DB Vol 2 Part 7

This team was originally the Head team responsible for reconnaissance, so Yoo Geon-young was the only proper offensive Esper. How could they handle the incoming monsters? As Park Woo-rim, the youngest, was about to take a step back, he heard Yoo Geon-young’s voice.

“Park Woo-rim. Move towards them, confirm the exact number, and come back. Ki-hyun, put Il-hae behind you and prepare to put up a shield. Il-hae, get ready and when I say so, create an illusion to make the monsters stop.”

At the urgent command, the frozen members began to move. First, Park Woo-rim, who could teleport short distances, disappeared. Ki-hyun pushed Il-hae behind him and assessed the terrain. Il-hae gripped a long sword tightly and closely followed Ki-hyun.

Yoo Geon-young stepped forward and turned on the communicator, but the static was too loud for proper conversation. Occasionally, mega monsters, which were much larger than regular monsters appear on the farm. The problem with these creatures is that they possess special powers, like Espers.

One of the known abilities of mega monsters was communication interference. In other words, it meant a mega monster was here now.

“T-team leader… The communication isn’t working.”

Ki-hyun reported in a trembling voice. Yoo Geon-young didn’t want to scare him more, as he was already frozen with fear, but there was no point in hiding it in this situation. Instead, he responded as casually as possible.

“So what? Looks like there’s a mega monster.”

“…”

“Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve seen a mega Monster.”

Yoo Geon-young intentionally smiled and took a step forward. It was just one step, but his tense legs moved stiffly. However, he couldn’t show signs of tension. Even when Park Woo-rim appeared with rough breathing and reported in a trembling voice.

“It’s not five… There are more than ten. They’re coming this way. Team leader, what do we do?”

“What do we do? Park Woo-rim, draw your sword. Everyone knows the monsters’ only weakness, right?”

Yoo Geon-young felt the ground rumbling even more intensely, as if there was an earthquake, and concentrated power in both hands. Monsters had hard exoskeletons like insects. It was like armor that even bullets couldn’t penetrate.

However, the exoskeleton below the neck was scale-like, allowing a sword to penetrate between the scales. Even if it wasn’t a fatal blow, the monster’s movements would noticeably slow down if it was stabbed there. Yoo Geon-young turned around as if to confirm and shouted at Park Woo-rim, who was standing awkwardly.

“Shit, are you not holding your sword properly?! You’re the only one who can keep up with the monsters’ speed, get it together!”

As Park Woo-rim gripped his sword tightly, Ki-hyun alerted,

“They’re coming!”

No sooner had he finished speaking than several monsters charged towards them, like a giant wall appearing before their eyes. Simultaneously, Yoo Geon-young tilted his head to the side and stretched out his hand.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

With loud sounds of air exploding, condensed air began bursting like bombs in front of the monsters. Everyone was terrified, but their bodies automatically took familiar actions. Il-hae spread illusions in front of the monsters to stop them, and Yoo Geon-young ran towards the halted monsters.

No matter how much energy was condensed and exploded like bombs around the monster, it was useless. The most effective method was to place a hand on the monster’s body and explode power from within. Yoo Geon-young leaped onto the nearest monster and immediately placed his hand on its body.

“Die, you bastard!”

Thwack!

With the sound of something bursting inside the monster, it convulsed violently. Yoo Geon-young’s body fell quickly to the ground, but Ki-hyun habitually protected him by supporting his body with a shield. Meanwhile, Woo-rim teleported below another monster’s neck, attempting to stab it with his sword.

But the monster was faster. It swung its sickle-like foreleg towards Woo-rim. Terrified, Woo-rim disappeared, fleeing and dropping his sword. This caused the sword to fall to the ground, making the monster thrash about more violently.

Boom! Crash!

Debris from trees knocked down by the monsters rained down on the Espers.

“Park Woo-rim, get it together!”

Yoo Geon-young got up and randomly threw energy bombs at the other monsters struggling in the illusions. The illusions would hold them for a while, but not for long. They needed to kill at least one more before then. Just as Yoo Geon-young was about to climb onto another one, Il-hae shouted,

“The monsters have noticed the illusion! We need to move!”

Yoo Geon-young placed his hand on the monster’s body, trying to burst its insides again, but the monster vanished instantly. This caused him to fall and roll on the ground. At the same time, the monster’s saw-like foreleg came down towards Yoo Geon-young’s head. Just before his body could be pierced by the saw, Bang! It hit a shield. Yoo Geon-young rolled on the ground, got up, and frantically retreated.

“Seven o’clock direction! Spread the illusion again and cover me with a shield!”

‘Weeeeeeoooo―’

The incessant alarm sounding outside the farm was deafeningly loud. The voices of the security guards shouting amidst it were drowned out by another explosion, making it difficult for the two Guides to hear clearly.

“Hurry and detonate the bombs under the fence!!!!”

“But ordinary worker civilians are still gathered near the fence! They might be harmed…”

“You bastard!! Just detonate it!!”

As the security chief’s subordinate was about to run at his shout, another subordinate came running from that direction to deliver news.

“The monsters have crossed the fence!”

The security chief froze, turning pale. The two Guides nearby, Dae-young and Jang-seon, had similar reactions. So many monsters awakening… Once or twice a year, such major incidents occur, but usually, the Center sends enough offensive Espers to prevent monsters from escaping the farm.

What should they do? Should they run? But if they abandoned the Espers and ran, they would be expelled not only from the Guide Center but also from the Guide Association.

“Hyung, what do we do?”

“What can we do… We have to hold out here, whether we hide or die.”

At those words, Jang-seon looked around for a hiding place, but there was no hope in his eyes. Monsters can detect the vitality of living beings. No matter how deep underground or high up in a building you hide, they uncannily track them down, stabbing and cutting with their sickle-like forelegs before chewing on the bones.

Monsters only want the bones, so when caught by a monster, whether human or animal, the flesh is torn apart, leaving only debris. Jang-seon’s legs gave out, and he collapsed. Suddenly, he thought of a useless Guide from their team.

“W-what about Ji Won-woo?”

“I don’t know. He probably hid by himself. Or he’s dead. Do we look like we have time to worry about that guy?”

“W-where do we hide?”

Dae-young, at a loss for words, pressed his lips together before finally moving.

“Get up. We can’t leave here anyway, so let’s retreat as far back as possible and…”

At that moment, the security chief’s loud voice caught their attention.

“What? The monsters went back into the farm, leaving the civilians alone?”

“Yes. That’s why… that’s why I was able to make it here alive.”

The security guard reported unbelievably with a dazed expression.

“Everyone was hiding in the small outpost outside the fence. Because the monsters awakened inside the fence, there wasn’t enough time to escape… We thought we were dead, but then someone looking out the window said the monsters were going back. They had clearly broken through the fence earlier. So I looked outside too, and it was true. Even the enormously large mega monster.”

“A mega monster? So that’s why the communications… But why did it go back?”

“I don’t know either,” the security guard answered and muttered in a daze.

“But, there was someone. It seemed like there was a person in front of the monsters…”

“Who? An Esper?”

The security guard shook his head.

“I’m not sure. Their face was covered with a hood, and they were just wearing black clothes…”

The security chief ignored his words and turned away. Even Espers couldn’t block and turn back a group of monsters that included a mega monster. Maybe if there was an S-rank Esper, but the highest-ranked Esper here was the A-rank Hong Seung-wook. So his subordinate must have seen wrong. Concluding this, the security chief hurriedly took his subordinates outside.

“Everyone grab a sword and follow me! We need to stop any monsters from leaving the farm!”

Although they hadn’t been fighting the monsters for long, the members of Head Team 3 were as out of breath as if they’d been running for hours. With each attack, the creatures began to see through the illusions more quickly.

When the monsters broke free from the illusions, there was no choice but to engage them directly. The problem was that only Yoo Geon-young and Woo-rim were proper attackers in the team. However, Yoo Geon-young’s attacks were only effective when he got close to the monsters, and Woo-rim was too scared to fight properly.

So despite rolling and jumping around until they tasted blood in their mouths, they had only managed to eliminate three monsters so far.

“Huk!”

Suddenly, a monster appeared as if dropping onto Ki-hyun’s head as he was continuously protecting Yoo Geon-young with his shield. Because he was using his shield to protect Yoo Geon-young, the shield protecting himself was weak, causing it to shatter like a watermelon when hit by the monster’s swinging foreleg. The tip of that saw-like limb finally reached Ki-hyun.

“Kugh…”

Ki-hyun groaned and rolled on the ground. Il-hae, who was in the same shield, urgently spread an illusion upon seeing the monster appear right in front of him. While the monster stopped moving, disoriented by the illusion, he quickly pulled Ki-hyun’s body away.

And when he saw the blood, wet enough to dampen his hands, he barely swallowed a curse. The flesh was torn from shoulder to back. Il-hae hurriedly took out an emergency bandage from his bag but couldn’t treat his colleague. Despite their enormous size, monsters only made a hissing wind sound when attacking. And now that sound was coming from behind him.

Whoosh―

Another monster was close by. An icy chill ran down his spine. Illusion, I need to hide with an illusion. His head commanded this, but his body wouldn’t move properly. Il-hae just blankly stared at the chaotic scene before him.

Team leader Yoo Geon-young was clinging to a monster, his muscles bulging with effort. He was dEsperately trying to place his palm on the monster’s body to burst its insides.

The timid Woo-rim was busy just avoiding monster attacks with his teleportation. This brief moment felt like a slow-motion video. As if the body, sensing death, was trying to remember the last moments of life.

Whoosh―

A long breath was heard right above his head. It was the moment he thought it was over and took a breath. Someone’s shout struck Il-hae’s ears.

“Get down!!!”

Il-hae moved instinctively, without time to think. Simultaneously, something flew quickly over Il-hae’s back and lodged into the body of the monster that was about to pounce on him.

‘Kreuawk!’

With a chilling scream like boiling lava, the ground shook with a gurgling sound. Il-hae turned in surprise to look at the fallen monster. A long sword was stuck between the scales below the monster’s neck. But how?

The monster must have been lowering its head to attack him. No, monsters never tilt their necks up to protect that one weak spot. So how did the sword that flew over his back get stuck there? Il-hae’s question disappeared as someone descended as if falling from the sky.

“You fucking insect bastards dare, shit.”

Seona spat out curses as she stretched out her hand, and the sword stuck below the monster’s neck pulled out and stuck to her hand as if being sucked in. Il-hae stared up at her blankly, not even noticing his hair blowing in the wind, at this seemingly magical sight.

“Don’t move.”

Seona commanded without even looking at him and then leaped up. Strangely, she jumped up as if there were invisible stairs in the air. Then she sneered at a monster that appeared as if teleporting in mid-air.

“Jump and fly all you want, you fucking insect. I can find you all because of your stench! Your smell is so damn strong, shit!”

Seona flung herself up, stepping on the monster’s head to jump even higher. The monster that had been flying through the air landed on the ground when its path was blocked by Seona, but its 10 eyes on its face were fixed on her.

This was the moment Seona had been aiming for. While the monster’s attention was focused on her, she threw her sword as if she had been waiting for this. Il-hae could now understand why the monster attacking him had died instantly. Seona’s sword curved in mid-air as if it had a will of its own, accurately penetrating the narrow gap below the monster’s neck.

The monster twisted in agony and let out another chilling scream. Il-hae witnessed the scene with bated breath. A sword that bends at will, a body that leaps through the air as if on stairs. It’s the wind! Seona was jumping around in the air using the wind as if it were her home. And she was using powerful wind currents to accurately lodge her sword exactly where she wanted.

Although he had resigned himself to death, seeing her rampaging like a wolf among sheep made him catch his breath. We can survive. That wind Esper can eliminate all the monsters. He was speechless at her unbelievable skill, but suddenly a question arose.

‘Isn’t Han Seona a B-rank Esper?’

Moreover, she was always at risk of rampage because she didn’t have a matching Guide. Yet now she was demonstrating tremendous prowess, stomping on monsters as if killing bugs, seemingly unleashing her full ability. What if she goes rampage while doing this?

Contrary to Il-hae’s concerns, Seona was utilizing her wind attribute to its fullest, like a fish in water. Not only was she running through the air riding the wind, but she was also using wind to lodge her sword where she wanted, and when she didn’t have a sword, she shattered monster trees and showered sharp fragments like flying knives.

Furthermore, she could even detect the monsters’ scent with the wind. So even when they disappeared, she could find their location and chase after them swiftly. Han Seona was clearly demonstrating why natural ability users are inevitably competent.

After instantly taking down five monsters, she landed on the ground and retrieved her swords with a clap in each hand. Then without time to breathe, she leaped into the air again.

Il-hae realized that his earlier worry about her going rampage was unfounded. If she were going rampage, her face would have been contorted with terrible pain. But Han Seona was smiling. In fact, her state was just a hair’s breadth away from overloading, almost identical. Eyes sparkling with joy, a grin showing her teeth. She was now exhibiting an unapproachable madness.

“Ahahahaha! You ugly cockroach bastards! Move faster! You fuckers!”