Divided Retreat
The retreating subjugation team managed to rendezvous safely with Leysha at the pre-designated meeting point.
And then they heard about Nix's existence.
Because time was of the essence, the leadership received only a brief rundown of Nix's information, leaving them stunned.
"How did that thing discovered in China end up here...?"
"Maybe it's a different individual...?"
"Could there be hidden gates connecting one labyrinth to another...?"
"Rather than speculating on that, we should focus on why it's appeared here...?"
As the leaders buzzed with chatter, Leysha, who had been watching quietly, spoke up.
"We can think about that monster later. Right now, we need to figure out how to preserve our full strength and get out of here."
Everyone nodded in agreement at Leysha's perfectly reasonable statement.
They didn't want to sacrifice any more of the guild hunters they'd barely saved, after all.
"Didn't we already set the retreat routes? We've prepared multiple paths depending on the situation, so proceeding as is shouldn't be a problem, right?"
Kwon Je-na frowned at Choi Sang-hyuk's snide tone.
She wanted to snap at him like usual, but after dealing with rear-attacking monsters and being worn out, she didn't even have the energy to chew him out.
Instead of Kwon Je-na, who merely grimaced to show her displeasure, Leysha spoke calmly.
"I'd prefer we take a different route instead of the original one."
"Why? Even as an observer, changing the existing plan is...?"
"It'll come after us."
"Pardon...?"
Leysha ignored Choi Sang-hyuk's dumbstruck question and turned to Park Han, the subjugation leader.
"...Hunter Leysha seems convinced it'll pursue us. Is there a reason?"
"I have no evidence to convince you all. This judgment is purely my intuition."
Choi Sang-hyuk snorted at Leysha's matter-of-fact response.
"Hmph. Do you realize how many lives hang on our choices right now? Just because of a 'gut feeling'? You're saying you'll ignore our prepared plans and do whatever you want on a whim?! Is this subjugation a joke to you?!"
The other leaders subtly frowned at Choi Sang-hyuk's outburst.
They somewhat agreed with his point, but there was no need to raise his voice like that.
Any ordinary hunter saying that would be one thing, but the opponent was Leysha Barrett.
Leysha blinked once at Choi Sang-hyuk's attitude.
After a brief moment of thought, she spoke in her usual calm demeanor.
"From now on, I'll act not just as an observer, but as the chairwoman of the World Hunter Federation."
"...Are you saying you'll use your authority to steamroll us right now?!"
As the leaders panicked at Leysha's declaration, the most shocked Choi Sang-hyuk bellowed.
Leysha replied flatly to him.
"Yes. I'll use my authority to steamroll you. Even now, it's probably chasing us, so I have no time to waste convincing you all."
"What the hell is—!"
"Just give the order, Chairwoman."
Kwon Je-na cut off Choi Sang-hyuk's impending shout and spoke respectfully first.
Leysha, momentarily surprised by Kwon Je-na's unusually deferential attitude, soon smiled faintly.
'Thank you.'
She silently expressed her gratitude inwardly and scanned the room.
The other leaders, excluding Choi Sang-hyuk, showed no objections.
Even subjugation leader Park Han nodded quietly, so Leysha quickly spoke up.
"It's extremely dangerous."
"We heard you overwhelmed it, Chairwoman. If we have no info, that's one thing, but with proper preparation...?"
"The subjugation team is already heavily depleted. We can't face it with our current forces. Moreover, I could overwhelm it only due to the unique circumstances then. If it had fought me purely without other objectives, the outcome would have been very different."
Murmurs of dismay leaked from here and there at her steady voice.
"So what exactly are you saying, Chairwoman? How do you want to change the retreat route?"
"Scrap the original route and split the subjugation team."
"...You're suggesting we divide our forces? That would just...?"
"Sticking together will get us all killed."
A long silence followed her calm declaration.
Choi Sang-hyuk, frowning, spoke up.
"Can you take responsibility for that statement, Chairwoman? All dead? Come on, we're Korea's elite. Even we...?"
"I'm certain. Excluding myself and a few others, everyone will die. In the end, fewer than ten hunters will make it out of the labyrinth alive."
"...You're sure?"
"I stake my honor on it."
"...Fine."
Choi Sang-hyuk clamped his mouth shut.
No matter how twisted he was, he couldn't argue further against Leysha's conviction.
"So how should we divide the forces?"
"Group them by guild as much as possible? That way, they'll coordinate better...?"
"Surviving forces vary by guild. That could leave one group too weak, forcing sacrifices...?"
"Divide the forces evenly. No favoritism by guild or personal ties. No group can be too strong or too weak."
Leysha scanned the room again as she said this.
"Everyone, hurry. We don't have much time."
The leaders moved without protest at her calm but weighty voice.
Leysha watched them bustle about dividing forces, blinking quietly.
The last image of that monster was still vivid.
'It'll definitely come after us.'
There was no concrete proof, as she'd said, but her intuition screamed it.
And Leysha's intuition had never failed her once.
And as her intuition predicted, a single revenge-hungry serpent had closed right up to their heels.
The divided subjugation team agreed to rendezvous at the 55th floor in the Plains Zone and swiftly moved out along their assigned routes.
Kwon Je-na let out a quiet sigh as she watched them scatter to find warp gates scattered about.
The forces had been evenly divided purely by rank and skill, dispersing many guildmates.
'Our old man told me to look after the guild members...'
What if something happened where she wasn't?
Worries bubbled up, making Kwon Je-na sigh again.
"Are you worried?"
Leysha, assigned to the same group, asked quietly.
Kwon Je-na waved her hands hurriedly.
"Oh, no. Just a bit...?"
"...I'm sorry, even if it wasn't intentional, for separating you from your guildmates. This retreat assumes no one's sacrifice, but if we'd moved by guild and one got hit hard, there'd be issues after exiting the labyrinth."
"I get that. I just don't like sacrificing the few for the many."
"......"
Leysha fell silent and looked at Kwon Je-na, who smiled awkwardly.
"I don't think there's a problem with your plan, Hunter Leysha. Better than dying together. It's just... this powerless reality of fleeing makes me sad."
"...I understand. I've felt that helplessness many times."
"You have, Hunter Leysha?"
Leysha nodded bitterly at the surprised gaze.
"Yes. Even this situation is because of my shortcomings."
"It's not your fault, Hunter Leysha. The enemy was just too much. A monster that killed Wang Feng. How did it even show up here?"
"...Who knows. One thing's certain: it's a dangerous monster."
Kwon Je-na nodded at Leysha's steady demeanor.
"Then let's get moving. Myung-ho should be ready."
"'Myung-ho'—the hunter you always travel with? Your lover?"
"No! He's just like a little brother...!"
Kwon Je-na's flustered raised voice cut off abruptly.
Both she and Leysha sensed the incongruity simultaneously.
"Hunter Kwon Je-na!"
"Yes, Hunter Leysha! Let's retreat now!"
As Leysha drew her signature weapon Lux and pulled the trigger, Kwon Je-na charged forward.
"It's already caught up?!"
Meteors rained down beyond the emerging Nix.
Hundreds of meteors filling one side of the sky.
Chaos spread among the hunters who spotted it late.
"Eek...! Meteor!"
"S-save me!"
"Run!"
"Everyone, calm down! Want to die like this?! Deploy barriers first! Those who can intercept, do it! Snap out of it and do what you can!"
Kwon Je-na tried to calm the panicking hunters, but Nix wasn't one to let that slide.
Kurrrung—
A single bolt of lightning struck down.
"Urk...!"
"Guild vice-master!"
The bolt targeted the defenseless Kwon Je-na.
Yoon Myung-ho, calming hunters nearby, rushed desperately toward her.
"I'm fine! Calm the hunters first! At this rate, we're all dead!"
Kwon Je-na shouted while self-healing her wound.
Yoon Myung-ho hesitated, then nodded and ran off.
Shii—
As Nix prepared to strike Kwon Je-na again, Leysha, intercepting falling meteors, loosed an arrow at Nix.
"Think I'll just watch?!"
Thwiiip—
The pure white arrow of light, one she'd faced hundreds, thousands of times before.
Nix didn't bother blocking the flashing shot.
Boom—
'...No damage!'
Leysha's hand paused mid-draw.
Despite using considerable mana like before, Nix showed no major injury this time.
'It's gotten tougher in the meantime?'
Leysha frowned slightly and leaped away urgently.
Fierce blade winds whipped toward her to shred her.
"Hunter Leysha!"
"We're here to help!"
"───!!! Get out of the line of fire, everyone!"
Several high-rank hunters rushed to assist her. To Leysha's eyes, they looked like moths diving into flames, clueless.
Despite her uncharacteristically urgent shout, the hunters couldn't act.
"Shaaah───!!!"
The left and right heads, now upon them, mercilessly devoured the hunters.
"Kuh...!"
"Dodge!"
"Gaaah!"
Kwaduduk— kwaduduk—
Some hunters vanished into the massive serpent maws, others rolled wounded on the ground.
Tap—
Leysha landed lightly, her face twisting savagely.
Nix quietly flicked its tongue at Leysha's fully lost composure.
'They've divided their forces.'
The number of hunters was visibly low.
'They used their heads, at least. This is annoying.'
It had planned to devour every last hunter involved, but this wouldn't be easy.
'At least I found Leysha.'
She was the one who'd most influenced Arde's death, after all.
'I'll kill at least that woman.'
Definitely.
"Shaaah───!!!"
Nix bellowed fiercely once and inhaled deeply.
The other heads followed suit, inhaling all at once.
'What is it planning...? No way...?!'
A posture she'd seen countless times against dragonkin monsters.
Leysha shouted urgently.
"Breath! Dodge───!!!"
Nix, having swallowed not just air but all ambient mana—and slamming together its existing mana—unleashed.
Fwaaa—
As it expelled the held breath to its limit, nine breaths erupted simultaneously.
Kwagang—
Unbridled destruction began.