At that same moment, in the Tanzanian desert village of Meganba.

'Creek. Creek.'

In the desolate, empty village, a man sat alone on a wooden staircase, twisting his prosthetic arm. The rhythmic creak was the only sound in the ghost town, an unsettling metronome in the silence. Wayne Jones, a certified rank-4 hunter from the Tanzanian Front, had been dispatched to investigate the strange phenomenon of monsters appearing where no dungeon had been found.

No one was left in the old, dust-covered village. Monsters occasionally wandered in the distance, but Wayne paid them no mind. He just sat there, turning his prosthesis.

"I've found you."

Without a sound, a man draped in a thawb and wearing a turban appeared.

Wayne didn't even lift his head, remaining engrossed in his task.

"So you were here, White Wing."

Only then did Wayne raise his head to look at the man.

"I'd prefer you not use that name when I'm not in uniform."

"There's no one to see. What does it matter?"

Wayne lowered his head again. "The war is over. Why come to such a remote place? I thought you'd stay in Mtwara."

"Night Walker came," Wayne said flatly. "He knows my face."

"Aha! So you risked being exposed." The man crossed his arms and studied him. "That aside, the outcome of this operation was rather disappointing, Wayne. You drove Tanzania to the brink of collapse. What happened?"

Wayne stopped turning his arm and pulled a cigar from a grimy pocket.

"Things got twisted. Strangely twisted."

'Flick!'

He lit the cigar and took a drag.

"It was because of those two, I take it," the mysterious man said.

"Yes."

From the moment he heard that Kim Yusin and Hong Yeon had liberated Kisowa, Wayne had felt a sense of crisis. He'd mobilized the rebels to attack Mtwara.

"It would have been a problem if their arrival became some kind of catalyst. But something unforeseen occurred."

"And what was that?"

Wayne paused, exhaling a cloud of harsh smoke. "Julian was assassinated in the chaos. After that, it was only natural for those two, the highest-ranking rank-3s on the front, to become the new commanders."

"I thought you killed Julian."

"It wasn't me," he said grimly. "Karim… that loathsome woman must have used the chaos to poison his water. That cunning bitch knew exactly who was slowly strangling Tanzania."

"…Ah."

"Julian was the key to my plan. The old man was a renowned rank-3 hunter, but he'd grown incompetent and jaded with age."

Wayne believed that as long as that old man remained in charge, Tanzania's destruction was inevitable. Even someone like Kim Yusin couldn't have ousted a legendary hunter of the same rank without a damn good reason. But with Julian gone, the situation spiraled out of control.

"The young hunters who seized power were ruthlessly efficient. Before I could even devise a countermeasure, they were executing strategies the day after they were conceived. And just like that, they took the South."

"Did you not attempt to kill them?"

"Of course I did. Hong Yeon was the commander, but the real power was Kim Yusin, pulling the strings from behind. I was waiting in Dar es Salaam to kill him. But…" Wayne chuckled dryly. "Kim Yusin called in Giant."

"Oh dear."

"I never expected his connections to reach the Vatican. In the end, we lost the South, and the Northern campaign began. I informed a comrade within the Alliance to send Hakan, an advocate for Africa-abandonment, as commander. I also contacted Legion Commander Colossus to strike from the rear. I thought the plan was perfect. But…" Wayne shook his head. "This time, the Pharaoh herself led the Gravekeepers to save him."

"Haha."

"That arrogant Pharaoh Menes, who sees people as less than insects. I would've sooner believed the world would split in two. But once again, Kim Yusin escaped as if to spite me."

Wayne had taken every possible measure, but not a single thing had gone his way. Kim Yusin had slithered out of every crisis like an eel.

"Still, there was one gain."

"And what is that?"

"Kim Yusin entered the Disaster's dungeon alone. Even if he killed the child in there, it's unnatural for all taves monsters to suddenly transform into plants. In other words," Wayne's eyes turned sinister. "When Kim Yusin contacted the core of the Disaster, he gained the ability to manipulate it."

"…My. If that's true, this is a grave matter."

"The records show a similar case during the disaster in Korea. He is a variable that could derail our plans. From now on, the number one elimination target for all demonkin is Kim Yusin."

Wayne pulled a crude communication device from his pocket. "I've made the final preparations. This time, I'll finish it."

"What is that?"

"A device that can manipulate PHC's missile systems."

In his other hand, Wayne held a phone and checked a few messages, then smiled. "The plane Kim Yusin is on has just departed."

"…Don't tell me you're…"

"It's the easy way." He activated the PHC application. "A remote-controlled guided missile with a 0.001% margin of error. The pinnacle of advanced weaponry, fused with magic stone technology."

Wayne navigated several security prompts and entered the launch screen. "Right now, Kim Yusin has left the Kenyan airport, passed Somalia, and entered the airspace over the Indian Ocean. Perfectly within range of the Suez missile batteries. With this…" He pressed the button without hesitation. It was a simple act, but the man watching felt a shiver of dread. "Kim Yusin will be erased from the world."

Kim Yusin had successfully completed his mission. He was now relaxed in his plane seat, looking forward to returning to Korea. He was sensitive to mana, but not to missiles. No matter how powerful he was, it was impossible to block a missile hurtling at Mach speed from the sky.

This was the end. Wayne let out a long sigh and stood up.

"PHC won't escape unscathed from this."

Wayne laughed it off. "Who cares about some arms manufacturer? With Africa revived, PHC is finished. The technology transfer is complete, and more importantly," his lips curled into a smirk, "it's a small price to pay to eliminate a monster who can manipulate dungeons."

"…I see."

Just then, a message arrived on his device.

"Hm?"

Wayne's eyes narrowed. The device had a messaging function, but this was the first time an external message had ever come through. It was a single sentence.

[Who the hell are you?]

Wayne froze.

A chilling sensation washed over him, and the hair on his body stood on end.

"Hey, get out of here right now—!"

He couldn't finish his sentence. A deafening roar echoed from the sky. Piercing the clouds, hundreds of missiles were streaking toward this very spot.

"Aaaargh."

Wayne's eyes turned bloodshot. This could only mean one thing. The entirety of PHC had been hacked.

"KIM YUSIIIIIIIN!"

His voice was swallowed by a massive explosion. The land was scorched, the atmosphere buckled, and trees were uprooted and sent flying. A radius of several dozen kilometers was erased by the blast as a giant mushroom cloud billowed into the sky.

'RUMBLE!'

The force was enough to obliterate an entire province of Tanzania without a trace.

A moment passed.

And from within the thick, roiling smoke, a monster with glowing green eyes appeared.

* * *

"Hmm. Hmmm. Lalala."

I was leaning back comfortably in a first-class seat, tapping away at my smartphone.

"Did something good happen? Why are you humming?" Hong Yeon asked, tilting her head.

"Just excited about finally getting to eat Korean food."

"Well… that is exciting," she admitted.

Samia, sitting at the far left, looked up with interest. "Hunter Hong Yeon, is Korean food good?"

"Oh, yes! I'm sure you'll love it."

While I chatted with them, I was also listening to Ea.

-Analysis of the missile launcher's coordinates complete. All missiles have been redirected to that location.

-Activating the Fourth Floor's field magic at those coordinates. For the next twenty-four hours, all surrounding monsters will focus their attacks on that spot.

My lips curled into a smile. This deployment was entertaining me right to the very end. I wondered what kind of ballsy bastard had tried to mess with me this time.

'Have you identified him?'

-Still searching. My personal assessment suggests it is retaliation from PHC for the Tower Master liberating Africa.

'That's the simplest conclusion, but isn't it a bit reckless? Do businessmen really make such emotional decisions? It would be immediately obvious who fired the missile. Trying to blow up a civilian aircraft is a choice that would absolutely destroy their company. I think there's another factor at play.'

-Understood. I will continue the search.

"Sunbae! Are you listening to me?"

Hong Yeon's voice snapped me back to reality. "Uh, yeah! Of course. So… what were we talking about?"

"I was saying the three of us should go to Hangang Park together next week!"

"Deal! That sounds fun. Ah, Samia, you might not know this, but Korea has a highly developed delivery culture. You can have food delivered right to the park. Things like chicken, pizza, Chinese food…"

"Oh? Is that really true? How is that possible?"

While Hong Yeon brightly explained our delivery culture, I returned to my conversation with Ea.

-Tower Master. Among the individuals connected to PHC, there was one you know.

'Show me.'

I couldn't help but laugh when I saw the screen Ea displayed.

'…So it was this bastard. That junkie, Wayne Jones.'

-What are your orders?

'What do you think?'

I rested my chin on my hand and smirked.

'I'll make him pay. The moment I get back to Korea, I'm wiping Wayne Jones and every bastard connected to him off the face of the earth.'

* * *

Name: Kim Yusin

Unique Ability: Deva's Eye

Personal Traits: [Child of Mana Lv.4], [Master of the Magic Tower Lv.10], [Magic Power Engineering Lv.10], [Spell Lord Lv.10], [Multi-Casting Lv.7], [Accelerated Casting Lv.7], [Remote Casting Lv.7], [Analysis Lv.7], [Predictive Evasion Lv.6], [Information Processing Lv.6], [Potion Brewing Lv.5], [Golem Mastery Lv.5], [Mobile Casting Lv.5], [Mana Breathing Lv.5], [Flight Lv.5], [Elemental Master Lv.2]

Basic Stats: [Magic Power 301], [Agility 107], [Strength 55], [Stamina 50]

Special Stats: [Focus 62], [Darkness 32], [Intelligence 31], [Willpower 24], [Endurance 14]

Total Stats: [676]

New Traits:

New! [Mana Design Lv.5]

New! [Dimensional Engineering Lv.5]

New! [Unification Lv.4]

New! [Rampage Resistance Lv.2]

New! [Pain Immunity Lv.1]

New! [Darkness Affinity Lv.1]

* * *

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