The three monsters that appeared first were all ones I remembered. They were monsters from the dungeons with increased difficulty before the regression. Although they were SS-class, they had been defeated by hunters who were more advanced than those now. Yoohyun had also been close to SS-class back then.
"Be careful of the black leopard—it can teleport short distances and moves quickly. The dragon-like beast weakens weapons it touches, breaking weapons below S-class in an instant. The giant beetle next to it emits explosive smoke on contact, but with your flame resistance, you can ignore it for now."
The skill names are known only through the skill hints. Even though I knew about them in detail, I would explain everything to Yoohyun soon.
"If you can keep up with its speed, the leopard is the least of your worries. The beetle is tough and resistant to flames, so it's a nuisance, but its attacks won't affect you."
As soon as I finished speaking, Yoohyun launched himself toward the monsters. Surprisingly, he aimed at the beetle. As the threatening opponent approached, the beetle shuddered.
Flap, flap—the beetle's hard shell clashed, and smoke began to seep out. The other two monsters, rather than Yoohyun, were the ones caught off guard by the rapidly spreading smoke.
- Krrh!
As the leopard swung its front paws, an explosion erupted. Unlike the dragon-like beast, which could endure the explosion, the relatively defenseless leopard let out a pained cry. The smoke spread so quickly that even short-distance teleportation couldn't escape it.
Although it wouldn't deal a fatal blow to an SS-class monster, it was enough to briefly disorient it. As flames enveloped its body, the leopard shook its head and, sensing something, bared its fierce eyes. But it was already too late.
Crossing through the flames, Yoohyun's sword pierced the leopard's skull. With the additional speed boost from his equipment, he struck the vital point of the SS-class monster, known for its difficulty to even touch with attacks.
- Kyahk!
The leopard let out a strange sound as it tried to resist. However, the flames spreading from the embedded blade were faster. The dark blue flames burned through the black fur, penetrating deep into the skin and bones. The leopard's head, which was about three times the size of a human, turned to ashes in an instant.
The leopard's body fell to the ground with a thud. Yoohyun, without even glancing at it, leaped into the air on a floating willow leaf.
- Kyaaa!
The dragon-like beast and a monster that resembled a mix of a monkey and a dog attacked, trying to catch the tiny human they could hold in their front paws. Seeing one of their kind fall so quickly, they became even more ferocious.
Realizing too late that its own smoke had helped the enemy, the beetle stopped emitting smoke. The sky had darkened, and although the ground should have been dark with the power cut and evacuation, the dark blue flames shone even brighter than the moonlight.
The leaf-like flames danced in the air. The roars of the monsters and the clashing of claws and fangs seemed insignificant against the gentle sway of the flames. It was a bizarre sight.
Everywhere the leaves fell, flames soared and showed no sign of extinguishing. The ground was completely stained dark blue. The monsters, burning through fur, scales, and shells, ran desperately after Yoohyun, but they couldn't even brush against the end of his equipment.
- Kyaak!
- Kirr!
Under the massive bodies of the SS-class monsters, the smaller creatures were trampled and burned, like moths drawn to a flame. The lower-tier monsters, attracted by the bait, were being swiftly eliminated by the spreading flames without Yoohyun needing to intervene. The fire continued to spread, consuming everything in its path.
It seemed as though the city itself was being swallowed up by the flames.
With a quick motion, Yoohyun took out a wire. It was clearly not from our world. He must have exchanged it with points.
'Maybe he swapped it with some leftover skill points.'
The wire from that area was known for its durability. Simple but sturdy, it wasn't very expensive.
The long wire wrapped around the dragon-like beast's snout.
- Kruk!
At the same time, Yoohyun pulled the wire tightly and stomped down on the beast's snout. With a crunch, the scales dented and the dragon's head was driven into the ground.
- Kkiii!
As Yoohyun was occupied with the dragon-like beast, the monkey-dog hybrid monster took advantage of the moment to attack. Its long, razor-sharp claws were more dangerous than most blades, with each claw possessing five effects: poisoning, paralysis, reduced recovery, defense drop, and visual disruption. An SS-class monster with such claws was nearly impossible to survive against without a top-tier healer. I had explained this to Yoohyun, so avoiding it seemed wise.
Instead of dodging, Yoohyun roughly lifted the wire. The dragon's snout, twisted by the pull, clashed with the monkey-dog's claws.
Ka-gak! A loud clash echoed, and the monkey-dog's claws cracked. The dragon's teeth had the ability to weaken weapons, and it affected the monkey-dog's claws as well.
- Kkiik!
The monkey-dog retreated in surprise, but Yoohyun seized the opportunity to close in. The primary weapon, the right front claw, couldn't be used, so the monster swiped with its left front claw, which was normal.
The claw was quickly sliced off, and Yoohyun, undeterred, reached the monster's lower jaw. He thrust his sword vertically, and as the blade penetrated, flames wrapped around it, burning the blood and seeping into the flesh. With a sickening thud, the monkey-dog's head split open.
Yoohyun kicked the fallen monster's body forcefully.
- Kirik.
The beetle, using its thick horn, deflected the falling monster's corpse. Meanwhile, the dragon's head, bound by the wire, was also severed.
The ground trembled violently. Heat surged up from below.
"Looks like we have a latecomer. Remember, you need to cut off the dragon's head three times?"
"Got it."
A new head quickly sprouted from the severed neck of the dragon. This monster could only be killed in two ways: by severing its head three times or by completely pulverizing its body. Naturally, the former was easier.
The last monster was unfamiliar to me. It was relatively slow and clumsy, known from observations in Japan as a digging creature, but little else was known.
- Kuruk, kruk.
The monster, resembling a long, four-legged clump of dirt, leaped from the ground. It seemed like a rock-type monster, so it likely had a high resistance to fire. Indeed, the flames spreading on the ground had little effect on it.
"This will be a bit troublesome."
"Not at all."
Yoohyun's voice was calm and indifferent, as if he didn't even need to be confident against such a creature.
"Is that the last one?"
"Yeah, that's the last one."
With that, flames surged around Yoohyun. It was as if everything up to now had been a mere trifle; the dark blue fire spread with a fearsome intensity, its maximum power fueled by deep magic.
The ground melted. The air shimmered, and it felt as though the sky itself might melt away under the intense heat. The three SS-class monsters and the smaller monsters lurking around were instantly engulfed by the dark blue wave.
That was the end.
- Kyaak, kyaa!
The dragon's head, and its entire body, burned and regenerated, only to be consumed again by the fire. Even if it were a monster capable of regenerating dozens of times, the outcome would have been the same. The beetle, with its fire resistance, was unable to withstand the blaze. Small fires are swallowed by larger ones, and it met its end.
The final rock-like monster melted away. It struggled to dig into the ground, but the earth itself was also soaking and burning.
The fire, while melting and burning everything it touched, showed no sign of losing its strength. The overwhelming heat spread throughout the city. Not a single monster lured by the bait survived the fiery landscape.
The city was left with no traces of its former self, uniformly melted and mixed together.
A faint smile appeared on Yoohyun's lips. As he looked up at his satisfied younger brother, he suddenly came to his senses.
"Isn't that fire going to spread to other places? It's fine here, but it mustn't reach the mountains."
"I can control it to that extent. You said you didn't care about the damage within the city."
"…Control it? Even with the flames spread this wide?"
"Because it's mine."
As Yoohyun said, the flames around us began to subside. The scorched earth revealed itself in a slowly solidifying circular patch. Where the fire had passed, nothing remained except blackened ground.
A chill ran down my spine, different from fear.
"If it had been safe to move outside the city, how far could it have gone…"
"I'm not sure exactly. But I think it could easily cover twice the current area."
Yoohyun said this with apparent enjoyment, clearly in high spirits.
"At the very least. It's been less than 30 minutes, right? The ground is still hot, so be careful. It's better to let Peace out first."
Though the heat had somewhat subsided, the scorched ground would not cool down easily. I let Peace out first. The sight of it fluttering its wings and flying out of the pocket was incredibly cute. I should have asked for a phone to take a picture. I need to save those mini cookies, but when would I get to feed them again? It was like a real fairy.
- Kkiang!
After doing a somersault, Peace approached me again as if urging me to come out. It had grown to the size of a young adult, and it purred as it landed on me.
"You look huge, Yoohyun!"
Even though I had eaten a few cookies, I hadn't had much chance to closely observe Yoohyun. As Yoohyun smiled and reached out, Peace growled. It seemed to feel threatened by the attempt to touch it in its smaller form. While it seemed cute to me, Peace evidently did not like it, as it returned to its original size even though the cookie effect wasn't completely gone.
"Yikes, Peace!"
At the same time, my body was buried in red fur.
"Hyung?"
- Grrr.
"No, no. It's fine."
As I tried to rise from the fur, I ended up canceling the cookie effect and returning to my original size as well.
"It's dangerous!"
The sudden narrowing of the space where I stood made me stumble, and Yoohyun quickly caught me.
"I'm still using the Grace skill."
"Even so, there are still some soft spots, so you might get stuck."
Once I settled properly on Peace's back, Yoohyun leaned against me slightly. He had been doing this for a while, but it was clear he was in a good mood.
"Hyung, about that skill. It seems to have some additional effects."
"Huh? Why's that?"
"I've always enjoyed hunting monsters while clearing dungeons. Especially after using attack skills freely, it felt like a relief."
Yoohyun, who generally didn't have many personal hobbies, was different when it came to combat. He was somewhat more aggressive compared to his usual personality.
"But I've never felt this good before. It's not just because of the increased stats; maybe it's also because of the effect of the skill you gave me."
Yoohyun looked at me with the same eagerness as a tail-wagging puppy, saying it felt different from when we were in Hong Kong. Hmm, there could be some additional effects, but the skill's name itself praises the user, and anyone would feel good after receiving praise, right?
"Maybe it's just that you're feeling good because you're receiving compliments."
"Is that so?"
My younger brother tilted his head. Anyway, Yoohyun's expression looked refreshed and slightly exhilarated. It seemed like destroying a whole city was quite enjoyable for him.
It was a pity that such a powerful skill couldn't be used on a hundred people inside the dungeon. Since he enjoyed it so much, maybe I should buy a deserted island and let him go wild?
"We need to collect the SS-class monster crystals; we might be able to sneak them out if we're not careful."
"They're probably buried somewhere."
"I brought a crystal detection item."
With so many uses for them, we couldn't miss even one. Using the advanced crystal detection item, numerous signals appeared. How many of these were there? All five SS-class crystals were showing up, and there were plenty of S-class crystals as well.
"The closest one is right in front of us. It seems the ground melted and flowed this far."
Yoohyun used his sword to dig up the spot I indicated. The still-melting ground revealed a sparkling crystal. As he collected the second crystal, the sound of a helicopter approached. People jumped out from the helicopter that had stopped in mid-air.
They were all hunters. Japanese hunters.
"Thank you for your hard work."
Shishio, who landed last, said with a solemn expression.
"I'll honor the contract. But as per the contract, safely—ugh!"
Bang! A bullet grazed Shishio's bushy hair. It was an F-class bullet, but it was an S-class projectile. I grinned, still aiming my crossbow.
"I didn't expect such an obvious move. For someone who claims to be the Lion King."
Shishio's face turned red with anger. Oh, it looks like he's embarrassed.
"More than my honor, the guild is more important! If necessary, I'll even wade through dirty mud; that's the duty of a king!"
"Oh, so you're not a lion but a pig. My mistake. Would you like me to introduce you to a nice mud pit?"
"You! I treated you kindly because of your skill!"
"I don't understand the pig."
The pig squealed. Regardless, I looked back at Yoohyun.
"What should we do? It seems they've brought all the S-class monsters. It's been over 30 minutes."
"Just watch from here."
Yoohyun smiled reassuringly, as if to say not to worry. It was reassuring, having my younger brother by my side.