71
071 ― Nobody But Me
The traces of the old city had an atmosphere that made people feel chilled. A forest of collapsed gray buildings. Faded signs and broken glass, exposed bundles of electrical wires.
At the center of that downtown area, guild members of the Cheonok Guild were surrounding one figure.
"Don't let your guard down! Don't be careless just because the enemy is being docile!"
The middle-aged man shouting was Park Jong-mu, the guild leader of Cheonok Guild and an A-rank Hunter.
Even though he was an A-rank Hunter, he was a veteran who had been active in Gates for decades, and he was a vigorous active member who had just recently entered and exited the 4th floor.
He was a person filled with evaluations from those around him that he would rise to S-rank if he just broke through one wall. This person himself thought this was his own limit, so his passion itself had died down considerably, but he still hadn't stopped his activities.
"Guild Leader... Is that really true? Can we believe it?"
The one quietly asking beside the guild leader was Cheon Ju-hyeok, a guild member of the same Cheonok Guild.
As the grandson of the Cheonok Group chairman, he was like a parachute appointment placed by the upper ranks from Park Jong-mu's perspective, but still, Cheon Ju-hyeok had worked very hard.
Even when Park Jong-mu and the guild executives, who didn't show any favoritism to parachute appointments, worked him relentlessly without rest, he followed along without a single complaint. He even actively entered Gates, making him an enthusiastic man, rare among young people these days.
His skills were also nearly approaching A-rank, so he was a guy who did his part sufficiently.
"Of course, I can't believe it. Have you ever seen a monster surrender?"
"No."
"Same logic."
"But to call it a monster is a bit..."
They had originally been chasing an Erosion a bit away from here. They had been dispatched for a small-scale Erosion that covered about one building.
But while they were trying to detect and destroy the core's location, the territory shrank, and that guy appeared.
It was definitely the moving Erosion that had become a global topic these days.
When they immediately poured attacks on the moving Erosion that appeared like that, the guy started running away, and they finally succeeded in surrounding him here.
They succeeded, but suddenly the guy raised both hands high and started shouting Surrender.
"Surrender! Surrender! Please don't attack! Please..."
The guy was very different from the monsters so far. His eyes weren't cloudy but clear, and he had a proper ego. Since he knew how to suppress instinct with reason, it would be hard to call him a simple monster just for that.
And above all, his appearance closely resembled a human's. No, looking at his long ears, was he an Elf?
"Ju-hyeok, what does the Management Bureau say?"
"There's no contact yet. That side must be noisy too, right?"
"Anyway, we have to acknowledge that those government worker bastards have heavy asses."
Tsk, Park Jong-mu clicked his tongue and pondered.
Attacking immediately would be an easy task. But the fact that a monster was talking to them, and moreover that a moving Erosion whose cause and principle were still unknown was talking to them, made Park Jong-mu unable to easily give the attack order.
If that surrender was real, wouldn't they be able to find out many things through him? Wouldn't several of the dozens of mysteries about Erosion be clarified?
That wouldn't stop at the guild's benefit but could become the benefit of the city, and furthermore, all of humanity.
Park Jong-mu didn't have such grand missions as humanity or whatever, but still, charging in ignorantly in such a situation wasn't his disposition.
"What do you mean by surrender?"
"Exactly what it sounds like! Surrender, I'll surrender! But, my arms hurt a bit, so can I put them down now?"
Hwaryeok!
Park Jong-mu silently fired a fire arrow at the Elf, and the Elf was startled and raised his hands up tight again.
***
What appeared in the eyes of Jin-woo and Shartia, who arrived at the scene, was a strange sight.
Some guilds appeared to be surrounding a monster. That itself was puzzling, because usually monsters were targets for subjugation or extermination, not for surrounding.
Surrounding was usually deployed to prevent escape and kill, or to capture an enemy, but it didn't look like the former situation. The Hunters who had surrounded weren't pouring attacks.
Then it meant they were trying to capture...
"Shartia, do you see that over there?"
"...Yes. It's an Elf."
It seemed like a completely different situation from ordinary Erosion. The two people approached a bit closer and went toward the Hunters who were surrounding.
"Stop!"
A guild member of Cheonok Guild initially blocked the two people who suddenly appeared. It wasn't that he was showing hostility in particular, just blocking outsiders from interfering during operational action.
But he knew Shartia, and especially Jin-woo, very well.
"Brother! It's really you, right!?"
It was Cheon Ju-hyeok, whom Jin-woo had met in the 2nd floor.
They had agreed to meet after returning, but couldn't meet because of Ireland appearing in New York, and even after Ireland was dealt with, they still hadn't reunited because Jin-woo immediately left for the 3rd floor.
"Ju-hyeok?"
"Brother!"
Jin-woo slightly stepped back to avoid Cheon Ju-hyeok, who was running over in emotion at the long-awaited reunion. Cheon Ju-hyeok also didn't approach closer than a certain distance, and the two had a conversation maintaining roughly the distance of knowing older and younger brothers.
"What's going on? Are you all from Cheonok Guild?"
"Yes. Actually, a strange situation has occurred. Ah, just in case, are you sent by the Management Bureau?"
"Management Bureau?"
"I guess not."
Cheon Ju-hyeok, who was convinced by himself, briefly and simply explained to Jin-woo and Shartia.
The usual moving Erosion appeared and they immediately attacked and chased, succeeding in surrounding them during the process. But once surrounded, the being suddenly declared surrender.
"So the Guild Leader is also troubled. If we can capture a communicating Erosion as a prisoner, we might be able to obtain a lot of information."
"That sounds plausible..."
Jin-woo looked at the scene with strange eyes. An Elf shouting surrender with raised hands and a tearful face. The Cheonok Guild members surrounding her.
The reason Jin-woo's eyes were strange was one thing. It looked like Hunters were surrounding one Elf, but in reality, it wasn't a surrounded situation at all.
'That subordinate... The black flame is larger than Bertus.'
It naturally couldn't reach the level of Ireland, but it was much stronger than Bertus or the Black Knight from Belen Village.
In comparison, the Hunters composing the siege were all composed of A-rank and B-rank. Without a single S-rank, they couldn't be surrounding that subordinate.
Simply put, that Elf could escape but wasn't escaping.
"Jin-woo. I have a somewhat uneasy feeling."
Shartia whispered softly to Jin-woo. She couldn't completely discern the subordinate's power, but she seemed to have something she felt intuitively.
"Anyway, let's talk with the commander. Ju-hyeok, who's in charge of command here?"
"Our Guild Leader. Guild Leader Park Jong-mu."
Through Cheon Ju-hyeok's introduction, the two people were able to meet Park Jong-mu.
Since he was also in an uneasy situation, it wasn't the time to refuse Shartia, who was S-rank, and Jin-woo, who was scheduled to be S-rank. Rather, he welcomed them with an expression of relief.
"I'm Park Jong-mu. How did you hear about this?"
"I heard from Ju-hyeok. That you're troubled about whether to capture that being or attack her."
"Yes. It would be convenient to just kill her, but it's quite unusual. Isn't it strange that an Erosion monster, and moreover an Elf, would just surrender?"
Whatever the reason, stopping the attack was the right answer. The A-rank Hunters at this location wouldn't be able to handle that subordinate.
"Would it be okay if we tried talking to her once?"
"Of course, it's okay! Do as you please."
With Park Jong-mu's consent, Jin-woo had a chance to talk with the Elf. Shartia was beside him, wary of the Elf like a hedgehog with bristles raised.
In addition to her escort, Jin-woo himself also approached the Elf with his sword drawn. This time, it wasn't the Sky Sword but the white gem sword he received from Rona.
"Um... Hello. I'm Grisella. You can comfortably call me Sella."
"Grisella, I'm Kang Jin-woo."
"Ah, yes. Kang Jin-woo."
It was a strangely cowering Elf. The Elves Jin-woo had seen so far were full of confidence and never cowered, but this was the first human-like, no, Elf-like appearance he'd seen.
The reason she was so intimidated like this probably wasn't due to a lack of strength. Then what was it because of? Was it just her innate personality?
"Are you a subordinate of the God of Sky?"
"...! Do you know that bastard, no, that son of a bitch?"
"Answer the question I'm asking first."
"Yes, yes! That's right. I was caught by that son of a bitch and worked like a slave for countless years before barely escaping!"
As if her situation were pitiful, the Elf suddenly started crying and began lamenting her circumstances.
Where she was born as an Elf, how she got caught up in Erosion, and what happened after that.
At first, she was used as an Elf-type monster with her reason taken away, but thanks to her improved skills, she was selected by the God of Sky.
"Growing while fighting as a monster, you must have some talent?"
"I guess so. Ehehe."
Grisella was embarrassed as if she had received a compliment, but Jin-woo raised his guard one level in his mind.
Shartia, beside him, also quietly listened to their conversation without letting her guard down. She had many things she wanted to ask, but she had enough sense not to ask at this moment.
"Escaped... Then you mean you betrayed the God of Sky and fled?"
"Yes. Even though I was forcibly worked tied to Erosion, I haven't forgotten my pride as an Elf. The souls I killed should originally be brought to Mother World Tree, but that son of a bitch, no, that bastard forcibly took them..."
"Is that why you escaped? To take human souls not to the God of Sky but to bring them to the World Tree?"
"Of course. That is the duty of all Elves..."
Jin-woo raised his sword and swung it. He intended to cut off at least one leg, if not the heart.
"Hiiik!"
Grisella jumped up and avoided Jin-woo's sword. She was so frightened that she avoided with quite large movements, and because of that, attacks from the surrounding Cheonok Hunters poured down.
"Uwaaaaaah!"
She crouched down in that spot and received the Hunters' attacks. Fire and ice poured down on her body, which was curled up like a turtle, but she didn't have a single wound.
She was startled and avoided Jin-woo's sword strike, while casually receiving the Hunters' attacks with her body.
"It was a mistake, a slip of the tongue! Just escaping is enough for me! As long as I can get away from slave life, that's enough!"
Jin-woo rested his sword on his shoulder and looked at her. There might be some scheme or behind-the-scenes story. However, he clearly understood that she had no fighting spirit for now.
***
A little later, Hunters from the Management Bureau arrived in droves. Ma Du-sik also came with them, and he came to this place as both mayor and S-rank Hunter.
An Elf monster that didn't get a single wound, even from the A-rank Hunters' offensive. It was a being sufficient for S-rank Ma Du-sik to be dispatched.
"Hmm, what do you think we should do about this?"
Ma Du-sik asked Jin-woo with a troubled face. For him, too, it was a situation he'd never seen, so he couldn't help but seek advice from those around him.
"I've seen the same kind of being as that guy in the 3rd floor."
"What? In the 3rd floor?"
"Do you know Bertus?"
"Ah, you mean that strange guy who, despite being an Orc, goes around doing volunteer work using healing arts?"
"That guy is the same moving Erosion as that one over there."
At the information Jin-woo casually revealed, Ma Du-sik showed quite a surprised expression.
It was just hearsay, so he couldn't be certain, but he trusted Jin-woo. At the point of defeating Ireland, he was the Hunter who knew the most about moving Erosion.
"You mean... Coexistence is possible with such beings? Even if they're Erosion?"
"I've seen another guy like that elsewhere."
"Another?"
"It was a guy like a knight wearing black armor, but that guy couldn't communicate at all. We just kept fighting each other and eventually had no choice but to kill him."
"...So it's case by case."
Ma Du-sik wasn't someone who couldn't understand Jin-woo's words. Simple phenomena like Erosion should be cleared away. Monsters that can't communicate and have no ego have no choice but to be exterminated.
But what if the opponent isn't a simple phenomenon but a moving being? If they have an ego and can speak?
Then the response had to be different.
"I'll call Hunter Shin Do-ung. It seems like A-ranks alone won't make surveillance of that being easy."
Shin Do-ung was one of the three S-rank Hunters in Seoul. Shartia, Ma Du-sik, and Shin Do-ung.
It had already been reported that A-rank Hunters' attacks didn't work on the Elf at all. Ma Du-sik had also seen it with his own eyes.
To monitor that Elf, at least S-rank was needed, but Ma Du-sik, being the mayor, wasn't appropriate as a surveillance role.
"Then you're planning to take her for now?"
"We can't bring her into the city. There's a suitable place among the facilities outside the barrier where we can confine her, so let's put her there for now."
"She says she escaped because she hated slave life, but won't she resist if you try to confine her?"
"Then there's no choice."
Although he didn't say what came after, Jin-woo could predict it sufficiently. They would confine her in a suitable facility outside the city. If she rebelled in the process, they would subjugate her.
Ma Du-sik never had the option of bringing her into the city in the first place. Jin-woo also thought that was the right judgment.
"Hey!"
Then Grisella shouted toward them. She was currently bound by Shartia's tree branches, which were harder than ordinary steel chains.
"I, I know the location of another subordinate! East! It's to the east!"
"You mean you'll sell out your former comrades?"
"I've never thought of them as comrades! Those shell-like bastards who sold their souls and pride to that son of a bitch!"
The simplest method for a traitor to prove themselves, one that had continued from before. That was selling information about comrades.
Jin-woo and Ma Du-sik looked at each other and nodded slightly.
"Could I ask you a favor, Hunter Kang Jin-woo?"
"I originally came outside the city to find Erosion cores and guys like that."
Jin-woo's original purpose was to find Erosion cores and subordinates to absorb black flames. However, since he had to rely only on his own detection ability, he had no choice but to wander aimlessly.
If Grisella's information was true, and if she also had information about subordinates in other places, there would be nothing better than that.
Of course, this was all assuming everything was true.
'If it's east, would that be toward Gangwon Province?'
It seemed there was one undiscovered subordinate over there. After confirming the specific location with Grisella again, Jin-woo got in the car with Shartia.
"It's toward Gangneung."
"The fact that it's coastal is a bit concerning."
The car carrying the two people departed. Toward the East Sea.
[ The God of Moonlit Forest whispers. ]
Then the God of Moonlit Forest, who had been quiet until now, said a word.
[ Don't trust anyone but me. ]
Not trusting was natural. If Grisella and Ma Du-sik happened to have a battle, Jin-woo was prepared to immediately cut off her neck.
However, the words that came before felt somehow chilling.