Ch.114Monster Appearance

“Has my appearance changed…?”

“It’s not just your appearance that’s changed.”

Just as he said.

Riverine, who had been surprised, suddenly felt something grip her ankle and frantically began looking around.

And soon she was just as shocked as Lia.

“This is…!”

“Bones, they’re bones!”

“Rise up, Skeletons. It’s time to work.”

The advantageous 2-to-1 situation disappeared in an instant.

All around, endless screams echoed from people witnessing the bizarre scene, but regardless, skeletal soldiers—skeletons—gradually emerged from the asphalt roads and brick blocks.

Their numbers continued to rise steadily, instantly turning everything white in all directions.

“First Archer Unit, forward.”

Click, click!

As Yurian commanded, the skeleton archer unit, now adorned with armor and equipment over their dry bones, awkwardly fell into formation in front of the two women.

Then, as if pulling the air itself, they drew back their heavy bowstrings.

“Fire!”

Following the commander’s order, they released brilliant white flashes that could easily pierce even tank armor.

However.

“Automata…”

“…!”

“Automatic defense mode!”

Not to be outdone, Riverine immediately activated her Automata using the magical threads on her fingers.

Click. Clack!

The Automata stood before the white rain of arrows, expanding its forearms widely to serve as a shield protecting the two of them.

“It… blocked that?”

“Sister, you’re amazing!”

“Hehe. Of course! …is what I’d like to say confidently, but I don’t think we can keep blocking forever.”

The fierce white rain of arrows shook the entire ground.

They managed to block it the first time, but it wasn’t something they could easily withstand multiple times.

Sensing this, Riverine hoped for a quick resolution.

“In that case… Cavalry unit, forward.”

Next, seeing the skeleton army mounting bone horses and preparing to charge toward them.

“Little monster. I’ll open a path.”

“…!”

“Then you attack the enemy through that opening. Can you do it?”

“Of course!”

For the first time, Riverine and Lia joined hands.

***

“What’s that now…?”

“Is there no one strong here! I came looking for a fight!”

“…Is he crazy?”

Meanwhile, at the entrance of the Korean Hunter Association building.

A man with a bold impression, his hair a mix of blonde and green, was excitedly shouting while waiting for a fight.

“I’d prefer if the strongest would come out! I want to feel the skills of humans in this era!”

“Hey, student!”

“The Association is busy right now! You can’t do this here!”

“Hmm? Are you my first opponents?”

Two Hunters who couldn’t stand it anymore came out of the building to try to drive away Han Yujin.

However, the next moment, they collapsed to the ground unconscious before they even realized what happened.

“This isn’t enough! Only the truly strong should come out!”

“?!”

“What did that guy just do?”

The faces of other Hunters watching from outside turned pale.

“Who is that kid anyway?”

“He attacked Hunters, so we need to arrest him!”

“We need to gather all the Hunter forces in the building right now…!”

“Move aside.”

But before any commotion could start.

“You’re in the way.”

“Huh?”

“Who…?”

A blonde-haired boy calmly walked through the flustered adults and out of the building.

“Oh? Are you my next opponent?”

“I remember reading about that appearance in a report before.”

“…?”

“You’re the prince who inherited the Han surname, right?”

“!!”

This was something that would happen exactly 18 years in the future.

Yet here was someone casually mentioning his future identity.

Looking at Jaewon before him, Han Shinwoo’s sixteenth child.

The Imperial Prince, Han Yujin, curled his lips into an even more interested smile.

“I see. So you must be another one of our ‘brothers’ that Empress Lia mentioned.”

“…Keep me out of your family tree. Unfortunately, I don’t particularly want to be part of your family.”

“Haha. I’m sorry, but that’s not something I can decide. We received two orders from Empress Lia.”

“Two orders…?”

The first was obviously the kidnapping of the now-deceased First Empress Sophia.

And the second was the return to the Empire of the true Imperial Prince born before Sophia died.

Han Jaewon.

“You’ll have to come with me, brother.”

“Stop calling me brother. I’ve been an only child since birth.”

“So cold. Well, once you start living with us, you’ll gradually understand.”

“Don’t talk nonsense!”

Yujin smiled leisurely.

Han Jaewon immediately drew the holy sword Arondight from his back and charged at him.

Yujin, who had been completely off guard, widened his eyes at the considerable speed.

“Ooh…! You’re quite strong!”

Still, as if it wasn’t enough, he tried to grab Jaewon’s head and slam it into the ground, but.

Swoosh.

“?!”

“Did you think this was my maximum speed?”

What had been in front of him suddenly leaped behind him, and his expression quickly…

Clang!

“?!”

“Hmph.”

It seemed like his face would distort, but it didn’t.

Han Jaewon couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

After all, he had clearly swung at the neck, but…

The sound that rang out was a clean resonance like striking iron.

“Are you a swordsman?”

“What is this…!”

“If you’re a swordsman, you cannot defeat me.”

Han Jaewon looked at Yujin’s neck where his blade had made contact.

There, he could see skin transformed like a sharp blade.

Recognizing this ability from somewhere, Jaewon suddenly realized an incredible fact.

“You… Could it be your mother’s side!”

“Yes. My mother is the Fifth Empress of the Empire and the head of the Research Department, Lee Heejeong.”

Clang!

With his entire arm now transformed into a blade, Yujin knocked Han Jaewon backward.

Lee Heejeong—a National Disaster-Level monster who could turn her entire body into blades.

Also the human-type monster that he had eliminated first after coming to the past.

Who would have thought he’d meet the child of such a being again like this?

“But… this is impossible!”

“Impossible? What is?”

“I already killed Heejeong in the past! Then your existence should naturally disappear too!”

“Ah, time trouble? Is that what you’re talking about?”

The universe where Han Shinwoo exists must be finite.

Yet despite killing Heejeong in the past, her child from the future was standing perfectly fine before him, causing Jaewon to shout in disbelief.

“If that’s the issue, His Majesty took care of it.”

“…What?”

“His Majesty is omnipotent. I did briefly feel my existence disappearing, but I quickly returned to normal.”

“What does that…”

This wasn’t some illusory ‘myth.’

Was he saying that someone who disappeared in the past was made to exist in the future?

It was absurd.

It was impossible.

It was like a message delivered by a divine messenger.

However, even in his confusion, there was something he needed to do right now.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“…?”

“If you’ve come back to life, I’ll just have to cut you down again.”

“Kuk kuk, I suppose so.”

If they revive ten times, he’ll kill them a hundred times. If they revive a hundred times, he’ll kill them a thousand times.

Nothing changes.

First, defeat the enemy before him.

Having made that decision, Han Jaewon began to take his stance again.

“Even a holy sword cannot cut my body, created through my mother’s experiments.”

“We’ll see about that.”

“…Are you challenging me, the strongest sword and shield in the Empire?”

“The strongest in the Empire, huh… That makes you even more worth cutting down!”

The prince with the Empire’s strongest weapon.

If he could defeat him, it would prove that he was stronger than such an Imperial Prince.

“Come, brother!”

“I told you to stop calling me brother!”

Clang!!

The next moment, sparks flew intensely between the two as arm and sword collided.

***

“Cavalry unit, charge!”

The skeleton cavalry riding bone horses began charging toward Lia and Riverine.

It was a sight like an entire army, with hooves mercilessly shattering the asphalt road with each step, but.

“Automata! Attack mode!”

Following Riverine’s elegant hand movements, the Automata immediately transformed its entire body into a sharp spear.

Its form was completely unbalanced, focused solely on attack with no defense—the ultimate and final form of the Automata.

“Pierce through!”

“?!”

The Automata spread its elongated arms forward and began to spin.

Magical winds began to flow around it, and it charged forward resolutely, defeating all the cavalry units in front, regardless of the damage to its own body.

Crash!

Of course, the recoil rendered the Automata itself beyond control, but.

“Kyokushin Karate…”

“…!”

“Seiken zuki.”

Lia had been hiding right behind the Automata, approaching all the way to Yurian’s front.

Having reached the commander after breaking through the skeleton army, she tried to deliver a full-force strike in this opening…

Thud!

Or so she thought.

“Huh?!”

“Phew…”

“You, that stance…!”

“That’s right. It’s the Kyokushin Karate Sanchin-dachi.”

Since Yurian fought using summoned familiars, Riverine naturally assumed his physical body would be weak.

That’s why she had devised this plan, and Lia too had expected the situation to end with this single straight punch.

But Yurian withstood the little monster’s punch with the same Kyokushin Karate stance.

“I’ve always admired you since I was young.”

“…!”

“So when you would secretly come out to the garden at dawn to practice this stance with His Majesty, I would watch in secret and teach myself.”

Her full-force punch had been blocked.

Realizing this, Lia quickly jumped back to try her next move, but.

“I’m sorry, Empress Lia.”

Not allowing her to create distance, Yurian struck the nape of Lia’s neck with the side of his hand.

The impact didn’t knock her out, but Lia collapsed to the ground as her body went limp.

“Ugh…! My body!”

“Sigh. I’m sorry, but Empress Lia will have to remain captured until everything is finished.”

“Oh no!”

Riverine, who tried to help, was quickly surrounded by the skeleton army with swords.

Without her Automata, she wasn’t particularly threatening.

Having made this assessment, Yurian planned to first make sure Lia was completely unconscious and then put her in a sack to take her away.

But at that moment.

“KRAAAAAAAA-!!”

“!!”

“This is…”

“Could it be?!”

Black lightning rose from the middle of the road where the skeleton army had gathered.

Simultaneously, a humanoid monster appeared, clad in pitch-black armor that was incomparable to Yurian himself.

“Grrrrrr…!”

“Tch! Looks like the most troublesome one has awakened.”

“KRAAAAAAAA!”

Cold sweat ran down Yurian’s forehead for the first time as he faced Han Shinwoo in his monster form.