Infinite Evolution Hunter - Chapter 71

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

71
From Sono Rim, I received far more than just magical techniques—political and geographical intelligence as well.
He disclosed everything without reservation: which nations existed in Telus, how they related to one another, what races and ethnicities inhabited the world.
The Exbrian Empire was, as expected, an axis of evil. Beyond the oppression of non-human races, its perfectly stratified class system enforced iron-fisted rule where human rights simply did not exist. They squeezed their people relentlessly, channeling the extracted resources into endless wars of territorial expansion.
Their war crimes were so heinous that I wouldn’t have believed them outright if not for Helen’s actions. I would have dismissed it as mere slander between enemies. But because of what Helen had done, Sono Rim’s words carried credibility.
“What is the purpose of the God of Destruction?”
I asked Sono Rim, who had been providing information for quite some time and was taking a brief rest.
“I’m afraid we can only speculate. We have no certain knowledge of it.”
“Not even that great being knows?”
“Haha, that being is not someone we lesser creatures can hold a conversation with. This time as well, we merely received an oracle and items unilaterally and moved forward.”
“What about the God of Destruction’s subordinates? There are orcs like you and werewolves like Blitz, aren’t there?”
“What do you think becomes of those who fall victim to the God of Destruction’s invasion?”
It wasn’t so much that I’d never considered it—more that I didn’t want to think about it. Would they all be slaughtered and the planet claimed as the god’s own? Or would they be enslaved?
“Those who came through the Gates possessed consciousness like myself. But after their planets were invaded by the God of Destruction and they were dragged away, their sense of self was obliterated, and then they were sent to invade other worlds.”
“…So if we’re conquered, we’ll be sent to invade other planets too.”
“Precisely. The God of Destruction’s march is something we—mere specks of dust compared to the cosmos—cannot resist.”
“So you’re saying we should just sit here and wait to die?”
“No. We must struggle with all our might. I will do the same.”
“But didn’t you just say it was an unstoppable tide?”
“That is….”
CRASH!
“What—what is this?!”
The building shook violently, and Director Baek Young-shin covered his ears against the deafening roar.
Screams followed—the clash of blades, the sound of something exploding outward.
“Hunter Lee Ji-seok, take Sono Rim and escape!”
The sounds drew closer to our room. Director Baek Young-shin positioned himself in front of the door and gestured toward the window.
“Director, our positions are reversed.”
I grabbed the Director’s shoulders and pulled him back, positioning him beside Sono Rim.
“Can you protect him?”
“Of course.”
Sono Rim reached into empty air and withdrew a staff. It appeared to be spatial magic, like what Helen used.
“Wait—you didn’t turn in your weapons?!”
“I did. I simply retrieved it again.”
With at least minimal protection in place, it was time to assess the situation.
As I moved to open the door, I sensed killing intent from beyond it, so instead I kicked the door open with my foot.
The reinforced door didn’t shatter—it flew clean off its hinges, slamming into the figure behind it and pinning him against the wall.
“Who are you bastards?”
Hunters with eyes blazing red streamed toward our room.
“Aren’t you from the Azure Dragon Guild?! What is the meaning of this?!”
Director Baek Young-shin shouted, recognizing the faces of the intruders.
“I hold no grudge.”
Whatever their purpose, their expressions seemed gripped by fear rather than anger, and their bodies bore numerous wounds. I wondered what could terrify them so much that they’d keep charging forward despite such injuries.
But I could deal with them first and ponder the reasons later. Eleven hunters stood before me. It was impressive how a small force had made it this far—likely because no one had anticipated a madman bold enough to assault the Awakening Bureau, leaving the stationed hunters few in number.
I lunged forward and struck the nearest hunter’s jaw with a vicious hook.
But these fools ignored me entirely, fixating only on Sono Rim. They didn’t even blink as their comrades fell. Even as they were being attacked, they charged and cast spells at Sono Rim without hesitation.
Yet despite their relentless assault, Sono Rim’s barrier remained unbroken. That made sense—these attackers were at most B-rank. The one I’d kicked into the door might have been A-rank at best.
It took mere seconds to drop them all.
“What are these things?”
Looking closer, I noticed something attached to the neck of every fallen attacker. A dark, spherical object about the size of a ping-pong ball clung to each throat. It resembled a droplet or slime made of black liquid. Since it maintained its shape even as the Azure Dragon Guild hunters thrashed about, it was no ordinary liquid.
Boom!
As I approached to examine it more closely, the droplet on one neck exploded, hurling me backward. The destructive force was far greater than something so small should have produced.
“No… this can’t be! I did exactly as I was told!”
One of the Azure Dragon Guild members screamed, clawing at the droplet on his neck, but only tore his own flesh without even scratching the object.
Boom! Boom! Crash!
Then they all detonated in sequence.
When the second droplet exploded, I enlarged my body until it touched the ceiling and simultaneously wrapped armor around myself. I turned my back to shield the Director and Sono Rim. Despite the distance of several meters, the blast cracked the armor on my back.
The damage was minimal, but I’d blocked the attack—the Director and Sono Rim were safe. The moment I relaxed, the floor collapsed. I wrapped them from above with falling debris.
“Director, are you alright?”
I pushed the debris aside and cleared space. One section of the Awakening Center Branch building had caved in completely.
“Thanks to you. I’m grateful.”
The Director brushed dust from himself and stood, his face pale from the unexpected catastrophe, but he neither panicked nor lost composure. Sono Rim, meanwhile, had transformed from his usual gentle, composed expression into one brimming with orc-like fighting spirit.
“Sono Rim, you know what that was, don’t you?”
“I do… I’m not sure how he got here, but that’s definitely a Master from the Eastern Continent, the Exbrian Empire. I could never forget that grotesque thing.”
“Wasn’t he supposed to be unable to cross over?”
“I don’t know. I couldn’t cross either, which is why I needed his help, but I have no idea how he managed it without being a spatial mage.”
“What kind of person is he?”
“Franklin Conray Aihun. A Master infamous across the Eastern Continent for his cruelty. He treats human lives—especially those of foreigners or other races—like insects. That special magic of his, and its power, are notorious even in Tellus.”
“Isn’t he nearby? The bombs didn’t detonate immediately—they went off after the fight ended. Wasn’t that remote detonation?”
“That seems unlikely.”
“Why?”
“If he were close, it wouldn’t be this quiet. Perhaps he set conditions beforehand, or timed them to explode at a specific moment.”
The Director’s phone rang.
[Director! This is serious!]
“I know. It happened inside the building.”
[No, sir! Multiple Awakening Center Branches are under simultaneous attack right now!]
“What? Not just here?”
[People who appear to be Azure Dragon Guild members stormed in, and when we subdued them, they exploded. Please return to headquarters immediately!]
“I’m heading there now. Hunter Lee Ji-seok, did you hear?”
“Yes. Let’s go together.”
Sono Rim used telekinesis to pull his silver-haired colleague from the building rubble.
“Are you alright?”
Blood was caked all over his clothes.
“No need to worry. Blitz may lack offensive power, but his defense is formidable. You’d need a Master-class hunter to kill him.”
Hearing that, I observed him—the torn flesh on his back was visibly knitting itself together in real time. He possessed regenerative or healing traits similar to mine.
* * *
The Azure Dragon Guild members who launched their suicide attacks all found the otherworlders. Except for Sono Rim and Blitz—and Paul.
And they partially succeeded. Paul was dragged away by them.
It wasn’t a time limit but rather a detonation triggered the moment movement ceased in one location. The ones who dragged Paul away didn’t explode, but the Azure Dragon Guild members who were subdued stopped moving, and after a certain time passed, they inevitably detonated.
The highest alert was issued nationwide to find him. Some questioned why such a fuss over one person, but a Master-class hunter is an S-rank hunter. Moreover, this one clearly had a few screws loose—his danger level exceeded any modern weapon.
“Where the hell is that bastard?”
I asked the Azure Dragon Guild Master. Since I could detect most lies just by reading faces, the Director had requested my assistance. Even now, behind the magic mirror, the Director and the upper echelon of the Awakener Management Bureau watched along with government officials.
“I… I don’t know.”
“You’re the guild master, and if you don’t know, who would?”
“I really don’t know!! He came to our guild, attached those damned devices to our guild members, and threatened us. He said he’d detonate them if we didn’t comply.”
“So you just obeyed?”
“How could we? We’re the Azure Dragon Guild. And when we tried to smash him first, we saw the heads of those leading the charge explode and fly off. Everyone froze after that.”
“But why did he go to your guild in the first place? How did he even get there?”
“That… that’s… I don’t know. Why or how he came.”
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen someone lie so transparently. His entire body displayed the textbook behavior of a liar.
“Shim Tae-ju. You don’t seem to grasp the severity of this situation. Hundreds of Awakener Management Bureau employees died or were injured in this terror attack.”
“I heard… but our guild hunters are victims too.”
“Victims? Why don’t you tell that to the families of the dead?”
Every time a criminal claimed to be a victim too, I wished I’d earned money from it—I’d be a billionaire by now. Where in this world is someone without circumstances? But that doesn’t give them the right to trample on innocent people’s lives.
“I don’t know what I don’t know. Fine! A lawyer! Call our guild’s lawyer!”
“You seem to be misunderstanding something. You’ve violated the National Security Act, the Gate Special Act, and the Hunter Special Act all at once. Summary punishment would be justified.”
“What… what?! I didn’t do anything.”
“Really? Then why were you the only one not caught by his restraint?”
“I was caught. I freed myself thanks to my skill.”
“Your skill?”
“I can create tangible doppelgangers. I transferred the device attached to my right neck to my doppelganger and created distance the moment it detonated. That’s how I survived.”
“Quite a convenient ability.”
“Normally I’d need to remerge with it, but because it exploded, my ability has drastically weakened. I have no idea how long recovery will take.”
“Fine, I’ll believe you about the skill. But you’re lying about why and how he went to the Azure Dragon. Wasn’t it because your guild members caused a commotion at the Gate not long ago, demanding Sono Rim and Blitz, and then held a grudge after being investigated?”
“No! We were investigated so thoroughly for that incident!”
“Exactly. So you lost money, lost time, and lost guild members. That’s why you harbored resentment and tried to take revenge on the Awakener Management Bureau, right? You’re not just making excuses with your skill—you’re his accomplice?”
“How could that be! We were just trying to recover what we…”
“Recover?”
Caught.
“Right, because you lost out on the Sono Rim and Blitz situation, you tried to extract information from Franklin Conray Aihun and make money, didn’t you?”
“I… no! I don’t know anything about that! My subordinates acted on their own!”
“So you did try.”
“A… a lawyer!”
After that, everything unfolded in rapid succession. As expected, I brought Franklin to the Guild and attempted to extract information from him, but instead I was outmaneuvered and ended up with a bomb collar around my neck, arriving at the Awakener Management Bureau. He claimed he’d release me if I brought him someone from another world.
Once the interrogation concluded, I stepped out of the Interrogation Room.
“Well… I did manage to learn that the last place he was seen was the Azure Dragon Guild’s training facility on the outskirts, but since that was quite some time ago, do you think he’d still be there?”
A government agent standing outside, who had been listening to the conversation, expressed his concern.

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