There were metal objects nearby he could use, but none had the durability to withstand a fight with an S-rank monster. At most, there were a few candlesticks and utensils on the table, and some decorative metal joints embedded in the interior design—that was it.
“Fine, let us go barehanded, you bastard.”
Yu Je-hyun’s right hand gleamed with a silvery metallic sheen. His fist clenched tight, knuckles protruding sharply. Kicking off the ground, he launched himself into the air, pulling his right arm all the way back.
CRACK—!
His fist slammed squarely into the monster’s head. The force was so overwhelming that one side of the lion-like face caved in.
WHAM—! THUD—! SMASH—!
With momentum on his side, Yu Je-hyun unleashed a barrage of punches. Sharp metallic spikes sprouted from his knuckles mid-attack, and he began savagely pummeling the monster’s head and torso.
“Kiiiiing……”
It may have specialized in magic, but despite its grotesque appearance, it seemed woefully ill-suited for close combat. The monster’s eyes glimmered as it tried to retaliate, but its psychic attacks had no effect on Yu Je-hyun. Every time it opened its mouth to fire a beam, his fist connected first—without fail.
“Why are you still hanging on? If it hurts that bad, just die already.”
A few drops of monster blood splattered onto his face. The dark liquid was far more viscous and foul-smelling than human blood, wrinkling his brow in disgust. His sharp gaze swept over the monster’s shredded body, scanning for the magic stone.
Most monsters would die if their heads were severed, or if the magic stone embedded inside them was extracted.
“Where the hell did you hide your stone? It is not near the heart like usual.”
Typically, the magic stone was located close to the heart. But with this one, he could not pin down its location no matter how hard he looked.
“Is this bastard the type that can shift the stone’s position…?”
True to its S-rank classification, this thing was riddled with complications. Even now, each punch sunk deep into its body like hitting soft tofu, but it still refused to go down.
Worse yet, the injuries from earlier had already started to regenerate as its cells rapidly healed. Disgusted by the sight, Yu Je-hyun switched tactics.
“If not the heart… then maybe it is hidden in the brain?”
There was no way to be sure, but considering how desperately the monster was concealing the magic stone—and the fact that it used magic—it was a likely possibility.
After smashing it senseless from head to toe, he zeroed in on the skull once more.
“Kkiing… kkh…”
He must have been right. The monster flailed its front limbs, desperately trying to evade the attacks to its head. By now, he had nearly dismantled the creature’s skull, and through the wreckage, a dark, murky magic stone began to emerge.
“Got you.”
Once he pulled that stone out, the creature would be finished. Just as Yu Je-hyun reached out without hesitation—The monster, which had looked resigned to death just moments ago, suddenly flashed its eyes with a strange gleam.
“The hell… that is creepy.”
After ripping the stone out of its head, Yu Je-hyun caught the limp corpse before it could plummet, and flung it haphazardly into a nearby building. Dropping it from that height would have caused a major impact on the ground below.
The slick, black-stained stone radiated immense magical energy befitting an S-rank monster.
With the first monster eliminated, he finally had a moment to breathe. Off in the distance, he spotted Espers from the Association and clicked his tongue.
“Seriously, every damn time. What is the point of showing up this late?”
It was pure luck he had been near the Spontaneous Dungeon when it formed. If he had failed to kill the first monster, there would have been a massacre.
Yu Je-hyun scanned the Espers for one with a water attribute. He was still irritated by the sticky monster fluids splattered across his face, body, and hands.
“GRRAAAHHH…!”
“GRRRR….”
“Khhng… khhng….”
But then—he heard sounds from behind that absolutely should not have been there. Yu Je-hyun immediately spun around.
“You have got to be kidding me…”
Defeating the first monster was supposed to buy at least an hour before the next one showed up. That was why he had relaxed, however briefly.
But now, three more monsters—identical in appearance—were emerging from the gate, already prowling like they owned the place.
The moment the first monster was slain, its powers restraining the humans had disappeared. But the aftereffects of having their bodies possessed by an S-rank monster made their movements clumsy and unnatural. And when the newly arrived monsters began licking their lips while scanning the helpless people, panic erupted.
“U-AAGHHH…!”
Some screamed in sheer terror, faces drained of all color.
“You there, Esper! Hurry up and kill those damn monsters! What the hell are you doing just standing there?!”
Others, having completely lost their composure, shouted at Yu Je-hyun like he was their lackey.
“Ah… ahh…”
And some, overwhelmed by sheer dread, fainted on the spot. It was complete chaos.
Yu Je-hyun’s eyes darted between the Association’s Espers and the approaching monsters.
…Too late.
He sharpened his vision, scanning the faces of the incoming Espers—but not a single S-rank among them. By now, the top-tier agents should have received the alert. Unless they had been diverted to another critical mission, they should have made this their top priority. Something was not right.
The overwhelming majority were A- and B-rank Espers, and their sluggish response time reflected that. At this pace, by the time they actually engaged, civilians would already be dead.
“What a fucking day.”
The monsters had spotted the terrified crowd. The only stroke of luck was that the civilians were still some distance away from Lee Haru’s hiding place.
“KRAAAAH—!”
At the central monster’s shriek, the other two launched into motion, charging straight toward the humans. It was a stark contrast to the first monster, which had immediately targeted Yu Je-hyun, an S-rank Esper.
Reluctantly, Yu Je-hyun deactivated the metal dome that had been shielding Lee Haru. The rings of metal encircling the civilians rose and scattered into the air.
“Everyone, get inside—now!”
He had already been catching and gathering the people as they stumbled toward safety, so they were clustered together. With a sweeping motion, Yu Je-hyun spread the surrounding metal into a massive protective dome.
There were not just one or two—but three S-rank monsters. If they clashed out in the open, there was no doubt the civilians would be caught in the blast radius.
First, he needed to get the non-combatants secured inside the barrier. Then, he would retrieve Lee Haru, who was still exposed and alone.
As the sobbing, snot-covered civilians crawled their way beneath the dome, Yu Je-hyun extended his control over every scrap of metal in the vicinity. The monsters, practically identical in form, stood with jaws wide open, charging up their beam attacks.
He had already used all the metal on his person to build the dome. Now, even if it was inadequate, he would have to make do with whatever else he could find.
BOOOOM—!
He infused raw magical energy into the salvaged metal, forming a massive shield just in time—and instantly, a torrent of energy slammed into it. The sheer recoil twisted his expression into a furious grimace.
“This is… nowhere near enough.”
He was barely holding out by pouring mana into the shield at full force. Wherever the beam struck, the metal buckled and melted, only to be reformed again through his power—over and over in a brutal loop.
When Espers engage in battle, their watches automatically switch to silent mode. But even then, he could feel the Rampage Risk Index flashing in the corner of his vision, climbing at a terrifying pace.
The mental clarity he had regained from Lee Haru’s Guiding was rapidly unraveling—his head felt like it was being pierced by dozens of needles.
“Kh…!”
Grimacing, Yu Je-hyun suppressed the pain out of habit and swept his gaze across the battlefield.
“Of all goddamn places, it had to be here.”
Everything about the situation was infuriating. The gate had opened in the heart of a dense urban zone.
The Association was scrambling to evacuate civilians from surrounding buildings and streets, but even the brief glimpses he caught revealed chaos erupting across the city.
“Esper Yu Je-hyun!”
“Wait—three S-rank monsters?!”
“Where are the other S-ranks?! Why hasn’t anyone else come?!”
More Espers from the Association finally arrived—but that did not change the fundamental problem. Their skills were simply not enough to take on enemies of this caliber.
The A-ranks immediately pushed the B-ranks back. One clean hit from an S-rank monster, and they would be dead before they could even down a potion.
It was far better to leave the frontline to those who could survive it and assist from the perimeter to prevent further casualties.
“Take just one. Think you can handle that?”
Yu Je-hyun swept his gaze over the A-ranks and pointed to one of the monsters. If they could just keep a single one occupied, it would drastically shift the battle in his favor.
“We will do what we can.”
The most seasoned A-rank among them gave a firm nod, his expression resolute.
“I will finish this quickly. Just hold out for a little while.”
The monsters, having just unloaded a barrage of beams, paused to catch their breath. Yu Je-hyun flexed his shoulders and cracked a vicious grin.
But his complete focus on the monsters blinded him to what was happening behind him—a black shadow creeping silently toward Lee Haru.
