Chapter 9: TV Laughter, Elf Annihilation

“Let’s eat first.”

It was just about the time his parents were due to arrive.

If they ate and relaxed for a while, the production of the Apocalid Titan would be complete.

As the sound of the doorlock being handled rang out, Choi Kangjoong waited, holding a set of premium Hanwoo beef.

The door opened, and Choi Jooyoung and Yoo Haein entered.

When Choi Kangjoong greeted them, both of their faces lit up instantly.

“Would you like some Hanwoo? I bought it on the way.”

“Of course! I’ll grill it just right for us.”

“Just hearing Kangjoong’s greeting makes my fatigue disappear. Let’s eat quickly.”

“Would you like to make the rice? I’ll go out and buy some lettuce wraps.”

“Meat’s not complete without wraps. Be careful on your way.”

Choi Jooyoung went out to buy the wraps, and soon after, placed the meat on the heated grill.

The beef sizzled with a delicious sound as it cooked.

“Did you buy this after registering as a Hunter?”

Choi Jooyoung asked.

“Yes.”

“How was the registration? Nothing out of the ordinary?”

“They just took measurements and finished up.”

“What’s your rank?”

“Unranked.”

“That’s fine. I heard over half of Hunters are unranked. Living as a Hunter isn’t easy.”

Even someone like Choi Kangjoong, who mostly stayed in his room, knew just how much Choi Jooyoung and Yoo Haein worried about Choi Yunseo.

“Honestly, I wish Yunseo had chosen a different path.”

Yoo Haein said, placing a piece of meat on Kangjoong’s rice bowl.

“Don’t say that in front of Yunseo. It’s her choice, after all.”

“Says the one who always worries himself sick about Yunseo after a few drinks.”

“That’s only because of the alcohol.”

“So when you’re sober, you don’t worry about Yunseo?”

“That’s not it!”

Choi Kangjoong was in a good mood.

Even their bickering was proof of the affection in their family.

And the meat tasted amazing.

“Yunseo, I’ll protect you. I’m a Hunter too, you know.”

He left out the part about controlling the Apocalid with the Outer Mind.

What mother would be pleased if her child said, ‘Mother, I’ve become a monster that controls monsters!’?

Even if he revealed it someday, for now, he wanted to keep it hidden.

Even if it sounded like empty bravado on the surface, Choi Jooyoung and Yoo Haein looked at him with pride.

After going through such an ordeal, there were plenty of people who’d struggle all their lives or even take their own lives; they were just thankful he was alive.

Choi Jooyoung insisted that this much was the least he could do as her brother, and Yoo Haein’s eyes filled with tears.

They enjoyed their meal warmly, then sat in front of the TV, eating fruit as they watched a variety show.

Choi Kangjoong hardly ever watched TV, so it was his first variety show in years.

Hunters competed in survival games, making for a flashy spectacle.

“Kangjoong, what’s your ability?”

“Summoning.”

“You’re a Summoner? What do you summon?”

“Just… a variety of things….”

“Can you show us?”

“Um… I’ll show you one.”

Choi Kangjoong hesitated, wondering if it was okay to show them the Apocalid.

Apocalids were on a whole different level from animals, and their appearance was so fearsome he worried it would frighten them.

Still, he wanted to show them something.

If he, a Summoner, couldn’t summon anything, it’d only give them more to worry about.

‘A Walker should be okay.’

Lutal was too big, and Kai looked far too menacing.

The Walker was smaller and the least aggressive.

Choi Kangjoong summoned a Walker.

“This guy? Looks kind of like a pangolin.”

“Oh my! It’s actually kind of cute. Can I touch it?”

Before Choi Kangjoong could even reply, Yoo Haein reached out her hand.

She was surprised at how solid and rough the scales felt.

“It might not be much in a fight, but it looks strong.”

Choi Kangjoong only smiled at Choi Jooyoung’s comment.

Of all the Apocalids, it was indeed the weakest, so he wasn’t wrong.

“Does it understand speech?”

“It understands well. Stand up.”

The Apocalid Walker stood up.

Choi Jooyoung and Yoo Haein applauded.

Choi Kangjoong felt a bit sheepish.

Rather than the creature following an order, it was more like he himself had made it move.

“Did you feed it?”

“It eats well in its home.”

Yoo Haein plucked a grape and fed it to the Apocalid Walker.

The Walker stuck out its tongue and swallowed it whole.

Finding this fun, Yoo Haein fed it other fruits and leftover meat as well.

The Apocalid Walker gobbled everything up eagerly.

“It eats so well. Feeding this little guy is so much fun. Can I take it with me?”

“No. It has to stay in its own home.”

“Really? That’s too bad.”

If an Apocalid Walker left the Outer Mind or Central Unit’s control, it would follow its instincts.

Those instincts involved creating digestive pits and consuming everything around it for nutrients.

He had to stop anyone from taking it away.

“Is that the only thing you can summon?”

“I have more, but it’d be hard to summon them here.”

Choi Jooyoung didn’t press further.

Even if he thought Kangjoong could only summon one Apocalid Walker, Kangjoong didn’t bother correcting him.

Choi Kangjoong watched the show to the end with his parents.

Today, there were especially many funny scenes that had them bursting with laughter.

Time flew by.

In the meantime, the Titan’s production was completed, but he finished watching the show before going to his room.

The center of the Apocalid Dimension opened.

A hole with a diameter of 100 meters appeared, and the Apocalid Titan emerged.

Its overall form resembled a whale, but with three tails.

It had three massive, sturdy jaws, and on each side of its body were twenty Mana Cannons.

The firepower of that one was equal to about twenty Apocalid Cannon Giants.

Once its biological weapons evolved and it gained biological torpedoes, its long-range attack power would increase as well.

“Ku-eong.”

The Apocalid Titan let out its first cry.

“You’ll be Ku-eong from now on. Since you’re the first Titan, I’ll make sure to gather plenty of nutrients and turn you into a Central Unit.”

“Ku-eong.”

The Skyeye Giants observing the surroundings sent out a warning.

Ten ships with upside-down black tree emblems were approaching.

They were the Blacktree Pirates.

As befitted an elf pirate ship, they were sharp and light, like flying swords.

They rowed or used spirits for speed, making them the fastest ships in the Kraken Sea.

“Are they chasing us on purpose, or did we just happen to cross paths?”

It was something he could find out by capturing them.

“Everyone, hide on the opposite side of the pirate ships. Ku-eong, don’t attack yet—wait until they get closer.”

“Ku-eong.”

“If they run, we can’t catch them. When they approach, we wipe them out in one go.”

“Krrk.”

“Kiiik.”

Lutal and Kai led the Apocalids toward Ku-eong’s ship.

The pirates approached Ku-eong without any suspicion.

It was hard for a Dimension Ship of that size to enter the Kraken Sea, so they probably thought it was just some structure.

Even if it was a Dimension Ship, its mana engine would be broken by a Mana Storm, leaving it as nothing but scrap metal.

The pirate ships reached Ku-eong’s head and moved along its back.

Choi Kangjoong began to turn Ku-eong’s body slowly.

Because Ku-eong’s body color was dark, the pirates didn’t realize what was happening.

Soon, the pirate ships were in the diagonal line of Ku-eong’s side.

Ku-eong fired all of its Mana Cannons at once.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang!

Eight of the pirate ships were blown to bits.

The two remaining ships began evasive maneuvers.

They moved in curves, but Ku-eong and the Cannon Giants followed up with Mana Cannons, engulfing them in flames.

“Take care of the ones inside.”

Lutal, Warrior, and the Scout leaped into the pirate ships.

As Apocalids poured in through the holes below, the elves turned deathly pale.

“Block them!”

“Where did these monsters come from…?!”

Kai was searching for the captain on the largest ship.

Entering the large central room, he found an elf frantically barking orders.

“Damn it! Who the hell are they? Who dares to mess with the Blacktree Pirates in this territory?!”

“I-I don’t know!”

“If you don’t know, does the battle end? You should go find out!”

The captain grabbed the collar of the elf who’d answered, then threw him outside.

Ku-eong fired a Mana Cannon, and blood splattered across the deck.

“So they weren’t chasing me. Kill them.”

Kai dropped from the ceiling.

Thud.

The captain’s skull was pierced, and he collapsed.

Kai hid himself and slipped away.

The crew didn’t even notice the captain’s death until much later.

Not that it changed anything.

Rip.

Ku-eong opened his massive mouth and swallowed a pirate ship whole.

Crunch.

Half the ship was gone in an instant.

Crunch.

With another bite, it vanished completely.

The battle ended in less than ten minutes.

All the pirates were turned into nutrients, and their ships were absorbed into the Apocalid Dimension.

“It’s lucky they weren’t after me, but now they’ll definitely know about me.”

It didn’t matter if Natasha learned of the Apocalid’s existence.

With Ku-eong here, what could the pirates possibly do?

With one body slam from Ku-eong, even the Blacktree Pirates’ flagship would be smashed to pieces.

“Let’s move to another dimension.”

All the Apocalids climbed onto Ku-eong’s back.

Lutal and Kai scanned for dimensions, and Ku-eong began to move.

“An entire recon squad was wiped out?”

“Yes. Even the ships disappeared without a trace.”

“Who would dare touch the Blacktree Pirates? Is it the ones who attacked the anchorage?”

“It must be the Derrael lot.”

“Weren’t their Dimension Ships lost just a while ago?”

“Yes.”

Natasha played with her long ears as she looked out the window.

Thousands of ships were moored in the harbor, and in the center of the dimension stood a giant tree.

That tree was the Spirit Tree, stolen from her own family.

Natasha was originally the eldest son of the famous Derrael family among the elves.

But he had failed to become a High Elf, so he had to hand over the head of the family to his younger sister.

High Elves were elves who had contracted with the spirit of life and were extremely important in elven society.

Only they could nurture the Spirit Tree, which was home to the spirits.

The Spirit Tree allowed elves to form deep bonds with spirits, forming the foundation of the Spirit Civilization.

Unable to become head of the family, Natasha stole the Spirit Tree and ran away.

The Derrael family, having lost such an important tree, fell into decline.

They tried threatening and begging Natasha, but it was no use.

Natasha simply raised a toast to their downfall.

“Their last desperate struggle before getting kicked out by the Great Council.”

The Great Council of elves was an organization similar to the UN on Earth.

Its power, however, was even greater, with real military might, so it functioned as the elven world government.

“Gather everyone here. If they’re elves, they’ll be after the Spirit Tree anyway.”

“Yes, Admiral.”

Thanks to Natasha’s decision, the Blacktree Pirates retreated instead of intercepting the Apocalid.

Because of that, Choi Kangjoong’s Apocalid could multiply even more smoothly.

“Such futile resistance. When the Devil of Devouring awakens, even the Spirit Tree will disappear.”

Natasha gazed into the heart of the abyssal Kraken Sea.

There, the Devil of Devouring that once tried to consume everything in ancient times lay sleeping.

And at that moment, the Derrael family’s Dimension Ship had just entered the Kraken Sea.

Kwarreung!

A mana thunderbolt struck Ku-eong’s back.

A natural force that could split a mighty tree simply rolled off the thick chitin armor.

Even the Apocalids sleeping in Ku-eong’s belly were unaffected.

Only the Skyeye Giants were keeping watch from Ku-eong’s forehead and under his chin.

“Isn’t there any suitable dimension?”

On the way, there had been a small dimension, but nothing lived there, so he’d passed it by.

He could just send a Walker to absorb it later.

“There’s one over there.”

A medium-sized dimension appeared in the Skyeye Giant’s sight.

It was divided into five sections, and each section grew a different plant.

“A farm, huh. What are they growing?”

He sent Kai to investigate further.

It was a dimension where slaves were made to cultivate narcotics.

The entire dimension was lush with crops, making it look extremely appetizing.

A dimension like that might not offer many Evolution Points, but it was overflowing with nutrients.

“So that’s the largest drug farm in the Kraken Sea they talked about.”

Because they grew such valuable products, the place was heavily guarded.

The defenders were far stronger than the pirates at the anchorage.

Most were Spirit Masters or mages, and their Dimension Ships were tough as well.

If Ku-eong took attacks from all of them, even he wouldn’t come out unscathed.

But Choi Kangjoong wasn’t afraid.

Apocalids were both one and many as a species.

The Skyeye Giant floated above the drug farm dimension, identifying the locations of the mages and Spirit Masters.

“Ik! Ik!”

Those that couldn’t be seen from above, Kai found and marked their coordinates.

Ku-eong and the Cannon Giants finished their firing preparations.