Chapter 137: Battle Itself Was Impossible
Just as that genuine question surfaced,
the SSS-rankProfessor’s comments continued.
[SSS-rankProfessor]: For the record, ’Leviathan’ is just an alias the S-rank Hunters on the international channel came up with.
[SSS-rankProfessor]: Nobody knows its real name.
[SSS-rankProfessor]: Lastly, the reason we suspect it might be the Boss of the Antarctica gate is that it was first sighted in waters close to Antarctica.
And with that,
the information session on the Leviathan came to an end.
[SSS-rankProfessor]: That’s all I’ve got.
[SSS-rankProfessor]: I’ll post a strategy guide soon if new info comes in, so look forward to it.
[Yes sir, yes sir!]
[We believe in you, Professor.]
Then the SSS-rankProfessor vanished.
With the big name gone, interest seemed to fade, and the pace of new comments slowed to a trickle. Walfred closed his eyes and organized his thoughts.
’The Leviathan.’
A being suspected to be the Boss of the Antarctica gate.
Recalling that overwhelming presence once more, Walfred let out a hollow laugh in spite of himself.
"...Now I get why the raid failed."
A scale so colossal that battle itself was impossible. A presence so overwhelming that merely perceiving its existence was enough to crush you.
Even a subjugation force made up of S-rank Hunters would have been hopelessly outmatched against that thing.
Just as a bitter feeling washed over him,
Ding!
[A friend request has arrived.]
A sudden notification appeared.
A friend request?
’Who could it be?’
No one came to mind.
Puzzled, Walfred checked his friend request list. Then, the moment he saw the other party’s nickname, his eyes went round.
[Requester: Lauren]
"...Lauren?"
The same Lauren he’d parted with at Prospect Park Station?
It certainly seemed so.
Among the people he’d given his nickname to, the only one who went by Lauren was that girl.
’And if she can use this feature...’
it means she’s Level 30 or above.
Wait, she’s already hit Level 30?
Walfred was genuinely surprised. And he gladly accepted Lauren’s friend request.
[Friend added successfully.]
[Lauren]: Online
[A friend has requested a private chat.]
The very next moment,
Lauren requested a chat, as if she’d been waiting.
There was no particular reason to refuse, so Walfred accepted the private chat request.
And then.
[Lauren]: Mister!
[Lauren]: Mister, mister!
[Lauren]: Is it really you, Mister Walfred?
[Lauren]: For real?? (・・?)
A barrage of messages came pouring in.
Walfred chuckled and replied.
[Me]: Yeah. It’s me.
[Lauren]: Mister! (;-;)
[Lauren]: I missed you. (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ
[Lauren]: Really, really missed you.
Spamming every emoticon under the sun,
Lauren made zero effort to hide how happy she was to see Walfred after so long. Walfred replied that it was good to hear from her too, then got straight to his question.
[Me]: More importantly, when did you hit Level 30?
[Me]: Last I heard, you were definitely...
[Lauren]: I worked super hard, okay? (ง •̀_•́)ง
[Lauren]: So now I’m Level 32!
[Me]: Huh. That’s impressive.
Walfred was genuinely amazed.
Unlike him, who could gain experience by eating snow and ice, ordinary Hunters could only level up by exterminating monsters.
Which meant Lauren had taken down a huge number of monsters in a short span of time.
[Lauren]: Aww, it’s nothing.
[Lauren]: I’ve still got a long way to go.
[Lauren]: Oh! Right. And...
[Lauren]: Thank you so, so much for finding my sister. Truly.
A heartfelt thank-you.
Walfred sent his reply with a grin.
[Me]: Sure.
[Me]: I hope you two reunite safe and sound.
[Lauren]: Yes! ><
Just as he was about to wrap up the conversation,
he suddenly remembered something he’d never passed along.
’Oh, right. Come to think of it...’
I don’t think I ever told her the Philadelphia shelter is planning to relocate to another region.
But rather than relaying that information himself, it would be better to just introduce her to Margaret directly.
He couldn’t play messenger in the middle forever, after all.
[Me]: Lauren.
[Lauren]: Yes? (⊙_⊙)?
[Me]: ’PwincessMargaret’ <
[Me]: Want to send a friend request to this person?
The moment that message went through,
a brief silence followed.
And then.
[Lauren]: ?
[Lauren]: Margaret?
[Lauren]: Who’s that??
[Lauren]: Never heard that name before.
[Lauren]: Are you two close?
For some reason, the messages that came rapid-fire this time had lost all their emoticons. Walfred mulled it over for a moment, then typed.
[Me]: No. We’re not particularly close.
[Me]: She’s a Hunter named Margaret, the manager of the Philadelphia shelter. She’s the one protecting your sister.
And while he was at it,
he also passed along the news that the Philadelphia shelter was preparing to relocate to another region.
[Me]: I’ll give Margaret a heads-up separately, so send her a friend request later.
[Lauren]: Ah, so that’s why... Understood.
[Lauren]: Thank you for looking out for me.
[Lauren]: ｡.o(≧▽≦)o.｡
Having finished with that topic,
Walfred changed the subject.
[Me]: Oh, right.
[Me]: Are you with Chief Jonah, by any chance?
[Lauren]: Huh? Ah, not WITH him exactly.
[Lauren]: But he’s nearby. (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧
[Lauren]: Do you have a message for him?
Sharp as ever.
[Me]: Yeah. Could you tell him to log into the Hunter Community? There’s something I need to talk to him about.
[Lauren]: Yes! (˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)
[Lauren]: Ah, um, if it’s okay...
Lauren answered cheerfully.
Then, after hesitating a moment, she sent a message that somehow came across as cautious.
[Lauren]: If you don’t mind, Mister...
[Lauren]: would it be okay if I messaged you now and then?
So that was what she’d been working up to.
Walfred burst out laughing.
[Me]: Sure. Of course.
[Me]: Message me anytime, whenever it works out.
[Lauren]: Hehe, okay!
[Lauren]: Then I’ll go tell the chief to log in right away! ٩(•̤̀ᵕ•̤́๑)
And with that, his conversation with Lauren ended.
Jonah would be logging in soon.
Then he could hear about the situation at the Coral Cave Shelter right away and decide where to go next.
As he browsed the Community again, waiting for Jonah to log in,
"Huh?"
his gaze stopped on one spot once more.
Aqua. In other words, Elma had posted again.
And just now, at that.
[Title]: Key West Coastal Evacuation Order Lifted
[Author]: Aqua
The content of the post was simple.
The Leviathan had disappeared, so the previously declared evacuation order was being fully lifted. That was all.
’The Leviathan disappeared?’
Walfred immediately looked toward the sea.
The ice storm that had filled the sky was gone without a trace.
The darkened sky had returned to normal, and the fierce winds had died down as well.
’It really is gone.’
Thank goodness. Walfred felt genuine relief.
Just as he let out a quiet sigh, Elsa’s voice suddenly came from within his arms.
"Dad..."
"...! Elsa!"
She’d finally come to.
Walfred hurriedly looked down at her.
"How are you feeling? Anything hurt?"
"Mm. I’m okay now."
Elsa nodded.
But then she glanced around with a frightened face, as if searching for the Leviathan’s presence. Walfred reassured her.
"It’s gone now, so don’t worry."
Did that put her at ease?
Elsa’s stiff expression softened a little.
A moment later, burying her face in Walfred’s chest, she mumbled in a somewhat feeble voice.
"...I was scared."
Fear still lingered in her voice.
Elsa shivered as she murmured.
"I felt like, if it looked me in the eye, it would swallow me whole. So..."
She hadn’t been able to hold out any longer and had lost consciousness.
At her honest answer, Walfred silently patted her back. The tension must have drained out of her quickly, because Elsa soon fell asleep.
Just then.
Ding!
[A friend has requested a private chat.]
[Name: Ace]
With perfect timing, Jonah had logged in.
Walfred laid Elsa down beside him so she could sleep comfortably, then accepted the chat request right away.
A chat window soon opened.
[Ace]: Lauren gave me your message.
[Ace]: I was actually about to contact you myself, so the timing worked out. You reached out because you’re wondering about the Coral Cave Shelter, correct?
[Me]: Yes, that’s right.
[Me]: It’s been quite a while since we last spoke, after all.
A few days ago, Jonah had informed him that a gate had appeared in front of the Coral Cave Shelter, and that a Hunter acquaintance of his had joined the gate raid and begun the battle.
Quite some time had passed since then, so there had to be some kind of outcome by now. Either the raid had succeeded, or it had failed and the gate had been unleashed.
Just then.
[Ace]: As it happens, I heard from my contact at the Coral Cave Shelter just a little while ago.
[Ace]: It’s just... haah.
[Ace]: I don’t even know where to start...
He seemed to hesitate.
At the sight, Walfred felt an inexplicable unease. Just as he was about to ask what was wrong, sensing that something had gone badly,
Jonah’s reply came through.
[Ace]: In front of the Coral Cave Shelter.
[Ace]: I’m told the raid on the B-rank gate that appeared at Smathers Beach has ended in failure.
Sure enough.
His ominous premonition had hit the mark dead-on.