Chapter 108

Thud!

The Great Black Mamba, which had stubbornly resisted, finally fell.

Kang Yuseong and the Stardust attack unit finally saw Cheongwadae appear before them, and their expressions hardened.

It wasn’t the Cheongwadae they were used to seeing on the news.

It was completely ruined in places, and a horrifying scene unfolded with human corpses and monster carcasses mixed together everywhere.

Step.

Kang Yuseong took a step forward and radioed headquarters.

“Stardust unit, entering the Cheongwadae grounds.”

The radio call sent the VIP Rescue Operation Headquarters into a frenzy.

Nearly ten minutes after the Stardust attack unit had entered, the long-awaited radio message of their entry into Cheongwadae finally came through.

A buzz of excitement filled the room as aides cheered and reported to the Prime Minister with flushed faces.

Prime Minister Lee Hyun-dong, receiving the report, urgently spoke.

“What’s the situation there?”

Kang Yuseong looked around and replied softly.

“No survivors are visible yet. It seems we’ll have to proceed towards Chunchugwan.”

Seeing Chunchugwan, the usual residence for Cheongwadae-accredited journalists, Kang Yuseong pointed towards it.

He already knew there was a passage leading to an underground bunker beneath Chunchugwan.

It was a newly constructed secret passage, built after the Mega Shock.

This was the result of an early realization that the current crisis wasn’t caused by nuclear or conventional weapons.

It seemed likely they’d find some clues if they headed towards Chunchugwan.

Prime Minister Lee Hyun-dong wiped the sweat from his brow and sent a solemn radio message.

“Please, I beg you. You must save the President.”

Kang Yuseong gave a slight nod.

Saving the President hadn’t been part of his plan.

In the past, Cheongwadae, where the President resided, had not been attacked.

He had dedicated all his efforts to rapid damage recovery from his position, which allowed them to barely recover with minimized damage.

But now, his own predicament had created an enormous miscalculation.

Currently, the presence of President Kang Tae-seok was critically important.

Not only for national reconstruction after the Second Shock, but also to prepare for the even greater catastrophe that would follow this immense chaos, his strength was indispensable.

The Black Wind Unit.

China’s secret weapon, a formidable organization composed of Hunters with the strongest combat capabilities.

And with mechanized units, chemical, biological, and radiological warfare units, and other conventional weapon-equipped forces supporting these Hunters, the Black Wind Unit had, in the past, revealed its fangs and displayed such immense power that it was called the ultimate weapon.

Even the United States was powerless against the Black Wind Unit’s might; that said it all.

Yet, the first target of the Black Wind Unit was this land, South Korea.

After the riot in Incheon’s Chinatown, they had meticulously prepared their plans for South Korea, and taking advantage of the nation’s completely shattered infrastructure during the Second Shock, they unleashed the Black Wind Unit, the worst kind of monster, upon this land.

The suffering South Korea endured because of them was indescribable.

But now, the situation was even more dire than before.

Because Kang Yuseong had crushed their ambition to ravage South Korea, using Chinatown as their base, they would undoubtedly be sharpening their blades even more now.

On top of that, the President, the head of state, was of unknown whereabouts, possibly dead or alive.

Could there be a more critical situation than this?

Therefore, even without the Prime Minister’s explicit request, Kang Yuseong had every reason to rescue him as quickly as possible.

Cheongwadae’s Nokjiwon, once covered in lush green grass, was now stained crimson with blood, filled with torn flesh and bone fragments scattered everywhere.

The attack unit swiftly crossed Nokjiwon and arrived at Cheongwadae’s Chunchugwan.

Just then, a thick fog settled nearby, creating an even more eerie scene.

But at that moment, Kang Yuseong’s expression hardened.

He raised a hand, bringing the attack unit to a halt.

At this very moment, a strong sense of unease had overcome him.

‘What is this?’

He meticulously scanned his surroundings.

Bloodstains scattered here and there. Pieces of flesh…

Kang Yuseong furrowed his brows.

‘They’re gone!’

He had finally grasped the nature of the inexplicable unease he’d felt.

The corpses.

They weren’t there.

There were many traces indicating a multitude of corpses, but the corpses themselves had all vanished.

“Captain, over here!”

Just then, one of the Hunters pointed to a spot and called out to Kang Yuseong.

Kang Yuseong headed in that direction.

“Hmm!”

His expression hardened.

Bloodstains.

A long trail of bloodstains stretched across the floor, as if something had been dragged.

And strange threads were scattered everywhere…

‘This is…!’

Kang Yuseong picked one up, examined it, then sharply turned his head to look in the direction where the blood trail disappeared.

It was unmistakable.

They belonged to ‘them’.

Sticky, incredibly tough threads that seemed impossible to break.

They were spiderwebs.

There was only one type of spider known for wrapping its prey – corpses – tightly in threads and dragging them away.

While other spider-type monsters weren’t entirely without such habits, for everything to be processed so cleanly…

Moreover, among the scattered flesh, there were clearly pieces with shells attached, seemingly belonging to them.

Dark Arachne.

And one more.

The monster that commanded them, the most dangerous one in this situation.

“Attack unit.”

“Yes, Captain!”

The unit members sensed the grim tension in Kang Yuseong’s expression and looked puzzled. It was unusual for him to show such an expression.

“Maintain maximum alert level. Under no circumstances lose focus. Down here…”

Kang Yuseong’s eyes gleamed with a cold light.

“…there seems to be a monstrous creature.”

The unit members nodded, their faces resolute.

“Everyone, advance into Chunchugwan at the highest state of alert. I repeat, do not act rashly. The consequence will be death.”

The attack unit members looked surprised once more.

But Kang Yuseong, his expression even more grim, led the way.

If his prediction was correct…

Beneath them was a creature beyond imagination.

It seemed Cheongwadae had been utterly ravaged due to its pheromones.

Its pheromones possessed a powerful ability to attract countless monsters.

King Arachne.

The king of the Dark Arachne, a terrifying spider king in its own right.

A very rare S-grade monster was now down here.

* * * * *

The scene inside Chunchugwan was also eerily unsettling, filled with a strong sense of discomfort.

Bloodstains were everywhere, but the corpses themselves were gone.

The unit members only then realized what was strange and looked puzzled, but Kang Yuseong, who knew the habits of the Dark Arachne all too well, scanned his surroundings with a grim expression.

Dark Arachne were masters of the hunt.

As the ‘Dark’ epithet implied, they were also masters of stealth.

There had been no casualties so far, but no one knew what would happen from now on.

‘Hoo…’

Getting caught in their sticky webs severely restricted movement. Attack speed and movement speed would drop sharply, meaning one could quickly become their prey.

Due to the fog, the inside of Chunchugwan was dark.

With all electricity cut, the attack unit had no choice but to turn on their flashlights.

Their visibility was limited, and their opponent was a seasoned Hunter who thrived in such dark conditions.

Moreover, they had the grave mission of breaking through this and rescuing the President…

Fortunately, since Kang Yuseong knew the structure of Chunchugwan, they didn’t get lost.

This Cheongwadae was the very place he had used when he became a Monarch.

After President Kang Tae-seok’s assassination, Cheongwadae had become a no man’s land, and countless brawls had erupted to claim the position, but in the end, Kang Yuseong had taken it.

That’s why he knew the layout of this place.

Click-

When he opened the door to a room on one side, a large hall appeared, from which the stench of blood wafted out.

Kang Yuseong strode forward.

Then he stopped at one side.

The unit members looked beyond where he had stopped, maintaining a heavy silence.

There was a staircase, completely stained with blood.

The staircase led downwards, extending quite deep, and it was so dark that its end was invisible.

But they knew.

That terrifying creatures lay below.

The underground bunker below was probably being used as a kind of food storage by them.

The President, along with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Minister of National Defense, were likely down here too.

If they hadn’t yet been dissolved by the creatures’ digestive fluids.

“Enter.”

Kang Yuseong issued a terse command. Then he took the lead, slowly descending the stairs.

The attack unit, having perfectly re-established their combat formation, followed behind him.

Gil Hyeok-jun was directly behind Kang Yuseong, and Blood followed at the very rear, as if guarding the party. An endless staircase stretched before them.

* * * * *

A musty odor persisted.

The mingled stench of blood was repulsive, but no one in the attack unit noticed it now.

Rustling sounds came from all directions, and a palpable presence in the thick darkness kept them on edge.

“Kyaak!”

The moment they felt the stench of blood suddenly intensify, something abruptly lunged out of the darkness.

Swish! Slice!

But the creatures, with the momentum of their leap, were cut in half and fell.

Kang Yuseong had cut them down with astonishing reaction speed.

‘Scouts!’

Kang Yuseong frowned, looking at the spiders that had fallen to his sword.

Unlike typical Dark Arachne, these creatures were quite distinctive, possessing a pair of long antennae extending from their heads, and Kang Yuseong knew their true nature.

Scouts.

They were scouts sent directly by the king.

Their appearance here meant that King Arachne was already observing their movements.

‘Where is it…’

The underground bunker beneath Cheongwadae had five large halls, connected by passages leading to each room.

Each hall was spacious enough to comfortably accommodate over a hundred people, and King Arachne was likely in one of them.

Having cut down the scouts, Kang Yuseong did not delay.

Since the creatures knew of the attack unit’s presence, there was a need to move quickly.

After descending the stairs for some time, a long passage now stretched out before them.

Thump-

Just then, a Hunter’s foot hit something, and a sound was heard.

The Hunter casually shined his flashlight and recoiled.

Countless human arms, legs, and torsos, wrapped in white spiderwebs, were neatly arranged in a corner.

And then, a strange sound came from one side.

“Sa…ve me… please.”

Kang Yuseong and the other Hunters sharply turned their heads in that direction.

Someone was there.