The Hunter's Last Stand
Song Myung-sin kept glancing back over his shoulder.
Han Ji-woo, who had accompanied him as his aide, quietly spoke up at the sight.
"Is something bothering you?"
"...Huh? Oh, Vice-Leader One."
"You've been looking back constantly since earlier."
"Hmm... What did it look like to you?"
Instead of answering, Song Myung-sin countered with a question of his own. Han Ji-woo paused, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
He silently recalled the hunters they had parted ways with just moments ago.
"I didn't sense anything particularly special about them. They seemed like your average hunters you'd see anywhere. Though, as you mentioned, that one guy did stand out a bit..."
Han Ji-woo glanced back as he spoke.
"He just looked a bit fierce and sharp-featured. Nothing extraordinary."
"Hmm... You could see it that way... But tell me, Vice-Leader One... Do you think an ordinary hunter could withstand my presence? All his comrades were tense as hell."
"...He might have a relevant skill, or maybe he's just a bit dense. You weren't exactly radiating your aura openly, were you?"
"Urgh... Fair point, but still..."
"Besides, the opponent was 'human.' The thing that wiped out the Third Raid Team was a monster. Not human."
Song Myung-sin let out another groan at Han Ji-woo's pointed remark.
He had no retort to that.
"But it keeps nagging at me... Feels like I'm missing something..."
"...That's why I assigned someone to tail them separately, isn't it? We'll hear back soon."
"Is the guy you sent reliable?"
"He's a scout from high-rank monster raids. Expert in stealth and pursuit. Don't worry."
Despite Han Ji-woo's calm confidence, Song Myung-sin's expression remained troubled.
For a split second, his eyes flashed red...
Was it honed instinct from experience, or the insight of age? Either way, the image of that man they had just met lingered in Song Myung-sin's mind, refusing to fade.
"Bah... Probably just my imagination. Just a young guy with a weird vibe... He's human, after all..."
As Song Myung-sin sighed, trying to shake off his unease and resolve to wait for the surveillance report, something pinged on his senses.
"Evade—!"
"Get out of the way—!"
Song Myung-sin and Han Ji-woo shouted almost in unison.
Their razor-sharp senses as top-tier hunters had detected an unidentified object hurtling toward them.
As the two leaped aside, something crashed into the spot where they had stood with a boom.
Roll... roll...
Thud.
"...A head?"
"...Hunter Park Eun-woo?"
The mysterious object that rolled across the sand, staining it red, was a human head.
It belonged to the very hunter Han Ji-woo had sent to tail the others not twenty minutes prior.
The stealth and tracking expert had returned—head only.
"Wh-what the—?!"
"Everyone, battle formation...!"
Not his direct subordinate, but still a guildmate and junior. Song Myung-sin's roar, laced with shock and fury, echoed out.
At the same time, Han Ji-woo barked orders.
The watching hunters shoved aside their panic and sprang into action.
In an instant, they formed up for ambush defense.
And just as the formation solidified, a lone man emerged quietly from among the hunters.
As if he'd been standing there from the start, he stood there as naturally as could be.
Among the hundred-plus hunters, only Song Myung-sin, Han Ji-woo, and a few other high-rankers noticed.
Song Myung-sin swallowed hard at the sight of the man now embedded among them.
"...You."
"Mm. Didn't get to properly introduce myself earlier. Nice to meet you again."
In the tension-thick air, his voice was disarmingly casual.
As nonchalant as if out for a stroll. Song Myung-sin's lips twitched.
A storm of thoughts raced through his mind in that brief moment.
His gaze flicked to the man's feet.
The hunter's severed head lay there, unceremoniously discarded.
"Your doing?"
"If you're asking if I turned this hunter into this, then yes."
"...Why?"
"Hmm?"
The man tilted his head at Song Myung-sin's quiet question.
With a puzzled tone, as if genuinely baffled, he replied.
"Putting a tail on someone inside a labyrinth? That screams ulterior motives, doesn't it? We just eliminated a threat preemptively."
—Any problem with that?
No trace of guilt for taking a life.
Song Myung-sin sighed softly.
This guy's no stranger to killing!
Was that the source of the eerie unease he'd felt since locking eyes? Song Myung-sin glared at the man.
"Sure, tailing was our mistake... But did you have to kill him? He had a family."
"Everyone has their circumstances. He just paid for his actions."
"...So you're prepared to face consequences yourself?"
With those words, the Second Raid Team seamlessly shifted formation, encircling the man.
He scanned the airtight ring of hunters impassively.
"I'll be the one demanding accountability."
"...Hope your skills match that bravado."
His attitude was utterly unfitting against over a hundred hunters—all C-rank or higher, with B-ranks in the majority and plenty of A-ranks to boot.
Pretty confident against this many... But even an S-rank couldn't escape unscathed.
No S-rank hunter Song Myung-sin knew matched this man's appearance, either.
Best case, an A-rank pushing S-rank limits.
Song Myung-sin planned to subdue him first, then talk.
Just wanted to check a hunch... Things escalated weirdly. No need to stir up trouble unnecessarily...
A guildmate was dead.
They'd started it, sure—but they couldn't let it slide. Guild pride was at stake.
"Vice-Leader One."
"Yes, Vice Guild Master."
"Subdue him for sure. We started it, but he killed a guildmate. Can't ignore that. Some injuries are fine—just keep him alive."
"Understood."
With Han Ji-woo's steady reply, the 100-to-1 battle began.
The outcome was obvious, even without watching.
Even an S-rank would be helpless against these numbers.
Song Myung-sin watched impassively.
Yet a nagging unease persisted.
He suppressed the rising, inexplicable dread with a sigh.
"Once this is over, time to retire... What a way to end my career..."
Regardless of fault, his paranoia had cost two valuable hunters.
No meddling, no tailing order—and both the scout and this bold man might've lived.
Causing trouble for Korea's hunters in my twilight years... No face left to show my brother.
As Song Myung-sin lamented, a scream suddenly erupted.
He snapped his gaze from the labyrinth sky.
The voice was familiar—the First Raid Team's vice-leader, Han Ji-woo, with whom he'd just spoken.
What he witnessed was unbelievable.
Bloody raid members littered the ground around the man—in considerable numbers.
"Wh-what the hell?!"
What had happened in that split-second glance away?
Ignoring Song Myung-sin's shock, the man kept assaulting the team.
"G-gahhh!"
"D-damn it! Dodge!"
"H-Hye-jin—!!!"
The area was already a slaughterhouse.
Limb-lost hunters writhed on the sand; opportunistic ones frothed at the mouth, bodies bruised purple, collapsing.
Charred by fire, frozen solid in the desert heat.
Some giggled idiotically, sanity snapped; others petrified like stone.
Han Ji-woo, the vice-leader, fared worst—throat gripped in the man's hand, drenched in comrades' blood, not his own.
The man had swung him like a flail.
No longer a fight—a one-sided massacre.
Hell on earth.
Song Myung-sin's rage exploded.
"You bastard—!!!"
Face flushed crimson, he charged, his favored SA-grade weapon, the Cheongsong Sword, gleaming with fury.
The man glanced at the oncoming Song Myung-sin and casually tossed Han Ji-woo aside.
"Ugh...!"
Song Myung-sin hesitated, catching the flying body.
Thankfully, despite the mangled state, Han Ji-woo still breathed.
"G-guhk!"
"Hang in there, Vice-Leader! I'll heal you soon!"
He set Han Ji-woo down gently and eyed the man.
Normally, an attack would follow the toss—but the man was silent.
Checking why, Song Myung-sin saw him ignoring him entirely, massacring others.
"That... bastard... dares...!!!"
Magic barrages like airstrikes overwhelmed the team; they barely resisted.
A-rankers and some B-ranks fought valiantly, but close range yielded no contest.
Magic-focused hunter, clearly—but melee's no slouch either.
Biting his lip amid fury, Song Myung-sin assessed coldly.
Did I misjudge? S-rank or higher? Where'd a monster like that come from in Korea...?
A routine probe into the Third Team's wipeout had spiraled.
Too late for regrets.
"Damn it... Everyone, retreat! I'll hold him as long as I can—run and report to the Guild Master!"
Wisely, he chose preserving remaining forces over all-out assault.
Even if S-rank or better, I'm an A-rank brushing S-rank! Pure defense, I can buy time!
No survival for him—but save the rest, inform his nephew...
"No letting you escape."
Song Myung-sin froze mid-charge.
His gaze swept blankly.
Fleeing hunters collapsed en masse.
The man hadn't moved.
"...What...?"
A hollow whisper escaped.
His raspy voice drifted over the fallen.
Dozens downed by a mere glance.
"Impossible... This... can't be...?"
"Mana drain's hefty after all... Not practical in real combat."
"...'Real combat'? What the hell...?"
"Hmm?"
The murmuring man turned to Song Myung-sin.
"Literal meaning. You're not even proper combat for me... If you and the fallen had coordinated from the start... Might've been tricky even for this form."
"...You... don't tell me... SS-rank?"
The man smirked at Song Myung-sin's trembling question.
"Funny joke. A real SS-rank? No comparison. That's a walking natural disaster."
"......"
Song Myung-sin fell silent.
The claim sounded absurd.
Yet to him, the man was disaster incarnate.
If not him, what qualified?
"One... just one question."
"Shoot."
"The Third Raid Team wipeout... your doing?"
The man pondered briefly.
"Only one large raid team touched since heading up. Not sure if it's your Third—but yes, wiped one out."
"...So my hunch was right."
"Better you felt nothing, from your view."
"...True. Meddling opened Pandora's box."
The man shrugged lightly.
His unflappable calm almost drew a laugh from Song Myung-sin.
He didn't hold it back.
"One more?"
"Ask away. Plenty of time."
The man nodded steadily, then added.
"Though, other hunters might show. Wrap this quick—no needless killing."
"Heh... 'Needless'... After this absurdity...?"
Song Myung-sin scanned slowly.
Fallen members everywhere—most dead gruesomely, a few clinging stubbornly.
It stung.
"So why ask?"
"...Are you really human?"
Surprise flickered across the man's ever-calm face at the steady question.
He didn't hide it.
"How'd you know?"
"...Radiating inhuman aura like that... How could I not, you freak? Ditch those blood-red eyes. Pissing myself here."
"Pretty composed for that."
"Heh... This old man's got pride from his prime."
The man nodded impassively.
Surprise gone.
"Ha... Monster in human skin... World's gone mad..."
"No intent to slaughter humans... But you won't buy it."
The man approached slowly.
Facing encroaching death, Song Myung-sin gazed skyward blankly.
"Goddamn... Craziest shit in my old age."
"Just to check—want to live?"
"...What? The fuck kinda nonsense is that?"
"Straight up. I like you. Can't promise total freedom... but work for me?"
Song Myung-sin paused at the abrupt offer—more stunned than considering.
"Pass."
"Shame."
"Don't look ashamed at all... Your crew monsters too?"
"Nah, clueless. Think I'm high-rank hunter."
"Small mercy."
His face eased slightly.
He stared at the man now inches away.
"Snake spawn, huh."
"...Impressive. How?"
"Eyes scream snake. Obvious."
Song Myung-sin chuckled.
The man watched, then spoke final words.
"I'll make it quick, at least."
"Thanks, monster. Eat shit. Think I'll go easy?"
Song Myung-sin raised his sword.
Against an unwinnable foe, he gripped it firm.
"Hunter pride?"
"Damn right, freak... You wouldn't get it. That's what hunters are."
"...Yeah. Admired that once."
The man muttered too low, stretching.
"As respect to you as a hunter, I'll give my all."
His body swelled instantly.
Immense bulk swallowing light; pitch-black scales. Crimson glaring eyes.
And three heads.
Facing the monster's true form, Song Myung-sin laughed hollowly.
"Fuck... 'Quick' my ass..."
Thus ended Song Myung-sin's nearly 40-year hunter career—and his long life.
With him perished the promising hundred elite hunters.
The news spread swiftly beyond the labyrinth.
Chaos erupted outside.