DPGR 150

The espers, sensing they couldn’t avoid the monster’s gaze, lit flames across the area.

It was a battle they would have to face anyway, so it was best to eliminate unnecessary variables. Thanks to that, they were finally able to see the monster’s form more clearly, no longer hidden in darkness.

Grrrrrr

From the creature’s gaping mouth spilled dark red blood, along with chunks of flesh and fragments of bone.

Its howl was enough to rupture eardrums. Even Dojin grimaced and covered one ear at the deafening noise.

He glanced behind him. The guides, who were no different from ordinary civilians, were clutching their ears in agony.

“Ugh…!”

“Aagh!”

Those in the front rows near the barrier walls were bleeding from their ears, as if their eardrums had been torn.

Even inside the layered defensive barriers, the roar seemed to penetrate. Dojin worried for Jiho but had no time to go looking.

‘Damn…’

He swallowed a deep breath and glared at the monster.

Grrr

‘What the hell is that thing…?’

The creature’s appearance was truly bizarre. Its entire body seemed to be made of natural elements, stone, trees, vines. Thick layers of snow clung to it like armor.

‘A stone golem, maybe?’

On its back was what everyone had mistaken for a mountain, now revealed to be a giant turtle-like shell. Its limbs were lined with jagged horns that looked like ice.

‘So that’s how it was hiding such a massive body…’

It must have curled up and disguised itself as part of the terrain.

Grrrrr

The monster roared again. Just then, Dojin noticed dark red energy gathering in its open mouth. He was about to warn the others–

BOOM!!

The energy blasted out from the monster’s mouth in an instant. But it wasn’t aimed at the people or the monsters.

It targeted the surrounding mountains.

Crash! Rumble!

The mountains shattered under the impact of the blast.

Chunks of the exploded peaks, massive boulders, hurtled toward them like artillery shells.

“Aaagh!”

“Scatter! Take cover!”

Most reacted quickly and dodged, but a few espers were caught off guard.

They were tough enough not to be killed outright, but the damage was significant.

‘Jiho, where’s Guide Jiho…!’

Dojin quickly checked the Safe Zone.

Some of the outer barriers had broken, but the inner layers were still holding. The Safe Zone itself was intact.

However, the defensive-type espers maintaining those barriers were coughing up blood and collapsing from the strain.

They had survived this time, but what about the next? How many more attacks could they withstand?

‘If that thing decides to attack the Safe Zone directly…’

That black-red energy would be too much for the barriers. If that happened, everyone inside would be wiped out.

‘No…!’

Dojin clenched his jaw and turned back to the monster. The veins on the back of his hand bulged as he gripped his spear.

Should he attack now?

As he ran through the possibilities in his mind, the monster, unable to wait any longer, grabbed another monster and stuffed it into its mouth.

Crunch– Crack– Rip

Even from a distance, it felt like he could hear the grotesque sounds of chewing echoing from the monster’s jaws.

Dark red liquid dripped down its chin as it bit down. Dojin saw one of the icy horns on its arm sprout a little longer as it swallowed.

As expected. The hypothesis that it evolved by consuming other monsters was correct.

‘That attack earlier… it might’ve gained that ability from feeding.’

Ordinary golems didn’t possess ranged energy attacks like that.

If this creature was an evolved version of a stone golem, the ability it just used likely came from its evolution.

‘We can’t afford to waste any more time.’

Dojin narrowed his eyes. No matter what, they had to take that thing down tonight.

“Strike Team One! Lure the boss monster away!”

Dojin judged they needed to draw the creature far from the Safe Zone to fight it. With the people they had to protect right next to them, the espers couldn’t use their powers freely.

“Huh? Wait… Lure it–oh!”

The other espers quickly understood Dojin’s command. The strike teams moved into formation. Dojin dashed forward, leading from the front.

To get the monster’s attention, he used his fire ability to strike at one of its feet.

Boom!

A blast erupted from the monster’s knee. But all it did was melt some of the snow covering its body, the monster itself was unscathed.

Chunks of snow and ice broke off, but no real damage had been done.

‘Tch. Freakishly sturdy thing.’

Dojin clicked his tongue in frustration. Still, at least it worked in drawing the monster’s attention.

Grrrr.

The monster slowly turned its massive head toward Dojin. Their eyes met. He felt the chill of its killing intent and picked up speed.

“Keep your distance from me!”

Right now, the monster was only focused on Dojin. At his shout, the espers following close behind stopped and widened the gap.

They followed the command, but their expressions showed they still didn’t understand why Dojin had made such a reckless call.

But it didn’t matter. Dojin saw the monster inhale deeply again and let out a breath of relief.

As black-red energy gathered in the monster’s mouth once more, the espers finally realized what Dojin was doing.

“Esper Baek Dojin!”

“It’s too dangerous!”

Voices shouted behind him, but Dojin didn’t stop. He had to get as far away as possible from both the Safe Zone and the others.

The monster locked its eyes on Dojin and gathered energy.

Then, it unleashed it.

Grrrr

When the black-red beam shot down toward Dojin, people gasped in horror.

But Dojin had already predicted the monster’s move. Without hesitation, he unleashed his shadow manipulation and cloaked himself in darkness.

A wide wall of shadow unfurled between him and the monster.

It wasn’t true darkness, it was only a mimic made of shadow. Naturally, it lacked the durability of an actual dark barrier.

But being made of shadow gave it one advantage: flexibility. And the moment the monster’s attack struck the barrier.

BOOM!

With a thunderous explosion, the barrier bent, then sprang back to shape. Its elasticity reflected part of the attack back toward the monster.

Grrrrr

The redirected energy struck the monster’s face. It recoiled slightly, shaking its head and arm in a sluggish motion.

“…Just as I thought.”

Dojin observed it carefully, taking in every detail.

He’d wondered whether the creature was moving slowly on purpose, but now it was clear, its sluggishness came simply from its massive size.

‘Maybe… we have a real shot at this.’

Hope began to stir in him. Dojin allowed a faint smile to form.

“……!”

The monster suddenly hunched over, then scooped up the monsters running beneath it with a sweeping motion.

Was it going to eat them?

To stop it, Dojin hurled flames directly into its mouth. They exploded inside, causing a blast that destroyed part of its jaw.

“Yes…!”

But in the next instant, Dojin realized he was wrong.

The monster didn’t care that its mouth had exploded. Instead of eating the monsters it had grabbed, it began hurling them in all directions.

GRRUK, GRRURUK

CRASH! BOOM! THUD!

Monsters rained from the sky. Dojin tried to raise another shadow barrier, but there wasn’t enough time to shield the Safe Zone too.

BOOM!

A loud noise rang out from the direction of the Safe Zone. Dojin had no time to check, it was already moving again.

“Where do you think you’re going–!”

He crouched, preparing to intercept the monster. But before he could, a monster that had fallen nearby lunged at him, blocking his view.

“Urgh…!”

He slashed with his spear, unleashing flame, and at the same time, used telekinesis to launch himself into the air to dodge another attack.

Suspended in midair, Dojin’s eyes instinctively turned to the Safe Zone.

It was half-destroyed.

Some of the defensive espers had collapsed, unconscious. Others were struggling to form new barriers.

Through the shattered outer shield, monsters were beginning to crawl inside.

Inside the Safe Zone, the escort team espers were in disarray, evacuating the guides and resisting the invading monsters as best they could.

‘How bad is it? Are there injuries? Are the guides safe? Jiho?’

A thousand thoughts raced through Dojin’s mind. Not knowing the extent of the damage filled him with dread.

It felt like his heart had risen to his head, pounding so hard it threatened to shake apart his reason.

‘No. Focus on the monster right now.’

He swallowed hard and turned back toward the creature.

And what he saw made his eyes widen.

“……!”

The monster was not looking at him.

Its gaze was fixed on the Safe Zone, where Dojin had just looked.

Its massive mouth curled open, stretching unnaturally wide.

It looked like it was smiling.

‘Smiling…?’

The monster, how could it…?

Suddenly, a voice. Neither clearly male nor female, rang out inside his head, striking him like a bolt to the brain.

—I’ve found it.

It was the same sensation he’d felt when facing a god.

—So that’s it. Your weakness.

Thud

The monster shifted direction and began to move.

Toward the Safe Zone.