Chapter 7

"Phew..."

Agartha's expression fell into despair again, collapsing under the Observer's suggestion.

The Hunter thought that if he let his guard down even for a moment, he might be completely consumed by the suggestion and end up in an unthinkable state.

But for the Hunter, the very notion of "letting his guard down" was not applicable.

Rage towards the Outer God.

And a strong will to exact revenge no matter what.

These two combined, causing adrenaline to automatically course through the Hunter's entire body at the sight of the Outer God before him.

The Hunter soon realized there was something on his head, and forcibly moved his stone-stiff arm upwards.

Snap.

Using only his wrist, he cut it off with the edge of his hand, and the Hunter felt his mind suddenly clear.

The Hunter staggered for a moment as he felt strength leave his entire body, but he endured and kept his eyes on what was ahead.

"Huu."

As he exhaled heavily and looked at the Outer God, he felt something had changed.

Is it just my imagination?

After continuous observation, the Hunter finally realized it wasn't his imagination. One of the grotesquely numerous eyes scattered across its body was closed.

...Does this mean each of those eyes is watching someone?

The Hunter soon understood the Observer's power. Those exposed to the Observer in this way would be continuously subjected to the suggestion of being watched by those numerous eyes. And it probably could actually watch them too.

It was a structure that would inevitably affect anyone who wasn't as resistant to Outer Gods as the Hunter, due to various complex factors. As if to prove this, Agartha was already pressing her forehead to the floor as if she had become one with it.

The protective charm she had secretly hidden had long since been discovered and dismantled by the Observer.

Perhaps because of this. Strange sounds began to creep into Agartha's ears, and just as what she thought was her strength—her hearing—was about to turn into a blade, with noise starting to sound like voices...

"Snap out of it, chatterbox!"

The Hunter, as if possessed by a soccer player, supported his body with his left leg and forcefully kicked Agartha's backside with his right foot.

Bang!

"Kyaaah!"

An intense pain, as if she had been electrocuted, shot up from below and burst out of Agartha's mouth as a scream.

Perhaps because he had kicked too hard, Agartha's body flew forward a bit, and she unknowingly clutched her head with both hands. In the process, Agartha's hands broke something that was transmitting the Observer's suggestion.

Having fully regained her senses, Agartha slowly got up, panting.

"W-what on earth."

As Agartha tried to raise her head again to assess the situation, the Hunter grabbed her clothes and pulled her down.

"Urghk."

"Look at the ground. If you see the eyes over there, it's over, I think."

Mental strength is consumed like physical strength. No matter how well you know how to break free from suggestions, if it's repeated continuously, you'll eventually use up all your mental strength, causing what's commonly called a mental breakdown, and ultimately, the brain gives up on life and you die.

Agartha, who had fixed her gaze on her own shadow, spoke with a trembling voice.

"...Do you think Tanton went in properly? What should we do now..."

"The fact that it reacted suddenly means that lunatic did something. And it's highly likely to be something that irritates the Observer."

The Hunter snorted.

"It means it's time to beat up that damn thing."

The red eyes hidden by the cloak and hat glowed ominously. Agartha made a dumbfounded expression as she heard the Hunter's words.

"T-that thing? No matter how you look at it, that's a crazy idea...!"

"I'm going to buy time from now on. Until that lunatic comes back."

Ignoring Agartha's words, the Hunter slowly began to prepare to move.

First, he surveyed his surroundings. No matter how skilled a hunter he was, facing an Outer God without a weapon would be like a stingless wasp fighting a praying mantis.

Something caught the Hunter's eye as he looked around.

Something was spilling out in heaps from the completely shattered prison, and he could see that most of it was weapons. The Hunter quickly approached the prison before the Observer could get close, and smiled with delight.

"Lucky."

From the storage room where numerous weapons were scattered, the Hunter grabbed his favorite weapon, a double-barrel shotgun. The driving force that had allowed the Hunter to kill numerous Lesser Outer Gods until now. And the weapon best suited to the Hunter's most confident fighting style.

The irritation that had always clung to the Hunter finally subsided, and a positive energy began to surround him.

He placed on his palm the bullets he had brought, trying to avoid detection as much as possible while being dragged to this prison. They were bullets with a grotesque shape, as if flesh had been molded together, rather than ordinary ammunition.

Fatal bullets that could take down an Outer God. Although difficult to produce due to the special ingredients required, they could deal effective damage. As the Hunter turned the lever, the gun bent 90 degrees, revealing the barrel, and with quick movements, he inserted the bullets into the chamber and closed it using a wrist snap.

To make sure it was properly closed, the Hunter spun the gun twice with his finger, and after confirming it was securely loaded, he immediately aimed at the Observer. Without a moment's hesitation, the Hunter's finger moved, and with a powerful gunshot, the bullets rushed towards the Observer.

"""О҈̲͉̮͎̱̰̞̫̭͈̭̩͙̦̙̫̍̍̎́̃́̐̃̅й̵͙̞͕̠̖̭̫̭̫͉͈̤̥̏̓͒̈́̀̐̓̒͂̐̈͗̽ͅ,̷̖̤̩͙̩̜͇̟̙̱̬̙̬̮͕́̇̽̑̎̿̎̊̔̌̋͌͛ э̶̗̱̫͖͎͚͙͚͂͗̓͐̃̈́̃̈̏т̸͚͉̞̖͎̬͈̰̣͓̙̞̦͕̖̔͑͗̽̆͆̑͑̊̅̏̉̒̀͊̚ͅо̸̝̲̩͈͈̜̥͍̫̜̫̤̲͓̉̒̉̃͒̐͋̓̆͊͂̈́͆̚ б҉͔̞̪̖̜̝̮̳̩̬͚̀̉̆̏̇̓̈́̊̚о̵̩̟̪̫̗̖͇͚̤͙͆̅̐̂͗̈͊̀̇л̶̭̜̠͔͓̲͉̪͓̞̌̇̎͋̄̆͒̀̓̇̋̃̉̒͋ь̸͚̭̰͖̟̥̯̣̥̤̱̲̠̩́̀͒́́̾̆͂̍̊̅н̸͙͈̞͔͓̤͕̖̣̠͇͙̂͑͛̑̀̍͂̇̔̀̍ͅͅо̵̣̥͕̮̳͚̘͍̤̥͊͋̊̓̂̍̒͐̇̓̓ͅ"""

An incomprehensible, grotesque sound filled the prison corridor, and the Observer began to writhe as if in pain. However, despite the Observer's excessive reaction, the Hunter quickly realized that the damage inflicted on this Outer God wasn't that significant.

The Hunter clicked his tongue.

"As expected, it doesn't work on higher-class Outer Gods."

"What?! Then what do we do!"

Agartha stomped her feet as she spoke, but even the Hunter didn't have a clear answer.

In the original Snow Castle, this situation corresponded to the tutorial stage. And bosses appearing in tutorials were often too strong to be defeated by conventional force.

The Hunter quickly realized that the Outer God before him was a Greater Outer God, different from ordinary minor Outer Gods.

"In the end, all we can do is hold out until that lunatic comes back."

The Hunter spoke calmly, but despair began to bloom on Agartha's face.

***

Was it because I picked up the bone? Suddenly, cracks started appearing in the room, and it seemed about to collapse.

"Uh, what? Why is it suddenly about to collapse?!"

"It's okay, that's how it's supposed to be. Let's get out quickly."

The leader Lesser God spoke in an urgent tone, but I hesitated to leave, having already formed an attachment to the Lesser Gods.

"No, but what about you? What's going to happen to you?!"

Although I shouted out of genuine concern, the Lesser Gods just giggled as if something was very amusing.

As I watched them anxiously, one Lesser God wiped away tears of laughter with its finger and said:

"To think we'd be worried about by a human, have we become too weak?"

"Even Mother didn't worry about us."

"Do you want to be our father?"

"Stop joking around!"

I was curious about who this 'Mother' was, but now it seemed meaningless.

I tried to speak seriously, thinking it wasn't the time for jokes, but that seemed to amuse them even more, and the Lesser Gods just kept giggling.

I tried to think of a way to take them with me, but the leader Lesser God shook its head and stopped my thoughts.

"We're not disappearing. We're just drifting in this gap."

"What's the difference..."

"It is different. If the day comes when this space revives, we can be active again."

"How long do you think that will take!"

"Don't worry, human."

The leader Lesser God covered my mouth with both hands and said:

"We live much, much longer than you think."

Hearing this, I thought that staying here and risking getting my head smashed by debris would be inconsiderate to these Lesser Gods, so I slowly started to move.

"Ah! The youngest is still clinging to the human!"

One of the Lesser Gods pointed out that one was still attached to my shoulder.

They all tried to grab and pull it off, but the Lesser God held onto my clothes and resisted.

After trying to pull for a few seconds, the Lesser Gods seemed to decide it was futile and sighed, saying:

"It seems that child wants to go with you."

"Let it go! Fun things are always our top priority!"

I made a surprised expression at how lightly they were deciding this, but the Lesser Gods started talking first.

"It's fine! Nothing will happen just because it's separated from us!"

"It'll just become much weaker when it leaves this room and is alone."

"You! If you mistreat our youngest, you'll die by our hands!"

I wondered what kind of threat it was to say such scary things and then say it's fine, but I thought if I wasted any more time, I might really end up buried alive.

When I scratched the head of the Lesser God still clinging to my clothes with a frown, it looked up at me with a questioning expression.

"...It might be difficult.

Even if you like humans and find them fun to touch, being together might not always be good. How about staying here instead?"

"No! I want to go together..."

Seeing the Lesser God burying its face completely and being stubborn, I couldn't help but sigh.

How could I just leave it behind when it's like this?

I glanced over the Lesser Gods, and they nodded with gentle smiles as if to say it was okay.

I thought they really were kind beings until the very end.

"Alright. Then it's going to be shaky because we need to run soon, so come in here."

I opened the pocket on my clothes and spoke, and the Lesser God fluttered its wings and flew right in.

I could feel it squirming inside.

The leader Lesser God smiled wistfully and said:

"Please take good care of that child."

It seemed like tears were welling up in its eyes, but I could tell that the moment of farewell had truly come.

After showing them a determined expression one last time, I forcibly turned my head and started running towards the exit.

Ah, maybe the Hunter and Agartha might dislike this a bit.

Well, the Hunter himself said Lesser Gods are only threatening in large numbers, so if I persuade him, one should be fine, right?

As the passage gradually narrowed, the Lesser Gods waved goodbye and wrapped themselves in flower buds, falling into a long sleep.

***

When I came out like that, the scene I encountered was shocking.

"Hiiing. It hurts."

The Hunter was shooting a wolf-eared girl with a gun.