Kang Haeil's glare over Kwon Taehyuk's shoulder quickly faded into the distance.
Kwon Taehyuk glanced behind as he carried me and asked in a low voice,
"That man... did he follow us into the dungeon from the start? Was he after you, Hunter Cha Seohu?"
"Ah, uh... I think so."
Since the truth was already out, I gave an awkward smile. Kwon Taehyuk frowned as if displeased.
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"Well, I only realized partway through. What could I do when an S-rank goes out of his way to hide? And by the time I figured it out, saying anything wouldn't have made a difference. He wasn't causing trouble, so I let it be."
I tacked on a reasonably plausible excuse, and Kwon Taehyuk let out a sigh. I couldn't tell if he believed me or was just letting it slide.
Boom!
Suddenly, the entire area trembled, and the liquid on the ground rippled violently.
The shadow barrier Cha Sahyeon had erected collapsed, and the boss monster finally stirred.
Fortunately, just as I'd requested, Park Minhyuk was leading the Hunters into proper formation.
Tanks raised their shields ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) at the front, while shielders spread protective barriers overhead from the back line.
Naturally, Kang Haeil didn't join the battle. What a bastard.
"What is it you're looking for?" Kwon Taehyuk asked.
"A flower."
I recalled the 'source of the aura' I'd seen multiple times.
A flower with a black stem and dark green petals. When uprooted, a foul energy would rise from its roots.
There had to be one planted somewhere here. The monsters we'd faced on the surface hadn't shown any particular abnormalities.
But this boss monster definitely gave off a sickening sense of wrongness. And no matter how high-level this dungeon was, the appearance of something on par with Cha Sahyeon—an L-rank—made no sense.
The most likely explanation is that the flower boosted an SS-rank into L-rank territory.
It might even have pushed it beyond L-rank.
Having Ryu Sunghyun and Song Jiwoon here helped, along with the other Hunters—but we needed Kwon Taehyuk in the fight too.
I had to find the source as fast as possible so I could send Kwon Taehyuk into the fray. Once the flower was dealt with, the boss should return to its original strength, making the fight more manageable.
"A flower?"
"There's a flower that strengthens monsters. We need to find it and destroy it. That's the only way the boss will weaken, and we'll all make it out alive."
"A flower like that actually exists...?"
Though he looked baffled, Kwon Taehyuk soon nodded.
"Understood. If anything suspicious shows up, we'll check it together."
That was exactly the kind of answer you'd expect from him.
Anyone else might've called bullshit or laughed it off, but not him. Just the fact that he was trying to follow my reasoning was enough to make me smile briefly.
Hunter skills rained down on the boss's massive body.
Led by Park Minhyuk, the Hunters had launched a full-on assault, standing firm despite the overwhelming energy they'd never before experienced in their lives.
It was thanks to the warmth radiating from the white light around them, and the buff that stoked strength right from their hearts.
With a real-time area heal and an area damage buff backing them up—what did they have to fear?
They boldly poured their skills into the monster.
Flashes of energy burst, scattering clouds of smoke. But as the haze cleared, the Hunters were left speechless.
Despite the onslaught, not a single scratch had formed on the monster's body.
Still looking down at the Hunters in its original form, the boss monster finally moved for the first time.
The crimson aura around it pulsed ominously, releasing a putrid energy that spread across the water like contamination.
One of its massive hands stretched forward as if to block out the sky.
Some Hunters, seeing that giant hand looming above them, collapsed on the spot. Their blood drained from their faces, leaving them ghostly pale. Paralyzed by the monster's aura, they couldn't move.
A Hunter kneeling on the ground stared up at the hand approaching and trembled, unable to form words.
"Ah, u-ugh...!"
From this close, the monster's body was horrifying beyond reason.
Within its hand, countless small figures squirmed, tangled together in a writhing mass.
One Hunter locked eyes with one of them—and realized, with horror, that the figures had human forms.
Aaaaaah!
Let me out! Let me out! Let me out! Let me out! Let me out!
Like people swept away by a river, the human forms flailed as they clung to and trampled over each other.
Their screams rang out with gut-wrenching clarity. The Hunters beneath the hand, hearing those voices, had their eyes go glassy.
"Ah... ah..."
Cold sweat poured down their backs.
The Hunters, transfixed by the tiny, screaming humans, dazedly reached out toward the monster's hand.
Just before their hands could touch its skin—
Gasp!
A black shadow suddenly surged up and blocked their view.
That snapped the Hunters back to their senses. Their eyes flew open, and something welled up violently in their chests.
"Urk!"
"Uuuaaghk! Gahk!"
The entranced Hunters bent over and vomited violently. Streams of crimson blood poured from their mouths.
"Tch."
Cha Sahyeon clicked his tongue in irritation, seeing that even that brief moment of contact had left them so damaged.
Cha Seohu's area heal would soon take care of their internal wounds.
But that only made Cha Sahyeon angrier. The fact that his brother had to heal others disgusted him.
That's why he intervened in the first place—and they couldn't even last a moment?
As he stepped forward, dozens of shadow pillars rose from beneath his feet.
The aura he'd kept hidden until now burst out in full. Shadows spiraled around him like a storm.
"W-what is that..."
"That aura..."
The people who had just been saved by him, and the other Hunters, stared in horror. The S-ranks especially were overwhelmed—his aura was on another level entirely.
The pillars transformed into wolf-like beasts and charged. Shadows clung ferociously to the monster's outstretched hand, the one that had threatened the Hunters.
The monster's body began to be devoured by the shadows.
The spirits trapped within the monster's flesh tore free, letting out shrill, desperate screams.
Kyaaaargh!
"Guuh!"
"Aaagh!"
Even covering their ears didn't help. The razor-sharp screeches pierced the Hunters' minds, leaving them writhing in agony.
Blood seeped from between the fingers clamped over their ears.
"Huff—hah..."
And this was what it felt like for an S-rank. The lower-ranked Hunters' minds were probably being torn apart.
It was a relief that Cha Seohu's healing could mend all wounds—internal and otherwise.
Boom!
The monster, mauled by the shadow wolves, staggered briefly. But it was so enormous that even that little movement caused the entire chamber to quake.
More red aura poured from the monster's body, trembling with rage.
It had no facial features, nor did it utter a single word. Yet its anger was clear.
Raising its uninjured hand slowly, it made a strange motion.
The hand that had once rested on its forehead moved downward to its chest, then touched the right shoulder, and finally the left.
Everyone froze in place, watching the bizarre movement. Someone muttered blankly,
"Is that... a sign of the cross?"
The monster clasped its ruined and intact hands together like in prayer and bowed its head.
Behind it, the blood-red ceiling burst into flame. The round moon hanging at the center began to swell.
Light flared from the green cross embedded in the monster's face, and from the moon, a flood of red liquid spilled like a waterfall.
That sticky red fluid contained grotesque creatures—monsters of distorted form.
All of them were demons.
Dozens of these shrieking demonkin charged at the Hunters.
Seeing that, Ryu Sunghyun's gaze dropped to the water covering the floor.
Before Cha Seohu had purified it, the liquid had burned and melted human skin. It had definitely been demon blood. Enough to fill this entire area...
"Vice Guildmaster!"
The shout snapped Ryu Sunghyun out of it.
What was I just thinking?
He couldn't remember. Shaking off the confusion, he turned—and saw Cha Seohu in Kwon Taehyuk's arms.
Cha Seohu had summoned his Holy Power, and radiant white wings shone behind him. The sight cut through Ryu Sunghyun's muddled fear like a beam of clarity.
"Use your skill!"
"Huh?"
"Leave the monster to Cha Sahyeon—use your skill! We have to light up this place!"
Even though Cha Sahyeon had cleared the darkness, the space still wasn't fully visible.
And thanks to the monster's latest move, the red glow had intensified, making it even harder to distinguish anything.
There was no time to explain further.
Ryu Sunghyun quickly rose and drew out his power.
A golden brilliance exploded outward, pushing back the monster's crimson light.

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