Chapter 49
Chapter 49
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Hanaoka Miyu #2
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-Waaaaah!!
-The shrine maiden will lead us all to ascension!!
-Exalt the shrine maiden...!!
Hanaoka Miyu's world was always brimming with light.
Combined with the mystical ability passed down through her family for generations, and now amplified by mana as a medium—
Her life truly shone as brilliantly as if she were walking a path paved in gold.
-And so, Hanaoka Miyu beheld the starlight.
The myriad fates intertwining in radiant streams.
A gentle call that crushed human nature into oblivion, guiding the spirit beyond utopia.
Its essence lay within the Tower.
The Japanese shrine maiden, buoyed by the expectations of the people, found herself drawn ever deeper into that alluring power.
Unaware that it was a river of no return, it gnawed away at a corner of her mind.
She, once Japan's pride and foremost Hunter, had now fully embraced the Tower's madness and been reborn.
'Ah.'
She broke free from the suffocating pressure that had choked her for so long.
This meant not only for herself, but that she had met comrades sharing the same will.
A great soul to guide the ignorant lambs who knew nothing.
Kim Do-yoon.
From the very moment they first met.
The shrine maiden—Miyu Hanaoka—gazed upon his presence with exhilarated anticipation.
"...What?"
"Hee hee, you must have felt so lonely all this time. I understand that feeling perfectly. It's the fate of those who must deliver true justice."
Hanaoka Miyu smiled gently, as if embracing everything, and looked at Do-yoon.
Do-yoon nearly responded instinctively to that beautiful pull.
"...No thanks."
A familiar voice anchoring his mind jolted him back to his senses.
"I can sense you're still quite confused. But that's alright. Their call will guide you to the right path."
"....."
Do-yoon was utterly bewildered.
Where on earth was he supposed to start unraveling this?
Union? Pull?
The words spilling from her elegant attire were as incoherent and mad as those of the fanatics in the theme stages.
'This is bad.'
He had come hesitantly at the summons from a high-level Hunter, but he hadn't expected things to escalate so suddenly.
Right. He'd hoped for some confidential info on the Tower, at least.
'But this is way too confidential.'
Was this really okay?
Looking at Hanaoka Miyu, still wearing that enigmatic smile, Do-yoon realized the situation was veering into dangerous territory.
"Is this... mana?"
"Hee hee, yes it is."
"Not in a training room or the Tower. How can you use it out here?"
"Oh my."
The shrine maiden tilted her head slightly.
The chaotic energy from moments ago had vanished; Do-yoon's calm questioning piqued her curiosity.
"That's what caught your interest?"
"It's just fascinating."
"Simple. It's because I receive the Tower's love."
Was it his imagination?
To Do-yoon's ears, it sounded like she was saying she was insane from the Tower's mana.
"I've answered your question, so now it's my turn."
"....."
A formal question-for-question exchange?
Taking his silence as assent, the shrine maiden smiled serenely and spoke.
"Do-yoon, when do you plan to join us?"
"Join you?"
"Not just me, but all our comrades who envision the same utopia."
"Are the others as strong as you?"
"They're all reliable people."
What a mad world.
He knew the shrine maiden was a big name in the industry, but were the other Hunters already half-mad like her?
"So, may I have your answer?"
Hanaoka Miyu waited persistently for Do-yoon's lips to part.
Like someone who had made a grand resolve.
The atmosphere suggested she might force the issue right here if things didn't go her way.
Do-yoon pondered for a moment.
Rejecting outright felt impossible; he'd already crossed his own point of no return.
Affirming would betray the Korean Hunters he'd already committed to.
"I can't decide."
"...Decide what?"
"We're practically strangers, and I've only been a Hunter for a short time. I can't judge properly. What’s right or wrong."
He knew the truth.
That the woman before him was utterly deranged.
That she held dangerously misinterpreted information, tied to a critical Tower situation.
But Do-yoon had to prioritize protecting his identity above all.
'I need time.'
To extract more info, he needed time.
Time to think and plan the next step.
"Even with all the Tower's love focused on you, you still can't decide?"
The Tower's love.
No need to think; he knew it related to the Gallery.
"Love or whatever, think about it the other way. There's no guarantee your side is safe."
"....?"
The shrine maiden paused, then let out a soft laugh.
"How many people in this world can guarantee your identity like I can?"
"You're being much more aggressive than before."
"The more we talk, the more I want you. You."
Like a fox shedding its cautious guise, a seductive glint entered Hanaoka Miyu's calm eyes.
"I planned to approach more carefully at first. But after meeting you, I changed my mind."
Imbued with the Tower's eerie mana, 'starlight,' Hanaoka Miyu had sensed Do-yoon's radiant presence.
She couldn't bear not bringing him to their side; his allure was irresistible.
"So, right here today. I want to take you with me, by any means."
"...Isn't that too dangerous?"
"It is. But there's always a way."
What way could there possibly be?
A chill ran up Do-yoon's neck.
Her innocently cheerful response rang with absolute sincerity.
"My turn?"
"Yes."
But he pressed on undeterred.
"What's your goal? Yours, or all of yours?"
"Hee hee, finally the question I've been waiting for."
Covering her mouth as she chuckled, Hanaoka Miyu answered.
"I want to dye the world in mana. I want the world and all creation to see what I've seen."
'Definitely crazy.'
Do-yoon swallowed his inner thought.
"And for that, we need a Gate Break. It's the only way to draw out the mana accumulated in the Tower."
"...So. You're going to cause a Gate Break in the world?"
"Exactly."
"You think your group can pull that off?"
"Hee hee, even now, comrades are working inside the Tower for that very purpose."
Completely off the rails.
Scheming for a Gate Break?
A sudden impulse flashed through Do-yoon's mind.
Her absurd nonsense dredged up painful memories of his past.
He knew the source of his misfortune.
He'd learned of the unreasonable connections suffered by the Tower's boss monsters filling the Gallery.
All of it was some unknown entity's machinations between him and the Gallery's monsters.
'Do they know?'
The faction they belonged to must be tied to it inevitably.
'Should I?'
Attack her right here?
Of course not.
This was outside the Tower, and the only one who could use mana was her—a top-tier Hunter.
Even at full strength, he couldn't match her, let alone with her overwhelming merits.
"You're wary of me."
"...Things are moving too fast."
"Thinking about it, I've only been pressing you this whole time."
Her sudden self-awareness left the highly tense Do-yoon dumbfounded.
"My original intent was just to invite you to share our cause."
With that, Hanaoka Miyu rose from her seat.
"So, as compensation for our talk so far, Do-yoon. Let me draw out a bit more of your potential."
"...What?"
"Trust me."
The surrounding mana converged in one spot.
The gathered mana shifted to the shrine maiden's hand, then toward Do-yoon.
"Crazy."
Realizing her intent, Do-yoon tried to bolt from the room.
But.
"Oppa."
'Eira?'
Eira's voice, calmly observing, froze Do-yoon in place.
"That looks tasty."
The energy of Eira, coiled within Do-yoon, reacted to what was in Hanaoka Miyu's hand.
Something made of mana.
Eira was clearly deeply intrigued by it.
'Isn't it dangerous?'
"Yeah....! Can I eat it...?"
She was asking permission to eat it.
"Come to me, and receive a small gift."
"What is it?"
"It won't harm you in any way, so don't worry."
If not for Eira's interest, or the bond they'd shared by his side all this time.
Do-yoon would have done anything to escape the room right then.
-Shaaah...
In this intensely tense moment.
"Looks delicious..."
Trusting only Eira's drooling intent, he reached out his hand.
And so.
-Chaaaain!
Chains erupted from his hand, simultaneously binding Do-yoon's and the shrine maiden's arms.
"Ah, ah...!"
Ignoring the shrine maiden's inexplicable reaction.
A part of Eira, having locked onto its target, began greedily devouring the shrine maiden's mana.
What remained was.
"...Whoa."
The chains that had wrapped his left arm now formed two strands.
And.
Eira's presence felt more activated within him.
"Thanks for the meal!"