Chapter 104
Hongbok Mountain.
It was a mountain forming the boundary between Yangju City and Uijeongbu City, not far from the urban area, frequently visited by hikers and cycling enthusiasts.
And it was to this Hongbok Mountain that the werewolf, Razaka, had arrived.
Unfortunately, no one properly noticed Razaka's approach, which became the beginning of a great tragedy.
"Aoo-!"
With each movement of Razaka's body as he let out a bloodthirsty roar, people's bodies fell.
The peaceful afternoon hiking trail transformed into a scene of carnage, and the green forests were instantly stained with red blood, turning into a hellish landscape.
However, Razaka's hunt did not end with preying on the people on the hiking trail.
Immediately crossing over the mountain, Razaka headed towards nearby Uijeongbu Station.
"Mo-Monster!"
"Everyone run away!"
The citizens fell into chaos in an instant, and the city slowly began to be stained with blood.
Members of the Korean Hunter Association who received the news rushed to respond, but there was no way they could stop Razaka, who reigned as a king.
"Kuhep-!"
Razaka knocked down all the nearby hunters with his sharp claws and teeth, and then pushed them into his mouth.
It was the moment when the heads of dozens of citizens and up to ten hunters were swallowed down Razaka's throat.
Kwadeudeuk-!
Razaka's form underwent another transformation.
It wasn't becoming unnecessarily huge like before.
Rather, his size was becoming smaller than before.
However, the balance of muscles and body could be said to be better than ever.
That wasn't all.
Tremendous knowledge burrowed into his mind, granting him intelligence.
"Kuhahaha!"
While Razaka burst into maniacal laughter, the surrounding citizens began to flee, screaming.
However, there was no way Razaka, the predator, would let his prey go.
Thus began the calamity.
"Aaaagh!"
"Save me!"
Throwing the werewolf army and Lyudmia as bait was an excellent judgment.
Humans were on a different level from other species that had clear limitations.
There are no such limitations; humans are a race that can evolve endlessly.
In fact, unlike other races that had limitations on predation, the more he preyed on the human race, the more vast amounts of knowledge and experiences were transmitted to his mind, further evolving his physical body.
They were the best prey that could be consumed through predation.
"I can become stronger! I can become endlessly stronger!"
Razaka's eyes, now speaking human language, were brimming with vast desire.
This was because the human intelligence gained through predation and the werewolf instincts were rapidly turning his mind, giving him calculations.
'If I can achieve this kind of evolution one more time...!'
He could gain powerful strength enough to hunt even the human who had shed his limitations and evolved.
It meant he could grasp victory in the war.
In other words, he could freely prey on humans, the best prey.
* * *
Song Seung-jun, who had urgently joined as the leader of the emergency disaster response team, gritted his teeth as he looked at the number of hunters gathered at Uijeongbu Station.
"Damn it... Is this all the personnel we have?"
Less than 50 people, and most of them were hunters ranked A or below.
It could be considered sufficient force to deal with ordinary monsters.
However, it was an absurdly inadequate force to face Razaka, the king of werewolves, who had been assessed to have a danger level equivalent to Yellow, SS-grade boss monsters.
Song Seung-jun's brow furrowed.
'The situation is very bad.'
The most dismal thing was that this was currently the only countermeasure that could be offered.
It couldn't be helped because it was a completely unexpected invasion.
There was no way there would be hunters assigned as a defense force.
Therefore, they had hastily mobilized available hunters and transported them by helicopter.
This meant there had to be a limit on the number of hunters.
Of course, under normal circumstances, the situation would have been better than this.
However, currently, the major forces of South Korea, the high-ranking hunters, were mostly participating in the subjugation force.
Of course, there were high-ranking hunters who didn't participate in the subjugation force, but they were absent due to their own circumstances such as training or hunting.
'The Returnee Alliance, which could be our only hope now, is maintaining silence...'
The one fortunate thing was that the hunters who had gone out with the subjugation force had also received news about Razaka and were urgently coming to Uijeongbu for support.
However, to put it another way, it meant that for now, they couldn't expect any substantial support.
It was truly the worst-case scenario.
It could be said there was no chance of victory. No, some might even evaluate it as a meaningless sacrifice.
However, Song Seung-jun joined the emergency disaster response team despite knowing this fact.
'...I made a promise.'
When becoming a hunter, he had sworn to protect humanity and Korea.
How could he ignore Razaka, who was carrying out merciless slaughter?
If he were to turn a blind eye to the current danger for his own safety, he would come to hate himself. It meant he would no longer be able to act as a hunter.
'I'll do my best with what I can do.'
It had been less than 30 minutes since Razaka officially appeared, but the number of deaths had already reached several hundreds.
Not only the hunters who rushed in to fulfill their duty but also ordinary citizens all met horrific deaths.
'Even if we can't defeat him... we need to at least slow him down to prevent further casualties.'
As Song Seung-jun was biting his lower lip hard and thinking of the best plan he could come up with at the moment, a voice came through the small radio in his ear.
-Static, This is Hunter Association Headquarters. Can everyone hear me?
"Yes, go ahead."
-We expect Razaka to enter the Uijeongbu City Hall area soon.
"Is there still no response from the Returnee Alliance?"
-We've continued to contact them, but they're still silent. We're sorry...
"We'll have to buy time somehow with the forces we have now."
-I know it's a shameless request, but please... we're counting on you.
"We'll lure him to the park area for battle. Please evacuate the citizens as quickly as possible."
-...Thank you. We sincerely pray for the hunters' safety.
With a final greeting, the communication that had been ongoing was cut off.
A bitter smile flowed across the lips of all the hunters who had joined the emergency disaster response team, as they had all heard the same radio transmission as Song Seung-jun.
However, no one showed despair.
They all joined the emergency disaster response team knowing the unfavorable situation.
There was no reason to be gripped by fear.
"Let's go."
"Let's make sure that wolf bastard doesn't head towards the city."
"Let's fulfill our duty as hunters."
The hunters, each uttering their own words, tightly gripped their respective weapons.
A smile flashed across Song Seung-jun's lips as he looked at them.
"Yes, let's dance with our swords so vigorously that he can't pay attention to anything else."
Teobek.
Strong determination was evident in the eyes of the hunters as they took their steps.
* * *
The plan itself was successful.
Razaka, who had been advancing towards the citizens, changed direction and headed towards the nearby park where the hunters were gathered.
But they couldn't completely relax.
If they couldn't buy enough time, the evacuating citizens would eventually be chased by Razaka.
The hunters, with the word 'duty' burning in their hearts, fought with all their might, with desperate hearts.
They showed skills surpassing their usual abilities, going beyond their own limits.
Song Seung-jun also fought desperately, sharpening his senses even more and giving his all.
However, sadly, Razaka, the king of werewolves, possessed terrifyingly strong power.
Initially, with Song Seung-jun at the forefront, they seemed to be coping quite well, but in less than 10 minutes, with over 10 deaths, the balance of the battle was disrupted.
"Excellent! Very excellent! I'll be able to have a very nutritious feast!"
As Razaka chewed and swallowed the head of a hunter who had become a cold corpse, bursting into maniacal laughter, Song Seung-jun, holding swords in both hands, quickly shot out sword winds towards him.
Huuwoong-!
With a fierce wind sound, dozens of sword winds were shot out, striking Razaka's body, but the result was utterly miserable.
It only managed to create a few small scratches.
Even these regenerated shortly after.
'He's truly... a monster.'
As Song Seung-jun was biting his lower lip hard at the overwhelming power difference, it happened.
"Especially you, you look like you'll be incredibly delicious. I'm looking forward to it."
Razaka, his blue eyes glowing, licked the corner of his mouth with his tongue and shot forward, kicking off the ground.
"Here he comes! Everyone, dodge!"
Song Seung-jun shouted urgently, readying his stance.
However, Razaka's movements, powered up through predation, were a step faster.
Kwang-!
With a thunderous sound, Song Seung-jun's body slid back as if pushed, then slammed into a nearby wall.
Even though he had hastily crossed his swords to mitigate the impact just before the hit, his internal organs were shaken, causing him to scream.
"Kheup..."
He clearly knew in his mind that he needed to quickly regain his posture, but sadly, his body wouldn't obey.
'...This is the worst situation.'
It wasn't just his immediate physical condition.
The overall battle situation was extremely unfavorable.
Razaka was getting stronger as time passed.
In contrast, the humans, the hunters, were rapidly tiring.
'Judging from the circumstances so far, Razaka is getting stronger by eating the hunters.'
Probably by the time the hunters dispatched to the subjugation force return, he will have become an even more powerful monster.
Song Seung-jun didn't yet know about predation, no, he couldn't know. But his instinctive senses were alerting him to Razaka's danger.
'If time passes, it will become a calamity that can't be controlled.'
He must be subjugated here.
The plan was clearly formed in his mind, but sadly, reality was too cruel.
Far from stopping Razaka, they were becoming his prey instead.
It meant that he, Song Seung-jun, was about to germinate as a seed of calamity.
Tears began to flow from Song Seung-jun's eyes at the incredibly cruel wall of reality.
'Damn it.'
Perhaps because he was in such a desperate situation without even a glimmer of light?
Paradoxical hopes bloomed in his mind.
'If only Hunter Lee Seong-jun were here...'
Song Seung-jun's eyes widened as he searched for hope in his mind.
'I thought of Hunter Lee Seong-jun instead of my master?'
It could be because he held the position of leader of the subjugation force.
But if asked whether the reason was simply because of his position, he would shake his head.
The reason Lee Seong-jun came to mind now was because of the potential and strength he had shown so far, giving hope that he could defeat the monstrous Razaka.
Of course, for now, it could all be considered useless thoughts.
"Khuhu, this will truly be a delicious meal."
Razaka's hand, with a chilling smile, slowly closed the distance towards Song Seung-jun.
'It's all over.'
Into Song Seung-jun's vision, sunk in the abyss of despair, came the sight of a propeller urgently rotating and flashing between the sunlight.
Dudududu-!
'A helicopter?'
Who could it be?
There was absurdly insufficient time for the subjugation force that had gone out to arrive here.
There were no hunters who could come to support.
"Who...?"
It was at the moment when a voice full of doubt flowed from Song Seung-jun's mouth.
"You've really worked hard."
A low, deep voice heard from close by penetrated his ears.
Sswaeeaek-!
Immediately after, with a sound as if tearing the air, the figure of a man who revealed himself fell onto Razaka's head.
Kung-!
Razaka's form, which hadn't fallen to any attack, was instantly slammed to the ground, crushed under the man's feet.
As the thick dust that had risen was blown away by the fierce wind that followed, the man's face naturally came into view.
Song Seung-jun's eyes widened.
"You are...?"
It was hard to believe, but he couldn't deny the reality before his eyes.
"Hunter Lee Seong-jun..."
The figure he had thought of as hope had arrived before his eyes.
Lee Seong-jun, who gave a relaxed smile towards Song Seung-jun with his expression mixed with astonishment, quietly opened his mouth.
"I'll take it from here."