On Terra, I'm a Hunter and a Bad Woman — by lumom
After breaking free from the endless nights of the hunt, Maria had endured countless battles.
Once she realized that the Umbilical Cords she had lost could bring danger to this world, she had unhesitatingly accepted the system's power, preparing to retrieve them.
But... something strange seemed to have happened while she was reclaiming her power...
Silly Dog: "Hehehe~ Maria~ Maria~"
Specter: "Do you still like to dance? I recently learned a lovely dance. I'd like to dance it with you alone..."
Skadi: "Maria... I can't sleep. Can I sleep with you?"
Gladiia: "Surface dweller, you're irritating me."
Maria: "At least I don't lie underneath and cry whenever I run out of stamina, like you do."
Chapter 1: A Pathetic System and a Strong-Willed Hunter
"What a strange place..."
On the barren earth, a woman in a close-fitting Hunter's outfit murmured to herself.
Though it was called a Hunter's outfit, it actually looked more like some kind of modified formal dress.
Elegant leather garments draped over her, their delicate patterns intricate and refined, yet confined to just a few corners of the outfit.
Her strangely pale skin accentuated her breathtaking beauty. Beneath a distinctive triangular hat, her gray hair was tied back.
She looked like a cool, stunning woman.
"Does this mean... I've left that dream?"
Still lost in thought, the woman lowered her head and looked at her palm.
Pale and weak, it was covered in calluses from years of wielding weapons.
This was proof that she was a Hunter.
At some point, Maria had begun to forget her past.
Day after day, she hunted the people of Yharnam who had Beastified from relying too heavily on Blood Ministration.
Blood Ministration was a miraculous art, comparable to alchemy.
Driven by their desire for the power of the gods, those mad scholars had obsessively studied that alien, inhuman power, eventually developing a byproduct known as Blood Ministration.
With just a small vial of refined blood, any injury could be healed with ease.
In other words, as long as it wasn't a fatal blow, Blood Ministration made you invincible!
But... this miraculous power came at a price.
Blood Ministration could indeed heal wounds, but using it greedily inevitably sent the body down the path of Beastification.
To cover up this truth, Maria and the other Hunters had been summoned to hunt.
And the Outer Gods had begun to meddle at that point, too.
Several Outer Gods had invoked their powers in Yharnam, plunging the entire city into a terrifying dream of endless cycles.
Maria, too, had repeated the cycle of life and death within it.
But unlike the other Hunters, who had already given in to despair, Maria had never stopped searching for a way to break the cycle.
After dying again and again and entering the dream again and again, through countless battles and partings, she had finally seized that one, fleeting chance.
Using an item known as an Umbilical Cord, she had successfully slaughtered every Outer God in Yharnam and devoured their power.
In the end... she had burned all of Yharnam to the ground.
In the final second of her memories, she had seen the whole world engulfed in flames...
"Logically, if I've escaped the dream, I should have returned to reality. But this place..." Maria lowered her head, her gray-black eyes sweeping over her surroundings.
Desolate...
The yellow-brown earth was unbearably dry.
The blazing sun hung high in the sky, the shimmering heat distorting her vision. The dusty, polluted air made her uncomfortable.
There was no doubt.
This wasn't Yharnam.
In fact, this wasn't even the world she knew.
"My weapon... is gone. The Umbilical Cords are gone, too. The Blood Vials... I still have one that isn't empty."
Maria checked what she still had with her, and her brow furrowed.
Her most trusted weapon, the one that had accompanied her through night after night of hunting, was nowhere to be found. Nor were the Umbilical Cords she had used to restrain the Outer Gods' power.
This was bad news.
"Though I've devoured all their power, I can't freely use it without devouring the Umbilical Cords as well."
Maria murmured to herself.
Now her body contained the power of numerous Outer Gods.
It was like a hoard of treasure-filled chests, all locked away.
And the Umbilical Cords were the keys to those chests.
If she swallowed those Umbilical Cords, she could easily claim that power and make it her own.
Back then, however, Maria had worried that she might turn into an Outer God herself if she used too much of that power, so she had chosen not to.
But now... that choice seemed to have been a mistake.
"Those things may have lost their vitality and power, but they're still Outer Gods by nature."
"If the wrong person gets their hands on them, perhaps... this world could face the threat of Beastification, too..."
"I have to get them back!"
Maria lowered the brim of her hat and spoke softly.
She had thought that she could finally rest after escaping the dream, but it seemed she was still a long way from that.
But before she went looking for the Umbilical Cords... there was something else she needed to deal with.
Maria turned to look at her right hand.
From where she stood, it appeared to be empty.
But if Maria closed her eyes and sensed it, she could see a strange geometric shape in her hand, something that didn't belong to this world.
She had noticed the strange thing as soon as she woke up.
It had casually attached itself to her and claimed it was there to help.
But Maria, having only just awakened, had been too cautious. Faced with something unfamiliar, she had ignored its protests and torn it right off herself.
Even unable to use her power, Maria was no longer human in essence.
Max Insight! Take that!
"What... are you?"
Maria murmured.
Hearing her question, the other party grew excited.
"Big shot! You've got to believe me! I'm a good person, really!"
A bright female voice echoed in Maria's mind, and the geometric shape in her hand bobbed rapidly.
It was clear that it really wanted to prove itself.
"All I want is for cute girls to live with regrets, then watch them shake their hips! I'm not a bad person! Really!"
"You're not making a very convincing case."
Maria spoke in a cool, husky voice, its peculiar charm making the system even more nervous. Her scrutinizing gaze fixed on it.
"Your origins, your identity, your purpose... I want to hear all of it."
Maria interrogated the strange geometric shape, pressing closer and closer as she tried to get more information.
But the system sulked and fell silent.
What era do you think this is? You've never even heard of a system... What are you, some primitive from the mountains?
The two of them were locked in a stalemate.
"Don't want to cooperate?" Maria narrowed her eyes and slowly clenched her hand.
Without access to the power of the Outer Gods inside her, Maria was merely a Hunter with exceptional combat skills.
But when it came to souls, she was the real deal—a Great One.
As she clenched her fist, cracks began to appear in the geometric shape.
That was when the system couldn't take it anymore.
What?!
Huh?!
"Wait, wait, wait! Calm down!"
"Could you not be so rough? I'll tell you, okay? I really will! Just calm down!"
"Waaah, I'm sorry, I was wrong. I shouldn't have spoken in riddles. Please let me go..."
"Guh... I can't breathe..."
"Aaah!!!!"
It struggled and begged for mercy. At the last second, Maria relaxed her grip and silently stared at it.
The system shivered from head to toe.
What was wrong with this woman?
She'd ripped herself free of my link with her bare hands and nearly crushed my body...
What kind of power was this?!
But Maria didn't bother explaining. She simply lowered the brim of her hat.
She could still hear the system sobbing softly beside her...
But Maria felt no pity.
In a stiff, merciless voice, she spoke slowly.
"Now, tell me everything you know..."
Half an hour later...
"Terra?"
Maria's brow furrowed slightly. Beside her, the still-sniffling system nodded.
"That's right... The land you're on is called Terra. And then there are the Catastrophes and things like that in this world... Do you understand?"
Having realized that the host she'd chosen was, in fact, quite capable in a fight, the system had become much more polite. Even its voice held a hint of flattery.
Maria didn't pay any attention to that.
"Then... do you know where my Umbilical Cords went?"
For Maria, the most important thing now was to retrieve those dangerous Umbilical Cords of the Outer Gods. If they weren't handled properly, they could bring about a catastrophe that ended the world!
"Those things... let me check..." the system said again, sounding as if it were searching through something.
Before long, it turned around excitedly.
"I found them..."
Before you continue