Ch.44Forest God

    # Gashadokuro

    It was one of the death monsters of the Kitsune Family, and its ability was very simple.

    It could forcibly make the bones of its fallen targets protrude from their bodies.

    “How frightening…”

    Aikido, a traditional Japanese martial art consisting solely of evasion and defense rather than attacks.

    Watching Princess Kurumi, who combined techniques derived from this martial art with Gashadokuro’s ability, Lorensky thought to himself.

    A woman dancing atop a mountain of bones.

    Despite being from a Hunter family, she possessed talent that was unbelievably extraordinary.

    ‘She seems to have just reached adulthood, but her future looks bright…’

    However, she was still just a rookie.

    “Huff… huff…!”

    She appeared to lack the stamina needed to simultaneously summon monsters and use Aikido. As Princess Kurumi grew exhausted, monsters rushed past her toward the civilians…

    Crack.

    Snap.

    …and Lorensky’s current role was to eliminate all of them and perfectly handle the aftermath.

    “Princess. You seem to be struggling. Would you like to pass the baton?”

    “I’m, I’m fine…”

    “…Is that so?”

    Perhaps at first it wouldn’t have been noticeable.

    But as time passed and endless waves of monsters swarmed in, small wounds began appearing all over Princess Kurumi’s body—injuries from attacks she couldn’t completely deflect.

    Despite this, she refused to abandon her position at the front line.

    As if she wanted to die honorably while protecting people.

    ‘…! I don’t know what she’s planning, but if I leave her like this, she’ll die soon!’

    His original mission was to secure the princess’s safety, after all.

    Feeling the situation had become too dangerous, Lorensky planned to forcibly send Kurumi to the back and take the lead position himself.

    But at that moment.

    Crack.

    “Huh?”

    “…What?”

    The horde of monsters that they thought would only come through the amusement park entrance.

    CRASH!

    They broke through the ceiling of the massive dome and appeared from the “sky” like a calamity.

    “F-from the sky…!”

    “Monsters?!”

    Small demon-like creatures with bat wings and bronze skin resembling a mix of bats and small goblins instantly filled the amusement park’s ceiling.

    Seeing this sight, everyone on the ground—both Hunters and civilians—froze with tension.

    “I-I put my mother on top of the gyro drop…!”

    “M-my kids are in the hot air balloon hanging from the ceiling!”

    In an instant, what they thought was the safest place—the sky—had become the most dangerous zone.

    “If it’s the sky, I’ll handle it somehow, so everyone please stay calm…!”

    Lorensky looked around at the people in the center of the amusement park who were gradually falling into panic, trying to help them regain their composure.

    He could launch himself into the air by creating explosions under his feet.

    Besides, monsters typically responded first to large concentrations of human presence rather than scattered individuals.

    In other words, in this situation, it would be better to stay together to focus the monsters’ attention…

    “G-grandma!”

    “My son!!”

    …that would be the best strategy, but.

    “W-wait, everyone first…”

    “Shut up! I have three daughters!”

    “My grandmother has severe acrophobia!”

    The elderly and children—two vulnerable groups.

    When untrained civilians realized monsters had appeared right next to these vulnerable people, they naturally lost their reason.

    By the time Lorensky hurriedly grabbed one person, dozens had already scattered, each running toward their own families.

    “…! Suka! If you don’t stay together, it’s pointless for me to fly around! You idiots!!”

    Thud.

    “…?! Sugaaa!! This is why I can’t do normal Hunter work!”

    Moreover, up ahead, the princess had fallen to her knees before the approaching monster horde, apparently having reached her limit.

    In any case, it was extremely rare for individual civilians to successfully rescue their families while evading flying monsters.

    Most would likely be caught along with their families and be devoured in mid-air, meeting a miserable death without ever touching the ground again.

    “At this point, at least the princess…!”

    Both the ground and sky were completely overrun by an unexpectedly large monster horde.

    To make matters worse, Lorensky himself was indoors and had nearly sealed his own abilities out of concern for civilian casualties.

    At this point, even his protection had reached its limit, so he was running toward the sweat-drenched princess to at least secure her safety, which was his original mission.

    But… suddenly he stopped in his tracks.

    “…What is this?”

    And it wasn’t just Lorensky.

    The little demons that were flying toward the elderly and children on the rides.

    The people running to protect their families.

    Even the monster horde that had been continuously pushing through the entrance—they all simultaneously stopped what they were doing and tensed up.

    Because of “that thing” that was about to descend upon this place.

    “…! Could it be… that I, who was once a National Authority-Level from the Soviet Union, am now feeling fear…?”

    Lorensky realized that what had stopped him in his tracks was none other than “fear.”

    Yet, he couldn’t believe it.

    Through all kinds of trials—even when facing National Disaster-Level monsters—he had always stood at the front line without hesitation.

    It felt like facing an impossible reality.

    But as the giant of the void began to emerge, tearing through Princess Kurumi’s shadow…

    “…!!”

    Seeing it, Lorensky finally understood.

    What he was feeling now was as natural a physiological response as a living being’s thirst for water.

    ***

    Risking one’s life for weak humans.

    Isn’t that the most honorable way to die as a descendant of a Hunter family?

    She only had about a year left to live anyway.

    Besides, she didn’t think she could endure the long year ahead.

    If she had to live forgetting something she wanted to hold onto forever, wouldn’t it be more luxurious to die like this?

    Since breaking up with Shinwoo, Kurumi’s already non-existent will to live had reached the point where she wanted to eliminate it completely.

    ‘If I push myself like this, eventually I’ll die from exhaustion.’

    Surely she would die so focused on battle that she wouldn’t even know when death came.

    And after death, she would become a “hero” who died saving people.

    “Huff… huff…”

    That would be far better than dying a meaningless death with her lifespan completely drained while doing nothing.

    With such thoughts, Princess Kurumi fought while coughing blood, believing she could smile until the moment of her death.

    CRASH!

    “…?! From the sky?”

    But when she saw the winged monsters breaking through the dome’s ceiling, her expression changed to one that had lost even that small glimmer of hope.

    “Aaaah!”

    “Save me!”

    People who had scattered to protect their families were now being picked off one by one by the monsters.

    In this situation, where not a single civilian could be protected, she was about to fall into despair.

    At that very moment.

    “Release. Me.”

    An even greater despair spoke to the princess.

    “Then. I. Will. Grant. Your. Wish.”

    “My… wish?”

    “Yes. Wish.”

    Princess Kurumi’s current wish.

    It was a “honorable death”—to die nobly.

    “…What’s the price?”

    “All. Your. Remaining. Life.”

    “…!”

    As expected, this being wanted all of her remaining lifespan.

    It probably wanted to devour everything at once, but due to some ancient contract, it had been slowly sucking away bit by bit.

    “Your. Answer?”

    No matter how much one prepares, when the time comes, one can’t help but fear.

    That is what death means to all living beings—the end.

    Moreover, this was Japan’s strongest and worst monster that no one in the Kitsune family’s history had dared to control.

    There was no way to equivocate.

    The moment she summoned it, losing her life as payment was all but certain.

    Furthermore.

    “I. Will. Save. You.”

    “……”

    “Salvation.”

    “…! Sal-vation…”

    The devil’s tongue is incredibly sweet.

    “I. Will. Free. You. From. Your. Painful. Life.”

    Throughout Princess Kurumi’s life.

    This “evil god” had lurked in her heart, seeing, feeling, and experiencing everything with her.

    That’s why this “evil deity” pretended to care for Kurumi, waiting for the moment when she would willingly give up her life.

    “…Alright.”

    Abandoned by her father.

    Her only family, her mother, mistreated until death.

    Living merely for the sake of being alive as a sacrifice, and even pushing away the man who could have been her only light.

    For Princess Kurumi, there was virtually no fear of drinking from a poisoned chalice.

    “Save everyone in the amusement park.”

    “……”

    “In exchange, I’ll give you everything I have left.”

    With those words, Kurumi felt all the warm energy of life disappear from her body.

    Crack. Crackle.

    That which took most of the princess’s remaining life force.

    The thing once called the Giant of the Void from ancient times, like branches forming a fence…

    “Huff, huff…!”

    As Kurumi collapsed, breathing heavily, it finally revealed itself, tearing through her shadow and receiving fearful gazes from all living beings.

    A monster in human form that looked like it was woven from trees.

    Around it, deep darkness began to spread as if it were absorbing all surrounding light and beginning photosynthesis.

    Simultaneously, behind its back appeared an incredibly powerful energy in the shape of a circle, like a small sun, of unimaginable strength.

    Its appearance was truly that of a nature god with the sun at its back.

    …No, it was an “evil deity” that devoured nature, a “natural disaster” that humans could never hope to control.

    “What… what is this…!”

    “……”

    Amaterasu.

    Lorensky, standing directly before it, was completely frozen.

    It was unbelievable.

    Until now, he had thought the strongest being he’d ever encountered was that pitch-black monster he met at the Korean branch.

    But this was on a completely different “dimension.”

    It was so overwhelming that he didn’t even consider striking first.

    It was simply a monster in the truest sense.

    “Oh, OHHHHH!!”

    Suddenly, Amaterasu raised its wooden arms high into the sky as if conducting a choir.

    At the same time, the tree trunks growing beneath its feet suddenly began to grow wildly, instantly extending throughout the amusement park and even beyond.

    They impaled all monsters in their path—in the sky, on the ground, underground—without discrimination.

    “The, the monsters…”

    “They’re withering away…?!”

    The tree branches, which extended even beyond the gates where monsters were appearing, exterminated all of Princess Kurumi’s enemies across dimensions, as per the contract—or rather, they became the “meal” of the evil deity.

    All this happened in less than a minute after its appearance.


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