The Protagonists Are Murdered by Me
chapter-52

Team 6’s commander, S-Rank hunter Ryu Dongkyun.

A veteran hunter in his 10th year. Given that the majority of hunters retire before then, this could be seen as proof of his ability as a hunter.

And, for some time now since entering the Great Rift he has been put off by something.

‘Senior. Isn’t Team 7’s commander over there a little weak?’

It’s no exaggeration to say that Ryu Dongkyun, a founding member of the ‘Most Valuable Pick’ guild in Korea, has had his path paved for him ever since he became a hunter. In order to reduce the loss of personnel as much as possible and maximize efficiency, his guild master would recruit people with the most efficient superpowers and foster the elites, so because of that, there had never been a F-Rank in any of their missions.

So with that thought in mind, he had told Ma Yeonhwa, the commander of Team 10, but…

‘Shut up and do your job properly. Is a 15 years veteran hunter someone you can look down on?’

‘W-what? That’s not what I meant…’

‘Go back. The average death toll within Great Rifts in the last five years has been comically high at over 20%. Prepare a little more thoroughly.’

Ma Yeonhwa.

As a S-Rank veteran with 15 years of experience she is the most reliable person here. There’s nothing else that needs to be said now that she has reprimanded Ryu Dongkyun in front of everyone after seeing through his intentions.

Just like she said, shut up and let the results speak for itself.

And in fact, Ryu Dongkyun was confident in his own ability. He has a very special strong physique ability.

But, things didn’t go as planned once they were inside the storm.

His specialty lies in his physique and ‘acceleration’ ability. And, because Ryu Dongkyun prioritized maneuvering within the storm, it made it difficult for him to exert his full power.

Because of everything that has happened, he thought.

‘Damn it, if not for this storm.’

If only. He would be able to do so much more.

…Then. From the command post a telepathy message arrived.

[Team 7 has found a way to stop the storm! We’ll start relaying the method now!]

‘Huh?’

All because of the storm.

While Ryu Dongkyun was thinking so, the commander of Team 7 had found a way to stop it.

…That was quite a shock to Ryu Dongkyun. Under normal circumstances he might have even admired it.

However, for some reason, he felt as if his pride had been hurt.

But what can he do? After all, it was Team 7 who figured out how to stop the storm, so what about other unusual traps that might appear later on?

A shower of large rocks pouring down from the sky! Suddenly, the canyon closed in as if trying to crush them, and as the ground sank, they had to find a platform while using a variety of methods to deal with the monsters.

On each occasion Ryu Dongkyun showed his decisive judgement.

True to his position as commander, his team was able to advance without any casualties due to his correct decisions and judgement.

Even though Ryu Dongkyun’s path had been paved for him ever since he became a hunter, 10 years is still 10 years. His judgement could not be overlooked.

However.

[Don’t do that. Just do as you’re instructed from now on, please.]

“What?”

[We’ll relay Team 7’s method to easily break through!]

“…!”

Ryu Dongkyun is definitely outstanding. His insight, judgement, reasoning, leadership, and calmness under pressure.

However…Simply put, Team 7’s commander was a little better.

It’s as if he had studied beforehand and is now going through the motion of solving the answers.

When Team 7 faced a trap, they would try a few methods, then passed with ease.

So despite being the first to encounter the traps and having to go through some trial and error, Team 7 was still leading.

Thus, Ryu Dongkyun no longer showed any grievances. He simply worked a little harder.

It was the correct choice. His efforts paid off as they were able to advance at almost the same pace as Team 7.

He understood it as well. This Great Rift is not a sporting event but a battlefield.

To compete here would be absurd.

However, Ryu Dongkyun was confident in himself. Before he became a superhuman, he was regarded as someone with very good judgement by others.

He thought he could show that he’s just as capable as Team 7’s commander.

“…Everyone, activate your defenses to the fullest!!”

They had not encountered a real disaster until now.

Boom!

Ba-boom!

Canyons. On either side of where they were headed are huge cliffs rising high.

And from these huge cliffs, what if a very large snake popped out from one of the walls?

Not just one.

But what if there were two?

Booom!!

“Keok!”

A greenish-blue colored aether shield slowly appeared in the air.

It was made using a combination of a superpower and a defensive aether dispenser, and is durable enough to withstand even the full force of large monsters.

However, there were no countermeasures at all.

The snakes were too fast. They could not find an opening because it would pop out from one side of the cliff to the other.

And, as if the two snakes were coordinating, they would pop out and disappear into each other’s side of the cliff at the same time.

It took about .3 seconds for the snakes to reach either side of the cliffs. Soon, the snakes’ bodies were exposed a little longer, but…it was still an inefficient time to concentrate enough of their manpower.

And, the two snakes were not the same. One snake had a significantly longer body than the other.

Once one disappeared, the other one would go back into the wall after some time.

‘Even so, it’s difficult catching them.’

Because they couldn’t predict its movements.

If so, then.

A surefire method to attack both.

‘I need to gather everyone.’

It will be possible to catch the two snakes when they pop out if everyone sticks together.

Furthermore, what will happen once everyone successfully spread out afterwards? The two snakes will collide.

There’s some risk, but it’s a surefire method to catch both without any further damage.

“Everyone! Gather in one spot!”

Their shields strengthened even more after having decided on a spot to aim for the snakes.

Everyone immediately became tense.

They increased their aether output as they prepared to scatter at any moment from here.

Booom!!

An immense vibration came from the ground. They were waiting for something to pop out of the cliffs, when…

[We just received a transmission from the commander of Team 7! There are not two snakes but only one!]

“…What?”

In a fleeting moment, the world seems to have slowed down.

‘Then, no…way…’

Gulp.

Immediately after swallowing his saliva, he heard a shriek, but as if everything is still under control, he spoke.

“Everyone! Focus fire the ground!!”

As soon as his words fell, his team members, who had absolute trust in Ryu Dongkyun, penetrated the ground without hesitation.

Baaaang-!!

With reverberating explosions, a huge crater appeared on the ground.

Then, there.

Wriggling around with its coarse skin torn, the snake’s body was revealed.

It was unbelievably long , thick, and grotesque. Without a doubt a snake.

…Ryu Dongkyun was stunned by the fact that the snake pretended to be two by slithering through the ground with its head and tail.

It wasn’t two, just intelligent.

Facing it, he had planned to make it collide.

Would such a smart monster bump into itself?

No.

Rather, it would have easily twisted itself and comfortably attacked them when they were grouped up.

Ryu Dongkyun plopped down on the ground.

He did not use his superpower earlier. He simply gave the order, but his legs felt weak.

“Ha, haha…”

A momentary lapse in judgement.

If the transmission from Team 7 didn’t come.

‘…All of us would have died.”

Such a thought brushed against his mind and faded like the wind.

---

At this time.

The command post was busy relaying the message to each team.

“Yes. That’s right. So from this point onward you must walk straight through the cliff…”

“No, seriously! We have more than three days left until shit hits the fan!”

“Replace the recording battery with a new one. For this one we should use one with a bigger capacity.”

“Right, isn’t it good that there’s something to record?”

There were calls coming from all sides. From the media about the progress of the Great Rift, to the politicians who were calling about trivial matters.

And although this Great Rift was not broadcast to the general public, live information can be sent if they wanted to.

Before the attack on this Great Rift, brigadier general Park Seongho had clearly instructed everyone not reveal what happens inside. However, the news of what’s happening inside still spread.

It’s not like he didn’t understand their reaction either.

In particular, the media who were in an uproar.

Progress on the Great Rift has reached 90%.

And so far there have been 0 deaths.

Although there were quite a few injured…

It wasn’t to the point where they couldn’t fight.

‘A miracle.’

The only word to explain such a phenomenon.

The storm and the countless monsters and traps that blocked the teams from advancing. However, against it all, there have been no deaths.

Even though everyone present here has different goals and intentions, it was only natural that everyone in the camp was overjoyed. They were just glad that no one, including members of the other teams, had died.

“It’s not time to relax yet.”

Originally, it was the command post’s job to gauge the Great Rift and come up with solutions. However, because Team 7 commander has done such a great job, there was no need for them to say anything.

“Anyhow…I think the ‘boss’ is coming up.”

Everyone was watching the monitors.

With Team 7 at the forefront, the remaining 11 teams made it through the canyons.

Finally, they all converged in one place as planned, and at the end of each canyon was a strange slate with something drawn on them.

‘What’s this?’

A question arose in everyone.

But right now that was not important.

A vast flatland came into view at the end of the canyons. And floating in the air was a ‘disk’ giving off an energy that easily exceeded the danger level.

“That disk…seems to be the cause of this Great Rift.”

“Then, everything will end once we break that thing?”

“That’s right.”

Hearing such words, everyone deeply thought.

It wasn’t that easy.

As far as the eyes could see, there were tens of thousands of Rock Giants lined up.

Something even Yoo Seodam and the Client didn’t expect…A sudden turn of event that hasn’t occurred in thousands of years.

The disk was located above the Rock Giants and between the dozens of cliffs floating in the air.

Although the cliffs, which were arranged like scaffolds, were made for giants, it could be climbed freely by superhumans.

However, the problem was that dozens of pterodactyls made of rock were flying near the disk.

“Damn it. I wish we could have sent in a fighter jet…”

Aircraft did not work properly in ‘other dimensions’ such as dungeons, Great Rifts, etc…This is because the air currents are very different from Earth, and the machinery often malfunctioned due to the strange energies.

It was more so impossible using a fighter jet at 100% aether output.

Also, near the disk was a storm with about 30% strength compared to the other day, which would make it difficult for an aircraft to approach.

Thus, the crucial part here.

“…The hell, you want to put the slates in there?”

---

“Huu…”

Seodam took a deep breath.

It looks as if a mix of dust from the storm would enter his lungs, but that did not happen. This is because since some time ago, he has worn a mask that could completely block all toxins.

< This trial will be judged as ‘passed’ if you insert the slates you obtained at the end of the canyons into the grooves of that disk. >

Right.

Seodam and the Client knew that this canyon and trial is actually the Red Giants’ sports arena.

Once a Red Giant passes the trials and inserts the slate into the disk up there, they will be ranked.

Seodam thought it was funny that no matter which world it is, everyone loved rankings.

However, the ranking is meaningless in this situation.

Simply.

< The disk will stop operating once all 12 Red Giants pass the trial. >

Only the Client’s words were important.

“…So, everyone has to insert these 12 slates into that disk. That’s what you’re saying?”

The commanders of the 12 teams have gathered in one place after passing through the canyons. And, the disk which is the cause of this Great Rift, headquarters had told them to select a few people to go up and destroy it.

“Headquarters clearly told us to destroy it…”

Said Ryu Dongkyun timidly.

He couldn’t help but be timid at this meeting where all the commanders have gathered even though he’s a famous S-Rank hunter himself. It goes without saying that they were all seniors and famous all over the world.

In the midst of it all.

Everyone was paying attention to the words of an unremarkable F-Rank hunter.

They all knew. The fact that they were able to get here without a single death is all thanks to the commander of Team 7.

So they listened to his judgement once again.

“Yes. Headquarters did, but…that won’t work.”

“How can you be sure?”

“The energy wavelength of the slates match the disk. Like buttons on a remote control.”

“That’s…that’s true.”

“Besides, forget whether destroying it will solve it or not, to even break it will be difficult. How are we going to destroy something that looks tougher than solid synthetic metal while avoiding the dozens of pterodactyls?”

If it was every superhuman here, and everyone targeted it with all their strength.

Maybe…destroying it is possible.

But the situation was not in their favor. Not only is it impossible to use their full power inside the storm, it’ll be impossible to leave the Great Rift once they overexert themselves.

That is, some will definitely die.

The thought that it might be better to follow Seodam’s decision dominated their minds.

Without delaying any more time, Ma Yeonhwa spoke.

“Let’s send 12 people up to the disk. Each person will insert a slate into the groove of the disk.”

She doesn’t know if what Yoo Seodam had said is true, but…

“I’ll trust you. It’s clear the decisions you’ve made so far have been reliable.”

“…!”

As soon as the 15 year veteran Ma Yeonhwa’s words fell, the psychic Leah Michelle spoke up.

“I’ll follow your plan. It’s all thanks to you that we were able to get this far.”

Seeing the agreements one by one, in the end, Ryu Dongkyun had no choice but to agree as well.

After the 12 commanders agreed to head for the disk, they each took up their position.

Only

Among them, there were superhumans who specialized in long range attacks and superhumans with a strong physique to balance the difference in mobility.

In a team, positioning is more important than anything else.

For that reason, it was only natural that the F-Rank hunter, Yoo Seodam, would be placed at the rear. Unlike superhumans, ordinary people didn’t have the ability to leap high into the air and have no choice but to resort to the Magnetic Grappling Gun and the connecting wires.

So.

The commanders couldn’t help but doubt their ears when they heard what Seodam said next.

“Then. I’ll take the lead from here on out.”

When Ryu Dongkyun, who thought he had misheard, was about to open his mouth.

Like a rocket, Yoo Seodam shot into the sky.