Nightfall - Time to Kill Gods (6)

In psychology, they say puberty arrives when a child is around thirteen years old.

One of its hallmarks is a sudden, baseless surge of hostility and rebellion toward others.

And right now, Yuria—barely two days old—was deep in a thoroughly philosophical crisis, wondering if she might be going through puberty herself.

After all, it had only been two days since she had been reborn in doll form. Yet inside the heart that had once been so pure, hostility and defiance toward her master were sprouting and flourishing at an alarming rate.

There was a very clear reason for these feelings.

"Master! The enemy before us is a 'Being from the Depths'! From what I know, their weakness is—"

"These things look ridiculously disgusting. I'll clean them up as fast as I can."

Slash—!

"....."

Cutting the enemy down before she could even finish explaining its weakness had become the absolute baseline.

"Huh? My body ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠suddenly feels off."

"That is likely because the wavelengths enveloping R'lyeh are adversely affecting Master's body. To restore it to normal—"

"Hmm, my center of gravity seems shifted about three centimeters off the original axis. A status effect this mild? I can adapt to it in no time."

"....."

Even when a status ailment actually landed on Yujin, most of them failed to affect him in the slightest.

"I have a strangely ominous feeling from the left… Ariandel is waiting upstairs. There's no need to waste strength here, so we should avoid—"

"You all heard that, right? Apparently a relatively strong one is waiting for me on the left. I was getting bored anyway, so perfect timing. Let's go check it out."

"....."

Even when she carefully detected an enemy's position and advised him to steer clear, her master not only ignored the warning but cheerfully marched straight toward it of his own free will.

Yuria's entire reason for existing was to provide maximum support so hunters could easily hunt beasts and the Rulers. Yet Yujin acted as if he needed none of her help whatsoever, doing whatever he pleased.

What made her even more furious was the growing certainty that Yujin really could take down Ariandel—and even the Calamity God itself—without her assistance at all.

If things truly went that way… then what reason did she have to be here right now?

So Yuria was seriously considering whether she should grab ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her master by the collar right now and scream at him to start listening to her for once.

How much time passed after that?

Despite completely ignoring every word out of Yuria's mouth and doing every single thing she told him not to, Yujin reached the top floor of the tower without a single scratch—and once again found himself facing a massive door blocking his path.

"What kind of tower has this many damn doors?"

Yujin clicked his tongue without thinking.

Back in his otherworld days he had conquered every dungeon imaginable, even the Demon King's castle, yet never once had a mere locked door so cheaply barred his way.

"So… how do we open this one?"

When Yujin glanced at Yuria with a faintly expectant look, her expression turned utterly incredulous.

"Ha? Why are you asking me? I've been giving you advice this entire time, and not once have you ever actually listened to a single word I said."

"…Hmm."

"What, just slash the door open with your sword like before? Why bother caring about my opinion at all? You can handle everything yourself anyway, right?"

Yuria's sarcastic jab sent the viewers into peals of laughter.

Fortunately, Yujin had no need to endure further scolding just to get advice.

Clunk—!

The moment he placed his hand on the door, it opened automatically.

"It's been a while. Have you been well, young hunter?"

Stepping through the automatically opened door, they found Ariandel waiting for them inside.

His appearance was completely unchanged from the time Yujin had first faced him during the tutorial. Even the area around his heart—once pierced by Yujin—looked pristine, without a single scar.

"Young hunter. After you slew the 'Descendant of the Calamity God,' I watched every step of your ascent to the tower's summit. To cut straight to the conclusion: it was truly remarkable."

A faint note of admiration colored Ariandel's tone as he regarded Yujin.

"In truth, I expected you would activate the device installed on the outskirts of Arkham before climbing the tower. No one in this world would willingly seek a direct confrontation with the Calamity God's descendants inside R'lyeh's domain."

At the same time, Ariandel was looking at Yujin with an expression that bordered on sheer disbelief.

"And yet you chose to ignore every single one of Yuria's warnings and charge straight here. Honestly, if that was how you intended to act, I could not understand why you even kept the child by your side."

"At first I dismissed it as the arrogance of a fool… but seeing that you arrived here unharmed, I have no choice but to acknowledge it. Young hunter, you possess skill that matches that arrogance."

As Ariandel spoke words of recognition, Yuria once again puffed out her lower lip in a pout.

Of course, the viewers were far too busy clipping the moment and taking screenshots of how adorable she looked to care about anything else.

"Defeating the Descendants of the Stars and the thralls of R'lyeh was still within the realm of understanding. But to think you would even work the miracle of felling a Ruler… that I never imagined. Of course, without the holy sword in your hand it would have been impossible…"

Ariandel's expression turned genuinely regretful as he continued.

"In that sense, I would like to make you a proposal. Would you not choose to serve the great Calamity God at my side? I promise you this: the Calamity God will treasure you more highly than anyone else in this world…"

"Sorry, but I'll have to decline."

Yujin rejected the offer without a moment's hesitation, as if it weren't even worth considering.

"Coincidentally, I don't have a hobby of licking the feet of monsters while serving under them."

Even if this was just a game, a former hero siding with the monsters would be completely lacking in romance.

With Yujin unlocking a hidden achievement for the first time in a while, the chat flooded with speculative comments.

"Is that so… Truly regrettable. Then I have no choice but to settle this with you in a duel to the death. After all, I still have a debt I must repay you…"

As Ariandel raised his greatsword toward Yujin, his gaze suddenly settled on Yuria, who sat demurely on Yujin's shoulder.

"…But before that, there are a few words I would like to speak to the child Yuria. We cannot know how the outcome of this battle will turn."

"I have nothing I wish to hear from you."

"Is that truly so? Even if it concerns memories related to your very essence?"

Yuria flinched.

The cold attitude she had maintained until now cracked, replaced by a look of genuine surprise.

Ariandel's words had struck precisely at her core.

Yuria herself already knew the truth: that her essence was that of a doll, born with the mission of protecting humanity.

At the same time, she had long suspected she was no ordinary doll.

Hunter engineering and the techniques of mystics alone could never create a puppet as sophisticated as her.

Therefore, Yuria surely harbored a secret—an enormous secret that could resolve all the vague frustration she currently felt.

"Now that we have come this far, there is no longer any need to hide it. Yes, Yuria. You are no ordinary puppet. You are the— of a hunter of genius talent from twenty-five years ago—"

Unfortunately, Ariandel's words were cut short right there.

Whoosh—!

Sensing that the monologue was about to drag on forever, Yujin swung his sword at Ariandel.

"Your tongue is filthy long. Save that nostalgia trip for some other guy later and just hurry up and fight me already."

Back in his hero days, he had grown thoroughly sick of enemies suddenly launching into unsolicited reminiscences about their past mid-battle.

He had zero interest in Ariandel's long-winded backstory to begin with, so he swung without the slightest hesitation.

What a bastard.

And with that, Yuria's affection level toward Yujin plummeted dramatically.