Chapter 582
“W-where should we report it to?”
“The Hunter Association, the Peace Guild, Jin Taekyung… anywhere, just do it now!”
What could you even call this?
Choi Minwoo, Kim Hwajong, and the twenty elite hunters from the Peace Guild standing outside the Gate—all had the same question. But no one could answer. No, there was no answer.
They could only stare in stunned silence at ‘that thing’ which had arrived in this world.
– GRAAAAAAAH!
A thunderous roar shook the sky.
It was a hippopotamus, an elephant, a cow, and a rhinoceros all at once. But at the same time, it was none of those things.
It was far too massive and powerful to simply be called a beast.
Huuuuung. Crack!
Just one step. But the aftermath was immense.
A gigantic paw crushed the Gate administration building, casting a shadow over a ten-meter radius.
The ground shook as if an earthquake had struck, cable lines connecting to the base of the mountain snapped, and gondolas fell.
In that moment, a name from a distant memory rose up in Kim Hwajong’s mind.
“Behemoth.”
Behemoth. Or Behemos.
A monster whose name originates from the Hebrew word for ‘beast.’
Traces of this mythical creature, said to have risen from the deep, dark abyss, can even be found in the Bible.
“Behold now Behemoth, which I made with thee…”
It eats grass like an ox.
But the records in the Bible were wrong.
Whoever created that monster, Behemoth was nothing like a peaceful creature that grazes on grass and drinks from ponds.
Crack! Craaaaack!
– Kwoo, Kwooooor!
Behemoth was not the only thing that emerged from the Gate.
With screams that sounded like wails, more than two hundred yetis fled for their lives. Behemoth’s first targets were those very creatures.
This enormous being mercilessly trampled and devoured its kin and underlings.
Splash! Thud-thud-thud!
Blue blood poured down like rain.
With four pillar-like legs stomping the ground and tusks like an elephant’s scraping the earth, the bodies and blood of monsters were strewn everywhere.
A trembling voice leaked out from someone’s lips.
“Th-this is…”
Just witnessing it brought despair.
As everyone stood frozen, staring in a daze at the yetis being slaughtered, it happened.
Fwoooosh!
From beyond the black mist that had settled around them, a dazzling radiance soared up.
A warm light pushed aside the mist, gradually expanding its reach.
Finally, those who had been holding their breath exhaled, searching for the source of the light.
Twenty pairs of eyes landed on a young man holding a radiant sword, shining brighter than ever before.
With eyes shining more brilliantly than ever, he spoke.
“Everyone, behind me.”
The moment his calm voice reached their ears, the Peace Guild hunters realized they had escaped the Fear that Behemoth exuded. One of the onlookers shivered with awe.
‘This…’
It was a feeling all too familiar, nostalgic.
From his distant memories, Kim Hwajong muttered as he recalled the face of someone who was now only a faint memory.
“You were here all along.”
The past and present overlapped. What Kim Hwajong saw was both Cheon Tae-min and Choi Minwoo, and both at once.
Song Cheon-woo had despaired at seeing this, but the butler felt a deep joy in his heart even amid this dangerous situation.
He stood at the side of the radiant young man.
Fwooosh!
A long, blazing whip of fire appeared in both hands. Choi Minwoo met Kim Hwajong’s gaze and spoke with a calm face.
“We have to stop it. No matter what.”
His voice held unyielding resolve. Cries of alarm were already rising from below the mountain as people realized something was wrong.
“Kyaa! Aaagh!”
“Ugh, ugh!”
– GRAAAAAAAH!
At Behemoth’s roar as it slaughtered two hundred yetis, the snow piled on the mountain washed away like a wave.
With shrill screams, what looked to be well over a thousand people scattered in all directions.
If by some miracle they managed to escape the monster in front of them, they would be Behemoth’s next target.
Choi Minwoo, Kim Hwajong, and the Peace Guild hunters here all knew that fact.
They also knew they could not face that monster alone.
“Team leader, everyone here is a top hunter, but the opponent is a beast that only appears in myths,” someone said, their voice shaking.
Choi Minwoo answered.
“I won’t force anyone. If you want to run, run.”
Before anyone could start to waver, his quiet voice continued.
“But don’t forget. Remember the choice you make here. Whether you can still call yourself a hunter.”
The trembling in everyone’s eyes stilled. The sword in Choi Minwoo’s hand shone brighter than ever.
[Hero’s Soul]. An ego sword that grants power befitting a hero to those who are worthy.
Voooom. Fwoooosh.
The sword trembled violently. The light that burst forth like a flash drove back the darkness and its warmth embraced everyone.
In Choi Minwoo’s eyes, now colored gold, the Behemoth that had finally devoured all its kin was reflected.
“The power we received… wasn’t it for a day like this?”
Not a single exception. Everyone here had once been chosen by someone unknown and gained power beyond the ordinary.
And with that power came duty and a sense of mission.
Hunter.
A sword that protects humanity, a shield that defends against threats, and a guardian that always stands at the forefront of the battle against monsters.
Their wealth and fame might have faded that pure essence, but the core remained.
“Battle formation. Ready.”
Step.
Choi Minwoo took a step forward. Light followed his footsteps, and Kim Hwajong and twenty hunters followed after.
Marching forward in an attack formation like arrows, their advance was reflected in the massive eyes of the monster that had just finished its first meal in this new world.
– Gr…a…aaa…
The monster, Behemoth, let out a howl that was almost like a sneer. Even after devouring hundreds of yetis, it was still hungry.
With a sickening glow, it prepared to crush and devour the humans coming its way.
– O, you. H-u-m-a-n-s…
No one here could understand Behemoth’s demon tongue.
But the meaning was clearly conveyed to everyone.
Srrrk. Fwooosh.
Weapons were drawn. Magic flared up from staffs and hands.
In the midst of the deep darkness, twenty-two hunters glowed in the light.
Drawn taut like bowstrings, they were loosed by the voice of Choi Minwoo, standing at the front.
“Charge—!”
With a thunderous roar, they shot forward as one arrow.
* * *
Fwoooooosh!
A streak of light tore through the darkness. At its end, the monster unleashed a howl as if dragged up from the abyss.
– Kwaaaaah!
In the next instant—
Boom! Craaaaack!
Shouts and roars, light and darkness clashed.
– Kiiik!
“Shut your mouth, you bastard!”
With a heavy thud, a merfolk’s head was smashed to bits.
But I didn’t bother checking if it was dead. Before its body even hit the ground, I intercepted the merfolk trying to flee.
“After making such a mess, now you want to run? What kind of logic is that?”
– Kii, Kiiik.
A desperate, pleading cry. But it was too late. They were monsters, I was human.
And if you made a mess all the way in Busan, you’d pay the price.
An eye for an eye. A life for a life.
Without hesitation, I swung White Flame in my hand.
Fwoosh!
A blazing tail of a fire dragon swept across, striking down more than fifty merfolk at once. The burning stench of flesh and their screams filled the air.
– Kiiiiii!
A pitiful death wail. I quickly moved past the nearest merfolk.
Slash. With a faint slicing sound, I felt its head fly off through my heightened senses.
But it wasn’t over.
There were still about five hundred merfolk gathered, searching for an escape route—the exact number I needed to kill here.
Slash. Slash. Swish-swish-swish!
Blood spurted as monster limbs flew. Everything caught in the spear’s path was cut down, and the force of the Flame God Palm bursting from my outstretched hand burned up twenty more merfolk.
Fwooosh, Kwooooosh!
It was hot.
The asphalt, melted by the extreme heat, the car tires spinning against the bus, and my own heart as I looked at the dead driver with his foot still on the gas pedal.
Blood streaked the cracked windshield and ran down the hood.
Even a state-of-the-art airbag couldn’t stop the trident lodged in the driver’s chest, punching through the front glass.
The middle-aged man’s eyes, now drained of life, were empty, and the family photo hanging from the rearview mirror was soaked in blood.
Two parents. A boy who looked like an elementary schooler and a girl even younger.
But the most fucked up part… was that the whole family in the photo was inside the car. All of them, drenched in blood, not a single one smiling.
“You… you bastards!”
Fwoosh! Kwooooosh!
The flames roared even fiercer as they devoured the monsters.
I cut my way through the fire, wielding my spear. I didn’t stop slashing, stabbing, ripping, smashing.
Between the heat and the evaporating blood, a thought suddenly struck me.
‘Maybe…’
Maybe they were just on a trip too. Maybe this family came to Busan for a vacation, laughing and having fun for the first time in years—only to meet monsters.
Looking at Gwangan Bridge nearby, maybe the father and son made promises they couldn’t keep.
Crack!
My fist punched through tough scales, crushing bone and flesh.
I silently looked down at the merfolk letting out a short whimper, then ripped out whatever my hand was gripping.
Splat! Thud!
The moment I pulled my hand free, green blood splattered my face. The stench was horrible, but I was already covered in blood.
With wide-open eyes, I dropped the heart I’d just pulled out onto the corpse.
Thunk.
Its look of disbelief, its resentful expression, annoyed me, so I stomped on its face.
Crunch. Pop.
Only then did I realize—there were no more monsters coming at me. None fleeing, none left alive.
Just as I exhaled a hot breath in the puddle of green blood—
“…Wicked human, you.”
“What.”
Turning my head, I locked eyes with the Skeleton King, who let out a sigh.
“No, never mind.”
I wondered what I looked like reflected in his eyes, but I didn’t ask.
Just from the way the hundred hunters behind the Skeleton King were looking at me, I could already guess.
“It’s over here.”
With a dry voice that even sounded strange to myself, a high-ranking hunter answered in surprise.
“Huh? Oh, y-yes.”
“How’s it going elsewhere?”
“Uh, those were the last ones. We tried to gather all the forces to hit them at once, but… gulp.”
He swallowed hard and continued.
“Looks like it’s all taken care of.”
“That’s good. You did well.”
I patted the Skeleton King’s shoulder and started walking again. When someone asked where I was going, I answered briefly,
“To save people. The ones still dying, the ones still alive.”
I was tired. It was more mental than physical. But I couldn’t rest yet.
Somewhere, there were still people waiting for rescue, fighting off death. I had to save even one more.
And then—
Squish.
The sound of footsteps splashing through green blood echoed over the city asphalt.
Buzz. Crackle.
With an irritating mechanical noise, the giant screen on a high-rise building flickered. Through the static, a familiar face appeared.
An annoyingly handsome face. It was Team Leader Choi. At the same time, a small side screen appeared with a caption.
[Peace Guild’s Hunter Choi Minwoo. Swept up in the Monster Wave that occurred in Pyeongchang…]