The Grill-Wielding Saintess of the Dead

Chapter 43 Prank!? Prank!! 4

“Ugh, ugh, aaah!?”

“Ah…!”

Choi Hyung-min jolted up and recoiled the moment he saw Shia.

For a while, silence lingered between the two.

From Choi Hyung-min’s perspective, he had truly thought he was going to die at the hands of a monstrous woman.

On the other hand, Shia had come dangerously close to breaking the karma and taboo she had carried her entire life.

If Shia hadn’t just taken a bite out of the Dragon Soldier, but had torn him apart completely like she did with the Centipede Dragon and cooked him afterward, it would’ve been an irreversible disaster.

“Sorry. I didn’t know you were a person.”

After some time, once Choi Hyung-min had calmed down and caught his breath, Shia looked at him with an apologetic expression.

Of course, she wouldn’t have known he was a human, given that he used a transformation ability and S-rank Dragon Soldier remains to pull off a prank video.

All the responsibility and fault lay with Choi Hyung-min, but since Shia didn’t know the full details, she gently caressed him with a concerned and worried face, befitting a saintess.

“Ah, no… what the hell is this…”

With the saintess, whose magnificent maternal bosom brushed against his face, gently stroking him, Choi Hyung-min found himself at a loss for words, feeling his breath catch in his throat.

Had anyone ever touched him like this?

It felt much warmer and softer than even his mother’s touch.

But Choi Hyung-min, who was briefly entranced, quickly snapped back to reality.

Now that he thought about it, he was still streaming…!

“I thought you were a mob…”

“Ahem… uh, what exactly happened? I thought I was seriously injured…?”

Didn’t you attack me?

I’m pretty sure I was seriously hurt, so what’s going on?

Choi Hyung-min shot a suspicious glance at Shia.

While he had started the prank, Choi Hyung-min still felt like he had been the one in danger of losing his life and was about to vent his resentment on her.

Even when she met Choi Hyung-min’s glaring gaze, Shia just shrugged her shoulders slightly.

“I have healing abilities. Your body should be fine now, right? Just to be sure, I used Great Healing about five times.”

“Great Healing? What…?”

It seemed this wasn’t just some ordinary healing ability that treated minor wounds, as Choi Hyung-min felt no pain from his injuries and actually noticed his body was in even better shape than usual.

Choi Hyung-min recalled the last scene he remembered.

A woman with her mouth wide open, ready to bite into his shoulder, as he was restrained by tentacles all over his body.

‘Damn… What the hell happened? Healing ability? Isn’t that super rare? Is she a real saintess or what? And what the hell were those terrifying tentacles?!’

“Well, as long as you’re okay, that’s good.”

With those words, Shia flashed a brief smile before rising to her feet.

That smile was so serene and saintly that Choi Hyung-min found himself struck dumb, staring at her in silence.

“Don’t play pranks anymore.”

“…What?”

With that, Shia disappeared beyond the reeds.

“Ha, shit…”

‘No, no… this is actually an opportunity. That woman… I don’t know exactly who she is, but she’s definitely a high-ranking hunter…’

But is she really a hunter?

Since I don’t know her, maybe she’s an unregistered mercenary or even a criminal awakener?

It’s possible some hunter who held a grudge against me for a prank enlisted the help of an unregistered mercenary.

There were many things he could imagine, but too many uncertain clues.

‘That woman… she’s probably A-rank, no, maybe even S-rank.’

I should go back and investigate.

If I dig around at the Hunter Association or check the genre hunter gallery, I might find something.

If I can get some info, I might be able to use it to my advantage.

As someone who had already established himself as a seasoned hunter streamer, Choi Hyung-min had confidence.

‘Ah, the camera… good. It’s still there.’

Looking around, Choi Hyung-min spotted the drone camera hovering above his head.

He quickly manipulated his smartwatch and turned off the drone camera’s live broadcast option.

The viewers in his stream room were probably in an uproar by now, but he figured there was no point in continuing the stream anymore.

○○○○○○

“Her name is Isiah. She’s a Returnee, her rank is unknown, but people in the genre hunter gallery speculate she’s S-rank? What a load of crap… Since when did S-rank become a joke you can throw on anyone? And to someone who’s only done a couple of official broadcasts?”

This is why the general public has such a skewed view of hunters.

S-rank is a title given to monsters like Yeonseo, and it’s not just something thrown around.

Countries assess them as asymmetrical military power just by their existence.

Choi Hyung-min, frustrated, closed the genre hunter gallery tab and reviewed the footage from his broadcast.

“But if she really is S-rank… that could be a big problem… No, maybe it’s fine. I’ll just stir up some trouble in the gallery as an anonymous user and manipulate public opinion. I’ll also leak some info to my manager and team.”

Unlike other ranks, S-rank promotions were rare, and even if someone met the qualifications and had immense power, no new S-ranks had appeared in the country for over 10 years.

Sure, Choi Hyung-min had transformed into an S-rank Dragon Soldier, but it wasn’t like he’d shown off the true might of an S-rank monster, nor had he fought a life-or-death battle, so it wasn’t surprising people were speculating.

“After I get through this incident, I’ll make sure the footage of her attacking me gets out. I’ll spin it as self-defense or something… Then, I’ll make her apologize on stream. Ah, come to think of it, Isiah had huge breasts and was super pretty… She also seems really strong. And she’s already popular among the genre hunter gallery freaks…”

Since she seems to have a gentle personality, if she apologizes to me, I’ll pretend to forgive her and then plan a collab stream to milk the views.

Choi Hyung-min envisioned a rosy future for himself.

Then, he began monitoring the archived footage from the broadcast he had just stopped.

“Ha, fuck… The broadcast’s a complete mess… It looks even worse now that I’m watching it.”

As he watched the footage and the memories came flooding back, Choi Hyung-min realized just how much trouble he was in.

Though it was a prank, the point was to successfully deceive the target.

The hunter should always be the one chasing the prey.

As a notorious streamer and prankster, Choi Hyung-min had made a living off of tricking others for views and money.

Even though it was a prank, it was undoubtedly malicious.

Yet the Hunter Association and the government hadn’t registered Choi Hyung-min as a criminal awakener because no one had ever been seriously harmed by his pranks.

But would the Hunter Association let this one slide?

Maybe.

After all, they had let things go up until now.

That’s why this particular broadcast was so important to him.

Even after transforming into an S-rank monster, if he could successfully pull off the prank, it would be a huge win.

Everyone would have a good laugh at the end as he revealed, ‘It was all a joke!’ and no one would get hurt, which would give him a perfect excuse: ‘I pranked someone as an S-rank monster, but no one got hurt!’

If he could get that excuse, he could continue his career as a prankster hunter streamer and even plan bigger pranks involving multiple hunters, sustaining his growth.

If he got lucky, he might even end up with a bigger platform or transition into mainstream media like a celebrity.

“Ah, fuck… This is a disaster…”

But now… it had all gone wrong.

Not just a little wrong.

He had transformed into an S-rank monster, only to get beaten down like a dog and nearly eaten alive.

No, actually, he was almost eaten for real, wasn’t he?

He wasn’t sure if that woman had really intended to devour him or if she was just putting on an act to scare him, but the bottom line was the broadcast had completely flopped.

“Ugh, the viewers must be going crazy…”

Still, one failed prank wasn’t the end of the world.

Actually, the viewers might even enjoy it.

They could chalk it up to entertainment.

It’s not like every prank could be a success, like the one where he tricked Cheon Ah-young.

Sometimes, a little human error… no, a natural disaster of a prank could be fun too.

But the real problem lay elsewhere.

‘…But why does my body feel so light?’

Absorbing a monster’s remains or corpse to transform wasn’t something that came easily.

Right after transforming, he’d often collapse from exhaustion for a whole day, and carrying multiple monster essences inside his body felt like having perpetually high liver enzymes—it always left him feeling fatigued.

While he appeared more robust than the average person, by hunter standards, he was relatively prone to fatigue.

Sensing something was off, Choi Hyung-min rewound the archive footage.

[Miracle – Great Healing]

Isiah had cast healing on him while he was in his Dragon Soldier form.

When the white light flowed out, his battered, injured body, still flailing in Dragon Soldier form, rapidly healed.

The bite marks from where Isiah had sunk her teeth into his shoulder were gone without a trace.

Thanks to her Great Healing, Choi Hyung-min’s body also reverted from Dragon Soldier form back to its normal state.

[Miracle – Great Healing]

But not satisfied with just one healing, Isiah cast Great Healing on him again.

[Miracle – Great Healing]

[Miracle – Great Healing]

[Miracle – Great Healing]

Humans might lie, but abilities don’t.

This was a common saying among hunters and awakened individuals since the Great Rift.

After looking at the GIFs of Isiah he had found earlier on the genre hunter gallery, Choi Hyung-min realized just how incredible the “Great Healing” technique the silver-haired woman had used on him was.

Didn’t she smash a wyvern’s head and then heal it back with Great Healing?

Then this saintess’ healing power was the real deal.

“Now that I think about it, I feel way more energized than usual. I’m not even tired… Wait a minute?”

Then Choi Hyung-min’s face stiffened as he realized the strange sensation he felt in his body.

○○○○

“There’s absolutely nothing wrong with you.”

“…Oh, really? Nothing at all?”

A few days later, Choi Hyung-min found himself at a hospital specifically designated for hunters by the association.

He had many enemies, so he avoided larger hospitals where word might get out and instead chose a smaller facility, but his expression was grim.

“…Are you sure there’s really nothing wrong?”

The reason Choi Hyung-min had gone to the hospital was that the monster essences stored in his body had all disappeared.

As someone who could transform by absorbing monster essences, Choi Hyung-min was understandably panicking over the sudden disappearance of every essence in his body.

But all he received from the doctor was the same basic answer: nothing was wrong.

“Yes, in fact, your mana levels have even increased slightly. Comparing your charts, you’re in better health than before. Oh, and yes, the monster essences are gone. Completely clean.”

“Hahaha… I see. That’s… good?”

Sure, yeah.

I got healed.

I mean, whether it was real or fake, I did get some of that Great Healing from that white-haired woman, so it makes sense I’d be in good shape.

However, Choi Hyung-min’s expression remained far from bright.

For a streamer known for his fake pranks and as a prankster hunter, the greatest taboo was not letting people know he had visited a hospital.

Anyone can visit a hospital, but if word got out that Choi Hyung-min had asked the doctors, “I think my ability is gone. Is there something wrong with my body?” it would be the end for him.

The moment he asked a doctor about his ability’s disappearance or got a test related to it, rumors would spread.

The hunter world was surprisingly small, and rumors traveled fast.

And once rumors spread, the one who would lose everything would be none other than Choi Hyung-min himself.

‘Shit, shit, shit… I’m screwed!’

The anxiety that gripped him when he was being chased by that woman in Suwol Plain had now intensified, gnawing at his insides.

The worst possible thing, something that should never happen to him, was the loss of his ability.

He had been doing all these malicious prank streams to make money.

He had delayed his rank promotion and neglected his hunter duties just to focus on earning money.

In the end, his pranks targeting hunters were his main source of income.

And the source of all that money and his power was his ability to transform into monsters.

What? That ability suddenly disappeared?

Without any warning?

“Are you okay? Should I run some more detailed tests?”

“N-no, I’m fine…”

Choi Hyung-min bit his lip as he staggered to his feet, bowed to the doctor, and hurried out.

There was no need for further testing now that he’d already seen the result that the essences were gone.

If it were just the loss of the monster essences, Choi Hyung-min wouldn’t have been too concerned.

He had plenty of monster remains at home, and though losing the essences was unfortunate, he could collect more.

But the inability to activate his ability at all was something that had never crossed his mind.

“Shit, shit, shit…”

It was all that wretched woman’s fault.

It had to be her doing.

That Great Healing she used was probably some kind of bullshit curse disguised as healing.

Even though he knew that abilities and techniques used by awakeners couldn’t lie, Choi Hyung-min began to blame Isiah, who wasn’t even present.

“Okay, maybe trying to prank someone as an S-rank monster wasn’t the smartest idea, but this? This is just too much!”

In reality, Choi Hyung-min hadn’t lost his ability at all.

In fact, he had experienced an incredibly rare event akin to a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, where his transformation ability had evolved to an even higher level.

The miracle of [Great Healing] cast by the Saintess of the Dead, Shia, did more than just enhance the body’s regenerative power and heal wounds.

It maximized every aspect of the body, including metabolism, muscles, stamina, and mana.

Had Shia’s Great Healing been nothing more than a technique to enhance regenerative abilities, the five consecutive castings of it would have turned Choi Hyung-min into an enormous mass of flesh, far from human.

Or, the overwhelming regenerative power would have caused his blood vessels, eyes, throat, and all his bodily orifices to be clogged with flesh, leading to his death.

In conclusion, thanks to receiving five instances of Shia’s Great Healing, Choi Hyung-min’s health had actually improved beyond its usual state, and not only that, his mana’s quality and quantity had increased to the point where he was now capable of not just “transformation” but full “transformation into monsters” without needing monster essences.

The reason the monster essences had disappeared from Choi Hyung-min’s body was that his newly healed system treated them as foreign substances and eradicated them.

Now, Choi Hyung-min could transform into monsters without needing those essences.

In short, the ability that had once teetered on the edge of A-rank was now firmly within the top-tier A-rank category, if not higher.

The reason Choi Hyung-min thought he had lost his ability was because of the habits and practices he had developed when relying on monster essences to transform, combined with his inability to adapt to the sudden change in his power.

His increased mana and the altered way his ability was triggered made it impossible for him to control his newly adjusted powers.

However, Choi Hyung-min had quit being a hunter a long time ago, and he wasn’t as smart as he thought.

He was naturally talented at filming malicious prank videos as a hunter streamer, but aside from that, he was lacking in many areas.

Plus, since the ability to use monster essences had suddenly disappeared, he found himself facing an unprecedented situation, which filled him with fear, preventing him from making sound judgments.

If he had been a little more cautious and thought differently, he wouldn’t have concluded that he’d lost his powers.

If he hadn’t fallen into despair over the idea of losing his powers, he could have gotten a proper check-up at the hunter hospital.

If he had told the doctor he thought he had lost his ability and had reinserted monster essences for a recheck, his perception would have likely changed completely.

But right now, Choi Hyung-min was simply walking dejectedly, burdened by the despair and emptiness of losing his ability.

There was nothing he could do on stream either.

No matter how you looked at it, the accident had been caused by Choi Hyung-min, who had transformed into an S-rank monster to pull a prank.

Moreover, Shia had healed him, and it was broadcast live during his stream.

Although the drone camera didn’t capture all the details of the bloody battle, at least from the broadcast’s perspective, Shia hadn’t done anything wrong, so Choi Hyung-min couldn’t shamelessly demand an apology from her.

On top of that, Choi Hyung-min’s prank channel had viewers split in half, with some supporting him and others criticizing him, leaving public sentiment volatile.

If it became known that he brazenly tried to demand something from Isiah, who had healed him, things could spiral out of control, potentially leading him to ruin.

And if viewers found out he had lost his ability…

Ruin.

Complete ruin would be inevitable.

As the word that haunted all hunter streamers started to dominate his thoughts, Choi Hyung-min felt like he was losing his mind.

“Shit… shit! If only I hadn’t met that damn woman!”

“Don’t make a scene in the hospital.”

“…?”

Suddenly, a voice came from behind him, sending chills down Choi Hyung-min’s spine.

He gulped, took a shaky breath, and slowly turned around.

“Long time no see.”

“…Cheon Ah-young.”

Although they were both hunter streamers, Cheon Ah-young was different from him; she still focused on maintaining a clean and responsible broadcast, unlike him, who had turned into a malicious prankster.

Cheon Ah-young, who still bore a grudge from being pranked by him once, glared at him, her lips curling in disdain.

Though she had been compensated with money, the old grudge hadn’t completely faded, and her acceptance of his shallow apology back then was more out of obligation than genuine forgiveness.

For Choi Hyung-min, who had lost not only his ability but also his self-esteem, Cheon Ah-young had been the one he had felt superior to in the past, and now, with no one else to lash out at, he vented his frustration on her.

“Hah, did you hear something and come to suck up to me or something?”

“What kind of bullshit is that? I just came for a routine check-up.”

“Don’t lie. What, do you think I’m going to thank you because my channel blew up after I dunked on you? I still remember how pathetically you freaked out when you got pranked.”

What the hell…

Cheon Ah-young stared at Choi Hyung-min, clearly baffled.

Running into him here was an odd coincidence, but for the past few days, she had been hearing strange rumors about him among hunters.

The world of A-rank hunters was small, and rumors spread fast.

It was strange that Choi Hyung-min, who used to constantly film malicious hunter prank videos, had suddenly gone quiet and started doing laid-back chat streams instead.

Still, Cheon Ah-young wasn’t particularly interested in going out of her way to mess with him.

“So, you’re picking a fight with me the moment we meet? If someone heard this, they’d think I was the one threatening you first.”

Cheon Ah-young wasn’t some weak woman.

In fact, she was an experienced A-rank hunter with years under her belt, hardened by battles and mind games.

What now?

Getting picked on by someone who didn’t even scare her? If he picked a fight, she’d give it right back.

“Hey, don’t you know how to read the room?”

“What?”

“How many people around here do you think have grudges against someone like you?”

“…”

It was only then that Choi Hyung-min noticed the people in the waiting room of the hunter hospital giving him cold stares.

Some of them had familiar faces.

These were people who had fallen victim to his pranks and Frank videos before.

“I’ve heard quite a bit lately… seems like you’re screwed, huh?”

“W-what are you talking about…”

“You tried to prank Isiah in Suwol Plain but failed miserably, right? Since then, you’ve gone all quiet and haven’t done any pranks, just sitting around chatting on stream. What, are you having trouble finding someone else to mess with? You were the type to dive headfirst into any dungeon just to prank whoever you could find.”

“So what if I’m not pranking people? I already apologized on stream and paid compensation. What else do you want?”

“Nothing much. Just thought it was funny how someone who’s now a powerless loser is still walking around with his head held high, streaming like nothing happened.”

Powerless loser…?

How the hell does Cheon Ah-young know about that?!

“The doctor here is a friend of mine. Plus, there are rumors going around in the hunter world. I also happened to catch Isiah’s stream that day all the way to the end.”

“…”

Unlike Cheon Ah-young, Choi Hyung-min was now as good as powerless.

Normally, he wouldn’t have been afraid to encounter her.

He had backing from influential figures. Even though he was officially B-rank, his abilities were close to A-rank, so in terms of power, he wasn’t too far behind her.

Unless they were seriously going at each other’s throats, he could walk away without a scratch, and hunters rarely fought in the middle of a city.

But now, Choi Hyung-min was no longer a hunter or an awakener; he was just an ordinary man with a slightly above-average body.

If he picked a fight with an A-rank hunter like Cheon Ah-young now, she’d wipe the floor with him.

His face hardened like stone as he realized the gravity of the situation.

‘Shit…’

But Choi Hyung-min still clung to one remaining hope.

“Hah, so now that I’ve lost my ability, you want to get revenge, is that it? Well, what are you going to do about it? I’m part of the String Alliance. Can you handle the consequences?”

The String Alliance.

It was the large corporate alliance Choi Hyung-min was affiliated with, a coalition connected to major guilds and the Hunter Association.

Normally, being a member of the String Alliance meant that even someone like Cheon Ah-young wouldn’t be able to touch him easily.

If she tried to pick a serious fight with him and the String Alliance got involved, the cost would far outweigh any personal grudge.

However, from Cheon Ah-young’s perspective, Choi Hyung-min’s pitiful defiance was laughable.

“Do you think the String Alliance is going to back up some useless loser who can’t even use his ability anymore?”

“…”

With those words, Choi Hyung-min fell silent.

Cheon Ah-young placed a hand on his shoulder as if she were addressing an old friend.

Even if she summoned her protector right now to crush him, Choi Hyung-min wouldn’t be able to retaliate.

“Don’t worry. I’m not a scumbag like you who would beat a powerless loser to death or do something that malicious. I’m a law-abiding citizen… well, a law-abiding hunter. The people behind us may want to see you get wrecked, but hey, that’s not my problem.”

“…What do you want…”

Gritting his teeth, Choi Hyung-min clenched his trembling fists.

“Why are you the one getting angry? Weren’t you the one who made hunters cry with your malicious pranks all this time? And what do I want? Didn’t you start this by picking a fight with me for no reason?”

“Just get to the point!”

“Oh, it’s simple. Quit streaming.”

“…”

Choi Hyung-min’s face turned pale at those words.

“You’ve lost your ability, so you won’t be able to stream properly anymore… and the String Alliance won’t be backing you up either. So what should you do? Just take some time off, reflect, and maybe go on a break. Yeah, think of it as a vacation. That sounds right.”

“You’re trying to take away my only source of income?! Do you know how much I’ll lose even if I take just one day off from streaming…?!”

“Should I list out all the harm you’ve caused with your malicious pranks one by one? Should I print out a list of all the people who’ve suffered losses because of you and show it to you? And how are you going to pull off pranks when you can’t even transform into a monster anymore? Without that, you’re nothing but a corpse.”

“Your ability’s just as important to you…!”

“Yeah, but unlike you, I’m not some ability-less loser.”

Grinding his teeth, Choi Hyung-min lowered his head, furious as he reflected on everything he had done.

Now he was paying the price for all his past actions.

Damn it…

“I’m not saying you have to quit forever. Just long enough to make it seem like you’ve actually reflected on your behavior.”

“…Fine.”

“Good, that’s all I wanted. For now, just take it easy, you malicious streamer. Compared to the grudge people have against you, this is nothing.”

With a sly smile, Cheon Ah-young waved him off and walked away, while Choi Hyung-min, utterly defeated, stumbled out of the hospital.

“Shit…”

○○○○○

“Hehe, this is delicious.”

Meanwhile, back in Suwol Plain, Shia was on her 60th bowl of blood sausage soup, finally satisfying her insatiable hunger.

“Sixty-one bowls, a new record!”

– Is she insane, lolololol

– Seriously, how does all that food fit in her stomach???

– She eats that much but never gets a belly?

– Noona… please stop eating…

– Isn’t she feeling sick yet???

Oh yeah!

Hehehe, I’m so happy.

Unlike a certain someone whose life had fallen apart, Shia seemed to be doing just fine.

She probably had no idea that someone she had recently met had just hit rock bottom.