Chapter 89 - Aftermath
Theo stepped out of the tunnel slowly, his body still heavy from the fight.
His eyes immediately narrowed.
The pipe to his right was... destroyed.
Massive dents caved into the metal walls, some sections completely pulled inward as if something had slammed into them with overwhelming force.
Several dark earth spikes stuck out of the ceiling in random places, covered in green substances.
Theo frowned.
’Owen couldn’t have...’
He pushed forward, picking up his pace despite the exhaustion.
The pipe’s exit came into view.
He climbed up the ladder quickly and spun around.
That’s when he froze.
A massive earth figure stood in the distance, nearly three times the size of a normal human.
A colossal sledgehammer was plunged into the ground in front of it, the head soaked in thick green blood.
’Is that?’
Theo’s eyes widened slightly.
Everywhere else he looked... corpses.
Dozens of them.
Monsters were crushed into the ground, their bodies twisted, shattered, or flattened beyond recognition.
Some were embedded into nearby buildings, half their bodies stuck inside walls from the sheer force of impact.
Blood splattered across everything.
"...What the hell is this massacre?" Theo muttered under his breath.
His gaze moved across all the destruction slowly.
Only a single thought entered his mind.
’Is this what he wanted to show me a few days ago?’
Several dozen meters away, Ethan stood there, completely drenched in blood, his chest rising and falling heavily.
Their eyes met.
They said nothing.
But both nodded at each other at the same time.
Suddenly—
CRACK.
Theo spun around.
The giant rock figure stood frozen in place.
Cracks spread across its massive body.
That’s when it collapsed.
The entire construct crumbled into rubble, even the sledgehammer dissolving along with it.
A familiar figure stepped out between the falling rocks.
He looked at them for a moment, a wide grin on his face.
Then, his legs gave out underneath him.
Theo moved instantly, catching him before he hit the ground.
"...Well done," he muttered quietly.
A faint smile formed on his face as he looked at the exhausted Owen.
Ethan also walked over, his weapons on his back again.
"It’s dead, right?" he asked, his tone serious.
Theo nodded.
"Squished it into a tiny ball."
Ethan let out a relieved sigh and picked up one of Owen’s arms.
Together, the two pulled him up.
Just as they were about to walk away, loud voices rang out in front of them.
"Stop! Don’t move!"
A group of hunters wearing government clothes stormed the area with their weapons drawn.
As their eyes darted across the battlefield—
They froze.
Silence spread amongst them instantly.
Their expressions shifted to ones of awe, disbelief, and even... fear.
Some of them went pale on the spot.
"What the hell happened here?" one whispered to another.
"This is crazy..." another whispered.
Theo didn’t bother answering any of them though.
Without hesitation, both he and Ethan stepped forward.
They began walking straight past the group, exhaustion written on their faces.
One of the government hunters snapped out of it immediately.
It was the same burly man who’d insulted them just the day before.
His face turned a deep red as he turned to them.
"Hey! Stop!" he barked. "What the hell happened here?!"
Neither of them stopped walking.
Theo felt irritated just looking at them.
’They did nothing this entire time,’ he thought. ’And now, after the hard work is done, they come here and demand stuff from us?’
But the burly man had no intention of letting go.
He stepped in front of them, raising a badge.
"I TOLD YOU TO STOP!" he shouted.
Theo gritted his teeth, keeping himself as calm as possible.
"We took care of it," he said.
The man looked at them for a moment, his eyes narrowing.
"You’ll have to come with us so we can verify—"
Theo lifted his gaze, his eyes cold.
The man froze for a second.
Then Ethan spoke, his voice low but firm.
"We are from the Northern Line," he said. "An officially recognized Grandmaster-level hunting group."
He took another step forward.
"And you try to stop us one more time..."
His eyes narrowed coldly.
"You better be able to take responsibility for it."
Silence fell immediately.
The burly man’s eyes widened.
Without hesitation, he stepped away.
Theo and Ethan continued forward without another word.
No one followed after them.
The silence between them went on for a few minutes.
Only after stepping out of the ruined area did Theo turn to Ethan.
"A grandmaster-level hunting group, huh," he said quietly.
Ethan let out a tired breath, a small smile on his face.
"It’s the best way to get out of situations like that," he said. "And it’s not like I was lying."
Theo raised an eyebrow.
But he was too tired to question more about it.
They kept walking for minutes.
By the time the old, worn-down building of the Northern Line came into view, both of them were completely drained.
As they reached the door, a familiar old man held it open for them.
A wide smile was plastered across his face.
"Come inside," he said.
"Thanks, gramps," Ethan muttered, exhausted.
They moved in without another word.
The old man quickly cleared space, dragging a chair aside before gesturing towards the couch.
"Lay him down."
Theo and Ethan did as told, carefully lowering Owen onto it.
The moment his body hit the cushions, Owen went completely limp.
The old man stepped closer, his gaze sweeping over the three of them.
"It seems like you completed the mission?"
Ethan nodded slowly, sitting down in a chair.
"It was much more difficult than expected," he said. "Dozens of E-ranks... and I doubt the situation inside was any better."
His gaze fell on Theo.
Theo let out a slow breath and dropped down onto the chair beside the couch.
"There were three D-ranks inside," he said slowly. "One of which was a Peak D-rank with the undead element."
Silence fell immediately.
Both the old man and Ethan’s eyes widened.
But Theo didn’t pay any further attention to them.
He lay back in the chair, his entire body aching and his core feeling hollow.
For the first time, he truly relaxed again.
’It’s finally done,’ he thought, his eyes drifting up.
That’s when a faint blue screen lit up in front of him.
Several cooldowns appeared on it, ticking down slowly.
’...Tomorrow there’s another one,’ he thought, closing his eyes for a moment.
’I wonder what it’ll be.’