Chapter 132
Chapter 132
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 132
Chapter Title: Part 2) Overture of the Predatory Era (6)
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17.
Go, Dawnlight.
It quietly arouses my senses.
The pure white world is instantly engulfed in a monochrome haze.
Distance to Im Ga-hee: 15 paces.
But with [Spacetime Control], a single step is more than enough.
The gap vanishes in an instant.
The next moment, I was standing beside Im Ga-hee.
Is it thanks to the power stacked through transcendence?
Like her subordinates, she reacted instantly and turned around...
But she was already within striking range.
First, sever that arm.
The moment I swung my blood-red sword down at her shoulder with that thought—
───A chill.
I'm under attack. Instinct reacted.
I threw myself backward, rolling desperately.
──チイイイイイイイイイイ!
The instant I was rolling away.
A frosty trajectory grazed past my eyes.
Sniper round... how?
As soon as the roll ended, I immediately regained my momentum and stood.
“Wow! Th-this is incredible. Truly incredible, Baek-jun!”
What the hell just happened?
“Aaah! This is too good! The thrill of death right in front of me! It's so, so, so, so, so exciting!”
What I saw first was her left arm, dangling limply and dripping blood.
That's fine...
But what the hell is that?
A steering wheel gripped in her right hand. Eight handles attached to it.
That thing... was a sniper rifle?
From one of those handles... frosty smoke was rising like from a gunpowder weapon.
“This <Tortunal> got excited in an instant too! Look, look, look! See it sparkling?”
I can't see it...
But <Tortunal>... her unique weapon?
“Hehe, that face says [Is that a unique weapon?]. Ding ding! Correct~!”
Im Ga-hee casually held up the steering-wheel-like weapon toward me.
“[Frost Cannon: Tortunal]. A weapon made to offer blood sacrifices~.”
“...Blood sacrifices?”
Something... ominous.
Who the hell does she offer blood sacrifices to?
“Wanna know? Then... let's keep going! Hurry, hurry!”
Im Ga-hee spun the Tortunal's steering wheel, aiming the next handle at me.
A freezing round fired from it.
I slipped back into [Spacetime Control] state and pursued her from behind.
This time, I could see its movement.
Im Ga-hee herself couldn't react. But... the problem was Tortunal reacting.
It spun on its own accord.
Then the next barrel locked onto me dead-on and unleashed another freezing round.
Unique weapon... this is a problem.
My body, sensing danger, moved on its own, batting away the incoming projectile with my golden blade.
────カアアアアアア!
Heavy... like striking a wall...!
“It's really good. The feeling of surviving by a hair's breadth!”
Is it her signature footwork?
Im Ga-hee glided across the icy surface like she was on skates, rapidly widening the distance.
She's pretty fast.
I can't let her get away.
If the blizzard pulls us apart, I won't even be able to find her.
What to do?
With Tortunal around, the 《Dawnlight Yeomyeong Sword》 can only be used for footwork.
In that case...?
Just switch to a direct approach.
Bloom, divinity.
The blade of dawn senses its master's blood and resonates with a hum.
Blood-red threads bloom in an instant.
Threads of light bursting from the blade's fissures wrap around it, reborn as the dawn blade.
────カアアアアアア!
I swung my greatsword to deflect the freezing round and kicked off the ground.
A surging advance amplified by leg strength.
Im Ga-hee entered lethal range the very next moment.
“...Whoa!”
Close enough to feel her breath.
In that split second, I made my combat judgment.
Can't kill her since I need her as a hostage.
Cut off her legs?
No. That weapon is the biggest nuisance.
“As expected... you deflected it again!”
What... is this?
The bewilderment on Im Ga-hee's face instantly twisted into ecstatic bliss, as if she'd been waiting.
“But how about this?”
That instant.
I faced two shocking events.
First.
Im Ga-hee thrust her face forward and kissed my visor.
And second.
Tortunal erupted in a flash of frost.
An enormous shockwave.
Enough to clear the blizzard in a 20-meter radius in an instant.
Damn it...!
I immediately switched the divine dawn sword to defense.
Even blocking with the flat of the blade.
The bone-crushing storm hurled me back helplessly, forcing me to one knee.
“Incredible, Baek-jun! My heart's pounding like it's gonna burst!”
The aftershock finally subsided.
When I looked up...
Im Ga-hee was far away.
“But hmm... the most heart-pounding thing is still Baek-jun's eyes.”
She was injecting nebula fluid into her left arm.
Hunter privilege... damn it.
Above all, Tortunal's form had changed into something dangerous.
Eight barrels.
The steering wheel had somehow split into eight, deploying around Im Ga-hee.
“Eyes that stay so calm even facing death! No! Eyes where rage over a friend's death crosses with cold reason—just like that!”
Im Ga-hee tossed the syringe aside.
She clasped her hands together like a dreaming girl and said.
“A hunter has to be like this, of course! Baek-jun, you're the hunter I've always dreamed of killing!”
Total psychopath.
I brushed off the eye clinging to my head like a bug and stood.
“Yes, get up! It's about to get even more fun!”
I thought.
Why is this so tough?
Because fighting subordinates is different from fighting a hunter?
No, I've gotten dull.
If I had the same edge from fighting [Master of the Broken Dawn] or Roheiritz...
It would've ended in 10 seconds.
───Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom!
Below, pillars of fire erupted wildly from Samil Bridge. Shin Tae-yeop.
That guy's pushing hard too.
I need to... focus properly.
What the hell was I being arrogant about? Like back then... humbly.
For a brief moment.
I took a long breath in.
Gripped the hilt quietly with both hands, then dropped the tip.
“What? Why give up all of a sudden?”
Im Ga-hee's ever-smiling face darkened, and she began rapid-firing words.
“You're not thinking of running away now or calling it quits, right? Of course not.”
“......”
“You're the Lead Hunter? The top one! I'm dying to know how the Lead Hunter dies.”
“.........”
“Normally, people fear death and abandon everything to flee... but the Lead Hunter can't do that!”
See all things.
Take guard stance.
Aim for the fatal opening.
“Why are you just standing there blankly? Show me more of that sword's power!”
“......”
“Kill me! Kill me! Hurry! Kill me! That way I can kill you even more excitedly!”
“Shut up already after all that yapping.”
I exhaled the long breath I'd taken in, short and sharp.
“Come.”
I draw the blueprint to match the opponent.
Im Ga-hee has no intention of fleeing.
She'll charge right into even petty provocation.
And so, the first act of the battle blueprint unfolded perfectly.
“Boo. Boring.”
Im Ga-hee reached out her right hand toward me.
That instant.
Tortunal's barrels circling her deployed in a semicircle, aiming at me.
The moment. Just a moment.
I closed my eyes, then opened them, focusing my senses.
Time slows.
The unique weapon Tortunal resists time dilation well, but even a brief window is enough.
The spare time accelerates thought.
I see it.
The frost gathering at each barrel.
Far left. Center.
Right next. Right again. Left again. Far right.
I calculate.
The trajectory to pierce the gap.
Good... let's do this.
[Unique skill, 《Whirlwind Blade Dance》 activated!]
[Unique skill, 《Shadow Ambush》 activated!]
Countless wind currents whirl around me like blades.
It's just a feint.
The moment I emerged from the shadows.
I chained a dozen high-speed steps.
Go.
No greed for an instant backstab.
I have to fight cautiously like this.
[Master of the Broken Dawn] always told me to stay humble.
キィン──キィン──キィン!
Freezing rounds slammed into where I'd just been.
Impact points flash-froze.
Chilling... but no matter now. Target's right in front.
“This is... wha...?!”
《Dawnlight Yeomyeong Sword》.
With the golden blade, I first slashed up her left shoulder.
Her left arm spurted blood and flew.
Then one Tortunal targeted me, and I circled behind her in evasion.
チャアアアアアアア──!
This time... the right arm.
───プハアアアアア!
Now Im Ga-hee had no arms. Combat ineffective, simply put.
And just as planned.
The moment I severed the right arm.
The reloaded Tortunals all locked onto me.
Now just finish that weapon.
《Divine Dawn Sword》.
No sooner had I swept my palm up the blade than it reformed into exalted crimson.
“Pierce, divinity!”
Ultra-high heat concentrated as dawnlight surged to the tip, liberating with a clear ring.
Target: dead ahead.
The crimson sword beam wouldn't miss such a simple mark.
チャアアアアアア─────
Im Ga-hee's eyes filled with shock, cracks spiderwebbing the Tortunals—then.
“Absorb it, 《Ice Phantom Mirror》.”
Something incomprehensible happened.
─────────.
The divine explosion vanished in an instant.
No... it wasn't gone. It was being sucked somewhere.
It was a mirror.
A mirror gleaming with ominous alien white light...
What the hell... how...?
The thought hit just as the mirror belched crimson light.
What...?
Like a scarlet wedge?
The ferocious shockwave slammed my whole body, sending me tumbling dozens of meters back.
“Guh... guhuk...!”
Only when the roll stopped did a clot of blood and blocked breath burst from my lungs.
Feels like my body's torn apart...
At least, thankfully, the dawn sword's [Purification] didn't apply to me.
────채앵!
The divine dawn sword I'd dropped for a moment.
The greatsword plunged into the ground beside me, spewing massive steam as it reverted to its broken greatsword form.
“Ahh, how so exalted! Lead Hunters are truly all exalted beings!”
The voice reached my ears amid the ringing tinnitus.
Chills swept over my entire body in an instant.
Not Im Ga-hee's voice. Fairly high and manic... but male.
“Reflecting a mere 20% of that power makes the world tremble...!”
I clenched my fist and barely raised my upper body.
I saw the bishop's mitre.
Beneath it... a man with gentle, smiling half-lidded eyes.
Not just the mitre—his attire differed from Im Ga-hee and the other hunters.
Opulently ornate pure white priest robes. An ancient tome dangling from his waist sash.
“And enduring such power...! Truly astonishing!”
Such a man, leaning on a holy staff adorned with an alien mirror.
Who the hell... is this guy?
A spine-tingling realization hit in a flash. No way. The demon I fought earlier... was this guy?
“Why... why interfere...!”
Then an enraged voice exploded.
Im Ga-hee, kneeling on the ice.
She glared up at the man and screamed.
“I was finally... finally about to die satisfied...! Disgusting! Annoying! So annoying!”
“Die? No.”
The man knelt on one knee before her.
“Why are you in such a hurry to wake from your dream?”
“No! Don't, don't do it! Don't! Please! I was wrong!”
“The nightmare is long, and your given mission isn't over.”
The moment he held the alien mirror before her eyes.
The mirror emitted pale light.
Then an eerily cold aura... began draining from Im Ga-hee's body into the mirror.