With that one roar, the movements of hundreds of hunters turned to stone.
Stiffened in bizarre postures, the hunters could only roll their eyes.
Their irises burst with blood vessels, turning crimson, as blood began to seep from the seven-orbs.
“Hahaha… Oh, is today the day I die? What do you think, Il-wol?”
Kang Yeon-su quickly ran to our side, bringing Park Yong-hwan and S-rank Healer Gu Sang-min, who had been the first to be attacked.
Even she, taking such swift action next to that monster, clearly looked shaken.
Shiver, shiver, shiver—
‘Yeon-su… It seems like magic recovery isn’t going well.’
Her mana fluctuated, rising and falling, indicating something was off with her body.
Perhaps that little beast, which had first appeared in a human form, had some special ability that hindered magic recovery.
Yeon-su seemed strong, but that didn’t mean her mind was as solid as steel.
Especially in a powerlessness situation like this, she was even more affected.
I firmly grabbed her trembling hand and shook my head resolutely.
‘You will never die.’
“Ah…”
Yeon-su stared at my hand gripping hers and the blazing light in my eyes, and soon her eyes began to regain their brightness.
Perhaps my hold helped her, as she cleared her mind and checked on Park Yong-hwan’s condition.
“How is he?”
Wuuuuuu—
From Gu Sang-min’s hands emanated a holy and noble aura, gently enveloping Park Yong-hwan’s abdomen.
The internal organs were already rapidly regaining their shape.
‘Every time I see it, I can’t get used to it.’
“Yong-hwan will be fine…”
“Thanks. Sang-min.”
Despite a hole the size of a baby’s head in his abdomen, Park Yong-hwan survived thanks to Gu Sang-min’s swift treatment.
Without that S-rank healer, it would have been an absolute miracle.
‘Lucky bastard, that old man.’
Since we were inside the protective barrier formed by Kang Yeon-su, we were safe from the monster’s roar.
Yeon-su took a breath as she checked Park Yong-hwan’s condition, but perhaps due to the aftermath of blocking the great beast’s attack, blood wouldn’t stop flowing from her nose.
“Sis… Here, drink this.”
Yeon-hee handed Yeon-su a bottle of Irmana’s water, and without hesitation, she gulped it down, her eyes sparkling for a moment.
“What is this? Where did you get this potion?”
Yeon-su instinctively sensed it was something special, her eyes widening.
The chaotic flow of her mana was slowly stabilizing.
“Wait, why is that guy just now getting involved?”
Startled by the incredible effect of Irmana’s water, Yeon-su’s attention was quickly drawn to a man walking toward the monster.
At the end of that gaze stood Jo Gi-man.
With two transcendent beings absent, he was unmistakably the strongest here.
‘Hmm?! His arm?!’
As Jo Gi-man approached the great beast, one of his arms began to swell gradually, morphing into something reptilian.
The onlookers, the transcendent beings, were astounded.
There was no denying that this was a transformation into a dragon type.
Given that there was even Kang Yeon-su, who could change into a form like a demon, it wasn’t all that surprising, but dragons were very special creatures in this world.
And of course, in a bad way.
Goooooo——
As the transformation progressed, Jo Gi-man’s aura spiked uncontrollably, causing even the great beast to open its central mouth wide and begin clapping with its tentacles.
Snap, snap, snap, snap—
The absurd gestures of the great beast made Jo Gi-man’s eyes twitch.
‘… Is that the power of the Seven-headed Dragon? Insane?’
At first glance, Jo Gi-man’s aura didn’t seem all that different from the great beast.
‘Ha…’
I let out a heavy sigh, unable to gauge Jo Gi-man’s limits. Doubts began to creep into my mind about whether I could protect Yeon-hee from such an opponent.
As they drew closer, both figures suddenly vanished, and flames began to flash dozens of meters above.
Jo Gi-man, despite his lack of a complete strategy, seemed to lure the monster into the sky to avoid harming the hunters.
‘As expected, the difference in sensing is on another level.’
Unfortunately, aside from the lightning energy that was Jo Gi-man’s main attribute, it was nearly impossible to tell what they were doing in their fight.
On the side, Kang Yeon-su nodded as she intensely focused on the battle. Only someone at her level could comprehend such high-level combat.
Kwaaaaaang——!
Due to the nature of the transcendent battle, a resolution did not take long.
Of course, that was from my perspective, while Jo Gi-man’s perception of time must have felt much longer.
‘… What is Jo Gi-man doing?’
Surprisingly, having been pushed down by the beast’s attack, Jo Gi-man was allowing rapid-fire punches from the tentacles reverted to a fist shape.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-BOOM——!!
Dozens of tentacle fists pummeled him so quickly they were nearly invisible.
Soon, dark red blood burst from Jo Gi-man’s mouth.
I could tell he was holding back power, yet I couldn’t speculate what he was thinking.
Nevertheless, watching Jo Gi-man getting pummeled, I felt both fear of the beast’s strength and a certain thrill.
‘… That’s right! Since it’s come to this, why don’t both of them just go all out and die?!’
I was preparing to explode [Flame Explosion] at any moment, watching to see if the great beast would pay any attention to the other hunters.
At present, with Jo Gi-man getting beaten like this, there was no need for that.
Seeing my nemesis getting thrashed pumped me up, and I wanted to use [Disguise] to cheer for the great beast out loud.
– Guh-guh-guh-guh——!
After allowing what must have been hundreds of punches, Jo Gi-man slumped down to the ground.
His face was a mess, brain matter leaking out, and his limbs were smashed in what looked like an irrecoverable state.
‘He didn’t fight at full strength against the great beast; now he’s paying the price.’
Many hunters who sensed Jo Gi-man’s ruined state were trembling in fear, wishing their turn wouldn’t come.
The once-mighty high-rank hunters, confronted with imminent death, were shivering in fear just the same.
Clank—
Jo Gi-man struggled to lift an arm that was now only bones and flesh.
Yet in that instant, his exploded hand and arm slowly began to return to their original form.
[GAHAA?!]
The great beast exhibited a surprising nonchalance toward Jo Gi-man’s recovery.
Wuuuuuu—
Simultaneously, Gu Sang-min’s arm nearby began to wither like a dried twig.
‘Ha… Sang-min, you’re still living as a fool after all.’
Thanks to Gu Sang-min’s inexplicable ability, Jo Gi-man had recovered once more.
I had only heard about it, but seeing it in action for the first time, I couldn’t believe he had connected such a rare skill to Jo Gi-man.
‘Hmph— Is there a way to connect that skill to Yeon-hee?’
I was thinking like that, just like always.
“Kuhuhuhuh… It’s been a while.”
For some reason, he burst into laughter, and soon after, one wing erupted from his back.
‘… Will he actually transform into a real dragon like that?’
I had never seen such forms of transformation before, meaning I had never witnessed Jo Gi-man fighting seriously in a past life.
‘Hmm…’
The great beast looked as joyous as if a broken toy had returned, and both returned to fighting.
Their battle was unyielding, and the shockwaves were intense enough that the barrier was barely holding on.
‘The great beast is a typical martial variant. Is it because of the data I collected on Kang Yeon-su? There are many similarities.’
Zzzt—
The aftermath of the battle quickly pushed Kang Yeon-su’s barrier backward.
We had to take steps back, slowly distancing ourselves from the battle scene.
Crackling rumble——!!
[GAHAHA!!]
‘That monster… looks extremely pleased. It’s almost as if it was born to meet Jo Gi-man. It’s having such a fun battle.’
Could it be that the great beast had fallen in love with Jo Gi-man? I couldn’t help but think that, as it never left his side.
With the swift developments, the end of the second round came in the blink of an eye.
“Chit!”
Remarkably, this battle once again showed Jo Gi-man being pushed back.
‘Something… I know he doesn’t want to reveal his true power. But who is he trying to hide that from?’
Jo Gi-man was clearly holding back power.
Even with wings sprouting and becoming far stronger, he wasn’t using his power to its fullest.
‘… Could it possibly be because of that bastard?’
High above them, S-rank Barrier Mage Kim Jae-hyeon revealed himself during the battle between the great beast and Jo Gi-man.
While he was enveloped in a powerful barrier so other hunters couldn’t see him, I clearly sensed his presence.
‘That guy Kim Jae-hyeon… Does he have blue eyes? That’s why Jo Gi-man is being cautious about him.’
I nodded but gently rubbed my throbbing head.
‘I wanted to observe more… but Yeon-hee and the other hunters’ conditions are getting critical.’
Moreover, Kim Jae-hyeon seemed to be preparing something, wavering his hands as if working on something.
As he gestured, the crumbling barrier began to recover, and he was adding some additional abilities to it.
The potential of an S-rank Barrier Mage was something I couldn’t fully gauge.
I didn’t know much about that particular field.
We had to consider the dangerous situation that it could trap us in this space forever.
“Uhm?!”
Yeon-su seemed to sense something was off too, but she likely didn’t know where the discomfort was coming from.
However, as long as she was here protecting us, we could keep an eye on Jo Gi-man’s combat power and other matters, but sadly, that was as far as it went.
‘If I hadn’t carved that mark earlier, we’d be in real trouble now. People should always be prepared…’
As I was preparing to activate the explosion, their battle had already entered the third round.
Jo Gi-man had turned one leg into dragon form, layering a unique skill called [Lightning Strike] on his attacks, cautiously pressuring the great beast.
Now even the great beast’s playful demeanor had vanished, and it was fighting seriously. No, now it was apparent that Jo Gi-man was pushing the battle pace.
Kwahziiiiiiik——!!
[GAHAAAAA!]
I kept my eyes on the battle scene until the very last moment, and as it seemed Jo Gi-man was the closest to the great beast, I began to unleash successive [Flame Explosions].
Of course, I didn’t hold even a hint of intention to keep Jo Gi-man safe.
Yet I also wouldn’t do anything so foolish as to intentionally kill him.
Otherwise, I’d get caught by the monster whenever I activated my skill.
Poooon——!
“Ugh?!”
It seemed the timing was perfect, as Jo Gi-man was indirectly hit by the first and second [Flame Explosions].
Perhaps it was because the skill carried a passive that ignored defenses, Jo Gi-man appeared startled and significantly shaken.
He quickly activated his unique skill, [Invincible], while glancing around in confusion, looking unusually flustered.
However, he had no idea who had activated that power.
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