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Chapter 53: She Really Is Crazy
Chapter 53: She Really Is Crazy
Deep Sea Fish Hunting Specialty Broadcast – 53
EP.53 She Really Is Crazy
The USB that Seo Sunwoo had given contained about 15 files.
One file was titled [Igarashi Natsuko_Status Window].
The rest were all related to various projects, with one video and one plan document.
[Barbatos Project (Discarded)]
[King of Necromancy Project (Discarded)]
[Shuten-doji Project (Discarded)]
[Milania Project (Discarded)]
……[Barbatos Project Confidential Meeting Video]
[Igarashi Natsuko Assassination Plan]
The notable point was that all the projects had been discarded.
As Parang skimmed through the file names, she noticed a common theme.
Barbatos. Chapter 11 Boss.
King of Necromancy. Chapter 8 Boss.
Shuten-doji. Chapter 6 Boss.
Milania. Chapter 5 Boss.
They were all bosses from the original novel, <SSS-Class Infinite Growth Hunter Destroys Everything>.
The discarded projects and the bosses from the original work.
Feeling a sense of unease, Parang began to read the files seriously.
First, the assassination plan for Natsuko. After reading it thoroughly, Parang nodded.
Indeed, this method could protect Parang while assassinating Natsuko.
The plan involved ambushing Natsuko at the Warp Station.
Parang would warp in front of Natsuko, immediately use Departure, and other Silo members would buy a split second, allowing Parang to use the ‘evidence.’
Does it have to be Parang? Yes. The memory transferred by the ‘evidence’ must be from either the caster or the target.
Below were detailed timelines of Natsuko’s movements, along with sub-plans in case the Warp Station malfunctioned.
Next, an image file labeled Natsuko’s Status Window.
When opened, it displayed Natsuko’s status window interface. Since a status window visible only to the individual couldn’t be captured by a camera, it seemed Seo Sunwoo had edited and reconstructed it.
There was also a photo of Natsuko beside it.
Parang flinched upon seeing it.
‘This is the person I saw in front of the elevator.’
Did that mean she had casually chatted with her assassination target in front of the elevator?
Parang felt a chill run down her spine.
[Status Window: Igarashi Natsuko]
[Personal Skill: Bounty Hunter (A)]
[All stats significantly decrease during combat.]
[If the combat target has killed many humans, the stats increase proportionally.]
[Skill List]
[Predator (S), Blood Pulse (S), Telekinesis (S), Far Eastern Swordsmanship (S)……]
[Skill: Predator (S)]
[Restriction: ???, Can absorb the target killed.]
[Acquisition Condition: Presumed to be related to ‘killing a comrade’ or ‘cannibalism.’]
[Blood Pulse (S)]
[Pushes everything around forcefully. The more injuries the caster has, the stronger the effect.]
[Acquisition Condition: Survive after losing more than 2.5 liters of blood within 30 minutes.]
……
So, whether it was a skill or a stat, she could absorb the abilities of those she killed.
And the more humans her opponent had killed, the higher her chances of winning.
Cold sweat trickled down Parang’s neck.
No way, it couldn’t be. It must not be.
<It is impossible to persuade Natsuko.>
[File: Shuten-doji Project]
Entity Name: Shuten-doji
Species: Yokai
Location: Osaka
……
……
Required Kill Count: 34,103
PLAN 1: Gather citizens in the city under the guise of training and lure the target
PLAN 2: ……
Supervisor: Hunter Association Osaka Branch Manager Igarashi Natsuko
Approval: Hunter Association Osaka Branch Manager Igarashi Natsuko
Project Abandonment: Execution Impossible (Target Eliminated)
<The moment she finds out what’s in the sea.>
[File: King of Necromancy Project]
Entity Name: King of Necromancy
Species: Demon
Location: Yunnan Province
……
……
Required Kill Count: Approximately 360,000
PLAN 1: Prevent Slayers, neutralize key institutions, and release the target in the city
PLAN 2: ……
Supervisor: Hunter Association Asia Regional Manager Igarashi Natsuko
Approval: Hunter Association Asia Regional Manager Igarashi Natsuko
Project Abandonment: Execution Impossible (Target Eliminated)
<The situation will start to spiral out of control.>
[Barbatos Project]
Entity Name: Barbatos
Species: Demon
Location: Pyongyang
……
……
Required Kill Count: Over 10,000,000
PLAN 1: Lure Slayers to Sahara and cut off communication, then release the target in the city
PLAN 2: ……
Supervisor: Hunter Association Asia Regional Manager Igarashi Natsuko
Approval: Hunter Association Asia Regional Manager Igarashi Natsuko
Project Abandonment: Execution Impossible (Target Eliminated)
“……Crazy woman…….”
Parang opened the last file, [Barbatos Project Confidential Meeting Video].
The video quality was very poor, as if taken from a distance with a small camera. The red eyes and long black hair barely allowed her to recognize Natsuko.
However, the audio quality was excellent.
They seemed to be sitting around a round table in a dark, narrow room, discussing something. It was like a scene from a noir film, where the bosses of an underworld organization held a meeting.
Natsuko’s clear voice rang out.
“‘Barbatos Project’ meeting. Let’s begin, Rin.”
“Yes, Chairman.”
The woman called Rin stood up and turned on the projector.
The screen displayed files that seemed to be the ones Parang had seen.
Natsuko began to explain calmly and composedly.
“As you all know, the reason the previous projects failed was because the Slayers eliminated the targets first. Therefore, our primary goal in this project is to exclude the Slayers. Barbatos alone, once released in the city, will suffice to meet the required kill count.”
Natsuko was proposing to release a demon, a boss from the original work, into the city with a calm and even voice.
“The expected arrival of Barbatos is in about two months. To confuse the Slayers, we’ll perform a ‘ritual’ to advance that date by about two weeks. The materials are already prepared, and if things go awry, we are ready to eliminate those who performed the ritual.”
Parang shuddered. The ‘ritual’ she mentioned was something from the original work.
It was something no human should ever do.
Indeed, the original work had described that someone performed a ‘ritual’ which caused the arrival of Barbatos earlier than expected. They were clearly described as devil worshippers.
“Afterwards, we bury a nuclear bomb beneath the Sahara Desert and detonate it on the advanced arrival date to lure the Slayers. We’ll send an emergency support request. Upon their arrival, we destroy the Warp Station immediately after they warp, trapping the Slayers.”
Her plan was meticulous.
“At the same time, ‘Barbatos’ will descend in Seoul and wait until the required kill count is met. Once 800,000 people are killed, we commence operations, and any shortfall in numbers will be met by directly luring them into combat.”
“Crazy woman…”
Only then did Parang fully understand. Igarashi Natsuko must be killed. There was no room for persuasion.
If not immediately excluded, the world was truly in danger.
“Next, let’s consider the following plan. First…”
Thus, Parang watched the video to the end, her hands trembling.
“…That concludes our meeting.”
Everyone left the room, and about an hour later, someone entered to retrieve the camera. It was Seo Sunwoo.
With that, the video ended.
Parang’s uneasy predictions were not wrong.
Igarashi Natsuko. As soon as she realized the existence of the bosses from the original work, she planned to feed them people and then absorb them herself to ensure her victory.
Her plans had failed every time because the Slayers eliminated the targets first.
But what if she found out what was in the deep sea? Especially without the Slayers around?
It wouldn’t be surprising if she did something crazy on her own, and the moment she realized the World Government’s goals, she could immediately collaborate with them.
Although her large-scale projects had all failed, it didn’t mean Natsuko had been neglecting her ‘Predation.’
While it was unclear how much stronger she became with a high kill count, it was true that she believed she could fight and win against a monster like Barbatos if she killed enough people.
Chapter 11, where Barbatos appears, is the very final part of the original work.
Chapter 12, the last part of the novel, is a boss rush chapter where the Four Heavenly Kings, a fake boss, and the final boss are defeated in succession. It could be considered the last chapter that progresses the story.
The fact that she thought she could ‘capture’ such an entity shows her immense strength.
The army that Silo mentioned dispatching was probably not an ordinary one either.
It’s understandable why they desperately needed Parang.
A crazy woman who is also incredibly powerful.
But why had Silo been holding onto this information and leaving Natsuko alone?
Even just spreading this information would cause protests in front of Hunter Association branches worldwide.
Why were they just sitting on it?
Were they unsure what Natsuko might do if cornered?
Were they afraid she might side with the World Government?
Unable to hold back, Parang called the high-ranking person she met in Hong Kong. She was glad she had exchanged contact information earlier.
Click.
“Speak.”
“Why are you leaving Natsuko alone?”
“Ah, I see you’ve checked the information.”
“Just answer me. Why is someone like her still in the position of Association President?”
There was a slight hint of anger in Parang’s voice. It was true that they had been neglecting such a dangerous woman until now.
“We are fully aware of Natsuko’s danger.”
“Then why on earth…!!”
“To be honest, Hunter Yu Parang, we didn’t know.”
“…Didn’t know?”
Parang’s mind went cold for a moment.
“Yes, we didn’t know. Hunter Yu Parang, Natsuko has been extremely thorough in keeping her secrets. Seo Sunwoo defected to our side two weeks before the Ascension Ritual. Until then, we had no information about that aspect of the Hunter Association. We are not perfect either. And by the time we obtained this information, the Slayers were already…”
Parang knew. If it was two weeks before the Ascension, the Slayers were deep into the boss rush. They were fighting for the fate of the Earth, so it would have been impossible to check Natsuko.
Silo would have also been reluctant to confront Natsuko without the Slayers.
“That’s correct, Hunter Yu Parang. From then until now, we have been divided in our opinions.”
The Silo man continued.
“And recently, we have felt the urgent need to eliminate Natsuko. That’s why we directly sought your help, Hunter Yu Parang. Originally, we began preparing a plan to subdue Natsuko immediately upon recognizing the Slayers’ deaths. We aimed to exploit her weaknesses based on the information provided by Seo Sunwoo. However, there’s no need to engage in a battle with numerous casualties when we have a sure and safe method like you, Hunter Yu Parang.”
Although Parang didn’t fully agree with the explanation, she understood that it was the best option for now.
Unless Parang assassinated Natsuko one-on-one, there would inevitably be significant casualties when subduing her.
And for Parang to assassinate Natsuko, the ‘evidence’ needed to be repaired. Hence, time was required.
Still, not all her doubts were resolved. Other questions lingered in her mind.
“How could she be so secretive?”
It was understandable that the Slayers, being few in number, hadn’t detected her, but it was astonishing that she had hidden such projects even from Silo.
“The Association President is aware that she is insane and that her projects are madness. So, she only planned these projects with the highest-ranking executives who she believed were loyal to her and kept everything strictly confidential. All records were kept analog. When Branch Manager Seo Sunwoo defected, he digitized the analog materials and handed them over.”
Indeed. If she had openly spread such crazy plans throughout the entire association, things would have exploded immediately.
It was a secret meeting among the highest-ranking executives.
“Sigh… I understand. For now, I’ll hang up.”
Beep—
Parang rubbed her forehead and let out a deep sigh.
She wanted nothing more than to throw Natsuko into the sea immediately.
Protecting the world was hard and exhausting.