## Chapter 107 – Raid #2
A monster.
It basically took the form of a four-legged beast, but if you looked closely, you could quickly realize that it was a creature that couldn’t be found anywhere else in the world. A pig-like upturned nose, saber-toothed tiger-like sharp fangs, and huge bull horns that could only be seen in a bullfighting ring. There was even a sense of disgust in the appearance of this creature, which seemed to have collected all the symbols of various animals.
Its taut muscles bulged with sinews, and at the end of its front legs, which scraped the ground, were long claws resembling sharp, famous swords.
The monster looked at Number 25, who had fearlessly revealed himself in front of it, and began to exhale violently.
Muscles that seemed ready to burst through the skin twitched.
The movement of its red pupils, which had captured its prey, the low growl that sounded like a warning, the erect legs and the tail that resembled a flail, the bristling fur, and the teeth that it showed off as if boasting, were all sending signals that it was ready to attack at any moment.
Here it comes. No sooner had the thought ended than the monster’s body disappeared.
A leap followed.
Since he didn’t have a proper weapon right now, he had no choice but to respond with his bare hands, but Sarrk blocked Number 25’s path.
Clang!
He blocked the forepaw that the monster swung with a huge greatsword that suddenly sprang up from the ground.
But even from his back, I could tell.
All he could do was hold on. Sarrk was being pushed back little by little, but surely, by the overwhelming power of the monster, which was much bigger than him.
Moreover, the greatsword he was holding was also beginning to chip from the monster’s claws, perhaps because it had been summoned in a hurry.
Sarrk shouted at the students who had suffered minor injuries next to him.
“What are you doing! Go get the guards or professors, quick!”
Only then did the students come to their senses, supporting the seriously injured students and quickly leaving the scene.
Now, all that remained in the place where the monster had attacked, littered with blood and flesh, were Sarrk, Number 25, and the monster they were facing.
Sarrk thought that it was entirely up to him to hold out until the others arrived.
He unconsciously thought that Number 25, who was behind him, was weaker than him, and that he had to protect him because he had received a rank of 10.
It wasn’t that he looked down on Number 25, but it was his belief that those with power should protect those below them.
The monster, which had been fighting Sarrk for strength, thought that it couldn’t be easily pierced, so it stepped back for a moment and began to circle around.
Sarrk, who was holding the hilt of the greatsword with both hands, spoke to Number 25 behind him in a determined voice.
“Stay behind me.”
Unlike Sarrk, who was restricted in his actions because he had someone to protect, the monster could attack at any time and move freely.
The monster, which was constantly looking for an opportunity, occasionally rushed in as if testing the waters, but Sarrk barely managed to block it by swinging his greatsword.
Whenever Number 25 tried to step forward, Sarrk would just say that he was fine and to leave it to him.
But the difference in strength was obvious.
Every time the monster attacked once, twice, Sarrk’s body began to get scratched, and blood flowed down between the torn skin.
Little strokes fell great oaks, which perfectly described Sarrk’s current state.
His body was stained with blood flowing from minor wounds, giving the illusion that his navy blue uniform was originally red.
Bang!
Sarrk, unable to withstand the monster’s attack that rushed in again, tumbled to the ground along with his greatsword.
He tried desperately to get up, but it was impossible because his legs had already given way.
Sarrk must have judged that fighting the monster was impossible, so he shouted at Number 25.
“Ryu, you run away!”
If he could save even one person while he was being eaten by the monster, Sarrk was willing to sacrifice his body.
However, Number 25’s thoughts were different from his.
He could no longer stand by and watch his friend, who had thrown his whole body to save him, and innocent people being injured by the monster.
Until now, Sarrk had been blocking him from the front, so Number 25 had no chance to step in, but not now.
Number 25 smiled at Sarrk, who kept telling him to run away, as if to reassure him.
“It’s okay.”
The monster smacked its lips again when it saw Number 25, who had stepped forward instead of Sarrk.
Although he couldn’t see his expression, he was probably smiling like a child who had received a new toy.
He said it was okay, but Number 25 was just as nervous.
Judging from the fact that the academy students were helpless, it must be a much stronger individual than the monsters in Zone 2.
If he didn’t go all out from the beginning, he would be reduced to dust.
Taking a deep breath and raising his head, Number 25 did not avoid the monster’s gaze as it glared at him, but stared straight back.
Before he knew it, Number 25’s arms were surrounded by gray lightning.
A faint spark occasionally flew, a change so minor that it would be impossible to notice unless you looked closely, but the power contained within was by no means trivial.
The monster’s movement around the perimeter stops.
Now that he’s in front of Sarrk, he can see it even more clearly than before.
The vertically torn pupils glaring at him, the flesh and blood of students smeared on its sharp fangs, and the muscles that seemed capable of easily crushing steel with a single swing were all incomparably more ferocious than his own.
The monster’s ears were pulled back, and its back was bent. Its pig-like nose was already deeply wrinkled. The corners of its mouth were pulled back, revealing the sharp teeth hidden inside.
Its tail was hidden between its legs, but it had lowered its posture overall so that it could leap at any moment.
It was a posture for attack, just like when they first encountered each other, but the meaning contained within was quite different.
Fear.
A kind of defense mechanism.
An intention to attack if you take even one step closer to me.
Number 25, who had no way of knowing its meaning, took a step forward, and the monster barked madly and rushed at Number 25.
Number 25 lightly dodged the monster, which was rushing in with a much clumsier motion than when it was fighting Sarrk, grabbed the monster’s horns that had risen above its head, and threw it straight to the ground.
Thud! With a heavy sound, the monster, which had been thrown to the ground with its back first, quickly regained its posture and circled around Number 25 with a more shrunken posture than before.
An unknown sense of incongruity is felt.
Is this really right?
No, even thinking is a luxury right now.
Number 25 shifted his gaze back to the monster.
The monster was limping, probably because the previous attack had dealt quite a blow.
But he couldn’t let his guard down. He knew better than anyone else from his past experiences that an injured beast is more faithful to its survival instincts and more ferocious than ever.
The monster lowered its body again and leaped towards Number 25.
The speed was faster than before, and the monster’s breath could be heard clearly in his ears.
The smell of blood lingered at the tip of his nose, and sweat poured from his body.
Number 25 was only dodging, unable to even extend a hand, against the chilling attack that targeted only his vitals and the desperate attack that seemed to risk his entire life.
‘Strong, but…’
But he was finally able to understand the identity of the incongruity he had felt earlier.
The monster was definitely strong, ferocious, and had drunk a lot of blood, but… it was missing one of the most important things.
The most essential thing in a life form’s competition of strength.
It’s simple.
‘It’s just that I’m stronger.’
Number 25 looked at the monster with the cold eyes of a hunter.
The monster, which had met Number 25’s gray eyes head-on, trembled as if having a seizure and then simply ran in a straight line.
The monster, cornered, didn’t have many paths to choose from, and in the end, it had made the worst choice.
At that moment, what came to Number 25’s mind was Orka’s movement that he had seen before.
It wasn’t difficult to avoid the monster running in a straight line.
He slightly moved his body by pulling his hind leg to the side, and then struck the monster’s thick flank, which was clearly exposed, with his fist.
Crack!
The impact, accompanied by a sound that seemed to tear his eardrums, was truly a disaster, no different from a thunderbolt from the thunder god that started in the sky.
The gray lightning that was surrounding Number 25’s fist was transferred directly into the monster’s body and began to tear through its insides.
The monster’s black body stopped for a moment, and it fell to the ground, trembling.
The monster’s body began to swell here and there like a multiplying slime, and then it burst from the inside.
Blood and guts that soared into the sky then began to pour down like rain.
Number 25, who had ended the short fight, was wiping the blood and sweat from his body when Sarrk staggered towards him from behind.
He asked with a bewildered expression, as if he couldn’t understand what had just happened.
“Ryu… what was that just now…?”
In fact, even Number 25 himself was experiencing this level of destructive power for the first time.
Until now, he had only been able to strengthen his spear or body to pierce through the monster’s body.
Exploding the body in this way was a situation that Number 25 was experiencing for the first time in his life.
Could this be the attribute of Nothingness that Rowoon was talking about?
Number 25 was lost in thought for a moment, and then belatedly remembered Rowoon’s words to keep it a secret from others, so he said to Sarrk, who was sitting next to him, picking up pieces of the monster with his fingers and observing them.
“Sarrk, could you keep what just happened a secret?”
Sarrk looked like he wanted to ask something, but he closed his mouth and just nodded.
Everyone has their own circumstances. It was only right for a friend to keep a secret if there was something they didn’t want to be revealed.
The moment he received the promise of silence from Sarrk, he began to hear the sound of people buzzing little by little.
Adriana, who was sweating on her face and had arrived at the scene late, had an expression of bewilderment as she looked at the blood-stained place.
She came to the center of the scene where the monster’s corpse remained and looked around, asking Sarrk.
“Sarrk, did you do this?”
She didn’t even give Number 25 a glance.
In a way, it was only natural. Number 25, a rank 10, was relatively unscathed, although he was covered in the monster’s blood. Sarrk, a rank 8, had wounds all over his body and was bleeding his own blood.
Anyone who saw it would have no choice but to think that Sarrk, a rank 8, had protected Number 25 and that this was what had happened.
He briefly rolled his eyes towards Number 25, then simply replied, “Yes…” with a displeased expression.
Adriana also seemed to have something to say, but the safety of the students was the priority right now.
Adriana told Number 25 to support Sarrk, and she also lent her shoulder to Sarrk from the side.
“Let’s go to the infirmary first. It’s not too late to hear the details later.”
