Hunter Sena Party (1)
Slight gore present.
The incident with Hae-bin had finally wrapped up, and she was utterly broken—in the best way possible. Whether I was in my monster human form or my original one, she showered me with endless affection and craved mine in return. She offered up her ova to me at any moment, and she was always the one initiating our sessions together. Was it because she'd discovered pleasure so late and embraced it even later? Her sex drive was insatiable.
These days, even without any particular reason, I'd drop by the Hunter Association, chat with Hae-bin, and end up having sex. Today was no different—I'd met up with her, fucked, showered, and stepped out.
"Yong-jin."
"Yeah? What's up?"
"Are you thinking of joining a guild?"
"A guild? Nah, why bring that up out of nowhere?"
"I'm planning to leave the Hunter Association and start my own guild."
"Suddenly?"
"Yes. A guild with both magical girls and hunters."
"You can't just make a guild because you want to."
"You've got me, Yong-jin."
"...Me?"
I pointed at myself in confusion as Hae-bin gazed at me intently.
"What about me makes that possible?"
"The other comrades you mentioned before, besides me."
"Uh... yeah, they exist."
"They'd probably lose their minds wanting to join if we formed one."
"...Yeah, probably."
I thought about it for a second, and it was obvious—they'd join in a heartbeat.
"I'll handle everything anyway."
"For real?"
"And I have no intention of recruiting any men."
"That's a great idea. But what's the guild for?"
"For you, obviously, Yong-jin."
"Me?"
"Yes. You get stronger the more ova you consume. We'll bring in talented women."
"Sounds good."
And so, the guild was born, incorporating both magical girls and hunters from my circle. Naturally, Magical Girl Ea Na-hyun and Magical Girl Sano Chae-yeon signed on. Chae-rim was still attending Hunter Academy, so she couldn't join yet, and Woo-rim decided to stay at the Magical Girl Association for intel purposes.
Once the guild was official, things got noisy. Apparently, mixed magical girl and hunter guilds had existed in the early days but had all vanished as times changed. I didn't really get it. Forming a guild didn't change what I did. If anything, it made it easier to fuck the women who joined, so it was a win.
The guild master was former support magical girl Kang Hae-bin. Oh, right—her moniker was Lianna. Na-hyun and Chae-yeon had freaked out in awe and glued themselves to her when they heard. I'd have to check that out later.
With the big stuff settled, things returned to... not exactly peaceful routine. After everything with Hae-bin, I'd realized playing the monster human role was pretty fun. So, I decided to keep at it for a while.
"One minute to the target point!"
"Unni! I'm a B-rank hunter now too!"
Beep. She was just gonna nag anyway, so I hung up. Se-mi unni worried way too much. I'd just ranked up from C to B-rank. It wasn't a swarm of monster humans—just one. I could handle it solo.
The target point came into view, but the surroundings felt totally off. "Huh? What the hell is this?"
All the plants around the detected monster human spot were dyed pitch black. Just looking at them made my skin crawl with disgust. What was this? Some byproduct of the monster human?
I reached out to touch one of the blackened plants, and chills exploded through my entire body the instant my hand made contact. Danger. My instincts screamed it. I couldn't handle this alone. I had to tell unni right away.
"Krrrk."
The sound from behind made me whip around, and a massive fist filled my vision. I crossed my arms to block.
BOOM!!!
The impact hurled me backward. My blocking arms trembled. It hadn't fully absorbed the shock? Get it together, Choi Ji-ae—you're a B-rank hunter. Breathe. Think calmly. Analyze the monster human in front of you first.
Humanoid skeleton, almost like a person. Not a mutated body case. But those tentacles on its back—I had to watch them. No clue on its abilities yet. I'd probe bit by bit. Start with reconnaissance! Payback for that hit!
I closed in fast on the black monster human and loaded the energy I'd absorbed from its attack into my fist.
WHOOSH!! CRACK
"Huh?"
I was sure it'd been a direct hit. So why was my arm broken?
Pain surged in an instant. "Kyaaaaaaaak!"
Ignoring it, I leaped back to create distance and checked my arm. It was crushed—shattered bone poking out. My wrecked right arm wouldn't obey at all.
'Danger, danger, danger.'
Contact unni first. I fiddled with my earpiece using my good left arm.
Tap tap.
Se-mi unni picked up instantly, yelling in fury. But that could wait.
"Team Leader Lee Se-mi! One monster human, minimum A-rank danger! All black, humanoid type, abilities unknown! Nearby plants mutated black—"
Whew. Just hold out now. Se-mi unni was the best—judged the situation in seconds. Plus, my hunter gear was streaming my live view in real-time.
"Yes. No movement since the first attack on contact."
The black monster human just stood there, staring me down.
"Right arm broken, can't move it."
"Superhuman strength that overloads my shock absorption in one hit, and tough skin."
My right arm still throbbed with agony. Tears welled up from the pain, but I held them back. I wanted to run so bad, but I knew better—if I moved now, that black monster human would too. One mistake from here, and I'd really die.
Shooo!Pfft! Something whistled through the air, grazing my face.
I hadn't even registered it. By the time the sound hit, a tentacle had already smashed my real-time cam on my face.
With the cam gone, unni called out in worry. The tentacle that had whizzed past caressed my cheek, swish swish. In the eerie silence, the stroking sound was crystal clear. Terror shook my body. I wanted to live. Choi Ji-ae!!! Don't give up yet. Stand tall. If a hunter fears a monster human, that's the end. Overcome it and fight—or just die. Only one choice. If death's coming either way, I'll fight till the end.
I gripped the tentacle still stroking my cheek hard with my remaining left arm.
《Shock Absorption》
I yanked the tentacle off as it tried to pull away, absorbing the shock in the process and channeling it to my legs. Releasing it, I charged the black monster human. It still wasn't taking me seriously. I'd use that.
The black monster human reached out. I released the absorbed energy from my left hand, altering my trajectory. Then, a black shape loomed ahead.
'Tentacle...!'
Too late to dodge—I raised my broken right arm to block.
《Shock Absorption》!SPLAT!!
Blood sprayed before my eyes. I hadn't absorbed it all; my shattered arm blocked the tentacle but got even more mangled. No choice. Lose the left too, and it was over. Excruciating pain hit.
"Gruuuuhhh!!!"
No time to scream. My "arm" was barely recognizable. But the energy from absorbing that shock...
A tentacle sliced past my ear, shattering the earpiece. Fast. But opportunity remained. That black monster human had three back tentacles for sure. One from earlier, one past my ear now, so the last...?
'Behind!'
I twisted my waist desperately.
Shh! The tentacle grazed by a hair. Now all three visible tentacles were far from the black monster human.
'Last chance.'
I charged forward, enduring the pain. No sensation in my right arm anymore. My body screamed from overload, but I pushed. Gathering all banked shock energy into my left fist.
"Kuh!!!"
My left hand's skin burst open. Too much energy—the arm couldn't take it.
'Hold on!! Just a bit more!!'
From almost within reach behind the black monster human, another tentacle surged.
'A fourth?!'
All energy focused in my left arm. Body creaking in protest.
Thud! In the clutch, I perfectly calculated and redistributed left-arm energy to my legs, jumping.
Thwack! The black monster human's tentacle slammed the ground. I used it as a springboard to leap again—then another tentacle ahead. I'd sensed it. More were coming. Couldn't block. Did I need to? Just tweak trajectory.
I jammed my utterly wrecked right arm between me and the tentacle.
SPLURT! Was it even an arm anymore? The mangled mess collided and tore free from my body.
Shh! As my right arm flew off, the tentacle grazed my face, deflected.
Now, just 30cm from the black monster human. No obstacles. I reared my fully charged left fist—
Sneer.
'It... smiled?'
In that split second, the black monster human grinned. Crack. Its mouth gaped wide, and something whipped from inside.
Shwick!
'Tentacle from its mouth?!'
I turned my head; my left arm was severed by the tentacle, flying away. Both arms gone, I plummeted.
No—falling, the black monster human caught me. Its black face loomed.
'This is it...? Sorry, unnis...'
Its arm rose toward my head. I'd braced for death, but facing it, terror consumed me.
"Hic... No... Don't wanna die... Save me... Unni... Hic sob huwaaaang."
Pat.
"Hik!"
Stroke stroke.
"Wha...?"
I'd been sobbing in terror, expecting it to rip my head off, but the black monster human was gently petting my hair.
'What... the...?'
"Ji-ae!! Choi Ji-ae!!"
Lee Se-mi, team leader of Sena Team, shouted desperately for the team's youngest, hunter Choi Ji-ae.
A bit farther off, Lee Se-mi spotted something.
"Mi-seong..."
She called to her childhood friend and teammate, Park Mi-seong.
"What'd you find?!"
There lay something unrecognizable, utterly pulverized. But the two women knew instantly what it was. A crumpled gray bracelet on the front part proved it was a hunter's arm.
Park Mi-seong's hands shook as she lifted the horrific thing for a closer look at the bracelet.
[Sena Member Choi Ji-ae]
Thud. Park Mi-seong collapsed to her knees.
"Ji-ae..."
Tears plopped onto the ground.
"I... I should've stopped her harder..."
Lee Se-mi squeezed her eyes shut, holding back grief.
"We don't know yet. She could still be alive."
The search began. They found Choi Ji-ae's gruesomely wrecked right arm, her somewhat less mangled left, the shattered cam, and earpiece. One spot had massive bloodstains, still moist. Anyone could see it was a lethal amount. No way she'd survive that.
"...Damn it!"
"Hic... Ji-ae..."
Ji-ae was ultimately declared dead. When Mi-seong heard, she raged at the Hunter Association with endless complaints, but they were ignored. To hunters, missing and dead were worlds apart. Missing meant Association aid and requests possible. Dead? Zero support. No help from magical girls or anyone.
That's why Mi-seong was so furious about Ji-ae's status. But the Association's stance was firm: both arms severed, blood volume indicated no survival. Even without a body, cannibalistic monster humans existed, so dead it was.
"I can't accept it. Ji-ae's definitely alive."
Mi-seong said, eyes puffy from crying.
"Me too. Let's search, just us two."
"...Yeah!"
I agreed with Mi-seong. Ji-ae, who'd grown with us, had to be alive.
'Just hold on a little longer, Ji-ae.'
