Something's Wrong
Something was wrong.
Night had fallen.
Atop a high ridge, the vanguard hunter guilds had dug in and were taking their rest. The hunters of the 8th and 25th Guilds had carried themselves with swaggering confidence ever since the operation began. From the moment the campaign opened, they had claimed easy victory after easy victory against the Abysses in every engagement.
They knew well from experience how strong and terrifying the Abysses could be. Even so, watching the creatures fall more easily than expected had left them feeling considerably elated. The supply lines had stretched long on the march up from Pyongyang, and fatigue among their own forces had piled up to a significant degree — yet their morale still soared as if it might pierce the heavens.
As a result of those successive victories, they would soon reclaim the entire Korean peninsula, their long-cherished wish. Beyond that, they might even recover the ancient territories of Goguryeo that their ancestors had once dreamed of reclaiming. With China wiped clean from the map, those lands had become the domain of the monstrous Abysses. Plant a flag there, and they could rightfully declare it the territory of the Republic of Korea.
And so, at the thought that they themselves would become the protagonists of that long history they had studied in school since childhood, the hunters felt their chests swell with pride in every moment — even through the exhaustion.
"At this rate, we'll be across the Yalu River in about three days."
"Push that far first, then rest a bit… and after that, finally out onto the Manchurian plain?"
"That's right! Not anyone else — us! We're the ones who'll make that glorious history! We'll accomplish with our own hands what none of the great figures in the textbooks ever managed!"
Flushed with that thick excitement, the hunters looked forward to the battles still to come. One by one, they began turning in, shedding their fatigue so they could snatch a brilliant victory tomorrow.
And then—
"Emergency! Emergency!"
"Abysses incoming! All hands, up! Form defensive lines!"
"Wh-what?"
"Tch… of all times…"
They had been on the verge of sleep — the most exhausted hour of their day. On top of that, the fighting so far had already piled fatigue to a considerable level. Even so, they forced their heavy bodies upright and seized their weapons at once. This place was a battlefield, and their profession was that of soldiers. A soldier had to be ready to fight the enemy at any moment, under any circumstances.
Weapons in hand, the vanguard hunters formed their defensive lines. They were tired, yes — but after stringing together victory after victory, they believed they would drive off this enemy without much trouble either.
"Fire the flares!"
—Bang! Bang! Bang!
Flares burst overhead, splitting the darkness. They would reveal the enemy's position and, at the same time, serve as a clear signal to the main force farther back that something was happening here.
Moments later, countless Abysses came into view, pouring up from the low ground. The vast majority were the common lower- and middle-class Abysses — but among them, upper-class Abysses of distinctive forms were also visible.
"Tch… this one's going to be rough!"
"Don't worry! We've already called for support — reinforcements will come!"
"That's enough chatter! All units, combat ready! Don't let them take this ridge!"
The quantity and quality of the Abysses before them were clearly a cut above anything they had faced so far. Until now it had been nothing but middle- and lower-class creatures, and only in manageable numbers. What filled their vision now was a force heavy enough to overwhelm them on their own strength. Had they not already seized the high ground so favorable for defense, the situation would have been extremely dangerous.
Instinctive fear burned the last of the sleep from their eyes. The hunters waited calmly for the Abysses to enter range, holding for orders from their Guild Masters and adjutants.
"Fire!"
—Dadadadadadang!!!
—Kwagwagwagwang!!
The instant the order fell, countless bullets and bombs tore outward. They had been ambushed in the dead of night, but with advantageous terrain and overwhelming firepower behind them, the vanguard hunters began holding back the Abysses that came surging in like a tide.
But then—
"Krararararak!!!"
"Damn it!"
Upper-class Abysses vaulted the ridge in a single bound and slammed into the hunters. Where the middle- and lower-class creatures fell helplessly, these ones slipped past bullets with swift movements and closed the distance in a heartbeat. Werewolves that resembled wolfmen. Richards that called lions to mind. Their numbers were few relative to the whole, yet they knifed agilely into the hunters' formation and inflicted the heaviest damage.
"Kueeegeek!!"
"Stop them! Rear sniper teams, target upper-class Abysses only!"
If even one or two upper-class Abysses punched into the formation and killed or disabled a handful of allies, the entire battle situation would deteriorate at once. The rear snipers and the S-class hunters who were both directing the fight and shielding their own threw everything they had into cutting off the upper-class Abysses' approach.
Even so, as they poured everything into the defense, their faces grew steadily grimmer. Time passed, and the Abysses did not thin — they only multiplied. Every time a flare burst, they saw it: an endless black tide cutting through the forest. With every glimpse of that unbroken wave, they felt just how grave a crisis they were in.
And at the same time… one question rose unbidden in their minds.
What if every battle until now had been nothing more than bait?
Expend a small force to draw the enemy in. Lure the exhausted foe deep into their own territory — then sweep them away in a single stroke. The thought brushed across their minds.
N-no way… No. Even so, that can't be it. The enemy is Abysses. Monsters no better than beasts. There's no way they have that kind of intelligence…
Judging by every habit and every scrap of intellect they had observed in Abysses until now, it should have been impossible. And yet nothing else could adequately explain the situation they were in.
So the hunters of the 8th and 25th Guilds fought on with everything they had, the question still lodged in their minds—
—Kwagwagwagwagwang!!!
A thunderous explosion erupted on the flank. Color flooded back into the faces of the vanguard, who had been drowning in crisis.
"!"
"Ah… finally!"
Relief washed through them as they turned their eyes that way. Just as they had expected, the hunter guilds of the main force were coming into view, driving in to support them.
"All forces, attack! Wipe the Abysses out!"
They slammed in from the flank alongside the hunters and began butchering the Abysses. The 8th and 25th Guild hunters recognized at a glance who stood at the very tip of the main force's spearhead.
"That's…"
"Guild Master Lee Sena… Looks like she ran hard the second she got the call."
At the front, she was carving Abysses apart with the Rose Cutter. Close behind her, the other two S-class hunters — Choi Yujin and Seo Jiyun — were slaughtering the Abysses that swarmed like ants and clearing a path for their allies. Following them, the main force's troops began sweeping the Abysses aside without hesitation.
The battle that had been turning against them reversed in an instant thanks to that timely support. The vanguard hunters, flooded with relief, threw themselves back into cutting down the enemies still before their eyes.
And then—
—Kwaaaaaaah!!—
From somewhere, a vast cry shook the air in every direction. It rang out huge, like a wind instrument, yet carried something bone-chilling beneath it. The moment that cry sounded, the Abysses' assault — which had been pouring in like a swarm of ants — stopped dead, as if it had all been a lie.
And then—
"Huh?"
"What…?"
Like an ebbing tide, the Abysses began withdrawing into the forest. The hunters' faces filled with thick bewilderment.
Under ordinary circumstances, an enemy recognizing a losing fight and fleeing would have been the most natural thing in the world. But the enemy they faced in this moment was not a human capable of that kind of rational thought. Abysses possessed intellect no better than beasts; once seized by frenzy, they knew only how to charge forward on pure instinct. That such creatures — not one or two, but thousands of them — could choose retreat even while gripped by madness… that fact struck the hunters with both questions and a heavy, sinking shock.
Something's wrong… The movements that recalled their earlier tactics, and this now as well. I can't put my finger on it, but something feels ominous…
While the Guild Master of the 8th Guild fretted under that one-in-a-million unease—
"Hm?"
"What is it? Something's going on over there…"
The next moment, the scene that filled their eyes decided both Guild Masters. They would go down from the ridge and see for themselves.
What stood before them was Lee Sena, Guild Master of the 28th Guild — locked in some kind of argument with the other Guild Masters.