I Became The Rankers’ Number One Pick [EN]: Chapter 104

104.

Once the A-rank monsters started pouring out, the situation became impossible to control.

The front lines crumbled, and the sacrifices of the Korean Hunters at the forefront mounted.

Yet, the promised support was nowhere to be seen.

“Kuh-heuk!”

*Thud.*
The giant S-rank Tanker, Cha Tae-un, finally collapsed. As a Tanker, he was the primary target of the attacks, making it unavoidable.

Then, Baek Eun-hee, her body battered and torn, lost consciousness and was swept away into the sea.

“Baek… Eun-hee.”

He wanted to chase after her, but blood was bubbling up in his throat, and he could barely stand.

‘This is…’

He seemed to understand now.

Even though it was clearly the first time he was experiencing this, it felt strangely familiar.

‘This is already something that happened in the past.’

Yu Ji-an looked around with a sense of grim certainty.

Most of the numerous A-rank monsters had been eliminated thanks to the sacrifices of the Korean Hunters.

Only then did the Hunters from other countries arrive, belatedly. Leading the charge was Oscar Jackson, the world’s number one ranked Hunter.

“To think there are still Hunters alive! Amazing.”

“I didn’t expect Hunters from just one country to handle almost all of the Gate Break.”

Next to Jackson was Bachelo from France, the world’s number three ranked Hunter. He flexed his bulky muscles while expressing a mixture of admiration and regret.

Behind them were five more S-rank Hunters. In total, there were seven S-rank Hunters.

“Hunter Yu Ji-an, you’ve worked hard.”

“Why are you so late?”

Yu Ji-an spoke slowly, his voice strained.

“I’m sorry, we hurried, but things had already spiraled out of control.”

Yu Ji-an chuckled humorlessly, watching Jackson make excuses with a face that showed no remorse.

“You dare utter such words while harboring hostility towards me.”

“Yes, we made a pact to sacrifice all the Korean Hunters here.”

“Why?”

“Because they are a threat to world peace.”

As Jackson theatrically fluttered the hem of his robe, ice spread from beneath his feet, gradually covering a wider area.

“Especially Hunter Yu Ji-an. You must never live. I have never forgotten the day you went berserk at the ‘Red Dragon’ Gate.”

Sharp shards of ice materialized and floated around him.

“So, for the peace and well-being of the world, I hope you die here.”

As soon as he finished speaking, sharp ice shards rapidly surged towards Yu Ji-an. The other S-rank Hunters also unleashed their attacks on him.

Yu Ji-an instinctively dodged the attacks, but he couldn’t evade all the attacks from his fellow S-rank Hunters. Moreover, he was already exhausted.

The damage accumulated, and his whole body was soon stained with blood.

Amidst all this, Yu Ji-an took in the sight of his fallen comrades.

‘Everyone, here, like this… so futilely.’

The world swam in a red haze, blood dripping from his head. He felt a burning pain from the intense heat rising from within his body.

He knew what was coming.

‘I’m going to go berserk.’

A surge of rage clouded his vision. The desire to annihilate everything in the world overwhelmed his reason.

“Hunter Yu Ji-an, if you give up now, you can be without pain… Wait, why are your eyes… Ack!”

From then on, fragmented scenes flashed before his eyes.

The sky darkened, and lightning struck repeatedly.

With a tingling pain coursing through his body, every being in front of him collapsed.

“H-How can one person possess such power…!”

Jackson’s horrified voice faded away.

Blood, blood, blood. Blood spurted everywhere.

Soaked in red liquid, Yu Ji-an was rampaging, attacking everything alive.

And at some point, Yu Ji-an observed himself from a detached perspective.

‘That’s me from the first timeline.’

Now he could be sure. The memories of Yu Ji-an from the first timeline were resurfacing, and he was reliving all the sensations he had felt back then.

Only when there were no living beings left on the island did Yu Ji-an’s rampage gradually subside.

Regaining his senses, he looked around with despairing eyes. The once beautiful beach was now a scene of utter devastation.

He didn’t know how many monsters and Hunters had died; the entire island was covered in dark red liquid and corpses.

But despair was only momentary; Yu Ji-an slowly turned around with a chilling premonition.

It was their delusion that the Gate Break was over. Something else had broken through the vortex.

A giant magical crystal emitted light as it emerged from the Gate.

It was an S-rank monster. And not just one or two.

Yu Ji-an was confronted with the rare and terrifying sight of dozens of S-rank monsters marching out in formation.

Releasing just one of those would be enough to destroy an entire continent. But dozens of them?

“…It’s over.”

Yu Ji-an, already broken in body and mind, couldn’t even muster the will to resist.

That was the last scene Yu Ji-an remembered from his first life.

***

*Crackle, crackle-* *Rumble, boom!*

Lightning struck continuously from the black sky, and thunder roared.

Yu Ji-an had used electric magic and lightning earlier, but this was on an entirely different level. The ground shook, and it literally sounded like the sky was falling.

This was the true power of Yu Ji-an’s ultimate skill, [Thunderstorm].

Seo-ah, being only E-rank, couldn’t withstand the deafening roar and had to cover her ears with her hands.

The A-rank Hunters didn’t cover their ears, but they too looked up at the sky with fearful expressions.

“Ha, to use Thunderstorm in a berserk state. How far is he going to go?”

“Su-hyeok, where is the exit?”

At Kang Hae-in’s question, Kim Su-hyeok, with his keen eyesight, pointed to the space across from Yu Ji-an.

“It’s over there; the other one must be where we first came in.”

“Going over there now is like suicide.”

“That black snake is holding out longer than I thought.”

“That’s a good thing; we need to find a way to get to that exit quickly in the meantime.”

Even as Yoon Ah-jung’s expression hardened with each Thunderstorm explosion, she tried to assess the situation calmly.

The black snake was still alive even after being hit directly by the Thunderstorm several times. Not only that, but it was spewing fire at Yu Ji-an, scattering scales, and baring its sharp teeth.

Yu Ji-an was overwhelmingly dominant, but due to the black snake’s desperate struggle, Yu Ji-an was also accumulating more and more fatal wounds.

Seo-ah was conflicted.

Was it okay to leave Yu Ji-an in that berserk state and run away?

‘Will that person be okay?’

Seo-ah felt helpless, watching the situation with pity, unable to do anything.

Meanwhile, the group was moving little by little towards the back of Ignis and Alice, unnoticed.

Ignis had already moved away from the black snake and was watching the battle next to Alice.

【Truly amazing. I’ve lived for thousands of years, but I’ve never seen a guy like that before.】

He didn’t fully understand Yu Ji-an’s condition, so he wasn’t bothering to conceal his presence.

*Quarreureureukwang!*

Just as he was wondering if he should advise Ignis, another thunderclap shook the earth.

“Ugh.”

The group flinched, stopped walking, and lowered their bodies.

With that final Thunderstorm, the black snake finally staggered and collapsed to the ground.

【What are you…?】

As if in disbelief, the black snake voiced his question, but no answer came.

*Thump!*

The black snake was so huge that the impact of its fall caused a sandstorm, temporarily obscuring the Hunters’ vision.

“…Damn it, he’s going to find the next target.”

“Shh, lower your body more.”

But whoever the next target was, they wouldn’t buy as much time as the black snake had.

They should have escaped before that, but it was already too late.

As they waited for the sandstorm to subside, a system window suddenly appeared to everyone.

[You have defeated the A-rank monster ‘Black Sorcerer (Evolved)’ from the ‘Angry Fire Village’!]

“Huh.”

They noticed something strange as they looked at the words in the window.

“Wait, wasn’t that the boss?”

“Isn’t that right?”

As they were exchanging bewildered glances, Seo-ah pointed out what they had missed in a small voice.

“Wait a minute, this Gate’s mission wasn’t to defeat the boss.”

“Then….”

[Main Mission: Save the village from the ‘Angry Ignis’.]

They checked the mission again. Kim Su-hyeok muttered in a dazed voice.

“What does this mean? Angry Ignis, Ignis is here….”

“Evade!”

*Bang!*

At that moment, Ignis threw himself forward and collided head-on with Yu Ji-an.

【You! Why are you targeting the Spiritist?】

It seemed that Yu Ji-an’s next target had become Alice. Ignis was blocking Yu Ji-an, who was rushing towards Alice with murderous intent, with all his might.

“Ignis! Hunter Yu Ji-an is out of his mind right now!”

Seo-ah shouted loudly at him. Thanks to that, Ignis understood his condition, but he was gradually being pushed back by Yu Ji-an.