Chapter 95
Chapter 95
13. The Donghae Gate Incident -6
"──All of this is nothing but an illusion. Yeon Arang."
⋯⋯Or so she had shouted as she came in.
In truth, the spy elf hadn't expected Yeon Arang to still be in the office. She had assumed the woman would have slipped outside with her team members, but this was unexpected. She quietly rolled her eyes and checked the location of the safe.
Meanwhile, Countess Yeon Arang glared at the elf with sharp eyes and spoke.
"You're⋯⋯ the hunter who was in charge of the first hot-air balloon dispatch. So you were the culprit?"
"That's right."
"A C-rank hunter from Donghae, Park Seungwoo. According to the records on paper—your ability is strength enhancement. That's not an ability capable of turning letters into blank paper. And since your background was fairly solid, I had judged the probability of you being the culprit to be extremely low."
"Of course it would be. I was never this Park Seungwoo or whoever."
Patter—
As the spy elf brought her hand to her face, the skin melted black and dripped to the floor. Then, with completely different features, abnormally elongated ears were revealed.
Scientific name, 『Rheum rhabarbarum elfs』.
Due to the toxic components contained in its triangular leaves, rhubarb is often used to remove stains. Through mutation as a monster, this manifested as the disruption of information.
She had killed the original Park Seungwoo, taken the skin of his face to disguise herself, and every time Countess Yeon Arang launched a hot-air balloon—she had bleached her rescue letters into blank paper.
Furthermore, now that the world had regressed to an analog society based on handwriting due to power shortages, she had been able to secretly stoke discord by manipulating and omitting documents and messages going back and forth.
Sabotage was simple too. If she removed just one zero from a food order form, how much hardship would have bloomed from that?
But all of that preparation had been swept aside before overwhelming power. By a few casual gestures from an android. The elf laughed as if dumbfounded and lamented.
"Isn't it ridiculous?"
"What is?"
"This world. The reality that no matter how hard ants like you or me work to build something, it's just a sandcastle—and when a giant passes by and gives it a tap, it collapses before you can even lift a finger."
"I do feel that kind of sorrow sometimes. But I never expected to hear those words⋯⋯ from someone who tried to smash the Donghae I built to pieces. Are you out of your mind?"
"No── those bastards running wild right now are also just sandcastles that will collapse when a bigger giant passes by. The end is already reserved. The entire universe will ultimately be defeated by the plants."
She was watching for an opportunity. On top of the safe, what if she could also seize Yeon Arang and take her hostage? She didn't know how much goodwill the system hunters held toward this native, but if they hesitated for even one second, it would be a gain.
"System⋯⋯ seeing as you're spouting that strange talk, you're from that side too. The universe and all that."
"Yes, I thought you would have heard. You must have seen food pouring out of thin air. But did that white-haired bastard tell you this too? That the Gate Incident has never been resolved, and that this measly planet will collapse, unable to withstand it."
"I'm curious about the intent behind your words. So you want to persuade me to give up on everything and die quietly? If so, I can only conclude that your head is a flower garden beyond all imagination."
"Survival can also be pursued through cooperation with the monsters. I came to give you one last chance. Turn."
If Yeon Arang would turn for the greater cause, nothing could be better.
But the spy elf already knew. Since she had been hiding in Donghae for quite some time while carrying out her sabotage, she had naturally come to know what kind of person Countess Yeon Arang was.
Her answer would probably be.
"If you were going to make that offer, you should have done it before staging a coup. You're fired."
"⋯⋯Then I'll make you my nourishment!"
Crack— whoosh!
The spy elf kicked off the ground with her monsterized ankle. The tree trunk that had replaced her body, twisted into a spring shape, exerted its elasticity and launched her forward.
Yeon Arang was an A-rank hunter by Earth standards. In other words, as a system hunter, she was merely in the lower-middle ranks of D-rank. Moreover, due to the conditions for using her ability, her combat power fluctuated greatly depending on the surrounding environment.
Her awakened ability was 『Water Current Manipulation』. An ability to intuitively control water. The purer the water, the lower the difficulty, and the more impurities there were, the steeper the manipulation difficulty became.
Which meant── before even discussing the purity of water, if there was no water in the first place, she couldn't even activate the ability.
And this place was an apocalyptic city center with paralyzed water and sewage systems. If this were the coast, that would be one thing, but in an office without sufficient water, she had absolutely no way to fight back!
Whoosh—!
Faced with the elf closing in instantly, Yeon Arang pressed two fingers to her lips.
"Did you think I wouldn't prepare for that?"
Crunch— rumble.
An ominous sound came. From the ceiling. The noise of a large amount of water moving.
"⋯⋯You prepared this in advance!"
"I always make sure to prepare at least one water tank at key locations."
Crash, whoooosh—!!
Water burst through the ceiling and poured down like a waterfall. The elf quickly racked her brain. If she fought⋯⋯ she would win. In three minutes, she could break through the water current and cut Yeon Arang's throat.
Even more, the foundation of the spy elf's ability was poison. The disruption of information was merely a byproduct, so if she contaminated the water Yeon Arang was manipulating and degraded her control, that would be the end of it.
But in those three minutes⋯⋯ it would be enough time for the system hunters to join in.
Thud.
The spy elf abruptly wrenched her charge trajectory aside.
Ruuuumble—!! Clang—!
Yeon Arang held even her breath and stayed on guard in a state of extreme tension. The speed of the elf who had revealed her hostility was beyond imagination. Enough to dodge in the instant that two tons of water smashed through the ceiling and poured down.
She had lost track of her. Was she hiding? Where? She didn't know when the ambush would come. Yeon Arang wrapped a stream of water around her body and prepared to react.
"⋯⋯⋯⋯"
Twenty seconds passed like that.
"⋯⋯⋯⋯?"
No attack came. Yeon Arang carefully moved her eyes. The safe that had been in the office had vanished at some point. She slowly worked through her thoughts. Only then did she realize.
Right. The elf had taken the safe and slipped out of the building.
"No."
Countess Yeon Arang's face went pale. No. Why, of all things?
Her head spun. She couldn't believe it. The culprit who had staged a coup in Donghae and sabotaged the rescue request sent toward Seoul had taken that, of all things. It felt like a lie.
Because inside that safe was the thing she treasured most──
It was packed full of idol Noah Won merchandise.
"No, you— why, why would you take that?!"
Countess Yeon Arang flew into a rage and bolted out of the office. Then she began fiercely chasing after the fleeing elf's tail.
Splash!
Countess Yeon Arang sprinted through the city with a large mass of water floating around her. At regular intervals, she lashed out with the water and left wet marks in conspicuous places.
Rip—! Clang!
At the same time, she roughly tore off a door she spotted along the way.
Whoooosh──!!
She laid a water path beneath her feet to create a wave, then used the torn-off door as a surfboard and slid straight along it. The water was gradually consumed, but her speed soared.
The spy elf's back, which had looked like a dot in the distance, was gradually drawing closer.
"⋯⋯Hoo, she's filthy fast. Seriously."
Carrying a safe and doing this with just running?
Just from those movements and that speed, she could estimate her physical capabilities. In a one-on-one fight, she was an opponent Yeon Arang would lose to without question. A hollow laugh escaped her at that fact. Her, an A-rank hunter, losing without question?
It meant that fighters at the level of the single S-rank hunter who had existed on all of Earth were already roaming around—two, maybe three of them, in Donghae alone. Only now did it truly sink in.
The unit of "universe" that Noah Won had spoken of was no exaggeration. The world of the 『System』 and the hunters based on it had a dizzying scale.
And that thing was only D-rank by 『System』 standards. That thing.
Conversely speaking.
It meant Noah Won had seized the opportunity to go even further than that.
She couldn't even imagine it. How much power lay beyond an S-rank hunter. Whether a person could really become that strong. And⋯⋯ whether it was still right to call such a thing a person.
The Hunter Monarchy had been established through force. Without discussion, without gathering public will, without history, without anything.
The Noah Won of now, and of the future, could do even more if he set his mind to it. Becoming a king who ruled the entire world was not outside the realm of delusion. Then would that, truly, be right──
"Pfft, pffhaha⋯⋯"
Yeon Arang laughed.
Why worry about that now?
If someone else had seized that kind of power, she might have seriously worried. But, fortunately, the one who had received the special opportunity called the 『System』 was Noah Won. Someone she knew well.
From his idol days, through the Hunter Monarchy—up to now. Noah Won had been consistent.
It wasn't just because of her fangirl heart. She couldn't say it had no influence—but she knew Noah Won as a person. He was someone she could trust.
Cynics say nothing in the world is unchanging, but that doesn't mean a heart that hasn't changed until now is going to go anywhere. Look. Does it not exist right here?
If Noah Won ever had a change of heart and pushed for something Yeon Arang would worry about—then there must have been a reason for it. Like some grave threat had come that was serious enough to make that bull-headed stubbornness fold.
So she decided to set her mind at ease. She decided to just be happy. That he might, perhaps, save the world.
And for that to happen.
She would have to chase that suspicious pointy-eared bastard to the ends of hell and tie her feet so she couldn't escape. So that Noah Won, who would soon pick up the trail Yeon Arang had left and follow, could deal with her for certain.
Yeon Arang thought.
From the spy elf's words, she now knew that this being was a hunter from beyond the universe. Then she had to reassess the culprit's intentions.
The previous theory—that she had staged the coup because she wanted power—was discarded. If a fighter of that caliber wanted power, she could have simply set up shop somewhere other than Donghae. Or gone to New York and taken a seat there.
So, as far as Yeon Arang could figure, this elf probably had some scheme related to Noah Won—something cosmic. And as part of that, she had taken Yeon Arang's safe⋯⋯
"⋯⋯⋯⋯?"
But then it didn't make sense.
The only things in the safe were idol Noah Won merchandise. There was no reason to take it. Truly, not a single one. What would she even do with unreleased albums and photobooks?
"Unless that itself was the goal⋯⋯?"
Huh.
"Hm."
It was just a passing thought, but.
──Could this entire coup and conspiracy have been a wicked elf's plan to obtain idol Noah Won merchandise?
"⋯⋯No, that's absurd. Get a grip, Yeon Arang. It doesn't make sense!"
But then why did that bastard take it?
The current situation was obvious even to a fool. Thanks to Noah Won and his party, the scales of force had tipped heavily toward Donghae. That long-eared bastard was on the verge of having her head cut off.
So if she was going to run, she should have bolted without wasting time, or she should have sought out something to keep herself alive. For example⋯⋯ capturing Yeon Arang and taking her hostage.
But she spent that precious time taking idol merchandise, of all things?
"Right, she must not have known what was inside. I was the only one who knew the contents of the safe, so naturally she assumed there was something important inside⋯⋯"
Wait.
An image from the past flashed through Yeon Arang's mind. At the last hot-air balloon dispatch, the letter had been damaged, but Noah Won's photocard had been untouched and perfectly fine.
That was because of the spy elf's limitation—since she had to affect things with an ink-erasing toxin, she couldn't do anything to a photocard protected by a plastic cover.
But from Countess Yeon Arang's perspective, not knowing that.
"⋯⋯She coveted the merch so much she couldn't damage it? So she effectively allowed Noah Won to come provide support⋯⋯?"
Her thoughts could only stretch in that direction.
In other words, while she still wasn't entirely sure—as far as she could figure.
The full story of this incident wasn't some battle of wits between alien hunters with a cosmic conspiracy lurking behind it⋯⋯
It was that a pointy-eared bastard with an enormous fangirl obsession for idol Noah Won had spent a long time scheming to get her hands on merchandise that was hard to obtain in this apocalyptic world, shaken the security and public sentiment of the city-state of Donghae, incited a coup to sow chaos, and then.
In the single opening created by all that, she had staked her life and finally snatched Yeon Arang's collection—and was now fleeing while being chased by her.
"⋯⋯⋯⋯"
Whoooosh──!!
Thanks to her ground surfing, the distance between the spy elf and Countess Yeon Arang was steadily shrinking. Now, if they raised their voices, they could reach each other.
Yeon Arang took a deep breath.
"You insane psychopathic stalker-fan scalper thief──!!"
"⋯⋯⋯⋯?!"
She hurled a roar of fury at the crazy elf who had brought bloodshed to Donghae for a reason so absurd it had a screw loose.
If she's that furious, then what's inside this safe must certainly be something important!
The spy elf was convinced her choice had been correct, and she hugged the safe that would be her lifeline preciously to her chest.