Hellfire on the Beach
With those words, someone snatched the two away and retreated. Golden hair fluttered in the wind from all directions cloaked in black. It was Ryu Shin-ah.
"Ha, SeafoodScammer Hunter?!"
"Why are you with that guy...?"
Lee Sun-joo Killer and Ryu Shin-ah. Dawn Light and Joo Young cried out in shock at the unexpected duo.
Ryu Shin-ah set them down on the cliff at the edge of the beach and pleaded.
"Don't interfere with the King and stay here. I'll evacuate the remaining people from here first. You there, space-type, right? Open a portal in front of the dungeon entrance."
"No way, what can that one person do alone!"
"The King is enough on his own."
Joo Young shouted in panic, but Ryu Shin-ah left those words behind and headed to the locations of the hunters marked on the monitor.
Biting his lip, Joo Young obediently tore open space anyway.
Ryu Shin-ah, supporting those scattered nearby, shouted in front of the black portal.
"King! Get ready!"
"Got it. Just hurry and evacuate everyone. A lot have already died, but...?"
Lee Sun-joo Killer Guy—Yul—raised her baton high.
"We have to save the survivors."
Just as a wall of water towering to the end of the sky cast its shadow, ready to engulf them at any moment.
Hellfire
Kuwoong! The earth surged upward like an explosion from that simple motion. The vibration spreading from the baton clashed against the tsunami. The water split apart like it was bursting from the shockwave. There wasn't even time for the water to crash onto the beach.
Kwakwakwang. Crimson-black flames erupted from the split earth. Hellfire, utterly unlike ordinary flames, devoured the black water. The Kraken beyond the half-evaporated sea let out agonized roars.
Exploding steam, scorching heat that stung the eyes. Flames. A presence illuminating the pitch-black scene. The overwhelming difference in power ignored even elemental advantages.
It was a fact she'd heard many times before, but witnessing it firsthand was a first.
Joo Young and Dawn Light couldn't tear their eyes away from the sight.
"My god..."
Dawn Light murmured.
Flames that evaporated even a tsunami. Dominance that stitched together the split ocean floor. Destructive power that neutralized even the Kraken's regeneration.
How could that be human strength? Was it really the same kind of hunter as them?
It was an existence so far beyond that calling it the same felt shameful. That small frame in plain black tracksuit looked nothing short of awe-inspiring.
Yul glanced back briefly. Even hidden by bandages, she could feel the gaze pinning them in place.
"You've done enough, now get out."
Her small voice rang clear. The two tried to force themselves up, but Ryu Shin-ah, who had already tossed all the other hunters outside, placed hands on their shoulders.
"Time for you two to exit stage left."
"W-Wait a second!"
"Hold on, just...!"
"Tell the Director we're the ones closing this up!"
With a light push, their bodies tilted. Joo Young stared at the scene before him even as he fell into his own portal.
Ryu Shin-ah descending to help Yul, and Yul charging toward the Kraken.
Kwakduk!
"So damn slippery."
Yul grumbled irritably as she jammed her baton into the Kraken's leg. The cyan-purple limb, covered in its signature mucus, was as thick as the trunk of a centuries-old tree.
Dodging the legs ravaging the sand, Ryu Shin-ah chuckled.
"That's pretty good, right? Half-roasted fresh seafood thanks to the King!"
"It's still regenerating anyway."
The reason the Kraken was notorious even among high-rank monsters was its regeneration. As long as it stayed submerged, it regenerated endlessly—and incredibly fast. Fire was most effective, but who could overcome the ocean? Most seared it with lightning, the only real solution, but if the power didn't outpace regeneration, it was useless. Hunters often exhausted themselves first.
But that was just the 'standard' method.
Ryu Shin-ah called out to Yul with a small laugh.
"King! There's a way to end this quick—wanna try?"
"Spit it out already."
"Don't get mad if it sounds ridiculous!"
"Just tell me!"
If two conditions were met, there was a way.
"Pull that thing out of the sea."
First, drag the Kraken out of the ocean. Every hunter failed here, making it practically impossible with human power.
But neither Ryu Shin-ah nor Yul doubted success.
Yul whipped her head around and yanked out the baton.
Kuduk, the leg beneath her sneaker warped under pressure.
Shwaaak— The remaining legs, regenerated in the sea, surged toward her.
And in that instant.
Taang! Yul's soaring baton struck the lead leg dead-on, and she kicked off.
The leg burst from the pressure and flew into the air as the baton snapped to a new angle. The remaining legs were all blocked by the baton.
Silver arcs wove through the sky, and Yul shot through them...
Kwaang—!
Finally slamming a leg down right in front of the Kraken's eye.
Yul looked down into the pitch-black eye.
"Come out, seafood."
Tak, the baton settled into her hand. Black energy coiled around it, extending it ten times longer than usual.
She jammed it into the spot where she'd stepped. The Kraken screeched.
Kueeeek—
Yul immediately stepped toward the opposite end of the baton into the air. Her view shot dozens of meters upward in an instant. Far on the beach, Ryu Shin-ah looked up at her.
With a deadpan face, Yul stomped the far end of the baton, accelerating her fall.
Twung. As the far end tilted sharply downward.
Chwaaaak. The Kraken's head finally lifted above the surface.
"...Ha."
Ryu Shin-ah, watching from the beach, let out an admiring chuckle.
Truly insane, General.
As the Kraken's body lifted into the air and the baton's angle neared vertical.
Yul grabbed the spot where her foot had been with her hand.
And then.
"Seafood, move!!"
"King, wait wait! I'll die if you crush meee!!"
She hurled the Kraken-impaled baton toward the beach.
Kukwakwakwang!
A crater formed like a meteor had struck. Ryu Shin-ah, who had dodged in terror, clutched his ringing ears.
The beach was nearly split in two.
Sensations aside, Ryu Shin-ah shouted immediately.
"King! Fire!"
Second condition. With infinite regeneration blocked by pulling it from the sea, incinerate it with super-effective fire. The Kraken's own regen made this impossible for average fire hunters, but.
Hellfire
It didn't apply to Yul.
The Kraken's eye locked on Yul just as lava-like flames engulfed its massive body.
Kwaaa— The heat dried Yul off instantly after being flung into the sea by the toss.
How many seconds passed?
The flames vanished like a snuffed wick, leaving Yul's silver baton, stabbed perpendicularly into the crumbled Kraken remains, gleaming alone on the sand.
"...Oh, it's over."
Ryu Shin-ah exclaimed in admiration.
Half-roast? That was tame.
The mid-boss and mobs remaining in the nearby cave have been completely wiped out by the previous shockwave.
"King, you're straight-up broken. I said pull it out, but I didn't expect that..."
"And you didn't dodge sooner to watch?"
"Who wouldn't watch that? You lifted a Kraken."
With raw strength, no less. Ryu Shin-ah stuck out his tongue.
The standard for Kraken raids was blocking surrounding seawater with water-types and searing with lightning in tandem. Pulling it out by force and roasting it? It was optimized for Yul based on his intel, but seeing it was awe-inspiring.
Yul shrank the baton stuck in the ground to normal size.
"Anyway, King. Seems like the surviving hunters saw everything earlier."
"Saw what?"
"That you and I know each other?"
Ryu Shin-ah shrugged as he released his ability. They'd heard the nicknames too—no way they missed it.
"Boss is down now, so they're probably out. They'll report to the Bureau, whatever."
He pulled out his phone from his pocket.
"Speaking of, check this out. Let's take a pic."
"Beat it."
"It's historic. From today, our connection's gonna be front-page news."
Gotta get the proof shot. Ryu Shin-ah raised his phone high to capture both of them. His faint smile and Yul gripping her baton atop the Kraken rubble nearly filled the frame.
"Don't spread it around uselessly."
"Nah. Keeping it as a memento. Lend it if I ask."
"Don't need it."
Yul unsummoned her baton and started walking. Ryu Shin-ah followed.
"Let's sell today's haul at the shop soon."
"Won't that start annoying rumors?"
"Might as well become the hunter with the strongest backup."
Ryu Shin-ah patted Yul's shoulder nonchalantly, as if saying not to worry.
"Good thing I swung by. Otherwise, everyone who entered would've died."
"Life's all luck."
Leaving the devastated beach behind, the two headed casually to the dungeon entrance.