I Awakened as a Dark History - Chapter 19

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 19
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I fluttered my wings frantically in the direction the response team had gone.
The path they’d taken was lined with the corpses of Demonic Beasts.
What had started as Ghouls had transformed into Harpies somewhere along the way.
I continued to scan my surroundings warily, fingers brushing the bow in my hands.
“I thought I could create any weapon, but apparently that’s not how it works.”
I could only fashion weapons from Thorny Vines if I had at least a basic understanding of their structure.
[Insufficient comprehension of ‘gun.’ Unable to create weapon.]
Frustrated, I dismissed the notification window entirely and let out a groan.
“Skills really are something—thank goodness for Synchronization, or I’d have been completely helpless with a bow. That would’ve been a disaster.”
A bow was hardly the easiest weapon to wield.
Yet thanks to Synchronization—or perhaps the skill itself—the bow I’d fashioned from Thorny Vines felt remarkably natural in my hands.
Each time I drew the string, Han-puri infused itself into the arrow of its own accord, sending it flying.
The power and velocity were far greater than when I used Han-puri alone.
‘And there was that damage boost too.’
I kept my wings moving steadily. The ground below scattered a few Ghouls here and there.
I hunted them down just as the Hunter Association’s hunters had instructed.
Then, a bird’s cry echoed from above my head.
Chirp!
Birds did exist in the city, of course, but we were in the midst of Dungeon Saturation.
They’d all fled long ago—not a single one remained.
I quietly hooked my fingers onto the bowstring.
Sure enough, a Demonic Beast with a human head and a bird’s body came diving toward me.
The moment it drew close, I swiftly raised the bow and released the string.
Whistle!
The Harpy plummeted to the ground, convulsed once, and went still.
‘Was that the only one?’
I moved cautiously, my senses sharp, but no more Harpies appeared.
There was no time to wonder about it. Closing the Dungeon as quickly as possible was what mattered most.
As I drew nearer to the Dungeon, the stench of brine grew stronger.
Before long, the source became visible.
“The road’s been flooded.”
The Dungeon lay beneath a manhole. It churned violently, spewing water continuously.
The pressure of that torrent had utterly destroyed the road.
Asphalt and pavement had buckled and crumbled; the street was completely submerged, with water reaching even the lower floors of the surrounding buildings.
“Hunter!”
One of the Association’s hunters spotted me and raised his hand.
They stood on the rooftop of a low building with a clear view of the floodwater, weapons at the ready.
The moment I saw them, I understood why no more Harpies had appeared.
Headless and wingless Harpies lay strewn about them.
I beat my wings to draw closer.
“Is it still not over?”
“We’ve mostly finished with the Harpies. But it looks like one remains.”
The Team Leader turned his gaze toward the floodwater.
I followed his eyes to study the surface.
Directly beneath the ruined road, where the Gate lay, something moved.
Glide—
A dark shadow swept smoothly around the Gate.
“Oh.”
I gasped in alarm and took a step backward.
But the Team Leader merely reached out toward the shadow as if he’d been waiting for it to reveal itself.
White threads unspooled from his wrist, encircling the dark shadow without so much as rippling the water’s surface.
Grrrr—
The floodwater trembled as an irritated sound emanated from the elongated shadow.
The Team Leader paid no heed to the Demonic Beast’s reaction, gripping the threads and pulling them toward himself.
The threads converged and tightened, beginning to draw the creature from the water.
Unfortunately, the Demonic Beast wasn’t entirely foolish.
Rather than emerging obediently, it opened its enormous jaws and severed the threads binding its body.
Fortunately, one of the team members quickly moved to support the Team Leader.
“Ring, Servant of the Dead!”
At the team member’s cry, purple flowers bloomed above the Team Leader’s threads.
The flowers swayed and rang out like tiny lanterns, tinkling softly.
The Team Leader’s threads took on a violet hue as the black shadow beneath the water thrashed violently.
“Hah!”
With such fierce writhing that water sprayed as high as the rooftop, a massive serpentine body broke the surface.
Azure scales and the colossal form of a snake.
“It’s a Sea Serpent, Seo Yeon-hu!”
“That’s just one of them!”
The Hunter whose name was called gripped his Longsword and hurled himself down from the rooftop.
“I Will Not Forget What is Imprinted!”
The Buff that had clung to the Team Leader’s threads now transferred to the blade.
A brilliant pink aura wrapped around the sword, and the man called Seo Yeon-hu drove his blade toward the Sea Serpent’s head.
Each thrust found the gaps between the scales with perfect precision.
Shrieeeeek!
The Sea Serpent let out a long, piercing cry.
Screeeee!
As the Sea Serpent thrashed in agony, there came an ominous snap—the threads restraining its head tore.
“No!”
The Sea Serpent immediately twisted toward the direction of the broken threads, desperate to flee.
If it dove back into the water, we’d lose it entirely.
I drew my bowstring and fired an arrow across its snout.
Shrieeek!</
The arrow grazed its nose, and sensing the threat, the Sea Serpent rose up with a long, warbling cry, its upper body rearing high.
Seo Yeon-hu gripped his blade with both hands to keep from being thrown clear of the serpent's writhing body.
Perhaps it was the weight he carried.
The Sea Serpent became aware of him, still clinging to its head.
Its gleaming eye rolled in its socket, fixing on us with deadly intent.
The meaning was unmistakable.
"I'll help hold it! Stay firm!"
"Yes!"
I'd already braced the Team Leader's arm, knowing he couldn't move while managing the threads.
Shrieeeeek—!
As expected, the Sea Serpent drove its head straight at us.
Seo Yeon-hu released his grip and dove into the water just before impact with the building.
The Hunter supporting them from the side leaped to the adjacent building.
"Getting it up here was one thing, but at this rate the collateral damage is too severe."
I murmured this as I hovered high above, staring down at the Sea Serpent.
The Team Leader, suspended in the air by my grip, wore the same grave expression—he was thinking the same thing.
The Sea Serpent warily watched its primary threat: the one controlling the threads that bound it.
Its tongue flicked as it gazed at us, and murder blazed in its eyes.
"Still, we must keep it pinned. If it moves elsewhere, the damage multiplies."
I wish I had more skills available to burn.
My Synchronization Rate still hung at [65%].
"We need to hold its attention until the other three Hunters arrive."
Those three people… I found myself thinking of the three I'd left behind, and my eyes rolled back slightly.
Should I have brought them along?
At my current strength, I could probably lift three people without breaking a sweat.
'But if I show up carrying three people…'
I imagined how ridiculous it would look, then abandoned the thought.
No point dwelling on what I'd already chosen not to do.
Instead, I considered another option.
"No support from the Guild? We're outmatched as is."
"We sent a support request. But there's no Guild currently in a position to—"
—send anyone.
Likely they had no spare personnel from dungeon operations, or they'd been dispatched elsewhere to contain Dungeon Saturation.
The chronic shortage of Hunters was a global problem.
I checked my status window.
My skill's Cooltime still had roughly three minutes left.
The Team Leader loosened his threads gradually, trying to bind the Sea Serpent more securely.
But the Sea Serpent refused to be caught the same way twice. Instead, it opened its maw toward the threads hurtling toward me.
Snap—
Several strands snapped; others tangled around its jaw.
And the fact that this made things even more dangerous was painfully clear.
"Ugh!"
As the Sea Serpent twisted its head, my body was yanked forward hard.
Even flapping my wings frantically, I couldn't match its strength.
The Sea Serpent, as if aware of this, clamped down on the threads and dove straight underwater.
Is this what a whale feels when it hooks the fishing line?
In a heartbeat, both the Team Leader and I were dragged down into the depths.
"Cut the threads! Cut them now!"
"Wait——!"
Before the Team Leader could move, the Sea Serpent breached the surface first.
It was a serpentine strike, executed with predatory grace.
The creature's enormous maw closed in beneath my feet in an instant.
A thought flickered across my tongue without passing through my mind first.
"Damn it. I shouldn't have helped."
And what came next was no different.
My body moved before my head could think.
The Team Leader's eyes went wide as I hurled him skyward.
His expression irritated me for reasons I couldn't name, and I scowled at him.
Crunch.
The Sea Serpent's jaws snapped shut directly above my head.
Darkness.
[65…… 72…… 86…… 91……]

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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