---

Just before the massive body of the moth could crash into me.

I desperately poured out my telekinesis to halt its charge.

Keeeeeeeeek—!!!

But there was no way I could completely stop something that heavy charging at full speed.

My body bounced like I’d been hit by a dump truck.

“Kwaaaaah!”

Crash— Crash—

After smashing through a few trees, I finally managed to stop.

Twice now, I’ve had the dizzying, spinning experience of a confused dog.

“Hey, Jeong Gyeoul, the Hero!”

The moth had stopped not far from where it hit me.

And that spot was dangerously close to where the guard team was hiding.

I didn’t even have time to feel the warmth of the tree that caught me.

Judging by the way its wings were flapping wildly, it looked like it was about to charge again, but this time, the target wasn’t me.

Its eyes were fixed on the guard team.

“Everyone, scatter!”

I shouted urgently for them to scatter, then gathered my magic power into a spike-like shape.

At the same time, I kicked off the ground, gaining strong momentum as I flew toward the giant moth.

Using telekinesis, I solidified the magic power into a spike and returned the favor for what it did to me.

I added a bit of sharpness and a bit of weight for good measure.

Whoosh—

The guard team, bracing for the shockwave from the collision of two massive forces, clung tightly to trees and rocks, but there was no shockwave.

Because the moment they collided, the moth’s body was pierced.

“This time, I’ll shatter you to pieces!”

I sealed away the magic that had wiped out a third of the island and woke the slumbering Black Flame Dragon.

Kwaang—

As the Demon King Punch collided with the moth, the air sparkled, and the moth let out a scream filled with pain.

“It’s not over yet!”

Kwaaaang—

The moment the second Demon King Punch landed, the moth could no longer stay airborne.

“Yahap!”

With a shout, I delivered a third punch to the moth as it fell to the ground.

A deafening sound spread with the shockwave, and the giant moth was embedded in the ground.

“…Is it still alive?”

Kwaaaang—

Kwaaaang—

Kwaaaang—

After that, I threw several more punches to make sure it was dead.

The middle of the forest looked like it had been bombed.

“Phew… I haven’t worked up a sweat like that in a while.”

Not since I tangled with Asmodeus in the Demon Realm had I exerted this much power.

It felt incredibly refreshing.

I dusted off my hands and glanced around at where the guard team had scattered.

“…Why are you all rolling around in the dirt?”

The team leader, who had just gotten up from the ground, looked at me with a disbelieving expression.

“Look around… Trees are broken, rocks are flying. What were we supposed to do?”

“Ugh, I didn’t even have time to break my fall. My back feels broken… Maybe fighting the moth would’ve been better.”

“I’ve never seen punches that explode bigger than artillery shells. Thank goodness we scattered when you told us to, or we’d have been dead before the moth.”

“…Well, of course, I made sure everyone was at a safe distance. I wasn’t just swinging wildly.”

Even though I’d just taken down the giant moth that threatened everyone’s lives, here I was making excuses.

Is this the weight a Hero has to bear… Sigh.

“Anyway… We’re alive.”

“…But where did that moth go?”

“…?”

Where did it go? Right behind me…

Whooosh—

The moth was gone, and only the sound of wind whistling through the crater remained.

“…Where the hell did that thing go?”

Whether it turned to dust and disappeared or recovered in that brief moment and flew away, I couldn’t tell.

Given its massive size, it’s possible it moved stealthily without me noticing.

But… could it really recover that quickly after taking such a beating?

If so, it’s even more formidable than Asmodeus. How could a mere moth in the middle realm have regenerative powers comparable to a Demon King of the Demon Realm…

“Ah, there it is.”

In the crater where the giant moth had been, I saw a rainbow-colored larva glowing faintly.

Is this thing a phoenix or what?

Its life force was as sexy as a phoenix’s, reborn from an egg after death.

A larva thicker than my waist and as long as my leg.

I couldn’t bring myself to stomp on it.

I was already drenched in sweat, covered in dirt, and grossed out by the debris from piercing the moth’s body. I didn’t want to smear myself with larva fluids.

I created ice spears and stabbed them into each segment of its body. It shivered as if enjoying the cold treatment.

“If you’ve been in the ice bath, you should try the sauna too.”

I created a fireball the size of the larva and tossed it into the crater.

Keeeeee…

After writhing and screaming for a while, the larva finally went quiet.

“Is it finally over?”

“Yes, everyone must be tired. Want some roasted larva? The outside’s charred, but the inside should be well-cooked.”

“…Huh?”

“Larvae are an excellent source of protein.”

“…”

What. Why.

It was a joke, don’t look at me like you want to kill me.

I don’t eat that stuff either.

Seriously.

I thought about gifting it to the Weird Food Club, but since it’s practically a gaming club and only Instructor Kim Gae-soo enjoys weird food, I’ll pass.

***

While Jeong Gyeoul was battling the giant moth, the base camp was also in chaos.

“Hey, you wild boar bastard!”

“Stop it! Stop!”

Thanks to the fear and terror Jeong Gyeoul had instilled, it couldn’t trample people, but…

It seemed to be venting its frustration after being treated as emergency rations and locked up.

It was smashing tents and equipment left and right.

Just before Jeong Gyeoul headed to the guard team, she had created a temporary prison using ice spears, but… the wild boar was also a monster, similar to the moth.

It easily broke out and was now wreaking havoc.

Amidst all this, it made sure not to harm people, acting like an excited pet whose owner had left.

“Ahhh! That camera’s expensive, you crazy bastard!”

At first, the camp was in panic over the escaped boar, but they soon realized it wasn’t attacking people.

When one brave person approached it, the boar actually avoided them, which gave everyone confidence.

The staff, more like corporate workers shaped by capitalism, quickly gathered their equipment and shielded it with their bodies.

Through actions of either courage or recklessness, they managed to save some of the equipment.

The boar slowly roamed around, looking for more things to destroy.

As this strange standoff between the boar and the humans continued.

“What the hell is this now?”

Jeong Gyeoul returned to the camp with the guard team after defeating the giant moth.

The boar, having a bizarre adventure in the camp, spotted Jeong Gyeoul and rolled onto its back.

“…?”

“What’s it doing now?”

“It rolled onto its back… Isn’t that a sign of submission for animals?”

“Dogs do that, but a pig?”

“I don’t know, guys. Am I some kind of wiki? You keep asking me about every weird thing that happens.”

The camp finally breathed a sigh of relief as they welcomed Jeong Gyeoul and the guard team.

“Thank goodness you’re back… That boar destroyed everything—tents, equipment, everything…”

“What about the temporary prison I made?”

“It broke out right after you left.”

“…Maybe I should’ve just impaled it.”

Kweeeeeek—

The boar rolled onto its back even more vigorously when it made eye contact with Jeong Gyeoul.

The massive boar kept flipping, stirring up so much dust it swept through the entire camp.

Jeong Gyeoul calmed the dust with a light gesture and approached the boar.

“You’re kicking up dust. Stop it. Do you want to get beaten until you’re covered in dust?”

“Kweeeek…”

“Sit.”

Thud—

“Stand up.”

Kwee… Kweeeek!

“Lie down.”

Thud—

As people watched the boar perform tricks with amazement, Jeong Gyeoul had an idea.

“You said this boar deliberately avoided hurting people?”

“Yes, it would smash equipment but sneakily avoid us when we tried to stop it.”

“That’s impressive, standing up to a boar the size of a house. You guys should be the Heroes.”

“Hahaha…”

With the search operation halted due to the giant moth, the boar became an unexpected variable.

Jeong Gyeoul approached the guard team leader and handed him the dagger again.

“Why… Are you telling me to go again?”

“No, this time I’ll go.”

“…Huh? What about the camp?”

“It’ll protect it.”

Kweeeeeeek—

The boar shrugged its shoulders and responded enthusiastically as Jeong Gyeoul looked at it.

“If it acts up again, call me. I’ll come and beat it up.”

Kweeeeeeek!!

It shook its large head vigorously, vehemently denying it.

As if to say it would never do such a thing.

“Team leader, is there a person inside that boar controlling it?”

“What kind of creative nonsense is that?”

“Look at it. It’s nodding when you say you’ll beat it up.”

“…Do you want me to beat you up too?”

Nod nod—

“Wow! Just now! It nodded unconsciously. See? That boar’s a person, right?”

“…Let’s visit a psychiatrist as soon as we get off this island.”

“Wow, seriously! After experiencing cosmic horror like the giant moth, you’re still thinking within the bounds of common sense?”

Listening to all this creative nonsense, it started to sound plausible.

“…Should we dissect it?”

Kweeeeeeek—

By the time even the team leader was spouting nonsense.

Jeong Gyeoul, who had filled her stomach with water because there was no food, finished her preparations to leave.

“Hey, I’m hungry right now, and I only drank water instead of eating you. If you mess around, I’ll just boil you, so keep that in mind and protect the camp, okay?”

Kweeeeeeek!

The boar nodded its head confidently, as if to say, “Trust me.”

After setting up minimal safety measures and even putting a control leash on the safety measure.

“I’ll be back! If anything happens, don’t forget the dagger!”

“Yes! Be careful out there!”

She headed deeper into the island.

 

---