Chapter 58: Sacramento Defense Battle (4)

The number of Slimes increased the further I went underground.

Dozens of Slimes and high-ranking Slimes were clinging to the walls and floors.

“Swallow them all as soon as you see them.”

Even before I could finish my sentence, Maeng-kkomi rushed forward and swallowed the Slimes.

A brilliant battle by the Summoned Beasts followed against the surging Slimes, and I occasionally cleaned up the ones that slipped past them.

“Tsk.”

Despite hitting them accurately with the railgun, some of them continued to move.

It seemed they wouldn’t die unless their cores were properly destroyed.

“Still, I think we’re almost there.”

“Ming!”

Ming Ming dried out and killed several Slimes with Fire Magic, opening the path to the basement area where the gate was located.

“They certainly made this difficult.”

The basement equipment management room of the city hall.

As I stepped inside, the area was filled with Slimes and snail Monsters, and through them, I could see a black gate scattering mana into the surroundings.

“No wonder we couldn’t find it when it was in a place like this.”

As I’ve mentioned before, sealing a gate was a task that was nearly impossible.

The gate could send surrounding objects to another world, a fallen angel might appear to help manage the gate, or Monsters would crawl out by any means necessary.

Even if you sealed the gate, other Monsters might come looking for it from the outside. In any case, it was a complex problem.

“Ming Ming. Let’s burn it.”

At my words, Ming Ming nodded and spat pink Fire Magic toward the gate.

Soon, Ming Ming’s Fire Magic completely enveloped the gate and began to burn the entire area. Consequently, the equipment and junk in the management room also began to catch fire.

While it was impossible to seal the gate perfectly, this should prevent anything from crossing over for the time being.

“Finish them quickly and let’s move.”

I raised my muzzle and hit a few Monsters that were scurrying about in confusion. These were the last ones.

“We’ve killed all the Slimes in sight… Let’s get out before it’s too late.”

“Ming!”

Situation over.

I pressed the signal device on the rooftop of the Sacramento city hall.

With a beeping sound, Dr. Yeon’s radio connected immediately.

– What is the situation?

“This is Dr. Lee Han. Most of the Slimes inside the city hall building have been neutralized, and the queen of the Beolre Monsters is also dead.”

There was a moment of silence, but I felt as if I could hear non-existent applause and the sound of firecrackers.

Dr. Yeon paused for a moment before speaking.

– …Confirmed. We will begin entering the city now.

“Yes.”

I was still worried about the fallen angel, but since the other two problems were resolved, the people here seemed to think they could handle one remaining issue somehow.

“Phew.”

I sat down on one side of the roof and let out a sigh of relief.

Then, Ming Ming approached me, found a spot, and curled up.

As I raised my hand to stroke the curled-up creature a couple of times, Ming Ming wagged its tail as if it felt good.

Still, the situation was mostly wrapped up. I had kept my promise to liberate Sacramento within 48 hours.

Now, it would all be over once we caught the fallen angel.

I sat with my legs stretched out and waited.

In the distant sky, I saw several black dots approaching.

“They’re here.”

“Ming!”

The helicopter that would take me out of this hell had arrived.

***

Outskirts of Sacramento, California National Guard command Armored Car.

Inside, the newly elected California Hunter Association President and several National Guard officers were gathered in the command Armored Car.

Despite the news of victory, the atmosphere was gloomy.

“I don’t understand. How can a problem that couldn’t be solved by deploying thousands of soldiers and dozens of Hunters be resolved with just that one person’s Ability?”

It wasn’t an easy question to answer.

What exactly was the difference that led to such an extreme difference in results?

“So he suppressed the higher-ranking Beolre Monsters and secured the Sacramento city hall that was occupied by Slimes?”

“Yes. Dr. Lee Han and we achieved two of the three goals we set just before entering the operation zone.”

“What was the difference from our response?”

“Well.”

The combat records were very long.

The Association President reviewed the combat records of Sacramento.

“The first day the gate opened in Sacramento. The National Guard was in the middle of an operation to respond to other gates and ensure safety. So the local Hunters and Police responded, but they were almost immediately wiped out.”

“That’s how it was.”

That was the first battle of the Sacramento gate.

“That same night, a swarm of ant-type Monsters that had escaped to the California wasteland detected the gate and rushed to the city. Taking advantage of the chaos, the ant Monsters occupied the downtown area.”

In the battle against the Slimes, most of the city’s Hunters had died or been injured, and the soldiers were also stationed nearby.

The ant-type Monsters succeeded in occupying the city center under the cover of night. From there, everything went to hell.

It might be an exaggeration to call it a coincidence, but several bad conditions did overlap.

“Then. What was different about Dr. Lee Han’s response?”

“First, he administered pesticide to weaken the Enemy.”

“With such a minor difference.”

“Rather than a minor difference… he asked us to administer DDT, which is clearly banned. It was definitely different.”

“Let’s say that’s the case.”

“There’s no need to even argue about that… Dr. Lee Han is fundamentally a Rank 5 Hunter with a very high level. If you look at the combat records, each of his Summoned Beasts is winning against top-tier Monsters. When several of those Summoned Beasts gather, he has the firepower to face a Monster army alone.”

The California Hunter Association President sighed.

“And we lost two Rank 5 Hunters.”

“Yes, that is correct.”

No matter how much of a Rank 5 awakened one someone was, it was difficult to win a head-to-head battle against a top-tier Monster like a giant army ant.

At least, that was the case according to the observations of the past few weeks.

Rather, Dr. Lee Han was an out-of-spec powerhouse.

“Even that bus-sized insect is not the type of Monster an S-Class ability user can face alone. A Monster like that wouldn’t even flinch from a direct hit by a recoilless rifle.”

It was a moment of shock and horror.

Soldiers equipped with anti-tank weapons went into battle, but the Beolre Monster’s armor, reinforced with mana, did not break. Instead, the insects smashed the Armored Car as if they were handling toys.

Dr. Lee Han slaughtered dozens of those Beolre Monsters.

And he did it alone.

“Dr. Lee Han said it at the Senate hearing, didn’t he? That he would liberate Sacramento within 48 hours.”

“Yes.”

About 24 hours had passed since then.

Since the Beolre Monster nest and the Slime gate in Sacramento had already been cleared, the goal was effectively overachieved.

The Association President let out a sigh.

“It’s a pathetic state of affairs.”

“To think a problem that a Military Division scale force and dozens of Hunters couldn’t solve was resolved by a single outsider.”

“First. Let’s go meet him.”

For now, that was the only way to solve the problem.

He decided to focus on resolving the situation.

The important key to the solution was already here in Sacramento, wasn’t it?

Until the problem was solved, he had to set his pride aside.

***

I ended up borrowing a University Laboratory on the outskirts of Sacramento.

“Is it a miracle that this place didn’t burn down?”

I was currently connected to a video call with Dr. Wi.

Pineapple was beside me, looking at the workshop.

“Oh, by the way, Doctor. Did you see? It’s been all over the news since yesterday. Some people are saying the exchange rate will reach three digits thanks to you.”

“Is that so?”

Dr. Wi had a very amazed expression.

“Did you really liberate a California city from the Monsters? Honestly, I didn’t believe it when I just saw the news.”

“It’s a task I’ve already done in Gaeseong. It’s also a task I performed with you, Dr. Wi, at that Goblin ruin.”

Dr. Wi scratched her head with a shy smile.

“That’s true… But where are you now?”

“A University Research Laboratory. There’s something I need to make.”

Killing the fallen angel wouldn’t be easy.

The American Hunters and the National Guard stepped forward bravely, but an out-of-spec Monster isn’t such an easy opponent.

That’s why I requested help from Dr. Wi.

“Dr. Wi, you mentioned it before, didn’t you? The symbolism associated with the gate. Khonsu, who slaughters deities to grant eternal life to pharaohs, and the Moon Goddess Artemis, who hunts Monsters.”

“Yes.”

“In that case. Focusing on the former, do you know what symbols might be able to kill a deity?”

“Well… There’s the mistletoe that killed Balder, the Deity of Light.”

That was why I had bought 10kg of mistletoe from an oriental medicine clinic and kept it in the Research Laboratory.

I had forgotten about it for a while and then rushed to bring it for this Sacramento vacuum operation.

“Did that pass through customs?”

“I traveled on a military transport plane, so it should be fine, right?”

Though I didn’t know for sure, it probably would have been difficult to pass through customs through normal procedures. It might have been mistaken for drugs or caught by quarantine laws.

Anyway, that wasn’t the important part.

I was planning to make a Spear out of mistletoe.

That was why I had borrowed this workshop.

It wasn’t a sophisticated mechanical device or chemical agent, but the effect would be certain.

“You’ve prepared better than I thought?”

“Yes.”

I had prepared the materials for now.

A Shard of a Spear picked up from the Sacramento battlefield. A silver iron rod to serve as the core of the shaft, a few pieces of Magic Stone, and Resin.

I looked at Dr. Wi across the screen.

“But will making it this way actually be effective?”

“Um… I believe it will. There is the power held by the symbolism of a weapon that kills a deity in the collective unconscious and legends. And thanks to the Magic Stone, it will actually contain mana as well.”

I nodded and turned my gaze back to the materials on the Desk.

“That’s what I thought too.”

“Even if you’re trying to draw power through similarity with myths, it’s better to have actual functionality. Relying too much on the occult isn’t a good method.”

In a way, it was an obvious statement.

I nodded and began the work in silence.

I applied adhesive, attached mistletoe sawdust, pressed it with a hammer, and then applied adhesive again.

Mistletoe doesn’t come as solid timber. Since it comes in finger-sized pieces, it was an unavoidable choice.

Tap, tap, tap.

The sound of the hammer echoed throughout the Laboratory, and making the shaft alone took quite a while.

For the Spear tip, I pressed the sawdust, poured Resin over it to harden it, and then ground it to make the end sharp.

I embedded the Magic Stone into the Spear head.

Finally, I applied a polish to finish it and heat-treated it.

“Ming Ming. Fire.”

“Ming.”

At my word, Ming Ming climbed onto the steel Desk and spat fire.

A pink flame flickered once, and the Spear was completed in a quite respectable shape.

“I like the shape.”

Would this truly become a weapon to kill the fallen angel?

Just as I did when I made the prototype Hunter rifle, I used the Explorer trait on my creation.

Not just simply checking information, but thinking as if I were writing what I wanted.

Then, blue mana enveloped the Spear.

[Cursed Mistletoe Spear Replica]

[Grade: S]

[A weapon made to kill a Deity, forged with the fire of a dragon and the hammer of a hero, using the only creation among all things that can kill the Deity of Light as its material.]

[*This weapon was created with the Explorer Ability; no one other than the creator can exercise its power.]

It was much more successful than expected.

While it wasn’t a universal crafting ability and had the specific condition that it could only be used with my mana.

That was a disadvantage and an advantage at the same time. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

“Ming.”

“I succeeded thanks to you.”

Now, what remained.

“The fallen angel…”

I had to go kill those ominous bastards.