Chapter 15: The Overwhelming Power of Seyul

Yoo Haeri was what people commonly called a “Star Hunter.”

Star Hunters prioritized publicity and fame.

They were the ones who appeared in official broadcasts or personal streams.

The rise of Star Hunters dated back to the early days when people were wary of the supernatural beings that had emerged alongside the monsters.

To ease public fears, the Hunter Association had introduced promotional hunters to serve as public relations figures.

However, the hunters the association had initially promoted as PR figures became unexpectedly popular.

Seeing this success, other hunters began following suit, leading to the emergence of the category now known as “Star Hunters.”

The reason Yoo Haeri chose this path was simple.

There was no downside to being famous.

And she was also interested in the money that came with it.

While hunters earned substantial rewards for slaying monsters,
monsters didn’t appear on demand.

She needed a way to sustain herself during downtime.

Thus, she became a Star Hunter and the results were far better than she had expected.

Yoo Haeri, in her early twenties, was a striking beauty.

Her long black hair, tied into a ponytail, gave her an energetic image.

Her face leaned more towards the cute side, her skin was fair, and her figure was well-proportioned and slender.

With such looks, it was no surprise that when she started streaming, viewers flocked to her channel.

[Viewers: 10,964]

Her average concurrent viewers hovered around ten thousand.

With numbers like these, the income she generated was no joke.

“Today, I’ll be doing the ‘If I’m Cute, Give Me 100 Won’ challenge at this park !”

Honestly, streaming was far more profitable than hunting monsters.

To keep her audience entertained, Haeri constantly brainstormed new content.

One of her signature segments involved stopping random strangers and asking if they’d give her 100 won for being cute.

[Ugh, not this again.]

Even she admitted it was a nuisance.

But her viewers loved these absurd antics.

And technically, it wasn’t illegal.

Suppressing her unease, she was just about to start her challenge at the park when

“MONSTER!”

A bloodcurdling scream rang out, accompanied by an ominous chill down her spine.

“A monster?”

For a moment, Haeri was caught off guard.

Of all times, a monster had to appear while she was streaming?

‘Wait… this might be an opportunity.’

But soon, her mindset shifted.

If she took down the monster in style, wouldn’t it boost her fame even further?

With that hopeful thought, she sprang into action.

“I’ll take care of this!”

Some Star Hunters had made a career out of monster hunting content.

This time, she figured she’d give it a shot herself.

The result?

[…]

[Haeri’s gonna die at this rate.]

[This is actually dangerous!]

[RUN!!]

She had landed herself in a situation where death seemed inevitable.

“Just die already!!”

Haeri, her face on the verge of tears, screamed desperately.

In her hands was a massive firearm a Gatling-style gun loaded with .50 caliber rounds.

Modern firearms were typically ineffective against monsters, but this gun was different.

Her unique ability, Armed Manifestation, allowed her to create various weapons at will.

This gun, being a manifestation of her power, was far deadlier than an ordinary firearm.

Its large-caliber bullets could cut a human in half.

They should’ve worked on monsters too.

And yet

‘It’s not working!’

The enemy before her didn’t even flinch.

“F-Fine, how about this?!”

Suppressing her rising despair, Haeri summoned another weapon.

Rocket launchers materialized on either side of her.

A direct hit from one of these could reduce a tank to scrap metal.

BOOM!

A deafening explosion rocked the area as the projectiles struck their target.

The sheer force of the blast sent shockwaves rippling outward.

But the result?

The monster remained completely unscathed.

“…That didn’t work either?”

Haeri’s voice trembled in disbelief.

It had been like this from the start.

No matter how many attacks Haeri launched at the monster, nothing seemed to work.

[See? What did I tell you!]

[Didn’t I say this thing looked bad?]

[Just look at its size!]

[I kept saying that thing had to be at least B-rank!]

From the small broadcasting device tucked into the pocket near her chest, messages flooded in.

The device, about the size of a phone,

had a camera capturing everything in front of her while also displaying real-time viewer reactions as a holographic overlay in the corner of her vision.

‘Is it really B-rank…?’

Fear crept into her eyes as she stared at the monster ahead.

The creature that had appeared in the park was the same species as the others Red Kong but its size was completely different.

Its body alone must have weighed several tons.

Though exceptions existed, the general rule was that the bigger the monster, the stronger it was.

That was why, when Haeri first engaged the massive Red Kong, her viewers had been deeply concerned.

Many had urged her to run, but she had ignored them, leading to this very moment.

“I thought I could handle it somehow….”

Realizing her mistake, Haeri muttered in regret.

Her Hunter rank was C.

There were only a few dozen C-rank Hunters in all of Korea, making her one of the higher-tier hunters.

With both her ranking and her ability to manifest modern weapons, she had believed in her strength.

But that confidence had turned into recklessness.

‘Running away… is impossible, right?’

She regretted her choices, but it was too late to flee now.

With no other options, Haeri decided to unleash her final trump card.

“Take this!”

A surge of energy burst forth from Haeri’s body the aura wielded by Hunters.

She released a massive amount at once, shaping it into a distinct form in midair.

A colossal gun barrel and ammunition something that belonged on a battleship.

Anti-Air Cannon Manifestation.

As the name suggested, it was a weapon designed like an anti-aircraft gun, with immense destructive power.

If fired at a line of 100 people, none would be left intact.

It could pierce straight through a tank’s hull.

No one had ever survived a direct hit from this ability before.

Haeri placed all her hopes on this and aimed at the massive Red Kong’s head.

This should kill it.

Even if it somehow survived, it would still be gravely injured.

With that belief, she fired the cannon.

BOOM!

The impact struck the Red Kong’s head, twisting it to the side.

“Grrr…?”

A moment later, the monster simply turned its head back to its original position.

“Uh….”

Haeri stared blankly, stunned.

The massive Red Kong was touching its forehead where it had been hit.

Despite taking a direct hit from her ultimate attack, it reacted as if it had merely been flicked on the forehead.

[What the hell?!]

[It survived that?!]

[No way!]

[Isn’t that the attack that turns tanks into scrap metal?!]

[It should’ve been able to pierce battleship armor!]

[She’s dead. She’s so dead.]

[RUN ALREADY!]

[Somebody call another Hunter!]

[We already did, but they’re not here yet!]

The chat exploded with panic, but it was far too late.

The Red Kong, after briefly touching its forehead, suddenly moved at high speed toward Haeri.

“W-What?!”

To her, it looked like it had teleported.

In desperation, she manifested thick armor plates around herself for protection.

They were made of a special alloy stronger than regular steel, yet they barely made a difference.

With a casual swipe of its palm, the Red Kong crushed the armor like paper, reducing it to scrap.

‘T-This thing… It’s been toying with me this whole time!’

Rolling to the ground to avoid its attack,

Haeri finally realized why it hadn’t attacked her earlier despite its overwhelming speed.

It had been playing with her.

And now, it had grown bored.

“…Ah… ahh….”

The Red Kong, having tired of its game, now exuded pure killing intent.

Faced with the monster’s chilling gaze, Haeri was left speechless.

The fear of death had completely overtaken her mind.

She could only think, ‘I’m going to die.’

At that very moment, as if by sheer luck, ‘Seyul’ arrived.

“Tsk.”

“Who…?”

A small, mysterious figure suddenly appeared.

Both Harry, who was about to die, and the massive Red Kong,

who was about to kill her, turned their gazes toward the newcomer.

Seyul casually walked forward and spoke.

“You’re in the way. Move.”

She was telling the monster, which had just completely overwhelmed a C-rank Hunter, to step aside.

[Is she insane?]

[Is she out of her mind?!]

Harry and the viewers alike were utterly dumbfounded by her bold no, completely reckless behavior.

“Grrrr!”

The giant Red Kong let out a deep growl, clearly irritated.

Monsters lacked intelligence and couldn’t understand words, but they could certainly sense hostility.

‘How dare this tiny female challenge me?’

The Red Kong, having identified Seyul as a female through her scent, felt its pride wounded.

“Run…!”

Sensing the rapidly shifting atmosphere, Harry hurriedly tried to warn her, but the Red Kong was faster.

With a single swipe, it sent Seyul flying.

Her small body, only 140 centimeters tall and weighing around 30 kilograms, was flung high into the air.

She crashed down more than twenty meters away, but the Red Kong wasn’t satisfied.

“ROOOAR!!”

Still unsatisfied, it charged at Seyul’s fallen body.

Clasping both hands together, it swung down at her with full force, causing the entire park to tremble.

The impact sent shockwaves through the ground, and when the dust settled,

a crater large enough to fit dozens of people had formed where Seyul had landed.

‘She’s dead!’

Both Harry and the viewers were convinced.

They believed Seyul had been completely obliterated without a trace.

However—

“As expected, it was only this much?”

A calm voice echoed from within the crater.

Then, the Red Kong suddenly began clutching its hands in pain.

“Grr…?!”

It stared in shock at the pit it had just created.

Inside stood the girl who should have been dead, completely unharmed.

Moreover, its hands ached as if it had struck something impossibly hard.

“I had a rough idea from sensing its aura, but I wanted to confirm it. That’s why I took the hit.”

Speaking nonchalantly, Seyul stepped out of the crater.

The Red Kong instinctively recoiled in fear, stepping backward.

Unfortunately for it, this retreat blocked the entrance to the park.

‘I’ll deal with this one first.’

Seyul stared at the monster coldly, making up her mind.

Even if she took it down, she couldn’t use magic or martial arts.

There was a Hunter nearby who would likely witness everything.

If she used techniques from another world in front of her, things would get complicated.

After a brief moment of thought, she decided.

She would simply use her ‘basic’ physical abilities just a little to destroy it.

“I’m passing through.”

As Seyul took another step toward the park, the Red Kong panicked.

It swung its massive fist at her in desperation.

She caught the punch effortlessly and tore its arm off.

As easily as peeling apart two pieces of glued paper.

Then, she swung the severed arm at the monster’s body.

With a single strike, its entire torso was pulverized.

It wasn’t like breaking Styrofoam or straw.

It was as if the Red Kong had been a house made of tofu.

Just like that, it was dead.

Thanks to Seyul, Harry had survived but there was no time to celebrate.

Not just her, but the entire chatroom of ten thousand viewers had gone completely silent.

Meanwhile, in the deathly still park, only Seyul was excited.

‘I’ve finally arrived at my destination!’