Auto Hunting

No. 164

The first action Auto-Hunt took was “collection.”

Yoo-seong began to reach into the pockets of the fallen American hunters. He went through their various equipment, including the Needle Harpoon. For some reason, Auto-Hunt deemed it important for what he was going to do. Then…

Kiing-!

Compressed Aura about the size of a spoon and shaped like an awl began to work on the equipment.

Yoo-seong began speedily cutting through, shaping the metal as a craftsman cuts through wood. Before long, he had made thirty thin metal rods, the state-of-the-art equipment reduced to what looked like barbecue skewers.

Pop-!

He snuck them back into his slot. Then Yoo-seong turned toward the hunters.

Tuk-!

Tuduk-!

He pressed down on their nerve points to wake them up, releasing their blood.

“…..”

“…..”

The hunters didn’t move right away; they simply looked down on their just-freed bodies. They were acting like people who had just woken up. Their bodies weren’t harmed, but something else had damaged them both mentally and emotionally.

Their country, the United States, had betrayed them.

Even in their helpless state, they saw and understood what had just happened. The military had indiscriminately bombed Nashville at a time when their status had been unconfirmed.

Yoo-seong caught their attention as he pointed to the crack he had just torn open.

“Take care of yourselves,” he said in broken English.

He did not close the crack they had entered through. When the explosions stopped, these hunters could get out by themselves.

Several people, including the team leader, nodded weakly. No word of thanks, requests, or anything else came out of their mouths. Instead, they all looked drained and defeated.

“How could they do this to us…?”

“Those bastards…”

“Goddamn it…”

Some of them were muttering curses. Yoo-seong simply gave them a sad look.

After trusting the country they’d served with their lives, they couldn’t help but feel betrayed.

Alvin’s lust for power would end up causing more pain and misery. However, Yoo-seong didn’t have the time to sympathize with them.

Huwook-!

With Spinnenschrift, he began running through the mountains of trash. He smiled inwardly as he felt Auto-Hunt improve upon the technique that Sung-wook created. The surfaces he stepped on remained undisturbed; there was no noise being emitted from the impact. The Grays weren’t able to detect his approach even as he ran alongside them to where they were headed.

Auto-Hunt stopped when he reached its target, which seemed to be the unclosed rift over Nashville. Yoo-seong hid behind the mountains of trash and observed what lay before him.

‘That’s…’

Since Yoo-seong had created the crack in the basement and went through it, the rift in Nashville’s sky had appeared to be situated overhead. However, the Grays were walking in and out of it comfortably.

This was because there was some sort of pedestal standing between the ground and the crack.

‘It’s like… it’s like an altar,’ thought Yoo-seong.

It was shaped like a pyramid, with the blue light of the rift at its peak. On the opposite side was a staircase, where several Grays and humans were walking to and fro, carrying “spoils” from the human world. The humans, Yoo-seong guessed, must be the missing hunters.

They were moving along the staircase in a zombie-like state.

The area below the altar was covered by monsters, at least three dozen of them. It seemed that these were the fighters that the Grays used for their expedition.

‘They picked only the strong ones,’ Yoo-seong acknowledged. None of the waiting monsters seemed to be within the basic three- to four-star range.

Although the beasts seemed dangerous, Yoo-seong turned his focus back on the Grays. There were about twelve of them leading the parade of Grays and mind-controlled humans down the stairs. At the bottom, there were hundreds more Grays who seemed to be welcoming them.

The bottom of the altar was a fairly spacious plaza, but it was crowded enough.

Yoo-seong assessed the landscape before him. The sight implied a lot of things, including that Grays had their own semblance of society, but…

‘What are you waiting for?’ he asked Auto-Hunt.

Auto-Hunt was still on, but it was choosing to remain hidden behind the trash, seemingly waiting for a chance.

Yoo-seong soon found out why.

The hundreds of Grays at the bottom of the stairs moved to the sides as if making a path. Along the newly-formed path, the Grays were dragging the hunters somewhere.

‘An interrogation, perhaps?’

As Yoo-seong guessed their intention, Auto Hunt began to move once more.

Pop-!

The Nine Python Lightning Bow came out of Yoo-seong’s slot, along with the metal rods he’d carved.

“…!”

Yoo-seong felt a massive amount of CE rising.

‘Are you using the CE in the tattoos?!’

Each of the six tattoos on Yoo-seong’s body had unique abilities. However, the Tattoo Tech’s main purpose was to build core-like storage on the hunter’s skin. As the activated CE moved into the Tattoo, it emptied the hunter’s actual core. The difference was that Yoo-seong had the ability to replenish lost CE. Thus, his core kept getting filled, and the tattoos stored more and more CE until he finally reached the limit.

Because of this, Yoo-seong had hundreds of thousands of CE in his body at the moment.

A bolt of electricity then flashed in front of his eyes. The hundreds of thousands of CE had been converted into lightning through the Bow in his hand.

-…

-…?

From afar, the crowd of Grays began to buzz as they felt something strange. However, their eyes were not on the garbage dump Yoo-seong was hiding behind.

Kurung-!

Just above their heads, dark thunderclouds appeared out of nowhere and began to gather.

‘This is driving me crazy…’ Yoo-seong thought as he began to understand what was about to happen.

His CE seemed pushed to the maximum. His muscles were screaming with pressure, and his nerves felt sharpened.

Even when he had fought the Habaek, he hadn’t felt comfortable using the Lightning Bow because of the tremendous pressure it put on his body.

Woo woo woo-!

A whopping five arrows were attached to the Bow as it crackled with electricity. Yoo-seong aimed it at the crowd.

While he was “charging,” the Grays had already dragged the hunters out of sight, away from the plaza. At the next moment…

Kwaaang-!!

A bolt of lightning struck Yoo-seong.

Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!

It was Yoo-seong, not the Grays, that the thunderclouds had been aiming for.

The task took quite a long time to prepare, even with Auto-Hunt. The Thundercloud efficacy. It was the exact Tech that the Thunder Ape had used.

Yoo-seong pulled back the bowstring, and, with a roar that resonated throughout the whole area, five bolts of lightning flew from his hands.

Kwa-ang!!!

As they sliced through the air, the arrows were crushed by the intense pressure and lost more than half their length.

Even so, it was enough.

This was because they weren’t really arrows but bombs.

The lightning bolts were aimed at the dangerous beasts. After they hit the ground…

Kwagaaang-!

Nothing remained but a massive hole in the ground with thin wisps of smoke rising from it.

In the place where creatures had once been, only wreckage remained.

-…….!

-…….!

Yoo-seong couldn’t hear or decipher the Grays’ cries, but the fear was obvious on their uncanny faces.

Their little mouths were open, shrieking soundless screams. In the meantime…

Kwa-aang!!!

Five more lightning bolts flew at them.

Just then, the monster appeared.

Arkotodon-★★★★★★★

It was a seven-star behemoth with impenetrable armor.

A Gray manipulated it to block the incoming danger, using its massive frame as a barrier. However, it was a useless effort.

Kwagaaang-!

The Arkotodon’s body exploded upon the bolt’s impact, and the Grays hiding behind it were wiped out.

-………!

Kwaang!!!

Yoo-seong shot his arrows continuously; the noise of his bombardment filled the whole space.

Another flash of lightning erupted as soon as the glare of the previous volley subsided. It was a pitiful situation for the Grays. The monsters they had under control each had a role in a very tightly-woven system.

For example, the Arkotodon served as their tank at the frontlines, working as a barrier for the rear.

They also had NitroBats under their control. These were parasitic creatures with a radar-like ability, perfect for scouting and tracking functions.

Perhaps, in a real battle against a human army, humanity wouldn’t stand a chance against the Grays’ tactics.

However, what they were facing now was an enemy that wasn’t interested in tactical warfare. Just pure, unadulterated destruction.

Kwaaang!!

If it was any consolation, the Grays didn’t feel any pain. It took only an instant for them to turn into ashes as bolt upon bolt of lightning struck the ground.

Meanwhile, for Yoo-seong, lightning continuously struck him as he loaded his Bow. He felt a burning sensation of pain every time, but despite it, he did not lose consciousness.

Yoo-seong was a little surprised at himself. Auto-Hunt had made him thirty arrows, and with five arrows at every volley, it meant that he had been struck with lightning six consecutive times.

Before his eyes was a scene of destruction such as he had never seen before.

The result might even have been worse than what Nashville was suffering outside with the US Military bombing.

‘This power…’

If he reached the point where he could use this power against fellow humans…

‘No!’ Yoo-seong shook the terrible, subconscious thought out of his head.

He was shocked at himself that he had even thought of it. However, the fact that his unconscious had suggested it… perhaps the possibility of such a chance existed.

Yoo-seong’s principle was never to kill people.

However, in this terrible world, he didn’t know what circumstances he might be placed in.

‘But I hope it won’t happen,’ he thought.

It was what he wished for, deep in his heart.

However, he couldn’t control the actions of the people he encountered.

Go-oh-oh-!

A Blade appeared on Yoo-seong’s arm. It was now time to finish off those who had survived the bombardment.

Just as he leaped off to hunt them one by one…

-Stop!

A pitiful voice rang in his head.

-Please stop…