Chapter 049
< The Great Rift and the Farmer of the Herb Garden >
49
Okinawa Yanbaru National Park, halfway up Mount Yonaha.
The sky was already covered with black rain clouds.
Splash! Splash!
Since early morning, rain had been pouring incessantly.
The surroundings were as dark as night, even though it was broad daylight.
Whoosh!
The raindrops drenching the surroundings carried a murky black toxin.
The plants of Yanbaru National Park touched by the raindrops were screaming and burning away.
It wasn't a metaphorical expression; the trees touched by the raindrops were actually burning fiercely, covered in black flames from the bark to the leaves on the branches.
The entire Yanbaru National Park presented a chilling landscape as if covered by a black fire demon.
A blonde man, the Lightning Emperor Kyle, used a specially crafted magic umbrella and took a cigarette out of his pocket.
A lighter wasn't necessary.
When he reached his hand holding the cigarette out from under the umbrella, a flame shot up at the tip of the butt.
“Tch, it doesn't taste good.”
Kyle, exhaling grayish smoke, frowned and turned his head.
There, a woman with a giant greatsword slung across her back was yawning listlessly while diligently checking her terminal.
“Lin, even if we prepared in our own way, the battlefield is right in front of us. Are you really checking the community?”
“Yeah, it’ll only take a moment.”
The S-Rank Chinese ranker, Xiao Lin, replied with an annoyed tone.
She knew what Kyle meant, but Lin was currently doing a very important task.
That was checking the community of Dang-geun-tap (Tower Market).
The reason was clear.
When she was ahead of an interview with reporters at Kagoshima International Airport, she heard something from the South Korean ranker Seol Yun-ha.
Information that while they didn't know exactly how Yu Jin-hyuk overcame the curse, someone in a fairly high position in his guild had recently been in contact with someone.
‘······Gorani Man 12.’
Lin bit her lip tightly and looked at the posts in the South Korean community region of Dang-geun-tap (Tower Market) with trembling eyes.
The search term was the hot figure these days, Gorani Man 12.
And what entered Lin's eyes.
Was a feast of praise reaching almost a state of madness.
[InsomniaHunter: This [Drowsy Pumpkin] is a mysterious thing. I had insomnia for 3 years, but I couldn't wake up for 3 days after eating this. I flew with a dragon in my dream, and it was so vivid that I still can't distinguish reality well. Still, I feel refreshed.]
[TowerParkJoInSung: It's my first time having corn sweeter than fruit. Every time I chew a grain, the juice bursts, and vitality circulates in my body all day. How can I resist this?]
[Genie: Repurchase intent 1000%. I will be a loyal customer dedicating my life. (This is a VIP-only review.)]
“······?”
It was full of good reviews to the point one might wonder if public opinion was manipulated.
‘How should I say it, a feeling like that?’
It was a feeling that not only were Gorani Man 12's crops good, but they were being extremely careful in choosing even a single word for fear of offending that person's feelings.
Well, it was natural to be careful since it would become difficult to trade if the relationship was twisted.
But.
[ID: Viper]
The [Frost-kissed Cabbage] I traded recently blew away the 지독한 (dreadful) migraine from several days of overnight work at once with a refreshing feeling that seemed to clear the fog in my head.
I’ll say it once more: if there is anyone who fails to understand the value of this person's crops and recklessly leaves bad reviews, I will personally visit and confirm if their tongue is functioning properly. I’m not joking.
Lin's brow twitched minutely.
Viper.
He was quite famous even in China.
A person rumored to be prickly, picky, and very difficult to satisfy regardless of what it was.
From the perspective of Lin, an S-Rank ranker, she had no direct involvement with him, but she had heard through guild members.
That Viper is absolutely not someone who makes empty words.
Being a person who regards pride as his life, his information boasted the highest reliability among Hunters across borders.
Information that Viper says is the real deal is more trustworthy than any state institution's announcement.
‘There's no way Gorani Man 12 could have bribed Viper to manipulate public opinion with these review posts.’
The more she read the posts, the deeper her thoughts about the person named Gorani Man 12 became.
Just then.
“How long do we have to wait?”
A beautiful voice was heard from right next to her.
Lin turned her head and saw a woman with beautiful silver hair and purple eyes, staring at the forest with narrowed eyes.
Even the raindrops holding toxin pouring down couldn't even bloom a small flame on her body.
‘South Korean S-Rank ranker, Seol Yun-ha.’
Essentially, Kyle was holding an umbrella because of his mysophobia; for S-Rank rankers, it was merely at a level of being slightly itchy on the skin.
Of course, that was only for rankers; it was different for ordinary people or middle-to-high rankers.
A single drop of the poisonous rain pouring from the sky was dangerous enough to cause ulcers on the skin of an ordinary person, so access to the island was strictly controlled.
A-Rank Hunters?
Right now, they would just be a hindrance.
The US Intelligence Department and the Chinese Intelligence Department revealed that the thing situated at the top of the Tower is a magic region plant called the Disaster Flower.
Minimal information was known, but there was a rumor that a terrible disaster occurred wherever it bloomed.
Fortunately, the Disaster Flower was not yet in its complete state.
Thus, they were waiting.
To catch the right timing.
And then.
“It's here.”
Yu Jin-hyuk, who had been sitting on a rock scanning the sky, stood up abruptly.
As if he had never suffered from the Curse of the Demon Dragon, his two perfectly fine eyes were piercing through a single point in the sky.
Rumble!
Tearing through the black rain clouds, something was falling from the high sky.
It was a spear of pure white light.
A flash.
In an instant, the surroundings that had been dark with rain clouds brightened like broad daylight, tinted with white light.
At the emergence of powerful strength, the pouring raindrops were swept away, creating an illusion that the surroundings had cleared up for a very short moment.
It was the moment Japan's last card, the great magic decision weapon ‘Amenonuhoko’, finally revealed its form.
BOOM!
The white spear of light plunged from the sky to the ground, covering the summit of Mount Yonaha as it was.
The burning heat that rose as if scorching melted rocks and trees alike, covering the surroundings with white flames.
The monsters jumping out from the Rift were being swept away while screaming.
Yu Jin-hyuk, who was glaring at that sight with a calm gaze from halfway up the mountain, took the first step.
“Three of Japan's S-Rank rankers became unable to fight after meeting the Black Gargoyle. That's why Japan decided to use that weapon. The opportunity is only now.”
“I know. That we must process the Disaster Flower before it completely encroaches the surroundings.”
Lin, putting away her terminal, looked at Yu Jin-hyuk with an interested gaze.
Right now, Lin's interest was entirely focused on Yu Jin-hyuk’s state.
‘It's certain.’
She had watched half-doubtingly, but she couldn't find a trace of that 지독한 (dreadful) curse on Yu Jin-hyuk’s body.
Rather, the energy that had become deeper and more solid than in his prime looked truly and perfectly healed.
‘Seol Yun-ha's words weren't a lie.’
She even had the thought that he might have become stronger than before.
The momentum Yu Jin-hyuk emitted ahead of the battle felt much more cleanly organized than before.
“······.”
After staring at Yu Jin-hyuk like that for a long time, she moved her steps to follow him as he started walking ahead.
In her heart, she wanted to ask.
If the person who healed you was really Gorani Man 12.
Of course, now was not the time.
Even if she were to ask, it was a question worth asking only after finishing the collection of the Disaster Flower and closing every gap in the Rift.
* * *
The path toward the summit of Mount Yonaha.
BANG!
A giant steel shield fell from the sky like a meteor, crushing the monsters that survived the spear.
The sight of the monsters being crushed and dying instantly along with the roar.
The gazes of the rankers who were moving were all focused on one place.
At the center was Yu Jin-hyuk, who had summoned the giant steel shield and exploded the surroundings.
“It seems most of the monsters on the mountain have been swept away thanks to the massive price Japan paid. They will multiply again if we don't close the Rift, but it should be fine until then.”
A short and heavy voice.
After saying that, he began to sweep away the monsters at the front of the party again.
There was no need for them to step forward.
If there were fellows like the Black Gargoyle that smashed the Japanese rankers, that would be one thing, but the monsters currently blocking this path were only fellows at the A-Rank level.
“By the way, was Yu Jin-hyuk’s movement always that good? His mana is also at a level incomparable to before.”
The appearance of Yu Jin-hyuk seen through the Lightning Emperor's eyes.
He parried the poison liquid fired by a monster with his shield, reflecting it right onto the wing of the monster next to it.
Bang-!
Toward the monster falling after losing balance, he even showed movements of accurately reflecting an anchor orb fired by another monster by twisting the shield angle.
Truly an irresistible force.
Perfect combat art where defense becomes attack.
“No······ rather, he's stronger than in his prime, isn't he?”
Everyone looked at Yu Jin-hyuk with interested eyes.
As if mocking the 3-year gap, there was not a single superfluity in his movements.
Above all, there was not 1% of hesitation in all his judgments.
He was showing movements full of conviction without superfluity, finding the most optimal path at once.
As if to prove that the last 3 years of painful time were never in vain.
He was dominating the battlefield in a much more complete form than before.
“Hey.”
Eventually, Lin couldn't resist and approached Yu Jin-hyuk’s side to ask.
“Yu Jin-hyuk, just how did you do it? That curse, is it really perfectly healed?”
“It’s not a full recovery. Residues still remain.”
“What? But then how······.”
Yu Jin-hyuk smiled faintly and took a small water bottle from his chest.
Inside, only transparent water was contained.
“I guess you could say it's thanks to Gorani Man-nim.”
“Gorani Man······ nim?”
She had guessed after hearing from Seol Yun-ha, but hearing a confirmation from Yu Jin-hyuk’s mouth had another meaning.
Lin looked at Yu Jin-hyuk with complex eyes, then tightly clenched her slender fingers and made up her mind.
Once today's Rift clearing is over, she would surely contact that South Korean crop merchant named Gorani Man 12.
‘······But why is it cold?’
Lin's gaze, with narrowed eyes, reached the summit of the mountain.
Something didn't feel right.
Of course, it was likely an illusion felt because she was tense.
Since there was no possibility that the summit of Mount Yonaha became more dangerous after Japan even used its decision weapon.
* * *
China, Hunter Total Command Headquarters.
[Warning! Warning! Okinawa Rift center, unmeasurable level of energy explosion detected!]
“······What?”
An analyst who was monitoring the screen all night shouted in horror.
“Just what is this energy wave? I've never seen such a warning code! The level of numerical explosion··· is exceeding 10 times the existing S-Rank monsters!”
“What on earth is this?”
On the command headquarters' screen, the appearance of the red flower blooming fully began to surface.
An appearance that was beautiful yet simultaneously too ominous and요사스러운 (enchanting/wicked).
“Lin! Contact Xiao Lin right now! Tell her to leave that area immediately! It's certain that those crazy Japanese using that white spear stimulated the Disaster Flower!”
“Co-contact cannot be reached! A powerful mana jamming originating from the Rift is covering the island!”
“Fuck! If contact can't be reached, send people to inform them! Do you want to lose an S-Rank ranker to such an absurd thing?”
The total command analyst, who let out a shout, exhaled hot breath and threw his gaze at the screen.
The graph was running wild.
The energy figure displayed on the screen was already higher than any phenomenon humanity had ever experienced.
It was chaos itself, impossible even to analyze with existing data.
* * *
Okinawa, summit of Mount Yonaha.
Yu Jin-hyuk and the S-Rank Hunters were finally at the center of the disaster.
And there, they faced despair.
Lin tried to escape after receiving contact from Chinese intelligence late, but at that time they had just arrived at the summit.
Fwaaaaa-
They couldn't run away.
The red flower blooming on the summit, the Disaster Flower, finally fully 만개 (bloomed) and was covering the surroundings with powerful force.
The sky was tinted the color of blood.
A red moon rose despite it being broad daylight.
Black showers began to pour even more harshly from the sky, and every surrounding grass and tree touched by that rain burned and crumbled as if screaming.
“Kugh! D-damn······ how can a mere flower have such power!”
“Kugh, you know······ it's not just a flower. Cough!”
Every Hunter at the scene fell while vomiting blood.
The US's Kyle, China's Lin, South Korea's Seol Yun-ha.
Even those called the world's strongest were helpless before the overwhelming death wave emitted by the Disaster Flower.
“······Dammit.”
Only Yu Jin-hyuk was barely holding on while kneeling.
The faint green light enveloping his body.
Only the energy like a tiny blessing (가호) of life dwelling in Yu Jin-hyuk’s body was barely protecting him.
‘But······ this is also the limit.’
He couldn't even reach the vicinity of the Disaster Flower.
Just the death wave emitted by the fully bloomed flower made it feel like the bones of his entire body were being crushed.
And the true despair started from now.
-Kieee-ck!
-Slither, slither!
From the polluted ground around the Disaster Flower, bizarre monsters began to crawl out endlessly.
Bats with centipede legs, spiders with human arms, even scorpions with snake heads.
They were hideous and terrible hybrids as if mocking the life laws of this world.
Those fellows discovered Yu Jin-hyuk, the only one standing, and surged toward him all at once.
Dozens, hundreds.
While his body had lost control now, even just a few would be hard, but a wave of monsters was pushing in with a terrible momentum.
But in that instant.
“KKIYOOOOOOOOO-OT!!!”
The sound of a roar tearing the sky was heard.
-Kieee-ck! Kya-a-ak!
Following that, a sound of a completely different class from the discord screamed by hundreds of hybrids echoed.
“PE-E-E-E-E-E-E-E-CK-!!!”
A roar that suppressed every noise in the world and vibrated space itself.
A primordial resonance that made every lower existence's soul submit.
Pop-pop-pop!
Cr-crack!
In that scream imbued with overwhelming power, the hundreds of monsters that were trying to swallow Yu Jin-hyuk all turned their eyes back and exploded at once.
A giant wave of power swept through the summit of the mountain.
Yu Jin-hyuk stared at the summit of the mountain, which was organized by just a single scream, then threw his gaze with trembling pupils.
Amidst the landscape that had cleared up as even the incessantly pouring black rain stopped.
“······!”
A man riding a muscular Gorani was seen.
He was a man wearing a mask.
Dressed in a light white shirt and ordinary black slacks.
In an informal outfit, his hand held a hand hoe with soil on it, as if he had been tidying a garden just a moment ago.
The feeling of a young farmer who didn't suit this land of disaster at all.
However, that strange man was showing an interested look before the Disaster Flower, which had pressed down even the S-Rank rankers with just the intimidation of its presence.
He was calmly looking at the flower, which held a power strong enough to be ominous, as if appreciating a rare flower.
As if that flower were nothing more than a mere ornamental flower to him.
< The Great Rift and the Farmer of the Herb Garden > END