Behemoth, the Demon Dragon

I had no idea why Ayase suddenly showed up out of nowhere, but thanks to her, I managed to slip out of the monster wave without a single interruption.

When every second counted, the last thing I needed was something snagging at my ankles — otherwise, I might have lost him.

"That guy said he was running off with Behemoth, didn't he?"

Which meant, one way or another, I had to head toward wherever Behemoth was.

I honed my senses to a razor's edge and flung them wide. A monster on Behemoth's scale would be radiating a powerful surge of mana — no doubt about it. Most of the underground was already mapped out in my head.

If I limit the reach of my senses to the areas I haven't searched yet…

…There. I could feel it.

It wasn't raging wildly — maybe it had lost consciousness — but the aura of mana was deep and unfathomable, like an endless ocean whose bottom no one had ever sounded.

"It's below us!"

I leveled my spearhead at the floor and raised my mana.

The floor I stood on collapsed straight through, opening a path to the level below. After a short drop, I steadied myself and landed.

Rumble, rumble….

As the dust settled, the lower level revealed itself. A facility even more covert than the one above — and built far more solid. And there, beyond the massive glass tank facing me, was what I'd come for.

"So it's you…!"

A colossal dragon.

"Behemoth."

Chains of light were wrapped tight around its body, wings included, and something resembling a crown sat atop its head as it kept its eyes sealed firmly shut. Thankfully, it didn't look ready to go berserk on the spot.

"H-hiiiiek! Lee Tae-hyun!"

A door swung open and a man stumbled in, a single step behind me. Judging by the voice, it was the same clown who'd been gleefully broadcasting upstairs just moments ago.

"You're late? I thought I'd die of old age waiting for you."

"Y-you…! Hiiiiek! You insolent bastard!"

The man's face twisted, and his body began to mutate. His arms warped into drill-like tentacles, and black eyes bloomed across every inch of his skin. Why do these people always have to transform into something so revolting?

"Fine, then! I'll kill you myself!"

"You sure about that?"

"Don't get cocky! You're already worn out from dealing with the failed specimens!"

Apparently, the idiot thought I was exhausted. Well, what a shame about that.

Turns out my stamina recovers a little faster than most.

"I'll grind you to shreds, guts and all!"

His tentacles whirled with a furious shriek. But for all that grotesque appearance, the energy he actually radiated was nothing impressive.

"Sorry, but I don't think you're even worth my time."

"What did you say?!"

"Come out, Rir."

At the call of her name, ripples spread through my shadow and she padded slowly out.

"Snack time."

The spirit of a divine beast.

"Grrrrrrrr!"

Rir bared her fangs savagely.

A crimson-tinged whirlwind spun in orbit around Rir. The man read the currents of air, and his eyes bulged to three times their size.

"A m-mere familiar can use skills like those?!"

All those skills were, from the very start, Rir's own power — the innate inheritance of Fenrir. In other words, they were skills designed around the original Fenrir's nature. Unlike me, who borrows skills through Resonance, the skills Rir wields—

—are already, for all practical purposes, fully mastered.

CRUNCH!

The instant Rir lunged, the man's body was torn apart. It happened in the blink of an eye — he never even had a moment to react.

"…Kuhak?!"

His severed upper half spewed a bucketful of blood.

"I let… my guard… down…."

"Guard? Please. I could throw a hundred of you at her and she wouldn't lose a single hair."

Rir gnawed on one of his tentacles a few times, then spat it out. Apparently, the texture didn't suit her.

"What the hell are you?! Who even are you?!"

"…Tsk. You bastards keep stealing my lines."

Who am I? That's my question to ask.

"You're the ones who popped up out of nowhere and ran rampant across every corner of the world first."

All I'm doing is returning the favor — serving their chaos right back at them. No grand cause, no noble vision of saving everyone. Just the simple desire for revenge, giving back what was done to me, and the modest conviction that I protect the people around me.

The man ground his teeth until they cracked.

"Don't think this is the end…! We will reveal ourselves again!"

"Oh, I don't think this is the end."

I knew plenty of the Advent Cult was still lurking in the shadows. I knew the Japan branch was only a fragment of the whole.

But still.

"This place, at least — I'm going to make sure it never rises again."

I pulled the phone from my pocket, the one that had been buzzing for a while now.

"Mr. Tae-hyun."

The voice of a dependable ally carried through the receiver.

"Entry into the building basement complete. Evidence of illegal elixir manufacturing secured. All remaining mutated subjects have been apprehended."

"Excellent work, Ms. Ju-ah."

Here's how the whole affair had come together. Before coming to Japan, I'd handed Jin Han-seong — arrested at Busan Port — over to the Hunter Bureau. His testimony, along with the physical evidence of the illegal elixirs, firmly established that the supply route ran through Japan, and on that basis I requested investigative cooperation from the Japanese Hunter Bureau.

Crimes involving hunters, where the damage can balloon beyond all control, are always top priority for investigation.

The Japanese Bureau had no reason to refuse. I'd already ironed out the specifics with Seong Ju-ah before we entered the building.

Which means, right now, upstairs—

An investigative team dispatched from the Japanese Hunter Bureau had begun seizing the facility and conducting their inquiry. They were securing the Moon Fragment production site, arresting the hunters mutated into monsters, and pronouncing a death sentence on 'NewWorld' itself.

"You lost. To one man — just me."

"……."

"And this is only the beginning."

Not just this puny Japan branch. Their headquarters — and beyond that, the Iron Blood Monarch, the very black heart of their doctrine. I'm going to finish it all with my own two hands, properly.

"Keh… kahahahahaha!"

That was when the man abruptly burst out laughing, weeping tears of blood as he thrust his broad, protruding face at me, mad as a lunatic.

"So you really are no ordinary existence! No wonder That One called you the Heaven-Defier — He was right!"

He spat out the incomprehensible words like a curse.

"Ahh…! Cardinal Elpiros! Please, forgive this wretched sinner!"

"What…?"

"You fool! Did you truly believe I had made no preparations whatsoever?!"

CLANG!

An ominous sound whipped past my ears — the unpleasant screech of metal, like chains hitting the floor.

"His seal was already undone! From the moment you set foot in here!"

"…!"

"I'd planned to deal with you first, then reconstruct the binding ritual — but it seems that won't be necessary!"

KA-CRACK! Rumble-rumble-rumble!

The chains shattered completely, raining down on the floor like droplets of water.

"Glory to the Monarch!"

CRUNCH.

I crushed his skull before he could spout another word. His body went limp, cold blood streaming out in rivulets.

And in the same instant, a pressure dropped onto my shoulders like a mountain — suffocating, absolute.

"…There's never an easy way to do anything, is there."

I turned around.

A colossal eye, slit vertically like a reptile's, was staring straight at me.

"GRYAAAAAAAARA—!"

The Demon Dragon of the Azure Heavens.

The Devastator of the Continent.

Vanguard of the Iron Blood Legion.

And.

Boss of the highest-tier S-Rank Gate.

Behemoth.

The great superior species shifted its body.

Behemoth?

There had been a time, once, when I spoke with a hunter who'd barely survived an encounter with the thing.

Why are you suddenly bringing up that flavorless overgrown lizard?

…Because someday I might have to fight it.

You? Ha! Listen, pal. For scrubs like us, surviving an encounter with that thing would be a miracle in itself.

Don't even think about fighting it. No — don't get close, don't even lay your naked eyes on it.

The survivor had gone white as a sheet, piling on the horror with theatrical exaggeration. Back then, I'd assumed he was embellishing.

Facing it yourself, you finally understand.

His words hadn't been exaggerated at all. If anything, they'd been an understatement.

My body's frozen…!

So that's why there was mana laced through that roar.

Dragon Fear.

A skill obtainable only by dragon-type monsters. An ability that crushes an opponent's morale through sheer presence alone — the authority of a superior species made manifest as a skill.

CRACK! CRASH!

When the creature spread its wings, the walls crumpled like sheets of paper. And the moment it brought its foreleg down to finish me off—

"Arf!"

Rir clamped her teeth onto my clothes and hauled me out of the strike zone. Thanks to her, my petrified body snapped back to normal.

"Thanks, Rir."

"Woof!"

Whether it was because she was a spirit, or because she was a divine beast, Dragon Fear, thankfully, had no effect on her.

"GYAAAAAAA—!"

Behemoth immediately went on a rampage, tearing the space itself apart.

"It's a lot more violent than the stories suggested!"

It would have been perfect if they'd handed it over with the seal still intact, but the chains were already shattered. Only one option remained.

Subjugation.

A subjugation no one had ever accomplished before my regression — Behemoth's. I had to be the one to pull it off.

CRASH! BOOM!

After thrashing against the walls for a good while, Behemoth spread its massive wings wide.

Don't tell me…?

"You're trying to get outside?!"

"GRROOOOAR!"

Perhaps this cramped space had grown stifling — the creature writhed its body, readying itself to leap.

I couldn't afford to lose it here.

"Hah!"

I closed the distance and drove my spear into the gap between its armor-like scales. Almost simultaneously, Behemoth launched itself upward with tremendous force, trampling human architecture like it was nothing at all.

"WAAAAAAAH!"

In a single bound, we shot from the underground to the skies above Tokyo.

"KYAAAAAH!"

"What is that thing?"

"I-is that a monster?!"

"Whoa, no way. Snap a pic, snap a pic!"

I could feel every person on the ground gaping up at me. Honestly, I'd be shocked too. Who'd have thought the day would come when I'd be riding on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Behemoth's back?

Though 'riding' is generous. This is closer to clinging on for dear life.

Despite getting exactly what it wanted — the open sky — the creature twisted and thrashed as if something still displeased it.

"GRAAAAAAH!"

"W-would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you just calm down, you damned lizard?! WAAAH!"

Eventually, the spear came loose and I plunged straight back toward the ground. A heartbeat before impact, I bled off the force with spear technique — enough ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to escape with nothing fatal.

"Ghh… that lunatic reptile…."

"Mr. Tae-hyun!"

A familiar voice. Not through the receiver this time — actual spoken Korean, after far too long.

"Yes, Ms. Ju-ah."

Seong Ju-ah. She'd flown all the way out here herself for this joint investigation into Japan.

"Th-that dragon — what on earth is it?!"

"An S-Rank Gate boss that this guild attempted to raise in captivity."

It was good to see her — truly — but dealing with this mess came first.

"An S-Rank Gate…!"

"First, evacuate the civilians. Then we throw up a barrier to shrink its range of movement."

"What?! You can't possibly be planning to fight that thing?!"

Ju-ah cried out in alarm, trying to stop me. Behemoth wasn't some low-tier S-Rank — it was a monster at the very pinnacle of the classification. She was an awakened hunter herself; she'd have felt the crushing weight of its mana radiating off it.

"You can't take it alone! We have to wait for other hunters to arrive and hit it with a combined assault!"

"It's already rampaging through the middle of the city. There's no leisurely time to sit around waiting for the Japanese hunters."

It would be no exaggeration to say that from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this moment on, every wasted second would cost hundreds — thousands — of lives.

"So let's gamble, then."

The subjugation of Behemoth.

Would the spear of this life, at last, reach it?