Gidan stepped off the roaring Aberration’s head and leapt, slashing the blade of [Thunderstorm Heaven Sword] in a jagged zigzag.
The moment he landed, the [Thunderstorm Heaven Sword] disintegrated with a sharp pop and vanished into dust.
These sons of bitches...
Did they just break my skill right in front of me?
This wasn’t a fucking joke. Chun Gyuri bit her lip, her pride thoroughly stomped.
It wasn’t her full power, sure—but even so, to be blocked this easily...
That freak On Jurim was one thing, but even Gidan—whom she had quietly considered below her—had shot up in growth.
“Guildmastuh Chun.”
Just then, Jurim’s slow voice called out to her.
“G-Guildmastuh On... What are you doing here...?”
Chun Gyuri flinched as she fumbled out her greeting. She felt too self-conscious to face him the way she normally would.
“What do you think I came for?”
“For national defense, of course...”
“Not a chance.”
Jurim let out a laugh like he’d just heard the dumbest thing imaginable.
Grit. Chun Gyuri ground her teeth.
Was he joking right now? God, every single one of these Hyeonak bastards were nothing but thugs.
“I heard your son did my daughter a favor.”
The laughter was gone from Jurim’s face.
“My daughter got scammed. And that scammer... was your brother-in-law, wasn’t he, Guildmastuh Chun?”
Chun Gyuri’s body went rigid, and she swallowed hard.
So it was true that his daughter had become his blind spot. Gu Shinhoo had been right.
“So I figured... maybe I’d ask for a favor in return.”
A favor? Chun Gyuri’s lips twitched.
“F-From me...? What kind of favor...?”
“It’d ruin the fun if I told you ahead of time.”
Ha... hahaha... Chun Gyuri let out a strained laugh, like she’d just heard a really bad joke.
In a national crisis like this... did On Jurim come here just to strangle me politically?
Silence fell between them, neither able to answer easily.
Nayeon and Gidan, who had come with Jurim, didn’t pay any mind to the tension in the air and simply went about their work.
As Nayeon wrapped the Aberration in vines, its strength drained and it melted into the ground.
“Got it.”
“Ohh, badass.”
Gidan let out an impressed whistle.
Watching them chatter, Chun Gyuri smacked her lips. So typical of the Hyeonak crew.
What a mess.
Either way, the fact that Ham Honggi really had conned Jurim’s daughter left a bitter taste in her mouth. Refusing him now might bite her in the ass.
Jurim tilted his head slightly and prompted again.
“You’ll help me, right?”
Help you with what, exactly... Chun Gyuri couldn’t bring herself to say the words dangling at the edge of her throat.
Jurim casually checked his watch, then sighed.
“You know how annoying it is when your watch stops working?”
He crossed his arms with a bored expression.
“You’re slow to answer. Isn’t that national defense thing of yours supposed to be urgent?”
What a lunatic. Listening to him, you’d think I was the only person in Korea.
Screw it. Chun Gyuri swallowed again, and answered with forced calm.
“It’s your business, of course I’ll help. If it’s for Guildmastuh On, then obviously...”
Jurim gave a faint smile and nodded.
“Thanks.”
“But Guildmastuh On, how did you get here? Did they send you from HQ?”
This was a remote area, far from the main base. Naturally, Chun Gyuri assumed these Hyeonak bastards had stopped at HQ before coming here.
They should’ve held them there if they found them.
She was just admiring the absurd loyalty it must’ve taken for HQ to actually send these guys all the way out here—
When Nayeon, who had been building a dam of vines to block ❖ Nоvеlight ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеlight) the spread of the Aberration, answered in her place.
“Huh? There wasn’t anyone there, so we came here instead.”
What? Chun Gyuri’s brow furrowed.
“That can’t be right...”
“All the barracks were wrecked. We thought everyone had moved here.”
“Even the barracks?”
No way. Something had happened.
A sickening thought struck her—that all of Brom’s Team 1, including herself, had been pulled out to the edge of the perimeter.
“We’re the only ones who came this way. The base shouldn’t be left empty...”
She was turning urgently to check the main base when it happened.
All the S-Ranks turned their heads in unison.
Everyone felt it.
A monstrous power that made their skin crawl.
“What the hell is that...”
Chun Gyuri muttered under her breath, while Nayeon and Gidan failed to hide their panic, their eyes flicking to Jurim for instruction.
The only good news was that the source of the power wasn’t coming from HQ’s direction.
Jurim hesitated a moment, then furrowed his brow as he felt a chill in his left hand.
“I’ll go check that out. You two head back to the base. You’re good with that, right, Guildmastuh Chun?”
“Ah, yes. Of course.”
Chun Gyuri nodded.
She was curious about the source of that power too—but more than that, she was troubled by the idea of the base being left empty.
Please let nothing have happened...
If that thing had attacked HQ instead—
No one would’ve survived.
Even she wouldn’t have been able to stop it.
For the first time in her life, Chun Gyuri was grateful that Jurim had come.
She immediately turned to head for the base, with Nayeon and Gidan following behind her.
[You have entered the ‘Cradle of the Bloodline.’]
– Cradle of the Bloodline. A monarch’s domain symbolizing the origin of life. Within this domain, the Monarch reigns supreme over their kin.
With the notification, a bone-freezing chill slammed into Ham Honggi.
Cold.
It was like even his brain had frozen over. His creaking eyes turned downward.
What the hell is this...?
Thud!
I... can’t breathe...
Ham Honggi collapsed to his knees, unable to even breathe properly.
His throat felt like it was being crushed.
The chill and pressure radiating from this small child... the overwhelming force.
He wanted to scratch at his suffocating neck, but even lifting a finger felt impossible.
Right now, he was nothing more than an insect facing a supreme being.
[The Monarch revokes the kin’s authority.]
[Your special skill has been removed.]
No—! If I lose that skill—!
But contrary to his will, Ham Honggi slammed his forehead against the ground so hard it drew blood.
His body obeyed commands not his own.
Thud!
He bowed again, violently, as if in worship.
The gesture rippled through the Selpyos like dominoes.
And Guru...
Why is Gwuu da boss now?
...rolled her eyes as she looked at the Selpyos kneeling and bowing before her.
Gwuu did always wanna be da boss...
Well, if there was any hint—it was probably that [Monarch] designation.
So that’s what Mephisto’s title meant... A rush of exhilaration flooded her. Guru clenched and unclenched her tiny fist.
No one had told her anything, but she instinctively knew.
That she now held authority to do anything.
Within her now surged overwhelming power—not just the ruler of squirrels, but like... the ruler of the world!
Her cheeks flushed and her heart thumped wildly.
“Hanghangi.”
Ham Honggi trembled and lowered his head in a pitiful bow. He looked like a worshiper in front of a god.
Guru tucked her chin and spoke in a dignified tone.
“Yoo gotta wive nice now.”
With a strained voice, Ham Honggi replied, barely audible.
“...I obey... yuh command...”
After he finished speaking, he slammed his forehead to the ground again.
Blood trickled from his forehead. Guru flinched slightly, worried that it might hurt—but forced her expression into calm authority.
[Would you like to register ‘Ham Honggi’ as your kin?]
Kin?
She didn’t know what it was, but pressed the usual answer when stuff like this popped up.
Yes.
This wasn’t the time to hesitate.
“Yoouuu go back an’ do yo work.”
“Yes.”
“Dun fowwow Gwuu.”
“We obey your command!”
With booming voices, the Selpyos answered as one.
Flap!
The baby flying squirrel spun dramatically, her skirt flaring as she turned.

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