Infiltrating the Casino as a Hunter (4)
"Damn it, Minji, catch!"
Quickly assessing the situation, I tossed the magical girl Ai I was holding to Minji and charged ahead. Kwon Yong-jin and I were pushed back steadily, opening up a path.
"Now's our chance!" I grabbed Kwon Yong-jin hunter and shouted, but there was no reaction from behind.
"Minji!!!"
"Ah~ She was definitely in unnie's arms, so why's she cozying up to some filthy bastard like this?"
The voice echoing from behind wasn't Minji's—it was the one I'd heard before. I whipped my head around. Minji was dangling in midair, her head gripped by magical girl Ai's hand. Minji was already out cold.
She definitely didn't have arms or legs before?!
Just like that woman earlier, both her arms and legs were pitch black. And despite her listless expression, her face was twisted with pure irritation. What the hell was going on? Why was magical girl Ai hostile toward us, the ones here to rescue her? Why had she attacked the Minji we were saving?
No time to think. Get out of here first. Deal with Minji later!
I swiftly shook off Kwon Yong-jin hunter and took a deep breath. The mana I'd sensed the moment we arrived. That meant my ability should activate.
Time Stop
The world turned black and white, everything grinding to a halt. The urgent situation meant I couldn't hold my breath for long. The instant I tried to move and escape—
Thwack!!
"Gah!!!"
Bam! A massive impact slammed into my side, forcing the air from my lungs as I crashed to the floor. The world regained its color.
H-How?!
Kwon Yong-jin hunter was already in a punching stance.
My ability definitely activated!
"Damn... Hah!"
Something must have gone wrong when I activated it hastily. The world turned black and white again, but this time I focused my mana at my fingertips, lunging for Kwon Yong-jin hunter's throat—not to flee, but to kill. The moment my hand was about to reach his neck, I planned to release the ability.
But in the still black-and-white world, Kwon Yong-jin hunter's black-and-white arm grabbed my wrist.
Crack
"...!"
Squeeze. Crushing force shot pain up my arm.
Urk.
"Ah~ So this is what it feels like?"
In the black-and-white world where only I had color, Kwon Yong-jin hunter began regaining his hues.
How the hell is he countering my ability!?
And my ability's drawback of holding my breath? Meaningless—he stared at me casually and spoke.
"What a tempting ability. Mind if I take it?"
His body rapidly became covered in black matter.
Kwon Yong-jin hunter is Overmind?!
The hunter touted as the next S-rank was the worst monster human, Overmind.
I have to escape. No way I'm dying here.
But how? I yanked my trapped hand free with a sharp twist. Then came a flurry of blows. As expected of a next-gen S-rank hunter, I was gradually being pushed back. Damage piling up on my body. By using my ability in short bursts to keep Overmind from adapting, we traded blows somewhat evenly, but he was getting used to it. Now, even when I activated it, he entered the black-and-white world without the slightest 0.1-second hesitation—smoothly, naturally.
The fight was grueling enough, and the breaths I'd held each time I used the ability were catching up. My chest felt like it was ripping apart. Defeat loomed certain—then something clicked.
Why could Overmind enter my black-and-white world without any conditions?
My fading mind reignited. It spread through me like the first time I'd awakened my ability. All my senses sharpened, the black-and-white world warping. I had to hold my breath to enter, but Overmind burst through like shattering a wall. So couldn't I do the same? No—couldn't I surpass this black-and-white world entirely?
Crack! Shatter!
In that instant, cracks spiderwebbed across the black-and-white world, and it broke. The black-and-white regained color like the original world. But it was clearly different. I realized I alone could move here. And when I casually swatted aside Overmind's punch lunging at me, the fist veered off course. Interference was possible too.
Bang!!
The punch aimed at my face sailed past in the direction I'd deflected it.
"Hm?"
Overmind instantly noticed something wrong with his fist. The moment he attacked again—
30 seconds.
It froze solid. I could breathe. I felt the conditions of my Time Stop vanish. The ability to stop time without any conditions. And now, interference in the stopped world was possible too. But...
"Cough."
Something rose in my throat. Coughing, a black blood clot stained my hand red, clogging my mouth.
Normally, Time Stop held as long as I held my breath. But interfering with the world required setting a time limit. And the longer the stop, the greater the strain on my body. Intensely so. Still, the ability had enough left to kill the Overmind before me.
I sharpened my hand with mana and, in the dwindling time, slashed Overmind's throat. His head flew as Time Stop released. The severed head sailed limply. The headless body spurted blood and collapsed.
The moment I confirmed Overmind down, I prepared to use regular Time Stop to rescue Minji—
In the black-and-white world, magical girl Ai's eyes fixed on me.
No way.
As if to prove my fear, color returned to magical girl Ai. Her grip tightened on Minji's head.
"Kyaaaaak!"
She's trying to kill her...!
"10 seconds!! Cough!!"
In the frozen world again, I raced over, severed the arm holding Minji from magical girl Ai, scooped up Minji, and bolted.
3 seconds.
Precious seconds left. Had to escape fast. I flung open the office door—but no casino view. This was definitely the door connecting the office to the casino, so why did it open to an unknown place overrun with black vines? Had I mistaken it for another door? I turned back—the door I'd just come through was gone, replaced by a solid wall.
"Urk... Hah... Jae-hee?"
"You okay?"
"What the hell is going on?"
"Hah, no idea. We escaped Overmind at least."
"But..."
Black vines everywhere. No mistaking it—Overmind's handiwork.
"Did we go deeper into its maw?"
Minji said as she stretched.
"Dunno. Let's move for now."
How many abilities did that thing have? Moving in stopped time wasn't enough—now it was shifting space itself.
"Minji?"
No response. I turned—she was gone. Vanished, though she'd been right there moments ago.
"Damn...!"
Another of Overmind's powers? Split up in this already dangerous place. No clue where Minji went, but we had to regroup fast. I moved to escape this endless labyrinth.
"This is bad..."
I'd gotten careless. I'd been vigilant for nearly an hour, but nothing happened, so I let my guard down. Then the floor gave way, swallowing me. Now everything below my neck was trapped in the floor. Only my head and arms protruded.
"Nngh..."
No matter how hard I strained, my legs kicked at empty air. Something blocked me; my body wouldn't pull free.
"What do I do... Can't stay stuck here. Only hope is Minji finding me?"
Kwak Jae-hee hunter's current state filled the large screen. Everything below her neck was sunk into the floor, her body writhing desperately to escape.
This pit was a sensory-block pit created by Friss's Space Domination. She felt her own sensations normally but received none from me. No matter what pleasure her body endured, Kwak Jae-hee hunter wouldn't sense it. Even as tentacles shredded her clothes, she detected nothing amiss. In seconds, Kwak Jae-hee hunter was stark naked. Needle-tipped tentacles slithered out around her body, jabbing into her flesh everywhere. Of course, her nipples, clit, and pussy got heavy doses of aphrodisiac. As the tentacles massaged her body to spread the drug, Kim Minji hunter—dropped elsewhere—spotted Kwak Jae-hee hunter.
Chatting eagerly with her reunited comrade, Kwak Jae-hee hunter kept talking animatedly. Her upper body serene, but below, her body leaked fluids profusely from the aphrodisiac.
Once her pussy was slick enough, a thick tentacle emerged and began rubbing Kwak Jae-hee hunter's folds.
Splat! Splat! Splat! Splat! The tentacle pistoned relentlessly in her pussy. Thin tentacles teased her D-cup breasts' nipples before slipping smoothly inside.
Squelch! Squelch! Her pussy squirted massively, drenching the pit ceiling with her juices. The tentacle pried her pussy wide, exposing her plump, taut cervix. A thin one slipped in, teasing the entrance before diving into her womb.
The overwhelming pleasure nearly broke the sensory block. Needed more focus. Preparations complete—it was time to remodel Kwak Jae-hee hunter's body at will. Tentacles slithered around her, leering hungrily at her form.