Part 1 Chapter 9-24

June 15th, 00:07 AM, Cheonghae Lake Riverside.

The radar was filled with nothing but red dots. No matter how wide the lake was, too many ability users had gathered, and with thousands of Black Scorpions swarming in, the monster radar was practically non-functional.

“Damn it! I can’t see anything like this?!”

The visibility was too dark. Infrastructure like streetlights that should have illuminated the lake’s surroundings had already been destroyed by the monsters, and most of the lights that could serve as the heroes’ eyes were deployed at the front. In the end, they had to rely on the faint light of mana.

“Crazy, what the hell are those bastards doing, crossing the lake like that?!”

“Who said water was their weakness! They’re swimming just fine!!”

The Black Scorpions ran straight ahead without splitting left or right. Their scorpion legs, submerged beneath the surface, moved strangely fast, as if rowing oars, and their speed was such that the heroes wondered if they were seeing scorpions or jet skis.

“Doesn’t anyone have a light?!”

“I can’t see anything!”

As the Black Scorpions passed through the middle of the lake, one hero even used binoculars to try and track their movement, but it was useless. They hurriedly tried to airlift temporary streetlights and illumination to the lakeside, but the light didn’t reach very far.

“I’m going crazy, damn it!”

“Notification from command! They’re trying to intercept the Black Scorpions’ landing from the opposite side of the lake, so heroes, respond from your respective positions!”

“What?! Then we’re screwed!”

The heroes on the front lines screamed. Already, more than half of the Black Scorpion horde was running across the water. If they held their ground like this, it was clear they would end up like the dog that chased the chicken and only ended up staring at the roof.

“…! Additional notification to heroes on the front lines! Intercept them from the left and right before they land!”

“Yes, that’s what we should do!”

“It’s a shame, but at least that!”

The heroes attacked the Black Scorpions before they could enter the river. Under the heroes’ attacks from both sides, the flanking Black Scorpions began to spread out and respond.

Kyaaak!

The Black Scorpions, opening their pincers and swinging their poisonous tails that could inflict fatal wounds with just a graze, varied in size from juveniles to adults. However, in the heroes’ eyes, the size of the Black Scorpions was replaced by something else.

Core.

The body size of the Black Scorpions was proportional to their Core grade, and naturally, the heroes primarily targeted those with A-grade or S-grade sizes.

“Hehehe, that means we can take as much as we catch!”

“These are monsters that would only appear if more than ten dimensional gates opened!”

“Core! Show Me the Core!!”

Should they be called heroes, or famished dead hungry for Cores? Either way, they now ran, aiming their weapons at the monsters that threatened humanity.

The heroes, blinded by the Core, didn’t realize.

That the Black Scorpions, not illuminated by their lights, had begun to seep into the darkness.

* * *

At that moment, when the main body of the Black Scorpion horde was intercepted at the front lines.

The Korean heroes, who suddenly found themselves face-to-face with the Black Scorpion horde, clicked their tongues in disbelief and drew their weapons.

“Is heaven looking out for us?”

“Hey! Don’t let your guard down! These are the ones charging from the front lines! Their grades will be high too!”

The position that was thought to be the worst suddenly became the best. Those who had been quite dissatisfied with their assignment expressed gratitude for the Praetor’s composure. If the Praetor hadn’t obediently followed the Association’s assignment, they would probably have been pushed out of this position and moved elsewhere.

“We were really lucky.”

“Yes. Disturbingly so. Truly.”

The Praetor shuddered. Mao Zeping’s meaningful gaze, which had informed them of their position, was still vivid in their mind. The sound of his ‘Hoohoo’ laughter still echoed in their ears, and the Praetor shook their head vigorously, focusing on the front line.

“Can you see well?”

A dense fog hung over the battlefield. It was already late at night with no light, and with the fog, they couldn’t see anything at all. Even if Tempest Lady stirred up wind to clear the fog, it quickly returned.

“Any more than this would be a waste of mana, Praetor. It’s a shame, but relying on our individual vision seems to be the best option.”

“Yes. In that case, there’s nothing we can do. Everyone, enhance your vision with mana. Ranged attackers, please keep watch. It’s difficult to determine when they’ll arrive with the radar.”

The Praetor, having given the order, spread the heroes out widely and took a breath. The vibrations of the approaching Black Scorpions grew stronger with time.

“Praetor. The Association has sent a message. The heroes want to share the assigned area.”

“…They’re all people who contributed to our humiliation, aren’t they?”

The Praetor gritted their teeth at their shameless actions. These were the very people who had practically pushed them to the rear with all sorts of excuses, and now they were proposing to share the position through the Association.

“Alright. I’ll allow it.”

“Praetor?”

“Rather than spreading a wide net and having holes poked through it, it would be better to build a strong wall. Unsa, tell the Association. We will defend this current position, and they can handle the remaining areas themselves.”

The Praetor adjusted the deployment of the heroes, who had been spread out in the originally assigned area, more narrowly. The 500m area assigned to them was significantly reduced to a 200m width, but the Praetor didn’t mind.

“Excessive greed is forbidden. Not a single one of us must get hurt; we must all return safely. Melee in the front, ranged in the rear. We will build a thick formation to face the landing Black Scorpions.”

“Then what about the original area?”

“The greedy ones will fill it themselves. They won’t be able to complain later. So for now, let’s focus on the Black Scorpions.”

Gugugu.

Slowly, the ground began to rumble loudly. The river’s waves began to ripple and splash. The vanguard of the Black Scorpions, whose numbers were too vast to be tracked by radar, was just about to land on the riverside.

“Damn it, I can’t see a single thing!”

Pungbaek frowned, but the movements of the Black Scorpions were completely invisible. Even for an A-grade like him, it was impossible to pinpoint their exact location, so the situation for the other heroes was no different.

It was somehow possible to see and react to a car speeding towards them from 300m away, but it was difficult to react with only a 30m gap. They needed light.

Thud-

Someone near the Praetor leapt into the sky. Leaping over the heroes in the front line, he brought down a mighty fist towards the ground.

Kwa-ang!

With a loud explosion, white flames erupted. Fire Fist’s unique White Flame (White Flame) emitted light, illuminating the surroundings.

Kieeeek?!

The Black Scorpions screamed and recoiled. The heroes got goosebumps at the sight of the Black Scorpions, which had suddenly emerged from the water without any warning.

“W-what is it?!”

“When did they get here?!”

“Snap out of it!”

The Praetor shouted as if screaming, trying to make the heroes regain their composure, but it was useless. As expected of those leading the charge among the thousands of Black Scorpions that had emerged from the water, every single one was enormous in size and their exoskeletons looked hard.

Kieek!!

The monster slammed into by Fire Fist swung its tail. As if going berserk before dying, it sprayed poisonous liquid everywhere, causing the heroes to retreat. Lethal venom scattered and spread through the fog. One drop of it flew in an arc towards the Praetor’s face.

“Oh no-“

The Praetor froze. Before they could even move, the poisonous liquid seemed about to touch their face. They judged it was too late to dodge.

At that moment, white flames enveloped the world.

“Ah.”

Flames tinged with a faint blue burned away all the poisonous liquid sprayed in the air. The pillar of fire, soaring high into the sky, cleared the darkness like a beacon. The Black Scorpions that had been trying to come up to the riverside after crossing the lake screamed and recoiled from the flying sparks.

“Hoo, hoo.”

Fire Fist, who had unleashed a massive amount of flames, stomped on the head of the Black Scorpion that had sprayed the poisonous liquid. The Black Scorpion’s body began to burn from the inside.

“Is everyone alright?!”

In Fire Fist’s eyes, the white flames slowly began to turn blue. No one noticed that the color of his eyes was changing, but it was clear how fiercely Fire Fist had raged.

Kigigigik.

The Black Scorpions began to cautiously widen the distance. They seemed to feel fear as the enormous Black Scorpion that had been leading the charge died in a single blow. Fire Fist stepped down from the burning scorpion’s body and clenched his fist tightly.

“Hoo.”

At the heroes’ front line. Fire Fist clearly saw dozens of pairs of eyes glaring at him in the darkness. At a time when darkness had settled, the idea of intercepting monsters in a lake where even dense fog obstructed vision became the worst possible choice.

But there was nothing he could do. If this defensive line collapsed, the Black Scorpions would push into cities where hundreds of thousands live and wreak havoc. So they had to stop them here.

“…….”

Lee Seung-hyung whispered in a small voice that no one else could hear.

“Azure Flame Formation…!”

His heart began to pound violently. Was he embarrassed? No. His pounding heart spread boiling mana throughout his body as if pumping it, and Fire Fist’s mana began to overflow almost infinitely.

“Praetor!”

Fire Fist’s voice shook the air. He was poised as if he would leap out at any moment, and the Praetor, who regained composure at his shout, bit their lip and gathered their mana.

“Everyone!”

The Praetor raised their hand high.

“Commence interception!”

The heroes in the rear line began firing from range. The heroes in the front line ran towards the Black Scorpions, swinging their weapons. Fire Fist was at the forefront.

Kigigigik!

The Black Scorpions also ran across the ground as if responding. They endured mana bullets flying from range, and thrust their sharp stingers, dripping with poisonous liquid. They were clearly enraged.

“We’re the ones who should be angry!”

“Watch out for poison!”

Wusa shot water bullets, deflecting the poisonous liquid. Unsa’s Gluttonous Cloud bit off the Black Scorpion’s tail, completely blocking the spread of poison. The cloud, hidden in the fog, devoured even the hard exoskeleton and poisonous liquid, swallowing the Black Scorpion’s tail.

Kieeeek!

Fire Fist did not avoid the Black Scorpion’s attack as it swung its pincer again. He swung his fist against the Black Scorpion’s pincer, which was larger than his own body, and with a loud roar, the pincer burst apart.

“Hwaaa!!”

Fire Fist let out a battle cry and stomped on the Black Scorpion’s head. The Black Scorpion, unable to move an inch with its jaw slammed into the ground, nimbly moved its only remaining living tail.

Hwi-ik!

Fire Fist twisted his body sideways. The Black Scorpion’s full-power, desperate strike was rendered useless, and Fire Fist, concentrating his overflowing mana into his hand, thrust his fist between the scorpion’s shell plates.

Hwaruruk.

White flames blazed within the Black Scorpion. The Black Scorpion writhed and sprayed poisonous liquid at Fire Fist, but the poison evaporated from the heat before it could even reach him.

“Hoo.”

Fire Fist took a deep breath and gathered his mana. While he dealt with one Black Scorpion, his fellow heroes also intercepted the Black Scorpions they could handle.

“This isn’t the end… is it?”

“Of course not. Does a wave only hit once? Tsk tsk.”

“……So this is the first wave.”

The heroes laid out the Black Scorpions they had hunted. Before the rear ranks arrived, they extracted the Cores from the corpses and took them. Fire Fist also extracted the Cores from one S-grade and one A-grade he had caught and handed them to the Praetor.

“Praetor! Here’s the Core… Praetor?”

“…….”

The Praetor was frozen.

“Fire.”

“Huh?”

“The Black Scorpions’ corpses are… on fire?”

The Praetor pointed at the two Black Scorpions Fire Fist had defeated. Fire Fist scratched his head and corrected the Praetor’s misunderstanding.

“My flames don’t go out.”

“Huh?”

“Eternal Azure Flame. That’s the source of my ability.”

Fire Fist patted his chest and smiled brightly. The Praetor, without caring at all, pointed at the light cast by the flames.

“Then you could light up the entire battlefield…?”

“Ah, probably?”

“They’re coming! The second wave!”

A horde of Black Scorpions came up to the riverside, forming a long band. Unlike the previous night raid, silhouettes were visible from afar, allowing them to quickly notice the surprise attack.

“…….”

The Praetor fell into contemplation, looking back and forth between the Black Scorpions and Lee Seung-hyung.

Tadak.

The white flames, tinged with a very faint blue, just as Fire Fist had said, did not go out and became a beacon illuminating the darkness.