Chapter 87

087. Soaring Heavenly Dragon (2)

Katherine Bennett sent a gaze that seemed to ask why I was here, but...

"..."

Her gaze made me feel so flustered that I thought I should be the one sending it.

I never imagined that Katherine Bennett would come to the United States, let alone from another country.

But Katherine Bennett also seemed equally flustered, showing signs of confusion.

'I thought she came here on purpose because she said she would visit the arena later.'

It turned out that she had no idea I would be here either.

Because of this, an awkward silence hung between us.

"Finally, all the challengers have gathered."

Behind her, Ari Chika, who had guided me to the conference room earlier, entered...

Ari Chika soon went to the representative seat in the conference room, bowed deeply, and introduced herself.

"I am Ari Chika, the president of the Japanese Hunter Association."

Upon hearing this, I widened my eyes and looked at Ari Chika.

'President of the Japanese Hunter Association?'

I thought she was just a staff member of the association because she came to pick me up at the airport...

But the fact that she was the president of the Japanese Hunter Association left me in shock.

I never imagined that the president herself would come to pick up a challenger whose name wasn't even well-known.

"I sincerely thank you for responding to the request for support from the Japanese Hunter Association."

Of course, this was only for a moment, and I soon regained my composure and looked at her.

Ari Chika then looked at Katherine Bennett and me with a serious expression and asked, "Do you know each other?"

After a brief moment of hesitation, I answered, "To some extent. We met briefly in the tower."

In fact, we met briefly and fought to the brink of death in the Colosseum.

Katherine Bennett did not deny what I said.

She simply bowed her head and quietly took a seat to my left.

Ari Chika nodded as if she understood and continued, "I see. That's good. I was going to introduce her to you anyway."

"..."

"There are no more reinforcements expected from the Japanese Hunter Association."

The first to react was Oh Chun-seok, who had been sitting quietly.

"No, no. Wait a moment. What do you mean? There are no more reinforcements, even from other countries, not even hunters?"

"To be frank... No more hunters or challengers will come. The situation has become more serious than expected, and both hunters and challengers are being controlled."

"..."

Oh Chun-seok seemed to lose his words, but...

Katherine Bennett and Kim Seung-hoon, who were sitting to my left, did not show much agitation.

I felt the same way.

"..."

All the unreasonable situations in the world stem from a lack of ability.

If Japan were not a country with a weak hunter presence, other countries would have actively supported hunters.

It's a valuable country with a high chance of success, so there would be little loss.

However, Japan has only one S-class hunter and only 40 A-class hunters.

Moreover, six of those 40 A-class hunters have already died, and an S-class hunter from China also met a tragic end.

No country was willing to allow further support to a country branded as having a weak hunter presence.

There is no reason to help Japan at the cost of significant losses.

'That's the reality.'

There would be no hunters or challengers willing to come forward.

Frankly, the four of us gathered here are abnormal.

In such a situation, no one would respond to a support request.

"Currently, no one in Japan is stepping forward to help."

Ari Chika revealed a hint of gloom and continued.

"I understand your confusion, challengers. The monster that appeared in Shinjuku, Tokyo, indeed possesses abilities beyond the norm."

However, she soon regained her composure and spoke with determination.

"But we have a chance of winning."

At the same time, she looked at Katherine Bennett with confidence and said,

"Through Katherine Bennett's ability, we can turn the tide of this battle."

She is the one who can take control of this battle.

***

The attention in the conference room quickly shifted to me.

More accurately, to Katherine Bennett, who was sitting next to me.

"Among the abilities I possess, there is one called 'Suppression of Fire.'"

Only then did she break her silence and explain her ability.

"If I can make the flames from this ability touch a stronger opponent, the opponent's maximum stats will decrease by -10, and several skills will be randomly sealed."

I understood why Ari Chika saw her as the one who could turn the tide of the battle.

"Seems like you have a good manager. To obtain such a game-changing ability..."

Even Kim Seung-hoon, who had barely spoken, expressed his surprise.

The ability Katherine Bennett revealed was indeed game-changing.

"I won't deny it."

Katherine Bennett maintained her proud demeanor and replied.

Then she glanced at me and smiled slightly.

Her eyes were bright, as if she was a puppy seeking praise.

"You're impressive."

Feeling the pressure of her expectant gaze, I had to respond.

"Right?"

Katherine Bennett nodded in satisfaction, and I couldn't help but chuckle.

She looked proud on the surface, but I didn't expect her to react so childishly to a compliment.

I turned my head, trying to ignore it.

"Anyway... Through her ability, we can gain the upper hand."

Ari Chika then cleared her throat and continued.

"However, the condition for activating her ability is crucial."

The condition for activating the ability.

I narrowed my eyes and spoke.

"The flames must touch a challenger from the other world, right?"

"That's correct. Otherwise, the ability won't activate."

"But that challenger won't just stand there and let the flames hit them."

"..."

"In other words, we need to create a situation where Katherine can activate 'Suppression of Fire.'"

"You're wise. That's exactly right."

Kim Seung-hoon dismissed it as if it were nothing.

"We can create that situation easily enough."

After that, Oh Chun-seok, who had been fidgeting nervously, nodded hesitantly.

"Well... I'm not sure if it's possible, but I'll do my best."

Despite his lack of confidence, I knew Oh Chun-seok's abilities.

He was skilled in magic and had swept through large-scale battles.

Of course, he lost to me because I replenished my stamina and mana through commanding.

Still, Oh Chun-seok was undoubtedly a strong individual.

There was little to worry about.

And—

"Now, there's nothing more to discuss. Let's head out."

I saw no need for further discussion.

I had recently mastered the proper use of sword qi in the waiting room.

I concluded that there was no situation where I would hold the group back.

Ari Chika looked at me and nodded in agreement.

"Unless anyone wants a more specific plan, let's proceed this way."

Of course, none of the four wanted a more detailed plan.

Evaluating each other's abilities was a kind of game that developed while climbing the tower.

Everyone instinctively understood that none of us were inexperienced enough to need a detailed plan.

"I respect your decision. A helicopter is waiting on the rooftop, so let's go."

Ari Chika led the way out of the conference room, and I followed.

It didn't take long to reach the rooftop and board the helicopter.

Once on board, the helicopter took off, and we felt the noise and movement.

Most of us closed our eyes and waited silently, without much conversation.

Even Oh Chun-seok, who had been tense earlier, now had a calm expression, as if waiting for the upcoming battle.

Only Katherine Bennett occasionally glanced at me while looking outside.

It seemed that none of them thought the battle would be as difficult as it appeared.

Perhaps it was because they had faced challengers from the other world multiple times.

As I was thinking about this, Katherine Bennett suddenly spoke.

"Originally, I didn't plan to meet you like this."

"..."

"I wanted to meet you more normally."

"But we didn't meet normally in the first place. How could we meet normally?"

"That's... true. Our first meeting wasn't normal either. Sigh."

Katherine Bennett soon accepted this fact and sighed.

"I have a question... Are you like a seasoned rookie?"

"What do you mean?"

"I searched for you on the Korean Hunter Association's website."

"..."

"The only record on the Korean Hunter Association's website was one."

"I guess I appeared as a C-class hunter there."

Indeed, to Katherine, I might have seemed like a hunter who retired and then returned.

Apart from becoming stronger in the tower, I became a C-class hunter in the hunter exam.

Since then, my record as a hunter wasn't extensive.

"But no matter what you think, most of your assumptions will be wrong."

"..."

"Before entering the tower, I wasn't a hunter."

"What do you mean...?"

As Katherine asked in disbelief, a loud explosion suddenly echoed outside.

The building collapsed, and I was shocked.

I looked at Ari Chika, who was in the same helicopter.

"It seems the challenger from the other world is causing trouble."

She observed the situation outside and sighed.

"Since the death of Pang Zawen, who responded to the support request from China, he has been destroying the city."

"..."

"He started causing trouble just as we were boarding the helicopter. We need to prepare for the battle soon."

"I see."

The challenger from the martial arts dimension was acting far beyond expectations.

I never imagined he would cause such chaos just because I wasn't brought here.

I frowned and then made a decision, standing up and addressing Katherine.

Seeing the situation become more serious, I couldn't just sit still.

"Katherine, can you land from the air?"

"..."

"What do you mean?"

"I have an idea. If this works, we can activate the ability on the challenger immediately."

"..."

"Can you land from this height?"

"If I try, I should be able to land somehow."

"That's enough."

I immediately wrapped my arm around her waist and headed for the helicopter's exit.

"!"

"Excuse me for a moment."

"Wait, wait! What are you doing...!?"

"What do you think I'm doing?"

「The ability 'Steel Wings' is activated.」

"Flight."

At the same time, I controlled the sensation of the wings extending from my back and stepped out of the helicopter.

Whoosh!

Like a bird, I spread my wings and flew toward the center of the city, where the noise was coming from.

At a speed that could only be described as transcendent.