The regular army's attack had begun. Having reached the rebel garrison with virtually no resistance, they brought their highly mobile mana tanks to the front, broke down the walls, and sent in their special forces and hunters.

Yusin had already disabled most of the tanks in the heart of the enemy camp with his <Gaia> magic. Samia's teleported EMP bomb had plunged the garrison into darkness, crippling all communication systems and electronic devices. The regular army practically walked in unopposed.

Cut off from their commanders and thrown into chaos in the darkness, the rebels were hit with the full force of the regular army's elite. The tide of the war had turned in an instant.

"…Hah! Hah! Damn it!"

A man was escaping alone from the darkened city streets, cursing under his breath. It was the Tanzanian rebel commander, Umrisho. He was panting as he reached the wall on the opposite side from where the regular army was attacking. Just a little farther and…

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

Umrisho jumped, spinning around in fright. From the deep darkness cast by a building's shadow, a young man emerged. Umrisho instantly recognized him as the hunter who had infiltrated the underground prison.

"Stay back!"

'Click!'

Umrisho pulled out a pistol to threaten him, but Yusin didn't seem very intimidated. Instead, he was observing Umrisho with a strange expression. When their eyes met, Umrisho felt as if his innermost thoughts were being read by the right eye that glowed with a blue light.

"Interesting."

The next moment, without any visible effort, Yusin was right in front of Umrisho. He spun in place and said, "You'll die if you can't block this."

Umrisho gasped.

Yusin's leg moved, aiming for his head, and Umrisho raised both arms above his head in a guard.

'POW!'

The sleeve of Umrisho's clothes tore, revealing a bulging, reddish, muscular arm. Yusin thought, 'Just as I thought,' and activated Devastar.

'THWACK!'

A black shockwave erupted, and Umrisho's body was sent skidding back, leaving a long mark on the ground.

Yusin righted himself and examined the man's arm. The arm, which had a chunk of flesh torn off, was slowly beginning to knit itself back together. Super-regeneration, a common skill for demonkin.

"I was wondering why only the rebels weren't being attacked by monsters." Yusin lowered his leg and continued, "Turns out their leader was a demonkin all along."

The pants on the leg he was standing on also tore, transforming into a bulging, reddish, muscular leg. Umrisho crouched low to the ground.

'POP!'

A tail burst out.

'Crack!'

His snout elongated as he took on a bestial form. Muscles bulged and new skin stretched over them. An armor-like shell that seemed to be made of alloy formed over his entire body, even covering his eye sockets, and long teeth sprouted from grotesque purple gums.

'Kieeeeeeeeeeh!'

Judging by the pressure of his magic power, he was strong. Umrisho was a certified rank-4 hunter; his demonkin form would be even stronger than his human self.

'This won't be easy.'

Everything was fine, except for the fact that I was extremely fatigued. I'd passed out at the end of my fight with Kiso, and I was thrown into this operation before I'd even fully recovered. And here I was.

'Considering my condition, I need to end this quickly.'

The demonkin roared again. Yusin lowered his stance and activated Devastar on his right foot.

-Tower Master! Below you!

'Below?'

Yusin abandoned his charge and jumped back.

'Thwump!'

A monster's arm shot up from where he had been standing.

'Thwump! Thwump!'

Behind Yusin, five more monsters of a similar type to Umrisho emerged from the ground. The traces of torn clothing here and there indicated they were also demonkin. At this point, this wasn't a rebel force, it was a demonkin den.

'Am I surrounded?'

Yusin's eyes darted around as he considered what to do.

'SHWAAAAAAAAAK!'

From the night sky, a crimson comet with a long tail appeared. A crescent-shaped blade of sword energy shot out from it, falling to the ground and cutting down demonkin and rebel tanks alike.

'Hong Yeon!'

The crimson flash streaking across the area soon resolved into the form of Hong Yeon, her red hair flying. She accelerated in mid-air and swung her sword. Umrisho also raised his arms.

'CLANG!'

A powerful collision followed. The shockwave sent trees and stones flying into the air. After a power struggle that sent sparks flying, Hong Yeon retreated and looked at Yusin.

"Are you hurt?"

"Nope. You got here just in time," Yusin said, looking at Umrisho's arm. The sturdy-looking alloy armor that had clashed with Hong Yeon's sword was now dented from the impact.

"I'll take the boss. You should fall back," Hong Yeon said as she walked toward Umrisho. Yusin alone was responsible for ninety percent of the success that had led to this overwhelming turn of events. She couldn't let him push himself any further.

"Haaaaah!"

Hong Yeon and Umrisho charged at each other.

'BOOM!'

A tremor that shook the heavens and the earth, and sparks flew in all directions.

'Alright, I'll leave the boss to Hong Yeon.'

Yusin looked at the five remaining demonkin. They were the same type as Umrisho, clad in alloy armor over their entire bodies.

'The weak points are the joints not protected by the armor.'

'Kiiiiiiiii!'

The two closest demonkin charged first. But just then, two large tanks fell on top of them.

'Kieeeeeeek!'

'Kyaaaak!'

The two demonkin were crushed under the tanks, vomiting blood.

"You've worked hard, rank-3 Kim Yusin."

Yusin turned his head. He saw a black-haired woman sitting with her legs crossed on a large wooden chair reminiscent of a throne.

"Hunter Samia!"

"I apologize for my pathetic state in the prison." Her face was still deeply shadowed, but she was in a much better state than when she had tried to end her own life. "And thank you. I can't just stand by while young people from another country risk their lives fighting like this."

"Have you found the will to fight again?"

"A little." Sitting on her throne, she pulled a gun from her coat. "The torture in the prison has greatly changed the specifications of my ability. My specialty, long-distance transport, is gone, but still." She aimed the gun at a demonkin armed with alloy armor. "A different part of my brain has awakened, making new applications possible."

She fired the gun. No, to be precise, she made the motion of firing the gun. And yet.

'Kieeeeeeek!'

Two monsters vomited blood and writhed in agony. Yusin saw it with his Deva's Eye and was astonished. A bullet was lodged inside the monster's brain.

"Originally, Teleport's 'coordinate overlapping' couldn't be used inside the body of a player or monster."

Teleport was also an ability based on mana. If you aimed for the inside of a body, the teleportation targeting point would be scattered by the mana within the opponent's body. But with this change, it had become possible to maintain the coordinate lock for a short time, even within an opponent's mana field.

"That's amazing!"

"Hmph. Of course, my previous ability was much better… but I'm glad I can at least fight monsters like this."

'Kieeeeee!'

Another demonkin charged at the two of them. Yusin lightly tapped his Leaf Boots and retreated a good distance, and Samia followed, teleporting next to Yusin, chair and all. The demonkin, having struck empty air, growled at them.

"Looks like things are wrapping up over there."

At her words, Yusin looked back. A giant white snake was sending a group of soldiers flying into the air. Marta's ability. In the plaza, Zhang Wei was in action. Rebels were collapsing, bleeding from every orifice. In the building on the other side, the physical-type Scorpion was swinging his large scissor-swords, gaining the upper hand against the rebel hunters.

'They're on a roll. Our rank-4s can get the job done when they need to.'

'Kieeeeeeeeeeh!'

Three demonkin charged toward Yusin and Samia. Yusin stepped forward.

"I'll hold them down to lock the coordinates. Please deliver the finishing blow."

"I will."

Yusin extended both arms. Golem balls shot out from his sleeves and embedded themselves in the ground, and Yusin activated his magic.

<Gaia>

The ground rippled and rose. Using the control-type magic that allowed him to manipulate the earth at will, Yusin erected a barrier in front of him. The demonkin saw it but charged at the barrier as if it were nothing.

'CRUUUMBLE!'

With a single body slam, the barrier collapsed. No, to be precise, it melted and enveloped the demonkin's bodies.

<Mud Sale>

The barrier began to stick to the demonkin's bodies as if it were made of viscous mud. The demonkin tried to force their way out, but.

'Grab! Grab!'

The sturdy arms of golems emerged from the mud and seized the demonkin by their waists and limbs. He had mixed the golem balls he'd planted earlier into the earth he'd created with Gaia. Yusin then activated the keyword.

<Statue Transformation>

'Creeeeak!'

The mud golems abandoned their form and movement, hardening like statues. Yusin used Gaia to shape the ground into a sphere, leaving only the demonkin's heads poking out.

"Marvelous control," Samia said in admiration. From her perspective, all she had to do was deliver the finishing blow. She raised her pistol and fired bullets directly into the demonkin's brains. The demonkin, who had been struggling and screaming in pain, soon went limp. Yusin released Gaia and gathered his remaining mana.

"You both worked hard."

Hearing a voice from behind, Yusin turned in surprise. Hong Yeon was flicking the blood off her sword before sheathing it.

"Commander Umrisho?"

She gestured silently with her chin.

'My god.'

What had once been Umrisho was scattered across the ground in pieces. The blood that had flowed out had stained the surroundings crimson. Looking at her condition, it didn't seem like she had struggled much. Was Umrisho weaker than I thought, or was she just too strong?

"You worked hard as well, Black Wing," Hong Yeon said, bowing politely.

"What Black Wing? Just call me Samia."

"Yes."

"Then I'll go check on the underground prison. I'm worried about the people there."

With those words, Samia vanished, chair and all. Now, only Yusin and Hong Yeon were left.

"Looks like things are finally wrapping up," Yusin said, looking back. Hong Yeon nodded and activated her earpiece.

"This is Hong, rank-3. I have killed the rebel commander, Umrisho. Umrisho was a demonkin, and it has been revealed that his subordinates were also demonkin hiding their identities. Actively spread this information and encourage the remaining resistance forces to surrender."

"Copy."

"Roger that."

After finishing the transmission with a serious face, she turned off her earpiece and quickly ran to Yusin.

"Are you hurt? Are you injured anywhere?"

Yusin's body was covered in dirt, as if he had lived in the jungle for several days. Hong Yeon bounced on the balls of her feet, checking Yusin for injuries. A complete change from her commander persona, her fidgety appearance made Yusin chuckle.

"I'm fine."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It was a close call, though. If I had to take on the demonkin-transformed Umrisho and his subordinates all by myself in this condition, I would've passed out for the second time since coming to Africa."

She fell silent for a moment, then bit her lip. "A second time… you say it so casually."

"Well, I have a lot of experience with it. Being a mage who fights with their mind is a surprisingly extreme profession."

"Then from now on, I'll stop you," Hong Yeon said. "So that you don't have to push yourself to the point of fainting anymore, I'll fight even harder."

"I'd appreciate that."

Just then, an additional question regarding the commander's instructions came through the earpiece from headquarters.

"Commander, we've captured a number of key rebel officers. What should we do with the surrendered rebels?"

She placed a hand on her earpiece and answered without hesitation. "This is the commander. Their fate will be decided at a command meeting. Transport the surrendered rebels humanely in vehicles to Mutwara. There may be demonkin mixed in, so do not let your guard down. Also, identify if there are any hunters among the rebels who can fight."

When she turned off the radio and turned her head, Yusin was staring at her. She blushed slightly and said, "Wh-what is it?"

"Nothing. Just thought you were doing a better job than I expected."

"By the way, our operation… wasn't it too sudden? You said you were going to set the stage, and then suddenly like this…"

"I was going to, but then Julian suddenly died and the stage got set for us."

So, Yusin had connected to her channel through his earpiece and let her listen to what was happening in the meeting. In short, he was telling her to come and wreck the place. Just as he had intended, Hong Yeon had shown up in a rage, turned the meeting upside down, and became the commander, succeeding Julian. After that, she had thrown her support behind Yusin, pushing his strategy forward.

And thus, they had achieved a great victory like the one today. It was no exaggeration to say that the two hunters from Korea, Yusin and Hong Yeon, had now taken over Tanzania.

"Well then, let's hurry up and finish cleaning up so we can go rest."

"Yes!"

The two of them started walking back toward the city streets.

* * *

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