Chapter 57: The Devil’s Flower (3)
Ziiing—
In front of the Taiwan Awakened Association building in Taipei.
A blue magic circle began rapidly forming on the ground.
Tzzzt-zzzzzt—
The circular magic circle spun faster and faster.
Shhh…
One by one, human figures appeared atop the circle.
From Hannah Adams, Chair of the International Awakener Federation, to France’s Marc Diaby, Japan’s Tachibana Yutaro, and Korea’s Yoon Soo-ho.
Not only the top-tier hunters, but also Myung Ji-yoon, Chae So-young, and many other hunters materialized in large numbers.
“Thanks for the hard work, Diaby.”
“Haha, this is nothing. Fortunately the distance wasn’t too far.”
At Hannah’s words, the Black French hunter Marc Diaby replied with a laugh.
His ability—Mass Teleportation.
The more people he transported and the farther the distance, the greater the mana consumption.
Thankfully, the distance between Korea and Taiwan was relatively short.
“The situation looks more serious than expected.”
Hannah muttered while watching a citizen charging toward them with eyes rolled back.
A woman who had swiftly subdued and restrained the citizen approached.
“Thank you for coming, Chair.”
It was Zhou Zihua, President of the Taiwan Awakened Association.
“In a national crisis, it’s only natural for the Federation to provide support.”
Hannah gave Zhou Zihua a brief nod of greeting before narrowing her eyes, staring intently at something in the distance.
The massive eye-bearing flower visible even from far away.
Though it appeared small due to the distance from downtown Taipei, the fact that it was visible at all from here spoke to its enormous size.
As Hannah stared at the eye, Zhou Zihua spoke.
“It appeared without warning in the Taroko contaminated zone. We suspect it’s the work of GODS.”
“I can feel the malevolent energy even from here. We’ll need to split into teams.”
Hunters below 1st-grade would remain in the city to support Taiwan’s hunters.
Those 1st-grade and above would head to the contaminated zone with Hannah.
“Taroko is a dangerous place, but with three Zero-grades and one 1st-grade, we should be able to break through.”
At Hannah’s words, Tachibana Yutaro nodded.
“We need to enter the contaminated zone and figure out what GODS is planning. Taiwan is just the beginning—it’ll spread like a plague to Japan, Korea, and the rest of the world.”
“It might be connected to the villain who ambushed hundreds of Chinese hunters.”
Hannah stroked her chin thoughtfully. Yoon Soo-ho, meanwhile, felt a surge of unease.
The moment he heard that Chinese public security hunters had their limbs twisted without knowing why, he immediately knew the culprit.
Korea’s greatest hidden asset—the secret agent never exposed to the public.
Codename: “Psycho.”
He had heard the codename during a recent meeting with the Intelligence Department Director.
“Any separate contact from Psycho?”
“No… nothing in particular.”
Chae So-young shook her head at Yoon Soo-ho’s question.
She had served as the liaison between Psycho and the others during the Monster Wave.
That was also why she had been recruited to the secretary office. Yoon Soo-ho didn’t know the exact nature of their relationship and had no intention of prying.
If Psycho ever found out he was digging, there was no telling what might happen.
“We received intel that Liu Qinglong visited that airport and then vanished in a hurry.”
A muscular man in a black suit spoke up.
He was the same hunter who had first reported the situation in China to Hannah.
“If traces of Liu Qinglong are found in Taiwan, the odds are high. We don’t have time—let’s move immediately.”
At Hannah’s command, the Federation hunters moved with perfect coordination.
Yoon Soo-ho joined Hannah Adams, Marc Diaby, and Tachibana Yutaro—the three Zero-grades—as they headed toward the contaminated zone.
Shwaaaaa—
The backs of the Zero-grades blurred as they dashed forward at incredible speed, like high-speed trains.
They weren’t even using abilities—just pure physical prowess.
That was why Yoon Soo-ho also refrained from using Lightning Flash and ran at maximum speed.
‘They’re fast. Still… I can at least keep up with Tachibana.’
Among the six officially recognized Zero-grades worldwide, Tachibana Yutaro ranked sixth—the lowest among them.
Yet even keeping pace with him was impressive.
After meeting Psycho, Yoon Soo-ho had never slacked in his training. Combined with the experience from the Monster Wave, his physical abilities had improved dramatically.
Even if Tachibana was ranked sixth, he was still a Zero-grade.
The fact that a 1st-grade like Yoon Soo-ho could keep up at all was extraordinary.
Tachibana glanced back at Yoon Soo-ho, who was fiercely chasing him, and his expression stiffened slightly.
In no time, the hunters reached the edge of the contaminated zone.
Hannah, who had pulled far ahead, turned back and spoke.
“The toxin is already severe even before entering the contaminated zone. Prepare yourselves thoroughly.”
The hunters cloaked their bodies in mana barriers.
They could feel the toxicity even before the Creep came into view.
And up close, the giant eye-flower radiated an even more sinister aura than they had imagined.
Overwhelmed, Marc swallowed hard and muttered,
“That thing… are we really capable of fighting it?”
“We’ll find out when we get there. For now, breaking through this is the priority.”
Hannah stood before the boundary of the contaminated zone and spoke.
A vast, translucent red membrane enclosed the entire contaminated zone.
It exuded such a vicious energy that just touching it seemed like it would rot flesh to the bone.
At that moment, Yoon Soo-ho stepped forward and swung Destroyer toward the barrier.
Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwa-gwang—
The moment the rupture ability tore into the red membrane—
Kwa-tz-tz-tz-tz!
The red barrier instantly contracted, sealing the cracks back up.
It seemed only a far greater force could destroy it completely.
Just as Hannah prepared to step forward herself—
Pa-cha-cha-cha-chang!
A sound like something shattering rang out from high above, and an overwhelming pressure began crushing down on them.
Kwa-tz-tz-tz-tz!
Massive tentacles ripped through the air, defying the laws of physics as they burst into existence.
The instant Hannah saw them, she whipped her head away and shouted,
“Don’t look at them—ever!”
At her warning, the hunters immediately averted their gazes.
Hannah raised her mana and activated a mental fortification skill.
While the others might not need to, as Chair she had to at least try to understand what they were dealing with.
Gathering her resolve, she forced herself to look up at the tentacles again.
Drip-drip—
The moment her eyes met them, bloody tears streamed down her face.
“Ughhh…”
Only after clenching her teeth so hard that blood trickled from her lips did she finally—
“Haah!”
—turn her head away and gasp for breath.
“The second Great Cataclysm… is already upon us…? How…?”
Hannah recalled a prophecy she had once heard.
***
『Hooo… ehehehehe… hahahahak! What an utterly maddening power!』
Satoru burst into insane laughter as he faced the colossal tentacle.
Thankfully he was viewing it through the Devil’s Flower—had he seen it with his own eyes, he would have gone mad long ago.
Even now, the flower could no longer withstand the overwhelming pressure; chaos was erupting from within.
“Kiyaaaaak!”
“Kishishishit!”
The tens of thousands of monsters absorbed by the Devil’s Flower screamed in unison.
Satoru, linked to their consciousness, tried to calm their souls—but it was no easy task.
『Heh heh… this won’t do anymore. Plan change.』
Originally, the plan had been to expand the contaminated zone and turn Taiwan into a demonic realm.
But right now, the Great Purification was no longer the priority.
If he couldn’t overcome this tentacle, everything would be for nothing.
Tzzzt-zzzzzt—
The Devil’s Flower began absorbing the Creep of the entire Taroko contaminated zone.
Its size grew even larger, and the black mana within it deepened.
Then it attempted a counterattack.
Crack-crack— Kwa-r-r-r-rung!
Crimson lightning erupted from the vertical pupil.
Pu-kwa-kwa-kwak!
The lightning scraped across the tentacle—
Shhh…
—but it instantly regenerated thanks to super-regeneration.
Satoru refused to give up. He gathered more dark-red mana.
Soon, a circular wave of black energy burst from the flower.
————!
It carried no physical force, yet it tore savagely at the mind.
However—
Shwaaa—
The tentacle absorbed the black wave in an instant.
And even after taking in that immense energy, it remained perfectly fine.
『I-Im… impossible…』
Instead, it writhed with even greater excitement and coiled around the Devil’s Flower.
Kwa-d-d-d-d—
The massive eye swelled as though it would burst at any moment under the crushing pressure.
At the same time, a strange power flowed from the tentacle, piercing through the flower’s barrier.
Kwa-tz-tz-tz-tz!
Satoru, whose mind was linked to the flower, felt raw, searing pain.
『Kwaaaaaak! Stop!』
This was beyond even his ability to convert into sexual pleasure.
The mental damage far outweighed any physical harm.
『Th-This can’t be happening! This body is a prophet blessed by the Godfather! How dare you—do you think you’ll get away with this?!』
Satoru roared in fury.
But the problem wasn’t just the Devil’s Flower.
His regenerated main body stood frozen in place, unable to move, staring at the man approaching him.
Dressed in a black suit with an ice-cold expression—he looked like the grim reaper himself.
Satoru had no intention of surrendering.
He closed his eyes and focused on the connection with the flower.
Raising the dark-red mana within his body—
Pa-tzzt!
—he abruptly severed the link with the Devil’s Flower.
Even if the flower fell to the tentacle, it could no longer harm Satoru.
Of course, this would push the Great Purification even further out of reach.
But he could always start over once he survived.
All that remained now was escaping this reaper.
‘Calm down, Satoru. Even if the sky falls, there’s always a way out…’
That was when it happened.
Kwa-r-r-r-rung!
“Grrrrk!”
Black lightning struck Satoru’s head directly, enveloping his entire body in dark current.
“Looks like you’re finally ready to talk now that you’ve cut the connection yourself.”
The grim reaper smirked.
***
Jin-young approached Satoru, who was bound by psychokinesis.
He had anticipated the possibility that Satoru would sever his link with the flower and attempt to flee.
Sure enough—
『He cut the mental connection with the flower.』
The tentacle, which had been on the verge of dominating the Devil’s Flower, reported.
If the link had remained, Satoru would have been dominated alongside it, making interrogation easy.
‘A shame. Guess we’ll have to go old-school.’
With Jacob at his side, Jin-young stood before Satoru.
Shhh…
At that moment, the crimson vertical pupil in the flower’s eye gradually darkened.
The chaotic turmoil of tens of thousands of consciousnesses within the eye fell eerily silent all at once.
『The flower’s consciousness has been brought under control.』
‘Good. Test it once.’
The moment Jin-young gave the order, black lightning erupted from the eye.
Kwa-r-r-r-rung!
“Grrrrrrk!”
Satoru’s eyes rolled back as his body convulsed violently.
His charred skin quickly regenerated.
Jin-young spoke to him several times, but Satoru showed no sign of opening his mouth.
Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwang— Pa-jijijijik!
Black lightning rained down relentlessly above Satoru’s head.
While the physical damage was severe, the mental toll was far worse.
If this continued unchecked, it could reduce a person’s mind to mush, leaving only an empty shell behind.
Of course, Satoru possessed a mental resilience far beyond human limits.
He wasn’t going to break so easily.
But the barrier protecting his mind had already crumbled almost completely.
Pu-hwaak—
The moment the tentacles burst from Jin-young’s chest and faced him, Satoru’s mental defenses shattered entirely.
『■■do it…』
“Haaaah!”
Blood streamed from both ears as he screamed.
Jin-young quickly retracted the tentacles before Satoru could lose his mind completely.
“Yoshida Satoru. Ready to answer my questions?”
“Y-Yes… I’m ready…”
Satoru’s half-unfocused eyes trembled as he barely forced the words out.
It looked as though his original self and the broken, submissive self were still fighting inside him.
Jin-young paid it no mind and began the interrogation.
“What were you trying to do here?”
“Turn… Taiwan into a contaminated zone… make it a relay point.”
“Relay point?”
“To spread… the Godfather’s power… across the world… krrgh!”
Satoru suddenly convulsed and vomited blood.
Jin-young frowned and glanced at Jacob.
“Is there some kind of self-destruct mechanism when talking about the Godfather?”
“Hm… I wouldn’t know—I was just a regular member, so I never had access to that level of information. But for a prophet? The Godfather might have planted something in them.”
Jin-young couldn’t afford to let a prophet self-destruct.
Pushing any further might turn Satoru into a mindless vegetable incapable of speech.
For now, he decided to postpone direct questions about the Godfather.
“What is that flower?”
“The Devil’s… Flower. It absorbs power from the contaminated zone’s monsters and Creep to grow.”
“The larger the contaminated zone, the more power it can absorb.”
Jin-young concluded that the Devil’s Flower was also related to relaying the Godfather’s power.
He could investigate later why it contained traces of the Demon King’s power.
Since the mental link between Satoru and the flower had been severed, killing Satoru wouldn’t affect the flower.
There was still plenty of information to extract from the old man.
“Are there other places where this kind of operation is underway? Where?”
“Sri Lanka… Cyprus… Puerto Rico… and Iceland.”
Including Taiwan, that made five locations. All islands.
“Are all of them in progress right now?”
“I… don’t know. The Godfather… krrgh!”
Satoru grimaced again. His face flushed red—time was running out.
Jin-young thought for a moment before asking,
“Do you know about the ‘Demon King’?”
“De… ■■■!”
Satoru let out a sound that could no longer be called human.
Pu-kwaaaak!
His head exploded.
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This really is peak
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