Chapter 758

“At the same time… support has also been requested from Michael Silbert.”

The name that suddenly came from Team Leader Choi Minwoo’s mouth.

Michael Silbert.

I paused for a moment, but I wasn’t that surprised.

It was only natural for a drowning man to reach out in all directions.

The German government had sensed the calamity that was about to come crashing down on them, and they had simply cried out for the greatest safeguard that could save them.

Me, and Michael Silbert.

“You mean that gloomy, unpleasant human bastard?”

Skeleton King spoke with a disgusted look on his face.

“I’d rather avoid running into that bastard if I can.”

“No one here wants that.”

At my reply, he smacked his lips.

“Well, that’s true, but from the very first moment I saw that human, I got a really bad feeling… No, forget it. Anyway, we’ll have to get there before those bastards.”

This wasn’t some sport where we competed to see who could save more lives, but I agreed with Skeleton King’s last remark.

‘If things keep going like this, no one will be able to stop him.’

The greatest beneficiary of this thoroughly manipulated wave of disasters was Michael Silbert, no matter how anyone looked at it.

From the first terrorist attack until now, Odin Guild had suppressed more than ten Monster Waves all across the world, and Michael Silbert had received thunderous applause for building overwhelming merit by slaying S-Class monsters in most of those battles.

Enough to make people forget the name Cheon Tae-min, if only for a while.

‘I have to stop him now. Somehow.’

I didn’t know what ultimate goal Michael Silbert was after.

But if a monster like that were to obtain unquestioned fame and power like this, if he were to rise to the same untouchable rank as Cheon Tae-min…

I was certain a calamity even worse than the current one would follow.

“Team Leader Choi Minwoo.”

Understanding what I meant by calling him, Team Leader Choi nodded.

“The pilots are already standing by.”

This was a situation where we had to move as quickly as possible.

As Team Leader Choi Minwoo, Skeleton King, and I hastened toward the aircraft already prepared for us, we continued talking.

“What’s the situation in Germany right now?”

“A Level 2 disaster alert has been issued, centered on Munich. According to the information provided by the German government, a Monster Wave will break out within five hours at the latest.”

“When the government says the maximum is five hours…”

Team Leader Choi nodded.

“It means it could go off at any moment.”

Running on wishful thinking in the face of disaster was universal.

No, at the very least, any government that had to evacuate people had no choice but to do so.

If the German government officially admitted, ‘We’re fucked,’ in a situation like this, a major city like Munich would instantly descend into total chaos.

“Goddamn it.”

“Still, their response so far has been excellent. Since the Paris branch terror incident, every nation in the world has been on edge, and since the Level 2 disaster alert was issued, more than three thousand Hunters have already gathered in Munich. Our Ares Guild is among them as well.”

“That’s something, at least. Then what about Odin? No, that man?”

In response to Skeleton King’s question, Team Leader Choi answered.

“Of course there are Hunters from the Odin Guild branch in Munich on standby as well… but the core force led by Michael Silbert is currently in Africa.”

“Africa?”

“Yes. According to the intelligence we obtained, they’re currently suppressing a Monster Wave that broke out in South Africa. Once they finish there, they’ll head to Munich immediately.”

“What an easy life he’s got. So he plans to stir things up all over the place first, then clean them up one by one?”

Skeleton King sneered, but I shook my head.

“That’s not it.”

“Hm?”

“If this had been part of his plan from the start, he would’ve already left for Munich by now. Which means, at the very least, what’s happening in Munich wasn’t a terror attack set up by him.”

“That’s right. Which is why it’s even more dangerous.”

“Why is that more dangerous? If it wasn’t his intention, then wouldn’t it actually—”

His voice trailed off.

Skeleton King, who had been asking with a puzzled expression as he listened to Team Leader Choi Minwoo and me talk, suddenly stiffened.

“Ah.”

Looks like he’d finally realized it too.

What this situation meant, and just how immense the danger and anxiety it carried really were.

‘Now, even without artificial terror attacks, Monster Waves can occur naturally.’

Of course, even after peace had come, Monster Waves still happened.

But the problem was that the frequency of those disasters, once rare enough to be called ‘very occasional,’ had now reached a level where words like ‘sometimes’ or ‘often’ would fit instead.

Enough to make humanity remember those days when corpses piled up like mountains and rivers ran red with blood.

The Great Cataclysm.

Humanity had recorded that horrific past in those three words.

But at this moment, a question suddenly came to me.

What name would this new age of calamity, about to begin now, or perhaps already begun, be remembered by?

And…

What exactly was this system, which had brought me both happiness and pain, trying to tell me?

‘Open quest window.’

Ding.

[Cataclysm]

Before you know it, a new era has drawn near, and the final word of this long and fierce story has yet to be decided.

Hope. Or despair.

And at this very moment, the only one holding the pen is you.

I wish you fortune in battle.

Rank: Main Quest

Restriction: Jin Taekyung

Objective: ???

Reward: ???

Failure: ???

A quest description without a clear answer, and an objective filled with question marks.

But more than anything else, what weighed most heavily on my chest was the short line written under the quest rank.

Those words digging painfully into my eyes.

‘Main Quest.’

I had received countless quests up to now.

From the easiest third-rate ones to transcendent ones that demanded I risk my life.

The ranks varied according to difficulty, and there were special types like sudden quests too.

But… this was my first Main Quest.

More precisely, it was the first since that time when I first opened my eyes in the unfamiliar world of Murim.

Yes.

For the first time since that day when everything began.

‘What the hell is this supposed to mean?’

I didn’t know what the objective was.

I didn’t know what this new era fast approaching really meant either.

No, even while inwardly guessing, I was desperately denying that it could be that.

Because I was afraid.

Because, just as the system had said, at this very moment, I was the only one holding the pen.

The days when I used to snicker while reading web novels overflowing with sweet, satisfying payback were already long behind me.

Now I had to write the story myself.

With a pen.

With a spear.

With blood and death that belonged to no one.

“…Hu-human?”

A voice that seemed to come from far away snapped my mind out of its thoughts.

When I blinked and looked around, my surroundings were filled with new faces and noise.

The propellers spinning with a deafening roar.

The tense expressions of the pilots visible beyond the fighter jet canopy.

And the two figures looking at me with worried expressions.

No, one person and one monster.

“Mr. Jin Taekyung, are you alright?”

“O wicked human, look carefully. How many fingers am I holding up right now?”

I stared at Skeleton King, who was slowly waving his hand right in front of my face.

“I can’t see any.”

“Wrong. One. This is more serious than I thought—”

“Ah, I wasn’t counting the finger you’re waving because I was planning to rip it off.”

“You’re still waving it. Fold that finger before I stop being nice.”

Skeleton King, who had been happily shaking his middle finger, quietly folded it back while Team Leader Choi Minwoo spoke in a low voice.

“If there is a problem, we’ll move after you rest. We don’t know what kind of S-Class monster will appear, but there are already forces on site capable of responding for the time being…”

“No. I’m fine.”

I cut Team Leader Choi Minwoo off firmly.

Though the mental fatigue and the effects of the [Ravaged Body] debuff had left my body far from normal, the longer we delayed, the more obvious it was that the damage would only grow.

The mission given to me now was to stop the calamity.

The calamity that would erupt in Munich.

And beyond that, the calamity that would swallow this world whole.

“Let’s go. Before we’re any later.”

With that short reply, I boarded the fighter jet.

Thinking of the name of the man at the center of the calamity.

The enemy I would soon face again.

‘Michael Silbert.’

Come to Munich.

The mutter that would never reach him swirled in my mouth, then faded.

===

The Republic of South Africa.

Commonly called South Africa in Korea, this country was one of Africa’s most highly industrialized nations, and because it had relatively few Gates, it had remained one of the countries least damaged by monsters from the Great Cataclysm until now.

At least until half a day ago.

Rumble!

Smoke and fumes laced with flame blotted out the clear sky.

Cape Town, the capital of South Africa, visited by the wealthy of the world and countless tourists, was now filled with screams and death.

And with the roars of monsters.

Splurt! Crunch!

“Aaaaargh!”

“Kuhk!”

A horde of trolls charging down the roads swung their clubs wildly at anything in sight.

Struck by steel clubs carrying the immense strength unique to large monsters, the fleeing people fell with dying screams.

Crush!

– Gwooooooar!

The leader, who had stomped a fallen corpse’s head apart, let out a savage roar.

Having tasted human blood again after so long, the monsters under its command moved according to instinct.

Craaack!

They seized moving cars and smashed them straight into the ground, while dozens of them rushed forward, destroying and collapsing buildings large and small.

Countless explosions erupted, but their tough skin and the trolls’ monstrous regenerative power did not so much as flinch.

Boom!

Flames surged fiercely with the explosion.

As if unwilling to tolerate even the slightest wound, the leader instantly regenerated its damaged hide and grinned with satisfaction.

At the feet of its thick, massive legs, Hunter corpses lay piled high, their limbs twisted or their torsos split in half.

– Grrrk.

Easy.

Far too easy.

If it had been a short while ago, it would not have been able to deal with the humans who crossed the Gate and invaded its domain this easily.

But now, things were different.

– Guh. Ha. Ha. Hah!

The world was changing.

The bodies of monsters were brimming with purer and more powerful Magical Power than ever before, and humans could no longer stop them.

Everything was returning to its rightful place.

Humans, who had transformed from prey into hunters over the past decades…

Were falling back into prey once again.

– I’ll. Kill. Every. Last. One. Of. You!!

Those long years of oppression.

The instant the fury of the past, when even their domains had been invaded and they had been hunted by humans, exploded into a roar.

Whizz, boom!

Its vision turned black.

No, its head was gone.

Even so, the leader did not panic.

A troll survives even if its head is blown off.

As long as its body is not pulverized, it could live through it with its vast regenerative power…

Shwishwishwish, bang bang bang!

With the tearing sounds of air, the leader’s consciousness was cut off.

Its fearsome regenerative power and body as hard as steel were useless in this moment.

Thud.

Without even time to feel confusion, the body that had met death dropped to its knees.

Silence came with the leader’s death.

– Gwo?

And into the ears of the troll horde, looking around in confusion, a calm voice sank in.

“Let’s finish this quickly.”

Step.

With those footsteps moving forward, a tremendous aura crushed down in all directions.

“A friend is waiting for me.”