Chapter 67: A-Rank Gate

A short while earlier, right after the meeting between Karelin and the group had ended.

“Hoo…”

Vasquez, back in the hotel where he was staying, let out a low sigh.

‘That woman…’

Vasquez recalled the silver-haired girl he had been targeting.

—What, you amateur.

Her words still lingered clearly in his ears.

“Tch, with a face that pretty…”

Her personality didn’t sit well with him, but her looks weren’t bad at all. Flowing silver hair, fair skin, a brusque impression that stirred a desire to break her down. *Thump!* Vasquez punched the bed hard. If his control had worked, he’d have had her whimpering on that bed by now!

“Haa…”

Not only had the assassination failed because of the Gate closing, but by the time he let her slip away, he’d already lost, and on top of that, he’d been called an amateur. Since becoming an Awakened One, Vasquez had never suffered such humiliation. Maybe because it was his first time, the girl’s image kept popping into his head.

“This won’t do. I can’t hold out tonight.”

His lower half was itching. Vasquez reached for his Artifact. He wanted a woman right now. So he was about to call a brothel.

—Hello?

“Huh?!”

Before Vasquez could even make the call, a woman’s voice came through the Artifact.

At the familiar voice, Vasquez immediately grew wary.

“…Karelin?”

It was a summons from Karelin, the leader of the group he belonged to.

—I didn’t expect you to pick up the moment I called. This is the fastest you’ve ever answered.

Karelin said in a surprised voice. She hadn’t expected Vasquez to answer so quickly either.

“…Just a coincidence.”

Vasquez swallowed his irritation and spoke. His heated body had cooled down. Damn it, why did she call out of nowhere? Sure, he was looking for a woman, but not *her*.

—Good. I’ll keep it brief and hang up. Is anyone around you?

“No, so you can talk.”

The existence of the group they belonged to was kept secret. Unless someone was involved, they had to ensure security so no one else’s ears caught wind of it.

—Keep an eye on Mateo Kvachi.

“Mateo… that cult leader from earlier? Why? He said he’d step up first when no one else volunteered.”

—That’s right.

“You suspect him? Is he the one who colluded with the egg, like you claimed?”

During the meeting, one person had said the egg had a will of its own, and that there must be an insider colluding with it. The most likely suspect, they said, would be the guild member who arranged that Gate.

But Mateo wasn’t affiliated with any guild. He belonged to the religion he’d founded and was its leader. Since it was a religion with many Awakened Ones as members, practically a militant group, it didn’t seem all that different from a guild.

—That’s not certain yet. But Mateo is acting on his own, hiding something from us. I’ve received a report.

“A report?”

—A report that Mateo seems to have other intentions.

“And who did you hear that from?”

—I can’t tell you that.

“…So, what’s the business?”

—Keep an eye on Mateo. And the woman who took the egg… if you find that girl, watch her too. We don’t know what might happen.

“That’s it?”

It was a bit surprising she didn’t say to kill them.

—That’s all for now.

“Well, that’s not hard.”

—Then I’ll end the communication here. Be careful not to get caught.

“You don’t need to worry about me.”

Vasquez was an S-Rank Hunter. Being worried about by someone else was ridiculous. Guess that last defeat had more of an impact than he thought.

—I’m not worried about you, I’m worried about your mouth. In case our information leaks.

“Honestly.”

With that, Karelin’s communication cut off.

“Watching Mateo…”

Vasquez recalled the image of Mateo he’d seen at the round table earlier. A gloomy, utterly cult-like leader. That was Vasquez’s first impression of Mateo.

“Me, the master of assassination and the ruler of Demon Beasts, skulking around after someone’s tail…”

Vasquez lamented his situation, but only for a moment.

—What, you amateur.

The girl’s words echoed in his ears.

“…Time for revenge, right?”

He had a feeling. If he tailed Mateo, he’d run into that girl again.

* * *

And a few days later.

“We greet the Saintess.”

Vasquez, who had been keeping an eye on Mateo, got to see the girl once more.

The way Mateo treated the girl made Vasquez feel utterly dumbfounded.

That arrogant brat, whose default attitude was looking down on others, was the Saintess?

Well, judging by her face alone, maybe she could pass for a Saintess, but considering the girl he remembered, that image didn’t fit even if you forced it.

“Ms. Verdi is the Saintess?!”

‘So her name is Verdi.’

Thanks to the shout from a boy who seemed to be part of the girl’s group, he caught her name. Verdi, Verdi… That name would probably be etched into his memory forever. At least until he got his revenge for being called an amateur.

After a brief conversation, surprisingly, Mateo backed off quietly. Vasquez recalled Karelin’s orders. She had asked him to primarily keep an eye on Mateo.

But.

—What, you amateur.

‘I can’t take it!’

The moment he recalled those words from last time, Vasquez abandoned tailing Mateo and went after Verdi’s group instead, managing to infiltrate the Gate she was about to enter ahead of her through a teleportation Gate he’d borrowed from Karelin.

Once inside the dungeon, Vasquez immediately started working on dominating the Demon Beasts. He easily subdued the Snow Giants that lunged at him and succeeded in dominating them and their leader.

And now.

Having heard that Verdi had entered the Gate, Vasquez planned to wipe out all the other Hunters and then deal with Verdi.

If he could just get past the fact that his domination ability didn’t work on her… he was confident he’d win easily.

‘That’s probably due to the Mana Shield’s influence.’

A Mana Shield of translucent light that regenerated infinitely even when broken.

What if he made it so the Mana Shield couldn’t regenerate, then used his domination?

Maybe it would work then. And if he succeeded in dominating her…

‘I’ll make sure she never lifts her head in front of me again.’

A dark smile crept onto Vasquez’s lips.

However, there was one thing he was currently overlooking.

‘What the hell is that pathetic expression supposed to be?’

The very person Vasquez was looking for was right now secretly observing him.

* * *

‘I had a hunch, but I didn’t think that bastard was the mastermind.’

I stared at Vasquez, who was making a pathetic expression from atop a Snow Giant’s shoulder.

‘I didn’t know he could use it this broadly.’

Not just the Snow Giant he was riding, but all the Snow Giants around were moving centered on him. There’s no way Demon Beasts would follow a human normally, so he must have used his ability.

‘But it must be demanding a lot of concentration.’

Vasquez had easily seen through my stealth last time. I knew from our previous fight that he was that skilled. But right now, he wasn’t noticing me at all. That meant that domination ability probably required a lot of focus when controlling multiple targets.

‘Might not be as hard as I thought.’

With his guard down and unable to detect my stealth, if I took him out now, this Snow Giant army would collapse quickly. The reason they were attacking in formation was because they were under Vasquez’s control. The moment they lost their commander, no matter how many Snow Giants there were, they’d just be a scattered mess.

I immediately reached out my hand.

[ Ice Element — Frost Bullet Lv.7 ]

A palm-sized magic circle glowed blue, and ice shaped like sharp icicles formed. Even if his guard was down, he’d notice if I activated a large-scale spell. So just like he tried to kill me silently, I’d take him out silently too.

‘…!’

I put force into my outstretched hand. The three formed icicles flew like bullets, shooting toward Vasquez.

Vasquez wasn’t reacting at all. At this rate, the icicles I fired would inflict a fatal wound on him. …Or so I thought.

*Fwoosh!*

The sound of flesh being pierced by an icicle.

But it wasn’t coming from Vasquez’s body.

“Kugh!”

It was a Snow Giant. Another Snow Giant beside Vasquez had used its own body as a shield to protect him.

“…Phew. You scared me.”

That was when Vasquez, who had been sitting on the Snow Giant’s shoulder, stood up.

“We meet again, young lady.”

Opening his eyes, which had been closed, along with a sinister smile, Vasquez stared in my direction.

“I just copied what you did.”

“…”

Annoyed by his unpleasant gaze, I shot him a disgusted look. This bastard was mimicking what I’d done last time when I toyed with him using the Mana Shield.

“Just like mages can’t focus on anything else when they’re casting a large-scale spell, he probably thought that controlling this many Demon Beasts would split my concentration. It’s a logical assumption.”

“…”

“But that logic doesn’t work on me. The ability I awakened, ‘Dominator’s Thread,’ can be created infinitely. There’s no living thing I can’t dominate. Except for you, young lady. Which brings me to this.”

Vasquez reached out his hand. At that, the gazes of every Snow Giant around him turned toward me.

“I thought I’d prove it again today. And if, by some chance, you still don’t fall under my control by the end, then.”

Before he even finished speaking, the Snow Giants roared and began charging toward me.

“I’ll just eliminate the one living thing in this world that my domination doesn’t work on.”

“Tch…!”

I immediately thrust out my hand.

[ Flame Element — Fireball Lv.7 ]

A crimson magic circle formed in my palm. The moment I felt searing heat at my fingertips, a sphere of flame shot toward the Snow Giants.

WHOOSH—!

The fireballs struck the Snow Giants’ bodies dead-on. But these were A-Rank Demon Beasts.

“Gyaaaaah!”

Their toughness was disgustingly sturdy. One of my Fireballs wasn’t enough to bring them down.

And.

‘There’s a disgusting number of them.’

[ Flame Element — Fireball Lv.7 ]

[ Flame Element — Fireball Lv.7 ]

[ Flame Element — Fireball Lv.7 ]

There were too many individuals. Still, by firing continuously, I managed to knock some down, but at this rate, even if I could take out that many, it would take forever.

‘…Then again.’

This time, I stretched out both hands.

‘It’s been a while since I used this.’

And after my body changed, I recalled a spell I’d never once used.

Until now, I’d been able to take down enemies easily with low-tier magic.

So I hadn’t really felt the need to use it, but now the time had finally come.

As I extended my hands, five crimson magic circles formed.

[ Superheat Element — Eternal Flame ]

Vasquez, I’ll show you some high-tier magic.