Chapter 418
“They’re coming! Be careful!” exclaimed Choi Yeonseung as he stared at the nightmare demons, who looked incredibly furious.
His allies unwittingly froze behind him. That was how fierce the reactions of the nightmare demons were.
[The nameless constellation, ■■■■■■■■, has fallen.]
[The constellation has destroyed the dungeon and sent its household members to the outside world!]
‘...!’
***
“It’s because of the angel constellation. No matter how I think about it, the angel constellation must’ve interfered!”
[The ‘Hound of Instinct and Liberation’ doesn’t think so...]
Han Seha, who had been keeping watch outside, couldn’t help being worried.
The hunters serving the angel constellation and the remaining hunters of the Icarus clan wondered if they should try to calm her down or leave her be.
Eventually, Elisabeth and Smallwood exchanged looks and stepped up.
“Excuse me, Hunter Han Seha.”
“?”
Han Seha turned her head and looked at the two of them with fierce eyes. Even the B-grade hunters, who had experienced their fair share of hardships, flinched at the look in her eyes.
“What is it?”
Han Seha still treated them with some respect because they worked under Choi Yeonseung. However, her tone made it seem like she wasn’t being polite at all.
Nevertheless, Smallwood was the most friendly hunter within the Icarus clan, and many of his colleagues were lunatics. Thus, he wasn’t daunted by Han Seha’s gaze at all.
“I just wanted to say that it’s an honor to work with a famous Korean A-grade hunter like you, Hunter Han Seha.”
“...”
Han Seha’s expression was still cold and threatening. If this type of flattery worked on a hunter, people wouldn’t call Han Seha a rabid dog in the first place.
‘Isn’t he playing with fire?’
Elisabeth was worried. Hunter Han Seha was rumored to be fierce and rough, different from other Korean hunters...
“I’m cautiously saying this, but out of all the clans affiliated with Dragon Industry, the chairman cares about us the most.”
“?”
Elisabeth cocked her head at Smallwood’s words. Was that the case?
“I think there's only one reason we’ve been left here with you, Hunter Han Seha.”
“And what’s that?”
“To learn from you!”
“...”
“Otherwise, why else would he leave the people he cares about outside like this? He obviously thought we couldn’t miss an opportunity like this. Besides, Hunter Choi Yeonseung thinks very highly of you, Hunter Han Seha.”
“...!”
Han Seha’s expression finally relaxed a bit.
Elisabeth saw this as an opportunity and struck.
“T-that’s right. He wanted to give us this valuable opportunity because he cares so much about us. Oh, how much he constantly praises you, Hunter Han Seha...”
Han Seha’s expression relaxed a bit more.
“...What did he say?”
“Huh?”
“What does he usually say when praising me?”
“...”
“...”
Smallwood desperately racked his brains.
Of course, Choi Yeonseung did praise Han Seha.
-Seha? Well, she’s A-grade and she’s good at fighting.
However, he didn’t necessarily praise Han Seha in front of the Icarus hunters. Choi Yeonseung wasn’t the type of person to do that in the first place.
But now, Han Seha was eager to hear exactly those types of compliments.
“Why does it feel like you’re making this up on the spot...?”
“...Future!”
“?!”
“‘The future of South Korea’. ‘The future of the world’. That’s how he usually describes you!”
“...”
Han Seha was impressed.
[The ‘Hound of Instinct and Liberation’ wonders if this bastard is messing around...]
-Shut up.
“It took me some time to think about it because he’s given you countless compliments, and I didn’t know which one to tell you, hah...”
‘Hey... What is he going to do after this?’
Elisabeth was nervous.
Of course, it was important to improve the mood of an A-grade hunter who was upset because she had been waiting outside instead of fighting, but if the truth came to light later, Smallwood would have to eat a punch from Choi Yeonseung or Han Seha... Or both...
Even if he was lucky enough to only be hit by one of them, Smallwood was just a B-grade hunter, so he would get seriously injured.
“Tell me everything,” Han Seha demanded.
“Huh?”
“Tell me all the praise. We have nothing but time.”
With that, Han Seha grabbed a chair and made him sit down. Then she took out a piece of paper and a pencil.
“Here.”
“...”
At this point, Smallwood was starting to become really scared. However, as though the heavens took pity on him, the dungeon suddenly exploded, saving him from this terrible situation.
“?!?”
“What the... The dungeon is collapsing!”
The dungeon entrance, which had previously been intact, suddenly collapsed. With that, a powerful wave of magic surged from the dungeon, distorting the space around it and changing reality.
It was a phenomenon that occurred when a dungeon exploded after reaching its time limit. When this happened, everything inside the dungeon, from creatures to the environment itself, escaped into the outside world.
However, didn’t this dungeon still have a lot of time left?
Han Seha moved before anyone else, drawing her sword and shouting, “Send an emergency signal and get in touch with the Russian clans as well! It’s a dungeon explosion!”
“Yes... Yes!”
The hunters were well aware of how disastrous it could be if the dungeon exploded while everyone was unprepared.
Moreover, A-grade hunters had gone missing in this specific dungeon, which meant that no one was properly prepared for it.
The hunters were anxious and had a feeling that this situation could devolve into an unprecedented disaster.
“Everyone to your positions!”
“Hunter Han Seha, instructions!”
The Icarus hunters who had been previously resting came running with their weapons, and the hunters who served the angel constellation quickly followed suit.
It was fortunate that Choi Yeonseung had positioned some hunters around the dungeon. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been able to rush to the entrance of the dungeon so quickly.
“Do you want to retreat? Even if we retreat, the Russian government can’t hold us accountable!”
“That’s right! We can retreat and join the other clans.”
The hunters from the Icarus clan and those under the angel constellation cautiously made suggestions.
When it came to raids, the thing that hunters hated the most was the unexpected.
It was best for each hunter to cooperate and fulfill their duties according to the plan so that the raid could run like clockwork. Fighting while not knowing where the monsters would appear or what happened in the surrounding area would significantly increase the risk.
Han Seha shook her head.
“I will take command! Even if we retreat from here, we have to wipe out the monsters before doing that. If we don’t, the monsters will swarm into the nearby city.”
[The ‘Hound of Instinct and Liberation’ is flustered and thinks you are crazy!]
The hound constellation was taken aback by Han Seha’s assertion.
Of course, her plan made sense. There were many monsters in the initial section of the dungeon, and given that the dungeon had just exploded, it wouldn’t be long before those monsters rushed out toward the nearby city.
Most of those monsters were C-grade and lower, but if they spread out to the surroundings and took everyone by surprise, civilian casualties would be significant.
...But Han Seha wasn’t the type of hunter who cared about that!
‘He trusted me.’
[The ‘Hound of Instinct and Liberation’ doesn’t think this is what he meant...]
Han Seha once silenced the hound constellation.
Just like what Smallwood had said earlier, Han Seha now understood why Choi Yeonseung had stationed her outside.
In such an emergency, he expected Han Seha to lead the hunters and take over his role.
“Everyone to their positions! I’ll wipe them out first!”
Han Seha’s long red hair fluttered back as she concentrated magic power into her sword, a flaming aura enveloping the blade.
She used a great amount of high-circle magic and swept through the incoming monsters like a raging tornado.
The sight of Han Seha boldly advancing toward the monsters like a tank ignited courage in all the hunters. It was no wonder that all countries treated their A-grade hunters as their ultimate strategic weapons!
One of the special perks of A-grade hunters was their ability to use high-circle magic, which lower-ranked hunters couldn’t use.
A-grade hunters could shake the battlefield with just their presence!
“Supports, get in here!”
“Icarus hunters, forward! Tanks, get ready!”
They had never worked together, but the hunters of the angel constellation and those from Icarus were all experienced.
The tanks quickly rushed forward, took their formations, and captured the monsters’ attention with various magic.
The monsters had been about to spread out, but they suddenly targeted the tanks.
-■■■■? ■■■■!
-■■■■■■!
“Wipe them out so that they can’t stick to the tanks!”
The temporary base set around the dungeon was quickly falling apart.
The monsters clinging to the tanks were sliced apart by powerful shockwaves and blades infused with magic. All these fierce attacks caused the base to collapse.
Nazarov, a D-grade hunter of the Russian Shilka clan, was resting at the base accommodations and was surprised by the sudden commotion.
The camp had turned into a hellish landscape!
“Are you a Russian hunter?! Join us!”
“No... No way! I don’t have any artifacts with me...”
Nazarov felt his face heating up as he replied to the foreign hunter.
All the hunters from overseas were fighting instead of fleeing... They were trying to protect the people of Russia!
Meanwhile, Nazarov was cowardly staying out of the fight...
However, the fighting hunters didn’t condemn him.
“Then get out and join the other clan hunters! Under the command of Hunter Han Seha, we will wipe out this monster herd before retreating!”
“...I understand!” Nazarov saluted sincerely.
To him, these hunters were no longer foreigners who had come to steal Russia’s dungeon.
They were truly honorable hunters.
***
-...Didn’t you say that we should kill it before it’s completed?
Choi Yeonseung demanded an explanation from the constellations.
[...]
[...]
The constellations were silent as though they had nothing to say.
Choi Yeonseung’s group had hidden in the dungeon and moved as quietly as possible. Then, they had come across a huge group of nightmare demons.
They had been draining the fallen hunters of their power through tentacles!
The Manipulator of Dreams and Desires was shocked when she saw it.
-They... They’re trying to create a constellation!
-What? Is that even possible?
-If they collect and accumulate desires for a long time, it might be possible... We need to stop it before that!
Choi Yeonseung agreed with the manipulator constellation.
He didn’t know why the nightmare demons were trying to create a new constellation, but given that they had captured a large number of hunters and were siphoning their power, he figured that their intentions couldn’t be good.
He struck before they managed to execute their plan!
He used Origin of the Celestial Divine Arts with internal energy, concentrated energy flickering at his fingertips.
All that energy formed a bright ray of light that split apart the egg before the constellation hatched.
...Everything had been well up to this point. However, none of them expected the unborn constellation to cause the dungeon to collapse.
-I think that constellation created this dungeon as its nest.
That was the guess of the goddess of sloth after she analyzed the situation.
-Nest?
-Yes. A nest where it could gather enough nourishment to wake up. You said that the humans of Earth have tried to clear this dungeon over and over again, right?
-......
Choi Yeonseung got goosebumps when he heard this. So, this dungeon from which the Russian hunters had been extracting cores was actually a nest for creating a constellation...?
[The power of ■■■■■■■■ envelops the area.]
“!”
Just like a star became a black hole when it died and destroyed everything around it, a constellation would unleash its power in its dying moments.
Choi Yeonseung shuddered as he felt the power of existence of the dead constellation engulf him.
‘...It’d be nice if it was a constellation that came from the future like last time.’
The power to erase all technology and transform the area into a picturesque landscape of the past—the power itself was colossal, but it was almost completely harmless.
Choi Yeonseung thought that maybe this constellation would have a similar power.
-Insignificant... Insignificant humans... You dare... You dare!!
The rampaging nightmare demons glared and screamed at Choi Yeonseung.
They didn’t look as relaxed as before. They now looked like proper demons.
‘They’re like the nightmare demons I met in the realm of the Manipulator of Dreams and Desires.’
[The ‘Manipulator of Dreams and Desires’ is embarrassed and keeps quiet.]
-Master!!! Punish these insignificant humans!!
[The power of the realm is activated.]
[Your desires are running wild!]
“!”
Following the cry of a nightmare demon, the power of the realm exploded toward Choi Yeonseung.
...But nothing happened.
-...Master...?!
“...”
Choi Yeonseung immediately fired a bullet of concentrated energy and knocked down a nightmare demon.
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