The Hero Returns

Act 2

Gu-gu, gu-gugugu—

The monsters began their rampage all over.

The chaotic noises of their pounding feet rocked the ground. The predators of the forest that were previously slumbering had encountered the true predator, and their fear spread to the rest of the forest like wildfire.

Crack, crash—!

Kiii-aaaah—!

The monsters that lost their aim and desperately tried to distance themselves from the real predator eventually flooded into the village of the therianthropes.

The therianthropes were originally the rulers of this forest; they were people who were not some weak prey to be helplessly hunted but actual hunters who killed monsters of this forest.

But even the presence of such people would become meaningless when faced with the real predator.

"How dare those things come here?!"

"Prey have come to us on their own volition!"

"I guess we won't have to worry about food for a while!"

Some therianthropes were enraged, while some rejoiced.

The monsters of the forest, which were nothing more than sources of food for the therianthropes, had crossed over the threshold of the village on their own.

However, while preparing to hunt, the therianthropes all sensed something was amiss.

"Why are there so many?"

"What is going on with all this number?!"

Kiii-aaaahk—!

Indeed, something didn't feel right about the number of monsters that had shown up. When there were so many of them like this, they should not be seen as mere prey or food anymore.

Krrrr—

Woof, bark—!

The therianthropes bared their fangs and extended their sharp claws. Soon after, they nimbly jumped up tens of meters in one go.

Splat, sliiiice—!

The monsters crossing over the village's outskirts fell one by one. Even if these therianthropes weren't warriors, they were fundamentally excellent fighters, to begin with.

However, there were those who didn't step forward to fight. They were the ones closest to being warriors—therianthropes such as Raboonta and the retired warrior Kariburn.

"Our king, our king, he…"

Kariburn was making a completely stupefied expression.

No matter what, he was a warrior of his race. He used to live a life steeped in battles, and some aspects of his animalistic battle sense were even better tuned than the currently fighting therianthropes.

And as such, he could definitely tell the level of fear the monsters flooding into the village felt right now.

He could also tell just what the source of all their fear was.

Su-hyeun approached Kariburn and asked, "Are you all right?"

The therianthropes present were more than enough to deal with the horde of monsters flooding into the village.

"We…we need to escape from here," he muttered.

Kariburn was shivering. His whole body had become paralyzed from terror—the instinctive terror felt by the flesh.

"That…that bastard! It…it's headed over here!"

"Where should we run to, though?" Su-hyeun replied to his muttering.

"T-that…"

"There are no places left to escape to, are there? I thought this place was the last refuge."

Kariburn nodded at Su-hyeun's questions.

With the exception of this forest, the majority of the world was basically the land of the dead by now.

"We won't be able to procure any food, and besides everything, just how long are you planning to run away, anyway? Were you thinking of simply running all the time until you die?"

Kariburn couldn't utter a single word as Su-hyeun continued to question him.

It was as he said. As long as that monster was still alive, they had no choice but to confront it.

And while that fight had been fought by their king Talkun and hundreds of their warriors earlier, now it would have to be…

"You're right."

In their absence, Kariburn must step forward and fight as well, since he was still a warrior despite his retired status.

"Indeed, we must fight back."

Kariburn shifted his gaze back to Su-hyeun.

Unlike the members of his race, this smaller being was prepared to fight despite knowing the truth. He probably didn't know what kind of a monster was heading toward the village right now, but at the very least, he should be aware of the fact that the therianthropes would find it very hard to deal with the incoming enemy.

"Fella, you are a true warrior."

Kariburn was speaking the truth.

Su-hyeun was an excellent warrior, a far more outstanding warrior than when Kariburn was one.

"I'm a pacifist, actually," Su-hyeun replied and grinned softly.

While the two of them chatted briefly, the number of monsters breaching the outskirts of the village had swelled. They were cutting straight through the forest to escape, so inevitably, they had to cross the village of the therianthropes.

Ku-uhhhhk—!

Among the horde of the monsters was one creature than even the therianthropes found difficult to deal with.

"It's an Abyss Worm!"

"Why is that thing even—?"

"Especially when our king had to vacate his position…!"

A long and massive monster resembling a larva broke through the outskirts of the village. Its rotund but lengthy body wiggled about disgustingly and began spitting out a thick green-colored viscous liquid.

Its size was about half of the Ouroboros.

The clear difference between it and Su-hyeun's massive snake was that despite its smaller size, it could spit out a toxin so powerful that the ground would melt away after getting hit.

Kariburn spoke in a worried voice. "This is bad. If it's that creature…"

"Do you know what that thing is?"

"It's like the king of this forest. Normally, it resides underground, but why did it have to—?"

"The king of this forest, you say?"

Su-hyeun observed the Abyss Worm. Hundreds of the therianthropes had formed a barricade around the monster to take it down, but it didn't give them a moment's glance and continued its rampage.

"Hey, Miru?"

Gya-ong—!

Miru, sticking real close next to Su-hyeun, spoke energetically. What he wanted from his red dragon was only one thing.

"Don't let anyone die, okay?"

Gya-ong—!

Along with that reply, Miru initiated its giantification.

Ku-gugugu—

Miru had grown older in the past three years of training, and its size was far, far bigger now. For some reason, its original physique hadn't grown bigger, yet when it initiated its giantification, it seemed to have grown at least double its previous size.

Its bulk wasn't the only thing that had changed, however.

Su-hyeun shifted his gaze over to Miru's forehead. Embedded in the center of that forehead that was seemingly larger in surface area than a World Cup soccer pitch, was a small marble-like object.

It was none other than the Cintamani that Miru had swallowed in the past.

Giii-iiing—

In the next instance, the Cintamani began emitting a crimson light.

[Grace of the Dragon God]

At the same time, a thin layer of magical power began forming over the bodies of the therianthropes. In other words, the red dragon had cast a defensive-type skill on all these people.

Kariburn observed the magical power enveloping him and muttered, "Is this…the dragon's sorcery?"

Dragons used to be the only intelligent beings that lorded over this forest before the therianthropes appeared.

Although they had disappeared in the pages of history by now, the records still clearly indicated that they were the progenitors of magic and sorcery.

Chwu-eeeehk—!

The Abyss Worm discharged more green liquid everywhere. The therianthropes boasted impressive resistance against most poisons, but the toxin secreted by the Abyss Worm was simply too deadly even for them.

Hissss—

Fortunately, though, the protective barrier created by Miru perfectly kept out the secretion. The red dragon's ability was all thanks to its improved handling of the Cintamani in the past three years.

Step, step—

Clang—

While walking toward the Abyss Worm, Su-hyeun slowly unsheathed his sword.

To the therianthropes that used their lengthy claws as their primary weapon, Su-hyeun's sword came across as nothing more than a mere piece of steel that imitated their claws. Kariburn watched in alarm as Su-hyeun approached the Abyss Worm alone.

"I need to help him," he thought.

The Abyss Worm was a powerful monster that required several therianthrope warriors to work together to defeat. Not many of them lived inside the entirety of the forest, but even then, several therianthropes had already lost their lives trying to hunt just a single one.

And with their king's absence, Kariburn had to take on the role of a warrior once more to lead his people.

"Everyone! Provide me with cover so I can—"

Just before Kariburn could dash toward the Abyss Worm, however…

Shudder—

His primal instinct screamed at him.

It told him not to step forward.

Kariburn's feet froze up right there, and right at that very moment, the source of that chilling threat revealed itself.

[The Wave Sword, Explosion Style]

Splaaaash—

Jets of green-colored blood gushed out from the Abyss Worm's body, and not too long after that, countless green lines appeared on the massive monster's hide.

Pow—!

The blood pouring out from inside the creature caused it to explode in a spectacular fashion, and its chunky bits of torn-off flesh flew and landed everywhere.

Kariburn and the other therianthropes all froze up on the spot from that spectacle. No one could even figure out what just happened, except for two people, that is.

"Did he…?"

Kariburn and Raboonta quickly shifted their gaze over to Su-hyeun who was currently standing before the messy carcass of the Abyss Worm.

"Cause that?"

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

All they saw was a single line that extended forward. Despite the therianthropes' animalistic instincts and superb visual acuity, they still failed to completely see how Su-hyeun moved just then.

On top of this, they could tell that Su-hyeun possessed a different type of "power" compared to them.

"Although its toxicity is too strong for the therianthropes to endure, its defensive capabilities and the rate of its natural recovery aren't all that great, it seems."

While thinking as such, Su-hyeun extended his hand toward the carcass of the Abyss Worm currently lying in bits and pieces.

[The trait "Necromancer" has been activated.]

[By using "Death Aura," you can now see or command the dead.]

Shu-wuwuwu—

Su-hyeun's eyes caught the figure of the Abyss Worm's soul. The monster still hadn't realized that it was dead.

He shifted his gaze between the worm's soul and the sliced-up carcass as he muttered to himself, "Having a summon with this sort of characteristics won't be so bad, I think."

Whatever the case might have been, the Abyss Worm would become one of the most powerful monsters among Su-hyeun's current lineup of summons. It was probably the strongest creature after Prince Nezha, Ouroboros, and the Chief Gatekeeper in his estimation.

[Soul Accumulation has been used.]

[Storing away the soul of an immature Abyss Worm…]

[Assigning the target for Dead Summoning…]

[You can now summon the Abyss Worm.]

Splat, shlep—

Drip, tumble, splat—

When Su-hyeun's skills were activated, the pieces of the Abyss Worm's carcass, which were scattered in all directions, began gathering together in one spot.

It was one of the effects of the Necromancer trait in full display—an ability to "revive" any summon no matter how gruesome its death was, as long as the corpse and the soul of the dead remained, as well as enough supply of Death Aura.

Su-hyeun's Necromancer trait had also gotten stronger compared to three years ago.

[Application rate: 75%]

Su-hyeun confirmed the application rate for the Abyss Worm and nodded in satisfaction.

Now, he could get a pretty high application rate even for a monster of such caliber. Prince Nezha's rate, for instance, was already around the 60% mark.

"What? The Abyss Worm has been revived!"

"I knew it! It hasn't died yet…!"

Shu-wuwuwu—

When the Abyss Worm appeared again, the therianthropes extended their claws and tried to pounce on it, only for the giant creature to scatter away like a fog and vanish from their view.

The therianthropes could only stop moving in confusion after their target had disappeared. On the other hand, Su-hyeun was already scanning through the monsters that had broken through the outskirts of the village.

"I don't see anything else that's useful," he silently concluded.

He was hoping to procure a few more useful summons through this event, but unfortunately, he couldn't see anything else that seemed as good as or better than the new addition to the roster.

But then, a summon on the level of the Abyss Worm would be pretty uncommon, to begin with. Moreover, since the number of souls he could acquire through the Soul Accumulation was still limited, Su-hyeun had to choose potential candidates rather carefully.

"It's too bad, but there's no helping it."

Bang—!

Then, a loud footstep resounded.

No, never mind that. He could sense a humongous presence that exceeded that noise in sheer scale in the far-off distance.

With this sort of presence, there was no need to doubt it anymore.

"Well, there's still the biggest fish remaining, so…"

It was an existence that made the countless monsters residing inside the forest, as well as the Abyss Worm that could be referred to as the king of the forest itself, shudder from fear.

It was the monster that devoured the world of the therianthropes and still continued to fill its unquenchable appetite.

That bastard was getting closer.

******

Thud—

Through the ground that rocked every time the creature stepped forward, one could feel it getting closer one loud stomp at a time.

Crunch, crunch—

The creature was chewing on something.

No one could tell just what it was chewing on. Its maw must've been so unimaginably big judging from how the chewing noise seemed louder than its footsteps.

Crunch, crunch, crunch—

The noises were getting gradually closer.

Eventually, the creature's figure could be spotted within the gaps of the distant giant trees.

"I'm…hun…gry…"

A cracked high-pitched voice resounded. It was a voice that didn't contain any sort of emotions and only expressed a voracious appetite to consume.

Crunch—

The creature swallowed up several monsters in one go and started chewing away.

Rumble—

Even then, the creature's stomach grumbled in hunger.

"Food…I need…food…"

It had crimson eyes and horns, a head that resembled that of a bull, a maw ripped open all the way to its ears, and rows of roundish teeth…

When Su-hyeun and everyone else first saw the figure of that creature with the size of a small mountain, only one word popped into their heads.

"Appetite."

That was the sole remaining desire this creature had retained.

Su-hyeun scanned the therianthropes around him.

These people who called themselves natural-born hunters began stumbling back one by one after seeing the monstrous creature for the first time ever.

They were lost to instinctive fear.

"M-m-monster…" one of them uttered.

Their heads were already filled with the clear difference of strength between them and this abominable monster.

The therianthropes had always been the hunters. They hunted monsters, and to hunt more efficiently, they trained their physical bodies. That's how they became unparalleled warriors and hunters.

However, at least at this very moment, never mind being hunters, they weren't even in the position of being the prey. No, they were just another meal to this creature. Not only that, but also they were nothing more than a mere grain or two of rice that wouldn't even satiate the monster's appetite.

"The tasty…food…"

The monster with a bull-like head emitted horrifying light from its crimson eyes as it breached the outskirts of the village.

Crack—!

The trees that used to divide the boundary between the village and the forest shattered and broke. The creature gulped down the monsters already in its mouth and then even scooped up the trees serving as the boundary to chew on them as well.

Crunch, crunch—

Su-hyeun and every therianthrope stared at this scene.

"It said 'prey,' didn't it?"

The type of monster before it could become the "predator"—the system had called that monster "prey."

However, "prey" denoted the species to be weaker than the "predator," which was generally found at the lower rungs of the food chain. Since it wasn't a full-fledged predator yet, that meaning still technically applied, but no one in their right mind would think of the word "prey" when looking at that thing.

"Is eating a lot that much fun? I wonder."

Step—

Su-hyeun began walking toward the prey.

"W-wait, fella!"

Kariburn reached out toward Su-hyeun as he stepped forward.

Tremble—

However, at the same time, he lowered his head and took a look at the state of his own legs.

"My legs…"

He reached out while thinking that he needed to stop this human, but his legs simply refused to move.

As a matter of fact, his legs, which were trembling uncontrollably, threatened to give out at any moment now. He didn't want to accept it, but Kariburn knew very well that fear was the cause.

Kariburn failed to stop Su-hyeun in the end. While the therianthropes all stumbled back one step at a time, only he was approaching the prey.

"You…are…tasty one…" it said.

The prey shifted its gaze to Su-hyeun. It even swallowed back its drool.

It knew instinctively just who was the strongest and the tastiest opponent here.

Krrr, krrrrrr—

Miru, accompanying Su-hyeun, bared its fangs and growled menacingly at the prey. Su-hyeun raised his hand and stopped the red dragon. Without doing that, he thought that Miru would rush angrily at the prey.

"Why don't you try and eat me?"

Step, step—

Su-hyeun continued to approach the monster quite leisurely. His steps were measured and slow as if he was on a stroll.

"If you can, that is."

Was it because of Su-hyeun's provocation?

Gulp—

The prey, despite swallowing back its slobber, didn't readily pounce on him.

It didn't dare to move just yet because even it could tell that the creature before its eyes was not a simple game that would easily end up inside its mouth and become nice little food.

It knew that this creature before its eyes was a vicious tiger, a powerful predator similar to a lion that could easily rip its throat apart and kill it.

"You…are…food…?"

The tone of its voice toward the end went up. It was a mutter containing some confusion.

The creature that initially slobbered all over the place like a starving dog had finally recognized Su-hyeun, not as prey but a predator that could actually threaten its life.

"You can't? Well, you're surprisingly cowardly, aren't you?"

The corners of Su-hyeun's lips curled up while staring at the prey that couldn't come closer to him despite all that drooling.

"You swinelike bastard."

Bulge—

Veins bulged on the prey's head.

Even though its intelligence had dulled after becoming a "predator" candidate, it didn't mean it became so stupid that it couldn't understand words anymore.

Actually, it was the exact opposite. Its reasoning and intelligence that would've normally hold its rage back when someone insulted it had degraded even further.

"I…will…"

Crack—

The previously halted foot of the prey took a step forward.

And right at that moment…

"Eat you!"

Bang—! Ka-boooom—!

The prey madly dashed forward.

It all happened so quickly.

No one could have predicted that the prey that looked dull and slow, as well as boasted a physique as large as a mountain, could pounce so nimbly like that.

The therianthropes were stunned.

Inside the still frozen time, it almost felt like the prey was the only thing that was moving forward.

"G-get out of—!"

Kariburn was the first to regain his wits, and he shouted out at Su-hyeun. But by then, the wide-open maw of the prey was about to swallow the human whole.

While watching this scene play out, Su-hyeun clenched his fist. And right at the moment, the prey went for Su-hyeun to swallow him up. Just as the prey's wide-open maw arrived in front of him, he slammed down hard with his fist.

And then—

Boooom—!

Craaaash—!

The ground caved in, and the prey's head slammed violently into the dirt below.