"What in the world... is that?"

One of the aspiring writers running towards the shelter with Guardian Squad 1 stopped in his tracks, staring blankly at something.

"Hey, why are you spacing out... huh?"

Soon, the entire group, including Guardian Squad 1, halted and looked in the direction he was staring.

Between the buildings, a massive shadow emerged, revealing itself to be none other than a monster.

"Ugh, ugh..."

Even from quite a distance, the sheer size of it left everyone overwhelmed, involuntary groans escaping their lips.

"Excuse me, are you sure we'll be safe once we reach the shelter?"

"..."

But no one from the Guardians could easily answer that question.

Something was going terribly wrong.

* * *

"Is that really an A-rank monster? You're joking, right?"

The team members murmured behind Ma Seokgi.

Then, one of the veteran Guardians tried to reassure them.

"Don't be scared by its size! If it's A-rank, we can definitely take it down!"

The squad leader looked up at the giant monster, which hadn't moved yet, and spoke.

"Captain."

Ma Seokgi, who had been frozen by the unexpected situation, soon nodded.

The measurement had indeed indicated an A-rank gate. There was no reason to be intimidated.

If it wasn't moving, then they would.

The Guardians aimed their special weapons, designed for giant monsters, at the creature.

Ratatatatata!

An overwhelming barrage of firepower erupted.

"Uwoooo!"

Boom!

Rumble!

Ma Seokgi also slammed his hammer into the ground, creating a shockwave to add to the attack.

Whoooosh!

A dust storm, like a sandstorm, rose up.

For a moment, nothing was visible.

"Did we get it?"

They had unleashed all their firepower.

Surely, this should be enough...

Then it happened.

Whoosh!

The massive mouth of a snake pierced through the dust storm, appearing right in front of them.

Its speed was so incredible that there was no time to react!

"Argh!"

At the moment when one of the Guardians was about to be swallowed or torn apart,

Crash!

Ma Seokgi raised his blunt weapon vertically, blocking the giant snake's mouth.

"Uwoooo!"

He then reversed his grip and smashed the monster's head away.

Screech!

"I won't let you have your way!"

Ma Seokgi wasn't called a bulldozer for nothing.

The captain's brave display began to inspire the Guardians.

Then,

Screech!

Screeeeech!

Screech!

Suddenly, the cries of monsters echoed from all directions.

What was this?

A chilling sensation swept over them.

Rustle, rustle.

Soon, the giant monster revealed its full form.

But then,

"Cap, captain... its head..."

"Ha ha... is this for real."

The giant monster in the form of a snake.

It was a Hydra with nine heads.

* * *

"Of all things, a Hydra... Damn it!"

Curses spilled from Ma Seokgi's lips.

In theory, with the current emergency response team's strength, taking down one A-rank monster wasn't too difficult. So why did Ma Seokgi's face darken so much?

The reason was simple,

"Everyone, stay sharp! Each of the Hydra's nine heads has the power of an A-rank monster!"

In other words, facing the Hydra was like facing nine A-rank monsters at once.

"Damn it. This situation requires at least four more response teams."

Usually, the number and strength of the teams dispatched are determined by emergency measurement figures.

There was no helping it.

Who could have predicted such a situation?

It was too late for regrets.

Screeeech!

All nine heads began to wail simultaneously.

"Ugh!"

The Guardians hurriedly covered their ears, but it was useless.

The ear-piercing cries momentarily dulled the movements of Ma Seokgi and all the Guardians.

Whoosh!

Thud!!

Taking advantage of the moment, the Hydra's massive tail sent Ma Seokgi flying.

Boom!

"Ugh!"

Ma Seokgi hit the ground, coughing up blood.

"Captain!"

They were hit.

The unexpected attack caused even more damage.

Screech!

The Hydra's nine heads.

Each of their massive fangs dripped green venom onto the ground.

Sizzle!

The asphalt where the venom fell melted away.

"Ugh, ugh..."

Rustle, rustle.

The terrifying monster's fangs began to target the squad members.

No, no!

Ma Seokgi, unable to move his body properly, screamed internally.

If they were attacked now, with their minds not fully recovered, they wouldn't survive.

At this rate, the entire squad would be wiped out.

"Ugh, ugh..."

Ma Seokgi tried to get up, but it wasn't easy.

The pain felt like all his internal organs were torn apart.

The aftereffects of the earlier attack were too severe.

But he couldn't just stay put.

"Ugh."

Please, please!

Ma Seokgi mustered all his strength.

Blood flowed from his tightly clenched lips, and the blood vessels in his eyes threatened to burst.

"Arghhhhh!"

Thud!

With all his might, Ma Seokgi raised his hammer, his weapon, and leaped high.

"Dieeeee!"

His hammer began to glow blue.

[Power Crash!]

The Bulldozer Ma Seokgi's ultimate attack skill.

Moreover, it was a strike with all his strength poured into it.

Boom!

Screech!

Screech!

Bang! Bang!

His attack obliterated two of the Hydra's nine heads.

An incredible feat.

But.

Screech!

Screeeech!

Screeeech!

...

There were still seven heads remaining.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Boom!

Bang! Bang! Boom!

The enraged Hydra began to rampage even more ferociously.

"...Ha. Is this my limit? Damn."

He was still standing, but he didn't have the strength to move a single finger.

Who would have thought he'd die like this?

If he'd known, he wouldn't have argued with his wife this morning.

He regretted complaining about the salty egg soup.

He thought it was a poor image for his wife to remember him by.

Turning his head, he saw his subordinates.

Some had fainted from fear, others were in tears, thinking it was the end.

"You guys... did well."

A pathetic final farewell.

Screech!

The remaining seven heads of the Hydra stood tall.

Glistening eyes, saliva dripping from between its teeth.

Then, the seven heads lunged mercilessly at the Guardians.

"Screw... this."

With Ma Seokgi's curse,

everything seemed to be over.

At that moment.

Flash!

Suddenly, a blinding golden light descended from the sky.

The light tore through the air.

Boom!

With a tremendous roar, the massive light enveloped the Hydra.

Screeeeech!!!!!!!!!!!

With a horrific scream, the Hydra turned into black charcoal

and then,

Rustle.

...disintegrated into molecules and vanished.

It all happened in an instant.

"...What?"

Everyone was dumbfounded by the unbelievable, incomprehensible scene before them.

"What, what, what, what just happened?"

"Something flashed, and then that snake bastard just died?"

Everyone, though barely breathing, looked around as best they could.

Ma Seokgi was no exception.

But no matter how much he looked around, he couldn't see anything.

What on earth had just happened?

"We survived. We survived. Haha. Yeah. Surviving is all that matters. Haha..."

That was his limit.

Ma Seokgi, who had been standing until then, collapsed forward and fainted.

"Captain!"

"Hey! Call the medics! Hurry!"

And so, the scene was finally brought under control.

* * *

...Phew.

A man stood on a distant building, watching the scene unfold.

With eyes glowing blue and platinum blonde hair, he was an incredibly mysterious figure.

"Damn!"

Snap.

His eyes and hair color returned to black.

He was Tae Ihyun, one of the aspiring writers wearing a hoodie and large horn-rimmed glasses.

"I hope I didn't get caught. I really can't afford to be found out."

He had been watching the situation the whole time.

It seemed like it would be resolved, but then it dragged on, and in the end... he had to step in.

No, he had no choice but to step in.

What else could he do?

He couldn't just watch the Guardians die.

Tae Ihyun grumbled.

"It looked like it was getting sorted out, and then some weird snake bastard had to mess things up. Ugh!"

Some might be thrilled to step in at a moment like this, but not him.

He hoped and hoped that he wouldn't have to step in.

He had a mountain of things to do.

And, well, there were quite a few reasons if he were to list them all.

Ahem! Anyway,

"Guess it's time to head back."

Tae Ihyun turned slowly, muttering to himself.

"The cooking story I wrote last time got trashed, but this time, I'm pretty confident."

He thought his past self was foolish for attempting a cooking story when all he could do was fry eggs and cook ramen.

But! This time was different.

The new work he wrote was a 'Hunter' story.

Hehe.

Who knows more about hunters than him?

"They'll be surprised, for sure. Hehe."

With a confident smile, he walked away.

His steps were light, a stark contrast to the intense scene that had just unfolded.

[Casualties: 0 dead, 15 injured]

The 'Hongdae Station Sudden Gate Incident,' which could have been remembered as one of the worst disasters, was resolved without a single death.

Thanks to someone stepping in.

Of course, no one in the world knew about it.