Infinite Evolution Hunter - Chapter 273

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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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273
Arnabel appeared on the other side of the water droplet screen that Baldri had created.
“Arnabel. How have you been?”
[Fine, little one. What brings you to call?]
Arnabel got straight to the point.
“Are you upset?”
Ji-seok whispered to Amy from behind.
“That’s just how he talks.”
Baldri waved her hand behind her, signaling for silence. Even though she had fought alongside the Spirit King in the Spirit Realm, Arnabel was far from an easy entity to deal with.
“It’s about the Manager who lent power to Ignis….”
[Hmm. We are aware of his existence, but he has severed himself from the World Tree. There is nothing I can do.]
“But could you send us there?”
[That is not possible.]
“Why not~?”
Baldri was disappointed by Arnabel’s refusal, and Amy stepped forward.
[We lost too much power in the war with Ignis. Right now, I can barely transport a single person. I cannot move a large force.]
“That’s fine. If you can just send me alone.”
Ji-seok stepped forward and spoke.
“Chairman, you can’t go alone this time.”
“What other choice do we have?”
“The risk is too great. We need to find his true body while we don’t even know where it is, and we have to burn all the parasitic trees. You can’t do it alone.”
“I’ll just blow up the entire planet.”
Ji-seok possessed the capability to do exactly that now.
“It might not break that easily. He’s probably prepared for that too. We need to gather maximum forces and strike all at once.”
It was a certain plan, but one that would inevitably demand sacrifices.
“But we have no way to get there, do we? You said Arnabel can’t take many people either.”
“There is a way.”
* * *
After concluding communications with Arnabel, I spent several days in frantic preparation, assembling Earth’s mightiest forces once more.
Powerful Hunters from Korea armed with magical artifacts from Rigen, the pride of the United States—their magical fleet—along with the Spirit Mages and Warriors of Luna City and Metalim.
S-rank Hunters like Bae Na-young, Violet, Yang Sang-heon, and Amy stood at the forefront, with Hunters lined up behind them. At the very back stood Si-hwan, the lowest-ranking participant in this battle.
Unlike Bae Na-young and Amy, who showed little tension, Si-hwan was drenched in sweat from anxiety and fear.
“Brother, you think you can fight?”
Chang-hee, now overwhelmingly stronger than Si-hwan, asked while shouldering an enormous rifle.
“What? Me? I’m fine, really.”
Si-hwan tried to act unbothered, but his face had turned ashen.
This operation was necessary for the future, but the probability of returning alive was extremely low. They had all willingly offered their lives for that future.
“Beginning final inspection.”
Jae-in’s voice echoed across the entire communication network.
[1st Battalion. Ready.]
[2nd Battalion. Ready.]
…
Reports cascaded upward from the assembled units—dozens of battalions, specialized companies, and specialized platoons, each confirming their readiness in turn.
“Director, preparations are complete.”
At Jae-in’s words, Baek Young-shin—Director of the Korean Awakened Nation and Chairman of the World Hunter Association—ascended the podium.
“The enemy sought our annihilation and relentlessly invaded Earth for countless days. We have triumphed in every battle, yet we cannot remain perpetually at their mercy, reacting to their assaults. Now is the time to strike back.”
Though an ordinary civilian commanding the gaze of countless warriors, Director Baek Young-shin showed no hesitation; his eyes burned with resolve, and his presence galvanized the spirits of all assembled.
“At last, the final decisive battle! Warriors! For victory and our future!”
Tens of thousands of warriors answered Director Baek Young-shin’s words with a roaring cry.
All preparations were complete.
“All forces, prepare to advance!”
At Jae-in’s command, the troops moved with perfect synchronization, stretching into a long formation.
“I never imagined we’d fit the entire force into such a small Infinite Box.”
Ji-seok spoke to Jae-in while gazing at the Infinite Box before them.
“The compression required for such a small container consumed considerable energy.”
“But it’s truly safe, isn’t it?”
“As long as the Infinite Box isn’t destroyed by external attack, it should be fine. If external damage compromises it, everything inside could spill out at once—the warriors could all perish.”
“…That’s safe?”
“In our current situation, this is the only option available.”
Remaining idle would only invite another unexpected assault.
“Phew… You’re ready, right? Go in first.”
Ji-seok looked at the Infinite Box ahead and spoke to Bae Na-young, who stood directly behind him.
“Huh? Na-young?”
Receiving no answer, he turned around—and Bae Na-young’s face had turned grey.
It wasn’t mere tension; she had frozen solid as if time itself had stopped.
“Na-young!”
Ji-seok rushed forward and grabbed her. Her entire body was rigid, devoid of any life force. She hadn’t turned to stone—she had been severed from this reality entirely, separated into another dimension.
Ji-seok poured his life force into her, but it was useless.
“Stop! Cease operations!”
Bae Na-young wasn’t alone. Across the assembly, hunters were turning grey one by one.
“Kyaaaah…!”
A hunter who had screamed upon seeing his comrade transform grey froze mid-cry, mouth agape.
“Violet!”
“On it!”
Violet and the mages deployed defensive magical barriers, yet the people continued to petrify.
Before they could even deploy, the majority of their forces had become combat-ineffective.
* * *
“Have you found the cause of why people are suddenly severed from this world?”
Exhaustion was etched across Ji-seok’s face. He had never anticipated an attack of this nature.
“…I’m sorry. I don’t know.”
Jae-in, too, found no answer to this phenomenon she was witnessing for the first time.
“Since we don’t understand the cause of the freezing phenomenon, I’m at a loss for solutions.”
“Yes… It resembles the technique the Manager used when cryogenically preserving his army, but we can’t undo it using the same method.”
“What do the affected people have in common?”
“Many of those frozen are powerful individuals, but they weren’t frozen in order of combat strength.”
“Not a single non-Earthling from Telus, Metalim, the Ark, or Exos has been affected.”
Alice chimed in with Jae-in’s explanation.
“A curse targeting only Earthlings? Damn it….”
There was no evidence, but only the Manager could orchestrate something like this.
“Baldri, I’m going alone. Open a communication channel to the Spirit Realm right now.”
“That’s… the connection to the Spirit King has been severed as well….”
Baldri hesitated as she delivered the unwelcome news to Ji-seok, whose spouse had been frozen and who was now seething with rage.
“Damn it!”
Ji-seok’s fist struck the wall, and cracks spiderwebbed across its entire surface.
Ji-seok regretted everything. Had my desire to protect everyone been mere greed? Should I have fled with only Ji-ho, Bae Na-young, Mother, and those closest to me when I had the chance?
“Shall I take you there?”
“Gaff?”
“I need to fulfill my previous contract first, though.”
“You can actually take me there?”
“Of course. Because of your relentless pressure, the Manager has gone mad. He’s broken our contract and violated countless taboos.”
“What benefit do you gain from this? Are you going to demand something else?”
“No, what he’s doing harms the Demon Realm as well. This time it’s a special free service. However, I must fulfill the conditions of our previous contract.”
“You’d help me for one hour and then send me back to Earth, right? Fine. Let’s go to the Demon Realm right now.”
“I’m coming too.”
Violet stepped forward. As someone versed in dark magic, she distrusted demons.
Ji-seok looked at Gaff.
“Sure, I don’t mind.”
Gaff shrugged.
“I’ll be back.”
After saying goodbye to Jae-in, Alice, and Smith, Ji-seok, Violet, and Gaff crossed through the black clouds into the Demon Realm.
“Ji-seok!!!”
The moment they arrived, Lulu, Gaff’s daughter, came rushing over.
Whoosh.
Violet positioned herself beside Ji-seok and quickly stopped Lulu in her tracks.
“Who are you?!”
“Lulu, this is neither the time nor the place for that.”
“Ji-seok, are you sad? Just tell me the name. I’ll kill them all for you.”
“Lulu, go inside. This isn’t a matter you should be involved in.”
Gaff also waved his hand dismissively at Lulu.
“Hmph. Well, once today passes, I won’t have any business with Ji-seok anyway….”
“Lulu!”
“Got it! Got it! Hmph!”
At Gaff’s roar, Lulu took flight and fled into the sky.
“Ji-seok. Something doesn’t feel right about this.”
“I know. There’s definitely something he’s hiding.”
Ji-seok spoke deliberately loud enough for Gaff to hear, and Gaff shrugged his shoulders again.
“But Gaff honors his contracts.”
“That’s right. Do you think I’m some lowly demon?”
Gaff clicked his tongue as he looked at Violet.
“Here we are. Go inside.”
Following Gaff’s guidance, we arrived at a perfectly pentagonal building beside the River of Souls.
“You stop here.”
Gaff extended his hand toward Violet.
“No. I’m coming too.”
“You can’t. That wasn’t part of our contract. Bringing you this far is already more than I agreed to.”
“Violet.”
“Fine. I’ll wait here.”
Ji-seok looked at Violet, and she took a step back.
As Ji-seok and Gaff entered the pentagonal building, the wall sealed shut seamlessly, as if no door had ever existed.
Violet paced anxiously around the structure.
About a minute after they entered, a rumbling sound echoed across the Demon Realm’s sky.
“What… what is that?! Ji-seok! Are you okay?!”
Violet pounded on where the door had been, but it was solid and wouldn’t budge.
And the waters of the River of Souls were being sucked into the building in torrents.
“No!”
Violet knew exactly what that river was. Convinced it was a trap, she conjured a spear of mana and hurled it at the wall.
The wall bore a small wound from the mana spear, and Violet created countless more, launching them relentlessly without pause.
She had been alone for far too long. If she lost the friends—the family—she had only just made, she didn’t think she could hold onto her sanity.
Small attacks had no effect.
Violet drew forth all the mana from her body and created an enormous spear—the most powerful attack magic she could currently muster.
As the spear materialized in a violent spin, the resulting gale scattered the black pebbles along the riverbank.
“Wait! Stop! Stop!”
Hearing Gaff’s voice, Violet turned her head to the left, and Gaff emerged from another face of the pentagon. Ji-seok stood beside him.
“Ji-seok!”
Violet rushed to Ji-seok and embraced him.
“I’m fine. Just as Gaff said, I don’t feel any different.”
Ji-seok had no memory of what happened inside. It was part of the contract.
“Hey, we can talk later. First, get rid of that thing.”
Gaff clicked his tongue at the sight of the enormous mana spear.
“I could have sworn Ji-seok was inside…”
Violet dispersed her mana construct and tilted her head quizzically.
“Gaff, let’s go now.”
Ji-seok had ventured into the Demon Realm and returned to the Research Facility mere minutes later by Earth’s reckoning.
“Your Majesty!”
Alice rushed to greet Ji-seok.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes. Nothing happened here, did it?”
Green, still occupied with sealing the continuously opening Gates single-handedly, remained unaware of the Research Facility’s situation.
“Your Majesty….”
Alice’s tears streamed down her face.

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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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