Chapter 135
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 135
Chapter Title: 24. Mystery of the Red Zone (7)
When he fell into the nightmare.
Saito Shusuke witnessed hell.
"Ah, aaak!"
"Save me!"
"Please, just spare me!"
He must have been nine years old at the time.
Back then, Japan was plagued by a ruthless criminal syndicate—demons in human skin—who attacked the village where Saito Shusuke lived. It was a one-sided massacre. The men were stabbed on the spot, while the women were dragged away by their hair to some secluded place. In that chaotic world overrun by monsters, as he watched those who had abandoned their humanity, Saito Shusuke vowed to eradicate all evil.
He was just a child back then.
Powerless to fight back, he could only hide in a tiny crevice beneath a building, trembling in fear.
But now was different.
"......"
He looked down.
A spear was gripped in his hand.
He should have been a nine-year-old child, but his long legs and sturdy arms proved he now had the power to fight.
No questions of "why" arose.
More than the strangeness of the situation, he felt joy at the chance to take revenge on those bastards from back then.
"Stop right there, you fucking scum."
Pat.
He kicked off the ground.
As a demon spotted him and turned, he immediately shattered its skull.
Thwack-!
It was the beginning of his vengeance.
He would remember the past: a year after that incident, the criminal syndicate was captured by the Japanese police and thrown behind bars. When he heard they'd committed suicide in prison, he felt no joy. He should have sworn them to agonizing torment. He should have personally beheaded them.
Whirr.
Krunch!
He rampaged in slaughter.
With the stage for revenge set, he unleashed the instincts he'd suppressed as a human all this time.
Kill.
Kill.
Kill again.
Bodies littered the ground, soaked in blood until it was impossible to tell human from monster. Even amid the carnage, his eyes darted wildly, searching for more demons. His mind fully consumed by the voice urging him to kill demons, he greedily devoured blood and death like a starving ghost.
He moved.
Ran.
He tore through the underbrush, sprinting madly toward somewhere.
And there it was.
A demon holding a shield.
Recalling how that demon had slaughtered people, Saito Shusuke hurled himself forward without hesitation.
"Die-!"
Kwaang-!
Kwarrr rumble.
Kwaang, kwang-!
Kwakwakwang!
Attacks hammered down in succession.
For Kang San, who didn't even know his opponent's identity, it was clear from just a few exchanges that this was a monster he couldn't handle.
'An S-Rank Hunter.'
No doubt about it.
He had no idea why an S-Rank Hunter was here, but the onslaught from this monster churning his guts upside down left him reeling. Kang San's average stats had surpassed 200 through relentless trials. He'd grown to rival a B-Rank Hunter, but the problem was that the beast before him defied numerical evaluation.
Stats were mere numbers—an enigma.
The lofty realm reserved for those who'd triumphed over ten A-Rank Hunters at once or slain an S-Rank monster with proven feats. He was being overwhelmed without a chance to counter. With every thud thud of impacts shoving him back in disarray, Kang San had no choice but to unleash his full power.
"Sanctuary, Aura of Glory."
Fwaaah-
Two skills.
Their cooldowns had reset.
He'd planned to save them for resolving the trial, but to survive, he played his strongest card.
"One Point."
Whirrr.
The spear moved fluidly.
But as it pierced space in an instant, he raised his shield to block.
Kwaang-!
Thud.
His body lifted off the ground.
Even with boosted stats, he couldn't withstand the blow and was pushed back.
His expression twisted.
Saito Shusuke immediately closed in, spinning the spear's shaft in a flashy arc to smash his face.
Crack-!
Thud roll!
He tumbled across the ground.
No time to groan in pain or shake his head clear.
Amid the onslaught of killing intent, he flung himself desperately, but Kang San's spear stabbed relentlessly wherever he moved. Goosebumps erupted across his skin. He'd thought himself much stronger, yet before this S-Rank monster, he felt utterly insignificant.
'......At this rate, I'll die.'
Grind.
He clenched his teeth.
His mind raced.
He needed a way out, but with his vision filled by the charging foe once more, nothing came to mind.
S-Rank.
A monster beyond his reach for now.
Before that overwhelming might, Kang San had no choice but to accept death.
At that moment.
'?!'
An unfamiliar voice.
With his stats surging unexpectedly, he regained his composure and blocked the attack.
Kwaang!
Kwakwakwang!
He was still being pushed back.
But.
The voice repeated.
This situation.
He had no idea what was happening.
But as the gap closed with this unknown power, Saito Shusuke's attacks became visible. Securing the bare minimum ability to track the killing intent, he was no longer helplessly overwhelmed—he could at least keep up and parry. Even so, it didn't mean he could defeat the foe. He was merely clinging to life; victory was never on the table.
'I need to find a way.'
His eyes darted frantically.
Why was that?
Suddenly, he noticed the alien aura enveloping Saito Shusuke.
When it had wrapped around him, Kang San fell into a nightmare—so perhaps his opponent had suffered the same. Was there a way to dispel it? He lacked skills for mental purification, but could physical contact shake off the nightmare as it had for him?
It was a gamble.
A slim chance, but with no other options.
'I have to try something.'
Like grasping at straws.
He changed direction.
Kang San, who'd only been fleeing, now charged at his foe.
Then.
Swish.
"Blood Rain."
The spear multiplied into dozens.
Spears oozing viscous crimson lunged at him, jaws wide to tear his flesh apart.
No stopping now.
Kang San didn't slow down.
"Dummy, Shield of Trials, Ironclad."
Kwakwakwang!
He blocked first with Dummy.
Then boosted defense with Shield of Trials and Ironclad.
As spear tips grazed past, blood sprayed wildly from Kang San's body.
Papapap!
He'd braced for this.
He sacrificed flesh.
And finally.
Grab.
'......I did it!'
He seized Saito Shusuke's arm, shrouded in the mysterious aura.
The world changed.
As the aura possessing Saito Shusuke transferred to Kang San, he too existed in the alien world Saito saw.
"......What the hell."
Saito Shusuke's eyes widened.
Moments ago.
Kang San had clearly looked like a demon.
The very demon tormenting and massacring people—now inexplicably human.
In this world.
Mental strength determined everything.
If Kang San's will had been weak, he'd have fallen under mind control too, but even in Saito Shusuke's nightmare, Kang San retained his form. He even shattered the world, restoring Saito's vision to reality. Instantly, the nightmare intensified. Eerie energy seeped from the fog, demons respawning around Kang San to reenact the slaughter.
"Aaak!"
"Save me!"
Emotions surged.
Saito Shusuke rushed to help, but Kang San extended a hand to stop him.
"You think what you're seeing now is real?"
"What bullshit is this!"
"What's your name? And why are you in the Red Zone?"
His eyes flickered wildly.
My name?
He couldn't remember.
Nor why he'd come here.
Memories tangled in confusion, Saito Shusuke stammered back.
Th-that's......
A headache crashed in.
The eerie aura strengthened.
It tried to possess Saito Shusuke again, but flowed into Kang San instead, failing its goal.
In that instant.
Saito Shusuke recalled a name.
"My name is Saito Shusuke. And......"
The man before him.
Finally, he recognized his opponent.
"Kang San, I came to rescue you."
Crash.
The nightmare shattered.
Spin.
The world shifted back.
Returned to reality, Kang San collapsed.
Thud.
"Huff, huff."
Dizziness overwhelmed him.
Having scraped every ounce of strength to his limit, he just wanted to close his eyes.
"Are you alright?"
It was Saito Shusuke.
Snapped back to his senses, he hurriedly offered Kang San a potion.
No energy left to even say thanks.
Kang San snatched the potion and chugged it desperately. Once his breathing stabilized, he finally looked at Saito Shusuke.
"......Thank you."
"No, thank you. You saved my life too. But are you really Kang San?"
"Yes, it's me."
"Then why on earth are you carrying out this insane rescue operation alone? Everyone outside is worried sick about you. You've saved so many, yet you keep risking your life—Japan's government even formed a rescue team for you. They ended up needing saving from the evil spirits themselves, of course. Please stop now and come back to Kitakyushu with me."
His words.
Kang San wanted to agree immediately.
But he couldn't tell the truth.
"......I can't do that."
"It's too dangerous now. You have to go back!"
"I have a special ability. I know there are survivors right nearby. If I leave now, a few hours' delay could mean their deaths. That's why I couldn't go back. I have to keep rescuing while I still can. And now there's another reason."
Moments ago.
Collapsed on the ground, Kang San witnessed something baffling.
[The Twenty-Fifth Ordeal and Trial has been altered.]
📍 Objective: Due to the evil one's karma, you must now eliminate the evil spirit. Track its location via the pursuit function, but failure to do so within a week will revoke all prior rewards and intensify the karma.
🎁 Reward: ???.
The original trial was the same as before.
To rescue survivors—but it abruptly changed to slaying the evil spirit.
Kang San said,
"The Red Zone's evil spirit. I'll take it down and then go back."
"That's impossible. It's an S-Rank monster."
"Which is exactly why I have to do it. Saito Shusuke, do you have confidence against the evil spirit? Can you escape its nightmare on your own? I can. If I can accomplish what no one else has, shouldn't I step up? And once the evil spirit is gone, the Red Zone's fog won't hinder rescues anymore."
"Then let me join you. I'll help you, Kang San......"
"No."
He cut him off.
He wanted the help.
But there was a reason he couldn't accept it.
"Didn't you see the evil spirit's power? A companion too strong might drag me into even greater danger."
S-Rank evil spirit.
No guarantee he could win.
To maximize his odds, he needed to minimize interference from raw power.
Kang San forced a smile.
"So go on ahead and wait. Once this is done, I'll really go back."
That sight.
The weary smile on Kang San's face.
Saito Shusuke was speechless.
'This man......'
At first, he'd thought the fame overhyped.
At first, he hadn't believed the hype.
And now.
'He really is a hero.'
Overwhelmed by indescribable emotions, Saito Shusuke's eyes trembled greatly.