Chapter 366

Chapter 366. The Birth of a Hero (3)

Rashar had Gilenios pinned down, gazing at him struggling momentarily.

I quickly realized my oversight.

‘I shouldn’t have given that guy a communication device.’

Gilenios was the type who would press buttons and babble even in battle.

It was a great relief we realized this before the fight began.

“… Take the communication device.”

At my single utterance, Rashar wasted no time in snatching the earpiece-like communication device plugged into Gilenios’s ear.

Then dragging Gilenios by his brightly flushed face, she took him away.

Gilenios struggled but could not best Rashar’s strength.

“Let’s move too!”

After the two left, at Kim Yul’s prompting, Yang Taeho also began moving along the path.

The only ones remaining in position were Lily and Ethan from the last group.

It wasn’t that there was a problem; they were simply issuing final instructions to the players affiliated with the association.

“As you all know, even if your equipment gets damaged, continue filming with the auxiliary gear provided in advance.”

A significant number of teams and equipment had been deployed to capture the hunt.

The filming team, composed entirely of Platinum-ranked players, wasn’t particularly welcome to me.

However, I couldn’t ignore Lily’s advice and allowed their interference.

– The public anxiety level is too high currently. In areas where the population density has increased due to the influx of refugees, there are even signs of riots.

The sudden emergence of Angramoti had further fueled such social phenomena.

People were starting to be gripped by the fear that the world might end.

As a result, the crime rate was on the rise again.

Murders, robberies, assaults, and even terroristic acts; not to mention crimes by cults using doomsday prophecies to scam people, were rampant.

‘In just a few days that I stood by the side of the system.’

The report was sickening, but it couldn’t be ignored entirely.

After careful deliberation, I approved Lily’s proposed solution.

To film the battle scene that captures the victory and make it public.

‘There’s nothing as effective as visual materials.’

If we succeeded in hunting Angramoti and publicized the process, a good portion of the public anxiety caused by the war would be alleviated.

Overwhelming military might holds immense value.

Of course, it wasn’t the sole purpose of this filming.

– Moreover, it’s a sure way to gather divinity.

Lily knew that continued divinity was needed to maintain my combat capability.

Thus, in my absence, she supported those from the Palao priesthood, expanding my faith diligently.

– We need to expose more of K to the public.

This effort was a part of that strategy.

I was already concerned about what would happen after hunting Angramoti.

If, by any chance, I exhausted all my divinity in this battle.

‘The Earth would become vulnerable instantly.’

Angramoti was merely a stepping stone; if there was a final boss, it would be Omby.

With it still intact and some legion commanders possibly remaining, there was no choice but to prepare for what comes next.

‘The system won’t have the strength to protect Earth until it’s fully restored.’

Moreover, the foe to be captured this time was not a complete god but rather a fallen, irregular caliber.

‘Its divinity must have already been significantly depleted.’

Even when capturing Karklein, its divinity wasn’t so abundant.

It was embarrassingly less compared to what Meferoseta or Agnotia possessed.

Moreover, it was polluted and needed purification before use.

In many ways, Angramoti was an inefficient prey with rewards lower than the resources invested.

In short, it was no more than a shiny but unfulfilling prospect.

Despite that, capturing it was necessary, which compelled the undertaking.

Lily presented a way to address that drawback.

I thought rejecting such a well-considered countermeasure would be the worst choice, hence accepted Lily’s proposal.

‘Once decided, there’s no looking back.’

I watched the filming team players in the midst of preparation and turned towards Lily and Ethan, breaking the silence.

“I’ll move ahead.”

“Yeah, we will wrap up and mobilize shortly.”

“Be careful, K.”

With Lily and Ethan seeing me off, I tread upward, stepping through the air.

Reaching a height where the air turned chilly, I could see far off Angramoti that had been steadily advancing northward for days.

Even with ten heads, it only had four legs, making its movement somewhat sluggish.

However, the path it traversed often became a wasteland.

Angramoti was obliterating its surrounding while it stuffed various plants into its ten gaping mouths.

Devoid of living creatures around, it was probably trying to absorb life to secure its divinity in whatever way possible.

‘Civilian evacuation is proceeding well.’

Evacuation continues along the route Angramoti moves.

It may mean an increase in property damage wherever it passes.

But human casualties are being minimized.

This means we can afford to drag things out a little more without major issues.

‘For now, it’s reconnaissance.’

To ensure its certain death, intel on its regeneration was needed.

To learn how much it could regenerate.

Whether speeds changed with the increase in areas to be regenerated.

Identifying the limits of impossibility would be beneficial.

And if any weaknesses were discovered during the reconnaissance, even better.

After reviewing the strategies, a few minutes of waiting followed.

A brief wait later, I heard a transmission from the earpiece in my ear.

『Preparation completed.』

Pressing the button near the earpiece, I responded.

『Let’s commence.』

It was time to hunt down the corrupted god who had lost its past glory.

* * *

「(Breaking) Association official announcement, creature that killed 9 Platinum ranks, successfully exterminated!」

「(Urgent) Monster appearing in Bulgaria, exterminated」

「The desolation post-war, association: ‘Will concentrate all efforts to compensate property damages.’」

「(World News) Bulgarian people jubilant and praising, ‘We believe in the myth of K.’」

「(Exclusive) Association releases video of creature battle, ‘The flawless victory of Humanity.’」

News related to the association’s announcement burst forth from various countries as soon as the Players Association held a press conference.

At the same time, the number of users accessing the global platform, UTube, surged.

『To deliver the victory of humanity more clearly, the association has decided to release the battle scene footage.』

It was because of the announced news during the ongoing press conference.

‘What on earth is going on…’

Viewers watching the problematic press conference in Korea hastily logged on to UTube.

They quickly found the video mentioned by the association’s media representative.

“Is it real?”

Muttering in disbelief, surprise was etched onto the voice.

It was the first time the association officially distributed ‘battle’ footage.

Until now, the Players Association had operated an official channel on UTube like many other guilds and individual players.

The videos uploaded there were varied.

Press conference recordings stating the association’s direction.

Educational videos aiding civilian evacuations.

Footage offering information on specific monsters to prepare for eventualities.

Debates against groups discriminating against demi-humans.

Footage promoting donation activities for war refugees.

The association-produced content was indeed numerous.

However, they hadn’t included battle scenes, especially ones depicting monsters being slain.

Even in regions where war was ongoing, footage of Hole-open areas was the same.

Footage from such areas was often uploaded by civilians illegally accessing the site, defying evacuation orders.

The association was reluctant to upload gruesome scenes, feeling there was no need to emphasize violence by publicizing war situations.

Yet today, that principle was broken.

‘Battle scene footage filmed by the association, they say.’

Gulping nervously, the viewer clicked play on the approximately 30-minute video.

The video, seemingly filmed by a drone, was showcasing a top-down view.

The most noticeable thing was the creature. The horrifyingly massive creature previously seen only through internet photographs.

“How many meters is that…?”

Having thought it looked large in photos, it appeared several times larger when seen beside real-world objects.

The creature conveniently had a building to compare with, and was now walking by, making its colossal size evident.

Its massive foot stepping on a 4-5 floored building and walking past was shocking, to say the least.

Frozen speechless at the unreal creature’s size, only momentarily.

『Let’s start.』

A voice came from the video, immediately recognizable due to its familiarity.

‘It’s K…!’

Having seen and heard countless contents, the certainty was there.

The English subtitles also displayed the name K beneath.

The viewer found themselves rooting for K’s victory, clenching their fists unconsciously.

And then, zap—lightning struck.

– Screeeech!

A bitter scream reverberated, palpable even beyond the screen.

“Ah!”

Involuntarily sucking in a breath, the viewer froze.

“It exploded!”

One of the ten serpent-like heads, sprawling in all directions and consuming everything in its path, exploded.

As thoughts of the creature being perhaps less formidable than anticipated fueled rapid heartbeats and quickened breaths, the creature’s head commenced its regeneration with bubbling fervor.

“Uh!”

Unlike the viewer opening their eyes wide in shock, an almost dispassionate and calm voice followed the shocking spectacle.

『First regeneration takes 45 seconds.』

The statement was spoken in English, with the subtitles showing it belonged to Lily.

The viewer brought their face closer to the monitor, almost as if being drawn into the footage.

Prior failed exterminations hadn’t reported anything regarding regeneration.

It was natural, given the inability to even wound the creature back then.

However, without any sign of disturbance, the efforts continued now.

Two heads were blown together this time, followed by their recovery.

Then, three, and finally four heads even.

『Regeneration speed is slowing.』

Feeling of futility replaced by confirmation with the persistent report tracking progress, viewers began piecing a picture that it was reconnaissance.

‘Wow, wow!’

Thump-thump-thump, the tension building up, quickened the pulse.

With repeated rounds of experimentation, the creature began to ferociously rampage.

From its intact maw, black fog poured out, enveloping the area.

『K, there’s a new pathogen message. Chaos Values are rising quickly.』

『I got the message too.』

『There’s no significant change for us.』

The sequence was in English, Korean, and Biharin.

The viewer’s expression became increasingly serious.

Following the failed first extermination attempt, reports had detailed new pathogens.

Unlike the old pathogens placing a mere timer targeting players’ lives.

This creature’s pathogen drove players into frenzy.

Infected players lost their reason, attacking their own allies.

Moreover, it didn’t stop at that, as it effected physical transformations.

The blood darkened, skin began to appear not human-like, splitting open, while the eyes turned an ominous crimson.

‘Monsterization.’

It was stated the creature’s pathogen could turn players into monsters.

Moreover, it was harder to purify compared to the older pathogens which merely placed a timer.

The unforeseen variable dealt considerable blows to the player faction.

Two Alpha station support staff were killed by players undergoing monsterization.

This prompted the association to quickly convert from a monster extermination to an evacuation strategy.

Taking a rash stance could’ve led to internecine slaughter.

During that time, Lily faced considerable criticism for cowardly fleeing, abandoning player duties without a fight.

Recalling news barely digested days before, the viewer’s lips turned dry.

‘All those folks are world-class level. If any of them get infected and lose their reason…!’

Would a catastrophe follow?

The viewer, nail-biting from overwhelming anxiety, suddenly startled.

『I have declared the domain. Be careful not to step outside it, report current status.』

『Chaos Values are dropping. Purification is faster than contamination.』

『Same here! It feels safest hunting alongside hyung. There’s no concern about contamination at all.』

Easy-going chats almost seemed strangely out of place with the scene.

The viewer recalled a known and long-overlooked undeniable fact:

The one holding the line there was K, the first-ever reported Alpha of humanity.

The implication of that fact was simple.

K was not only the first Alpha but also the highest-ranked purifier, the greatest Alpha.

Damned System