All of Kong Jae-sik's lackeys had been slaughtered in his rampage, their bodies left in heaps of bloodied flesh and severed limbs. Now, his sights were locked on his true target.

Go Min-kyung.

She met him head-on, axe against sword.

Jae-sik had been a C-Rank Hunter before, a moderately skilled Warrior at best. But now? Now, he was something else entirely. His body twisted and grotesquely reshaped, pulsed with unnatural strength. He was faster, stronger, more vicious, fueled by something far beyond human limits.

And worse, the longer he fought, the more monstrous he became.

Sickening cracks and pops echoed through the tunnel as extra appendages sprouted from his back, twisted, jagged bone protrusions that sharpened into deadly blade-like edges.

"Kill, kill, KILL!" he shrieked.

Min-kyung gritted her teeth, straining against the sheer ferocity of his attacks. Her axe clashed against his sword with ear-splitting force, the impacts sending vibrations up her arms.

"Too strong!" she thought, barely dodging another strike. Her combat outfit, already revealing, now bore thin, red lines across her exposed skin, proof that even her speed wasn't enough to avoid everything.

A deep growl rumbled from Jae-sik's throat, his blackened eyes locked onto her like a predator toying with its prey.

Then…

FWOOOSH!

A supercharged arrow whistled through the air, slamming directly into the side of Jae-sik's face.

BOOM!

The explosion rocked the tunnel, debris flying in all directions.

Silence followed.

Then, Jae-sik laughed.

A low, eerie chuckle that sent shivers down their spines.

The blast had not killed him. If anything, it had only deformed his face further. His skin peeled away to reveal jagged, interlocking teeth stretching back in an unnatural, ear-to-ear grin. His left eye had melted into a glowing yellow socket, staring at them with something beyond insanity.

Ji-hoon, still gripping his bow, paled. "That should have killed him."

"Guess not," Tae-woo growled, gripping his longsword. "We fight together!" He told Min-kyung.

Min-kyung, shaking off her shock, nodded. "Right!"

With renewed determination, the two attacked in tandem.

Tae-woo moved from the left, aiming a precise thrust toward Jae-sik's exposed ribs. Min-kyung, ever the fierce warrior, came from the right, her axe swinging in a powerful diagonal arc.

But…

SHRKKK!

Jae-sik's bone-bladed appendages intercepted both of their attacks with impossible speed.

"What the-?!" Min-kyung barely twisted out of the way as the monstrous limbs lashed out toward her throat.

Tae-woo staggered back, his sword barely deflecting another oncoming strike. Jae-sik was fighting them all at once.

"YAAAH!"

A battle cry roared through the tunnel as Jang Woo-bin, the Castellan, charged. His massive warhammer swung overhead, his tower shield braced in front.

He slammed into Jae-sik with the full force of a tank.

For a second, the monstrous man was pushed back.

"Over here, you bastard!" Woo-bin shouted, trying to divert the creature's focus. "Come at me!"

Jae-sik twitched.

Then, something burst out of the nape of his neck.

A grotesque, oversized arm, covered in jagged, blackened muscle, emerged, faster than anyone could react.

The new arm shot forward and speared through Woo-bin's tower shield.

And then through Woo-bin's chest.

For a moment, there was silence.

"W-whuh?!"

Woo-bin's body jerked, his eyes bulging in shock.

"WOO-BIN!"

Sena's scream tore through the tunnel.

Blood dripped down the monstrous appendage, staining the dungeon floor in thick, crimson pools.

The young Castellan coughed up blood, his breath coming in sharp, ragged gasps. His fingers weakly clawed at the gaping hole in his chest.

Sena didn't think. She ran toward him.

And that was when Jae-sik grinned.

His bone blades reared back, ready to skewer the approaching Druid.

"SENA, MOVE!" Tae-woo shouted, lunging toward her.

With a desperate burst of speed, he tackled her just as a blade sliced into his leg.

"Urgh!"

Pain shot through him, but he ignored it, his body shielding Sena as they both hit the ground.

Gasping, Sena scrambled to her knees, eyes wide with horror. "W-Woo-bin…" she whimpered, looking at her friend, who lay twitching on the dungeon floor, blood pooling beneath him.

He was dying.

"No… no…" Min-kyung whispered, her breath ragged.

Her heart pounded as she took in the sight of Woo-bin's limp body. Her fingers tightened around the handle of her axe.

"You will pay for that, you monster!" she roared, throwing herself at Jae-sik like a storm of blades.

She twisted and spun, every strike fueled by pure rage.

Jae-sik smiled.

And then…

SHRKKK!

Min-kyung staggered.

Her eyes widened.

Her axe had broken.

The shattered remains of her enchanted weapon clattered to the ground, reduced to useless splinters.

She barely had a second to react before…

WHAM!

Jae-sik's knee slammed into her gut.

"GHHKK!"

The force launched her across the tunnel.

She crashed against the cavern wall, her body crumpling upon impact.

Coughing and gasping, she clutched her stomach, struggling to breathe.

Jae-sik chuckled, his grotesque form towering over her.

"Pathetic," he sneered, his voice carrying an unnatural echo.

His gaze burned with disgust as he reached down and grabbed her by the hair. He yanked her up, her feet barely touching the ground.

"To think a woman like you was leading us..."

His grip tightened.

"It'd be better if you were groveling and begging for forgiveness."

His lips curled into a twisted smirk.

Min-kyung, despite the pain, despite the overwhelming difference in power.

Spat in his face.

"Tough chance," Min-kyung smirked, blood dripping from the corner of her mouth. Despite the searing pain in her stomach, despite the throbbing ache in her limbs, she still refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing her break.

But Jae-sik's grin twisted into something monstrous.

With a snarl, he yanked her up by the hair and slammed her face-first into the stone wall.

Once.

Twice.

Thrice.

Each impact sent shocks of agony tearing through her skull. Her vision blurred. Blood splattered onto the wall, thick and dark, staining the jagged surface with streaks of crimson.

"Ah! Aah! AAHH!!"

Her screams echoed through the dungeon, bouncing off the damp stone walls.

Jae-sik finally let go, letting her crumple to the ground like a broken doll.

And then, his boot came down on her face.

The sole of his foot pressed against her cheek, shoving her down into the dirt.

"Ergh…" Min-kyung groaned, her fingers trembling as she clawed weakly at his leg, trying desperately to push him off.

Jae-sik smirked, his grotesque, twisted face filled with nothing but scorn. "This is where you belong. Beneath me. On the ground, groveling for mercy."

He pressed down harder, grinding her face into the dirt, his weight suffocating. Her breathing hitched, her body twitching in pain, but still, she refused to break.

His mocking laughter filled the air.

"What's wrong? Where's that tough Amazon spirit now?"

Then, he lifted his foot before swinging it forward in a devastating kick.

CRACK.

"GAHH!"

Min-kyung's body convulsed violently, sent rolling across the dungeon floor.

A sharp, splintering pain tore through her ribs. She choked on a breath, her lungs refusing to expand properly. The telltale burn of broken bones flared beneath her skin. Each inhale was fire. Each movement was agony.

Jae-sik stalked toward her, his grotesque expression twisted with cruel amusement.

"Women like you," he spat, "should know their place. You think swinging an axe makes you an equal? Makes you better than a man?"

Min-kyung gritted her teeth, glaring at him despite the pain, despite the way her limbs refused to move the way she wanted.

Jae-sik sneered. "You're nothing. Just a useless slut with muscles, trying to play a warrior."

"Fuck you," Min-kyung rasped, trying to push herself up.

Jae-sik grabbed her by the throat and hauled her up effortlessly.

Her legs kicked weakly, her hands clawing at his fingers, but his grip was unrelenting.

Jae-sik's hungry gaze roamed over her, lingering on her battle-worn curves, the way her exposed skin glistened with sweat and blood.

His grip on her throat tightened.

His free hand moved lower.

Min-kyung shuddered.

"Disgusting," she spat, her defiance unwavering even as fear coiled in her gut.

Jae-sik chuckled darkly. "Dressed like this… what did you expect?"

His clawed fingers traced her abdomen, sliding lower, before grabbing onto her chest.

Min-kyung's body jolted violently, horror flashing through her bloodied face.

"No! N-no, stop!"

She struggled, but Jae-sik was too strong.

His monstrous fingers dug into her flesh, squeezing cruelly.

Min-kyung let out a choked, horrified gasp, her limbs flailing uselessly.

"P-please…"

Jae-sik mocked her with a chuckle. "So, you do know how to beg. At least you're good for something."

Tears of rage and humiliation burned in Min-kyung's eyes.

"H-help…" she whimpered, her voice weak.

As Jae-sik remained preoccupied with Min-kyung, his twisted form looming over her battered body, Tae-woo moved swiftly, his grip tightening around the hilt of his longsword. Silent. Precise. Calculated. He slipped behind the monster's back, every muscle in his body coiled like a spring, and in one clean motion, he swung his blade with all his might, aiming for Jae-sik's exposed neck.

A fatal strike.

Or so he thought.

At the last second, one of Jae-sik's grotesque bone-like appendages lashed out, intercepting the attack with an ear-piercing CLANG. Sparks flew as metal met hardened bone, the impact vibrating up Tae-woo's arms, forcing him a step back.

Jae-sik turned to him, his lips stretching into a hideous, jagged grin, his blackened eyes gleaming with twisted amusement.

"So, now that you're some high-and-mighty B-Rank, you think you can play hero?" Jae-sik sneered, his voice thick with mockery as he unceremoniously dropped Min-kyung to the ground like a discarded ragdoll.

His extra limbs twitched, adjusting their positions, before suddenly lunging toward Tae-woo in a frenzied assault.

"Fine! You die first!"

Tae-woo barely had time to react before Jae-sik was on him, his monstrous appendages striking with blinding speed.

A blur of flashing blades.

A storm of slashes, faster than any normal human could ever hope to match.

Tae-woo's body moved on instinct, his newfound reflexes allowing him to parry, dodge, and deflect, but even then, Jae-sik was relentless.

The monster's strikes came from all angles, each one aiming to rip through flesh and bone, leaving Tae-woo constantly on the defensive. Despite his heightened strength, despite his evolution, he was struggling to keep up.

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Jae-sik had fully transformed.

He was no longer human.

His distorted frame, his extra limbs, his jagged teeth, the sheer ferocity of his attacks, everything about him screamed of something that had crawled out of the depths of a nightmare.

"Losers like you should just stay in their lane!"

Jae-sik snarled as he pressed the attack, his strikes growing even more violent, his monstrous form moving faster than Tae-woo had anticipated.

Tae-woo could feel his arms growing sore, his grip on his sword faltering with every parry, every block.

Then, pain exploded through his shoulder.

One of Jae-sik's bone-blades pierced clean through.

The sharp, sickening sound of flesh being torn open.

Tae-woo's eyes widened, his breath catching in his throat as blood spilled down his arm, warm and wet, staining his armor.

"Tae-woo!"

Ji-hoon's voice rang out as he frantically nocked an arrow, drawing his bowstring back before letting loose a shot toward Jae-sik's head.

But, with unnatural ease, Jae-sik twisted his body mid-motion and swatted the arrow aside with one of his bladed limbs.

Like it was nothing.

"Once a loser, always a loser…" Jae-sik hissed, his voice dripping with contempt as he ripped his blade free from Tae-woo's shoulder, eliciting a sharp grunt of pain from his opponent.

Tae-woo staggered, his breath coming in ragged, uneven gasps, his grip on his sword tightening despite the pain burning through his body.

Jae-sik raised another one of his bone-blades, aiming directly for Tae-woo's neck.

This time, he was going to finish it.

The blade swung down in a merciless arc.

CLANK.

Jae-sik froze.

His eyes widened in pure, unfiltered disbelief.

Because instead of cutting clean through Tae-woo's throat…

The blade had stopped.

It wasn't blocked.

It wasn't dodged.

Tae-woo had caught it.

With his teeth.

The dungeon fell into an eerie, suffocating silence.

Jae-sik's grotesque face twisted into an expression of sheer shock.

"What the fuck?"

His words barely registered.

Because as Jae-sik stared…

Tae-woo bit down.

CRACK.

The sickening sound of bone snapping filled the dungeon as Tae-woo's teeth crushed through Jae-sik's bladed appendage. The jagged fragments of the severed limb splintered in his mouth, and much to the horror of his teammates, he chewed, his jaw working through the unnatural texture, his throat moving as he swallowed the remains.

A silence settled over the battlefield.

Jae-sik, his grotesque body frozen mid-motion, stared in disbelief. For the first time since his transformation, the twisted smirk that had marred his monstrous face was gone, replaced by something else entirely: pure, unfiltered horror.

He took a step back, but before he could fully process what had just happened.

Tae-woo moved.

Faster than before.

His fist soared upward, a devastating uppercut slamming into Jae-sik's chin with a force that sent a shockwave through the dungeon.

"URGH!"

Jae-sik reeled back from the impact, his deformed jaw cracking from the sheer force. But Tae-woo wasn't done.

As he brought his hand back down, something sprouted from his knuckles; purple crystal spikes, glowing faintly, twisting and growing across his skin.

Jae-sik roared in rage, his monstrous appendages lashing out in a desperate attempt to counterattack.

However…

More.

More crystal spikes burst forth, covering Tae-woo's forearms like jagged armor, the sharpened edges shimmering with an otherworldly gleam.

Jae-sik's attacks clashed against Tae-woo's crystalline arms, but his bone blades snapped on impact, shattering like brittle glass against the unnatural fortification.

Tae-woo had discarded his longsword entirely.

He didn't need it.

He took a step forward, then another, his expression void of hesitation, his breathing even, controlled.

Then he struck.

A barrage of devastating blows came crashing down upon Jae-sik, each strike laced with brutal efficiency; each hit carving through flesh, bone, and corruption alike.

THWACK.

A crystal-coated fist drove into Jae-sik's ribs, sending a spike of pain through his monstrous body.

CRACK.

Another blow caved in his shoulder, snapping the grotesque appendages he had once relied on.

THUMP.

A final strike to the gut sent him staggering, his body convulsing under the sheer weight of the punishment.

His monstrous form, once an overwhelming force of destruction, was now barely holding itself together.

Jae-sik coughed, blood dripping from his mangled lips, his eyes flickering with a sudden realization.

He had lost.

He had become something greater than human.

And yet, he had still lost.

"W-wait… p-please…" Jae-sik's voice was weak, rasping, his once-mocking arrogance reduced to desperate pleading.

Tae-woo didn't respond.

He just stood there, looming over his defeated opponent, his crystal-infused fists clenched, his shoulders rising and falling with slow, deliberate breaths.

And Jae-sik…

Jae-sik heard something.

[There you go.]

A voice. A whisper. Familiar, yet unknown.

[A hearty feast for my Master.]

Jae-sik's trembling fingers clawed at the ground, his eyes wide with unspeakable horror as he realized something far worse than simply dying.

[Let him devour you to his heart's content.]

Jae-sik screamed.

----------------------------------------

The only survivors of the dungeon raid were Jin Tae-woo, Choi Ji-hoon, Yoo Sena, and Go Min-kyung. The bloodshed had ended, but the aftermath weighed heavily on all of them. The operation had been abruptly suspended, and now, instead of completing their objective, they were waiting for the bodies of their fallen comrades to be transferred out of the dungeon.

Even after they exited the portal, the air still felt suffocating.

A representative from the Hunter Association had arrived on the scene, a woman dressed sharply in a professional black suit and skirt, her expression unreadable as she took down statements from each survivor. Her pen scratched against the paper, meticulously recording every gruesome detail relayed to her.

After gathering enough information, she finally spoke.

"From your descriptions… it sounds like Abyssal Corruption," she explained, adjusting the glasses perched on her nose. "It occurs when a Hunter's mental and emotional state becomes unstable while they're inside a dungeon filled with corruptive mana. Given what you've told me, it's highly likely that Kong Jae-sik underwent a full transformation due to prolonged exposure and emotional instability."

She glanced down at her notes before letting out a small sigh.

"This is, unfortunately, not the first case of Abyssal Corruption, nor will it be the last."

Tae-woo remained quiet, absorbing the information. Even after hearing the explanation, it did little to change the fact that Jae-sik had turned into a rampaging abomination, and he had dealt with him in a way that no one else could stomach thinking about.

His fists curled slightly.

Across from him, Sena sat completely motionless on a nearby bench, her wide, unfocused eyes locked onto nothing in particular. Despite having healed Min-kyung, the emotional damage had already been done. The loss of Jang Woo-bin, her friend, was something she couldn't process just yet.

"I'm not sure if I can come up with something lighthearted for this one," Ji-hoon finally broke the silence, leaning up against the cold metal wall of the waiting area next to Tae-woo.

Tae-woo exhaled slowly, fingers tightening around the paper cup of coffee in his hands, the warmth doing nothing to chase away the cold dread in his chest.

"Then don't," he muttered. "People died, after all."

Ji-hoon let out a rare, solemn sigh. He wasn't always the best at handling situations like this, but even he knew that some things weren't meant to be laughed at.

"Yeah…" Ji-hoon's voice trailed off. His foot tapped against the floor absently before he turned his gaze toward Tae-woo. "So… we're not telling them about that?"

Tae-woo's grip tightened slightly around the cup.

"…That?" He frowned.

Ji-hoon gave him a knowing look. "You know what I mean."

Tae-woo didn't respond immediately. Instead, he looked down at the swirling black liquid inside his cup.

The thing he did to Jae-sik.

Ji-hoon, Min-kyung, and Sena had all seen it.

They had watched as Tae-woo had overpowered the monstrous Jae-sik. They had seen the purple crystal spikes sprouting from his arms.

And they had seen what he did after.

He had devoured him.

Not entirely. There was still Jae-sik's mutilated corpse left behind in the dungeon. But he had eaten enough. More than enough.

And for the first time in days, that unbearable hunger was finally gone.

Tae-woo felt a dull pressure in his chest. He knew what would happen if the Association ever found out.

"…I don't know," he admitted, voice low. "I don't think the Association is going to like it when they find out that I ate someone." He let out a humorless chuckle. "At best, they'll probably lock me up, cut me open, and figure out what makes me tick."

Ji-hoon hummed thoughtfully before shrugging.

"Yeah, I can see that," he said, surprisingly casual about the whole thing. "Well, if you don't want anyone else to know, then we'll keep our mouths shut. Don't worry about it, man."

Tae-woo turned to him, surprised by how easily he had said it.

Ji-hoon just grinned at him and patted his shoulder.

"Seriously," Ji-hoon added. "You're still you. Doesn't matter what you did."

Tae-woo stared at him for a moment before letting out a small, relieved sigh.

"…Thanks, dude."

Before Ji-hoon could say anything else, footsteps approached them.

Turning, Tae-woo spotted Min-kyung walking toward them, now wearing a jacket over her battle clothes. Her posture was stiff as if she were hesitating about something.

And she was blushing.

Tae-woo blinked.

"Um… Tae-woo-ssi?" Her voice came out strangely hesitant.

He tilted his head slightly. "Yes?"

Min-kyung fidgeted.

Fidgeted.

That was definitely new.

"T-thanks for saving me earlier…" she mumbled, eyes darting to the side as she shuffled awkwardly on her feet.

Tae-woo blinked again. "You're welcome?" His voice betrayed his confusion.

Min-kyung turned on her heel and rushed away, nearly tripping over herself as she left in a flustered hurry.

Ji-hoon watched her go, a slow smirk creeping onto his face. He then turned back to Tae-woo with an expression that could only be described as pure mischief.

"Well, well," Ji-hoon drawled, folding his arms behind his head. "Would you look at that? Seems like you've gone and picked up another one, my dear friend Tae-woo."

Tae-woo groaned and punched his shoulder lightly but with enough force to make his point.

"Shut up."