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At the point when the raft was almost reaching Area 2, Baek Gun-tae shouted loudly.

“As soon as we arrive, join with the Rear Guard! Form the ranks! Those selected for the advance team, get ready to leave immediately!”

The assault team included some rookies. Marching has to match the pace of the slowest, so they couldn’t go any faster. Thus, it made perfect sense to select an advance team first.

—And naturally, the leader of the advance team fell to Kang Tae-ho. Soon, casting a glance around, Kang Tae-ho called out the members of the advance team joining him.

“Gu Jin-ha. Ha Yeon. Yoo Tae-jeong. And…”

All the names belonged to the main A-Class Hunters of the assault team. Just as they disembarked from the raft, dark clouds gathered ominously in the distance, expanding endlessly and painting the world black.

“We need to join as quickly as possible…?”

Baek Gun-tae managed to think that. Just then, he furrowed his brow against the overwhelming magic pressing down on him. It was suffocating pressure that made even standing unbearable without raising magic. This wasn’t just simple magic; it was an oppressive force weighing down on their minds and bodies. Looking back, it was clear the assault team’s members were struggling to support themselves. In fact, many had already collapsed.

Among them was…

‘…A monster!’

Euna was there too. Lucky for her, she was in a comparatively better state. In terms of magic power, she could rival or exceed many B-Class hunters. But the real problem was the rookies who looked like they might pass out at any moment. No matter how much they tried to raise their magic, they were intimidated, paling and gasping for breath.

‘I have to do something…!’

Euna managed to wield her magic. For her, magic was like a canvas. How to draw what kind of picture—she never thought she could face that terrifying magic head-on. Instead, she formed a soft, streamlined dome—a buffering barrier. Not creating a wall to absorb the impact, but allowing some of it to spill over.

“…!”

Seeing the hunters manage to catch their breath just barely, Euna felt relieved. However—casting magic also meant exhausting herself. Gradually, her complexion was turning pale, while Gu Jin-ha, feeling slightly more stable, drew a great sword from his coat pocket.

‘It’s that freak…!’

The armored monster that had killed Munoh, a member of the Seven Heroes, and gravely injured Chang-seon. He approached slowly, wielding a broadsword engulfed in flames. With pressure that felt suffocating, Gu Jin-ha concentrated his mind. As the monster swung his sword, the magic’s resonance split apart, and the heavy pressure dissipated as if washed away.

“―――!”

In an instant, the pale-faced assault team took deep breaths. At that point, Baek Gun-tae shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Everyone! Fire!”

At the command, the archers released their strings without hesitation. Highly skilled archers, handpicked from the B-Class and above hunters. The arrows flew in a straight line rather than an arc. Despite being arrows, their speed exceeded that of rifles and was impossible for human eyes to track.

“…!”

The moment the monster’s sword descended, the magic took shape and amplified. It sliced through the ground, cutting down vines and trees. The overwhelming pressure caused the arrows to drop unceremoniously or fly backward instead. As the ranks of panicked hunters began to scatter, Kang Tae-ho swung his sword. When their sword strokes collided, a wind rose up to the heavens, and when the wind died down, the terrain had already changed.

The lush jungle was gone, leaving only shredded foliage across a mound of dirt. A brief silence fell. Kang Tae-ho tilted his head.

“Well, there’s no way I’m making it through this one, huh?”

Intuitively, Kang Tae-ho felt that without him, stopping the monster wouldn’t be possible. Soon, he pointed to the Bishop.

“Old lady and dude, help me out for a moment. The rest, go ahead.”

Upon hearing Kang Tae-ho’s words, Gu Jin-ha frowned. Just like the saying goes, in a whale fight, the shrimp gets hurt; average hunters wouldn’t be much help. —He included himself in that statement.

The only ones truly capable of helping would be the giant’s lord and the bishop. Even the name of an advance team wasn’t sufficient to take part in that fight. Gu Jin-ha hesitated for a moment.

‘…The commanders.’

Before anything else, they were the advance team leader and the assault team leader. Their absence would mean a totally different implication. The next in command was himself. Suddenly, he found himself leading the entire assault team.

‘But still, we have to do this.’

—His opponent was a monster that had killed Munoh and gravely injured Chang-seon. This was not the time for weak sentiments about the weight on his shoulders. Moreover, even with those three, it felt like they might not win against the monster, and Gu Jin-ha hesitated again.

“…Are you going to be okay?”

“Hurry up and get going,”

Kang Tae-ho cradled his beloved sword on his shoulder.

“When you come back, it’ll all be over anyway.”

Feeling reassured by that sight, Gu Jin-ha nodded and shouted.

“From now on, the entire assault team! We’re joining with the Rear Guard!”

As the assault team distanced themselves, Kang Tae-ho scratched his head. —For some reason, the monster’s appearance felt strangely familiar.

“This has to be a misunderstanding…?”

***

A leaping wolf. The area already burned. Silent Mouth frowned in displeasure.

‘Time is dragging on.’

At first, he thought it would be a minute at most. Dodging the first attack seemed like just luck or maybe the instincts of a beast. After all, instincts are bound to crumble like a built-up tower. He never imagined this fight would last long.

Yet still, the creature held firm. With the thought that it wouldn’t be easy to kill it settling in, Silent Mouth began to chant in his mind. Before long, as he raised his hand, he spoke.

[Șarpe Fulger Roșu]

Originally, it was a three-part spell, but only the last chant escaped his lips. It wasn’t postponement, it was breaking the chant. Just with that, the magic was completed. In that moment, something gleamed from his fingertips and shot forth like a thunder strike. Red lightning — it was easy to dodge, but like a sentient creature, it pursued the wolf. The forked end split like a serpent’s tongue. The flicking tongue created another tongue, forming countless red serpents.

They chased each other, splitting and merging in repetition. Whenever the wolf touched the damaged terrain, black smoke would rise up.

He anticipated that the wolf would evade. Just as expected, the wolf managed to dodge the red serpents, causing Silent Mouth to smirk.

—It wasn’t for no reason that he was burning the forest. The black smoke that rose from the burned jungle was feeding into the clouds, supplying magic. Now, there should be enough gathered. If the magic preparation was done, it was time to manifest it. Although it had thoroughly interrupted the process, the Great Magic was completed. The heavily floating dark clouds took shape, and Silent Mouth recited the final chant.

[O fereastră de tunete şi fulgere care acoperă cerul şi pământul―!]

Thus, the spear of thunder accompanied by roaring thunder blanketed the world.

—No, it had to have been that way. However, the dark clouds didn’t move. Staring up blankly, Silent Mouth suddenly fumed.

[What, what have you done!]

As their eyes met, —the wolf’s red pupils exploded.

***

Originally, it was the monster that would drink the faux elixir. The disaster brought upon them by the wretched being that had shed all of its imperfect anomalies was cruel and intense. He vividly remembered how many hunters had sacrificed themselves to stop just that one. —In a moment, the thought of ‘something they couldn’t have possibly seen’ flashed in the wolf’s mind, gritting its teeth.

‘…!

It became a solid determination that he had to kill it here. The ‘perhaps’ thought that had lingered during the exchanges transformed into a conviction.

‘The real body isn’t far away.’

It was a puppet, without a doubt. But if the real body were far away, it couldn’t possibly fight this hard without recuperating. Surely, its true form was lurking nearby. He wouldn’t let it escape — he’d ensure it couldn’t come back no matter how many times it tried. With a gradual surge of murderous intent, he resolved to kill it here.

‘The first step was successful.’

It had swallowed the Great Magic. At the very least, the Rear Guard wouldn’t face annihilation right now.

‘Black Mist.’

As if responding to the wolf’s thoughts, the pitch-dark clouds scattered. No, they didn’t scatter. It was never smoke to begin with.

The clouds that had enveloped them initially were not smoke.

[You have acquired the Black Mist (B) Lv.1 skill]

[Transformation (C) Lv.7 has merged into Black Mist (B) Lv.1…]

[Black Mist (B) Lv.1 → Black Mist (B) Lv.3…]

[Remaining skill points: 23 → 7]

—It was actually black fog (黑霧).

The rising messages were swept aside. Watching Silent Mouth shout in fury, the wolf slowly caught its breath.

The seeping fog engulfed the black clouds. The 5-part Great Magic that had darkened all of Area 2 was utterly extinguished, and the dark clouds finally dispersed.

Once more, as light returned, the wolf called forth the mist. Cloaked in the black fog that had swallowed the smoke, the wolf lowered its posture as if it were about to pounce.

‘—This is just the beginning.’

The wolf remained vigilant. It knew very well that the fight started now. Until then, it had only used the element of surprise. Furthermore, it had been unable to demonstrate its full power due to concentrating on the Great Magic and expending too much magic.

Right now, it would show its true intent from here onward.

Which meant it would have to fight against someone who had once been a Square Master.

***

After a long wait, the leader of the Dawn Clan, Kang Tae-jun, was finally granted entry into the room. Chang-seon, seated behind the veil, muttered disconsolately.

“So you finally came.”

Kang Tae-jun sat down without any formalities, his face showing a flicker of emotion for the first time.

That single remark was almost an answer in itself.

—Thus, a heavy silence and stillness settled in where the swordsmanship and Chang-seon faced each other.

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