The Druid Who Devoured the Great Nature

It was a magnificent sight.

I could almost understand the military's sentiment, how they would foam at the mouth and charge at the mere mention of firepower. The projection of overwhelming firepower held a certain romance that made a person's heart race.

Krrrrrumble!

Debris poured like rain from the building, a hole blown clean through its midsection. It was a precarious sight, looking as if it could collapse at any moment. The concrete shattering on the ground and the billowing dust clouds gave off an almost apocalyptic vibe.

If I hadn't seen it myself, I would have found it hard to believe that this scene originated from the barrel of a single person's gun.

I was reminded once again. The capabilities of the monsters that existed in this world were on a different dimension from the impact I felt when I simply enjoyed it as a game.

‘It would even make magic take a step back.’

Of course, not all security officers could display such power. I had to consider the fact that Hazel was the strongest among them.

[Target achieved. You handle the rest.]

Hazel's voice was more tinged with fatigue than pride. It was because this wasn't a skill she could fire off easily.

"Contact me if you spot anyone approaching or notice any suspicious signs."

[Okay.]

The role I had asked of Hazel was to gain the initial advantage. She had accomplished her role splendidly. The rest was up to me.

"Beta, control the area."

Pzzt!

Sparks flew simultaneously from traffic lights, electronic billboards, and streetlights. I could even see citizens, who had pressed their faces to their windows to see what was happening, shaking their now-dead personal electronic devices.

[Excluding external interference. Time limit is a maximum of 30 minutes, after which the system will be restored.]

"That's enough."

Thirty minutes was enough time to finish everything. The security officer had set the table; all I had to do was pick up the spoon. In the first place, the beauty of a surprise attack lies in a short, decisive battle, so I had no intention of dragging it out any longer.

Crash!

The heavily cracked glass door shattered into pieces and scattered the moment I touched it. The scene inside was just as damaged as the shattered glass door. The desk clerk was slumped over the desk, and the barrier meant to block outsiders was split in half.

「The World Tree sweeps the floor, clearing a path!」

I gave the whole scene a light glance and went up the stairs.

Since Boulderveer Industries was using a shared office, the other spaces could be considered a collection of unrelated companies or individuals. Hazel's gunshot had not taken their circumstances into account.

The place was a mess, but I felt no guilt. That's how the exercise of power was in this city. It was a structure where damage to unrelated third parties was inevitable. Being considerate of them was a pipe dream. Weighing the means for the sake of the goal was not a mindset befitting a contractor.

Most of all… I didn't consider them to be unrelated third parties in this operation.

"Wh-what are you doing here."

There was no way an ordinary person could withstand the aftershock of the security officer's gunshot. The very fact that they were holding onto their consciousness in the midst of this was suspicious enough.

Bang!

"Keuk!"

I answered them with a bullet. They, who were only just holding onto their consciousness, collapsed helplessly.

There were no obstacles to stop my steps until I passed the lower floors.

From the middle floors, it was different.

"They're finally starting to show their true colors."

A man was blocking the hallway. His hair was cut short, and the sleeves of his clothes were wide. The skin-prickling killing intent was focused solely on me, with no waste. Yet, his presence was as stable as ever. A typical martial artist character who hones pure martial arts. A rare breed in Gellerg City, where the majority of superhumans were those who had undergone physical modification or learned magical abilities.

I instinctively felt that he was a different breed from the riffraff on the lower floors.

"As far as I know, none of the companies located in this building have ties to martial artists."

"……"

"You're not going to try and pass off that appearance as being accidentally caught up in this, are you?"

The man didn't open his mouth. As if it wasn't something he was permitted to do, he simply stood firm, blocking the path like a great tree.

"It seems you have no intention of moving."

I jabbed a doping agent into my thigh. This was a martial artist who had withstood the shockwave of the gunshot. That alone meant he was no ordinary expert. Carelessness was forbidden.

Paat!

The man charged, leaving a single afterimage. The shattered floor materials shot up like a fountain behind him. It was a heavy, headlong rush, like a bear charging. It was so fast that my body's reaction speed couldn't keep up.

KWAAAAA!

The fist, clenched so tightly that veins popped on the back of his hand, struck the empty air. The shockwave spreading from the fist shattered the wall and overturned the floor.

‘A shockwave for a feint? Not a very good choice.’

He had stomped his foot and twisted his waist to strike the air with all his might. It was an attack that was close to a bad move, one that didn't consider the aftermath. It was a move with too many openings to be just for a feint.

Pududuk!

But it was a mistake that even I could see. It was an arrogant assumption to think that a skilled martial artist wouldn't have calculated this.

Teong!

He tensed his thigh muscles and elastically kicked off with one foot. Even though his center of gravity was broken, it was as natural as flowing water. It was a bizarre movement that went beyond the limits of the human body.

The reason martial artists don't rely on things like physical modification. It's simple. Because machines are inferior to their own bodies.

"Kuk…!"

I couldn't deal with the follow-up kick because I was enduring the shockwave. I was hit in the side and rolled backward, sensing the Totem of Protection hidden in my clothes shatter.

A precisely calculated, disciplined movement. He was different from those who simply wielded violence with strong physical abilities. A specific law was melted into the technique of moving his body.

Martial arts.

In this world where science, technology, and magic had developed, it was a close-combat specialized class that ran wild with just one body. Facing it directly, it was indeed extremely tricky.

But that's why I was puzzled by the presence of a martial artist at this point, even as I took a hit.

‘No matter how many secrets a front company is hiding, it can't be more important than the main base.’

Al-Raid had by no means known about my and Hazel's attack in advance. This was because it was my personal investigation, not an achievement of the Public Security Bureau, that had uncovered this place's identity. On the other hand, since the Public Security Bureau had widely publicized the raid on Al-Raid's headquarters, it was only right for Al-Raid to deploy all their usable forces there.

Yet, to leave such a skilled person here. It was abnormal.

‘I'll find out when I go up.’

Things weren't going to be as easy as I thought. Nevertheless, my will was not broken. I had received many requests so far, but not many had been resolved easily. If I were the type to be held back by a single martial artist like that, I wouldn't have made it this far.

Most of all, I was now confident that I wouldn't be pushed back so easily in close combat.

Woooong!

The synchronized mana of the Guardian Hawk swirled throughout my body. My physical abilities were elevated beyond the amplification from the doping agent.

I can see it. I can catch it.

I caught up with the opponent's incomprehensible movements in the realm of instinct. Synchronization doesn't just guarantee an increase in physical ability. The skills possessed by the Guardian Hawk are also shared with me. It meant that the instinctive movements of a beast of prey, raw for martial arts but sharp for a free-for-all, were embodied in me.

Pat! Paak!

Just as I had felt it, the opponent also perceived my change. The movements that had been fiercely pushing forward changed. The man, seeming to know the terror of aura, did not clash with me head-on. He tried to subdue me by dazzling my vision with his wide sleeves and clashing joint against joint, avoiding me as much as possible.

Meanwhile, his gaze was constantly fixed on the holster at my waist. It was probably because he considered me a security officer from the Public Security Bureau. No matter how skilled he seemed in using his body, the real power of a security officer comes from the muzzle of a gun.

The terror of a fixed idea. It was a very serious mistake. Enough to decide this match.

"Kk!"

The man let out a sound for the first time.

"You must have judged that if you didn't give me a chance to draw my gun, the longer the exchange, the more advantageous it would be for you."

I said calmly, my hand gripping the man's wrist, which had been moving bizarrely like a snake.

Udeudeuk!

The aura, sharpened like a hawk's talons, shattered bone and tore muscle. He bit his lip hard, swallowing a scream.

Buung!

His spirit in trying to kick me while enduring the excruciating pain was quite something. But the attack, poured out with blurred eyes, didn't even touch my clothes.

"The moment I used my aura, you should have realized it was an absurd mistake."

Swaaa!

At some point, an unknown powder had spread like a fog in the area. The man noticed it and quickly held his breath. He had only just realized it, having been focused on the back-and-forth exchange. But by the time he noticed the abnormality in his body, he had already deeply inhaled the poison of Hypnos.

No matter how many different kinds of people one could meet in this city, he probably couldn't have imagined that his opponent would bloom flowers from his body. It might be unfair for him, but the world of combat was a cold one.

Udeudeuk!

I broke his neck and then went up the stairs again. His judgment was a little disappointing, but the first martial artist I had met in this world was a quite threatening enemy. I was looking forward to how valuable the secret of Boulderveer Industries, which such a skilled person was guarding, would be.

***

After defeating the man, the path to Boulderveer Industries' shared office was clear. He was probably the last resort insurance left by Al-Raid. Did leaving manpower behind even while their headquarters was being hit by the Public Security Bureau mean that their forces were that formidable? Or was the secret hidden here as important as the survival of the organization? Thıs content belongs to Novᴇl_Fire(.)net

Personally, I thought the former was more likely.

The revealed truth was unexpected.

"Well, well."

The 10th-floor shared office. The ceiling I looked up at was empty. It was because the area above it had been annihilated by Hazel's gunshot. I had requested Hazel to fire the shot so that Boulderveer Industries' office would not be damaged. I could feel her precise shooting skills from the fact that the area right above this place had been caught in the gunshot. She had accurately calculated the range of her own gunshot's power. A blessing for her allies, but a disaster for her enemies.

Few people would be composed after encountering such a disaster.

That rare breed, like the martial artist below, existed here as well.

"I don't know how to interpret this situation."

I had never seen the man's face. Unlike the other executives, whose actual photographs existed, not just composite sketches, the leader of Al-Raid had thoroughly hidden his face. Nevertheless, the moment I faced him, I had a feeling.

"Jordan Crank, why is the leader of Al-Raid here?"

The man, Jordan Crank, pulled the hood that had been covering his face back behind his neck.

"I'm the one who doesn't know how you found this place."

A distinctive appearance with white hair and eyebrows. Yet, there were no wrinkles around his eyes, so it wasn't aging due to age. If it wasn't dyed, it was an appearance that couldn't help but stand out. So, was that why he had thoroughly hidden his appearance, unlike the other executives of Al-Raid?

They say one's face is a trace of one's life. If so, the thin lips and sharp eyes, Jordan Crank's meticulous impression, were features that revealed his thorough personality.

"The Public Security Bureau guys wouldn't have noticed that this business was a front, so where did the information leak from?"

Jordan squeezed his eyes shut and then opened them. In that short moment, the confusion in his eyes had disappeared.

"It wasn't the Public Security Bureau. A partner of a security officer, a contractor. I guess I got caught. Bad luck."

"……"

He answered his own questions and reached the correct answer by himself. He was fundamentally brilliant. A quality befitting the leader of Al-Raid, who would make a fool of the city government in the future.

"Then I also know why you are here at this important time."

A smart guy never acts inefficiently. He puts an intention into every single action and is only satisfied when he sees a profit. In short, that's what it meant.

"It means that something stored here is more important than the headquarters of the terrorist organization you built with your own hands."

"……"

"I don't know if it's the identity of the corporation that backed Al-Raid, or the technology developed while hiding from the eyes of the Public Security Bureau. No, I should probably say it's both."

Both were more important than the safety of the organization, so he had come here.

"I feel sorry for the comrades who sympathized with your paltry cause. No matter how grandly you packaged it, once you peel back a layer, you were nothing more than an ambitious person blinded by wealth and glory. There will be many who will resent you from hell when they find this out."

"I am!"

Perhaps it was a sharp jab, as Jordan's eyes became bloodshot. Then, as if regaining his composure, his following voice was low.

"……different. It is something I have already obtained the permission of my comrades for, so they will hold no resentment."

"I wonder if they thought the same right before they died? Isn't it human nature to be different when entering and leaving the bathroom?"

"You seem to have many questions, contractor. Even if you try to provoke me like that, it won't work."

He had noticed my hidden purpose in the series of questions and answers.

"Seeing as you're talking so much, it seems there are no additional reinforcements. It looks like you're just trying to fish for information."

I pretended to be impressed.

"So what if I am?"

"I'll make you an offer."

Jordan regained his composure. The smooth lines drawn by his hand gestures had a strange captivating power. His voice was filled with strength, and his gaze held an intensity.

"Contractor, join our cause. We can change the world."

(End of Chapter)