The Final Challenge (1)

♬♪♩♪~

I was humming a tune I used to love when Butterfly spoke up. She must have found it strange that I, who barely showed any emotion during our special training, was acting this way.

The boss raid that refused to yield no matter how many times—dozens of attempts—I tried. There had been progress, but it was only natural to feel impatient and irritated by now. Because of that, my expression would vanish mid-raid, and naturally, so would my words. Butterfly was probably picturing that version of me.

These days I had plenty to worry about even while awake, and whenever I entered the dream I usually felt weighed down. But today was different. The news I had been desperately waiting for had finally arrived. A one-on-one meeting had been scheduled with the man currently responsible for my safety. At the same time, my manager had informed me that my new identity was complete. I no longer had to worry about being mistaken for an illegal resident wherever I went.

When I was first discovered by the Investigation Team hunters, I had thought I was truly finished. Yet the world really was unpredictable. Of course, I still needed to figure out exactly what that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠man was thinking.

Kwon Cheon-hyeok… Current leader of Investigation Team 5 and an S-rank hunter who once shone as an ace in the Subjugation Division.

When I first heard about him, I had been genuinely puzzled. After all, I had kept meticulous tabs on hunter industry information, yet here was an S-rank hunter I had never known existed. There were a few guesses, though. Even powerful hunters sometimes preferred to keep their personal details ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠private. Besides, he was no longer active on the front lines. It made sense that he would have faded from public attention.

What really bothered me, however, was something else. During the accident in the last experiment, I had caught a glimpse of his ability—Blue Flame. It was strange that a hunter wielding such a conspicuous power had never once been mentioned in the media. Even if his identity was kept secret, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the existence of a hunter who used that kind of ability should have been noteworthy. I had never seen anyone with that ability in any articles from the past either. It was as if someone had deliberately erased all traces of him.

In the past I would have dismissed it as baseless speculation, but after witnessing the Council’s information suppression firsthand, the unease felt far more real. A mysterious hunter who was well-known inside the Council yet hidden from the public. Something… it smelled like there were still secrets I didn’t know about.

After giving Butterfly a vague answer that something had come up, I uncrossed my legs and stood. This was the waiting area in front of the boss room that I inevitably faced every night during the raids. The sight of the unresolved masked corpses scattered everywhere remained as gruesome as ever.

The first time I saw this place, it had been so overwhelming I thought I would lose my mind. But humans really were creatures of adaptation. After seeing it repeatedly, I had grown somewhat used to it. Of course, the deep-rooted discomfort never disappeared and still quietly gnawed at me.

…! …!! …!

While frowning and looking around, I felt an irritating movement beneath me. I lowered my gaze to find a monster lying on the floor, convulsing violently. It was a faceless knight-type wearing high-quality armor. Its face was pressed to the ground, every joint perfectly pierced by sharp, blade-like objects. It looked like a taxidermied insect you might see in a museum.

This was the monster that had been prowling around the waiting area just moments ago. It had locked eyes with me as I ascended here and charged aggressively—only to end up like this. The spot where I had been sitting to rest was none other than its broad back. It hadn’t been the most comfortable seat, but it was tolerable. And for a common monster roaming around, becoming a seat for a beautiful girl like me must have been the highest honor imaginable.

Even I found the thought absurd and let out a small laugh. I extended one foot and pressed the heel of my shoe firmly onto the blade embedded near its neck.

Shhhk!

The sickening sound of flesh tearing. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠The monster convulsed once more, violently, before it could endure any further damage. It dissolved into black dust and vanished.

A monster capable of easily slaughtering dozens of ordinary people. Yet ending its life stirred no particular emotion in me. It was something my past self could never have imagined. Lately, I could feel how much I had changed. The biggest difference was that my fundamental fear of monsters had disappeared. I had grown so accustomed to facing them that even different types no longer fazed me. Perhaps it was because I myself had become a monster comparable to them.

I watched the evaporating monster with hollow eyes for a moment before turning and walking forward. As always, the massive door stood in the same place. I opened my mouth slightly in front of it.

“Butterfly, let me ask you one thing. Is the strategy I’ve come up with right now the one with the highest chance of success?”

I took those words as comfort and tried to calm my restless heart. The meeting was scheduled for tomorrow. In other words, I had no idea how things would unfold tomorrow, but there was a high chance I would finally leave the underground where I had been staying. Clearly, when we started this special training, he had said I would remain underground during the training—so the end was approaching.

Of course, leaving this place wasn’t confirmed, but I had a strong feeling it would happen. If so, tonight would be my last chance to clear this dungeon. I had already used one opportunity, so this attempt might truly be the final one.

Back on the first attempt, I had thought I could finish it quickly… Who would have guessed it would turn out like this? I let out a small sigh at the ironic situation. Butterfly seemed to sense my inner thoughts and spoke up on her own.

“…You’re right about that. Ulthar never said I had to succeed no matter what. Still… this is a personal matter for me.”

Butterfly wasn’t wrong. Ulthar had wanted me to learn basic combat sense through this training; he had never forced me to perfectly clear the dungeon. Yet the reason I was so fixated on clearing it was simple. I instinctively knew this was the only chance I had to directly face the lingering regrets from the past that I had been avoiding.

A terrible memory that only brought pain, like an inescapable shackle. Until now, I had been busy hiding and burying it. But the tightly sealed memory had now manifested right before my eyes—along with a way to break free from this painful chain. If that was the case, there was no reason to refuse. Rather, I instinctively felt that this opportunity was my last chance to overcome a terrifying past I hadn’t even dared to confront.

Looking back, Ulthar had probably aimed for exactly this. He had brought a goal I couldn’t help but obsess over and cleverly tied it to the pretext of special training. Thanks to that, while my attention was blindly focused on the objective of clearing, my skills had grown immeasurably through countless battles. I could probably subdue ordinary monsters of the same level with ease. I wasn’t certain, but my intuition told me so.

Of course, he had initially presented the justification of overcoming trauma, but if he had anticipated this situation… he really was a cunning being. Thinking of that annoying cat naturally brought to mind the things that had been complicating my thoughts lately. Justice, heroes, magical girls… Honestly, I still hadn’t fully grasped the direction he had presented to me. Until recently, I had been nothing more than an ordinary person with no power—it was a topic too heavy to handle lightly. On top of that, my appearance had completely changed, and I had become some incomprehensible existence.

But one thing was clear. At the very least, to seriously ponder that topic, I first had to overcome the trial right in front of me. If I could finally face my own dark side that I had been avoiding… I felt like I would be able to draw closer to the answer.

So for now, I needed to focus everything on the opponent beyond this door. With my eyes closed in thought, I suppressed my worries and took a deep breath. Then I lifted my eyelids and, without hesitation, reached out to push the massive door blocking my path.

Creaaak!!!

The door swung open to both sides with an ominous sound, as if welcoming the challenger. A chill wind blew through the gap. My black hair and skirt hem fluttered restlessly in the breeze. I stepped through the door against the wind, and the interior lit up all at once. At the same time, the master of this room sensed the intruder and rose from its enormous chair with overwhelming presence.

A massive knight clad in black full-body armor. The sinister, blazing red glow visible through the helmet was directed straight at me. Yet my reaction to meeting that gaze was as calm as ever. Even the boss’s eyes, which once made my entire body tremble just to look at, had become something I could endure after facing them daily. Instead, my heart was now filled with a harmonious blend of fierce fighting spirit and cold rationality.

As if reassuring myself, I repeated it inwardly. This challenge was effectively the last. There were no more chances. Whether it ended in complete success or complete failure, everything would be decided here. I resolved to pour every bit of wisdom and strength accumulated through all previous battles into this place. I loosened my hands and adjusted the white mask on my face. The golden eyes revealed through the mask gleamed quietly, like moonlight reflecting on the surface of water at midnight.

Thus, beneath a suffocating tension, the final challenge began.