53
Chapter 53
The USB Seo Sunwoo gave her contained about fifteen files.
One file was named [Igarashi Natsuko_Status Window].
The rest were all project-related files, one video, and finally, one planning document.
[Barbatos Project (Discarded)]
[Necromancer King Project (Discarded)]
[Shuten-doji Project (Discarded)]
[Milania Project (Discarded)]
......
[Barbatos Project Confidential Meeting Video]
[Igarashi Natsuko Assassination Plan]
The only peculiar thing was that every single project had been completely scrapped.
As Parang skimmed through the file names, she discovered a common thread.
Barbatos. Chapter 11 Boss.
Necromancer King. Chapter 8 Boss.
Shuten-doji. Chapter 6 Boss.
Milania. Chapter 5 Boss.
They were all entities that appeared as bosses in the novel that served as the original work for this world, [SSS-Rank Infinite Growth Hunter Smashes Everything].
The original work's bosses and the discarded projects.
Feeling a sense of unease, Parang began to read the files earnestly.
First was Natsuko's assassination plan. Parang read through it and nodded.
Certainly, this method would allow them to assassinate Natsuko while keeping Parang safe.
The plan detailed ambushing Natsuko at the Warp Station.
Parang would warp right in front of Natsuko and immediately use Departure, then the other members of Cylo would buy a brief moment of time while Parang used Evidence.
If one asked if Parang absolutely had to be the one to do it, the answer was yes. The memory to be transferred through Evidence had to belong to either the caster or the target.
Below that, a list of sub-plans was laid out, including Natsuko's movements by time and contingencies for if the Warp Station broke down.
Next was the image file labeled as Natsuko's Status Window.
Upon opening it, Natsuko's Status Window interface appeared. Since a camera couldn't possibly photograph a Status Window only visible to the user, it seemed Seo Sunwoo had properly edited and reconstructed it.
There was also a photo of Natsuko next to it.
Parang flinched when she saw it.
'This is the person I saw in front of the elevator.'
Did that mean she had been casually chatting with her assassination target in front of the elevator?
Parang felt a slight chill run down her spine.
[Status Window: Igarashi Natsuko]
[Personal Skill: Bounty Hunter (A)]
[All stats are significantly reduced during combat.]
[If the combat target has murdered a large number of humans, stats will increase in proportion to this.]
[Skill List]
[Predator (S), Blood Pulse (S), Telekinesis (S), Far East Swordsmanship (S)......]
[Skill: Predator (S)]
[Restriction: ???, Can absorb a murdered target.]
[Acquisition Condition: Presumed to be related to killing comrades or cannibalism.]
[ Blood Pulse (S) ]
[ Forcefully pushes away everything in the surroundings. The more wounds on the caster's body, the higher the power. ]
[ Acquisition Condition: Survive losing more than 2.5L of blood within 30 minutes. ]
......
......
So, whether it was skills or stats, she could absorb the abilities of the opponents she killed.
And the more humans that opponent had killed, the higher her chances of winning.
Cold sweat ran down the back of Parang's neck.
No way. That could not be true. It just could not be.
[Persuading Natsuko is impossible.]
[ File: Shuten-doji Project ]
Entity Name: Shuten-doji
Species Name: Yokai
Location: Osaka
......
......
Required Kill Count: 34103
PLAN1. Gather citizens in the city center under the pretext of training, then lure the target
PLAN2. ......
Organizer: Hunter Association Osaka Branch Manager Igarashi Natsuko
Approval: Hunter Association Osaka Branch Manager Igarashi Natsuko
Project Discarded: Execution Impossible (Target Eliminated)
[The moment she finds out what is in the ocean.]
[ File: Necromancer King Project ]
Entity Name: Necromancer King
Species Name: Demon
Location: Yunnan Province
......
......
Required Kill Count: Approx. 360000
PLAN 1: Stop Slayers, neutralize major institutions, then release the target in the city center
PLAN 2: ......
Organizer: Hunter Association Asia General Branch Manager Igarashi Natsuko
Approval: Hunter Association Asia General Branch Manager Igarashi Natsuko
Project Discarded: Execution Impossible (Target Eliminated)
[The situation will start to spiral into the worst-case scenario.]
[ Barbatos Project ]
Entity Name: Barbatos
Species Name: Demon
Location: Pyongyang
......
......
Required Kill Count: 10,000,000 or more
PLAN 1: Lure Slayers to the Sahara Desert and cut off communications, release the target in the city center
PLAN 2: ......
Organizer: Hunter Association Asia General Branch Manager Igarashi Natsuko
Approval: Hunter Association Asia General Branch Manager Igarashi Natsuko
Project Discarded: Execution Impossible (Target Eliminated)
"......Crazy bitch......."
Parang finally opened the [ Barbatos Project Confidential Meeting Video ] file.
Perhaps secretly recorded from afar with a Micro Camera, the video quality was incredibly low. It was barely enough to recognize Natsuko by her red eyes and long black hair.
However, the audio quality was excellent.
They seemed to be sitting around a round table in a dark, narrow room talking. Just like a meeting scene of underworld bosses from a noir movie.
Natsuko's clear voice rang out.
"'Barbatos Project' meeting. We will now begin. Lin."
"Yes. Association President."
The woman called Lin stood up and turned on the projector.
Based on the layout of the text, what was displayed on the screen seemed to be the file Parang had seen.
In a very calm voice, Natsuko casually began her explanation.
"As you all know, the reason our previous projects failed was because the Slayers eliminated the targets first. Therefore, the top priority for this project is to exclude the Slayers. Even if we just loosely release Barbatos into the city center, it will fill the required kill count on its own."
In a serene, monotonous voice, Natsuko was advocating to release a Demon, which corresponded to a boss from the Original Work, into the city.
"Barbatos's expected descent is in about two months. To confuse the Slayers, we will hold a 'Ritual' to advance that date by about two weeks. The materials are already prepared, and if things go wrong, we are also ready to cut ties with those who performed the Ritual."
Parang shuddered. The 'Ritual' she spoke of appeared in the Original Work as well.
That was absolutely not something a human should do.
Come to think of it, there was a description in the Original Work that someone performed a 'Ritual' and Barbatos's descent happened earlier than expected. The novel clearly stated they were Demon worshippers.
"After that, we will bury a Nuclear Bomb beneath the Sahara Desert and detonate it on the advanced descent date to lure the Slayers. We will make an urgent request for backup. Then, we will destroy the arriving Warp Station immediately after they warp to trap the Slayers."
Her plan was even meticulously detailed.
"At the same time, 'Barbatos' will descend upon Seoul, and we will wait until the required kill count is met. Once 800,000 have been killed, we will initiate action, and any shortfall in numbers will be filled by directly luring it during combat."
"Crazy bitch......."
Parang finally knew for sure. She had to kill Igarashi Natsuko. There wasn't even room for appeasement with this person.
If she wasn't eliminated immediately, the World would truly be in danger.
"The next plan worth considering is as follows. First......"
Just like that, Parang calmed her trembling hands and watched the video to the end.
"......Then, we will conclude the meeting with this."
Everyone left the Secret Room, and about an hour later, someone came in and retrieved the Camera. It was Seo Sunwoo.
With that, the video ended.
Parang's uneasy premonition was not wrong.
Igarashi Natsuko. As soon as this person noticed the existence of the bosses from the Original Work, she devised a plan to feed them people and then defeat and absorb them herself.
And those plans had failed every time because the Slayers eliminated the targets first.
What if someone like her found out what was in the Deep Sea? Even worse, without the Slayers around?
It wouldn't be strange if she did something crazy on her own, and the moment she realized the World Government's goal, she might immediately cooperate with them.
Though all the major projects she had run so far had failed, it was hard to believe Natsuko had neglected her 'Predator' skill all this time.
Parang didn't know the exact extent of 'getting stronger the higher the target's kill count', but it was a fact that Natsuko believed she could fight and win against a Monster like Barbatos as long as it had killed enough humans.
Chapter 11, where Barbatos appeared, was the very, very late stages of the Original Work.
Chapter 12, the final part of the Novel, was a boss rush chapter where the Four Heavenly Kings, fake bosses, and the final boss were defeated in succession, so it could practically be considered the last chapter that progressed the story.
The very fact that she thought she could 'catch' such an entity showed just how incredibly strong she was.
The military that Cylo said needed to be dispatched was probably not an ordinary military either.
It was understandable why they desperately needed Parang.
Did it mean this crazy bitch was also terrifyingly strong?
But. Why had Cylo left Natsuko alone until now with this information?
Just leaking this to the public right now would cause protests in front of Hunter Association Branches all over the world.
Why on earth were they just holding onto this?
Because they didn't know what a cornered Natsuko might do?
Were they afraid Natsuko would side with the World Government?
Unable to hold back, Parang called the high-ranking official she had met in Hong Kong. It was a good thing she had exchanged contact info earlier.
Click.
"Please speak."
"Why are you leaving Natsuko alone?"
"Ah, you must have checked."
"Just answer me. I'm asking why you're still letting this kind of human sit in the Association President seat."
A slight trace of anger could be felt in Parang's voice. It was true that they had neglected such a dangerous bitch all this time.
"We are also fully aware of Natsuko's danger."
"Then why on earth......!!"
"I will be honest with you. Hunter Yoo Parang. We didn't know either."
"......You didn't know?"
Parang's mind instantly ran cold.
"Yes. We didn't know. Hunter Yoo Parang. Natsuko has kept it an absolutely thorough secret. Seo Sunwoo defected to our side two weeks before the Ascension Ritual. Until then, we didn't know a single piece of information about that side of the Hunter Association. We aren't perfect, after all. And by the time we acquired this intel, the Slayers were already."
Parang knew it too. Two weeks before the Ascension, it was exactly when the Slayers had entered the boss rush. Since they were fighting with the fate of the Earth on the line, keeping Natsuko in check would have been impossible.
Cylo would have also been reluctant to face Natsuko without the Slayers.
"That is correct. Hunter Yoo Parang. Since then until now, opinions have continued to be divided among us."
The Cylo man continued speaking.
"And recently, we have also deeply felt the need to eliminate Natsuko. That is why we directly asked Hunter Yoo Parang for help. Originally, as soon as we realized the Slayers' deaths, we immediately began preparing an operation to subjugate Natsuko. Based on the information Seo Sunwoo provided, we tried to exploit her weaknesses as much as possible. However, there is no need to fight with numerous casualties when there is a sure and safe method like Hunter Yoo Parang, is there?"
It was an explanation that didn't sit entirely right with Parang, but she also recognized that it was the best option for now.
Because under the current circumstances, if Parang didn't assassinate Natsuko one-on-one, subjugating her would result in a significant loss of life anyway.
And for Parang to assassinate Natsuko, the repair of the 'Evidence' had to be finished. So that meant they needed time.
Still, her doubts weren't completely gone. There were other questions in her mind too.
"How could she have been so secretive?"
Parang could understand them not being discovered by the Slayers, who originally had very few members, but it was surprising that they had developed such a project while hiding information even from Cylo.
"Because the Association President also knows that she is a madwoman, and that the project she is trying to execute is a crazy act. So she only planned this project with the highest-ranking executives she believed to be obedient to her, and kept it strictly a secret. All records were left as analog. Branch Manager Seo Sunwoo digitized the analog data and handed it over when he defected."
True. If she had openly spread such a crazy plan throughout the entire Association, things would have blown up immediately.
It must have been a secret meeting only for the highest-ranking executives.
"Huu....... Understood. For now. I'll hang up."
Beep-
Parang touched her forehead once and let out a deep sigh.
If she had her way, she would have thrown Natsuko into the ocean right then.
Protecting the World was hard and exhausting.