It was as clear as day, the intelligent demons would strike during the celebration. Their target? The newly ranked SSS-Hunter—now hunted by every Zone.
Min-ho and Chan-wook stepped outside and quickly scanned the battlefield. Around twenty demons, each radiating raw physical power, rampaged across the area.
"No time to waste," Chan-wook muttered, summoning his Kenketzu—a sharp double-edged blade that shimmered with menace.
One demon barked upon seeing the masked hunter, drawing the attention of the others. The corpses and blood of soldiers were strewn across the ground, turning the earth into a crimson slaughterhouse. The demons knew no mercy.
Min-ho's eyes scanned each lifeless body, despair creeping into his soul. Just then, the remaining masked hunters emerged near the entrance.
"Hun...ters!" growled the demons on all fours. Their torsos were so rugged, they could barely lift their bodies upright.
"You came here, demons, to the Green Zone just to see our new hero, didn't you?"
Min-ho slowly removed his mask, stunning everyone. His face was expressionless, his grief for the fallen beyond words.
"A clever move—attacking us while we were all gathered in one place. But you made one fatal mistake..."
His eyes ignited with fury. As his feet dug into the earth, the ground beneath him cracked and shattered. His physical power surged. From his legs to his head, a light armor began forming—crafted from his very blood, hardened into an unbreakable barrier. This was Kuroen—armor so dense, only tank-grade weaponry could pierce it.
Gripping his dual axes tightly, he declared:
"You face humans whose strength and intelligence know no bounds!"
"You've already activated Kuroen," Chan-wook stepped beside him. "Now you must kill them all. We can't let a single one escape."
"Gladly," Min-ho chuckled, his voice booming like a storm. "Hey, demons! Your kind doesn't belong in the Green Zone. Let me guess—you came from the Red Zone or learned how to mimic humans? Either way, you shouldn't have come here."
Min-ho and Chan-wook charged into battle. The demons tried to dodge with all their might, but the hunters matched their speed step for step.
One demon, doubting the armor's strength, lunged at Min-ho from behind, trying to sink its teeth into him. The effort was futile—Min-ho didn't even flinch. With a single swing of his axe, he cleaved into the demon's gut. A second swing decapitated it in one clean arc.
The others froze in terror. Min-ho's Kuroen—armor forged from blood—was absurdly durable, yet didn't hinder his movements at all.
Tearing through demon after demon, Min-ho relished the battle. His armor climbed higher, now forming a mythic helmet.
"Come at me, all of you! Every drop of your blood shall pay for the deaths of my comrades! You slaughter us without mercy—now I understand what it means to kill those weaker than you!"
A furious grin split his face. His style was brutal, his weapons unforgiving. The demons retreated several meters, regrouping to attack Chan-wook.
Chan-wook felled his current opponent with a spiraling strike and switched to a defensive grip.
"This proves it," he muttered. "These demons aren't mindless. They're following a coordinated plan. But what worries me more... is that they seem to be stalling. Why are they fighting so slowly?"
More hunters arrived, summoning their Kenketzu and rushing into battle.
Ryu-ji stopped Ji-sun with a hand on his shoulder.
"Ji-sun, let me take command. My soldiers died here. Their bodies are everywhere. It's my right to avenge them."
"In that case, command."
Surprised, Ryu-ji nodded and gripped his greatsword with both hands.
Ji-sun rushed to aid Chan-wook. The twinblade wasn't ideal for mid-range combat, and his opponent had long arms—Chan-wook took several brutal hits to the chest. The demons' punches hit like pro boxing champions.
Another demon with razor claws leapt from behind and slashed through his light armor. Chan-wook barely managed to reinforce his back with cooled blood, but then—a powerful punch landed squarely on his face. He staggered.
Ji-sun sprang into the air, forging dual blood-spears mid-flight, and brought them down on the demon. The spears pierced through the monster's chest, shredding its torso into a fountain of gore.
Pulling out his spears, Ji-sun turned calmly to the next enemy.
"Next."
The demon, unsure of Ji-sun's power, couldn't identify him through the mask. Enraged, it lunged at the dark-haired hunter. But every slash missed—Ji-sun dodged with almost supernatural precision, reading each attack as if he'd already seen it.
Soon, a second demon joined the fray, attacking from the opposite side. Still, Ji-sun evaded both with grace and ease.
Furious, the clawed demon howled:
"How?! How can you be this strong?! Who are you?!"
Ji-sun suddenly took a hit—claws shattered his mask, revealing the face beneath. The demon was too stunned to understand what he'd done.
They were staring at a nightmare given flesh—the one who haunted demon legends. A killer of the strongest. His dark eyes brought fear even to the Dukes of the Blood Moon—the masters of all demonkind.
"Who am I? I am the King of Humans. The strongest."
Though the demons had no eyes, they could see the horror before them. This wasn't a man—it was a weapon forged for annihilation. Anyone who stood in his way would suffer a gruesome death. That was how demons described Park Ji-sun.
They fled in panic—scaling walls, trampling each other. Others who had just arrived over the gates were confused at the retreat.
"Forward, soldiers!" Ryu-ji bellowed across the battlefield. "Leave none alive! Not one of these demons will leave here victorious!"
Ji-sun charged, slaughtering demons left and right. Reina—the Red Fox—dazzled with her blinding speed, taking down multiple enemies in mere seconds. Her twin rapiers moved too fast for even top hunters to track.
Min-ho stormed toward the gates, mowing down several foes with each sweeping strike.
"Where are you going?! Do you finally understand what those helpless humans felt when you destroyed them?!"
The S-rank Hunters were too powerful. The demons couldn't put up a proper fight.
Suddenly, a voice crackled through their radios—from a soldier aboard a helicopter.
"Hunters! Look up—something's falling from the sky! Our sensors are detecting a mass... it's descending fast!"
They turned their eyes to the heavens.
Something was slicing through the clouds, heading straight for the earth like a divine blade.
And whatever it was—it was about to land right on top of them.