'How… how does he have this kind of power?'
A single devastating blow. His head had rocked back. And it wasn't just that. Thomas himself possessed the ability to apply force using only his willpower, yet Jin-Woo had deliberately not resisted the pull, allowing himself to be dragged in willingly. Who would have thought of it? Using the 'invisible hand' not to resist the pulling force but to redirect it, drawing attention in one direction before launching the real attack—a blow that couldn't be easily dodged. The acceleration of the pull became a spear thrusting into the caster, returning with even greater damage. It was nothing short of an extraordinary fighting sense.
'How many battles has he fought to be capable of this kind of response?'
Thomas, who had acknowledged Sung Jin-Woo's power yet simultaneously looked down on him as a rookie, had his mind changed by the second strike. He was flung backward, landing on the ground. Crunch, crack! The cement floor shattered under the friction as stone chips and dust scattered in every direction. True to expectation, Jin-Woo gave him no time to rest and charged in. The bearing of a seasoned hunter. It seemed like he'd struck before Thomas could regain his balance, but this time, Thomas was faster. Thomas shed his arrogance. Fighting while worrying about his surroundings, he realized, was how he could lose. His opponent was far tougher than anticipated.
"Enhance."
And then, as if by magic. Thomas's sturdy body—already armored by muscles that had transformed into something like plate mail—exploded in size. Shaaak! The man who had stood nearly two meters tall transformed in the blink of an eye into a monster that towered well over three meters. Roooar! Thomas let out a roar and raised both hands, now as thick as marble pillars, above his head. All of this had happened in a split second!
'…!'
Jin-Woo, who had been charging in, sensed the danger. What? His rational mind deliberated. But his instincts in moments of crisis had never once lied. Jin-Woo skidded to a stop and jumped backward at the same time. By a hair's breadth. Thomas's colossal fists slammed into the ground with everything he had. Kwa-boom! Everything within the radius was pulverized by a devastating shockwave. Skill: Collapse. Even Jin-Woo, who had already retreated to a safe distance, took several more steps back from the sheer force of it. Thud-thud-thud. Debris that had shot upward rained back down like a downpour. As a hunter who had slain a dragon, his sturdiness and destructive power were something else entirely. But there was no time to be astonished. A roar burst from Thomas's throat.
"Capture!"
The pulling force emanating from Thomas's position dragged everything within range toward him with terrifying power. Like a black hole. Shadow soldiers and hunters alike tumbled together and flew toward Thomas. Jin-Woo, one of the targets of the skill 'Capture,' used the Sovereign's Authority to push the force away. Having barely escaped the pull's grip, Jin-Woo leaped backward once more—just as Thomas's Collapse skill detonated. Crunch! Not only the shadow soldiers but even the Scavenger guild's hunters were swept up by the shockwave.
"Aaah!" "Guh…"
Screams erupted from every direction. The Vice Master, who had just grasped the situation, shouted until his voice cracked.
"Get away from the Master!"
While a few swift-footed hunters dragged the wounded and pulled back, Thomas charged furiously toward Jin-Woo with an expressionless face. A nation-level Hunter meant they were equivalent to an entire nation. So he had to show what happened to those who defied a king. Thomas reached Jin-Woo's location in no time and threw his fist. Whoosh—the fist tore through the air. He knew it. That this bird-of-prey-fast opponent was too quick for him to hit with a bare fist. Especially in his Enhanced state. His strength and defense soared endlessly, but his speed decreased proportionally. However, Thomas had skills that more than compensated for that weakness. He extended his hand toward the retreating Jin-Woo.
'Capture!'
Once again, an enormous pulling force acted between the two of them. This time, he wouldn't let go. With a body made sturdier by the Enhance skill, there was no way he'd be distracted by something like a feint. True to expectation, Sung Jin-Woo was pulled in easily. Thomas clenched his right hand—the one he'd drawn back instead of the extended left—into a tight fist. The right fist brimmed with enough magical power to blow apart a top-tier hunter's entire body and then some. Skill: Smash. Thomas's fist, loaded with tremendous force, began to move slowly forward. But then, at that moment.
'…?'
Thomas's eyes went wide. Jin-Woo's right arm had also expanded its muscles in an instant. Could it be… he was thinking of going head-on? Thomas added more pull with a look of disbelief. But Jin-Woo didn't dodge. Instead, he used the Sovereign's Authority to accelerate his own speed toward Thomas even further. Thomas let out a gasp.
"Damn it!"
Closing in at a speed that exceeded Thomas's expectations, Jin-Woo thrust his fist forward a split second before Thomas could. At the same time, he ducked his head, dodging Thomas's fist that was hurtling toward him. Kwa-doom! Seeing the flash of light right before his eyes, Thomas realized.
'The first hit I took…'
That was the very strike he hadn't been able to see clearly before. Wham! Like a missile, Thomas was sent flying, smashing through the wall of the abandoned factory and continuing to roll across the ground for a good distance. A deep trench had been carved into the ground along his path, like a furrow in a field.
"Guh."
He hurriedly planted his hands on the ground to push himself up, but Jin-Woo was already standing in front of him. Thomas screamed and swung his fists wildly.
"Rraaaagh!"
Every time a fist passed, the ground was torn open and the air was ripped apart. Attacks that would shatter his entire body with a single touch. But they didn't connect with Jin-Woo. Jin-Woo dodged Thomas's punches while driving his own attacks, one by one, precisely into Thomas's vital points. Wham! Kwa-doom! Wham! Blood began to trickle from the corners of Thomas's mouth, little by little.
"Cough!"
How.
'How can a magic-type Hunter produce this kind of power and speed?'
The more his mind clouded with confusion, the greater the damage grew. I'm… I'm losing? Impossible. No. He couldn't allow it. Overwhelming violence—that was the only proof of his existence, the only thing that affirmed who he was. Thomas clenched his blood-red teeth. A manic gleam shone in his wide-open eyes.
"Rraaaaaaah!"
Jin-Woo dodged the fist thrown with all of Thomas's strength and cracked him across the jaw. Thwack! Thomas shook his head violently to shake off the impact. But in that instant, Jin-Woo—who had closed in right under his nose—unleashed a barrage of punches. Wham! Wham! Wham! Wham!
"Cough!"
Thomas, who had been as immovable as an iron fortress, began to stagger. Stumbling backward, he barely regained his footing and screamed.
"I am Thomas Andre! Do you think I, of all people, would fall to something like this?" "That's what I said."
Kwa-doom! Jin-Woo, having just uppercut Thomas's chin, continued speaking.
"I don't care who it is."
Thomas's head, flung skyward, stopped there. The enraged Goliath raised his clasped hands overhead.
"Collapse!"
Kwa-boom! An earthquake erupted from the ground he'd struck with everything he had. But Jin-Woo was gone.
"Where is he…?"
Thomas's gaze searched for the vanished Jin-Woo. Then. Thomas belatedly realized that a tremendous magical force was plummeting down from above. His head snapped upward. Jin-Woo, who had leaped skyward before Collapse detonated, was hurtling toward him. Jin-Woo's elbow came crashing down on Thomas's face. Kwa-doom!
* * *
Dozens of vehicles screeched to a halt far from the abandoned factory. The judgment was made that any closer would be too dangerous. The people stepping out were elite hunters from the Hunter Bureau. All formidable in their own right. Yet even among such hunters, Adam couldn't let his guard down for a moment. How could he, when the comparison right now was against Hunter Sung Jin-Woo, Thomas Andre, and the Scavenger guild? Brent, an S-rank hunter leading the Hunter Bureau unit, shook his head grimly.
"Oh… my God."
What kind of monsters were fighting over there, spewing out this much magical energy? His legs wouldn't move, but behind him, Adam was waiting with anxious eyes for directions. Brent had no choice but to speak with a tone of resignation.
"It's over there. But I really must warn you—please brace yourself. It's incredibly dangerous."
Adam nodded. Kwa-doom! Just then, with a deafening roar, something shot high into the air and came crashing back down.
"…?"
Adam turned to look in the direction of the sound, then looked back at Brent. Brent's mouth hung wide open, unable to close. Adam hurriedly asked.
"W-what was that just now?" "If I'm not mistaken…"
A top-tier S-rank hunter like Brent couldn't possibly be mistaken. And yet, after a moment's hesitation, Brent continued.
"What just landed was Thomas Andre." "What?!" "I'm not entirely sure either…"
Adam's eyes went as wide as saucers, and he shouted in a frantic voice.
"Hurry! We need to go! Now!"
Watching Adam sprint off in a panic, Brent gestured for the hunters to follow. Adam's group soon arrived at the location where an enormous collision of magical forces was raging. And they saw it.
"Gasp."
The legendary Thomas Andre being brutally pummeled by an Eastern hunter. Thud, thud, thwack! Brent, stricken with horror, pointed in that direction.
"Thomas… Mr. Thomas is being beaten by Hunter Sung Jin-Woo!" "I can see that much myself!"
Adam stomped his feet in agitation. Thomas, taking hits from Jin-Woo, looked terrible even from a distance. Brent, wearing a troubled expression, asked urgently.
"What do we do now?" "We have to stop it! Are you telling me we're just going to watch a nation-level Hunter get beaten to death?" "Stop it? Against that guy?"
Brent stared blankly at the Eastern hunter who was radiating such powerful magical energy that he didn't even want to approach. But before he could act, Adam had already bolted forward. Adam was a non-combatant agent. A mere brush against the magical aura of a top-tier Hunter could cost him his life. Brent grimaced, agonized over the dilemma, then let out a groan and chased after Adam toward Jin-Woo.
"Mr. White!"
* * *
Thomas's head, driven into by an elbow, smashed him face-first into the ground. Both hands plunged deep into the earth.
"Guuh… aaaargh!"
Thomas pushed his upper body up and launched another attack. But having already lost so much stamina, his fists no longer carried the same destructive force as before. Watching the significantly slower punches, Jin-Woo confirmed the shift in momentum now fully in his favor. The wild swings, drained of all strength, held nothing but Thomas's pointless fury—a man grinding his teeth, determined to kill. Jin-Woo dodged each attack smoothly, and his counterattack began. Wham! Kwa-doom! Unlike Thomas's blows, every one of Jin-Woo's strikes was lethal. Hit after relentless hit left Thomas unable to regain his senses.
"Cough!"
Blood sprayed each time Thomas's head snapped left or right. As Thomas staggered, losing his balance, Jin-Woo kicked him upward. Kwa-doom!
"Guh!"
The colliding magical forces exploded, launching Thomas's body into the air.
'Sovereign's Authority.'
Jin-Woo pulled the helpless Thomas back down, and Thomas plummeted to the ground like a sack of bricks. Koo-boom!
"Cough!"
Ugh. Thomas, stretched out flat, coughed up a mouthful of blood. Jin-Woo mounted him. And just like when he had faced the Demon King Baran in the Demon's Castle long ago, he gripped Thomas's throat and rained down punches. Thud, thud, thwack! He could feel Thomas's resistance growing weaker with each blow. Thud! Thwack! Thud! Finally, as Jin-Woo raised his fist for the finishing blow, someone screamed in a desperate voice.
"Hunter Sung Jin-Woo! Stop! Please, stop!"
Jin-Woo glanced impassively at the rushing Adam, then cocked his fist again. From his massively swollen shoulder muscles and his fist, a terrifyingly savage magical aura flowed.
"No, no!"
Just before the fist came crashing down—Adam stretched his arm out and let out a scream. At that very moment, Thomas's mouth opened.
"…I lost."
Shik! Jin-Woo's fist stopped an inch from Thomas's nose. Whether it was a surrender wrung from the last of his strength, Thomas lost consciousness immediately after and went limp. Only then did Jin-Woo lower his fist and quietly stand up. Hunters from the Hunter Bureau were slowly gathering around Jin-Woo and Thomas.
* * *
"What… what is this? Is this real? Are you serious?"
The reporter muttered to himself as he frantically clicked the shutter. He had originally intended to snap a few photos of the Scavenger hunters as they prepared for the raid. But then. The hunters suddenly canceled the raid and scrambled off somewhere, and he'd blindly followed them—and now this? At first, he'd assumed it was a simple Dungeon Break. But what had appeared before his eyes was beyond anything he could have imagined. The reporter used his camera's zoom function once more to confirm the figure lying spread-eagled on the ground. A familiar face. That was unmistakably the nation-level Hunter Thomas.
'Good lord… what kind of human beat Thomas like that?'
The reporter groaned as he scrolled back through his photos. And at the same time, his heart raced with the thought that the pictures on this camera were going to bring him a fortune.
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