The creature shot toward Ji-won like a rocket. He raised his hands and unleashed dozens of crimson fireballs, each the size of a car, writhing like burning demons. They rained down on Ji-won like a storm, leaving trails of fire in the sky.
SHING! SHING! SHING! SHING!
Ji-won caught the fireballs with her bare hands. She deflected them, redirected them, dodged them with ease. Her left palm seized two and hurled them back toward their source. Her right fist smashed three in an instant. But one struck her arm. A tiny scratch, barely visible, appeared on her fair white skin.
In less than a moment, the skin regenerated. The scratch vanished. As if nothing had happened.
Ji-won: (Laughing a loud, clear laugh) "Hahahahaha! Finally! Finally something that scratches me! Something that makes me feel something!"
The Being: (Halting his attack, watching her with eyes blazing with surprise and caution) "You laugh? I struck you, you were scratched, and you laugh? Have you gone mad?"
Ji-won: (Flying slowly toward him, her steps in the air confident, unhurried) "Because… I felt excitement for the first time in ages. Since I became like this. Since I turned into a phoenix. I thought nothing in this world could make me feel anything anymore. But you… you are different."
Her smile widened. Her golden eyes blazed like two small suns.
The Being: (Studying her) "You are strange. Everyone who faced me before you screamed in fear, wept in terror, knelt in surrender. But you… you smile."
Ji-won: "Because they were weak. And I am not weak."
She lunged suddenly.
It was not just a charge. It was like lightning. Like thunder unseen. She vanished from her spot and appeared before him in a fraction of a second.
WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!
Three fiery fists in succession. The first aimed at his chest, the second at his shoulder, the third at his head. The Being held his ground. He blocked her strikes with remarkable skill. His arms moved like swords, like shields, like walls. He retreated a few steps, then counterattacked.
He unleashed fiery crimson swords from his hands. Not two, not four. Dozens of swords. They flew through the air, circled around Ji-won, struck from every direction. From the front, from behind, from above, from below.
Ji-won: (Shouting with joy) "Fire Shield!"
For the first time in a real battle, a shield of sacred golden fire enveloped her. The crimson swords struck it, shattered, disintegrated, evaporated. Some rebounded toward the Being himself, forcing him back.
Ji-won: (In her mind, smiling) "Finally… finally I have found someone who can force me to use 10% of my power. But now… I'll use 30% of that 10%. Just 3% of my true power. Enough to ignite this battle. Enough to feel real pleasure."
Her smile grew wide, and she charged at him again.
She was laughing. Laughing loudly, clearly, like a bell. As she laughed, she attacked. Her fists flew like meteors. Her kicks split the air like blades. The Being blocked, evaded, retreated, but he was also laughing.
The Being: (Between strikes, deflecting a golden fist with a crimson palm) "Why are you laughing?! You fight as if you were at a party! As if you were playing!"
Ji-won: (Striking with another fist, raising a third) "Because I've found a game that can match me! Finally! Finally! I thought I would grow bored of this world. I thought nothing was worth it. But you… you are different!"
The Being: (Blocking the third strike, stepping back two paces, then attacking swiftly) "And I… have not fought like this in a long time! In centuries! Everyone I faced before were insects! But you… you are a worthy opponent!"
He stepped back, standing tall. He was breathing quickly, but his eyes burned with an excitement he had not shown before.
The Being: "You… you shall have the honor of knowing my name. My true name. The name I reveal only to those who deserve it."
He paused. Raised his chin. Looked at her with eyes that pierced the mist.
The Being: "I am Beros Flaminis. Servant of the Great Dragon God. Of the House of Eternal Fire. I have fought in battles that annihilated worlds. I have battled the race of darkness. But I have never fought anyone like you before."
Ji-won: (Pausing, looking at him) "Beros Flaminis? A long name. Heavy. Like its owner."
Beros Flaminis: (Smiling) "And you? What is your name?"
Ji-won: (With confidence that filled the sky) "Park Ji-won. The Phoenix. Remember it well. Because you will never forget it."
Beros Flaminis: (Laughing a deep, powerful laugh) "I will remember it. Now…"
He raised his right hand. Crimson energy gathered around it. Not ordinary fire. It was dense energy, black in its depths, red on its surface. It writhed like a serpent, screamed like the wind. A dense crimson fiery aura.
Beros Flaminis: "Come!"
Ji-won raised her right hand. Sacred golden energy gathered around it. It was calmer than his aura, but more intense. It resembled the sun in its perfection, its purity, its power. A golden fiery aura.
Ji-won: "Come!"
They charged together.
---
Ten minutes earlier – Gangnam's skies
Military helicopters appeared on the horizon. Dozens of aircraft carrying hunter squads and heavy equipment. On the ground, armored vehicles roamed the devastated streets, searching for survivors among the rubble.
The operation commander was a young man of thirty-two, wearing a sharp black military uniform, holding the rank of Brigadier General in the Korean army. His name was Yi Jun-ho, the fourth son of the Yi family, one of the five most powerful families in Korea.
The Yi family was no ordinary family. They were a military dynasty stretching back centuries. Their ancestors were commanders in the armies of ancient Korean kingdoms. Today, the head of the family, Yi Seong-jin, was the Minister of National Defense of Korea, a true SS+ rank hunter. He possessed five skills of his rank and was considered one of the five strongest people in Korea. All four of his sons held high military positions. Yi Jun-ho, the fourth son, was an ordinary SS- rank hunter (no skills of his rank), but he was known for his strategic intelligence and ability to command under the harshest conditions.
With him were 12,000 hunters, mostly C to A rank, equipped with the latest evacuation gear. On board the aircraft was a massive device that created an instantaneous teleportation gate, capable of transporting hundreds of people at a time. This device was advanced Korean military technology, designed specifically for large-scale disasters.
Yi Jun-ho: (Over the radio, his voice sharp) "Units, deploy! Evacuate all civilians! Use the gate to move them to Incheon shelter! Leave no one behind!"
Ground Unit Commander: (From the ground, his voice rising above the roar of flames) "Understood! Executing! But the area is unstable! Buildings are collapsing! The pressure in the air is unbearable!"
Yi Jun-ho: "No excuses! Save whoever you can! Every second, lives are lost!"
The evacuation began. Soldiers and hunters entered burning buildings, pulled out the wounded, transported them to the gate area. The gate device operated with high efficiency, moving hundreds every minute to the coastal city of Incheon, where hospitals and shelters stood ready.
In minutes, all civilians and injured hunters were evacuated. Nothing remained in Gangnam but military personnel, hunters, and some heavy equipment.
Officer: (Looking at the sky, face pale) "Sir… look at the battle…"
Yi Jun-ho raised his head. What he saw made him freeze.
Ji-won and Beros Flaminis were colliding in the sky. Each impact created shockwaves that shook the ground even from this distance. Tremendous pressure bore down on everyone in Gangnam. Some hunters fell to their knees, faces pale, breath ragged. Others bled from their noses from the sheer pressure.
Hunter: (Whispering, eyes wide with terror) "This… this power… is unbearable… humans cannot withstand it…"
Another: (Trembling, clutching his chest) "I can't breathe… my heart… my heart is stopping…"
A Third: (Collapsing to the ground) "Retreat… retreat… before we die…"
Yi Jun-ho: (Fist clenched, teeth grinding) "No retreat! We are here to protect people! We are here to save what remains! Prepare the mana cannons! Third generation! We intervene!"
Artillery Officer: (Hesitantly) "Sir… these cannons were designed to fight SS-rank monsters. Ordinary ones. But these two beings… their power exceeds anything we know. Is it enough?"
Yi Jun-ho: (Shouting in anger) "We have no choice! Prepare them! Now!"
Suddenly, a man appeared before him.
No one had seen him approach. No one had heard footsteps. He was simply there. As if he had been there from the start. His short white hair gleamed, his gray eyes were deep, his skin was radiant white. He wore an elegant black suit, no dust on it, no trace of battle.
Anas: (Calmly, as if discussing the weather) "Withdraw."
Yi Jun-ho: (Hand on his sword, eyes widening) "Who are you?! How did you get here?! The area is restricted!"
Anas: (Taking out his silver card calmly) "Anas Sharif Yazeed. Independent hunter. My rank is SS, temporary."
Yi Jun-ho: (Looking at the card, then at him) "We are here to save people! Why are you ordering us to withdraw?! This is our mission! Our duty!"
Anas: (Calmly, as if explaining to children) "Because your interference will annoy my wife. And she is busy playing. She doesn't like being disturbed when she plays."
Yi Jun-ho: (Angrily, his voice rising) "Your wife?! That woman fighting that creature?! Destroying the city?! Endangering the survivors?!"
Anas: "Yes. Her."
Yi Jun-ho: "But…"
Anas: (Cutting him off calmly) "And if you get any closer to the battlefield, the pressure alone will crush you. The monsters won't need to kill you. You will die simply from being there."
Yi Jun-ho: (Challenging him, anger overcoming caution) "We are hunters! We have a duty! We have honor! We do not abandon a battle! We do not flee!"
Anas: (Looking at him coldly, unblinking) "Do not make me repeat my request."
Yi Jun-ho: (Shouting with all his might) "Prepare the cannons! Fire! Now!"
Anas raised his hand. He looked at the military drone hovering nearby, broadcasting the scene live to the association's control room and to every screen in Korea.
Anas: (In a voice that everyone heard through the drone, clear and decisive) "Director Kang… if you do not order your forces to withdraw immediately, I will kill them all."
Yi Jun-ho: (Frozen) "What?! How dare you?!"
Anas: (Snapping his fingers)
SHING! SHING! SHING! SHING! SHING!
Dozens of mana swords appeared, hovering at the throats of every hunter in the area. They were not real swords, but they were sharp enough to sever a head in an instant. The pressure the hunters felt was unbearable. They felt they would die if they moved. They felt death staring at them from every angle.
Hunter: (Whispering, eyes terrified) "I can't… I can't move… my body is paralyzed…"
Another: (Trembling, voice choking) "These swords… these swords are alive… watching us… waiting…"
A Third: (Crying silently) "I want to go home… I want to see my family…"
Yi Jun-ho: (Hand on his sword, but unable to move it. Sweat poured down his face. His eyes widened.) "You… you…"
Anas: (Quietly, deadly) "I will not repeat my request."
In the control room, Director Kang watched the screen. He sighed deeply. He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them.
Director Kang: (Over the radio, his voice weary) "Brigadier General Yi Jun-ho… withdraw. All forces… withdraw immediately."
Yi Jun-ho: (Angrily, loudly) "But Director! We are here! We can help! We can…"
Director Kang: (Shouting, his voice cutting through) "That is an order! Withdraw! I do not want to see soldiers die needlessly! Withdraw!"
Yi Jun-ho: (Looking at Anas, then at the swords around his neck, then at his soldiers waiting for his command) "Fine… we will withdraw."
He looked at Anas with a long, challenging stare. His eyes burned with anger and humiliation. But he gave a crisp, rigid military salute.
Yi Jun-ho: "I will remember this. I will remember your name. Your face. Everything."
Anas: (Smiling faintly) "I hope so."
Anas vanished in an instant. The swords vanished. The hunters stood stunned for seconds, then rapidly withdrew to their helicopters and vehicles.
Yi Jun-ho: (As he climbed into the helicopter, looking at the sky where the battle still raged) "Who is this man? Who is this woman? What is this power?"
Officer: (Beside him, frightened) "Sir… shouldn't we report to the ministry? Inform the high command?"
Yi Jun-ho: (Looking at the sky) "They will see what we saw. They will see what all of Korea saw. No need to report."
The helicopter doors closed, and they flew toward the horizon.
---
Subspace – A Luxury Apartment
Anas appeared in a luxury apartment that existed in no real place. He had created it in a subspace, far from the battle, far from danger, far from everything. The walls were transparent glass looking out onto an imaginary blue sky without end. The ceiling was high, adorned with patterns of light. The floor was polished luxury wood.
In the center, Nayun sat on a plush sofa, watching a huge screen showing the battle between her mother and Beros Flaminis. Around her were many toys: a pink teddy bear, small cars, building blocks, some scattered on the floor. She clutched her pink teddy bear "Bobo" in one hand and pointed at the screen with the other.
Nayun: (Running to him, leaving Bobo on the sofa) "Dad! Where were you?! You were gone so long! I was scared!"
Anas: (Crouching before her, stroking her hair) "I was solving a little problem. Don't worry."
Nayun: (Grabbing his hand tightly) "Come! Sit beside me! Mom is fighting! Look! Look at Mom! She's amazing! She's stronger than anyone!"
Anas sat beside her on the sofa. Nayun threw herself into his arms, her eyes fixed on the screen. She held his hand, squeezing it whenever Ji-won attacked.
Nayun: (Shouting) "Mom! Hit him! Hit him! Show him who the phoenix is!"
Anas: (Smiling, hugging her) "She's enjoying it. Look at her face. She's smiling."
Nayun: "Mom is strong! Stronger than anyone! Stronger than any monster! Stronger than anything!"
Anas: "She is."
Nayun: (Shouting at the top of her voice) "Mom! Win! Win! Show them who you are!"
The screen showed the battle clearly. Ji-won and Beros Flaminis collided like shooting stars. Each impact created expanding rings of light that filled the sky.
---
Gangnam – The Battle Rages
Their fists collided. Gold and crimson.
KRA-KOOOOOOM!
A massive shockwave exploded, creating cracks in the ground that stretched for kilometers. It shattered glass in buildings five kilometers away. Uprooted trees. Both staggered back a few steps, then charged again.
Successive strikes. Fist against fist, palm against palm, kick against kick. Every contact created rings of crimson and golden light that expanded, destroyed, burned, erased.
KRAK! KRAK! KRAK! KRAK! KRAK!
All of Gangnam shook. Buildings that had survived the monsters, that had escaped the flames, now began to fall like autumn leaves. Skyscrapers collapsed like sand. Small houses shattered like glass.
Beros Flaminis: (Laughing, eyes blazing) "Magnificent! Magnificent! I have not fought like this in centuries! Since I battled the race of darkness! You are worthy! Truly worthy!"
Ji-won: (Laughing, her red hair whipping like fire) "And I have not enjoyed myself like this since… forever! Since I became this! I thought nothing in this world could match me! I thought I would grow bored! But you… you are different!"
She suddenly stopped. She raised her hand, and a stronger, more intense, more magnificent golden aura appeared around her. Like the sun at its zenith.
Beros Flaminis: (Raising his hand, a crimson aura blazing, almost burning the air around him) "Now… let us see who is stronger! Let us see who deserves victory! Let us see who is the true legend!"
They charged together. Faster than the eye could follow.
KRA-KOOOOOOM! KRA-KOOOOOOM! KRA-KOOOOOOM!
Three consecutive impacts. The earth shook. The sky burned. The air cracked. After the third, absolute silence reigned. For a moment, time stopped. Air stopped. Hearts stopped. Breaths stopped.
Then…
KRA-KOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
A colossal explosion, greater than any before it. Vaster than anything humanity had ever witnessed. The two bodies flew in opposite directions like rockets.
Ji-won: (Crashing into a forest 50 kilometers away) KRAK! KRAK! KRAK! KRAK! KRAK! Dozens of trees shattered, then hundreds, then thousands. The ground split under the impact. A deep crater formed. But she stopped at last.
Beros Flaminis: (Crashing into a mountain 70 kilometers away) KRA-KOOOOOOM! The entire mountain collapsed. Rocks flew in every direction like dust. Giant boulders crushed everything below. The mountain became a valley in an instant.
From a height of one thousand meters above sea level, the shockwave spread to the ground. When the dust cleared, 85% of Gangnam had been erased. The buildings that had survived the monsters now lay in ruins. The streets that had escaped the flames were destroyed. The towers that had adorned the sky left no trace. Nothing remained but rubble and wreckage. Gangnam, the heart of Seoul, the center of wealth and beauty, was no more.
In the control room, absolute silence reigned.
Employee: (Whispering, barely audible) "85%… 85% of Gangnam… gone… in an instant… from a mere collision…"
Another: (Trembling, gripping his chair to keep from falling) "This… this was one strike… from a kilometer high… and it did this… if it had been on the ground… if it had been…"
He could not finish.
Director Kang: (Watching the screen, face pale, hands trembling) "What power is this? What power have we unleashed upon the world?"
Across Korea, screens broadcast the battle. People in their homes, in cafes, in the streets—stopped moving. Some fell to their knees. Some wept. Some screamed. Some could not speak.
Citizen: (Whispering, eyes unblinking) "This is not human power… this is the power of gods… where did she come from? Who is this woman?"
Another: (Trembling, crying) "How… how can anything do this?! How can a human do this?!"
Child: (Crying in his mother's lap) "Mom… scared… scared of the fire… scared of the woman…"
His Mother: (Holding him, crying) "Don't be afraid… don't be afraid… she is protecting us… she is protecting everyone…"
Old Man: (Watching the screen, tears in his eyes) "I have seen wars. I have seen gates. I have seen monsters. I have never seen anything like this. Never such power. Never anything like this."
---
In the wreckage of the forest, Ji-won rose. She brushed the dust and dirt from herself. Superficial scratches covered her body, but they vanished in an instant. She stood as if nothing had happened.
Ji-won: (Looking at her hand, smiling) "That… was fun. Truly fun."
She shot toward the ruined mountain at tremendous speed.
In the mountain, Beros Flaminis emerged from the rubble. His clothes were slightly dirty, his hair disheveled, but his body was unharmed. A few scratches on his face quickly faded.
Beros Flaminis: (Laughing loudly, filling the space) "Hahahahaha! Magnificent! Magnificent! I enjoyed that! Truly! I have not enjoyed myself like this in centuries! Since I fought the race of darkness!"
Ji-won: (Landing before him, looking at him with a smile) "I enjoyed it too. I enjoyed playing with you. I needed this. I needed someone to remind me that I can still feel."
Beros Flaminis: (His smile vanishing, becoming serious. His eyes blazed with a power never before shown.) "But now… I will be serious. Now… I will show you my true form."
He raised his hand to the sky. A colossal crimson energy erupted from him, like a pillar of fire rising to the clouds. It pierced the heavens, split them, opened them. It soared into the upper atmosphere. Then it vanished.
Darkness fell for a moment.
Then… it appeared.
A Dragon.
It was no ordinary dragon. It was colossal, as tall as a forty‑story building, two hundred meters long. Its body was covered in crimson scales that glowed like lava, pulsing like a heartbeat. Its eyes were two massive embers, blazing like twin suns, gazing upon the world with lethal coldness. Its enormous wings spread, covering the sky, blocking the light. Around it, a fierce crimson aura distorted the air, burned the ground, melted rocks. Its long tail ended in a blade‑like tip. Its breath emerged as black smoke.
Beros Flaminis: (In a terrifying voice that shook the air, audible to everyone in Gangnam) "I enjoyed playing with you, Park Ji-won. Truly. I will remember this day. I will remember your face. Your name."
Ji-won looked at him. She was tiny before him, like an ant before a mountain. But she did not retreat. Did not fear. Did not hesitate.
Ji-won: (With a cold smile, with indescribable arrogance) "I will remember you too… you lizard. I will remember your ugly shape. Your annoying roar. That you made me laugh."
She raised her hand, ready. Golden fire gathered around her fist.
Beros Flaminis: (Roaring, his voice tearing the sky) "Raaaaaaaaaaa!"
The sky was burning. The earth was trembling. And Gangnam was witnessing the beginning of the end.
And true fun had yet to begin.
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╔══════════════════════════════════════╗
║ [SYSTEM ALERT: End of Chapter Eighteen] ║
╠══════════════════════════════════════╣
║ [Location: Gangnam – 85% destroyed] ║
║ [Opponent: Beros Flaminis – True Form] ║
║ [Defender: Park Ji-won – The Phoenix] ║
║ [Broadcast: Live across all Korea] ║
║ ║
║ [The fun… has not yet begun] ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════╝
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