CH : 204 Shadow Monsters

With a surge of unyielding determination, he propelled himself forward, Ant King's remaining hand becoming a blur as it sliced through the air with a velocity that shattered sound itself. The shockwaves rippled outward, obliterating multiple Ant monsters in their wake, a testament to the sheer might unleashed in that singular strike.

Despite the agony coursing through his hand, fractured and mangled from the unfathomable force Ant King had unleashed, Ant King remained resolute, convinced his adversary lay defeated.

Yet, as the dust settled, Jin stood unscathed, a mere echo of his opponent's power. "Is that the best you can muster?" he taunted, his voice cutting through the tension like a blade.

A wicked smile bloomed on his face as he spoke those words.

The mental shock this monster, this so-called ant king felt right now, was being transmitted in full to Jin. Right now, Ant King monster was shaking from dread feeling Bron from the depth of his heart.

Jin couldn't help but feel a satisfied grin spread across his lips as he witnessed the culmination of his efforts.

Compared to the Demon King Baran, or Ancient Dragon Human of Poison and Curses, conveniently named Drake, Current Beru's strength, power and skills fell some ways behind. He was only better in speed No, maybe, it was on the same level as now Commander rank Shadow, or even exceeded it in speed regards.

Unfortunately, the current Jin wasn't the same as the Jin-Woo of OG story.

Indeed, he had stepped up into a far higher realm with the rewards he had received after going beyond level 100.

'Here's the fruit of all my labours.'

In just 17 days, Jin had transformed beyond recognition. He now possessed a level of strength and skill that would easily allow him to defeat at least 2 versions of his former self. Level 150 was now tantalizingly close, a testament to his unwavering dedication and relentless pursuit of the golden ticket in hopes of getting the chance to dimension jump.

Aware that the Dragon Monarch was the only one capable of providing him with a semblance of a challenge in this world, Jin realized that if he wanted to avoid spending his days idle and stagnant, he needed to seek out new opportunities elsewhere. He understood that to achieve his ultimate goal, he had to venture to a realm where he could unleash his true power, earn significant experience points, and perhaps even attract more companions.

So these 17 days he spent every hour on a relentless journey of killing and collecting EXP, clearing Labyrinth as soon as possible. In fact Jin hasn't slept for a second the last 17 days. Every waking hour of every second is spent on 'Grind' just for that fated Golden Ticket.

Now, on the verge of reaching this monumental milestone, Jin stood poised to ascend to unprecedented levels of greatness.

Jin got to fully experience just how much his Stats had grown through Drake and now this particular opponent. Along with the satisfaction derived from knowing that his Stats had been greatly enhanced now, even more stirring emotions welled up from deep inside his chest as he knew just a few millions more EXP before he had that Golden Ticket.

Jin didn't doubt his luck, mindful of jinxes. He stayed focused, preparing for the opportunity ahead, ready to seize his destiny.

When the ant king took another step back, Jin-Woo took two steps forward. And then…

In the next moment, Jin's hand blurred once more, the air crackling with anticipation.

"KA-Boom."

The impact reverberated like thunder, a cataclysmic collision that shattered the Ant King's carapace and sent him hurtling through the air, his body contorted and broken.

The air crackled with anticipation as Jin's punch connected, the force sending the Ant King flying backward. The carapace covering his body shattered, bones snapping under the immense pressure of the blow. In that moment, his body sent flying and tore through the walls of Ant tunnel.

Jin's power was undeniable, his strength overwhelming as he asserted his dominance over his opponent.

***

Inside the office of the Hunter Association's President.

"Boom!!"

Goh Gun-Hui hurriedly lifted his hand off the crushed armrest. His private doctor sitting next to him turned to look at him.

"…Association President."

"….It seems that I got over excited just now."

He unconsciously gripped too tight, and this happened. However, how could he not get excited by the scenes he was seeing right now?

Indeed, watching Esdeath's performance playing out on the giant screen made his emotions well up without him even realising it. If only his body permitted it, he'd have gone there to fight alongside, too.

"Getting overexcited is not good for your body, sir."

Goh Gun-Hui nodded his head.

There was only one reason why he, as the Association President, wasn't present in the mission control centre. Didn't matter whether this subjugation operation ended as a success or a failure, there was a potential risk that he'd strain his heart simply by being there. Even though he was in much better health after Jin's spell, the illness still resides in his heart.

Even watching the broadcast like this carried enough risk, so the personal doctor had to set up a camp next to Goh Gun-Hui.

'Maybe, it would've been better to not let him watch the broadcast.'

The personal doctor worried about his decision for a brief moment, but after seeing the expression etched on the face of the Association President, he soon shook his head.

As the fight between Esdeath and Ant King continued Goh Gun-Hui could clearly see that she was overwhelming the monster without putting too much effort even though Camara couldn't follow their movements he knew she was winning by a large margin.

And then just before another clash began another Hunter appeared out of nowhere and as soon as Goh Gun-Hui saw his face a smile bloomed on his face.

Ever since the Hunter named Sung Jin-Woo appeared on the scene, that wide smile didn't want to leave Goh Gun-Hui's face.

["Hey, that man, that's Sung Jin-Woo!"]

In that right moment, as the despair quickly transformed into a loud cheer, as overwhelming magic they thought another monster would make his appearance.

So when it turns out it was Jin, the words Association President cried out still rang inside the doctor's ears.

Meanwhile, Goh Gun-Hui was beaming widely.

'I can't believe this is happening.'

He then cautiously placed his hand back on the sofa's armrest. Unless he was holding onto something, his entire body would itch too much and he'd be unable to endure it.

'But, how did Hunter Sung Jin-Woo get there?'

Initially, he was greatly intrigued by this quandary. The island must be overflowing with the ant monsters, so how did he appear there without anyone else noticing it?

But, such a thing wasn't important right now.

No, the truly important thing would be that Hunter Sung Jin-Woo was there. And with that, the other Hunters had hope. Those two were the important things.

It was then.

"KA-Boom."

Goh Gun-Hui's eyes grew extra large after witnessing the spectacle of Jin-Woo punching the Ant King so hard that its carapace crumbled.

A smile of contentment was filling up his face, instead.

'He said that he wanted to fight against the monsters, didn't he?'

Goh Gun-Hui could now understand a bit more of why the youth said those words to him back then. After all, he possessed such incredible power, so no monsters out there should faze him.

For sure, Jin-Woo looked like he was enjoying himself as he single handedly decimated the monster with a single move. It was to the extent that the viewers watching felt a deep stirring within their hearts.

However….

Why did Hunter Sung Jin-Woo, who so dearly wished to battle monsters that badly, asked to be left out of the Korean raid team?

'He must've had an important reason behind that decision.'

Goh Gun-Hui nodded his head. Without such a reason, there was just no way that a man who formed an expression like that during battle would willingly walk away from a raid team.

When his thoughts arrived at that point, Goh Gun-Hui grew very curious about what could possibly be Jin-Woo's reason.

***

Silence ... .absolute silence filled the ant hills as they all looked at hole in walls created just by one punch, one of the strongest monsters they ever seen was now sent flying. In this world nobody believed that 'it' happened besides the few, even when they all witnessed it.

Even the Ants army in the tunnel having hard time processing what the fuck just happened..

But that was just the beginning, soon the whole ground around behind him turned black. As turned around and looked at the Korean Hunter team who were badly beaten, losing a lot of blood Jin didn't waste a second as the next second, a black 'wave' was rushing out now.

'Go! None shall leave alive'

Jin issued an order to his Shadow Soldiers.

He activated 'Monarch's Domain' so he could finish this as soon as possible.

Soon a huge number of Shadow Soldiers rushed forward, enhanced a step further by this skill, and marched towards the ants at a frightening speed.

Dududududu….!!

The loud footsteps reverberated throughout the ant tunnel.

'And you all…. come out, too.'

Finally, Jin summoned Fangs out of his elite soldiers, as well.

Soon Tusk, Buster, Zelos, Beta, Alpha, Gold, Aella, Zink, Kluh, Vazl, Croc, Zink, Denk, Swift, Zero, Cerberus, Dawn, Igris, Iron, Tank, Akame, Gorr, Zelos, Gold,, Pikachu, Telo, Leone, Chelsea, Sheele, Run, Squirtle, Mez, Dr. Stylish, Ibara, Zank, Gozuki, Rokugou, Dorothea, Kumoko(Arachnes), Sabatini, Dangan, Nouken, Shihandai, Cornelia, Poney, Tsukushi, Wave and the six new bosses of Labyrinths the newly Veteran Elite Knight Grade Shadows Lionman Tyrant(Chimera), conveniently named Tyrant,

The Basilisk Petrifyre, rather than being a snake it is a multi legged, reptilian horror, possessed a single row of bony spines that lined their backs and a few had a curved horn atop his noses, its entire body is covered by purple mist except hands he was named Arsenic due to him being about all things poison.

Hydra Rauchitas, it's a four-legged red beast, rather than seven of nine it had three massive heads. It has a 'sleek body' with its entire body being covered by swirls of Air all over it, similar to a leopard's spotted coat. Its long tail was full of speckled and patterned swirls, along with a set of thorns. It has no wings, but in each of its mouths have serrated teeth that lay within he was named Maelstrom, due to its mastery of wind element.

Oni Gargaros, he is hunk of mussels similar to Kluh just much much stronger He has dark blue skin, glowing yellow-red eyes and glowing, spiky shoulder-length hair, fangs and short protrusions on his forehead, resembling growing horns., showing off his musculature; the prayer beads that were once around his neck now float about disconnected around his body. He also has claws on his fingers and toes, his voice also sounds much more demonic, akin to the demons of Asian myths. It had bright blue flames all over its body; it seemed to be made of solid flames itself. As it could turn who dared to approach him into ashes with relative ease.

The moment Jin laid eyes on him, standing alone, a name instinctively escaped his lips—one that belonged to one of the coolest characters from one of the greatest fighting games ever made.

So obviously he was named Akuma.

Lastly the strongest Boss from the Labyrinths just one level away from Commander Grade, the Ancient Dragon Human of Poison and Curses also conveniently named Drake.

Jin's gaze swept over his elite shadow soldiers with a steely resolve. "Capture the strongest; begin their transformation," he commanded, his voice cutting through the silence like a blade. Turning to his six newly recruited soldiers, whose formidable ranks had recently been bolstered, he issued a chilling directive: "Pursue the Ant King, subdue him, and commence the induction feeding." At his command, the shadow soldiers then stomped their legs and turned into brust of residual shadows bringing a gust of fishy wind directly towards the Hunters who couldn't even utter a single word, a silent, deadly force unleashed on Jin's command.

But it was just the beginning.

At this moment the speed of the strongest shadows was so fast that it even prevented the Koreas strongest Hunters and the Ants from reacting.

Then Jin turned around at looked at the only huge shadow soldier who was standing on his left.

As if it was feeling sheepish for only summon standing beside his master, all alone, Tusk looked around himself and scratched the back of his head. Jin handed over the Bead of Avarice and warned him in no uncertain terms.

Jin's voice echoed commandingly through the vast Ant tunnel, his finger directed upward. "Open this up," he instructed firmly, his focus unyielding. "Target only the ceiling and the ants above. Remember, if even a single lick of flames touches the choppers overhead, or debris fall on the humans there, I will never summon you out ever again." His threat hung in the air, a stern reminder of the precision required in their lethal task.

Tusk enthusiastically nodded his head as if he was confident of doing exactly that.

Soon, Tusk grew super-large with the [Hymn of Giants] and spewed out that enormous pillar of flames.

Kuwaaaaaaahhhh-!!!

Although he had seen that plenty enough times by now, Jin couldn't help but feel impressed by the sight regardless due Tusk's ever increasing Rank.

'It's kinda like his flame pillar is getting bigger every day, isn't it?'

It's because his level was also rising.

Only Jin could come up with such a reaction since he had seen this spectacle before, but well, other people were thinking of entirely different things.

The Hunters crouched in the distant shadows, holding their breaths as they witnessed the intense confrontation between Jin and the Ant King. When the new 'monsters'—Jin's shadow soldiers—emerged, the Hunters could only gasp in astonishment.

Each shadow soldier radiated a formidable aura, their magical energy so overwhelming that it was nearly suffocating. Despite knowing they weren't the targets, the Hunters found it difficult to breathe, such was the power emanating from these beings.

From within their ranks, a sharp and alarmed reaction rippled through, reflecting the severity of their awe and fear at the display of unprecedented might.

"T-those are his summoned creatures?! What?! They are summons?!"

Im Tae-Gyu pointed at Tusk and raised his voice. As Tusk was the only one standing by the side of Jin.

As for the other Hunters, no one could respond to him as their jaws were still resting on the ground at that moment. However, everyone was thinking of roughly the same thing.

How could those things be classified as mere summons??

From the way they looked, or the powers they possessed, that thing no longer looked like a simple summoned creature, but a demon king that had descended to this earth.

And to the shock of everyone beside a hot lady he was the only one they could see as they knew others who were just as powerful as him if not more had vanished before they were even able to blink.

Whatever the case may have been, that totally nonsensical pillar of flames roasted not only the swarm of ants but next second the whole ceiling was gone as the very stone and sand above vaporised from the temperatures of that huge pillar of flames.

Moreover the blue flames were so hot, that even if they were separated by hundreds of meters l, it still made five of them feel the terrifying sezzling heat, as if they were in a furnace.

Such a change immediately caused the Ants to be incomparably grave.