Chapter 195

〈Chapter 195〉 Part 1, Chapter 9, Section 29

Gale Guest Hayate had severed the head of Heuk Jeon-jal, plunging the battlefield into a brief lull.

“We denounce the jealousy-blinded Gale Guest!”

“Denounce! Denounce!”

“Jealousy? What nonsense! If I catch you, you’re mine!”

The Heroes and the Gale Guest faced off in a delicate standoff. The Heroes cleverly chose their words to make the Gale Guest appear suspicious, while the Gale Guest failed to notice their sinister intentions.

“Haaa.”

Seok Harang gathered magic power during this pause. Meditating at the center of the lake, his mana quickly replenished, already reaching nearly half.

“Thank you, Snow Lotus. Thanks to you, I can fight more smoothly.”

A foreign Hero approached Seok Harang and bowed deeply.

“Truly admirable. To possess such immense power yet dedicate oneself fully to supporting other Heroes… You truly deserve the title as humanity’s new hope.”

“Haha. I’ve just done my duty…”

Seok Harang scratched his cheek in embarrassment.

Though accustomed to praise since childhood as an S Rank, he still struggled to adapt to his new status—no longer just Korea’s hope but the world’s sole beacon.

“No, without Snow Lotus, we might have been overwhelmed.”

Executioner Baek Hee-a also approached and bowed respectfully.

Thinking they’d passed a major hurdle, neither showed much shadow beneath them.

“……Huh-huh.”

“hee-hee.”

Despite few common points, these two formed a bond through this battle.

“Truly, thank you, Snow Lotus.”

“Not at all… Executioner. Sorry for unintentionally ignoring you earlier.”

Seok Harang bowed apologetically. Executioner’s eyes widened as Seok Harang fidgeted with his fingers.

“I… was thinking too hard about how to approach and didn’t hear. Absolutely not trying to ignore you. Please don’t misunderstand.”

“…No.”

Executioner’s rigid expression softened slightly. Turning her head, a faint smile graced her lips.

“…Excuse me…”

Hwakwon hesitantly approached the pair. Executioner’s gaze sharpened like one inspecting filth.

“What is it? Go away, Hwakwon.”

Calling him by his given name, Executioner kept her distance. Unintentionally becoming an enemy to women, Hwakwon only felt awkward.

“What did I do…?”

“Besides harassing women and tarnishing our national dignity?! A representative Hero shouldn’t act so improperly! If White-clothed Warriors create controversies, what happens?!”

“But… this was beyond control… No, it happened while fighting the monster!”

“Monsters have their own standards too! If its form looks like that, you should at least be mindful, right?! Honestly, admit it—you were just ogling, weren’t you?!”

“There’s no way! If I were a swordsman like Gale Guest, I would’ve cut it down immediately! But I’m a martial artist! That wasn’t an opponent I could touch lightly!”

Hwakwon and Executioner’s heated argument escalated. The pure spirit of heroism focused solely on defeating monsters clashed with the administrator’s concerns over political issues and controversies.

“…Let’s set this aside for now.”

Seok Harang pointed at the decapitated body of Heuk Jeon-jal.

“Executioner, do you have any data on Heuk Jeon-jal? It’s strange that the head remains motionless like this.”

“…True, there’s no special reaction. As Snow Lotus said, it is indeed unusual.”

Executioner frowned, looking at Heuk Jeon-jal’s slumped torso. The rounded forms beneath, despite being decapitated, maintained their shape like full droplets.

“Is it really dead?”

“If it’s dead, we should recover the core… Wait a moment.”

Seok Harang reached into the pouch behind his hip. Carefully pinning the blue canary-shaped hairpin onto his head, Seok Harang’s expression grew increasingly serious.

“Ah.”

“Why are you doing that?”

“It’s not dead.”

“…What?”

Who? Executioner thought she might have misheard Seok Harang’s words. She wanted to question further but tensed up seeing Seok Harang’s alarmed expression.

“All units, prepare for battle!”

Spreading across the lake, Seok Harang’s voice caused the Heroes to start tensing up. Their movements suggested they trusted SS Rank Ability User Snow Lotus wouldn’t declare battle preparation without reason.

“Everyone, prepare for battle! Snow Lotus has spoken!”

“Gale Guest! Come down… please!”

“What’s with the honorifics? Don’t talk like in Busan… guh-?!”

Thud!

The supposedly dead Heuk Jeon-jal grabbed Gale Guest with its hand. Despite being decapitated, its female form began moving slowly.

“Uoooohhhh!”

“Heuk Jeon-jal has revived!”

“Don’t celebrate, idiots! Focus on the battle!”

Heroes fell into confusion. Some went berserk seeing Heuk Jeon-jal’s writhing body again, while others grew furious watching their comrades lose focus.

“Ah, seriously!”

Seok Harang was irritated for an entirely different reason. Had he swallowed his pride and asked earlier, he could’ve easily learned these weaknesses instead of discovering the truth after everything turned chaotic.

“Heroes near the head, step back!!”

“Huh?!”

Several Heroes were dangerously close, busy taking photos of the severed neck.

Flash!

Heuk Jeon-jal’s eyes shot open. Simultaneously, its mouth opened wide. From within emerged what appeared to be an S Rank Heuk Jeon-jal.

“Wha-?!”

Crack, crack, crack-crack-crack!

Its head started collapsing. With the main body’s magic power cut off, the severed neck lost its form.

Pshhhoooww!

The head exploded, spraying out a fountain of Heuk Jeon-jals.

“Aaaah, damn it!”

At that moment, the Heroes realized.

“All Heroes, focus! Don’t be deceived by appearances! This is all fake made from gathered Heuk Jeon-jals!”

Seok Harang revealed the truth.

“You tricked us!”

“Aaaaahhh!”

“Die, monster!”

Heroes collectively went berserk. Executioner blushed crimson, covering her face with both hands.

“…Executioner.”

“…Can you leave me alone for a moment?”

“To issue attack orders, we need your command. Please don’t worry. Everyone likely feels the same way.”

Executioner sensed Unsah’s kind-heartedness. Gathering her wits, she pointed trembling fingers forward.

“Go… attack…”

“Order received.”

Unsah calmly gripped her spear and charged ahead.

“Executioner, don’t take it too hard. It’s your first deployment.”

“Young ones make mistakes—it happens.”

Usa and Pungbaek ran alongside Unsah. Executioner grew even more embarrassed, wanting to hide somewhere.

“I support you, Executioner.”

Tempest Lady raised her thumb. Her face was also quite red, and they exchanged glances with mutual understanding.

“Executioner.”

“Kyeeeh!”

Hwakwon scratched his head. Executioner couldn’t bring herself to look at Hwakwon.

“I’ll restrain the flames as much as possible. I don’t intend to cause trouble for the country—”

“No… Please unleash larger flames.”

Executioner’s mind raced.

“I misjudged. To prove you were right…”

“I’m fine. Didn’t Unsah say not to worry? Let it go.”

Hwakwon clenched his fists.

“You don’t need to concern yourself with me. I’m used to criticism anyway.”

“……”

“Then I’m going!”

Hwakwon leaped high into the sky again. Soaring dozens of meters, he delivered a punch aimed at Heuk Jeon-jal’s wrist, successfully rescuing the captured maiden.

“Hmph.”

Executioner took a deep breath. Having made a misjudgment, she needed to remedy her mistake starting now.

“…Keep cutting its arms, Gale Guest! Heroes below will intercept Heuk Jeon-jals emerging from falling body parts!”

“Oooya!”

Riding the wind, Gale Guest swung his sword. Another finger attempting to grab him was cleanly severed.

Boom!

Heuk Jeon-jal’s index finger landed in front of those lighting torches. Its humanoid form began collapsing, and soon the clumped baby Heuk Jeon-jals started scattering.

“Kill them!”

Ability users waved their torches to keep the Heuk Jeon-jals at bay. Though unafraid of other flames, they seemed particularly wary of the White Flames left by Hwakwon.

Squeak! Squeak!

Gale Guest’s blade didn’t stop at just one swing. Cutting through the wrist, slicing the upper arm flesh, and carving into the side, grotesque scenes unfolded as the human body was dismembered. However, the Heroes no longer allowed themselves to be deceived by appearances.

“It’s merely using a human form to confuse us! Its true nature is a monster!”

“Slice it! Though it looks like flesh, it’s actually clumped Heuk Jeon-jals!”

S Rank Heroes began slicing, stabbing, and shaving away at Heuk Jeon-jal’s female form. Black scorpions emerging from chunks thrown onto the ice were dealt with by A Rank-led Heroes, while reinforcements from the riverside continued their barrage.

Kaboom! Kaboom!

While flailing its tail under the ice to threaten S Ranks, Heuk Jeon-jal’s simple pattern became predictable to the Heroes, who skillfully dodged attacks while continuing to shave away its body. Concentrated assaults on its primary offensive tools—the arms—left Heuk Jeon-jal’s female form unable to attack effectively.

Chirp chirp chirp…

Heuk Jeon-jal’s female form became a torso. Armless and slumped, the upper body resembled nothing more than a carved statue mimicking a human, lacking any obvious means to attack humans.

“Uh… um…”

Heroes were perplexed. Though aware it was a monster, lacking internal organs or muscles made directly touching it difficult for anyone.

Squeak!

Two mounds fell following a crescent moon trajectory. Gale Guest, with flowing black hair, landed gracefully on the ice.

“The sensation of cutting is truly satisfying…”

Thud, thud!

Heuk Jeon-jal’s two mounds hit the ice. These contained more Heuk Jeon-jals than any other body part, allowing Heroes to shake off their bewilderment and focus on hunting the monster.

Crack, crack, crack.

Was that its weakness?

Heuk Jeon-jal’s massive body began gradually collapsing. Starting from the skin, the entire upper body wriggled, and the human female form disintegrated into a fountain of Heuk Jeon-jals.

Exactly 2 AM.

Heuk Jeon-jal’s female form collapsed.

* * *

Heuk Jeon-jal seethed with anger.

Not only had its treasure, which could infinitely amplify its power, been stolen, but it was also being dismembered like an object of humiliation by humans in the middle of the lake.

But anger alone wasn’t enough; its strength was severely lacking.

Instinctively realizing it needed far greater power to reach the next stage of evolution, Heuk Jeon-jal abandoned the difficult path for an easier one.

Mass-producing subordinates-offspring.

Laying hundreds of eggs daily, it birthed countless Heuk Jeon-jals, which it would eventually consume to gradually strengthen itself once it reached S Rank.

While raising offspring only to eat them was considered patricidal behavior whether among humans or beasts, to Heuk Jeon-jal, a monster, strengthening itself was the only thing that mattered.

However, its power remained insufficient.

Humans surrounded it with even greater numbers than its own offspring.

Not only had the Firebird stolen its treasure from the nest and the Ice Butterfly frozen the lake, but countless ability users covering the entire lake posed a formidable threat to its survival.

Defeat. Death. Annihilation.

Heuk Jeon-jal sensed its fate and activated its final resort.

Escape.

Hidden beneath the ice, Heuk Jeon-jal tore off its upper body with the attached female form.

Screech?!

Heuk Jeon-jals disconnected from their mother source panicked and screamed. Those maintaining their shapes barely in severed arms, breasts, waists, etc., began collapsing like sandcastles.

Chirp.

With tears in its eyes, Heuk Jeon-jal fled deeper into the lake. To survive, it had to abandon even its 30-meter giant scorpion body.

It would be hunted if it stayed as a Heuk Jeon-jal.

Thus, it must escape as a human.

If you want to hide a leaf, hide it in a forest. Instinctively understanding this principle, Heuk Jeon-jal began fleeing, gathering its power and minimizing its core to form a human-sized body.

As the humans were distracted by the gushing Heuk Jeon-jals like blooming flowers,

Heuk Jeon-jal, like a lizard shedding its tail, discarded its torso and escaped.