CHAPTER 71
071 - No One But Me

The remnants of the old city had an atmosphere that could make one's heart sink. A forest of crumbling gray buildings. Faded signs, broken glass, and exposed bundles of wires.

In the center of this urban area, members of the Cheonok Guild were surrounding a single figure.

"Stay on high alert! Don't let your guard down just because the enemy is calm!"

The middle-aged man shouting was Park Jong-mu, the guild master of Cheonok Guild and an A-rank Hunter.

Even as an A-rank, he was a veteran with decades of experience in the Gates, a vigorous active Hunter who had just recently returned from the 4th Floor.

He was a man widely regarded as being just one wall away from breaking through to S-rank. Though he himself believed he had reached his limit and his passion had waned, he had not ceased his activities.

"Guild Master... is this for real? Can we believe it?"

The one asking quietly by the guild master's side was Cheon Juhyeok, a fellow member of Cheonok Guild.

As the grandson of the Cheonok Group's chairman, he was, from Park Jong-mu's perspective, a parachute appointment sent down from the higher-ups. Nevertheless, Cheon Juhyeok had worked hard.

He followed every order from Park Jong-mu and the guild executives, who gave him no special treatment, without a single complaint. He was even proactive about entering Gates, a rare and zealous young man in this day and age.

His skills were also nearing A-rank, and he was more than capable of pulling his own weight.

"Of course I don't believe it. Have you ever seen a monster surrender?"

"No, sir."

"Same principle."

"But it's a bit different from a monster..."

They had originally been tracking an Erosion a short distance from here. A small-scale Erosion, about the size of a single building, had appeared, and they had been dispatched.

However, as they were locating the Core to destroy it, the area of Erosion shrank, and this being appeared.

It was undoubtedly one of the moving Erosions that had become a hot topic worldwide recently.

When they immediately unleashed an attack on the newly appeared moving Erosion, it began to flee, and they finally succeeded in cornering it here.

But as soon as they had it surrounded, the being suddenly threw its hands in the air and started shouting its surrender.

"Surrender! I surrender! Please don't attack! Please..."

This being was very different from the monsters they had encountered before. Its eyes were clear, not clouded, and it possessed a proper sense of self. It knew how to suppress its instincts with reason, which alone made it difficult to call it a simple monster.

And above all, its appearance was identical to that of a human. No, with its long ears, perhaps it was an Elf.

"Juhyeok, what's the word from the Bureau?"

"No contact yet. I imagine things are chaotic over there, too."

"Tsk, you've got to hand it to those civil servants for being so slow on the uptake."

Park Jong-mu clicked his tongue and deliberated.

Attacking it now would be easy. But the fact that a monster was speaking to them—and a moving Erosion at that, whose origin and principles were still unknown—made Park Jong-mu hesitate to give the order to attack.

If this surrender was genuine, couldn't they learn a great deal from it? Couldn't they solve at least a few of the dozens of mysteries surrounding Erosion?

That would not only benefit the guild but also the city, and by extension, all of humanity.

Park Jong-mu didn't have a grand sense of mission for humanity or anything, but mindlessly charging into a situation like this was not in his nature.

"What do you mean by surrender?"

"Exactly what it sounds like! I surrender, I'm surrendering! But, uh, my arms are getting a bit sore, can I put them down now?"

Fwoosh!

Without a word, Park Jong-mu launched a fire arrow at the Elf, who shrieked in terror and shot her hands back up.

The sight that greeted Jinwoo and Chartia when they arrived on the scene was a strange one.

A group that appeared to be a guild had surrounded a monster. That in itself was puzzling, as monsters were typically targets for subjugation or extermination, not encirclement.

An encirclement was usually to prevent escape for a kill, or to capture an enemy, and this didn't seem like the former. The surrounding Hunters weren't unleashing attacks.

That meant they were trying to capture it...

"Chartia, do you see that?"

"...Yes. It's an Elf."

It seemed this was a situation completely different from a normal Erosion. The two of them approached the surrounding Hunters.

"Halt!"

A member of the Cheonok Guild initially stopped the two who had suddenly appeared. He wasn't showing any hostility; he was simply preventing outsiders from interfering with an ongoing operation.

However, he knew Chartia, and especially Jinwoo, very well.

"Hyung-nim! It's really you, Hyung-nim!?"

It was Cheon Juhyeok, whom Jinwoo had met on the 2nd Floor.

They had promised to meet after he returned, but the appearance of Ireland in New York had prevented it. Even after Ireland was dealt with, Jinwoo had left immediately for the 3rd Floor, so they hadn't reunited until now.

"Juhyeok?"

"Hyung-nim!"

Overjoyed at the long-awaited reunion, Cheon Juhyeok rushed forward, but Jinwoo deftly stepped back to avoid him. Juhyeok also stopped before getting too close, and the two conversed at a distance appropriate for casual acquaintances.

"What's going on? Is everyone here from Cheonok Guild?"

"Yes. A strange situation has occurred. And, just in case, were you sent by the Bureau?"

"The Bureau?"

"I guess not."

Cheon Juhyeok, coming to his own conclusion, gave Jinwoo and Chartia a brief and concise explanation.

The aforementioned moving Erosion had appeared, and they had immediately attacked and pursued it, succeeding in surrounding it. But as soon as it was cornered, it suddenly declared its surrender.

"That's why our Guild Master is deliberating. If we can capture a being that can communicate, we could obtain a lot of information."

"That sounds plausible, but..."

Jinwoo looked at the scene with a peculiar expression. An Elf with her hands up, shouting her surrender with a tearful face, surrounded by the members of Cheonok Guild.

There was one reason for Jinwoo's strange look. It appeared as though the Hunters were surrounding a single Elf, but in reality, she wasn't surrounded at all.

'That minion... its Black Flame is larger than Vertus's.'

It was nowhere near the level of Ireland, of course, but it was far stronger than Vertus or the Black Knight from Velen Village.

In contrast, the Hunters forming the encirclement were all composed of A and B-ranks. Without a single S-rank, they shouldn't have been able to surround this minion.

Simply put, the Elf could escape but was choosing not to.

"Jinwoo. I have a slightly uneasy feeling."

Chartia whispered quietly to Jinwoo. She couldn't fully gauge the minion's power, but it seemed her intuition was telling her something.

"In any case, let's talk to the commander. Juhyeok, who's in charge here?"

"Our Guild Master. Guild Master Park Jong-mu."

Through Cheon Juhyeok's introduction, the two were able to meet with Park Jong-mu.

Given the precarious situation, he was in no position to turn away Chartia, an S-rank, and Jinwoo, a soon-to-be S-rank.

Instead, he greeted them with a look of relief.

"I'm Park Jong-mu. What have you heard?"

"Juhyeok told us. You're debating whether to capture it or attack it."

"Yes. It would be easier to just kill it, but something feels off. An Erosion monster, an Elf no less, just surrendering... isn't that strange?"

Whatever the reason, holding off the attack was the right call. The A-rank Hunters present would not have been able to handle that minion.

"Would it be alright if we tried talking to her?"

"Of course! Please, do as you wish."

With Park Jong-mu's permission, Jinwoo went to speak with the Elf. Chartia was beside him, warily watching the Elf like a hedgehog with its quills raised.

In addition to her protection, Jinwoo himself drew his sword as he approached the Elf. This time, it wasn't the Sky Sword, but the white-gemmed sword he had received from Rona.

"Uh... hello. My name is Grisella. You can call me Sella."

"Grisella, I am Kang Jinwoo."

"Ah, yes. Sir Kang Jinwoo."

The Elf was strangely timid. The Elves Jinwoo had seen until now were full of confidence and never cowered. This was a type of person—no, a type of Elf—he had never seen before.

The reason she was so withdrawn probably wasn't due to a lack of power. Then what was it?

Was it just her innate personality?

"Are you a minion of the Sky God?"

"...! You know of him—no, that bastard?"

"Just answer the question."

"Yes, yes! That's right. I was captured by that bastard and forced to work for countless ages before I finally managed to escape!"

As if overwhelmed by her own pitiful circumstances, the Elf suddenly burst into tears and began to pour out her grievances.

She spoke of where she was born, how she got caught up in the Erosion, and what happened to her afterward.

At first, she was used as an Elf-type monster, stripped of her will, but as her skills improved, she was apparently scouted by the Sky God.

"To think you grew stronger while fighting as a monster. You must have some talent."
"I suppose so. Ehehe."
Grisella acted shy as if she had been complimented, but Jinwoo mentally raised his guard by another level.
Beside him, Chartia also listened to their conversation, quietly remaining on alert. She had many questions but had the sense not to ask them here.
"You said you ran away… So you betrayed the Sky God and fled?"
"Yes. I was bound by Erosion and forced to serve him, but I never forgot my pride as an Elf. The souls I killed were meant to be offered to our mother, the World Tree, but that bastard… no, that son of a bitch, forcibly took them…"
"Is that why you ran? To steal human souls and offer them to the World Tree instead of the Sky God?"
"Of course. That is the duty of all Elves…"
Jinwoo raised his sword and swung. If not her heart, he intended to at least slice off a leg.
"Hiiik!"
Grisella leaped back, dodging Jinwoo's blade. She was so terrified that her evasive maneuver was excessively large, which caused a barrage of attacks from the surrounding Cheonok Hunters to rain down on her.
"Uwaaaaaah!"
She crouched on the spot and took the Hunters' attacks. As fire and ice poured onto her curled-up, turtle-like form, she remained completely unscathed.
She had dodged Jinwoo's sword in a panic, yet she casually tanked the Hunters' attacks with her body.
"It was a mistake! A slip of the tongue! Just escaping is enough for me! If I can be free from a life of slavery, that's all I want!"
Jinwoo rested his sword on his shoulder and watched her. He didn't know what schemes or circumstances she might be hiding, but he could clearly see that, for now, she had no will to fight.

A short while later, Hunters from the Bureau arrived in droves. Ma Doo-sik came with them, present in his capacity as both the mayor and an S-class Hunter.
An Elf monster that was unharmed even by the assault of A-class Hunters. She was a being significant enough to warrant the deployment of an S-class Hunter like Ma Doo-sik.
"Hmm, what do you think we should do about this?"
Ma Doo-sik asked Jinwoo, his face troubled. It was a situation he had never encountered before, so he couldn't help but seek advice.
"I've seen a being like her on the 3rd Floor."
"What? On the 3rd Floor?"
"Have you heard of a being named Vertus?"
"Ah, you mean that strange Orc who goes around performing acts of service using healing magic?"
"That guy is a moving Erosion, just like this one."
Ma Doo-sik looked quite surprised by the information Jinwoo revealed so casually.
Though it was just something he had heard, Ma Doo-sik trusted Jinwoo. After defeating Ireland, Jinwoo was the Hunter who knew the most about moving Erosions.
"Does that mean… it's possible to coexist with such beings? Even if they are Erosion?"
"I've seen another one like this elsewhere."
"Another one?"
"It was a knight-like being in black armor. We couldn't communicate with it at all. We just fought until I had no choice but to kill it."
"I see. So it's a case-by-case basis."
Ma Doo-sik was not one to misunderstand Jinwoo's words. For a simple phenomenon like Erosion, the correct answer was to eliminate it. Monsters without self-awareness that couldn't communicate had to be exterminated.
But what if the opponent wasn't a simple phenomenon but a sentient, moving being? One that had a sense of self and could speak?
Then the response would have to be different.
"I'll call for Hunter Shin Do-woong. It seems monitoring this one with only A-class Hunters will be difficult."
Shin Do-woong was one of Seoul's three S-class Hunters, alongside Chartia and Ma Doo-sik.
It had already been reported that the A-class Hunters' attacks had no effect on the Elf. Ma Doo-sik had even seen it with his own eyes.
At least an S-class Hunter was needed to monitor her, and Ma Doo-sik, as the mayor, was not suitable for a surveillance role.
"So, are you planning to take her in for now?"
"We can't let her into the city. There's a suitable facility outside the barrier where we can confine her, so we'll place her there for the time being."
"She claims she ran away because she hated being a slave. Don't you think she'll resist if you try to lock her up?"
"If that happens, we'll have no choice."
He didn't need to say the rest; Jinwoo could easily predict it. They would confine her to a suitable facility outside the city. If she resisted during the process, they would subjugate her.

From the start, Ma Doo-sik never had the option of bringing her into the city. Jinwoo also believed it was the right decision.
"Hey!"
Just then, Grisella shouted in their direction. She was currently bound by Chartia's vines, which were even stronger than most steel chains.
"I, I know the location of another minion! To the east! It's to the east!"
"Are you saying you'll sell out your old comrade?"
"I never once thought of them as comrades! They're just empty shells who sold their souls and pride to that bastard!"
It was the simplest, time-honored way for a traitor to prove themself: selling out their allies.
Jinwoo and Ma Doo-sik looked at each other and gave a slight nod.
"May I ask you to handle it, Hunter Kang Jinwoo?"
"I came outside the city to find Cores of Erosion and minions like her in the first place."
Jinwoo's original goal was to find Cores and minions of Erosion to absorb their Black Flame. However, he had to rely solely on his own detection ability, which meant he had no choice but to wander aimlessly.
If Grisella's information was true, and if she knew the locations of other minions, nothing could be better.
Of course, that was all assuming it was the truth.
'East… that would be around Gangwon Province.'
It seemed an undiscovered minion was located there. After confirming the specific location with Grisella, Jinwoo and Chartia got into their car.
"It's near Gangneung."
"The fact that it's on the coast is a bit concerning."
The car carrying the two of them set off, heading for the East Sea.
[The God of the Moonlight Forest whispers.]
Just then, the God of the Moonlight Forest, who had been quiet until now, spoke.
[Don't trust anyone but me.]
Of course he wouldn't trust them. If a fight were to break out between Grisella and Ma Doo-sik, Jinwoo was fully prepared to cut her throat on the spot.
However, the first part of her sentence felt strangely ominous.