When the strongest Hunter let out a scream, everyone was stunned with horror. The broadcasting helicopter flying overhead captured Thomas's agonized figure in full. In Seoul—the capital of South Korea, where countless eyes had gathered due to the appearance of the super-massive Gate—a national-power-level Hunter, who had been trying to stop the monster, let out a scream of agony.
"This can't be…"
Citizens watching the battle unfold either in person or through screens desperately hoped this wasn't the end of the fight. But, rendering their hopes futile, the beast seized Thomas's wrist and slammed him into the ground. BOOM! Then, reversing positions, it climbed on top of Thomas.
"Guh!"
Goliath spat blood from his mouth and resisted with his shattered hands, but it was no match for the beast's true, unrestrained power. The beast crushed Thomas's face beneath its grip and roared toward the sky. GRRRRAAAAAAGH! A horrific roar that felt like it would tear the eardrums of anyone who heard it boomed across the entire city like thunder. Beasts don't fight. They hunt their prey. Overwhelmed by the roar, laden with an inconceivable amount of mana, Hunters began to collapse one by one, starting from those nearest. Thomas, who had been closest and endured the full force of the beast's roar, had his eardrums ruptured, blood streaming from his ears. The beast grinned.
[Are you afraid?]
Savoring the fear in one's prey is one of the pleasures of being a hunter. Yet Thomas refused to give up. With tremendous effort, he clenched his already mangled fist and launched a counterattack. THWACK! Unlike the earlier exchange where they'd battered each other, the beast's head didn't even budge. A wall. As Thomas looked into the beast's eyes gazing down at him with indifference, he was reminded of the wall that stood before him—one that stretched endlessly toward the sky. He had felt this once before. Strangely, for a brief moment, Thomas saw Jin-Woo in the beast's eyes.
'Why…?'
Before he could even process the question, the beast's blow sent Thomas's head reeling and the ground caving in beneath him. KRUNCH!
"Guh!"
But that was only the beginning. BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM! Just as Thomas had done, the beast rained down attacks from above like a downpour. As if to show what a real assault looked like, the ferocious barrage continued without end. BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM! Unlike the beast, which had absorbed damage with composure, groans poured continuously from Thomas's mouth.
"Guh!"
But then, the beast—who had been enjoying its prey's suffering—noticed something behind Thomas.
[…?]
The beast stopped its attack. What it was staring at intently was Thomas's shadow.
[There's a little rat hiding here.]
POOF! The beast plunged its hand into the shadow and seized something beyond the subspace. POP! When it withdrew its hand, an ant soldier that had been hiding in the shadow was pulled up with it. The beast rose to its feet. The ant soldier flailed as its neck was locked in the beast's iron grip, but the beast didn't flinch.
"Squeeee!"
A soldier of the Shadow Monarch. Under normal circumstances, it was impossible to destroy this immortal soldier. But the one gripping the ant's neck was no ordinary foe. The superior being, the Beast Monarch, concentrated its spectral energy and erased the very existence of the ant soldier.
"Kieek!"
With a final shriek, the ant soldier turned to ash and returned to nothingness. Watching the ashen particles disperse into the air, the beast smirked. In that instant, Thomas—who had somehow risen and circled behind the beast—wrapped one arm around its neck and locked it tight with the other. If you've got no teeth, you use your gums. The bones in his hands were shattered, but his arms and shoulders still held. Thick tendons bulged as both arms poured every last ounce of strength into the squeeze—pressure enough to crumple an iron pillar in an instant.
"Hah… hah…"
Thomas steadied his ragged breathing and focused on his final attack. There was no going back. Gritting his teeth with the resolve that if he let go here, he would die, he stared wide-eyed. Crrrk. Crrrk. A sickening sound, like bones being crushed, came from below. If that was the sound of the enemy's neck bones breaking, there was a chance.
'…Got it.'
But then, suddenly aware of the pain rushing in as the battle's adrenaline faded, Thomas let out a scream of agony.
"GRAAAAGH!"
The beast crushed the arms that had been squeezing its neck with brute force, then seized Thomas's head with both hands and drove it straight into the ground. BOOM! Viewers watching the scene through their screens turned their eyes away at the sight of Goliath's limp, dangling arms. It was a scene too gruesome to watch. But the horrific situation didn't end there—it continued. The beast pounced on the unconscious Goliath and began to tear into him. A beast's feast. Dozens of knife-sharp teeth ripped through Thomas's skin and flesh.
"Ugh… AAGH!"
Thomas fought back desperately until the very end, but there didn't appear to be even a sliver of hope left for him. Blood poured, flesh sprayed.
"AAGH!"
At the gruesome spectacle, the Hunters stationed at the scene stumbled backward. The civilians at the scene who had been pinning their hopes on Goliath had long since scattered in terror after seeing the outcome of the fight. But then. From among the hesitant Hunters, a single Hunter shot out toward the beast with speed like lightning. CRASH! Caught off guard while savoring the spoils of its victory, the beast was knocked flying by the unexpected assault. Renat Nihrman. Germany's strongest Hunter stood before the gravely wounded Goliath. Recognizing Renat, Thomas squeezed out a voice.
"Run… get… out…"
But Renat, his face set like stone, shook his head.
"I'm a Hunter too."
Weaker than you, sure. When Renat first realized his ability and decided to become a Hunter, he had made himself a single vow. He would never turn his back on an ally. Although they weren't on the same team, Thomas—who had fought a common enemy—was, by Renat's standards, a worthy comrade. Regardless of what Thomas thought of him, this was a moment no Hunter could back down from.
'But… just facing it makes my entire body tremble.'
As the beast's face twisted with fury at having its meal interrupted, Renat's legs began to shake with fear. Seeing him tremble, Thomas struggled to open his mouth.
"You'll… die…"
He knew. Renat knew it too. He hadn't brought any equipment, and even his one-hit-kill skill, "Charge," had barely managed to push the thing back. Germany's top Hunter? World ranking 12? He knew better than anyone that in this situation, those titles meant nothing. But.
'I don't regret this.'
Even if this were the last moment of his life, he would choose this again and again. A dignified death over a cowardly survival! I was not wrong. I was not wrong. As Renat faced the colossal force charging toward him, accelerating with every step, he repeated those words to himself endlessly.
'I was not wrong.'
Staring into the beast's horrifyingly wide-open maw as it closed the distance in an instant, Renat threw every ounce of strength he had into a desperate punch. For a brief moment, his entire life flashed through his mind like a film reel. He had gained tremendous power with little effort and lived a life greater than he deserved. Hadn't he been happy? Yes. Renat grinned as he stared into the approaching beast's throat. He had not been wrong after all. It had been a life he could be proud of until the very end. Just before his head was swallowed by the beast's jaws, Renat quietly closed his eyes. Expecting that he would probably never open them again. But then. THOOM! A thunderous sound suddenly erupted in front of him, and Renat's eyes snapped open.
'What?'
The beast, struck by his fist, flew dozens of meters in a straight line and tumbled across the ground. Asphalt cracked, cars were shoved aside, and several streetlights snapped.
"Huh?"
Did I have this kind of power? Renat stared blankly at his fist before finally realizing someone was standing beside him.
"Huh…?"
Upon recognizing his face, Renat expressed his joy in a voice that was nearly half a sob.
"Hunter Sung Jin-Woo!"
***
It had been a close call. If he hadn't planted a shadow soldier in Renat when he'd visited the office that day, would he have made it in time? When Jin-Woo confirmed the shadow soldier he'd assigned to Thomas had vanished, he searched for the only other shadow soldier on-site to perform a swap. To think that one happened to be the shadow soldier in Renat. Thanks to that, he'd been able to save them both. After hurriedly examining the extent of Thomas's injuries, Jin-Woo let out a sigh of relief. The wounds were severe, but fortunately, his life didn't appear to be in danger. To Thomas, who was looking up at him quietly with no strength left to speak, Jin-Woo gave a silent nod. It was his thanks to the Goliath who had bought him time. As he turned away, Renat's emotional voice reached his ears.
"Hunter Sung Jin-Woo!"
"Thank you for holding him off. I'm sorry to ask, but could you move Thomas somewhere safe?"
When Jin-Woo made the request politely in English, Renat nodded vigorously. Compared to facing that monster one-on-one, it was the easiest thing in the world.
"Ah, yes! Don't worry about this side."
Renat carefully lifted Thomas in his arms and quickly moved away. Jin-Woo's gaze turned to the beast, which was just rising to its feet. A murderous aura. He could feel a power from it that was on an entirely different level from ordinary magical beasts.
'Just as I thought…'
His suspicion was correct. The creature carried the same aura as the Ice Elf he had encountered before. The Monarchs who had been targeting Hunters. But. Why was that? Unlike with the Ice Elf, this one showed no sign of bewilderment. Despite having its fight interrupted, it even seemed to project a calm that went beyond composure.
'Why…?'
Was it surprisingly level-headed for something that was half-human, half-beast? While Jin-Woo was puzzling over this, the beast fully emerged from the building's wreckage and walked out slowly. The beast, who had been chewing on something, spat it onto the ground. They were broken teeth. Staring at Jin-Woo, who had knocked out several of its teeth with a single blow, the beast couldn't hide its surprise.
[So it was true. There's a trace of that shadow fellow's scent on a human.]
Sniffing its nose, the beast asked as though it had stumbled upon something truly fascinating.
[But… how were you able to draw out a superior being's power to this degree with a human body?]
'I leveled up, you moron.'
Rather than satisfy the creature's curiosity, Jin-Woo drew out "Kamish's Wrath." There were many things he wanted to ask these Monarchs. But exchanging questions would have to wait until after the fight—once he held the power of life and death in his hands. His gaze swept over the traces of victims left throughout the streets, and a razor-sharp killing intent overflowed from Jin-Woo's eyes. But then. An unforgettable voice came from beside the beast.
[The Designer must have found a way. It's been quite some time since the Shadow Monarch struck a deal with the Designer.]
The thin layer of mist that had been spread across the area gathered like smoke and soon took on the full silhouette of a person.
'That's…?'
The old Ice Elf. The Frost Monarch, who had concealed itself within the mist, revealed its form. Jin-Woo realized the moment he came into contact with the mist that this fog enveloping the entire city was no ordinary natural phenomenon. This time, from behind.
[Then I get to eat that human's corpse, right?]
A strange, grating female voice scraped at Jin-Woo's eardrums, and his head whipped around. There, a spectacle that defied belief was unfolding. Chitter-chitter-chitter—countless insects poured from the sewers in a pitch-black flood, clumping together and transforming into the shape of a massive woman.
[I've been wanting to know what another Monarch tastes like.]
Taking in the enemies that had suddenly surrounded him, Jin-Woo's expression hardened. And he understood. The reason they had jammed the signal and silenced his shadow soldiers wasn't because they feared their hunt being interrupted. They had been trying to hide the fact that there were multiple of them. In other words, this was a trap. A trap set by the Monarchs, spanning the entire city of Seoul, to capture Jin-Woo. Sure enough? The System, recognizing the gravity of the situation, flashed an urgent message.
[The King of Yetis, the Frost Monarch, has identified you as an enemy.]
[The King of Beasts, the Beast Monarch, has identified you as an enemy.]
[The King of Insects, the Plague Monarch, has identified you as an enemy.]
Three enemies on an entirely different level, all at once. The Black Heart, which had been dormant and silent until now, began to thrash wildly at the arrival of these powerful enemies.
'This is…'
Good. The corner of Jin-Woo's mouth curved upward. These things thought they had him surrounded, but he wasn't alone. In fact, it was they who were surrounded. Keeping all his senses sharp so as not to miss the enemy's movements, Jin-Woo summoned his army to encircle them.
'Come forth!'