Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Aimed for the Throat and Head Too
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He'd aimed for the throat and the head.
But he'd taken a massive hit.
Who could have predicted an attack on such an unexpected weak spot?
"J-Jeez...!"
If he hadn't been a seasoned national power-level hunter, that moment of carelessness would have knocked him out cold at the very least.
For a man, that spot was like an organ protruding from the body, regardless of race or species.
"But what a shame, Little Monster Girl."
"Tch...!"
"Compared to all the battles I've fought, this is still something I can endure...!"
And yet, he was Russia's national power-level hunter.
Lawrenceki wasn't the type to go down from a mere kick to the groin.
The surrounding hunters watched in disbelief—especially the men—as he wiped the cold sweat from his brow with his sleeve and sprang right back to his feet, their faces drained of any will to fight.
"H-He took a hit like that and stood up...!"
"Monster! He's a monster...!"
"Looks like I underestimated you, Little Monster Girl. I won't make that mistake again. If you don't want to die, fall back for now."
"S-Sis...!"
Lawrenceki's face hardened, all traces of amusement gone as he issued a grave warning.
Lia swallowed dryly at the overwhelming pressure radiating from him—like nothing she'd ever felt—before calling out to Sophia beyond him.
Sophia met Lawrenceki's gaze as he turned.
'Honestly, I thought he'd at least pass out...'
Princess Kurumi, freed by the flaw in the groin strike, had rushed into the midst of the hunters by then.
But if he advanced again, she'd surely be recaptured.
Sophia had instinctively realized that with their current forces, they couldn't stop this man.
In other words, a situation where they had to defeat an unbeatable foe.
If there was a way, it was this...
"Everyone, take Princess Kurumi and run to the Hunter Association branch!"
"...!"
"You're saying we abandon the mansion?"
"It's already breached anyway! Better to cut our losses!"
"Y-Yes! Got it!"
Our goal wasn't to take down the man in front of us. It was to protect Princess Kurumi.
Even if every hunter here died, as long as the princess reached the Hunter Association—at least connected with Branch Chief Lee Jin-ah—the mission would be as good as complete.
In simple terms...
"Run!!"
They were retreating.
With Princess Kurumi.
Only B-rank and higher hunters, including Sophia, would stay behind, while the rest stuck close to the princess to escort her to the Korean Hunter Association branch.
Boom boom boom!
That's what they tried to do...
"Wha..."
"He flew?!"
Lawrenceki suddenly triggered an explosion beneath his feet.
Crushing the concrete floor in an instant, he used the elastic burst from under his soles to launch himself into the air.
Then, tracing a parabola, he landed behind the encirclement that had surrounded him.
Blocking their escape route.
"Who said I was letting you go?"
"...!!"
"Let's call it quits here. Word is, China and North Korea have sent their own 'fixers' by now. Better to come with me than get caught by those two."
"Guh...!"
"U-Waaah!"
Korea’s top-tier hunters, toyed with by a single man.
A few hunters, unable to stomach the humiliation, charged at Lawrenceki.
But...
Thud. Crack.
"Gah?!"
"Urk..."
They were decently famous B-ranks.
Yet Lawrenceki subdued them effortlessly with pure taekwondo, without even using his abilities or weapons, before their powers or arms could touch him—a mere demonstration.
His face now stern, no longer smiling, he turned back to the front and spoke.
"Leave the princess and go. Then no one dies."
"......"
"I'm holding back for the sake of Russo-Korean relations. But if you keep pushing it, I'll have to kill you all for real."
There wasn't a shred of deceit in his words.
This was truly his final warning.
If they attacked again, he'd turn this place into a bloodbath without a second thought.
Sophia and the others fell silent. Amid them, Princess Kurumi stepped forward as if to say it was fine.
All but one person.
Or rather, one monster.
"Die!"
"L-Lia?!"
Lia charged at Lawrenceki again, defying her master's orders, only for her head to be seized entirely.
"Guhhh...!"
"Little Monster Girl... Even in human form, you're a monster at heart? A foolish choice. Why charge at me when you know you can't win?"
"Hey!! If you lay a finger on Lia, I'll tear you to pieces!"
Sophia summoned her scythe again to follow, but the other hunters held her back. Meanwhile, Lia locked eyes with Lawrenceki's golden gaze and replied confidently.
"Because you attacked my precious person!"
"...!"
A straightforward answer.
But he never expected to hear it from a monster.
He thought such recklessness was a human trait.
'Don't you think it's romantic, risking your life for someone precious?'
"......"
Crunch.
"Guh! Ahh...!"
"Lia!!"
Lawrenceki empathized with Lia's words.
And because he did, he decided to teach this Little Monster Girl... Lia a lesson.
That such recklessness was a worthless emotion.
"A few head explosions should cure you of that pointless bravado."
"...! U-Uh..."
As expected, with death imminent, her ruby eyes trembled visibly as they met his.
A few deaths in terrified submission would set her straight.
With that thought, flames began to ignite in his palm—
"S-Save me..."
"...?"
"Oppa."
"...Oppa?"
"Rooooaaarrr!!"
Suddenly, a roar like the sky tearing apart echoed from all directions.
By the time Lawrenceki noticed, 'it' had already dropped behind him.
'My back... got taken?'
How long had it been since he'd experienced this?
"Th-That's..."
"The Jamsil Monster!"
"A national disaster-class monster appearing in this situation?!"
"Han Shin-woo..."
Lawrenceki turned.
His grip on Lia loosened involuntarily as he locked eyes with the humanoid monster cloaked head to toe in jet-black flames.
Because from now on, he'd need both hands.
'What the hell is this...?!'
Freed from Lawrenceki, Lia dashed straight to Sophia and clung to her.
Relieved to see Lia unharmed,
"Take Princess Kurumi to the Association branch right now!"
"B-But the front's blocked by those two..."
"Then smash through the mansion behind and escape that way!"
Sophia planned to lead the interfering hunters away, giving the two a private stage.
Just before fleeing.
"...Do your best."
She left those brief words of encouragement.
The nation that preceded Russia's birth.
A superpower that once stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the United States, forged by a communist regime obsessed with supremacy.
Barbarov Lawrenceki was a hunter who'd risen to the Soviet Union's sole national power-level seat in the 'Soviet Union' era, pursuing only the best.
The Cold War.
An age when even the world's mightiest superpower, America, could be challenged.
For his motherland's glory, Lawrenceki hunted monsters worldwide whenever one gained notoriety.
The USSR back then lagged in many fields but burned to surpass America—where the Hunter Headquarters stood—especially in 'space' and 'hunters.'
And from that ambition, he was born: the monster backed by Soviet hopes.
The Immortal Lawrenceki.
But now, after his homeland dissolved, he'd finally met a real monster.
'This one's... strong. Probably among the strongest I've faced.'
The Korean hunters had called it the Jamsil Monster, hadn't they?
Come to think of it, he'd heard the name while researching Korea beforehand.
A national disaster-class that hadn't been subjugated despite numerous appearances.
"Hmph..."
"......"
How long had it been since he'd felt this tension, this sweat?
Lawrenceki was on high alert.
But he didn't think he'd lose.
"You... I hear you understand human speech to some extent..."
"......?"
"An honor to meet you, Mr. Jamsil Monster. I'm Barbarov Lawrenceki. Since fate brought us together, how about a 'handshake'?"
He flashed a friendly, affable uncle smile, striking first with words.
As the saying goes, you can't spit on a smiling face.
If it was the monster from his Russian intel, it'd surely respond to this gesture!
And as expected.
The Jamsil Monster calmly raised its hand to grasp his.
That instant.
Boom!
"It exploded!!"
One truth Lawrenceki had learned traversing countless battlefields: in clashes of similar tiers, the first strike decided more than half the outcome.
Even the greatest admiral falls in an unforeseen 'ambush' before fame can save them.
"Too naive, Mr. Jamsil Monster!"
As the jet-black beast reached for his hand,
Lawrenceki whipped his extended palm upward, slapping the Jamsil Monster's cheek squarely.
The impact ignited his palm, birthing a mushroom cloud from the monster's head that pierced the heavens—equivalent to 10,000 tons of TNT compressed.
"The national disaster-class that hit Russia three years ago went straight to hell from this."
Black smoke engulfed the monster's head.
Lawrenceki shrugged at its utter stillness.
"You're probably dead already, but here's a tip: doing what your enemy wants is for fools. Take it as a lesson on your way to the afterlife, Mr. Jamsil Monster."
Glancing around the blast-turned-wasteland, he scratched his head briefly.
'Hope I didn't catch the princess's side in that... Nah, with that many hunters, they should've survived.'
The world, Russia included, wanted Princess Kurumi from the home country.
More precisely, her precious womb and ovaries—for birthing heirs.
'If she's hurt, that's trouble...'
He'd heard empty buildings mimicked urban scenery around her mansion for privacy.
Thinking it clear of people, he'd unleashed a big move—had he overdone it?
As he pondered,
"...Hm?"
Why hadn't the Jamsil Monster fallen yet?
Black smoke still rose from its head. Was this the legendary 'standing death'?
"...! Can't just leave it like this!"
Artistic to the end, huh? Korea was doomed anyway.
Lawrenceki pulled out his smartphone for a commemorative selfie, hoisting the monster...
"Grrrrr..."
"......Huh?"
As he posed with a V-sign, phone screen toward the supposedly dead corpse.
The black smoke slowly cleared from the head.
On Lawrenceki's selfie screen.
"Grrrrrr...!"
It had offered a warrior's greeting, but the foe's poor manners had soured the Jamsil Monster's mood with that preemptive punch—its face twisted in fury.