Ch.70Korea’s Worst Monster

The nightmare of California had been vanquished.

But when Donzo Mykree, standing directly in front of her, saw the being that emerged from the torn-open belly…

“My God…”

“Wait, is that possibly…?”

“?! Isn’t that Lee Heejeong?”

In the monitoring room of the Korean branch, where they were watching the scene through drones.

The researchers and Hunters inside all recognized a familiar face and couldn’t hide their shock.

“T-the Hongdae monster has transformed its appearance! And that form looks just like…!”

“Lee Heejeong! It looks exactly like Acting Team Leader Lee Heejeong who works as a monster researcher in the research division!”

“Are you kidding me… are you saying a person turned into a monster?!”

An impossible phenomenon.

But it was too much to explain away as just a monster that happened to resemble her.

“Puhah!”

“…?”

“Kuk, kukkuk, kuhaha! Hahahahaha!! I’m overflowing with power! What is this?! With this much strength, I could focus on research day and night without rest!”

A few seconds later, that all-too-familiar voice coming through the video feed left the observers speechless.

Lee Heejeong, who had inherited the monster’s body and power, was now in an extremely excited state.

Perhaps wanting to test the tremendous power she’d suddenly gained, she cackled with laughter.

“Hiyah!”

With a casual swing of her arm, she created an enormous pressure wave that completely extinguished the flames in the surrounding area.

“Kuk, kukku, kuhahahahaha!”

“…Miss Lee Heejeong?”

Donzo thought that since the monster before him still had a “human” mind, perhaps he could end the situation without further casualties.

So he called out to Lee Heejeong, but…

“…Haah. With this power, I don’t have to hold back anymore.”

“……?”

“First, I’ll cleanly kill all the soldiers living in this country. Then I’ll establish my own equal nation just for me!”

…She was no longer the Lee Heejeong that Donzo had known.

Was it because she had become a monster, and monster instincts had been newly installed in her?

Or had she been hiding such ambitions all along?

He couldn’t tell.

The only certain fact was that she was still the enemy.

“Miss Lee Heejeong. Can’t you stop this now?”

“Stop? Kukkuk. Me? Kukkukkukkuk. Even with this power, you’re saying I should continue living according to the class I was born into?”

“…Being a researcher seems like quite a successful life to me.”

“SHUT UP!! I should have, you know, lived much better! I should have been buying and throwing away Gucci bags every day! Taking one bite of steak and throwing it away! And not having to use formal speech, fuck! I should have lived like that!!”

As she continued speaking, Lee Heejeong’s aura grew increasingly ferocious.

“Do you know how hard I worked! And all I got was being a mere researcher?!”

Had she already given up on being human and succumbed to monster instincts?

At least that’s what Donzo thought, so…

“…Ok. Then for the sake of US-Korea relations, I cannot let you live.”

The “Korea Can Do Well Alone! Project” had already failed for all intents and purposes.

…No, if it were just failure, that would be one thing.

Beyond failure, they would have to accept losses, and if a “monster” like Lee Heejeong, created by the United States, were to rampage, nothing good would come of it.

Chang!

Had she taken all the memories from the Nightmare of California that she had absorbed?

Lee Heejeong immediately leaped over Donzo’s head and transformed one of her legs into a sharp blade.

Then, in that state, she planned to strike down and cut him in half.

However, her opponent was none other than America’s National Authority-Level Hunter.

Donzo hardened both arms above his head to block the attack.

Kugugugu.

The impact left a large straight mark on the ground where the two were standing.

Ddddddddd.

Despite a slash powerful enough to cleave the entire Hongdae district in half…

“I am… your natural enemy!”

Chang!

“?!”

“Hmph.”

America’s black shield that couldn’t be cut.

Donzo deflected Lee Heejeong with sparks flying, then immediately tackled her while she was still in mid-air, like an American football player.

Kwang.

Lee Heejeong was sent flying backward, crashing through several burning high-rise buildings.

“Ptui.”

Of course, befitting a National Disaster-Level, this much damage only caused her to spit out blood mixed with saliva.

‘At this rate, I can win…!’

Donzo, who had the upper hand in compatibility at a similar level, smiled as if seizing the advantage.

In reality, Lee Heejeong seemed to be wearing a disgruntled expression, perhaps not yet fully accustomed to her monster body.

“Let’s finish this now.”

“……”

Donzo Mykree’s strongest stat was his durability at 12.

According to records, none of the Nightmare of California – Alien Beth’s stats exceeded 12.

‘Mindless charge! In a head-on battle, I have the overwhelming advantage!’

Donzo, taking another football tackle stance, was about to rush toward Lee Heejeong, who was walking steadily toward him, intending to end the fight.

At that moment.

With a slashing sound…

“Kuhuk?!”

He took damage from a blade that emerged from inside his body, causing him to crash to the ground before completing his charge.

“Th-this is…?”

It was a technique of the California Nightmare that wasn’t in any records.

A technique he’d never seen or heard of—creating blades from inside the opponent’s body—made him cough up blood as he slowly raised his head.

And there…

“Kuk, kukkuk, kuhahahahaha!!”

Just as even the sturdiest shield can easily break when struck from the inside…

Looking down at Donzo, who was now in exactly such a situation, Lee Heejeong split her lips in an evil grin.

“I just imagined it and it worked! Amazing! Just how much stronger have I become?!”

Did she have some innate talent as a monster?

Beyond absorbing power, Lee Heejeong had even “evolved” it, leaving Donzo speechless.

“Kkuk…!”

“The ability to sprout blades inside the body of anyone I’ve touched…! This really makes me feel like a queen! I love it!”

He needed to stop her quickly.

But as Donzo reached out his hand, his strength was gradually fading.

And as if to deliver the final blow to him…

“Hoit.”

With just a soft thud!

Along with a blade that extended from the top of his head, America’s shield fell cold.

It was the moment when the Korean Hunter Association’s monitoring room plunged into an abyss of despair.

***

How should I enter Hongdae district?

At first, I thought about transforming into a monster right away and pushing all the way inside at once.

But this anomaly was truly unprecedented, worthy of being called historic.

“Everyone please step back!”

“P-please save me!”

“Mom!!”

A hell on earth unlike anything at Yeongdeungpo Intersection where I fought Branch Director Lee Jin-ah, or Lotte World amusement park where I went to rescue Princess Kurumi, was unfolding before my eyes.

“Uwup?!”

Just arriving at the outskirts of the district made me dizzy and nauseous from the smell of burning corpses and the chaos of numerous personnel moving the injured.

It was literally a “national emergency” with not only Hunters and soldiers but also paramedics and police forces all mobilized.

‘If I transform into a monster here, the scene would become even more chaotic…’

So the only option was to sneak inside and transform like last time, but…

“Sir! It’s dangerous here!”

“I’m a Hunter Meister! Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Hunter Meister? No jobs! More importantly, step back! We need to move the injured now!”

“Ah, yes!”

Last time, at least I had Cheran to help me sneak into the amusement park.

“This is driving me crazy…”

But now, even Cheran was nowhere to be seen.

Should I wait until Sophia arrives?

But who knows when she’ll get here?

Every second counts in this situation.

Just as I was thinking that I might have to transform and force my way in despite causing some confusion…

“Shinwoo!”

I quickly turned around at the voice that shouldn’t have been audible in such a crowded place.

“Lady Kurumi?!”

“Uwup…! F-first, your hand!”

“Ah, yes!”

Princess Kurumi, her face pale as if she’d vomited several times, was staggering toward me.

I grabbed her cold hands tightly to comfort her.

As she quickly regained her composure…

“I was waiting to have dinner with you after work since you said you were going to the Hunter Association today. But when I heard you suddenly rushed to Hongdae district, I came looking for you…”

Her face regained its usual color as she spoke.

As if she had someone following me, Princess Kurumi spoke confidently.

At the same time, after looking around at the horrific scene…

“Shinwoo.”

“Yes.”

“You’re trying to get inside, right?”

“Yes. Can you help me?”

“Of course. But I’m coming with you.”

“P-Princess, you too?!”

It was fine to help clear a path, but she suddenly requested to accompany me.

‘This is troublesome…’

But even though I wondered if this was right, there wasn’t time to refuse and persuade her.

“Alright. But if it seems even slightly dangerous, Princess, you must run away immediately. Understood?”

“Yes, I understand.”

As I earnestly implored her, I finally stepped into Hongdae district with the princess.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Just as we were about to enter, an ominous alert sound from my phone made me pause.

‘Another safety alert message?’

I turned on my phone to silence the annoying alert.

But the scene shown through the live broadcast…

Had someone hacked the drone that was filming inside Hongdae district?

Otherwise, how could such a scene be broadcast live?

Everyone in South Korea—the Hunter Association, military leadership, the National Assembly—was shocked.

And among them…

“Uh, uh…?”

The one particularly struck with shock was Shinwoo himself.

And for good reason—the woman whose neck monster-transformed Lee Heejeong was gripping as if about to snap it…

Was none other than Yoo Cheran, who had been at the scene all along trying to rescue people.