I had to focus on what I could do right now, whether there was a traitor or whatever.
“Can’t we get out?”
Nod—
“Then let’s just wait a little longer.”
“…… Tap.”
“Why? Are you anxious? I know you want to run because you sensed something ominous, but…”
Yeon-hee fidgeted with her earring, saying it should be fine with this.
‘Believing that could get us killed later. Sending Yeon-hee there seems like the best plan.’
The earring artifact’s ability was to move to a place I deemed ‘safe.’
At first, I thought about setting it for the Dark Space, but since that void couldn’t contain her, I discarded that option.
Currently, moving to our home or the city where Cha Jin-hyuk was located was a feasible alternative.
‘Of course, if we’re trying to escape Jo Gi-man, those places would also feel risky, so I’d better set it for someplace entirely different. It’s a bit of a gamble, but it would be safe there.’
I recalled the one being who had become my friend for the first time in this life.
“Tap.”
Then I suggested using the earring’s ability directly through Ran, and after a moment’s thought, she nodded.
“Geez, what a stubborn one. Okay, I got it. But not now, Il-wol. Let’s wait one turn.”
“…… Tap?”
It seemed Yeon-hee had her own thoughts and didn’t accept my request.
Nowadays, I often found myself in charge, but that was only when she was unsure of what to do.
When she wore that determined expression, I knew my words wouldn’t carry weight.
‘Hmm… There’s no helping it. At least at this distance, we could respond minimally.’
When we were close to the monster earlier, the immediate fear of being obliterated had eased significantly, so I had no choice but to go along with it.
Once our brief conversation ended.
‘?!’
Whoooooosh—
Fwaaaah───!
A massive shockwave erupted from the spot where the monster was.
Due to that immense destructive power, nearly a thousand hunters were blasted outside all at once, with fewer than ten, including Kang Yeon-su and Park Yong-hwan, managing to withstand it.
Soon after, the shockwave hit us.
“Ugh! Sword Dragon!”
Even the ‘Sword Dragon,’ who was shielding Yeon-hee and me with a shadow barrier, struggled to fend off the diluted shockwave.
‘And I’m this far away…’
How much of a shock did the hunters who were close to it experience?
I moved forward, defending against the shockwave with the Sword Dragon while expanding my senses toward where the monster was to assess the situation.
I could soon confirm that about two hundred A-rank hunters had sustained various injuries from the recent attack.
‘…… At least not too many have died. Everyone managed to guard the vitals well.’
However, there were quite a few hunters utterly incapacitated, including one whose arms and legs had been completely obliterated.
‘If we had been there, we might have vanished without a trace…’
The thought made my head spin for a moment.
‘Let’s not think about what hasn’t happened. By the way, Sang-min is going to be busy.’
At least with S-rank healer Gu Sang-min around, I hoped he could somehow prevent the injured from dying.
As long as we didn’t delay too much, we might be able to revive the lost body parts.
Bam!!
After the shockwave passed, dozens of hunters came crashing into our barrier.
Their expressions were filled with shock and fear.
‘To launch A-rank hunters this far… This entity is beyond reasoning… Is that the power of a Great Beast-level monster?’
The hunters who flew in seemed oblivious to us, perhaps still shaken from the recent attack.
– Damn!! Was it a mistake to attempt an attack? What the hell was that just now?
– There was definitely a flow of mana identical to my skill in the shockwave!
– I see… That monster must have absorbed all of our attacks!
– Should we have followed Park Yong-hwan’s advice? This feels like a total mess…
A deranged monster with the ability to absorb hunters’ attacks, converting them into energy inside its main body before exploding.
The hunters who experienced that attack shook their heads in unison, sighing in despair.
But there was something even more shocking.
Slither—
‘…… What is that? A person?’
After the shockwave erupted, I sensed a humanoid creature slowly rising on top of the slime’s main body.
Within that small, black creature’s core was a tremendous aura swirling, not just the level of absorbing hunters’ powers, but a well-crafted, refined energy.
‘…… Shit…’
The instant I sensed it, a curse slipped out, reflecting my honest feelings.
‘Wasn’t that all consumed in the attack earlier?’
It was a mysterious life form created by pouring all the remaining power stored from absorbing the hunters’ attacks.
It stood three meters tall, with the physique of a muscular man painted entirely black, with no eyes or nose visible.
‘That shape… It looks similar to Kang Yeon-su’s [Divine Transformation] mode, doesn’t it?’
Wham──
The creature’s mouth ripped open wide, where its eyes should have been, taking a deep breath before releasing it.
[Gaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh──!!!]
– Grrrrrgggahhh!!
– This… is insane…!
With its destructive roar echoing, debris from the broken buildings and ground soared several meters into the air.
“Ugh! It hurts! My ears!”
I quickly wrapped Yeon-hee in big boar leather, and she put on earmuffs made from Wang-wang’s fur from the space, barely managing to prepare for the sound wave attack.
– Graaaaaah! My ears are going to fall off! That bastard! Guess being big means having a big mouth.
– A sound wave attack?! Is that a lion’s roar?
– This isn’t some skill or trait. It’s just spewed from inside it.
– No way… If that’s what it can do…
– A monster with the strength of a thousand hunters… We’re screwed, right?
– What do we do? It looks like the barrier has been breached.
– I’ve heard of reverse barriers, but aren’t they designed to prevent monsters from escaping? This is effectively a dead end!
The hunters nearby believed the roar had come from the gigantic monster.
Their conversations, oblivious to us, were filled with shock and dissatisfaction with the current situation.
However, contrary to their words, a strange thrill began to settle on their faces, and soon one by one, they began to leap toward the spot where the monster was.
‘The saying that high-rank hunters are all perverts isn’t without reason.’
“Whoa— This is unbelievable… Now I see why you urged us to run. If we had been there…”
Yeon-hee seemed horrified just imagining it, tightly closing her eyes.
“If that monster aimed for us… It wouldn’t be easy to respond. Of course, it won’t, but still.”
The nervousness was evident on Yeon-hee as she wiped the sweat beading on her forehead, took a few sips of Irmana’s water, and spoke again.
“But you know? I want to go there and experience it.”
“……”
“This kind of opportunity doesn’t come often, you know?”
With her eyes slightly glazed, Yeon-hee seemed to have reached the peak of excitement.
‘…… What effect does that recent roar have? Those people earlier, and now Yeon-hee, they seem overly thrilled.’
But even if that weren’t the case, she was a ‘hunter’ with a hunting instinct.
It seemed she wasn’t inclined to leave such a delicious hunting opportunity intact.
Of course, it wasn’t prey we could handle.
‘Phew─ No helping it…’
As Yeon-hee was ready to move forward, it was essential that I kept pace with her.
Once we made our decision, we mounted the Sword Dragon and headed toward the monster.
Boom──!
I flinched!
Just before reaching the designated spot, the loud noise caused Yeon-hee’s shoulder to jolt.
‘Kang Yeon-su must be clashing with that black one. Is it because it resembles him?’
Upon arrival, we found hundreds of hunters forming a semicircle, watching the battle between Kang Yeon-su and the black creature.
Seok Ryu-hwa and Park Jin-gon watched with expectant eyes.
Healers like Gu Sang-min had already moved to the outer edges of the barrier with the injured.
“Grrrrrr─”
And Kang Yeon-su was already in his Divine Transformation state, transformed into a rough beast-like appearance.
With horns sprouting from his forehead, a reddened face, an enlarged physique, and a smooth surface.
To an outsider, it would be difficult to tell who the monster was.
Kaboom—!! Bang──!
The humanoid monster detached from the slime engaged Kang Yeon-su in a series of exchanges for several minutes.
The watching hunters couldn’t assist because they’d experienced the absorption of their strength once, and they could only pace back and forth anxiously.
– That thing… it’s not just fast, is it?
– … The movements aren’t that of a monster?
– Since it’s a monster that absorbs skills, I guess it’s not surprising it would learn our movements.
– Not surprising? This is unprecedented!
– Even among monsters of the same rank, evaluations differ drastically based on their abilities. Shouldn’t that be raised to Great Beast Level?
– Is rank even important right now? We’re about to bite the dust.
Then, as the duel appeared finely balanced, one side began to waver.
“She’s getting pushed back…”
“……”
Kang Yeon-su, who was considered the strongest hunter among the enhancement specialists barring the early Awakened—commonly referred to as Transcendents—was being pushed in hand-to-hand combat.
It was genuinely shocking, and the psychological blow was likely the hardest on Yeon-su herself.
“Graaaahhhh──!!”
Kang Yeon-su roared and steadied herself before charging at the creature again.
But once the momentum tilted, it seemed hard to bring it back to equilibrium.
Bam—!
“Kahk─!”
The black creature’s punch landed squarely in Yeon-su’s abdomen, launching her into the air with a spin.
And just as she was falling, the creature kicked, sending Kang Yeon-su flying hundreds of meters, tumbling to the ground.
[Ki-hihihihihihihiii!!]
The black creature raised its arms skyward, clapping its hands cheerfully, grinning.
The hunters in the area could only gulp in silence, frozen in place by the bizarre yet nonchalant display of the monstrous being.
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