Chapter 130 – Headhunter (Part Ten)

Shunk! Shunk! Shuuunk!

Countless blades erupted from the ground, piercing the monster’s head, body, and limbs.

At the end of a fierce battle, the A-rank monster could only hang limply in the air, twitching helplessly.

While it was immobilized, Il-hyeon approached, carved out its heart—the Ether Core—and pulled it out with his bare hands.

Blood and entrails splattered down, and a foul stench filled the air.

But Il-hyeon, now accustomed to such things, calmly looked down at the core in his hand.

Crack!

The core shattered, crumbling to the ground. The Ether that flowed out was absorbed directly into Il-hyeon’s body, where it began to swirl erratically.

“Hmm, this one and the last one taste better than usual.”

Il-hyeon smacked his lips.

Just then, an alert chimed from the watch on his wrist, and a blue holographic screen flickered to life.

It displayed detailed documents on the monsters that had appeared on the scene—their ranks, types, numbers, characteristics, and even past records.

It was data the headquarters had sent over, albeit reluctantly, after he had stubbornly insisted despite their attempts to dissuade him.

“Three A-rank monsters. One hundred and thirty C-rank monsters. And named variant monsters… Asu and Marka. They’re the biggest problem.”

A Gate of immense power, with an unusual number and rank of monsters.

If not for the fact that variant monsters couldn’t be detected in preliminary analyses, the Gate would have been rated at least A2-grade.

The only saving grace was that the numerous C-rank monsters had been somewhat thinned out during their clash with the Union and the remaining Awakened criminal organizations.

Moreover, Il-hyeon had already taken down two of the A-rank monsters, the Chiringitos, including the one whose core he had just absorbed.

But what had been nagging at him from the start was the single most problematic element: the two variant monsters.

Named monsters with a spectacular record of causing immense damage and a history of killing two A-rank Awakened.

Since this was the first time two variant monsters of the same type had appeared, it was hard to say for sure if they were stronger or weaker than before.

But based on the aura they currently exuded, they were not opponents that even a veteran of team leader-caliber could take lightly.

‘Judging by their current positions, they don’t seem to be planning to join up right away. In that case…’

Il-hyeon summoned his hawk to carry Jo Nam-seok to safety, then met the eyes of his mouse.

Without a word, the mouse instantly understood Il-hyeon’s intent and scurried off in a different direction.

The mouse would use its detection ability to find and tail the variant monster, leaving Il-hyeon with only one thing to do.

Fwoosh!

Suddenly, the space in front of Il-hyeon distorted, and a powerful flame erupted from within.

The fiercely blazing fire enveloped Il-hyeon and transformed into a giant bird, which then carried him soaring into the sky.

It was the Phoenix, instantly transported here by Hyeon-seo’s Spatial Leap ability.

Il-hyeon gently stroked its back.

Facing such a powerful enemy, it would have been much easier if he could have summoned Hyeon-seo and his other comrades to fight alongside him.

But they were also responsible for several other sites where thousands of lives were at stake, so he couldn’t ask for any more help.

“Found you.”

The moment Il-hyeon spoke, the Phoenix immediately accelerated and banked sharply.

As they descended, the monster’s form came into clear view between the tightly packed buildings.

A silver monster radiating a blue aura from its eyes—Marka.

It, too, had spotted Il-hyeon. It stopped slaughtering the fleeing people and turned to face his direction.

Meeting its three eyes, arranged in an inverted triangle, even Il-hyeon felt a chill run down his spine.

Krrrrack!

Suddenly, the ground, buildings, and vehicles around the monster warped and shattered.

Then, as if gravity had vanished, they all floated into the air.

‘Telekinesis?’

Il-hyeon had only a moment to observe and identify its ability before the floating objects were launched simultaneously in his direction.

Each massive object tore through the air at incredible speed. The Phoenix quickly shrank its size and nimbly dodged the projectiles.

When they were low enough to land without issue, Il-hyeon leaped from the Phoenix’s back.

He extended an arm to disintegrate the projectiles still flying toward him, then swung his sword down with all his might.

CLAAANG!

As Il-hyeon’s sword clashed with the monster’s, the ground beneath it caved in.

Il-hyeon tried to use the force behind his sword to crush the creature.

But Marka twisted its blade, deflecting Il-hyeon’s attack while simultaneously thrusting at his neck.

The heavy, powerful blow was redirected so smoothly that even Il-hyeon found it difficult to react.

But just as the sharp blade glinted, the Phoenix swooped down from the sky and dove at Marka.

BOOOM!

A violent fiery explosion engulfed the monster, sending it staggering backward.

A long trail of burning flames marked its path of retreat.

“Grrrrr…”

Marka let out a guttural, boiling sound as it came to a halt.

The Phoenix, its target, had already soared back into the sky and was circling above. The Phoenix’s flames, which were notoriously difficult to extinguish, clung to Marka’s body, burning brightly.

Szzzz!

But as Marka clenched one fist, the flames consuming its body detached and began to gather in the air.

The fire, consolidated by telekinesis, shot toward Il-hyeon.

It was an intensely powerful blaze, but Il-hyeon made no attempt to dodge it.

Fwoosh!

The flames washed over Il-hyeon, yet he remained completely unharmed.

The embers flickering on his face and clothes soon died out naturally.

The flames of the Phoenix and his other summons could do him no harm.

‘It’s definitely different from the one that appeared before.’

According to the data he had received, the abilities of the Marka that appeared in the past were a far cry from telekinesis.

However, just from crossing swords once, he could tell that this one’s strength was in no way inferior to the level of the previous one.

Two monsters that had killed a team leader of the government’s Response Team and annihilated an entire team of Awakened sent to handle the situation.

Even facing monsters of that caliber, Il-hyeon couldn’t afford to fight slowly and cautiously.

Their record of killing two A-rank Awakened was achieved when Asu and Marka were together, so he had to hurry.

‘I’ll finish this before those two team up!’

Il-hyeon kicked off the ground and charged forward.

Marka’s bright blue eyes flashed, and the ground beneath the approaching Il-hyeon buckled upward.

As the surrounding pavement was thrown into the air, Il-hyeon immediately used his ability to force it back down.

Seeing Marka’s flicker of surprise, Il-hyeon felt a strange sense of amusement as he thrust his sword forward.

Screeeech!

The blades clashed with a sharp, grating sound.

This time, without a moment’s hesitation, Il-hyeon acted first, causing the road to collapse entirely.

As the ground beneath it gave way, Marka’s balance faltered.

Taking advantage of the opening, Il-hyeon’s sword struck again and again. He pressed his attack relentlessly, giving it no chance to recover its footing.

Thwack!

Marka staggered back after taking a kick to the chest from Il-hyeon.

It desperately used its telekinesis to launch more projectiles, but Il-hyeon cut them all down with his sword and advanced without breaking stride.

Sword met sword, pinning the monster in place. Then, the Phoenix, having swooped down from above once more, dove at them.

BOOOM!

A fiery explosion erupted, swallowing the area, but only the monster suffered any damage.

Il-hyeon’s sword burst through the explosion and pierced Marka’s shoulder.

“Kieek!”

Unable to regain its senses under the relentless onslaught, Marka managed to wrench itself free by unleashing its telekinesis, devastating the surroundings.

Chunks of concrete flew in all directions at high speed, preventing Il-hyeon from closing in any further.

Even so, he was displaying an astonishing level of dominance against the notoriously powerful named monster.

“Keuk…”

Just then, a trickle of blood leaked from the corner of Il-hyeon’s mouth.

It wasn’t due to internal injuries from the monsters, but a problem with the Ether he had absorbed.

It was the consequence of indirectly absorbing not one, but two A-rank cores through an unconventional method.

The immense amount of Ether from two cores was swirling erratically through his body, inevitably causing it to overload.

He was aware of the danger, but Il-hyeon hadn’t hesitated for a moment to absorb the two A-rank cores.

If it meant saving the tens of thousands of people who would be sacrificed if he abandoned the scene, it was a risk he was more than willing to take.

“Hoo…”

Il-hyeon casually caught his breath and readjusted his grip on his sword.

Then he charged in again, driving the creature into a corner.

Tendrils created by his Transformation ability shot out from all sides, constricting Marka, while Il-hyeon and the Phoenix relentlessly harassed it.

Swish!

The endlessly extending tendrils finally caught Marka. Il-hyeon kicked off the ground with all his might, aiming to plunge his sword into its heart.

“It’s over!”

Whoosh! BOOM!

At that very moment, something crashed to the ground, generating a powerful shockwave that sent Il-hyeon and the Phoenix flying backward.

The tendrils he had created disintegrated into nothing.

“This is…”

Il-hyeon looked up, his brow furrowing.

Asu and Marka.

The other one, which should have been too far away to join the fight so quickly, was now here.

The tail he had set on Asu with his mouse had been useless.

Fwoosh!

Black wings materialized and unfurled behind them.

The massive wings, looking as if they were woven from a black mist, spread wide, and the creatures’ bodies floated upward.

Their beautiful silver bodies, three red eyes, and three blue eyes.

With their wings spread in mid-air, they looked down on him arrogantly.

“Right, they definitely didn’t have this ability.”

It was a type of ability not only absent from the data he’d received but one that had never been seen in any monster before.

‘They’re without a doubt the strongest monsters I’ve ever faced.’

In the end, the two had gathered in one place.

The twin monsters, Asu and Marka. Fighting together, they would be incomparably stronger than before.

It wouldn’t be a simple matter of their combined strength being twice as great.

“But why is it…”

Il-hyeon raised his sword, his demeanor still calm.

The Phoenix approached and enveloped him, its flames swirling around them.

Despite their overwhelming power, he didn’t feel like he was going to lose.

Surprisingly, he felt no sense of crisis at all. Instead, his heart began to pound, a voice from within urging him on.

Telling him to devour them.