ch21-ch40 · 030-ch30

Chapter 30: King of the Hole

"What the hell... is this..."

Narashima's voice was dumbfounded at the sight before him.

A space as vast as the vertical pit spread out before them — not merely an extension of the cave, but a full-fledged civilization.

The surface of the walls was carved into hexagonal shapes, and to describe the whole thing in one word: it resembled a beehive.

"So the goblins that came down from the Clock were just pets to these guys."

He could see individuals waiting in partitioned rooms, treating goblins like servants, sometimes killing them for sport or using them as food.

A true survival of the fittest world.

The monsters that spotted the intruders wore sinister smiles.

They didn't get excited when prey fell into their traps. They just calmly observed their opponent.

They were highly intelligent, cunning, and had the trait of studying other species —.

"Is that... the media crew...?"

"Ugh...!?"

On a workbench in the center, traces of dissection too gruesome to look at were visible. And it wasn't just random disassembly — it was clearly divided by body part.

They were unmistakably studying humans.

"We're turning every last one of these bastlers into ash here."

Kido, the S-Rank Hunter, muttered with urgency in his voice. These creatures were clearly a potential threat to humanity.

"Whatever they are, we fight the way we decided in the meeting. Throw maximum firepower at them — let's go."

"White Flame — release!"

Kido's flames spread through the colony.

Unlike normal flames, a super-high temperature of over 6,000°C swept through. The death throes of burning monsters echoed, and charred corpses dropped from the beehive structure one after another.

"...Bro, I can fire again in one minute."

"All teams charge! Hunt down the remnants!"

Letting out battle cries to spur themselves on, the Hunters surged forward.

Of the total 24 members in the combat team, 7 were B-Rank or below — excluding Akisame, only 16 Hunters had to suppress the colony.

"(Fortunately, Kido's flames can thin out a good number of enemies. If their attention shifts to us, Akisame and the others will have an easier time too... but the problem is that thing.)"

At the end of Narashima's gaze, an individual stood on a small hill-like rise.

It was a humanoid something wearing the expert's clothing from the news helicopter, with the expert's face.

Its expression was eerily distorted — like a Noh mask plastered on — and seemed different from a real human's.

"I'm... plea, sed... to meet you."

"!?"

"I... aM, Maha. Plea, sed."

It was already speaking human language.

And the magic power it contained was on a completely different level from the other monsters. Narashima was certain — this Maha was the one ruling this place.

"Good thing it's dim in here... Shadow Replica."

Two clones rose from Narashima's shadow, both readying twin swords.

The clones shot forward like they'd been sprung, attacking Maha.

"I want, this, too..."

Maha raised its hand, emitting a discordant voice, and the clones' movements stopped.

The clones scattered into pieces, and Maha looked at Narashima with an expression that seemed almost bored.

"(This guy's ability is...)"

As Narashima realized a certain possibility, Oba, the A-Rank Hunter, charged past him with his body hardened.

"This one's the head...!"

Oba's fist reached for Maha — but it never connected.

Like the clones, Oba's body lifted up, creaking and groaning as it was squeezed.

"Shadow Bind."

Countless threads extended from Maha's shadow, wrapping around Oba's body and robbing him of his freedom.

But the force crushing Oba didn't let up. Narashima clicked his tongue and slashed at Maha.

"Guh!?"

Narashima's sword sank deep into Maha's stomach.

Vibrant green blood spurted out, and Maha's body swayed.

But still, Maha didn't loosen its grip on Oba.

"Let... go... you bastard!!"

The crushing force grew even stronger.

Oba seemed unable to break free on his own, screaming as he was crushed by something invisible.

"!?"

Narashima was blown back by that invisible something. No — in that split second, he saw what it was. A giant hand.

"Grrrroooohhh!!"

Crack, creak, crunch — sounds of something being crushed echoed. Oba's body crumpled like an empty can, then burst with a wet splat.

An A-Rank Hunter, killed so easily.

"Damn it...!"

"Get back, bro! White Flame — release!"

Kido's flames spread once more.

The researcher's skin melted away, revealing a reddish-black dog's face underneath. Unlike the other individuals, a large jewel glittered on its forehead.

The white flame surrounded Maha as if it had a will of its own, burning and coiling around it. It became a pillar of fire, writhing with a roaring sound.

"I see. So this is its structure."

An eerie voice rang out from within the flames.

As if parting the white flame with an invisible hand, the fire around Maha bent away. There stood Maha, its body now a dull metallic color.

"Oh come on, you've gotta be kidding me..."

Narashima realized the true nature of the enemy's power.

Maha was unmistakably using Oba Hunter's skill right now. What he could infer from this was that the opponent had the ability to steal skills.

And not just abilities — if it could steal knowledge and appearance too, that explained how it had learned to speak Japanese and taken on the expert's form in such a short time.

"We need to kill this thing fast, or it'll be too late to fix."

"Looks like it."

Sweat beaded on Narashima's and Kido's foreheads.

Narashima briefly glanced toward the upper part of the colony.

"Kido, you can fly, right? Get out."

"You're calling for backup from the other S-Ranks?"

"That's one thing. But if too many S-Ranks get devoured, there won't be anyone left to deal with it. So don't ask for S-Ranks —"

Narashima paused, took a small breath, and continued.

"Request assistance from Maeda Hagane of Remnant Guild."

Recalling his past brutality toward him, Narashima felt deep regret, but still conveyed this to Kido.

Given the situation, he couldn't think of any other option but to rely on the strongest combat power he knew of.

"...Understood. Don't die, bro."

"Don't jinx me."

"And don't let my guild members die either."

After exchanging those brief words, Kido's body was enveloped in flames and he shot upward like a jet.

The monsters that had been attacking Akisame from the horizontal shafts changed direction to target Kido, but Kido burned them to death and vanished deeper into the hole.

Maha followed Kido's departure with its eyes and muttered.

"How pitiful..."

"Say that again?"

"!"

Narashima swung his sword down as he dove into Maha's guard. Caught off guard, Maha raised its arm in a defensive posture.

"Shadow Extraction."

What Narashima cut wasn't the body — but its shadow.

An unblockable strike delivered through the shadow.

"Guugh!?"

From Maha's body — which should have gained a steel body — vibrant green blood spurted out once more. Narashima looked down at Maha, now on one knee, as he pulled his sword from the ground.

"Go ahead — try taking my ability."

◇◆◇◆◇

Kido, having escaped the hole, arrived at the spot where the survey team had first landed.

"There should be something here..."

That's when he finally noticed the anomaly.

The door that should have been there — was gone.

"(Is this a similar place? No — there are mounting brackets from the base camp. This is definitely it.)"

The location was undoubtedly correct.

But the door itself had vanished.

When they entered, there was still over 40 hours remaining. They'd been underground for at most about an hour — there was no way time had run out.

Which meant they couldn't even go back.

"(Should I just go support Akisame and have the three S-Ranks take down Maha? No — if anyone's skill gets stolen, that's the end...)"

Kido looked again at where the door should have been.

An unpleasant thought crossed his mind.

"—No, that's impossible."

A chill ran down Kido's spine.

That massive presence that had been concealing the entire underground space from detection skills — if it was hiding the door, everything would add up.

The question was whether that presence was Maha.

"No wa—"

Crunch — a sound of something being crushed echoed.

Where Kido had been standing, a giant fist had slammed down.

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