Infinite Evolution Hunter - Chapter 57

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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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57
The Axe Wielder’s aura-wrapped fist descended toward my head in what appeared to be slow motion.
I was raising my arm to block, but my strength had drained so completely that my arm rose far too slowly. I could see his fist would arrive first. All I could do was pray my head was hard enough to withstand the impact.
Crack!
The Axe Wielder withdrew his descending fist and batted away the incoming mana projectile.
“What bastard is that?!”
“Hiyah!”
The Axe Wielder roared, and behind him, Chang-hee, the youngest of Oh’s Group, drew a sharp breath.
“Keep firing!”
Yang Sang-heon shouted at Chang-hee.
Chang-hee’s gunfire wasn’t nearly powerful enough to take down the Axe Wielder, but with no weapon and grievously wounded, the distraction was enough to scatter his focus.
“Where are you… Graaah!”
In that instant, his eyes clouded over and his skin began to corrode. Bae Na-young’s Blind and Corruption.
Bae Na-young, riding behind Si-hwan on his motorcycle, held her wand aloft. The Blind spell cast across all of New North Korea had been nearly useless, but now, concentrated solely on the Axe Wielder and with his stamina already depleted, it took effect.
In that window, Yang Sang-heon rode his motorcycle toward me.
“Thank you…”
I moved my heavy body and climbed onto the back of Yang Sang-heon’s motorcycle.
“You bastards! I’ll skin you alive! Just wait!”
Even as his senses were stripped away and his skin peeled off in tatters, the Axe Wielder raged and swung his axe in all directions.
New North Korea’s Hunters and soldiers pursued us past the Axe Wielder.
“Chang-hee! The tires!”
At Yang Sang-heon’s command, Chang-hee burst several tires on the pursuing vehicles, and Bae Na-young cast Nightmare on the approaching Hunters, sending them fleeing. As we intercepted each advancing vehicle and Hunter one by one, the remaining forces apparently gave up—they turned their vehicles around and retreated.
* * *
The moment we left that area, we headed toward the position where the Korean Hunter Unit and military forces were stationed.
“Stop! Stop!”
Soldiers at the checkpoint blocked our path.
“I’m Lee Ji-seok, a Hunter. We have injured people. Please open the gate.”
I spoke to the checkpoint soldier after absorbing the mana stones in the vehicle to recover somewhat.
“Huh? Lee Ji-seok the Hunter? W-wait just a moment, please.”
The soldier who recognized me sent a radio message to his superiors, and another checkpoint soldier checked inside our vehicle.
Seeing people who looked like they were about to die in the bus, the checkpoint soldier rushed over to the other soldier operating the radio and explained the situation. The gate opened immediately.
“What on earth happened here?”

The Company Commander, who appeared to be in charge, stepped forward and asked. His military uniform was slightly disheveled, as if he’d been resting.
“We found patients nearby and brought them here. Please prepare the barracks and a Healer for treatment.”
“Nearby? Where did you bring them from? Surely… you didn’t bring them from that North Korean survivor group we received a report about recently?”
The Company Commander’s face went pale.
“We can assign blame later. Let’s treat these people first.”
The Company Commander watched as skeletal adults and even more emaciated children disembarked from the vehicle behind me.
“Damn it… Bring potions! Wake up the Military Doctor, the medics, and the Healers!”
The Company Commander had no choice but to guide us. Fortunately, he wasn’t the type of person to turn a blind eye to these people just to keep his position secure.
Dozens of soldiers and Healers began treating the survivors.
“Sir, Hee-ah still hasn’t woken up.”
Even after drinking potions, Hee-ah showed no response. Her face remained pallid, and her breathing was so shallow it seemed it could stop at any moment.
“Hee-ah ate monster meat too, didn’t she?”
“Yes. All of our friends ate it. It was the only food we had.”
“They ate monster meat?”
The Military Doctor was shocked.
“The toxins in monster meat have spread throughout her body. Modern medicine still doesn’t know how to remove it.”
“If it’s toxins, then it’s mana, just like Jae-in said?”
Cases where mana evolves the body are extremely rare. For ordinary people without awakening, it’s simply poison.
I needed to extract that poison. However, the ability included in my C-rank Regeneration skill was life force absorption. I couldn’t absorb mana.
Even if I wanted to use an elixir, I had no way to obtain one immediately.
Even as I pondered what to do, Hee-ah’s breathing grew weaker. A medic placed an oxygen mask on her, but I had no idea how much time that would buy.
“I can try.”
Bae Na-young stepped forward.
“You?”
“Actually, I acquired a skill after fighting Helen and leveling up.”
“What is it?”
“Mana Drain…”
Bae Na-young hung her head low. I’d heard that she used this skill in the future, but I didn’t know she’d already acquired it. By blinding nearby Hunters’ vision with Blind and draining their mana, she could use the skill infinitely until enemies collapsed.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because I acquired another terrifying witch-like skill. It’s C-rank, so its power wasn’t impressive.”
I pulled Bae Na-young close and rested her head against my shoulder.
“How much time does she have?”
The Military Doctor shook his head silently. I wanted to hunt another monster and test Bae Na-young’s skill, but there was no time.
“Try it on me first.”
“…Understood.”
Bae Na-young, having steeled herself, placed her hand on my arm.
And she concentrated.
I felt mana circulating through Bae Na-young’s body. However, the flow of mana was so subtle that I couldn’t perceive what was being drained from my body. My keen senses skill had made my five senses and sixth sense extremely sensitive, but since I’d never needed to feel mana until now, that aspect hadn’t developed much. In this regard, Bae Na-young was far more capable than I was.
After a few seconds, I felt something draining from the muscles in my arm. It was a different sensation from when my life force was depleted—it felt like the grade of my solid body was decreasing.
“Is it working?”
Even as I asked, Bae Na-young kept her eyes closed, concentrating intently.
That’s when Hee-ah’s blood pressure plummeted and her heart rate dropped. There was no more time to practice.
“Hee-chul, would it be alright if I tried?”
Bae Na-young approached Hee-chul and asked.
“Yes, sister. Please, please save Hee-ah.”
Hee-chul didn’t seem to understand what Bae Na-young was about to do. He simply wept and pleaded. Bae Na-young embraced the sobbing Hee-chul, patting his back reassuringly. Then she placed her hand on Hee-ah’s chest.
Sweat dripped from Bae Na-young’s forehead. Inside the Relief Camp, bustling with countless people moving about, only our immediate surroundings fell silent. Everyone held their breath, watching Bae Na-young and Hee-ah.
“The vitals….”
The Military Doctor pointed at the machine. The heart rate and blood pressure that had been continuously dropping began to rise slightly.
“Potion! Give her the potion!”
Since Hee-ah lacked the strength to drink the potion, we dripped it into her mouth a few drops at a time for her to absorb. Color gradually returned to Hee-ah’s ashen face.
“Phew….”
Bae Na-young wiped away her sweat.
“You did well, Bae Na-young. That was incredible.”
I placed my hand on Bae Na-young’s shoulder, and she laid her hand over mine, smiling.
After that, Bae Na-young moved about the Relief Camp, drawing out mana from the most critical patients in order of urgency. Extracting mana didn’t cure them outright. Rather, by removing the toxic mana from their bodies, she eliminated the obstacle preventing treatment.
But that gave us hope—hope that potions and modern medicine could now save them. We had found a way to counter the damage caused by mana poisoning.
“Thank you, Goddess.”
“Thank you.”
The North Korean residents who witnessed this scene bowed to Bae Na-young, young and old alike.
“Uh… what? Why are you doing this? Please, get up.”
Bae Na-young tried to help them to their feet, but the people kept their foreheads pressed to the ground, repeating their gratitude.
“Perhaps that’s how it appeared to them.”
These were people who had endured inhumane treatment in North Korea. They had been saved from the Supreme Leader who ruled them with overwhelming power and terror, and she had rescued those on the brink of death. What else could she be but a goddess?
Bae Na-young grew flustered by their bowing, but each time she was called “Goddess,” I noticed the corners of her mouth subtly lift. It seemed that despite the stress her Witch profession caused her, being called “Goddess” wasn’t entirely unwelcome.
* * *
“You were supposed to contact us.”
Director Baek Young-shin rushed to our location before dawn broke. The dark circles under his eyes made me feel apologetic.
“Director, I’m sorry. But the children needed immediate help—what could I do? If I hadn’t gone then, Hee-ah would have died.”
I gestured toward Hee-chul and Hee-ah behind me. The Director couldn’t bring himself to say I should have done otherwise in front of the suffering children.
“If I had reported it first, there would have been internal meetings, contact with New North Korea, negotiations—it would have taken forever, wouldn’t it?”
“That’s true… Sigh… I did contact the New North Korea side. They were quite angry.”
“We didn’t kill anyone and managed to bring them out—what do they have to be angry about?”
In truth, if we’d been willing to leave casualties behind, extracting them would have been far easier.
“Can’t we just force our way through?”
“How could we? If deaths occur during their resistance, we’ll face international condemnation.”
“Then what do we do?”
“They’re demanding compensation.”
“Compensation?”
“Yes. They’ve requested food and items.”
“What about the sick people?”
“He said to handle it as I see fit. However, Hee-chul made a specific request.”
“Hee-chul?”
“He wants the sick ones excluded, but the useful ones returned.”
“I can’t do that. You understand.”
Heat flared through me as I looked at the Director.
“Please calm yourself. I’m not the one making these demands, and I have no intention of complying either. North Korea is no place to send a child. Hunters are ruling the territory now.”
“While using captured monsters as food?”
“They’re only distributing that to the lowest labor class without power or influence. It appears those with ability are smuggling mana stones and byproducts to obtain what they need.”
I have no objection to those with strength acquiring more. But I cannot condone the abuse and exploitation of the weak.
“In any case, I’m asking that you and your companions stay far away from that region. The government will handle negotiations.”
“Understood.”
I answered well, not without a sense of apology.
After the Director left, I spent some time with the children.
“Hee-chul, the people here will protect you now. Listen well and don’t cause any trouble.”
“Where are you and the goddess going?”
Bae Na-young turned her head at being called a goddess and tried to hide her laughter behind her hand. She really does like that.
“We have things to do. If you get bored or need anything, contact us.”
I left my contact information and Bae Na-young’s.
“Take care of yourself.”
* * *
We waited in the area for several days before being deployed again to restore North Korean Territory. The Korean Government and North Korea negotiated, and they traded the surrounding territory excluding the region where the Hunters were located. From what I heard, they managed to secure a massive amount of items, money, and food in exchange for the territory.
For North Korea, it was land they couldn’t defend anyway, and they couldn’t stop Korea from advancing, so it wasn’t a losing proposition.
We were marked as persons of interest and reassigned to a location far removed from North Korea’s forces.

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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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