Chapter 104: Episode 104

Armin Walter’s current body belonged to Marcello’s father. This was the first I’d heard of it. While Yoonjeong and I were frozen, Marcello began his story in a calm, matter-of-fact tone.

Marcello’s father was a certified Hunter affiliated with the UN. His job constantly took him around the world, and he would come home for a few weeks whenever he got leave. One day, he came home and, while drunk, told a story. In England, they had arrested a serial murder suspect. As the man was being bound and dragged away, he had looked at him, smiled, and said, “Found you, vessel.”

While telling the story, his father had been terrified. He said he couldn’t forget those eerie eyes. At the time, Marcello hadn’t thought much of it.

Time passed. After his vacation ended, his father returned to the field and entered a high-ranking dungeon in Africa. Marcello and his family prayed fervently for his safe return. Their prayers were seemingly answered. His father survived the dungeon, which had a twenty percent survival rate, and came home.

He looked exhausted. While calmly recounting what had happened, he casually mentioned retiring. He said he wanted to see the world and asked Marcello to get him a plane ticket. Marcello immediately went online and bought a ticket for the earliest flight that day.

On the last night before his father left, the two of them stayed up all night drinking and sharing heartfelt stories. It was an incredibly happy time. Marcello truly respected and loved his father.

When morning came, his father left. A few days later, a group of certified hunters burst in.

“We will be conducting a search of this residence in connection with Armin Walter’s prison break.”

“What? A prison break? But why our house…?”

“Your father is currently the prime suspect.”

The investigators laid out a shocking story. Armin Walter had taken over a guard’s body to escape, then entered the African dungeon, killed his father, and fled after stealing his body.

Upon hearing this, Marcello fainted.

’If that wasn’t my father… did that mean I was laughing and drinking with the man who murdered him? Did I think I had a connection with that murderer, that I truly respected him?’

He hadn’t noticed at all. Not just him, but no one—not family, not friends, not colleagues.

“Blergh!”

Marcello gripped the toilet and vomited. He was disgusted with himself. His entire body felt repulsive. As if trying to expel not just the food in his stomach but his very organs, he shoved his fingers down his throat and threw up again and again.

“That was when I became unable to trust others,” Marcello recalled, a calm smile on his face. “The psychological shock became a trauma. I always live with suspicion of others. My family, my friends, my colleagues, everyone. I have to keep that emotional distance, to suspect everyone, just to feel at ease. Something essential for forming human relationships has been broken inside me.”

After months of living like a wreck, what finally roused him was a fierce desire for revenge. He investigated Armin Walter thoroughly.

’Armin Walter uses a body transference ability called Spirit Change.’

’For some reason, Armin Walter must periodically change bodies.’

’He does not switch bodies with just anyone; there are compatible and incompatible bodies. He calls the ones he feels the strongest desire for ‘vessels’.’

’His greed for a vessel is immense. Once he has locked onto one, he will find it and take it, no matter where it is in the world.’

’After using Spirit Change, he can read some of the memories and thoughts remaining in that body.’

His investigation complete, Marcello, filled with vengeance, joined the Vatican’s Holy Knights. They, too, held a grudge against Walter for the deaths of their followers. There, Marcello broke numerous records and became the youngest Archbishop in history.

“I still don’t trust you, Hunter Kim. No, I don’t trust anyone.”

Hearing that, Yoonjeong looked puzzled. “If you don’t trust us, why did you agree to our plan?”

“Because if I only suspect and never act, I can’t achieve my goal, Miss. Han. And more importantly, besides suspicion, there was one other feeling I had about you this time, Hunter Kim.”

“What’s that?”

Fiddling with his cross, Marcello smiled his usual bright smile. “Anticipation.”

’Ksshhk!’

“Search complete. Safe zone with seven detected monsters found.”

“Preparing to descend to that location.”

About five hunters with parachutes jumped from the helicopters first, eliminating the swarming monsters. Once the area was secure, the sixteen helicopters descended in unison.

“Is this spot good enough?” Menes asked as she disembarked.

Yoonjeong, whose restraints had been removed, nodded as she stretched her arms. “Yes. As long as we’re inside the dungeon, anywhere is fine.”

“Good. Then let’s establish a base.” Menes struck the ground with a glittering golden staff.

Sand began to fall from the sky, steadily stacking up to form a wall.

’It’s amazing no matter how many times I see it. This is the power of the Gravekeepers.’

The Gravekeepers of Egypt possess an otherworldly relic, the Great Tomb. Hunters who receive its power acquire a unique mana system called the Power of Sand. When they draw out their mana, it all turns into sand. Because their mana turns to sand when used externally, they lose most of their mana-based Unique Abilities. In exchange, they gain high-performance sand weapons that can harden, loosen, and change shape at will. All Gravekeepers possess the same ability, and the master of the Great Tomb, the Pharaoh, is its supreme user. Her power isn’t limited to mere weaponry.

As an example, Menes instantly created a fortress wall around them with the sand falling from the sky.

“I will explain the guidelines once more,” Marcello said, addressing everyone. “We will protect Miss. Han, while fending off the monster assault. If anyone—anyone at all—approaches this wall, attack them immediately. Our independent operation has been acknowledged, so there’s no reason for Korean hunters to come here. If they do, there can only be one reason.”

Everyone swallowed hard.

Menes placed a hand on her hip and continued, “He’ll spew all sorts of excuses! That he’s here to provide support, or to request it. We don’t need any of it! Shoot to kill anyone who approaches the wall, no questions asked! I’ll take responsibility!”

“Yes, ma’am!” the hunters roared.

Marcello checked his watch. “Please double-check the countersign and security codes. Once you’re ready, deploy to the wall for defense.”

“Everyone, to the top of the walls!”

The hunters scrambled into position.

’Screee!’

The monsters of the Disaster began to swarm in like a black tide. I watched the scene beyond the wall with Deva’s Eye.

“Draw your bows!” a Gravekeeper commanded.

All the Gravekeepers on the wall extended their left arms. Sand trickled from their fists, hardening into the shape of a bow. An arrow formed in the other hand.

“Ready!”

They nocked their arrows. Even the bowstring was made of sand, but it drew back as if it had elasticity. Just then, the charging monsters entered their range.

“Fire!”

The sand arrows flew, piercing their targets. As if alive, they then changed direction, skewering monster after monster.

“Nock again!”

No quiver was needed. A new sand arrow formed in their open palms. They nocked them again with practiced motions.

“Fire!”

With every volley, several rows of the monster horde were wiped out. A single arrow eliminated at least seven or eight monsters. Even so, the enemy’s numbers were overwhelming.

“They’re climbing the walls!”

Some of the Gravekeepers fell back to continue firing, while others put away their bows and formed melee weapons. The sand weapons showed incredible versatility. Spears lengthened, swords bent in impossible arcs, and whips snaked out to catch and throw monsters from the wall.

“Breath attack, incoming!”

“Block it!”

The sand shields they held flexibly expanded or contracted, absorbing the long-range bombardments. The abilities of the Gravekeepers, considered top-tier among shape-changing types, allowed them to adapt to any battlefield.

“In the name of God!”

“Do not retreat!”

Of course, the Vatican’s Holy Knights were no pushovers. As befitting a World Guild, they also possessed an otherworldly ruin, the Sanctuary of the Void. Upon obtaining its power, they could no longer use normal mana, but instead generated a white mana with unique properties, which people called ‘divine power.’

Divine power had two faces: it healed other users of divine power but exerted a destructive force on those who did not. The Holy Knights fought with it, cloaking their bodies and weapons, and their wounds healed instantly. In terms of sustainability and durability, they were superior to any hunter of the same rank. Some even operated artillery devices that fired pure white flashes, turning any monster they touched to dust. Their firepower was not inferior to the Gravekeepers’.

’What a strange sight.’ The Holy Knights and the Gravekeepers were fighting together. Though they defended different sections, just seeing them fight the same enemy in the same place was an incredibly rare spectacle.

-So this is the power of the World Guilds. The Great Tomb and the Sanctuary of the Void, Ea’s voice remarked.

’What’s your impression, Ea?’

Her small laugh echoed in my head. -They’re cute compared to the Magic Tower.

’…Haha.’

-Even in the history of Erendel, there were records of clerics from the Holy Theocracy and sand mages from the western frontier. But they were always pushed aside by the Magic Tower and magical civilization, never once becoming mainstream.

You had to hand it to Ea for her pride in magic.

I turned to look at Yoonjeong. Her eyes were closed in concentration. A dark, purplish magic power seeped from her body.

“Yoonjeong. Can you do it?”

She opened her eyes slightly, looked at me, and nodded. She was a little scared.

“I’ll be right here the whole time. If you think it’s too much, don’t hold back. Just tell me.”

“…Okay.”

Her resolve firm, she nodded again. “I’m starting now.”

Marcello and Menes watched her, taking their stances. If she failed, they would kill her as promised.

’Honestly, it’s a long shot. There are plenty of humans who betray humanity. But a demonkin who betrays the Disaster? I’ve never even heard of such a thing. Right now, Yoonjeong is about to walk a path no one has ever walked before.’

“Huuu.”

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes.

* * *

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