Chapter 23: Titans, Climbers of Tartarus, Part 2

Thump. Thump.

Jo Sung-Il, emerging from the smoke, felt a tingling sensation and stopped, turning his head.

“What’s this?”

It felt like something incredibly dangerous had appeared.

He started walking in the direction the sensation led him.

Thump, thump, thump, thump.

As he continued walking, he frowned.

‘My stride is long because of my size, but I wish I were smaller right now.’

He was using only ruined areas as pathways, but bumping into buildings with exposed rebar was inconvenient.

‘I could temporarily transform into my human form, but….’

He hesitated to transform without knowing the situation.

‘There must be a drawback.

There’s a reason this is my default form.’

Just as he steeled his resolve and quickened his pace,

Whoosh!

Something flew through the air, accompanied by a ripping sound.

‘Helicopters?’

Several helicopters followed the first one.

Military helicopters, armed with weapons.

Whir.

Some of them turned towards Jo Sung-Il.

“Oh no.”

Jo Sung-Il flinched, sensing trouble.

“I think I’m about to be misunderstood.”

WHOOSH!

Missiles were launched from the helicopters.

---

“Are we really firing?!”

The gunner in the helicopter, looking down, shouted at his superior.

“Fire! It’s obviously a monster!”
“But the monster sighting was reported somewhere else….”
“Do you have time to argue with that thing right in front of us?! Fire! D*mn it, do you want to get chewed out by the commander?! Fire!”

Pressured by his superior, the gunner aimed at the monster.

‘Sh*t!’

Ratatatatatata!

He cursed inwardly and pulled the trigger.

A deafening roar erupted from the machine gun as bullets rained down on the monster.

『@%^*&#%@!$.』

Incomprehensible words poured from the monster’s mouth. The gunner, though firing continuously, felt a sense of unease at the terrifying sounds.

Ratatat! Ratatatatatata!

The other helicopters also opened fire, and several missiles struck the monster.

KABOOM! KWAAAABOOOOM!

The monster, engulfed in explosions, roared at the sky.

The resulting shockwave rocked the helicopters.

“Uh oh!”

The helicopters’ electronic systems went haywire, as if hit by an EMP.

The rotors slowed, and the helicopters began to fall.

“Uwaaaaaaaah!”

Screams erupted from all directions.

The soldiers clung desperately to the open doors as the helicopters plummeted.

As the monster’s roar ended, the helicopters’ power systems came back online.

WHIIIIIR!

The pilots desperately pulled up on the controls.

“Ugh…!”

The pilots grimaced, feeling the pressure.

Then, their expressions turned to fear.

Grrrr.

The monster was right in front of them, rising with the helicopters.

It was close enough to touch. The pilots, their minds blank, instinctively initiated evasive maneuvers.

Whoosh!

But as the last helicopter tried to escape, the monster swung its hand.

The helicopter was caught instantly, crumpled in the monster’s grip.

“Uwaaaaaaaaaaah!”

The soldiers inside screamed. The monster lifted the helicopter, bringing its occupants face-to-face with its own.

『!%@!%$#.』

Unintelligible words poured from the monster.

『@%(@#!@.』
『&(&%^&%!@.』

『!@.』


$.』$

$『!@$*@#$^&^.』

 

Even though they couldn’t understand the words, the soldiers understood the meaning.

It was cursing.

Expressing its anger at being attacked without provocation.

KABOOM!

The monster slammed the helicopter onto the ground.

The helicopter rolled several times through the undergrowth.

It came to a stop, stripped of its rotor and tail, only the main body remaining.

“Ugh…”
“Is everyone alright?”

No one was dead.

But they all realized that another attack would mean certain death.

THUMP! THUMP!

The monster started walking again.

The remaining helicopters in the air foolishly resumed their attack.

“N-No!”

The gunner in the downed helicopter cried out.

“Don’t!”

KWWAAAAAAAAAAAA!

The monster roared.

The helicopters, like before, spun out of control, crashing into ruined buildings or plummeting to the ground.

No more helicopters fired at the monster. It stopped roaring and continued walking.

The gunner watched the monster, merciless after a single warning, and gulped.

“That’s… a true disaster….”

The embodiment of overwhelming power.

---

Jo Sung-Il was furious.

‘Attacking without even trying to understand the situation.’

He gritted his teeth.

He aspired to be a savior, but that didn’t mean he would show mercy to everyone.

He wanted to save the world, not every human.

That didn’t mean he hated humans. He was human himself.

But something was different now.

‘A monster is a monster.’

Being attacked had triggered an inexplicable rage within him.

It was like an instinctive hostility between different ‘species.’

‘What was it that I forgot?’

When he chose to become a savior, the system window had said he had forgotten something.

He didn’t understand what it meant, but one thing was certain.

‘I’m no longer human.’

The recent incident had made him realize that.

That his instincts were taking over.

He could still think rationally, but when the humans attacked him en masse, it felt like ‘being swarmed by insects.’

Even as a human, he would get irritated by flying insects and swat them away without thinking.

It was that kind of feeling.

‘This could be dangerous.’

His monstrous thoughts might start mixing with his human thoughts. Jo Sung-Il took a deep breath and composed himself.

‘I need to focus on what I was trying to confirm.’

That was why he had left his lair.

He quickened his pace.

---

[⚠ The appearance of the ‘Harbinger of Doom, Titan,’ is complete.]

Titan, a giant formed of earth, raised its head and roared, as if trying to devour the clouds.

GWAAAAAAAAAAAA.

The ground trembled.
Kim Yo-Sep, holding the crumbling earth together with Needlework, frowned.

“Ugh!”

He focused, trying to mend the earth, but it was too late.

The ground continued to collapse, and numerous Hunters fell into the chasm.

“Sh*t, we need to get out of here!”

Ko Chan shouted.

“We can’t do anything if we can’t even stand!”
“Calm down.”
“Calm down?!”

Ko Chan bent his knees.

“I don’t have to stay here! I’m going to report this to the Guild Leader!”

Whoosh!

He leaped into the air and used the remaining buildings as stepping stones to escape.

“I wouldn’t call him virtuous.”

Kim Yo-Sep muttered, seeing another Hunter fall into a newly formed hole as Ko Chan jumped.

“But he’s not wrong.”

He couldn’t keep wasting his power here.

“Warn everyone to evacuate.”

He spoke to a Hunter lying nearby, staring blankly at Titan.

“Now is not the time to worry about that. Focus on survival.”
“Y-Yes… sir….”

The Hunter, heeding Kim Yo-Sep’s advice, stood up and shouted,

“Everyone, get out of here! We can’t do anything! We need to run!”

Retreating without accomplishing anything was shameful for a Hunter, but with even Ko Chan fleeing, no one could do anything.

“Y-Yeah, we need to survive!”
“I’m not dying!”

The Hunters, abandoning their pride, started running.

Titan turned its head towards the commotion.

“We’ve attracted its attention.”

Titan started walking towards them.

“I don’t intend to become a martyr.”

Snap!

The ropes embedded in the ground retracted.

The ground crumbled, and screams erupted from those who lost their footing.

Kim Yo-Sep drew a cross in the air and pressed his back against it.

Flap!

White wings sprouted from his back.

“May God be with you all….”

Kim Yo-Sep also fled.

“W-Wait…!”
“What about us?!”

Those who couldn’t escape quickly looked on in terror.

Titan was closing in.

“D*mn it…!”

Just as they braced for death,

THUMP!
THUMP!

They heard another loud noise and turned their heads.

“Huh?”

Another giant monster had appeared.