Chapter 67
Hunter Lee Shin (3)
Considering how long it had suffered because of the rifts, Hong Kong remained a dazzling city.
Even late at night, its streets never grew dark. With the sunlight gone, artificial lights filled the void left by daybreak, creating the city’s distinctive atmosphere.
“Hong Kong’s nights possess a different charm from the daytime.”
The person assigned to guide Lee Shin was an employee of the Hong Kong branch of the Hunter Association. She was a plain-looking, middle-aged woman.... Judging by appearances alone, she looked more like an auntie who sold dumplings at a night market than someone who worked in the hunter industry.
“My lord, are we returning immediately after you close the rift?”
“Wouldn’t that be better?”
“Hmm. I think we could stay and enjoy ourselves for another day.”
“If the Savior wishes, I will provide you with the finest hospitality. If it would not inconvenience you, perhaps you could also spend some time with your devout followers....”
“I’m not sure about that.”
Of course, the association employee was not their only companion.
Several others were traveling with Lee Shin.
There was Hunter Seong Chanyang, who had entered the country with him, as well as Liang Yu, head of the Hong Kong branch of the Lee Shin Salvation Church, who had remained by Lee Shin’s side the entire time.
In total, four people were heading out to close Hong Kong’s rift.
[My lord, my lord! I want to walk with you too!]
[Miss Eve, do you never grow tired? Just how long are you planning to keep talking....]
[This humble Eve has received my lord’s grace, so I could talk for the rest of my life without ever growing tired! You could say I have received the greatest blessing beneath the heavens!]
[....]
...Well, there were a few invisible companions as well.
“Excuse me.... I know it may not be my place to say this as a low-ranking employee, but aren’t all of you being a little too relaxed?”
“Pardon?”
“Hunter Seong Chanyang visited during the last outbreak, so she should know.... Our rift is quite large, and it’s in an extremely unstable condition....”
The association employee walking ahead of them spoke cautiously.
From her perspective, their current mood must have seemed strange.
She also looks somewhat anxious.
It was understandable.
Unlike other proven hunters, Lee Shin had never clearly demonstrated his capabilities to the public. Thus far, his only achievement as a hunter was closing the Cheorwon rift.
“You might consider this rude, but you should remain vigilant. Hong Kong’s rift is different from the others.”
“Every time an outbreak occurred, many people were killed or injured. Whether they were innocent civilians or hunters....”
The association employee’s expression darkened.
“...I lost my son during one of them.”
Lee Shin saw the dark emotions lingering around the middle-aged woman.
And she was not the only one.
People clinking their glasses together to wash away the exhaustion of the day, merchants calling out to attract tourists on the streets, couples strolling around as if they had no concerns, and people bursting into laughter as they exchanged silly jokes....
Most of those who existed as part of this street carried their own sorrow somewhere hidden from sight.
No matter how dazzlingly bright these artificial lights shone, it was still inevitably night.
No matter how brightly they decorated it, this moment could never become day.
“I’m sorry. I spoke out of turn, didn’t I?”
“No. I don’t think you did.”
Lee Shin glanced at Seong Chanyang.
She soon spoke.
“I really was getting too carried away.”
“....”
“Whenever I visited Hong Kong before, the place was always in chaos. Outside hunters like me are generally summoned only during a crisis. This is my first time coming here while everything is still normal, so I suppose I let my guard down.”
Seong Chanyang gazed at the street with an inscrutable expression.
Then she let out a soft laugh.
“It’s just... thinking that these people will always be able to smile like this from now on made me excited too.”
“Why do you think that? Nothing has been resolved yet.”
Seong Chanyang blinked at Lee Shin’s question.
“Because you’re here, my lord.”
Then she spoke as though it were obvious.
“This long night will finally end.”
As though it truly were the most obvious thing in the world....
***
The rifts—disasters that had simultaneously appeared in countries across the world—possessed a different theme for each cycle.
Although every rift differed in size and intensity, they all shared the same basic structure corresponding to that cycle’s theme.
Some might contain more monsters or feature more powerful monsters, but their fundamental structure remained identical.
At present, the theme of the fourth-cycle rifts was [Legion].
“The monsters that appeared most frequently in the Cheorwon rift were [Gray Rhinos], correct? They were three meters tall, resembled rhinoceroses, moved in groups, and primarily attacked by charging.... The minimum requirement for hunting them was either a team of at least six C-rank hunters or a single B-rank hunter.”
Before entering the rift, Seong Chanyang began her briefing.
“Other species appeared as well, but [Gray Rhinos] were the predominant monsters within the Cheorwon rift. Befitting the Legion theme, they never moved alone. The most troublesome part was that they always traveled in herds of at least eight.”
“The overall framework of this rift is no different. It contains one predominant species in unusually large numbers, and all the monsters move in groups. The moment they detect an intruder, they swarm over and try to overwhelm them. You could call it a kind of human-wave tactic....”
“What kind of monsters appear in Hong Kong’s rift?”
Seong Chanyang looked quite professional now that she had begun the briefing.
She was completely different from the woman who had been laughing excitedly moments earlier.
“Ones that are much more troublesome.”
“How so?”
“Everything else is the same. The difference is where they attack from.”
Seong Chanyang raised her index finger.
Upward.
“The monsters here can fly.”
“The species is called [Gargoyle]. They’re like swarms of annoying flies, moving in groups ranging from as few as five to as many as twenty.... And they’re incredibly fast. Their hunting method is to dive toward the ground, seize their victims by the head or shoulders, and then carry them into the sky. If you let your guard down even once, you’ll immediately find yourself skydiving without safety equipment.”
She added ominously,
“Possibly after your head and body have already parted ways.”
Hmm.
That certainly raises the difficulty considerably.
Lee Shin understood why Hong Kong’s rift was so notorious.
If an outbreak occurred, wouldn’t that mean monsters capable of flying through the air would be released freely into the city?
It was horrifying merely to imagine.
Well, of course—
[Gargoyles? In this old man’s prime, they were nothing more than flying pests too bothersome to hunt....]
[Jude has a flying skeleton friend too! Although he’s really big!]
[....]
By the standards of Lee Shin’s believers, gargoyles appeared to be exceedingly insignificant monsters.
That aside....
Lee Shin arrived before the Hong Kong rift.
A status window shimmered before his eyes.
「A demon is currently exerting influence over this rift.」
「The rift cannot be destroyed in its current state.」
「To destroy the rift, you must erase the ‘demon’s influence.’」
Apparently, closing the rift immediately would be impossible.
Just like in the Cheorwon rift, I have to deal with the demon first.
Then again, closing a rift without even entering it would have been far too easy.
Lee Shin had learned something new.
After standing there blankly for a moment, he spoke.
“From here onward, will Hunter Seong Chanyang and I be going alone?”
“W-Wait! I’m coming with you....”
“You’re entering with us?”
Lee Shin turned around and saw the association employee who had served as their guide—the woman who looked like an ordinary auntie—hurriedly putting on her equipment.
Even at a glance, her gear appeared extremely cumbersome.
“Y-Yes! That’s how we’ve always done it. I’m far below hunters like you in terms of ability, but I’m still a certified B-rank hunter.... I’m also the field operative who knows this Hong Kong rift better than anyone else. I need to fulfill my responsibilities.”
“Uh....”
“Please wait just a moment!”
No matter how Lee Shin looked at her, she still seemed like an ordinary auntie.
As he scratched his head, Seong Chanyang spoke.
“She may not look it, but she’s reliable. As far as I know, she has already been doing this for seven years. She was also the one assigned to guide the hunters during the previous mobilization. Besides, the internal structure of a rift gradually changes with time.... It’s standard procedure to enter with someone familiar with the site.”
“Is that so?”
“She may officially be ranked B, but there aren’t many hunters in Hong Kong more capable than Hunter Yang Qianhua. Rank might reign supreme outside, but you can’t disregard someone’s experience in the field. Surviving in this profession for so long is proof of someone’s abilities in itself.”
So she wasn’t merely an employee. She was also a hunter.
Lee Shin looked again at the middle-aged woman—Yang Qianhua.
Then he turned toward Liang Yu.
“Are you coming too, Branch Head Liang Yu?”
“...I will remain here and pray devoutly.”
Apparently, Liang Yu was a complete civilian.
Merely approaching the unrealistically distorted dimensional fissure already seemed to have frightened him. Then again, this was how an ordinary person was supposed to react.
“I-I’m ready! Let’s go inside!”
Click.
Yang Qianhua fastened the chin strap of her helmet and hurried over.
Lee Shin, who had been standing there expressionlessly, nodded.
Everyone except Liang Yu soon entered the rift.
As his vision twisted dizzyingly, Lee Shin found himself looking upon a world mottled entirely in gray. It was a space filled with nothing but gray, as though every other color had disappeared....
Gray rainwater poured from the pitch-black clouds like streams of ash.
“As I mentioned earlier, I will explain it one more time! Hong Kong’s rift is...!”
Yang Qianhua, standing at the front, spoke in a powerful voice.
“....”
Then—
“...far more dangerous than other—”
Something appeared through the violently pouring gray rain.
At first, it resembled a black speck. The next moment, however, that speck grew astonishingly large.
It did not take long for them to identify it.
“...!”
A gargoyle.
It was one of the flying monsters Seong Chanyang had warned them about—a creature with enormous wings, sharply protruding horns, and the appearance of a demon, its body gray from head to toe.
The monster attacked them the instant they entered the rift.
And it was not alone.
No fewer than ten gargoyles were descending upon them.
“...Everyone, get behind me!”
Despite the completely unexpected situation, Yang Qianhua did not panic. With practiced movements, she drew a small shield and hammer from her waist, looking almost like a character from an online game.
However—
“Hunter Seong Chanyang?”
“Yes.”
There was no need for Yang Qianhua to act.
「Lower-rank believer Seong Chanyang uses [Declaration of Sanctuary].」
「Sacred energy swirls beneath your feet!」
Boom!
The instant Seong Chanyang stomped her foot, a pillar of light descended and illuminated the gray world.
A sanctuary declared by one of his believers was treated as the god’s world.
And within his own world, Lee Shin could exert influence befitting his name.
“My lord, my lord! This humble Eve has arrived!”
“Hoho. Is there truly any need for Miss Eve to step forward as well?”
Precisely.
Influence equivalent to that of a god.
“Hunting monsters is something this old man has done his entire life.”
Twang—!
The ten rapidly approaching gargoyles all came to an abrupt halt.
Their bodies hung helplessly in midair, as though time itself had momentarily stopped.
“Hoh. I usually release such tiny minnows....”
Transparent lines were attached to each of the ten gargoyles.
They were thin fishing lines—the kind ordinarily used to catch fish.
“But I cannot simply release creatures that dared bare their claws at God.”
An old man emerged from within the pillar of light.
Santiago smiled coldly.
「The bait has been taken.」
「Mid-rank believer Santiago prepares to set the hook.」
Santiago sharply pulled the fishing lines, flipping the gargoyles upside down. Their wings flapped weakly, but their bodies refused to move as they wished.
Craaaaaash—!
Under normal circumstances, the gargoyles would have flown freely through the sky while tormenting the group.
Instead, they were slammed helplessly into the ground.
Not one of the ten fallen gargoyles rose again. Without a single exception, their stone bodies had been completely shattered.
The imminent crisis had been resolved in an instant.
But they had no time to marvel.
“...More gargoyle packs will come! They’re drawn to loud noises, so if they heard that impact just now, they’ll definitely...!”
The next moment, just as Yang Qianhua had warned, countless specks appeared within the dark clouds.
Seong Chanyang had been exactly right when she said they relied on overwhelming numbers. An enormous horde of gargoyles, utterly incomparable to the ten that had appeared earlier, was now swarming toward them.
That’s dangerous.
However—
[Oh! This is the perfect opportunity to test our new weapon!]
Their enemies were not the only ones capable of relying on overwhelming numbers.
[It seems the time has finally come to test the overwhelming firepower Raymond taught us about!]
Hephaestus’s voice sounded strangely excited.
At the same time, an object crossed over from the small world.
It was a long, thick mass of iron traveling at a speed the gargoyles could never hope to match....
And then—
[Explosions are art!]
A tremendous explosion erupted at the center of the approaching gargoyle horde.
The raging flames melted the gargoyles without leaving a trace. Even those that escaped the explosion itself had their bodies completely pulverized by the shock wave alone.
Despite the considerable distance between them, the destructive force was so immense that they could feel it against their skin.
“What... was that...?”
Yang Qianhua and Seong Chanyang stared ahead in a daze.
The dark clouds that had blanketed the sky were completely blown away by the explosion. Even the torrential rain had stopped.
A single explosion had changed the weather itself.
[As expected of the Blacksmith of Flames!]
[That was unbelievably impressive!]
[Ahem! Everyone should learn from his example!]
[If the [Little Dwarf] is already this powerful, then the [Big Dwarf] and [Half Dwarf] might truly be capable of annihilating an army of a million! As expected of the blacksmith’s masterpiece!]
[Hahahaha! Only this degree of firepower can keep my lord safe!]
It was a terrifying conversation that only Lee Shin could hear.
...There are weapons even stronger than that?
Their world had merged with the World of Chains and Shackles, and the unlocking of their [Exclusive Traits] seemed to have accelerated their technological development considerably, but....
What in the world are you people building?
「TIP: See? I told you.」
「TIP: They’re the ones in danger.」
「TIP: (·‿·)」
No. I didn’t know it would be this extreme.
“...Hunter Seong Chanyang?”
“Yes?”
While Lee Shin stood there feeling awkward, Yang Qianhua spoke in a daze.
“Just... what is that man?”
Her question came straight from the heart.
Yang Qianhua had spent her entire life in this field and believed she had experienced everything it had to offer, but she had never seen anything like that before.
No, she had never even dared to imagine it.
Was that truly power a human being could possess?
Seong Chanyang gave the stunned Yang Qianhua a straightforward answer.
“He’s a god.”