Chapter 13. Whether Beast or Monster, a Beating Is the Cure
Chapter 13. Whether Beast or Monster, a Beating Is the Cure
It wasn't only my room that had exploded into chaos.
The internet, news, television, social media, even the radio were all buzzing about the issue.
[ Author: Anonymous ]
[ Title: Couldn't all our S-ranks just fight it together? ]
[ Content: They managed to hold it off during the Grand Canyon incident somehow, didn't they ]
└ Unlikely. The Grand Canyon didn't matter if it got wrecked since there was nothing around it
└ True. If that thing lands in Korea, we're fucked, and even if it doesn't land, how do you fight on the ocean?
└ Even winning was a problem. The Republic of Korea could end up in pieces lol
On the internet, a heated debate raged over whether the S-ranks could even stop it,
[ The President: 'Fellow citizens, in times like these, we must remain calm and follow the instructions of the military and police...' ]
[ Expert on Subjugating with Minimal Damage: 'Impossible. Even with a successful subjugation, the resulting damage will set Korea back at least 30 years.' ]
"The situation really is serious..."
[You'd have to fight somewhere with wide open terrain and nothing around to avoid damage. Do we have a place like that in our country? Besides, it's in the ocean]
[Even then, during the Grand Canyon incident, two S-ranks and several A-ranks died]
[On top of that, some of the S-ranks who survived were seriously injured]
[ Resignation Letter Always in My Pocket has donated 10,000 Watts! ]
- But the biggest problem is ownership. If we clumsily poke it and it comes our way, we're totally fucked
They were caught in a dilemma where they couldn't touch it recklessly, but leaving it alone was even worse. And in the midst of this situation, China committed a monumental blunder.
[ Breaking News! China's Reckless Subjugation! The Monster Has Changed Direction Toward the Korean Peninsula! ]
[ Subjugation Attempt Failed... Subjugation Force Annihilated, S-rank Hunter Killed, 5 Warships Sunk... ]
Following that, my phone kept sounding disaster alerts day after day, and the chat window was burning up too.
[Ah fuck why did they have to go poking it]
[Those stupid fucks should've just left it alone]
[Ha... well, it's only those guys who pulled that crap;;]
'If things went like this... did ownership of the monster fall to our country?'
"Everyone, quiet down a moment, please."
I froze the chat window.
Then I muted my mic to make a call.
I immediately touched the contact labeled 'Association President'.
"Mr. President, I'll subjugate that myself."
"..."
At my declaration of subjugation, no sound came from the other end of the receiver.
He was probably sorting out his thoughts.
"Are you truly... capable of this?"
"But let's make one thing perfectly clear before I go."
"I am listening."
"Let's make the ownership of the subjugated monster perfectly clear."
"...Yes."
"Then I'll see you in a bit."
Normally, whoever subjugated it held the ownership rights. That was the natural, common-sense rule. But this was a country where such common sense did not apply.
I immediately unfroze the chat window and unmuted myself. Then I spoke to them.
"I'm going to subjugate that thing, so anyone who knows Chinese, go spread the clips everywhere."
Naturally, the chat window went haywire at the news that a hunter publicly known as a C-rank was going to subjugate it.
"Listen closely. I'll only say this once. If I subjugate that thing, the ownership of the monster belongs to me. If any of you talk back, I'll crush your skulls, understand?"
[Hero, I'm serious right now]
[Hey, no matter how important a streaming opportunity is...]
[This isn't the time to be screwing around;;]
I froze the chat window once more.
"If I die or fail during the subjugation, you can take my artifacts, China."
If it was China, they would accept this proposal without fail. If the subjugation failed, they could acquire the artifacts, which was good for them, and if it succeeded, they would try to claim ownership of the monster through all-around pressure anyway.
'Please, just try to claim it. You've always been so good at this sort of thing...!'
I needed to provoke them a little more.
"If any of you spout nonsense, I'll smash the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, all of it, so remember that."
That wasn't a threat. I really was going to smash it all if they spouted nonsense. And I could use the footage for my stream at the same time.
"I'm heading out right now, so spread the clips around in the meantime."
I ended the stream and tried to depart immediately.
"Laila, shall we do that thing? It's been a while."
"Oh my, it has been quite a while~"
Laila clasped her hands together and chanted a spell. Then a halo appeared above our heads, and our bodies began to float upward. Laila then gave a little hop and leaped into my arms.
"Hm? You're not going by yourself?"
"I can't fly as fast as you do, Hero."
─ FWOOOSH!!!
Moving at a speed that easily broke the sound barrier, we arrived straight away in less than a minute. Looking down, I could see a camp had already been set up and people were keeping sharp watch.
"A suitable spot to land would be..."
While still held gently in my arms, Laila pointed a finger somewhere.
"Hero, your mother and father are over there, aren't they?"
─ KWA-BAANG!!!
We landed right in front of them. A massive crater formed on the sandy beach as sand exploded outward in all directions. At the thunderous roar, people came running toward us in a fluster.
"Oh, son? I'd certainly heard from the Association President that you were coming, but how could you be this fast?"
"I flew."
"...? Our son, did you have a skill like that too?"
My mother, who had been talking, shook her head and waved her hand.
"No, that's not the important thing. First, come this way."
Guided by my mother and father, we entered a tent where the Association President, military generals, and other hunters were seated. Some people recognized my face, but others did not.
"Who's this?"
"He's my son."
"Ah... so this is him, then?"
"Yes, that's right."
Having the Association President already pass along the word meant I didn't need to deal with pointless formal introductions, which was nice. But there was one man standing off to the side, arms crossed, glaring at me with an expression full of discontent.
"[In Chinese] You think the likes of you can subjugate that monster?"
"What's he saying?"
"He's asking whether the likes of you could possibly subjugate the monster?"
Our Laila had already mastered English and said she was studying other foreign languages, and now she was even speaking Chinese fluently.
"Laila, repeat what I said during the stream, exactly as I said it."
Laila looked at him and relayed everything, without missing a single syllable, right up to the part where I said I'd crush their skulls if they talked back.
The man's face flushed and paled as he started shouting something.
"What's he saying?"
"Nothing of any nutritional value. You can ignore it."
He pulled a document out of a thick bag, signed it, and tossed it toward me. Laila looked it over meticulously and checked it.
"Yes, there were no poisonous clauses or strange word tricks."
"Good."
---
[ Genuinely Tasty Hero: Hunter Debut Broadcast! ]
"Nice to meet you."
["Nice to meet you" my ass, you crazy bastard]
[Whoa, judging by the ocean, he actually went?]
[No matter how much of a streaming opportunity this is, fuck, are you seriously insane right now]
The viewer count was enormous. It was so high it couldn't even be compared to the numbers after I revealed the artifact. Looking at the chat, I could even see a mix of languages from various countries—English, Japanese, Chinese.
'Was that Arabic? It looked like worms crawling around.'
[Hey Korean, are you crazy?]
[Not even China could subjugate it. You think a mere Korean can?]
[Is that true samurai spirit? lolol]
Pajijik had a translation feature to some extent, so reading the chat wasn't impossible. It was just somewhat unnatural, being machine-translated.
"Alright, here I go?"
I tensed my legs once more and jumped. Instantly, the screen changed from the sandy beach to the sky.
[Did he just jump right now?]
[Jump: To leap from one's spot.]
[I think I'm gonna puke, fuck]
"Oh, I can see it over there."
I focused the camera that way and zoomed in.
[What's that? An angel?]
[An angel is kinda strange though...]
[Why does it have so many wings?]
A human form. On its back, it had four pairs of wings. And its entire body was colored an ominous black and red.
"Make sure you're getting good footage of this."
I handed the camera over to Laila and dropped my body down. And for this exercise session, the first in a while, I shook out my hands and feet as a warm-up.
"I'll be back."
"Have a safe trip."
Holding the camera, Laila gave a bright smile and waved her hand at me. To anyone who didn't know better, it looked like I was just popping out to the convenience store.
"You know, whether it's a beast or a monster, you've got to be firm with them."
---
[Saintess, isn't the Hero actually going to die?]
[Then wouldn't just the Saintess be streaming?]
[That might actually be better...]
[Hey you little shit lolol]
People were watching the scene of Song Hoon flying toward the monster. And Laila was filming Song Hoon's figure, careful not to miss anything, mixing in zoom-ins and zoom-outs appropriately.
[ Saintess's Foot Wiper has donated 50,000 Watts! ]
- But if she's a Saintess, shouldn't she be supporting the Hero?
Laila momentarily switched the camera to selfie mode and spoke.
"Hmm... but it's not particularly threatening enough to require my support."
[Not threatening (Multiple S-ranks and A-ranks have died)]
[The Saintess is subtly starting to sound like the Hero too...]
[Please, anything but that!!!]
She fiddled with the camera again, and soon Song Hoon could be seen in the distance heading for the monster.
One second. Song Hoon fiddled with his earring, and it transformed into the shape of a club. Two seconds. He gripped the club with both hands and prepared to swing it. Three seconds. He then swung the club from below, striking the monster's head upward.
At that instant, the ocean beyond the monster split cleanly open. And the shockwave generated by the swing wiped away every single cloud that had been blocking the sunlight.
"Our Hero is really cool, isn't he?"
His debut broadcast as a hunter was short, but the impact lingered for a long time.