Chapter 79

Cho-i called out to him. There was no answer. She looked at the sea once more. The corpses of whales floated on the red-stained water. And then she suddenly thought,

‘Did I use Sanity Paralysis?’

That couldn’t be right. She had simply fainted, she hadn’t used Sanity Paralysis. Could it be that she was in some dangerous situation and the skill was automatically used, like last time? As she was thinking that, someone appeared in the distance.

“Zhu Rui!”

Cho-i shouted at him. He immediately drew his sword and charged at her.

“Huh?”

Clang-! A loud metallic sound split the air between them. Cho-i raised her shield to block his sword and asked, shouting,

“What’s wrong with you?”

“What’s wrong with me?”

He gritted his teeth and glared at Cho-i as if he wanted to kill her. Only then did she begin to notice Zhu Rui’s condition. His neck, arms, and waist. His entire body was covered in blood. It looked as if he had been bitten by something. Cho-i narrowed her eyes.

“Did you fight something other than me?”

Their standoff continued.

“Ha, you talk as if you don’t remember.”

“I’m sorry, but I really don’t remember!”

She shouted that and pushed him with all her might. He seemed to have exhausted most of his strength, as he staggered back a few steps when she pushed him. Cho-i brushed her hair back and said,

“Everyone has secrets they can’t talk about.”

“So?”

“I don’t know what you guys went through, but I don’t remember anything. It wasn’t me who was with you.”

“Are you saying you have a split personality or something?”

“Now that you mention it, it does sound similar.”

Because there’s something else inside me. Cho-i ran her hand through her hair, looking unsure how to explain the Entity to someone she had just met.

“Did you keep hunting with me after I fainted?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about. You never fainted.”

“You remember me collapsing because of a stomach ache, don’t you?”

“You opened your eyes right after that.”

“I opened my eyes right after that?”

Cho-i asked, unable to understand. She had fainted immediately from a stomach ache before. But hadn’t she clearly fainted briefly and then regained consciousness that time?

‘Could it be related to the alarm that went off before I fainted?’

[The □ of □□□□□ has been □□!] [The □ of □□□□□ is □□!]

She remembered the system window that had appeared just before she fainted. The two skills, Sanity Paralysis and Pain Sensation, were literally used automatically when she was in danger. As if trying to protect Cho-i. What could be the reason for protecting her? Cho-i could only think of one thing.

‘The thing in my belly is using its power to prevent losing its host.’

Thinking that, Cho-i opened her mouth to explain about him. No, she tried to open her mouth.

‘Isn’t Scythe just supposed to eat it?’

Until I heard that voice in my head.

“What is it?”

She looked around in surprise. In that moment, Zhu Rui pushed off the ground again and swung his sword. Cho-i blocked the sword with her shield and yelled,

“Ah! Just stay still!”

Cho-i immediately kicked him in the shin, and as he stumbled, she struck his head with her shield. It seemed his injuries were too severe for him to fight properly. With a clang, Zhu Rui collapsed. Cho-i sighed and approached him.

“Let me get an explanation.”

“Are you really saying you don’t remember?”

“Yeah.”

He said through gritted teeth, his eyes blazing.

“Even after devouring all my subordinates?”

“…What?”

***

Zhu Rui and his companions had nothing to do. The reason was Cho-i Hyeon’s progress, as she was dispatching monsters in a single blow. There was no room for them to step in. They followed behind Cho-i Hyeon. After walking for a long time behind her, Number One, one of his subordinates, asked,

“Are all S-Ranks like that?”

His eyes were full of distrust towards Zhu Rui. Zhu Rui, both dumbfounded and flabbergasted, gave his shin a hard kick.

“I can do that much too.”

Since even in an S-Rank dungeon, not all the minor monsters were S-Rank, Zhu Rui could have done it if he wanted to. However, the way she was cleanly taking down monsters without any effort was certainly suspicious.

“She was clearly an S-Rank.”

Cho-i Hyeon was a well-known S-Rank hunter, and if she were of a higher rank, she couldn’t hide it. But the strange behavior she was showing now was definitely unusual. What if she was a hunter beyond S-Rank? Then this wouldn’t be strange at all. She wasn’t even carrying a weapon right now.

“Shouldn’t we take a break?”

“I don’t know.”

Ever since she said her stomach hurt, her rough voice showed no sign of returning. It was such an unpleasant voice, like fingernails on a chalkboard, that he naturally furrowed his brows every time he heard it.

“Then you all stay here.”

She said that, sitting on the cliff and staring intently at the dead whale. She raised her hand, tore the whale’s skin, and pulled out a handful of flesh from inside. Then she brought the entity to her mouth without hesitation.

“What are you doing…!”

Crunch, chew, gnaw.There was the sound of chewing raw meat. Her mouth quickly became bloody. She blinked and tilted her head as if asking what the problem was. It was not something one would do with monster meat in their mouth. Zhu Rui felt a slight disgust from her.

“Why on earth are you eating that?”

“Because I’m hungry.”

Choi Hyeon replied. And then she started walking ahead. The sound of chewing continued until everything in her hand was gone. Both her hands and lips were bloody. She wiped her lips with the back of her hand and hunted the next monster, and then the next, craving monster meat until her teeth were bright red.

“Ugh.”

Eventually, Number Three couldn’t suppress his disgust and gagged. Seeing that, Choi Hyeon giggled. Her teeth and tongue were all crimson. She looked like someone who had escaped from hell. Rather than understanding her eccentric behavior, Zhu Rui simply tried to ignore it.

“…Don’t mind her. And don’t look foolish.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Yes….”

His subordinates tried not to look at Choi. Despite having met not a few hunters through illicit channels, Choi Hyeon was the first hunter to display such eccentric behavior. Thud, bang! Again, the sound of her defeating a whale with her fist was heard. The sight of large brains and flesh pouring into the sea was not a pleasant one, but the flesh soon sank beneath the waves, leaving only crimson blood. Choi Hyeon seemed to need no healer, no dealer, no support. She seemed complete all on her own. Even an S-Rank, no, even the SS-Rank Master of the Destroyer Guild, Taehyeok Sa, couldn’t do that. She seemed perfect. Perfectly self-sufficient. They walked without rest. Normally, they would have rested once every 24 hours, but since Choi Hyeon didn’t stop, there was no time to sit and rest. She seemed like a human made of steel. No, perhaps it would be more accurate to say she didn’t seem human at all.

“It might be good to rest now.”

Zhu Rui suggested. Choi Hyeon then hummed and tilted her head, scanning Zhu Rui and his subordinates.

“Your limbs are all fine, aren’t they?”

“…No matter what, if we continue this forced march, by the time we reach the boss monster–“

“Why worry about the boss monster? I’m going to do everything anyway.”

She said that with a charming smile. Her crimson-stained teeth were still there, but there was something about her beautiful face that made one forget even that strange red glow. Zhu Rui momentarily forgot how to refute her words and could only stare blankly as she turned her back on them and moved forward again.

“Damn it, she’s moving forward.”

“This is driving me crazy.”

“Are Korean hunters usually like this?”

“No.”

Zhu Rui had met many hunters from other nations so far, and among them were Korean hunters. Whether they were Korean hunters or American hunters, there wasn’t much difference between hunters from any nation. An A-Rank acted like an A-Rank, a B-Rank like a B-Rank. This was his first S-Rank, but no one had ever acted as she did, beyond the bounds of common sense.

“Well, there’s nothing bad about her doing everything alone for now.”

“That’s true, but do you really think she can take on the boss monster by herself?”

Zhu Rui shook his head. While he certainly acknowledged her high attack power for a tank, he didn’t think she could easily defeat an S-Rank boss monster with just that entity.

“No, that’s probably too much.”

“So you think so too.”

“I think she’s pushing herself quite hard right now.”

“Is it a matter of pride?”

“…Probably.”

Because Zhu Rui couldn’t understand, he began to think narrowly within the confines of what he could understand. Relations between China and Korea were so strained after the dungeon’s appearance that it was difficult to call them good even as a joke. Therefore, he assumed she was overexerting herself to show off her power in front of them. Of course, this was a thought only those who truly knew nothing could have.

“Alright, it looks like that’s the boss monster over there.”

Cho-i pointed to a spot in the ocean. Nothing floated on the deep blue, cold sea.

“Now that I think about it, we’ve been traveling for days without any sleep, so it should be about time we arrived…”

Cho-i walked a few more steps and crossed a certain line. Boss monsters usually appeared when Hunters crossed a certain distance. And Cho-i had just crossed the entity. Immediately, a gigantic shadow began to appear from deep within the sea.

…Damn it, it’s gotten even bigger.

Literally the size of a small mountain, a whale slowly began to emerge from the water. The entity looked like a small island. A being larger than the cliff they stood on. The entity had appeared.

[Tsunami Whale (S-grade)]

“That size should be~”

Cho-i said, humming.

“At least it’ll be worth eating?”

It was a joyful voice.