.
The Imugi exposed to her curse was now in a pitiful state.
Grrr…
Covered in pus and rotting eyes.
Looking at the severely wounded monster, they might have thought they could actually end the situation themselves.
For a brief moment.
“Shraaa!”
“Huh?”
But the Imugi, which they had barely managed to subdue using all their items, suddenly raised its head and went on a rampage.
And the reason was to devour the newly chosen marked one.
“Ugh!”
“No, don’t!”
The hunter marked over their heads finally gave in to the persistent attacking of the snake and was swallowed whole.
“Goodness…!”
They should have disregarded that one sacrifice.
In hindsight, this was Esther’s blunder.
She overexerted herself in a desperate attempt to save the swallowed guild member.
Swoosh.
Esther pulled out the Unique Item she had on hand, the [Cursed Sword], and generously offered the price for it.
And with the blade she sharpened, she performed the act of…
“Huh!”
“Quick, take my hand and let’s get out!”
Swoosh!
Esther dove into the beast’s mouth, forcibly pulling it open. She rescued the guild member trapped inside.
“Ugh!”
But as mentioned earlier, this was a grave mistake on Esther’s part.
She didn’t possess the physical power compared to a body-enhancer like Kang Chang-ho.
‘No, this crazy snake!’
Bang!
The Imugi didn’t care that its mouth was half torn; it rapidly closed its jaw again.
The backlash caused Esther to have her own mouth caught.
This was the struggle seen in the Y-Tube broadcast earlier.
“Urrgh!”
Moreover, the moment she poured a massive amount of magic into the sword to save someone, Esther’s chances of victory were slim.
And what followed was the expected outcome.
Thud!
She couldn’t withstand the monster’s biting force and was pierced through.
“Director!”
“Ahh! What do we do!”
The only bit of luck was that the Imugi, as if bored with her taste, spat Esther out quickly…
“Director, are you okay?”
Esther could no longer continue the fight after being poisoned by the S-Class monster.
The first battle ended in defeat.
“Ugh, that hurts.”
“Just hold on! I used a potion, so you’ll be fine soon…!”
“Looks like beauties often die young. Turns out, old sayings aren’t all wrong.”
“Stop talking nonsense even in this situation! Come on!”
The nation watching this broadcast fell into despair.
A figure that could be seen as a symbol of the Korean Hunter Association had been brutally knocked down.
[We have just received breaking news. Korean Magic Tower Guild representative Seo Esther Hunter is in critical condition from battling an S-Class Monster…!]
Upon hearing that news, citizens momentarily thought.
(Live chat)
[Jeong Ha-seong What are you doing?]
[Do we wait for the country to go to ruin before we come out?]
[Save me please.]
The missing rank 1.
If Hunter Jeong Ha-seong had been on-site, perhaps things would have turned out differently by now?
That Hunter has typically played significant roles in large-scale disasters.
No matter how incapacitated he is, it was expected that there would still be hope.
[Well, if the monster is weak to fire, then where exactly is Jeong Ha-seong currently?]
But in fact, that rank 1 Hunter had already embarked on his mission long ago.
As expected, Jeong Ha-seong, hearing the association’s order, chose to head straight to Seoul without hesitation.
[According to the association’s statement, it is estimated that it will take about 15 minutes for Jeong Ha-seong to arrive at the site.]
Jeong Ha-seong was also doing his best in his own way.
Only, there was the absolute problem of distance.
‘15 minutes?’
That’s enough time for the Unavoidable Malice to probably destroy a few buildings.
Moreover, that monster has the ability to grow by consuming living beings.
“15 minutes isn’t a joke? Damn, this is why primitive sorcerers can’t even use space transfer magic properly!”
Ki-ryeo gripped his cellphone and looked up, getting impatient.
‘Oh dear, my head. Esther has set everything up, so it’s just a matter of someone putting a spoon in…’
It was unfortunate.
As could be seen just from the broadcast video, the Imugi was currently in a precarious state, on the verge of death.
But Ki-ryeo predicted that in the next 15 minutes, that monster could grow to the extent of a complete revival. Plus, the situation didn’t look good at all. Especially since the Imugi was gradually getting closer to the junction where Kang Chang-ho was located.
The longer they dragged this out, the worse the circumstances would become.
‘Alright. It’s really just a matter of putting a spoon in and ending this…’
Frustrated, Ki-ryeo suddenly had a thought.
‘Hmm?’
Now that I think about it, it’s not like there’s no way to kill the Imugi right now.
‘Suffocation.’
It may sound a bit cruel, but regardless of its high ranking, it’s still a living creature after all.
It breathes.
So, using my main magic, the golem control technique, I could gather animal corpses…
And stuff them into its breathing holes.
‘Would it die?’
There’s a possibility.
The Imugi’s movements had significantly slowed down from the battle with Esther, and given its enormous size, targeting its breathers was easier.
“Hm.”
And right now…
There seemed to be more than enough materials around to use.
