“I don’t plan to go that far to save them.”
Choi Yeonseung was being honest.
The hunters knew they would be in danger from the moment they entered the dungeon. Choi Yeonseung had warned them, but that was all he could do.
If he could help, he would help, but if he tried to force it, the raid itself might go wrong. Of course, given the situation, there was no one crazy enough to blame him for not helping.
If someone criticized Choi Yeonseung for not helping them in a competitive raid, everyone else would call them crazy.
‘It’s great if I can save someone, but there’s no need to feel pressured to do it.’
As a constellation, Choi Yeonseung had the duty to do some good deeds for humanity. However, he was currently doing well enough in that sense.
The other raiders had been incapacitated, so it wouldn’t be strange for Choi Yeonseung’s team to also fall back. However, they were still proceeding with the raid.
“...Really?”
Illaphael seemed taken aback by Choi Yeonseung’s words. She had assumed that Choi Yeonseung would unconditionally try to save all the humans involved in this raid. Because of that, Illaphael had also prepared to act accordingly…“If you want to save them, go ahead. If you’re acting like this because you care about me and Amelia, we’re fine, really. You don’t have to worry about us,” explained Illaphael.
“No, I really don’t need to save them.”
“...You can save them!”
“??”
When Illaphael raised her voice, the other hunters looked at her as though she was a madman. What was wrong with her?
Illaphael noticed the looks of the hunters and blushed slightly. Then she cleared her throat.
“I mean that you shouldn’t refrain from acting because of me. Do you understand? I have been given full authority by my master, so I can make any decisions. So if you want to save them...”
“...I think you’re misunderstanding something, Illaphael. For example, just because you’re an angel doesn’t mean that you’ll try to save all the angels in the Abyss if they’re in danger, right? It’s the same for me. Of course, if I can help, then I’ll help. However, my main objective is succeeding in this raid.”
“...”
After hearing Choi Yeonseung’s sincere words, Illaphael realized that she had misunderstood him.
“Please wait for a moment.”
“?”
Illaphael turned around and disappeared among the dense palm trees. Following that, there was a loud sound as though a storm had torn through the trees.
Illaphael came back. Her face, which had been as beautiful as a piece of marble, was now stained with shame and self-loathing.
“...”
Antony had always been tactless and sarcastic, but he found himself unable to say anything this time, perhaps because he was overwhelmed by Illaphael’s behavior.
Of course, he couldn’t deny how he felt about this whole scene.
‘I don’t think angels are as big of a deal as I thought. She is a bit different from the rumors.’
The rumors essentially said that angels were dignified, high-ranking species that treated humans like bugs, but this angel…
***
Choi Yeonseung had organized a party of only A-grade hunters, excluding Han Seha.
Normally, even though an A-grade hunter might be capable of clearing a dungeon by themselves, they never attempted to do that.
What if a leaf fell on them from the ceiling and they got injured?!
Of course, they had to form a raid team of several hunters who would cover the A-grade hunters. In that respect, a party consisting of only A-grade hunters was very unique.
-It’s not a bad idea.
[The ‘Manipulator of Dreams and Desires’ agrees that it’s a good method.]
There was no need for a large number of people when dealing with monsters like nightmare demons. Rather, having extra people would only be a burden.
Of course, that didn’t mean that just anyone could make this decision. If a regular person told an A-grade hunter that they had to go into the dungeon by themselves in order to counter the monster’s skills, the hunter would say something like “Have you lost your mind?!”
A-grade hunters were also human, so they didn’t want to risk being at a disadvantage and deal with inconveniences just to fight a specific monster.
However...
“There’s a trail here.”
“I’ll take the lead!”
“Step aside, Amelia. I’ll take the lead.”
“That’s enough. Everyone, get out of the way. Do you know who I am? The Icarus clan...”
“...”
This raid led by Choi Yeonseung was rather unique in the sense that all the A-grade hunters unconditionally obeyed Choi Yeonseung’s commands.
Such a thing was rarer than orcs farming.
The hunters themselves weren’t aware of the strangeness, but other people would’ve been stunned if they had seen this.
It wasn’t just A-grade hunters like Amelia and Antony. Even an arrogant angel like Illaphael listened to Choi Yeonseung, a mere human compared to him.
What had Choi Yeonseung done to achieve such authority?
“Don’t argue over this.”
“Yes, I’ll go first. Understood?”
Illaphael spoke to Amelia and Antony before taking the lead.
Of course, Choi Yeonseung found it ridiculous.
“What?”
“You didn’t intend to leave it to me...?”
“Forget it. I’m a martial artist, so I’ll be the front tanker.”
“...”
Illaphael fell silent, her wings drooping in disappointment. She stepped back.
The angel kept acting strangely, so Choi Yeonseung naturally started getting worried. What was going on?
-I see.
‘Did she make a deal with an evil god constellation to stab me in the back?’
-...No!
The goddess of sloth shouted in a bewildered manner. Even if Choi Yeonseung had doubts, how could they be so absurd?
[The ‘Goddess of Balance Who Walks Ahead’ says it’s probably because she owes you too much.]
Indeed, even though angels were generally arrogant and proud, they were sensitive about any favors they received.
Choi Yeonseung had saved Illaphael’s life not once, but several times, so the angel was highly indebted to him.
Every time they met, Illaphael kept failing to repay him and just received more favors from him.
-That angel must be quite distressed.
-I think I’ve heard before that favors are a big deal to her.Won’t this issue go away on its own though?
-Well, it’s not that serious of a problem.
The goddess of sloth shook her head.
-Successor, what would you do if you fought another constellation and won, but that constellation ran away and hid somewhere?
-I’d chase them all the way and kill them.
-That angel must be feeling the same way right now.
-...What? She’s focusing on such things instead of the raid?Can an angel do that?
-Even if she tries to focus on the raid, she can’t help it…She will want to somehow return the favor and get rid of some of the debt.
Choi Yeonseung found this whole thing troublesome, but he decided to play along for the sake of the raid.
“Illaphael, how great! I can’t believe you found a trail! This will make the raid easier!”
“That’s great, Illaphael! Casting magic on everyone! I don’t know how I’ll be able to repay you for this!”
However, instead of being moved by Choi Yeonseung’s praise, Illaphael looked hurt, perhaps because the praise was obviously forced.
The angel’s expression contorted as she trembled. She clenched her fists and nodded, tears of resentment welling up in the corners of her eyes.
“...”
“...”
Antony and Amelia looked at Choi Yeonseung in dismay. How could he mock someone like this?
“...Isn’t this too much? Angels are scary, you know…. How are you going to deal with the aftermath??”
“It’s a misunderstanding.”
“Isn’t this too much for Illaphael? Hunter Choi Yeonseung, this is a bit...”
“It’s a misunderstanding.”
“No!” Illaphael cut in.
The three people turned their heads in surprise.
Illaphael took a deep breath and continued with a determined look, “Rather, this is good. Insult me more!”
“...”
“...”
This time, Antony and Amelia looked at Illaphael in dismay.
“When I think about the mistakes I’ve made... These taunts are appropriate for me right now! I deserve to be treated like this. Choi Yeonseung, humiliate me!”
Illaphael had already made up her mind.
She was hurt when he first heard such words from Choi Yeonseung, feeling as though her pride was being torn apart. But after thinking about it carefully, Illaphael felt like she deserved to go through this ordeal.
After all, it was ridiculous to be treated as his equal given how many blunders she had made and how indebted she was to Choi Yeonseung.
Indeed, accepting these insults was Illaphael’s first step toward redemption.
...At least, that was what Illaphael thought.
***
“Ugh.”
Japan’s A-grade hunter, Kohei Nakao, finally came to his senses. There were familiar hunters lying all around him.
“Everyone, wake up...!” Kohei Nakao exclaimed but suddenly stopped. He was surprised to notice how weak he felt, as though all of his strength had been depleted.
He felt just like when he had used to make mistakes as a beginner and use up all his magic power too fast!
‘W-what is this?’
Kohei Nakao belatedly realized that something resembling tentacles were wrapped around his arms and legs.
He tried to break free, but he couldn’t even move because all his magic power was gone. To make matters worse, it wasn’t just him in this situation, but all the other hunters as well!
-Strange humans.
-Yes, yes.
A man and a woman looked down at Kohei Nakao. They were both astonishingly beautiful, but they gave off a cold, sinister aura.
At that moment, Kohei Nakao instinctively recognized the two entities.
“Night... Nightmare demons!”
-What?You’re awake?
-You must be a pretty strong human.It’s better for you to go back to sleep.It doesn’t have to be painful.
The man spoke kindly to him, but Kohei Nakao was still in shock and exclaimed, “What... nonsense?! Release me and fight me!”
-Are you stupid?What are you talking about?
-Why would we fight you?
The nightmare demons looked at Kohei Nakao with incredulous expressions. Since this was a dungeon on Earth, they had an endless supply of humans to serve and feed them.
The nightmare demons were so impressed with this unique process that they even offered some monsters to the hunters.
They didn’t touch the humans who killed the monsters in the initial sections of the dungeon.
However, these days, humans had been offering food more often and more blatantly. They had even started sending exceptional awakened beings into the deeper parts of the dungeon.
“...What crazy nonsense?! When did we send it?!”
-You always came in and offered your desires, didn’t you?
-Why are you denying it after continuously making offerings to us?
-We understand.Human beings are naturally less intelligent, so they say a lot of contradictory things.
The two nightmare demons kept speaking as though they didn’t understand.
This sight gave Kohei Nakao goosebumps.
Up until this point, everyone, from the Russian government to the clans, had thought that this was a white dungeon full of riches...
As it turned out, all the hunters who entered the dungeon were feeding the nightmare demons without realizing it.
This entire dungeon area was absorbing desires and power!
‘It’s ridiculous...! I can’t believe there’s a dungeon like this!’
-What...Are you hurt?I hope you’re not hurt because I pointed out your low intelligence.You humans might be less intelligent, but you are nonetheless an interesting race.
-That’s right.Your desires are profound and complex. They are of excellent quality.Thanks to you, we can wake up our king.
“...”
When Kohei Nakao thought he couldn’t be more shocked, the two nightmare demons proved him wrong.
A black, sticky egg connected to over a hundred tentacles was wriggling among the nightmare demons. It was shaking as though it was about to hatch.
Kohei Nakao didn’t know what this egg was or what would happen when the being inside of it woke up.
“Hey... I’m not your prey! No!”
-Hey, stop raising your voice.I know it’s confusing to wake up suddenly, but...
The nightmare demons disregarded Kohei Nakao’s words and covered his mouth. But at that moment, the egg was split in half with a dazzling white light. There was a loud noise and crystals of dark red desire erupted in all directions.
-......
-......
All the nightmare demons in the area were so shocked by this unexpected event that they froze up.
“There’s no need to create something like a new constellation or a new king. Here’s your new constellation, the Manipulator of Dreams and Desires,” said Choi Yeonseung while shaking the concentrated energy off his hand.
Of course, the nightmare demons weren’t exactly thrilled about his proposal.
-■■■■■■■■■!
The nightmare demons let out distorted screams and reacted violently.
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