Lirisia, who had devoured the memories of three men, took an unplanned night stroll down to the nearest city center.
Later, Yeonseo might get mad asking why she carelessly went outside the dungeon, but if it’s to stop the elves’ mind-warping nonsense, she might let it slide.
The streets of the city center were bustling with numerous people going about their business, each lost in their own affairs, hurrying past Lirisia.
A street vendor.
D-grade hunters returning home after a day of dungeon exploration.
Ordinary folks leaving work to return to their families.
Young people heading to a dining hall with their lovers and friends, blooming with laughter.
Everyone assumed this was the natural state of peace. Surely, they thought, all this daily life was simply a given.
However, beyond the fence surrounding the city, there lay a world where dangers lurked—monsters like goblins and orcs ready to ambush just a step outside safe roads.
Yet, people believed their world was incredibly peaceful, and all Awakened Ones trusted that hunters would protect them. This was why the balance of this hunter age was maintained.
Social atmospheres in other countries or cities couldn’t be too different either.
There were popular hunters akin to celebrities or movie stars, sacrificing their fame to protect humanity.
The hunter gallery genre drew millions of domestic and international visitors daily, rolling through various trivia and topics about hunters.
This society was stabilized; monsters were merely consumed by entertainment, and even amidst dangerous erosion dungeon incidents, people believed the hunters would save them.
The government said so.
Society said so.
Hunters said so.
In this world of 2088 where hunters and gates had emerged, everything felt bright and peaceful—so much so that one might think it was artificially crafted by a mischievous child.
But where there is light, there is shadow, and this superficial peace soon led to numerous side effects.
Some ran their businesses just fine; others grew as hunters, and some led peaceful lives. Yet, there existed those denied such lives and willingly sought chaos and destruction.
For every hunter popular as a shining star, myriad unregistered Awakened Ones lurked around. They thrived on the blood and sweat of others, while beneath the surface of peace, a world bartered with blood and filthy knives existed.
Under darkness and shadows, those unblessed begrudged the wealthy, aspiring to pull them down.
Many believed this world operated on laws and rules, yet the truth was that fists were closer than laws, and blades were closer than fists; the abilities of Awakened Ones hunting human lives were said not to need a tangible existence.
In short, some existed to mock and curse humanity, profiting from the blessing of awakening.
“Ah, is this it?”
[New Hunters F&B]
The company name listed in the elves’ materials supply list was a different name.
It was something like Samyang Food Processing Land. Following the memories of the men, this place had a different name.
‘Could it be that they provided fake information to those low-level guys to avoid information leaks?’
Lirisia tilted her head, pondering for a moment.
With her black hair fluttering for a few minutes, she ultimately decided putting off the tricks and checking it out directly seemed best.
She thought it wouldn’t be too late to investigate inside.
Even if there were those thinking of brainwashing other elves while she was there, three elves would likely be interrogating those men in the dungeon right now.
No matter how good they were at hypnosis, an elf with A-grade hunter abilities wouldn’t fall for the same trick again.
“Hmm, is this it?”
A fairly modern building.
Was it built recently?
Zzt!
“Ah. Electric fence?”
With a dust-free, clean exterior and electric fencing to prevent monster access, the problem was that such high-output, high-voltage fencing felt like a warning against people as well, not just monsters.
Of course, with Lirisia’s physical abilities, jumping over the fence was a piece of cake, but she crossed it, enjoying the tingling sensation on her skin.
Hehe… What a thrill…
“Stop!”
“Hmm?”
Oh, they arrived faster than expected.
Wait, why is a hunter pointing a sword at me just because I came to complain about the bad materials?
Usually, a company’s security could manage just fine with private contractors or guards; why was an undoubtedly combat-prepared Awakened One approaching as soon as I crossed the entrance?
That alone raised enough suspicion.
“This is private property. Leave immediately…”
Before the guard could finish, he realized Lirisia was suddenly standing beside him.
When did she…!?
Just a second ago, she was still across the electric fence, and now he couldn’t comprehend how she moved beside him so quickly.
Crack!
“Grrgh?!”
[Memory Devour]
Lirisia’s tentacles immediately enveloped the guard’s head, and at that moment, memories began flowing into Lirisia’s mind.
The pressure, force, and the bizarrely dreadful sensation of devouring memories knocked the guard out cold.
While she had previously almost burst her head from consuming useless decades of someone else’s memories, at this point, Lirisia could easily extract only the necessary bits.
“Hmm, I see. A curse user… Planning to carry out recognition modification and cognitive impairment at the same time. So what are they planning? If this is an operation led by the guild or government, they could manipulate the elf group leaders entirely. But if it’s a criminal organization or individual, it leans more towards human trafficking. Oh, they aren’t even a local?”
Lirisia chuckled, intrigued that the guard whose memories she devoured wasn’t Korean.
The process of devouring memories felt almost like her brain was speeding up—painful yet exhilarating sensations tingled all over her body.
The guard could neither die nor call for help and was frantically struggling, but to Lirisia, it only seemed like he was twitching his fingers or eyelids.
“Let’s see… San Guild, San Guild? Who are they?”
“Grrgh, grrgh…”
“Oh, is this it for you?”
If she kept devouring memories, he’d become completely brain-dead, and even if he recovered, it would leave him with permanent disabilities.
Lirisia released her grip on the guard’s head, humming leisurely as she moved deeper inside.
One by one, presences… Fourteen near the entrance.
To find a mere food supplier having fourteen Awakened Ones—there’s a lot of suspicious activity going on.
“So, I was thinking to talk to those kids over there… Who are you?!”
Definitely more than twenty.
Not knowing who the target was, she had to wrap this up quickly.
Lirisia gathered miracles in her hands to appropriately take charge of the situation.
“O child of insects who walks on two feet.”
Crackle, crackle, crackle!
The sound of insect joints echoed.
The essence of cursed summoning ingrained within Lirisia’s life force began to manifest without a brush.
Given Isia’s personality, she surely didn’t provide proper food to that Yane girl.
On the surface, she appeared gentle and outwardly resembled a dimwitted child, but compared to Lirisia and Isia, she was essentially a monster imbued with malice, consuming malice.
Perhaps Yane truly needed to feast on humans.
And today, she’ll have the chance to taste human flesh.
“Come forth. Your feast is prepared.”
[Flesh Miracle – Summoning]
Thorns became blades, and a head resembling that of a human appeared outside the summoning circle, screaming in ecstatic hunger…
Booey! (“No, no! I’m busy!”)
“Eh?”
And was rejected swiftly.
Before Lirisia could even ask why it wasn’t appearing, Yane ignored her call and disappeared, leaving Lirisia staring blankly at the summoning circle etched into the ground.
Uh, um… What’s up with this?
Last time, Yane had popped out without any hesitation; she couldn’t be that weak since she’s the Seongnyeo’s subordinate. Although looking robust, Yane merely peeked out of the summoning circle, whimpered, and vanished again.
“…..”
“Has the game come to an end?”
Oh, how embarrassing…
Lirisia sighed briefly.
No matter how she messed up the first encounter, she was Isia from a parallel world. Experiencing total rejection from her own subordinate was unexpected.
“Am I a tamer?”
“…Capture her.”
“Don’t kill her. We need to find out where she’s from.”
“Can I have a little fun first?”
“Do as you wish. Just keep her life intact…”
Hah.
Lirisia sighed briefly, and at the same time, she took out her tentacle from her waist.
The unknown Awakened Ones, who had been casually chatting, instantly switched to a defensive posture the moment they noticed Lirisia’s tentacle.
Though they meant to enjoy some fun, they were seriously considering binding Lirisia.
But it was too late for that.
Feeling their glances intensifying, Lirisia slightly bent her waist and touched the ground with one hand, striking a pose reminiscent of an athlete poised at the starting line.
Bang!!
“!?”
With a light push of her legs, Lirisia rushed forward like a cannon. Her hand caught one Awakened One’s head and slammed it against the wall, as she began to consume his memories.
Not intentional; it was just that the stance led to this outcome.
Let’s see… A guard hired by a security firm? Hmm, nothing remarkable, but Shanxi Province, Shanxi Province… This place is also murmuring about the San Guild.
“Cannot restrain! Kill her!”
“Form up, everyone!”
Realizing they had come under attack, the Awakened Ones immediately activated their abilities to exclude the intruder.
One spewed fire while another conjured blades of wind toward Lirisia.
However, the fierce flames failed to burn her, leaving only soot on her clothes, while wind blades sharper than chainsaws didn’t even graze her skin.
Instead, it seemed like Lirisia was utterly unfazed, still savoring the memories of the first Awakened One she knocked out.
“Grrgh… Grrugh…”
“Oh, he won’t suffice.”
As the sudden, strong assault of an Awakened One left them in shock, they fell back, forming a defensive perimeter around Lirisia.
From their reaction, it didn’t seem like this was their first encounter with a human.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t have made sense for them to form such a quick encirclement.
Before the Awakened One, whose memories she was consuming, could die, Lirisia released her grip and leisurely turned around.
Clip, clip.
“Just out of curiosity, do I have to ask again?”
“……..”
“Anyone willing to say, ‘I was wrong’?”
“Kill her!”
“Haap!!”
At that moment, the Awakened Ones forming the encirclement surged toward Lirisia.
No longer did they intend to use their Awakened powers or mana attacks.
They pulled out weapons that evidently had a hefty price tag, not meant for restraint but rather for the purpose of killing Lirisia.
How unfortunate.
Of course, saying it was unfortunate held little meaning to Lirisia, who twisted her mouth into a warped smile and waved her fingers leisurely.
Crash!
“Grrgh, buhp!?”
“….!”
The tentacle that burst from the ground flailed around, barring the intruders’ advances, yet the two closest to her were unfortunately dealt a blow to their stomachs and fell unconscious.
Without a doubt, a few ribs shattered like sugar cubes, but let’s brush that off.
The form or shape didn’t matter; in order for Lirisia to devour memories, direct contact with any part—be it tentacles or hands—was all that was required. As the other hunters watched the scene, realizing they should raise their guard, Lirisia started peering into the memories of the fallen two.
These guys were nothing significant.
They had just come because they were ordered; they merely followed the money offer, but it was evident the one who hired them was the San Guild. The memories contained hints about today’s victims or which humans were sold.
While the term “San Guild” or information didn’t come up specifically, it was easy to deduce from the fact they hailed from Shanxi Province, China.
“Kill her!”
“As intruders, be prepared to die!”
Before she even finished reading, they approached quicker than expected, so Lirisia withdrew her tentacle and lunged at the nearest adversary head-on.
With a thud akin to a freight train, the instant Lirisia collided her shoulder against that Awakened One, his bones crunched under the pressure as he crumpled to the ground. Soon, another Awakened One dashed at her with a wind-blade-enhanced sword aimed for her neck, only for Lirisia to grasp his wrist bare-handed and apply pressure.
“Grrggh, aaargh!? My hand…!”
“Oh, sorry.”
Among those wielding weapons, breaking their wrists was the easiest method to subdue them.
Once she twisted the wrist 180 degrees and exerted pressure, the flow of mana, which limited their physical enhancements, shattered, plunging the original owner into a state of both mental and physical burden.
Initially, she hadn’t intended to twist it this much.
She only sought to disarm him, yet for Lirisia, who had become the Witch of the Dark Star, the amount of strength had became strangely awkward.
Not my fault. Your body is too weak for that.
Lirisia held onto the wielder’s wrist without releasing it and swung him like a mace toward another attacker.
“Gah!?”
As one Awakened One got knocked out by “Friend Mace,” another rushed from the back, throwing a punch mixed with fire and rock, solidified akin to lava.
‘Is that about A-grade? Quite fierce.’
Still adjusting to this hunter world, she sensed these beings would rank among the stronger fighters in her previous world too.
“Ooh, so scary.”
Despite saying it was scary, Lirisia wore a playful expression.
She gauged the trajectory of the punch lightly and extended her fist just as their fists collided, shattering the mana enveloping her body like fragile glass.
Crack!
“Grrggh!”
However, the shattered shards of mana flew back into the wielder’s fist, leaving him with a ruined hand as he crumpled forward, his arm resembling a ragdoll.
When the extreme impact shattered through, it didn’t discriminate, and the shock ran through both Lirisia and the man, rendering her arm equally shattered. Yet, in a mere second, the ripped flesh returned to normal as if time itself reversed.
Certainly, being in a human body makes a difference… This strength is significantly lower than before.
However, it seemed her body was still usable for now.
As the A-grade Awakened Ones were quickly taken down without much resistance, the other guards hesitated to attack, exchanging glances filled with hesitation.
Not only did Lirisia defeat the A-grade Awakeners with barely any effort, but her nonchalant expression and the rapidly regenerating arm left them devoid of fighting spirit.
Meanwhile, Shia was steadily consuming memories from the fallen, gradually unveiling the truth of this suspicious food supply company.
“Let me ask one more time.”
“……..”
“Gulp…”
“Anyone willing to say, ‘I was wrong,’ now?”
“I, I…”
“I’m, I’m….”
“Me..”
“None left! Truly, Awakened Ones wrapped in criminal organizations… As criminals, you exhibit such outstanding belief and determination!”
“?”
“Wha-”
“Why don’t you listen to us?!”
At that moment, the Awakened Ones realized.
That black-haired woman never intended to spare any of them, not even the slightest chance of survival.
