#182. As Expected, It's No Pushover.
Not much was known about Garuda's habits. Even the few facts that had come to light were discoveries made by referencing harpies.
In other words, Garuda shared similar habits with harpies.
Building on that hypothesis, it made some sense why Garuda had returned to the Korean Peninsula and taken up residence on a mountaintop.
Garuda's defining habit. Cannibalism among its own kind.
And harpies engaged in cannibalism during mating.
Just like a female crow devouring the male.
Kang Moo-hyuk suspected that Garuda's cannibalism might be part of its reproductive behavior.
If that was the case, it would also explain the second mystery.
Why had it returned to the Korean Peninsula?
Harpies return to the place of their birth to lay eggs. Like salmon's homing instinct.
If the second hypothesis held true, it naturally explained why it had settled on a mountaintop.
When laying eggs, harpies climb to high places.
Kang Moo-hyuk asked the operator.
"How many available drones do we have right now, aside from those filming the raid?"
"We've got about twenty set aside as spares, in case of breakage."
"Send a few to the peak where Garuda was."
"Five are possible. Shall I deploy them all?"
"Send them all."
"Understood. They're moving out."
Soon after, word came from the operator that the assault team had engaged in combat.
Kang Moo-hyuk glanced at the screen receiving the battle footage, then tuned it out.
The priority right now was Garuda's nest.
If it's laid eggs, if they've already hatched, we have to eliminate them no matter what.
Multiple flying named monsters like Garuda would be a catastrophe. Garuda was fast enough to render existing anti-air defenses useless—faster than any monster discovered so far.
He concealed his impatience, his eyes glued to the drone feed heading toward Nampo Taesan's summit.
"We've arrived. It's the peak where Garuda was."
"Put it up on the main screen."
The operator worked the console, and the drone footage appeared. Short gasps of horror escaped from the crew. Followed by sharp intakes of breath.
The hazy scene from the drone's long-range shots now sharpened into high definition.
The feed showed a gruesome site littered with torn monster limbs and chunks of flesh. Unidentifiable entrails were scattered about, and dried blood stained the ground.
Among them were intact corpses—their identity human. And the bodies had their heads ripped off and impaled on tree branches.
A few operators gagged and looked away. One even vomited stomach acid. Wrinkling his nose, he muttered to himself.
"Ugh, did it leave them there to eat?"
"Territorial marking."
Though it wasn't a question seeking an answer, Kang Moo-hyuk replied anyway.
The operators stared at him in dismay—he who gazed unflinchingly through the screen without a change in expression.
"That center area there. Zoom in."
Kang Moo-hyuk issued the order calmly. The operator, still recovering from nausea, manipulated the drone on ingrained reflex.
"What are you looking for?"
"The nest."
"Pardon?"
"Harpies... no, Garuda's nest. It might have laid eggs, so check every inch carefully. Don't miss anything."
At the word "nest," the operators' faces changed. As Slayer Guild members, they had plenty of raid support experience. They knew what a nest implied—and what would happen if a named like Garuda reproduced.
The operators focused on the screens with renewed intensity, eyes burning.
Kang Moo-hyuk assigned the five drones atop the peak to different operators, having them scour every corner.
But after a thorough search, there was no sign of what he sought.
No nest woven from branches and feathers like a harpy's. Nor any patch of dirt where Garuda might have curled up.
Is my theory wrong? Or has it not laid eggs yet?
Or maybe some other reason. It could just be behavioral instinct.
He wished he could dismiss it that easily, but his instincts still screamed warnings.
What have I overlooked?
Kang Moo-hyuk felt the need to approach from a different angle.
"Contact the command posts in Cheongjin and Hyesan, and the substation in Baekam-gun. Request monster distribution maps, subjugation lists, and data on the sacrificed hunters. As soon as possible."
* * *
The integrated assault team had taken cover on the southern slope of General Peak.
Go Eul-ji, who had flown in from the north, hovered above and unleashed her Heavenly Punishment skill once more at the pursuing Garuda.
Heavenly Punishment
Garuda shattered the gravity hammer the same way as before. But having flown even faster this time, its momentum was more menacing.
Go Eul-ji felt her ten layers of barriers wouldn't suffice. Instead, she landed Tenfold Chains on the slowed Garuda.
Tenfold Chains
Ten invisible chains bound Garuda tightly. They shattered in an instant, but that fleeting gap was enough for the assault team.
It started with Go Won-mae.
Binding Arrow
The soaring arrow wrapped around its wings. A yellowish cord from the arrow's fletching connected to the ground.
"Got it!"
Go Won-mae was a "care archer," a ranged attacker specializing in debuffs and mesmerization skills.
Care archers applied slows, binds, stuns, sleeps, and hypnosis to targets, stabilizing party hunts.
Moreover, he could switch to sniper mode for heavy damage after locking down monsters, leading the hunt as the main dealer.
This was a rare position, even across Asia beyond Slayer.
"Won-mae! Hold it tight. We'll handle the other wing."
Yeo Mun-gi burst forward, robe billowing. His orb staff targeted Garuda.
Freeze
Crackle!
Moist air froze in an instant, frost settling on Garuda's wings. They no longer flapped, yet Garuda somehow remained airborne.
"That bastard doesn't just fly with its wings, huh?"
Yeo Mun-gi realized the secret to Garuda's high-speed flight lay elsewhere but prioritized the hunt.
"Then how about this?!"
Crystal Jail
Ice prisons sprouted from the frozen wings, encasing Garuda.
And then.
Frozen Pillar
Ice pillars erupted from the ground, linking with the prison and fully enclosing Garuda.
"Ooh, Mun-gi hyung's showing off after so long?"
"Hmph! This is nothing."
Gam Woo-young's admiration drew a shrug and grin from Yeo Mun-gi. Gam Woo-young dashed to the base of the ice pillar, followed by melee dealers from other parties.
"What're you waiting for? Get that thing down already. Hurry up so we can smash it."
"Just wait. You think reshaping magic is easy?"
Unlike moments ago, Yeo Mun-gi sweated profusely as he adjusted mana and tinkered with the active skill.
The towering ice pillar sank to the ground, dragging the prison—and Garuda—with it.
Garuda thrashed inside, refusing to go down. Frost on its wings cracked and scattered. The unbound wing shook violently, the light tether from the earth fraying dangerously.
"Good work."
Pyo Beom-hee patted Go Eul-ji's shoulder after her Garuda-pulling duty, then stepped forward. Poison churned in her Poison Well.
Go Eul-ji, sensing Pyo Beom-hee's intent, warned her.
"Be careful. That thing's no joke. Honestly, not sure if poison will even work."
"I think so too. Haven't fed the well enough poison yet, so I'm uneasy. But better than nothing."
Pyo Beom-hee passed the waiting dealers and approached the finally grounded Garuda.
Black Mist
Pyo Beom-hee activated a skill bound to her unique item, Poison Well. Now she could wield the poison—previously limited to sword infusions or physical launches—from range at will.
The poison mist, infused with her will, was sucked into Garuda's nostrils and beak.
"Kraaaah!"
Garuda twisted in resistance, to no avail. Its body blackened.
"Whoa, Iron Will's brutal. That'd kill a hunter too."
As Gam Woo-seong noted, it was lethal venom by any measure.
Pyo Beom-hee layered paralyzing poison insufficient alone with toxins deadly to most monsters—including some absorbed from Upu Mangbau, her own stock, and guild-supplied poisons. This made her Korea's top poison specialist.
Soon, Garuda staggered and dropped to one knee. Its eyes glazed over, tongue lolling long from its beak.
Seong Seon-je ordered Yoon Dae-myung from Party 2.
"Hunter Yoon Dae-myung, status check."
Yoon Dae-myung was a ranger from tier guild High & Low, with appraisal skills including monster condition reads.
Object ID
Yoon Dae-myung's eyes whitened. He scanned Garuda top to bottom, then returned to normal.
"It's poisoned!"
At Yoon Dae-myung's OK sign, Seong Seon-je shouted.
"Strike on three! Yeo Mun-gi! Time it!"
"Got it."
"One, two, three. Go!"
On cue, Yeo Mun-gi released the skill. The ice prison vanished, and dealers charged. Gam Woo-young struck first.
But.
Clang!
Gam Woo-young's overhand swing for massive damage was caught in Garuda's claw on the first blow.
Their eyes met. Garuda's glazed eyes gleamed.
Fooled!
As Gam Woo-young realized the crisis was an act, he tried to warn the incoming hunters.
The black poison drained from Garuda's body and spewed from its beak—toward a hunter charging from the right.
"Gahk!"
Pyo Beom-hee reached out, reclaiming the poison from the afflicted hunter. She couldn't tend to Garuda.
Garuda's left wing flapped, scattering ice particles. The right wing thrashed, dislodging the arrow.
Freed from binding skills, Garuda's wings curled protectively around its body, hunching defensively.
"Sever the wing joints!"
Seong Sam-sik from Ssualabi Guild, positioned at Garuda's rear, charged. From his angle, Garuda's back was exposed—a tier guild's split-second targeting.
Seong Seon-je, watching, yelled.
"Fall back!"
He messaged Gong Jung-moon simultaneously.
Gong Jung-moon instinctively reached for Seong Sam-sik.
Reduce Damage
As the enchanter's signature shock-absorption skill enveloped Seong Sam-sik, steel feathers erupted from Garuda in all directions.
Seong Sam-sik froze in horror, swinging his blade. It deflected the targeting feathers erratically. But at such close range, he couldn't block perfectly.
In the end, seven feathers pierced his body.
Fortunately, his veteran twist minimized hits, protected his head to avoid vitals, and Gong Jung-moon's skill prevented fatalities.
Other hunters had retreated on Seong Seon-je's warning, suffering minimal damage.
"As expected, it's no pushover."
Seong Seon-je looked skyward.
Garuda had already evaded into the air, glaring down at the hunters.
"Not only do I run into an annoying bastard in my comeback fight, but this monster dares look down on me?"
Murderous intent flickered in Seong Seon-je's eyes. Not his usual rational gaze.
Raw.
His former self.
This was the hunter Seong Seon-je.
A guttural growl rose from his gut.
"I'll rip your wings off!"