Ch.7National Authority-Level Hunter

“Th-This is…!”

“Eek?!”

“Sophia!”

Entity name: Angel.

As soon as the hologram of that monster appeared, Sophia could be seen hiding behind her mother in fear.

Even Lee Seokgyu, a fellow Beast Hunter, had cold sweat running down his forehead.

“Since it hijacked the USFK aircraft carrier, it’s just been standing on the deck, so we haven’t been able to calculate Angel’s exact capabilities yet. But judging by your reaction, senior, it seems appropriate to classify it as danger level A.”

“Hey, Yoo Joonyoung, what are you talking about?”

“…Pardon?”

“Does that thing look like just an A-level to your eyes?”

Beast Hunters are the only beings in the world who can command monsters.

In other words, they are the ones who can assess a monster’s “level” better than anyone else.

Since combat was inevitable in the process of commanding monsters, Beast Hunters had the ability to measure a monster’s level.

And this was the declaration of the Army Chief of Staff, one of the top five Beast Hunters in the country.

“That thing is beyond A-level.”

“…!”

At those words, everyone in headquarters froze.

“B-Beyond A-level…!”

“That’s right.”

“Are you saying that thing is… a ‘National Disaster-Level monster’?”

“…Unfortunately, yes.”

Uncle Seokgyu spoke with a furrowed brow.

“As Army Chief of Staff, I’ve taken down danger level A monsters several times. But that thing that appeared at Busan Port now… I simply don’t see it as something I can defeat.”

“Senior, you mean…!”

“Yes. Just as you need a D-level Hunter to face an E-level monster, and a C-level Hunter to face a D-level monster… To bring down that Angel before us, we need National Authority-Level Hunters… at least three or four of them right now.”

“…!!”

After Uncle Seokgyu finished speaking, headquarters naturally fell into chaos.

“At least three National Authority-Level Hunters?!”

“But the only National Authority-Level powerhouses in our country are the Army Chief of Staff here and the head of the Korean branch of the Hunter Association!”

“D-Does that mean we can’t stop it…?”

Should we request support from military allies like the US or Japan?

But even with alliances, they wouldn’t easily provide National Authority-Level Hunters.

Above all, there was no guarantee that monster would stay on the deck until negotiations were completed and contracts finalized.

“Th-Then if at least our Korean Navy provides support…!”

“If it were a giant monster, the Navy’s firepower might be of some help. But this monster is about the size of a human.”

Just as a lion’s teeth can hunt herbivores but miss flying mosquitoes.

How accurately could warship shells, designed for anti-weapon warfare rather than anti-personnel combat, hit a humanoid monster?

Even if they fired with perfect aim, National Disaster-Level monsters could either dodge or remain unharmed even when hit.

“You’d just die needlessly.”

“…Then what can we possibly do, senior?”

“……”

Unprecedented.

The first National Disaster-Level monster to appear since the establishment of the Republic of Korea.

Are we truly this powerless before it?

Just as Seokgyu, who had weathered countless battles, closed his eyes tightly unable to think of a solution, that’s when it happened.

“Then this is the perfect chance to launch a surprise attack before it does anything.”

“Honey?”

“And when it comes to catching a monster off guard, there’s no one better than me in this country.”

“Honey!”

Rolling spoke cheerfully while stretching in the frozen atmosphere.

But she was just a Commander Hunter specialized in support.

Seeing his wife speak as if she was going to fight, Uncle Seokgyu’s face crumbled instantly.

“No… No, no, no! Absolutely not! I cannot allow it.”

Uncle Seokgyu firmly gripped both of Rolling’s shoulders, facing her directly as if to stop her.

“D-Dad! Are you fighting with Mom? Don’t fight!”

Even as daughter Sophia tried to intervene, the uncle’s face remained so serious that I felt cold sweat running down my face watching him.

But looking at her husband.

Smile.

“?!”

Rolling smiled at him as if he was being caring.

As his wife placed her hands on top of his, Seokgyu’s grip fell away as if under a spell.

“I’ll go.”

“No…”

“I anticipated this and I’m already armed under my formal wear.”

“You…!”

“I know. Using this power for too long will kill me. But I need to save this land where our children will live.”

“B-But… I…!”

Uncle Seokgyu collapsed to the floor and cried out.

“Hnngh…!”

“D-Dad, why are you crying? Sniff… D-Don’t cry!”

Though she didn’t know why, when her dad suddenly became sad, Sophia spread her small arms wide and hugged her father’s head tightly.

Meanwhile, Rolling, who made eye contact with me:

“Shinwoo.”

“Yes?”

“No matter what happens, please take care of Sophia.”

She smiled and said that, then suddenly threw her formal wear high into the air.

Underneath, she was wearing a sleek white bodysuit that revealed her figure.

“Armament Baekho – System Activate!”

Crackle-zap.

As Rolling called out the system, overwhelming high-voltage electricity visibly flowed through her bodysuit.

Then, a pair of plasma wings formed on her back, and simultaneously, a long heavy lance that could pierce everything in sight appeared in her right hand.

“I’ll be back soon, honey.”

“R-Rolling…!”

“Wow. Mom is so pretty…”

“Hehe. Really? Thank you, my daughter.”

Rolling gently stroked Sophia’s head with a sweet smile.

But just before flying through the ceiling of the naval base.

The expression on her face as she turned her back was as cold as a white knight prepared for death.

***

Inside the USFK aircraft carrier.

This was the carrier’s dining hall, capable of accommodating almost all personnel, where the deck scene was visible through TV monitors installed on the ceiling.

“Are we going to die like this…”

“Private Michael. Don’t lose hope.”

“Admiral. B-But…!”

“We are soldiers of the United States Forces Korea. Our nation is America, considered the strongest in the world, and this sea we’re on is Busan Port in our allied country, Korea. We’re surrounded only by our allies.”

This morning at dawn.

A humanoid monster suddenly appeared on the deck and “fixed” the aircraft carrier itself to the sea.

Thanks to the rampage of the creature reminiscent of a biblical angel, there were miraculously no casualties, but all the USFK soldiers had hidden below deck.

Among them was Admiral Talisman, the commander of this aircraft carrier.

He was currently following protocol, caring for the mental state of the trapped soldiers until rescue arrived.

“Admiral! Can’t we just go out and fight?”

A soldier stood up abruptly and addressed the admiral.

“Despite appearances, I was once a B-level Hunter at the American branch of the Hunter Association! And I’m sure there are plenty of comrades of similar caliber on board!”

“So you’re suggesting we just go out and fight?”

“Yes! As soldiers protecting civilians, I wouldn’t regret dying fighting a monster.”

“Hmm. Fighting, you say…”

However, Admiral Talisman’s response to the spirited soldier was lukewarm.

The soldier was about to protest again, but.

“Your name?”

“Ah, yes! Private Doberman, sir!”

“I see. Private. I commend your spirit. A man who can assert himself so boldly in this frozen atmosphere is truly a man of the sea.”

“Thank you, sir!”

“But there’s a major contradiction in your argument.”

“Contradiction?”

“Yes. We don’t call an elephant stepping on an ant a fight.”

The private tilted his head in confusion.

Looking at the young man full of spirit but lacking understanding, Admiral Talisman explained, as if telling him not to rush toward death.

“How heavy do you think this aircraft carrier is?”

“Huh? Well… 1000 tons? 2000 tons?”

“No, approximately 300,000 tons.”

“…!”

The confident private’s mouth closed.

“It’s not a weight a human could possibly handle alone. Yet that monster outside has stopped our 300,000-ton carrier.”

“Th-That’s impossible…”

“I don’t know how or by what method it stopped us, but what’s certain is that a monster capable of such abuse against an aircraft carrier must be at least National Disaster-Level.”

“N-National Disaster-Level…!”

“Th-Then will rescue actually come?!”

To the soldiers’ continued questions, even the captain who was supposed to care for their mental state:

“W-Well…”

When actually faced with this reality, he couldn’t bring himself to offer meaningless words of hope.

“……”

“……”

The entire carrier fell into despairing silence.

Everyone just stared blankly at the humanoid monster floating above the deck, like religious fanatics.

But then.

Beep. Beep.

They’d been told not to use it unless necessary since the monster could hear it.

“A-Admiral! There’s an object approaching our carrier at an i-incredible speed!”

“An object?!”

The broadcast from the communications room, audible all the way to the deck, informed all personnel about information just captured on radar.

“Speed estimated at over Mach 5, exceeding the speed of sound! And the identity of the o-object captured by the ultra-fine camera is…!”

The humanoid monster floating quietly on the deck.

Entity name: Angel.

As she, who had been still in that spot since appearing, turned her head toward the sound of air being torn apart.

Thunk-!

“?!”

“Get out! You bastard!”

Before she could react, a heavy lance pierced Angel’s side.

At the same time, seeing this through the monitors, all the carrier’s crew members:

“The woman who just appeared on deck is presumed to be a Hunter! Search results identify her as Rolling, a former National Authority-Level Hunter, currently A-level!”

Their eyes began to sparkle with hope.