Chapter 120. Not WWE, but UFC
Chapter 120. Not WWE, but UFC
Before flying from New York to Korea.
After the UN meeting concluded, we spent time with the S-ranks we knew.
The high-ranking officials gathered their documents and left early, leaving behind only a few S-rank hunters.
— Pang!
Max came up from behind and clapped my back with his enormous hand.
"Wahaha! Ever since I met you, it's been one thrill after another!"
Grinning ear to ear, he smacked my back a few more times and let out his signature hearty laugh.
"Well, with you here, I've got nothing to worry about!!!"
Then Chen Longwei, sword at his waist, bowed his head respectfully from the side.
"It is truly reassuring that you are here, my lord."
And finally, one person approached quietly. It was Takamine Reina.
She looked at me and started to say something.
"..."
But Reina only hesitated, saying nothing.
After a moment of silence, she lowered her head slightly and spoke, the words coming out awkwardly.
"Oh, it's... been a while."
'What's with her...?'
Reina was stealing glances at Laila beside me.
I followed her gaze to look at Laila.
And on Laila's lips was her ever-gentle smile.
"...?"
"Hero? Is something wrong?"
"Huh...?"
A strange undercurrent flowed between the two of them.
I leaned in and whispered quietly into Laila's ear.
"Did you... fight with Reina?"
"Fufu, as if I ever would~"
I nodded at her words.
Laila, the kindest person I knew, getting into a fight with someone...
The idea was genuinely absurd.
"So, Hoon..."
Max turned his body toward me again.
Then, with a huge grin, he asked.
"You gonna stream this time too?"
"Of course. My main job's a streamer, remember?"
At that, Max bobbed his head vigorously and laughed.
"I knew it! Knew you would!"
---
Back from New York, now.
After giving a brief heads-up that we were going to attempt a gate raid, I ended the stream.
In reality, the chat window was already scrolling nonstop in multiple languages.
"Hmm..."
I ran a hand through my hair.
To be honest, even I had no idea how to raid an underwater gate.
"...Sigh. Since when did I plan out strategies... Just charge in and the answer will work itself out, I guess."
To be honest, strategy and I didn’t mix.
Kyle handled most of the planning.
And the ones who steered me in unexpected situations were Laila and Seris.
"Hehe... That's right."
Laila, beside me, covered her lips slightly and laughed.
"Because that's exactly like you, Hero."
Then, meeting my gaze, she clasped her hands together tightly.
"I'll definitely provide the best support!"
That bright smile... blew every last worry away.
Without thinking, I spread my arms and pulled Laila into a tight hug.
"Ugh... The embrace of our Saintess is the best... All my worries just vanish."
I buried my face in her holy power pouch(?).
And rubbed my face all over it.
For a moment, Laila's eyes widened, but rather than flustered, as if long used to this, she gently wrapped her arms around my head.
"I'll heal you right up~"
Stroking my hair, she smiled softly.
Her scent, mingled with body wash, was a natural tranquilizer.
---
The boundary between the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean.
Across the sea stretching beyond the horizon, massive silhouettes began to emerge.
That place was the Strait of Malacca.
Usually a global logistics hub bustling with merchant ships, but now the elite naval fleets of various nations had assembled.
They had deployed in a circular formation, surrounding the gate.
At the front, the U.S. Seventh Fleet was visible.
Dozens of Aegis destroyers, assault amphibious ships, and the aircraft carrier USS Reagan displayed their might.
State-of-the-art fighter jets sat moored on it, and various UAVs circled overhead, conducting real-time reconnaissance.
Alongside it was the Republic of Korea Navy's strategic fleet.
The large transport ship Dokdo, the Aegis destroyer Sejong the Great, and several mother ships stood ready for operation.
On the bridge, equipment analyzing the underwater situation in real time ran at full capacity.
"No way... Didn't way too many show up?"
Also, the Japan Self-Defense Force's Maya-class destroyer.
The Royal Navy's Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier.
The French Navy's Charles de Gaulle-class aircraft carrier.
And fleets and patrol ships from various other countries had arrived.
'What if this turns out to be nothing?'
A silly worry suddenly surfaced, as a streamer.
I'd spread word everywhere, but what if it amounted to nothing...
Even now, at this very moment, communications equipment specialists and military technical officers from around the world were scrambling.
Within a limited window, they were integrating a 'tactical command system' in real time into a unified network.
"This is honestly insane..."
At my worry, Laila awkwardly scratched her cheek too.
"Hero, hasn't this gotten way too big?"
"Hmm... I guess I have to drag it out as much as possible...?"
We were currently on the rear deck of the Republic of Korea fleet.
The angle had been set so that only the silhouettes of the sea and the fleets were visible, to avoid exposing sensitive information.
"Ah, whatever!"
[ World's Strongest Hero : Gate Raid Day ]
The moment I started the stream, the viewer count shot up.
Since I'd sensed something was off during a stream a while back, I had set a minimum requirement for chatting.
[Kya~ The scenery is insane]
[Whoa, are all those fleets behind you?]
[Is this really the final battle with aliens?]
[Lol if they were aliens they'd just blast everything with laser beams]
[But this guy would smash all those aliens' heads in anyway, right?]
[Ah, true]
Laila and I stood at the edge of the deck, illuminating the sea surface.
[Those people are really risking their lives...]
[If you get caught up in this wrong, you might not even find the body?]
Dozens of boats dotted the dark blue sea.
Navy special forces personnel, dispatched from various countries, wore waterproof suits and equipment.
They were deploying underwater detection drones into the sea from small speedboats.
"Drone 1, operating normally... Reaching depth of 100 meters."
"Video transmission stable. Sea temperature, wave speed... no abnormalities."
"Moving toward the gate center."
And the footage was being transmitted in real time.
On dozens of high-resolution screens, the underwater scenery appeared live.
Deep abyss, blue water, swaying plankton.
[It's so dark you can't see anything?]
[I feel like puking;;]
[Since it's all black and you can only see right in front, I think my deep-sea phobia is kicking in]
"...We've reached the vicinity of the gate."
— Crackle... screech... beeeeeeeep!!!
Suddenly the screen began to distort, and a sharp, ear-splitting shriek rang out.
"What is that sound?"
— Crunch! Bang!
The sound of impact, as if enormous water pressure had crushed something.
The drone on the screen twisted, then crumpled like paper and shattered.
And in rapid succession, all the other underwater drones...
— Boom... gurgle...!
As if a storm had erupted beneath the waves, they were destroyed, driven down into the depths.
All the footage filled with black-and-white static and noise.
"...What is this?"
The commanders and officers from each country also stared blankly at the screens.
"...Were they just destroyed?"
"What on earth did it? With what?"
"We will not deploy any more... Sending more would only add to the scrap metal..."
And then a long silence.
Not a single person could easily put this situation into words.
— Lap... lap...
Amidst that.
An ominous vibration began seeping into the quiet waves.
— Splash...! Splash...!
The calm sea began to heave.
The waves even rocked the aircraft carrier, making it sway slightly.
Even so, it had made an aircraft carrier weighing hundreds of thousands of tons sway, if only a little.
"We... can't regroup...!"
"The helm isn't responding...!"
The sea was swirling, and the special forces' boats were losing direction and spinning.
"Hero!"
At Laila's urgent cry, I ordered command to launch the helicopters immediately.
"B-but... Hunter Song Hoon...! Even if we launch helicopters...!"
"We'll handle that part, so hurry!"
They shut their mouths, hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
Then they began radioing somewhere.
"Launch them right now... Yes! Right now! I'll take responsibility!!! Are you just going to watch our guys die out there?"
The propellers spun, and the helicopter immediately lifted off.
And the helicopter flew toward the area above the gate.
I communicated with the pilot while hanging from the underside of the helicopter.
"Lower it now. I won't let it sink, no matter what."
Laila, who had been waving from the distance, extended her hand toward us.
Then, her golden haze began enveloping the helicopter.
"Th-this is definitely from Baekdu Mountain..."
The pilot swallowed hard and pushed the helicopter's controls down.
— Dududududu...!
'If I try to move them one by one... the boats would break.'
And these people were far too fragile.
"Don't worry about the helicopter sinking. Just grab on, all of you! You're special forces, so your grip strength's top-notch, right!"
I secured ropes to the underside of the helicopter in appropriate places.
And I confirmed that those caught in the sea's whirlpool had all grabbed the ropes.
"Everyone holding on?"
The helicopter was so low it nearly touched the sea surface.
I lifted the underside of the helicopter as if supporting it, pushed off the boat, and jumped.
— Fwoosh!!!
I held the helicopter and leaped onto the ship.
And those gripping the ropes tightly came along in a string, like bundled vegetables on a vine.
— Crash, clatter!
"Ahh... I was worried they might break..."
I confirmed everyone had safely gotten aboard.
Some of them groaned from the sudden impact, but...
'Better a few broken bones than dead...'
— Kuoooo...
The sea raged at the situation not going its way.
— Fwoooosh!!!
The surrounding seawater surged upward toward the sky.
In the middle of the Strait of Malacca, a waterspout formed.
[Insane, is that a waterspout?]
[I mean, I can overlook one, but what the actual?]
[Does this even make sense???]
[Fuck, it's the apocalypse!!!]
"Oh, is that a waterspout?"
This wasn't a small deal at all.
It looked like I wouldn't need the WWE-style show I'd prepared in case things ended too quickly.