Chapter 94: Reaching the peak

The scene before Kai was, without a doubt, nothing like Blue Mountain.

The lush trees, the peaceful streets, and the neatly arranged houses lining either side of the road had all vanished. In their place stretched an endless expanse of golden sand, with Kai’s car standing in the middle of the desert.

He could feel a dense amount of mana from his surroundings but just that. Apart from that there was no movement or disturbance in their surroundings.

’What could have happened...?’ He was going through several possibilities when suddenly he heard a voice from the backseat.

"What... just happened?" Jean’s question confirmed that he wasn’t the only one witnessing this ansurd change.

It was either an illusion or they had been teleported somewhere. After considering both possibilities, Kai found the latter more plausible.

"Don’t get out of the car," he told her before rolling up the windows and stepping outside.

Just before he closed the door, he faintly heard Jean say, "Don’t go too far away."

He didn’t respond. His attention was entirely consumed by the situation before him, which could only be described with one word.

Bizarre.

Despite seeing nothing but golden sand stretching in every direction, he could sense an impending danger lurking somewhere nearby. It was an unsettling presence that lingered at the edge of his consciousness, warning him that something was terribly wrong.

He stood still for several seconds, contemplating whether he should start driving and search for the nearest settlement if they had indeed been teleported.

Then a voice rang out.

"An amusing entity has fallen into my mind games. How delightful. You are not alone, either. Many others are experiencing the same confusion, yet hardly anyone has remained as calm as you."

The voice belonged to a man whose age was impossible to determine, but his amusement was unmistakable.

What’s going on?

Before Kai could investigate further, several black portals began appearing before him, one after another. The mana in the surrounding air surged, growing increasingly dense as monstrous presences emerged from the darkness.

[Activating Guardian Embrace]

[Sensing the threat level...]

[Evaluating the scale of the threat...]

[Threat level detected!]

Kai’s eyes widened as he read the system’s evaluation. The sudden appearance of more than ten monsters was alarming enough, but what followed was even more astonishing.

[The threat level exceeds SS-rank.]

[Ding! Increasing the host’s status to SSS-rank!]

A tremendous surge of power erupted through his body. At the same instant, the immense pressure radiating from the beasts vanished, leaving him feeling as though the restraints on his strength had been removed.

Looking at the monsters more closely, Kai realized they were moving far slower than he had anticipated, almost as though someone had reduced their speed with a remote control.

Then he understood.

They were here to harm his family. That was why Guardian Embrace had activated.

The thought alone sent a cold shiver down his spine. His family...this entity aimed at hurting them.

He wouldn’t allow a single one of them to even lay eyes on Jean and Elli.

THUMP!

Sand exploded beneath his feet as Kai shot forward. He covered the distance to the nearest monster, a towering cyclops, in less than half a breath before driving his fist into its body.

THUNK!

The impact sent ripples through the monster’s enormous frame. It took a moment for the creature to register what had happened, but by then, it was already too late.

DOOOOM!

Jean instinctively covered Elara’s eyes, but her own remained wide open as she witnessed the enormous monster explode, leaving behind the man responsible for its destruction.

When did he even reach it?

It wasn’t unusual for Jean to lose track of Kai’s movements, but his current speed was on an entirely different level. She couldn’t even follow his afterimage, let alone his actual movements.

KHRIEK!

A monstrous bird swooped down from above, its enormous beak opening wide as it attempted to devour his head.

Kai crouched before leaping upward.

DOOOOM!

He pierced straight through the bird’s body. Its severed neck crashed into the sand, followed moments later by the rest of its lifeless body.

Kai remained suspended in the air, seemingly untouched by the pull of gravity.

He still couldn’t believe what he had achieved, and the changes in his body yet to catch up with his senses. But all he knew was a purpose.

His gaze swept across the battlefield. More than twenty monsters had already appeared, and the violent fluctuations of mana pouring from the dungeons suggested that many more were on their way.

Then his eyes settled on the car.

His vision zoomed in, allowing him to see through the windows. There was his Elli, the little life clinging weakly to her mother’s body, breathing roughly as she struggled in her distress.

Kai’s expression turned cold.

Suddenly, every other thought disappeared from his mind, leaving him with absolute clarity.

He needed to get his daughter to a doctor and bring Jean somewhere safe. Anyone who stood in his way would have to be eliminated.

I’ll eradicate them all.

...

"Ah!"

Dave startled as a sudden gust of wind brushed past him. He turned and found a woman standing beside him.

"Hunter Hannah, you’ve arrived so quickly!"

The blonde woman paid no attention to his greeting. Her gaze remained fixed on the dense cluster of mana gathered before her, forming a dome within the community walls.

"Any changes?" she asked.

"So far, we’ve detected a few fluctuations coming from inside the premises, possibly caused by the awakened residents fighting back. However, the surveillance department hasn’t been able to assess the..."

Dave’s voice trailed off when he noticed the sudden change in her expression.

Hannah looked utterly shocked. Turning toward him, she asked, "Has the Association Chief arrived personally to lead the rescue?"

Dave shook his head. "No, Hunter. The Association Chief isn’t in the country. But... why do you ask?"

Hannah frowned, her eyes narrowing as she recalled the sensation she had just felt.

Something immensely powerful had stirred within the dome.

"I’m going in."

°°°°°

A/N:- Thank you for reading. Things are escalating one after another but the fact is, if I had delayed events the plot would have spiraled all over the place. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the Chapter.