"Everybody, stand back as far as possible."

“Raven. Doing it alone...”

“You will only interfere.”

They had a hunch. There was an overwhelming difference in weight class. The hunters would die in an instant if they were caught up in the aftermath of the fight. A dragon-class monster was a disaster that couldn’t be resisted with the power of a human.

“There is no need to increase the damage. I will handle it.”

The number of dragon-class monsters that appeared so far was 10. All of them were killed except for the first monster, Azi Dahaka’, which destroyed Sydney. This meant that without Ian, they would have to use nuclear bombs whenever a dragon-class monster appeared.

“I understand.”

It was only after directly encountering a dragon-class monster that they could feel how precious the existence in front of them was. The hunters retreated.

"Will it be okay?”

"I believe in him. Everybody has seen the video.”

“Still, the size is too big...”

The hunters’ minds were complicated. They were relieved to avoid the direct battle. At the same time, they doubted whether Raven could deal with such a monster. They felt anxiety about what would happen if he was crushed. Jung Ian walked forward with more pressure on his shoulders than any of them. He shook his shoulders to get rid of the tension.

“Sigh.”

Ian looked up at Parthenon while holding his greatsword. He felt gazes fixed on his back. It was always like this. Everyone was watching him. At first, it was his little sister and later his fellow comrades. The fate of Elder Road was on his shoulders and now he had to bear the weight of humanity. He couldn’t bear to see anymore looks.

‘Why does Oppa have to do it alone?’

It was fine. The time to complain was over.

"Then I will go to battle."

Someone had to do it. There was only him.

***

Parthenon was a beast with four legs. It resembled the behemoth he hunted in the forest in the past. But it was bigger, had a peculiar black mucus and gave off a disgusting stench. It gazed down at him. The yellow eyes were aimed at Ian.

“I don’t like those eyes.”

Ian placed the greatsword on his shoulders. The monster’s eyes alone were bigger than his body. He had never met such a big monster but it was obvious where to start attacking. He didn’t need to think about it. Thus, he slashed at the eyes.

“Kuwaaaaaah!”

It was a surprise attack. Ian leapt in an instant and slashed at Parthenon’s eyes. It had red blood. Ian landed and moved to the side to avoid the scattered blood. Parthenon leapt to a great height. Ian attacked in this gap. He gradually accelerated. The experience he had in Elder Road passed through his mind. The monster’s blind attacks couldn’t harm him. Ian occupied the enemy’s blind spot. He jumped onto Parthenon’s body and reached the end of its shoulders.

“Kuwoooook!”

Parthenon opened its mouth and something poured out. It was liquid. Ian instinctively avoided it. The liquid that spilled on the ground melted the earth. It was a terrible substance. It made a deep hole. Ian climbed Parthenon’s back while confirming the strength of the fluid. Parthenon turned its head and sprayed liquid on Ian again. It was aiming to intercept him with the liquid.

Ian felt disgusted at the sight. Rather than backing away, he ran forward. The black stream of liquid narrowly passed over his head. God Slayer burned. It moved horizontally across the neck. The mucus covering the neck didn’t break. Then fire emerged from Ian’s sword, God Slayer. The moment it touched, the flames burned the layer of mucus. Then it sliced through Parthenon. The flesh was cut and blood poured out. Ian was covered with blood. The blood was warm. He hurriedly shook it off to secure his vision and hit Parthenon’s teeth that were aiming for him.

“Kuoooooh.”

Parthenon started to struggle. Ian jumped up and balanced his body. Parthenon was unable to shake off the presence of the person on its back. They rolled down together. The tunnels collapsed and the ruined city was destroyed. Parthenon’s back rubbed against the ground. The horrible liquid scattered everywhere.

“Kuock!”

Ian escaped from Parthenon before he got involved in its struggle. The monster didn’t realize Ian’s position and kept rolling. Ian looked at its condition. Its left ankle was tattered and it was in pain every time it walked. It seemed to have hit it somewhere. The skin was also irritated, as if it had been damaged by the body fluids.

Parthenon stared down at Ian. Ian smiled and raised his body. The sun was once again covered, casting a shadow. Parthenon stomped down towards Parthenon. Ian quickly rolled to the side to evade. The speed of Parthenon gradually accelerated. Ian’s body also accelerated into the world of Pinnacle.

The monster wriggled and Ian cut at its ankle. In the aftermath, mucus was scattered instead of dust. Ian shook his head to get rid of the substance blocking his eyes. Parthenon’s speed was getting faster. It became difficult to shake off, even in the world of Pinnacle. Ian moved his legs and headed to Parthenon’s back again.

Then Parthenon spat out a black liquid. It deliberately aimed for him. Ian gave up on climbing and jumped away. He rolled on the ground to minimize the impact.

Parthenon’s liquid chased him. It scattered like a net, rather than a targeted stream. Ian moved to the side. His ankle was throbbing and he couldn’t completely escape. He avoided a fatal injury. But a part of the black liquid touched his calf. Smoke rose as the skin melted. Ian gritted his teeth and poured a potion on it. He was able to wash off the liquid but the skin was still damaged.

Ian’s face distorted.

“You bastard...”

He swung his greatsword. His tattoos flashed. His body shook as a fearful aura emerged. Causality reversed and the atmosphere erupted. Ian moved forward again. Parthenon was waiting for him.

Ian laughed wildly.

***

The fallen Parthenon squeezed out all its power to raise its head.

An enemy stood on its belly.

A little guy that it had battled for hours with. The result was its defeat. It was difficult to believe. How could this dimension have someone so strong? Nothing could penetrate Parthenon’s skin and when it stomped its feet, the enemies were crushed and died instantly. But one person. A ghastly aura spewed from this small body and hacked at Parthenon’s flesh. As the fight continued, its wounds increased.

Its confidence faded as fear grew. It was afraid of its opponent. Parthenon couldn’t accept this emotion. Then its body no longer moved.

“Kuwooooooh...”

Suddenly, flames aimed towards the centre of its belly. The tiny being grinned at it. It was a ridiculing smile. The first thing Parthenon felt was anger. However, that anger turned to fear again. Parthenon saw the streak of flames aiming at its belly.

The blade penetrated its belly. The pain began with a light tingling became flames that spread out all over its belly. Parthenon moved its eyes and started to scream. It caused an earthquake. Blood and black liquid spilled from its abdomen, spraying everywhere.

Parthenon’s body shook like it was having a seizure but the blade of flames penetrating its centre didn’t shake. It just dug deeper. The energy of the sword bit inside it. Parthenon stopped its seizures. It looked at the small existence through blurred eyes. He watched Parthenon from beginning to end.

“It isn’t enough yet?”

The moment he drew the sword to stab it again. Parthenon’s head fell. Ian sighed and sat down on the monster’s belly. The monster didn’t move anymore.

“Parthenon has been killed.”

He radioed headquarters and lay down. It was difficult to lift his heavy blade. His entire body was screaming. For the time being, he needed to rest. In particular, his left ankle was overwhelmingly swollen. In the distant sky, helicopters and fighter jets were flying. They would send ground troops into the city and would burn the remnants of another dimension.

Benghazo was recaptured. This was the land of humanity again. The hunters came running to him.

“You have gone to a lot of trouble.”

“It was a great battle!”

“Crockta right? Can you give me your signature?”

"You are hurt! Everybody go away!”

“I will heal you!”

It was dizzying when everyone shouted. It was mixed in all different types of languages but the machine in his ear translated the language. Ian smiled and waved her hand. The people cheered. The combat support group thanked Ian through the radio.

At this moment, Ian shouted, "Retreat!”

The hunters flinched at the sudden shout. Something popped out to the side of the collapsed Parthenon.

“What?”

“Wahhhhh!”

The hunters stepped back. It was an unidentified creature. It spread its wings. The membranes covered with mucus spread wide open. Apart from the wings, the monster was a little bit bigger than humans. However, Ian’s nerves remained cool. Ian looked for God Slayer. It was immediately after he released his tension so he didn’t have enough strength.

The unidentified monster flapped its wings and flew in front of Ian. It stared at Ian in the air. It had a human shape with arms and legs. On the insect-like face, the distinctive mucus started oozing from the skin. Its red eyes stared at Ian. Ian was just about to stand up when it shook its head.

Now wasn’t the time.

Ian knew the monsters had a type of intelligence but this was the first time there was something close to communication. Ian’s instincts told him to get rid of it immediately. It was a strong enemy. If he didn’t kill it, the monster would become a bigger enemy later.

The unidentified monster pointed in one direction, saying nothing. Ian stared at it blankly. There was nothing in the southeast direction.

“What...?”

Then it fled without saying anything else. It flew in the southeast direction it pointed to. It was a tremendous speed. Ian sat down and sighed. He already had no power left in his body after the battle with Parthenon. It might be fortunate that the unidentified monster disappeared like this.

Ian waved his hand. The hunters looked up at him with troubled expressions.

𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

***

"I think something passed by just now.”

Something was caught in the radar of the National Guard around New South Wales. But they couldn’t confirm it properly.

"Isn’t it an error?”

"Is that so?"

"Please leave the record behind.”

In the past, monsters constantly emerged from the Sydney lair. They took control of the New South Wales area. In the end, a nuclear bomb had to be detonated in the area. Since then, Australia’s southeast had become a dead land with no humans or monsters. Australia built a line of defense in case of emergencies. So far, there were no problems. Satellites monitored the area and confirmed the body of the dragon-class monster, Azi Dahaka that caused the disaster. There would be no more monsters here in the future.

They believed that.

“Strange.”

“What?”

"This time, movement is detected on the other side.”

“It isn’t a migratory bird?”

“Well...”

The solider manipulated the screen. A series of photos appeared. They were real-time photos taken with a satellite.

“...”

“...”

Neither of them spoke for a moment. At the end of the silence, one soldier barely opened his mouth.

“It isn’t a migratory bird...”

“Contact headquarters.”

A dead being. The first dragon-class monster, Azi Dahaka. It was raising its huge body.