The Divine Beast Awakens

Kang Yeonsu grinned. "Well then, shall we get going? No point dragging this out."

"Yes!"

As if we'd rehearsed it, we launched ourselves out of the building in perfect sync. I carried Yeonhee in my arms while Yeonsu bounded forward like she was flying, leaping straight to the roof of the building opposite us.

"Whoa... That's incredible..."

"Honestly, I'm the one who's constantly shocked by that skeleton. His stats already seem way past C-rank, don't they? What's his secret? How can he grow so fast?"

"Haha... Well, um... I'm not sure."

"Hehe. Anyway, it's been a while since I got to stretch my muscles properly."

Yeonsu's face was flushed with excitement. She wasn't the type to pick fights first, but because of her abilities, she possessed an incredibly aggressive nature. The dense muscles that had already taken root across her body began to swell on their own, stretching her clothes taut.

'It's been a while since I've seen Divine Beast Transformation, the strongest form of beastification.'

Her ability was a body reinforcement type that allowed her to transform into animals. While most beastification turned people into animals they liked, there were rare cases like hers where the transformation took the form of creatures that didn't exist in this world. And those cases always granted overwhelming power—so much so that the grandiose title of Divine Beast Transformation had been attached to it.

The female hunter we'd met during the day, the one who had used a partial transformation, had technically undergone a limited version of divine beastification. If she had continued growing steadily, she might have become a fairly famous hunter in three or four years.

"By the way, is Ilwol always summoned and staying with you like this?"

"Ah, yes. Ilwol is always like that."

"Hmm~ Why?"

"...Pardon?"

"I mean, you have plenty of other summons. Why do you show Ilwol such favoritism?"

"Uh... Well, that's..."

Yeonhee struggled to answer the unexpected question.

"Is it because he's your first summon?"

"Ah! Yes, that's right."

"Pfft— You're so cute, seriously."

"Hehe~"

'Still, for someone she's only met a few times, she gets along with Yeonsu really well. I guess there really is such a thing as compatibility between people.'

I found their connection fascinating all over again as I continued simulating possible scenarios for any unexpected accidents that might occur during this battle. Assuming the enemy was waiting for us, my biggest concern was still...

'The organization's chairman getting involved...'

If I had foresight abilities, I would never face a monster like Yeonsu. But since the organization's identity was so unclear, anything was possible.

'With Yeonsu here, we should be fine... but still.'

I secretly told Ran to relay a message to Yeonhee. After hearing it, she looked at Yeonsu with a genuinely worried expression.

'Yeonsu will survive on her own. She just needs to use the earring at the right time.'

There was only one thing we had to protect: making sure we didn't get separated by more than a certain distance. It wasn't a difficult task.

After exchanging a few short words with Yeonsu while leaping between buildings, we arrived at the rooftop of the building where they sold the Evolution Water.

'As expected, they're waiting. Was the foresight correct after all?'

"Kids, can you step back a little? I need to say hello."

"Huh?"

Without even checking if we had moved away, Yeonsu began gathering her power. Guguguguguguk—

Her right arm swelled to nearly twice its size in an instant, and an enormous amount of mana—something we'd never experienced before—exploded outward with her at the center.

"Huuuup—"

"Whoa...?"

Yeonsu's right arm pulled back high into the sky like a drawn bowstring, then slammed down hard onto the rooftop floor.

BOOOOOOM—!

KWAKWAKWAKWAKWAKWAKWA—!

"Huuuuh..."

"Clack..."

Both Yeonhee and I were left speechless at the utterly unreal sight.

'...This personality of hers really never changes.'

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

She was always a bit impatient, but she normally wouldn't destroy a building in the middle of the city like this. She must have sensed that the building was empty and there weren't many people left inside.

'Still, at least think about the cleanup. She always causes a mess and then someone else has to tear their hair out over it.'

"Come out, you trash bastards!"

Yeonsu's powerful shout vibrated through the air, making the windows of the neighboring building rattle as if hit by an earthquake. As if her cry were a summoning spell, a middle-aged man lightly leaped out from inside the building and revealed himself.

"Whistle~ What the hell is all this commotion?"

The man had an appearance that seemed like the very embodiment of 'solidity,' and there wasn't a trace of tension in his voice.

'He's not surprised at all. He must have something to fall back on... Of course, Yeonsu probably won't care about that at all.'

Regardless, the man's first impression was intense. He was also someone who remained in my memories from my previous life. A thick neck that went straight from his head to his shoulders, a waist wider than his chest, and a body that spread out sideways in perfect proportion to his height. Yet his body was packed full of muscle, giving him an unexpectedly agile impression.

The man with the long hair neatly braided down his back stroked his lush beard that covered his neck and looked at Yeonsu with wide, round eyes as if greatly surprised.

"Hahaha— My, my. Such an honored guest has come to this humble place. I'm afraid I haven't prepared anything suitable."

'A dwarf... So it really is that guy from earlier. He holds the position of director.'

More precisely, he was a hunter who had received dwarf traits. After decades of being influenced by those traits, his appearance made it hard to believe he was a modern human.

"Hm?! You're that guy from earlier?"

The dwarf looked at me instead and pointed with a trembling finger, clearly shocked.

'He noticed me the moment he saw me...? How is that possible? I'm still suppressing my presence.'

He nodded as if he finally understood something and spoke.

"I thought today would be a complete waste, but I've caught two big fish in my net! What a wonderful day! Don't you agree, Vice Director?"

Following his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shout, about twenty hunters leaped up behind him. The man called the Vice Director couldn't even answer the dwarf's question.

"......"

"Tsk tsk— Have you frozen up already? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Your training is still lacking."

The man referred to as the Vice Director was the same one I'd seen chatting casually when I infiltrated earlier. He was already completely frozen by Yeonsu's aura, his eyes unfocused.

Yeonsu's presence was that overwhelming. Even though her will wasn't directed at us, it still affected me and Yeonhee. The flaming armor that rose and fell with her aura felt precarious. A sense of terror, as if the world itself might be annihilated, surged up.

'So this is what an S-rank aura clash feels like. Damn it, my armor might get torn off at this rate. Let's put some distance between us.'

When I stared at Yeonsu with a pitiful look, she winked at Yeonhee and waved her hand through the air.

"W-well then, we'll stay back a bit!"

"Okay."

By now, Yeonsu's eyes had turned a blazing red, and crimson mana energy surged from her body, brightly illuminating the dim evening cityscape. The special-material combat suit she always took such care to craft continued to stretch without tearing, even as her body grew larger than most orcs.

"Kuuuugh...!"

As her aura boiled over, the hunters trying to endure it suffered unbearable pain. Some even clutched their throats and collapsed.

"Hmph! Everyone fall back! And bring me those filthy rats!"

The Vice Director, who had received the dwarf's command, trembled violently but kept his gaze fixed precisely on me and Yeonhee. Even as he tried to compose himself, his body twitched as if ready to pounce on us at any moment.

'Ugh, seriously. I was hoping to watch comfortably and just snipe the last hit.'

If they were enemies we could handle moderately, that would be one thing. But both in numbers and quality, they were opponents far beyond what we could face.

Just as Yeonhee began raising her mana to summon the Black Dragon and I summoned a pile of skeleton bombs, Yeonsu's gaze shifted to the Vice Director who was about to attack us. Her blurry, swaying fist moved forward as if painting alone in stopped time.

At the same time, a massive wall of mana—several stories high—materialized and swallowed the Vice Director along with the twenty-odd hunters behind him.

"Kugh?!"

KWAGAGAAGAGAGA—!

The release of pure mana with incredible area and density.

'Kuuuugh!! She just released her mana!! What the hell is this?!'

I held Yeonhee tightly and anchored us firmly to the building's outer wall using Adhesion, waiting for the disaster to pass.

Whoooooooosh—

With a single attack from Yeonsu, every hunter except the dwarf was sent flying hundreds of meters, suffering massive shock.

"Kuuuugh!"

The dwarf had moved quickly to offset the center of that power, so it seemed no one had died. Still, there was no doubt they were all incapacitated for battle.

Feeling Yeonsu's power up close for the first time in a while, my bones trembled so hard it felt like they might rattle apart.

"Kk...ah... What, what is that...?"

Yeonhee was equally stunned.

"Hey, junior. You should let the small fries fight among themselves. What good does it do to interfere?"

After blocking her attack, the dwarf cracked his neck left and right, his face twisted in a deep scowl.

"Oh ho ho— Senior. Even small fries have their own value. What kind of logic is it to pit A-ranks against D-ranks?"

"Hm? What?!"

The dwarf quickly turned his head to look at us after hearing Yeonsu's words.

"Those guys are D-rank? You must be joking."

"If you're that suspicious, you can look it up later. Though I'm not sure you'll get the chance."

"Hmph! How arrogant...! The world spoils you, so you don't even know how high the sky is!"

"They spoil me because I deserve it. And what exactly have you done to keep demanding to be treated like a senior?"

"Hmph! Our will reaches the heavens, and the path has already been clearly laid out—"

"Was that path something that had to be paved by turning children into that?!"

"...... There's no need for any more words."

"Cut the crap and tell those hidden pieces of trash to show themselves already, will you?"

"......"

When we arrived at the building, I had already sensed three enormous presences approaching from afar, cloaked in Cognitive Impairment.

'Given Yeonsu's personality, seeing such a sloppy plan will only provoke her even more.'

In fact, every part of Yeonsu's body except her face had already ceased to be human. Massive hands and feet, a smooth body that showed no reflection even under moonlight. Her body line curved with graceful arcs that could be called a work of art, possessing a strange charm that made it impossible to look away once ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠your eyes were drawn to it.

It looked like the humanization of a divine being, yet at the same time, it also resembled a demon that had taken human form.

"Kekekek— As expected. This level wasn't enough to fool you... Still, your appearance has become quite wild. Is that the so-called 'Divine Beast Transformation' I've only heard about? Indeed... It's incredible. You could be called a god and it wouldn't be an exaggeration."

It seemed I wasn't the only one captivated by Yeonsu's appearance. Dwarves inherently had a strong interest in aesthetics. His eyes sparkled brightly as he tried to take in even a little more of her form.

"Kuhuhuhu— What a truly wonderful day. I'll personally take one of your arms and turn it into a fine piece of art."

"Is that so~? Go ahead and try."

The moment Yeonsu finished speaking, numerous artifacts and top-tier equipment rose from the dwarf's inventory. They fused with his solid body, making his already massive frame even more imposing.

'Earrings, necklace, bracelets, anklets, even a pin in his beard. Four rings on top of that... Wow— just how many artifacts does he have? And those gloves look like they're made from the hide of the sea serpent that only lives in the super-giant dungeon Nando... How the hell did he catch one of those?'

Just selling everything the dwarf was wearing would easily fetch hundreds of billions. He was the ultimate example of winning through gear.