Chapter 277 – Epilogue (10)

The teacher arrived at the scene.

But this was no time to be talking about supplementary classes.

“Sir, the kids…”

“They went on a field trip.”

“That’s not it…”

“A field trip.”

The class president couldn’t understand why he kept emphasizing “field trip.”

But he soon understood his intention.

Having recklessly entered an operation zone, punishment was unavoidable.

He was bringing up this unassigned field trip out of concern that the students would face severe punishment.

“So, I suppose I’ll have to supervise their learning evaluation, won’t I?”

“Evaluation? Sir, what on earth are you talking about…”

The class president couldn’t understand what the teacher was saying.

Forget the field trip—he didn’t even know if the kids were alive. And even if they were, there was no telling if they could make it back.

“It means if you want to start supplementary lessons today, you’d better be prepared to die.”

With that, Hyunbin calmly walked toward the town entrance.

At the entrance, an emergency rescue Hunter team was being formed.

It was a dangerous situation, but inside was the nation’s top hunter, Kim Tae-yang.

Losing him now would be a great national loss.

“Team Leader, I’ve gathered all the team members who can move out now.”

Kim In-ho saw ten hunters lined up in front of him.

They were elite members, with enough stamina left even after the fierce battle.

“Let’s go. I’m not the only one here who owes Hunter Kim Tae-yang.”

To lead the Hanul Guild without Hyunbin, the Kim duo had continuously trained.

They had rescued fellow comrades, and they had also watched over them in their final moments.

And everyone here knew that rescuing someone was far more valuable and joyous than watching them die.

“This will be a mission where I can’t guarantee your lives. We need to buy time until hunters from other guilds arrive. Everyone…”

“In-ho, it’s been a while.”

A familiar voice.

Hearing the voice he could never forget, not even in his dreams, Kim In-ho froze on the spot.

“Who are you? You can’t go in there—!”

Kim In-ho watched the man who tapped his shoulder and walked past.

The rescue team tried to stop the strange man who had suddenly intruded. But no one could stop him.

“Don’t stop him!”

“What?”

The other hunters were bewildered by Kim In-ho’s words.

No one recognized Hyunbin. He had changed from the imposing, muscular bear he used to be.

“The rescue team is… dismissed.”

“What?”

Even the elite hunters, who had been steeling themselves with grim determination, were baffled by the sudden announcement.

Only Kim In-ho wore a faint, enigmatic smile.

His voice was thick with emotion.

“We won’t be needing it.”

* * *

*Slice, pssh!*

Tentacles were sliced apart where Kim Tae-yang passed.

*Shhhhk!*

From the severed ends of the tentacles, hundreds of thin tendrils sprouted out again.

The thread-like tendrils scraped against Kim Tae-yang’s HP shield.

Having neutralized the damage, Kim Tae-yang activated a skill.

Blade Step.

As if one with his kukri, Kim Tae-yang surged forward in a straight line, completely focused.

Strands of tentacles floated in the air. Kim Tae-yang had broken through Behemoth’s relentless assault.

*Hoo, haa.*

Kim Tae-yang exhaled a hot breath. His breathing had already grown ragged.

*Drip.*

As a red curtain clouded his vision, he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.

Using his specialty ability, Regeneration, his wounds began to heal in an instant.

It was a power so strong that other hunters would consider it downright broken.

But the problem was that the more he regenerated, the more it consumed his stamina and mana.

Like a double-edged sword.

Yet Behemoth was regenerating endlessly, as if it had no such restrictions.

“This is insane.”

The severed tentacles regenerated. And they continued to evolve. Now, a tentacle had grown an upper torso and was laughing bizarrely.

He had passed through a forest of tentacles, only to be blocked by more tentacles.

Kim Tae-yang had a feeling he wouldn’t be able to watch tentacle porn ever again.

‘The bastard I need to get revenge on is right up there.’

The sight of the great demon king looking down on him with his arms crossed arrogantly.

He looked like an observer, as if trying to gauge Kim Tae-yang’s strength.

“Bastard. See you next round.”

He wanted revenge. But he lacked the strength.

He was not Hyunbin.

He couldn’t imitate him, nor could he catch up to him. But if the guild’s analysis team could find the bastard’s weakness, there might be a way to take him down.

Clinging to the impossible was foolish.

His original objective, the evacuation of survivors, was already complete.

Kim Tae-yang fled without looking back.

The tentacles, having regenerated in an instant, blocked Kim Tae-yang’s path. But Kim Tae-yang executed Blade Step and swung his kukri.

*Pssh, thwack!*

A path opened along the arc of Kim Tae-yang’s kukri.

He tossed aside the worn-out kukri and pulled a new one from his inventory. At that moment, he felt the ground beneath his feet vanish.

*Krrrrrumble-! C-crack!*

The perfectly fine ground suddenly split apart as an earthquake began.

No matter how fast Kim Tae-yang was, his movements were restricted without solid ground to stand on.

‘Fuck…’

Losing his balance, Kim Tae-yang was caught by Behemoth’s tentacles. They immediately snatched his limbs.

Facing the enemies that surrounded him in an instant, he felt a sense of powerlessness.

Behemoth was toying with him.

Like a child plucking the wings off a dragonfly one by one, wanting to see if it could still fly.

“Ghh…!”

They pulled at his arms and legs, applying force as if to tear his limbs apart.

*Boom!*

Just then, the tentacles surrounding Kim Tae-yang were hit by a fiery explosion.

*Boom, kaboom!*

Someone was suddenly providing support.

“Hunter Kim Tae-yang! Get away!”

The brats he had told to run away earlier had come back.

“Kgh…!”

Kim Tae-yang wondered if those brats were insane.

One male student freely manipulated flames to intercept the tentacles, while another was tanking, skillfully deflecting the oncoming attacks.

The female student was providing defense with psychokinesis, ensuring the other two weren’t overwhelmed in their fight.

For their young age, they were remarkably talented kids.

“I told you to run!”

“You were about to get killed, and you’re saying that now?!”

She wasn’t wrong. He had almost been done for.

It was difficult to escape now even if he wanted to. Using these young kids as bait to flee would be the ultimate disgrace.

A faint magical energy gathered in Kim Tae-yang’s eyes.

Super Regeneration.

The ability he had gained through training thanks to Hyunbin now, in this moment, restored all his stamina.

After Hyunbin disappeared, he had strengthened this power, not only allowing for instantaneous super regeneration but also temporarily increasing his physical abilities by 1.5 times.

‘Since it’s come to this, I’ll go for the head.’

Kim Tae-yang charged straight at Behemoth, cutting down the tentacles rushing at him.

Receiving support from students was a blow to his pride, but against an unconventional monster like that, pride was useless.

Kim Tae-yang sprinted.

And as if understanding his intention, Han So-yul deployed a force field to defend him.

Kim Tae-yang reached Behemoth’s leg. The leg, reminiscent of a building’s pillar, moved to stomp on him.

*Thump!*

Another earthquake erupted.

Kim Tae-yang dodged the attack and climbed onto the leg. He then plunged a kukri into its body and used it as a foothold to leap up.

Once more. And again.

Having reached the top of Behemoth’s head, Kim Tae-yang drew a new kukri.

This was his last weapon.

Remaining buff time: about 15 seconds.

To bet everything on this brief moment, Kim Tae-yang charged forward.

-You are just like him.

It was a bizarre voice. Just hearing it was agonizing, as if his eardrums would burst.

-I have seen enough.

Behemoth. No, Agares raised its hand.

In that instant, Kim Tae-yang saw it.

‘Impossible.’

It had merely raised its hand, but the atmosphere changed. The surroundings grew dark. He couldn’t see anything.

-Consider it an honor to die by the hands of a Demon God.

A jet-black beam of light poured down in an instant, and Kim Tae-yang, as if mesmerized, took a direct hit.

The kids who witnessed the scene froze.

The nation’s strongest hunter, known as the Immortal, Kim Tae-yang, fell from atop Behemoth’s head.

“…No way…!”

Muttering this, Han So-yul snapped to her senses and caught the falling Kim Tae-yang with her psychokinesis.

He didn’t crash into the ground, but Kim Tae-yang was already severely injured.

Their eyes met with Behemoth’s.

The three of them tasted a dreadful fear. Kim Tae-yang, who had overcome this immense pressure and tried to destroy the boss’s core alone, was incredible. They couldn’t even dream of imitating him.

The option of rescuing Kim Tae-yang and escaping was impossible.

The boss was just toying with them; if it had been serious from the start, it would have devoured them in an instant.

The creature was relaxed, as if enjoying a game, like an appetizer before a meal.

-In an impossible combat situation, it’s wise to flee in different directions. Did your teacher ever run away? No. Why would I run?

Hyunbin’s words came to mind.

The lesson that it was wiser for at least one person to survive than for everyone to die.

“I told you to get lost…”

“H-Hunter Kim Tae-yang.”

Kim Tae-yang, who they thought was dead, was stirring and getting up.

Covered in blood from head to toe, the way he rose proved he wasn’t called the Immortal for nothing.

Not just his own life, but the lives of those youngsters were also on the line.

With that thought, Kim Tae-yang couldn’t stay down.

His wounds were healing, slowly but surely.

“I’ll only say this once. Listen carefully.”

A broken rib must have pierced an organ, as even speaking was a struggle.

“Escape this place and deliver a message. Agares. Just say that, and they’ll understand.”

“But…”

“No buts! Leaving a clue for a strategy and surviving are both a hunter’s duty!”

His radio had been destroyed during the fight, and there was no one to relay the message.

Agares. A king of the demon world, calling himself a Demon God, was once again threatening humanity.

If mishandled, not just Korea but the entire world could be in danger.

He wasn’t wrong.

The nation’s top hunter was putting his own life on the line.

The students exchanged glances.

“Go!”

Behemoth moved.

He couldn’t defeat it, but he could at least hold it back.

With that single thought, Kim Tae-yang squeezed out his last bit of strength.

He cut down the tentacle-snakes targeting the fleeing students. As Behemoth’s core, Agares, raised its hand, the ground turned red and began to crack.

Lava surged from the cracks, and soon, dozens of crocodiles leaped out.

No, they were demons that resembled crocodiles.

Even Kim Tae-yang could do nothing about them. He was already preoccupied with fending off tentacles, while the flame-breathing crocodile demons were already chasing the students.

‘Dammit…!’

A clear limit was staring him in the face.

If only he were a little stronger.

If only he had tried a little harder.

Kim Tae-yang had trained like a madman after Hyunbin’s death.

Because he couldn’t forgive himself for being nothing more than a sidekick back then.

But this was as far as he could go.

“That’s enough.”

Just then, Kim Tae-yang heard a voice from within the explosion.

“If you’ve grown that much.”

“Hyung…?”

Kim Tae-yang doubted his eyes.

The earth was burning with flames. A man was walking along a path where giant crocodile demons split in half and turned to ash.

“You’ve worked pretty hard, Kim Tae-yang.”

“…!”

Kim Tae-yang couldn’t believe it. The Hyunbin walking through the flames had a slim physique, unlike before. But one thing hadn’t changed at all.

“Alright, it’s time for a field trip. You delinquent youths.”

He was overwhelmingly strong.

“T-Tea…cher…?”

Han So-yul blinked, unable to comprehend the situation.

Their homeroom teacher had suddenly appeared in a moment of despair.

Walking past his students, Hyunbin spoke leisurely.

“This will be on the test later, so watch closely.”

Hyunbin drew the Holy Sword from his inventory.

Having drunk its fill of mana for the first time in a long while, the Holy Sword began to emit a vast, 10-meter-long blade aura in all directions.

“Time for the summary.”