The First Hunter

Chapter 49. The Vatican, Part I

Translator: Khan

Editor: RED

1.

The droning of a plane with several propellers began to pass over Moscow. It was quite dangerous, since it didn’t send out a warning as it flew over the center of Russia, and it was flying low enough to be visible to the naked eye.

In fact, an attempt was made to crash the plane at its appearance. But it was not started by fighters or shooting from below.

What appeared were monsters. Three bizarre monsters reminiscent of pterosaurs flapped their powerful wings and headed toward the plane, making horrifying screams.

The distance was narrowed instantly.

It was a dangerous situation since at the moment of collision, both sides were inevitably hit hard. But there was no fear in the flashing orange eyes of the monsters flapping their wings at the plane. The propellers, which were rotating so strongly that ordinary people would be frightened just imagining their approach, did not threaten the monsters.

And the plane itself did not hesitate at all to confront these monsters, and it sped up, as if it had decided to hit the monsters in front of it without any inclination, rather than turning around. A game of chicken started over Moscow. However, the losers of this game were the

monsters.

Thunk! A single arrow appeared from somewhere and pierced the bodies of all three monsters at once. There were no screams at all.

The heart-pierced monsters stopped flapping their wings and began to fall down straight to the ground. However, those aboard the plane did not look at them. Their eyes were directed at the front.

“Damn it, boss. I think someone came before us and filmed Mission Impossible.”

The appearance of Red Square, which had been devastated by an unknown explosion, was shocking. No one could express his own appreciation or cross-question the words that Jang Sung-hoon had said.

– I’m going down first.- At that moment, Kim Tae-hoon’s voice was heard in everyone’s head.

“Boss!” At the voice, Jang called out for Kim reflexively, but the thing that welcomed him was only the strong wind coming in through the airplane door as it opened.

2.

Kim had visited Moscow several times, but he had never been allowed to visit the Kremlin. When he came to Moscow at the invitation of the Russian government, Russia did not invite him into the Kremlin Palace.

Of course, the biggest reason was that he did not have to go to the Kremlin Palace, but the thoughts of those who knew him were different. They said Russia was afraid of Kim Tae-hoon, a crazy bomb, stepping into the Kremlin Palace. At this moment, he had lost his chance to visit the Kremlin Palace forever.

“Wow, it was completely destroyed.” There was no more Kremlin Palace in this world.

“If I’d known this, I’d have borrowed a loan to travel to Moscow… I wouldn’t have had to pay back the debts, anyway.”

It was a terrible sight in many ways. But what mattered right now was not the fact that they could no longer see the Red Square, the Kremlin Palace.

“Did a monster sweep it away?”

“It was a bomb.”

“Bomb?”

“It wouldn’t lead to this much collapse unless it was placed in the right place.”

After finishing the explanation, Kim raised his head and scanned the entire Red Square again. It was unspeakable devastation, but it did not impress him. Nevertheless, his expression was hardened for another reason.

“I don’t know if Lenin’s Tomb is okay.”

Lenin’s Tomb was the place the founder of Russia, the communist hero, had been buried. It was also the reason why Kim and Jang had to wash their identities before coming to Moscow.

“At first, Lenin’s Tomb was not located in the underground facility of the Kremlin Palace, but…”

Of course, it was not because Kim and Jang were Communists.

“You’re all right, aren’t you? What can you do to Chernobog without Bogatri’s Great Sword?”

Apparently, Kim had told himself in his dream that the weapon that could kill the Immortal Wolf Chernobog was in Lenin’s Tomb. So, he made a plan.

With common sense, how could he ask them to open the coffin, saying, “There is a weapon in Lenin’s Tomb that can kill Chernobog.”

But now it was all meaningless.

“I will ask Maria first.”

Kim went to Maria immediately. She was not far away. She was silently looking at the Kremlin Palace nearby. Her condition was so terrible that it could not be compared with Kim or Jang’s.

It was natural. It would be strange if she could easily accept the collapsed Red Square, as she has risked her life for her country and walked on the battlefield for it.

But Kim did not console her. He did not even put rhetoric into the words that he wanted to speak out. He asked her a question as if staring at her blurred eyes. “Where did you keep Lenin’s Mausoleum?”

“Yes? What—”

“Lenin’s tomb, in which there is a weapon that can kill Chernobog.”

It was not just a statement, but a shocking statement that could not be accepted even in normal condition. But rather it worked.

“What, what’s that…” As a shock therapy, the new shock that entered the mind of Maria returned her eyes to normal. “His coffin is…”

Of course, it was only for a while that the pupils were clear. “… we carried it to a secret bunker in the underground of the Kremlin Palace in case something happened.” Her eyes, began to shake violently as she spoke.

It was the same with Jang. “Well, well, is the only weapon which can kill Chernobog buried deep down in the underground of the Kremlin Palace which has been collapsed, under a pile of stones that would take at least a year to clean up using hundreds of heavy movers?” After the question, Jang shut his mouth.

What more could he say? The only weapon that could kill Chernobog, the only clue that Kim would escape from the curses of the monsters that he had gained so far, and that he would gain from now on, had become something he might not promise next time.

However, Kim was different. He judged the situation coldly.

‘I will exclude Bogatri’s Great Sword at once. What I cannot get I cannot get. Here, spitting out complaints and chewing despair, there is no way for Bogatri’s Great Sword to come out of the bunker deep in the collapsed Kremlin Palace. So, what matters right now is the background of what happened now.’

‘It was not a simple explosion. Someone decided to destroy Red Square.’

It was bombs that had destroyed Red Square, and to be precise, the Kremlin Palace. It was not just a bomb, but a huge amount of explosives were used, and it was not just used but designed for an explosion. If it were just a simple explosion, it would not have collapsed to this extent.

Who would have done that? ‘Not a monster.’

It was clearly not a monster.

If a monster had the ability to deal with explosives at this level, Kim would just give up the war with the monsters here. It was unlikely that any force in Europe would be the culprit, as Moscow was a huge breakwater that would prevent the monsters in Siberia from entering Western Europe.

‘Without the lips, the teeth feel the cold.’ There might be a man who expected the fall of Moscow, especially those who were located around the Vatican, but no one wanted it to be a reality.

The only thing left was one.

‘Then, the culprit is just the Six Snakes.’

The Six Snakes broke down Russia.

‘So now it’s time to move on. I need to figure out why.’

What did they gain by destroying Russia?

The Six Snakes would not have destroyed Russia for no reason. The Six Snakes were interfering with the plans of Russia once more. They were actively interfering with Russia’s attempt to recover the warheads during the winter. They had cut off the hands and feet of Russia.

‘Russia would have tried to negotiate with the Six Snakes.’

When he realized that, Kim thought that what the Six Snakes wanted was to occupy a favorable position in negotiations with Russia. He thought that the Six Snakes, who had lost their stage in Taiwan, would settle on Moscow and reveal their ambition to dominate the world once again, based on Europe.

‘I had the hidden intention to take advantage of it in reverse.’

That was why Kim forged his identity.

He intended to hide his identity and kill the Six Snakes who had settled in Moscow. He was going to hide his identity and enter the snake cave to catch the snakes.

But the Six Snakes did not settle on Moscow, they made it hell. Was it because the negotiations didn’t work out?

‘If the negotiations do not go well, they change the partner at the negotiating table, but they don’t change the negotiating table.’

Nor was it highly likely. If the Six Snakes had wanted to settle in Moscow, they would have settled by any necessary means.

‘This means that they did not intend to settle in Moscow in the first place.’ The only certain thing was that the Six Snakes had no intention of settling down in Moscow from the beginning.

‘Then, what is their aim?’

‘Conviction is forbidden, conjecture remains conjecture. This is not known immediately; I can only guess, and I must not be sure of the conjecture that comes from it.’

Therefore, Kim measured the impact of Moscow turning to this state, rather than guessing the purpose of the Six Snakes.

‘Western Europe will be shaken.’

The news of Moscow’s collapse would naturally spread rapidly throughout Europe. Europe would naturally be tainted with fear. At the same time, they would be anxious. In the fear and anxiety, the existing power structure would once again shake greatly.

‘A hero in a warlike age.’

At that moment, Kim gave an answer.

“Two.”

“Yes?”

“What?”

At the moment of giving the answer, Kim did not waste his time worrying anymore.

“We’re going to the Vatican.”

3.

In 1999 and 2012, a lot of people said, “Humanity will come to an end, and only those who believe in God will be saved!”

The world thought that such a thing would never happen, and of course, they called the other people crazy. In fact, the next year those who said that were gone. By 2016, no one was talking about such a thing anymore. But by 2017, everyone in Europe has become a lunatic shouting about the end and salvation.

The Vatican…

Even in the era of monsters, it boasted a strong presence, making those in Europe the madmen mentioned above. In front of the madness that started, all the power of Europe was reorganized at the center of the Vatican.

The power of the Vatican began to change into a form that could not be found in history. The Vatican’s owners were not just religious people, but the men in power that controlled the fate of Europe, and even the world. That was why the Vatican discussed the fate of Germany, not anywhere else.

“The Giants have attacked Germany now. Hamburg has already fallen, and they are moving toward Cologne. Cardinals, if you have any keen insight, please make it clear here without hesitation or adjustment.”

It was evident that the Vatican was now the owner of Europe, beyond the leaders of Europe. Of course, they did not have duty and responsibility along with their power.

“I think all we have to do is to accept the refugees.”

Even in the days of monsters, there was no sense of crisis for the owners of the Vatican, which had never been invaded by a single monster. Even if there was a sense of crisis, the firm belief in the fact that God would protect them made the small sense of crisis even more discolored.

“If Germany has already collapsed, it is dangerous to put more troops into Germany, and there is a high chance that the Giants will not cross the Cologne. Isn’t it there is a cathedral in Cologne?”

It was still true. The Vatican Cardinals did not have fear, even though they had a sense of crisis of the Giants who had destroyed Finland, Norway, and Denmark as soon as they appeared, and were now moving south

“The Giants have been silent over the Baltic Sea. It may be temporary. If they’ve filled their stomachs enough in Germany, they might be quiet after that, or they might go back over the Baltic Sea. So, it would be better to watch them than to make war with all our might.”

The absence of fear made them feel ambivalent toward the monsters.

“I think it is Moscow that is dangerous now. Didn’t the bomb attack happen? There’s no guarantee that such a disturbance will not happen in the sanctuary.”

The news that scared the owners of the Vatican was the news of the collapse of Moscow, not the presence of the Giants who had destroyed Germany, nor Hrungnir, the monster with the dark blue eyes that led them.

“The rumor is that the Six Snakes committed a terrorist act-”

“Why would the Six Snakes blow up the Red Square in Moscow?”

“Didn’t Russia reject their offer of help, and cut off their ties with the Six Snakes? So, Russia has asked us for help, not the Six Snakes.”

The Vatican was safe from the monsters. It was possible because the Vatican maintained the most complete form of a sacred place of any religion.

However, that was all. The Vatican relics blocked the monsters, but there was no ability to prevent humans. That was why the Vatican Cardinals were reluctant to send troops to war against the Giants. In a situation where only people could stop people, the Vatican owners were worried about the absence of their troops.

“Do you mean that’s why the Six Snakes broke Moscow?”

“It is a warning. It is an example of how a person who refuses their offers is treated.”

In that sense, what the owners of the Vatican were now afraid of was not the Giants, but the Six Snakes. It was still true.

“Now that we have a story about them, let’s move on to the Six Snakes.”

To the congregation, the story of the Giants had no sense of weight. All their attention was, after all, on the Six Snakes that threatened them.

“Mao Spencer of the Six Snakes suggested that they would hunt the Giants if we need them to.”

As evidence, everyone who attended the meeting looked at the remark differently.

“I don’t think it’s free.”

“I think it’s dangerous to accept an offer right away.”

“The Six Snakes themselves are dangerous, not a suggestion. We’d rather declare war on the Six Snakes this time…”

Of course, their attitudes changed too.

“If Moscow is really the result of the Six Snakes, it’s no good to fight against the Six Snakes, is it? The Six Snakes’ suggestion may be that they want to reconcile with us.”

“There’s no reason to say ‘no’ about killing the Giants, of course.”

“What if we reject the Six Snakes, and they hold hands with Muslims? If Six Snakes are placed in Mecca, the Muslims will be glad to accept it.”

Everyone was serious and thoughtful in front of the schemes of the Six Snakes.

“Then we’ll vote on whether to accept the Six Snakes’ offer or not.”

At last, they began to make decisions in a way that would fit the Vatican’s long history. There was no more talk of the Giants between them.