“Why—why—is this happening?!”
Of course, I couldn’t be oblivious to the reason.
Escalon must have devoured and defeated all the Chinese Hunters to grow significantly.
If it’s under the System’s control, it’s not unreasonable to think its level has risen a few tiers.
Just looking at the way its swollen belly is wriggling in the shape of a human palm told me everything I needed to know.
The poor Hunters who were swallowed alive.
I wanted to free them from their suffering quickly, but with just the two of us, we were outmatched.
The Transcendent had surely balanced things out before leaving, but they probably didn’t foresee this variable.
Moreover…
“I knew it had exceptional magic recovery, but our health is being absorbed by it!”
“This is a power that wasn’t there before?!”
“I don’t know! How did this crazy guy receive some kind of blessing from the System?!”
It was an unreasonable ability.
Strange spores were bursting from Escalon’s body, filling the area, exhibiting effects like nothing we had seen before.
Somehow, my agility seemed to be diminishing as well… I realized too late that it was already too late to escape.
“This is dangerous!!”
“Ugh—!”
Kang Yeon-su and Hyeon Il-hwan.
A creeping darkness of death was slowly casting over the two of them.
Just ten minutes ago, I had never imagined things would turn out like this; the agony of late regret was eating me alive.
“I can’t…”
The words “I can’t win” nearly burst from Hyeon Il-hwan’s throat.
The talents they possessed, their remarkable physical abilities, plus the capability to adapt their powers to the situation—all of it was utterly overpowered by this monster beyond common sense.
Though the two were praised throughout Korean history for their unparalleled talents, they were woefully inadequate against a beast carrying the potential granted by the Devouring Creeper clan.
“Damn it! I might have to consider using my last resort if things go south!!”
“……”
The last resort usually referred to self-sacrificial spells or ending one’s own life.
Above all, I wanted to prevent becoming a source of even greater horror by being devoured by that monster.
But neither of them had any self-sacrificial spells.
So naturally, they were thinking of the latter method.
An endless struggle to avoid being swallowed by the darkness named Escalon continued.
Even if we were lucky enough to survive this crisis and were granted more time to grow, that beast was so formidable that neither of them could confidently claim they could surpass it.
Boom—!
In the midst of their frantic dodging.
Hyeon Il-hwan fired a fourth signal flare into the sky.
“W-What? Who are you calling for? They said Hyeon Joong-gil was on another mission!”
Hyeon Joong-gil was currently battling a Great Beast comparable to the Devouring Creeper, emerging from a recently discovered crack.
Of course, he wasn’t alone—he was with his long-standing companions.
“There’s no harm in trying!”
“Hah—”
Kang Yeon-su let out an exasperated sigh.
It was known that the remaining Hunters were in North Korea to oppose the Great Beast; just a moment ago, Hyeon Il-hwan had signaled them in a desperate attempt to grab at straws.
Of course, he had already signaled Ma Gwang-jin and Yoo Min-jeong, but it was doubtful they would arrive on time while battling a fierce struggle with Team Three.
Watching Hyeon Il-hwan’s actions made Kang Yeon-su acutely aware of the imminent death that loomed over them.
Now, their limbs barely moved.
She had lost count of how many times they had repeatedly made futile attempts against that monster today.
The thought of just giving up and surrendering suddenly crossed her mind, but she channeled her superhuman willpower to endure somehow.
‘I didn’t want to… die like this!! I was so close to breaking through! Please let me get a skill for self-destruction!!’
Kang Yeon-su cried out to the System.
Yet the System, which had always been friendly to her, remained silent today.
Rumble rumble
“──?!”
Crashhhhh…
“Ugh?!”
“Aaahhh!!”
At that moment, dozens of tendrils erupted from the ground, binding them.
“Hahahah! Bug pests!! Finally got you!!”
Since when had this been prepared?
The two didn’t sense Escalon’s attack coming from below at all.
It must have slowly risen from deep underground to the surface without detection.
The roots of the Creeper Guard were nothing compared to this level of stealth.
“He was keeping our gazes upward to draw us in!!”
“Hah—damn it!!”
Before them stood a massive tree that looked like it was woven from snake-like tendrils.
Shhhh—
Piiing—!
“Ugh—!”
“Ugh…”
The tree branch, its end rounded, had become a sharp spike, stopping right before their eyes.
“I’ll make sure you suffer forever, not knowing life or death. That’s how it must be.”
“Ugh—”
“Ugh…”
The two faced an overwhelming fear they had never experienced before.
Naked malice was directed at them.
They tried to take their own lives, but whether it was an effect of the binding tendrils or something else, that was impossible too.
Was it the case that, as the monster in front of them had said, they would spend the rest of their lives suffering worse than hell?
“No… kill us!! Please, just kill us!!”
“Umph—!”
The two struggled to die somehow, but the First Escalon welcomed even that with delight, taking them step by step toward its mother.
“Aaaaaah…”
“Ugh…”
Yellow liquid flowed down the two’s legs.
Though it was due in part to the status ailment ‘Paralysis.’
No matter how strong the will of a person, in circumstances like this, they would be unable to control their own body.
Plunged into overwhelming shame and despair, they were brought before the main body of the still-burning Devouring Creeper.
Amazingly, the main body was still alive.
But it was in a state no different from being dead—effectively a living corpse.
It had sacrificed everything to activate the battlefield that bound the Team One Hunters.
“Mother…”
Escalon knew that too. Its mother had already passed away.
“How ridiculous! Ugh—!”
This monster, which had driven countless innocents into death, probably thought about its mother with horror.
Kang Yeon-su and Hyeon Il-hwan, vomited by the ambivalence of that attitude, continued to curse.
But strangely, to Escalon, it all sounded like beautiful song.
Among humans, it wasn’t uncommon to see those desperately trying to maintain their pride until the very moment of death, but that wouldn’t last even a day.
“In a few days, those bugs will crawl and beg to be killed…”
It knew that well and tried to overcome its sorrow by thinking of ways to inflict more pain.
Now the past had become meaningless. When thinking of the future.
Boom! Crash!
“Yes. There were still remaining bugs.”
Escalon’s gaze turned upstream of the river.
There, Jo Won-jae and Gu Sang-min were hurriedly running.
As soon as they saw the two bound to Escalon, they accelerated their pace to flee.
Of course, Jo Won-jae was using his ability to carry the fainted people along the ‘Path of Wind.’
“Will the magic hold?”
“Damn it—! I can’t just leave this many people behind!”
In a moment of rage, Jo Won-jae yelled.
That was anger not directed at Gu Sang-min, but a fury against his own helplessness.
It was a level of battle that he couldn’t possibly join those two.
The only thing he could do was run like his feet were on fire.
“If only Yoo Min-jeong was here… damn it!”
Her binding power was famous even among Hunters.
She would have certainly stalled Escalon for at least a moment, and had that happened, the outcome might have been different.
“It’s been a while since I contacted Ma Gwang-jin and Yoo Min-jeong, but it won’t be easy. Team Three is already struggling to maintain the front line.”
“Contact? Ha! Do you really think those guys are still alive? They must’ve all been taken out! And how many Escalons have come our way!!”
“Don’t be so sure. They might be alive and heading this way—”
“No way! The likes of that monster should be left to deal with someone like Hyeon Joong-gil or Jo Gi-man! What on earth are they doing instead of coming here!!”
Now that he thought about it, it made him angry.
How could those humans who lived under the acclaim of being the strongest be nowhere to be seen when a disaster struck?
“We weren’t even supposed to be facing them. A Transcendent-grade monster? And that monster doesn’t even face the damn System’s constraints! We’ve been abandoned!!”
Jo Won-jae vented his frustration at the current situation.
Why must we continue to live tormented by monsters? The feeling of bitterness and indignation was unbearable.
“Still, if we can reach Duruseong somehow, we can find a way to…”
Whew…
“Hm?!”
Just as Gu Sang-min was about to speak about their retreat route.
A sound like a missile was flying in from afar, and a huge something descended in their path.
KAAAAAAARANG—!!
“Oh… no…”
“Shit…”
* * *
Ma Gwang-jin had taken over the leader role of Team Three from Maeng Seong-yong.
At some point, the signal regularly coming from Team One abruptly ceased.
Furthermore…
“Hm…?! What is it?”
Before joining Team Three.
They had exchanged ‘well-being notes’ with the main Hunters in Team One, and suddenly, three notes from Gu Sang-min had ripped apart at once.
“A rescue request… this isn’t good…”
“Rescue? Who’s rescuing who? Are we rescuing Team One?”
“Aren’t we moving for that purpose right now?”
“No, that’s not it. There are other country’s Hunters too, and we were strengthening our ability to counter them while searching. Fighting monsters again? That won’t happen. I can only use the binding once.”
Already, the Hunters of Team Three had gotten quite close to the main base of the Devouring Creeper.
Ma Gwang-jin had finally persuaded Yoo Min-jeong to head out, and gradually, the number of Hunters following him had increased until it had been decided that most of them would go together.
“Everyone, stop!!”
At Ma Gwang-jin’s order, nearly a thousand Hunters stopped simultaneously.
“From here, Yoo Min-jeong and I will go ahead to scout, so everyone else should hold the fort for now.”
“Eh? Wait, I thought we were just going to you two— AAAHH!”
With that, Ma Gwang-jin pulled Yoo Min-jeong close and vanished in an instant.
“……”
Il-wol, watching the three pieces of paper scatter from Ma Gwang-jin’s hand, rubbed his chin for a moment before, grabbing Lee Yeon-hee and Noh Ha-yoon, and vanishing simultaneously.
“Ah, where are you going—”
As soon as they said they’d be right back, the empty spots of Lee Yeon-hee and Noh Ha-yoon made their comrades sigh deeply.
“At least you should tell us where you’re going; I might feel a bit left out.”
“They’re already gone.”
The comrades were a little flustered by the sudden situation, but they figured it was something urgent that required immediate verification.
That thought was able to come about because they had received news of a successful subjugation against the Devouring Creeper, and fierce flames rose around as something continuously burned.
Certainly, the roots of the Great Beast were turning to ashes within those burning flames.
Thus, they considered that the subjugation had nearly reached its end.
The ‘White Alliance’ received information relatively quickly, and they managed to maintain a sense of stability, but others were feeling slightly different about it.
As soon as the strongest powers of Team Three left, the remaining Hunters became increasingly uneasy and began to murmur.
However, thanks to Maeng Seong-yong appearing at just the right moment to calm the people down, the commotion quickly subsided.
“What could be happening? Why are they in such a hurry? Could it be… that there’s a problem with the Hunters from another country?”
“Or the damage to the Hunters is so severe that aid was requested.”
Eun-young, who had quietly listened to Joo-ah and Ah-rin’s conversation, spoke up.
“That can’t be… I heard two Transcendents are joining us.”
Ham Eun-young had been informed of that by her grandmother.
Of course, she was completely unaware that her grandmother had joined the fight as well.
“Transcendents? Why didn’t you mention that earlier.”
“Because you didn’t ask…”
“Huh…? Well, that’s true… but you’ve always been quiet…”
“Anyway, if that’s true, then isn’t Team One safe?”
“I thought so, but… something feels off.”
“Lee Yeon-hee will tell us more about it later. Let’s wait a bit.”
“That’s true. The Creeper Guard is also cleaned up nicely, so shall we have a snack or something?”
“I’ll start a fire. Let’s enjoy some jerky and a drink.”
“Sure… sounds good.”
Leaving behind their comrades’ somewhat anxious gazes, Il-wol hurriedly chased after Ma Gwang-jin.
“No, Il-wol. Yeon-hee. You have to tell us where you’re going all of a sudden.”
“I-I still don’t really…!”
“You don’t know? What kind of summoned creature doesn’t follow their master’s orders?!”
Il-wol didn’t respond to Noh Ha-yoon’s grievances.
‘Something must be wrong.’
Ma Gwang-jin’s expression was anything but normal.
It was definitely something laced with despair, and that drove Il-wol to accelerate his pace even more.
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