The Porter is Secretly an SS-Level Hunter

He rushed towards the snake that Siren held down as he swung his sword. The monster shook itself, causing Neban to miss while it pushed Siren away. 

Neban moved back as the monster started to pick itself up. Siren was already on the move as they grabbed the snake by its tail, holding it in place. The thing turned its upper body, trying to attack Siren to free itself. 

Since Siren distracted the thing, Neban rushed forward, quickly swinging Ice Queen. He did not want to give the monster a chance to turn back towards him. 

The weapon sunk into the monster's skin, not going deeper anymore. It was only half-way through, but Neban did not mind as he saw the ice starting to form around the wound. 

Once it felt the sword in its skin, the monster stopped attacking Siren. It tried to move its head towards Neban and bite him, but it couldn't turn at all. 

Pulling out Ice Queen, the ice formed at an accelerated rate as it started to take over the monster's upper body. Siren dropped the tail when they saw the ice coming down. 

Due to the iced snake, the cave's air started to turn cold. Neban shivered from the temperature as he moved, while it did not affect Siren. 

When the snake looked like an ice sculptor, Siren kicked it, causing the monster to break apart. Neban had to use [Shadow Travel] to move to a safer spot when the pieces started to hit the ground. 

Once they touched the ground, the big pieces would shatter into smaller ones. 

Siren stayed in the same spot, watching it with disappointment in their eyes. Surprisingly, it seemed that the pieces were not touching them. It was like there was a barrier surrounding them. 

"I wanted to eat this snake since it wanted to stick me to a wall," Siren commented with evident disappointment in their tone. 

Neban rolled his eyes at that, "There is still the clan leader to eat." 

"Clan leaders," Siren corrected, "the snake around the woman is not decoration but the other leader. Or, more specifically, a weapon." 

Neban hummed. "Let's get out of here." 

Siren sighed, looking at the shattered ice pieces before making their way to Neban. Once they were together, they started to leave the area and make their way back to the hole. 

It was a silent walk; not even Siren whistled as they walked back to where they fell. When they reached the hole, Neban and Siren looked at it. 

He was getting ready to ask Siren to turn into a grappling hook when something dropped down. They moved back, coughing as the drop caused dust and dirt to spread everywhere. 

Neban had his face and mouth covered as he coughed up the dirt that he accidentally inhaled. 

Siren did not cover anything as they bent over, coughing on the ground before spitting. 

When they finished and looked up, the woman (clan leader) was there, looking at them with a creepy smile. The snake around her neck moved around her throat. 

She slithered close to them, causing Neban and Siren to take a few steps back. Neban had a tight grip on his weapon as his body grew stiff while Siren summoned a spear. 

The woman stopped as there were three inches of space between them. She picked her hand up, causing them to get ready to attack when she caressed the small snake on her instead. 

"Did you two have fun playing with my baby?" The woman started, showing off her fangs as she spoke. 

Siren snorted while Neban answered with a glare instead of words. 

The woman laughed at the responses. However, her laughter did not have any hint of amusement in it. The monster tried to give off a "friendly" manner, but it only looked cold in the end. 

She slithers to the left before moving to the right, staying in her same spot. Neban and Siren kept a stiff position as they did not like how the woman kept moving. 

Her hands did not leave the snake around her neck as he spoke again, "Do you want to play a game?" 

"Why would we play a game with you?" Neban sneered as he finally answered.

"Don't you wonder why my clan appeared here instead of waiting for you sssily humansss to appear?" 

"I don't, but you would most likely tell me your reason anyway." 

The woman started to hum before stopping her movements altogether. Even her hand stopped petting the snake around her neck. She tilted her head, giving a broad smile as her fangs were more prominent. 

"I wonder how those humansss that you and the othersss left behind are faring. I mean, we did learn how to take the barrier down." 

Anger and worried grew on Neban's face as he quickly understood what the woman meant. She sent others to their town. 

He could not think straight once that thought hit him because his family passed through his mind. Seeing red, Neban rushed forward, getting ready to stab the monster. But a portal appeared in front of him and Siren. 

The woman had her fingers in the air as the portals started to suck them in. They could not stop it from taking them in. Neban glared at the woman, already vowing to kill her the next time he sees her. 

"Bye, we will meet real sssoon." The woman cryptically goodbye. 

Darkness took over their vision before Neban and Siren appeared in another location. Once the portals threw them out, Neban looked around, only to see that they were at the border of their town. 

Screams and fighting resonated throughout the area as Neban could see that the barrier was down. 

Monsters filled the streets once again as the hunters left behind tried to push them back. There was fire and destruction everywhere as civilians ran to their safe rooms. 

'My family!' Neban thought as he stood on his feet, rushing into the fight. Siren was right behind him. 

"I know you want to check on them, I surprisingly do too, but we need to clear these monsters first." Siren reasoned when they saw the look on Neban's face. 

It looked like Neban did not listen, but he heard Siren's words as he calmed himself. He knew that the monsters needed to go. Collecting himself, hoping that his family was okay, Neban stopped. 

Siren abruptly stopped behind him, almost hitting him. They were close to entering the battlefield, so Siren did not understand why Neban stopped. 

Neban used [Creation] to make a black robe. He threw the robe to Siren, who caught it. "Put this on. We will quickly get rid of these monsters; then we will check if the others are okay." 

Siren nodded as they put on the robe, draping the hood over their head. Once their face had some cover, Neban nodded with a satisfied look. 

They entered the battlefield. 

****

Mother's Palace: 

Mother looked out of the window, watching smoke starting to fill the sky. She smirked at it, feeling like something good was going to happen. And her intuition was answered when Narith entered the area again. 

She did not turn around when she heard the door opening. But when Mother listened to the sound of muffled voices that were struggling, she quickly turned around. 

The sight in front of her caused a broad smile to appear on her face. 

Narith stood in front of a group of tied humans with chains in his hand. Behind him, a couple of humans had bruises on their faces while a small one cried. Two older ones glared at her with a defiant look while the last one kept glancing at her bulging stomach in distress. 

"Mother, I have come bearing excellent gifts." Narith greeted as he bowed. He kept his head down. 

Mother walked to her throne, sitting down in it. She rested her head on her palm as she stared at the humans with glistening eyes. 

"Narith, my lovely pet, you know how to make me happy." 

"I only want to please Mother." 

"Come hook the humans to my throne." Mother waved her hand, indicating for Narith to come over. 

Narith dragged the humans over, causing them to walk on unstable footing. Once they were near the throne, he hooked the chains to it before moving back. 

Mother glanced at the humans surrounding her throne as they struggled to get away from the chains. She laughed at them. "Tell the Lynai Clan to stand outside my palace. We will have visitors soon." She did not look away from the humans once. 

"As you wish." Narith bowed once more before disappearing to complete Mother's order. 

Once the man disappeared, Mother started humming as she looked at the humans. Her fingers ran along her throne's arm as she said, "I cannot wait to meet the human and Perditor again. Mmh, it would be a lovely taste indeed." 

She laughed into the air, finally looking away from the humans before standing up and leaving the room. 

Sitting on the cold ground was Theo, Neban's parents, Wey, Isona, and Owain as they struggled to free themselves. 

'Papa,' Theo silently called out as tears fell from his frightened eyes, "please hurry."