CHAPTER 191: STAR ZONE MONSTERS (2)

Just how big was it? Three hundred meters? Five hundred meters? No, it looked even taller than a kilometer.

Despite its mountain-sized bulk, it had an absurdly simple form. The slime-like creature was made of a murky, dark crimson mucus like molten lava. It had no arms, legs, or even a distinguishable face.

It looked like what would happen if a single-celled organism grew to an impossible scale. Visually, it didn’t seem threatening at all. However, the problem was its overwhelming size.

“What the actual fuck is that thing?” Song Ha-Eun asked.

They had encountered countless monsters before, but never one that radiated this level of intimidation from size alone.

Song Ha-Eun instinctively took a few steps back. “What the hell...? D-Do monsters that big even exist?”

Regardless of its simple form, the sheer difference in mass was often enough to tip the scales in battle like a lightweight fighter against a heavyweight. No, even that comparison was generous. From that monster’s perspective, humans were no more than mere ants.

“What the hell are we supposed to do? Pour oil on it and set it on fire or something?” she asked.

“Using fire is one of the best ways to deal with large enemies, but...” Kwon Oh-Jin narrowed his eyes.

Even from this incredible distance, he could feel its radiating heat. Maybe that monster was responsible for turning the seawater across dozens of kilometers steaming hot.

“There’s a good chance it’s resistant to fire.”

“T-Then how do we fight that thing?”

“Just wait a sec...”

Kwon Oh-Jin bit his lip and touched the pendant hanging around his neck.

Woong!

A radiant silver light erupted as Vega and Riarc materialized.

Vega narrowed her eyes at the massive monster through the window. “That is...”

Song Ha-Eun grabbed Vega’s tiny form and shouted in panic, “That gigantic thing just suddenly rose out of the sea!”

Riarc scoffed, his eyes glimmering. “Hmph. Gigantic, you say? Open your eyes and take a good look, lizard woman. That’s not some giant monster.”

“What?” Song Ha-Eun asked.

“Do you call a pile of ants a giant ant just because they’re clumped together?”

“What are you even—wait. Oh...” Song Ha-Eun cut herself off with a gasp as she turned to look back at the monster.

Red eyes appeared from within its massive, slime-like body. It wasn’t just one pair of eyes, but tens of thousands of eyes appeared. The numerous red eyes covering the monster looked like the Milky Way across the night sky.

Kwon Oh-Jin laughed, glaring at the monster rising from the sea. “I see, so that’s what it was.”

Just as Riarc had said, this was not one giant monster, but a colony of monsters. An immeasurable number of them had clustered into one massive entity.

A grotesque roar rang out from beyond the window. “Kuuoooooo!”

It wasn’t the cry of a single monster, but thousands of overlapping cries forming a unified roar like an entire stadium of people.

Like an avalanche, the mountain-sized cluster of monsters began shedding.

Rumble!

Individual monsters tumbled down and charged across the San Fruttuoso waters toward the beach. They raced toward the village built along the long beach.

“Grab my arm, Ha-Eun.”

“Huh? What? Why?”

“We’ll be too late if we run.”

Still in just his swim trunks, Kwon Oh-Jin threw on his wire shooter and flung the window open. The hot ocean breeze blew in, and the sight of the sheer cliff opened up beneath him.

“W-What are you doing?!”

“Hold on tight.”

He wrapped his arm around Song Ha-Eun’s waist and jumped out the window, dragging her with him.

Her shriek pierced his ears. “Kyaaaaaaaaaaa!”

Lightning Steps.

Kwon Oh-Jin created footholds of lightning in midair, twisted in freefall, and reached out for the cliffside.

Bang!

His wire pierced into a rock and quickly extended, assisting their fall.

Perched on top of Kwon Oh-Jin’s head, Vega raised her tiny arm and pointed toward the town square. “There are people gathered over there!”

Likely drawn by the commotion, people had gathered in the town square near the beach. Hundreds of them screamed in panic.

Kwon Oh-Jin inhaled and crouched. The Stigma of Lyra engraved on his chest shone brightly as an immense amount of mana spread throughout his body.

Good.

He smirked. His internal injuries had completely healed.

Until now, he never had a chance to test the power of the Black Heaven and the Stigma of Lyra after reaching the seventh enlightenment. Now, the opportunity to do so finally arrived.

Blue lightning formed a stair-like path.

Crackle!

Lightning Steps burned even more vividly than before. He fiercely stomped across and headed toward the town square.

Monsters rushed in like waves.

“Kuooooooo!”

“Grrrrrrk!”

They were hard to make out when clustered together, but now he could see their wolf-like appearance. They looked like Riarc, except an insect-like shell covered them instead of fur.

Kwon Oh-Jin was very familiar with these monsters.

Anthorns.

These low-tier monsters had the exoskeleton of ants and the shape of wolves. They were among the most common monsters found in gates and widely regarded as the weakest of them all.

But they’ve actually killed more people than any other monster.

Before gates appeared, what had killed the most people in human history? Lions? Tigers? Sharks? No, it was mosquitoes. Mosquitoes had killed far more people than those animals combined.

The same was true with Anthorns. They didn’t usually move in swarms like this, but they had caused more casualties than any other monster due to their insane reproductive ability and overwhelming numbers.

And this isn’t the usual Anthorn.

Their dark crimson shell looked like cooled magma. Even from a distance, he could feel their heat. They took on the form of Anthorns, but everything about them screamed that they were something else entirely.

Many of the elites vacationing here had brought armed bodyguards, but they were being overwhelmed without even putting up a proper fight.

“Kyahhhhh!”

“Argh! Guh!”

“W-Why are the Anthorns so strong?!”

Terrible screams echoed all around the beach.

“Oh-Jin!” Song Ha-Eun shouted.

“Yeah.”

Kwon Oh-Jin pulled out a small folding knife from his swim shorts.

Shhh, snap!

In an instant, the knife transformed into a black spear. Blue lightning crackled menacingly at its tip.

Lightning Strike.

From dozens of meters up, he plummeted at a terrifying speed. Like a thunderbolt from the sky, a pillar of blue lightning slammed into the middle of the Anthorns coming in like a wave.

Crackle!

Like a stone being thrown into a puddle, the lightning spread out in a circle and swept away hundreds of Anthorns. It tore them to shreds and scattered them everywhere. However, twice as many Anthorns immediately rushed in to fill the gap.

Song Ha-Eun’s jaw dropped as she stared at the incoming tide of Anthorns. “Just how many are there?”

“I’ll deal with the Anthorns here. You help evacuate the people, Ha-Eun.”

“I think it’ll be better if I deal with them.”

Song Ha-Eun loosened up and turned toward the horde of Anthorns.

“But for those guys, fire—”

“Won’t work, huh?”

She smirked and raised her hand. A massive ball of fire hovered above her palm. “Hyaaah!”

“Grrrrrk?”

The fireball in her hand unleashed a heat several times more intense than what the Anthorns gave off. It swept over them. The monsters, which seemed resistant to fire, crumbled into ashes without the chance to even react.

“How about now?” she asked.

Kwon Oh-Jin stared at her dumbfoundedly.

She just roasted fire-resistant monsters by using even stronger fire.

That’s totally something she’d do.

He chuckled and nodded.

If their fire resistance wasn’t a problem, then she was better suited to handle the large waves of monsters.

“Got it. Hold them back as long as you can, Ha-Eun.”

“Leave it to me.”

Song Ha-Eun slapped Kwon Oh-Jin’s butt and turned back to the charging Anthorns.

She reached into her cleavage, pulled out a waterproof pouch, and took out a pack of cigarettes. She placed a cigarette between her fingers and raised it.

“Oh, fire.”

The end of the cigarette lit up, and a terrifying heat storm wrapped around her.

Tsssss!

“Burn like hell.”

A massive blaze swept over the wave of charging Anthorns.

Fwoosh!

“Vega and Riarc, help Ha-Eun hold them off!”

“Alright!” Vega replied.

“Hmph! The nerve of them to rely on merely their numbers,” Riarc said.

Vega rose high into the air and summoned lightning while Riarc transformed into his werewolf form and charged toward the Anthorns.

I’ve bought us some time, at least.

Using a wire to climb onto a nearby building, Kwon Oh-Jin narrowed his eyes and scanned the surroundings.

Song Ha-Eun, Vega, and Riarc had earned them all a little breathing room, but that wouldn’t last long. There were just too many monsters.

Like trying to stop a downpour with one’s hands, a few individuals couldn’t possibly hold back the tide of Anthorns.

“Isabella is...”

He looked around the beach, but couldn’t spot her in all the chaos.

Oh well.

Stopping the Anthorns came first for now.

“Not that I even know how we’re supposed to do that.”

He deeply sighed and stared at the endless swarm pressing forward.

Just how many of them were there? A thousand? Ten thousand? A hundred thousand? The number was so vast that it felt meaningless to even keep count.

There’s no way a swarm like this formed naturally.

What could’ve created a phenomenon like this?

It can’t just be because this is a Star Zone—

Just then, what Vega had said earlier echoed in his head. “This place might have a Dragon Vein running through it.”

A Dragon Vein was where star mana gathered in an abnormal concentration. If a Dragon Vein really existed here, then it could have triggered a phenomenon like this.

“If that’s the case...”

Only one solution came to mind.

“I’ll just have to devour it all.”

With a smirk, Kwon Oh-Jin looked out over the sea swarming with dark crimson Anthorns.

Crackle!

He launched himself into the sky using Lightning Steps.