Invisible Beings
The green-eyed woman chewing on her fingernails with a grinding sound was also born into this world carrying Aberrantia Syndrome. Yet she possessed a beautiful appearance far removed from any monstrous deformity. While some hunters who surpass a certain level undergo physical rejuvenation and appear younger than their actual age, even accounting for such cases, her looks were extraordinarily youthful. Her height and the baby fat still clinging to her face made her seem no older than a middle school student. More than thirty years had passed since the First Wave, so how was this possible?
"Eom Sang-uk..." Her small, cherry-like lips parted as she uttered a man's name. The man whose name was called trembled violently.
"O God..." Overcome with emotion, the man shed tears as he bowed his head deeply before the green-eyed girl. Eom Sang-uk. The last Korean S-rank hunter to receive a dokkaebi mask from the DOH. True to his appearance, his temperament was rough and willful; he refused to wear the mask and operated without it, earning him a poor reputation even among the dokkaebi. In this twisted world, judging character by human standards had long since become obsolete. Only ability mattered. That was what counted. As one of the top 200 domestic hunters excluding the earliest awakeners, he was someone who deserved respect wherever he went in Korea—and he received it. Yet the sight he presented now was utterly unbecoming of that status. He was crouched low before the green-eyed girl, serving as a footrest for her legs.
"Huff— huff—" Sweat poured from his body like rain, forming a small puddle on the ground. The puddle had a reddish tint; there was no doubt it was mixed with blood dripping from his nose and mouth. It had been less than a day since Kang Yeonsu had shattered his body with a single blow, so this was only natural. Normally, he should have been under the care of a high-ranking healer, resting as much as possible. How had he ended up in such a humiliating situation?
"Jo Giman and Denar Panigial. To think there are humans I cannot see besides those two... Why have such obstacles suddenly appeared? Is that girl hiding something monstrous behind her, just like them?"
"Kuh... Once my body recovers, I will resolve this immediately...!"
"...... I told you not to interrupt when I'm speaking." The green-eyed girl raised her foot high above Eom Sang-uk's head, which was displaying his utmost loyalty, and brought it down hard.
Thud—!
"Ugh—! Khh! I-I made another mistake—"
"Agh, you brain-dead bastard!! Die! Just die already!! All you've done is fatten up like a pig!! Trash! Waste! Polluted kobold! Cockroach-like vermin!!"
Eom Sang-uk was being kicked mercilessly, yet he felt no pain whatsoever. Instead, he was pretending to be hurt to appease her mood. And the way he grinned broadly with each kick made it clear he was genuinely enjoying the situation. His head had not been damaged by Kang Yeonsu's blow, but Eom Sang-uk was clearly not in his right mind.
"Even if an unforeseen situation occurs, you should have at least brought something back! You worthless piece of goblin shit!!"
The girl who had been kicking the fallen Eom Sang-uk suddenly whipped her head around and screamed at the other dokkaebi watching her.
"Get out and die! You useless things! You've only gotten older and can't do a single thing right!"
""......""
Despite the extremely insulting words, the dokkaebi merely stood with their mouths agape, utterly captivated by her. To an outsider, this would have been incomprehensible, but the girl acted as if such a reaction was perfectly natural, continuing to kick Eom Sang-uk while venting her irritation.
"I!" Thud! "Even told you the entire scenario!" Thud thud thud thud!! "So why can't you follow it like puppets?!" Crack— crack!Thud thud! "How many times do I have to say it!!"
""......""
In truth, they had faithfully carried out the girl's orders, but she seemed determined to blame them for the repeated failures. The absurd part was that even this sight appeared endearing in the dokkaebi's eyes. While the dokkaebi remained speechless, lost in thoughts of how they might stay in the same space as her a little longer—
Poof—
A cloud of smoke erupted in the green space like a smoke grenade, and an elderly dokkaebi appeared.
"You, you! I told you meeting them would be pointless!! I said you just needed to throw the items!!"
As if irritation was the only thing she could express, the green-eyed woman unleashed a torrent of abuse at the newly appeared dokkaebi as well. But the elderly dokkaebi merely smiled faintly, bowed politely to her, and spoke.
"At my age, one occasionally wishes to try something one has never done before. I ask that you understand with a heart as vast as the sea—"
"I don't care!! So did that girl receive the 'Whistle'?"
"The summoner's summon took it instead."
"Agh, why!! I told you to give it to her directly! You stupid bastard!"
This was the same person who had previously said that throwing it roughly would be enough for the summoner to receive it, yet now she was saying something completely different. The elderly dokkaebi let out a hearty laugh as if this was nothing new.
"Upon investigation, that creature spends most of its time attached to the summoner's side. It would not be an exaggeration to say it carries it at all times."
"R-really? When I contact it later, it has to respond immediately, right?"
Grind— grind—
The elderly dokkaebi observed the green-eyed girl, who rarely showed signs of nervousness, before continuing.
"The third... 'Invisible One'..."
"...! You, you! I told you not to probe me with vague guesses!! Cough... cough—"
"Please calm yourself. That body... was it not heavily damaged yesterday?"
"Huu— Th-that's all because of you lot! It's a body I finally found after so long that I actually like!"
"Please take your time selecting. I have prepared more candidates for you to transfer into."
The girl nodded for a moment before suddenly charging at the old dokkaebi, kicking his shin while hurling curses, then blurted out something completely unrelated.
"So! Was that Lee Yeonhee girl really that pretty? The internet was in an uproar about it! Tell me. You're too outstanding to say anything flattering even if you die, right?!"
"She was indeed beautiful. The color of her mana, just beginning to bloom like a flower bud, was more radiant than any jewel, and the depths of her talent were beyond my ability to fathom. She is truly worthy of being called the adversary spoken of by 'God'—"
"Wh-who! Said that bitch was my adversary!! My only adversary is Jo Giman! If I'm feeling generous, I'll count Denar as well, but not that girl!"
"As you say. In any case, may I ask what you intend to do for the next phase? It seems acceptable to leave Korea in a temporary lull. Kang Yeonsu will not remain idle, after all."
After causing a scene for a while, the girl finally calmed her emotions upon hearing his words and fell into thought. Moments later, her eyes glowed an even deeper green, and her outer skin peeled away, revealing her grotesque true form.
"Ooooooh—"
"Th-the essence of God...! Such an honor—!"
Even the elderly dokkaebi, who had maintained some semblance of reason unlike the others, began repeatedly slamming his head against the floor in fervent praise of her divinity. Goooooo── Their worship grew frenzied, and just as one dokkaebi, unable to find any other way to express himself, began to self-harm—
The green-eyed girl spoke.
"It seems... Hwan Dokkaebi was right. Kang Yeonsu... I did not expect that bitch to have that level of capability. To even secure support from other countries?"
The green-eyed girl had just witnessed the altered future through her unique ability [Predetermined Future]. And with the intervention of the 'Invisible One,' she had been genuinely surprised by the changed future. In that future, if she remained here any longer, she would soon encounter not only Kang Yeonsu but also the 'Invisible Beings' one after another. Beings shrouded in a hazy, cloud-like veil. To the girl who always saw 100%, their existence—visible only at 50%—was terror itself. When together with others, they sometimes appeared faintly like this, but when acting alone, they were completely undetectable.
"Ugh..."
Whether what she had seen was Jo Giman from the same guild as Kang Yeonsu, or Lee Yeonhee, or even Denar appearing out of nowhere—she could not tell. And this was something that would happen in just half a year... Moreover, the future was accelerating, so she had no idea when an unforeseen situation might strike. Her precognitive ability could not be activated at all times, after all.
'Kang Yeonsu is manageable. But the invisible ones... I can't stand them! I don't know what they'll do, so it's frustrating! Just thinking about it makes me want to die.'
She had always walked a predetermined future. Even the slightest instability in the future was an unimaginable disaster to her. Furthermore, the summoner's summon that had used an unidentified power yesterday had only fueled that anxiety further.
'That monster... is a dangerous existence I must never encounter.'
Thus, the girl's retreat was entirely natural. And it was precisely to prepare for such variables that she had established Evolution Water factories all over the world for the past ten years.
"For the time being, we will withdraw our hands from Korea. Leave only the minimum personnel for ongoing operations and retrieve the 'Stone House' first."
After all, to her, the Korean factories held mostly symbolic meaning—planting a flag in Jo Giman's territory—so she did not feel particularly regretful.
"Leave Hwan Dokkaebi and Mutal behind and return to the main base."
For a while, she needed to operate in other countries and build more power.
"The Evolution Jewel quest... Once I achieve that, I will devour not only Jo Giman but also the monster behind him. If that happens, heh heh heh..."
The dokkaebi behind her nodded vigorously, as if to affirm that it would certainly come to pass.
"Let's go!"
At her cry, a dark-skinned dokkaebi among them manifested his ability, creating a giant paper airplane. The green-eyed girl and the other dokkaebi boarded it, and soon the airplane shrank to the size of a bee before gliding smoothly out through the passage.
"Huuu— Well, this is truly exhilarating."
Only long after she had left did the elderly dokkaebi, Hwan Dokkaebi, regain his senses. He kicked the side of Mutal, who was still writhing on the floor, and spoke.
"Whether you wear the mask or not is none of my business, but if you ever stimulate the Master again, I will not let it slide."
"I merely... wished to stay by God's side—"
"Do not approach her with such a pathetic body. Have you forgotten that the bandages wrapped around your face are the thing the Master despises most? Pathetic fool."
"Understood... I'm sorry."
"They will surely try to track you from behind. Therefore, you must never go outside."
"... I will restrain myself for the time being."
Though the qualifier "for the time being" was displeasing, Hwan Dokkaebi had no choice but to be satisfied with that much. Where else could he find such formidable power? He would have to coax and make use of it.
"Tsk—"
He clicked his tongue once and hurried away. Every second was precious if he was to carry out the command given by his 'God.'
Step— step—
The request to capture the three hunters who had driven her daughter into ruin. After completing that request and receiving an additional 300 million, we did not speak for over twenty minutes. Usually, when Yeonhee chattered, an hour would fly by, so the silent atmosphere felt unfamiliar.
'I want to punish the leader of the DOH and all the rest, but... at present, there is no way.'
'There was something I needed to check... Ah! I have to verify that.'
I searched for something else to change the mood and, recalling the new ability Yeonhee had obtained, called out to her.
"Hm? Ah— right. The time for that is up!"
Nod
We moved to a deserted place to check her ability. The church where the 'Crystal Tainted by Malice' had been hidden. In this abandoned building that people avoided even approaching, we decided to test Yeonhee's monster-merging ability.
"Ugh... This place is still so desolate..."
Yeonhee seemed to have some memory of visiting this church before. She glanced around the ruined church for a moment before closing her eyes tightly and beginning to concentrate.
Uuuuuuung──
'So she's summoning them first before starting.'
Yeonhee began summoning the Lizardmen one by one, starting with Lizard No. 1.
"Churururup?"
The twenty summoned Lizardmen each had slight differences. From No. 1 to No. 4, they boasted imposing physiques that had evolved a stage higher, but as the numbers approached No. 20, their sizes grew smaller.
'Well, since they were summoned later, that can't be helped.'
Lizardmen. With high stamina, sturdy carapaces, and somewhat organized weapon skills, they were brave warriors comparable to orcs, though their performance varied greatly depending on the environment. The twenty Lizardmen summoned to the church all knelt toward Yeonhee, assuming a posture of waiting for something to come.
'They come out already aware that they will be merged upon summoning.'
Following Yeonhee's hand gesture, they transformed into orbs of light one by one. Only Lizard No. 1, which had not transformed into light, began circling around its own body.