Hunters Keep Coming To My House - Chapter 168

Chapter 168

Woah!

The vibration intensified gradually. It wasn’t just the ground shaking; the very space itself was vibrating, beyond the reach of a mere human like me.

Clouds hanging in the sky scattered faintly, and dust rose from the ground.

And soon.

Crack!

A splitting sound echoed from the sky…

Boom! Along with a loud noise, something fell through the rift in the sky. Even at a glance, it was evident that it was a large crystal, emitting a powerful magical aura, as if made of mana stone.

Despite making quite a loud noise upon impact with the ground, the crystal remained intact. It stood there proudly as if it had always been in that spot.

That alone was bewildering enough, but it didn’t end there.

Smaller objects than the crystal that had just fallen began to rain down through the rift in the sky.

Experiencing a downpour of crystals was a first in my life. While living in Seoul, I experienced hail a few times, but those weren’t pleasant memories.

I recalled a relative advising me to cover the broken-down car with an umbrella to protect it from damage. Despite being on the verge of being scrapped, they valued it more than the person living in it.

At that time, I lived under their roof and could only remember taking the umbrella and covering the car without uttering a word.

I neglected the chunks of ice falling on my body as I desperately covered the car with the umbrella. As a result, I ended up with a cold, body aches, and bruises the next day.

It’s a poignant memory… one I’d rather not revisit. Yet, watching the crystals rain down, it involuntarily came to mind.

Feeling disheartened for no reason, I furrowed my brow deeply, waiting for this absurd situation to cease.

Only after the area beyond the yard, which used to be a forest, turned into a wasteland due to the crystals did the crystal rain finally stop.

I thought the strange phenomenon had ceased, but unfortunately, it seemed to be just the beginning.

“Hahaha! I like the air here!”

With a booming laugh, a red figure emerged from the rift. The familiar voice was a bonus.

How could I forget that voice?

I tightened my frown and bit my lip even harder.

“…Loki.”

The owner of that voice was Loki, the red dragon. He was also a lunatic who demanded a fight as soon as he encountered me before.

Loki descended slowly to where the crystals were, looking around with evident delight.

“If only there had been such a bright place, I would’ve moved here ages ago! That rascal Allen! He was monopolizing such a nice place all by himself! Aim, he’s such an annoying guy.”

He muttered as he lifted a crookedly planted crystal and slammed it properly into the ground. Though he seemed to be muttering softly, his voice was so loud that it sounded like shouting to me.

As the thought of shutting that mouth crossed my mind, a blue figure flowed out from the rift.

“…This is driving me insane.”

I knew exactly who that blue figure was. How could I not? She was Arvani’s mother and the one who gave me the sword.

“…It seems like the end of the world is near.”

Or maybe I’m going crazy, or I’ve momentarily fallen asleep and had this terrible dream.

It would’ve been nice if this was just a dream, but the prickling sensation of mana on my skin reminded me that this was indeed reality.

Simultaneously, the system started ringing loudly.

[Uninvited beings have appeared in Seo Yeon-oh’s world!

Will you punish these intruders?

YES/NO

However, failure may occur due to insufficient stats.]

…In my heart, I wanted to press YES immediately, but I resisted the urge. While the fact that they were dragons played a part, it was also due to the circumstances; perhaps there was a reason behind their intrusion.

Allen would probably show up here soon anyway.

Predictions soon turned into reality.

Before the blue dragon could fully materialize, a white figure and a golden figure appeared through the rift.

Just as I thought, there was a matching pair.

“…It’s not even surprising anymore, not surprising at all.”

Even if a black dragon barged in here to establish a foothold, it was now something I could begrudgingly accept.

Feeling my blood pressure spike, I grabbed the back of my neck and headed for the kitchen. If I didn’t soothe my insides with cold water, I felt like I might vomit.

I rushed to the refrigerator, grabbed a bottle of water, and guzzled it down before I could calm down.

Simultaneously, the cool water cooled down the feverish heat in my head. Now, I felt like I could think calmly.

After exhaling a long breath, I headed back to the yard.

Just a while ago, the ground was littered with randomly planted crystals, but now it was all neatly arranged, forming a pristine base.

Even the trees that were crushed under the crystals seemed to have revived naturally, adding to the mystical ambiance.

“…Huh.”

All that came out was a bitter laugh. I lowered my head, looking at each dragon, each meticulously arranged like ancient relics.

What are these dragons trying to do with me? Or what?

What kind of mess is this now?

The cooled-down feeling was reignited. Although I knew I had to try to have a rational conversation, I hastened my steps as if I were a person with nothing to see.

The destination was the place filled with those crystals.

The purpose was to question the dragons who had invaded without permission.

With just two thoughts lingering in my mind, I quickly arrived at the place where they had unlawfully occupied.

Allen greeted me warmly before I could reveal myself.

“Yeon-oh, what an honor for you to come first.”

“…Honor my foot. What’s going on here right now?”

“What’s going on… Oh, I forgot to mention to you.”

“…What… what?”

“I’m in the process of regretting that. We were trying to access your system, but for some unknown reason, we kept failing to connect. So, it was inevitable from our end.”

Allen spoke nonchalantly without changing his expression.

“The space where our tribe once resided has long been eroded by her. As we prepare for the final battle, we needed a new space to evade her gaze.”

“…So?”

“So, we came to your space. This place is entirely under your dominion.”

“…So, you unlawfully occupied it?”

Before resorting to such actions, couldn’t you have come beforehand to convey your message? Allen flinched unexpectedly when I stared at him with eyes devoid of sympathy.

“Is that your excuse now? Suddenly burdening my only space where I can rest my body with your baggage? A new space to evade her gaze?”

“…Hey, calm down.”

“Calm down?”

Would you be calm if you were me?

When I glared at Allen with narrowed eyes, he awkwardly took a step back without a response.

“Huh, it’s the first time I’ve seen Allen unable to respond.”

Even though he’s the leader of their tribe.

Even Loki, who would have teased him for his ferocity on any normal day, seemed astonished by my momentum and uttered admiration. Beside him, Evan and the Blue Dragon were the same.

“Did you see that? Allen’s not the only one at fault here.”

“…Hehe, you mean we should do it too.”

“…Hmph, so you want to leave everything to Allen? Is Allen your parent?”

“What! You’re being too harsh! If we’re going to compare, Allen is just as much of a brat as I am! It’s absurd that someone like him is my parent!”

“…So, is it normal to assign apologies to a brat?”

“Ugh!”

Loki, who had bravely stepped forward, ended up slumping down in defeat. Although he started with a defiant posture, when our eyes met, he changed it to a kneeling position.

Seeing that, Evan and the Blue Dragon also knelt beside Loki.

Seeing such dignified beings act like that made my head, which had been boiling with anger, gradually cool down.

Phew, phew. After exhaling several times, I could finally think rationally. I rubbed my head while looking at Allen and the dragons.

They probably didn’t come out of their own spaces because they wanted to.

They must have come to my space because they had to survive.

I knew well how pitiful it was to eat humble pie in a place where I had to stay due to circumstances.

I wondered if those dragons knew this dirty yet sorrowful feeling, but…

“Ah, it can’t be helped.”

As someone who understood their sentiments, I couldn’t get angry anymore. I couldn’t drive them away.

“I understand. So, I’ll let this slide. But Allen.”

“…Yes, Yeon-oh.”

“I hope you’ll return the ‘fragment’ I handed over to you before.”

“Fragment?”

“Yes, the one I gave to Allen back then.”

“Hmm.”

Allen, who had been kneeling beside the dragons when I took up my position, looked at me with a subtle expression. He scratched his chin with his hand, blinked his eyes, and then slowly spoke.

“If you mean that fragment, it’s been long gone from my hands.”

“Excuse me? What did you say?”

Ugh, this crazy dragon.

I swear, I’ll catch this big lizard today and be done with it.