I’ll Retire After Saving the World

TL: SHW

Hong Seok-young easily broke through the floor. Skillfully, he broke only the floor below the hallway in a circular shape. Hong Seok-young looked at me with an expectant expression.

I ignored him and went down.

Hong Seok-young followed me down. He kept glancing at my face, but I ignored him. Cutting through just the right size of floor without collapsing any other part?

It’s not a skill that anyone can easily pull off, but it’s also not so impressive that it deserves the admiration Hong Seok-young seems to want.

I have no interest in things I can do myself.

“…….”

“…Do I have to do another one?”

“Of course?”

“No… I get it.”

Hong Seok-young shook his head. His gaze was strangely unpleasant.

Anyway, Hong Seok-young broke the floor. Seeing the pile of rocks crumble somehow made me feel a little better.

Alex Hope had said we needed to go down two levels.

If not for the short chatter, it was a task that wouldn’t have taken even a minute.

The place we arrived at was a massive cavern.

It was large enough to easily fit a schoolyard. Damp moisture and dim lighting. A lump of feathers sitting in the center.

It was a monster I had never seen before. At a glance, it looked like a fist-sized ball of cotton. There was nothing nearby to compare its size to, which made it hard to judge the distance. Sitting there in the middle of an empty cavern, it looked more like a clump of dust than a monster.

However, the moment I registered its shape, a rancid smell pierced my nose. It wasn’t just the smell of dust. It was a musty smell that could only come from a dying animal.

The next thing I realized was the size.

There had been a momentary optical illusion, but it didn’t last long. That was because I saw a blue-haired mage almost completely buried in the feathers.

A small clump of dust, my ass. That thing was huge. Gigantic.

Even by rough visual estimate, it was clearly bigger than a standard bus. Between the drooping feathers, a golden eye blinked slowly. Every time the eye, as big as a human head, closed, the light disappeared. The lifeless gaze of the dead eye slowly turned toward us.

In that moment, an inexplicable sense of dread pressed down on my body.

Thud.

This was all the information I had grasped in the short moment from ceiling to floor.

“…….”

Once I landed on the ground, the situation became a bit clearer. The blue-haired mage, Sem Bloom, whom Alex Hope so desperately wanted to kill, was kneeling in front of the feathers, both hands extended forward. It was too peaceful a posture to be seen as someone under attack.

The feathers were tickling Sem Bloom’s arms. The golden eyes were watching us. As if warning us not to interfere.

The feathers were climbing up Sem Bloom’s arms.

Is he being eaten? Or…?

Normally, if a human was in front of a monster, unable to resist at all, and even seemed to be getting swallowed, I would’ve immediately run to help. At the very least, I would’ve pretended to.

But somehow, this subtle stillness held my feet in place. Was it because of Alex Hope’s words? Or was it the feeling that it was already too late? Maybe it was the ominous sense, based on a Hunter’s instinct? Or maybe I was just rationalizing.

But while I hesitated, Hong Seok-young moved.

Whether he made the decision first, or just acted without thinking like he usually does, I don’t know. Even after we escaped the dungeon later, I didn’t ask him about it. Maybe I couldn’t ask.

When I saw Hong Seok-young shoot forward like an arrow, I stopped thinking and followed. I intended to match my actions to his, whether that meant attacking the feathered mass or Sem Bloom.

Boom!

Hong Seok-young attacked the monster.

Somehow, it felt just like something Father would do. I don’t know what Sem Bloom is doing here, but at the very least, he’s someone who can speak for himself. Father always tried to save people, so it was only natural that the tip of his spear would be aimed at the monster.

However, Father’s spear did not reach anywhere.

“……!”

Sem Bloom’s robe blocked Hong Seok-young’s spear. Even though it took the explosion head-on, the runes embroidered on the robe had not yet broken.

The dozens of layered runes successfully blocked Hong Seok-young’s attack, just as I had said they would.

So I followed up with an attack. Now that it was certain Sem Bloom was protecting the monster, there was no hesitation. I imbued my sword with mana, intending to break the runes in one blow.

Clang!

The rune breaks. I can see it. The intricately layered runes are being nullified. But it’s not enough yet. It would shatter completely on the third hit, but… is there any reason to take that route when I have a better method? People say a Hunter’s instinct is unreliable, but sometimes it’s more accurate than anything. Awakened beings, whose five senses are more developed than those of non-Awakened, process far more information at the same time. Even if they’re not consciously aware of it.

It feels ominous. The anxiety makes my heart race. If I stand still like this, something irreversible will happen.

I don’t know what’s going to happen, but one thing is clear, it must not be allowed to happen.

So it has to be subdued quickly.

Whoosh. Flames rose from the sword Yoo Ji-eun left me. They weren’t the same bright red flames as hers, but they were threatening enough. In any case, the runes are not beneath the fabric, right? They’re embroidered, so they won’t be easily erased, but there’s no fire-resistance rune… Well, even if there were, there’s no way this high-performance sword couldn’t erase them.

“Ugh…!”

Flames caught the end of the robe. The flames made of mana caused interference in the flow of mana. Thanks to that, the runes rapidly deteriorated. With that kind of heat, you’d expect him to retreat, but Sem Bloom clung persistently to the feathers.

Yes.

He’s clinging to it.

Up close, the situation became even more clear. The monster was certainly holding onto Sem Bloom, but Sem Bloom himself had no will to escape from the monster.

“It’s ready!”

There were still a few runes remaining, but they had weakened enough to break from even a light shock.

I backed away and called Hong Seok-young. Already prepared, Hong Seok-young thrust his spear, with mana swirling like a storm. If this had been a narrow hallway like the floor above, he would’ve had to adjust his power to avoid a collapse. Fortunately, this area was wide open with no obstacles. Thanks to that, Hong Seok-young put his full strength into the attack.

Clang!

But the sound that rang out was something that should never have been heard.

It wasn’t the sound of a spear hitting a monster, but like a hammer striking an anvil.

A loud, dull noise echoed through the empty cavern.

From within the feathers, a thin arm suddenly popped out. It blocked Hong Seok-young’s spear. It didn’t grab or deflect it, it blocked it with the forearm.

Under the forearm, the feathers were densely packed. The outstretched arm looked as if a wing had fully spread.

And that wing was protecting Sem Bloom, who was within its embrace. Still, it couldn’t completely avoid the damage. Blood dripped from a wound sliced by the spear. The sight of blood flowing from a monster’s arm, which looked exactly like a human’s, was so grotesquely uncanny it gave me chills. But at the same time, I felt relief. Hong Seok-young’s spear could harm the creature, and if so, then Hong Seok-young would definitely bring it down.

Hong Seok-young continued his attack. More arms emerged from beneath the feathers to block his spear. And yet, the giant eye stared straight at me. As if watching to see if I would do anything foolish.

What are you going to do, watching me?

“…….”

I stared directly into the eye and raised my sword. The flames dripping from my sword crawled toward Sem Bloom. He may be resisting, befitting a mage, but he wouldn’t hold out for long.

If Sem Bloom had some unfair circumstance, he would have said something the moment we attacked. Or if he had been enthralled by the monster to the point of losing rational judgment, he wouldn’t be glaring like that.

Grit.

Sem Bloom clenched his teeth, veins bulging in his bloodshot eyes.

Above Sem Bloom’s head, blood spurted from the monster’s forearm, fully exposed by Hong Seok-young’s attack.

The monster’s blood flowed down its feathers and drenched Sem Bloom’s blue hair below.

Despite all that, Sem Bloom continued to cling to the monster. The feathers under the golden eyes had swallowed most of Sem Bloom’s arms. The flames burning fiercely around Sem Bloom looked as if they would completely consume the young mage.

<And So You Soar>

“…Kgh!”

“Ghh!”

Whether it was male or female, old or young, the voice couldn’t be distinguished.

No, it was closer to a powerful tremor that shook the entire body than an actual voice. It wasn’t understood, it was forcefully injected.

My head ached as if it would split, but if I were weak to this kind of thing, I couldn’t be a Hunter.

There was no problem moving.

“Teacher Woo!”

Rather, for the first time, Hong Seok-young called out to me in a loud voice.

Hong Seok-young shouted as he struck down the countless monster arms.

“Kill it!”

There was no thought.

Only action.

At first, I had intended to capture Sem Bloom. Just as Alex Hope said, it was too suspicious to kill him blindly. I was going to grab Sem Bloom and shake the truth out of him, just like Hong Seok-young had done.

What changed Hong Seok-young’s mind?

The fleeting question that passed through my mind ultimately meant nothing.

The moment I heard Hong Seok-young's voice, I moved.

I swung my sword. I had used the sword like this while teaching the kids, but still hadn’t adapted. Even when I went hiking with Father, I hadn’t avoided using the sword.

Maybe I just didn’t want to get used to Yoo Ji-eun’s sword.

<And So I Become a Star>

I aimed for Sem Bloom’s neck.

The back of the kneeling mage remained defenseless. His hands were bound, no matter how much of a shield he put up, he couldn’t stop me. The runes that had blocked Hong Seok-young’s attack no longer functioned.

But then.

Boom!!!

A sound that should never be made when flesh and blade collide rang out.

My hand went numb. I quickly retreated. The spot where I had just been standing collapsed. At the same time, darkness fell.

“Ah…”

A small groan came from within the darkness. I struck toward the voice and presence. Judging by the familiar mana I felt beside me, Hong Seok-young was moving in the same way I was.

“Ah. Ahhh.”

A boy’s voice rang out clearly. As if unlocking a hoarse throat, the pitch slowly shifted. It didn’t sound like a song, but it had rhythm.

“Ahh.”

The light returned.

The monster with golden eyes was gone. Like a burst balloon, feathers were scattered everywhere.

Sem Bloom stood tall atop those feathers. A pool of blood had formed at his feet. His robe was soaked in blood, and the flames I had lit had gone out.

Likewise, between the blue hair still wet with monster blood, golden eyes were visible.

…Were Sem Bloom’s eyes always that color?

“It’s done.”

Sem Bloom grinned widely, like a beast.

And the wings…

…Wings?

Beneath the robe, which had been burned by flames, dazzlingly white wings were visible. Sem Bloom raised the wings. Wings had taken the place where his arms should have been.

The robe slipped off. Sem Bloom spread his wings wide and flapped them back and forth. Like a baby bird learning to fly for the first time.

“And so I soar.”

The last thing I remember is Hong Seok-young muttering with a curse.

“There’s never been a good outcome from getting involved with a talking monster…”

There’s no way anything good ever comes from getting involved with a monster in the first place.

My vision flipped.

***

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