Chapter 42
Chapter 42
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: Chaos at the Northern Border
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At the same time, the northern boundary of Seoul.
The border zone separating the dungeon area from the city center. Awakened from guilds, acting on Association orders alongside the military, were gathering one by one to build a defensive line.
Soldiers and Awakened alike, all armed to the teeth, stared at the apocalyptic presences approaching from beyond the forest.
“Damn! Is today the end of the world or what? What the hell are those things?”
“Firing permission granted!”
“Hope it does even a little good!”
“S-grade monster Arc Demon Beast—Iberico has appeared.”
[Grooo! Oink oink oink! You’ve all gathered on your own—saves me the hassle. Oink oink oink.]
Iberico, one of the S-grade Arc Demon Beasts, looked upon them with satisfaction.
Drawn irresistibly to that pastor’s prize, he issued commands to his direct subordinates, the Boar Demon Beasts, and the hordes of demons who had joined him on the way down.
[The hunt begins. Oink! You can chop off limbs or gouge out eyes if you have to—just capture them alive as much as possible. Oink. I’ll handle the strong ones myself. Oink! Fear not death! Oink! The Slaughter King watches over us. Oink!]
[Kieeeek!]
[Grooooan!]
[Meat! Meeeeat!]
At Iberico’s cry, the lesser demons surged forward first, followed by the A-grade and B-grade Boar Demon Beasts in a wave crashing toward the humans.
The frontline military units opened fire immediately.
Artillery barrages and air support rained down, sweeping the demons in a hail of bullets and shells—but only the lesser demons took real damage.
[Grooo, annoying oink! Taste some spicy pig feet! Oink!]
“Argh! It’s falling!”
“W-what the hell? P-pig trotters?!”
At a gesture from Iberico, who had spotted the air support, a massive illusion of pig trotters appeared in the sky, knocking fighter jets out of the air one by one amid their bombing runs and missile strikes.
Billions in military hardware and pilots lost their value in an instant, plummeting to the ground and exploding.
“Ha, this is ridiculous.”
“Not the time for that. They’re coming!”
[Groooan! Iberico’s orders! D-don’t kill them! Capture alive!]
“Capture! Capture!”
“Just keep ’em alive!”
The ones that broke through the gunfire and artillery reached the front lines at last, kicking off close-quarters combat. Now it was time for the waiting guild Hunters to step up in earnest.
Hunters with varied armaments charged at the A-grade and B-grade Boar Demon Beasts, staking their lives in fierce battles.
“These bastards are finally dead set on wiping us out! Damn it!”
“Take this! Thunder Storm!”
[Oink hohoho, fresh female. Oink! Grab her! Grab her!]
“Cut off the limbs if they resist, he said. Oink!”
“Just keep her alive, he said. Oink!”
The battlefield turned grim no matter the era, no matter the foe—wherever life and death clashed and blood and flesh spilled.
Under the command of the mighty Arc Demon Beast Iberico, the monsters simply slaughtered ordinary soldiers while capturing and abducting Hunters they could take alive.
Iberico sipped a potion to recover his mana, leisurely appraising the humans his minions dragged in.
[Grooo! Young, fresh female. Oink oink. The pastor’ll love this one. Mark her first-grade. Oink, next… old male? Oink. Hunter, so good for sacrifices, but third-grade overall. Oink. Next, old female—second-grade. Oink. Young male also second-grade. Oink. Don’t forget to stamp the ones for the cauldron with the seal.]
[Got it, oink, Iberico sir.]
“One-ton superhuman’s as good as mine. Oink hohohot!]
Iberico swallowed hard, thinking of that prize he’d seen earlier—the fattened human.
How satisfying would a one-ton superhuman feel? Just imagining it was a delight.
He continued oinking happily, grinning as more captured humans were brought before him.
[Woof! Don’t lag behind! The one who catches the most prey wins! Woof woof! Don’t forget—no killing!]
[Yes sir! Woof woof!]
“More survivors means higher score! Grrr!]
Competing in kind, the other Arc Demon Beasts threw themselves into the human hunt.
The humans of Seoul had long prepared for such a monster assault, but this was beyond expectations.
Yet even in this dire situation, hope lingered.
“Whoa! It’s Blue Dragon Guild! Guild Master Go Cheonsu! With Go Cheonyong and Chae Jiyeong. All S-grade Hunters assembled!”
“Blue Dragon’s the one we can count on!”
Amid cheers from soldiers and Awakened of various guilds, Blue Dragon Guild’s trailers advanced.
The pinnacle of the three great guilds, the only one in Korea boasting three S-grade Hunters.
They’d failed recently to take down an S-grade demon, but since ‘Jeong Min-su’ was dead, the blemish wasn’t major—their prestige remained high.
“Brother, what’s the word on Seoul Guild?”
“What else? They always bragged about defending only Seoul, and now they’re shitting themselves. Heh. Park Soonwon’s shit-eating face was priceless. Heh.”
When Seoul Guild declared they’d only defend Seoul even under mobilization orders, the other guilds and Association dumped the chaotic front lines on them—they were already locked in battle.
Blue Dragon, meanwhile, with their three S-grades and strike team, had used “preparations” as an excuse to arrive fashionably late by trailer.
“Honestly, that bastard’s got some nerve.”
“Anyway, since it’s come to this, let’s take it slow—teach him a lesson.”
“Is that okay? What if they break through and Seoul or the government falls?”
“No worries now that we know the enemy’s goal. It’s not destruction—they’re just plundering humans. That pastor stirred them up to stock his ‘individuality’ human ranch with livestock. They say about a week of this, so if we hold out, we’re good.”
What about the civilian and soldier casualties? Tragic, sure—but surprisingly, not worth much consideration.
In the era of Constellations and Awakened, human life had been revalued.
Guilds might look like humanity’s heroes, but they fought more for their Constellations and factions— no need to sacrifice needlessly.
“Anyway, pretend to try just enough not to draw hate, minimize losses as much as possible, and focus on taking down S-grades. Leveling up’s important too.”
“You gotta become Korea’s first SS-grade soon, Guild Master. Heh, if Park Soonwon hits it first, that’d be a headache. Looks like we’re almost there.”
Beast roars and human screams echoed outside, piercing the trailer, but they stayed relaxed, waiting leisurely for it to park.
Most people were dying or getting snatched by monsters in the meantime, but that wasn’t Blue Dragon’s problem.
Even if some reporter called out their attitude, no one could touch them.
The three great guilds wielded absolute power—news outlets criticizing them would vanish without a trace.
***
At the same time.
Northern Seoul, dungeon forest area.
While Seoul was in chaos, a portal opened in a quiet patch of woods, and a group emerged.
Shin Ayoung and her party—they’d just barely cleared a D-grade dungeon and exited.
Drenched in blood, sweat, and exhaustion, they caught their breath with difficulty.
“Good work, Leader.”
“Somehow… got ’em.”
“Man, D-grades are no joke. The monster numbers alone are insane.”
“Yeah, everyone did great… Huh?”
Everyone but Shin Ayoung was sub-D-grade Awakened, so she’d had to handle most of the heavy lifting—making it tougher than expected.
But something felt off now that they were out.
The vehicle meant to pick them up and take them back was nowhere in sight.
“Huh? Where’s the car?”
“Leader, try contacting them.”
“Ugh, it’s so far to walk…”
“Snap out of it, everyone. No trailer here means something serious went down nearby! Re-arm, drink potions! Eyes on the perimeter!”
Trained as a guild heir and Heaven Class, she knew what a missing vehicle meant and issued orders on the spot.
She quickly concealed the group in brush and trees for safety, then pulled out her phone to call the guild.
“Please… please connect…”
(Ayoung? Cleared the dungeon?)
“Yeah! Mom! Yeah. We just cleared, but the vehicle’s…”
(No time to explain—evacuate now! Or better yet, a dungeon! Find a weak one and hide inside. Text coordinates before entering!)
“…Yeah. Got it! Mom! I’ll text!”
Hearing her usually cool, composed mom this urgent, Shin Ayoung needed no more convincing and hung up.
She fired up the app to scan nearby dungeons, prepping to head there while briefing the Academia students.
“Huh? Back into a dungeon?”
“What’s going on?”
“Dunno exactly. But if my A-grade Hunter mom says evac fast, it’s no joke. Move! Nearest easy dungeon is…”
[Cluck cluck… cluck cluuuck.]
As she focused on the app, a chicken’s crow reached her ears.
In these woods crawling with monsters and scavengers, chickens didn’t belong—but it was unmistakably one.
“…Ah…”
[Cluck cluck, my stupid siblings mock me as Chickenhead…]
Looking up toward the sound, a 3-meter-tall beastman with a massive chicken head and horns stood arms crossed, glaring down.
Predatory arrogance in its gaze. Overwhelming pressure clashing with its chicken form. Shin Ayoung realized instantly: this was the threat her mom meant.
[No need to get heated… cluck cluck. Just prepare the prize ingredients as specified, and it’s done… cluck cluck.]
‘Dangerous. That—that’s an Arc Demon Beast!’
Yes, no doubt.
Straight out of Academia lessons: one of Slaughter King’s direct demons, an Arc Demon Beast.
Each one a boss of an S-grade dungeon—the ultimate monsters.
‘Run… we have to run?’
The smart play: use the Academia students as bait and flee solo to a low dungeon.
They might follow, but her odds were better alone.
But she’d never stoop to that trash tactic. Steeling herself, she clenched her fists.
[Cluck? Even monkeys know to flee foes they can’t beat—yet you’ll fight? Humans really are… cluck cluck. Stupid.]
“Don’t look back—run! Got it? I’ll handle Chickenhead!”
[Cluck kekekekek! Don’t make me laugh…]
“Huuuu! Judgment Field!”
To buy time for the others to escape, she staked her life and unleashed Judgment Field on the Arc Demon Beast.
She didn’t want to die either—but as one empowered by a Constellation, this was her duty as the strong. No hesitation.