“Hmm.”
Was he lucky, or unlucky?
After entering the Gate, Daehyun scratched his head.
Rumble rumble—.
The cave had begun trembling this violently right after he entered the Gate.
To be precise, it had started only a few seconds ago.
‘Has it begun?’
Daehyun looked at the Magic Stones lined up before him. These had probably all been the monsters of this Gate. The fact that every monster had been cleared meant that someone had already passed through.
‘He was not as weak as I expected.’
Because of that, there were two main possibilities he could think of. Baek Sangmin had killed the boss, and the Gate had begun to close, or…….
‘Because of that, the true master appeared.’
He already knew which answer was correct, so instead of thinking about it, Daehyun slowly moved forward.
BOOM—!
Not only that, but an enormous roar rang out inside the Gate, and Daehyun could tell, at least instinctively, whose it was and what awaited beyond this point.
“As expected.”
Hellhounds. They were probably waiting for him. Not just one, but several of them!
“I am lucky.”
It was the perfect chance to test his strength.
Wearing his mask, Daehyun’s footsteps grew much lighter.
***
Baek Sangmin gripped his spear with a hardened face.
‘Damn it.’
His luck was bad.
No, that alone was not enough to explain it.
The Demon Realm’s greatest demon hounds.
The beings called Hellhounds were before his eyes.
Grrrrk!
And there were three of them at the same time.
“…….”
The worn-out spear had nearly reached the end of its lifespan, and after a fierce battle, he had very little stamina left.
“To think Gate Backflow would happen at a time like this.”
There were no guild members, and he was the only one isolated in this Gate.
I am dead. The words repeated again and again in Baek Sangmin’s mind.
‘No, no.’
Baek Sangmin shook his head.
It was too early to give up.
Did he not have experience fighting Hellhounds, and the “strategy” obtained from that experience?
He did not know whether it would work against three of them, but he would not know unless he tried.
‘…….’
Baek Sangmin lowered his stance and tightened his grip on the spear.
Hellhounds had no eyes. Because of that, as long as he did not make a sound, it would be difficult for them to identify his location.
Recalling the strategy, Baek Sangmin slowly stepped backward.
Clatter—.
Something touched his heel and made a small sound.
Startled, Baek Sangmin turned his head and saw a Magic Stone there.
Nine times out of ten, it had probably come from a goblin.
‘……I am doomed.’
Baek Sangmin’s face hardened.
His gaze returned to the Hellhounds.
Grrrrk!
Sure enough.
One of them dragged its huge body forward and charged toward Baek Sangmin.
“……Damn it.”
Baek Sangmin raised his spear.
A Hellhound’s main attack was its bite!
The moment it opened its mouth, he would drive this spear into it.
That was what Baek Sangmin thought.
However.
Grrk!
“This bastard is not opening its mou……!”
BOOM—!
“Guh!”
The Hellhound threw its entire body at him, and Baek Sangmin, unable to respond, was slammed into the wall in that direction.
“Grrrrk……”
The attack did not stop there.
The three Hellhounds took turns body-slamming Baek Sangmin.
BANG! BOOM—! BOOOOM—!
“Guhah!”
If he had not had the body of a Superhuman, he would have been crushed flat like dried fish.
But even as a Superhuman, there was no way he could take attacks like that and remain fine.
Grrk…….
After dozens of charges had been carried out, and no more came.
Baek Sangmin pulled himself out of the wall with all his strength and buried his head in the bare ground.
“Kh…… hgh, hngh.”
It felt as if every bone in his body had been shattered.
It had happened in an instant, in the blink of an eye. He had given them a single opening, and it had led to this.
‘Damn it…… damn it.’
He crawled along the ground with that momentum. The brief gap while the creatures were resting. That was his chance.
Since he would only crawl slowly, there should not be a loud sound this time.
Even if his appearance was somewhat pathetic, there was nothing else he could do in order to survive.
Grrrrk!
But the Hellhounds charged again.
CRUNCH—!
“Aaaargh!”
Not only that, but as if they knew his location exactly, they pressed down on his body with those massive feet!
CRUNCH—!
“Aaah! Aaaaargh!”
The creature began stomping on Baek Sangmin again and again, using its body weight.
CRUNCH—!
“Aaaargh!”
No matter that it was Baek Sangmin, no matter that he was a B-rank Superhuman, enduring all of this was impossible. Baek Sangmin screamed, and at the same time, he could feel it deep in his bones.
‘These creatures…… are different.’
Headbutts that should originally have been used only “occasionally” were being used on him again and again.
On top of that, they had identified his location precisely even without sound.
The strategy he had struggled to create, and his experience, did not work.
“Ghh……”
His eyes began to close.
Baek Sangmin groaned and focused on his fading consciousness.
“Cough……”
It was lonely and cold.
Was this death? Was he going to die?
The moment that thought came to him.
“It is a revenge match, you bastards.”
BOOOOM—!
Dust rose before his eyes.
***
[Skill, Divine Fist (LV.2), activates.]
[You have succeeded in controlling Divine Power!]
[The power of Skill, Divine Fist (LV.2), has been set to an appropriate level!]
CRACK—!
Yelp!
The enormous Hellhound screamed and was sent flying into the wall.
“Hmm.”
Daehyun lightly clenched and opened his bloodied fist, then looked straight ahead.
Ding—!
[You have encountered a Demon Realm Rift.]
[All details of the unreadable quest have been unlocked.]
[You cannot leave the Gate until the rift is eliminated.]
Ding—!
[Quest]
[Hidden Hero]
[Details: You have encountered a Demon Realm Rift once again. Use your abilities to close the rift. If left as it is, there is a possibility that it will spread greatly.]
[Completion Conditions: Eliminate all Hellhounds]
[Reward: Barrage (LV.1) and 1 other]
After checking the quest, Daehyun smiled coldly.
‘Interesting.’
If he rushed toward the place where he felt something was off, he had wondered whether the quest might open, like during the previous virtual Gate. He had thought some kind of change might occur.
‘Three at once, is it?’
And that hypothesis had not been wrong.
Leaving the quest window behind, Daehyun met the eyes of the two Hellhounds before him.
Grrrrk……!
Just then, the Hellhound that had taken his fist directly shook its head and pulled itself out of the wall. Perhaps because he had only struck it lightly, it seemed to have regained its senses quickly.
‘But it had an effect.’
Blood was dripping from Daehyun’s hand. It was not his own blood. This was the blood of the Hellhound Daehyun had just struck.
‘I have definitely grown stronger.’
He had realized it himself, but thinking about it and actually striking something were different feelings.
Grrrrk……!
Grrk!
Grrrrrrk!
Thanks to that, the three Hellhounds were fully wary of Daehyun.
‘Last time, I struggled quite a bit against even one.’
[Skill, Divine Shield (LV.2), activates.]
THUD—!
Daehyun blocked the head of the charging Hellhound with his shield.
The creature’s head and Daehyun’s Divine Shield began a tense contest of strength.
Grrrrk!
“Hmm.”
It was a fight where neither side retreated.
He had no intention of suffering badly as he had last time. Daehyun smiled coldly, his eyes gleaming.
“Not bad.”
The true battle had begun.
***
At the threshold of death, Baek Sangmin barely managed to open his eyes.
‘……What is this?’
It was not that his wounds had healed, nor that his body had become healthy.
He was merely clinging to consciousness.
BOOM—!
Even so, he could feel it.
The flow of a fierce battle unfolding beside him. The movements of the violently moving monsters.
‘What is happening……?’
Several questions arose in Baek Sangmin’s mind. The pressure that had been crushing him with murderous force had disappeared at some point.
He squeezed out what little strength remained and barely lifted his head.
“……?”
What entered his eyes were three monstrous beasts.
And a single person reflected in his blurred vision.
‘……Who is that?’
Judging by the slightly revealed build, the person was male. At the very least, he was not someone Baek Sangmin could recognize from the back alone.
CRACK—!
At that moment, a heavy and tremendous sound rang out, and the ground shook once more.
When Baek Sangmin came to his senses and turned his gaze, one enormous monster was embedded in the wall.
‘……What?’
That was not all.
The Hellhound that had been sent flying after being struck by the fist stopped moving entirely, then turned to ash and disappeared in an instant.
‘Am I hallucinating because I am about to die?’
Tap—!
The man kicked off the ground and charged.
Baek Sangmin’s pupils dilated.
Charging first at a Hellhound while making sound could only be described as reckless.
Grrrrk!
Sure enough, the Hellhound reacted to it and swung its long tail toward the man.
“…….”
He had been hit. That was what Baek Sangmin thought.
However…….
Tap—!
The man, who had closed the distance in an instant, quickly turned around.
Grab—.
He accurately seized the tail flying toward him, then pulled it with all his might.
……Kieeeeng!
The Hellhound’s enormous body was dragged along behind its tail.
With that momentum, the man slammed the tail into the ground.
BOOOOM—!
The entire Gate shook violently once again, and dust like yellow sand rose.
“Hmm.”
A short while later, when all the dust disappeared, what remained there was a Hellhound turning to ash and scattering into the air.
Baek Sangmin’s pupils continued to widen.
‘……D-does this make sense?’
He had eliminated those creatures with a single punch and then lifted one up just like that before driving it into the ground!
Even though he was seeing everything with his own eyes, it all felt like an illusion he was seeing just before death.
Grrrrk!
In a situation where only one monster remained in an instant,
Baek Sangmin watched.
‘……What in the world is going on?’
‘No…… before that, who is he?’
Who was that person?
How would that man move?
What sort of pattern was he moving by?
What kind of senses did he possess, that he could move as if he had fought those monsters hundreds or thousands of times?
Everything was a mystery to Baek Sangmin.
Tap, tap—!
And sure enough.
Before the Hellhound could come first, the man moved.
Grrrrk!
The Hellhound reacted to the man closing the distance and swung its claws as a sign of resistance.
Swipe—.
The man raised his arm toward it. Baek Sangmin flinched in surprise. It was only natural. This was a monster’s attack. If it were an ordinary arm, it would naturally be severed, and even if he was strong, a wound would surely remain.
However.
THUD—!
With a dull sound, the Hellhound’s attack was deflected.
The man did not miss that opening and clenched his fist.
For an instant, Baek Sangmin thought he saw the man’s fist shine.
CRACK—!
Yelp……!
The Hellhound’s cry echoed throughout the entire Gate.
It was sent flying powerfully by the fist, but before it could even touch the wall, it turned to ash and disappeared.
‘…….’
A fight that ended in an instant.
A strong person beyond imagination.
“Hmm.”
And a low hum carrying undeniable majesty.
Gulp—.
Baek Sangmin swallowed with a hardened face.
For a moment, a long silence flowed through the inside of the Gate.
Baek Sangmin closed his mouth and watched.
And not long after…….
The man lightly shook off his hand, which had worked so hard, and said,
“Hand over the reward already.”