Chapter 207. Beast (5)
From my perspective, this was the first time I was seeing the actual Beast.
Yet, that black-clad S-Class Hunter effortlessly sliced through the creature before him without a shred of hesitation, whether a witness had entered the dungeon room or not.
A being that held a predatory position similar to his own. South Korea’s Ranking No. 1 attacked with a skill.
A powerful spell, seemingly referred to as [Designated Cutting] for the Earthlings.
Ziiiiing.
Unfortunate for Ha-seong, he could not evade the Beast’s fierce blow.
Now that I looked closely, one of the hero’s ankles was visibly mangled, as if it had been torn by the beast’s claws.
This was probably a result of the Beast first taking away his opponent’s mobility to ensure a solid hit with its [Designated Cutting].
“Cough!”
Blood splattered everywhere.
The Beast’s incisions, said to tear apart space itself, ruthlessly exploded the human front that contained Ha-seong’s shoulder, collarbone, and ribs.
Despite his S-Class reflexes, he had tried to avoid a direct hit somehow, but even merely grazing the opponent’s spell shattered all protective measures, causing blood to pour into the air.
And then, Jeong Ha-seong crumbled.
Originally, I had thought it would be good if casualties appeared quickly in this dungeon, but witnessing the tragedy of a living being dying before my eyes was something beyond my imagination.
Moreover, it didn’t help that this wasn’t just anyone; this was an Earthling I had interacted with directly and who had even shown quite a decent character.
“Jeong Ha-seong!”
I reflexively stepped in between them.
And desperately braced myself to take the Beast’s next attack.
Honestly, I still didn’t understand the situation, but if Ha-seong received another hit in this state, he could truly die.
‘Ugh.’
Bang!
The Beast exhibited tremendous strength, handling a massive battle axe with one hand, disregarding the performance of protective gear. The blunt edge of the axe made an outrageous noise as it hit my body, bouncing off violently.
His attack had such rebounding power that it minimized damage even against an S-Class Hunter.
This was all due to concentrating the protective effects of the [Divine Tree Sapling] into a single point.
‘Alright!’
But the issue was, the sapling’s effects were not invincible…!
‘Wait, what in the world is going on?’
At least, I understood why the Beast had appeared here.
The entrance to Mimic City is connected worldwide, and even at this very moment, passageways linking dungeons were proliferating, so there was no rule stating only South Korea’s S-Class Hunters could be here.
But what was truly incomprehensible was the fact that Jeong Ha-seong was being overwhelmingly beaten down. Even if his growth wasn’t complete, he was the direct disciple of a Great Mage who had spent a whopping 128 hours training him!
‘Huh.’
At that moment.
As I observed the magical power within the Beast’s body, I stumbled upon a secret.
Perhaps in an attempt to conceal its identity, the opponent had adjusted the amount of magic within its body differently than usual through a special magic tool.
But what I was perceiving was a more fundamental characteristic.
In other words, the Beast’s flimsy disguise hadn’t deceived the Great Mage.
‘Damn! With so many charred marks around, how come that thing is so fine…!’
It was then that I heard a faint voice from behind.
“Kim… Hunter…”
Ha-seong looked astonished, seemingly not realizing I was in this dungeon, as if he had seen a ghost. But before he could quench his curiosity, he lost consciousness and collapsed.
It seemed the bleeding was too much for his brain to handle.
‘Oh no!’
I knew there were spare healing potions in Jeong Ha-seong’s item box, but I couldn’t recklessly try to heal him.
I had no idea when the Beast would launch its next attack.
I stood guard, ready to physically shield Ha-seong at any moment. And the ensuing moments went like this.
“…”
Hmm.
“…”
Ummmm.
‘Huh?’
What the? Strangely, the Beast wasn’t attacking?
An inexplicable silence. For some reason, the Beast tilted its head at my appearance and stood frozen, as if it were broken.
At that moment, a hypothesis to explain this situation popped into my head, but now wasn’t the time to ponder that.
I had to heal Ha-seong.
‘Please don’t attack. Please.’
I rummaged through the item box of the unconscious Ha-seong and pulled out a familiar potion.
Then I poured it over the young man’s body.
A hero’s front burst open, and an F-Class was here trying to heal him. Somehow, it felt oddly familiar, but at least there was one relief.
The wounds were shallower than expected, so at least this time the precious lungs wouldn’t be damaged.
‘Aside from that… the rest of the elements aren’t looking good compared to last time.’
Chills ran down my spine.
If I had known, I should have paid more attention when the TV kept blabbering about beasts!
Reflecting on the situation I had sensed just before coming here…
The Beast had likely charged straight towards Ha-seong’s magic when he entered through the Gate, trying to launch a surprise attack the moment he saw his face.
My fallen disciple probably had a high chance of getting caught up in trouble without knowing what was going on.
Moreover, since the Beast was a primal spellcaster, it likely couldn’t identify its target just by sensing magic from that distance.
‘So it was simply judging based on the size of the S-Class awakening level?’
Just as I was deep in thought, an unexpected event unfolded. The beast-masked awakener, who had been peering over here, suddenly adjusted its grip on the axe.
And the Beast turned away from me, aiming to strike down Ha-seong, who lay unconscious.
‘No, this crazy!’
Clang!
But once again, it was prevented by the tearful sacrifice of a human shield.
As the Beast tried to attack, it tilted its elk-bone-covered face, presenting another unknown gesture.
What followed was an absurdly drawn-out standoff.
The so-called Beast circled around us, constantly looking for an opportunity.
I kept my eyes fixed on the Beast’s axe blade, trying to ensure it wouldn’t reach Ha-seong.
“…”
“…”
Yet again, I knew this was coming.
“Ugh!”
Boom!
The Beast, seemingly tired of waiting, fiercely swung its battle axe at my side.
As expected of an S-Class Hunter, the impact was bone-crushing.
So much so that even the protective effects of the [Divine Tree Sapling] couldn’t absorb the full force, causing my body to be pushed back.
“Grr!”
Crash!
But at this point, it was clear to see that the Beast had yet to use its top-tier spell, the incisions.
Of course, the spell’s exceptional performance required a considerable amount of magic, so it made sense that it couldn’t be hastily unleashed.
Still, the fact that it hadn’t aimed that attack at me even once was strange.
It was blatantly odd.
So can I summarize this reaction…?
‘For some reason, the Beast is hesitant to kill me.’
My thoughts didn’t linger long.
I decided to take advantage of this feature of my opponent and find some kind of opening.
This was a worldwide dungeon filled with Earthlings from all over the country.
So, in case of emergencies, I had been wearing a Pixie’s translator since stepping in.
Click.
I hurriedly straightened my crumbled body and pressed the large button attached to the translator.
In short, I activated the Korean-English translation function and shouted at the opponent.
“Stop it!”
Then, somewhat poorly translated English words flowed from the device at my waist.
“Stop it, please.”
“…”
“Just for a moment, let’s talk. I have no idea why you’re suddenly trying to kill Jeong Ha-seong, but if you spare him… I’ll…”
But it seemed the Beast either didn’t understand my plea for negotiation or completely ignored it, focusing only on its own mission.
‘Damn.’
It was as if it knew that I was ‘lacking in reflexes’. Instead of ending the life of the Fire Mage, it intended to carry Ha-seong away entirely.
The Beast’s sudden action was far too fast for an F-Class to comprehend.
But as soon as its magic showed unusual reactions, I squeezed my eyes shut and shouted.
“──Brooklyn Morgan!”
To protect Jeong Ha-seong.
“Stop right now!”
I revealed a secret that shouldn’t have come out in the open.
Well, now that it was out, what was there left to hide?
The Beast. Nukelavi Killer. A mystifier.
And recently attached to it, an ominous title as a threat to humanity.
This beast’s real identity was none other than a certain blond foreigner I had met just earlier!
An S-Class Hunter from the Spectrum Guild. Brooklyn!
“If I suddenly spouted English through the translator, you should have sensed it. If I didn’t know your identity, wouldn’t I have tried to speak the most commonly used language in Earth, Chinese, first?”
Then it happened.
The opponent, masked by the elk, slowly reacted to my words.
Gag-gurgle.
It made a bizarre sound, as if a wild animal was barking with its throat, letting out a few chuckles mixed with air, before beginning to speak in human language.
-How?
But before the meaning could be translated by the AI voice, the opponent took action immediately.
Perhaps realizing that its identity had been exposed, Brooklyn discarded her face mask without hesitation.
But what appeared was quite an unfamiliar sight.
Eyebrows and hair completely stripped away, not leaving a single thread.
A severely burned face, all melted skin.
Yet her eyes held the same distinct charm as ever, revealing a young woman.
With a completely different appearance, Brooklyn moved her lips and spoke.
This was soon translated into Korean through the translator and reached my ears.
“You’re not surprised.”
Brooklyn seemed intrigued that I showed no expression of shock upon seeing her alien appearance.
To be honest, I had expected this level of a twist the moment I faced the actual Beast.
That American had earned a reputation for being a top-tier regenerative spellcaster for quite some time now.
‘Perhaps she had healed her wounds quickly in the fight with Ha-seong to avoid spilling too much blood.’
The reason for the Beast’s baldness inside the mask was likely to avoid DNA analysis by dropping hair.
‘Moreover, in that state, it’s possible that the skill of the Seocher didn’t mark her as the ‘same’ person.’
It seemed Brooklyn had avoided capture until now, not merely by luck.
Sigh.
Following my habitual tendencies, I rubbed my nose.
I had hurriedly shouted to stop Brooklyn, but this was a decidedly dangerous situation.
‘The probability of her turning her target towards me to silence me is 90%…’
At this point, one might wonder.
How could Brooklyn Morgan, the renowned S-Class healer known in America as an angel, be a Beast?
Given common sense, this is structurally impossible.
Brooklyn’s awakening ability is in healing.
And the Beast is in aggressive spatial interference, almost at the opposite endpoint.
Since there are two revealed attributes, ordinarily it should require two different individuals.
Yet this question could only be easily resolved under one specific premise.
‘A rare case.’
Brooklyn Morgan is a Hunter possessing two awakening attributes.
That one statement clears all discrepancies without contradiction.
But digging deeper, this dual attribute aspect has a terrifying characteristic.
It’s not just that having more skills than others is beneficial.
Magic is a concept closely tied to a spellcaster’s imagination.
And since Earthlings have only recently awakened to magic, they tend to embody their most strongly impressed images into their attributes…
Brooklyn likely harbors ‘conflicting aspirations of two different individuals’ hidden deep in her heart, leading to her unique outcome.
Yeah.
This isn’t simply a matter of seeing her as a light mask like a persona.
‘Is her identity split?’
Brooklyn Morgan is a primal spellcaster with a high probability of possessing multiple personalities.
With that realization, a new concern arose.
Before entering this dungeon, I had sent a text to Kang Chang-ho about entering Mimic City. From my observations so far, our contractor seems to start their day around 6 AM.
But the problem was.
“Hm.”
No matter how I think about it, I didn’t think an F-Class would survive until six in front of a psycho with two attributes.
Should I abandon Jeong Ha-seong after all?
