Gate Incident (3)
Thirty minutes since the raid began.
The gate conquest was proceeding smoothly.
“Frontline! Split to both sides and surround the enemy! Mages, bombard the center to cut off their retreat!”
“Yes, sir!”
At my command, countless spells flew toward the monsters.
Soon came the explosions, followed by the confused screams of the beasts.
“Now!”
I charged in first, seizing the moment their formation collapsed.
After severing the necks of the most dangerous ones, I left the rest to the party.
“Don’t stab from the front. Aim for their blind spots. We have no idea what traps these monsters might have laid, so don’t let your guard down.”
“Yes!”
The hunters, faces flushed with excitement, began slaughtering the monsters.
I kept watch, only stepping in to strike vital points when danger appeared.
Killing them all myself would have ended it faster, but since we had entered an A-rank gate, I figured the kids should gain some experience.
The situation wrapped up quickly. Every one of the thirty-plus monsters lay dead.
While the party members caught their breath, I walked among the corpses, stabbing each neck to confirm the kills.
“They’re all dead.”
I turned to check on the kids.
Fortunately, no one had suffered serious injuries yet.
It’s going smoother than I thought. That’s a relief.
Even so, this was exactly when I could not afford to relax.
The instant you felt safe was when you fell into the enemy’s trap.
Inside a gate, arrogance and complacency were the greatest foes of all.
“See? It wasn’t much after all.”
Cha Seojin grumbled as he walked over.
He stood at an arrogant slant, flicking blood off his spear.
“If I’d streamed today, it would’ve blown up. Easy five million views.”
“Don’t let your guard down. The raid isn’t over.”
I spoke while remembering the monster that had targeted his back moments earlier.
I had dealt with it. He hadn’t even noticed.
“Come on, that’s too much between fellow S-ranks. This seniority attitude is insane.”
Cha Seojin grumbled and walked off. I let him go.
We were still inside the gate. I would speak to him properly once we returned to the guild.
After a brief rest we continued the conquest.
Five more ambushes followed, but none caused any trouble.
We had prepared for the Liches. Holy water neutralized every one of their attacks.
After confirming their annihilation, I spoke to the party members already busy collecting loot.
“The boss room is next. Gather what you can, then rest here for ten minutes before we move.”
“Yes, understood!”
I immediately called the scout and checked the holy water left in the bag.
We had brought over a hundred. After the last fight, roughly ten remained.
Good thing I had packed the bag full.
“Senior. My bag’s full of loot. Could you take some of these?”
Yoon Seah stood there clutching an armful of treasures the Liches had carried.
“I can take a few, but not all of them. Put the rest in your own bag.”
“It’s already full, that’s why. There’s only the boss left anyway. Let’s just dump the holy water. One of these jewels could buy more than a hundred bottles.”
“No. We have no idea what’s waiting ahead.”
Her suggestion made sense, but I refused without hesitation.
Most S-rank hunters would have accepted.
The chance of an undead waiting in the boss room was nearly zero.
These creatures were already difficult as regular monsters. If one served as boss, this would no longer be an A-rank gate.
A few years ago, fifty hunters had been wiped out by an undead boss in another country.
Five of them had been S-rank. The incident became infamous among hunters.
Of course, undead bosses had only appeared three times across the entire world.
Even so, caution could not hurt.
“We move soon. Seah, only take what you can carry and leave the rest. And don’t get greedy and weigh yourself down.”
“...Yes. I understand.”
She seemed to accept it and stopped arguing.
Good. Teach them one thing at a time and they would grow quickly.
Once rest ended, we set off again.
Soon we stood before the door to the boss room.
“Th-this is the A-rank boss room...”
The enormous gate, grand as a palace entrance, left everyone momentarily intimidated.
I tried to use my detection skill to scan inside at once.
Some bosses triggered traps or ambushes the instant the door opened.
Yet even with my ability, nothing inside the room was visible.
...As expected, it doesn’t work.
That task normally fell to dedicated S-rank scouts. My half-baked skill level was clearly insufficient.
Still, complete blindness like this was rare.
“Figures. It had been going too smoothly.”
I hesitated.
I had no idea what lay beyond the door, but opening it now was a bad decision.
The wiser choice was to retreat, bring several S-rank hunters, assess the interior accurately, and only then open it.
Creeeeeeeak—
“...?”
The sound of the door opening made me turn my head slowly.
Cha Seojin and several hunters were pushing it open.
“What the hell do you think you’re—”
“Senior. If you’re just going to stand there spacing out, I’ll take everything for myself.”
Cha Seojin laughed, brimming with triumph.
I tried to stop them even then, but the moment their hands touched the door the other side had already reacted.
“Now then. Who will be the first glorious offering to this S-rank hunter, Cha Seojin?”
He drew his spear and strode forward with casual confidence.
The instant I glimpsed the boss through the widening gap, my breath stopped.
“...Fuck.”
A curse slipped out before I could stop it.
Booooom!
I should have fled even then, but the door was already fully open.
In the center of the vast chamber stood a knight wearing pitch-black cloak and armor.
“What’s with that guy? Who does he think he is?”
Cha Seojin snickered, but I saw the truth.
The gaze beneath that helm was fixed solely on me.
It ignored every other hunter, tracking my every movement.
And the feeling was mutual.
Haha. Of all possible bosses, it had to be a Death Knight.
A dry laugh escaped me from pure disbelief.
Only three confirmed cases of undead monsters appearing as bosses had ever been recorded worldwide. The most notorious of them now stood before me, sword drawn.
“At this point I’d almost prefer a Lich King.”
“Senior?”
Yoon Seah stared at me, puzzled.
Neither of them seemed to know what a Death Knight was. Clearing the gate was no longer the problem.
“Everyone, listen. Do not move until I give the order.”
“What?”
“Why all of a sudden?”
The hunters murmured, but I had no time for explanations.
As I gripped my sword, the Death Knight took its stance with an ominous metallic ring.
Just as I refused to look away, it kept its full attention on me.
So it’s only targeting me.
That was fortunate.
While I held its attention, the others might escape.
I could at least buy time.
“Ha. You really are frustrating.”
The one who shattered the balance between us was, of course, Cha Seojin.
He dashed into the room and charged before anyone could stop him.
“Cha Seojin! Get back here right now!!”
“Haha! Just watch from over there! All this guy’s loot belongs to me!”
I shouted desperately. He ignored me completely.
His spear hurtled toward the Death Knight’s head.
Slash!
Before the tip could connect, a crimson arc of blood sprayed upward.
What rose before my eyes was not the Death Knight’s head but Cha Seojin’s severed arm.
“Huh?”
Cha Seojin blinked, utterly lost.
He stared at the empty space where his arms had been, face frozen in dreamlike confusion.
“Wh-what is this? Why is this happening? M-my arms. Where are my arms?!”
Panicking, he spun in every direction.
When he finally spotted his arms on the floor, his face drained of color.
“U-uwaaaaaah! My arms!! My armssss!!”
“Damn it!”
I surged forward and blocked the Death Knight’s sword before it could take his neck.
“Ugh!! Cha Seojin, fall back!”
“Kyaaaaaah! It hurts! It hurts so much! I’m going to die from the pain!!”
“Snap out of it and run, you idiot!!”
He could only scream, paralyzed by the first real pain he had ever felt.
I watched the blade draw closer and shouted again.
“Damn it. Yoon Seah! Pour holy water on him now!”
“Y-yes?!”
“No time! Hurry!”
Holy water should at least slow the creature.
No matter how powerful, it was still undead.
But Yoon Seah simply stood there, staring blankly no matter how loudly I called.
“What are you waiting for? Throw it!”
“I… well, the thing is…”
Instead of pulling out holy water she fidgeted.
That was when I understood.
The scout’s bag, which should have held holy water, was now crammed with the Liches’ treasures.
“Sigh. This is just perfect.”
With no other choice, I twisted my sword to shove the knight back and ordered the party.
“Everyone, get out of here immediately!”
“Y-yes!”
While the party fled I had to buy time.
Even if it cost my life.
As I faced the knight, Cha Seojin—who was still inside the room—screamed at the retreating hunters.
“Stop! Come back and reattach my arms first!”
“Cha Seojin! Are you insane?! Run, you bastard!”
“It hurts! It hurts so bad I can’t move! You have to take my arms with us!”
Pain had clearly broken his mind. He refused to listen.
“What are you doing? Hurry up!”
In the end two healers, unable to ignore his shouts, entered the room.
The Death Knight did not miss the opening.
“Eh?”
Squelch—
They never even had time to scream.
The healers’ heads fell in an instant. I drew every ounce of power I possessed and charged.
I would not last thirty seconds like this, but that no longer mattered.
Claaaang!
Our blades collided. The Death Knight, pushed back for the first time, lifted its head in visible surprise.
The eyes inside the helm bored into me, yet that was irrelevant now.
I kicked Cha Seojin, who was trembling and curled on the ground.
“Cha Seojin, you bastard. Last warning. If you don’t run right now, I’ll kill you myself.”
“H-hiiik?!”
Only then did he finally flee. I looked at the dead healers and my gaze hardened.
“Dying here should have been enough with just me. Why couldn’t you let the kids go?”
“......”
“I heard you were the greatest swordsman among monsters. Show me that vaunted skill before I die.”
I gathered every last drop of power remaining in my body.
But right before I could strike, the Death Knight lowered its sword first.
A voice both chilling and strangely resonant, as if echoing directly inside my skull.
Above all, I had never heard that a monster could speak.
The sheer unreality of the situation drew a hollow laugh from me.
“...Ha. Is this a nightmare? You things can talk now?”
“I will postpone our conclusion. It feels too wasteful to end things here.”
“So you’re sparing me for your own entertainment?”
It gave no answer, but none was needed.
Did these creatures truly see human lives as toys?
I took a long drag from my cigarette and stared at it.
“You’ll regret this.”
“Heh...”
With that short laugh it vanished from the spot.
I stared at the empty space for a long time before letting out a heavy sigh.
“Hoo. This is damn exhausting.”
I never imagined the situation would escalate this far.
I was tired enough to die, but first I had to return and explain everything.
I bowed my head toward the fallen healers.
“...I’m sorry.”
I would at least avenge you.
After collecting their tags, I left the chamber.
The next day.
Hunters and Association personnel had stormed my home since morning.
I stood there, stunned.
“...What?”