Chapter 3
The water drained away through the countless branching tunnels, leaving only shallow pools in the cavern.
At some point, the dome above had repaired itself, once again separating the underwater world from the cavern.
But the restored barrier did nothing to drive out the monsters that had already entered.
After the fish-like monsters passed through, the cavern was taken over by humanoid creatures that walked on two legs.
They were mermen.
With webbed hands and feet, carrying tridents, they continued bringing people in from somewhere.
The living were captured.
The dead were dragged.
Then they piled everyone together in one place.
Whoosh.
Thud.
“Eeek!”
Someone shrank back in terror.
Others widened their eyes, trying to see the “person” the mermen had just thrown down.
“M-Mum…”
“Shh. Don’t. Come here. It’ll be okay.”
The adult burst into tears while pulling the child into their arms as the child tried to run forward.
The child cried loudly, but the adult refused to let go.
No one understood what the monsters were trying to do.
It almost looked as if they were checking their prey.
Or perhaps presenting them to someone for inspection.
No one would have been surprised if people died during the process.
Everyone held their breath in fear.
“The Hunters still haven’t arrived?”
“What if they kill all of us first?”
“The Hunters will come before that.”
“Have you seen my child? We got separated…”
Whispers spread quietly through the terrified crowd.
Meanwhile, the mermen continued marching across the damp ground, bringing in more people.
They clicked their shark-like teeth together, making eerie sounds.
Then, all at once, they turned to face the crowd.
Everyone hurriedly lowered their heads and shrank back.
Click.
Click-click.
Click.
Click. Click. Click-click-click.
The clicking continued until the mermen slowly raised their tridents.
The woman holding her child instinctively tightened her embrace.
Then—
“Rain down.”
A sharp smell of ashes drifted through the air.
Thorny vines burst from the ground and wrapped themselves around the mermen’s feet.
Click-click-click-click!
Their frantic teeth clattered loudly.
At the same time, someone pointed upward and shouted,
“H-Hunter! It’s a Hunter!”
Everyone looked where the finger pointed.
A lone figure floated high above, almost touching the ceiling of the dome.
Hidden by the light behind them, the person was unmistakably fighting against the mermen.
Click-click-click!
The mermen screeched and hurled their tridents.
But the Hunter simply beat a pair of transparent wings and easily dodged them.
Then, in a commanding voice that echoed throughout the cavern, they declared,
“You dare challenge this great one? Such courage deserves praise.”
Flames rose from the Hunter’s hand.
“Sniff… What a tragedy… not being able to record this…”
One of the students nearby muttered regretfully, sounding almost moved to tears.
The Hunter hurled the flames toward the mermen.
Click-click-click!
The monsters shrieked in an unknown language as they burned.
Yet many still survived.
Displaying the incredible agility expected of magical beasts, the mermen climbed the walls of the dome and charged toward the Hunter.
The Hunter twisted effortlessly through the air, avoiding every attack.
Eyes as red as fire narrowed slightly.
Even the smile tugging at their lips looked… delighted.
“So you know the joy of battle! Entertain this great one!”
As if the flames had never existed, the Hunter suddenly punched one of the charging mermen.
The monster crashed into the ground, its body shattered.
Without stopping, the Hunter moved again.
One attacked from behind.
The Hunter grabbed it and slammed it into the floor.
Another thrust a trident toward a vital spot.
The Hunter caught it barehanded and impaled the merman with its own weapon.
Unlike the Hunter, who ruled the skies freely, the mermen could do nothing but spray blood.
“Wooooo!”
“A Hunter! A Hunter’s here!”
“We’re saved!”
The trapped people clenched their fists and cheered.
“Everyone… everyone!”
A calm voice suddenly cut through the excitement.
Everyone turned toward the speaker.
It was Choi Ah-rin.
Feeling all those eyes on her, she shrank back a little.
“Ahem… Um… The Hunter told me… while they keep the monsters busy… I’m supposed to evacuate everyone.”
“What? You found the exit?”
Someone shouted hopefully.
Only then did Ah-rin realise…
She had absolutely no idea where the dungeon exit was.
Nor had she thought to look for the gate beforehand.
“U-Um… no. Not exactly. The Hunter said it’d be hard to fight while protecting everyone if the monsters gathered together… so… we should hide for now.”
“What if we run into monsters without the Hunter?!”
“Didn’t the Hunter come to rescue us? You’re telling us to wander around by ourselves?!”
“T-There are injured people here! My wife can’t even move! What are we supposed to do?”
The barrage of questions left Ah-rin completely pale.
She had never been in a situation like this before.
She had no answers.
BWOOOOOOO—
A deafening horn echoed through the cavern, silencing everyone.
People covered their ears and crouched down.
“What was that?!”
“AAAAAH!”
The sound of rushing water returned.
Everyone recognised it immediately.
Something enormous was moving through the water.
Someone grabbed Ah-rin’s arm.
Startled, she turned around.
Fortunately…
It was a familiar face.
“Ah-rin! Did you come alone? Weren’t you with Cho-eun?”
Seeing both her parents and Cho-eun’s parents, all the tension in her body suddenly disappeared.
Just having adults she could rely on made everything easier.
Then she remembered…
Cho-eun.
“Ah… well…”
Quickly hiding the notebook behind her back, Ah-rin darted her eyes around nervously.
Whenever she relaxed even slightly, her gaze drifted upward toward her transformed friend.
“She’s… she’s safe! But… um… she’s over there because the Hunter gave her a job! We’ll meet up once we get there!”
She gave an enthusiastic thumbs-up for absolutely no reason.
It was a reflex born from panic.
Rumble!
Splash! Boom!
Something burst from every tunnel connected to the cavern.
Gigantic moray eel monsters emerged.
Each carried a merman riding on its neck.
Hissss…
The moray eels raised their bodies.
They easily reached the height where Cho-eun floated.
For a moment…
Neither side moved.
Both simply watched each other.
Cho-eun slowly descended until she stood near the people.
“H-Hunter… the monsters…”
Without even turning around, Cho-eun scolded them.
“Why are you all still here instead of evacuating?”
For some reason, Ah-rin felt as though she were being scolded by her friend.
She shamelessly pushed the blame elsewhere.
“They wouldn’t leave…”
“So you’ve all decided to die here?”
The people flinched, but still huddled behind the Hunter.
“It’s not that! How are we supposed to go on our own? We don’t know where the gate is! You have to come with us!”
“It feels too dangerous without you…”
“And there are injured people here! My wife’s badly hurt!”
The Hunter’s crimson eyes turned toward them.
For a brief moment…
Everyone wondered if they had imagined it.
The eyes they were sure had been bright red now shimmered with a soft pink light.
“There are injured people?”
Everyone nodded repeatedly.
The Hunter’s expression became much more serious.
“In that case… it can’t be helped.”
Cho-eun rose high into the air and lifted one hand.
“As a fairy who has inherited the teachings of the flower garden…”
“…I cannot ignore those in need.”
“Pffft… mmph…”
A strange muffled sound came from somewhere.
No one noticed.
The Hunter’s clear voice echoed too loudly through the cavern.
“Everyone! Come!”
“Let’s protect these people together!”
The ground shook.
Vines burst upward.
They wrapped around the people, forming a sturdy barrier.
Then the Hunter raised the other hand.
“Bloom beautifully!”
“Even if you’re broken…”
“Even if you wither…”
“Bloom once more!”
Pink flower petals bloomed along every vine.
They drifted gently onto the wounded, healing their injuries.
Soon, the barrier was covered entirely in glowing pink petals.
Nothing outside could be seen anymore.
The last glimpse anyone had of the Hunter was of them darting effortlessly through the air, weaving around the giant moray eels and the mermen riding them.
The sluggish monsters looked as though they could never catch the Hunter.
But…
The Hunter thought differently.
I can’t keep this up much longer.
More and more moray eels appeared.
The mermen’s attacks grew fiercer.
Speed wasn’t the problem.
Stamina was.
On top of that…
Strange floating windows had been blocking their vision for some time.
[Current Synchronisation Rate]
25%
[Using skills reduces your synchronisation rate. Exercise caution.]
[※Warning※]
[If synchronisation reaches 0%, the synchronisation will be cancelled.]
“You’re all becoming a nuisance.”
Chloris retreated within the shared consciousness.
A meddlesome fairy who loved helping others wasn’t what this battle needed.
The Demon King who loved throwing punches wasn’t much help either.
In the end…
He had to step forward.
Using wings that weren’t his own, he flew to the very centre of the dome.
The highest point always put him at ease.
Perhaps because…
It was closest to the heavens.
Close enough that the heavens could hear his words.
“Heavens…”
“Hear me.”
Even though the dome separated the underwater world from the sky…
The heavens still answered him.
Clouds spread outward from beneath his feet.
They grew larger.
Thicker.
Until they became pitch black.
[Current Synchronisation Rate]
10%
[Using skills reduces your synchronisation rate. Exercise caution.]
[※Warning※ Synchronisation critically low.]
[※Warning※ Risk of synchronisation failure.]
[※Warning※ Risk of synchronisation failure.]
“Pierce them all.”
Tiny sounds of ice striking together echoed inside the clouds.
Then…
The shards grew into gigantic icicles.
SKREEEE!
At first, only one or two fell.
Then they poured down like rain.
The enormous moray eel monsters screamed as the icicles skewered them.
Click-click!
The mermen yanked on the reins of their mounts and raised their tridents.
As one prepared to throw—
He simply pointed a finger.
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
The icicles twisted in mid-air…
And pierced straight through the merman.
Its rider dead, the moray eel soon became another victim of the icy storm.
Then…
The price of controlling the skill arrived.
[Current Synchronisation Rate]
0%
[※Warning※ Synchronisation terminating.]
His mind suddenly became strangely clear.
Like waking from a dream.
Yet also hazy…
Like someone who had only just opened their eyes in the morning.
Only one thing felt certain.
He was falling.
If he hit the ground…
He would die.
Yet his body refused to move.
An overwhelming drowsiness washed over him.
It’s over.
His eyes slowly closed.
Thump.
But…
He never hit the ground.
Ha Cho-eun struggled against the crushing sleep and barely managed to open her eyes.
A person…?
“I thought I’d be too late.”
“Thank goodness.”
She couldn’t make out the face.
The only thing she could see clearly…
Was a pair of unusual golden eyes.
The stranger smiled.
“You can rest now.”
The gentle voice sounded strangely familiar.
Feeling oddly reassured…
She finally let herself fall asleep.
