Rumble!
A series of explosions roared, accompanied by flashing flames.
The tremors from the fiery blasts erupting within the Guardian Behemoth’s body reached all the way into the dungeon, causing its colossal frame to sway slightly from side to side.
It was like shaking a great mountain.
This was all Seong-hyun’s doing, from inside the Behemoth.
Craaaash!
Another explosion thundered, and fragments of the passage’s ceiling rained down.
To be precise, the Behemoth’s internal structure was collapsing. Amidst the deafening blasts and debris, Seong-hyun dropped down with it.
“Hah, this should be far enough down.”
Landing on the floor, Seong-hyun glanced up.
Through the still-flickering flames, he could see a series of shattered ceilings, layered one on top of the other.
He had blasted his way down, destroying at least a dozen layers of passages.
“…Even I have to admit, that was pretty loud.”
The evidence of Seong-hyun’s magic, unleashed with all possible firepower, was plain to see.
He had poured so much into it that the backlash from the explosions had left him a complete mess.
Of course, thanks to his regeneration trait, any burns or fractures had already healed, but the fact that he had sustained that much damage despite minimizing it was a testament to the power involved.
This was something even the Behemoth that had swallowed him couldn’t have predicted.
Seong-hyun possessed a level of mana far beyond that of any Hunter on Earth.
Granted, as a necromancer, his S-rank trait was unique, and his direct combat style was more specialized in swordsmanship than offensive magic.
Because of this, his raw mana rarely shone as brightly as his stats might suggest.
But now, having acquired Iseuna’s ‘Heart of Mana’ trait through the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons, the story was different.
When he needed to unleash indiscriminate, massive firepower without worrying about his surroundings, he could cast spells as he pleased.
The power of those spells was self-evident, as one could see by looking up.
Crack! Creak!
‘But aside from that… it’s incredibly tough.’
Seong-hyun thought with a short sigh.
The moment he landed here, clones of the Behemoth began to emerge from the ground, one by one.
Even after unleashing such firepower, the creature’s movements were relentless.
The passages of its body constantly morphed to obstruct him, and no matter which way he turned, clones burst from the walls and floor, endlessly blocking his path.
‘It seems intent on completely wearing me down. It’s certainly tricky.’
The Guardian, Behemoth, having recovered its full power, possessed truly immense vitality.
Despite the chaos he had wreaked inside its body, it was unfazed by simply cutting down clones and tearing up its insides.
No matter how strong a Hunter was, if they lacked a proper way to handle such a situation, they would be utterly helpless against this foe.
This called for an ability to create variables, rather than just raw strength or mana stats.
“But… for such a simple strategy, you picked the wrong opponent.”
The ‘ability to create variables’ needed to overcome this situation.
Unfortunately for the beast, Seong-hyun was more specialized in that area than any other Hunter.
“Human, it is useless no matter how much you struggle and thrash.”
“Are you sure about that?”
Craaaash!
A massive fiery explosion erupted before him.
The hundreds, thousands of clones that had been charging down the passage were swept away and incinerated by the torrent of flames.
Of course, more clones appeared, pushing their heads and arms through the walls, floor, and ceiling.
“I told you it was use—”
“I still have plenty of mana.”
Craaaaaash!
Before the clone could finish its sentence, an even larger fire-based spell was unleashed.
Seong-hyun hurled a giant fireball, causing an explosion that not only wiped out the clones but also blew a huge hole in the wall that had morphed to block his path.
This attack must have stung, as he felt the Behemoth’s body jolt for a moment.
“Seeing as you’re not trying to crush me directly, it seems there’s a limit to how much you can alter the passages. And even if you can keep spewing out clones, you know that’s not even enough to buy you time, right?”
—You…!
Rumble!
The Behemoth’s own voice echoed through the blasted-open passage.
It was an incredibly menacing and intimidating voice, but Seong-hyun only found its reaction amusing.
Thanks to the effect of his title, he didn’t feel any real pressure, even against a Guardian like this.
Thud!
Seong-hyun advanced fearlessly toward the gaping hole.
More clones appeared and charged at him, and walls rose to block his way, but Seong-hyun simply blasted through them in the same manner.
“Just by how blatantly you’re trying to stop me from going in a certain direction, I can tell. You’re actually getting anxious. And you’re paying the most attention to me, of all things.”
Seong-hyun had already seen through the Behemoth’s body with his Eye of the Thunder God trait.
He had pinpointed the exact locations of all its weak points—its hearts—and was now advancing toward them relentlessly, despite the creature’s desperate interference.
Furthermore, his legions’ assault on the Behemoth’s other hearts was still underway.
The elite forces led by Iseuna and the other Monarchs were on the move, undeterred by this level of obstruction.
If the legions had faced the same clone attacks and internal shifts that he was, their advance would have been completely halted.
Even for Iseuna or the other Monarchs, breaking through with such brute force would have been impossible.
But that wasn’t happening.
This was because the Behemoth was focusing most of its attention and power on Seong-hyun’s location.
“The reason you’re in such a hurry to stop me is obvious, isn’t it?”
—Graaaaaaaah!
The Behemoth’s enraged roar began to shake the entire dungeon.
Unlike the other legions, the place Seong-hyun was heading for was the Behemoth’s ‘core heart,’ which held the most mana.
It was also the place where Phria’s sealing stone, which the Behemoth had swallowed before fleeing, was trapped.
[You have drawn closer to the quest marker!]
The heart that could deal the most damage to the Behemoth.
Seong-hyun broke through the thickest wall he had yet encountered and pushed his way right up to it.
Rumble!
“…So this is it.”
Inside the large chamber Seong-hyun had entered, he saw a heart at its center, encased in hard bone.
Befitting its owner’s size, the heart was astonishingly huge.
An enormous amount of mana, almost comparable to a mana vein in an underground dungeon, pulsed within it.
But the heart was not left undefended.
“Right, I didn’t think you’d give this place up so easily.”
Seong-hyun stared at the man standing before him.
It was another part of the Behemoth, taking on a human form.
But it was clearly different from the clones he had been wiping out until now.
“What are you?”
“How dare a mortal from another world set foot here… I will tear you to shreds.”
The man, his eyes glowing red, vanished in an instant.
Sensing an ominous presence, Seong-hyun quickly twisted his body as the creature reappeared behind him.
Craaaash!
A vicious crater was gouged into the floor.
For a moment, he thought it had struck with its bare hands, but the creature’s fingertips had already transformed into sharp claws.
“You don’t seem like just a slightly stronger clone…”
Seong-hyun glared at the enemy before him.
Putting aside its movements and shapeshifting, the aura it exuded was unsettling.
Above all, he could feel an unbelievable amount of mana coming from its body.
“Don’t tell me… you’re the main body?”
“Not quite, but close.”
The Behemoth spoke.
It was the clone closest to the Behemoth’s true self, guarding its own weakness and core—the heart.
Naturally, it possessed a level of strength far beyond the other clones, and it was also guarding the other hearts, not just the core one where Seong-hyun stood.
“Your other minions will face a similar fate. They will be torn apart for foolishly daring to aim for my hearts.”
“We’ll see. You’ll regret underestimating my people.”
“Then I’ll start by killing you.”
Crack! Creak!
With a bizarre sound, the Behemoth’s body twisted, transforming into a hybrid of man and beast.
Though it looked brutish and simple, the amount of mana emanating from it had increased even further.
Opening its massive maw, the Behemoth instantly unleashed a torrent of mana.
Whoooosh!
‘Wh-what the…!’
A massive wave of mana surged toward him head-on.
Caught off guard by the unexpected range and power of the spell, Seong-hyun had to desperately throw himself to the side.
But dodging one attack wasn’t the end of it.
Another sphere of mana shot from the Behemoth’s back, flying past Seong-hyun and creating a massive shockwave behind him.
Rumble!
‘Damn it…! What is that thing doing?’
Seong-hyun was utterly bewildered by the Behemoth’s sudden magical onslaught.
To think it would unleash spells of such power this close to its own heart.
He knew its mana was off the charts from the beginning, but he had never expected it to fight like this.
The Behemoth’s spells continued to rain down indiscriminately.
‘Damn it…! In that case!’
Finding himself increasingly cornered, Seong-hyun hurriedly drew upon his own mana.
Iseuna’s ‘Heart of Mana’ trait was still active, and he instantly launched a fireball at the Behemoth’s heart.
Even though it was encased in hard bone, a fireball of this magnitude should shatter it to pieces without issue.
Attacking the clone was pointless since it would just regenerate; destroying that heart was all that mattered.
Vwooom!
“What… the hell?”
But Seong-hyun’s spell fizzled out powerlessly.
The moment it reached the Behemoth’s heart, his magic completely dispersed.
It wasn’t simply blocked or countered; the mana comprising the spell had been entirely absorbed.
Clang!
Seong-hyun then drew his sword and swung it at the heart in one swift motion.
Though stunned by his magic being nullified, he acted instantly rather than standing there dumbfounded.
But his sword strike never reached the heart.
Crrrack!
The Behemoth had already moved in front of him, blocking the way.
The sword, intended for the heart, had half-severed the creature’s neck instead.
Of course, the Behemoth didn’t even flinch at such a wound, not shedding a single drop of blood.
Instead, its flesh began to regenerate, even with the sword still embedded in it.
“I told you it was useless to struggle.”
‘Ha, damn it.’
Seong-hyun finally understood the situation.
As a Guardian, the Behemoth’s primary ability was to control and dominate its location.
And the place under its most powerful control was right here: its own heart chamber.