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215. Their End, My Beginning
“Why is it raining so much? It’s pouring! Really pouring.”
“Master, this isn’t the time to worry about the weather. You need to be careful.”
“I can take out the hunters with ease. Do not worry. And it’s not like they’re all gathered, you know? Those on guard duty won’t be participating.”
“Even so…”
“Over there?”
“Yes. It’s the pub by the end of this road. Other than the owner, it should all just be Swesi’s hunters.”
“Good. Wait here.”
“I shall wait inside the storage.”
“Did you become attached to the storage? And did you forget already? If I die, the storage is completely destroyed. All the artifacts and you included.”
“Hey now. Did you already forget my amazing intuition? Until we charge into the headquarters, the safest place should be master’s storage.”
“Suit yourself.”
There was enough rain to drown out all the background noise nearby.
The smell of mud that I often picked up was now heavy in the air.
In the north castle gate was a cluster of pubs.
I was told that at the very north most pub was a gathering of Swesi’s hunters.
These hunters weren’t a huge threat.
It was not as if all 40 were gathered here, and they served only as prey that would give me the power I needed to take down the top 5.
I used the Iron Goat’s leather that most here used as a raincoat to cover my form.
It was partially to avoid the rain, but it was also to hide my identity.
The hunters wouldn’t be able to remember my face.
It would be the last face they’d see while being alive, so who would they be able to tell.
Maybe they could if they could speak after death.
However, I could not risk harm to the owner of the pub, so there was a need for me to hide my identity.
Without the slightest bit of hesitation, I opened the door of the pub.
“Hm?”
“…”
“What is it?”
The moment I opened the door, a strong stench of alcohol hit my nose.
It was to be expected since this was a pub, but it also meant that they had a lot of alcohol.
The hunters gave a look of suspicion and the owner of the pub ran over hurriedly after reading the mood.
With quite the troubled look, the owner spoke cautiously.
“Dear customer, I’m sorry but we’re not open today. I forgot to lock the door… Please come again at another time.”
“That’s weird. It looks like what they’re drinking is alcohol.”
“That’s… They’ve rented out the entire pu-…”
“Hey. The owner said the pub’s closed.”
“It’s been awhile since I’ve met someone so dense. Hey bro, didn’t you hear the owner tell you to get lost?”
“If you want to die old then read the mood, hmm?”
I pushed the chair back and stood up slowly.
Seeing that, the hunters snickered and talked smack.
Firstly, I had to take them all to a different place.
The stores nearby were also open right now, and due to the fact that this would be a fight between those with great power, it wouldn’t end with just a loud tussle.
Obviously, the collateral damage and the shockwave would be massive as well.
“What the? Do you want a fight or something?”
“Hey hey. Leave him be. It looks like he’s really drunk.”
“Must be tough standing guard duty all year. Should I have left a few alive or something?”
“What?”
“What is this bastard saying?”
“Wait a minute…”
“Follow me outside. Let’s not make a ruckus here.”
“All of you, detox. Whether this bastard is lying or telling the truth, this is clearly a challenge.”
“Let’s go to the hunting grounds. Don’t you think that it’d be okay even if it gets rowdy over there?”
“Arrogant fool.”
Steam came off their bodies.
Surprisingly it seemed as though they managed to get rid of all the alcohol they had consumed so far.
The scent of alcohol was so strong inside the pub that it was enough to make my nose sniffle.
As expected, the faces of the hunters that were red before regained their color.
Grabbing the weapons scattered about, each of them followed me out willingly.
While it was true that they broke the law as if it was legal, there was nothing good that would come out from attracting the attention of the average civilians.
Just like the piper who led the children out of the city, I led the hunters into the hunting grounds.
While it was a rank 1 hunting ground that was quite populated, there was a lack of people due to the late hour.
Due to the rain and even the moonlight being hidden, the area was covered in complete darkness.
As expected, the number of people coming out would be low when visibility was also very low.
Swesi’s hunters that followed me did not lower their guards once due to the worry that there would be an ambush on the way there.
It would be pretty difficult to believe that a single person would have wiped out all of the guards by themselves.
And what kind of a crazy person would taunt this many people at once by themselves?
They kept casting lightning and flame magic into the pitch darkness to light the area around.
“I’m alone. Enough with the noisy fireworks. Don’t you think this is a pretty suitable place?”
“Runt. I do not know what made you so confident that you’d do something like this, but do not make light of us hunters. You will pay greatly for doing that.”
“Two, four, six.. Thirty two in total. Thankfully not many of you are missing.”
“Formation.”
“Yes!”
The hunters formed up.
Perhaps due to being experienced Protectors, their formation didn’t have a single gap to it.
It was a circular formation that was suited for many against one.
However, they probably knew this as well.
The fact that the opponent could easily escape a formation like this.
This formation would only work against a weak opponent.
“Cast the barrier!”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
“A barrier? Is it like a Hold or Bind spell?”
No matter what they did, I was filled with a sense of leisure.
It was because the Titan Boots would obviously block something like a barrier.
And even if the status immunity granted by the boots fails to stop the effects of the barrier, I could easily escape it using Blink.
With me as the center, they circled me.
Those positioned further in back were casting their barrier.
It was a skill that I’ve never seen before, but because these hunters were professional kidnappers, it seemed that this was a mandatory skill you needed to obtain in order to capture someone.
The barrier’s effect was similar to the spell Hold.
A bunch of webbed nets flew towards me.
The area it covered wasn’t large, but the number and the thickness of the nets were great.
“W… What? Did it not work?”
“I also have a skill that is similar to this. Seeing this made me want to show it off to you hunters.”
“I can’t move my legs! Hurry up and use Cleanse!”
“Hm. No need to do so. You soon won’t be able to move the rest of your body as well.”
“Hurry!”
I casted Hold and Bind on the thirty some hunters gathered here.
Their bodies were completely bound, just like trophies but with their breathing intact.
Because they weren’t even able to move their mouths, they were letting out yells with horrible pronunciations.
And because their chest and stomachs were hardened like stone and unable to move freely, their breaths became labored.
Their expressions were filled with shock.
It was to be expected, as these hunters were considered pretty strong within Swesi.
It wouldn’t be a stretch to state that other than the top 5, these members were what made up the power of Swesi.
Not considering those who left after being selected as bodyguards or knights of the nobles, this organization was the strongest.
And now these hotshots were unable to move and waiting for their deaths due to a single nameless man that had suddenly appeared.
“Who are you! A count? A marquis? Just what do you have against us that’s making you do this?”
“No… This guy isn’t a count or a marquis. There’s no noble with a face or voice like this!”
“You sure know well because of your connections with the higher ups.”
“How dare you fuck with Swesi!”
“Do you have families?”
“What?”
“I asked if you have families. Did you marry? Well, seeing as though all of you seem pretty old, I assume at least some of you have married.”
“What bullshit are you spouting!”
“What would you do if your child was a daughter, or became a Protector when young?”
“Stop with your pointless nonsense!”
“Probably receive some special privileges, right? Then all of you gathered here must not know the sadness of losing your family.”
“…”
“…”
“And all of you will be unable to understand until the end. It’ll be on your families to do so for you.”
“AHHH!”
“You fucker! I’ll kill you with my hands! Let me go right now!”
Most of them raised their voice with anger and threw out a bunch of swears, but a few of them seemed to have accepted their fate while letting out some tears.
It was because this had become a situation where there was no hope for them to return back alive.
My thoughts were the same.
All of them will die here today.
Anyone can have regrets too late.
What human would not have any regrets at the guillotine
They could look like they don’t have any regrets on the surface, that is true.
However, they cannot be forgiven with regrets alone.
Obviously it was flawed that someone who isn’t omnipotent was bringing judgment upon them, but I had already made my decision.
“They say that when a person dies, they go to the god of death. Until you meet the god of death, you’ll have your memories intact of your life here. Reflect while you can. Just what acts you’ve committed until now.”
“You bastard! I won’t leave you in peace even after I die!”
“Watch your words. You don’t know if you’ll run into me even in the afterlife. Since there’s only 50 days left, wait for me. I’ll let you feel a far worse agony.”
“AHHH!”
At my call, my copies appeared.
“We’ll be simultaneously pouring down AoE spells. Do not even leave a single hair of them intact. Obliterate them all.”
“…”
“…”
“…”
As if perfectly understanding my command, all three clones were waiting for my signal.
Including me, 12 attack magics would simultaneously activate at once.
Because they have copied my special passives when being created, each of them could cast 3 skills at the same time.
There might be differences in the amount of damage the skills would inflict due to the differences in growth, but it would definitely not be a pathetic attack.
With their eyes wide open, the hunters waited for their deaths.
I immediately gave the signal to the clones.
Not stalling was the least I could do to show of consideration for those who could not even close their eyes as they died.
The clones and I each poured out a massive amount of different spells.
An explosive, ear shattering shockwave that seemed enough to split the sky open rang out, and the ground shook as if there was an earthquake.
Some of the skills with complete opposite attributes did cancel each other out, but the amount of magic casted was more than enough to take the lives of the hunters without their damage.
Due to the frost and flame magic, the pouring rain evaporated, then froze up again before exploding.
In the field where the clones, the hunters, and I were present, not even the rain was able to interfere.
Perhaps a minute had passed?
There was a massive hole in the 1st tier hunting ground.
It looked as though you could convince someone that a meteor or a nuclear bomb had gone off.
It was obvious that all the hunters had lost their lives.
You could be thinking that the summoned clones would’ve taken all the power from the hunters after taking their lives.
However, as I have stated before, the clones only grew stronger after defeating monsters.
The only one who had obtained the power of the hunters was me, the original caster.
“Urk! Damn it. I just can’t get used to it.”
Just as I had experienced before, the dizziness, feeling of sickness like I was about to puke, and the temperature of my body spiking up came back.
The reason must be the same as before.
It must be because I had obtained too much power at once.
I immediately took out a King’s Marble and swallowed it.
Almost as if being reborn, my condition recovered in an instant.
“Dan. It’s taken care of. We’re heading to Swesi’s main headquarters.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“I’ll say it again, but your role in this is crucial. I assume you’re aware of this already?”
“Yes! Please believe in me. This is the path I chose. I’ll make sure to make it as sturdy as I can.”
“Such a smooth talker… I’ll summon you when I’m near.”
“Yes!”
After finishing my talk, I took out a scroll from the storage and tore it.
It was time for me to head towards Swesi’s main headquarters.
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