Beast Hunt
Ha Yeon-ah and Park I-rae watched Seong Ye-han shoot forward like a cannonball. The shockwave he kicked up from the ground was too immense to call it mere human footfall, sweeping over the two women—but they didn't panic. They steadied their centers without a hitch. It wasn't an attack, after all. They were superhumans in their own right, not about to be rattled by the aftermath of a simple stomp.
That's... insane, they thought. Still, it didn't mean the destructive aftermath Seong Ye-han had unleashed wasn't astonishing. Without channeling mana, they would've taken serious internal injuries from the shockwave alone. And then...
Grgrgrgrrr—the ground shook like an earthquake. Snow dust exploded upward like a bomb blast, filling their vision. No matter how unshaken the two were, they couldn't do much if the environment itself crumbled around them.
Ha Yeon-ah, who would've normally charged alongside Seong Ye-han to attack the tiger, had missed her timing.
"Unnie, hold on...!"
Staying put would've meant wasting time until the quake and snow settled, so Park I-rae shouted with resolve, wrapping her arms around Ha Yeon-ah. She pressed down on the unstable footing with raw power and leaped. It wasn't as explosive as Seong Ye-han's launch, but Park I-rae was a solid A-rank physical-type hunter. Her mana-infused strength let her carry another person and escape the storm-like chaos in no time.
"Thanks, I-rae."
Ha Yeon-ah lightly expressed her gratitude to Park I-rae, who had held her firmly, then turned her gaze. A massive beast clashing with a human—a battle straight out of a fairy tale or legend unfolded before her eyes.
The time it took Ha Yeon-ah and Park I-rae to escape the quake was negligible in absolute terms. Even so, Seong Ye-han and the tiger had already exchanged several volleys. The spear and claws flashing like lightning were so fast that even A-rank hunter Park I-rae could barely track them.
Fortunately, the first strike had landed: a javelin embedded in the tiger's hind leg. It was a shame he hadn't finished it in one blow, but that spear ensured the tiger couldn't flee. Which meant the raid was essentially a success.
Feeling a measure of relief, Ha Yeon-ah channeled her power. Her special ability was Holy Light. With Seong Ye-han and the tiger so close and trading blows at blinding speed, her light beam attacks were limited. But her true strength lay in support, not offense—recovery and buffs were what she excelled at and took pride in.
Since reaching S-rank, she could handle most fights solo, so buffs and heals had become relegated to volunteer work. In any case, once her mana was fully gathered, Ha Yeon-ah unleashed her power without delay. Win or lose the raid, better to make it quick, easy, and injury-free—even for a man she couldn't stand.
She extended mercy and encouragement to anyone battling a monster.
Wooong—
Her silver veil had already been scattered by Seong Ye-han's shockwave, her hair freely flowing. The strands, which faintly glowed golden even at rest, now blazed brighter in response to her mana—like sunlight scattering as fine golden particles. Topped with the halo manifesting above her head, she truly embodied the Saintess.
Her power rippled outward like waves, a small sun rising in the black night sky, illuminating the world. It drove away the enveloping cold and darkness, spreading soft, warm heat until it enveloped Seong Ye-han.
Seong Ye-han, who had charged at the tiger spear-first, frowned at a strange sensation.
"Power..."
At first glance, he'd chalked it up to the midnight darkness. Up close, though, he saw it clearly: the tiger was cloaked in something dark—shadow, perhaps. Shadow fragments exuding an inexplicable malice. Thankfully, they didn't attack with physical force, but even seeing it plainly made his focus blur.
It was like watching a screen full of static—zzzt—like noise interference. Even his S-rank agility-enhanced perception struggled to track it, so it had to be tied to some special ability.
Whoosh—
"Hup!"
Seong Ye-han dodged the tiger's lightning swipe and held his breath. That eerie stealth made exchanges tricky, constantly gnawing at his attention. Feeling the beast's roaring fury through his body, he pressed the fight.
The tiger's intense killing intent was stronger than anything he'd faced, but unfortunately for the beast, Seong Ye-han's power clearly surpassed it.
Slash—
After several clashes, a long gash opened on the tiger's shoulder. The static-like noise persisted, but the tiger was still there. If 10 units of force weren't enough, 20 would do—inefficient, maybe, but results were results.
Too shallow.
Seong Ye-han swallowed his regret at the spear-tip's feedback and briefly created distance. He'd swung to sever the foreleg outright, but failed.
A pain in the ass.
Maybe even his initial javelin had only hit the hind leg because of the tiger's ability.
Grrrrrr—
With distance between them, the tiger glared warily, its massive tiger eyes locked on him. Seong Ye-han met that gaze unflinchingly. Pure hatred—not just enmity, but loathing. If emotions could take form, thick, black-red mud would ooze from those eyes.
The standoff lasted only moments before a new variable intervened. Seong Ye-han felt a warm glow envelop his body, infusing even greater vitality into his already surging strength. Cozy as his mother's embrace from childhood. Suddenly, the world brightened—whoosh—banishing all shadows.
He'd never felt it before, but he knew it was Ha Yeon-ah's power. A force truly worthy of the Saintess title.
"Well, now..."
Seong Ye-han eyed the tiger sharply. Whether from Ha Yeon-ah's light or the tiger's ability's limits, the night had retreated. What lay revealed beneath exceeded his imagination.
Tigers were once called mountain lords—majestic beasts that instilled awe and fear with their mere presence. But this one? Its massive size and undeniable muscle marked it as a tiger by stripes, yet it was pathetic.
Pockmarked skin clung sloppily here and there. Short tentacles writhed unnaturally around its tail—nothing natural about them. Scars covered its body, excluding the javelin wound on its hind leg and the gash on its foreleg-shoulder; they looked less like a warrior's badges and more like traces of pitiful abuse.
"It reeks..."
Seong Ye-han caught a whiff of foul stench. In the post-Gate world, humanity's survival had dimmed many precious values. Though some now rebuilt them, clinging to nostalgia, sticky darkness lingered in corners.
And this monster was karma born of human darkness. Past sins or ongoing? Seong Ye-han neither knew nor cared.
"I'll send you off easy."
He steeled himself, staring into the tiger's blazing eyes of hatred. Mana surged at his will—a massive torrent flooding his body and spear.
Gwooooong—
"Grraaawr—"
Sensing Seong Ye-han's killing intent, the tiger crouched low—not in fear or surrender, but like a predator coiling to pounce and rip its prey apart.
Short standoff. Then, unleashed power.
No clashing lights or thunderous booms. Seong Ye-han's peerless strength among hunters, amplified by mana beyond superhuman limits, shattered norms. Even a beast awakened from a frame that scoffed at human physiques couldn't match him.
Full power he'd never tapped before, boosted by Ha Yeon-ah's buff...
Shraaaaa—
The space his force tore through vanished in an instant, everything before him gone. A storm rushed to fill the void—no trace of the monster left.
"Hmmm..."
Even under the Holy Light that banished night, shadows lingered on bare winter branches. Watching the scene he'd wrought, Seong Ye-han swallowed a sigh of regret.
"Wanted to let it live a bit longer..."
No helping it, the shadow seemed to say as it hopped down. And below waited two women.