Chapter 249 – Savior (2)

“Are all the ones that came in today low-grade?”

“What can you do? Supplies have been scarce lately.”

Horned humanoids with purple skin, several heads taller than any human.

In other words, Majin were having this conversation.

They were looking into an iron cage.

And trapped inside, like something from a zoo, were not animals, but humans.

* * *

Some wailed. Others sobbed.

No, in a situation like this, there wasn’t a single person who wasn’t in agony.

The ‘products’ being transported in the wagon could only curse the tragedy that had befallen them.

“Please save me… *sob*, please help me…”

A young student curled into a ball and wept.

He suddenly remembered the soybean paste soup he’d refused to eat this morning while throwing a tantrum.

He didn’t know why his mother’s face, which he’d hated for always nagging him, now came to mind so vividly.

Right now, in this moment. He wished and wished for a miracle.

If one occurred, his once-boring daily life would transform into the days he now longed for with all his heart.

*Swish!*

Just then, a sharp sound cut through the air.

“Kugh!”

A Majin’s short scream was heard.

The people listened intently to the sudden turn of events.

The sounds of battle rang out. Had someone come to save them?

Another Majin’s scream echoed.

Then, someone urgently threw open the wagon door.

Someone began to break the packaging-like boxes that held each person captive.

“Are you alright?”

The student burst into tears upon seeing the person who had saved him.

He couldn’t remember the name exactly, but it was someone he’d seen mentioned occasionally in Hunter-related communities.

“Thank you. Thank you!”

“There’s no time. Those of you who are free, please help the others!”

The Hunter freed the bound people and tried to get the horse to move the wagon. But the horse, with its hollow eyes, wouldn’t obey human commands.

They had no choice but to abandon the wagon.

The Hunter bit his lip.

It was a difficult situation. At least he was a Hunter and could fight back, but everyone else here was a civilian.

The chances of them getting out of here alive were nonexistent.

No, in truth, he wasn’t safe either.

He was a B-rank Hunter, at best.

“We have to hurry! A pursuit team could be on its way, so we need to escape quickly!”

The Hunter urged the people on.

The people expressed their gratitude to the Hunter who had helped them, then one asked with a hint of doubt.

“A-Are there no others with you…?”

“Pardon? Ah, it’s just me.”

At the Hunter’s words, a wave of anxiety washed over the people.

Noticing the change in atmosphere a moment too late, the Hunter gave an awkward smile and tried to give them hope.

“Don’t worry. A rescue team will be here soon!”

The people didn’t ask for the basis of his belief. For now, they were just glad to be alive.

The B-rank Hunter had several options. One of them was to abandon these people and flee. But the reason he didn’t make that choice was simple.

Pride in his profession as a Hunter.

He had dreamed of becoming a Hunter after watching the exploits of the first generation.

Fortunately, he had awakened, and he even had some talent.

That was how he was able to join and operate within Shinhwa, the number one ranked guild.

But his talent was merely ordinary. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t rise above A-rank.

‘Still, I’m the only one who can protect these people right now.’

In this life-or-death crisis, he felt an extreme sense of duty.

Some might call it foolish. But here were people he could help, even with his meager power.

By protecting them, he could find solace without denying his own worth.

Trauma was a non-issue for a major S-rank Hunter, but for a B-rank Hunter like himself, this was the only way to restore his self-esteem.

“Ugh, my foot… it hurts…!”

“Water… I’m so thirsty…”

Before long, the people, who had neither eaten nor rested properly, began to tire quickly.

“Just a little further, we need to get to a safe place!”

He didn’t know exactly where they were, but the distinct smell of sulfur wafted from all directions.

A fog had risen, thick enough to obscure their surroundings. This was definitely not Korea, or any land inhabited by humans.

If this were Earth, there wouldn’t be birds with four wings, nor deer with foreheads like shields.

“Everyone, we’re almost there…”

The Hunter encouraged the people. Just then, a sound sliced through the wind.

*Thwip!*

An arrow suddenly flew out, and a naked man screamed as he fell to the ground.

Another crossbow bolt flew.

A middle-aged man let out a piercing scream.

The Hunter drew his bow and fired in the direction the arrow had come from.

*Swoosh! Thwip!*

In response, an arrow flew back from where he had shot.

The Hunter barely managed to dodge the arrow aimed at him. But a middle-aged woman behind him was hit instead.

Screams erupted. Panicked by the attacks coming from an unknown direction, everyone either dropped to the ground or broke rank and fled on their own.

*Thwip, Swoosh!*

But even those who ran soon collapsed, an arrow embedded in their leg.

“Dammit…!”

The Hunter cursed under his breath.

The enemy was toying with them.

Frustrated, the Hunter used his Headshot skill in the direction of the arrows.

He couldn’t see the target clearly through the fog, so it was unlikely to be effective, but it might at least serve as a threat.

“Hey, watch out in front!”

The Hunter snapped back to his senses.

While he was tracing the skill pattern in the air, a blade suddenly pierced through the fog.

“Ugh!”

Startled, the Hunter twisted his body away. But the enemy’s blade had already grazed his shoulder.

A searing pain shot through him. The only good thing was that his HP shield had softened the blow.

But the people behind him were being helplessly slaughtered.

“You’re causing quite a bit of trouble, aren’t you?”

A Majin with compound eyes like a grasshopper’s grinned, its jaw opening grotesquely.

The Hunter swapped his bow for a dagger and engaged in combat.

“Hahahaha, what are you doing?”

As a ranged dealer, he was at a disadvantage in close combat with the Majin.

The dagger he swung missed time and again, while his opponent sliced at his arms and legs as if filleting a fish.

Eventually, his movements becoming restricted, the Hunter bit his lip and cried out as if vomiting the words.

“Everyone, run. Get away…!”

He didn’t know where they should run.

But the government and the heroes who knew of this situation would surely come to help.

Just as the first-generation heroes had.

As if mocking the Hunter’s futile hope, the compound-eyed Majin swung its blade to finish the job.

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

The student screamed, sensing the Hunter’s impending death.

Before he knew it, the surroundings were swarming with Majin, circling their prey.

“…!”

The Hunter, feeling no blade pierce his body, opened his eyes.

He had prepared for the end, but it was strangely quiet.

“…!”

*Slice!*

Suddenly, a sharp sound whistled through the air, and a Majin’s head was severed from its neck.

*Slice!*

There was a man emerging from the fog, unilaterally slaughtering the Majin.

“Ah…!”

The Hunter stared at the silhouette that had suddenly appeared and forced his lips to move.

“Lee Hyu…!”

“Store.”

The muscular man, who had dispatched the Majin in an instant, spoke first.

* * *

The number of people inside my inventory was starting to add up.

I didn’t know how many had been captured and dragged into the Eastern Gate.

“How dare a mere human…!”

“How dare a mere Majin.”

I casually sliced the neck of the Majin spouting such a cliché line.

I could feel the emotions of the B-rank Hunter I had stored in my inventory.

No, the fear of all the people I had rescued was being transmitted to me as if it were my own.

The Inventory ability was mysterious.

The various complex things they possessed in life were being relayed to me as data.

Before I could even process it, my mind already understood.

When I first came to the modern world and awakened as a Porter, I was baffled.

Having been a Hero before, I had hoped to get a cool class befitting that past.

But now, I was satisfied.

No, I’m actually glad I’m the Porter Hero.

“You’re not the ones hunting.”

Because it means I can save this many people.

“From now on, you’re the ones being hunted.”

“D-Don’t tell me, the Hero…!”

One of the Majin recognized me.

It didn’t matter if it recognized me now. I had already cut its throat.

The Majin grew extremely wary, surrounding and attacking me.

Too slow. I can see their movements.

I took half a step to the side, slicing the one next to me, then turned my head to dodge an incoming sword thrust before lopping off that attacker’s head.

With just a few steps, the heads of several Majin were sent flying.

“N-No way…!”

To their eyes, it must have looked like I was just walking while my comrades’ heads were being reaped like wheat.

What will happen to the modern world?

The war between the East and West. And to fuel it, the conquest of other dimensions.

Perhaps the picture Im Jae-joon wants is the right one.

The world could return to how it was with minimal casualties.

The world would continue to live peacefully within its own framework, just as it always had. But periodically, a significant portion of the population would be dragged away as food for the Demon Kings.

Pushing an unknown victim forward while you sigh in relief from a safe place.

Is that right?

To uphold one’s will, one takes up arms and fights, risking one’s life.

The result is devastating losses, leading to an even greater tragedy.

Is that right?

Both are wrong.

“The Hero, the Hero is coming! Alert, alert!”

What is important?

“Overwhelm him with numbers! Stop him from getting in!”

To deny reality just to save face, without any conviction, is what’s wrong.

“Charge!”

I could see a unit of Wolf Riders charging to face me.

I poured a massive amount of magic into the Four-Sign Sword and unleashed a sword formation.

Jet-black light streaked across the area like chaotic brushstrokes.

Everything it touched was sliced and severed.

“What is that…!”

I know my answer is wrong.

But there is something here that only I can do.

“Hero… Are you truly human…!”

*Squelch!*

A clean sword strike severed the neck of the one who questioned me.

-You have slain the Demon King Kimaris.

-You have acquired a large amount of experience.

-You have acquired the ‘Demon King Slayer’ achievement.

Foresight continues to predict my death.

Choose the path to survival.

Choose the easy way.

Accept the injustice.

The moment I accept such things, the person I am might as well be dead.

That’s why I’m not avoiding death, but challenging it head-on.

I will destroy the Demon King Alliance.