Chapter 444: Day of the Festival
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 444: Day of the Festival
“It’s been a while.”
“Ah… uh… ah… uh… ah…”
It was Jeong Jina of the Western Clan Alliance. This was the first time I’d seen her since the Great Tribe Leader’s inauguration ceremony. She hadn’t looked particularly confident back then either, but her face now was a world away from what it was. A face stricken with terror, an expression steeped in the fear that she might die, filled my vision.
Her voice and face, crying out for the opening of the Eastern Continent, were faint but still lingered in my memory.
I recall her demand was to lower the entry barriers to the Eastern Continent, just as Jang Ye Ri of the East and Han So-Hye of the North had done. The price she offered was information on the Western Continent. I had expected some connection, but I never imagined it would be this direct.
“It seems you didn’t expect things to turn out this way.”
“Ah… uh…”
Most of the people around me were already dead or dying. The remaining forces, still quite numerous, were reforming their ranks and watching me, but they couldn’t bring themselves to make a reckless move. A circle had naturally formed around me.
The battlefield had fallen into a lull. The reason these people, who had been killing each other so fiercely just moments ago, were now watching the situation in silence was obvious.
‘They’re terrified.’
Fear clouded their faces. Not much time had passed since the battle began, but they had already lost their will to fight. The one whose arm was severed by the Greatsword of Blood, the woman with the unique ability to curve bullets, those with exceptional holy power—all the dying stared at me with expressions of utter revulsion.
The heavy silence that had descended upon a field once filled with screams was certainly jarring. I could see some painfully trying to stifle their moans, while others were forcing themselves to prepare for an attack. But they couldn't pull the trigger.
The oppressive atmosphere, the magic flowing from my body, and the corpses piled around me were all sending them a constant warning.
‘You will die.’
Move, and you die. I hadn’t said it aloud, but most of the humans there were already feeling it in their bones. To borrow Ha Yuri’s expression, they knew I could crush them like bugs under my palm or foot.
“Are you not coming any closer?”
“…”
The sounds of massive screams and explosions echoed from the distant left and central walls. Seeing them react this way, knowing full well we were in the middle of a war, I couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle.
It wouldn’t hurt to ignore them for a moment. I looked at Jeong Jina again and saw her still trembling as she stared at me.
Jeong Jina was a turncoat. If we had accepted her demands in the first place, she surely would have never gone over to the Western Continent. I could understand her ambition and her desire to become someone great, but she chose the wrong side.
“Did you really think going to the Western Continent was the right choice?”
“…”
She trembled, unable to answer, looking quite pathetic. I took a step forward, and she took a step back to match my pace. It was then that I noticed the headless and upper-body-less corpses around her. They wore different attire from the Western Continent soldiers; they were the ones whose heads I’d blown off before I could even see their faces. They must have been the ones moving with Jeong Jina.
I couldn’t even remember how I’d killed them. It was no wonder she looked so terrified.
“Did you really think you had a chance of winning?”
That was what I was curious about. Why had she taken such a risk to side with the West? I wondered if she truly believed they could win against us.
“N-No, that’s not it… F-Forgive me…”
She was summoned after the war with the Northern Continent’s undead had ended. It was a time when Green Skins and humans had reconciled, a period of many changes centered around the Free Dungeon Agreement and the Free Economic Zone.
It was understandable that Jeong Jina, a newcomer, wouldn’t know much about us. She might have heard stories, of course. She would have heard various tales about the wars that had taken place—about the military strength of the Green Skins and the continent’s other powers, about who was strong and how strong they were, about the specifics of the battles that were fought. She would have heard it all.
But she might not have truly grasped it. As the peaceful times stretched on, she might not have realized just how powerful people like Jang Ye Ri and the champions of the East, Han So-Hye, Choi Seulgi, or the Knight of the North—all those who had built their names through countless battles—truly were.
The most she would have seen were chieftains coming and going from the Adventurer’s Guild. In other words, this woman had no idea what level those who had fought through numerous battles and wars were on.
She wore an expression similar to the one Kim Taesung had when he saw Ha Yuri in his past life.
‘A monster.’
It was a familiar look. Even for a newcomer, she was a rather talented summoner. It made me realize anew just how strong I had become.
“I didn’t think you’d be on the front lines. You must have been working quite desperately. Did you think you’d be rewarded for your contributions after the war? Or did you simply not like Green Skins? Come to think of it, you said you wanted the Eastern Continent opened. Did they promise to lower the entry barriers for you?”
“…”
No words came back. Jeong Jina just kept staring at me, her lips trembling.
“Mercy… It was a m-mistake.”
“I don’t care what choices you make. It’s rather sad that you turned your back on us, but in truth, nothing really changes just because you left the continent. However… I must say, it’s a bit regrettable that you bared your fangs at me.”
“It was a… a mistake.”
“This isn’t the kind of mistake that can be resolved with such words. Choices always come with consequences. It’s a lesson that anyone who thinks and lives should carve into their heart. You made a choice, and you decided to stand on their side. Now, I’d recommend you take responsibility for that choice.”
I swapped the positions of the sword in my hand and the firearm lying on the ground. The firearm naturally appeared in my grasp. I’d handled one before; it felt like an old rifle. Whatever she was thinking, Jeong Jina’s face began to turn deathly pale.
“It’s a good weapon. High killing power, and optimized for the weak to use. There’s no need to train as hard as with a bow or a sword. No need to break a sweat, either. As long as you can simply infuse it with magic, it can be efficient.”
“…”
“Of course, you there, with the related unique ability.”
I pointed at the woman who had the power to curve bullets.
“I’ll make an exception for someone like you.”
“Th-Thank you.”
Her voice was like a crawling ant as she expressed her gratitude. It was so absurd I had to laugh. It wasn’t normal for me to be speaking so calmly in a place where screams had echoed just minutes before, nor was it normal for them to be listening.
“But this type of weapon has its limits. I don’t know what the craftsman who made it would think, but for those who have reached a level beyond the norm, this kind of weapon is nothing.”
“Ah… uh…”
It was a simple diversion, but I felt the urge to change their perception of things. I casually extended a hand toward the woman. As I beckoned to the red-haired woman with my finger, she slowly began to approach. She probably had no idea why she was stepping forward at my command.
“Name.”
“Ann…”
Her overly submissive demeanor made me chuckle.
“Do you want to live?”
“…”
She glanced around, likely checking the reactions of the others. But she was more faithful to her instincts than I expected. She didn’t answer, but she slowly nodded her head. I liked her honesty.
“I’ll let you live.”
“What?”
“That distance should be good.”
She couldn’t possibly misunderstand what I wanted. I handed her the firearm, and she stared at me with a dumbfounded expression. I didn’t say it, but my meaning was clear: try shooting me. She knew it too, which was why she hesitated.
“It doesn’t matter.”
The distance was less than a meter. The woman who introduced herself as Ann raised her weapon with a trembling hand and began to aim at me. A flicker of hope appeared in her eyes. She was thinking that this might be the end of it.
“Now.”
BANG!!
A single bullet, fired without any warning, shot toward me. It wasn't entirely unaffected by the user's ability, as it rushed at me with incredible speed. Infusing my eyes with magic, I took in the entire scene. My concentration was raised to its limit, making time feel as if it were slowing down.
The soldiers of the Western Continent, Jeong Jina, and even Ann who had fired the shot—all of them were looking at me with an expression of faint hope.
Of course, I had no intention of stupidly taking the hit. It was aimed at my heart at first, but I knew its trajectory would curve. The flow of magic I could see told me this bullet would lodge itself squarely in my head.
As expected, I watched the bullet rise toward my head, and then I closed my open mouth.
CRUNCH!!!
“Ptooey.”
It was no great feat.
I spat out the bullet that had been caught between my upper and lower teeth. The expressions I saw were all different. What everyone’s face showed was a single emotion: shock. The shooter herself and Jeong Jina, who had been watching right beside her, were even more frozen.
“Actions speak louder than words, don’t they? This is about the extent of it. And we have several others who can do this. The very idea that you would challenge us, trusting in this kind of weapon, is absurd. To put it bluntly, a weapon like this is a toy.”
“Agh… ah…”
“A monster…”
The muttered words and looks of disbelief pleased me. They were despairing.
Receiving the downpour of emotions, I began to look at them once more. Among those I could see, besides this woman, none were worth keeping alive. There were still too many, so I’d have to thin them out a bit more, but for now, keeping the woman named Ann seemed like a decent idea.
“S-Save… Save me… P-Please save me, too. I-I want to live, too.”
At the sound of the voice, I raised my head to see Jeong Jina looking up at me, muttering. Seeing someone else before her receive salvation, she might have thought she could be saved as well. She was prostrated on the ground, begging for her life.
“Hmm…”
“I-I’ll do anything you say. If you tell me to bark, I’ll bark. If you tell me to crawl, I’ll be a crawling dog. P-Please, just let me live. W-Whatever you want, I-I can satisfy you.”
“Hmmm…”
I pretended to think it over, but in truth, there was no need. I gave a solitary nod and spoke calmly.
“Sorry, but I’m not kind enough to take back those who have already turned their backs on me. My apologies.”
As I watched her expression fill with despair, I curled one side of my lip into a smirk. A face brimming with tears came into view.
In an instant, my tail whipped around, and one of Jeong Jina’s arms vanished without a trace.
“KYAAAAAAAAAAK!!!”
I looked down at Jeong Jina as she crawled on the ground, trying desperately to escape the situation.