“Rumble.”
An ominous noise began to echo from the Tower.
Just like in the United States, the Korea Hunter Association could predict the rank of the being emerging from the Tower by the waves emanating from it.
“A Rank 10 Monster…”
Sword Saint, Han Yu-ra, who had just received the news from the Association, muttered blankly.
Thanks to Vulcanus, their equipment level had risen to the point where they could barely face a rankn 9 Monster.
And now, a Rank 10 Monster had appeared.
Sword Saint’s mind raced.
‘To hunt a Rank 8 Monster, it took dozens of lower grade Hunters, and to hunt a Rank 9 Monster, dozens of S-Grade Hunters were needed.’
No, not just dozens.
Back when the first Rank 9 Monster appeared, Korea could barely defeat it only by mobilizing the entire strength of the Five Great Guilds, including Sword Saint herself.
At that time, just the number of Hunters mobilized for the Rank 9 Monster raid numbered in the hundreds.
But what about a Rank 10 Monster?
‘It’s dangerous.’
The odds were far too slim.
Although all of Korea’s strongest were gathered here and hundreds or even thousands of Korean Hunters were assembled as well, even if their ranks were low, it still wasn’t enough.
Lower-ranked Hunters simply weren’t of much help when facing high-ranked Monsters.
At best, they could serve as meat shields or bait.
Objectively, it was impossible to face a Rank 10 Monster with their current forces.
‘There’s no running away.’
This was the heart of Seoul.
Hunters had bodies far surpassing normal humans and might somehow escape, but ordinary civilians were different.
Seoul’s population density was among the highest in the world, and if they fled and left a Rank 10 Monster behind, countless people would surely lose their lives.
They couldn’t bravely step forward, nor could they retreat and hope for another day.
In such a situation—
“Ku ku ku ku ku—.”
From the Tower, the Rank 10 Monster began to show itself.
The first thing to catch the eye was its gigantic size.
Sword Saint had faced countless huge Monsters before, but even she had rarely seen a Monster so large.
Next, she noticed the ‘heads’ embedded all over its body.
Knees, elbows, flanks, and so on.
Other heads of different shapes were stuck into its body here and there.
One arm was grotesquely large, while the other side had two small arms attached that looked out of proportion to the massive body.
In addition, there were hideous wounds, eyes and mouths grown in the wrong places, and other deformities.
The Monster’s appearance was so bizarre, it looked as if it had rotted in hell.
“At last, is it finally my turn?”
The Monster, now fully revealed, roared.
Its hair blazed as if on fire, its bloodshot eyes were bright red.
From its mouth burst a savage voice that drove all but the strongest Hunters into terror.
It didn’t take long for the Rank 10 Monster’s identity to become clear.
[Dokkaebi King]
It was the Dokkaebi King.
A legendary Korean great demon, one anyone would have heard of at least once.
Also known as Dueoksin (é 抑神) or Dueloksin (斗億神), a demigod-like being.
The king of all dokkaebi, and—according to ancient texts—an existence said to be beyond human comprehension or resistance.
Such a Dokkaebi King had now appeared to the world as a Rank 10 Monster.
‘My turn at last?’ Sword Saint felt doubt at the words spoken by the Dokkaebi King.
She didn’t understand, but could it be that this was the last Monster to appear in the world?
Thinking that gave her a strange strength.
It would be difficult, but if by defeating this Monster, all these cursed Monsters would vanish, if no more Monsters ever appeared in the world, then it was worth the challenge.
“Form up for the raid! From this moment, we begin the Dokkaebi King Raid!” At Sword Saint’s command, the Hunters began to move in perfect coordination.
Among them were many powerful rankers, including Cheon Seung-heon, Guildmaster of Changcheon Guild, and Cheongryong, Guildmaster of Mir Guild, but none defied Sword Saint’s orders.
Everyone understood.
If they left this monster alone, the worst would come to pass.
“First, we’ll analyze its abilities and patterns as we hold the line!”
Analyzing a Monster’s abilities and attack patterns.
That was always the first step when facing an unknown Monster.
Though there was no detailed explanation, all the Hunters and Giant Guild members here nodded as one.
Every Hunter present was a top-tier ranker who had experienced raids before.
They all knew the order of a raid perfectly.
“We’ll establish the defensive formation first!”
The most basic method for figuring out an enemy’s pattern was to form a defensive line.
Hunters with shields rushed forward and built a formation in an orderly fashion.
Whether they were from the Hunter Association, Changcheon Guild, Mir Guild, Vulcanus Guild, or any other, regardless of affiliation, before the immense threat of a Rank 10 Monster, they moved as one.
And above, the Rank 10 Monster, Dokkaebi King, looked down at the formation with a sneer.
“Pathetic. Even a lowly creature should instinctively sense that this cannot be stopped. Ku ku ku.”
“Defensive stance!”
While the defensive formation made up of tankers readied their positions, the Dokkaebi King moved its massive right arm.
It looked as if it would swing it right away, but it did not.
Instead, the Dokkaebi King suddenly plunged its right arm into the ground.
Without any particular resistance, the arm sank deep into the ground, and when it was pulled out again—
“I’ll crush your heads.”
A gigantic club was in its hand.
It was gray like stone, and dozens of thick spikes jutted from its surface.
No, the spikes weren’t the important part now.
The sheer size of the club.
Just by its size, everyone could imagine how powerful a blow from it would be.
The formation held their shields tightly, suppressing the urge to run away.
And then—
“KWAANG—!!!”
The Dokkaebi King’s club swung down.
A tremendous shock.
The ground caved in, and a gust of force swept out like a hurricane.
Every Hunter in the defensive line was ranked within the top thousand in Korea, but most of them couldn’t even properly withstand a single attack.
“Gah!”
Hunters, bleeding and flying through the air, clutching dented shields.
Yet, as befit their strength, they managed to endure the attack by using defensive skills.
But half of the defensive line collapsed just to block that one blow.
“Your heads are tougher than expected. Then try blocking this as well.”
The Dokkaebi King’s left arm.
Unlike the overly large right arm, the two small arms on the left reached out, summoning darkness before them.
Two rapidly formed spheres of darkness spun and shot toward the formation.
“KWAANG!!”
“Urgh!”
“Damn it, how are we supposed to block this…!”
The defensive line shattered.
Those dark spheres seemed to contain some mysterious power.
But there was nothing special about them—no unique power of darkness.
Just raw physical force.
It was as if two giant boulders had been hurled at them, crashing down with immense impact.
Or perhaps, to be precise, a force using attraction and repulsion?
The defensive line, unable to withstand that force, completely broke apart.
But even with the formation shattered, one figure remained standing.
It wasn’t a Hunter.
It was a Living Armor made only of armor and a shield.
Holding a Tower Shield clearly imprinted with the Vulcanus Mark.
Lately called a soldier of Vulcanus, it was Vulcanus’s assistant.
“Is that mindless thing truly withstanding my attacks?” The Dokkaebi King’s tone was arrogant.
Yet, a smile formed on his face.
He then hefted his club in his right hand with all his might.
This wasn’t all.
He raised the two short left arms and gripped the right arm.
Black energy surged from the left arms, flowing into the club.
“CRACKLE!”
The black energy spread like electricity over the club.
It dyed the entire club black, the spikes growing longer and sharper as the dark power accumulated.
“Let’s see you block this as well.”
“WHOOM!”
The Dokkaebi King’s club crashed down.
With a force that could split the world in two.
No matter how skilled the tanker, if such an attack fell from above, blotting out the sky, they couldn’t help but tremble in fear.
The sense of overwhelming menace in the Dokkaebi King’s attacks was that intense.
But—
Even so, the figure beneath him held up the shield unwaveringly.
Combat 5 did not retreat a single step.
“CLACK.”
According to Vulcanus’s instructions, it blocked the enemy’s attack.
That was all.
“KWAANG—!!”
The Dokkaebi King’s club struck Combat 5’s shield.
The difference in size was overwhelming.
Hunters thought Combat 5’s body would be smashed to pieces instantly.
“RUMBLE—”
But the barrier from Combat 5’s shield blocked the Dokkaebi King’s attack.
Of course, it couldn’t block it perfectly.
The barrier shattered, the shield broke in half, and Combat 5’s body was hurled back.
The Dokkaebi King’s lips curled in displeasure at the idea that a mere mindless thing could withstand his attack.
However, as Combat 5 flew back, it pointed its broken shield at the Dokkaebi King.
It was an L-Grade shield made by Vulcanus, the Mass Exterior.
As an L-Grade item, the Mass Exterior possessed a variety of abilities, and it was thanks to these abilities that it had managed to block the Dokkaebi King’s attacks so far.
But among them, the ability shining brightest at this moment was—
[Backflow]
This was it.
When the accumulated damage on the shield’s surface reached a certain threshold, the damage would backflow and strike the enemy.
Accordingly—
“KWA-AAAANG!”
The accumulated damage, enough to break an L-Grade shield, exploded and backflowed at the Dokkaebi King.
Bubbling acid poured over the Dokkaebi King’s body.
The Dokkaebi King’s brow twisted.
The damage, returned in full from his own attacks, was greater than expected.
The bubbling acid melted the Dokkaebi King’s skin.
The skin, which had seemed as tough as gold ore, was softened by the acid.
Sword Saint, the commander of this battle, did not miss her chance.
“Attack!”
The Hunters charged at the Dokkaebi King.
“It appears to be a monster in physical form that wields weapons! It seems to use a darkness attribute power based on attraction and repulsion, which is also physical in nature.”
“If your physical defense is low or you’re not confident in dodging, fall back!”
“From here on, we’ll try to identify its elemental weaknesses!”
“Mir Guild, can you assist?”
“We’re ready. The mages are grouped by attribute, just give us time and we’ll strike the designated target areas right away.”
Their opponent was a Rank 10 Monster.
An overwhelmingly powerful Monster, but the Hunters gathered here were Korea’s best.
“Do you all wish for your skulls to be crushed?”
The raid to hunt the Rank 10 Monster, Dokkaebi King, had begun.