The Max-Level Hunter Returns 147: Hesitation
At that instant, Adel Temir's fist halted.
'Why?'
He shot back at Kalderet's unexpected words that had reined him in.
[......]
But Kalderet fell silent, as if something still felt off to him, and Adel turned his head to look back at Makullan Hun.
"Y-Yes, that's right. The third ancient god. No one else knows about this. Of course not—I'm the only one who received the revelation!!"
Makullan's blood-smeared face bobbed frantically as he nodded and shouted.
"Of course only you'd know. It's all bullshit coming out of your mouth."
"H-Hic!!"
As Adel raised his fist again, Makullan flinched in terror and curled into a ball.
"I know better than anyone that you're a con artist who scams everyone. That thing over there—the 【Illusion Mirror】 you dug up from a North Sea ruin. You think I wouldn't know about it?"
Adel shoved the cowering worm of a man by the collar, pointing at the artifact inside the warehouse.
"A special relic that lets you see illusions created by its wielder for one minute. Right?"
"Th-That's......"
"The Ice Palace lord said that right after you showed up, Kiransha's blessing—the aurora—flickered into existence for a moment and vanished."
Adel stared him down as he spoke.
"If you were really a contractor who could summon Kiransha, you'd have let them feel the god's divine power, not just some blessing. But you only showed a blessing, not divine power. Why was that?"
Makullan's face darkened.
"The mirror creates illusions based on what the wielder imagines. Meaning you couldn't even picture Kiransha's face, let alone their divine power!"
Grip—!
Adel yanked Makullan toward him.
"An aurora's easy to imagine. Hell, you might've even seen one before. Kiransha's blessing lingered on the land for ages even after the god vanished."
With every word Adel spat out, Makullan's face twisted further.
"And 'not a contractor, but a guide'? You talk like you've been called by the divine, but it's just wordplay in the end."
"I-I'm sorry......!!!"
Makullan groveled with a tear-streaked face, begging Adel.
"Sorry? You tricked countless people in the North Sea, and now you pull that crap?"
"P-Please... s-spare me......"
"Then spill it. The mirror was buried in a North Sea ruin, so how'd a slime like you get your hands on it?"
"......It was pure coincidence. The North Sea glaciers started melting, and the ice blocking the ruin's entrance just shattered. That's how I got in!"
Thwack—!
Adel smacked the back of Makullan's head again.
"Everything out of your mouth is a lie. North Sea glaciers melting? That's the dumbest shit I've ever heard."
"It's true....... Please believe me, sir. Have you heard of the Rakon Triangular Sea Area? The sea levels rose, and suddenly the glaciers started breaking apart!"
"Rakon Sea Area?"
"Yes. They call it the sea of death."
Whether coincidence or lie, the place Makullan mentioned was also home to the ruins of the Dark Sea god Abyss, which Adel was seeking.
'......The sea's ice broke?'
Adel eyed him.
"Yes. Even the Ice Palace avoids it, so you probably wouldn't know. But it's true. A few months ago, the ocean's state changed abruptly."
"How?"
"It was like some dormant power had awakened—the waters surged violently, melting the surrounding ice in an instant."
"A power awakened......"
"It was chaos. Waves raged for days, whirlpools popping up everywhere."
Once he started talking, Makullan seemed to forget his beating, chattering on with a gleeful expression.
"Why were you even there? If even the Ice Palace stays away."
"Because of the revelation......"
"Not beaten enough yet."
Makullan flinched at Adel's words.
"It's true!! Getting that relic from the North Sea ruin was all thanks to the revelation. Why else would I go to a place no one sets foot in?"
"Who knows. Maybe you were tomb-robbing and got lucky with a gap."
Adel scanned the artifacts in the warehouse as he spoke.
'Though calling it simple tomb-robbing doesn't add up—there's way too many relics here for one guy. 【Staff of Glory】, 【Crimson Necklace】...... How the hell does he already have these? Doesn't make sense.'
Every one was an A-grade or higher relic from major ruins.
'He definitely has accomplices.'
Adel grew even more convinced amid Makullan's tall tales.
[Hmm. Can't say the man's entirely wrong. Ice melting...... Not impossible right now.]
Kalderet spoke up then.
'What do you mean?'
Adel set aside his thoughts and asked back.
[Didn't you kill the Kraken in the Garam Archipelago? Krakens are ancient beasts of the great sea. Its death disrupted the ocean's balance.]
'Even so, I can't just let his revelation bullshit slide.'
[Well. That's not entirely impossible either. Though the odds are vanishingly slim. Close to zero.]
'......What? Snap out of it, Kalderet. You're not falling for this slime's silver tongue too, are you?'
[As if. I'm just saying there's a slim chance. Which is why I have one question.]
'What?'
[That Makullan. In your previous life, he ran countless scams, right? His biggest was founding that Dale cult heresy.]
'Yeah. He used his followers for mass tomb-robbing. Lots died in the process. No different from Mahal—no reason to keep him alive.'
[Did you ever see him in person?]
'Me?'
Adel shook his head.
'Of course. While I was helping Karon Azal conquer the continent, we wiped out the Dale cult.'
[Did he claim a divine revelation back then too?]
'No. He claimed to be a god. That's why I cut his throat myself.'
Adel found Kalderet's attentiveness to the obvious con man's words puzzling.
'Something clicking for you?'
[A little. But...... Hmm. If even my past self said nothing when we met him years from now, then it's just a vanished possibility.]
'Possibility?'
[......Nothing certain. Probably not worth worrying over. As you know, rifts exist across the continent. The primordial force that birthed us.]
Kalderet spoke cautiously.
'And?'
[That power seeks balance. One aspect is maintaining the gods. But I was sealed, and Rune'r had vacated to the demon realm. Meaning a vacancy among the ancient gods in this world right now.]
'No way...... During that vacancy, a rift birthed a new god to fill the ancient seat?'
[Exactly. But again, vanishingly slim odds. Even with a vacancy, ancient gods don't arise easily—and if my past self never mentioned it, it never happened.]
Kalderet said.
[Don't sweat it. I brought it up needlessly.]
Indeed, if a third ancient god had existed at this time, Adel would've known in his previous life.
"......"
Adel nodded.
But he couldn't shake the nagging doubt.
"Anyway, fine. On that note, Makullan—I'm handing you over to the Ice Palace. The lord will probably freeze your limbs solid and shatter them to pieces."
Hic—!
Makullan hiccuped involuntarily at Adel's words.
"In return, I'll get the Ice Palace's favor."
"Oh...... Please show me mercy. If you send me there like this, I'm as good as dead."
"You knew that and still pulled this shit?"
"Th-That was...... Revel......"
Makullan twitched his lips in protest.
But he clamped his mouth shut before uttering "revelation" again, lest Adel's fist fly.
"Nothing to say but babble about a god that doesn't exist, huh? Figures for a con man."
'In a few years, he'll fool hundreds, thousands—but right now, threats still work. Hmm...... Play him right, and he could be useful.'
Adel already had plans to exploit him.
'Just looking at these relics—even with accomplices, he raided North Sea ruins. His tomb-robbing skills are legit at least.'
Makullan would make a fine guide for the Rakon Triangular Sea Area.
"But there is a way to save your neck."
"Wh-What's that?"
"Guide me to one of the ruins in the Rakon Sea Area."
Makullan's eyes lit up at that.
As if reading Adel's mind, he switched gears with a sly grin.
"Aha, boss. So you're one of us. I knew you had that vibe. Heh heh, why not say so from the start?"
'One of us, my ass.'
The quick-witted rat hadn't missed Adel's slip.
"Don't worry about it. I'll guide you sure as hell. Been there plenty."
He boasted confidently.
"I hear the ice paths there twist like a maze—even finding the entrance is a nightmare."
"Thanks to the revelation. Dale will part the melted ice waves for me."
Makullan clasped his hands in mock prayer.
"You really don't quit, do you?"
"Ugh, I'm serious!"
'Raid ruins? Hilarious. Just try going to that sea, you bastard. I'll end you there.'
But Makullan's mind was already brimming with murderous schemes.
"Heh heh, so...... you'll let me go? Gotta prep a ton for the ruins."
For all his dark thoughts, he flashed Adel a friendly smile.
"Of course."
"A-Alright. Let's go."
Adel nodded, and Makullan claimed he needed more supplies before hurrying outside.
[You trust that guy? His face screams he's plotting murder.]
"I'd sooner trust a stray dog."
Adel smirked at the con man's retreating back.
"Prep my ass. Obvious where he's headed—straight to his backer."
That was when it happened.
As they left Makullan's house, Adel leaned against the alley wall and spoke.
"Nine times out of ten, he'll try to kill me on the way to the sea area."
[Hmph...... Cocky bastard.]
Adel slowly looked up.
"His accomplice is high enough up to keep the melting ice news from the Ice Palace lord's ears. And......"
He scanned the surroundings.
"Someone who already knows I'm heading to the sea area. That's why they're watching."
The one person Karin Samakal had shown the map to.
"Right? Daran Samakal."
A presence stirred in the alley.
"How did you know we were watching?"
The masked figure's oddly layered voice stood out despite the disguise.
"Simple, if you think about it. If you schemed with a con like Makullan, trust would be zero—so staking out is obvious."
"......"
"But knowing about the map from Karin, you'd want to check personally."
Daran's lips twitched at his words.
"Sister said you were a guest......"
He fixed Adel with cold eyes.
"......Turns out you're just trouble."
Shing—
Daran drew the flexible sword at his waist.
"Drawing steel without warning?"
Among the three fanatic followers from his past life—the ones he'd trusted most—this one was now unsheathing against him.
But there was no sense of betrayal.
This Daran didn't know him yet.
It only made Adel want to laugh.
"That's why I liked you best."