Chapter 47
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: CDT (8)
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Whirr whirr whirr—!
The transport craft of the special hunter unit flew into the training grounds, searching for Yoon Soo-ah.
The protective barrier trapping the floating cadet was left abandoned as they frantically scoured for Yoon Soo-ah.
-This is Alpha 06. Target sighted from afar.
-Prioritize rescuing Yoon Soo-ah safely. Understood?
-…What about the cadet? Shouldn't we save them first? They're only 18...
-You idiot! S-rank comes first... We can't lose another S-rank.
-…Fuck off.
Whirr whirr…!
Ignoring the protective barrier entirely, the transport headed straight for the rooftop where Yoon Soo-ah was.
It hadn't felt like much time had passed, but seeing the sunlight made me feel like I'd been deprived of it for ages.
<The One Who Will Become ???>: Duration ended.
Penalty applied due to end of Transcendent Trait duration.
"What? Penalty?... Ugh!"
Thud…!
I collapsed powerlessly right away.
My whole body felt numb, like every muscle had cramped up.
I could barely breathe, my eyes could roll around, but I couldn't move a thing.
Bubble… Bubble…
Then, lava started oozing from the end of the crow's corpse.
The pile of corpses began to be slowly consumed.
'Damn it... What the hell! I barely won! Am I gonna get roasted here??? Hey... Hey... Hey hey...!'
The lava was just about to touch my body.
Float—.
In that instant, my body lifted into the air.
It was a spherical protective barrier that didn't even scratch when the lava touched it.
Just sensing the mana told me how incredible the caster was.
'Whoa...!'
I floated in the air just like that and dropped onto some rooftop.
Thump!
Hitting the cold concrete floor hurt like hell.
"Ugh... Uh... Ah..."
It hurt so bad I wanted to scream, but no sound came out.
The only part of my body I could move was my eyes.
"Tae-hyun...!"
A familiar voice.
It was Yoon Ah-young.
She rushed over and cast a healing spell on me.
She was sniffling.
"Thank goodness... Thank goodness...! I had no idea what happened..."
"Ugh... Uh..."
Thinking back, I'd been training with Yoon Ah-young when the surprise attack knocked me off.
When I woke up, I was inside a barrier.
A barrier that wouldn't break unless the caster died.
But I was here.
And Yoon Ah-young was safe.
Given how everything around was covered in lava, the caster must be dead.
'As expected... We won the fight...'
There was no way a hunter would lose.
I trusted my comrades.
I wanted to smile, but my mouth wouldn't move.
Drool just poured out uncontrollably.
Ah-young pulled a handkerchief from her inner pocket and wiped the corner of my mouth.
"Uh... Uh..."
I meant to say thanks.
Anyway, that woman over there.
Definitely the S-rank hunter Yoon Soo-ah.
She was leaning against the railing, staring off into the distance.
At that moment, a transport buzzing through the air approached the rooftop.
Whirr whirr whirr—.
The transport hovered and dropped a helicopter rappel line.
Three men in hunter deputy uniforms descended onto the rooftop.
"Exterminate! Captain Yoon Soo-ah, we've come to escort you."
"…"
Yoon Soo-ah just looked at them without responding.
"Please board the transport. We'll take you to safety immediately."
"…The kids."
"Sorry, I didn't catch that?"
"Can't you see the kids floating up there in the sky? Save them first."
"…Orders from above are to rescue you first, Captain Yoon Soo-ah."
At the word "orders," Yoon Soo-ah furrowed her brow.
She scowled.
"Orders? Someone issued orders to me?"
"No, ma'am. The orders came to me. To bring you back, Captain Yoon Soo-ah..."
"Then I'll issue new orders."
"…Pardon?"
Yoon Soo-ah's rank as a hunter was captain.
On the battlefield, no one could defy her commands.
Not even the top brass at Hunter HQ.
"Mobilize all transports right now and move the kids to safe zones first. Honestly... the barriers are reaching their limit anyway."
"…Captain Yoon Soo-ah."
"Are you defying orders? Colonel?"
Yoon Soo-ah said, eyeing the man's rank.
Her face was full of fury.
"…"
The colonel hesitated for a moment before saluting her.
"Orders received. We'll evacuate the kids first. Exterminate!"
The colonel climbed back into the helicopter.
The transport fleet immediately followed Yoon Soo-ah's orders and began relocating the floating protective barriers.
Hundreds of transports started safely moving the cadets.
…The transport operation wrapped up eventually.
The sun had set and it was dim, but the flowing lava kept the training grounds lit bright.
"Hoo... Hoo... Ah... I can finally stand..."
I got up from my spot.
The penalty from 'The One Who Will Become ???' was brutal.
I could stand, but no running or mana release yet.
"You did great..."
"…I didn't do much."
Ah-young had stuck by me and Yoon Soo-ah the whole time, worrying about our conditions.
Once the transport op finished, Yoon Soo-ah released the barrier she'd been maintaining.
"…Ugh..."
Yoon Soo-ah leaned against the wall, exhausted.
Ah-young approached and handed her a canteen.
She just brought it to her lips a few times, looking drained.
"…Sis. What about Commander Oldman..."
Ah-young asked cautiously, and Soo-ah nodded slightly.
Ah-young covered her mouth, unable to hide her shock.
The spirit, who'd used up almost all its mana, yawned sleepily.
"Soo-ah. I'm heading back now... So sleepy..."
"…Yeah. You did great..."
"You shouldn't use mana for a while. You pushed too hard today."
"Yeah... If I can... I'll do that..."
The ifrit and flame dragon faded away slowly.
Returning to the spirit realm where they belonged.
Whirr whirr whirr—.
A helicopter approached.
It was the colonel from before.
"Captain. Operation success. All cadets safe. Thanks to you, ma'am."
"…Yeah."
"Now we'll take everyone here back to HQ."
"Hold on. You go first."
At that point, Yoon Soo-ah loaded us onto the helicopter first.
She sent us ahead and flew off somewhere.
"…Cough...! Cough...! ...Uh... Soo-ah... Good to see you... like this."
"Don't talk. I'll heal you now."
Massive bloodstains.
The whole area was drenched in Gary Oldman's blood.
Yoon Soo-ah cast her top-tier heal on Gary.
But it was no use.
The blood kept flowing; no magic worked on him.
Gary Oldman grabbed Yoon Soo-ah's wrist with a trembling hand.
"Stop... It's... too late..."
"I'll decide that."
"…It's... too late..."
"Be quiet!"
Yoon Soo-ah bit her lower lip hard.
She knew better than anyone that his body could no longer regenerate.
But Yoon Soo-ah didn't give up.
She kept casting top-tier heals until her mind grew hazy.
But his wounds didn't heal at all.
Yoon Soo-ah could now see he was nearing the end.
"…You're... out... Soo-ah... In this gamble... you... lost..."
"…"
Yoon Soo-ah dropped her head deeply.
Guilt over failing to protect her comrade washed over her.
She covered her mouth.
"Haha... The great... archmage... crying...?"
"…"
"…I lived a worthless... life... but the end... feels good... anyway... A beauty... crying for me..."
Gary picked up a cigar with a trembling hand.
He inhaled his last puff of smoke.
...Siiiip...
Suddenly, Gary gripped Yoon Soo-ah's collar tightly.
Yoon Soo-ah looked at him.
"…Soo-ah... The bomb... is coming... A horde of evil... stronger than anything... you've faced..."
"…A horde of evil."
"…I believe... in you... You're... stronger than me..."
The cigar fell from his mouth.
"…The... gamble... has begun..."
With those final words, Gary closed his eyes.
There were 20 heroes, and S-rank hunters were still going strong.
Not a single casualty until now—that's why they were called the strongest.
But now.
At this moment, another uneasy wind blew across the world.
For the first time since the 20 heroes, an S-rank hunter had fallen.
"…Yeah... The gamble has begun..."
Yoon Soo-ah repeated his last words.
We boarded a transport under the colonel's guidance.
The propellers spun fiercely.
We lifted off over the training grounds.
...We gazed at the city flowing with lava.
This incident came to a close like this.
The black mask's plan had gone up in smoke, and all cadets were safe.
But some hunters lost their lives in the process.
Many powerhouses fell fighting to protect the cadets.
...Gary Oldman was one of them.
His presence vanishing meant he'd fallen.
Later, when the casualty processing team arrived, they couldn't hide their shock at the gruesome scene.
Insane bloodstains splattered everywhere.
No way that much blood came from one human.
Thousands of bullet marks and blade scars.
And there, they found Hong Ga-yeon.
She was reportedly so gripped by terror upon discovery that she couldn't speak.
...And so, the first semester of the Hunter Officer Academy ended.
Just one semester in, and so many changes around me.
This incident raised tons of questions.
The black masks' existence.
Their targeting me.
Their king who sliced Lee Jung-tae.
Them knowing about my regression.
And me being qualified to become 'king'.
So many riddles to solve.
My head throbbed.
...It didn't take long to realize this incident was just surmounting a small hill.
Whirr whirr whirr whirr—!
The transport quickly left the training grounds behind.
The receding grounds grew smaller and smaller.
Somewhere.
"Cough...!"
The Joker vomited blood.
He wiped it off and summoned a black spirit.
His body was riddled with bullet holes.
In the dark space, an even darker presence appeared before him.
A black entity with a single eyeball.
The black spirit spoke.
"Joker."
The Joker knelt immediately at his call.
"My king..."
The black spirit slowly approached the Joker.
"…Disappointing."
"…I'm sorry. I didn't expect two S-ranks there..."
"No excuses needed."
The black spirit spoke low and sternly.
Beyond that black spirit was the leader they served.
The Joker didn't relax for a second.
"Kirius... is dead?"
"…Yes. Taken down by an S-rank hunter. He was the weakest of our shadows. Sending him against Yoon Soo-ah, rank 5 S-rank, was poor judgment on our part. But we succeeded in killing one S-rank. Even if it was rank 16..."
"…I didn't order an S-rank hunt."
"…Yes."
The Joker didn't dare lift his head.
Facing the king was unthinkable for them.
"Strange... My plan is starting to go awry... I trusted you all. But you've only brought me disappointment... Am I wrong, '3'...?"
"I'm sorry... My king... Next time—"
"Next time, you'll pay with your life."
"Please accept my life then."
The Joker bowed even lower.
The black spirit fell silent for a moment before speaking.
"Don't disappoint me. The 'Great World' approaches soon."
"…Yes, my king."
The black spirit faded away slowly.
Only then did the Joker raise his head.
He clutched a tree and coughed.
"Cough...! Cough!"
The Joker pressed his wound with his hand.
A shrunken trump soldier was stitching his injuries.
S-ranks were S-ranks.
He hadn't expected to be pushed this far.
But Gary Oldman was dead.
One fewer S-rank now.
A huge blow for Hunter HQ.
New S-ranks don't come easy.
"…Next time, for sure..."
The Joker dragged his weary body into the forest.
Into the pitch-black, shadowy woods...
(To be continued)