"I'm starting with a disaster-grade magic sword because I'm immune to corruption," Chapter 14.
Elf Forest
Once I had 'treated' the five of them in turn, there were no more executives left to bicker with Park Do-kyung.
"Are there any more people with command authority?"
I asked, but no one could answer.
Everyone was busy tending to their own wounds, which were now riddled with holes.
"······."
"······."
Park Do-kyung and Kang Cheong-hwa sighed lightly and shook their heads, but Jang Tae-sik and Min Do-hyun looked horrified.
"So... is it really okay to do this?"
"I don't think it's okay..."
Park Do-kyung shrugged at the two anxious men.
"We can't do it, but Gaon is fine. It was a 'medical procedure,' wasn't it?"
"Yes, it was clearly a 'medical procedure'."
As she said this, Kang Cheong-hwa measured the Karma of the executives who had collapsed with a thud.
"It's dropped noticeably compared to the levels registered a week ago. Good work on the perfect 'treatment'."
"Right?"
"Since they requested the special treatment themselves, Gaon was merely performing the procedure."
No problem at all, no problem~
Soon, medics arrived, and they were shocked to see the executives, all riddled with holes, before loading them onto stretchers.
They wouldn't be able to command anymore while they were recuperating.
"You soldiers should head to the hospital as well."
As the wounded were loaded up and taken to the hospital, Park Do-kyung began debriefing the remaining team members.
"It was a forest zone. Since it's a common area in the Dark World, we searched the surroundings just as we were trained."
Usually, the artifact that opened the gate exists within a 10km radius.
The Special Task Force members had searched on foot, drawing a circle based on the gate.
Since two squads had drawn circles in opposite directions, two days should have been enough to grasp the terrain and locate the artifact.
The problem occurred in the squad where Sergeant Baek was.
"Suddenly, fog rolled in. It happened so fast that we didn't even have time to react."
"After the fog set in, monsters swarmed us from all sides."
Sergeant Baek's squad reportedly poured all their firepower into the fight.
Machine guns, rocket launchers, grenade launchers.
Since the squad included three Level 1 Awakened and even a Level 2 Awakened, it seemed they had held out quite well.
"We judged that we couldn't hold out any longer, so we fired a retreat flare and pulled back. But..."
"So you're saying Sergeant Baek disappeared."
"Yes. But I saw him at the very end as we were retreating. Sergeant Baek was walking toward something."
Walking?
Not bitten or dragged away by monsters?
"What do you think?"
When Park Do-kyung asked, the agents offered their own opinions.
"Generally, we have to assume he's already dead."
"But they said he didn't even listen to the retreat order and just walked away. Wasn't he bewitched by something?"
"That makes sense."
Was Sergeant Baek dead or alive?
Since no one had actually seen him die, we couldn't rule out the possibility.
"The problem is the collective behavior of the monsters. I heard they aren't even the same species, so if they acted together, a 'Corrupted One' might be involved."
"A Corrupted One?"
When I asked, Park Do-kyung explained.
"Not from Earth, but a native of the Dark World. They are beings already corrupted to the core, making them one of the most dangerous threats in the Dark World."
Since they were originally sentient beings, they are said to be cunning and meticulous.
It wasn't strange, as intelligent life forms must have lived in the Dark World as well.
I had already skimmed through that much information on the Hunter Web Wiki.
"Then, let's move in quickly. If we're lucky, we might be able to save Sergeant Baek."
We packed our gear and entered the Dark Zone.
***
This Dark Zone was also a dense forest area.
However, it was gloomier than the last one, and the trees were much larger.
Even in the middle of a bright, sunny day, it was dark, blocked by the massive tree branches.
"Everyone, stay more alert than usual. Do your best to protect Gaon."
Being a rookie, I couldn't help but receive this kind of consideration.
"It's dark."
"Indeed. We have to be more cautious since visibility is limited."
"Can't we use something like night-vision goggles?"
I wondered if they couldn't use other military equipment if they were already using guns, but there was a reason they didn't.
"Electronic equipment doesn't work properly in the Dark World. You saw the soldiers' guns, right? The ones without dot sights. Those are all electronic devices."
The guns held by the search team didn't have any dot sights.
Even when playing shooting games, it felt uncomfortable without a dot sight, so I had wondered why they didn't give those to soldiers in actual combat.
"Ah~ I thought they didn't use them because they were short on money."
"The military is indeed stingy with individual infantry equipment."
There was an exception.
*Clack! Clack-clack! Whirrrr!*
Kang Cheong-hwa's demonic hand began to transform with a loud noise.
Then, the demonic hand transformed into a machine gun equipped with a large optical sight.
"Is this okay?"
"It runs on magical energy, not electricity."
With her arm extended, she turned the sight and scanned the surroundings.
Can that arm really do anything?
Ten minutes passed as Kang Cheong-hwa scanned the area while we moved.
Kang Cheong-hwa signaled the team to stop.
"500 meters ahead. Thermal signature of a living organism confirmed."
"We ran into them pretty quickly, didn't we?"
When Park Do-kyung signaled with his hand, Jang Tae-sik stood in front, and Min Do-hyun stood behind him.
Park Do-kyung was at the very rear, and I was in the middle with Kang Cheong-hwa.
"Yoon Gaon, get in front of me."
When I approached at Kang Cheong-hwa's call, she handed me some earplugs.
"Plug your ears with these and lend me your shoulder."
"???"
I was puzzled, but after putting in the earplugs, I stood in front of Kang Cheong-hwa.
"Keep your eyes forward. You didn't put the earplugs in properly. Your eardrums will burst."
Kang Cheong-hwa adjusted the earplugs I was wearing with her left hand. It felt strange to have the ambient noise noticeably muffled.
Then, Kang Cheong-hwa placed her arm on my shoulder. Or rather, her arm that had become a machine gun.
"Hold on tight."
At that moment, a deafening roar erupted from my shoulder.
*BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!*
A frantic downpour of machine-gun fire. As a baptism closer to artillery shells than bullets poured out, death cries erupted from beyond.
*KREEEEEEE!*
The howling of beasts echoed, but the machine-gun fire poured out by Kang Cheong-hwa swallowed the sound.
"Kreeee!"
"Kack!"
It was useless to hide behind trees.
Kang Cheong-hwa's machine-gun rounds pierced through the thick old trees and exploded the monsters on the other side.
"KREEEEEEEEEEE!"
As the shrieks rang out, monsters revealed themselves from behind the trees where they had been hiding.
They realized that the old trees couldn't even serve as shields and intended to charge.
"Jang Tae-sik, Min Do-hyun, hold them off!"
"Yes! Team Leader!"
"My, there are so many of them."
Jang Tae-sik, standing at the vanguard, swung his flail around to meet the charging monsters.
Most of the monsters were knocked down by Kang Cheong-hwa's terrifying firepower, but some still reached us.
"OOOOOH!"
Jang Tae-sik threw the flail he had been swinging toward the front.
Then, the chain stretched out, and the flail flew so far I wondered how long it would go.
*THUD!*
I clearly witnessed the monster hit by the iron ball of the flail have its head explode.
Jang Tae-sik's attack didn't end there.
The flail flew in all directions as if it had a will of its own, smashing the heads and bursting the sides of the approaching monsters.
"Wow..."
Min Do-hyun handled the monsters that remained after Kang Cheong-hwa and Jang Tae-sik's assault.
He pierced the monsters like a flash of light with his sharp spear, a power distinctly different from the violent firepower of the other two.
It was the skill of a master honed to the limit.
If the team members were this good, what about Park Do-kyung, who was said to be the strongest?
"Good, very good~ Do your best so I don't have to step in~"
Park Do-kyung watched the battlefield from the rear, taking it easy.
He looked like he was slacking off, but the three of them actually said a word to their team leader.
"Team Leader, please don't step in."
"Because it's a forest."
"If you step in, it'll just be a headache."
It seemed there was a reason Park Do-kyung shouldn't step in.
【Blood! Seize the blood! Charge forward! Why are you just standing there!】
As the smell of blood filled the forest, the Black Heron began to go wild.
"I don't think I'll have a reason to step in?"
The agents of the Bureau's Special Task Force were all said to be users of Cursed Objects.
They said the risks were high, but they had no choice but to use them because they possessed such powerful strength.
And the Special Task Force Team 2 was clearly demonstrating the power of those Cursed Objects.
What would be the point of me stepping in on a battlefield being swept by veteran agents?
"Gaon, are you feeling restless?"
"No, I'm fine, it's comfortable."
"Well, that's fine too, but I brought you here to gain experience. But it's not as relaxed as I thought, so it won't be easy."
Not relaxed? They were completely wiping out the battlefield!
"If it's like this from the entrance, I don't know what's inside. It seems like it'll be a bit tough this time, so Gaon, you'll just have to watch."
"I'll be careful."
And so, I acted only as a support for Kang Cheong-hwa and watched the veterans' battle.
So that's how you use a shield, and that's how you thrust a spear.
You deflect the attacks of large monsters to throw them off balance.
It was a battle where I could learn a lot just by watching.
The battle that had turned the forest into a sea of blood ended, and just as it reached a lull.
"Team Leader! It's the fog!"
"What? Since when?"
The fog the search team had told us about was already covering us.
It was so fast that even Park Do-kyung, who had been watching the situation the whole time, couldn't react—it was clearly artificial—
~~~~♬♬
A beautiful singing voice could be heard.
It was a singing voice that seeped in, enough to bewitch.
"Beautiful..."
I walked toward the thick fog, so dense I couldn't see an inch in front of me.
I heard a voice that seemed to be calling for me, but that didn't matter.
I had to find the front-row seat for this singing voice as quickly as possible.
【Uh-oh? Host, what are you doing now? Where are you going alone!】 I walk on endlessly.
Ah, my beloved.
As I move my feet as if treading upon the wind, you call to me like a dream.
【Hey, he’s been bewitched again! Hey! Hey, you! Host, please, you have to resist!!】
The uninvited guest’s lament cannot stop me.
***
After walking through the mist for what felt like an eternity, I came face to face with a woman playing a flute.
Her hair looked as if it had been spun from molten silver.
Her chocolate-toned skin and healthy physique were daringly exposed by her attire.
The girl, as beautiful as a celestial maiden descended from the heavens, was playing her flute, waiting for me.
"You have arrived."
How could her voice be so lovely, like rolling jade beads?
Then, I suddenly noticed that her ears were long and pointed.
"An elf?"
"That is what I am called."
The elf girl nodded at my guess.
I asked her, "By any chance, have you seen a person in a military uniform... um, named Baek Jin-seong?"
"Strangers often lose their way and find us. That person is being safely protected in our village."
A village in a forest overflowing with monsters?
Yet, I felt no suspicion. Someone who played such beautiful, enchanting music could not possibly be lying.
【Hey! Hey! This looks suspicious no matter how you slice it. They’re the ones who snatched him! There’s no way the residents of this place are normal!】
The Cursed Object was being noisy, but I ignored it. That wicked Cursed Object. How dare it slander the elves, who love the forest and nature, right in front of me.
"Would you like to follow me? We will help you in our village."
"Yes!"
I nodded eagerly.
An elf village. It must be a paradise overflowing with love and song.
【He’s gone. He’s really gone. He’s lost his mind.】
And so, I walked through the forest following the elf girl.
Her hair swayed, releasing a refreshing scent, and her deeply exposed back stirred an impulse in me to even lick it.
Every single gesture of hers was alluring, stimulating my impulses.
"Ah......"
I suddenly realized.
The residents living in a place like this.
They must surely be exposed to the wicked energy of the Dark Zone, resulting in high Karma levels.
This elf girl, showing me, a stranger, such infinite goodwill.
Isn't there something I can do for her?
*Slide.*
【Huh? Hey, wait a second. Don't tell me?】
I could see the elf girl’s back.
The human anatomy I had learned while 'treating' the soldiers so many times.
A 'relatively' safe area.
Having secured my target point, I lunged toward her defenseless form—
*Stab!*
"Gahk!?"
Even if it hurts now, you will eventually be grateful.
For my 'Special Treatment.'
【Ah... This bastard is a guy who stabs people even out of goodwill.】
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