The falling stones crushed the smaller spiders instantly, reducing them to nothing but fragments and dust. Even the giant spider could not escape the relentless barrage—its massive body battered repeatedly, its armored shell cracking under the merciless impacts raining down from above.
After a few chaotic moments, the attack finally subsided.
Dust and sand filled the air, choking the battlefield in a thick gray haze. Hyunseok's barrier trembled violently, its surface webbed with cracks. At last, knowing the assault had ended, the barrier flickered weakly—then shattered into nothingness.
Hyunseok collapsed to the ground, completely drained.
Minhae descended from the air and landed beside him.
"I thought we were going to die…" Hyunseok muttered between heavy breaths. "My barrier cracked twice in less than a minute."
Suddenly, a portal opened in the center of the area.
"That's the exit portal," Hyunseok said weakly. "This dungeon was cleared… incredibly fast."
Without a word, Minhae turned and walked toward the portal, passing through it and leaving the dungeon behind.
The other team members remained inside for a moment longer, brushing dust off their clothes—dust left behind by Minhae's overwhelming attack. Some of them sat down on the ground, still shaken, unable to fully process the power they had just witnessed. It took them several moments to gather themselves before finally stepping through the portal.
When Hyunseok emerged, he froze.
The area outside was chaotic—crowded with reporters, flashing cameras, and security personnel sealing off the exit. Amid the noise and confusion, Minhae stood silently in front of the portal, expressionless behind his mask.
Minhae scanned the surroundings, searching for Sohee.
His gaze finally landed on her. She was speaking with Officer Kang, her expression tangled with worry, disappointment, and confusion all at once.
Concerned, Minhae pushed through the crowd of reporters and stopped beside her.
"Is something wrong?" he asked quietly.
Sohee looked down, startled to find him suddenly at her side. Officer Kang also turned toward Minhae.
"Luciel…" Sohee hesitated. "There's been a dungeon break—from an A-rank dungeon."
She continued, her voice tense. "Hunters have already been dispatched, but the location is Busan. The roads are completely blocked because of the chaos, and it'll take time to prepare an air route."
Officer Kang added grimly, "The Hunters are on their way—it's only a matter of time. Unfortunately, many civilians are trapped inside a mall. Some of them are kindergarten children… and pregnant women—"
Before he could finish, Minhae's eyes widened.
In an instant, wings burst from his back, and he shot into the sky.
"Luciel, come back! Hunters are already on their way—!" Sohee shouted, but it was too late. Minhae had already vanished into the distance.
Officer Kang stood frozen, staring at the empty sky where Minhae had been just moments ago.
Minhae flew at terrifying speed, the wind slicing painfully against his face.
He didn't want to see another child lose their mother.
He didn't want to see another mother lose her child.
He didn't want anyone to feel the same loss he once had.
When he arrived at the dungeon break site, the sight before him was devastation.
The largest mall in Busan was barely recognizable. The surrounding commercial district lay in ruins, buildings shattered and streets torn apart. Lizardmen and kobolds rampaged freely through the area. There's also some unfortunate people that get killed amidst dungeon break.
Then he saw them.
Through a crack in the mall's broken wall, several kindergarten children huddled together, crying in terror. A pregnant woman tried desperately to calm them, while two adults braced themselves against a door, struggling to hold back the monsters pounding from the other side.
The sight triggered a memory.
A memory of himself—crying helplessly as he watched his mother die before his eyes.
A day when he was weak.
A day when he had no power.
Emotions surged violently within him.
Light gathered around his body, condensing into countless sharp spikes. In the next instant, the spikes shot outward—brutal, merciless—tearing through every monster in his line of sight.
They flew as if carried by the wind.
From below, the children saw them as falling stars—beautiful, dazzling—until those stars struck the ground, ending in pools of red.
The children stared in awe… then their gazes shifted downward.
Red.
Everywhere.
Their expressions twisted from wonder into fear.
Minhae's brutal assault wiped out every monster—but it also devastated the land itself. What had already been ruined by the dungeon break was reduced to something completely unrecognizable.
When the last light-spike fell, silence descended.
Then—
The roar of helicopter blades tore through the air.
Reinforcements had arrived.
Hunters prepared to descend froze in mid-motion, staring down in shock at the sheer destruction below them.
At the Hunter Association headquarters, Officer Kang paced back and forth, panic etched deeply into his face. Sweat soaked his forehead as reports from Busan continued to pour in.
Suddenly, a woman's voice stopped him.
"Officer Kang, the Chairman has summoned you to his office."
Officer Kang stiffened, his anxiety spiking even higher.
"I'll go immediately."
He walked through the long corridors of the Hunter Association and stopped before the Chairman's office.
"I'm here, sir," he said, knocking.
"Come in."
Officer Kang entered.
Inside stood a man in his fifties, arms crossed, sharp eyes fixed on him. Wrinkles lined his face, yet they did nothing to hide his strikingly handsome features.
"I've already heard what happened in Busan," the Chairman said calmly.
Officer Kang flinched.
"There were no civilian casualties," the man continued. "But you know as well as I do—the damage far exceeds our projections."
"I apologize, sir," Officer Kang said, his voice trembling. "I dispatched Hunters according to protocol. I never expected Luciel to stop the dungeon break so… excessively."
The Chairman fell silent for a moment before speaking again.
"What happened in Busan will be your responsibility. You may leave."
"Yes, sir…"
Officer Kang bowed and exited the room.
Outside, his expression darkened, anger bubbling beneath the surface. His hand clenched tightly into a fist.
"That damn brat," he muttered under his breath.