Chapter 102

Chapter 102

BOOOOOM!

Hong Man-gi's black sword, Full Moon, collided with the Yeti King's ice club.

The Yeti King's destructive power was tremendous.

"Urgh..."

The eternal snow beneath Hong Man-gi's feet was crushed into a circular depression, and his knees buckled.

"Ugh...!"

The difference in their size and weight was overwhelming. It felt as though an entire mountain range was pressing down on him.

Gritting his teeth, Hong Man-gi used Full Moon to deflect the club. At the same time, he twisted his body and slipped inside the Yeti King's reach.

'Ordinary swordsmanship won't be enough. This thing is easily one of the strongest enemies I've ever encountered.'

His eyes flashed gold.

The Gourmet Alchemist skill.

Through the skill, the Yeti King looked less like a living creature and more like an enormous walking fortress. Its layers of ice armor perfectly dispersed physical impacts, while the muscles underneath were intertwined like steel cables.

"Then I'll cut along the grain!"

Hong Man-gi aimed for a tiny gap on its right thigh, where the muscles and armor met.

[Slash!]

Full Moon's Absolute Severing ability activated, leaving a deep cut across the monster's thigh. Blue blood sprayed into the air.

However,

"Heh, heh..."

[Sssssss...]

White cold air rose from the wound, and the severed flesh and ice armor instantly reattached themselves.

Super Regeneration.

One second.

That was all the time the monster needed to heal.

"What the hell is this thing...?"

Before Hong Man-gi could recover from his surprise, the Yeti King's counterattack came flying toward him.

[WHOOSH!]

An enormous palm swept toward Hong Man-gi.

He ducked just in time, but the freezing cold pouring from the monster's palm brushed past his shoulder.

"Hoo..."

[CRACK!]

"Ugh!"

Hong Man-gi's left shoulder instantly froze white. He felt his joint stiffen and his blood circulation slow.

Song Hwa-rin, who was watching, muttered,

"It's the Freezing Aura..."

The area within a ten-meter radius of the Yeti King was a domain of absolute zero. Simply being inside it caused Hong Man-gi's physical abilities to deteriorate rapidly.

His movements became sluggish, as though he were underwater, and every breath brought a stabbing pain as the cold entered his lungs.

Hong Man-gi was beginning to realize just how dangerous it was.

'I can't keep this up. I'll be worn down until I die.'

He took a backward step to create some distance.

But the Yeti King pursued him with a speed that did not match its enormous size.

[THUD! THUD! THUD!]

Its earthquake-like footsteps made Hong Man-gi's heart tighten.

"You bastard...!"

Hong Man-gi adjusted his grip on Full Moon.

For a B-rank Hunter, merely surviving against an AX-rank boss was practically a miracle.

But if he fell, Song Hwa-rin and his companions behind him would die.

"This is tougher than I expected."

Hong Man-gi forced a smile and charged at the monster once more.

[CLANG! CLANG! CRASH!]

He moved as though dancing, dodging the Yeti King's attacks while slashing and stabbing at it.

Every movement showed how desperately he was fighting.

But the difference between them was clear.

Small wounds began appearing all over Hong Man-gi's body, and his movements were becoming noticeably slower.

Meanwhile, the Yeti King continued pressing him with its seemingly endless stamina and limitless regenerative abilities.

It was at that moment.

The Yeti King suddenly stopped attacking, and its red eyes flashed. Its gaze was no longer fixed on Hong Man-gi but somewhere behind him.

Hong Man-gi followed its gaze.

'Song Hwa-rin...?'

[Grrrr...]

The monster seemed to understand instinctively that the woman behind Hong Man-gi was far more dangerous than the irritating little flea in front of it.

At the same time, she was the most tempting prey.

The prey that had escaped from it long ago.

Ignoring Hong Man-gi, the Yeti King leaped toward Song Hwa-rin.

[BOOOM!]

"No!"

Hong Man-gi screamed and turned around.

Song Hwa-rin stared blankly at the enormous shadow approaching her.

'Ah...'

The nightmare she desperately wanted to forget had become reality and was descending upon her.

Like a prisoner waiting for her execution, she simply squeezed her eyes shut.

The Yeti King raised its enormous ice club high above its head, ready to crush Song Hwa-rin's slender body in a single blow.

[WHOOOSH!]

The club came down, tearing through the air.

"MASTER!!!"

At that moment, a black shadow covered Song Hwa-rin.

It was Hong Man-gi.

He had pushed Shadow Movement to its limit and instantly moved in front of her.

There was no time to dodge the attack.

His only choice was to block it.

He raised Full Moon horizontally and squeezed out every last bit of mana in his body.

[Skill Activated: Will of the Frontline, Final Wall]

It was the absolute defensive skill he had inherited from Han Young-mi long ago.

[CRACKLE!]

The club, the sword, and the barrier collided.

"Urgh... Cough!"

Red blood burst from Hong Man-gi's mouth.

The barrier absorbed most of the club's power, but it was not enough to completely block a full-powered strike from an AX-rank boss.

The impact struck Hong Man-gi's internal organs.

His ribs cracked under the pressure, and an agonizing pain spread through both arms as his muscles tore.

[CRUNCH!]

"Huff... Huff... Are you... all right...?"

Hong Man-gi spat out bloody saliva and struggled to turn his head toward Song Hwa-rin.

Song Hwa-rin stared blankly at the scene before her.

The man's back, shielding her from the attack.

His blood-covered, trembling arms.

And the red blood dripping onto the ground.

His figure overlapped with the image of Kang Min-hyuk standing alone against the monsters to save her.

'...Min-hyuk?'

No.

Kang Min-hyuk was already gone.

The person protecting her now was Hong Man-gi, a chef.

A man who had no personal connection to her, someone she had merely hired, was risking his life to protect her, an S-rank Hunter.

"Why..."

Song Hwa-rin's lips trembled.

"Why... are you...?"

Her gaze settled on Hong Man-gi's bloodstained face.

Despite his pain, he was forcing himself to smile as though trying to reassure her.

"Your meal... isn't... finished yet..."

Those words made something stir inside her.

'What... am I doing right now?'

Song Hwa-rin, the great S-rank Hunter, was allowing herself to be trapped by the ghosts of her past while her companion, her benefactor, nearly died protecting her.

She had almost thrown away the life Kang Min-hyuk had sacrificed himself to save, simply because she was too frightened to move.

Shame and boiling anger heated her heart.

"How pathetic."

With murderous intent burning in her eyes, she placed a hand on Hong Man-gi's shoulder and gently pushed him behind her.

"Rest now. The bastard who overturned my dinner table... I'll prepare him myself."

[Shing.]

The White Lotus Sword in her hand began to shine.

At the same time, a pure white aura erupted from Song Hwa-rin's entire body.

Her true S-rank power, now even greater than it had been several years ago.

It was the tremendous mana that proved she was one of the strongest Hunters alive.

[Grrrr?]

The Yeti King hesitated and stepped backward in confusion.

The prey that had been trembling with fear only moments ago had suddenly transformed into a predator capable of threatening it.

"Because of you... my man couldn't even ascend. He spent all those years trembling in this cold and suffering."

Song Hwa-rin took a step forward.

The ice beneath her feet cracked.

"Because of you... I've been living in hell all this time."

Her eyes glared at the Yeti King as though she wanted to tear it apart.

"And you dared to lay a hand on my personal chef?"

[BOOOOOOM!]

Song Hwa-rin kicked off the ground and shot forward.

[KIEEEEK!]

The Yeti King hurriedly swung its club.

Song Hwa-rin slipped inside the path of the descending club and struck its side with her bare fist.

[BAAAAM!!!]

The enormous ice club shattered into countless pieces from a single punch.

"This one's for me."

Song Hwa-rin did not stop.

She leaped into the air and kicked the Yeti King in the face.

[CRASH!]

The enormous monster tumbled backward like a bowling pin.

"This one's for Min-hyuk."

Song Hwa-rin landed on the fallen Yeti King's stomach.

Then she held the White Lotus Sword in a reverse grip and drove it deep into the monster's chest.

[STAB!]

But the Yeti King's hide was tougher than she had expected.

The sword stopped halfway in.

The monster struggled in pain and tried to throw Song Hwa-rin off.

"Stubborn bastard."

Song Hwa-rin pulled out her sword and clenched her fist again.

Swordsmanship? Skills?

She did not need any of them.

Right now, all she needed was to carve her anger directly into the monster's bones and flesh with her own fists.

[THUD! THUD! BAAAM!]

Her fists mercilessly struck its face and chest.

With the physical abilities of an S-rank Hunter and mana wrapped around her fists, every blow was more destructive than an ordinary hammer.

The Yeti King's ice armor shattered, and its white fur turned red with blood.

"KRAAAAAH!"

The Yeti King screamed and tried to counterattack, but Song Hwa-rin grabbed its arm and twisted it.

[CRUNCH!]

The horrifying sound of breaking bones echoed through the area.

"And this one's for Hong Man-gi!"

Song Hwa-rin seized its broken arm and drove her knee straight into its jaw.

[CRACK!]

Its teeth broke and flew out.

Overwhelming.

This was less a battle and more a one-sided beating.

It was a brutal punishment that clearly demonstrated why she had been given the nickname Mad Tyrant.

Hong Man-gi sat on the ground and watched.

His body had nearly collapsed from coughing up blood, but the sight of her overwhelming strength seemed to awaken him again with excitement.

'So this is... S-rank Hunter Song Hwa-rin...'

She was unbelievably strong.

Now that she had overcome her trauma and unleashed her anger, she was a genuine monster whom no one seemed capable of stopping, a true Mad Tyrant.

But the Yeti King was still the boss of an AX-rank dungeon.

It belonged to the highest class of monsters, and even with its body battered and broken, it managed to stand up again.

Its red eyes shone with an even more dangerous light.

[ROOOOOAR!]

[ROOOOOOOAR!]

Freezing energy began running wild throughout its body.

The surrounding snow and ice were sucked toward it, repairing its shattered armor and making its body even larger.

However,

"Hmph. Struggle all you want."

Song Hwa-rin wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and smiled.

A white lotus-shaped aura began blazing fiercely around her entire body.

"I'll crush you until the very end."