The Four of D-Class Catastrophe (4)
Pudu pudu pudu pudu pudu.
A huge rhinoceros beetle named Bruteon buzzed through the air like a helicopter, carrying Dohyun and Ji Yu-chan in its claws.
Looking at the chaos below, the formation had completely broken apart from the massive shockwave. Yet through the swirling dust, flashes of light burst out repeatedly, proving a fierce battle was still underway.
The Death Worm still hadn’t sunk into the ground.
From a strategic standpoint, this was incredibly important.
Bruteon understood this perfectly and looked at Dohyun and Ji Yu-chan as he spoke.
“He still hasn’t entered… Maybe……”
Before the words could fade, Dohyun continued.
“He’s looking for me.”
“Exactly.”
Dohyun’s words made Bruteon unable to deny it. It was the truth.
Right now, the Death Worm would first target the one who had wounded him—Ji Yu-chan, but above all else, it would go after Dohyun. Since it was so close to the species of the Coléon, Bruteon felt this instinct strongly.
The Death Worm’s rage was entirely directed at Dohyun.
But he couldn’t bring himself to say it. Knowing they were walking into a trap, how could he command them to charge? Bruteon was a mighty warrior, but not a brilliant tactician, so he hesitated.
After all, every life was precious.
But.
“Fine. I’ll be the bait. Release me.”
“You……”
Dohyun’s words left Bruteon speechless. Honestly, it was the easiest choice right now. Besides, Bruteon’s pride as a warrior was already wounded—by volunteering himself as bait, he was asking others to help him.
Yet Ji Yu-chan nodded without hesitation.
“Alright. Go quickly, Dohyun.”
“Yeah, I have to go. You know that?”
“……”
Even Bruteon the warrior felt a chill. How could a comrade tell another to become bait with such calm enthusiasm?
He thought Dohyun must be crazy. But Dohyun had accepted the plan with a grin and issued fresh orders, and Ji Yu-chan nodded without a word.
A bond unbreakable by anything showed between them, leaving Bruteon utterly speechless.
How could they trust each other so completely?
If it were him, could he ever send a comrade into certain death with such certainty?
No. Bruteon could not.
That was why he could never become a great commander.
And precisely because of that, he recognized the one who could—Dohyun.
Watching him, Bruteon’s eyes sparkled.
“Your name is Dohyun?”
Dohyun, who had been hiding his identity, forgot and answered, “Yeah.”
“Then can you take command?”
“What?”
“From what I saw, you can send out ultrasonic waves like the Krsha. With a little mana, everyone should hear your orders clearly.”
Dohyun had already been able to do this. He had given the exact same orders to Ji Yu-chan and Hana Rin.
Why was the party leader Bruteon asking him to take charge now? It was absurd.
But Bruteon waited for Dohyun’s permission. And when it came, Dohyun smiled confidently and said,
“Then we can wrap it up much faster.”
With a nod, Bruteon immediately began moving.
Dohyun and Ji Yu-chan covered their ears as Bruteon took a deep breath. Then a thunderous roar erupted from his throat.
“Everyone———!!! Obey the orders of this human, not mine————!!!”
Though Bruteon shouted with all his might, every party member replied, “We know!”
Since Dohyun was the one who could use ultrasonic waves, the voice was crystal clear. Dohyun smirked.
Bruteon immediately asked, “What should we do now?”
Without the slightest hesitation, Dohyun began issuing commands.
“First……”
* * *
After the Death Worm plummeted into the center of the battlefield, a massive cloud of dust began to settle. Countless magic and skills rained down, aimed at the Worm, but none of them dealt clear damage.
‘How are these humans……’
‘Even though they’re attacking together, each one is dealing that much power? It’s impossible.’
‘Seeing them with my own eyes, they’re monsters too.’
‘My attacks aren’t even scratching them.’
Dohyun’s party had left the Death Worm awestruck with every combined strike.
Naturally, in the chaos, Bruteon’s voice rang out once more.
“Everyone———!!! Obey the orders of this human, not mine————!!!”
It was Bruteon the party leader’s command.
Originally, a true raid group would never have assembled, and these disparate species would have been unable to gather. But every single one of them nodded.
A faint glimmer of hope flared in their eyes—that even a party like Dohyun’s could take down the Death Worm.
No one dared resist.
Instead, some even began cheering.
“Bruteon!!! You’re better than ever!!!”
“Good!!! Bruteon!!!”
“If it’s your word, we can trust it!!!”
“I couldn’t even scratch it, but a warrior who did this much damage? I believe you!!!”
The party leaders in the gathering shouted their approval. As the dust began to clear, the Death Worm’s red eyes gleamed, and one of the groups was swallowed whole in a single swallow.
Bruteon the leader’s words had given them courage.
Dohyun’s party heard the order, quickly turned to fire long-range attacks, and slipped left.
As the massive jaws snapped shut toward them, magic and skills rained down from every direction.
The concentrated assault struck the jaws themselves. The body of the Death Worm shuddered. It let out a horrific roar.
Kwaaaaang.
Puaaaaaaak!!
“Kueeeeeeeee——!!!”
The pain-wracked shriek shook everyone who heard it. The party that had almost been swallowed watched the Death Worm in stunned silence.
According to Sorceress, the mouth was the weakness.
They couldn’t have guessed it so easily. But now, when it was being used as a target?
Other parties, seeing the same opening, also used Dohyun’s command. They hurled magic and skills in a perfect arc toward the writhing jaws. Some missed and struck the air, while others slammed directly into the mouth, causing even more agony.
Watching from above, Dohyun felt satisfied. But this wasn’t over.
Dohyun himself had already broken away from Bruteon and begun acting independently.
Watching the swift figure move from above, Bruteon kept his eyes on the Death Worm’s gaping jaws, following Dohyun’s every move.
‘It’s unbelievable.’
Dohyun moved faster than him, and yet he was casting spells while using skills with perfect accuracy. Bruteon had no choice but to swallow his tongue.
He had always assumed only higher races could surpass him, so he had lived believing in the limits of his own kind. But living this complacently as a warrior was clearly wrong.
Thinking this, Bruteon used his horns to charge forward, pouring everything into the attack.
Dohyun was precisely timing his strikes to keep the Death Worm from sinking back into the earth. Finally, the Worm began its desperate struggle to escape downward.
Kugugugugu———!!!
Kwaaajjjjjz!!!
The ground around them cracked wide open.
As the earth split, the Death Worm’s entire body rose above ground. The spot where it had been vanished, and the cracked terrain could no longer hold the weight. It collapsed like a sinkhole, swallowing feet beneath.
No matter how skilled the flying parties were, once the platform disappeared, options were limited.
Among the ten parties, only a few could activate flight. They had no other choice.
Of course, falling wouldn’t kill them, but they would lose the Death Worm forever.
In that split second, everyone turned their heads to look. The Death Worm, sensing its chance, dove headfirst into the sinkhole below—
—when a figure suddenly appeared right in front of its jaws.
It was none other than Dohyun, who had used instantaneous movement. The Death Worm, recognizing him, bared its fangs in a vicious snarl.
With its red eyes gleaming, the Death Worm launched itself straight at Dohyun. The other parties watched in awe, expecting some brilliant counter.
‘What technique will he use this time?’
‘He teleported there in an instant. What’s his plan?’
‘If he moved to a place that looks like death, there must be a strategy. I can’t even imagine it.’
‘What method is he going to use!?’
Everyone stared at Dohyun in disbelief. He ignored them completely and fixed his gaze only on the Death Worm’s gaping mouth. In that fleeting moment, the Worm lunged forward with jaws wide open.
Swallow.
“……?”
“……?”
“……?”
“M-m-m-m…?”
Everyone expected Dohyun to use some clever trick. Instead, he had been swallowed whole.
Even they couldn’t believe it. But at that exact second, Bruteon’s voice thundered across the battlefield.
“Dohyun—————!!!”
Bruteon’s reaction proved their misunderstanding was real. Everyone had thought he had been eaten.
Had he really been swallowed?
In that moment of confusion, a new voice cut through the air.
“Everyone, snap out of it!! He’s not dead!!!”
Everyone who heard it thought,
‘How is he still alive?’