The moment he entered the call zone, his phone rang nonstop.
'Hunter's Association?'
Jin-Woo's face stiffened when he checked the caller. Could something have happened while he'd been away for a brief time? He quickly picked up the call.
"H-Hunter?" "Yes. Sung Jin-Woo."
Detecting an unusual sense of urgency in the employee's voice, Jin-Woo asked, puzzled.
"What's going on?" "Well, it's just—no, the Association President will explain personally. I'll connect you right away."
An issue serious enough for the Association President to step in. Realizing this was no ordinary matter, Jin-Woo waited silently for the president's voice as the hold tone ended and, as if he'd been waiting, Woo Jin-Cheol's hurried words came through.
"Sung Hunter! Why couldn't we get in touch with you?" "I was outside the call zone until just now."
In the forest of mutated trees, fouled by frequent dungeon breaks, communication with the outside world didn't work well. But for the people he wanted to protect, he'd assigned at least one shadow soldier to each of them, so he hadn't thought there would be much of a problem.
'Could that super-large Gate in the sky have opened while I was in the forest?'
There should still be over two days left for that. As all sorts of guesses began to race through his mind, just before Jin-Woo could urge Woo Jin-Cheol for an answer, the Association President explained the emergency in a concise manner.
"A monster has appeared in the middle of Seoul and is running rampant!"
His heart sank. Jin-Woo, who had been enjoying a rare moment of relaxation, felt his stomach drop in an instant.
"What's the scale of the beast?" "Scale isn't even the right word. There's only one." "One?"
Right now, every Hunter in Seoul had gathered there. These were personnel assembled to defend against the dungeon break that would occur at the super-large Gate, so they were surely sharp and ready. The Association had even supplied weapons to Hunters who lacked equipment.
'And they're being helpless against a single beast that showed up out of nowhere?'
Woo Jin-Cheol's explanation continued quickly in response to Jin-Woo's bewildered expression.
"A guild that confronted it was wiped out in an instant. It's probably not an ordinary beast." "Where is it?" "Currently, it's been identified near the Seoul Grand Hotel."
A simple coincidence? When the name of the luxury hotel where Thomas Andre was staying came out of Association President Woo Jin-Cheol's mouth, Jin-Woo felt an unpleasant sensation, as though something had lodged in his throat. Sure enough, unease bled into the president's voice as he mentioned him.
"We've received word that Thomas Andre is currently confronting the monster, and I'm on my way there now."
That can't be. As a precaution, Jin-Woo had assigned one shadow soldier to Thomas. The order given to the soldier was: 'At the slightest sign of anything strange in the surroundings, send a signal immediately.'
But the person he'd assigned as protection was now fighting a monster that had single-handedly wiped out a guild—and there was no signal?
'...Wait.'
Only then did Jin-Woo realize something was wrong. The shadow soldiers in Seoul had extremely faint signals. As if something were interfering with them.
'What's going on?'
A powerful enemy. A nation-level Hunter who had encountered that enemy. And a disrupted signal. Could it be. A single possibility surfaced in Jin-Woo's mind. Jin-Woo pressed urgently.
"Mr. President, does that monster have a shadow?" "What?" "We need to check whether the monster has a shadow."
Woo Jin-Cheol's voice, which had briefly cut out, hurriedly resumed.
"This can't be... You were right, Hunter Sung. We checked through photos, and the monster had no shadow."
Good God. Jin-Woo recalled that the Ice Elf who had attacked President Go Geon-Hye had no shadow, and he shouted.
"Under no circumstances can Thomas be allowed to fight that monster!"
That monster might have approached with Thomas as its target.
"But he's already..."
Time was critical. Feeling there was no need to hear any more explanation, Jin-Woo attempted a 'Shadow Exchange' with the shadow he'd assigned to Thomas. Ding. Along with an unpleasant notification sound, a vivid holographic message appeared.
[Cannot locate the designated shadow soldier.]
He tried again and again, but the result was the same. Ding. Ding.
[Cannot locate the designated shadow soldier.] [Cannot locate the designated shadow soldier.]
How could this be! Jin-Woo's face hardened like stone in shock.
'The soldier... vanished?'
The shadow soldier that should have served as the coordinates for the 'Shadow Exchange' skill had disappeared without a trace. He couldn't detect any trace of the shadow soldier anywhere. Just as when he'd recalled shadow soldiers back to nothingness, he could clearly sense that the line connecting the shadow soldier assigned to Thomas to himself had been severed. Not by the soldier's own will—the shadow soldier had been annihilated. A confused voice escaped Jin-Woo's lips.
"What is going on?"
* * *
Renaud heard the heavy voice from behind.
"Move."
He had been in a similar situation once before, but this time the emotion he felt was the opposite.
"Thomas Andre!"
A man so enormous he blocked out the sunlight. Renaud's expression lit up when he saw the man standing behind him. Thomas walked past Renaud and slowly moved forward. Even people who had been screaming and fleeing to escape the monster recognized the towering physique of the nation-level Hunter and stopped in their tracks, one by two.
"That American Hunter..." "Th-Thomas?" "Goliath! It's Goliath!"
Even Renaud, a first-rate Hunter, felt his heart pound hotly watching Thomas's back as he walked toward the beast—so one could only imagine how the ordinary citizens, who had been fleeing under the creature's malice, felt.
"Ohh." "Thank you, God!"
Some were so overwhelmed by the thought that the greatest Hunter had come to save them that their legs gave out and they collapsed where they stood. Thomas yelled irritably at the Hunters who remained frozen, paralyzed by the oppressive aura of that unknown 'thing.'
"Don't just stand there gawking—you idiots, get the civilians out!"
A nation-level Hunter's bark. It was enough to blow away the oppressive force of that 'thing' that had been sluggish to move. Understanding his words, the Hunters grabbed the lagging civilians and quickly moved away from Thomas. Renaud soon joined the Korean Hunters in helping evacuate citizens. As if standing guard over them, Thomas held his ground in the middle of the road, and 'that thing' slowly approached him. Thomas's gaze narrowed as he tossed aside his sunglasses.
"..."
A beast drenched in blood from head to toe. It had a humanoid form, but it was definitely not human. Behind the beast lay the scattered fragments of victims, and a vein bulged on Thomas's face as he took in the sight.
"A beast that doesn't know its place, rampaging around."
As if to mock Thomas's fury, the beast bared its red-stained fangs. Putting down a mad beast is the universal truth of all ages. Thomas's eyes grew more lethal than ever.
"Enhancement."
Thomas's muscles transformed into armor, and his already massive body grew even larger. The creature's build exceeded Thomas's by a full rank. How great was the gap in power? Thomas charged at the beast. A tank! With every heavy step, the ground shook, and people thought of a tank. The beast, licking its chops for new prey, moved as well. The two titans closed the distance in the blink of an eye and stood face to face. Their appraising gazes crossed, and then their mana-laden muscles tensed, screaming as they released their power. Fists that could crush concrete like tofu began flying at each other. Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! At the spectacle of a contest of raw strength, devoid of any technique, the Hunters felt awe. A single grazing blow from those fists would mean instant death for any of them. And these two were exchanging such lethal strikes nonstop, as if they were mere jabs, with no thought of defense.
'It's working.'
Thomas was sure of it. Wham! The beast's head snapped to the side from his punch. A heavy, satisfying impact thrilled through his left hand. This was working. Goliath, slightly deflated after his defeat to Jin-Woo, was gradually regaining confidence through the brawl. Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! As the consecutive blows gradually drove the beast backward, Thomas's full swing burst forth and hammered it into the ground. Thoom! Crack-crack-crack-crack! Tearing through the asphalt on both sides, the beast slid endlessly backward before finally stopping after demolishing an entire wall of a building. The Hunters watching the fight clenched their fists in excitement, but Thomas himself did not look pleased.
'No. It wasn't as deep as I thought.'
Dust billowed everywhere. From within the rubble of the collapsed building, he could still sense the beast's strong murderous intent. Whooosh—! Whoosh—! Heavy metal objects shot toward him from beyond the dust cloud like missiles. Thomas swatted aside the cars flying at him, then used his skill 'Gravity Pull' to drag the beast from its hiding spot beyond his line of sight. Vmmm! As the resisting beast was pulled right in front of him, Thomas used his most powerful skill.
"Crush!"
Thomas's swollen arms slammed down hard against the ground. Boom! A terrible shockwave that rose from the earth struck the beast.
[Graaah!]
The beast let out a scream, shot upward for an instant, then was slammed back to the ground. Thomas seized the opening, pounced on it, and drove his mana-infused fist downward countless times.
Skill 'Smash'! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! "Woooah—!" The citizens, who had been watching the fight between Goliath and the beast from a distance with anxious hearts, erupted in cheers. A smile of elation rose on the Hunters' faces as well. To anyone watching, there seemed to be no variable in this fight. A dominant victory. The demeanor befitting the nation-level Hunter called the strongest in the world. But. Even as Thomas drove the beast back relentlessly, thicker beads of cold sweat kept forming on his forehead.
'What is this?'
The closer he got to victory, the tighter the anxiety gripped him. Every attack was landing properly, and the beast pinned beneath him showed no sign of resistance. But. Why, when I have such an overwhelming advantage, am I this anxious? He would soon find the cause of his anxiety. His eyes. It was the eyes. No matter how indiscriminately the blows rained down, the beast had been staring at him with the same eyes from beginning to end. As if saying, 'Go ahead, do your worst.' Grrr. The enraged Goliath raised his interlocked hands high above his head. Thick veins rose over his shoulder muscles, which had swollen in an instant. Enormous mana filled his shoulders, arms, wrists, and fists, radiating a menacing aura. This is the end. Could anything survive being hit head-on by 'Crush' at the point of the shockwave? With all his strength, Thomas brought both arms crashing downward.
"Crush!"
And then. Thomas saw it. The moment the beast's briefly closed eyes shifted from human pupils to those of a perfect predator. Thud. Thomas's fists, swung with every ounce of his strength, were caught lightly by a single hand that the beast had raised.
"......?"
Thomas looked down at his hands, now rendered immobile, and felt a chill race down his spine.
[A mere puppet of the Fragment, and yet you can draw out this much power.]
A guttural sound, as if the beast were growling, caused Thomas's brow to furrow.
"What?"
In that instant. The beast's black hair began to turn white and grow longer. Its claws lengthened, its fangs sharpened further, and pure white fur spread across its entire body.
'A wolfman?'
But in over ten years of raid history, a white-furred wolfman had never once appeared.
"You... what are you?"
Thomas asked, unnerved by the sinister mana flowing from the beast's eyes. But. The beast gave no answer. It simply crushed the bones in Thomas's hand with its grip alone. Crack!
"Graaah!"