Chapter 357
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 357
Chapter Title: 145. Faith (5)
With just one proper hunter weapon, most monsters can be taken down.
That's been my long-held belief.
Of course, something like a new strain requires time for observation.
Besides, Haru hadn't provided any intel earlier.
I retreated full force and asked her.
"What's a Macrophage like?"
"I-I don't know."
Haru's voice, brimming with confidence just moments ago, was now thick with unmistakable terror.
"They said it's specialized against Awakened."
"Y-yes. I'm really, really sorry, but I'm out of here."
It hadn't been long since those words when Defender's cold voice came through.
"Awakened fleeing."
"...Situation?"
"A few zealots stepped on mines. That gunfire wasn't aimed at us—it looks like one of them triggered it while dying."
"Got it?"
"But the zealots swarming in is a given."
Defender let out a sigh.
"Let's pull back for today. Taking down the Dancer type already hits 120% of our goal."
"..."
"Next time, we'll come back, wipe out this mid-sized whatever-it-is, and finish them off."
"No."
I shook my head.
At the same time, the gray-white domain ended, revealing the endless dark tracks stretching ahead and Defender's team standing atop them.
"We end it here."
"What?"
"They're not idiots. If they know one monster's down, they'll set up defenses here."
"...But."
"You know it too. In a straight, open shot like this, one machine-gun nest can pin down an entire regiment."
Man-to-man combat, excluding heavy gear—nothing kills people as efficiently as a machine gun.
A well-placed nest forcing a tactical unit's movements is common on the battlefield.
Against monsters, it'd just be a quick suicide method, but we're humans.
"We end it here."
"Th-then you're saying we go back in?"
"Just one of you come with me."
I needed backup here.
I've only got one pair of eyes and one rifle to hold.
I picked up the rifle I'd set down before killing the Dancer type, grabbed fresh ammo, and waited for a volunteer from Defender's side when sudden laughter erupted.
A zealot.
"Hahahahaha! It's all over now! We can see your end!"
His eyes darted wildly as he glared at me.
"You think killing one messenger of God is something to celebrate? Too soon for that. What's out there beyond..."
Thwack!
Of course, it was Defender who'd approached me.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
As you can see, his eyes don't change when dealing with people, but he's pale against monsters—tense.
I glanced at Defender's team holding their positions and asked him.
"How long can you hold?"
"Depends on their aggression and troop quality, but if it's just light infantry, at least ten minutes."
I nodded.
"That'll do."
"But if Awakened are mixed in, no telling."
"...We'll leave that to luck."
Betting my life isn't my favorite choice.
But pulling back now means we'll never eliminate the zealots—and that means we can't touch the regular Awakened holed up in the sauna room.
Strategic failure.
If there were a next time, maybe, but with no second chances, the process doesn't matter.
Whether we took down the Dancer type or not—it's just one achievement, meaningless in the face of failure.
"Let's go."
Boom!
Shockwaves kept rippling from ahead.
"..."
I could see Defender's breathing grow ragged.
He hadn't been like this before.
Probably trauma from a few big-monster fights.
Common enough.
Even top hunters crack under repeated battles, developing extreme fear and hesitation against the same type.
Back in China, I'd have shipped him home to Korea by force, but everything's precious now.
"Just handle the minions. They don't deploy reflection fields."
"Y-yeah, okay."
"Yeah. That's enough. Cover my flank."
In the distance, gray-white sludge squirmed.
Remnants of the Dancer type.
They'll vanish once the main body dies and the domain lifts, but until then, they'll cling to survival stubbornly.
Bang! Bang! Rat-tat-tat!
Defender and I took down the charging ones.
Not surprising, but his marksmanship had the precision and agility of academy training.
Boom!
The shockwave drew closer.
Crossing the gray-white wall revealed the main body—blasting shockwaves far beyond the Dancer type.
"..."
Up close, it was like a massive grub.
Mid-sized as expected—huge.
Over five meters tall, with fat, thick segments trailing back like an insect's.
Maybe ten meters long.
Near large-type size, but classified mid for some reason.
"Monster..."
Defender's face went sheet-white.
I patted his shoulder calmly.
"Leave it to me."
Defender met my gaze and nodded.
A leader's steady eyes and resolute stance give courage to the team.
I'd trained to always show it; now it's second nature.
I let him regain composure and turned back to the monster.
Range: 120 meters.
Should I close in?
Too far to rush; no clue on its attacks.
Luckily, the barrier it made was sturdy—near reinforced concrete.
It'll crumble to dust when the domain lifts, but for now, solid cover.
Rat-tat-tat! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Gunfire echoed behind.
Zealot patrols pushing in.
No predicting when retreat gets cut, but we wait to gauge the mid-sized's attack pattern.
Mid-sizes are mostly combat types.
Area firepower incomparable to small ones.
Have to see their patterns first.
Boom!
Suddenly, pale, fleshy orbs burst from the monster's body.
Dozens—like balloons or skulls, flying things.
Up close: teeth and mouth mimics.
What the hell?
Minions?
Less like minions, more self-produced swarm bodies.
As I pondered...
Boom!
Shockwave felt.
Not the monster.
Behind us.
"Check it."
Defender radioed his team immediately.
"Report."
Faint chatter came through his comms.
He looked at me.
"No Awakened."
"That means..."
No way—Haru's side?
Defender's face hardened.
"We might be encircled from way back."
"Press on."
I replied coldly and turned back to the monster.
That's when the change hit.
The white orbs with mouths from the mid-sized swarmed past us, heading beyond.
"What the...?"
"..."
Just my guess.
Haru said this strain's specialized against Awakened.
A distant shockwave boomed.
Dozens of orbs, but none came at us.
Meaning...
"Watch our rear."
I charged rifle in hand.
I don't like gambling.
Hate betting on slim odds even more.
But sometimes, you stake everything on a faint hunch.
This was it.
The Macrophage type prioritizes Awakened.
Woooong—
The grub-like bulk twisted toward me with an eerie hum.
Finally spotted me.
Boom!
More dozens of mouth-orbs erupted from holes in its repulsive segments, positioning in the air.
Boom!
With the shockwave, a white trajectory etched unrealistically before my eyes.
I braced for impact and accelerated.
Right then.
Crackle-crack!
Merciless current scorched the air along the white line.
And.
Shiiiik—
Dozens of orbs dove at me.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
I fired.
Hit orbs...
Boom!
Detonated fiercely.
Explosive type.
Primitive and crude by human weapon standards, but enough to shred a bare human.
Mass guided bombs released. Minor homing ability.
Instantly, new strain data updated in my head real-time. I yelled at Defender.
"Cover me!"
Bang! Bang! Rat-tat-tat!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Amid dozens of plunging deaths, what I felt was ecstasy.
"..."
My heart pounded.
Yes.
This sensation.
What I craved.
Rat-tat-tat!
At humanity's forefront, leading the charge to slaughter our foes above all.
That's the only rite to soothe my eternal flame of hatred.
Tat-tat-bang!
I dropped the charging orbs from the sky and stood before it.
Boom!
The monster.
The new strain loomed before me.
Breathing repulsively, mimicking life.
As it glared defenselessly—the thing that terrifies regular Awakened—I prepared another harpoon.
Stab—
Mix.
And.
Boom!
I saw the spear of vengeance pierce its maw, burrowing deep into its elongated body.
And.
Pop-pop-pop-boom!
With intense internal blasts, its bulk lifted then slumped.
As the monster's corpse dissolved into particles of light, I turned.
"New strain. Defeated."
The biggest hurdle cleared.
Defender was running up.
Carrying a bag that could doom hundreds—no, thousands.
*
As expected, the tunnel beyond was undefended.
We moved fast enough to huff and planted the bombs at Defender's spot.
Beep—bwee-bwee-beep—
"Set for ten minutes. We get caught, we're dead too."
"Good."
Footsteps echoed everywhere.
Zealots sensing something's wrong.
We hurried out.
Beyond the fading gray-white domain, Defender's comrades held firm.
"Let's go."
We picked them up one by one, hastening our steps.
"Incredible."
The more hunters joined, the more awed looks we got.
"Professor. Heard the name, thought 'big deal'... but just the two of you? Holy shit."
"Nah, he soloed it."
I scanned around.
One missing.
The zealot.
"Where'd he go?"
Only then did Defender's team notice.
"Huh? He was knocked out, facedown."
"Yeah."
Should've killed him.
Eliminating variables is the hunter way.
But spilled milk.
We pressed on.
Click—
Every 50 meters, Defender's team set Claymores.
Red beams flickered in the gloom—infrared sensors.
A gas-masked guy eyed me.
"One taste, and their souls'll fly out."
Rear secure, but something nagged.
Haru.
Dozens of the monster's guided explosives flew her way.
Felt a few more shockwave echoes after, but that's it.
Radioed her—no response.
Walking briskly, I asked.
"Anyone know the Awakened status?"
No one did.
"..."
Lost a valuable regular Awakened?
Bitter taste in my mouth, about to sigh—
"Hey. Something there."
Someone ahead.
Two people.
"What the...?"
Defender's eyes flashed.
"Awakened and zealot."
Yeah.
Haru and a zealot.
Blood-soaked Haru hugged from behind, pistol to her temple.
Lantern light showed she'd countered the Macrophage's bio-bombs here.
No major visible wounds, but enough blood loss to knock her out.
Zealot found her, stole the pistol, took her hostage, waited for us.
"You fucking shits. Goddamn scum. Divine retribution on you bastards!"
Better when they played pious.
Cheap curses from that battered, swollen, hate-filled wreck of a face were hard to stomach.
"You."
The zealot—bruised black, eyes half-swollen—jabbed a finger at me with bulging eyes.
"You fuck. Dare kill God's messenger? You'll get divine punishment. You'll never merge as one."
Defender whispered.
"Why hesitate? Just kill 'em both."
I shook my head.
Setting aside Haru's character or actions, she's a valuable regular Awakened.
Handled right, trained well, she could do more than me.
For a moment, I was surprised at my own thinking.
"..."
Yeah.
Still want to win, huh.
Even knowing the end, the future ahead.
Can't stop imagining humanity's victory.
"Drop your weapons and come here."
The zealot menaced, pistol to Haru's temple.
"Skeleton."
I signaled Defender.
As he positioned behind me, I slowly bent, lowering my rifle.
At the same time, Defender silently tossed a knife from his blind spot right into my palm.
Perfect pass.
Hands up, thumbs hooked behind my head.
A smile crept on the zealot's puffed, torn lips.
"Yeah. That's it, you fucking dog. Come here! Get over here!"
I approached slowly.
And.
Whish—
A beat early, I flicked up the dagger hidden in my palm and upper arm.
"?"
While the zealot blinked in confusion, the dagger arced comically high,
Thud—
embedding perfectly in his skull.
Bang!
His limp finger fired into the dark, meaningless.
I caught Haru's slumping body and stared down the dying zealot.
His blurring vision, he spasmed a hand, trying to speak.
I ignored him and moved on.
Three faiths collided.
Mine wasn't especially noble or mystical.
Haru built hers on prejudice's crumbling foundation, piling heavy faith atop.
Zealot's on bedrock, but passive—waiting to come true.
I made mine happen.
Myself.
That's the difference.
Kaboom!!!!!
Rumbling from afar.
A big one.
Need to hurry more.
Hate getting caught in the blast, but wanna see our star Awakened's face ASAP.