"Tsubame Gaeshi."
Right after Reo finished saying his words, in an instant the whole world became silent and instantly the time itself seemed to stop. At that moment, Reo who looked like a statue immediately swung Honjo Masamune in his hand towards Anaceen from three different directions. Diagonal Slash from right and left and vertical slash from top to bottom.
In a world that is not bound by the concept of time, Reo's hand movements look very fast and elegant. His golden eyes shone before he launched his final slash towards Anaceen. And--
* slash * * slash * * slash *
"Arrrghhh !!"
Suddenly, time returned to normal and the three slashes that Reo launched at the same time immediately cut Anaceen's body into six parts.
* spurt *
" Arrrrghhh!! "
Anaceen cried out in pain as she felt her beautiful body had been cut into six parts by Reo who attacked her suddenly and in a very short time. She widened her eyes in surprise, the shock of being hit by Reo's attack still enveloped her mind.
'Eh? '
Anaceen was still unable to respond to what had just happened, her red blood immediately gushed into the air as her body split into pieces. She did not understand why Reo's attack could hit her body, she had not even had time to use her special ability to reconstruct her body into liquid.
But that was in vain because the attack that Reo launched was so fast, no ... Fast was an understatement. Even if Anaceen managed to fend off one of the slashes that Reo had made, her body would still be cut off by the other two.
It was a secret sword technique that Reo had created by himself, and he had developed and combined with his neutral Ki over the years, Hiken: Tsubame Gaeshi. The technique that Reo has perfected over the years so that no one can avoid its attacks.
"What was that just now, even though I was prepared for his attack but why does it still hit my body !! ..." Anaceen thought.
Anaceen's body which was split into several parts then fell helplessly to the ground, but Reo knew that the fight did not end there. When the slimy flesh layer that Reo was starting to tremble, Anaceen's eyes then glanced at her severed right hand.
But that did not escape Reo's observation, seeing Anaceen's attention directed towards her right hand. Reo then also glanced at Anaceen's right hand which was lying on the pile of meat.
' That... '
His eyes glanced at the red crystal on the shoulder of Anaceen's hand, the crystal that he had not cared much about when he first saw Anaceen's figure.
* srruuutt * * clasp *
Anaceen then with her head and part of his torso began to be coated by flesh and slimy tentacles that emerged from the layer of flesh beneath. Trying to grab the hand that lying helplessly.
But when her artificial hand made of flesh tried to reach her right hand, suddenly--
* slash * * spurt *
Anaceen widened her eyes when she saw that her artificial hand had just been cut off, a white flash that appeared suddenly had cut it into minced meat.
"* gasp * Grrr ... Human !!" The surprised expression on her beautiful face immediately turned into anger and hatred directed at Reo. Her eyes were filled with terrifying killing intent, but not like before.
This time Reo felt that the power possessed by Anaceen was not much greater than Heisatsu or even Kenzo, the intentions she radiated from within her were not as strong as Reo's felt when they first interacted before. Reo doesn't know the cause of the change but what he can conclude now is.
'That red crystal ... It must be some kind of heart or Magic Core embedded in her hand, judging by her strange behavior while staring at his right hand piece, there's no mistaking it ....' Reo thought in a very short time, he made a deadpan expression on his face.
And in an instant, Reo immediately leaped forward using a layer of flesh underneath as a foothold and jabbed the tip of his sword into the piece of Anaceen's right hand like he was stabbing a satay. Reo did that in such a short time that even Anaceen did not have the chance to take her hand using his flesh and tentacles.
Seeing that, the expression on Anaceen's face grew increasingly out of control before she shouted with a horrifying face.
"Give it back, Human !!!"
* srruuut *
The sound of flesh and tentacles twitching and reaching towards Reo could be heard, the flesh quickly tried to bind Reo's body tightly and pierced his body, but Reo who was still in the air then quickly took Anaceen's hand which was stuck in his sword before making a stance in the air and muttering.
"Shirogami Itto-Ryu ..." Reo slowly closed his eyes while bending his knees in the air and gripped the handle of his sword calmly.
While Anaceen was madly screaming and began to lose the composure she displayed from her previous cheerful attitude, this time her brows furrowed and the expression on her face looked full of anger. And when she saw her flesh and tentacles only inches before tying Reo's body, Reo suddenly muttered in a low tone.
... Zanzō Nurashi-giri. "
* srruuutt *
' Gotcha!! 'Anaceen tried to smile when she saw that hundreds of tendrils of her flesh would bind Reo's body, but suddenly -
* blink *
Reo had instantly disappeared from his place and replaced with his Afterimage that was seen still putting his stance in the air, Anaceen who saw that widened her eyes because she did not understand what had just happened in front of her eyes. Before suddenly--
* slash * * slash * * slash *
Hundreds of tendrils of meat that she launched towards Reo had been cut into pieces of fresh sashimi that gushed blood in all directions. Anaceen who saw that her efforts were crushed by Reo could only be stunned, before she regained consciousness from her reverie and glanced back at Reo who seemed to have stood tens of meters in front of her casually.
Zanzō Nurashi-giri, is one of Reo's six Shirogami style sword techniques that he created himself, a technique that is the result of developing a sword technique from Tsubame Gaeshi's imperfect form. A technique that relied on speed and precision like his other sword techniques.
' This guy... '
While Reo, he had managed to distance himself from Anaceen and was seen observing Anaceen's hand piece in his hand closely.
'This piece of hand is very heavy, is it influenced by the red crystal embedded in it?' Reo thought with an innocent expression.
While Anaceen who saw that did not look happy at all.
"Bastard, return that thing right now !!"
Hearing that, Reo finally looked at Anaceen using his golden eyes and said.
"That thing? Why are you talking as if this is not part of your body?" Reo and Anaceen who heard that could only growl with murderous intent.
While Reo, he was not affected at all by Anaceen's Killing Intent who was drastically weakened than before.
"What's the matter? Why didn't you answer my question Miss Worm?" Reo then smiled mischievously and started blabbering.
"This red crystal embedded in your hand, what is this thing?" Reo said, then he sheathed his katana and covered his hand with Reinforcement Ki.
* Zyuuut *
Without further ado, Reo then immediately tore off Anaceen's hand and grasped the red crystal protruding from its shoulder before pulling it so that the sound of flesh being torn apart could be heard.
* gruack *
Seeing that, Anaceen widened her eyes before the tinge of blue veins began to decorate her pink skin.
"Son of a bitch ... Son of a bitch, stop it !!" she shouted with all her strength and strangely she did not try to move from her place and attack Reo, like she did before Reo cut his body with Tsubame Gaeshi.
But Reo totally ignored Anaceen's cry and kept trying to pull the red crystal from her hand piece with a flat expression. Before he finally managed to pull the red crystal as a whole and immediately threw Anaceen's hand off into the distance like throwing away some random trash.
* spurt * * dap *
" Hm~ ..."
Reo then began to pay attention to the red crystal in his hand. Finally Reo can see the overall shape of the crystal. It was a red crystal, or rather a transparent crystal that was flowed by some kind of energy or dark red light inside. The crystal has a blunt bottom and a diamond top. Reo who saw that thought.
'This thing ...' Reo's expression became serious as he realized something. And suddenly--
"I can't feel anything at all. * Sigh *" Reo then immediately sighed when he realized that he was just an ordinary human who could not detect any magic energy.
Reo then put on a stupid face and tried to tap the crystal in his hand, holding it to the side of his ear to check if there was some sound coming out from there, and various other actions. And of course it was all in vain, because for Reo, the red crystal in his hand was just an ordinary crystal.
It was not a living creature that he could detect its intentions and Life Force, because from the beginning his Ki had not been able to detect the slightest wave of magical energy.
"Well I will ask this to Glasses-kun and Idol-san who are more skilled with magic energy later ... Because for now ..."
Reo then glanced at Anaceen in the distance, she looked down, her pink hair protruded to the ground and covered her face. However, Reo could clearly hear her murmur.
"You did it, you really did it !!" Anaceen shouted madly while Reo just innocently said.
"Yes, I did, and by the way ..." He then pointed at Anaceen before continuing.
"... Why can't your body regenerate like before? Do you need this thing to do that?"
"The task given by Milady is still not finished, I must complete it, I must repay her kindness, I can't die now, for her..., for her... I will kill you ..." Anaceen said with a killing intent.
While Reo who heard Anaceen's words widened his eyes, Milady? Is she submitting to someone? Does it have something to do with the Querehsha that Anaceen mentioned earlier? Various kinds of questions appeared in Reo's mind when he heard Anaceen's words.
Before Reo thought with a serious expression when he saw Anaceen's body condition.
'Her life energy is getting weaker, it seems like without this red crystal directly connected to parts of her body it will make her slowly get killed, either due to lack of supply of magic energy or other things. Then is this red crystal really a Magic Core? ' Reo thought, looking at the red crystal in his hand.
And suddenly he realized something strange.
"Hm?" Reo raised his eyebrows in confusion as he watched the red light emitted by the crystal slowly disappear.
' What happened? Why did the red light disappear? ' Reo thought, he could not process what had just happened before his eyes. After a while of trying to find out what happened, finally the red light emitted by the crystal completely disappeared and made the crystal only look like a transparent crystal at this time.
And when Reo was confused, he suddenly realized that Anaceen's body which had not moved from where it was slowly wrinkled and began to lose its luster. Seeing that, Reo widened his eyes before starting to run toward her.
"Oi, wait a minute, there are still a few things I want to talk to you about, Miss Worm."
"For her, I will ... kill you ..." Even though she said that, her voice was hoarse and sounded like someone who was on the edge of his death.
Reo who heard that then tried to see the condition of Anaceen's body but he was too late, her body continued to shrink like a cocoon left by its butterfly. Her flesh began to evaporate and disappear, and after a while Anaceen finally died.
While Reo, he then glanced at Anaceen's lifeless body lying helpless on the ground. He put on a deadpan expression before muttered.
" There are still many things I want to ask you, well even though I'm not sure you will answer all of my questions," Reo murmured, then thought.
'But what she said previously, was it a sense of submission caused by fear or a sense of loyalty caused by loyalty. That question, if only you could answer that question for me, Miss Worm.' Reo thought.
And when the atmosphere fell into silence suddenly Reo felt his whole body flowed by a refreshing warm feeling.
But that was not a strange feeling for Reo, he had felt the same feeling many times before, but this time it was different. His feelings felt more intense and in amounts far greater than usual.
'This ... I didn't expect the number of my Ki could increase this much by only killing a Dungeon Boss. No, I think this is the way it should be, given the strength possessed by Miss worm.' Reo thought.
Gradually the warm feeling he felt in his body subsided, and Reo's body returned to normal. Reo didn't expect that in his first Dungeon expedition, his Ki could immediately grow exponentially like this.
Even though he didn't get stronger so he could destroy a building with his fists or something like that. But clearly, if previously Reo could only use Full-Sheath Ki on one part of his body, with the increase in the number of his Ki after successfully killing Anaceen, he could do that to two parts of his body right now.
* Zyuuut *
Then, slowly Reo's hands were covered with a layer of solid, a white solid Ki layer. It is Full-Sheath Ki, which is a technique of using Ki that concentrates the flow of Ki into one part of the body to form a dense layer that is much stronger than the layer of Ki that Reo used to use.
And if previously Reo could only do that to one of his hands, now he can do it in both of his hands. Reo then glanced at his hands using his golden eyes, before slowly the layers of Ki in both hands disappeared.
After the experiment was successful, Reo then glanced towards the ceiling of the cave which began to tremble and make a rumble sound, then he murmured softly.
"Well, I think this place will collapse soon because I have killed the original body," said Reo glanced at Anaceen's corpse below.
"Therefore, it's time to get out of this place and look for them." Reo murmured, trying to step foot. But, when he was just about to start walking, suddenly--
* buzz *
Reo widened his eyes when he suddenly felt his whole body go numb.
"Eh?"
Suddenly Reo's body began to stiffen and he had difficulty moving his body, he then began to raise his hands with difficulty and see the pink tinge that appeared in the palm of his hand.
'Is this poison? But how could it be ... 'Reo murmured, even though he was currently starting to feel pain all over his body. But the expression on Reo's face did not change at all as if he did not feel that way. And while Reo was thinking, he suddenly remembered Anaceen's poisonous Liquid and Gas which had soaked his body before.
'Did the poison manage to enter through the pores of my skin at that time? If that's true, I was really fucked up this time. '
Reo thought and suddenly, as he tried to find a way out of the current situation, without making a single sound suddenly his body fell to the ground helplessly.
*dap*
"Aaah ~, it hurts."
***
"This ... Is this the Magic Core of this Red Gate's Dungeon Boss?"
Right now, Karen and Osamu are seen standing in a dark place and only lit by a faint light created by Karen using simple fire magic.
Her black eyes reflected the light of fire as she focused her attention on an object in front of her. It was an object that looked like a reddish black crystal. The crystal is seen being bound by the flesh.
"I guess so, given how big the body of this monster is, it's not strange if it also has a Magic Core of this size." Karen murmured with a calm expression.
As she just said, a large crystal with a diameter of about twice the size of an adult's fist wasn't a Magic Core commonly found in monsters.
Normally, a Magic Core only has a size as big as an adult's fist, but it is different from the one in front of Osamu and Karen right now. It was twice as big, although its size was still small but when compared to magic cores in general, it was clearly striking.
"You're right ... I heard that the size of the Magic Core from Kamish is also different from the Magic Beasts in general, but I guess it's just a rumor so I don't know whether it's true or not."
The atmosphere then became quiet and Osamu seemed to think something in his mind.
'A Magic Core from a Red Gate Dungeon Boss that might reach a Low-tier S-Rank, the price ranges from 900 million - 2 billion Yen (8-18 Million USD). '
A Magic Core, judged by its weight, purity, and wave of magic energy contained in it. Size is not included in the assessment because as Karen said earlier, normally there is no difference in size between one Magic Core and another.
However, despite having the same size, the weight they have differs from one another depending on the purity of the Magic Core itself. The purer a Magic Core is, the easier it is to be used as a catalyst for magic energy and as a material used to make magic equipment.
And these things also directly affect the price of the Magic Core itself, as a rule of thumb, the price of a C-Rank Magic Core ranges between 800 - 900 thousand Yen or around 8000 USD.
'Even though it doesn't include the tax deduction that must be given to the Guild and Association, but with that much money I might be able to -'
When Osamu was making a serious expression, suddenly Karen's voice could be heard.
"Osamu ... Hey, Osamu!"
* can *
Karen patted Osamu on the shoulder and immediately made her realize from her reverie.
"Huh ... Yes, what's up?"
"Why are you silent? What should we do now? Are we going to take this Magic Core or go straight to help Shirogami-kun?" Asked Karen, raising her eyebrows at the strange behavior shown by Osamu.
"Ah that ... Of course we will take this Magic Core first," said Osamu who then began to take out a knife from the pocket of his magic cloak.
Hearing Osamu's words, Karen looked unhappy.
"You are ... How can you talk like that when one of our colleagues is in danger? We don't have time to do all this nonsense."
Hearing Karen's words, Osamu immediately stopped his movements and glanced at Karen.
"Tsk, you're really annoying huh ... Listen young lady, I've told you a few times and you've seen it by yourself that Reo is strong, very strong. He might be a False Ranker who falsified his rank either for safety or things that i don't know but it's none of my business. I don't give a shit about that !! "
"..."
"As for us? We're just an ordinary Hunter, I'm just a B-Rank Healer and you, this is your first Raid. What can two useless people like us do in a situation like this?"
Hearing that, Karen could not deny Osamu's words. All of his words are indisputable facts.
"Therefore, rather than being an obstacle for him, you better shut the f*ck up your mouth and help me get rid of the meat that is wrapped around this Magic Core," Osamu said, then began to cut the meat using a small knife in his hand.
"Oh, and also ... Don't use your fire magic because it might accidentally destroy the Magic Core. Use the small magic knife that you have in your pocket to cut these meats," Osamu said.
It is an obligation for a Hunter to carry a small magic knife as a secondary weapon. Because it had many uses besides attacking the Magic Beasts with a small size, it was also very useful for cutting into the body of a Magic Beast and taking the valuable Magic Core inside.
Even though Magic Cores from low level monsters are usually collected by hunters in the Collecting Team.
After a pause, Karen then without saying a word immediately took out a small knife from her pocket and began to help Osamu do his work. And after a few minutes, finally, Osamu can take the Magic Core.
"It's very heavy, we really got the Jackpot." Osamu murmured, a big smile appeared on his face as he couldn't help to express the Joy in his heart.
"You're satisfied, right? Let's go immediately to Shirogami-kun's place," said Karen and Osamu who heard that only answered with a smile without taking his eyes from the Magic Core in his hand.
"Um ... Yeah, let's go."
'Tsk, what kind of creature are you.' Karen thought.
And when she tried to step her foot, suddenly all parts of the cave began to shake violently and caused Osamu and Karen who were standing inside shook.
* growl *
Rumbling echoes in the cave and draws Osamu and Karen's attention.
"What happened !!" Karen put on a panicked face as she felt her body shaken by the vibration caused by the cave suddenly.
"This ..." Osamu then focused his attention downward and murmured. He then glanced at Karen who also looked confused in front of him.
"I have a bad feeling ..."
***
[You are no longer a worthless worm, be my servient and I will give you what you desire. ]
[From now on your name is Anaceen, you are the Toxic Devourer who mastered the concept of poison. I give this power to you because you deserve it. ]
[You will replace him, even though you are not my offspring, but I consider you as my own child, so don't disappoint me ... Anaceen. ]
[Kill all humans!! All of them so there is nothing left! ]
"Yes, Milady."
* drip *
"* gasp *"
The sound of water droplets was heard in Reo's ear very clearly, whether it was just his feeling or not, but now Reo felt his body as if it merged with the surrounding environment.
He could hear the sounds around him more clearly, the thin layer of Ki that covered his entire body began to disappear and Reo began to lose control of his own body. His silky white hair stretched out on the ground and his gaze wilted, as if he could be unconscious at any time.
"Ah ... I'm really going to die. Damn, I don't believe I'll die in such a pathetic way. Even though I haven't had the chance to buy the latest volume from 'The Red Moon Princess'." Reo muttered quietly.
Then, Reo began to lose his senses, his ears buzzing and the light in his eyes began to fade, purple bruises began to appear scattered all over his body and he began to spit blood from his mouth.
* cough *
'So this is what it feels like to be on the edge of death? The saying goes that a person can see his true self when he is on the verge of death but why am I not able to feel anything at all? '
Reo thought, slowly feeling the pressure of magic energy begin to crush his body which began to lose the layer of Ki that protected it.
'My promise and the question hidden in my mind, this is the worst way of dying that I can think of. ' Reo thought before he muttered softly.
"Ah ~, what a bad joke. As I thought, I don't want to die curiously like this."
And right after he said that, his eyes slowly closed and his breath faltered. But when he starts to lose consciousness, suddenly--
* Zyuuut * * Fwuosh *
Ki layer with a very large number of Ki suddenly covered Reo's body with crazy speed and made him look like someone who was in super Saiyan mode. A strong wind blew around his body which lay helpless on the ground and destroyed the layers of flesh that surrounded him.
* crack * * brack *
But, strangely, the Ki layer surrounding Reo's body is not the normal, colorless Ki layer as usual. It was a strange layer of Ki which had a pink color and looked like a strawberry juice.
2
Not only that, slowly the purple bruises that were all over Reo's body as a result of the poison from Anaceen instantly vanished as if it had never existed from the start.
* Wusp *
After the shock wave caused by the sudden increase of the Ki layer which protects Reo's body, the Ki layer gradually shrinks again.
"Hhh ..." After that, Reo returned to being able to breathe smoothly as before and open his eyes slowly.
"What happened? Why am I still here? Don't tell me this is Netherworld," Reo murmured, slowly regaining his consciousness and seemed to be trying to stand up.
1
Reo looks like someone who just woke up with glazed eyes, he then yawned and glanced towards his palms.
"Hm? My body feels normal and fine, besides that the Ki layer also looks normal and stable. What just happened?"
However, when he was thinking Reo finally noticed the change in color of his Ki layer. And seeing the pink color, Reo widened his eyes in surprise.
"Woah! What happened to my Ki !?" Reo muttered in surprise. He then tries to find out what happened before he suddenly remembers something.
'That's right ... Previously, though I only felt it for a moment, there was no mistaking it. When I was barely conscious before, I heard a kind of sounds that kept echoing in my ears. Is that some kind of memory or maybe the side effects of me absorbing the intention of a creature that I killed using Ki? I don't know. ' Reo thought.
And when he was thinking about something about his neutral colorless Ki, suddenly the pink color on his Ki layer began to fade and that made Reo even more confused.
"What is this again?" Reo frowned and then he thought again about the pink colored Ki that he had previously thought. And surprisingly, it reappeared.
'This pink Ki coating doesn't disappear? And even, I can bring it up deliberately just by thinking about it? But what exactly is this pink Ki layer? ' Reo thought, repeatedly changing the color of the Ki coating that covered his body.
'Is that some kind of color replacement option to make me look cool? But why and what is its function? '
Various questions arise in Reo's mind as he keeps trying to find out why his current Ki can change its color. Reo already knew that this Pink colored Ki might have appeared after he killed Anaceen before, because even a fool could find out after making light observations, but he couldn't guess at what it was for.
'Don't tell me ...' Reo then seemed to think of something before he glanced at the poisonous liquid that pooled above the layers of flesh a few feet away.
Seeing that, Reo then stood up slowly and casually walked towards the poisonous liquid. He looked at the liquid that almost killed him before using his golden eyes before crouching in front of it and began to take the poisonous liquid using his palms.
And without hesitation, Reo then began to drink the poisonous liquid which immediately made his body feel numb.
" Gulp, Gulp, Gulp. "
* buzz *
But, unlike before, Reo then immediately covered his entire body using his pink Ki layer and in an instant--
* zyuuut *
The numbness that Reo felt previously disappeared immediately and it made Reo put on a deadpan expression and thought.
'I knew it, so this Ki layer really can neutralize poisons. No, in the previous moment, my body was suddenly immune to the incoming poison rather than neutralizing it. ' Reo thought.
"Then how could that happen?" Reo muttered, glancing at the pink Ki layer in his hand. Before suddenly he felt two presence approaching towards him from behind the darkness of the cave.
'Hm ... Well, I think I can retry this pink Ki later. Because right now, those two troublesome people have returned. '
And knowing these two signs of presence, Reo immediately changed the color of the Ki layer back to normal before turning around while glancing towards the darkness. Suddenly a voice came from behind the darkness.
"Shirogami-kun, we have come to help-"
It was Karen's voice that stopped immediately after she saw Reo who was seen standing relaxed and his body condition that was really fine. Only his clothes looked a little wet and dust stuck to his hair. In addition, there are no significant wounds on his body.
" --you."
The atmosphere then became quiet when Reo, Karen, and Osamu looked at each other.
"What! Turns out you're still fine !!" Karen shouted with a disappointed expression on her face.
"Hm? You're not happy because I'm still fine?"
Hearing the response from Reo, Karen denied it while swinging both of her hands.
"No ... It's not like that, it's just that I feel like I've been betrayed," Karen said with a wry smile.
"See !? I told you he will be okay?" Osamu said with an arrogant smile towards Karen who could only chuckle in annoyance.
Reo then glanced towards the crystal in Osamu's hand and asked with a curious expression.
"Hey Glasses-kun, that thing ..."
Seeing Reo's gaze, Osamu then smiled ...
"Ah this! This is the Magic Core we got while on our way here before," Osamu said.
Hearing that, Reo murmured.
"Magic Core? Then ..."
He then glanced towards the Crystal which he held using his left hand and thought.
'... What exactly is the thing in my hand right now?' Reo thought.
And when Reo was thinking in his mind, suddenly there was a roar from the cave as if it could collapse at any time. Hearing that, Reo, Karen, and Osamu immediately looked up and looked towards the ceiling of the cave that was shaking violently.
"You two, let's get out of this place."
Hearing Reo's words, Karen and Osamu immediately nodded before the three of them began to step their feet and head towards the outside. Yokohama Red-Gate Dungeon Boss, The Toxic Devourer Anaceen was killed.
***
* dap *
"So you mean ... you have no idea why the Gate turned into a Red Gate suddenly a few hours after the Hunters entered the gate? Is that what you mean?"
"..."
" Answer me! "
Currently, in the rest area established by the Hunter Association as a resting place for the Hunters who will enter the Gate, two people are chatting at the table.
The first person is the leader of the monitoring division of the Japanese Hunter Association, Goketsu Watanabe who is currently on duty to observe the strange Red Gate phenomenon that arises in Yokohama.
While the person in front of him right now was a woman in her twenties who was seen wearing casual clothes, the woman was none other than one of the S-Rank Hunter owned by the Japanese, Akari Shimizu.
She who had just finished her Raid immediately went to Yokohama after hearing the news about the appearance of the Red Gate there.
"It's not like that Shimizu-sama, as I explained before. This event was completely beyond expectations from our team who jumped into the field directly to observe the latest developments from the gate."
Akari looked calm again and listened carefully to Goketsu's explanation.
"That is not a reason that is strong enough to correct the mistakes you have made," Akari said, then returned to continue while staring intently at Goketsu.
"You know, my cute little brother is currently inside the Red Gate, and if he dies there because of your mistakes, then I will not hesitate to kill all of you," Akari said with a serious expression and cold tone.
"That's ..." Although Akari's killing intent flooded the room and was enough to depress Goketsu, but as an A-Rank Hunter he could still withstand the pressure and tried to remain calm.
Before suddenly--
* bruff *
The door to the room where Akari and Goketsu are open and displays the figure of a man wearing neat clothes, breathing heavily.
"Shimizu-sama, Goketsu-sama, the gate ... It's back to normal!"
Hearing that, the terrifying pressure in the room began to disappear before Goketsu and Akari glanced at each other.
* gulp *
Goketsu swallowed his saliva because this is a defining moment, Red Gate had returned to normal gate in only two ways, namely whether all the Hunters who entered there had died or the Dungeon Boss of the Red Gate had been killed. Whatever the outcome, Goketsu can only hope that he can still live tomorrow.
_______________________
Monster Data book !!
Name: Anaceen
Ephitet: The Toxic Devourer
Type: Annelid / Humanoid
Rank: Low Level S-Rank -> A-Rank
Dungeon: Yokohama Red-Gate, November 2020
Special Affinity: Poison, Transfiguration
_______________________
"Tsubame Gaeshi."
Right after Reo finished saying his words, in an instant the whole world became silent and instantly the time itself seemed to stop. At that moment, Reo who looked like a statue immediately swung Honjo Masamune in his hand towards Anaceen from three different directions. Diagonal Slash from right and left and vertical slash from top to bottom.
In a world that is not bound by the concept of time, Reo's hand movements look very fast and elegant. His golden eyes shone before he launched his final slash towards Anaceen. And--
* slash * * slash * * slash *
"Arrrghhh !!"
Suddenly, time returned to normal and the three slashes that Reo launched at the same time immediately cut Anaceen's body into six parts.
* spurt *
" Arrrrghhh!! "
Anaceen cried out in pain as she felt her beautiful body had been cut into six parts by Reo who attacked her suddenly and in a very short time. She widened her eyes in surprise, the shock of being hit by Reo's attack still enveloped her mind.
'Eh? '
Anaceen was still unable to respond to what had just happened, her red blood immediately gushed into the air as her body split into pieces. She did not understand why Reo's attack could hit her body, she had not even had time to use her special ability to reconstruct her body into liquid.
But that was in vain because the attack that Reo launched was so fast, no ... Fast was an understatement. Even if Anaceen managed to fend off one of the slashes that Reo had made, her body would still be cut off by the other two.
It was a secret sword technique that Reo had created by himself, and he had developed and combined with his neutral Ki over the years, Hiken: Tsubame Gaeshi. The technique that Reo has perfected over the years so that no one can avoid its attacks.
"What was that just now, even though I was prepared for his attack but why does it still hit my body !! ..." Anaceen thought.
Anaceen's body which was split into several parts then fell helplessly to the ground, but Reo knew that the fight did not end there. When the slimy flesh layer that Reo was starting to tremble, Anaceen's eyes then glanced at her severed right hand.
But that did not escape Reo's observation, seeing Anaceen's attention directed towards her right hand. Reo then also glanced at Anaceen's right hand which was lying on the pile of meat.
' That... '
His eyes glanced at the red crystal on the shoulder of Anaceen's hand, the crystal that he had not cared much about when he first saw Anaceen's figure.
* srruuutt * * clasp *
Anaceen then with her head and part of his torso began to be coated by flesh and slimy tentacles that emerged from the layer of flesh beneath. Trying to grab the hand that lying helplessly.
But when her artificial hand made of flesh tried to reach her right hand, suddenly--
* slash * * spurt *
Anaceen widened her eyes when she saw that her artificial hand had just been cut off, a white flash that appeared suddenly had cut it into minced meat.
"* gasp * Grrr ... Human !!" The surprised expression on her beautiful face immediately turned into anger and hatred directed at Reo. Her eyes were filled with terrifying killing intent, but not like before.
This time Reo felt that the power possessed by Anaceen was not much greater than Heisatsu or even Kenzo, the intentions she radiated from within her were not as strong as Reo's felt when they first interacted before. Reo doesn't know the cause of the change but what he can conclude now is.
'That red crystal ... It must be some kind of heart or Magic Core embedded in her hand, judging by her strange behavior while staring at his right hand piece, there's no mistaking it ....' Reo thought in a very short time, he made a deadpan expression on his face.
And in an instant, Reo immediately leaped forward using a layer of flesh underneath as a foothold and jabbed the tip of his sword into the piece of Anaceen's right hand like he was stabbing a satay. Reo did that in such a short time that even Anaceen did not have the chance to take her hand using his flesh and tentacles.
Seeing that, the expression on Anaceen's face grew increasingly out of control before she shouted with a horrifying face.
"Give it back, Human !!!"
* srruuut *
The sound of flesh and tentacles twitching and reaching towards Reo could be heard, the flesh quickly tried to bind Reo's body tightly and pierced his body, but Reo who was still in the air then quickly took Anaceen's hand which was stuck in his sword before making a stance in the air and muttering.
"Shirogami Itto-Ryu ..." Reo slowly closed his eyes while bending his knees in the air and gripped the handle of his sword calmly.
While Anaceen was madly screaming and began to lose the composure she displayed from her previous cheerful attitude, this time her brows furrowed and the expression on her face looked full of anger. And when she saw her flesh and tentacles only inches before tying Reo's body, Reo suddenly muttered in a low tone.
... Zanzō Nurashi-giri. "
* srruuutt *
' Gotcha!! 'Anaceen tried to smile when she saw that hundreds of tendrils of her flesh would bind Reo's body, but suddenly -
* blink *
Reo had instantly disappeared from his place and replaced with his Afterimage that was seen still putting his stance in the air, Anaceen who saw that widened her eyes because she did not understand what had just happened in front of her eyes. Before suddenly--
* slash * * slash * * slash *
Hundreds of tendrils of meat that she launched towards Reo had been cut into pieces of fresh sashimi that gushed blood in all directions. Anaceen who saw that her efforts were crushed by Reo could only be stunned, before she regained consciousness from her reverie and glanced back at Reo who seemed to have stood tens of meters in front of her casually.
Zanzō Nurashi-giri, is one of Reo's six Shirogami style sword techniques that he created himself, a technique that is the result of developing a sword technique from Tsubame Gaeshi's imperfect form. A technique that relied on speed and precision like his other sword techniques.
' This guy... '
While Reo, he had managed to distance himself from Anaceen and was seen observing Anaceen's hand piece in his hand closely.
'This piece of hand is very heavy, is it influenced by the red crystal embedded in it?' Reo thought with an innocent expression.
While Anaceen who saw that did not look happy at all.
"Bastard, return that thing right now !!"
Hearing that, Reo finally looked at Anaceen using his golden eyes and said.
"That thing? Why are you talking as if this is not part of your body?" Reo and Anaceen who heard that could only growl with murderous intent.
While Reo, he was not affected at all by Anaceen's Killing Intent who was drastically weakened than before.
"What's the matter? Why didn't you answer my question Miss Worm?" Reo then smiled mischievously and started blabbering.
"This red crystal embedded in your hand, what is this thing?" Reo said, then he sheathed his katana and covered his hand with Reinforcement Ki.
* Zyuuut *
Without further ado, Reo then immediately tore off Anaceen's hand and grasped the red crystal protruding from its shoulder before pulling it so that the sound of flesh being torn apart could be heard.
* gruack *
Seeing that, Anaceen widened her eyes before the tinge of blue veins began to decorate her pink skin.
"Son of a bitch ... Son of a bitch, stop it !!" she shouted with all her strength and strangely she did not try to move from her place and attack Reo, like she did before Reo cut his body with Tsubame Gaeshi.
But Reo totally ignored Anaceen's cry and kept trying to pull the red crystal from her hand piece with a flat expression. Before he finally managed to pull the red crystal as a whole and immediately threw Anaceen's hand off into the distance like throwing away some random trash.
* spurt * * dap *
" Hm~ ..."
Reo then began to pay attention to the red crystal in his hand. Finally Reo can see the overall shape of the crystal. It was a red crystal, or rather a transparent crystal that was flowed by some kind of energy or dark red light inside. The crystal has a blunt bottom and a diamond top. Reo who saw that thought.
'This thing ...' Reo's expression became serious as he realized something. And suddenly--
"I can't feel anything at all. * Sigh *" Reo then immediately sighed when he realized that he was just an ordinary human who could not detect any magic energy.
Reo then put on a stupid face and tried to tap the crystal in his hand, holding it to the side of his ear to check if there was some sound coming out from there, and various other actions. And of course it was all in vain, because for Reo, the red crystal in his hand was just an ordinary crystal.
It was not a living creature that he could detect its intentions and Life Force, because from the beginning his Ki had not been able to detect the slightest wave of magical energy.
"Well I will ask this to Glasses-kun and Idol-san who are more skilled with magic energy later ... Because for now ..."
Reo then glanced at Anaceen in the distance, she looked down, her pink hair protruded to the ground and covered her face. However, Reo could clearly hear her murmur.
"You did it, you really did it !!" Anaceen shouted madly while Reo just innocently said.
"Yes, I did, and by the way ..." He then pointed at Anaceen before continuing.
"... Why can't your body regenerate like before? Do you need this thing to do that?"
"The task given by Milady is still not finished, I must complete it, I must repay her kindness, I can't die now, for her..., for her... I will kill you ..." Anaceen said with a killing intent.
While Reo who heard Anaceen's words widened his eyes, Milady? Is she submitting to someone? Does it have something to do with the Querehsha that Anaceen mentioned earlier? Various kinds of questions appeared in Reo's mind when he heard Anaceen's words.
Before Reo thought with a serious expression when he saw Anaceen's body condition.
'Her life energy is getting weaker, it seems like without this red crystal directly connected to parts of her body it will make her slowly get killed, either due to lack of supply of magic energy or other things. Then is this red crystal really a Magic Core? ' Reo thought, looking at the red crystal in his hand.
And suddenly he realized something strange.
"Hm?" Reo raised his eyebrows in confusion as he watched the red light emitted by the crystal slowly disappear.
' What happened? Why did the red light disappear? ' Reo thought, he could not process what had just happened before his eyes. After a while of trying to find out what happened, finally the red light emitted by the crystal completely disappeared and made the crystal only look like a transparent crystal at this time.
And when Reo was confused, he suddenly realized that Anaceen's body which had not moved from where it was slowly wrinkled and began to lose its luster. Seeing that, Reo widened his eyes before starting to run toward her.
"Oi, wait a minute, there are still a few things I want to talk to you about, Miss Worm."
"For her, I will ... kill you ..." Even though she said that, her voice was hoarse and sounded like someone who was on the edge of his death.
Reo who heard that then tried to see the condition of Anaceen's body but he was too late, her body continued to shrink like a cocoon left by its butterfly. Her flesh began to evaporate and disappear, and after a while Anaceen finally died.
While Reo, he then glanced at Anaceen's lifeless body lying helpless on the ground. He put on a deadpan expression before muttered.
" There are still many things I want to ask you, well even though I'm not sure you will answer all of my questions," Reo murmured, then thought.
'But what she said previously, was it a sense of submission caused by fear or a sense of loyalty caused by loyalty. That question, if only you could answer that question for me, Miss Worm.' Reo thought.
And when the atmosphere fell into silence suddenly Reo felt his whole body flowed by a refreshing warm feeling.
But that was not a strange feeling for Reo, he had felt the same feeling many times before, but this time it was different. His feelings felt more intense and in amounts far greater than usual.
'This ... I didn't expect the number of my Ki could increase this much by only killing a Dungeon Boss. No, I think this is the way it should be, given the strength possessed by Miss worm.' Reo thought.
Gradually the warm feeling he felt in his body subsided, and Reo's body returned to normal. Reo didn't expect that in his first Dungeon expedition, his Ki could immediately grow exponentially like this.
Even though he didn't get stronger so he could destroy a building with his fists or something like that. But clearly, if previously Reo could only use Full-Sheath Ki on one part of his body, with the increase in the number of his Ki after successfully killing Anaceen, he could do that to two parts of his body right now.
* Zyuuut *
Then, slowly Reo's hands were covered with a layer of solid, a white solid Ki layer. It is Full-Sheath Ki, which is a technique of using Ki that concentrates the flow of Ki into one part of the body to form a dense layer that is much stronger than the layer of Ki that Reo used to use.
And if previously Reo could only do that to one of his hands, now he can do it in both of his hands. Reo then glanced at his hands using his golden eyes, before slowly the layers of Ki in both hands disappeared.
After the experiment was successful, Reo then glanced towards the ceiling of the cave which began to tremble and make a rumble sound, then he murmured softly.
"Well, I think this place will collapse soon because I have killed the original body," said Reo glanced at Anaceen's corpse below.
"Therefore, it's time to get out of this place and look for them." Reo murmured, trying to step foot. But, when he was just about to start walking, suddenly--
* buzz *
Reo widened his eyes when he suddenly felt his whole body go numb.
"Eh?"
Suddenly Reo's body began to stiffen and he had difficulty moving his body, he then began to raise his hands with difficulty and see the pink tinge that appeared in the palm of his hand.
'Is this poison? But how could it be ... 'Reo murmured, even though he was currently starting to feel pain all over his body. But the expression on Reo's face did not change at all as if he did not feel that way. And while Reo was thinking, he suddenly remembered Anaceen's poisonous Liquid and Gas which had soaked his body before.
'Did the poison manage to enter through the pores of my skin at that time? If that's true, I was really fucked up this time. '
Reo thought and suddenly, as he tried to find a way out of the current situation, without making a single sound suddenly his body fell to the ground helplessly.
*dap*
"Aaah ~, it hurts."
***
"This ... Is this the Magic Core of this Red Gate's Dungeon Boss?"
Right now, Karen and Osamu are seen standing in a dark place and only lit by a faint light created by Karen using simple fire magic.
Her black eyes reflected the light of fire as she focused her attention on an object in front of her. It was an object that looked like a reddish black crystal. The crystal is seen being bound by the flesh.
"I guess so, given how big the body of this monster is, it's not strange if it also has a Magic Core of this size." Karen murmured with a calm expression.
As she just said, a large crystal with a diameter of about twice the size of an adult's fist wasn't a Magic Core commonly found in monsters.
Normally, a Magic Core only has a size as big as an adult's fist, but it is different from the one in front of Osamu and Karen right now. It was twice as big, although its size was still small but when compared to magic cores in general, it was clearly striking.
"You're right ... I heard that the size of the Magic Core from Kamish is also different from the Magic Beasts in general, but I guess it's just a rumor so I don't know whether it's true or not."
The atmosphere then became quiet and Osamu seemed to think something in his mind.
'A Magic Core from a Red Gate Dungeon Boss that might reach a Low-tier S-Rank, the price ranges from 900 million - 2 billion Yen (8-18 Million USD). '
A Magic Core, judged by its weight, purity, and wave of magic energy contained in it. Size is not included in the assessment because as Karen said earlier, normally there is no difference in size between one Magic Core and another.
However, despite having the same size, the weight they have differs from one another depending on the purity of the Magic Core itself. The purer a Magic Core is, the easier it is to be used as a catalyst for magic energy and as a material used to make magic equipment.
And these things also directly affect the price of the Magic Core itself, as a rule of thumb, the price of a C-Rank Magic Core ranges between 800 - 900 thousand Yen or around 8000 USD.
'Even though it doesn't include the tax deduction that must be given to the Guild and Association, but with that much money I might be able to -'
When Osamu was making a serious expression, suddenly Karen's voice could be heard.
"Osamu ... Hey, Osamu!"
* can *
Karen patted Osamu on the shoulder and immediately made her realize from her reverie.
"Huh ... Yes, what's up?"
"Why are you silent? What should we do now? Are we going to take this Magic Core or go straight to help Shirogami-kun?" Asked Karen, raising her eyebrows at the strange behavior shown by Osamu.
"Ah that ... Of course we will take this Magic Core first," said Osamu who then began to take out a knife from the pocket of his magic cloak.
Hearing Osamu's words, Karen looked unhappy.
"You are ... How can you talk like that when one of our colleagues is in danger? We don't have time to do all this nonsense."
Hearing Karen's words, Osamu immediately stopped his movements and glanced at Karen.
"Tsk, you're really annoying huh ... Listen young lady, I've told you a few times and you've seen it by yourself that Reo is strong, very strong. He might be a False Ranker who falsified his rank either for safety or things that i don't know but it's none of my business. I don't give a shit about that !! "
"..."
"As for us? We're just an ordinary Hunter, I'm just a B-Rank Healer and you, this is your first Raid. What can two useless people like us do in a situation like this?"
Hearing that, Karen could not deny Osamu's words. All of his words are indisputable facts.
"Therefore, rather than being an obstacle for him, you better shut the f*ck up your mouth and help me get rid of the meat that is wrapped around this Magic Core," Osamu said, then began to cut the meat using a small knife in his hand.
"Oh, and also ... Don't use your fire magic because it might accidentally destroy the Magic Core. Use the small magic knife that you have in your pocket to cut these meats," Osamu said.
It is an obligation for a Hunter to carry a small magic knife as a secondary weapon. Because it had many uses besides attacking the Magic Beasts with a small size, it was also very useful for cutting into the body of a Magic Beast and taking the valuable Magic Core inside.
Even though Magic Cores from low level monsters are usually collected by hunters in the Collecting Team.
After a pause, Karen then without saying a word immediately took out a small knife from her pocket and began to help Osamu do his work. And after a few minutes, finally, Osamu can take the Magic Core.
"It's very heavy, we really got the Jackpot." Osamu murmured, a big smile appeared on his face as he couldn't help to express the Joy in his heart.
"You're satisfied, right? Let's go immediately to Shirogami-kun's place," said Karen and Osamu who heard that only answered with a smile without taking his eyes from the Magic Core in his hand.
"Um ... Yeah, let's go."
'Tsk, what kind of creature are you.' Karen thought.
And when she tried to step her foot, suddenly all parts of the cave began to shake violently and caused Osamu and Karen who were standing inside shook.
* growl *
Rumbling echoes in the cave and draws Osamu and Karen's attention.
"What happened !!" Karen put on a panicked face as she felt her body shaken by the vibration caused by the cave suddenly.
"This ..." Osamu then focused his attention downward and murmured. He then glanced at Karen who also looked confused in front of him.
"I have a bad feeling ..."
***
[You are no longer a worthless worm, be my servient and I will give you what you desire. ]
[From now on your name is Anaceen, you are the Toxic Devourer who mastered the concept of poison. I give this power to you because you deserve it. ]
[You will replace him, even though you are not my offspring, but I consider you as my own child, so don't disappoint me ... Anaceen. ]
[Kill all humans!! All of them so there is nothing left! ]
"Yes, Milady."
* drip *
"* gasp *"
The sound of water droplets was heard in Reo's ear very clearly, whether it was just his feeling or not, but now Reo felt his body as if it merged with the surrounding environment.
He could hear the sounds around him more clearly, the thin layer of Ki that covered his entire body began to disappear and Reo began to lose control of his own body. His silky white hair stretched out on the ground and his gaze wilted, as if he could be unconscious at any time.
"Ah ... I'm really going to die. Damn, I don't believe I'll die in such a pathetic way. Even though I haven't had the chance to buy the latest volume from 'The Red Moon Princess'." Reo muttered quietly.
Then, Reo began to lose his senses, his ears buzzing and the light in his eyes began to fade, purple bruises began to appear scattered all over his body and he began to spit blood from his mouth.
* cough *
'So this is what it feels like to be on the edge of death? The saying goes that a person can see his true self when he is on the verge of death but why am I not able to feel anything at all? '
Reo thought, slowly feeling the pressure of magic energy begin to crush his body which began to lose the layer of Ki that protected it.
'My promise and the question hidden in my mind, this is the worst way of dying that I can think of. ' Reo thought before he muttered softly.
"Ah ~, what a bad joke. As I thought, I don't want to die curiously like this."
And right after he said that, his eyes slowly closed and his breath faltered. But when he starts to lose consciousness, suddenly--
* Zyuuut * * Fwuosh *
Ki layer with a very large number of Ki suddenly covered Reo's body with crazy speed and made him look like someone who was in super Saiyan mode. A strong wind blew around his body which lay helpless on the ground and destroyed the layers of flesh that surrounded him.
* crack * * brack *
But, strangely, the Ki layer surrounding Reo's body is not the normal, colorless Ki layer as usual. It was a strange layer of Ki which had a pink color and looked like a strawberry juice.
2
Not only that, slowly the purple bruises that were all over Reo's body as a result of the poison from Anaceen instantly vanished as if it had never existed from the start.
* Wusp *
After the shock wave caused by the sudden increase of the Ki layer which protects Reo's body, the Ki layer gradually shrinks again.
"Hhh ..." After that, Reo returned to being able to breathe smoothly as before and open his eyes slowly.
"What happened? Why am I still here? Don't tell me this is Netherworld," Reo murmured, slowly regaining his consciousness and seemed to be trying to stand up.
1
Reo looks like someone who just woke up with glazed eyes, he then yawned and glanced towards his palms.
"Hm? My body feels normal and fine, besides that the Ki layer also looks normal and stable. What just happened?"
However, when he was thinking Reo finally noticed the change in color of his Ki layer. And seeing the pink color, Reo widened his eyes in surprise.
"Woah! What happened to my Ki !?" Reo muttered in surprise. He then tries to find out what happened before he suddenly remembers something.
'That's right ... Previously, though I only felt it for a moment, there was no mistaking it. When I was barely conscious before, I heard a kind of sounds that kept echoing in my ears. Is that some kind of memory or maybe the side effects of me absorbing the intention of a creature that I killed using Ki? I don't know. ' Reo thought.
And when he was thinking about something about his neutral colorless Ki, suddenly the pink color on his Ki layer began to fade and that made Reo even more confused.
"What is this again?" Reo frowned and then he thought again about the pink colored Ki that he had previously thought. And surprisingly, it reappeared.
'This pink Ki coating doesn't disappear? And even, I can bring it up deliberately just by thinking about it? But what exactly is this pink Ki layer? ' Reo thought, repeatedly changing the color of the Ki coating that covered his body.
'Is that some kind of color replacement option to make me look cool? But why and what is its function? '
Various questions arise in Reo's mind as he keeps trying to find out why his current Ki can change its color. Reo already knew that this Pink colored Ki might have appeared after he killed Anaceen before, because even a fool could find out after making light observations, but he couldn't guess at what it was for.
'Don't tell me ...' Reo then seemed to think of something before he glanced at the poisonous liquid that pooled above the layers of flesh a few feet away.
Seeing that, Reo then stood up slowly and casually walked towards the poisonous liquid. He looked at the liquid that almost killed him before using his golden eyes before crouching in front of it and began to take the poisonous liquid using his palms.
And without hesitation, Reo then began to drink the poisonous liquid which immediately made his body feel numb.
" Gulp, Gulp, Gulp. "
* buzz *
But, unlike before, Reo then immediately covered his entire body using his pink Ki layer and in an instant--
* zyuuut *
The numbness that Reo felt previously disappeared immediately and it made Reo put on a deadpan expression and thought.
'I knew it, so this Ki layer really can neutralize poisons. No, in the previous moment, my body was suddenly immune to the incoming poison rather than neutralizing it. ' Reo thought.
"Then how could that happen?" Reo muttered, glancing at the pink Ki layer in his hand. Before suddenly he felt two presence approaching towards him from behind the darkness of the cave.
'Hm ... Well, I think I can retry this pink Ki later. Because right now, those two troublesome people have returned. '
And knowing these two signs of presence, Reo immediately changed the color of the Ki layer back to normal before turning around while glancing towards the darkness. Suddenly a voice came from behind the darkness.
"Shirogami-kun, we have come to help-"
It was Karen's voice that stopped immediately after she saw Reo who was seen standing relaxed and his body condition that was really fine. Only his clothes looked a little wet and dust stuck to his hair. In addition, there are no significant wounds on his body.
" --you."
The atmosphere then became quiet when Reo, Karen, and Osamu looked at each other.
"What! Turns out you're still fine !!" Karen shouted with a disappointed expression on her face.
"Hm? You're not happy because I'm still fine?"
Hearing the response from Reo, Karen denied it while swinging both of her hands.
"No ... It's not like that, it's just that I feel like I've been betrayed," Karen said with a wry smile.
"See !? I told you he will be okay?" Osamu said with an arrogant smile towards Karen who could only chuckle in annoyance.
Reo then glanced towards the crystal in Osamu's hand and asked with a curious expression.
"Hey Glasses-kun, that thing ..."
Seeing Reo's gaze, Osamu then smiled ...
"Ah this! This is the Magic Core we got while on our way here before," Osamu said.
Hearing that, Reo murmured.
"Magic Core? Then ..."
He then glanced towards the Crystal which he held using his left hand and thought.
'... What exactly is the thing in my hand right now?' Reo thought.
And when Reo was thinking in his mind, suddenly there was a roar from the cave as if it could collapse at any time. Hearing that, Reo, Karen, and Osamu immediately looked up and looked towards the ceiling of the cave that was shaking violently.
"You two, let's get out of this place."
Hearing Reo's words, Karen and Osamu immediately nodded before the three of them began to step their feet and head towards the outside. Yokohama Red-Gate Dungeon Boss, The Toxic Devourer Anaceen was killed.
***
* dap *
"So you mean ... you have no idea why the Gate turned into a Red Gate suddenly a few hours after the Hunters entered the gate? Is that what you mean?"
"..."
" Answer me! "
Currently, in the rest area established by the Hunter Association as a resting place for the Hunters who will enter the Gate, two people are chatting at the table.
The first person is the leader of the monitoring division of the Japanese Hunter Association, Goketsu Watanabe who is currently on duty to observe the strange Red Gate phenomenon that arises in Yokohama.
While the person in front of him right now was a woman in her twenties who was seen wearing casual clothes, the woman was none other than one of the S-Rank Hunter owned by the Japanese, Akari Shimizu.
She who had just finished her Raid immediately went to Yokohama after hearing the news about the appearance of the Red Gate there.
"It's not like that Shimizu-sama, as I explained before. This event was completely beyond expectations from our team who jumped into the field directly to observe the latest developments from the gate."
Akari looked calm again and listened carefully to Goketsu's explanation.
"That is not a reason that is strong enough to correct the mistakes you have made," Akari said, then returned to continue while staring intently at Goketsu.
"You know, my cute little brother is currently inside the Red Gate, and if he dies there because of your mistakes, then I will not hesitate to kill all of you," Akari said with a serious expression and cold tone.
"That's ..." Although Akari's killing intent flooded the room and was enough to depress Goketsu, but as an A-Rank Hunter he could still withstand the pressure and tried to remain calm.
Before suddenly--
* bruff *
The door to the room where Akari and Goketsu are open and displays the figure of a man wearing neat clothes, breathing heavily.
"Shimizu-sama, Goketsu-sama, the gate ... It's back to normal!"
Hearing that, the terrifying pressure in the room began to disappear before Goketsu and Akari glanced at each other.
* gulp *
Goketsu swallowed his saliva because this is a defining moment, Red Gate had returned to normal gate in only two ways, namely whether all the Hunters who entered there had died or the Dungeon Boss of the Red Gate had been killed. Whatever the outcome, Goketsu can only hope that he can still live tomorrow.
_______________________
Monster Data book !!
Name: Anaceen
Ephitet: The Toxic Devourer
Type: Annelid / Humanoid
Rank: Low Level S-Rank -> A-Rank
Dungeon: Yokohama Red-Gate, November 2020
Special Affinity: Poison, Transfiguration
_______________________
