Chapter 207: Residents of a Ruined World (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 207: Residents of a Ruined World (3)
The masked red-haired maid took advantage of the commotion to slip inside and quietly observe the scene.
“Hey, are you sure this is really okay?”
“I’m telling you, it’s fine. I’ve done this plenty of times.”
What they carefully pulled out was the corpse of a man.
To put it mildly, he was in a wretched state. His jaw, which had taken a direct hit, was shattered into pieces, and it looked as though not a single bone or organ remained intact.
“Man, he’s a mess. You sure this will actually fetch a good price?”
“Yes, you idiot. Stop whining and move him already. High-ranking superhumans sell for a lot, even as corpses. Even if the condition is bad, do you think this is just some ordinary superhuman?”
“Ugh, I feel like a ghost is gonna pop out.”
“Oh, give me a break. I’ve done this a dozen times and nothing like that has ever happened. If you don’t like it, get lost. I only told you about this because you said you needed quick cash.”
So, this is how the wicked are treated in this world, she thought.
For a moment, she was tempted to nod in understanding, but the words that followed left her slightly taken aback.
“Actually, heroes sell for more than villains. There’s a lot more information on what kind of abilities heroes had when they were alive.”
“…You piece of trash. How could you even think of doing something like that to a hero?”
“What are you talking about? You think I’ve only handled a couple of heroes while doing this? Honestly, except for a few, heroes aren’t much different from villains, man.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. And besides, do you know who’s buying these? Rumor has it the Hero Association is actively—”
Hmm. She had almost accepted that this was simply the fate of a villain, but it seemed this was more accurately the fate of any superhuman.
The existence of such a society or its underbelly was only natural, so she felt no particular aversion to it. However, considering her purpose for being here, she couldn’t allow them to tamper with the body any further.
[Ahem.]
When she made her presence known to signal they should stop, they hurriedly turned their heads toward her.
Their eyes were dead.
They were lives that merely existed, without vision or purpose.
They weren’t lives particularly worth saving. In fact, for a clean cleanup, it would be more appropriate to dispose of them.
[I will let you go if you run away now.]
However, since they weren’t lives that absolutely had to be taken, the masked maid decided to give them a chance.
“…See? I told you some other body snatchers might show up.”
…Body snatcher. It was a rather humiliating misunderstanding, but considering her objective, it wasn’t entirely incorrect, so she decided to overlook the insult.
But they eventually crossed the line.
They drew their weapons and began to threaten her.
If they were foolish enough to draw steel and choose hostility, there was no reason to show mercy.
She didn’t even need to take action.
They were ordinary people who hadn’t even undergone Awakening. While the gear they held was designed to counter superhumans, it wasn’t of a level that could harm her.
The moment she released a fraction of her aura, they lost their balance and slumped over as if falling into a deep sleep.
[Fortunately, I am not too late on this side either.]
The corpse, which barely maintained a human shape, looked far too gone to any observer, but the physical state of the body wasn’t particularly important to her.
[…For something that called itself the greatest god, it is a pitifully small soul.]
Repairing a broken body was no difficult task for her. What truly mattered was the state of his soul.
Thanks to something resembling a curse, the soul and spirit were forcibly tethered to the dead flesh. Because of this, bringing him back didn’t seem like it would be too difficult.
Even for a tiny soul like this, calling back a departed spirit usually required a massive price.
[…To desecrate one used as a pawn and even bring them back to life just to recycle them… you truly are a villain.]
She didn’t have a relationship built on shared memories or camaraderie with the deceased, but it was true that the situation didn’t feel particularly pleasant.
She restored the broken flesh and returned the tethered soul to its original place.
Finally, she manifested her talent to return the missing warmth. The heart that had already grown cold began to throb, and the corpse began to regain life.
The only strange thing was that despite the restoration being intended as perfect, his one arm refused to heal for some reason.
Regardless, the resurrection itself was a success, so she could consider the request fulfilled.
[With this, there are three requests remaining.]
The blonde young man spat out a curse the moment he opened his eyes.
“Ugh… Gah! Dammit…! Those bastards, how dare they…! Do they know who I am…?! They even stole my Astrape…!”
[You have a foul mouth. I understand how you feel, but let us hurry. There is still one more person I need to retrieve.]
The blonde youth who had defied death, Zeus, glared at her, but she didn’t find him particularly intimidating.
“…What are you looking at, you creepy woman?”
For a brief moment, she considered abandoning him and just heading back, but since the request included both resurrection and his return, she couldn’t do that.
* * *
This might sound strange, but I’ve almost never cleared a dungeon properly.
Before and after the transmigration, my default was to use exploits. If a dungeon contained a fortuitous encounter I couldn’t use, I’d use my Authority to break it. Conversely, this was essentially the first time I’d entered something like a dungeon without any prior knowledge or a shortcut.
“So-hyun, stay still.”
Fragments of tentacles from a plant-type monster that had been blown apart by a punch flew toward me, but a wind blowing from somewhere ground those fragments into nothingness.
Then, another gust of wind bound the monsters, and a deluge of golden light crushed them. Lo and behold, it was a marvel.
A safe zone was created in the dungeon in the blink of an eye.
…Is this how a standard dungeon clear goes? It doesn’t seem that different from what I usually do.
Monsters explode when hit, the wind blows them away, and the golden light grinds them into dust. Every time this cycle repeated, Baek Seol, who was guarding the perimeter, would give an ‘okay’ sign.
Wow, clearing dungeons is so easy, right? You guys should try it too—provided you can replicate the movements of those three.
Lately, I’d only been meeting Calamity-class threats, so my perception was a bit skewed, but these women were among the top-ranked heroes in the country.
Of course, there were some hiccups in areas other than combat.
“This is troublesome. It’s going to take a long time.”
“Even though we entered through the same entrance, we haven’t run into any other teams. And even if we go back through the door we entered, we end up in a new location. That means space is distorted. I expected it, but the scale of this dungeon might be larger than I thought.”
“Ah, I’m spreading my mana to check, but the reflection patterns aren’t consistent. It might be a layout that changes at set intervals.”
While the three professors were reacting, Baek Seol was checking the supplies they had brought.
“The watches and compasses are useless, and most mechanical devices are dead.”
Right, okay. Everyone is doing something. I don’t know exactly what, but they’re being helpful.
…Except for me.
“Um, I could also…”
“So-hyun, stay still.”
“He’s right. You’ve joined this dungeon clear while you’re still not fully recovered. Save your strength in case of an emergency.”
“It’s good that Kang So-hyun is responsible, but you need to know how to rest when it’s time to rest. It’s not like you’re just playing around. You’re playing the role of a supporter for when an emergency happens, okay?”
That’s strange.
Professors, you said you didn’t want to treat me like a child or overprotect me. No matter how I look at it, I’m being treated like a child and overprotected.
I thought my girls had matured quite a bit, but I guess without reinforcements, they still don’t measure up to top-tier A-rank or S-rank heroes.
“By the way, Cathy, what on earth have you been doing? You definitely weren’t this strong not too long ago.”
“…It really isn’t easy to produce this much destructive power with just martial arts.”
“Be honest. Did you eat some kind of amazing spirit medicine?”
It wasn’t spirit medicine, but I did shove quite a few fortuitous encounters her way. She’d received private tutoring from Sun Wukong and had even shared in the energy remaining in the Nest of the Spirits in the ocean.
“It’s nothing like that.”
To be honest, I’d told everyone, including Lilac, different things using the pre-prepared footage of the masked villain.
In the end, the gist of the lie was: ‘You are about to undergo a trial, and you won’t be able to remember what kind of trial it was. If you fail to overcome it, things could go wrong. Do you still want to take the trial?’
“I just remembered what it is I have to protect.”
Simply put, everyone now thinks their increased strength is a reward for overcoming a trial.
“If getting stronger was that simple, who in the world wouldn’t be S-rank? Cathy, keeping secrets from us like this is quite naughty, isn’t it?”
Hmm, is a dungeon clear supposed to proceed with such a bright atmosphere?
What if things suddenly get dangerous while they’re acting like this…
As if on cue, a beast suddenly burst from the ground. However, it took exactly two seconds for Professor Cathy’s straight punch and Professor Park A-ram’s mana arrow to finish it off.
I see. They have everything under control.
I should just stay still.
* * *
After returning with a somewhat uneasy feeling and everyone retreating to their respective hotel rooms, Kang Ha-ni found herself in a rather awkward situation.
“Mommy~!”
She couldn’t understand why a very cute young child was standing before her with open arms, calling her “Mom.”
She had hugged the child back since the arms were open, but seeing the girl rub her cheek against hers in delight—despite them being practically strangers—made Ha-ni’s heart feel like it was melting.
This was the child who had called So-hyun “Dad” and performed miracles in the dungeon.
The reason this child was with her was simple.
When asked who she wanted to stay with while So-hyun was away, the child had pointed at her.
For the record, there were many candidates.
To Lilac, the child had delivered a stinging blow: “Dad told me not to follow Lilac.” To Cheon Yu-hak, she had teased him by calling him “Young Master Yu-hak, the legitimate heir of the Cheon family!” which kept him away.
When Ga-eul approached with coos of adoration, the child tried to pat Ga-eul’s head instead. When Ju Ri-ra or Lee Yu-na approached, she subtly kept her distance as if uncomfortable. In the end, because the child wanted it and Ha-ni secretly liked being called “Mom,” she ended up taking charge.
“Hey. Dad is So-hyun, right?”
“Yep, Dad is Kang So-hyun.”
“Then why am I Mom…?”
When she asked the question that had suddenly come to mind, she received a quite unexpected answer.
“You’re warm and the most similar.”
“Warm and similar? To whom?”
“Ha-na!”
“Ha-na?”
Just as she was about to ask who that was, she remembered it was a name she had heard directly from him in the past.
Perhaps the “Mom” this child was talking about wasn’t her own mother, but So-hyun’s mother?
“Do I look a lot like her?”
“No? You don’t look like her at all! Ha-na can’t cook, and she can’t play with Dad.”
“…But you said I was similar?”
“Yeah, but you’re still the most similar. You’re warm like Mom, too.”
We don’t look alike, but we’re similar? What does that even mean? And what is this “warmth”?
She wanted to ask more, but seeing the child snuggling into her arms and laughing as if troubled, she found it hard to speak.
“Hehe.”
The child didn’t look much like her or So-hyun, but for some reason, she felt herself growing more and more fond of her.
Could this feeling be maternal love?
…Was she getting ahead of herself? She wasn’t even married, let alone having a child. Wasn’t it strange to feel maternal love already?
Ah, but you never know what the future holds. She might end up having one, so there was nothing wrong with a trial run, right?
Yeah, and since one might be lonely, it would be nice to have two.
“Mom is counting her chickens before they hatch.”
Ha-ni snapped back to reality when the child pointed it out.
Seriously, am I some virgin who’s never been in a relationship? Why am I imagining having kids all by myself? I mean, well… it’s true, but still…!
“Mom, you really like Dad, don’t you?”
“Huh?”
“It’s okay. Dad is always thinking about Mom and his friends, too. Sometimes he looks like he’s in pain because he worries too much.”
They were the words of a child, but because Ha-ni had an inkling of what she meant, she couldn’t offer a response. The child reached out a hand toward her.
“As I thought, Mom is the most similar to ‘Mom.’”
Until a moment ago, she had seemed like just an innocent child, but for a brief second, she felt like a completely different entity. Was it just her imagination?
“Hehe.”