During the commotion, I looked around for J.
I needed to ask for his cooperation—he had the same shadow skill as Cha Sahyeon.
If one of the scouts reported something strange in the south, we'd have a natural excuse to move that way.
With his shadow ability, J could easily create a scenario that would be mistaken for a monster sighting.
Even though Cha Sahyeon was hiding his aura thanks to Chronos, in practice, it was better to use J—especially since he had already been involved in the abduction incident.
Honestly, J couldn't care less about being misunderstood. The only person I needed to look after was Cha Sahyeon.
He's certainly useful.
He'd complain like hell again, but if I mentioned Cha Sahyeon, he'd reluctantly do as asked.
Just then, it looked like things were going well on Park Minhyuk's end—six Hunters took to the sky.
They were flying-type Hunters launching into the air for reconnaissance. I couldn't hesitate any longer. I was just about to check the shadowy corners where J might be hiding when—
Screeeeech!
"Guh...!"
A piercing shriek echoed through the air. It sounded like metal grinding against metal... or a beast screaming in agony.
The ❖ Nоvеlight ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеlight) unidentified, grotesque noise made nearby Hunters clutch their ears and stagger.
"Ugh!"
"What the hell!?"
"Look—over there!"
One of the Hunters pointed somewhere with a trembling finger. Everyone's gaze turned simultaneously in that direction.
There, far in the distance, something black was squirming in the sky.
"Storm cloud?"
"Only in that one spot? That's weird..."
It was moving far too quickly to be a cloud.
Most couldn't figure out what they were looking at from the distance, but the S-ranks with their heightened senses immediately froze up, their faces going cold.
"W-Wait... that...!"
Five more seconds passed before the other Hunters noticed the strange atmosphere. When someone finally realized what was heading toward us like a missile, their face went pale as they shouted:
"It's a monster! Fuck, those are monsters!"
"W-What? No way..."
At the shout, a Hunter with detection skills hurriedly pushed up their glasses and activated their ability.
"I-It's too far... I can't scan it from—ah!"
Two seconds later, the flustered, stammering detection Hunter finally sensed the monster's aura. By then, the shape was close enough for everyone to see.
"Uh... A-rank? No, wait..."
As the creatures closed in, the detection Hunter's face grew whiter by the second. His hand, still holding his glasses, began to tremble violently.
"S-rank! They're all S-rank! Fifty—no, sixty—seventy—one hundred...!"
The fact that they were S-rank monsters wasn't the problem by itself.
We'd already had battles earlier. After facing the labyrinth and the fairy, we were well aware this was an S-rank level Great Dungeon.
But hundreds of flying S-rank monsters swarming in like a thundercloud? That was a completely different issue.
Even if they had come charging on foot, survival wouldn't be guaranteed. But now we had hundreds of aerial S-rank monsters?
It wouldn't even be surprising if all 100 Hunters were wiped out before we ever reached the boss.
Before my mind could process it, my body reacted with raw, instinctive terror.
The moment the Hunters froze up, staring dumbly at the oncoming horde—
"Move!"
Kwon Taehyuk's sharp command cracked through the air like a thunderclap.
Even then, when the others were too shocked to react, Ryu Sunghyun followed up by unleashing a burst of radiant light.
"Deploy shields! Now!"
"Y-Yes!"
Only then did the Hunters start moving in sync.
Their faces were pale with fear, but they moved swiftly to their positions and began activating their skills.
Shielders rushed to cast barriers overhead, while the tanks stepped forward to form the front line. Ranged attackers took position just behind them.
"We need to kill as many as possible before they get here."
"Fire!"
A volley of powerful skills rained toward the incoming swarm of monsters.
Screeeeech!
The giant bat-winged creatures staggered under the barrage—but that was it.
They must've had high defense. Even attacks from A-rank damage dealers couldn't bring them down easily.
Only the ones struck by Ryu Sunghyun and Song Jiwoon—both S-rank—were falling out of the sky.
But even they couldn't take out hundreds of incoming monsters alone.
Screeeeech! Kraaak! Skreee!
BZZZZT!
The flying monsters slammed into the wide-spread shields. Blue sparks burst out as the barriers held, but the creatures kept throwing their bodies against them, aggressively forcing their way in.
Ranged attackers panicked, casting more spells. Melee fighters charged forward with their weapons drawn—but there were just too many.
"Ah—ugh...!"
"No, no! Gah!"
"Cough!"
The shielders, overwhelmed by the pressure of hundreds of S-rank monsters, clutched their chests, reeled back, and collapsed, coughing up blood.
BZZZZT! CRACK!
"I-I can't hold it... Aaaagh!"
An A-rank shielder, shaking violently as he held the front, finally coughed up bright red blood and fell to his knees.
"Fuck! Hold them back!"
"Kill them!"
"Drag the unconscious ones out! Protect the Supporters, goddammit!"
Even if they had been growling at each other moments ago, in this kind of crisis, survival depended on dealers and supporters having each other's backs.
Dealers, fully aware of that fact, dove between the monsters and supporters, swinging their weapons and casting skills nonstop.
Supporters, pale-faced, poured buffs and heals into the dealers who were barely standing.
Even with fierce fighting, they couldn't stop the aerial monsters attacking from all directions.
"H-Huh!? Let go! Let go of me!"
One of the monsters, flapping its wings and baring its fangs, suddenly split open its abdomen—and from inside, tentacle-like veins burst forth, grabbing a Hunter.
The horrified Hunter slashed at them, but even when they were cut, the tentacles regenerated instantly and latched onto his body. Like a squid swallowing prey, they wrapped around him completely.
"P-Please... no, AAAAAAH!"
The Hunter screamed in agony, kicking uselessly as the tentacles tightened.
"Gkk...!"
His jaw unhinged as his face shriveled in an instant—his entire body following suit.
All the muscle and flesh that had once made him look healthy and strong were sucked dry by the monster. His skin clung to his bones, shriveling like dried leather.
His hair fell out in clumps, and his withered corpse dropped to the sand like a brittle twig. The body that hit the ground looked like a mummified husk.
That was when the defense line—barely holding thanks to the dealers and supporters—finally crumbled.
"NOOOOO! SEONGHO!"
"R-Run! Run!"
Cries of anguish echoed across the battlefield, and the Hunters—consumed by terror—turned their backs and started to flee.
With the monsters devouring anything that moved and Hunters running in blind panic, the area descended into chaos.
In the midst of that nightmare, I noticed something chilling—the raid team was fleeing south.
No...
Going underground was something we were supposed to do only after preparing everyone for a boss encounter, giving S-ranks buffs, and laying out a solid strategy.
Charging into the underground like this, in full retreat? Who knew what horrors were waiting down there?
"W-Wait! The south is—!"
It would've been safer to flee in a different direction and try to deal with the monsters first.
I tried to shout something—anything—to redirect them, but a dreadful sensation crept up my spine.
RAAAAARGH! RAAAAARGH!
The ground shook. Beastly howls echoed from both sides.
Those were the same A-rank monsters we fought earlier. Hyena-like beasts, charging forward in clouds of dust.
But unlike before, there weren't seven of them—there were dozens now. They came from the east and west.
Hundreds of S-rank monsters from behind. Dozens of A-ranks from the sides.
Everything was driving the raid team to flee south.
"Hah...!"
I couldn't think. My lips moved, but no sound came out.
Then a strong force wrapped around my waist and pulled me tightly—before I knew it, I was being carried at high speed.
"Get a grip, hyung."
Cha Sahyeon looked at me with sympathy as he sprinted across the sand.
"There's no avoiding this. Forget the buffs—we need to come up with a new plan."
"...!"
That one sentence snapped me back to my senses.
I bit down on my tongue hard and forced myself to lift my head.
Blood splattered everywhere. People were falling all around.
Clinging to Cha Sahyeon as he ran through this hellscape, I searched for the person who mattered most to me.
Thankfully, he was still unscathed.
But I couldn't relax.
Nobody knew what awaited us underground. Not even Cha Sahyeon.
I was planning to ask for his help before we were wiped out—but there was something else I needed just as much.
Panting, I clutched at Cha Sahyeon's shirt.
"Ch... Cha Sahyeon."
Hearing the desperation in my voice, he looked at me, his green eyes widening slightly.
Looking into his gaze, I made a desperate plea.
"Ryu Sunghyun."
"...What?"
"Ryu Sunghyun. The Vice-Guildmaster of Circle... protect him. No matter what happens. You have to."

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