Part 1, Chapter 6 (13)

The monster froze.

Moby Dick froze.

The sea froze.

“Crazy.”

Hayate released his mana and stepped onto the ground. Instead of standing on the water’s surface, surrounded by wind mana, he placed his feet on the frozen sea.

Tap, tap-tap. He lightly tapped the ice with the tip of his shoe heel. It wasn’t just the surface that had frozen, like a river in winter. It had frozen deep down to the bottom.

Even if they were an ability user, could they really cause such an absurd miracle? Stopping an S-class monster’s charge, freezing hundreds of monsters following it, and freezing the sea to the point of creating an island.

Bwaaaang–!

The cruise ship blew its horn and began to move again. Inside the cruise ship, Fire Fist Lee Seung-hyung, an S-class Hero from Korea whom Gawain, a member of the Round Table, had marked as a new candidate, had already gone in to rescue people.

If an SS-class were to emerge from Korea, it would likely be Fire Fist. His S-class awakening was exceptionally unusual, and Seolhwa Princess, who had been stagnant at S-class for nine years, had many shortcomings in various aspects.

But that princess, who was like a hothouse flower, was now looking down at Moby Dick with an arrogant, queen-like expression from the edge of the ice island she had created. Hayate took off his goggles, which were obstructing his vision with frost, and pressed them onto his scarf.

“You said she was Gwanggeom’s disciple.”

The disciple of someone who might have been SS-class. There might certainly be some connection. But right now, it was more important to deal with Moby Dick.

Paang! Hayate quickly ran across the ice. It was faster to have solid ground to step on than to be in mid-air.

Seolhwa Princess Harang, who had her hand on Moby Dick’s forehead, waved her hand with an awkward expression.

“……Come to think of it, I haven’t even greeted you. Nice to meet you?”

“The same goes for me.”

The two men and women smiled awkwardly. Just a minute ago, they had been completely out of sync, cursing each other out in their minds.

However, Hayate was the more embarrassed one. He had failed to stop Moby Dick, while the other had succeeded in sealing Moby Dick with overwhelming power.

“…Thank you.”

“What?”

Harang shook her smartwatch. It was clear she was checking if the translation was wrong. Hayate shouted again, annoyed.

“I said thank you!”

“Oh my. What a surprise? Jilpungek worrying about his own country’s people.”

Harang asked with pure curiosity, but to Hayate, it sounded like a dagger.

At the time of the Naha Gate incident, which destroyed Okinawa, Hayate had not been able to return to his home country until Okinawa sank, under the pretext of traveling. Until he became a member of the Round Table and played an active role in the Dodgers Gate, he held a considerable rank in the world’s most disliked rankings.

Harang soon bowed her head at the uncomfortable emotion she felt from Hayate’s mana.

“Ah, sorry. You must have some circumstances.”

“……You felt it?”

The technique of reading an opponent’s emotions from their mana only works on obvious inferiors. Even if Hayate had been momentarily flustered, he was not so naive as to let Harang notice the emotional fluctuations in his mana.

“Are you really SS-class?”

“What’s that supposed to mean? Just get ready to fight. It’s not dead yet, you know?”

Harang tapped the ice with her other hand. Moby Dick’s purple eyes in the ice continued to glare at Harang. Hayate took his stance.

“Indeed. So you couldn’t kill it. Move aside, I’ll cut it down.”

“…First, your sword can’t pierce this, and second, you can’t release this right now.”

Hayate flared up and pointed to the deep sword mark on Moby Dick’s back.

“Can’t you see that sword mark? That it spurted blood from my single strike?”

Pfft. “You poured all your mana into one slash? As if it’d let itself get hit by that again.”

“Then I’ll cut it down now.”

“No, you can’t understand what I’m saying. Do you fly at the speed of sound all the time or did your eardrums burst? I said you can’t release this right now!”

Harang pointed behind her with her thumb. Behind them, the cruise ship had reached close to the land where the Heroes were waiting.

“You’re going to save the people first, then cut it or freeze it, right? You didn’t seriously come here just to kill this thing, did you?”

“……That’s not it.”

In fact, he wanted to thank her for saving the cruise ship. He wanted to express his gratitude for saving his younger sister, Hikari, who was on the cruise ship.

But he felt a little jealous that a woman from another country, whom he had looked down on, and who wasn’t even part of the Round Table-and had even failed the selection once-had reached a higher level than him. Hayate closed his eyes for a moment and took a breath.

“Alright. I admit it. For now, you are stronger than me.”

At the thought of finally being relieved, Hayate regained his composure. Of course, Harang’s expression soured when she heard that.

“Making that kind of comparison is meaningless, you know? More importantly, think about how to kill this thing. It’s slowly trying to break this. From the inside.”

“What?”

Harang pointed to Moby Dick, trapped in the ice. On the outside, it looked frozen, but inside, its mana was still boiling like an active volcano.

Harang pointed to her palm, which was placed on Moby Dick’s forehead.

“I’m suppressing it for now, but to kill that thing, I’ll have to release this once. And it’ll break free before everyone on the cruise ship is rescued.”

Rumble. An earthquake echoed through the ice island. Hayate nodded.

“Is it trying to shoot a breath attack from inside?”

“Maybe. Anyway, get ready to attack. So you can split Moby Dick in half the moment I release this.”

Harang pointed to Moby Dick’s back. Understanding that she meant for him to cut through the torn skin again, Hayate climbed onto Moby Dick’s back with a disgusted expression.

“I don’t know why all the women around me are so strong-willed.”

“What are you talking about? How delicate a boy I am.”

Pfft! Hayate tried hard to suppress a hollow laugh. Harang, with a sullen face, turned her gaze to her smartwatch.

[Good job, Harang-ah! The cruise ship has entered the park now!]

“…But it’s not slowing down?”

The cruise ship in the screen video was speeding towards the natural park. It looked like it was about to crash into the land.

[Yuseong’s net, ahem! Director Yuha is here! She said we can just buy another ship, so save the people first! We’re going to use the park as a buffer zone!]

“Yuha? Oh, wait a minute? Then the park?”

[Yuseong has decided to take full responsibility for that too! Don’t worry about land compensation issues anymore!]

“Wow, that’s amazing.”

A natural smile crept onto Harang’s face. She realized it again, but Yuha’s financial power was enough to make one’s jaw drop.

“Ah, then perhaps?”

Harang, with a flushed face, checked the condition of her clothes. Even though she had been surrounded by mana and fallen into the sea, half of her clothes were soaked from the splashing seawater. Her shoes were even still slippers.

“I, I’m fighting like this…?”

“What? Why is the translation like this? Is it broken?”

Hayate, who was on Moby Dick’s back, tapped his smartwatch. Suddenly, black sunglasses popped out, startling him.

[Good job, Himeji Hayate-kun! You truly are our treasure! Now, go ahead and cut off Moby Dick’s head!]

“…Haa, how noisy.”

Hayate simply closed the screen. Harang tilted her head.

“He seemed like a high-ranking official.”

“Chief Cabinet Secretary. It’s nothing special.”

“Cabinet? …Ministry of Defense? Secretary? Nothing special?”

Harang snorted.

“I guess if you’re part of the Round Table, that’s nothing.”

“No, you just heard it. What this old man is saying.”

“He said to kill Moby Dick?”

Harang tilted her head. Hayate beat his chest in frustration.

“You release this, and I cut it down, right? Then who gets the Last Attack when Moby Dick dies?”

“Last Attack? Last Attack? That would be you.”

Hayate pointed his finger at Harang’s innocent face and shouted.

“Hey, listen carefully. Even if I’m part of the Round Table, if I catch this, it’ll be registered as a hunt by the Japanese Association. The ownership issue will have to be sorted out later, but the person who caught Moby Dick will be registered as Jilpungek.”

“So what?”

“Aren’t you even upset? That I just swoop in and take what you froze and killed?”

“Bullshit, are you crazy?”

Hayate checked the translator again. He suspected that the part ‘또라이’ being translated as ‘トライ (try)’ was a translation error, if nothing else. The pronunciation was clearly different, and it sounded like an insult.

“Could you say that again? I think there’s a translation error.”

Harang cleared her throat and changed her words again.

“Ahem. I don’t care. What does it matter who catches it?”

Harang pointed at the cruise ship and smiled. The cruise ship slid nearly 300 meters across the ground and barely stopped in the middle of the park. Heroes who were waiting nearby were boarding the ship one by one to rescue people.

“We have to kill this thing right away and save the people, don’t we?”

“…….”

Hayate put on his goggles and wrapped his scarf. His face flushed with embarrassment at himself for having such materialistic thoughts in the face of a monster threat.

“The owner of the 13th seat of the Round Table has been decided.”

“Huh? What are you talking about? I didn’t hear you.”

“I said you’re strong.”

Harang scratched her head awkwardly. The Mini Phoenix, held by her hair clip, briefly sparkled, but Harang didn’t notice.

Rumble rumble rumble—-

The two Heroes’ expressions hardened at the vibration felt from inside the ice. A massive amount of mana surged from within Moby Dick’s body.

“What the hell?!”

“Hey, get out of the way!”

Harang retreated far back, and Hayate leaped high into the sky. Moby Dick’s purple glowing eyes flashed, and purple mana began to gather at the wound Hayate had inflicted.

ROOOOAR!!!

Like a whale spouting seawater, Moby Dick unleashed its mana. Even as it wounded its own body within the ice, Moby Dick slowly began to break the ice that bound it.

“…So, it’s targeting me.”

Harang, who was standing on the frozen surface, swallowed. Perhaps due to the fear that she might be killed, Moby Dick’s killing intent was entirely directed at Harang.

“This is Seolhwa Princess! Moby Dick’s aggro is on me!”

[What? The rescue isn’t finished yet!]

“It’s fine!”

KWAANG! Moby Dick broke through the ice and shot up above the surface. Moby Dick, with its entire body suspended in the air, then dropped its head straight towards Harang.

Harang leaped back with a backflip, pushing off the water’s surface again.

“I still have plenty of mana!”

The sea froze. Moby Dick slid, crashing its head directly onto the ice island.

ROAR!

Moby Dick, with its forehead torn, thrashed its body and crawled clumsily onto the ice island. Harang beckoned with her hand, provoking Moby Dick.

“It looks like a beggar, and its head is stupid too.”

ROOOOAR!!!

“Oh, so you understand me! What! If you’re pissed, then come at me! Do you like whale meat?!”

Moby Dick plunged into the sea, chasing Harang. Harang quickly flew north, starting a game of tag with Moby Dick.

“……I don’t know if I can pass this personality test.”

Hayate, with a lighter heart, chased after Moby Dick.

* * *

“Haaah!”

Lee Seung-hyung’s fist burst the head of a Deep Sea Ogre. The monster, slowly walking and flailing its arms, was easy prey for an S-class ability user.

“Are you alright?!”

Seung-hyung tore open the door. Inside the room was a bearded man huddled in the bed in a state of panic. The man mumbled in Japanese.

“There, there’s a monster….”

Seung-hyung’s smartwatch immediately translated his words. Seung-hyung grabbed the man’s shoulder and reassured him.

“Don’t worry, I am a Hero from Korea.”

A screen popped up, and Seung-hyung’s words were translated into Japanese. The man seemed relieved but also somewhat uneasy.

“W-why a Joseon person? Where are our Heroes and what are they doing…?”

“This ship is currently in Nam-gu, Busan, Korea.”

Seung-hyung displayed a map. The man was relieved by the location, but then something seemed to occur to him, and he grabbed Seung-hyung’s shoulder, shaking it.

“T-the murderer’s younger sibling is roaming around!”

“Excuse me?”

Seung-hyung didn’t understand the man’s words. A murderer? And a younger sibling?

The man suddenly realized that the other person was Korean and provided further explanation.

“Jilpungek, the Round Table Hero’s younger sibling, is on this passenger ship! They’ve been running around the corridors, waking people up to rescue them!”

“……?!”

Seung-hyung’s eyes widened. Only then did he understand why Jilpungek had rushed over from Alaska at Mach speed.

“Praetor! Is Jilpungek’s younger sibling among the rescued citizens?!”

[What?! …No! Besides, his younger sister is a first-year middle school student! There’s no way she’d be on the ship alone!]

As Seung-hyung shook his head, the man shouted with a face full of conviction.

“They came to me directly, woke me up, and left! That’s why I remember! Red eyes and black hair!”

“Where did they go?”

“Out of the room and to the left! They said they were going around waking people up!”

“Understood!”

Seung-hyung immediately ran out into the corridor. Soon, Pungbaek, who had received his call, ran down the corridor.

“Elder-nim! I leave this person to you!”

“What?! What about you?!”

“There might be more people inside!”

Seung-hyung infused mana into his eyes. Soon, his vision turned rainbow-colored. As if looking through a thermal camera, the entire corridor was blue, with red human figures standing out here and there.

Leaving Pungbaek to rescue the Japanese man, Seung-hyung ran down the corridor and reached the stairs leading to the basement.

A warmth was felt on the cold floor. Seung-hyung immediately touched it with his finger.

“Blood?!”

The metallic smell was definitely blood. The blood was sporadically leading towards the basement.

“Damn it!”

Seung-hyung immediately kicked off the stairs and leaped down.

* * *

“Haa, haa.”

Hikari leaned against the car, barely holding onto the thread of her consciousness that was about to snap. She had momentarily lost consciousness in the corridor due to the impact shaking the passenger ship, and when she woke up, Hikari immediately fled to the basement.

She had ‘fled’ while rescuing people. Not from a monster, but from a human.

Bang, bang, bang! Hikari swallowed her breath at the sound of the man’s footsteps running on the steel plate.

“Where are you! Come out!”

Regardless of the man’s shouts, he was holding an iron pipe from who knows where. The iron pipe clutched in his hand looked like it was about to strike something at any moment.

She wondered if he was trying to beat up the monsters that had come onto the deck, but the man was looking for people, not monsters.

“You murderous bastard! Come out!”

“……Hmph.”

Hikari covered her mouth with both hands. Her pounding heart made her wish it would just stop.

“We’re all going to die because of you!”

Thanks to coming down to the basement, the man didn’t know the situation outside. Even if Hikari tried to tell the man, he would try to kill Hikari.

Hikari instinctively felt it. The purple demonic energy flowing in the man’s eyes was clearly the kind of aura one would see from monsters from a dimensional gate.

It was not the moment to satisfy her intellectual curiosity with ‘How could a human do this?’. Hikari desperately hoped that the man would give up and run away somewhere else, or that the Korean Heroes outside would find her.

Suddenly, an alarm rang on Hikari’s smartwatch.

[To all Japanese citizens in Korea. Currently, S-class monster Moby Dick has left Tsushima and is heading to Busan-]

Beep! Hikari quickly turned off her smartwatch.

In the car’s side mirror, where Hikari was hiding, the reflection of a sailor with purple glowing eyes, holding an iron pipe and smiling, appeared.