Midnight Assault on Gwanak Summit
"Gaaah! It's a monster!!"
A hero cried out in terror. The heroes gathered at the summit of Gwanak Mountain shared his sentiment.
Usa gulped and tapped his staff against the ground.
"...Has a real Gate of Hell opened up in Seoul?"
Headless Kaijin were shambling up the mountain path like zombies toward the Gwanak summit. They scattered blue flames from their entire bodies, looking just like monsters crawling up from the underworld.
"Must be the dimension gate's influence. You think this is normal?"
Pungbaek spat phlegm on the ground and summoned wind around his stick. The mana aura emanating from beyond felt vicious enough to massacre everyone at any moment.
"Unsa, be careful. Don't collapse like last time."
"I'm fine. I won't make a fool of myself like before."
Unsa twirled her spear shaft into position. Mana stored in the new combat suit supplied by Yuseong Group flowed into her spear.
"...Kid, isn't that suit a bit much?"
Pungbaek cleared his throat awkwardly and pointed at Unsa's suit. The new combat gear exposed patches of bare skin in its design.
Unsa laughed without a hint of embarrassment.
"It says the more skin you expose, the higher the defense! Right in the manual!"
"......Old man, can we sue Yuseong under consumer protection laws?"
"I'd sell my last rags to hire a legal team."
Pungbaek and Usa sighed as they gathered their mana. The other heroes blocking the slope did the same against the approaching monsters.
His face on the smartwatch screen looked gaunt as a skeleton.
Analysis data on the enemies popped up on the heroes' screens.
The mana pattern readings were shocking.
......Identified as deceased heroes. Pine Tree Unit.
"What...?"
Unsa urgently enhanced her vision with mana. Though headless and in different clothes, their weapons and gaits matched people she knew. Especially the headless swordsman in the center gripping a red sword stood out.
Pungbaek crouched low, grimacing.
"Jeoksong...!"
The A-rank villain he'd personally captured. Jeoksong shambled forward like a zombie from legend.
— Steady. Reconfirm enemy mana patterns.
Mana signature: Red. Confirmed as monsters.
Unknown cause. But they now threaten humanity as monsters.
"So they're Kaijin because they're people-turned-monsters?"
Jijeonggwan nodded at Pungbaek's suggestion and updated the signal.
The Kaijin locked eyes with the heroes. They raised their weapons and charged.
— Total force! Engage!
Eliminate Kaijin 'Dullahan'!
Midnight on May 9th. All eyes turned to the Gwanak summit.
The ground splits. Waves surge. The shockwaves from clashing sword and fist alone devastate the surroundings.
Unlike the first exchange, not a single blow lands.
A horizontal overhead slash—she dodges sideways, deflecting the blade. A vertical low sweep—fist slams down to block the sword path. A diagonal grand swing—hand extends, grabbing the blade not with bare knuckles but a mana shield wrapped around it.
Kiiing!
Mana clashes against mana. Blue and gold mana wrestle fiercely.
The blade inches into the gauntlet.
"Ngh!"
The swordsman holds the advantage in their duel, naturally. Fists strike surfaces; blades cut lines.
She ducks low swiftly. The sword grazes her handback—no wound.
Gwanggeom's body spins, continuing the assault. She wraps mana around one hand to parry upward, swinging her other fist.
Glancing the flat, bouncing the edge off the gauntlet back, stabbing the gap before he recovers.
The best defense is offense. She deflects his wide swing with both hands, creating an opening. Elbow to waist. Elbow aligns with right arm vertically.
Gwanggeom sprays mana forward upon reading her stance, dodging.
"Tch!"
Too late—she thrusts. Twisting her waist in place, arm extends. Fist as a point, stinging like a bee.
Kaang!
Regrettably, the fist misses Gwanggeom's body. He pulled his guard to block the path.
A sword thrust erupts from below. She leaps back, widening the gap. His sword slices the end of her necktie.
Tacit rest. Sword-and-fist exchanges numbering over 30 have already just traded mana attrition.
Gwanggeom regathers his whole-body mana; she infuses hers to repair the damaged gauntlet.
Flutter.
She deliberately flaps both hands. Naturally, even this minor habit will remind him of someone.
"You."
Gwanggeom finally spoke.
"Make it clear. What is your connection to Cheongyeom and Brother Cheolsu?"
"Same fire attribute?"
She tilts her head slightly. His thrown sword grazes beside her hair.
Gwanggeom's face was deadly serious.
"Don't play games. No next time."
"Not playing.... Anyway, wanna chat while we refill mana?"
Fighting games always have these tacit moments. When both widen distance to charge ultimate moves.
Since Gwanggeom wanted it, she had no choice but to talk.
"That curious about my relation to Hwagwon?"
He had to be. Her human-form style was fundamentally bare-knuckle brawling. No specific martial art, but one man turned back-alley scraps into practical combat: Hwagwon Kim Cheolsu.
"Hwagwon Kim Cheolsu. Not some knockoff like Lee Seung-hyung—the hero who died in the Pyongyang incident, right?"
"Yes. I saw Brother die with my own eyes. How do you know his techniques?"
"...Learned 'em? Got beaten into my body directly."
No need for more explanation.
"Brother's... alive?"
"Ah, no. Sorry, almost misled you. He's long gone."
Explaining it was a hidden piece from beating Pyongyang's hidden boss? Who'd believe that? From first acquisition in loop 2 to final loop 17 clear, she'd trained endlessly in VR sim against Hwagwon's ghost.
Unjang and Unsa tag-teamed her relentlessly under "sparring" pretense whenever possible. Protagonist fights were scarce, but that grueling hellish training shone now.
Phoenix's body fully realized those memories. She summarized countless ones for the confused Gwanggeom.
"He taught me as a ghost. Believe that?"
"No reasoning with you. My fault for talking to a madwoman."
Gwanggeom raises his sword diagonally again. Mana refilled, breaths caught—time to resume.
But this was just dragging out their arcade brawl. Meaningless sword-fist trades. Wasting time.
So she lowered her fists. Relaxing stance heightened Gwanggeom's tension.
She grinned, pointing at her heart.
"Not gonna use it like this?"
"...This is enough."
"Fight at full power or die?"
"Until my will breaks, I won't die. Even if I can't kill you."
She pouted. True enough. Gwanggeom's mad dog moniker wasn't for show. Never quits till the enemy drops.
Fans dubbed him "Rabid Hound" with respect for that tenacity.
"Fine, let's see how far that will goes."
Against 100% physical resistance, hit mental. But she had no mind-shaking spells or skills.
"For spilling on Hwagwon, mind if I ask one thing?"
"Shut up with the nonsense...!"
Gwanggeom kicks off the ground. One step to close, slicing her in half.
She just smiles, raising her left arm in the blade's path.
"Rusalka."
Kaang!
Gwanggeom's sword meets her left arm. Black armor transformed from forearm down blocks it.
Partial Kaijinization. Cadre privilege: shifting body parts to monster form mid-human shape.
"...!"
Gwanggeom flinches. Otherworld-Terra impure mana seeps from her arm, clouding his eyes.
"Urk!"
Something snaps inside; blood trickles from Gwanggeom's mouth.
Fwaaah—!
Golden light envelops him. Mana refills, wounds vanish—revived.
Infinite lives. Infinite continues. Won't die till he quits.
So force him to drop the controller himself.
"About Rusalka."
"What nonsense are you—!"
"How long can you hold out without using the water power she left?"
Gwanggeom freezes. She steps forward, grabbing his sword.
"You stabbed Rusalka's heart, drank her core, right? That powered D-rank hunter Heo Yun-hwan to S-rank."
She points at his heart, grinning.
"You tried it in Pyongyang already? Know how strong it is. Oh, secret? Reason S-ranks got massacred."
"Shut up!"
"Hwagwon dead to monsters, everyone dying. You tried Rusalka's power, lost control; others died containing it. All but you wiped out."
"I said shut—!"
His sword trembles. He yanks to swing and silence her—futile. Her tongue's faster than steel.
Blade grazes her collar, slicing air.
"Why so jumpy? Haven't even started properly."
Perfectly evading while talking. He swings wildly, ignoring her—can't help hearing.
Blade cuts empty air. Full focus on dodges means no hits land.
"Can't kill me without Rusalka's power~"
Puk!
Gwanggeom forms a light needle, stabbing his own ear. Bursting eardrums to block her voice.
"Whoa, hate my words that much?"
He rejects talk. She snaps her fingers.
Kwaaaang!
Massive fire pillar erupts under him. He shields desperately with mana barrier—but flames consume even that.
Shooo—
Pillar fades; charred corpse kneels. Gold flickers, reverting to human form.
Eardrums regenerated, too.
"They say burning to death hurts worst."
"This pain... is nothing."
"Hopeless case."
Snap again. He raises sword to cleave pillar—but engulfed, dies again.
Third revival. Gwanggeom rises, re-posing. Fighting spirit intact in his eyes.
"What now? Won't use Rusalka's power till the end?"
"Never using that power."
Gwanggeom charges resolutely. She grabs the blade, halting him.
"Why? No problem exploding here. Barrier island's all that'd break. Even nuclear fusion—only this seal suffers. Last chance! Use it, kill me!"
"As you say, it'd kill you. But I can fight here eternally without it."
"...Gwanggeom, wanna deal?"
"No."
"Tch."
Annoying guy. She clicks her tongue, burns him, backs off.
Flash. Revived.
"Can't kill me, so buy time dying forever?"
"Yes."
Just like canon—infuriating ability. Without spirit awakening excuse, she'd night-raided his neck long ago.
"Sigh, such a hassle."
Force Rusalka's power out. To escape seal, fully awaken spirit.
"Can't kill me with just Gwanggeom power; can with Rusalka. Admit that?"
"I know. Stop repeating."
Not pointless. Intentional.
"Won't die easy. Persuasion fails. So make Heo Yun-hwan use Rusalka himself...."
She activates smartwatch. Gwanggeom snorts mockingly.
"Useless. This is a severed world. No comms."
"Nah. Just showing a photo. Wanna see?"
Screen to Gwanggeom. Horror in his eyes.
Photo from 30 minutes ago: Eun Yu-ha with Seok Ha-rang. Daughter asleep unaware; Yu-ha holds vial.
Disbelief floods him.
"Fake."
She shrugs.
"Space cut off, but time flows same. We've fought ~15 minutes?"
"What the hell did you do!!"
Gwanggeom trembles in rage. She spreads arms, laughing.
"Like you set up ult here waiting, I prepped too. Yuseong lady? Surprisingly chatty. You know who she's with now, right?"
Taps watch.
"Fight forever? Puhuhu. Swamped as is—no time. Fight eternal if you want. But...."
Chops hand across throat mime.
"Your daughter Seok Ha-rang? Who knows what happens meanwhile?"
"You bastard!!!"
Finally, blue waves ripple in Gwanggeom's eyes.
Kwaaaah—
Waves around island roar. Like a beast with will, baring fangs, encircling her.
"Right? Gotta unleash Rusalka. Why endure this hell otherwise."
Flame gauntlets flicker. Water-attuned mana smothers flames.
She claps, igniting her body.
Kaijin form.
Rage swells in Gwanggeom's eyes.
[Why? Thought I'd fight human-form?]
Whole-body flames surge, repelling water mana. Pushed by matchup? Overwhelm with quality and quantity.
[Yeah. Spirit fights start at phase 2 basics.]
She yields first move. Gold-and-blue swirling eyes fill with clear killing intent.
[Now, let's see half-spirit Heo Yun-hwan's second phase.]
"I'll kill you for sure!"
Countless light orbs and massive waves engulfed her.