#266. Let's Not Do That.
The champion carnivorous wasp, its head shattered, died standing upright.
Joo Se-ah shoved the corpse aside, deeming it a nuisance.
But the moment her hand touched it, the thing that should have been dead twitched to life.
Its four arms and two legs twisted a full 180 degrees to face backward. At the same time, its twin pairs of wings flared out to the sides like drawn swords. In place of its missing head, eyes and a mouth sprouted from its chest.
The wasp blinked its compound eyes with a glossy sheen and swung its wings at Joo Se-ah.
"Too slow."
While the champion was transforming, Joo Se-ah could have struck first, but she deliberately held back, observing the entire process closely.
'Even without a head, it moves... so it must have a separate core?'
It wasn't some undead or golem-like construct, so a core seemed unlikely, but something performing a similar function appeared to exist.
'I wanted to gather some data for later analysis.'
Joo Se-ah quickly scanned the surroundings. The hunters were struggling against the wasps' unexpected counterattack.
"No time for that."
The champion swung its wings at her again, this strike infused with faint mana. She merely tilted her head slightly to dodge. Enraged, the champion spun the wings gripped in its four hands wildly, slashing in all directions.
Each time Joo Se-ah evaded, the ground around her scarred deeply—like laser cuts.
Considering the floor had been hardened by the wasps, this showed just how vicious the champion's attacks were.
Joo Se-ah found the champion's assaults clumsy. Its raw power and speed alone threatened most hunters, but to anyone versed in swordsmanship, they were mere flailing from an amateur.
She lightly placed her right hand on the hilt of the sword at her left waist. Then, swaying her body left and right to match the rhythm, she slipped into a gap amid the champion's onslaught.
High-Speed Slash
A blinding iaijutsu draw from its sheath.
The champion staggered, its chest and abdomen now severed. Yet it clung tenaciously to life.
Activating rapid regeneration, it desperately tried to stitch its bisected body back together.
Joo Se-ah wouldn't stand idly by.
Without resheathing her once-drawn blade, she flicked her wrist for another strike.
Multi-Slash
The blade zigzagged relentlessly—from top to bottom. Torso, arms, legs, tail stinger. Not a single part escaped, sliced into countless thin ham-like strips.
The champion's razor-thin flesh strips splattered onto the floor like cheap ham. Greenish sap-like fluids poured over them like sauce.
Joo Se-ah shook the green blood soaking her blade onto the ground.
"Let's see if you come back from this."
After watching the meaty lump—that had been a monster—for about two seconds, she nodded and sheathed her weapon.
"Good. Nice and obedient."
"Obedient?"
Camilla, stunned by Joo Se-ah effortlessly dispatching the champion that had given her such hell, blurted out the question without thinking.
Joo Se-ah looked down at her and extended a hand. Camilla took it dazedly and stood. Her body still tingled from canceling her self-destruct skill midway, but a few potions would get her back into fighting shape.
"Yeah, obedient. Nothing cuter than a monster that dies quietly."
"The way you put it..."
The translation artifact mangled the Korean nuance slightly, leaving Camilla unsure of the exact intent.
This sparked a weird misunderstanding.
'Does she hate monsters... or like them?'
Either way, it wasn't sane. But S-rank was a realm where you had to be a little crazy one way or another.
Camilla was now certain this woman was the legendary Joo Se-ah.
The S-rank at the heart of this raid.
Her prowess was anything but ordinary. Camilla's mind etched deep the image of her overwhelming strength.
"Rally the expedition team. With the champion down, the queen's coming soon."
"Our lines are broken. It'll take time."
"Don't worry about that. I'll buy us time."
With those words, Joo Se-ah shot forward. Her vision caught hunters on the brink of death.
One covered in blood, shielding comrades. Another swinging a sword still clutched in a severed hand. Others weaponless, wielding shields as clubs.
In this dire situation, they tenaciously held the monsters at bay, buying time for their allies to reform ranks. A true elite expedition force.
But Joo Se-ah didn't rush to the imperiled hunters.
Saving them one by one wouldn't stop the crises from piling up. Even as an S-rank, without magic, she couldn't dominate the entire battlefield instantly.
Area attacks weren't impossible, but without gate skills, unleashing original ones at full power meant no holding back.
Underground, with a metropolis overhead. One misstep could harm civilians above.
'So there's only one way to pull all their aggro.'
The hive itself.
'Target the queen!'
Joo Se-ah barreled through tank wasps blocking her path, smashing them aside as she charged the hive.
Her intent hit home—the wasps faltered. Some lost focus on the hunters, turning toward her. The closer she got to the hive, the more peeled off from combat.
Eventually, they all ebbed away like a receding tide. The sudden lull left hunters frozen in confusion.
That's when Camilla bellowed, mana amplifying her voice.
"S-rank's joined the fray! Tend the wounded and reform ranks!"
She even used Loudspeaker, a skill she'd learned but rarely needed. Message skills suited solo play, but in joint ops with other guilds, nothing beat a bullhorn for broadcasting.
"Pulling out that corny skill you never use. Things that desperate, huh?"
Zachary Taylor, Gunpowder's expedition leader, had approached unnoticed. He'd ordered his vice-leader and party leaders to regroup and came to coordinate next steps.
Camilla had issued similar orders before replying.
"We've lost a ton of people. Face is already saved. What's corny about it?"
Taylor glanced around at her words. Familiar faces among the dead—including her own adjutant.
He shifted focus.
"Mourning after we take the queen's head. Hear anything from Joo Se-ah? Raid plans or whatever."
"What miracle you expect from an S-rank here? Straight playbook. She said she'd buy time, and she did. We regroup and end it. Retreat, and we're screwed."
"Yeah... if these things break out..."
"LA becomes hell."
"LA? California's a nightmare. You saw that champion pup. Already fifth-gen. Miss our shot, who knows how far they evolve."
Originally, Camilla and Taylor had separate orders from their guild masters.
If the raid exceeded expedition capacity, retreat immediately—evacuate the entire guild from LA.
The infamy of fifth-gen carnivorous wasps was historical fact. Back then, elite hunters from neighboring countries gathered for days of long-range bombardment before subjugating it.
But here, in a metropolis, no such option. No reinforcements from nearby cities either.
The orders were rational.
But.
"Rational ain't always right."
"What?"
"Camilla, your guild master's orders were bail at the right moment, yeah?"
"Sounds like yours too. So why stick around?"
"Same reason as you."
"......"
Camilla fell silent. Taylor continued.
"No attachments, but this is home. People here are neighbors, family. Got a few friends too."
"Didn't peg you for friends."
"Not talking about you."
"Timing's off for this, but someday set a date. I'll beat your ass."
"Survive first. I'll make time. Anyway, ditching while people die? Not my style."
"Dig your style. Mine too. Guild master's hung up on items. I hate that."
"Guild master's got his burdens. I don't blame him. Forcing it on me? That's different."
Camilla eyed Taylor, surprised. Uncomfortable under her gaze, he defended himself.
"I didn't become a hunter for money."
"Awakened, so might as well earn. Joining a big guild says that much."
"Nah. Joined Gunpowder to fight when it counts. Lets me wield an expedition team as a weapon, right?"
"Your guild master hears that, heart attack. Gotta preserve the team to rebuild the guild."
"Maybe? Might need resignation papers."
"See you in court. Massive damages."
"Hahaha, might flee the country."
"What's funny? You're done."
Camilla stared incredulously, then whispered.
"Hey, lawsuit tip: Lie. Say no time to run, like me. Absent guild master's none the wiser."
"Means you're fighting too, right?"
"Posed for every dramatic shot. Bail now? Joke's on us. S-rank's here. Let's do this proper."
"Then orders are yours."
"Your team too?"
"Told the members. Heading frontline."
Camilla didn't question if he was sure. She read his resolve.
'Handing expedition orders to a rival guild's leader? All-in.'
Most hunters wouldn't yield command even in death. Not even street parties.
Let alone a major LA guild's expedition.
Camilla realized Taylor's caliber surpassed hers.
She had to match that resolve.
"I'll use 'em well and return intact."
"Yeah. Can't guarantee survival in a hunt, but keep casualties zero. Please."
As they agreed, reports came in: both expeditions ready.
"Alright then. Everyone, let's stake our names on—"
"Nah, skip that. Embarrassing."
"......Uh? Well... not just us here. We'll skip this time."
Taylor scratched his head sheepishly and drew his sword.
"Back to basics. Whittle from the outside."