DPGR 154

Grrrrraaaah!

The monster, enraged at being interrupted mid-feast, let out a furious roar. At first, the humans’ interference had been merely annoying, but now it was starting to genuinely infuriate it.

As the monster grew more violent in its resistance, it was the humans who began to shed blood.

“Aaaagh!”

“Just a little longer!”

“Hold the line, hold–!”

The espers were being torn apart, quite literally. Bodies were strewn all over the ground at their feet. Most were monsters, but there were plenty of esper corpses among them too.

Comrades who had been fighting beside them only moments ago were now lying dead on the floor. And with no word from Dojin since the last transmission, their anxiety only worsened. Morale inevitably plummeted.

“Ugh, aaaaaah!”

Some espers, witnessing a teammate’s head torn off right next to them, fled in panic. Others, dazed, gave up on attacking or defending and were killed where they stood.

The entire area was soaked in blood, a hellscape in every sense.

“Jihye! Watch your left!”

“You watch yours!”

Kijoon and Jihye were no exception to the chaos. Covered in blood, they fought desperately, recalling the contents of the last transmission and continuing to aim for the monster.

All the while, they strained to catch any further updates on Dojin’s status. They too had seen him get struck and hurled toward the rocks. The transmission had at least confirmed he was alive, but whether he was still okay, they couldn’t be sure.

‘What’s happening to him…?’

They wanted to rush over to check on him, but there was no time to spare.

Luckily, before either of them could even think about fleeing, a familiar figure appeared in the air.

It was Dojin, the one they had so desperately hoped was safe.

“Captain!”

“Captain Baek!”

Jihye and Kijoon’s faces lit up in an instant.

Even from a distance, Dojin looked like he had been through a lot, but the fact that he was returning from the direction of the safe zone meant he must’ve received guiding.

“We’re good now! You’re dead meat!”

Jihye grinned and threw a punch at the air in the monster’s direction. Kijoon laughed and charged forward with renewed strength.

“Hey! Let’s go help him!”

“Yeah!”

The two of them advanced toward the monster to support Dojin. For once, the two were in perfect sync.

Meanwhile, as Dojin rose to the monster’s eye level, it bared its teeth and growled. Its strange voice echoed in his mind.

—What is your plan?

“To kill you and survive.”

—You insects think you can defeat me?

“That’s what I intend. And when I put my mind to something, I see it through. Nothing’s impossible.”

—You arrogant…!

Dojin stopped listening. He darted through the air, fast and fluid. Since his final goal was going berserk, there was no need to conserve energy.

The monster, flustered by his faster movements, scoffed.

—You think cheap tricks will stop me? Foolish huma–

Boom!

Dojin fired a bullet directly into the monster’s eye. Then it exploded. Before the creature could even process what was happening, more bullets followed.

Bang! Bang! Boom!

Grrraaaaah!

He focused his attack on the monster’s face. It swung its arm at him, but Dojin always stayed just out of reach. He even watched closely to gauge how much damage he was dealing with each blast.

Eventually, the monster couldn’t hold back and lowered itself. After all, there was no rule saying it had to eat monsters with its hands.

The monster hunched over and began devouring whatever was on the ground, living monsters, esper corpses, and fallen monsters all mixed together, swallowed indiscriminately.

Crunch–snap–crack

With hideous noises came the screams of both monsters and humans. Dojin clenched his teeth, grimacing. He wanted to save those espers right away, but he couldn’t.

“St-stop it! Aaaagh!”

“Don’t let it feed! Attack!”

He saw the surviving espers charging the monster with terrified faces.

Lowering his altitude slightly, Dojin shouted.

“Don’t stop it–run! Fall back now!”

“F-fall back?”

“Retreat! Run full speed–!”

Veins bulged in his neck as he screamed. It was so noisy that he wasn’t sure the message would carry.

Fortunately, the espers closest to him repeated his command and pulled back. Those further back heard the chorus and followed suit.

“Aaaaah!”

“Retreat! Fall back!”

During that time, the monster fed freely, absorbing monsters’ cores without interruption.

Hearing the sickening sounds of chewing, Dojin tightened his grip on his gun.

‘As I thought, fire blasts alone can’t shatter its jaw.’

He had just hit it several times in the face, but the damage wasn’t significant. Blowing its jaw off wasn’t feasible.

So, he had switched tactics, allowing the monster to keep feeding.

When it finally finished eating, it let out a long groan and straightened up. Dojin repositioned himself behind its head, out of its line of sight.

With the espers and Dojin no longer hindering it, the monster seemed satisfied. It sneered, thinking the pathetic humans had finally realized their place and fled.

That sneer told Dojin the monster wasn’t truly a servant of the gods. If it had been chosen by a god, things wouldn’t have gone so smoothly.

‘I really wonder what this thing actually is.’

For something so huge and powerful to show openings to humans, it was lucky for them.

Grrrrraaaah

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The monster began moving toward the safe zone. At the same time, it tilted its head back and inhaled deeply.

Even from behind, Dojin noticed the glowing lights and realized the monster was beginning to gather energy.

‘This is it.’

He suddenly revealed himself in front of the monster.

The creature, having assumed Dojin had fled with the rest of the espers, was caught off guard by his reappearance and froze.

Dojin didn’t miss the opening.

Bang!

Dojin fired his gun, aiming straight for the monster’s mouth, right at the center of the swirling energy.

Bang—bang—bang—bang—bang!

Five shots. As soon as he finished, Dojin pulled back and snapped his fingers.

KABOOM!

The explosion he triggered swallowed the monster’s energy whole. It was even more powerful than when he had deflected the monster’s attacks using shadows to create blasts.

“Ghh…!”

Even after retreating to maintain a safe distance, Dojin’s body was hurled backward by the sheer pressure of the shockwave. The espers below, who had been fleeing, were no different. They tumbled across the ground, crashing into one another.

Grrraaaaah!

Thud! Boom!

As the smoke slowly cleared from the explosion, something heavy could be seen falling from the monster’s face.

It was the monster’s jaw.

“……!”

Grrrrk–grrk–grraaaagh!

The monster growled, groping at its face with its hand. It seemed humiliated to be hit by the same tactic again.

Or maybe it wasn’t even capable of feeling shame, just pure rage.

Dojin quickly swapped magazines and launched himself at the monster. The shock from the explosion hadn’t just affected its jaw, the creature looked completely disoriented.

Seizing the chance, Dojin shot out its remaining eye, robbing it of sight.

Then, zipping through the air, he triggered explosions from all directions. Blinded and overwhelmed, the monster flailed, unable to track him.

Dojin didn’t miss his chance. He closed in again, this time to look inside its mouth.

Just as he suspected. Deep in the monster’s throat, a massive stone, black and red, was lodged.

‘There it is…’

He hovered for a moment in front of the creature’s mouth, taking a deep breath. That was when the pain finally caught up with him.

He had assumed the fading sounds were the aftermath of the explosion, but it was actually tinnitus from severe guiding deficiency.

His head throbbed like it would split open. His internal organs were screaming.

“Ugh…”

He swallowed down the blood rising in his throat. He couldn’t remember the last time guiding deficiency had hurt this much.

‘I miss Jiho already…’

Despite his pain-wracked, pale face and the cold sweat dripping from his brow, he let out a clear laugh. The situation was just perfect for an overload, and somehow that made it feel… good.

‘Maybe I’ve gone insane.’

He wanted to look back toward Jiho one last time. But he forced himself to keep his eyes on the monster, afraid that even a glimpse might soften his resolve.

By then, the monster, sensing something was off, had started to cover its mouth with its hand.

But even with its massive hand, it couldn’t completely conceal its ruined lower jaw.

Between its fingers, the gaps were just wide enough for a human to squeeze through.

—What… what are you planning?! You pitiful insects dare to…!

“Why? Does it feel unfair to you?”

—Unfair! Yes, it’s unfair! In a world abandoned by the gods, do you know how far I had to come?!

A world abandoned by the gods? Dojin’s eyebrow twitched slightly. Then, hearing the next words, he gave a faint smile.

—This can’t be the end! I refuse to let it end like this!

Exactly. This was the final turning point.

With that thought, Dojin whispered in a low voice,

“Looks like the kin you devoured decided to side with me.”

—What kind of nonsense is th–

“Perfect day to die, don’t you think?”

—…!

Dojin dashed toward the gap he’d been watching all along. The monster, realizing what was happening, tried to clasp its hands tighter, but Dojin’s body was already halfway inside its mouth.

Crunch

The monster’s hand crushed his thigh. The bone felt like it would shatter, but Dojin ignored the pain.

‘Goodbye, my guide… my…’

He drew out every last drop of mana still circulating near his heart.

KABOOM!!

His blood boiled. His eyes felt like they were about to pop out, and pain surged through his brain as if it were being cooked alive.

Just before everything went black, Dojin had one final thought, that his whole body was about to explode.

And then, an explosion like nothing ever seen before blew the monster’s head clean off.