Chapter 369: Chapter 369

“But... This isn’t what I thought they’d come up with,” grumbled Han Seha.

Of course, the show itself had been very well organized, but it seemed that the execution had gone off-script.

Han Seha was taken aback because the show had taken a very unexpected turn, but the other spectators had to be shocked as well.

“Oh, this is happening for real. Isn’t Peleza too bold?”

“I guess they’re trying to twist things one more time here.”

“There will be a lot of ramifications...”

The clan leaders and CEOs also watched the show with great interest. They had initially thought that Peleza would show off their materials by having the off-road cars withstand the attacks from the stael panther with no damage.

However, it seemed like that wasn’t the case, so what was going on?

-Emergency! Emergency!

-Wait...! You didn’t say that the cars would be torn apart! What is this?

-It’s coming! Tankers, stop it! We’re going to be in deep trouble if it charges at us again!

“Aren’t they just acting?”

“Nah, hunters are terrible actors. They’re very awkward when they try to act. Those hunters don’t look like they’re faking it.”

“They’ve prepared properly. Peleza’s strong point is taking care of all the small little details, and it shows.”

The spectators were impressed by the show. The reactions of the hunters who rolled out of the torn car were truly vivid, but this wasn’t all.

Bonnefant’s reaction was also intense.

“What are you doing?! Just what the hell are you doing now?!”

“I... I’m sorry! I think there’s a problem.”

Bonnefant’s angrily criticizing the person in charge seemed genuine, which prompted the spectators to clap.

“A great presentation!”

“I never thought they’d make a presentation like this. As expected of Peleza!”

“Alright, now let’s get to the main course already! Show us the material!”

People anticipated that the real thing would come out soon. Since the monster had destroyed the cars because the hunters hadn’t managed to stop it, surely they would bring out the main product, which was kept elsewhere, and display its power!

‘...?’

Choi Yeonseung cocked his head. No matter how he looked at it, Bonnefant and the other hunters didn’t seem to be acting.

Bang!

The stael panther charged at the hunters. The two hunters in charge of tanking raised their shields and tried to block its attack.

-Agh!

-Ghah!

The hunters were overpowered; they couldn’t withstand the impact and were sent flying. This was bad news, since the worst thing to happen in a raid was the tankers collapsing!

-We need backup! This is a call for support!

You bastards!

-I need help!

“These hunters... Their acting is top notch.”

Kwon Yeongseung admired the hunters’ performance with a surprised expression. He was a hunter himself, but he also had quite a bit of experience in acting as he had made several appearances in movies and dramas.

To him, the performance of those hunters was as real as it could get.

“No, it’s actually real.”

“Huh?”

“Seha, order everyone to evacuate! Something’s not right!”

Choi Yeonseung fired some energy to get rid of the glass wall separating the seats from the performance space.

The people next to him got even more raucous.

“Oho! This is really unexpected!”

“Peleza is amazing!”

“Don’t be idiots and move this way already!”

Han Seha kicked the people talking nonsense and drove them to one side. She couldn’t care less if they were some hotshot CEOs or clan leaders or whatever.

“W-why are you doing this?”

“The A-grade hunters right now...”

“Is this also part of Peleza’s performance? I think this is a bit too much.”

“...”

The spectators finally shut up when Han Seha crushed the seat next to them with her bare hands. They realized that evacuating quietly was the healthiest option for them!

***

Choi Yeonseung took Kwon Yeongseung and jumped from a high-rise building, their descent producing a sharp sound of ripping through the air. Choi Yeonseung kicked the air in order to move faster toward the monster. He told Kwon Yeongseung , “There’s something you have to do.”

“Yes! Leave it to me!” Kwon Yeongseung exclaimed with determination. In fact, he still felt sorry toward Choi Yeonseung because of the contract he signed. Choi Yeonseung was an eccentric senior from the first generation who trained people like a madman. He had also saved Kwon Yeongseung’s life many times.

It pained Kwon Yeongseung not to be able to repay his debt to someone like that.

“Your specialty was space magic, right?”

“That’s right.”

Among all the types of magic, space-based magic was particularly difficult. The reason Kwon Yeongseung had managed to become an A-grade hunter at such a young age was because he had a knack for space magic!

“You want me to break through the defense of the stael panther, right?”

“What are you talking about?” Choi Yeonseung asked incredulously. “Team up with the hunters and evacuate everyone!”

“...Ah.”

Kwon Yeongseung belatedly realized what Choi Yeonseung actually wanted him to do and felt embarrassed.

So that was why Choi Yeonseung had brought him...

‘He brought me here to be a shuttle...!’

Hunters who specialized in space magic often took this role. It was very important for a hunter to evacuate his colleagues from a dungeon or a raid in case something went wrong.

...But that was it. Kwon Yeongseung had never played the role of a shuttle ever since he had reached A-grade. To be honest, this role was usually reserved for those who weren’t very helpful in combat.

“What’s wrong? You don’t want to do it?”

“N-no, I’ll do it!”

Choi Yeonseung landed in front of the stael panther. He wasn’t taking this that seriously because the stael panther was D-grade at best. No matter how much trouble it caused, it wouldn’t pose much of a threat to Choi Yeonseung.

Choi Yeonseung thought that this commotion had been caused more so by some kind of mistake on the organizers’ part, not because this monster was particularly dangerous

However...

‘!’

Choi Yeonseung was stunned. The energy the stael panther emanated wasn’t normal.

‘It’s dangerous to fight this one head-on!’

Choi Yeonseung felt that this particular stael panther was brimming with unimaginable power.

Bang!

The stael panther lunged at Choi Yeonseung, but he instantly hit the opponent with Origin of the Celestial Kick. He didn’t use this technique to deal a critical blow, but just to shake the monster’s balance.

He didn’t need to use an enormous amount of power to stop the monster from charging at him. A light but extremely precise hit was more than enough to cause the stael panther to topple.

This move didn’t require much strength, but it required a great deal of finesse that only those who had trained a lot in martial arts possessed.

A strange technique you use...

“Huh?”

That mysterious voice had come from the monster, which made Choi Yeonseung realize that he wasn’t facing a stael panther.

‘A constellation? No... It’s a monster!’

Constellations were considered the most dangerous entities in the Abyss, but some monsters were just as, if not more dangerous than constellations.

Monsters that had lived as long as constellations possessed so much power that constellations actually feared them. Even though such monsters couldn’t use the power of existence, their ferocity and thirst for blood surpassed that of constellations.

Hadn’t Choi Yeonseung fought for his life against such monsters while wandering in the Abyss?

‘Tsk. I was complacent. Come to think of it, the constellations aren’t the only ones I have to worry about.’

The constellations weren’t the only beings trying to suppress humans. As humans kept expanding their territory in the Abyss, they disturbed more and more monsters, which would naturally lead to an increase in monster attacks.

Even so, what you used just now is merely a trick! It’s not real strength!

“And yet I still got you with it. In fact, I’ve never seen anyone block this trick of mine.”

Choi Yeonseung wasn’t shaken by the monster’s mocking at all.

Seeing how composed he was, the monster realized that Choi Yeonseung was a very skilled warrior despite his appearance. He thought that humans were a weak, short-lived race that couldn’t even live past a hundred years, but this human was pretty good.

“How old are you?”

I am Illingars. I am a wise tiger and I have lived for eight thousand years.

‘He is young...’

Choi Yeonseung was dumbfounded. The stael panther, or rather, this tiger monster was unexpectedly young. In the Abyss, one could spend eight thousand years just by breathing and exercising a few times.

I have come to condemn the greed of your short-lived race and guard the Abyss against your arrogance.

“I don’t think it’ll work,” Choi Yeonseung answered bluntly. However, he lamented that humanity would be better off if they could just reflect and listen after suffering a defeat.

How happy Choi Yeonseung would be if humans were like that...

Regardless, what constellations and monsters didn’t understand about humanity was the fact that humans were large in numbers and very complicated, so they couldn’t be brought down just by force.

Perhaps humans could be defeated with a more subtle and cunning method, but they would absolutely not bow down if a monster came on Earth and threatened them with force...

However, Choi Yeonseung’s blunt answer seemed to anger Illingars.

You are cheeky for a young human! I thought you would say this. I shall teach you a lesson that you will never forget!

“?”

The body of the stael panther melted off, and a four-legged beast emerged from it. It was too large to be called a tiger, and Choi Yeonseung felt like an ant in front of it.

Listen, you short-lived fools! How can you enter the Abyss without even knowing what you are facing? I have come here to pass judgment! How dare you slaughter the beasts in my territory?!”

Illingars roared fiercely.

Just as he finished his words, Illingars opened his mouth wide, amassed magic power, and fired it at a nearby high-rise building, obliterating its upper floors.

This was the real power Illingars was talking about—a real power that pitiful short-lived races, like humans, would never possess.

Having displayed his tremendous power, Illingars cast an arrogant, imposing look at Choi Yeonseung. He wanted to see how desperate and terrified this pitiful human was.

...?

However, Choi Yeonseung wasn’t fazed at all.

Don’t you see that the building built by your people has been blown away?

“Yeah, it might collapse,” replied Choi Yeonseung indifferently. He wasn’t worried because almost all people had to have been evacuated by now. Most of all, this...

‘It’s not even my building.’

That was the building Peleza had worked hard to build, so Choi Yeonseung couldn’t care less about it. Those Peleza bastards should be the ones to suffer the consequences, not him.

What a heartless human! I didn’t think you would turn a blind eye to the suffering of your people!

-The evacuation is complete! Now that we have evacuated to the basement, you can fight without holding back!

-Thank you.

Choi Yeonseung nodded at Han Seha’s status report. It had been worth it to control the rhythm of the fight and stall for time.

***

“Stop the broadcast!”

“B-but if we stop, the repercussions...”

“You idiot! You think stopping the broadcast would be worse than keeping it on?!” shouted Bonnefant, almost grabbing his subordinate by his throat.

There were many eyes on him, but the situation had become so urgent and critical that he couldn’t compose himself.

“Mr. Bonnefant, what’s going on here...?”

“This wasn’t the plan, was it?”

The CEOs of Raiden and Klein came in and asked Bonnefant about this mess with puzzled expressions. None of this was part of the plan.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it quickly!”

“S-so this isn’t part of the show? This is happening for real?!”

“Shut up! You think shouting will help?!”

The executives were startled by Bonnefant’s burst of anger. When they had been negotiating, Bonnefant had been very friendly with them, saying things like “We, Peleza, have the utmost respect for you. We’ve bought your shares purely to support your outstanding development of technology...”

‘Master! What is going on? Show me the way!’

[The ‘Greedy Owner of the Treasure House’ orders you to do your best to repair the damage.]

[He says he won’t forgive you if you cause damage to his property.]

‘...!’

Instead of helping, the constellation just scolded him, which caused Bonnefant to come to his senses. He realized that constellations weren’t to be trusted!

“Sort out the situation first! Order the hunters who are on stand-by to mobilize! Wait, what’s wrong down there?”

Bonnefant was hastily giving instructions only to be shocked that there was nobody left on the upper floors of his high-rise building.

“They escaped!”

“What did you just say? Why would they run away? Don’t talk nonsense and tell them to come here already...”

Before he could finish speaking, the hunter next to Bonnefant was startled. He grabbed Bonnefant and crouched down.

“Barrier! Raise a barrier!”

Then the ceiling of the building was blown away by the Breath released by the monster below.

“...”

Bonnefant was stunned when he saw it. No D-grade monster possessed such tremendous power. The debris from the destroyed ceiling kept falling on the shield with dull thuds.

The hunters sighed with relief. They would’ve been done for if the Breath had hit just a bit lower.

Bonnefant tried to keep his composure as he spoke to the other executives.

“...Let’s evacuate for now. This must be the scheme of an evil god constellation. It’s the only plausible explanation!”

“Y-yes... Let’s go.”

The executives hesitated a bit before they agreed to evacuate. However, they were so desperate as they were scrambling down the corridor that they forgot that everything was still being broadcasted live.