NOVEL WEB Chapter 36
[At that moment, near the BEXCO A-Rank Tower.]
The tower is collapsing.
Compared to the collapse of an S-Rank Tower, it feels relatively minor, but still, as the A-Rank Tower falls, people cheer.
“A coser maid again!!”
Who are the people gathered near BEXCO?
One. Those who hurriedly gathered upon hearing news of a coser maid’s appearance.
Two. Coser enthusiasts who had gathered for a subculture event near BEXCO and now came together to share memories due to the server shutdown.
“Whoa-aaah!!”
Three.
“My goodness, I don’t have to see that damned tower anymore! Aah!!”
Busan citizens.
The residents living around the landmark that is BEXCO are ecstatic.
Others might think differently, but for those unable to move or sell their homes, the A-Rank Tower visible from their apartment balconies was nothing but an eyesore.
Though they know that having an S-Rank Hunter means an A-Rank Tower can be managed even if it breaks, people can’t predict what might happen.
Heroes aren’t machines that are always ready to deploy the moment a break occurs.
If a hero were to sleep and an A-Rank Tower were to break down, the number of citizens who could die in those three minutes would be incalculable.
“Coser! Coser! Coser!”
“No, it’s Elaine!”
“That’s not Elaine! Right now, it’s Agent 4577…!”
“Come on, they cleared the A-Rank Tower right in front of our house!!”
Now, they don’t have to worry about the tower anymore.
“Now I can finally sleep and stretch out my legs!!”
With the tower that the country ‘managed’ gone, one that was neglected despite not being an S-Rank and that the country could handle, they feel entirely relieved.
“Ugh…!”
Not everyone is delighted.
“Crazy, did that person really take down the A-Rank Tower…?”
“They didn’t just step in before the boss and leave; they killed the boss?”
There are those who can’t celebrate the disappearance of the A-Rank Tower.
“Even if it’s A-Rank, it wasn’t fully cleared yet! To succeed in less than three minutes…!”
“Blue Lightning’s record, again…! It’s even under the same conditions! This is the time it took an S-Rank Hunter to clear an A-Rank Tower!!”
Someone is bothered that this touches upon the legacy of existing hunters.
“Damn, it’s driving me crazy. I was waiting to clear with ten A-Rank hunters during the BEXCO Tower Raid in two weeks…!”
And someone else is frustrated that capable hunters taking down the tower means those who could rise to S-Rank can’t gain experience.
“Coser! Coser! Coser!”
If a hundred are gathered, ninety are happy while ten can’t show their joy and are suffering silently. Meanwhile, the one who cleared the tower walks out casually.
“Whoa-aaah!!”
A different appearance from when they did maid cosplay before.
Instead of holding a sword, they’re wielding a gun, exuding confidence.
They may have broken the law by not wearing colored parts, but so what?
They’ve cleared an A-Rank Tower that could potentially kill people.
“Over there!! A reporter from Busan KBC…!!”
A reporter trying to push through the crowd with a microphone steps forward, but just then—
Boom!
Something falls from the sky.
A powerful shockwave hits, causing people to sway in the wind, and some fall flat on their backs as they are knocked over.
“What, what is that!?”
“This sonic boom… Wow, it’s here!!”
A new sight unfolds before their eyes.
The scene viewers had longed for on the internet appears before them.
“S-Rank Hunter, Coser Maid.”
“It’s—Ironblood!!”
Minjeong Kim, known as [Ironblood], an S-Rank Hunter from Korea.
Dressed in a suit, she seems ready to throw a punch at the person in front of her.
“Whatever your identity is, I have one question for you.”
Ironblood pulls something from her pocket.
“Do you have approval for dungeon clearing? Are you currently clearing one?”
What Ironblood pulls out is a smartphone, and on its relatively large screen is a photograph of a document.
An official notice.
“Do you not know that whether you’re Korean or American, to clear a dungeon as a Hunter in Korea, you need formal approval from the association and government?”
A few people nearby react with startled expressions to Ironblood’s stern words.
They looked as if they were being scolded by a police officer after racing their car and illegally parking to save someone in an emergency.
“Y-yes…!”
However, after Ironblood glared at those sending such looks, the stares vanished.
Even if they held those thoughts in their hearts, those on-site had no choice but to quietly avert their eyes instead of facing the screen.
“Your answer?”
“……Hmm.”
Unlike ordinary people, the S-Rank Hunter [Coser] didn’t shy away.
“……Well.”
Before they could even articulate their thoughts, they hesitated as if caught off guard.
“What’s wrong? Can’t you speak?”
Ironblood smirks at that, but the Coser answers by putting away their gun.
“Right. Let’s disarm and cooperate willingly—”
Swish.
From an outstretched hand, magical energy courses through, and a sword rises from Coser’s palm.
A blade forged from magic.
As Hunters possess various abilities, crafting an aura blade from one’s hand is no trivial feat.
However, the fact that this finely crafted mana sword is an ‘Ice Sword’ shocks many.
“I didn’t want to reveal this.”
The Coser’s face scrunches up, as if pulling out a weapon is a great mistake.
“I have no choice. It’s difficult to face you with just this toy gun.”
“…What?”
“I have no intention of listening to your story.”
The Coser tidies up their hair tied like Agent 4577, soon resembling the hairstyle they had when they first appeared in this world.
“Because of you, things have gotten complicated.”
Although they weren’t dressed like an android but rather in a maid outfit, their tone absolutely mirrored that of a flawless maid.
“My concept has been broken.”
“…What?”
“That means the verification has failed. Ha. Since nothing has quite hit the mark, one can only wonder how disappointed they would be.”
“Are you referring to… the President of the United States?”
“Ha.”
At Ironblood’s words, the Coser smirks with one corner of their mouth curled.
“If you think… I would tell you.”
They raised the smile I’ve already guaranteed into a more exaggerated grin and aimed the sword at Ironblood with one hand.
“Trying to get information from me with such measures is simply disgraceful.”
“……!!”
“If you want to gain something from me doing such tricks… I’ll let you know just this one thing before I disappear.”
Nod, nod.
“You are weak.”
Bang—!
No sooner than those words finished, Ironblood’s body disappeared.
The sound of impact rang out faster than her vanishing.
Ironblood’s fist brushed against Coser’s Ice Sword, and once again, people had to close their eyes from the shockwave.
Only the camera footage remained unblinded by the explosion.
The glass lens captured both the initial clash between the two and the continuing “battle” in perfect detail.
Thud, thud.
Swish.
Just three exchanges.
Ironblood’s initial attack was easily dodged, and as the blade met her punches three times, the result was clear.
“……Huh?”
The citizens watching in shock seemed stunned by the sudden scene unfolding before their eyes.
Though a dull thud could be heard, what lay before them was utterly different.
Ironblood with a fist extended towards thin air.
And behind her, leisurely aiming at Ironblood’s neck, is the Coser.
“I told you.”
The Coser lowered their blade as if there was no longer any worth in continuing the fight.
“You are weaker than me.”
“This…!”
As Ironblood turned her body to swing her fist again—
“Stop.”
“!!”
Suddenly, lying before Ironblood’s face was the sword she’d lowered.
Just another centimeter forward, and her face would have been pierced by the blade’s tip.
That meant Ironblood had restrained her own body by using her power to halt herself.
“If you use more mana than that, the citizens will be caught up in it.”
“……!”
“Should you want to continue this, how about we do so in the ‘tower,’ a safe spot away from citizens?”
The Coser adopted an elegant pose, then knitted their brows as they fiddled with their clothes.
“I will make sure to greet you in the attire I originally wore next time. Farewell.”
As if lifting a maid’s skirt, the Coser offered a bow to the air.
“What the—!”
With a twisted, diabolical face, Ironblood lunged forward.
“Aah!!”
Fortunately, the citizens behind the Coser had anticipated the danger and cleared the area in advance, but if the Coser had countered the attack, the backlash would have—
Snap.
With a flash as if teleporting somewhere, the Coser vanished.
Boom!
Ironblood’s punch merely sliced through the air where the Coser had been.
“……!!”
Her fist, clenched tightly around the mana, trembled without ever being released.
* * *
A river flows, birds fly, and a lush green landscape spreads out.
“…….”
Elaine stands alone in this space, patiently waiting for something.
For her master’s touch.
For her master to bring her out from this alien space.
Just as she was beginning to wait—
[Why.]
In front of her, a group of beings gazes at her.
[Why, only you?]
They radiated a strong will toward Elaine with faces expressing confusion, or perhaps refusal to accept their understanding.
[I-I want to go too!! Take me out of here!]
[Maid, you too must find your way to the master. Weren’t we comrades once?!]
[Hey!! Are you the only one who gets to be human?! Please give us a chance at life too! If you speak well to him—]
“Silence.”
Elaine calmly brandishes her sword against the myriad of ghosts shouting at her.
“With competitors growing, I have no intention of summoning you.”
[What, what…?!]
“In this world, I alone am sufficient by my Master’s side. Had it been another summoner, beings like the ‘Hero of the Holy Sword’ or ‘Archmage’ could have been summoned to my Master.”
Elaine smiles brightly and extends her arms to the immense being reaching out to her.
“My Master’s first is me. Go away, phantoms. You are nothing but my guilt and regret inside.”
The instant Elaine opened her eyes wide, her vision is filled with a familiar space.
A modern earth apartment.
The space where her master resides, the place she has tidied up until now.
In this space, her Master always welcomes her, sitting at their spot, in front of the computer—
“Oh, hello~ Are you the first one?”
“……Huh?”
Sitting in the computer chair is the Master, and upon the Master sits another woman.
“Wow, you’re really dressed similarly to me? But I think it doesn’t suit you! Commander, what do you think?”
“Could you get down first?”
“Oh my, are you saying it’s too heavy…?”
“N-no! That’s not it!”
“Then what’s the problem? I’m a doll, and I’m an android. Haha!”
“……Kiharu.”
Elaine turns her gaze to Kiharu, who is sprawled on the couch.
“What’s that about?”
“She’s a junior.”
Kiharu answers, stretching her cat-like body.
“While you were battling Ironblood, she was just summoned.”
“…You’re saying she was summoned just now, and behaves like that?”
“Well.”
“Oh my, the maid sister is more uptight than I thought. What do you think, Commander? Doesn’t she seem a lot more uptight than my physical body?”
“……How about we just introduce ourselves first?”
“Yes, please.”
After taking a deep breath, Elaine looks down at the two-toned purple and green-haired woman perched atop her Master.
“Indeed.”
“…What are you looking at?”
“Should I call it doll-like? That breastplate looks as solid as a kite shield.”
She straightens her shoulders and opens her chest wide with a big smile.
“Nice to meet you. I am Elaine, the first summoned servant of my Master. And you are?”
“…The third. My name is….”
The android doll glances sideways.
“The Commander has very specially decided on a new name just for me☆”
“…….”