Chapter 566: Three-Headed Basilisk Subjugation Battle (2)

Eun & Ok Co., Ltd., Gangdong District Branch.

“The, the gate leading to the Abandoned Village isn’t working?!”

“Yes, yes…. It hasn’t been working since the last warp gate activated about 10 minutes ago! We’re trying to restore it, doing everything we can to get it working…. Ah, it’s probably because a high-level monster inside triggered the warp gate’s defense system….”

“Sigh, this is a critical situation right now….”

Seo Ok-hee, CEO of Eun & Ok Co., Ltd.

Upon hearing the guild employee’s sudden report that the gate was unusable, she bit her lower lip, her expression filled with anxiety.

The accident in this dungeon had to happen precisely on the day of the integrated management of the Abandoned Village.

Fortunately, most of the hunters had already finished their quotas and gone home, and those who remained had mostly been evacuated outside the nearest gate via emergency guidance drones, but.

The problem was the few hunters and guild employees still inside the dungeon.

First, there were the sisters from the Dokyung Group, affiliated with the foundation, and the Saintess from Vatican City.

Although they weren’t affiliated with her guild, this integrated management day for the Abandoned Village was a subjugation event jointly managed by the three major guild alliances.

If anything were to happen to them, even if not to the same extent as the Korean branch representative of the Ariel Foundation, she herself wouldn’t be free from responsibility and pressure.

“This, sigh….”

Moreover, there were individuals who made Seo Ok-hee even more anxious than them from the very beginning.

When she confirmed that the entire membership of the Sky Blue Shield, who had been achieving remarkable feats in her guild recently, was still left inside the dungeon, Seo Ok-hee wished desperately that the news was just a dream.

Because that Sky Blue Shield was a party that included the two children of her best friend, Kang Eunyoung.

Although one of them was in a position similar to a stepson.

“…We can’t enter the Abandoned Village…?”

“……!!”

S-class hunter Kang Eunyoung, who had intended to enter the Abandoned Village with her to carry out a rescue operation.

The chilling voice that escaped her lips made not only the guild employee but even Seo Ok-hee feel frozen.

Kang Eunyoung’s killing intent, on the verge of losing her reason, instantly enveloped the 7th-floor office of Eun & Ok Co., Ltd.

“U, Eunyoung-ah….”

“…….”

No matter how much higher her hunter rank was, even she couldn’t easily subdue Kang Eunyoung in her ‘Berserk’ state.

Of course, usually, she could control her berserk state by managing her anger and excitement.

As soon as she recognized that her two children were in danger, she found it difficult to control her emotions.

She began to show signs of returning to her days as the ‘Berserker of the Greatsword’ right in the middle of the company building.

“C-calm down, Eunyoung-ah! You can’t lose your reason already!”

“C-calm…? You told me to calm down now…? When Hye-eun and Taekyung are isolated inside the dungeon…? And Taekyung is even missing in there right now? And you tell me to calm down…?”

“I-it’s not that! I’m saying it because there’s obviously another way! If you waste your strength here pointlessly, you won’t be able to do anything once we get inside the dungeon!”

“…Tell me quickly.”

“…….”

She had only blurted out words instinctively, thinking she had to calm Kang Eunyoung down; naturally, Seo Ok-hee hadn’t come up with any other solution yet.

Reading the eyes of her friend of 30 years instantly, Kang Eunyoung’s gaze grew cold.

“So you didn’t have one after all. And yet you told me to calm down? Ok-hee, huh?”

“N-no! I do! I was just thinking for a moment to organize my words!”

“10, 9, 8….”

The hunters remaining in the Abandoned Village being isolated was already enough to make her head spin, and on top of that, her best friend was losing her mind to rage and reciting a countdown to destruction.

Seo Ok-hee thought of a way to resolve this situation somehow.

“F-first, let’s use the warp gate at the intact Union Guild….”

“CEO-nim! The gate at the Union is also reported as unusable!”

“W-what?!”

“5, 4, 3….”

Think, Seo Ok-hee, think.

Find a way to calm down this crazy bitch and get into the dungeon…!

“2, 1….”

“Let’s, let’s go to Gangwon Province!”

“……Gangwon Province?”

“The, the Abandoned Village became a dungeon through dungeonization! The actual dungeon location is in Gangwon Province, so we can just go there and enter directly beyond the barrier!”

“…….”

“With my awakened ability, I can definitely break through the barrier and pass with just you and me! If we don’t leave quickly, we’ll really be too late?!”

“…….”

Seo Ok-hee continued her desperate persuasion with her longtime friend.

Kang Eunyoung paused for a moment, her eyes holding a crimson hue just before full berserk transformation.

It was a situation where provoking her emotions even slightly could potentially turn the company building into rubble.

In an atmosphere where the signs of impending battle, which shouldn’t have been there, lingered, Seo Ok-hee and the guild employees held their breath, watching the legendary S-class hunter.

In the quiet silence, the killing intent centered around her, the berserker, slightly subsided.

“Alright, let’s go to Gangwon Province.”

“Th-that’s a great idea, Eunyoung-ah.”

“W-we can prepare a vehicle for you right away….”

“No need. We’re going alone anyway.”

“Huh?”

-Thud.

“Eunyoung-ah, you don’t mean….”

-Screeeech!!

“Oof-kki-yaaaaak!!!”

“CEO-nim!!”

Grabbing her suit collar tightly with her fist, she leaped towards the 7th-floor window.

Without giving the other employees time to stop her, she bolted out, carrying Seo Ok-hee in one hand as she jumped out the window.

The guild employees could only watch helplessly as their CEO was kidnapped by an S-class hunter right before their eyes.

“…Keuhuk, Kang, Eunyoung…!! I definitely told you not to do this about 20 years ago…Ke, keuhuk…!!”

“…….”

“Y-you crazy… bitch!!”

Regardless of whatever complaints Seo Ok-hee uttered, Kang Eunyoung simply ran across the building’s rooftop, carrying her, heading towards Gangwon Province.

The situation was already considerably delayed just by this; thinking that they might truly be too late if they didn’t save even a moment more.

…Of course, at that time, neither of the two women realized that it was already too late for them to step in and sort things out.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

The biggest reason I decided to become a hunter was the monster wave incident that happened in this damn Abandoned Village.

On that day, 13 years ago, I came on a family outing with my parents to an amusement park in a village in Gangwon Province, and beside us were Hye-eun and Eunyoung Noona, who we had known as neighbors since childhood.

Of course, outwardly I was just a ten-year-old child, but inwardly I was a man in his twenties; however, that wasn’t really a reason not to go on a family outing with my parents in this world.

Since it was my second life, not my first, I also wanted to enjoy a naive and leisurely life like a child of that era.

And besides, whether you’re in your twenties or thirties, amusement parks are always fun.

‘Kyaaaaaaak! It’s a monster wave!’

‘R-run! A giant monster… Aaaaaak!’

And that time, which should have been enjoyable, soon transformed into the worst period of my second life.

The monster wave that occurred that day became the decisive event that orphaned me, leaving me unable to even properly recover my parents’ bodies.

The cause was a dungeon gate that appeared in the underground storage of a monster material processing factory near the amusement park.

Unfortunately, because the dungeon gate appeared deep inside an unused and abandoned warehouse, it couldn’t be discovered and dealt with early on.

Ultimately, the monster wave that day was caused by the dungeon gate exploding after its management period was missed.

…And the boss monster that caused that damn monster wave was currently right in front of my eyes.

‘Shaaaahak!’

‘Siiieeeek!’

“…….”

This Three-Headed Basilisk didn’t directly kill my parents, but it was an undeniable fact that my parents died in the monster wave that originated centered around this creature.

In a sense, this creature was also the biggest reason I decided to become a hunter.

Ultimately, killing this boss monster with my own hands was my goal as a hunter.

‘Under normal circumstances, even confronting it like this on land would have been impossible.’

It was a creature with excellent adaptability, having slumbered at the bottom of the venomous lake for over a decade.

Unless all the venom in the Area A lake was drained, it would probably have been impossible to even engage in a proper fight.

However, due to various circumstances aligning, the creature had emerged onto land on its own and started the battle, and coincidentally, I had reliable companions by my side who would help me face this damn monster.

Perhaps, if not for this very moment, this opportunity might never come again.

At least, everyone here was someone who would willingly agree when I said I would fight.

“Everyone, prepare for battle!!!”

The Three-Headed Basilisk flinched once at my booming shout, and the hunters gripped their weapons, preparing for battle.

Not only everyone from the Sky Blue Shield and Sihee, but even Do Yehee and Lulusia were resolved to fight alongside me.

Taking advantage of that brief moment, I quickly considered how to allocate our current strength.

The strategy for three-headed reptilian monsters, including the Three-Headed Basilisk, was simple in principle, though difficult to execute.

After all, the auxiliary heads on both sides were merely supplementary, so all we needed to do was destroy the central main head.

The problem was that the central head’s durability was damn tough.

I had checked when I swung the Mithril Greatsword earlier, but it was naturally difficult to deal with the idea of simply pouring in the strongest attacks.

The only time the central head’s durability weakened was when the other two heads were destroyed and regeneration began.

If we could somehow land an attack precisely then, we could definitely finish the creature off.

There was no choice but to divide into three teams-front-liners, damage dealers, and support-for each head and face them one by one.

Since there were only 8 people who could be considered effective combatants, naturally someone would have to fulfill the roles of two people.

In this situation, it was only right that I take on that role.

Because I was a multi-awakened individual equipped with abilities as a front-liner, damage dealer, and support.

‘Although the conditions are still not perfect, there won’t be another opportunity like this.’

Today, I will take this creature down and end this long, bitter connection.

With only that thought in my mind, I assigned their respective roles to the others.

“Left head: Do Yehee as front-liner! Do Sihee as main damage dealer! Cha Yuri as support!”

“Got it.”

“Confirmed!”

“…Okay.”

“Right head: Kang Hye-eun as front-liner! Cheon Jihee as main damage dealer! Han Min-ah as support!”

“Yep!”

“Confirmed!”

“Me too, confirmed!”

“And for the central main head, I will be the front-liner and main damage dealer! Lulusia, please focus solely on supporting me!”

“Leave it to me!”

Everyone’s combat positions were set, and now it was time to trust.

That each person would properly fulfill their duties in their respective positions.