Chapter 40: Dwarf Rescue Squad (2)

Krrrr—’I will kill. Kill and devour.’

Twin-Head Troll.

No, within the head of this magic-infused monster, there was murder lurking.

Krrrrr—’I do not die. I can devour anything.’

After being consumed by the black mist, the troll had changed.

Its already strong regeneration had grown even stronger.

Its judgment had greatly improved.

It could even communicate with other monsters.

‘I am the strongest!’

The troll became the leader of the monsters chasing the Blue Jewel tribe.

Because it was the strongest.

But even this troll had one problem.

‘That lightning, that’s the problem.’

When hit, it hurt so much it couldn’t move for a while.

Though it kept attacking without dying, it couldn’t catch and devour anything.

Then, at some point, the troll realized.

‘Lightning can’t shoot far. And it can’t shoot continuously.’

Thanks to the magic making it more cunning, this thought had surfaced.

The troll devised a plan.

Throw rocks repeatedly to block the lightning.

‘Done. Now it can’t use lightning. I’ll devour them.’

When Blton’s lightning struck, the troll felt triumphant.

The time to feast had come.

But suddenly, the situation changed.

‘The rocks are blocked! What’s that hand?’

A gigantic hand grabbed the rocks.

If it were a living creature, it should have felt fear and thought to flee.

But the troll, now a monster, acted differently.

‘Kill! Catch and stab them all! Devour them!’

The troll shouted to the surrounding monsters.

The monsters, startled by the huge hand and frozen, began moving again.

***

“Oh no, what do we do?”

Though the rock barrier was held in place just in time, Suho felt troubled.

The wave of monsters, which had briefly stopped, surged forward again.

‘The hand won’t let go until the end.’

At the very rear of the formation, there were dwarves mixed in with the monsters.

Suho’s hand hadn’t reached there.

‘What can I do? They’re all mixed up and fighting.’

It was natural; they were fighting for survival, so resolving it with a sword was impossible.

“There’s no time. Hurry!”

Suho’s mind worked rapidly.

Soon, he came up with a plan.

“This is the best I can do.”

He rummaged through the dimensional pouch and pulled out an item.

[Psychokinesis Scroll]

Suho immediately unfolded the scroll.

Zziik—

Suho felt it.

‘Psychokinesis! This will work!’

Beyond the reach of his hands.

He felt an invisible hand extending far away.

Though this wouldn’t have the power to kill monsters on Earth, right now, it was enough.

There was an overwhelming size difference between this world and that one.

“Everyone, stop at once!”

Suho sliced the air with his hand, unleashing psychokinesis.

Thud—

Thousands of monsters.

Dwarves mixed among the monsters.

Everything froze in place.

“Ugh! My feet are stuck to the ground!”

“W-what is this? My body won’t move!”

“The monsters stopped too!”

Ignoring the chattering dwarves, Suho focused his mind.

‘Next, separation.’

Suho skillfully controlled the invisible hand.

Floating—

Dwarves mixed with monsters were lifted into the air.

“Ahh—! Ahhhh—?”

“T-th-this is different!”

“S-s-save me!”

The startled dwarves screamed, but that couldn’t be considered; he couldn’t move.

After a moment,

“Oh? They’re moving toward the mountain ridge.”

“The monsters are staying put!”

“We survived, we survived! That giant hand saved us from the monsters!”

“A great mage!”

“It was true. What the Rescue Squad said was real!”

The rescued dwarves breathed sighs of relief.

Those who had first climbed the mountain ridge shouted joyfully.

“Let’s finish this now. First, gather the monsters.”

Suho focused his mind intensely.

The use of psychokinesis began to reach its limit.

Goooo—

The air trembled, and thousands of monsters simultaneously floated into the sky.

“The monsters are flying!”

“They floated up! The Giant has gathered the monsters into one group!”

The monsters clustered into a sphere in the air.

“Explode!”

Suho commanded.

Kaboom—!

Zzrrr—

The monsters were crushed like tomatoes.

Dark red liquid dripped down.

“They’re dead! All the monsters are dead.”

“They’re all down.”

The voices of the dwarves who had fainted came to his ears.

A system message appeared before Suho’s eyes.

[Dimensional Mission 【Dwarf Rescue Squad】 completed.]

[New contact with 【Blue Jewel Dwarves】 has begun.]

[Satisfaction of Blue Jewel Dwarves has increased by 60.]

***

Kaboom!

The old man’s hands cracked a walnut.

He picked out the walnut from his pocket and brought it to his mouth.

Opposite him across the table, someone was bowing their head.

The old man spoke to the bowing man.

“The firmer the shell, the more nutritious the flesh inside.”

“…I’m sorry.”

The man bowed deeply.

Yuk Kyunghwan, leader of the Living Coms, a murder organization operating in Korea, trembled as he replied.

He was completely overwhelmed by the old man.

“There are several ways to peel a firm shell. Among them, I prefer this…”

Kaboom!

Another walnut cracked in the old man’s hands.

Yuk Kyunghwan flinched, but the old man spoke calmly.

“I like pressing it down with force. That’s our true nature. Because we are superior.”

“But the situation in Korea is bad, so it’s hard to press with force. For now, we have no choice but to use our heads. That’s a method I don’t really like.”

Yuk Kyunghwan exhaled coldly.

The old man continued.

“So, instead, I’m calling someone to use their brains instead. Someone like you. But you don’t seem very capable.”

Shiver.

Like a needle, Yuk Kyunghwan’s body trembled as he swallowed his voice.

“Sorry. Planting Mainira(demonized human) in the Association Dungeon was the Association’s overly aggressive decision. Some personnel dispatched from the major guilds were stronger than expected.”

“Is that all?”

“The issue with the top elite was because the doppelganger handled it so foolishly… Sorry.”

Kaboom.

Another walnut cracked.

Yuk Kyunghwan felt as if his head was breaking.

The old man continued nonchalantly.

“How’s the securing of test subjects going?”

“To secure test subjects, the defected guild master is not himself. His son is missing.”

“And?”

“We’ve identified a substitute guild to watch over. Once the defected guild master reports to the elder, we plan to deal with him immediately.”

The old man stroked his chin and spoke.

“You also planted energy in that guy, right?”

“Yes. We can handle him whenever you want.”

“It’s wasteful to throw away a well-made pawn like that. Even useless trash can become valuable when burned.”

“Sorry.”

“Th-then why did that guy’s son go missing?”

“One day, he just disappeared. The culprit is unknown.”

“Good.”

“What do you mean?”

“If you don’t know the culprit, then make one. That solves the problem, doesn’t it?”

“Ah!”

Realizing what the old man meant, Yuk Kyunghwan burst out laughing.

“Then let’s connect it to the failed top elite case and deal with it together.”

“Brilliant plan, Elder.”

“The assassination is done, so this time, it’s better to handle things properly.”

“Yes, I will do my best.”

Yuk Kyunghwan stepped back.

He was a servant of the demon Hezru and a Mainira.

And the old man, called Elder by Yuk Kyunghwan, smiled coldly.

“You must not do your best; you must bring the best results.”

If you want to survive in the new world soon to come.

***

By psychokinesis, the body floating in midair landed on the ground.

Blton stared blankly at the scene before him.

The story of the Giant who changed the weather and summoned a dragon.

At first hearing, he thought it was a lie.

“It was real.”

When Tarunga and Dalkong spoke in unison, Blton discarded the thought that it could be a lie.

But it was a story he still couldn’t fully believe.

“I thought it was exaggerated.”

There must have been some exaggeration mixed in.

Extreme situations must have distorted their memories.

Blton reached this conclusion.

“No. It wasn’t. It was a fact without a single lie.”

Tarunga, Dalkong,

and the rest of the rescue squad all told no lies.

Kaboom!

Seeing the monsters crushed into a single mass floating in the air, how could anyone think otherwise?

“Oh—Hammer and Anvil God.”

Blton called out the name of the god.

“Thank you. For showing us the land where we can avoid death, and for sending the great army.”

Blton could do nothing but pray.

Tarunga and Dalkong approached Blton.

“Blton! Are you okay?”

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine. Anyway…”

After briefly glancing at the gigantic hand still floating in the air, Blton spoke.

“It was true. There really is a Giant, a great Giant.”

“Heh heh, what did I say? I told you you’d understand once you experienced it.”

“That’s right, Blton. Now you know. We just need to follow the Giant. When you visit, you’ll see the walls and buildings built too.”

Feeling both relief and shock, Blton’s interest was piqued by one word.

“Walls? You built a castle in the mountain?”

“Oh, come to think of it, your tribe has some experience in wall construction, right?”

“It’s embarrassing. We rushed and built it roughly, so it probably looks like a mess to you. Heh heh.”

Dalkong and Tarunga each added a word.

Blton felt reassured by their words.

“Even I and our Blue Jewel tribe had a role!”

While the dwarves chatted, Suho was deep in thought.

“We rescued them, but now what? I want to move them to the village.”

The duration of the psychokinesis scroll ended.

They couldn’t be carried floating in the air.

“Can’t we just put them roughly on the ground and move them?”

“There are quite a few. Let’s see.”

Suho looked around the room.

Something caught his eye.

“That should work.”

“Cluck—thank the Lord.”

“Mm.”

***

“In order, move quickly!”

“Don’t push, be careful!”

“Hehe, this will be fun!”

“I think I’m scared.”

“Didn’t you hear those who went ahead screaming? They were so excited!”

“It’ll be safe, right?”

“Of course, the Giant is carrying us.”

“But why does it smell so good here?”

“Yeah, it smells really delicious. It’s different from just ramen.”

Making a ruckus, the dwarves climbed into the box.

A flat, wide box.

It was the chicken box ordered by Balryong.

“Using it like this, huh.”

“Be thankful it wasn’t thrown away after eating.”

“Ew.”

The last remaining group of dwarves took their places inside the chicken box.

“Okay, let’s go. Hold on tight.”

Suho lifted the chicken box.

Maintaining a horizontal balance, carefully.

“Woah—We’re flying!”

“This is exciting! We’re flying!”

“Flying with a delicious smell!”

After a moment, the chicken box safely landed inside the walls.

“We’ve arrived. Everyone, get off.”

At Suho’s signal, the dwarves rushed out.

“Phew, this mission went well too.”

As Suho sighed in relief, a shadow approached.

“Giant, thank you! You saved our dwarves again.”

“Yes, Giant, you truly are the savior of the dwarves.”

It was Tarunga and Dalkong.

“Good timing, thankfully.”

“We were sure the Giant would come. Heh heh, that’s why we went ahead with it.”

“My return from the trip was a bit late. From now on, please act more carefully.”

“No problem. We will engrave your words deeply in our hearts, Giant.”

While exchanging words, Suho glanced behind.

A dwarf he hadn’t seen before was standing awkwardly.

As if unsure whether to kneel or just bow his head.

“By the way, who is that person behind you?”

“Oh, I forgot to introduce while thanking the Giant. This friend is Blton, chief of the newly allied Blue Jewel dwarves. Blton, please greet him.”

At Tarunga’s introduction, Blton stepped forward.

Still hesitant, but his speed was lightning quick.

“G-greetings to the Giant. I am Blton, leader of the Blue Jewel dwarves. The grace you have bestowed upon us will be repaid by our tribe with sincere loyalty.”

Thud.

Blton finally knelt and bowed his head.

“Ah, Blton. Please take care of us from now on. But if you keep bowing like that, I’ll feel burdened. Please stand up.”

“Yes!”

Blton sprang up.

He sensed that Suho didn’t appreciate excessive formality.

“You seem pretty perceptive. You’re going to be a good help.”

His movements were quick, and his gaze sharp.

Suho considered how best to make use of Blton.

‘Blue Jewel, huh.’

Red Hammer. Light Hide.

There was some inference from the tribe’s name.

‘If it’s a jewel, it might be good at mining?’

There was no need for Suho to think long about it.

Blton had opened his mouth first.