The creature spat out a series of bizarre cries before unleashing a beam of white light from its maw directly toward the ascending Emperor.
Leonel evaded the strike, but the monster, as if executing its final throes, split the skin of its face grotesquely, swinging its head wildly back and forth to spray the beam across the area.
“You still have strength to spare? This is wounding my pride.”
The Emperor, having evaded the assault, began gathering his energy into his hand once more.
The stray sparks of golden electricity bouncing around began to converge.
If it couldn’t be hacked to pieces with blade light, it seemed he intended to roast it with electricity to finish it off.
No, if he does that, it will result in a 100% rampage.
And a rampage in a situation where there is no dedicated Guide is despairing.
I shut my eyes tightly and shouted desperately:
“You cannot use your ability, Your Majesty!! Absolutely not like before!!”
“I know that as well. But a little strain should be fine…”
A golden current of electricity slammed into the faceless creature.
The Emperor gazed down with unfeeling eyes at the monster twisting and writhing in agony.
Every time the charred, black flesh turned white again and attempted to interweave, the Emperor utilized his ability to burn it over and over.
No, he’s already at his absolute limit.
Having witnessed countless pre-rampage symptoms over the span of three years, I could say this with absolute certainty. I had to make him stop, no matter what it took.
“Your Majesty, stop now.”
“Just a little more. It is almost finished.”
Perhaps pushed past his limits, Leonel reached a state where he practically dropped to one knee upon the snowscape.
Despite this, he steadily funneled the golden current into the monster without letting his guard down, focusing entirely on burning it until every shred of flesh turned grey and ceased to intertwine.
Finally, when the pieces of flesh no longer reverted to a white hue, I intuitively sensed the monster’s death.
The flesh that had once comprised the monster scattered into the air like crumbling ash, leaving behind only a radiant blue magic stone in place of the corpse.
‘A magic stone… it’s truly dead now!’
As the corpse dissolved without a trace, Leonel slowly withdrew the ability he had poured out.
Since he still retained enough rationality to actively withdraw his power, it meant he hadn’t fully crossed the threshold into an imminent rampage just yet.
There was still a chance to save him.
No, I had to drop his overload level by any means necessary.
Letting out a sigh of relief from afar, I bolted toward Leonel at full speed.
‘Please, you piece-of-crap body. Just give me enough strength to carry this massive guy back to the Margrave’s castle.’
A rampaging S-Rank Hunter is lethal.
And if it was an S-Rank Hunter possessing enough firepower to slaughter an S-Rank monster single-handedly, it went without saying that his rampage would be catastrophic.
The entire vicinity, including the Margrave’s castle, ran the risk of being wiped completely off the map.
Leonel was kneeling in the snow, his face heavily flushed as he gasped for air.
I approached him rapidly and firmly supported his shoulder with one arm.
Glancing sideways at his face, his eyes were completely flooded with a brilliant golden light—exactly like when he was actively using his ability.
The involuntary manifestation of power was definitive proof of an impending rampage.
“…Get away. It is dangerous.”
“No, it’s still alright. Your Majesty, take deep breaths. If we can just make it back to the Margrave’s castle like this, nothing will happen.”
It was the manual.
The strict manual designed to soothe a Hunter at overload level 10, right on the precipice of a rampage.
If an S-Rank Hunter still retains their sanity, they will consciously attempt to suppress their own power to calm the surge.
It was a perfectly natural immune response, much like how our body’s immune system attempts to expel a virus.
Therefore, we still had time.
Leonel followed my guidance, repeatedly inhaling and exhaling slowly.
Perfect, now I just needed to carry this man back.
I crouched down right in front of Leonel and patted my own back firmly.
“Come, get on my back. We are going straight back to the castle like this.”
Leonel’s hand made contact with my shoulder, and his weight shifted onto me.
‘Ugh, wait a second, this is way too heavy. I can’t stand up—’
In that exact instant,
I felt a searing, burning agony tear through my right shoulder,
And I tumbled forward, crashing onto the ground.
“Argh—”
Simultaneously, a mechanical chime forcefully struck my mind.
The blue pop-up window that I had grown completely accustomed to flashed directly before my eyes.
[Sub Quest: Emergency Quest – Treat Leonel de Valquia]
Treat the Emperor, ‘Leonel de Valquia.’
Success: Quest progress increases by 5%
Failure: Death
Golden currents of electricity began to violently crackle across Leonel’s entire body.
Damn it, the rampage is imminent. If we waste any more time here, the rampage will become irreversible.
As the golden electricity thrashed erratically around him, Leonel clutched his head and collapsed onto the spot. The whites of his eyes were gradually beginning to bleed into pitch black.
“Ian— run. Any more than this…”
“No!! There is a way. I will figure it out, somehow…!”
At that moment, my thoughts ground to a halt.
‘Somehow?’
Can I really utter such irresponsible words and actually take accountability for them?
I remembered the Hunter who had already resigned himself to the rampage, suppressing his agony—the death of his dedicated Guide.
And the civil servant from the Supernatural Management Bureau who had brought about that entire catastrophe, driving him straight to his death.
‘No, it’s different this time!!! Get a grip, Choi Doyoon!’
Griting my teeth, I pulled up the ‘Skill.’
Name: Leonel de Valquia
Fatigue: 90 / 100
Overload: 99 / 100 (Rank S)
Matchmaker ><: Activate.
Overall Evaluation: ACTIVATE THE SKILL.
The pop-up window commanded me, demanding that I turn on the skill. It manifested word by word in a distorted font vastly different from before, forcing my choice.
Searching for a Guide nearby—
I had to bet everything on the matchmaking.
This body was different from my original one, so even if there was a mere 1% probability, if this physical frame could just perform guiding…
If I—a civil servant without a single shred of inherent supernatural ability—could save a Hunter dying right before my eyes.
[Guide Identification Failed]
[Executing Re-search]
Leonel’s rationality was fracturing.
A Hunter on the verge of a rampage cannot differentiate between ally and enemy.
Their ultimate defense mechanism simply triggers to protect themselves from everything in sight.
His arm, from which electricity poured out, brutally slammed down to pin my shoulder.
The pungent stench of burning flesh assaulted my nose.
Temporary Guide Selection Complete!
Name: Ian Luces (Choi Doyoon)
Rank: S
Matching Rate: 99.999%
It worked. I can perform guiding.
Aside from the singular fact that I could guide him, nothing else entered my mind.
I immediately pulled Leonel’s right arm, bringing our bodies flush against each other.
Pressing raw flesh directly against a source surging with live electricity was nothing short of self-harm, but despite the agony, I had no choice.
The only person out here who could preserve this Hunter’s life was me.
