Infinite Evolution Hunter - Chapter 225

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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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225
With only his head remaining, Mars swallowed Jung Min-gi whole.
Beyond the danger of being bitten directly, his body radiated such intense heat that it could melt metal itself.
“Hunter!”
The Hunters who had been crouching to evade Jung Min-gi’s attacks rushed forward to save him.
“You bastard! Spit him out!”
Mac, leading the charge, brought his hammer down upon Mars’s forehead.
“What?!”
Mars made no attempt to dodge, taking the full force of Mac’s strike directly on his forehead. A vertical crack split across Mars’s head, cleaving it in two.
Jung Min-gi, his sword still sheathed, remained rigid as charcoal, scorched black by the flames.
“…That was entertaining. Let’s fight again soon.”
As Mars’s bisected head finished speaking, both the head and severed body parts transformed into crimson fragments and vanished.
After the scarlet fragments scattered on the wind, numerous essences remained scattered across the Martian soil, yet the Hunters’ gaze did not turn toward them.
Jung Min-gi was rigid as charcoal, yet still alive—not yet dead.
Had he not been an S-rank Hunter, had Ji-seok not forged him a full-body suit of armor infused with Adamant, that attack would have been instantly fatal.
“Healer!!”
“Pour all the potions!”
Great Heal spells cascaded down upon the charred Jung Min-gi from all directions, while Hunters showered his body with potions as if drenching him.
Their efforts bore fruit as the burnt skin peeled away, revealing raw, red flesh beneath.
“Cough…”
Jung Min-gi, revived from the brink of death, collapsed to the ground in utter exhaustion.
“That should do it.”
As his fellow Hunters continued pouring potions over his body, Jung Min-gi gently waved his hand.
“Hunter! That was truly magnificent! A single strike that bisected Mars even as you were being swallowed!”
“It wouldn’t have cracked without your help. Thank you.”
Jung Min-gi rose to his feet and patted Mac’s shoulder gently.
“Where is Mars!”
Marbas arrived on Mars.
“It’s all over—where have you been until now~?”
“Damn it… I was out hunting for a moment, and…”
Marbas trailed off as he caught sight of Amy, falling silent.
“Amy!”
Akiko draped a blanket around the naked Amy.
Her body had been transformed by lightning, and her insulating suit—crafted from S-rank materials—had been completely incinerated.
“Hehe, when did this happen~? Should I be wearing an Adamant suit too~?”
Amy casually wrapped the blanket around herself. The price was steep, and the weight had made her refuse before, but perhaps it was worth considering now.
“Damn. I missed the chance to fight the incarnation of Mars.”
Marbas turned away, as if his business here was finished.
“By the way, Min-gi~ so you can hunt them consecutively now~? Impressive~”
Amy approached Jung Min-gi.
“That’s my line. How exactly do you change your body into lightning?”
“It just works when you concentrate~”
Amy winked at Jung Min-gi.
Whenever Amy asked Jung Min-gi for tips, that was always his answer.
“Still a long way to go.”
After their fierce battle, the two of them caught their breath while gazing at Mars’s blue twilight.
* * *
“No! We caught it together! Why is Korea taking everything?!”
Phillarion pressed Alice hard. Though she was called the greatest genius in Telus history, he had underestimated her because she was still young.
“Ahem…. We contributed our strength as well. Couldn’t we share the essence?”
Keldric, who owed Ji-seok a debt, also spoke up timidly, his greed for the fire essence getting the better of him.
“Do you feel the same way, Amy?”
Alice asked Amy. Amy had been appointed as the successor to the fallen US Military Commander.
“Huh~? You’ll figure it out, right~?”
From moving too quickly, Amy was sprawled back in her conference room chair like a sloth.
“I’ve heard all your opinions. You risked your lives fighting such a formidable enemy, so of course you deserve compensation.”
“Ahem. That’s only right.”
Phillarion nodded in satisfaction, and Keldric let out a small sigh.
“However, we can’t divide it equally, can we?”
“What do you mean?”
Phillarion’s brow furrowed again.
“Many large and small organizations participated in this Mars expedition.”
Rigen, the United States, Elves, Dwarf Forces, Moon City, and others—there were large groups and nations, but many smaller coalitions also participated.
“If we divide it equally among everyone, it wouldn’t be fair to those of you who contributed more to this battle.”
“That’s…. right! We used more strength! We can’t receive the same treatment as those who just watched or ran away! Right!”
“Exactly as you say, Phillarion. I will take responsibility and conduct a thorough investigation to assess the achievements and failures in this incident. Some will receive essence, while others may owe fines or greater compensation.”
“Huh? Failures? Fines? C-c-compensation?”
Phillarion and Keldric blinked rapidly.
“I haven’t confirmed the details yet, but I’ve heard rumors. Apparently, some shameless organizations knew of Mars’s existence beforehand but concealed it.”
“…”
“I don’t believe such absurd rumors, but if such a group exists, they are absolutely unforgivable.”
“We’ll forfeit the essence!”
Keldric jumped up and spoke loudly, as if reporting to a superior.
“What?!”
Phillarion’s head snapped around.
“Are you sure? I’d like to investigate and give you the compensation you rightfully deserve….”
“No! We trust the King of Newus and the Supervisor!”
“Oh my, then I won’t investigate the Dwarf Forces. That saves me work. Thank you.”
Alice glanced subtly at Phillarion.
“…..We too….”
“Pardon? What did Your Majesty just say?”
“We’ll have to give up as well….”
Phillarion’s face aged decades in an instant—he had poured vast resources into Mars, suffered damage even to Wihol, yet failed to obtain a single essence of fire.
“My goodness, you’re being considerate because you’re worried I might struggle. Thank you for your thoughtfulness toward someone as inadequate as me.”
Phillarion and Keldric returned to their shattered outpost with slumped shoulders.
“Minister, is this acceptable?”
“Hmm? Yes…. If you push too hard, the Chairman will dislike it.”
“But if they hadn’t hidden it, the damage wouldn’t have grown this severe.”
“That’s true. However, they’ve suffered considerable losses too. They’ll need to rebuild their outpost from scratch, so it will cost them enormous amounts of money and time.”
“If we forgive them simply because they’ve suffered damage, something like this will happen again.”
Alice’s righteous gaze fixed on Jae-in, and feeling that stare, Jae-in looked away from the monitor.
“Alice, I agree with what you’re saying. But we can’t forget our ultimate objective. The Chairman and Rigen aren’t trying to conquer Earth or Telus right now. Our purpose is to survive by fighting against a tremendous enemy. In this situation, we can’t afford to create internal enemies, can we?”
“I understand what you mean.”
Alice already grasped Jae-in’s intention well. However, having studied only through books, Alice often couldn’t comprehend humanity’s irrational ways of acting.
Had anyone other than Jae-in told Alice this, she might have ignored them and acted on her own convictions. But the words of Ji-seok and Jae-in carried a weight that Alice couldn’t dismiss.
“Aren’t you going home?”
“I should.”
“Your delivery date isn’t far off, is it?”
“Right. Less than a month left now.”
Jae-in gazed at the ultrasound photo tucked into her desk.
“How wonderful. Triplets, no less.”
“Hahahaha…. I’ll have to work hard.”
It was wonderful, yet Jae-in felt anxious about it too.
“Alice, you should go back and rest now….”
Jae-in lifted her head toward Alice, then noticed a man standing behind her.
“…Alice, come behind me.”
“Yes?”
Alice followed Jae-in’s gaze, saw the man, flinched in surprise, and quickly moved to Jae-in’s side.
Both possessed exceptional senses as superhuman beings, yet they hadn’t noticed his approach until now. Moreover, they had memorized the faces of everyone involved in Mars development, and they had never seen this face before.
“Who are you?”
“Hmm? You’re the scientist who fled from the previous universe…. No, that’s not it. You seem to be a kindred spirit, but the sensation is quite different in this world.”
“What….”
“Well, it doesn’t matter.”
The man drew the sword hanging at his waist.
“Alert!”
Jae-in shouted and struck the desk, sending alarm signals throughout the facility.
Then Jae-in pulled a mana gun from a small Infinite Box and aimed it at him.
“Drop your weapon immediately and surrender, or I will fire.”
“Hah…. Would you mind not pointing something so frightening at me?”
He wore a perfectly calm expression and took a step forward, and a concentrated mana beam fired from Jae-in’s gun—a custom creation capable of unleashing power close to an aura.
As if he knew the trajectory by heart, he swept his blade upward from below, and the beam deflected off the steel, tearing a hole through the roof.
The moment his sword passed, the world turned white from the ground up.
Jae-in fired the mana gun and immediately opened a Gate, pushing Alice through it.
“Master! I don’t want to!”
Alice tumbled through as the Gate sealed shut, and the world turned completely white.
“Hmm… was the timing a bit off?”
“Who are you…?”
Jae-in sprayed emergency hemostatic agent on her severed arm as the Gate closed, asking the question.
“Me? I’m someone who holds the title of Commander.”
“I never knew the one who commands the Legion commanders was human.”
I had been researching domains, but being trapped in one was a first. It was an ability no human could handle except Ji-seok.
“Why don’t you look human?”
“Your appearance seems human, but your abilities are anything but.”
Jae-in tried to draw mana while conversing and fire the mana gun again, but mana had completely vanished from her body. Without the user able to manipulate even a trace of mana, the gun was nothing more than a toy.
“Isn’t it amusing? Inside my domain, mana cannot be used at all.”
Inside the Commander’s domain were numerous Hunters who had been pulled in with him, but all were too dazed by the despair of losing their awakened powers and becoming ordinary people to regain their senses.
Jae-in hesitated for a moment, then drew an ordinary gun from her pocket and fired. This space sealed mana and awakened abilities, but the physical properties of matter remained unchanged.
Ting ting ting ting ting!!
With the sound of metal striking metal, every bullet ricocheted away.
Jae-in hadn’t even seen when the Legion commander drew his sword.
“Tsk, someone’s talking and you fire a gun? Whether it’s because we share the same spirit or not, your manners are just as crude as that version of you from another world.”
Jae-in wasn’t the only one who hadn’t lost the will to fight.
“Hah!”
Jung Min-gi slashed horizontally at the intruder from behind.
“Ho. There’s still a human with spirit left.”
The Legion commander evaded Jung Min-gi’s blade without even looking.
As strength drained from bodies honed by mana, most Hunters lost the will to attack, overwhelmed by the despair of losing their limbs.
But Jung Min-gi, who had never ceased his physical training, gritted his teeth and attacked using the fundamentals of swordsmanship.
“However, your training is insufficient.”
He caught Jung Min-gi’s incoming blade with his thumb and forefinger, then twisted it, flipping Jung Min-gi over entirely.
“I was already busy, and because you all had to meddle with Mars, I got dragged out here. Now that it’s come to this, I’ll have to clean up Mars and then Earth as well.”
It was a mutter spoken with far too much leisure, but it was enough to provoke the Hunters drowning in despair.

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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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