Chapter 17
“Kuwaaaak!!!”
The Minotaur, stabbed in the middle of its brow by a long sword, howled in pain and began wildly swinging the greatsword in its hand.
Even the goat heads nearby that had come to help the Minotaur got cut down in chunks.
Luckily, Han Dohee’s car-turned-white-horse golem, which had made it out safely, clamped the girl sprawled on the ground in its mouth, lifted her up, then tossed her onto its back and safely pulled out of the combat zone.
“Ha, my car….”
Han Dohee was dumbfounded even while riding her car after it had turned into a horse. Minyumi, who had been hanging from the Minotaur’s head, turned on the boosters on its back, stepped on the Minotaur’s face once more, leaped, and brought the sword down with tremendous force.
ㅡShrrk..!
The Minotaur’s skull split perfectly in half. Unfortunately, the sword stopped at the collarbone, but the Minotaur had already stopped moving.
ㅡThud!!
As the massive body toppled forward, the Awakeners who had been stunned around it snapped back to their senses at the loud crash and began subduing the fleeing goat-head monsters one by one.
“Hey, that’s insane. Record that quickly.”
Suddenly becoming a star, Han Dohee was led back to the parking lot by the white horse golem. People's phones captured Han Dohee being transported draped limply over the horse saddle.
“That’s too much.. I didn’t want to become famous like this….”
But the gate wasn’t over yet. They had dealt with the Minotaur, which was roughly a mid-boss, but the proper boss monster still hadn’t appeared.
The people, taking advantage of the opening, subdued the goat-head monsters and gradually put distance between themselves and the gate.
Soon the gate wriggled, and began spitting out a huge monster.
“Damn, what is that?”
“I don’t know, hurry up and film it..!”
A huge black leather-clad monster with a goat head on one side and a bull head on the other. A giant humanoid monster that looked to be at least 1.5 times the roughly 5-meter Minotaur began crawling out, holding a different weapon in each of its four hands.
“Th-there’s no way that isn’t dangerous!?”
As the murmur of the surrounding civilians grew louder, the moment its hoof finally touched the ground.
ㅡBang-bang!!
Two hearty gunshots echoed through a country where firearms are prohibited. It was an attack precisely aimed at the boss monster’s knee joints as it was emerging.
Following that, what they saw was a sharp blade of aura infused with pink mana cleanly severing its ankle.
“There!!”
Beyond the parking lot behind the citizens was a black van parked by the roadside.
The large South Korean guild that had been transporting Japan’s S-rank Hunter Tennoji Utaha and Mexico’s S-rank Hunter Camila Torres.
It was Nova Guild’s transport vehicle.
“Hup..!”
Utaha’s slightly husky battle cry rang out clearly. Leaping high into the sky, she drew her famed sword, Kurenai.
The sight of the 170-centimeter-tall woman forcefully swinging her sword with her long legs fully extended moved Utaha’s hidden fans to tears.
ㅡShrrk..!!
Utaha cleanly split it in half, aiming precisely at the middle between the two heads.
But as soon as the twin-headed monster’s body was split in two, the cross-section healed in an instant as it swelled into two separate beings.
To balance its body, even the arms bunched to one side shifted over to the other, and the giant monster had doubled into two complete forms.
However, before the two monsters could even make a proper attack, Camila Torres’s two revolvers planted exactly six mana-infused bullets into their foreheads, and the situation was over.
“Wow.. insane.”
“So this is what S-rank means..!”
As the two celebrities basked in the public’s cheers and firmly etched themselves into the crowd’s memory.
* * * * *
“We’ll escort you to a safe place.”
“Ah, th-the thing is….”
Han Dohee, who at some point had boarded Nova Guild’s VIP vehicle and was sprawled across an entire long seat, and me, sitting by her head.
And the person right in front of my eyes right now was….
“Co-could it be..”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Yoo Chaerin.”
“I-it really was true..!”
The captain of Nova Guild’s No. 1 main strike unit, and one of only two S-rank Hunters in Korea.
“We brought you here because it seemed like you were in a difficult situation. Is there a problem?”
“N-no!? Ah, no! Um.. the horse and the eagle and….”
“The horse golem is following behind in the rear vehicle. The eagle golem as well.”
“Aha.. yes….”
“Team Leader Yoo, the healing is done.”
“Thank you for your hard work.”
The male Hunter sitting in our back seat quietly healed Han Dohee. Before long, once the nosebleed had stopped, Han Dohee wiped under her nose with her sleeve and got up.
“Dohee. Long time no see.”
“Eh!?”
“Damn it. So embarrassing.”
Even Han Dohee, who had suddenly slouched lazily on the wide seat and comfortably crossed her legs.
“H-Han Dohee!?”
Han Dohee and Yoo Chaerin spoke easily with each other, as if they already knew one another. No way, did they know each other?
Their hair colors are similar too, so maybe they’re sisters..?
“No way..? Their surnames are different….”
Han Dohee and Yoo Chaerin have different surnames. I also didn’t really think they looked that similar.
Noticing me hesitating, Yoo Chaerin smiled warmly and spoke to me.
“And what is this young lady’s name?”
“I, I’m Eve….”
“Eve.. I see. I never expected to meet you in a place like this.”
“Y-you know me..?”
“We received a report from a fellow Hunter that an unidentified bird-type familiar of unknown origin had been spotted at the Ahyeon-dong Gate earlier. We had no ulterior motives, but we had been tracking people to some extent for protection, so we were able to identify you.”
“Ugh….”
Even if it had been posted on Silbe, they were still tracking people? Surely they wouldn’t dare go all ‘what, we’re not even Nova Guild, and yet blah blah’ or something like that, right..?
“Dohee. How are you feeling?”
“Not much. It didn’t really hurt.”
“I’m glad.”
Every time I watch Han Dohee and Yoo Chaerin chat so casually, I get cognitive dissonance.
Who would've thought that the Hunter Gallery's resident braggart, the surprisingly likable fixed-nick regular Doshyungjwak, was actually acquainted with one of only two S-rank Hunters in Korea.
Was a B-rank combat type really that amazing..?
“It seems you’re curious about my relationship with Dohee, Eve-ssi.”
“She’s my cousin.”
“Ah, I see..!”
Then even if their surnames are different, it makes some sense. Come to think of it, they do seem somewhat alike….
“By the way.. where are we going..?”
“For now.. coincidentally, we’re heading to Nova Guild’s building. Since we confirmed that there was a Chinese Hunter tracking us at the scene, please understand.”
“China..?”
“There have been reports of kidnapping cases targeting some civilian Awakeners, you see. Eve-ssi’s tracking was also being carried out to protect potential victims from that.”
“A-am I strong enough to be targeted..?”
“I’d say you have potential.”
To be praised by an S-rank Hunter—I’ll definitely write about this on Hunter Gallery when I get home.
“Seems like you have something you’re dissatisfied with.”
“Eve likes Maxi. We came to see her today, but it ended up like this.”
“So you were a fan of Camila Torres. Tonight, both Camila and Utaha will be staying at the Nova Guild hotel. If you’d like, I can make arrangements for you.”
“N-no! Not that far..?”
“It’s okay, Eve. Let her do it.”
“Th-then….”
Han Dohee, so she was a B-rank Awakener, and on top of that she even had a cousin who was an S-rank Hunter.
‘What a show-off….’
I couldn’t make sense of this situation at all—riding in a Nova Guild car, and with an S-rank Hunter no less. I wondered if I was dreaming or something.
ㅡBeep!
“Ah, Daengdaeng.”
“Daengdaeng?”
“Um.. this one…. It’s a golem made from my phone.. Huh!! No, I didn’t mean it on purpose or anything?!”
“An Oseong Group brand cell phone?”
“That’s right, but….”
Come to think of it, Nova is Oseong Group’s guild. And my phone was an Oseong phone too.. Meaning, in front of the leader of a conglomerate guild, I basically said I smashed your company’s phone and turned it into a golem.
“You seem to have a rather unique skill.”
“Ahaha..?”
“Right, Eve. You turned my car into a golem?”
Han Dohee, who was sitting beside me, reached over and started kneading my cheeks like crazy. I definitely had turned Han Dohee’s car into a golem, but because of that I’d also been able to save Han Dohee, so...?
“Gghh.. stop it….”
“What are you going to do about my car! Fully loaded Max Cruise!!”
“Dohee. Should I buy you a car?”
“..Forget it. I bought that with my own money, you know?”
“I can turn it back..! P-probably….”
“What? Really?”
When I tried to restore the aluminum cockroach back to normal last time, it said the Command Issuance skill level was too low, so it couldn’t be done. So... maybe if I practice Command Issuance a little more, I can turn it back.
“Hmm.. how long would that take?”
“Not really….”
“Aig.”
“Eve-ssi, might I get the contact information for your parents at home? It seems the guild will need to contact them directly.”
“Huh..? Why..?”
“We’d like Eve-ssi to stay at the Nova Guild hotel for today.”
“Ah, sis.”
“Hm?”
Han Dohee, who was beside me, covered my eyes with her palm, and I could feel through the vibration that she was shaking her head or mouthing various things.
“Ah.. I see. Then, if you have no reason to go back home, I’ll get you a room at the hotel for tonight.”
“I’m okay, though….”
“That’s a relief.”
“Sis, I want to go home.”
“Dohee doesn’t get a choice. Let’s stay together for today.”
“Tch.”
“I’ll contact your parents.”
“Do you think I’m a kid? I live on my own. Why would they contact anyone?”
“Just to say hello.”
* * * * *
When people say Nova Guild’s hotel, they mean this place: the gigantic, ultra-luxury hotel under the Oseong Group. The Shilla Hotel. No matter how much money I made, I would never have dreamed of staying here.
“It’s tall.”
“Let’s go in. It’s cold.”
Han Dohee followed Yoo Chaerin in as if nothing was wrong, but honestly, this was absurdly, overwhelmingly stressful for me.
“Um.. what about my golems..?”
“Ah, they should be waiting inside.”
“Ah..?”
Even while receiving deep bows from a dozen staff members in suits, she didn’t even respond. She was completely an upper-class lady.
The place we followed her into was some room that looked like a reception room. We had clearly all gone to the door together as a group of three.
“Dohee, come with me for a sec.”
“Hah, again? Eve, I’ll be back in a bit, okay?”
“Uh, uh..?”
Han Dohee left first instead of going into the reception room with Yoo Chaerin. Then what was left for me..?”
“Nice to meet you. I’m A-rank Hunter Oh Chaeyeon, assigned to guide and guard you tonight. Please take care of me.”
A sudden unfamiliar face broke the silence of the overly quiet, elegant reception room.
‘Huff, don’t shake..! I’m a princess, right? This kind of thing is a piece of cake….’
“Are you the owner of the three golems? They’re waiting over here.”
“Uh.”
“Uh?”
“Waaah, waaaah, waaaah!!!”
“Don’t leave me behind, Han Dohee. I think I’m about to cry.”