Chapter 898

EP.898 [Light Novel Side Story] Death Dinass of the Creation of Heaven Vol.2 015

<5:44 PM, Guro Base Camp>

Could there be a better fit for the word “devastation”?

The Guro Base Camp, once the stronghold of the Red Pine Guild, was saturated with the metallic scent of blood from unconscious hunters sprawled across the ground.

And this wasn’t even nighttime—barely past sunset. An unknown assailant had brazenly attacked the guild, leaving none standing. Though injuries were severe, remarkably, there were no fatalities. Yuna rushed to the fallen with urgency.

“Snap out of it!”

“Yuna and Raon, help these people! Nuri and Hyujun, over here!”

After delegating the wounded to them, Xian sprinted towards a container whose outer wall had been violently torn apart.

“Xian!”

Without hesitation, despite the potential danger lurking inside, Nuri and Ha Hyujun quickly followed after seeing her charge in like a moth to a flame.

Pfft! Xian flicked on the flashlight of her magical gear, illuminating the dark interior.

“Damn.”

Inside the container, it looked as if a wild beast had clawed its way through before departing. Guildmaster Seo Ye-seong of Megrez Guild—who had set up camp in Guro alongside Xian’s team—lay unconscious, bleeding profusely. Xian immediately checked his pulse.

“…He’s still breathing! Sir!”

Hardly had Xian called out when Ha Hyujun moved like lightning, supporting Seo Ye-seong and exiting the container with him. Meanwhile, Nuri, sword drawn, guarded against any possible ambush.

Clang. One empty capsule bounced off Nuri’s boot heel.

“Auntie, is this…?”

“Hmm.”

Xian picked up the rolling empty capsule from the floor, frowning deeply. Among the 200 cores of monsters captured by Seok Harang and the heroes during the early morning, about twenty capsules lay scattered on the ground, their contents—the monster cores—completely missing.

“It seems they only took a few.”

Xian carefully surveyed the surroundings under Nuri’s protection.

The container, barely larger than nine pyeong, had no hiding spots aside from the storage unit containing the cored capsules. Had they selectively taken what they wanted, or did time run out, forcing them to flee with just a few?

“Looks like we’ve got a real mess on our hands. Damn.”

Xian scratched her head vigorously as she stepped outside the container.

Above, Seok Harang, wings of ice spread wide, descended back to the ground after finding no trace of residual magic energy in the sky.

“No luck. I can’t detect any traces of magical power.”

“It could be another S-rank.”

The sole clue left behind by Seo Ye-seong before the attack suggested that the intruder’s special ability was at least S-rank. With this in mind, Seok Harang had cast her magic power far and wide across Guro’s skies to chase down the culprit’s trail.

“But it’s impossible not to leave any magical traces at all!”

“…There might be a way.”

As if vanishing into thin air, the perpetrator left absolutely no clues, brazenly striking at dusk before stealing the cores of the monsters.

“What’s going on?!”

Heroes and hunters nearby began gathering toward the base camp upon hearing the commotion in Guro, horrified at the sight of the devastated containment facility for the monsters.

“The Red Pines wiped out…? That’s absurd. They had several B-rank hunters!”

“Even the A-rank Iron Arrow was almost killed? Who could have done this?”

Panic spread among the special ability users.

Caught off guard by the sudden supernatural attack, confusion was inevitable. Despite knowing the dangers, Xian had no choice but to disclose the truth discovered within the container, worsening their already shaken state.

“The identity of the attacker remains unknown. They stole approximately twenty monster cores. No one else was inside.”

“Unbelievable.”

The special ability users were dumbfounded. While some had suspected trouble since the moment the core-containing containers were breached, imagining such an unthinkable scenario was something they wished to avoid.

An assault on government-affiliated guilds.

The theft of monster cores.

A culprit who left without a trace.

Their worst fears had become reality.

The government-backed guild <Red Pine> had been annihilated by an unknown attacker, losing around twenty monster cores in the process. And now, they had no leads on the perpetrator’s identity.

“Xian-sama!”

Yuna approached Xian after administering first aid to the unconscious victims. Her entire body was covered in blood splattered from the Red Pine hunters. The same went for Raon standing beside her.

“First aid is complete. Fortunately, no one has life-threatening injuries.”

“Phew.”

Though Xian sighed in relief, her eyes remained sharp, searching for any trace of the attacker. At the very least, they needed to determine which direction the culprit fled.

‘Impossible.’

Xian shook her head vigorously at the worst-case scenario forming in her mind.

‘Time-wise, they couldn’t have escaped far.’

But the seeds of suspicion continued to grow unchecked, spreading further with each new piece of information received.

‘The lack of evidence means they deliberately erased it.’

No trace left behind. Not even a shred of evidence. All witnesses lie unconscious.

‘Could those bastards…?’

In the rare case where the absence of evidence becomes evidence itself, Xian ran simulations based on the worst-case scenario involving all forces gathered in Seoul.

“Seok Harang-san!”

Xian called out to Seok Harang, who relayed the situation to surrounding special ability users and requested assistance in locating the perpetrator.

“Did you find anything?!”

“Even if you didn’t, we need to take immediate action!”

Xian pulled out a map of Seoul from her magical gear and traced a circle with her finger.

“We need to seal off every possible escape route—dungeons, underground tunnels, airspace—to prevent the thief from escaping with the monster cores. We must establish a perimeter immediately.”

“Is there anyone suspicious?”

“I can’t provide specifics yet. But if my assumptions are correct…”

Xian swallowed hard.

“All the stolen monsters could potentially be revived. Stronger than before.”

* * *

Pfft!

A cat darted through a dark alleyway, trailing twenty glowing orbs behind its tail.

More accurately, it carried the orbs, or cores, suspended by wind magic. Carefully scanning the surroundings, it squeezed through a broken window into a dimly lit building.

“Geez, that was close.”

Once inside, the cat transformed into a green-haired girl, collapsing onto the floor in exhaustion.

“Wow, almost got caught.”

Peering through the shattered glass, the girl licked her lips at the massive barrier hovering above Yeouido, enveloping all of Seoul.

A colossal dome-shaped barrier, fueled by immense magical power, sealed off the entire city, preventing even an ant from slipping through.

“How do I get out of here…?”

She could break through the barrier forcefully, but doing so would likely expose her position to whoever set it up.

“I should’ve just killed that guy and left right away.”

The girl tossed and caught one of the cores like a toy.

While playing with human lives might seem cruel, the girl herself was far from human—a monstrous being beyond categorization. She savored the core in her hand.

“But I can’t just let this go.”

With childlike curiosity, she popped the core into her mouth, rolling it around with her tongue. Hard as steel, the core gradually melted like candy under her playful manipulation.

“Kids these days call this JMT, right?”

Like a sparrow unable to resist a granary, the girl abandoned her original mission upon discovering the unguarded container of monster cores.

Crunch!

Tossing the core back and forth in her mouth, the girl stood up, breaking it with her teeth.

“Only managing to grab twenty feels kinda disappointing.”

Monster cores weren’t easy to come by, especially when they were left so carelessly unprotected.

Of course, according to normal logic, <Red Pine>’s defenses should have deterred even the strongest villains, but the girl transcended such norms.

“Hmph, why am I wasting time here?”

Though the milk offered by her target was delicious, nothing compared to fresh cores imbued with magical energy.

“…Still, it’d be a shame to leave things as they are.”

Despite her nearly depleted magical reserves, the person who gifted her such a fine present deserved gratitude. Especially if they shared similar tastes.

“Yeah, I can’t kill someone who loves mint easily.”

Awakened four years ago from a deep slumber, the girl realized how different her preferences were from ordinary humans.

– There are no bad people among those who love mint!

From this perspective, her target was exceptionally kind, offering the mint leaves she intended to eat to her cat form. What a pure-hearted individual indeed!

Slurp.

The lingering minty freshness reminded her of the kindness shown. The girl absentmindedly touched her lips, lost in thought.

“Too precious to kill.”

Just as she had awoken from a long sleep, humanity’s bustling activities fascinated her.

“Ah!”

Eureka! That method existed. Licking her lips, the girl levitated all the cores in front of her.

“First, I’ll kill them and make them my servants!”

Creating a world where she could enjoy mint leaves with cats three meals a day, every single day of the year. Chuckling mischievously, she extended her hand toward the floating cores.

“O great winds that traverse heaven and earth! Follow the guidance of Penril of Gale, descend upon the stars, and dwell within the hearts of sinners! I shall be your new master, and you shall be reborn as new winds under my command!”

Intense gusts erupted from her outstretched hand, swirling around nineteen cores.

“I, Penril of Gale, hereby proclaim! Appear, children of the wind!”

Green light exploded throughout the building where the girl stood.

* * *

“Shit! What gives her the authority to order us around?! Princess Snow White?!”

“Whatever! Just follow orders! She said she’ll take full responsibility!”

Hunters fervently hunting villains became scattered across Seoul following the unexpected “Buster Call” issued by Princess Snow White Seok Harang.

Under the highest rank of command authority possessed solely by S-rank heroes, both heroes and hunters alike were obligated to obey Princess Snow White’s directives.

“Damn it, what about my ten billion won?!”

Though naturally resentful of Princess Snow White’s tyranny, recalling when and where her buster call rang brought tension back to the throats of those affected, prompting compliance.

“…A Moby-Dick level threat? Are you serious?!”

“Hey, hey! Shouldn’t we be running away right now?!”

Special ability users pieced together information streaming in to grasp the situation.

The encircling blockade centered around subway stations, along with the magical barrier spanning Seoul’s skies, unmistakably aimed to trap whatever villain lurked within the city.

Some optimists speculated positively, while others doubted Princess Snow White’s intentions.

“Nah, it’s probably just an extension of mole hunting.”

“Princess Snow White didn’t use her buster call for personal gain, right? She’s trying to round up all underground villains to boost her credits.”

While everyone speculated about Princess Snow White’s plans, stationed at various points near subway stations, two holographic screens suddenly appeared on every special ability user’s magical gear across Seoul.

[To all heroes, hunters, and special ability users in Seoul.]

One screen displayed the silver-haired Princess Snow White, the other a golden-haired foreigner never seen before.

“Who the hell is this guy?”

“Oh, isn’t that the blonde harem king from Oracle?”

Before they could ponder why Xi’an appeared alongside Princess Snow White on the screens, he spoke with a grim expression.

[As of 17:58, a villain has infiltrated Seoul…]

KWAANGGGG—————–!

A deafening explosion sent a towering pillar of green light soaring into the heavens from southern Seoul. Every special ability user instinctively turned their gaze toward Nam San Tower, the source of the brilliant light.

The volcanic eruption-like beam collided with the barrier, scattering light fragments that rained down across Seoul.

“What, what is that?!”

“This is… magical power?”

Before the special ability users could debate the nature of the green light pillar and its magical origins, their magical gears emitted urgent alarms.

■■■■■■—!

The ear-splitting sirens unmistakably echoed warnings heard only during past dimensional gate incidents or appearances of interdimensional beings.

Every hero and hunter’s mouths dried up.

DING! The magical gears forcibly opened screens displaying warning messages.

<Level 1 Emergency Declared, Hazard Rank SS.>

<Pattern Green (綠). Fenrir Alert Issued.>

<Evacuate immediately if you're near the affected area.>

“……AAAAAAHHHHHH?!?!”

“S-someone save me?!”

One by one, the special ability users constructing Seoul’s encirclement began fleeing.