Groooooooar, we're screwed. This is a truly screwed-up situation. A Kraken, its tentacles as thick as the fuselage of an airplane, slammed them down in every direction.
Watching it, the retired Hunter Son Jeong-hee felt his blood run cold. A retired Hunter was a kind of honorary position taken up by those who had retired due to age, tasked with protecting the safety of a district. In military terms, it was a role equivalent to the reserve forces or civil defense.
Though aged, they were still stronger than ordinary people, making them capable of responding to ‘unforeseen circumstances’. However, ‘That thing is on another level…!!’ That giant octopus was a creature that made the word ‘respond’ feel meaningless.
Even at a glance, it looked to be at least 5-star (★★★★★) with ease.
“Why in the world is this happening…”
Beads of sweat formed on Son Jeong-hee’s bald head. The question on his mind was the same one Cheon Hae-seon had. It had not even been a year since the last Gate had appeared, and for another to open in the same place was an unprecedented event.
That was precisely why Son Jeong-hee, whose role was closer to civil defense, had been assigned to this neighborhood in the first place. Retired Hunters were stationed there just in case, but no one had actually expected an incident to occur.
‘This is bad…!’
Was it because he was running frantically? Or was it because he was crushed by the terror of the Kraken? Son Jeong-hee’s heart pounded wildly.
“Aaaah!!”
Panic-stricken citizens brushed past him one after another. The road was buckled and uneven, as if a massive earthquake had struck, and a half-finished building had collapsed completely. A mixture of acrid smoke and dust irritated Son Jeong-hee’s nose.
Retired he may be, but a Knight was still a Knight. After sending an emergency signal from his phone, Son Jeong-hee scanned the area, searching for anyone who hadn't made it out.
Groooooooar.
The Kraken slammed a couple of its tentacles onto the ground again.
BOOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If it had been smaller, one might have thought it was merely throwing a tantrum. But the Kraken before him was the largest Monster Son Jeong-hee had ever seen, and its power was, naturally, far beyond a simple tantrum.
“Ugh…!!”
Flung into the air in an instant, Son Jeong-hee twisted his body to regain his posture. The solid six-pack of his active days was gone, but his experience had not faded. He landed squarely on both feet and gritted his teeth.
“Ah…!”
In that moment, Son Jeong-hee’s face twisted in horror. He had spotted a young boy whose legs were pinned beneath a pile of rubble, unable to move. The pain must have been so excruciating that not even a scream would come out; the boy’s mouth was wide open as tears streamed down his face.
Son Jeong-hee approached with swift steps and began clearing away the bricks. For Son Jeong-hee, a former D-rank Knight, this much debris was no problem. However, the boy’s crushed legs were something he could not handle.
“Ugh…”
The boy’s face, once flushed with blood, was steadily turning pale. Son Jeong-hee knew from experience that this was not a good sign.
“Is anyone here? Anyone?!”
A healer, or even just an ordinary medic, anyone would do. Though all the rubble had been cleared, the boy’s legs were completely mangled. Judging by the spreading blood, he didn't have much time left.
Should he just carry him to a hospital? Son Jeong-hee bit his lip and glared toward the Kraken.
“What?!”
And then, his eyes widened to twice their size.
Kiaaaaaaaaaaaak.
“Damn it… What the hell is that thing now…?!”
On the opposite side of the Kraken, a massive serpent had appeared, looking far more terrifying than the beast it faced. It wasn't that its body was larger than the Kraken's. But the red scales covering its entire body and its venomous gaze sent a shiver down Son Jeong-hee’s spine.
It was a fundamental fear, one that even he, a seasoned veteran, found difficult to endure. In that fear, Son Jeong-hee briefly entertained the thought of abandoning the boy and fleeing. The heavens were truly cruel.
One octopus was causing this much chaos, so where in the world did that snake come from? Son Jeong-hee clenched his jaw and carefully lifted the boy into his arms. Things would have been better with a stretcher, but that was too much to hope for in this situation.
He had to get him to a safe zone as quickly as possible and get help from a healer or a doctor.
“Just hold on a little longer.”
Just as Son Jeong-hee was about to leap away, Kiaaaaaaaaaaak!
Again.
The serpent’s roar, which froze his entire body, pierced his ears. He wanted to move, but he couldn't. He knew how pathetic he was, yet he couldn't take a single step. Was this what a frog felt before a snake?
His body completely rigid, he could only watch the Crimson Venom Snake’s movements with trembling eyes. And then, once again, the unbelievable happened.
Kwaaaang!!!!!
“???!!!”
The Crimson Venom Snake’s body, which he thought would come for him, had instead struck the Kraken.
“What is this…”
It was as if they were fighting amongst themselves. Weren't they Monsters from the same Gate? Son Jeong-hee’s pupils trembled like aspen leaves.
Groooooooar.
The Kraken’s enraged roar shook the heavens and the earth. Its tentacles coiled around the Crimson Venom Snake's entire body, and the snake, in turn, let out a terrifying roar as it resisted. The scene unfolding could be described in a single phrase.
‘Clash of Giant Monsters.’
The battle between the Kraken and the Crimson Venom Snake was on a scale that far transcended human comprehension.
“Even though it’s so big, I guess a mollusk is still a mollusk.”
“I see. It seems the snake’s attack just now didn’t work because its body is so soft.”
Son Jeong-hee answered absently before whipping his head around in shock.
“Who, who are you…?!!”
A man had appeared without him noticing and casually struck up a conversation. Tall and handsome, with a slightly sensitive air about him, the man was now standing beside him. It was the first time Son Jeong-hee had seen him in person, but he knew his name very well.
He was, after all, the most popular person in the entire country, even beyond his status as a Hunter.
“Hunter Cheon Hae-seon!!!!!”
Cheon Hae-seon smiled faintly and took a step forward.
“Hold him just like that for a moment.”
Cheon Hae-seon’s hands moved toward the boy’s legs. And soon, a golden light enveloped them. The boy’s consciousness had long since faded from the shock.
But the faint groans that had been repeating weakly ceased, and his pale complexion regained its original color. It meant he was recovering.
“Ohh…!!”
Son Jeong-hee’s Knight rank was a mere D. The difficulty of the dungeons he had participated in had also been mediocre. The S-ranker's healing unfolding before his eyes was a rare sight, something he had only ever seen in YouTube videos.
“Can he be fully healed?”
“Yes. If we were a few minutes later, it would have been irreversible, but thankfully he has returned to normal. It’s thanks to you, sir.”
Cheon Hae-seon smiled as he looked at Son Jeong-hee’s hands. From hastily moving the bricks earlier, a couple of his fingernails were dangling loosely.
“Ah, this…”
How embarrassing for a former Knight. While Son Jeong-hee gave a bitter smile, Cheon Hae-seon swiftly healed his hands.
Kyaaaaaaaaaaaak.
All the while, the Crimson Venom Snake and the Kraken continued their fierce battle. The feeling of being healed beneath the clash of colossal monsters was truly surreal.
“Tsk. Maybe I should have just taken care of it myself.”
Cheon Hae-seon clicked his tongue and scratched the back of his head. Son Jeong-hee, astonished, quickly asked.
“Take care of it yourself… Does that mean you summoned that Crimson Venom Snake, Hunter Cheon Hae-seon?”
“Yes. Well…”
He said it nonchalantly, but for Son Jeong-hee, it was a tremendous shock.
‘They said he defeated Kang Hyeon…’
News that the healer-type Cheon Hae-seon had dismantled the Tenebra organization had already spread. Son Jeong-hee had been half in doubt even after reading the articles, but now, he had no choice but to accept it. Could anyone imagine a Hunter who could summon such a monster losing to someone?
“Its body seems to be made of rubber. Do you have any ideas?”
Cheon Hae-seon suddenly sought Son Jeong-hee's advice. What solution could he, a D-rank, a retired one at that, possibly offer? Still, he wasn't entirely without such experience.
“Though that type might seem weak to physical attacks, they can be surprisingly tough. Cutting it with a sharp weapon might be more effective than striking it with a blunt one.”
Of course, what Son Jeong-hee had faced wasn't a Kraken like this one. He had, at most, fought against high-level slimes. But Cheon Hae-seon snapped his fingers and nodded.
“As I thought.”
Cheon Hae-seon took a deep breath, inhaling deeply. Then he shouted loudly toward the Crimson Venom Snake.
“Bite it!!!!”
“……?”
Bite it?
Did he say bite it? At first, he didn’t even realize the words were directed at the Crimson Venom Snake. But the creature Cheon Hae-seon had summoned understood its master’s words perfectly.
Chomp.
The tentacles coiled around its body. The Crimson Venom Snake sank its sharp fangs into them and tore them apart without mercy.
Shred!!
Giant globs of slime splattered everywhere as the Kraken’s tentacles were ripped away.
“Wow… I wonder how many servings one of those would make if you grilled it.”
Even in this state of emergency, Cheon Hae-seon uttered a nonchalant exclamation of awe. Son Jeong-hee stared at his face, dumbfounded, before swallowing hard. Sweat was dripping from Cheon Hae-seon's chin.
‘Of course… Summoning such a tremendous monster couldn’t be an ordinary feat.’
In reality, Cheon Hae-seon had already exhausted more than half of his Black Ether. This was the first time he had controlled the Crimson Venom Snake for so long, and his Ether was draining much faster than he had anticipated.
Kiring.
Suddenly, with a clear sound, a black blade sprouted from Cheon Hae-seon’s hand. As Son Jeong-hee staggered back in surprise, Cheon Hae-seon instructed him.
“It seems there’s no point in dragging this out. When I call for you later, please come.”
“Huh? …Ah, I understand.”
With those words, Cheon Hae-seon’s form vanished.
‘Teleportation??!!’
At first, he thought the man had used Teleportation. But that was just Son Jeong-hee’s misunderstanding; he had simply moved incredibly fast. Leaping across rooftops, Cheon Hae-seon charged toward the Kraken.
For Son Jeong-hee, who knew nothing of the ‘Poison Step’ skill, it felt like he was in a dream.
‘A healer can summon such a monster, and on top of that, his physical abilities are exceptional…’
It was true that Son Jeong-hee had only been in low-rank dungeons, but even in videos showcasing the country’s top rankers, he had never seen a Hunter with such abilities. A ‘complete being’, equipped with every condition necessary to fight Monsters.
Watching Cheon Hae-seon, who had already reached striking distance of the Kraken, Son Jeong-hee let out a string of amazed gasps. Then, he suddenly shouted frantically at Cheon Hae-seon.
“Look out…!!”
A severed tentacle of the Kraken, which was near Cheon Hae-seon, was flying toward him. Was it because they were similar soft-bodied creatures? Like a live octopus on a dinner plate, its leg moved on its own even after being detached from the body.
Moreover, that thing(?) showed a clear intent to attack Cheon Hae-seon.
However, Slice.
As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Cheon Hae-seon, with his gaze fixed forward, swung his arm back. And in the next moment, the tentacle that had been flying with menacing force was cleanly split in two.
“What…!”
He felt embarrassed for shouting a warning. Just like that, Cheon Hae-seon reached the Crimson Venom Snake without any threat and cut off the remaining tentacles coiling around it. Son Jeong-hee narrowed his eyes and checked the state of the tentacles Cheon Hae-seon had severed.
Unlike the ones the Crimson Venom Snake had bitten off, the tentacles Cheon Hae-seon had cut had turned black and could no longer move. He didn't know the principle behind it. But in that sight, Son Jeong-hee saw a clear possibility.
‘We can win…!’
At first, he thought that just being able to buy time would be a great success. But after seeing the severed tentacles completely die, Son Jeong-hee changed his mind. It was unbelievable, but he might really be able to defeat that monster all by himself…!!
“Get rid of it!!!”
Clenching both fists, Son Jeong-hee shouted at the top of his lungs toward Cheon Hae-seon.