Chapter 255: Looking for Mom [R-18]

• * *

At that same moment.

Isabella, part of the team that had entered the Forbidden Zone, had secured four illegal Magical Beast Steel refineries disguised as ordinary buildings.

The surrounding area was littered with the mangled bodies of the Universe’s familiars. Just three seconds ago, they had all charged at her, brimming with hostility.

The White Devil’s power was overwhelming.

Clad in her suit, Isabella looked colder and more terrifying than any monster. White and faceless, she was like a machine existing only as an algorithm for dispatching enemies in an instant.

The Magical Beast Steel coughed up by the monsters she had just eliminated was being absorbed into her body.

In real time, she was growing explosively stronger.

“Miss. The area is secure.”

Rachel approached cautiously, like a personal secretary, and bowed her head.

“There were some who resisted. Who were they, Rachel?”

“They’ve been identified as members of the Black Star Society, one of Korea’s largest violent syndicates. Their leader is a man called ‘Chunwon.'”

“Chunwon?”

Rachel displayed the man’s face on a panel.

His first impression was that of a kind man. He had a face that looked like it could blend in anywhere.

What stood out was the incongruous, muscular physique that didn’t match his benevolent, middle-aged face.

Isabella recognized his face.

“He’s an S-rank villain.”

Ranked 5th on the villain database for threat level.

He was the villain who spread the new drug ‘Imperial Blue’ throughout Korea.

There were many rumors, like how he’d amassed a huge fortune and fled the country…

“So his drug den was here.”

“Were there any manufacturing facilities?”

“No, miss. His source for the drugs is still unknown.”

“Do you think they summoned the Universe’s Domain to hide all this?”

Rachel shook her head.

“That would be overkill. No matter how powerful an S-rank villain is, he wouldn’t have anticipated the horrific magical beasts that come with the Universe’s Domain.”

“So this was an unexpected turn of events for everyone…”

There was no point in questioning why a natural phenomenon occurred when it did.

Rain or shine, the mission had to be carried out. And as of yet, it was unclear who the dense fog favored.

It could be a boon for villains who needed to escape before Isabella closed in, but on the other hand, they could just as easily be horrifically killed by a monster.

“Miss. Why don’t you leave this to us and get some rest?”

“There’s still something I haven’t found. I’ll look around a bit more before rejoining you.”

“Yes, miss.”

She had a lead on the ‘Villain Alliance.’

And yet, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was still hidden. Driven by this thought, Isabella moved on.

It was then that she spotted Quintia.

The Sword Saint’s daughter.

Crimson hair, crimson eyes, a beautiful face.

With only a hood draped over her slender frame, she darted about the Forbidden Zone, looking like a runaway.

And yet, her face was so unrealistically beautiful that it made the monster-infested restricted area feel like a movie or drama set.

What was even more surprising was her skill.

Did she kill them all?

Along the path she had taken, the familiars of the Universe lay scattered about, sliced up like tofu.

Among them was a Depth Level 3 ‘General-class entity,’ a type that had given even Isabella some trouble.

This is beyond a first-year academy student…

Isabella herself was considered superior among the third-years, but Quintia’s potential had already reached a level where she could look down on most S-rank Hunters.

Quintia, in turn, noticed Isabella watching her from a distance.

“Ugh, the Student Council President…”

Quintia’s reaction was as honest as a runaway’s.

Ah, I got caught somewhere I shouldn’t have… That was the feeling.

Quintia pulled her hood down low and tried to head elsewhere, only to have Isabella block her path again.

“Find what you were looking for? I thought I’d offer some help today.”

“…You’re not nagging me today.”

“Because I’m not here as the Student Council President.”

Quintia, too, was surprised by the President’s movements.

She had planned to accelerate and disappear in a flash, but Isabella had cut her off just before she could.

The strength of the two was, right now, at its peak.

They were both too formidable to simply ignore each other and walk away.

“Why didn’t you report your survival? That’s a demerit.”

“But you said you weren’t here as the President…”

Quintia mumbled, averting her eyes as if she’d been struck by guilt.

“Can’t you… let it slide?”

“Stop asking me to let things slide and explain the situation.”

“It’s something I have to do.”

“It’s not just your business anymore. What’s happening here?”

“…”

She couldn’t just leave without an explanation.

The situation was different from last time.

Quintia clearly knew something, and Isabella had no intention of letting her go until she found out what it was.

Why was she wandering a place like this?

“I don’t really know, either.”

“You don’t know, yet you’re tearing this place apart?”

“Well… what I do know… is that this is the same kind of Domain that appeared in Korea over a decade ago.”

“…!”

Isabella realized what Quintia was about to say.

“…You know that the only Domain where the Sword Saint was defeated was the Universe’s Domain.”

“Your mother?”

“Yes…”

“Are you saying you’re on a rampage to avenge your mother?”

The story of how the Sword Saint Justia met her end in the Universe’s Domain is very famous.

Thanks to her, the Domain’s encroachment was repelled, and the small Korean peninsula was saved.

To put it crudely, it was the Sword Saint’s transcendent achievement, the kind of story that always comes up when you’re talking about national pride.

In this world, there exist various ‘Domains’ of external gods, introduced by Anomalous Gravity Waves…

And their value changes completely depending on what precedes the word ‘Domain.’

If you say ‘Domain of Beasts’… you might imagine swarms of goblins or orcs, but it doesn’t exactly inspire a sense of crisis.

But the ‘Universe’s Domain’?

“That’s not it.”

“It’s not to get revenge?”

“Mom is here!”

Huh??

Isabella was so stunned by Quintia’s answer that all the strength drained from her body.

“What are you talking about?”

“I know it. So…”

Quintia’s beautiful eyes filled with desperation.

“Don’t get in the way of me finding my mom!”

“…”

She came… to find… her mom…?

To find the Sword Saint Justia, who fell in this Domain at least fifteen years ago?

“So… are you talking about your mother’s remains…?”

“She’s alive!”

A bitter taste filled her mouth.

Quintia seemed like a fragile girl who couldn’t accept the fact that her mother was dead.

Isabella was so struck with pity that she couldn’t find the words to respond.

To think that behind that insane level of swordsmanship everyone admired, there was such a frail girl…

Wandering the Universe’s Domain, searching for the mother she lost over a decade ago.

“Go back…”

The words couldn’t help but escape Isabella’s lips.

“If I find anything, I’ll let you know.”

“I can do it myself. I have the strength for it. This isn’t a matter for the Student Council President to interfere in.”

“Are you trying to say this is a matter between a mother and daughter?”

As Quintia tried to turn away, Isabella grabbed her arm tightly.

“Then whose business is it?”

“You are one of Essol Academy’s most prized prospects. Corporations are lining up to sponsor you. If you were to be swallowed up and killed by the Universe’s Domain like your mother was…!”

“…”

“What exactly did your mother fight for?”

“Everyone just assumes it’s over. But my mom is still alive!”

“Your proof?”

Isabella’s grip tightened.

“The proof that your mother is alive. Give me that, and I’ll believe you. Tell me!”

“…Th-that’s…”

Quintia looked down, her confidence faltering.

“…Because… I saw her…”

“You saw her? Where?”

“In my dreams…”

Isabella felt a wave of dizziness and squeezed her eyes shut.

“Quintia.”

“…Don’t say anything. You don’t understand!”

Of course I don’t understand. It happened in your dream.

But she was too strong to dismiss this as the ramblings of a mentally unstable girl.

Like it or not, she wielded immense influence in this Domain. What if she were to die out here? As the Student Council President of a prestigious academy and as an S-rank Hero, Isabella couldn’t allow that.

“The Black Star Society, believed to be a core part of the ‘Villain Alliance,’ is operating in the shadows of this Forbidden Zone. Wandering around alone where an S-rank villain is active is suicide!”

“I can protect myself.”

“…”

She had a point.

If she had even a single scratch on her, I could have scolded her, asking what she meant by that.

There was no telling the depths of Quintia’s strength.

She had certainly inherited an incredible gift from her mother.

There was probably no one in Korea who could handle a sword better than Quintia.

In the future, she could even be recognized as a ‘Master Hunter,’ a title achieved by only a select few worldwide, and become a true Sword Saint.

Still.

In Isabella’s eyes, this first-year student seemed far too unstable.

“I have the sword I inherited from my mother. I will never lose. No matter who the opponent is…”

“Don’t try to shoulder everything yourself. You have the other academy students, your friends.”

“Don’t lump me in with children who think these Anomalous Gravity Waves are some kind of child’s play.”

“…”

The exchange event.

Quintia’s attitude during the exchange event, twice as aggressive as anyone else’s, flashed through her mind.

Quintia had certainly criticized the others for their carefree attitudes back then, too.

If she was the daughter of the Sword Saint, unable to forgive the machinations of the external god that killed her mother, then her feelings were understandable.

On the other hand, Isabella pointed out Quintia’s arrogance.

“You’ll never lose?”

“…”

At this, Quintia thought of the same person Isabella did.

“You lost to Kim Sang-hyeok, Quintia.”

Why was it?

Regarding the result of that exchange event, which everyone believed ‘Quintia won against Kim Sang-hyeok,’ Isabella, Seridwen, and a very small number of others…

…were thinking, ‘Kim Sang-hyeok let Quintia win.’

This, too, was just a feeling, but seeing Quintia’s expression, Isabella was certain.

“I was just flustered back then… Kim Sang-hyeok had eyes that looked like my mom’s and mine…”

“…”

“If we fight again, I won’t lose… I can even beat Kim Sang-hyeok!”

Isabella realized it was impossible to persuade Quintia now, filled as she was with stubborn pride.

She’s completely blinded by thoughts of her mother…

The Sword Saint, Justia.

Quintia wasn’t the only one who wished she were alive.

But in the past, after the dense fog had cleared, Justia was gone. Just like all the other dead and missing.

“Now, don’t get in my way.”

It happened then.

As she walked away, Quintia froze. Isabella looked ahead as well.

Something was there.

Something formed from a cluster of red mist.

It had a human shape.

“Mom?”

“…Quintia!!”

Shwwk.

The red figure swung its sword. Quintia couldn’t even react before her body was slashed.

“Ah…”

Without hesitation, a second strike.

The sword strike descended, poised to split Quintia’s head open.

Isabella immediately jumped between them to block it, but even her Devil Suit, which could withstand artillery shells, couldn’t absorb all the damage.

“Kuh!”

Her transformation was forcibly canceled!

Who is it…!

What is this red swordsman, this shimmering heat haze?

Isabella stared with wide eyes, but the opponent looked like nothing more than a shimmering haze holding a sword.

And yet, it threatened the two women as if it had a distinct physical form.

“Quintia. Snap out of it!”

Quintia was bleeding from a deep gash, slowly losing consciousness.

“Well, well, look what we have here…”

Seizing the opportunity, the men from the ‘Black Star Society’ revealed themselves.

“Looks like a chance to kill the White Devil, doesn’t it…?”

“…You bastards…”

“But before that, we’ll pass her around and have some fun.”

Supporting Quintia, Isabella gasped for breath.

How can thugs like these command such a powerful underling?

The question was fleeting.

“Hey, you, the red thing. Good work. Leave the rest to us… huh?”

The moment the thug placed a hand on the shimmering haze’s shoulder,

Shhk.

The same sword strike that had destroyed the Devil Suit swung out, and the four tattooed thugs vanished along with the building behind them.

BOOM!!

“Huh…?”

“Wh-what the…”

“This bastard! It’s completely insane!”

This thing… it can’t distinguish friend from foe…?

Regardless, it was a golden opportunity to avoid a fight.

Isabella hoisted the injured Quintia onto her back and immediately fled the scene.

Galactic soldiers, drawn by the commotion, also swarmed the red swordsman.

But it was all too clear who would be left standing in the end.

The red swordsman’s gender and face were impossible to discern. It just looked like something that swung a sword.

It would appear from the edge of the thin mist, wipe out everything—monsters and humans alike—and then vanish again.

What in the world was that…

Ksshk. Ksshk.

“Comms restored. This is B-Team! White Devil, please respond!”

“This is White Devil. I’ve found one person of interest. She is injured, so I am temporarily leaving the area.”

“Acknowledged. Black Star Society members are being spotted throughout the region. All Heroes and Hunters in the area, proceed with caution!”

Isabella paused to catch her breath, then shifted Quintia, who was breathing shallowly, on her back.

“Presi…dent…”

“…Just hold on a little longer.”

Even though it meant letting a crucial clue slip through her fingers.

…Right now, treating Quintia’s wound comes first.

Suppressing her regret, Isabella leaped away.

---

Translated By: Meher (RaidenTL)

Please do consider subscribing to my Patreon for requests or to get early access to chapters