Chapter 42

Just moments ago, they had begun moving quickly according to the map they'd obtained earlier.

But unexpectedly, many of the routes marked as passable on the map were now blocked.

This forced him to frequently change the team's route.

But that was still a minor issue.

If only one or two roads had been impassable, it could have been explained by saying something had happened over the past few days.

But too many roads were blocked... That made him uneasy.

Was it simply an error by the mapmakers, or...

Skullshatterer pondered for a while, then shook his head.

He didn't voice his thoughts and further unsettle the already unstable morale. Instead, he kept the matter to himself and continued leading the team toward the remaining passages.

This time, they encountered no obstacles.

Before long, their group reached the exit of this residential district.

The towering buildings outside resembled steel beasts.

Yet that sight actually made Skullshatterer relax somewhat.

"Was it... just an accident?"

He murmured.

"..."

Maria stood silently at the end of the passage, watching them.

She held no weapon. Dressed in clothing they found strange, she stood alone at the intersection with her head slightly lowered.

Skullshatterer, at the head of the group, silently frowned.

He raised the grenade launcher in his hand, threatening her.

"Leave now, and we'll pretend we never saw you."

Though their goal was to cause chaos, Skullshatterer was ultimately still a child. He couldn't casually take someone else's life.

He also knew exactly what unforgivable crimes the Reunion Movement had committed during this time, but all he could do was reassure himself that it was necessary.

For them to obtain a peaceful homeland, these were things that had to be done!

The warning he gave the person before him was his final act of kindness.

But Maria remained unmoved and simply walked toward him...

Bang!

Without another word, Skullshatterer pulled the trigger.

The homemade grenade shot out instantly, but... it wasn't aimed at the strange woman.

It was aimed beside her feet...

The woman silently watched the shell arc through the air and land by her feet, yet she still didn't move.

In an instant, the explosion was triggered!

Bang!

A violent burst of flame instantly engulfed her entire figure. In the blink of an eye, the fire swallowed everything about her!

"Was she just a passerby?"

Watching her neither dodge nor evade, Skullshatterer frowned slightly, then sighed after a moment.

He'd thought she was some kind of enemy, but apparently... she was just a baffling passerby.

What a pity.

With a sigh, Skullshatterer waved his hand, preparing to lead the team onward.

But at that moment, a companion beside him suddenly spoke.

"No, Captain, she's not dead!"

"Hmm?!"

Skullshatterer immediately looked up.

Through the gas mask on his face, he stared ahead.

Before them, the woman in black hunter's attire calmly walked out of the explosion.

She had quite a few wounds on her body, but they were healing rapidly at a rate visible to the naked eye.

"A... gun?"

She spoke, her voice carrying a trace of confusion.

"In my time, firearms were still auxiliary tools... They fired slowly, and only a few hunters used them as tools. When I saw Exusiai's weapon earlier, I became curious. I didn't expect... there to be something this powerful."

As she spoke, the woman approached the Reunion Movement step by step.

Skullshatterer decisively raised his weapon and aimed it at her.

"Stop!"

he shouted.

But unfortunately, Maria continued approaching him without haste despite his warning.

The grenade launcher had indeed been quite powerful, and it had even caught her off guard at first.

But... it had only caught her off guard.

After recovering a small section of the Umbilical Cord, her physical abilities had improved considerably.

The explosion had merely damaged some of her muscles. It hadn't caused any irreversible harm to her body.

That gradually put her at ease.

Had the times changed?

No! The times hadn't changed!

Maria approached the Reunion Movement step by step. Seeing their repeatedly changing expressions, she merely lowered her eyes.

"Leave now... and I can still spare you."

"...You intend to stop us?"

"Of course."

"Are you with the Lungmen Guard Department?"

"I am not."

"Then why are you helping Lungmen?"

"Does that need a reason?" Maria slowly asked as she looked at the puzzled Skullshatterer before her.

"You want to kill people, and I won't let you kill people... That needs no reason. Do it if you must. The desire to protect others needs no justification. That's all."

Maria stopped ten meters away from Skullshatterer.

That distance was enough for her to reach him in one second.

If possible, Maria didn't want to fight either... She had killed many people, but those had been mad beasts who had lost even their self-awareness.

Even in Yharnam, Maria wouldn't easily attack beasts that still retained some rudimentary sense of self.

But...

"If you insist on moving forward... then all I can say is, I'm sorry."

Maria slowly raised her head and looked directly at the restless crowd before her.

Crimson mist began to spread...

The End

The battle erupted in this narrow alley as swiftly as a spark catching fire.

There was no strategy, no plan. Neither side had deployed any formation. It was simply a crowd rushing forward to attack the woman before them.

They'd thought she would soon be overwhelmed by the surging mass of people.

But as time passed, more and more people realized that something was wrong...

The people in front kept surging forward, yet they couldn't see their companions in the distance.

They felt like chunks of meat caught in a grinder, constantly moving forward yet never escaping what lay ahead.

Maria was like a nail, firmly rooted in place. She faced the enemies' charge without the slightest fear.

She had no weapon, but their weapons became hers.

She didn't choose to evade, because her wounds became their wounds.

The Infected standing before Maria could clearly see that even the blades they slashed at her couldn't cut through her clothes.

Even when they barely managed to leave a small wound, it quickly healed amid her counterattacks.

Maria... this strange woman in black was like a merciless harvesting machine. Every enemy who tried to attack her was completely subdued by her.

At first, she merely knocked them unconscious, but as time passed, Maria seemed to grow impatient.

She began to strike harder.

Anyone who approached her had their bones ruthlessly broken.

Her overwhelming strength was displayed in the most primitive manner possible!

Violent, yet elegant.

Skullshatterer naturally saw the terrible state of the battlefield.

The shock in his heart was no less than that of his companions.

Especially when he saw Maria gradually adapt to their rhythm of attack, then begin moving forward step by step, Skullshatterer's expression changed repeatedly.

After a long silence, he suddenly clenched his teeth!

No!

If this continued, never mind whether they could defeat this woman—even if they won, the team would suffer devastating losses, and they wouldn't be able to complete their mission...

They had to change their approach!

"Everyone, follow orders! Stop fighting her and leave this place immediately to carry out the mission!"

As Skullshatterer spoke, he himself stepped forward and charged straight at Maria!

His gaze was sharp, as though he had already resolved himself to die.

He reached Maria in an instant. He raised the grenade launchers in both hands and smashed them down fiercely!

Bang!

The sound of heavy metal colliding with an arm made people's teeth ache.

And naturally, Skullshatterer was the one who felt the greatest pressure.

Though he wasn't old, with the enhancement of his Originium Arts, a single blow from him was enough to shatter an ordinary person's bones!

But... even such an attack failed to change Maria's expression in the slightest!

Who the hell was this woman?

Skullshatterer thought in alarm.

Meanwhile, Maria slowly narrowed her eyes.

"Perhaps weapons evolving too quickly isn't necessarily a good thing. Look at your physical abilities. In your hands, such a weapon can only end up like this... How laughable."

Maria calmly voiced her assessment.

After all, in her world, weapons were ultimately meant to be used by people.

The reason hunters could fight against those mad, beastlike humans was entirely because of their skill and a little physical prowess. The quality of their weapons wasn't all that important. As long as they had something, it was enough.