Chapter 37 : Real First Broadcast, Blade Centipede Fry 3

The genre's idle Hunter Gallery users and malicious netizens had always been interested in the existence of Shia.

With a voluptuous figure and celebrity-level beauty, not to mention her return after decades with S-rank combat power, the expectations surrounding her only grew higher.

In the current Hunter era, an S-rank individual could represent an entire nation. For a country, it was as if they had acquired another massive nuclear weapon.

It was only natural for attention to be focused on her.

Especially since after her stunt of making braised wyvern eggs in the Kurthala Mountains with A-rank Hunter and professional streamer Cheon Ah-young, she disappeared for a week without any reruns or official announcements, further piquing the curiosity of many viewers.

-Viewers: 10,392

For a small-time streamer to exceed ten thousand viewers was, under normal circumstances, an unprecedented and abnormal figure.

However, those who started watching Shia's broadcast couldn't take their eyes off her.

Of course, it was obvious that Shia's broadcast was amateurish, given that this was her very first attempt.

Not only did she fail to check whether the drone camera was following her, but she hadn't even set up the broadcast settings properly.

She hadn't even configured the chat filters, so the insults were being broadcast without any filtering.

Yet, a few hardcore fans who had been watching broadcasts for a long time realized something.

Though it was Shia's first time streaming, she clearly knew how to converse with a large, unspecified number of people.

The malicious comments flooding the chat didn't seem to affect her at all, and despite it being her first broadcast, she wasn't the least bit nervous, conversing naturally, as if she had experience standing before a large audience many times.

"Eh, why are you running away?!"

[LOL, would you stay if it were you?]

[If she catches you, you're dead! LOL]

[LOL LOL LOL]

[Of course, you have to run, LOL]

[Honestly, if Saint Noona was chasing me so desperately, I'd consider letting her catch me.]

[You're nuts, LOL]

[Hehehe, Noona…]

Sprinting wildly through the Rotten Mountain, Shia was engrossed in her pursuit of the plump, 10-meter-long blade centipede.

If it were a flat field, Shia would easily outrun the blade centipede.

Their basic physical capabilities weren't even comparable. The sheer strength she had shown when she lifted the entire ground could easily be demonstrated in her leg muscles.

But this place was the B-rank dungeon, 'Rotten Mountain.'

The dungeon got its name from the many dead trees, the damp, moisture-laden ground, and the terrain that was contaminated by the centipede's poison and corpses.

Though not as formidable as the Kurthala Mountains, this place was an erosion dungeon, located on a vast tract of land based on the mountain range in Korea.

The 10-meter-long blade centipede squeezed through the rugged mountain terrain, uneven ground, and between rocks as it fled. Shia, repeatedly tripping on the soggy ground or getting blocked by trees and rocks, couldn't catch the creature easily.

Thud!

"Hmph, ugh… seriously…!"

Even when she threw her body to catch the blade centipede, it would frantically wriggle its legs and escape between the rocks, leaving Shia feeling utterly frustrated.

[What kind of woman isn't the least bit hesitant about catching something that gross?]

[What a rare sight, a woman chasing a centipede…]

[Is that what they call a 'true woman of steel'?]

[A steel woman? More like a crazy woman.]

"Isn't this centipede too much? I'm asking so politely, but it keeps running away…"

[Should it die just because you politely asked?]

"Die? What a scary thing to say. I just want to gently fry that plump blade centipede!"

[That's basically the same thing, you crazy woman, LOL]

[LOL LOL LOL]

[I'm losing my mind, LOL]

[This…is a saintess?]

[This… is the next S-rank?]

"You guys are mean too. Just watch, I'll get that centipede into the fryer, make it crispy, and serve it to you out of sheer determination."

[Noona, honestly, is it okay to act like this on your first broadcast?]

[Acting crazy LOL]

[Is she the Crazy Saintess now?]

"Oh, come on! I'm just trying to befriend the blade centipede!"

Within the Hunter Gallery genre, Shia had been given a variety of nicknames, from the 'Kanttabiya Saintess,' 'Boob Saintess,' and 'Thieving Saintess' (after stealing the wyvern egg), to 'Phantom Thief Saintess.' But today, the viewers seemed to have settled on her real nickname during this official first broadcast.

'The Crazy Saintess.'

Whether it was intentional or a concept, no one knew, but she managed to push viewers' buttons without crossing the line, turning insults into laughter without showing the slightest bit of hurt.

The viewers didn't hate watching the Crazy Saintess in action.

There was something absurdly fitting, yet funny and entertaining about it.

Her first impression was that of a pretty and holy saintess.

Then, she became strange after stealing the wyvern egg, and even made braised wyvern eggs happily in the middle of a dungeon, which was eccentric but still within tolerable limits.

But frying a blade centipede?

Spouting nonsensical, crazy words?

This was beyond eccentricity.

That woman called a saintess was, by nature, just crazy!

"Nooo, don't go!"

Stretching her hand toward the centipede as if she were a tragic heroine from a romance novel, calling out with a sorrowful voice, the 10-meter blade centipede continued to run, driven by fear of its overwhelming predator.

Despite having a body over 10 meters long, how could it move so fast?

As the centipede vanished between the rocks again, Shia, her eyes narrowing in frustration, glared at the disappearing creature.

"Hmph, if that's how it is, then I have an idea…"

[Miracle – Holy Body Descent]

With a quick clap of her hands, the tentacles that bloomed like flowers behind her grew more numerous.

Where there had been five, now there were 25 tentacles wriggling, and with their increased numbers, Shia looked less like a saintess and more like some grotesque otherworldly monster.

[Wait, those can increase??]

[Omg, OMG]

[Tentacles surrounding Saint Noona…]

[Hehehe…so possible]

[Stop talking nonsense, LOL]

[Look at those tentacles, LOL]

[Truly awe-inspiring, LOL]

[If someone saw that from outside, they'd think a monster appeared and would try to hunt her down.]

"Let's go!"

Thwack! Crack! Thud!

Responding to Shia's words, the 25 tentacles snapped together, lifting her body.

Then, like throwing a hammer, they launched her forward.

Boom! Bang!

Crrriiiiiiik…!!

At that moment, the blade centipede felt it.

The presence of its predator had become much stronger than before.

The tentacles that had crawled like spiders had multiplied.

Earlier, it had at least used its legs to run on the ground.

But now, it was sprinting while smashing the ground, using what looked like slug-like tentacles that it had never seen before.

It wasn't even using its legs anymore.

Four tentacles functioned as Shia's legs, taking huge strides as they stomped the ground.

Six other tentacles grabbed trees and rocks, adjusting her direction.

And the remaining 15 tentacles…

Thud, smack, crack! Snap! Thud, crack!!!

All 15 were reaching out menacingly to catch the fleeing blade centipede.

Feeling the tentacles reaching for it, the centipede felt a terrifying fear, as though the abyss itself was opening its maw to devour it.

"Don't gooooo~!"

[Aaaargh, LOL LOL LOL]

[What is this, LOL LOL]

[I'm even more scared, LOL]

Screeeeeeeeech…!!!!

Originally possessing the intelligence of less than a one-year-old human, the blade centipede's fear of being chased by such a grotesque, monstrous force caused its cognitive abilities to suddenly increase to that of a five-year-old child.

Though it was an absurd theory, the fear of mortal danger rapidly heightened the centipede's intelligence and survival instincts to an unimaginable degree. Thanks to this, the blade centipede began to desperately devise ways to escape.

As it fled, the centipede changed direction, leading her toward the rocks and forest where its kin were hiding.

But it was meaningless.

Boom! Thud!

Screech!

Screeee…!!

The tentacles overturned the ground.

They smashed the trees and rocks in the way.

The smaller blade centipedes, which had been sleeping on the ground and rocks, awoke and attacked Shia to defend

themselves.

But only a few managed to cling to her rapidly moving body.

A few managed to climb onto Shia, trying to bite and tear at her, but she paid no attention to the blade centipedes that clung to her.

Even when one particularly angry little centipede bit at her face, its fangs crumpled against her tough skin, and only then did Shia notice the centipedes on her and glance at them.

"Eat."

Thud. Snap!

Screech!? Squeal!

The free tentacles ripped off the centipedes attached to her body and devoured them in an instant.

The numerous centipedes hadn't even slowed her steps, and the 10-meter-long blade centipede, running for its life, felt the taste of death, terror, and despair all at once.

[Hey, hey, is that expression from back then?]

[What expression?]

[You know, that time Cheon Ah-young thought Saint Noona was going to boil her wyvern egg? That look!]

[LOL, Cheon Ah-young thought she was stealing it, LOL]

[Oh, yeah, LOL]

[Remember that expression, LOL]

[Her eyes went blood-red, LOL]

The viewers recalled how Shia's eyes had turned blood-red.

Back in the Kurthala Mountains, when A-rank Hunter Cheon Ah-young had taken out the wyvern egg Shia had been boiling, Shia, misunderstanding her as an egg thief, had nearly killed Cheon Ah-young in a flash of anger.

Of course, Shia had no real intention of killing her, and she had regained her reason in less than a second. But if Cheon Ah-young had been an actual thief trying to steal the egg Shia had carefully prepared, her life might have been in real danger.

[Found a clip LOL]

[LOL LOL LOL]

[Yeah, that's the same face, LOL]

[Expression on point]

[Wow, a human face that expresses both greed and rage at the same time, LOL]

"Stop, centipede~ It won't hurt! I'm just going to fry you!"

[LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL]

[Noona, please stop being crazy, LOL]

[Oh man, this broadcast is fun, LOL]

The 10-meter blade centipede instinctively knew.

If it kept running, it would die.

No matter how far it ran, the terrifying predator chasing it showed no signs of exhaustion.

Its energy, gained from eating a sewer rat earlier, had already run out.

Though it was running for its life, it knew its limit was fast approaching.

Once it was too exhausted to move, the fearsome tentacled monster would catch it and eat it alive.

Its fellow centipedes had at least been spared the pain, exploding instantly without even the time to feel terror. But it knew it would die a gruesome death.

What should it do? What should it do??

At that moment, the 10-meter blade centipede's body trembled as a thrilling realization hit its cells.

Yes, let a monster deal with another monster!

Having made up its mind, the centipede changed its course.

"I caught…huh…where are you going!"

Seeing the centipede suddenly climbing a cliff, Shia let out a sigh.

Still, it was much slower climbing the cliff than running on the ground.

"Hah, I've caught you now. Hehe, come to Noona."

[LOL LOL LOL LOL]

[The scariest Noona in the world…]

[Aaaah, what is this, let me go!]

Just as she slowly extended her tentacles to catch the centipede, Shia stopped moving.

What was that?

Something moved.

The ground?

The cliff?

Shia's hearing and sense of smell were much more sensitive than when she had been human.

In an instant, she realized that the ground beneath her had slightly tilted, and she slowly looked down at where she stood.

Something was poking out from beneath the four tentacles holding her to the ground.

"Blade?"

Crunch, crack!

Seeing the rotten tree next to her being torn apart, Shia came to a realization.

Oh, I wasn't standing on solid ground after all?

Screeeeeeeeech!!!!!!!!

[Aaaagh, my ears]

[Give me back my eardrums!]

[You need to lower the volume for this broadcast]

[Aaaagh!]

[What is that sound?]

That wasn't the cry of a beast.

Neither bird nor monster nor goblin made such a sound.

It was a terrible screech, like nails scraping against a chalkboard, echoing from beneath the ground and the cliff.

And as soon as the screech ended, Shia felt the ground she stood on rise up.

[What's going on??]

[Huh?]

[Is that a blade centipede??]

[What the hell is that??]

The viewers who saw through the drone camera were astonished.

Up until now, the blade centipede Shia had been chasing was a 10-meter-long, B-rank blade centipede.

It was the longest, plumpest centipede in this Rotten Mountain dungeon, which was why Shia had been so fixated on catching it.

But now, the centipede rising from beneath the ground didn't even seem like the same species.

"Wow…it's huge."

Seeing the shadow cast over her, Shia smiled faintly.

20 meters…no, even longer than that.

It might even be 30 meters.

A giant centipede, as large as an apartment building, wriggled out from the cliff and the ground.

As its enormous body twisted and its legs skittered, Shia gaped in amazement.

The legs on each segment were sharper and sturdier than those of the blade centipede, and each segment was larger than Shia's torso.

She had rarely seen a monster this large, even in the previous world.

[Hey, hey, hey, that's not a blade centipede]

[Then what is it???]

[It's an S-rank, Centipede Dragon, you idiot!]

[???]

[What??]

[What is that, you nerd?]

[It's an S-rank monster, you idiot!]

[Is it dangerous?]

[An S-rank monster is stronger than a thousand A-rank monsters combined.]

Centipede Dragon?

Shia tilted her head in confusion.

With "dragon" in its name, it must be different from a regular blade centipede, right?

Well, it smells similar, and it's big. There's bound to be plenty of meat on it, right?

Scree, screeeech…!

The Centipede Dragon dripped lethal acid and poison, capable of melting even rocks, as it glared at the one who had disturbed its slumber.

It's a human.

It had something hanging from it, like tentacles, but it was definitely human in form.

The Centipede Dragon had intended to rest and gather its strength for a long time. Enraged by the sudden interruption, it rose up.

The Centipede Dragon was a monster that had been born when the Rotten Mountain dungeon mutated 20 years ago due to a Dungeon Overbreak.

Thousands of blade centipedes that had inhabited the area merged into one, creating this creature.

Since it was created from countless monsters, it possessed a certain level of intelligence.

It had been secretly feeding on its fellow blade centipedes in order to avoid drawing human attention.

It planned to fill the dungeon with its kind, eventually creating another creature like itself.

Of course, the Centipede Dragon didn't know how to replicate its kind.

But it believed that if it filled the Rotten Mountain with its kin, another Centipede Dragon would be born eventually, just as it had been born from countless blade centipedes.

If another Centipede Dragon was created, it could mate with that one, turning the Rotten Mountain from a blade centipede nest into a Centipede Dragon habitat.

It wouldn't kill the intruder easily.

It would tear her apart while she was still alive, making her scream in agony.

Grinding its fangs in fury, the Centipede Dragon coiled its massive body and razor-sharp legs around the human, determined not to let her escape, ready to kill her on the spot.

However, despite the Centipede Dragon's threatening presence, Shia's eyes weren't on it. Instead, she was looking at something on top of the cliff.

Shia wasn't paying any attention to the Centipede Dragon at all.

Even as the massive, segmented body wrapped around her, Shia's teary eyes were focused on the 10-meter blade centipede clinging to the cliff.

"Sniff, sniff… you… you really were a good centipede…!"

[Huh?]

[?]

[What?]

[Excuse me?]

[???]

[LOL LOL LOL a 'good centipede'?]

"Listen, everyone. That blade centipede led me to fortune… It's my lucky centipede!"

[She's going full crazy, LOL]

[A 'lucky centipede,' LOL]

[She's insane]

[Seriously insane]

Even though an S-rank monster had appeared, the viewers weren't worried about the Crazy Saintess at all.

Though it was her first broadcast, no one could predict what bizarre stunts she might pull next or how much more unpredictable her actions would be.

But the viewers were certain of one thing.

They didn't need to worry about the life of this crazy, big-chested, gluttonous saintess.

"Hey, guys."

Shia turned toward the drone camera hovering nearby.

"Want to see something cool?"

[Something cool?]

[?]

"Yeah, do you know how to send the drone higher? Like, to a high altitude. I heard it moves automatically, but if it stays near me, it might get destroyed."

[If it's the streamer's drone, you can point your finger, and it'll move in that direction.]

[Yeah, other streamers do that too.]

[Oh, really?]

"Really? Thanks!"

Thanks to the viewers' chat, Shia quickly learned how to control the drone.

She sent the high-performance drone, which she had borrowed from the Association, soaring high into the sky.

It would be a waste to destroy such a nice drone here, wouldn't it?

Even as the Centipede Dragon's massive body crushed trees and rocks, closing in on her, Shia still smiled calmly.

"Hehe, slurp…"

No, it wasn't just a smile.

Drool was slowly dripping from her mouth in hunger.

Wiping the drool from her lips, Shia felt the tentacles wrapping around her body.

The tentacles, transformed by the Holy Body Descent miracle, shared the same will and emotions as Shia.

Thus, the 25 tentacles understood what she wanted and slowly enveloped her.

Like a flower closing its petals at sunset, like a caterpillar weaving a cocoon to become a pupa, the tentacles completely covered her body.

And then, Shia's voice, imbued with holy power, echoed through the Rotten Mountain.

[Grand Miracle – Divine Manifestation]

Snap.

The sound of teeth clashing.

Snap.

It wasn't just one.

Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap.

One became two.

Two became four.

Four became eight.

Eight became us.

With the malevolent energy as the seed, watering it with gluttony, it sprouted from appetite.

Now, bloom.

The monstrous maw of malevolent energy.

Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap.

Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap. Snap.

The sound of countless teeth gnashing, flesh tearing, rising, boiling, intertwining, ripping apart, and regenerating.

The 25 tentacles wrapped around Shia's body burst like a bomb.

From the torn flesh, enormous new tentacles regenerated.

In a panic, the Centipede Dragon tried to attack the human, coiling its body around her like a snake, but the swollen mass of flesh and tentacles was too much for even the Centipede Dragon to restrain.

Screech!

Teeth sprouting from the flesh bit into the Centipede Dragon's body, ripping and devouring it.

The monster tried to quickly unravel its snake-like coils, but…

Screech!?

The Centipede Dragon was shocked when its body wouldn't budge.

At over 30 meters long, the creature's strength was immense.

With a simple move, it could topple any man-made building. If it wanted, it could even overturn the Rotten Mountain itself.

Yet for the first time since its creation, the Centipede Dragon felt powerless.

The mass of flesh and tentacles coiled around its central body continued to swell, growing larger.

Soon, the multiplying tentacles and flesh mass became as large as the Centipede Dragon.

No, it was even larger.

So large that the Centipede Dragon had to raise its head to look up at it.

And at the highest point of the mass of tentacles and flesh, a giant flower bloomed.

It wasn't a beautiful flower.

It was probably something like a terrifying carnivorous plant, large and fearsome.

And from within that flower, Shia emerged.

Her lower body was buried in the mass of flesh and tentacles, but her upper body rose unscathed between the petals.

As she emerged from the grotesque mass, Shia smiled at the drone camera zooming in on her face.

"Ah, can you see clearly, viewers?"

[Wow...…]

[What the hell is this…]

[What is it, what is it?]

[Holy crap.]

[Wow.]

[Holy…shit…]

[What the hell is this?]

[Oh my God.]

[No way.]

[WTF]

The viewers watching the scene through the drone camera were beyond astonished—some even felt fear.

Whatever strange miracle Shia had used, the tentacles multiplied, grew gigantic, and turned into some kind of monster brawl.

Now, the streamer stood at the top of it all like a chimera, blooming like a flower.

"How is it? Isn't it cool?"

[Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah]

[Yes, yes, yes]

[Wow, is this really S-rank level?]

[For real.]

[It's disgusting, but also so cool.]

"Well then, let's begin the monster battle!"

Chomp!

As soon as she said that, the Centipede Dragon's head was bitten off by a massive set of teeth.

"Ah, it ate it… I wanted a monster battle…"

Chomp, chomp, chomp, chomp!

Crunch, crack!

Snap, crack!

Gulp, crunch.

Snap, snap.

Chomp, chomp!

[What do you mean 'monster battle,' LOL it's just a one-sided meal, LOL]

[Wow…]

[LOL LOL LOL]

[What in the world am I witnessing?]

[This is crazy…]

The Centipede Dragon didn't even realize it had died.

Fortunately, it didn't feel pain before its head was bitten off, and its life came to an end.

The malevolent energy it left behind was soon devoured by Shia.

[…Is this really a saintess?]

Some viewers began to wonder if she was truly a saintess.

But what did it matter?

As long as she showed them such grand and spectacular things, a saintess she would be.