Chapter 658
The Numbers had originally been shrouded in secrecy.
As Mayor Jin Geumho’s hidden blade, their principle had been to operate covertly. But after the war against the El Harun races, their existence was revealed to the entire world.
Since everyone now knew they existed, there was no longer any reason to hide.
So they operated openly.
The place where the Numbers spent most of their time was the Iron Fortress.
Compared to the peaceful Primordial Forest, the Iron Fortress suited their tastes far better, since incidents and disputes never ceased there.
Most of the Primordial Forest was protected by barriers anyway, leaving little for the Numbers to do. The Iron Fortress, however, had so many interests tied up in it that there was hardly a day without conflict.
Most disputes were settled by the parties involved.
But there were always problems that could not be resolved.
That was when the Numbers were called in.
There was not a single day they were not dispatched somewhere, yet the Numbers surprisingly enjoyed this kind of life.
“What a damn mess. A complete mess.”
Oh Mujin sat on a rooftop, chewing gum noisily.
“What the hell are those idiots even doing?”
Grain, standing beside him, nodded in agreement.
The bus held not only them but also the twin sisters and Elder Go.
Five members of the Numbers were on this bus.
With this level of force, they could erase ordinary monsters or raid teams in an instant.
The reason they had been dispatched to a distant desert far from the Iron Fortress was simple.
Two hunting teams had clashed over hunting rights.
Hunting teams from the East District and the West District had simultaneously spotted a giant monster a hundred kilometers away from the Iron Fortress.
It was an A-rank monster, the Giant Wolf Spider.
As its name suggested, the Giant Wolf Spider was a gigantic spider monster.
It measured over twenty meters from head to tail and usually hid beneath the sand, hunting prey that passed nearby.
Monster hunting teams had been dispatched after receiving reports that an unusually large number of people had been disappearing in the area, and they had discovered that the Giant Wolf Spider was the cause.
The Giant Wolf Spider was a new species that had never been hunted before.
Moreover, its estimated rank was A-rank.
The details would only become clear after research, but its byproducts were certain to be incredibly valuable.
Its chitin shell, venom, webbing, internal organs, and blood—there seemed to be nothing that would go to waste.
Selling its materials to the laboratories and workshops of each district alone would earn a fortune.
Given the circumstances, the two hunting teams were arguing over priority rights with the Giant Wolf Spider right before them.
“Our hunting team discovered that monster first. Naturally, the priority belongs to us.”
“What nonsense. Maybe you found it first, but we got here before you did. Obviously, we have the right to hunt it.”
Not only the team leaders but also their members glared at one another in confrontation.
Even with the Giant Wolf Spider, their prey, right nearby, they were busy fighting among themselves.
The Numbers watched them with expressions of disbelief.
Since the two teams had not actually started fighting yet, there was no justification for intervention, so they simply observed. But if things crossed the line, they were ready to step in at any moment.
—Krrraaaak!
Even the Giant Wolf Spider tilted its head at the confrontation between the two hunting teams.
Watching the escalating dispute, Oh Mujin muttered,
“Good grief, those morons. At this rate they'll end up losing their prey to someone else.”
“Looks like we won't have to get involved after all.”
“Seems that way. The ones who shout the loudest are usually the ones who never actually fight.”
Oh Mujin agreed with Grain.
The truly dangerous ones never raised their voices.
They simply drew their blades and swung them.
The fact that these people were shouting meant they found the other side burdensome.
Completely overpowering their opponent would cost them heavily as well, so they were trying to crush the other's spirit first with loud voices.
It was no different from children arguing.
Grain rose from the rooftop.
“Let's go back.”
“Huh? We're just leaving?”
“They'll stop eventually.”
“What if they get killed by the Giant Wolf Spider?”
“We can't interfere with that too. We're not gods.”
“Tsk! I thought I'd finally get to stretch my muscles after a long time. What a waste.”
In the end, Oh Mujin also stood up and followed Grain.
Just as the two were about to climb down from the roof and board the bus—
—Kiiiii?
The Giant Wolf Spider, which had remained still until now, suddenly let out a shriek and looked toward the far side of the desert.
The hunting teams, who had been arguing intensely, also turned toward the desert at the spider's unexpected behavior.
“What?”
“What's wrong with that thing?”
“Isn't this because you idiots wasted so much time?”
“How is that our fault? If that thing hides or runs away, it'll be because of you.”
Even now, the two team leaders continued blaming each other.
The sight was ridiculous, but the Numbers were no longer paying attention to them.
They too were concerned by the Giant Wolf Spider's strange behavior.
—Kieeeeee!
The Giant Wolf Spider screeched and raised every hair on its body.
It looked exactly like a creature wary of the appearance of a natural predator.
Seeing its abnormal reaction, Elder Go, who was inside the bus, spoke.
“The Giant Wolf Spider's reaction isn't normal. I think we'd better prepare ourselves too.”
People who had lived as long as Elder Go were sensitive to changes around them.
Their survival depended on it.
His instincts were telling him that something was wrong.
—Kieeeeee!
The Giant Wolf Spider screamed again.
To Elder Go, it looked as though the creature was lashing out in terror.
“An A-rank monster is scared?”
Even while thinking it made no sense, he felt goosebumps crawling down his spine.
His body was reacting before his mind.
The same was true for Grain and Oh Mujin.
Awakeners powerful enough to be called the rulers of gravity and steel were instinctively becoming alert as they sensed danger.
“What in the world is coming?”
At that moment—
Srrrk!
They spotted a faint cloud of sand rising in the distance.
At first, they thought a giant monster was approaching.
But the amount of dust was extremely small.
It was too far away to tell what was causing it.
Unable to endure the frustration, Grain shot high into the sky.
Only then could he vaguely make out the figure approaching through the dust.
“A... person? A straggler?”
Grain frowned.
Wandering alone through the vast desert was madness.
As far as Grain knew, the only human capable of such madness was Zeon.
Only someone like the Sand Mage, for whom the entire desert was a weapon, could travel the desert alone.
No other Awakener could do it.
Not even Grain, the ruler of gravity.
Yet someone whose face and name he did not know was crossing the desert and approaching them.
Naturally, Grain assumed he was a straggler.
Usually, those who had become separated from their group or survivors of annihilated parties approached others from such distances.
But for someone who was supposed to be a straggler or survivor, the approaching figure's gait was far too relaxed.
He walked toward the Giant Wolf Spider as leisurely as someone out for a stroll.
—Kieeeeee!
The Giant Wolf Spider screamed madly at the approaching figure.
It looked exactly like a terrified puppy barking frantically.
“What in the world...?”
Grain's face twisted at the incomprehensible sight.
As time passed, the approaching figure became clearer.
It was a man wearing a robe black as pitch.
Srrrk.
Srrrk.
The man's gait was peculiar.
He was clearly walking normally, yet one leg dragged slightly along the ground.
As if he had limped for a very long time.
The closer the man came, the more frantic the Giant Wolf Spider's screams became.
—Kieee! Kraaah!
It sprayed venom everywhere while moving all ten legs wildly.
The hunting teams exchanged bewildered looks at the spider's reaction.
“What the hell is wrong with this spider?”
“Maybe it ate something bad?”
Unaware of the mysterious man approaching, they naturally could not understand the Giant Wolf Spider's violent reaction.
They only noticed the man once he came within a kilometer.
“What? A straggler?”
“Damn it! Why is there a human here?”
“Is that idiot trying to die? Get lost already!”
The monster hunters shouted at him.
But the man paid them no mind and continued approaching.
Srrrk.
Srrrk.
Every time he dragged his feet, dust rose thickly behind him.
—Kieeeeee!
The Giant Wolf Spider let out an especially loud shriek, as though giving a final warning.
An A-rank monster's roar contained power capable of suppressing the will of living beings.
Lower-ranked Awakeners would wet themselves from a single roar.
In fact, several Awakeners from the hunting teams froze in place, unable to move.
But the Giant Wolf Spider did not spare them a glance.
Its eyes were fixed solely on the man.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As if delivering a final warning, the Giant Wolf Spider slammed all ten legs into the ground repeatedly.
Yet even that desperate display failed to stop the man's advance.
He kept walking.
And the Giant Wolf Spider was forced to make a decision.
Pwahhhk!
The Giant Wolf Spider turned its body and fired webbing from its tail.
The pure white web spread like a net and instantly engulfed the man.
Before he could even dodge, the man was completely covered by the spider's web.
Even after wrapping him into a cocoon in an instant, the Giant Wolf Spider still seemed unable to calm down and began firing webbing wildly in all directions.
The webbing flew toward the hunting teams who had been arguing over hunting rights as well.
Sizzle!
“Argh!”
“Help me!”
The Awakeners struck by the web screamed.
The horrifying venom soaked into the web was melting both their armor and flesh at the same time.
Several Awakeners died before they even had a chance to react, most of their bodies dissolving away.
The faces of the hunting team leaders turned pale.
Only then did they realize how foolish it had been to argue over priority rights for a monster that they would have had little chance of defeating even if they had worked together.
“Damn it! Fall back now!”
“Retreat and regroup!”
They hurriedly ordered their subordinates.
Fortunately, those who had not been hit by the web retreated at once.
The Giant Wolf Spider did not bother pursuing them.
Even then, all eight of its eyes remained fixed on the man trapped within the white cocoon.
Clack! Clack!
The way its fangs chattered made it seem as though it was still terrified of him.
The hunting team leaders could make no sense of the Giant Wolf Spider's reaction.
“What the hell?”
“What is it doing? That guy should've already melted into poison by now.”
The web was so venomous that it had melted armor made with Neo Seoul's technology.
Having been cocooned in such webbing, the man inside should have already dissolved into a puddle of poison.
That was why none of this made sense.
Then—
Riiip!
An even more incomprehensible sight unfolded before their eyes.
The man trapped inside tore apart the white cocoon and emerged.
With nothing but his bare hands.
The man slightly raised his head and looked at the Giant Wolf Spider.
“You’re annoying.”
—Kiaaaah!
As the Giant Wolf Spider let out a shriek that sounded almost like an excuse—
Bang!
The man suddenly kicked off the ground.
His figure shot toward the Giant Wolf Spider like a meteor.
Venom poured toward him, and a crimson force field enveloped the Giant Wolf Spider's body.
Between the violently flapping folds of his robe, a tightly clenched fist appeared.
The scar-covered fist was not even coated in the most basic aura.
To everyone watching, the man's act of charging an A-rank monster with his bare fist looked like suicide.
But neither the terrifying venom nor the Giant Wolf Spider's legs could stop him.
In an instant, he arrived before the monster's head and threw a punch.
BOOM!
A thunderous explosion rang out.
The Giant Wolf Spider's head vanished without a trace.
“......”
Faced with a sight beyond imagination, everyone was left speechless.
Comments