Chapter 193

〈Chapter 193〉 Part 1, Chapter 9, Section 27

“Hunt to your heart’s content! I merely trust in the chivalry of our heroes. So come to Qinghai with peace of mind! Ten thousand comrades will bear witness to your deeds!”

The Crown Prince gave his assurance. Any Black Scorpions hunted would belong solely to those who caught them.

“Set the Black Scorpion corpses on fire! As soon as the darkness brightens, the smell will draw more Black Scorpions!”

The Executioner reported that wherever signal fires rose, Black Scorpions would gather.

“I’m keeping watch. I’ll do my best to ensure no one gets injured…”

Seol Set-hwa declared she’d oversee the battlefield to prevent any heroes from sustaining grave injuries.

The Black Scorpions all converged at the center of Qinghai Lake, while heroes striking from the flanks succeeded in driving back the Black Scorpions into the water, sealing off the entrance.

Kee-keek!

The Black Scorpions trapped in the lake began to panic. The S-Rank Monster leading them, Heuk Jeon-jal, only now realized they were cornered.

Encirclement Annihilation Formation.

No further words were needed. Thousands of Black Scorpions had fallen into the lake, surrounded by far more heroes. Tens of thousands had responded to the Crown Prince’s call, including ten thousand Chinese Special Ability users alone.

Estimated total association forces: about twenty thousand. A long encirclement net formed along the 300km shoreline of the river lake, leaving only the task of hunting the Black Scorpions.

Kee-kee-k!

Heuk Jeon-jal gathered the Black Scorpions towards the center, forming a massive defensive formation with himself at its core. From younglings to adults, they clustered around Heuk Jeon-jal.

“What is that?”

“It looks like they’re trying to break through at one point.”

“Damn it, there’s nothing we can do with them in the middle of the lake!”

Long-range hero shooters unleashed all their magic power, firing magical bullets at Heuk Jeon-jal. However, the distance to the lake’s center was too great, and only the unfortunate young Black Scorpions near the edge were hit by the blasts.

“No boats? We should at least ride rafts out there!”

“Damn it, just run across the water!”

“S-Rank only, stop being ridiculous!!”

S-Rank monsters from various countries began running towards the lake’s center. Leading them was Hwakwon Lee Seung-hyeong, with countless other S-Ranks competing to reach the lake’s center.

“I’m worried.”

Standing atop an ice wall, Seok Harang bit her lip as she surveyed the battlefield. Something felt off, though she couldn’t tell what.

[Miss Set-hwa!!]

An Executioner called out to Seok Harang. His black hair spilled out from under his beret, soaked with sweat.

[Stop them! It’s dangerous!]

“What should I stop?”

[S-Rank individuals charging towards the Black Scorpions!]

“……??”

Seok Harang didn’t understand what the Executioner meant. The densely packed Black Scorpions were practically punching bags; picking them off one by one would suffice.

“Are you worried about distribution? Don’t worry. They’ll be thoroughly divided by nation -”

[No! It’s not that. There’s something off about these Black Scorpions. It feels like something’s going to burst out from within…]

“Just a moment!!”

Seok Harang briefly lowered the Executioner’s screen. Her hairpin, tucked into the back pocket of her pants, emitted a scorching heat, feeling like her buttocks were on fire.

“Is this appropriate… Could it be?”

Is this a warning call? Coinciding with Executive Officer Baek Hee-a showing signs of unease, Seok Harang herself began to feel anxious and lifted her hairpin.

[…Hello?]

[What’s this “hello”? Is this a phone call?]

Phoenix’s voice transmitted through the division spirit sounded surprisingly calm. She quickly got straight to the point.

“Second Phase is coming. Prepare yourself.”

Seok Harang had an intuition. Phoenix seemed to know how the Black Scorpion swarm would transform, and she herself had ignored this communication.

“What? What else are they transforming into?! Not another parasite bursting out, right?!”

The memory of capturing Moby Dick was terrible. The groups of Anisakis worms bursting from internal organs were genuinely disgusting, and she froze and shattered every single one she saw. She didn’t want to see that again, even here in China.

“They’re changing, but it’s the opposite.”

“I see. Should I stop the S-Ranks then? Hopefully, they won’t get caught up in some transformation and get hurt?”

“Worrywart. Pfft.”

“Hurry up and tell me! Is it dangerous or not?!”

Seok Harang tapped her foot impatiently for an answer. S-Rank heroes hovered above the water by radiating mana beneath their feet, attempting bombardments on the sphere formed by the Black Scorpions’ bodies.

“Not dangerous at all. Though, it might be for the youngsters.”

“What are you talking about?!”

“You’ll see. They’re about to transform.”

Kyaahhh!!

A beast-like scream echoed from inside the Black Scorpions. The sharp cry, resembling both a monster and a woman, made the entire lake tremble. S-Rank heroes near the Black Scorpion cluster were repelled by waves of mana, and the torches illuminating the riverbank began to go out one by one.

“Transformation…?”

“Yeah. Transformation. Correction: they’re reverting to their true form.”

Plop. Plip-plip.

The Black Scorpions surrounding the sphere like a shell began falling into the water. Like a blooming flower, the Black Scorpions scattered in all directions, revealing a woman with flowing black hair standing in the center.

“Wow.”

Seok Harang marveled at the beauty of the woman. And was stunned by her size. The height of the woman rising above the water was almost equal to the height of the ice wall she stood on.

“Pretty much giant monster level, huh…?”

“‘Black Death.’ A monster boasting top-tier among S-Ranks. By the way, all these Black Scorpions are her offspring.”

“Eck.”

Seok Harang shuddered.

“So, is she mad because we’ve killed her children?”

“Of course. Roughly four hundred so far? You guys have transformed faster than expected.”

“Hmm…”

She didn’t understand the feeling of losing a child. But she acutely felt the emotion of having family murdered. Though things had been resolved amicably by now, Seok Harang still harbored burning revenge against the person who killed her master-father figure.

“Don’t worry. You don’t need to step in. Despite her size, she’s weaker than Earth Dragon or Water Monkey. Just be cautious of the little ones hanging around her.”

Kiaaaack!!

Black Death wildly thrashed her slender arms. S-Rank special ability users dodged from a distance while Hwakwon seized the opportunity to counterattack.

Whoosh-sizzle!

Hwakwon, who was about to deliver an uppercut with white flames on his fists, suddenly extinguished the flames while staring at Black Death. Even those observing Black Death suspected if what they saw was an illusion.

“Shit?”

Seok Harang naturally witnessed the moment illuminated by the light and unconsciously cursed. Watching on TV, Phoenix also chuckled dryly.

“From here on out, the live broadcast will cut off. Be careful. If you get eaten, you’ll dissolve in gastric acid.”

“Wa. Wa. Crazy. Wa.”

Seok Harang didn’t hear Phoenix’s advice.

“Unbelievably huge…”

She was tall. Massive. Simultaneously, that part was enormous. The problem was its overwhelming size. Comparing it to any woman Seok Harang had seen around her, Black Death utterly dominated in size.

“Huh huh, uh.”

At the same time, it became unbearably uncomfortable. The ice wall she stood on seemed almost vertical, yet Black Death, despite being a monster, possessed an incredibly beautiful female body.

And arrogantly wore not a single thread.

“Executioner.”

[Y-yes! After laughing silently until now, why are you suddenly saying this?!]

The Execution Officer, who had been ignored until now, cried out with tears streaming down his face. Seok Harang momentarily felt quite sorry but immediately focused on erasing the uncomfortable valley before her eyes.

“Even if it’s slippery, if there’s a place to stand, combat shouldn’t be hindered, right?”

[That’s obvious! So why didn’t you respond to me until now?!]

“Then prepare to run!”

Seok Harang leapt off the ice wall. Adjusting her wings after spreading and folding them, she calculated her landing point, which ended up on the water beyond the ground.

“Haaaaa!!”

With a yell, Seok Harang concentrated all her mana into her hands. Her widely extended palms stretched straight toward the water surface, and the moment her hands touched the water—

Zzzzzip!

The entire lake froze over. Thick ice spread widely from Seok Harang’s position, becoming a path leading toward Black Death.

“I inform all heroes!”

Seok Harang took a deep breath and shouted at the top of her lungs.

“Run!!”

* * *

A worldwide broadcasting accident occurred. Gaeul lost her composure with her mouth agape, and Deokbae, eyes blazing, was searching for and clipping the footage from moments ago.

“He did it.”

The second phase of Black Death’s transformation revealed him as a giant scorpion monster. The nest’s appearance was obviously modeled after his original body, and the Black Scorpions had now become a colossal monster easily exceeding 60 meters.

“That’s gotta be at least 130 human equivalents.”

“Wow.”

Gaeul looked down. I followed her gaze. Even Gaeul, who was relatively large, wouldn’t reach triple digits, let alone exceed them by 20. Blushing, Gaeul shouted.

“Why isn’t she wearing anything?”

“Does a monster care about that? Oh man, crazy for real.”

Deokbae snickered as he replayed the recorded video. Lee Seung-hyeong ignited flames on his fist like a Rising Dragon Punch and delivered an uppercut, revealing her belly button to chest in the dark due to the flames.

“Look at him. Once he passes that point, he panics and fumbles around.”

As soon as Lee Seung-hyeong passed the chest area, he immediately extinguished the flames. Beneath his bangs, Black Death’s face was a beautiful blend of Eastern and Western features. Gaeul threw a snack at Deokbae.

“Pervert! Why keep showing stuff like that?”

“So what? It’s a monster. Not human, so what?”

“Crazy bastard.”

Though Deokbae teased Gaeul and me while cracking jokes, I was certain he was replaying the footage to embarrass Gaeul, disregarding his own shame.

[Uh… Due to unfavorable local conditions… we’ll relay breaking news as soon as it comes in.]

All announcers and panelists were equally flustered, unable to regain their composure. Some stations quickly aired commercials, while others endlessly looped the heroes’ efforts to block the first wave of Black Scorpions.

“All global broadcasters will probably get a warning.”

“…Right? Why does it feel so real?”

Gaeul pointed at Black Death’s upper body on the screen and shivered. I conjured flames on my index finger and drew Black Death’s form with fire.

“The upper 30m is humanoid, and the rest below is pure Black Scorpion. If it had grown as a single entity, it could have aimed for S+ rank in five years, but unfortunately, it chose to produce countless offspring.”

“What does that have to do with her taking a human form?”

“…I don’t know. Probably monster preference.”

More accurately, producer preference. Upon transitioning to the second phase, Black Death undeniably possessed incredible provocation abilities that sent everyone into excitement, completely naked without even a thread covering her. Given that the original work was an R-rated romantic fantasy, instead of covering, they simply draped her hair slightly over her.

“Lee Seung-hyeong is in big trouble. Effectively distributing 19+ nude content worldwide.”

“But he’s being praised everywhere?”

“What?”

Deokbae read the comments attached below the clip.

“Thanks to Mr. Lee Seung-hyeong, I got to see something good. Truly, S-Rank, White Flame Great Hero indeed caused quite a stir. Rather than criticizing, some people are even complaining he didn’t shine more lights. Keke.”

I pushed aside the screen Deokbae handed over and checked the community reactions Gaeul was viewing.

“Our Seung-hyeong Oppa, hiding the nude monster with such a kind-hearted nature…? What’s this nonsense?”

“I don’t know. Everyone’s critiquing the monster’s body, not criticizing Lee Seung-hyeong. Instead, they’re criticizing the monster—how dare a monster try to seduce men with a woman’s body?”

“Hooh.”

Indeed, a well-featured face excuses everything. Despite causing worldwide inconvenience, Lee Seung-hyeong earned praise from men and sympathy from women.

“That guy…”

“Why? Are you scared your crush will get criticized?”

“You too had a crush on him. Ugh. Nevermind.”

Gaeul kept teasing by linking me with Lee Seung-hyeong. Deokbae connected his watch to the TV, switching to a hero’s YouTube channel streaming the battlefield live.

[Ah! Everyone! Did you see that?! Just looking, it’s definitely O-cup, no, P-cup or more!]

“Shouldn’t we filter out those kinds of kids? Broadcasting such content live.”

Heroes uniformly shone lights on Black Death, trying to reveal her figure. While illuminating enemies in the dark is tactically important in monster extermination, the actions of men igniting White Flames on the Black Scorpion tails to brighten the darkness seemed laced with different desires.

“Let’s overlook that as a joke. We need to focus on identifying those sneaky types who steal others’ kills…”

“Actually, aren’t you curious too? About Black Death’s body.”

“…Not at all.”

“Your answer came late. Honestly, even I find it pretty.”

“What use is it for me to look at that body?”

Just look in the mirror. I clicked my tongue at Gaeul and turned my head back to the TV.

The chaos was brief. Starting with Seok Harang freezing the entire lake, the Black Death raid commenced.