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Chapter 144: The Harbinger of the Cataclysm Pt. 4

An S-Grade Gate had collapsed.

This was a completely different matter from the C-Grade Gate collapsing earlier.

RUMBLE!

The entire building shook. The tremors were felt by its inhabitants even through the formation that the building was imbued with as it was where the Heroes were.

There was an incredible flow of mana, and the Heroes’ expressions hardened sharply.

However, none of them made a move.

This was Egypt.

It wasn’t their country that they were supposed to defend, nor was the collapse of an S-Grade Gate something they could just easily get involved with either.

In the midst of everyone trying to read the room, Horus spoke first.

“I’ll be leaving first.”

Horus made his move. As this was his territory, Egypt, where the Nile was located, he quickly rose with a pale face.

“...”

The rest of the Heroes made no movement even though Horus had stood up.

However, the next people to move were Lee Jun-Kyeong and Yeo Seong-Gu.

Squeak.

They looked at each other and nodded, also beginning to walk out.

The Hunters were flustered.

RUMBLE!

However, it wasn’t because of the tremors shaking the building. The reason that they had gathered here was because of Lee Jun-Kyeong.

Now, they were all confused as to what to do now that Lee Jun-Kyeong was leaving.

Although they worried about it for a moment, their worries quickly disappeared at Lee Jun-Kyeong’s last few remarks, “I think I’ve already given you as much information as I can. Also, I don’t have any intentions of moving my affiliation to another country. Therefore, if you please return to your countries.”

Horus exchanged signals with Lee Jun-Kyeong and left through the door, while Lee Jun-Kyeong quickly finished what he had to say, chasing after him.

“As something similar will happen in your countries.”

Screech.

With a closing door.

"No. It may already be happening…”

With Lee Jun-Kyeong’s voice ringing like an empty echo, the quickest one to get up was Yashin.

Screech.

“If you’d excuse me."

He had someone to save.

***

Boom!

A huge meteorite seemed to have fallen in front of Yashin. However, upon closer inspection, this wasn’t a meteorite but a fragment of a building. The building had ruptured like an explosion and hailed over the entire area.

"Argh!" screamed the citizens who had yet to evacuate.

Shing!

Listening to their screams, Yashin drew his blade.

“Is this the first time I’ve ever drawn my blade outside of my home country?”

The reason his name wasn’t known to the public was that he was a Hunter who had never gone on an expedition.

His position in Japan was special, so Japan and his organization, Takamagahara, hadn’t allowed him to pursue any expedition.

He was someone who had gotten strong only through the gates of Japan.

However, his skills were amazing enough that they could be confidently said to be among the best in the world.

Shing!

The katana sang with a clear sound.

When it returned to its sheath, there wasn’t an explosion or any large phenomenon.

However, the fragments of the falling building had all been destroyed, scattering like dust into the air.

People were starting to run out into the streets without even knowing what was happening in the chaos.

“So it’s trolls…” Yashin commented.

He had thought that there would have been even greater monsters that emerged as it had been an S-Grade Gate Break. However, that didn’t seem to be the case.

In front of him was a troll that was tearing down the buildings and throwing its debris mercilessly.

However, Yashin noticed that there was something different about these trolls.

They had much larger bodies and a cleaner look.

It was almost as if…

‘They look like giants.’

Yashin quickly leaped forward using a movement technique signature to Japan’s warriors.

Cairo was in the midst of an agonizing chaos. People were screaming while Hunters were fighting with monsters.

However, many Hunters were either retreating with the ordinary people or dying in order to save them.

This felt like a completely new experience to Yashin.

‘This would never happen back home…”

Japan despised ordinary humans. A powerful Hunter was someone who deserved to be revered, and ordinary humans were servants who had to obey the evolved race of Hunters who protected them.

That was the system of Japan.

In fact, it was common for Japanese Hunters to withdraw from areas if it meant protecting their own safety, even if it meant leaving ordinary humans in danger.

Therefore, Yashin continued forward as he interestedly watched the Hunters.

“...”

Shing.

When the clear song of the katana sounded again, the falling debris of a building disappeared.

“Gruh?”

And a monster that couldn’t be distinguished between a troll and a giant collapsed.

As if some of the Hunters noticed that Yashin had made a move, they expressed their thanks in English.

"Thank you."

Yasin quickly advanced without caring about their greetings as he had to reach the accommodations where he had been staying.

He had to go there and find her.

Save her.

Although there would be Japanese Heroes guarding her, he didn’t know if they would be able to keep her safe in the midst of an S-Grade Gate Break.

She was essential to Yashin and was someone who had to be kept safe.

‘That girl…’

Because there was something he had to protect, he had to save her.

Far away from the gaze of Yashin, who was running forward quickly, he saw a burning flame.

Flicker.

It wasn’t a flame that had occurred naturally in the midst of the confusion. This was a flame that someone had lit using mana, and the mana that was contained within the blaze was familiar.

“The Underdog…”

Through the rising flames, Yashin saw him. He was a man who killed a giant with a single stroke of his spear.

Yashin’s heart pounded.

‘Whew…’

The reason that Yashin had offered to recruit him in front of everyone and his reason for showing interest in the Hunter wasn’t simply because the information he could provide was rare. After all, she had asked for it as well.

‘That man will help you with your mission.’

Yashin had things holding him down.

Fate, Duty, Vocation.

However, the woman had predicted that Lee Jun-Kyeong could help with the affairs that had tied him and the woman together as well.

Moreover, that wasn’t the only thing, either.

Thump. Thump.

His heart beat strangely every time he looked at him, just like it was doing now.

It was as if Lee Jun-Kyeong was pulling him in.

That was why he had tried to recruit him, even though their situation wasn’t as urgent as the United States.

Yashin approached where Lee Jun-Kyeong was like a moth possessed by the flame.

It just so happened that the Underdog was at the place where the woman was located.

***

Swoosh!

Lee Jun-Kyeong moved like crazy.

He wasn’t breaking heavily, nor was he trying to allocate his strength, either. He just ran straight and just took care of any and all visible trolls in his path.

Something was off about the trolls.

‘They’re different from the giants of Utgard.’

They were definitely different from the frost giants that they had seen in China. However, there was still something similar about them as well.

They resembled trolls, but at the same time, they also resembled giants. They seemed to be the monsters that emerged with the S-Grade Gate Break.

Even still, Lee Jun-Kyeong had no hesitation in taking them down as he wondered what they were.

Squelch!

Wherever his spear moved, a monster that no one knew whether it was a troll or a giant collapsed, and the flames flared up.

"This way!"

Yeo Seong-Gu also participated in the battle, but more importantly, he was attempting to rescue the residents first.

Having spoken to Horus as they left the accommodations, they had decided that the best thing he could do, as the owner of the Bifrost, was to move the residents to a safe place.

Squelch!

Yeo Seong-Gu saved the residents as Lee Jun-Kyeong took down the monsters.

The monsters collapsed quickly, and the screams were dying down.

[Absorbing the soul of Anubis.]

Lee Jun-Kyeong wondered if it was the effect of the Dragon’s Bloodstone or if it was because of the nature of Anubis, who dealt in death, but whenever he took down a monster, A Skull That Contains Souls seemed to absorb Anubis’ soul faster.

Still, Lee Jun-Kyeong moved quickly, regardless of the notifications ringing in his head.

Swoop!

Wings of flames soared behind Lee Jun-Kyeong’s back.

<The Desert’s Sun> was still sponsoring him.

He planned on using this great power that he could only use for a limited amount of time to its fullest.

Swish!

Alongside a number of different amplifiers, including Galdr, once again, a phoenix had appeared over Cairo.

Lee Jun-Kyeong was like a phoenix to the fleeing residents of Cairo.

“The Guardian Deity…”

He looked similar to the image of Ra, their guardian deity.

"Come on!"

Although the residents were running away at Yeo Seong-Gu’s urging, they still stopped for a moment and prayed to Lee Jun-Kyeong.

Immediately after that, they saw another phoenix.

Swish!

It was Horus.

He was also struggling to save Cairo, even though he was still in bad shape.

"I\'ll go that way!" shouted Lee Jun-Kyeong from the sky.

Most of the residents in the area had been evacuated, but there was still one hotel that no one had evacuated from yet.

He could feel it though.

There were the auras of Hunters and an ominous aura.

In that distant hotel, there was something that aroused an unpleasant and unsettling feeling within him.

The place was still intact, most likely due to the influence of the Hunters, but it was obvious that it would still eventually collapse soon.

Lee Jun-Kyeong’s wings of flame flapped quickly in order to lead him there. However, he could feel something behind his back.

‘Yashin.’

Lee Jun-Kyeong could feel the other Hunter’s aura behind him.

Lee Jun-Kyeong thought for a moment that Yashin was a very strange man.

Even if the information that Lee Jun-Kyeong had was valuable, it still wasn’t enough for Japan to propose recruiting him with exceptional treatment.

Moreover, it was true of his skills as well.

Although Lee Jun-Kyeong was a great talent at this point, he still wasn’t in a position to attract such unconventional treatment.

Because of Yashin and the Hero from the Freemasons, Heroes from all over the world continued to try to recruit him.

Lee Jun-Kyeong knew it was all because of Yashin, that strange man.

However, that was only on his mind for a moment, as before he knew it, he had arrived at the hotel.

“...”

There was something emitting a great aura from here.

“The gate is still…”

Behind the back of the still intact hotel, the aftermath of the gate break was still visible.

There was a flickering blue curtain.

There’s still something that hasn’t come over yet.’

It was a being who couldn’t come over yet because of its enormous mana, even after the collapse of the gate.

He could guess as to what it was: the boss.

The boss of an S-Grade Gate was about to descend here.

Flicker. Flicker.

Lee Jun-Kyeong flapped his wings of flames and aimed Muspel’s Spear from the sky. The boss hadn’t come out of the gate yet, and if it came over, there was no telling how much damage it could cause.

Therefore, Lee Jun-Kyeong planned on dealing with it before it had a chance to cross the boundary.

Whoosh.

With a strange resonance, flames began to gather around Muspel’s Spear.

Then, piercing forward, the flames shot forth by Lee Jun-Kyeong emitted a huge amount of heat as they collided with the blue curtain.

However, at that moment, Lee Jun-Kyeong realized it.

‘I’m too late.’

BOOM!

The ground and air shook. Although the flames shot by Lee Jun-Kyeong weren’t able to prevent it from crossing over, they were still successful in giving a blow to the colossal body of the monster that came over.

BOOOM!

The boss was bigger than any monster Lee Jun-Kyeong had ever seen.

The giant, or the boss, looked too large to even be called a giant. It stared down at Lee Jun-Kyeong with its whole body burning.

It was overwhelmingly huge. Its moon-like eyes, the size of a building—no, even larger than that, faced Lee Jun-Kyeong.

Groan!

Its palm crushed the air, falling toward the Hunter.

Lee Jun-Kyeong quickly moved away and began to soar into the sky.

‘I think I’m going to get addicted.’

Now that he had the ability to fly using the power of <The Desert’s Sun>, Lee Jun-Kyeong felt as though he was going to get addicted to the great sense of speed.

He soared rapidly into the air as Muspel’s Spear was already devouring any flames it could see, growing larger and larger.

Soon, Cairo was under the illusion of a phoenix holding a giant sword.

Eventually, that sword struck.

Squelch.

It pierced into the jaw of the colossal boss of the S-Grade Gate that had appeared.

Crash!

The giant fell.

Although Lee Jun-Kyeong tried to burn the boss’ body before it fell by raising a flame that he had imbued into his spear, the boss didn’t burn easily, as if he was resistant to flames.

But then.

Shing!

A clear sword sang.

The falling giant began to scatter into pieces.