214 - 218

Chapter 214: Chapter 214

Jin-Woo's smartphone began ringing off the hook as soon as he entered the reception range.

'From the Hunter's Association?'

His expression hardened when he confirmed who the caller was. Could something bad have happened while he was away for a bit?

He quickly answered the call.

– "H-Hunter-nim?!"

"Yes, it's me, Seong Jin-Woo."

He sensed that something was definitely wrong after hearing the urgency in the Association employee's voice. Feeling suspicious, he quickly asked.

"What happened?"

– "That, that, the thing is, no, hang on, the Association President will explain it to you. Let me patch you through to him right away."

A problem serious enough to make the leader of the Association personally step up?

Jin-Woo realised that the matter at hand couldn't be a simple one and wordlessly waited for the reply. The distinct connecting signal tone soon ended, and as if he had been desperately waiting for the call, Woo Jin-Cheol hurriedly answered the phone, his anxious voice leaking out from the speaker.

– "Seong Hunter-nim!! Why couldn't we get a hold of you?"

"I was outside the reception range until a moment ago."

Perhaps because of being contaminated by the frequent dungeon breaks, it was almost impossible to contact outside when within that vast ocean of trees.

However, he thought it was more than sufficient enough to leave behind his Shadow Soldiers with those whom he wanted to protect. That's what he believed.

'Could the super-massive Gate have opened up while I was in the forest?'

But, there should have been at least two more days left still?

All manners of hypotheses bubbled up in Jin-Woo's mind and just before he could urge Woo Jin-Cheol to spit out the truth, the latter told him the greatly simplified version of the current crisis.

– "A monster has appeared in the middle of Seoul and is going on a rampage!"

Tumble.

Jin-Woo had been feeling energised after enjoying a rare break from the action. But now, he felt as if his heart had fallen to the pit of his stomach.

"How big is the size of the monster horde??"

– "No, there's no horde. It's just one creature."

'Just one?'

Currently, all Korean Hunters had gathered in Seoul.

They were summoned to the city in order to fight against the potential dungeon break from the super-massive Gate, so they should be on their toes, getting ready to move at a moment's notice.

On top of that, the Association was even supplying weapons to those Hunters lacking in proper equipment, too.

'But then, they are getting destroyed by a monster that suddenly appeared out of nowhere?'

As Jin-Woo fell ever deeper into confusion, Woo Jin-Cheol hurriedly continued on with his explanation.

– "A Guild that tried to fight the creature was annihilated in an instant. It looks like the monster is no ordinary creature at all."

"What about its current location?"

– "We believe it's currently near Seoul Grand Hotel."

Could this be chalked up to being mere coincidence?

The moment Woo Jin-Cheol mentioned the name of the ultra-luxurious hotel where Thomas Andre was staying, Jin-Woo felt this sense of creeping unease tickle him in his throat.

Sure enough….

The Association President's voice speaking the American's name was filled to the brim with anxiety.

– "I received a call not too long ago that Thomas Andre Hunter-nim was getting ready to fight the monster."

But, that couldn't be.

Just in case, Jin-Woo had left a Shadow Soldier behind with Thomas Andre. The order issued to the soldier was to 'send a signal right away if something strange is sensed in the immediate vicinity'.

But then, the target for protection started fighting alone against a monster capable of wiping out a Guild and yet, there was no signal?

'….Hang on.'

Only now did Jin-Woo realise something was off.

The signals coming from the Shadow Soldiers spread throughout Seoul were extremely weak. As if something was interfering with the transmission.

'What is going on?'

An enemy possessing incredible power, a Special Authority-rank Hunter fighting it, and finally, signals being blocked off.

Could it be?

One distinct possibility popped up in Jin-Woo's head. He asked in a hurry to confirm.

"Association President! Did that monster possess a shadow?"

– "Excuse me?"

"Please, confirm if that monster has a shadow!"

Woo Jin-Cheol's voice seemingly got cut out for a moment, then – before continuing on with greater urgency.

– "How can this be…. You're right, Seong Hunter-nim! I just confirmed with the photos, and the monster does not have a shadow!"

'Oh, my god.'

Jin-Woo recalled that the Ice Elf attacking Goh Gun-Hui also didn't possess a shadow and loudly cried out.

"You must never let Thomas Andre fight that monster!"

There was a good chance that the monster had been aiming for Thomas Andre all along.

– "Excuse me? But, they have already…."

Time was of the essence right now.

Jin-Woo realised that he had no need to listen to any further explanation and tried to activate 'Shadow Exchange' with the Shadow Soldier attached to Thomas Andre.

Tti-ring.

Accompanied by a rather ominous-sounding alert noise, a clear holographic message suddenly popped up in his view.

[The designated Shadow Soldier cannot be located.]

Jin-Woo tried several times more, but it was the same story.

Tti-ring, tti-ring….

[The designated Shadow Soldier cannot be located.]

[The designated Shadow Soldier cannot be located.]

'How could this be!'

Jin-Woo began freaking out, his expression gradually hardening like stone.

'My soldier… has disappeared?'

The Shadow Soldier he needed to use as his coordinates for the skill 'Shadow Exchange' had disappeared without a trace, somehow.

He couldn't detect any trace of that particular solder at all.

And he could now definitely sense that the connection he shared with the soldier attached to Thomas Andre had been severed, just like when he sent some of the soldiers back to the void.

The cancellation of the Shadow Soldier independent of his will??

A confused-sounding voice leaked out of Jin-Woo's mouth next.

"What the hell has happened here?"

***

Lennart Niermann heard the weighty voice coming from behind him.

"Get out of the way."

The German had experienced a similar sort of situation before, but the emotion he felt right now was quite different compared to back then.

"Thomas Andre!"

The giant of a man large enough to block out the sun, that's Thomas Andre. Lennart Niermann's expression brightened the moment he discovered the American standing behind him.

Thomas Andre wordlessly walked past Lennart and slowly went up ahead.

Even those screaming people running away from the scene recognised the Special Authority-rank Hunter and his hulking physique, and their steps all gradually came to a stop.

"He, he's that American Hunter….."

"T-Thomas Andre??"

"It's the Goliath! THE Goliath!!"

Even the first rate Hunter Lennart Niermann felt his heart pound excitedly when seeing Thomas Andre's broad back as he walked forward. So, how would the regular people feel, when they were desperately fleeing in terror from the monster's dense killing intent?

"Ah, ah!"

"Oh, dear lord! Thank you!"

Some people even began plopping down on the ground from the sense of relief robbing their built-up tension, knowing that one of the world's best Hunters had come to save them.

Meanwhile, Thomas Andre angrily shouted at the other Hunters nearby who were all frozen stiff from the powerful pressure emitted by the unknown monster.

"Stop standing around like idiots, and start evacuating these citizens, you b*stards!"

The roar from the Special Authority-rank Hunter was more than enough to blow away the stifling pressure dulling the thought process of the other Hunters.

They understood his intention through that thunderous roar and began grabbing those citizens that had fallen behind to drag them far away from Thomas Andre. Lennart Niermann also cooperated with the evacuation of the powerless citizens along with his Korean counterparts.

The American stood tall in the middle of the street as if to protect them. And that 'monster' slowly made its way over in his direction.

The Special Authority-rank Hunter took off his sunglasses, his eyes narrowing to a slit.

"…."

What he saw was a beast covered in blood. Although it vaguely looked like one, there was simply no way that thing was a human being.

Veins bulged on Thomas Andre's face as he spotted the bits and pieces of the victims strewn messily about behind this 'beast'.

"A stinking beast who doesn't know its place has rampaged around for far too long."

As if to mock Thomas Andre's rage, the 'beast' bared its fangs covered in bits of flesh in a toothy grin.

Putting down a crazed animal was a universal truth, no matter where one was from. Thomas Andre's eyes became incomparably murderous right away.

"Reinforcement."

His muscles transformed like armour and his already-hulking physique grew larger and larger than before. As far as one's physical size was concerned, he was a step larger than this monster.

To find out the gap in the strength, Thomas Andre rushed towards his target.

A tank!

People watching and sensing the ground tremble every time he took a step forward instinctively pictured a powerful tank.

The beast smacked its lips at the appearance of a new prey and made its move as well.

Two giants closed their distance in an instant and stood before each other. At first, they exchanged glances studying their new opponent, and soon, they squeezed their muscles laden with massive magical energy while roaring out at the same time.

Two monstrous beings and their fists powerful enough to crush concrete like tofu began exploding out like bullets towards one another.

Boomboomboomboomboomboom!!

This exchange of fists relied solely on brute force with no consideration towards any type of techniques. Hunters watching on were left absolutely awestruck by this spectacle.

Just being kissed by one of those fists would result in instant death for these Hunters. But these two were trading such lethal blows without even taking a breather, without even bothering to block them, as if these punches were just light probing jabs.

'It's working.'

Thomas Andre grew sure of it now.

Pow!

His punch caused the beast's head to spin to the side. This heavy sensation of impact got transmitted to his left hand. This attack definitely worked.

After losing to Jin-Woo, the Goliath felt his confidence had plummeted somewhat, but through this dogfight, he felt it growing back again.

Boomboomboomboomboomboom!!

The continuous stream of powerful punches pushed the beast gradually backwards. Grabbing hold of this opening, Thomas Andre's fearsome full swing of his fist floored the b*stard right into the ground.

Kwa-boooom!!

Kwa-jeeeeeeeck!

The beast was shoved away as the concrete below split apart from the sheer force. The creature smashed into the side of a building and demolished its wall; only then did it finally stop moving.

Other Hunters watching on punched the air and celebrated, but the person responsible, Thomas Andre himself, didn't display any hints of joy.

'No, that was wrong. It wasn't…. as deep as I wanted.'

The thick dust cloud spread out, obscuring the vision. However, he could still sense the presence of the beast emitting the dense murderous intent from beyond the collapsed debris of the building.

Swish-!

Swiiish-!!

Suddenly, heavy hunks of metal flew out from the dust and at Thomas Andre's location. He smacked these flying cars away from him and quickly activated the skill, 'Capture', to yank the beast hidden from his sight closer to his position.

Wuuwoong!

The resisting beast was brought right up to the American's nose; he immediately activated his strongest skill.

"Demolition!!"

Muscles on both of Thomas Andre's arms ballooned up until they nearly popped. He slammed down on the ground with everything he had.

KWA-BOOM!!

The horrifying shockwave arising from the ground pummelled the beast.

[Kuuwahhh!!]

The beast cried out in agony as it was flung into the air before it came crashing back down.

Thomas Andre seized upon this chance and jumped on top of the monster, before proceeding to rain down his fists laden with an unbelievable amount of magic energy.

Skill 'Power Smash'!!

Boomboomboomboomboomboom!!

Waaaah!!

The citizens watching the battle between the Goliath and the beast from afar with anxious minds all began raising excited cheers. Even the Hunters began breaking out in relieved smiles as well.

No matter who saw it, this fight now had a clear victor. It was an overwhelming victory befitting the Special Authority-rank Hunter, often referred to as the world's best.

However….

Thicker and thicker drops of cold sweat began forming on Thomas Andre's forehead even as he mercilessly pummelled the beast down below.

'What is this?'

What was this anxiety, born from this sensation of a noose gradually tightening around his neck the closer he got to his victory?

Each and every one of his attacks was landing splendidly, and the beast being floored down below wasn't showing any signs of resistance.

So, why….?

'Why do I feel this anxious, even though I'm clearly in an advantageous position?'

Fairly quickly, though, Thomas Andre got to discover the source of his anxiety.

It was the eyes.

From the very beginning of the fight right up until now, the beast had been looking at him with the exact same apathetic eyes, even going so far to completely disregard the indiscriminate outpouring of his attacks.

It was as if the thing was mocking him, telling him to try and give his best shot.

Grit.

The Goliath was thoroughly enraged and raised his interlocked fists up high.

His shoulder muscles expanded in an instant, and thick veins bulged on his skin. Horrifying amounts of magic energy flowed into his shoulders, arms, wrists and fists, emitting a bone-chilling aura at the same time.

With this, it'd be the end.

Could this beast reopen those eyes again after being struck by 'Demolition' right in the epicentre of the skill?

With everything he had, Thomas Andre slammed down both of his fists.

"Demolition!!!!"

It was then.

He clearly saw it.

He saw the beast close its eyes for the briefest of brief moments before opening them to reveal that those eyes, previously resembling that of a human's, now fully resembling a wild predator's.

Grab.

The beast leisurely raised one hand up to easily stop Thomas Andre's two fists swung down with all his might.

"…..??"

The American looked at his hands, now held tight and couldn't be pulled back at all, and felt a chill run down his back.

[Even though you're a mere puppet of a Fragment, you managed to drag out this much power.]

The sounds similar to a predator growling caused Thomas Andre's expression to crumble.

"What was that?"

Right at that moment.

The black hair of the beast began to grow longer and longer as its colour changed to white.

That wasn't all; the nails resembling awls grew lengthier as well, while its fangs grew sharper, too. Soon, whitish fur covered its entire body.

'A Werewolf?!'

Unfortunately, there never had been a single instance of a white Werewolf making its appearance in ten years of humans going on raids.

"You…. Just what is your true identity?"

Thomas Andre threw that question out as he felt this ominous chill from the disgusting, vile magical energy oozing out from the beast's eyes.

Too bad, the creature didn't bother to answer him and proceeded to shatter the bones in the human's hands with nothing but sheer physical strength.

Wuduk!!

"Wuuuuaaahk!!"

Chapter 215: Chapter 215

Unbridled astonishment!

The strongest Hunter screamed out and everyone else in the vicinity couldn't hide their shock and astonishment.

The helicopter dispatched from the TV station flying in the air filmed in its entirety Thomas Andre suffering in great pain.

Right in the middle of Korea's capital city, Seoul, where the focus of the world had gathered due to the appearance of the super-massive Gate – to think, a Special Authority-rank Hunter trying to stop a monster was screaming out in pain like that?

"How can this be….??"

All those watching the two being's fight, whether in the location itself or through various screens, prayed fervently in their hearts that this wasn't the end of this battle.

Too bad, the 'beast' snatched and then, slammed Thomas Andre's wrists into the ground as if to mock their prayers.

BOOM!!

It then climbed on top of Thomas Andre, reversing the previous position.

"Keo-heok!"

Blood spewed out from the Goliath's mouth as he bitterly resisted even with his broken hands, but now that the beast had fully revealed its true powers, he was unable to endure against his opponent's physical prowess.

The beast stomped on Thomas Andre's face and roared loudly into the sky.

Kuuwaaaaahhh-!!

The horrifying howl loud enough to tear out the eardrums of everyone listening reverberated like a thunderclap in the city's streets.

A predator didn't fight. It simply hunted its prey.

The Hunters nearby were overwhelmed by the howl containing an inconceivable amount of magical energy and began kneeling down one by one from the closest position to the furthest back.

As for Thomas Andre, the closest one to hear the howling, his eardrums had ruptured and blood leaked out from his ears.

The beast smirked derisively.

[Are you scared now?]

One of the joys a hunter could derive from the process of hunting was seeing the prey shiver in fear.

However, Thomas Andre didn't give up. He clenched his messed-up fist with great difficulty and threw a counterattack.

Pow!

Quite unlike before, when they exchanged many crippling blows earlier, the beast's head didn't even rock once.

The wall.

He looked into the disinterested eyes of the beast glaring down at him and began picturing an imposing wall stretching endlessly into the sky standing tall to block his path.

He had felt something similar to this once before.

What a strange thing this was; for a moment there, Thomas Andre thought he saw Jin-Woo within the beast's glare.

'But, how come….?'

He didn't have any chance to sort out his confusion, though, as an attack from the beast rocked his head violently side to side, the ground underneath caving into a crater.

BOOM!!

"Keok!"

That was just the start of the onslaught, though.

Boomboomboomboomboom!!

Just like how he had done, the beast began raining down powerful attacks from above. As if to teach the human what true attacks looked like, the vicious punches continuously slammed down without mercy.

Boomboomboomboomboom!!

Thomas Andre's lips continued to issue pained grunts over and over again, unlike back then when the beast simply withstood his punches.

"Keo-heok!"

It was then; the beast, in the midst of enjoying the pain of its prey, discovered something odd just beyond the human.

[….??]

The beast stopped its attacks. What it was glaring at, as if to bore a hole into it, was Thomas Andre's shadow.

[I see that there's a rat hiding in there.]

Stab!

The beast stabbed its hand deep into the shadow and grabbed 'something' within the subspace.

Paht!

When the creature pulled its hand out, an ant soldier hiding inside the human's shadow was dragged out along as well.

The beast stood upright again. The ant soldier, its neck tightly grabbed by the powerful grip, desperately struggled but the monster didn't even budge from the spot.

"Kiiieehk!"

This one was a soldier belonging to the Shadow Sovereign.

It was impossible to destroy an immortal soldier like this one through regular means. However, the creature holding onto the ant's neck was no ordinary being, either.

The Sovereign of Beastly Fangs was a higher existence. It simply focused the energy inherent within the spiritual body to erase this ant soldier from the very fabric of existence altogether.

"Kiiahk!"

The ant soldier spat out a short death throe and turned into dust, returning to the void beyond. The beast grinned as it watched the grey ash scatter in the air.

It was then.

Thomas Andre got up and positioned himself behind the beast before anyone had noticed it. He then wrapped his arm around the creature's neck and secured his grip with the other arm.

If he lacked teeth, then he'd bite with his gums, instead!

His hands may be broken, but his arms and shoulders were still fine. Thick veins bulged on his arms as he poured in all his might to exert enough pressure to crush a steel beam in one breath.

"Pant, pant…."

Thomas Andre continued to gasp out breathlessly and concentrated on this final attack.

There would be nothing left after this. His eyes shot wide open in concentration as he clenched his teeth, fully knowing that he'd get killed if he missed this chance.

Wududuk, wuduk….

He heard the displeasing noises similar to bones being crushed into powder. If that was the sound of the enemy's neck breaking, then there was still a chance of victory here.

'….I've done it!'

Unfortunately, the incoming rush of pain had been slightly delayed by the adrenaline coursing through his body. Thomas Andre bore the full brunt and screamed out in agony.

"Wuaaaaahhhk!!"

The beast shattered the American's arms locked onto its neck with nothing but sheer physical hand grip. It then grabbed his head with both hands before proceeding to slam him down on the ground.

THUD!

Viewers watching this scene through their screens saw the Goliath's arms dangling around and quickly averted their gazes. It was a scene they simply couldn't bear to watch with their eyes open.

Too bad, the horrifying scene didn't stop there and continued on. The beast pounced on the sprawled Goliath and began biting him.

The predator's mealtime had begun.

Dozens of sharp, knife-like fangs began tearing into Thomas Andre's skin and made a mess out of his flesh.

"Euh-euhk! Wuaahk!!"

He didn't give up until the end and continued to desperately struggle, but it was obvious that he had no chance in hell right now. His blood poured out and the bits of his flesh flung into the air.

"Wuuuaahk!"

Seeing this horrendous, sickening sight, the other Hunters supposedly guarding the location began backtracking inadvertently in terror.

As for the regular people that had bet their hopes on the Goliath, they had scattered away in fear a long time ago after seeing the incoming end result.

However, something unexpected happened then; among the ranks of the hesitating Hunters, one man dashed forward like a bolt of lightning and ran straight towards the beast.

Boom-!!

The monster had been drunk on the victory and the taste of its loot, so it got caught unaware and was struck cleanly by this unexpected attack, which resulted in it getting flung away.

It was none other than Lennart Niermann. Germany's best Hunter quickly stood next to the grievously wounded Goliath.

Thomas Andre recognised Lennart and somehow managed to squeeze out his voice.

"Run… away…."

However, Lennart shook his hardened face.

"I'm also a Hunter, you know."

'….Although I'm far weaker than you.'

Back when he Awakened his powers and made up his mind to become a Hunter, Lennart had promised himself this one thing – that he'd never turn his back on a comrade.

Sure, they might not even be in the same team, but from Lennart's perspective, Thomas Andre was an exemplary comrade who was fighting against a common enemy.

Didn't matter what the American thought of him, because as a Hunter, the German simply couldn't back away from this situation.

'However…. Just staring at that thing face to face is making me break out in cold sweat here.'

Lennart watched the beast's expression crumple unsightly after its mealtime had been unceremoniously interrupted, and his own legs began turning to jelly right then.

Seeing him shiver like that, Thomas Andre opened his mouth again.

"You… will… die…."

He knew that already. Of course, Lennart knew that.

He didn't even have his equipment with him. And his strongest one-hit-kill trump card, the skill 'Charge', only managed to shove the beast away.

Germany's best Hunter?

12th in the world rankings?

He knew better than anyone that such things had no meaning in the current situation.

Even then…

'….I don't regret anything.'

Even if this moment turned out to be his last, he'd still choose exactly the same over and over again. Rather than the life of a coward, he would choose to go out in a blaze of glory!

'I'm not wrong. I am not wrong!'

Lennart continued to psyche himself up as he glared at the massive power gradually running faster and faster towards him.

'I'm definitely not wrong!'

He locked his eyes on the chill-inducing maw of the beast opening up wide as the monster closed the distance in an instant. Lennart summoned up every ounce of energy and swung his fist.

For a very moment there, the life he led up until this moment flashed past him like a revolving lantern. He didn't even work that hard yet this incredible power was handed to him, allowing him to live an overabundant and perhaps undeserved lifestyle.

But, he did live a happy life, didn't he?

That's right, he did.

A grin floated up on Lennart's lips as he saw the beast's throat approaching ever closer.

Indeed, he was not wrong. Right up until the end, he didn't live an embarrassing life.

Just before the beast's maw swallowed his head, Lennart quietly closed his eyes, thinking that there would be no more need to open them again.

But then!

Kwa-boom!!

A sudden noise of explosion coming from his front shocked Lennart and he quickly opened his eyes.

'What was that?!'

The beast struck by his fist was flying away in a straight line for dozens of metres before rolling ungainly on the ground. The asphalt cracked up into pieces, cars were blown away, and street lights were bent in the middle.

"Uh?"

'Was I this strong?'

Lennart dazedly stared at his fist, only to realise that someone was standing right next to him.

"Uh, uh??"

Confirming that man's face, Lennart joyfully cried out in a half-tearful voice.

"Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim!"

***

He was cutting it really close.

If he hadn't attached a Shadow Soldier to Lennart Niermann when the German came to the Guild office, would he be able to make it in time, even?

After confirming that the Shadow Soldier attached to Thomas Andre had disappeared, Jin-Woo searched for another one near the location and activated 'Shadow Exchange'. But to think, that Shadow Soldier just so happened to be the one in Lennart Niermann's shadow.

Thanks to that, he got to save the lives of these two men.

Jin-Woo hurriedly checked Thomas Andre's wounds and breathed a sigh of relief. The American's wounds looked pretty serious, but thankfully, he'd be able to survive.

He must've had no more energy left to even speak, as Thomas Andre could only quietly look up at Jin-Woo. The latter also remained silent but nodded his head as his reply.

He silently thanked the Goliath for his courageous effort in stalling for more time.

When he turned around, his ears were filled up with Lennart's emotional voice.

"Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim!!"

"Thank you for stopping that b*stard. My apologies, but can you evacuate Thomas to somewhere safe?"

Jin-Woo politely asked in English, and Lennart nodded his head energetically. Compared to fighting that monstrosity, this job sounded so much easier.

"Ah, yes! You don't have to worry about that one."

The German cautiously lifted Thomas up and hurriedly distanced himself. Meanwhile, Jin-Woo shifted his gaze over to the beast raising its body up.

Tangible, horrifying, murderous intent oozed from the creature. He sensed power on another realm compared to other monsters from the b*stard.

'I knew it….'

His guess was on the money.

This thing possessed a similar sort of aura to the Ice Elf he met earlier. It was, indeed, one of the Sovereigns that were hunting down the Hunters.

However, what was going on here? Unlike with the Ice Elf, this thing showed no signs of panic. No, more than that – even though its fight had been interfered with, it looked composed, nay, relaxed, even.

'But, why….?'

Did it possess a calm personality, to begin with? Even though it looked half man, half beast?

While Jin-Woo was stewing in his confusion, the beast emerged fully from the building's debris and walked leisurely over in his direction.

It was sloshing something in its mouth before spitting whatever it was to the floor. They turned out to be its broken fangs.

The beast glared at Jin-Woo who managed to break off several of its fangs with just a single punch and didn't even bother to disguise its surprise.

[So, it was for real. The smell of the Shadow b*stard is mixed in among that human's scent.]

The beast sniffed the air noisily and asked as if it had discovered something rather amazing.

[But then…. how can a human manage to bring out the power of a higher existence to this degree?]

'I raised up my levels, that's how. You dumba*s.'

Rather than choosing to solve the b*stard's curiosity, he summoned the pair of 'Kamish's Wrath', instead.

He had a lot of things to ask this Sovereign. But, the Q&A session could only take place after the battle was over and he had grasped the right to decide the creature's fate.

Glance.

Jin-Woo glanced at the traces of the victims still visible here and there in the street and an ice-cold murderous rage began overflowing out of his eyes.

But, then….

….The voice he hadn't forgotten yet suddenly resounded out right from next to the beast.

[It's possible that the architect has found a way. Well, the business dealings between the Shadow Sovereign and the architect started a long time ago, after all.]

The thin, fog-like smoke suddenly coagulated into a singular mass before morphing into a humanoid shape.

'Isn't that….?'

It was the ancient Ice Elf. The Sovereign of Frost, hiding its presence as a fog until now, had finally revealed itself.

Jin-Woo realised that the fog wrapped around the city was not a natural phenomenon the moment he came in contact with it.

And this time, it was from his behind.

[In that case, I can eat the corpse of this human, right?]

A weird female voice harsh enough to grate his ears came from behind him, and Jin-Woo quickly looked back.

And that's where he discovered a spectacle that made him doubt his own eyes.

Bashushushushu….

A horde of insects poured out from the sewerage and began merging into one to assume the shape of a humanoid female.

[I really want to find out what a fellow Sovereign tastes like, you see.]

Jin-Woo's expression hardened, now that he found himself suddenly surrounded by his enemies. And then, he realised it.

They gagged his Shadow Soldiers by confusing the signals not because they were worried about their hunt being disrupted by him. No, they did that in order to hide the fact that there were more than one of them here.

In other words, this was a trap. A trap laid out in the entirety of Seoul in order to box Jin-Woo in.

Sure enough, the System finally recognised the severity of the situation and urgently sent out warning messages.

[The King of Snow Folk, the Sovereign of Frost has designated you as an enemy.]

[The King of Beasts, the Sovereign of Beastly Fangs has designated you as an enemy.]

[The Queen of Insects, the Sovereign of Plagues has designated you as an enemy.]

Enemies possessing power on another scale altogether, and three of them to boot, too! His Black Heart, sleeping quietly until now, began to pound away madly at the entrance of these three incredibly powerful foes.

Ba-thump, ba-thump, ba-thump!

'Isn't this….'

….Good?

The corners of Jin-Woo's lips arched up.

These things were thinking that they had managed to surround him, but the thing was, he wasn't alone. In reality, they were the ones surrounded now.

Jin-Woo kept his senses ultra-sharp in order to not miss their movements and summoned out his army that'd surround his enemies.

'Come out!'

Chapter 216: Chapter 216

New York, London, Shanghai, Paris.

Besides these cities, others around the world were all experiencing the phenomenon of their streets being draped in eerie silence right now. People had stopped walking and found themselves unable to tear their eyes away from the many electronic screens installed here and there.

Those large screens were continuously showing the breaking news regarding the horrifying tragedy unfolding in the capital city of South Korea, Seoul.

Because of the super-massive Gate's presence, the world's attention had been focused there already, so it was only normal that the news spread around like a wildfire.

TV stations in many countries interrupted their regular programming to broadcast live the current situation unfolding in Seoul.

Once the sight of a cityscape dripping with blood as filmed by the camera lens from the sky, the viewers around the world recoiled in sheer horror.

Seoul was one of the biggest metropolises in the entire world. But with such a city lying in ruins like that, it implied that their safety couldn't be guaranteed even within their own cities.

The tragedy of Seoul didn't feel like an incident happening in some distant country, but something that was happening to them personally.

Was that the reason why they felt relieved when Thomas Andre stepped up to put an end to the monster's rampage? The obviously-excited foreign correspondents, after their cameras caught the sight of America's best Hunter, began crying out his name repeatedly as if they wanted to damage their own vocal cords.

The viewers gathered their hands in prayer and with one heart, cheered Goliath on. And that was why the streets were filled with elated cries every time Goliath roughed up that beast-like monster.

"Yes! More! More!!"

"Destroy that thing! Goliath, kill that thing dead!!"

"Send it to hell!!"

Unfortunately….

The cheering and elated cries filling up the streets soon morphed into shocked silence as Goliath's fists were shattered, his arms were broken, and his blood and flesh were spilt onto the ground.

The viewers' arms raised up high in the air slowly lowered back to their sides. Some even began wordlessly shedding tears as they watched humanity's best warrior being horribly destroyed like that.

It was as if the time itself had frozen.

People rendered utterly speechless by the overwhelming shock couldn't even hear their own breathing. If this was a dream, then they wanted to wake up right about now.

Too bad, though, that the screen kept transmitting the images of Goliath and his pained screaming over and over again. The expression on the viewers' faces changed to that of even greater despair.

It was then.

A lone Hunter jumped out from somewhere and blew away the beast.

No, there were two of them. A black-haired man appeared without warning right next to the Caucasian Hunter.

Not just the viewers, but even the news anchors couldn't figure out what was going on and failed to hide their confusion.

Just what had happened?

Who were those two people?

It happened far too quickly, and also, the camera was filming from too far and couldn't capture their faces properly.

However….

The anchors saw the black soldiers filling up the streets in the blink of an eye and cried out until their voices turned hoarse.

[It's Hunter Seong Jin-Woo! Hunter Seong Jin-Woo has finally made his entrance!]

[We don't have to see his face! You can block out his name! Even then, we know who it is! Those black soldiers, that's 100% Hunter Seong Jin-Woo!!]

[The Goliath might have fallen, but the baton has been handed over to Hunter Seong Jin-Woo! His summoned creatures have surrounded the monsters!]

Waaaaah-!!

The viewers all around the world punched the air and cried out in elation once more as they watched the black soldiers completely cover up the streets of Seoul.

Especially the Americans, their unified roars were so loud that their cities seemed to rock from the noise itself. It was understandable, since they had lost one of their Special Authority-rank Hunters through tragic circumstances recently, and when even Thomas Andre found himself in danger, they had all fallen into a deep pit of mental shock.

Besides, the total number of views online for the Jeju Island raid featuring Jin-Woo had already surpassed 2 billion. Meaning, pretty much everyone knew his name by now.

And so, the whole world had begun chanting his name.

"Hey, hang on a minute! I know who that other Hunter is! Yeah, I know that guy! He's Germany's Lennart Niermann!"

This guy, who wished to boast about his discerning eyes, couldn't help but get swept away by the atmosphere and started chanting 'Seong Jin-Woo', his hands raised up high in the air.

The focus of the whole world was now on Jin-Woo's back.

***

The Shadow Army surrounded the three Sovereigns in a circle.

On top of the streets now darkened by the shadow with the help of the skill, 'Sovereign's Territory', the army's morale had hit its highest peak.

'So, how about it now?'

Jin-Woo scanned the faces of the three Sovereigns. They carried rather amused expressions.

The female giant, created out of insects, took a sweeping look at the streets filled with Shadow Soldiers and chuckled derisively.

[So, this is the new Shadow Army, is it?]

[The overall number isn't bad, but even then, they are nothing but a bunch of riffraff.]

Looking unconcerned in the slightest, the Sovereign of Frost took a step forward.

Fuu-whoop…

It sucked its breath in lightly before spitting out horrifyingly cold air that spread out everywhere in an instant.

Kwajeeck!

And in just one moment, everything standing on the ground became frozen ice sculptures. Even the Shadow Army was no exception.

'How can this be?!'

Jin-Woo confirmed that his soldiers had all frozen up and his expression hardened gradually.

The power of the Sovereigns that rendered the soldiers useless in one stroke – he had experienced something like this before, when he was facing off against the Sovereign of White Flames, Baran, back in the Demon's Castle instant dungeon.

If there was one glaring difference between then and now, that would be him having to face three enemies instead of one.

The soldiers trapped within the ice couldn't be freed even with his ability to store them back in his shadow.

[Your pitiful soldiers won't be able to take a single step outside the prison I have manifested.]

The Sovereign of Frost sounded confident of its victory after imprisoning the Shadow Army.

However, Jin-Woo's killing intent didn't waver for a second even under the current situation.

"You."

The tip of the Kamish's Wrath held in his right hand was pointed at the Sovereign of Frost.

"You will definitely die today."

The war potential of the Shadow Army always had been supplementary to his own. It was too bad that he couldn't rely on his soldiers now, but even then, he wasn't thinking of letting that Sovereign of Frost leave here alive.

After all, he had a score to settle with that b*stard,

[….]

Perhaps the Ice Elf felt the aching from the wound on its shoulder inflicted by Jin-Woo the last time, since its expression crumpled unsightly rather quickly.

[You insolent b*stard!]

The creature then raised its arms as if to lift something up, and suddenly, Golems made out of ice rose up from the ground.

At the same time, the queen of the insects whistled loudly. The corpses of humans lying strewn about all began standing up as well.

Kwa-duduk, kwa-dududuk, kwa-duk!!

The bones and joints of the corpses repeatedly twisted and shifted around until finally, they resembled monstrous spiders crawling on all four legs.

'Undead?'

….No, those weren't undead at all.

What moved the corpses were strange little parasites that had bored into the brains of the dead humans. Jin-Woo sensed the minute level of magic energy emitted from the parasites wiggling around inside the heads and he shifted his gaze over to the Queen of Insects.

[You think we killed all these humans indiscriminately for no reason?]

The Queen had inseminated the eggs of a very special parasite within the corpses of all the humans the beast had murdered.

Golems and parasites.

Jin-Woo stared at the enemy's army that couldn't be turned into Shadow Soldiers upon their deaths and realised how much his opponents had been planning for this day.

"Fuu-woo…."

He controlled his breathing.

The Golems and the animated corpses waltzed right past the frozen Shadow Soldiers and slowly encircled him. Meanwhile, he focused on the sounds of his heart quietly pounding away.

Ba-thump, ba-thump, ba-thump….

On his path to get here, he had encountered countless dangerous situations.

At this moment, as he closed his eyes, his extremely-honed senses accurately read and picked up on even the most minute movements his enemies made.

He could do this.

Just like how it had always been.

'….They're coming.'

He opened his eyes only to be greeted by the sight of the spider-humans pouncing on him. As the time slowed down, the pair of 'Kamish's Wraths' roared out in sheer anguish.

Sliiiiiice-!!

In an instant, every spider-human leaping in the air was bisected.

Boom!

Jin-Woo lightly kicked and leapt away from the punch of a Golem pounding down on his original position and searched for his primary elimination target. That would be the Sovereign of Frost, of course.

That b*stard was currently shouting at its Golems with an enraged face. However, it was impossible for these slow and lumbering things to catch up to Jin-Woo's speed.

He used 'Ruler's Authority' to fling himself at the Sovereign of Frost. Like a bullet, he flew forward in a scarcely-believable velocity.

He closed the distance in an instant. The Sovereign of Frost was panicking. Jin-Woo swung his shortsword with great power.

His aim was the skin on the b*stard's face that resembled the bark of an aged tree.

Unfortunately….

CLANG!

Just before the Kamish's Wrath could split the creature's face in half, something really hard blocked the trajectory of the blade. The beast, the Sovereign of Beastly Fangs, responded to Jin-Woo's attack with lightning-quick reflexes and blocked the shortsword in time.

[You think such a puny metallic toy can wound me in the slightest?]

The beast toothily grinned, its disgusting teeth full of blood and flesh now on full display. However, Jin-Woo also replied with a smirk.

'The human's laughing?'

Even before the beast had the time to sense the ominous foreboding, 'Kamish's Wrath' was suddenly enveloped in the black aura.

Slice!

The beast's wrist that rightfully boasted incredible hardness was cleanly severed from its arm. The creature's eyes opened wide.

It barely dodged the tip of the blade by leaning its torso backwards, but still, a lengthy and bloody line was drawn upon its chest.

It was then, Jin-Woo picked up on some powerful energy above him and he quickly looked up.

'….!!'

The Queen of Insects had formed a giant fist out of magical energy and was in the midst of slamming it down.

Swoooosh-!!

As he landed on the ground, Jin-Woo activated the skill 'Ruler��s Authority' to shove away the Queen's fist. However, the force behind that attack was much greater than he anticipated and he could only barely stop it.

Boom!!

The invisible shield made out of 'Ruler's Authority' clashed against the Queen's fist and created a powerful shockwave that swept away the surrounding spider-humans.

Unfortunately, the number of animated corpses that still managed to rush at and pounce on his position far exceeded those who were swept away.

Jin-Woo stepped on the head of one spider-human and leapt up in the air. Then, he focused his magic energy in the 'Kamish's Wrath'.

BUZZ-!!

The black aura condensed on the vibrating blade began distorting the surrounding space.

In that moment….

"Uwaaah-!!"

Jin-Woo roared out powerfully as he swung the shortsword with all his might.

Kagagagagagagack!!

The magical energy concentrating on the end of the shortsword split into dozens upon dozens of slashes and swept away all the enemies right below him.

The Dragon's Claw!

The ranks of Ice Golems and spider-humans were halved in an instant from that single attack.

Unfortunately….

Swish-!

Jin-Woo quickly shifted his head to the side to find a large palm already arriving right in front of his nose. It cast a giant, dark shadow on his face.

'D*mn it.'

Realising that the attack was coming in at an unavoidable angle, he decided to raise his guard up, instead.

The Queen of Insects swatted Jin-Woo as if it was a human swatting a fly out of the air and slammed him into a building nearby.

BOOM!!

The impact force from that was so severe that another building across the road shook hard from the vibration.

Jin-Woo emerged out from the debris of the fallen building and keeled over to the floor to spit out a heavy gasp.

"Keo-heok."

He felt dizzy.

Vzzzz…..

Loud buzzing tinnitus assaulted his ears. His breathing quickened and his vision grew just a bit fuzzy. However, he had no time to stay here and catch his breath.

As soon as he raised his head, he spotted thousands of ice arrows floating up dozens of metres in the air above his head, all of them being the handiwork of the Sovereign of Frost.

Jin-Woo stood back up and stopped breathing for a moment there. And almost right away, the ice arrows filling up the sky shot down accurately to his current position.

Faster, faster!

Jin-Woo swung his shortswords and deflected away the magic arrows raining down without any break or gap in-between.

He was so fast that several afterimages began overlapping on top of one another.

'However, just how long will you be able to withstand our combined attacks?'

The Sovereign of Frost continued to fire the arrows endlessly as a sly grin floated up on its lips. When this human b*stard's movement slows down even for a second….

It was then.

Stab!

[…..??]

The Ice Elf's quaking eyes looked down to confirm the shortsword stabbing deeply into its chest. The liquid staining its hands was its own blood.

When it raised its head to look, the insolent human was glaring right back at the Sovereign, having had enough leeway to throw one of his shortswords even in the midst of deflecting all the ice arrows.

The burning rage, hot enough to boil all the blood in its body, rushed up to the Ice Elf's head.

[You d*mn human! How dare a measly little human wound a Sovereign like me!!]

Pah-ahhck!

Jin-Woo rapidly recalled the shortsword out of the creature's chest.

He struck the b*stard in the heart. Such a wound was more than enough to kill any regular humanoid creature, but unfortunately, that didn't seem to be a mortal wound to the Sovereign.

Still, that brought about an end to the rain of ice arrows. He firmly grasped the returning 'Kamish's Wrath' and grinned toothily at the Sovereign of Frost.

"I told you, didn't I? You won't be getting out of here alive."

[Kuwaaaahhh!!]

The Sovereign of Frost, thoroughly enraged while controlling its Ice Golems; the spider-humans controlled by the Sovereign of Plagues; and finally, the Sovereign of Beastly Fangs that had regenerated its severed wrist.

The latter moved its new wrist this way and that to test it out, before summoning out its own sword from the subspace, just like Jin-Woo had done.

All of their movements were caught in one go within Jin-Woo's vision. He grasped both Kamish's Wraths tightly and calmly collected his breaths as his enemies rushed at him again.

It was then.

Kwajijijick!

Accompanied by the noise of something solid splitting up, he was greeted from behind by a voice that sounded so much more brilliant to his ears today.

[My kingggggg!!]

Chapter 217: Chapter 217

Only a few minutes ago.

Beru always prided himself as the most loyal subject to his king. But now, after getting trapped within the ice prison of the Sovereign of Frost, he realised what the taste of sheer powerlessness was like.

Was I really this weak?

Why did I continue to grow stronger? For what purpose was it?

Beru felt so pathetic by the fact that he couldn't do anything while his liege was being besieged by his enemies. However, there was nothing the former ant king could do.

The Sovereign of Frost was an existence on another level compared to Beru. And he didn't possess the requisite power to escape from this magic. All he could do now while trapped in ice was to pray that his liege would be safe.

Fortunately, his liege wasn't pushed back at all, even when facing off against transcendental enemies.

'As expected of my liege…. This lowly slave can only be moved by your greatness.'

Beru was so emotionally moved by his master's display of power that tears overflowed from his eyes as he continued to watch Jin-Woo's battle.

But then, the disadvantage of numbers gradually tightened around the neck of his liege. The progressively-worsening cycle of attacks and defences of the enemies began pushing Jin-Woo back and Beru desperately struggled against his restraints.

'My king!! My king!!!'

And finally, Beru watched as Jin-Woo was sent flying by the Sovereign of Plagues' large palm and slam into a wall.

The king was in danger. The king was in danger. The king was in danger!

'I must protect my king.'

Snap.

Something inside Beru's head snapped loose. The empty void where his reasoning used to be was replaced by the 'emergency mode' designed to protect his king.

"Kiiiiieeeehhk!"

Beru's expression crumpled to resemble a frightening devil as he screeched out loudly.

Arms, shoulders, neck, chest, thighs, calves, ankles! Every part of his body ballooned up at the same time and began pushing away the block of ice imprisoning him.

Crack, craaack!

The seemingly-inescapable ice prison began to develop several large cracks. Beru shook his entire body.

Kwa-jeeck!

The ice prison could no longer contain the power of the ant soldier going crazy inside and its surface cracked even more so. Even in the midst of this, there was only one thing in Beru's head – the thought of rescuing his king.

Kiiieeehk!

He poured out all his strength and twisted his body, causing a big crack to run down the ice block.

Kwa-jijijik!!

He used his sheer physical strength to prise out the gap even further and extricated himself from the ice prison. Beru then disregarded everything else while flying straight towards Jin-Woo's side.

"My kingggggg!!"

"Beru!"

Even before he felt happy at his master looking back at him, all those little nicks and scrapes on Jin-Woo's body entered Beru's vision first. They were caused by the insect woman when she smacked his liege into the building just now.

A mere insect woman dared to lay her hands on his king!

She dared to touch his king!!!

"Kiiiieeeehhk!!"

Beru's anger reached a new height and he flew directly at the Queen of the Insects. The thunderous screech of Beru reverberating throughout the battlefield that used to be city streets rendered the Sovereign of Frost quite surprised.

[A measly Shadow Soldier managed to break free of my binding magic?!]

Such a thing shouldn't even happen. It took a closer look at Beru's power in the 'emergency mode' for a second there and spat out a gasp of shock next.

This power didn't belong to some 'measly' Shadow Soldier at all.

[How did a mere human manage to rear up a Marshal grade being?]

Each and every single one of the soldiers with 'Marshal' grade acting as the Shadow Sovereign's hands and feet could be considered as destruction personified.

The Sovereign of Frost couldn't have imagined that it would see a Marshal grade creature today and failed to hide its astonishment. In the meantime, Beru had arrived right before the Queen of Insects, the target for his unquenchable rage.

[I must punish an unruly child that can't even recognise his own mother!]

"Kiiiieehhk, shut up, you crazy wench!"

[What did you say?!]

The resident of the Chaos World and the master of all insects living there, the Sovereign of Plagues got triggered by the former ant king's statement.

Vuuwoong!

Beru ably dodged an attack from the Insect Queen and took aim at the centre of the insects swarming together to form a single body before screeching out with his magical energy.

"Kyaaahk-!!"

The former ant king's thunderous roar forced the insects to fall off from the Queen's body in an instant, causing the real body of the Sovereign of Plagues hiding within to briefly reveal itself.

It was a humanoid female with rotting, distorted skin, and a pair of empty eye sockets filled with wriggling maggots.

The Sovereign of Plagues displayed violent rage against the detestable former ant king that dared to bare its fangs at its original owner.

"Kiiiaaahhk!!"

The screech from the Insect Queen resounded out loudly enough to tear asunder the heavens, and Beru was forced back with no way to block the attack.

He was pushed far, far back before he managed to regain his balance and floated back down to the ground.

"Kiiechk, kyahk, kyaahk."

While Beru was shaking his head left and right, a heavy groan leaking out of his mouth….

The Queen of Insects had managed to recall the bugs back to rebuild its giant body once more.

'Okay, that's good.'

Jin-Woo nodded his head after watching the exchange between those two.

Of course, he knew that Beru wouldn't last long. The enemy was far too strong for that. However, if he could just steal away the attention of one of these three….

While Beru was fighting against the Queen, Jin-Woo shifted his eyes back to the other two Sovereigns. The tension hidden within their eyes was transmitted in the air, and he could clearly sense it.

The amount of time Beru could buy him wasn't much.

So, move faster than anticipated!

Jin-Woo dashed towards the Sovereign of Frost with all his power.

Kwagagagagagak!

The impact force from each and every one of his steps destroyed the ground below. The Sovereign of Frost glared at Jin-Woo making a beeline towards him and created a sharp ice spear between its two hands.

But, just before he collided with his target, Jin-Woo abruptly changed his direction and leapt towards the Sovereign of Beastly Fangs, instead.

[...!!]

The Sovereign of Beastly Fangs was getting ready to counter the moment Jin-Woo attacked its fellow Sovereign, but it flinched in nasty surprise at this stunning movement.

By a mere whisker, the beast managed to block Jin-Woo's shortsword by nothing but sheer primal instinct. Its eyes shook hard.

Jin-Woo could only click his tongue as their blades remained locked like this.

'Che.'

He was planning to fatally wound this beast-like thing after making it assume that he was aiming for the ancient Ice Elf, instead. The reflexes of the Sovereign of Beastly Fangs were faster than Jin-Woo's expectation.

However, it wasn't as if it was a total waste of time. He sensed the creature getting flustered just then.

'I must push this b*stard back like this.'

In the blink of an eye, he gripped the Kamish's Wrath in reverse grip and rained down a barrage of powerful attacks.

The horrifying sounds of air tearing up resounded throughout the area as the ultra-sharp blades left behind countless cut marks in the surroundings.

Clang!! Khang! Claaang!! Cah-hang!! Clang!!

The beast became fully occupied with defending against Jin-Woo's shortswords. Step by step, the creature was pushed back as it gradually lost out to his speed. The look of panic began clouding its face.

But then…

Jin-Woo sensed this sharp killing intent right behind him and urgently tilted his torso out of the way. The Sovereign of Frost thrust its ice spear and it slid past the location where his waist had been, barely missing him.

The ancient Ice Elf had entered the fray between Jin-Woo and the beast.

For the brief moment their eyes met, Jin-Woo discovered this incredibly heavy enmity from the eyes of the Elf b*stard.

Grit.

The grating noises of grinding teeth leaked out from Jin-Woo's mouth.

He slapped away the ice spear with his shortsword and quickly closed the distance as the Sovereign of Frost's posture crumbled from the after-effects of the weapon shaking loose in its grip.

Swish-!

He swung his blade, hoping to slice up the arrogant eyes of the creature, but regrettably, he missed by a hair's breadth. Instinctively pulling its head back to escape the danger, the expression on the ancient Ice Elf crumpled into something unsightly.

'Too bad, but….'

What followed after the attack was to defend. Jin-Woo ably blocked the beast's blade as if he knew it was coming.

CLANG!

Blocked again by a whisker; however, there was no time to sigh in relief after blocking the attack. The Sovereign of Frost grasped its spear again and commenced with its counterattack. The beast, too, came at him with its own barrage of attacks.

At the back, the Sovereign of Frost.

From the front, the Sovereign of Beastly Fangs.

Scary attacks from the two monsters possessing powers on another level rained down on him.

However…

Clang! Claaang!! Clang, clang, clang!! Claaang!! Claaang! Clang, clang, clank, clang, clank, clang!!

Two lengthy shortswords flashed about like bolts of lightning to either block or deflect all attacks coming from the two monsters.

Jin-Woo's movements had now firmly surpassed the limits of one's vision and they resembled just one long afterimage. It even looked as if he was blending into the already-blurry shapes of the two Sovereigns.

It went without saying that he couldn't possibly have seen every single attack coming in from his front and back, and respond to them in time with nothing but his eyes.

However, he could see something else, and that was the flow of each incoming attack. Things like pre-movement, the eyes, breathing, muscles twitching, the direction of magic energy, etc.

His sensory perception pushed to the absolute limit didn't miss out on a single little thing and accurately read each and every one of the enemies' attacks.

'….I can see it.'

That was why, just a little bit more! If he could go a little bit faster and surpass these b*stards…

'Faster, faster, faster, faster, faster!'

As the countless hits were exchanged, he got faster and faster. The complexions of the two Sovereigns fighting Jin-Woo hardened more and more.

'But, how…. how could this….?!'

'It's impossible! This human can't be fully utilising the power of the Shadow Sovereign!!'

But that wasn't it. Their enemy had exceeded the limits of humanity and was evolving further and further right before their eyes. That's when the two Sovereigns remembered it – the fear they held towards the strongest king that ruled the Chaos World.

And this happened around the same time.

Pah-ahck!!

Jin-Woo crossed blades with the weapons of both Sovereigns and then, with nothing but his physical strength, shoved them both far away.

[….!!]

[….!!]

Shock and astonishment quickly dyed the expressions of the two Sovereigns.

***

Lennart Niermann was sure of it now.

He was sure that there was no one else around here that could chase after the battle of those three with their bare eyes except himself, as long as the grievously-wounded Thomas Andre remained lying on the ground while being treated by the Healers surrounding him.

Even then, he couldn't clearly chase after Jin-Woo's movements with his eyes.

"…."

Only sighs of admiration kept leaking out of his mouth.

Hunter Seong Jin-Woo was not being pushed back by an inch even though he was fighting against the 'beast' that subdued the Special Authority-rank Tanker with brute strength, as well as a monster that froze up the vast ground with a single breath.

And soon, Hunter Seong's shape simply melted into thin air and only the series of unending metallic clangs reverberated around the battlefield.

It was as if there was a violent storm whipping about only around where he was.

"What…."

Thomas Andre couldn't win against his curiosity, roused up from all those suspicious explosive noises, and had to ask.

"….What is going on?"

Lennart murmured with disbelieving voice, unable to tear his gaze away from Jin-Woo.

"It's as if…."

If the monsters capable of destroying the world were engaged in an almighty dogfight, would it create a situation similar to this one?

"….I'm looking at the end of the world."

Lennart spat out his genuine thought stewing in his head, not even bothering to dress it up in fancy words, and shook his head. The sole silver lining in this dark cloud was the fact that one of the three happened to be on the side of humanity.

***

It was then.

"Kiiiieeeeeehhhk!!"

Jin-Woo heard Beru's scream and his head snapped in that direction.

The former ant king was being trampled under the Queen of Insect's foot and was putting up a desperate struggle to escape, but it was proving to be inadequate.

At that moment, Jin-Woo's eyes widened. Magical energy was leaving Beru's body and his existence was gradually thinning out.

'Could that be how the soldier attached to Thomas's shadow was erased, too?'

Jin-Woo quickly slapped back the attacks of the two Sovereigns and tried to summon Beru back to his shadow.

Unfortunately….

[The designated target cannot be called back.]

[The designated target cannot be called back.]

The System repeated the same message over and over again like a dumb little parrot. Jin-Woo's expression hardened.

He couldn't afford to lose Beru like this. That guy was one of his most precious soldiers and at the same time, the greatest fighting power within the Shadow Army.

'If Beru disappears and stops distracting the Queen of Insects, then this precarious balance will break down.'

This problem was also linked to his current battle as well. Jin-Woo once more shook off the ice spear and the blade heading his way and dashed towards the Queen of Insects.

Since the Queen was far too focused on destroying the most powerful Shadow Soldier, it discovered Jin-Woo's approach a little too late.

[Human!!!]

Just like what Beru showed him, he concentrated his magical energy in his throat.

"Uwaaaah-!!"

His loud yell, carrying a horrendous amount of magic energy, slammed into the insects wrapped around the Queen and blew them away. After its true visage was revealed once more, the Queen failed to disguise its fluster.

[Kyahk!!]

It hurriedly spat out a green-coloured liquid onto Jin-Woo's face, but he simply activated 'Ruler's Authority' to deflect it away. As for the obvious poison remaining in the air, his passive buff easily neutralised it.

[Effects from 'Skill: Strong Poison' have been detected in the surrounding air.]

[Effects of 'Buff: Detox' will now commence.]

[3, 2, 1…. Detoxification has been completed.]

The powers of the Sovereign of Plagues couldn't threaten Jin-Woo in the slightest, and she was already within his attack radius. In that brief moment, a cold gleam flickered within his eyes.

'Just now, the Sovereign of Frost didn't die when its heart was pierced.'

There was a good chance it'd be the same story for this Sovereign of Plagues, too.

In that case – since he had no idea where this creature's weakness was, he might as well continue to attack until he found it. Jin-Woo got even closer until he was within touching distance to the Queen of Insects and gripped his shortswords real tight.

'Violent Slash!'

Dududududududududu!!

The blades rained down like buckshots on the Queen of Insects and turned the creature's entire body into a torn rag in an instant.

[Aaaaaahahk?!!!]

However, the maggots wiggled and tangled with each other inside the monster's body to quickly restore its body.

'Regeneration?'

It wasn't a problem, though. If it possessed an ability to regenerate its body, then all he had to do was continuously pour out attacks that surpassed the rate of regeneration. That was all.

Jin-Woo chased after the Queen of Insects being knocked back and activated the skill, 'Violent Slash', over and over again.

Dududududu!! Dududududu!!

[Aaahahahaaahk!!]

The 'Kamish's Wraths', carrying the jet-black aura, fired out without a single break like a gun with infinite ammo.

"Uwaaaaah-!!"

He activated 'Violent Slash' with all his might, repeatedly, until he completely disintegrated every little bit of flesh that the Queen of Insects could potentially regenerate.

And eventually….

[You have killed one of the Nine Sovereigns, the Sovereign of Plagues, 'Querehsha'.]

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

…

…..

The ecstasy of level-up messages filling up his vision still felt great.

'Nice!'

However, when recalling the fact that he still had two more enemies aiming for his neck, he couldn't lounge around feeling happy for himself.

Jin-Woo urgently tried to turn around towards the direction of the intense murderous intent in order to defend himself, but….

….His enemy was just a little bit quicker.

While he was preoccupied with killing the Sovereign of Plagues, someone rushed towards him and extended its long hand. Five separate strands of sharp wind blew in from behind his back.

Stab!

Jin-Woo discovered five claws plunging past his chest.

'….'

The beastly Sovereign had completely transformed itself into a Werewolf and accurately stabbed Jin-Woo's back with five blade-like claws on its right hand. All five had penetrated through his vital point. Jin-Woo's body froze up at that moment.

Drop.

Clang…

The pair of 'Kamish's Wraths' fell from Jin-Woo's hands.

The Sovereign of Frost stood before him. Icy cold air spun and coagulated in the Ice Elf's hand and created an ice dagger.

[This is the end.]

The ice dagger stabbed Jin-Woo in his belly.

Stab!

Beru had barely regained his consciousness by then and cried out in anguish.

"M-my king!!!"

The ant soldier forced himself to stand back up on his unsteady legs but Jin-Woo simply shook his head at him. Even then, Beru extended his claws and tottered ungainly towards the Sovereign of Frost.

"Kiiieeehk!"

The despair and sorrow Beru felt was being transmitted in full to Jin-Woo as well. And that was why he didn't want to see his ant soldier get erased at the hands of these Sovereigns.

Just before Jin-Woo could issue an order to return, it was now the turn of Beru to shake his head as tears fell from his eyes.

However, Jin-Woo still had Beru return to his shadow. Against his will, the former ant king reverted back to the shadow form and quietly merged with his master's shadow.

Completely assured of its victory now, the ancient Ice Elf began moving that tree-bark-like skin to form a contorted grin.

[Is this as far as you can go, human?]

The b*stard leaned in closer to whisper in Jin-Woo's ear.

[In that case, I guess you won't be able to see it, then. You will not get to see the moment our armies set foot in this world. When that happens, the corpses of humans will form mountains, and their blood will form endless rivers.]

The Sovereign of Frost distanced itself from Jin-Woo's ear and stared at his hardened expression before forming an insidious grin.

[However, this country you grew up in will be different. I shall personally freeze every single human on this land and make sure they suffer eternal hell, all because you walked among them. I shall ensure that they enjoy an existence neither living nor dead for all eternity.]

The icy coldness spread out from the dagger stabbing into his belly and froze up Jin-Woo's body. As the icicle reached up to his face, his eyes continued to emit flames of sheer anger.

Even then, the Sovereign of Frost was smirking derisively.

[Yes, resent me endlessly in your death. That, too, will serve to please me even more.]

The Ice Elf yanked the dagger out and immediately, stabbed it into Jin-Woo's heart. The icy blade oozing whitish light easily shattered his rib bones and accurately penetrated his heart.

Stab!

The Sovereign of Frost confirmed that the human's heart had been destroyed and pulled the dagger out. Jin-Woo powerlessly collapsed to the ground.

His head clattered on the hard surface and he felt this crippling vertigo. At the same time, he sensed his two enemies getting further away from him.

'Not yet….I can still….'

He tried to move again, but he didn't possess a single bit of energy left to even lift a finger. Along with the abrupt loss of all senses, his consciousness rapidly dimmed.

And everything he could see and hear became submerged within inky darkness.

The human's heart finally stopped operating.

When that happened…

On top of the unmoving Jin-Woo, several System messages began floating up.

[HP of 'Player' has reached '0'.]

['Player' has died.]

['Player' is in possession of the 'Black Heart'.]

[You have met all the requirements for 'Passive Skill: (Unknown)'.]

['Passive Skill: (Unknown)' has been activated.]

The Skills information window opened up by itself and a small change occurred to one of the Skills within the blinking 'Passive' column.

[Skills]

Passive Skills

– (Unknown) Lv. MAX

– Tenacity Lv.1

– Master of Shortsword Lv. MAX

Shururuk….

[Skills]

Passive Skills

– Evolution Lv. MAX

– Tenacity Lv.1

– Master of Shortsword Lv. MAX

Chapter 218: Chapter 218

"Are you awake now?"

After hearing that familiar voice, Jin-Woo quickly opened his eyes. He saw a white ceiling, and the smell of disinfectant stung his nose. Although the sensation of the hard bed kissing his back was different, he could easily tell just where he was.

This was a hospital.

But, didn't he definitely feel the sensation of his heart shattering when the ice-cold dagger stabbed into his chest?

'Even then…. I'm still alive?'

Jin-Woo raised his upper torso up.

He immediately spotted two men standing near his bed, making anxious faces as if they had been waiting for him to regain his consciousness for a long time. One of them was someone Jin-Woo knew very well.

"Association President Woo Jin-Cheol! The Sovereigns….. No, what happened to those monsters? How am I still alive?"

Woo Jin-Cheol shared confused looks with the fellow agent of the Monitoring Division next to him, took his sunglasses off before addressing Jin-Woo.

"There are three things I must tell you."

He pulled a chair close to the bed and settled down. The junior agent quickly stepped behind him.

"Firstly, I'm not the Association President, but the Chief of the Monitoring Division. Secondly, we are here to ask you about the animated stone statues. And finally…."

A powerful glare oozed out from Woo Jin-Cheol's scrutinising eyes.

"….How do you know about me? Have we met before, somewhere?"

"H-hold on, wait! You said something about animated stone statues?!"

"After we received the report from the survivors and arrived on site with the White Tiger Guild, it was already…."

"No, no. Hang on. That's not it…."

Jin-Woo quickly cut Woo Jin-Cheol off and shook his head in dumbfoundedness. Several emotions, impossible to describe in words, rushed in.

Could it be….?

Jin-Woo raised his head and stared at the ceiling.

He was thinking that it was an oddly familiar sight ever since he opened his eyes, but he really was back here.

'Makes sense why it's so familiar….'

He spent almost two weeks in this place, after all. This was the VIP patient room provided by the Hunter's Association.

He was back in the hospital room where he opened his eyes for the first time after barely managing to survive the dual dungeon incident. Thinking back to what Woo Jin-Cheol said just now, it didn't seem like the location wasn't the only thing here that was the same.

'But… how can such a thing even be possible?'

Jin-Woo remained utterly confused and dazed, leading Woo Jin-Cheol to cautiously ask him.

"….Are you feeling alright?"

Jin-Woo's head dropped lower and he massaged his temples as a migraine gradually crept in. He didn't forget to wave around his hand as a gesture to tell the others to not to worry about him.

"I…. Can I be left alone to organise my thoughts? Please hurry up with measuring my magical energy so we can end this quickly."

Woo Jin-Cheol stared dazedly at Jin-Woo with an expression that roughly said, "How did you know that we have been suspecting you going through a Re-Awakening?" before he quickly shook his head as if to get rid of all the distracting thoughts.

"We'd like to hear what happened inside there before we proceed. If you have seen something strange before losing your consciousness…."

"Like I told you before, I don't remember anything."

Did they ever meet and converse with Hunter Seong Jin-Woo before?

No, never.

Definitely not.

As a man of the Monitoring Division, Woo Jin-Cheol never forgot the face of a Hunter he met, even if it was only one time. And his memory definitely didn't hold information on anyone with the name of 'Seong Jin-Woo'.

'Looks like his memories are all jumbled up from going through a serious mental shock.'

Woo Jin-Cheol decided as thus while looking at Jin-Woo's current condition. In that case, he figured that he might as well finish what he came here to do and return as soon as possible. He addressed his underling next.

"Bring it here."

The junior agent heard the order and brought along the miniature magic energy measuring device.

'Hah….'

A helpless chuckle leaked out of Jin-Woo's lips as things played out exactly like his memories.

"All you have to do is to place your hand on this magic crystal for a little while."

"Okay."

The measuring process ended quickly thanks to Jin-Woo's cooperation.

However, Woo Jin-Cheol began frowning greatly as he tried to confirm the results. He prodded the device several times before shifting his gaze over to the junior agent.

"Why isn't the device working? Didn't I tell you to check it before leaving the HQ?"

"Pardon me?"

The junior agent couldn't hide his fluster and hurriedly inspected the device from this angle and that, but obviously, nothing changed by doing that.

The device that was operating perfectly up until just now suddenly switched itself off as soon as it touched the hand of the subject. And it didn't want to work again.

'Tsk.'

Woo Jin-Cheol quietly tutted at the mistake of his junior agent and apologised to Jin-Woo before asking for his understanding.

"Looks like there has been some sort of mistake on our part here. Do you mind waiting for a little bit? We should be able to go and fetch a new device very soon. This process must be performed during the investigation of this incident, and we ask for your coopera….."

Even before his words came to an end, Jin-Woo nodded his head. Woo Jin-Cheol led his junior agent and left the hospital room. However, he only took a few more steps before coming to a stop. He turned around again.

'What's going on?'

Jin-Woo raised his head slightly when Woo Jin-Cheol acted a little differently to how he remembered it.

The Chief of the Monitoring Division stood before the bed and asked.

"By any chance…. Are you aware of the punishment in store for being a fake registrant?"

"…"

"I've met my fair share of high-ranking Hunters in my life. However, I've never met any Hunter with eyes like yours. If you're hiding something, now's the time to…."

"I've nothing to hide."

Jin-Woo cut him off again. Woo Jin-Cheol wordlessly studied the man sitting up on the bed before politely bowing his head.

"We've inconvenienced you."

Jin-Woo watched Woo Jin-Cheol leaving the hospital room's door and inwardly thought that he definitely better suited the role of the boss of the Monitoring Division rather than that of the Association President.

Besides all that, though….

"….Status Window."

He wasn't surprised in the least by the message floating in the air and took a look at the Status Window displaying his current level.

Name: Seong Jin-Woo

Level: 146

Class: Shadow Sovereign

Title: Demon Hunter (extra 2)

HP: 93,300

MP: 155,720

Tiredness: 0

[Stats]

Strength: 324

Endurance: 320

Agility: 340

Intelligence: 340

Perception: 321

(Available points to distribute: 0)

Reduction in physical damage: 65%

Reduction in magical damage: 44%

[Skills]

Passive Skills

– Tenacity Lv.1

– Master of Shortsword Lv. MAX

Active Skills

– Quicksilver Lv. MAX

– Intimidation Lv. 2

– Violent Slash Lv. MAX

– Dagger Rush Lv. MAX

– Stealth Lv. MAX

– Ruler's Authority Lv. MAX

[Class-specific Skills]

Active Skills

– Shadow Extraction Lv. 2

– Shadow Storage Lv. 2

– Sovereign's Territory Lv. 2

– Shadow Exchange Lv. 2

'My level's gone up a lot since the last time I took a look at it. Is it because of the experience points I earned after killing the Sovereign of Plagues?'

That wasn't all, either.

Everything he had stored in his Inventory until now was also waiting for him as they always had been. He even spotted the pair of 'Kamish's Wraths' resting quietly on the very first column of the Inventory and formed a hollow smile.

He had somehow returned to the beginning with everything he had achieved so far.

'Well, the Shadow Soldiers aren't here anymore, but….'

But, his army could be rebuilt in no time at all. Since he had retained all of his prior abilities and memories, he was confident of doing a better job this time around.

However….

….Just how did this happen?

Why was this thing happening?

Although he was given the second go at life here, all sorts of possibilities fleeted in and out of his head and he couldn't be happy about his current situation at all.

Jin-Woo carefully combed over his memories, wondering if he had overlooked something, before his head rose up.

'Should be here soon….'

As he expected; just like how he remembered it, his little sister pounced into the hospital room with excellent timing.

"Oppa!!"

After she lost almost all of her school friends at the hands of the Orcs, there always had been a shadow cast on her expression even when she was smiling. But, right now, there was no hint of such darkness on her face.

Jin-Woo's heart softened from seeing her expression and he tightly hugged her.

"O-Oppa??"

Jin-Ah was planning to urge her oppa to give up being a Hunter when he regained his consciousness, but now that she lost her initiative to him, she became rather flustered, instead.

"What's going on? What's gotten into you? Did you hit your head?"

Eventually, her oppa ended the hug and grinned refreshingly. Seeing him behaving like this, all thoughts of anger dissipated from her mind and she could only tilt her head this way and that with a puzzled look on her face.

She couldn't put her finger on it, but her oppa seemed somewhat different from the normal. Now that she took a closer look, she kind of got the impression that her oppa had grown a lot taller since the last time she saw him a few days ago.

While Jin-Ah was falling deeper into confusion, Jin-Woo was able to use this lull to organise his thoughts better. He then began thinking about things he needed to do, step by step.

A short while later, he lightly chased his little sister out and changed his clothes before stepping outside the hospital room himself.

Since these clothes were his old ones, they didn't fit his size now, and because he had survived a life or death situation, their condition was at their absolute worst, as well. But what choice did he have?

He certainly couldn't walk around the city in a patient gown now, could he?

Jin-Ah watched her brother walk right past her in hurried steps and called out to him.

"Oppa?! Where are you going now?"

"To the Hunter's Association."

"Why there??"

"To tell them I'm giving up being a Hunter."

"Really???"

Jin-Woo looked back at his little sister and her wide open eyes.

"I know that you asked permission to leave from your school to come here, so you should go back now."

"Whaaat-?!"

Jin-Ah watched on with an expression gradually becoming even more confused as her oppa's back disappeared from view.

***

The Association employee confirmed the re-evaluation test results once more and continued to rub his eyes over and over again.

It had been two years since Cha Hae-In's appearance, hadn't it?

The employee looked up at the tenth Hunter to reach the 'unable-to-measure' category in Korea and his complexion paled greatly. Since Jin-Woo's outward appearance looked so wretched like a pauper, the employee was dismissive about this young man, but to think, he turned out to be a genuine rank S Hunter.

"T-the device we have right now can't measure your magic energy level, Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim."

"I know. But before we do the re-test, I'd like to speak to the Association President first. Will that be alright with you?"

"Y-you mean, the Association President??"

���Yes."

Jin-Woo was already familiar with the re-evaluation procedures. The Association employee became dazed by this request for a meeting with the Association President and picked up the phone to make the call.

"Y-yes, yes. That's correct. He's definitely 'unable-to-measure'. Understood. Yes. I shall give him the message."

Indeed, the Association President agreed to meet this young man.

"I, I shall escort you to the office of the Association President…."

"I know where it is already. Thanks for the offer, but it's okay."

Jin-Woo bade a short goodbye and walked straight to the elevator. The employee looked at his departing back with an expression of utter loss.

'How can an outsider know where the President's office is?'

Too bad for the employee, the elevator stopped on the correct floor where the Association President's office was.

"Heot…."

The employee watched the floor display of the elevator with a worried expression before gasping out softly in surprise.

Ting….

Jin-Woo stepped out of the elevator and immediately discovered a familiar face walking past him in order to enter the lift. He turned around to address this man.

"Excuse me."

The man pressed the 'door open' button to stop the elevator when Jin-Woo turned to look at him.

"Are you talking to me?"

"You haven't disclosed the fact that you possess the 'Stealth' skill. You're an upper-rank Hunter, but your name wasn't on the list of those under the Association's strict management."

The Hunter affiliated with the Monitoring Division, Kahng Tae-Sik's expression hardened instantly.

"But how….?"

"Someone will ask you to avenge his daughter soon. I don't care what happens to the criminals. However, if the innocent Hunters get hurt in that incident, you will die by my hands. Understand?"

Jin-Woo emitted just a little bit of his killing intent, causing Kahng Tae-Sik to flinch and reach into his waist. However, it wasn't there.

Kahng Tae-Sik continued to rummage around his waist for a while before finally realising that his knife had disappeared.

"You looking for this?"

Jin-Woo casually tossed a knife up and down before handing it back to him.

Kahng Tae-Sik quickly recognised that Jin-Woo was on a completely different level compared to all the other Hunters he had been dealing with so far and wordlessly took the knife back.

"You get only one warning."

Knowing that this young man could easily dissect him into tiny little pieces if he wanted to, Kahng Tae-Sik slowly nodded his head while pocketing the knife. And then, he asked a question as Jin-Woo turned around to leave.

"Look here, man…. Just who are you? Have we ever met before?"

Jin-Woo didn't bother to reply and quietly continued to make his way to the Association President's office. After this mysterious man went away, Kahng Tae-Sik looked down at his cold sweat-soaked palms and lifted his finger away from the 'door open' button.

"….Feels like I've been entranced by a phantom, doesn't it?"

***

'Association President….'

Jin-Woo's steps came to a halt.

Goh Gun-Hui, still alive, was sitting behind his desk going through his documents right now. Jin-Woo stood by the doorway and stared at the Association President with eyes filled with nostalgia.

Meanwhile, Goh Gun-Hui chuckled good-naturedly.

"Although you opened my door with so much confidence, it seems that you're a bit lacking in spirit there. It's fine for you to come inside, Seong Jin-Woo Hunter-nim."

Goh Gun-Hui stood up from his chair and walked out in front while suggesting that they take a seat on the couch. He settled down on the couch opposite of Jin-Woo and asked the younger man.

"Would you like to sit down?"

Abruptly, the current Goh Gun-Hui overlapped with that of the Goh Gun-Hui he met for the first time and Jin-Woo's expression stiffened for a brief moment. He stood there with an expressionless face for a second or two, before settling down as well.

"Thank you. I will."

Goh Gun-Hui studied the young man before him and spoke up first.

"Seeing that you came to see me right away after your re-evaluation test, may I assume that you know about the 'normal' procedures?"

"Yes, basically."

"In that case, let me not beat around the bush and be direct with you."

"Before that, I'd like to make a deal with you first, Association President."

"A deal?"

Initially, Goh Gun-Hui felt rather flustered by this young man, who was acting as if he knew he'd be a rank S Hunter from the beginning. However, being spunky was an excellent weapon wielded by the young, was it not?

For some reason, Goh Gun-Hui didn't find this young man in front of his eyes dislikeable at all. Maybe that was why he didn't bother to hide the smile naturally floating up on his lips and paid attention to Jin-Woo's words.

"What is it that you want from us, Hunter-nim?"

"Please, change the regulations so that even the summoned creatures called out by the Hunters are counted as raid team members."

"You want me to change the regulation…. That's a rather difficult request, isn't it? I expect an attractive offer from you, powerful enough to sway my mind."

Jin-Woo took his time before making his reply.

"I will kill all the ants on Jeju Island."

Right now, replenishing his army took precedence over everything. And Jeju Island was practically crawling with the finest quality monsters ready to be turned into Shadow Soldiers.

As long as this offer was accepted, not only would he get to solve the issue of filling up the ranks of the Shadow Army, he would also be spared from the headache of not having usable members in the future as well.

Before he woke his mother up with the 'Divine Water of Life', he wanted to finish this part of the job first.

However, what Jin-Woo said came across as a desire to kill himself to Goh Gun-Hui's ears.

"Don't say something that nonsensical, young man!"

Such a reaction was fully expected. Jin-Woo didn't lose his cool and calmly released all of the magical energy resting within himself for a very brief moment.

A bottomless and vast power defying all attempts to estimate its true scope spread out from Jin-Woo's body.

The truly strong could recognise a fellow strong being; the Association President, often called the 'sky above the sky' shook his head in utter disbelief.

"How…. Just how…. What on earth… is this?"

He powerfully shuddered. Never before in his entire life had he felt this amount of magic energy emitted from another human being.

A Special Authority-rank Hunter? No, this power had far surpassed their levels. The Association President simply couldn't bring his slack jaw to a close.

"I can take care of all the ants on Jeju Island."

Didn't Goh Gun-Hui once say that doing so was his life's wish?

The older man was about to chide Jin-Woo for being immature and reckless, but after seeing the resolute expression on Jin-Woo's face, his own expression quickly changed as well.

"Are you… being serious?"

Jin-Woo nodded his head.

"This is something only I can do. Please, leave it to me."

***

Jin-Woo took a long sweeping look at the corpses of ants strewn about from one end of the land all the way to the other side. And he looked below his feet where Beru, no, the ant king's corpse was resting quietly.

It hadn't been that long since he had seen his loyal soldier, but Jin-Woo yearned to hear Beru's voice busily calling out to his king again. So, he quickly shouted out towards the ants.

"Rise up."

When he did, Shadow Soldiers rose up from the shadows of every single ant he could see. Beru was among them, too.

"Oh, my king…."

Jin-Woo took in the sight of several thousand ants kneeling all around him and slowly nodded his head. A brand new army was here.

The new Shadow Army, starting from the most perfect state imaginable, swore their loyalty to their new master.

However…

After talking to his new soldiers, he became sure of it.

"….Let's stop this."

Even though a new Shadow Army had been created, there was this gaping hole in his heart that didn't want to fill back up.

Beru looked up with worry, but Jin-Woo knew that even that expression and emotion were all a lie. And that was why his heart ached even more so as he looked at his soldiers.

Thick veins popped up in his throat as he loudly yelled out.

"I know all of this is just an illusion! Why don't you stop this charade and reveal yourself?!"

This illusion was incredibly life-like. Because of that, there had been some moments that he dearly wished for this thing to be his true reality. However, there was no hiding the emptiness in his heart that seemed to grow larger and larger the longer he spent inside this illusion.

That was why….

"Hurry up!!"

Jin-Woo loudly roared into the empty sky above, before finally realising that a change had taken place – that time had frozen still.

The gazes of every single ant soldier and their raised heads were directed towards him. For a moment there, he felt goosebumps break out on his skin from receiving all those mechanical stares.

It was then.

Below his feet, the Sovereign's Territory, a jet-black shadow rapidly spread out. Everything touched by that shadow all vanished without exception. Beru, the soldiers, corpses, the ground, the sea, and finally, even the sky itself.

Soon, the entire 'world' became submerged in shadow. No, everything simply transformed into darkness, instead.

Only then did a weighty, heavy voice come at him from a place within this darkness.

[As long as you want, you can live in this world for all eternity. It will be the same as you never waking from the most wonderful dream.]

Jin-Woo searched for the voice coming from an unknown direction and made his reply.

"Are you telling me to stay trapped within this illusion you have created?"

[No. I did not create this world. You are responsible for its creation.]

"I created this world?"

Jin-Woo was about to reply with "Nonsense!" but sensed something approach him. It was his rear.

He quickly spun around. Sure enough, someone was walking closer from within the impenetrable darkness.

This figure was kitted out in this exquisite black armour that no other Shadow Soldier could even hope to match. And he also emitted an utterly shocking amount of pressure that no other living being Jin-Woo ever met possessed.

He found it hard to open his mouth when he came face to face with this figure. This being spoke to him.

[This world was created when your desire to fix all the mistakes you've made so far was added to my own power. This place is the world of death. Meaning, this is my true territory.]

Jin-Woo finally realised then.

He finally realised that this dark world he was standing in had been gently and invitingly embracing him all this time.

'So, this is the eternal rest, is it….'

Death.

If so, the man who claimed this world on the other side of consciousness as his territory had to be….

Jin-Woo wanted to hear the answer straight from the man's mouth and asked the question.

"And you must be….?"

The man in the black armour slowly walked closer to Jin-Woo.

[I have been watching you for far longer than you can imagine. You, who had always been striding close to death, yet always had been resisting bitterly against it.]

'You've been…. watching me?'

Eventually, the man stood right before Jin-Woo and stared with those black eyes that seemed to suck everything in.

[I am the record of your bitter struggle. I am the evidence of your resistance. I am the reward of your pain. I am death, I am eternal rest, and I am also 'terror'.]

Every word he spoke reverberated weightily within Jin-Woo's soul.

All those memories of him struggling hard to survive despite his weakness fleeted in and out of his mind like a revolving lantern, and made his heart palpitate faster.

The figure reached down and grabbed Jin-Woo's hand and placed it on his own armoured chest.

That's when Jin-Woo's eyes widened in shock. He could definitely feel 'it' beyond the thick metal armour plate.

How could he not recognise it?

How could he not recognise the vigorous pounding of the heart that he always got to hear by concentrating just a little bit harder?

How could he not recognise the sounds of his second heart, the one where he had no clue where it was beating from?

It was the Black Heart.

The Black Heart was powerfully beating within this armoured figure's chest.

[I am….]

The figure quietly finished his words.

[….You.]