How Appetizing
Leon leapt from the battlements, his body tracing a gentle parabola as he glided through the air.
Shiiiiing—!
The cool resistance of the dawn air pressed fully against him. His hood blew back, and the hair swept behind him whipped like a lion's mane. Rainwater struck straight into his eyes, but he did not close them for even an instant. His gaze remained locked firmly on his target alone.
Bang!
The moment his feet touched down, the ground cratered beneath him. Having deployed the Heavenly Spirit Steps at their extreme, he rocketed toward the demonic beast. The inverted-triangular face studded with compound eyes, horns, and tentacles rushed into close range in an instant.
Clang!
The Heaven-Shattering Sword sprang free of its scabbard. Whoosh! Azure flames blazed brightly along the blade, pushing back the darkness.
Jecheon Sword Style, Second Form — Variation.
Baegunyeongcheon.
Flutter!
Without breaking his stride, Leon exhaled clouds toward that repulsive face. It was also a probing strike, thrown out for reconnaissance.
The beast's response was simple. With remarkably restrained motion, it raised its two massive pincers and used them like a guard.
KRAKAKAKAKAK!
Every sword strike slammed into them—yet not a single scratch appeared on the smooth exoskeleton. Leon immediately decided he needed to find another weakness. The carapace was harder than he had imagined.
The beast launched its counterattack. It stretched out its long, segmented body, erasing the distance, and at the same time brought a pincer down on Leon's head like a hammer. It was so enormous it seemed the sky itself had been replaced by the creature's claw.
But.
"······."
Leon made no attempt to dodge or defend. He did not stop running. He had unshakable faith—trust in the comrade fighting alongside him.
Zzzzzzt!
Circular barriers bloomed in layers above Leon.
BOOOOM—!
The pincer slammed straight into the barriers. A bone-chilling rupture and vibration poured down onto the crown of his head.
KRAKAKAKAK!
One, two, then three. The pincer shattered exactly three layers of barrier before losing its force. Had he been even a second late—or had the barrier been short even a single layer—Leon would have been reduced to minced meat. But Leon had absolute confidence in Aria's calculations. Thanks to that, in the brief moment the barriers held, he was able to reach right in front of the beast's face.
"Kiiiiiik!"
For the first time, the creature let out a proper demonic-beast roar. Shock and surprise could be felt in that shriek. A mass of pale, sickly tentacles erupted from its maw, sweeping a wide arc ahead.
Bang—!
Leon accelerated and, at the same time, straightened his body into a line and threw himself backward. Whoosh! The tentacles swept through the space he had occupied a beat too late. The soil, thoroughly soaked by the foul rain, was as slick as if greased. His body slid long and was sucked beneath the beast's torso.
Shaaaaaa—!
With his back flat against the ground, feet pointed forward and head toward the rear, thin, elongated multi-jointed legs stood packed like ribs on either side of his vision. Ahead, the underside of the beast lay fully exposed—a place not covered by carapace, where flesh sat bare.
"How appetizing!"
Grinning wide, Leon drove his sword hard into that spot. The blade, dense with dark sword energy, sank inward without resistance.
SPLUUUURT—!
As Leon slid at high speed, the beast's belly began to be ripped open in a horrific tear.
At the same moment.
"······!"
Riel's face hardened as she rested a hand on her sword hilt. The earth spirits she commanded had sent her a signal. Something was coming this way.
She shot a glance at the squad members behind her. The eight members nodded and drew their weapons. Riel, too, drew her sword with cold eyes.
Then.
Whoosh—!
An aura rose from somewhere and spread across the area. Its range covered exactly the sector Riel's team was responsible for—a heavy, sticky presence. Riel recognized it as a high-level sound-absorption barrier, one that let no sound escape outside. To go so far as to use a trick like this—even communication devices would be useless inside it.
Riel understood. When people die horribly, noise is generated one way or another. The reason Pribil's residents had heard nothing in the middle of the night was surely because of this veil.
Presence began to swell from all directions like bamboo shoots after rain. Between the dark alleyways, everywhere—humans in white robes crawling out like ants. Even at a rough count, there were more than twenty. And the numbers were still growing by the second.
Where the hell did this many come from?
Riel's brow furrowed. The Mukwol Squad had thoroughly searched all of Pribil during the day. And yet this many had been hiding—enemies that had practically dropped out of the sky.
Riel examined their faces.
······Strange.
A strong sense of wrongness hit her immediately. They were clearly different from ordinary bandits or thieves.
Their presence is ordinary.
Their bodies were unbalanced, untrained. Not a scrap of mana could be sensed, and their soaking-wet robes hid no weapons of any kind. They were practically no different from ordinary civilians.
However—their eyes alone were far from normal. Their focus kept wavering, pupils repeatedly dilating and contracting. Bloodshot eyes gleamed even in the dim environment, glistening. Something was missing—reason lost. The kind of look she had only seen when dealing with drug-addled junkies.
Brainwashing? Mental manipulation?
That was roughly the direction her guess went. Having reached her own conclusion, Riel parted her lips.
"Identify yourselves. Are you the ones responsible for the murders here?"
"······."
"If you do not answer, I will take that as confirmation and attack."
"······."
No reply came. Among all those people, not a single one showed any sign of opening their mouth.
"Everyone, prepare for combat."
Of course, Riel did not care in the slightest. She was already certain those lunatics were the Gonghyeol Group. The words had been nothing more than a formality.
Before long, the surroundings were encircled by white figures creeping closer.
"Our objective is not repulsion or holding the area—it is annihilation."
They might be hiding somewhere, fulfilling the conditions of a magic circle. Killing every one they saw was the right call.
"Go."
"Yes!"
Whoosh!
The squad members shot out in all directions. Formations, joint techniques—they did not even attempt them. Why bother against unarmed civilians? Moreover, the goal was annihilation, not defense. Given how scattered the enemies were, individual combat was correct.
Thud—
Riel, too, launched her body in time with the squad's charge. As the Mukwol Squad moved, the white-robed enemies also charged. But their speed was not ordinary. Their form was clearly clumsy, yet the power in their legs was nothing a normal person possessed.
"······?!"
Feeling puzzlement, Riel nonetheless swung her sword horizontally at the foremost enemy—a killing stroke timed to the speed of his charge, meant to sever the neck in a single cut. Subduing them was not even a consideration.
However.
Whoosh—
Even as the blade flew toward his neck, not a shred of fear showed in the man's eyes. He simply fixed his gleaming eyes on the opponent before him.
Slice!
A red line was carved across his neck. His head tilted at an angle and fell. In his final moment, he was stretching out his right arm—aimed at Riel's heart. Just like a beast. The outstretched hand bore sharp, elongated nails, and thick, dark-red veins bulged across the back of the hand.
"What—"
Riel was given no time to be shocked.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
Even after watching their comrade die in a single blow, the Gonghyeol Group still charged like a pack of dogs. There was zero fear in their movements. Riel bit down on her lip and swung her sword.
Slash!
One Gonghyeol member's entire shoulder was torn away by her blue-green sword energy. Yet the man did not hesitate for even a fraction of a second. With his remaining arm, he immediately thrust out his claws. Discolored nails carved five black trajectories.
But Riel was a thoroughly seasoned mercenary who had fought countless battles. Unfazed by the enemy's boldness, she ducked to avoid the strike, then slammed her shoulder hard into his chest.
Thud!
With a dull impact, the man was sent flying backward as if shot. Crash! He tumbled across the ground more than three times. Mud from the sodden road clung to him, thoroughly soiling the white robe.
However—he immediately rose and charged at Riel once more. No screams, no shouts, no battle cries either. It was like watching undead, numb to pain and death.
Slash! Thrust!
Having cut down two more enemies in the meantime, Riel shouted.
"Aim for vital points that can kill instantly!"
Of course, the name Mukwol Squad was no empty reputation, so the members were already doing just that. But it was difficult. Enemies who threw themselves forward without any regard for their own bodies. A madness that would offer up their own bones just to tear off a scrap of flesh. Bizarre physical abilities that seemed enhanced to more than twice those of ordinary people. Threatening claws used in place of weapons.
They had the skill gap to cut them down within two or three exchanges—but the zombie-like waves of enemies pressing in forced the squad into a hard fight.
- Kyaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!
An ear-splitting scream erupted from somewhere. Given that the sound was carrying, it had to be from inside the sector. They were killing someone to serve as a medium for the magic circle.
"Damn it."
Riel scattered sword energy as she spat a curse. She wanted to rush over and stop them immediately—but the enemy assault was fiercer than expected. No matter how quickly she killed those blocking her path, their numbers only kept growing.
Crack!
She jammed her sword into the mouth of one that had leapt high and was dropping down, then pulled out her communicator.
"Enemy numbers are high! We need support!"
- ······.
Naturally, no reply came. The active sound-absorption barrier had rendered even the communicator dead.
"Damn it."
Riel roughly flung the communicator into an enemy's forehead. Thud! The man sprayed a thick mist of blood from his head and died on the spot. Picking the communicator back up, Riel thought.
What about the Commander?
Honestly, they were the ones struggling. Someone of Hera's caliber should be able to wipe out enemies like these in under a minute. Was she, too, being delayed by something?
Then.
———!!
A mighty wave of energy erupted that made Riel's entire body tremble. From the western part of the city—the direction of the sector Hera was responsible for.