Chapter 96: Impossible

Hannah had managed to breach the first barrier concealing the catastrophe that had suddenly befallen Blue Mountain from the outside world.

Her skill, Nullifier, allowed her to negate anything that contained mana. Since mana formed the very foundation of spellcraft, even the most sophisticated magical barriers were vulnerable to her ability. The dome surrounding Blue Mountain was no exception.

As she advanced, her heightened sensitivity to magic picked up several powerful presences within the barrier. Their strength was unmistakable, yet what unsettled her most was how carelessly they were allowing their auras to spread.

Anyone with sufficient sensitivity could detect such overwhelming magical signatures from a considerable distance.

She followed those presences toward the source of the disturbance, only to find herself utterly unprepared for what awaited her on the other side.

"This is ridiculous."

Hannah’s eyes widened as she took in the scene before her. It wasn’t merely the enormous gathering of monsters stretching across the desert that left her speechless. Far beyond them, a lone man was overpowering a goddamn dragon.

Her eyes weren’t deceiving her. A young man who appeared to be in his early twenties, someone she had never seen or heard of before, was forcing the massive creature to struggle for dominance within its own territory.

The dragon possessed an enormous frame and the ability to soar through the sky, yet neither its size nor its aerial advantage seemed to offer it any meaningful protection against the hunter’s overwhelming strength.

"Who exactly is he?"

Hannah had never heard of anyone of such caliber residing in Blue Mountain.

And the dragon itself was no ordinary beast.

Judging by its magical presence alone, it was at least an S-rank monster. But the moment it opened its maw and unleashed a torrent of flames, Hannah finally understood just how monstrous it truly was.

And yet...

DOOOOOOM!

A figure tore straight through the blazing torrent.

The man’s fist slammed into the dragon’s lower jaw with such tremendous force that its elongated neck was hurled upward, sending the creature’s massive head snapping back.

Thunk!

Hannah’s gaze followed the hunter as he descended, and that was when she noticed something that had escaped her attention amid the chaos.

A car was parked nearby.

Her expression immediately tightened.

Civilians.

There were people inside that vehicle, and they were dangerously close to a battle between an S-rank monster and a hunter whose strength she couldn’t begin to comprehend.

She took a single step toward them.

"!!!!"

Hannah instinctively leaped backward as every alarm in her body erupted at once.

Her reaction was justified.

The man who had been fighting the dragon at least two hundred meters away was now standing directly before her, his movements so abrupt that she had barely registered his arrival.

His eyes were cold and devoid of warmth, fixed on her with an intensity that made her instincts scream at her to retreat.

There was no confusion in his expression, only a clear warning that he would not tolerate anything he perceived as a threat.

"What do you want?"

His voice was quiet, but Hannah understood the danger behind it. If she failed to give him a satisfactory answer immediately, she had little doubt that he would strike first and ask questions later.

"I came here to help!" she blurted out. "My name is Hannah, and I work for the Association."

Never, not once in her relatively short career since completing her evaluation, had she found herself introducing herself in such a hurried and defensive manner.

Yet here she was, carefully choosing her words before a man whose strength had forced her to reconsider everything she thought she knew about hunters.

"I’m here to help," she repeated, hoping to make her intentions clear.

The man narrowed his eyes but made no move to lower his guard.

GRRRRR!

A deep, guttural growl rolled across the battlefield.

The dragon had already recovered from the previous blow. Its massive head swung toward them, and the glow gathering within its maw left little doubt about what it intended to do next.

Hannah’s face paled.

If the creature unleashed another breath attack in their direction, the consequences would be disastrous. Neither she nor the civilians in the nearby car could afford to be caught in the path of such an attack.

"Don’t go anywhere near the car."

The man’s warning came just before he vanished from her sight.

THUMP!

A tremendous impact struck the dragon’s maw.

The force was so overwhelming that the flames gathering inside its mouth erupted violently, bursting outward in a chaotic explosion of fire and heat.

Hannah released a long, shaky breath.

For a moment, she couldn’t decide what frightened her more: the dragon that could incinerate everything in its path or the man who could interrupt its attack with nothing more than a single blow.

"Sister..."

The faint voice caught her off guard.

Hannah flinched and turned around, only to find a young man standing behind her, tears streaming down his face.

She froze.

At first glance, he appeared to be little more than a frightened young man who had somehow found himself in the middle of a disaster. Yet something about him made her reluctant to approach.

Her instincts, already stretched to their limits by the events unfolding around her, refused to let her lower her guard.

Instead of offering comfort, she stared at him warily.

"Who are you?"

The boy wiped his tears with the back of his hand before looking toward the ongoing battle.

"I own this place," he muttered, his voice trembling with distress. "But that man is ruining everything for me."

...

"Tch! When are we going inside?"

The pink-haired huntress stood with her hands planted on her hips, her irritation growing with every passing moment.

She wasn’t alone. A team of twelve S-rank hunters had been dispatched from Arden specifically for this mission, and every one of them was now waiting outside the enormous dome surrounding Blue Mountain.

Dave, who had been placed in charge of the operation at the site, found himself caught between two equally unpleasant choices.

The hunters capable of fighting had already entered the barrier, yet the dome showed no signs of disturbance. No matter how long they waited, its surface remained as imposing and impenetrable as ever.

Worse still, there had been no word from Hunter Hannah or anyone else who had gone inside.

Every passing minute meant more uncertainty, and if the situation within the dome was as disastrous as they feared, delaying further could cost lives.

"Dave."

The familiar voice came from his left, drawing an immediate look of relief from the young man.

"Chief... and Vice-Commander? You came as well?"

Daniel and Adam had just stepped out of their car, both wearing grim expressions. Whatever they had discussed on the way here, neither appeared particularly pleased with the situation awaiting them.

The pink-haired huntress wasted no time approaching Daniel.

"Why are we being prevented from entering the dome?" she demanded. "Aren’t you concerned about the safety of your own people?"

Daniel remained unfazed by her aggressive questioning.

"We never agreed to this alliance," he replied. "Once this is over, your guild might demand unreasonable compensation for its assistance. I have no intention of allowing that possibility to become another problem we must deal with."

Before the huntress could respond, another man stepped forward.

He possessed a rugged build, and a brown shroud concealed most of his frame, lending him an imposing appearance. His voice was stoic as he addressed Daniel.

"I believe there might not be an ’after’ if this Void succeeds in swallowing everything. And since we have no written agreement, you could simply deny that we ever asked for anything once the crisis is over."

Daniel fell silent.

It was difficult to argue against such a straightforward point. Whatever reservations he had about the alliance, none of them would matter if the Void consumed everything before they could resolve their differences.

He turned toward Adam, seeking his opinion.

The man gave him a slow nod.

That was all the pink-haired huntress needed.

A grin spread across her face, and she immediately dashed past the others toward the dome. Her figure phased through the barrier without resistance, proving that entry was possible despite the obstruction that had kept them waiting.

The remaining hunters exchanged brief glances before following her lead.

At last, the hunters of Arden and Barendhall were moving together, their long-standing differences temporarily set aside in the face of a common threat.

Daniel watched them disappear into the dome and let out a weary sigh.

"I hope this disaster ends here."