Ch.8585. Dinosaurs and Insects

The area around the department store was literally packed with people, leaving no room to step.

Like any bargain sale scene, it was a diverse mix of middle-aged women and employees trying to sell products.

That’s why the three people currently engaged in their triangular relationship drama only drew attention from a few onlookers nearby.

That’s how close it was to a chaotic marketplace.

The inside of the department store was no different. Though there was less noise, the staff were busy dealing with the flood of customers.

In the midst of this, a crack appeared.

An alarm blared, and people immediately tried to evacuate.

But as soon as the crack distorted, before anyone could escape, a being wrapped in purple magical energy appeared.

Its face had tentacles like an octopus, with eyes showing only whites. A monster with a human-like form.

Considering how other monsters usually appeared a while after the alarm, this was an extremely quick entrance.

It was the moment when everyone’s attention shifted.

The moment this demon gestured, explosions erupted around it.

*

As the explosion sounded, the two people beside me had already disappeared.

They must have moved toward the sound. So I was alone?

I needed to transform, but I glanced around the department store interior.

If I transformed into a dinosaur, I’d break through the ceiling, so would an insect be better?

No, even this space is too narrow. I should head toward the lobby or somewhere similar.

Above all, people were scattered everywhere, making it difficult to transform.

While looking for a place to hide and transform, more people came in.

I ran toward the emergency stairs, but people were already moving there too.

Damn it.

As I searched for a place to transform, I kept feeling strong vibrations from above.

Windows were breaking, and the upper floor was in chaos.

I had no choice but to try going upstairs, but people were already coming down from there too.

“Monster! A monster! It’s here!”

“Mom!”

Amid the chaos visible everywhere, suddenly a wall collapsed.

Ariel was thrown out along with the wall.

“Huff…”

“Ariel!”

“Jong-hyun! Evacuate with the others! It’s a new type of monster!”

Ariel swung her sword, burning with magical energy.

Wait, right in front?

Purple magical energy was growing right before my eyes. And I could see a Cthulhu-like octopus-human, a Void Invader, in front of me.

But Ariel’s attack passed through its body far too easily.

“Again!”

At that moment, I threw myself forward.

Because I knew what attack would come next.

Just as I forcefully knocked Ariel down, a flash of purple light passed right above us.

“That was close.”

“It’s dangerous!”

Ariel grabbed me and suddenly threw me aside.

“Get out of the way! I said it’s dangerous!”

Ariel stood in front of the fleeing people. She burned her magical energy and took a defensive stance.

Where’s Yuhwa?

But in that moment, purple magical energy grew in front of Ariel.

I saw Ariel’s Gram burning with more firepower than I could have imagined.

It was offset with smoke billowing out, but Ariel collapsed helplessly.

This was a battle between an SS-class and an A-rank. That outcome was expected.

If there’s any consolation, it’s that the Void Invader’s firepower is weaker than other SS-class monsters.

People were fleeing, and Ariel was groaning in pain.

So should I do it here?

The Void Invader’s eyes turned toward me.

The moment our eyes met, I felt a premonition of death.

My card deck began to move wildly and emit light.

When the Void Invader flinched momentarily, I managed to grasp my main card.

“Jong-hyun!”

Then I heard Yuhwa’s voice from behind. At the same time, the hand of the Void Invader bent backward.

But the bent hand, like that of a mollusk, returned to its original state, and purple light moved toward Yuhwa.

Rather than dodging herself, Yuhwa focused on deflecting the attack with Brisingamen.

Impressive.

But that doesn’t change the fact that I’m in danger.

I hurriedly went to help the fallen Ariel. The Void Invader?

The Void Invader was already gone from in front of me.

As I hastily supported Ariel, this princess suddenly opened her eyes.

“Jong-hyun. Let go.”

“You’re hurt. You should withdraw now…”

“No! Let go! If Yuhwa can hold on, there’s no way I can’t.”

Look at this stubborn one.

Ariel jumped back into the fray.

“Well, fine by me.”

By now, while we were busy with this back-and-forth, all the civilians had evacuated.

I checked for CCTV cameras and hid in a corner.

Those two can’t win unless they have abilities like Sung-hee.

“Is the security guard fighting other monsters?”

Outside, battles had already broken out. It was chaos with Jaegers fighting against monsters that had caused the Break.

[Evolution]

-Adult form

-Sub-adult form

I looked toward the department store entrance.

[Dinosaur Asura]

It had to end in a single moment. My body began to transform rapidly.

*

Ariel and Yuhwa were feeling an unprecedented unfairness.

“Why aren’t our attacks working?”

Their attacks weren’t effective. Slashes imbued with magical energy simply passed through, and even the aftershocks were ignored.

It wasn’t a matter of high defense or anything like that.

Ariel was about to become more aggressive in her excitement but soon backed off.

She was reminded of the Giant Living Armor.

“Yuhwa. Don’t you think there might be some condition?”

The ground where she had been standing crumbled and collapsed.

The same was happening to Yuhwa.

She could control the opponent’s arms, but they quickly broke free. Moreover, she was becoming increasingly exhausted.

Above all, it was impossible to make the opponent harm itself.

This was evidence that they were facing a high-tier monster. Its special ability was neutralizing their attacks.

Naturally, they were reminded of the Giant Living Armor, which, despite being B-class, had given them trouble due to its physical resistance.

There must be some condition that was preventing their attacks from working.

But finding this in the midst of battle was difficult.

Once again, as Yuhwa sealed the opponent’s arm, Ariel nimbly escaped.

It showed how battle-hardened they were, buying time against an SS-class monster.

Ariel shouted:

“I want to end this in one blow, but I might bring down the building. Yuhwa, can you manage on your own?”

“We need to figure out how to make our attacks work first, Ariel!”

“I know that! That’s why I’m staying put.”

The two bickered but worked well together. Ariel drew attention while Yuhwa momentarily blocked the enemy’s movements with Brisingamen.

She didn’t dare attempt mental control. She had seen cases of seniors who became mentally contaminated from trying.

But at this rate, they would tire first. Just as their unusual rhythm was beginning to dull,

suddenly the Void Invader stopped.

“?”

To the surprise of the two, it yawned at them.

In that moment, veins popped on Ariel’s forehead, and Yuhwa felt humiliated.

But they didn’t dare rush in.

They felt a killing intent incomparable to before.

As if teleporting, it stood before Ariel.

“Kuk!”

Ariel reflexively made the mistake of striking the floor with her sword, but thanks to that, she was able to avoid the opponent’s attack.

She fell through the hole in the floor, while the place where she had been was annihilated.

The crisis wasn’t over yet. There were many people hiding where Ariel had fallen.

Everyone was startled to see Ariel falling from the ceiling.

“Everyone run!”

Just as Ariel shouted urgently, the enemy passed through the ceiling with unnatural smoothness and appeared before her.

Ariel didn’t flee. There were too many people hiding around her.

Instead, she took this as an opportunity to attack.

She released her magical energy timed with the opponent’s attack.

Sparks flew as her attack clashed with the enemy’s magic.

Behind her, the sound of the building collapsing and people screaming could be heard.

Ariel’s flames were being overwhelmed by the opponent’s magic.

She was going to die.

Just as Ariel realized this, a shadow fell before her.

A well-honed metal claw, like a great sword, dropped in front of her. Its size alone was larger than Ariel’s height.

“…?”

In that moment, as Ariel turned her head with goosebumps all over her body,

she saw an intensely intimidating metal helmet that made her knees weak.

Horns on the metal fiercely pointed toward the sky.

The eyes inside the metal helmet emitted a red glow, exuding a terrifying aura.

A monster. Another monster that had suddenly appeared, but Ariel instinctively knew.

It was that dinosaur that had been helping her for some time.

That monster with a bone helmet now changed to a metal helmet, and grown even larger.

“Could it be you?”

Ariel was no longer shocked to see this monster.

She was even glad to see it after so long. The monster began to charge, breaking the ceiling with its massive body.

It wouldn’t attack her; it would go after the enemy. Ariel had already figured this out.

‘But has that dinosaur grown? And why does it seem familiar?’

Memories of her rampage tried to surface in her consciousness, but they were interrupted by the Void Invader’s attack.

In an instant, the Void Invader filled the surroundings with purple magical energy.

Dangerous. Everyone felt it at that moment.

The dinosaur opened its mouth and rapidly gathered magical energy. That energy transformed into a red laser in an instant, sending shockwaves through the space before the opponent could react.

‘It’s still passing through. How do we catch this thing?’

Then purple magical energy grew on the dinosaur’s body. The force that exploded in an instant threatened to collapse the building’s floor.

But the dinosaur endured.

‘Amazing! It’s withstanding everything. But it looks uncomfortable moving.’

Even with its head lowered, it towered over the floor, fighting awkwardly with its back hunched.

Forcibly bending its back, it took attacks head-on.

Amid the chaos, Ariel realized the dinosaur was trying to lure the Void Invader toward the window.

The Void Invader, seemingly disliking close combat, deliberately maintained distance even though attacks weren’t effective.

Once it was cornered at the window, the dinosaur raised its claw with its palm facing the opponent.

Something was coming. A powerful attack, which is why it had driven the enemy to a place with minimal damage.

That’s what Ariel felt at that moment.

Suddenly, the monster’s arm jerked upward.

The energy gathering in its palm disappeared, very subtly.

A sudden situation. The dinosaur seemed confused, moving its claws around.

Ariel could find the cause. It was because Yuhwa had blocked it.

“Ariel! Are you okay?”

“No, I’m not okay because of you.”

Ariel looked back and forth between the dinosaur monster and Yuhwa.

*

I can’t believe Yuhwa interfered. Honestly, I didn’t have much connection with Yuhwa as this form.

I missed the perfect opportunity to fire my annihilation shot. And now the enemy has disappeared, and Yuhwa is glaring at me.

“This monster! Where did it come from?”

“No! You idiot!”

Ariel suddenly gets angry.

“Why did you interfere? That was our chance to finish it!”

“What are you talking about? Get away from that dinosaur!”

“No, I’m telling you, it won’t hurt me!”

Ah, amid their mutual misunderstanding, I released a smoke screen.

“No…”

“Smoke? As I thought…”

Leaving the two behind, I jumped out through the broken window. Where did it go?

A flash of purple aura appeared momentarily in the opposite building.

Is it there?

Right now, I’ve replaced all my cards except the annihilation shot with smoke screens.

And while spreading them as I moved, I couldn’t control the enemy’s escape with this size.

It’s hard to force my way in with this bulk. I kicked away another monster outside and reached the opposite building.

[Evolution]

-Adult form

Since I haven’t used much power after evolving to adult form, is it possible again? I held up the evolution card with another form in mind.

[Adult evolution not possible]

-Sub-adult possible

I thought as much. In the smoke, I replaced my sub-cards with absorption again and began hunting monsters.

After killing about three, I checked the evolution card and got what I wanted.

[Adult evolution possible]

-Insect Asura (Further evolution with absorption card not possible.)

This time I transformed into the smaller Insect Asura.

Using my wings, I broke through a window in one go.

[Terrain]

[Output Limiter Release]

[Liquid Metal]

[Space Cutting]

Space Cutting, a sub-card only usable by Insect Asura. With this, I can catch it.

As I was targeting it while flying over screaming people below:

“Where did this monster come from?”

Suddenly, I heard Ariel’s voice behind me. Why is she here?

At the same time, I felt a sharp pain on my back.

Wait, Ariel?

Behind me, Ariel was holding her sword.

Ariel doesn’t recognize the insect monster. Damn it. She sees me as an enemy monster.

But don’t underestimate an insect’s charging power. I was looking for a chance to use the cutting property on the Void Invader… I remembered.

It’s trying to disappear again. I used all my strength to approach it.

No!

In the nick of time, I felt something being cut off from my horn.

“KUAAAK!”

The Void Invader was disappearing, leaving behind a severed arm.

It will regenerate, so it doesn’t mean much.

At that moment, Ariel was rushing toward me from behind.

But suddenly she tripped over herself.

“Yuhwa! What are you doing?”

“Ariel. Stay still! Why did you interfere?”

Yuhwa was hurriedly following from behind.

“Did getting hit by that monster make you stupid? Why are you stopping me from attacking a monster?”

“That insect was trying to catch the new monster. You were the one who told me to stop earlier!”

Before they could continue their bickering, I escaped.

That was today’s work. Unfortunately, while we managed to reduce casualties significantly, we failed to capture the enemy.