Even if the bullet ricochets, the spot where it was fired remains the same.
No matter how skilled Yoon Ha-eun is, she wouldn’t be able to keep changing her sniping point so easily.
With my senses heightened several times due to my monster transformation, I traced the ricochet marks on the surrounding buildings to find the single origin point of the bullets.
From a distance, I could see Yoon Ha-eun, appearing as small as an ant, and our eyes met.
‘There she is.’
Tatadak.
As expected of a sniper, Yoon Ha-eun immediately noticed that I had found her.
She quickly began moving to another rooftop, and though I wanted to ignore her and just run away…
‘Yoon Ha-eun is one of the top-ranked “Clairvoyants” even in the <Kaiju Front> universe.’
If she managed to witness the moment I reverted to my human form, it would be problematic.
So, I had no choice but to make her eat my knockout flick… that lunatic… no, that Weapon Master.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Grrrk?”
‘Another ricochet?’
I started running toward the high-rise building where Yoon Ha-eun had been.
At that very moment.
As if she had given up on aiming for my head, the bullets started ricocheting off buildings, now targeting my heels.
“3222…
“1
Of course, my body, which remained unaffected even by radiation, wouldn’t get wounded by mere bullets.
However, there was a risk that my speed could slow down.
Yoon Ha-eun would undoubtedly try to gradually slow me down before landing a decisive hit.
That’s why I avoided every single bullet, even if they were just minor stings.
“Wow… you’re really good at dodging, huh?”
Knees.
Thigh muscles.
Ankles.
Waist.
She had long given up on killing me with a single strike and was instead trying to restrict my movement.
Even if she returned to her “beginner mindset” and tried to gradually accumulate damage, it didn’t matter—none of it worked against me.
Looking down at Kang Jang-hoon, who was heading toward her, Yoon Ha-eun licked her lips.
“What should I do…”
The sniper rifle in her hands suddenly felt like a useless toy.
Like a shriveled chili pepper (the actual food, of course) in the cold.
With a sigh, Yoon Ha-eun stood up from her sniping position.
“Weapon transformation.”
She raised the sniper rifle she had been shouldering and transformed it into a “heavy-duty bow” with a taut string.
“Ah… I really wanted to keep fighting with my gun. What a shame.”
Unlike firearms, which became the dominant weapons due to their ease of use, bows were much harder to handle.
And yet, the reason why archers still existed among heroes was clear.
Just like now.
The more you developed your skills, the better you became—professional heroes could unleash an arrow’s power far beyond a gun’s limits.
“Fire away!”
Thwack.
A heavy, powerful release sent the bowstring vibrating through the air.
It was the sonic boom phenomenon—something that only occurs when breaking the speed of sound.
Yoon Ha-eun, now clad in a bulletproof vest turned red like armor to match her weapon, infused her arrow with the same crimson energy as her eyes.
A “red meteor” streaked through the cityscape, hitting the very center of the horned monster’s chest, which had only been dodging bullets until now.
“Grrrk?!”
“I hit it! I really hit it!”
Ha, as expected of me.
The more you refine something, the more proficient you become.
The moment the bowstring snapped, Yoon Ha-eun already knew her arrowhead would pierce through the horned monster’s body.
Of course—when it came to archery, no one could surpass her.
Like a true “nation of archers,” she had developed her skills to the point where it had become second nature.
That’s why she preferred gunfights.
Switching to a bow made the battle too…
“Grrr…”
“…Huh?”
…easy…?
“Graaaaaahhhhhh!”
Her red meteor-like arrow!
Something was wrong.
She had clearly seen the attack land directly.
Yet, instead of leaving even a small wound on its chest, the monster merely brushed off the area nonchalantly.
Rising from where it had briefly stumbled, Kang Jang-hoon let out a deafening roar.
Yoon Ha-eun didn’t know what to say.
“Oh, oh… Ughh?!?”
Her eyes rolled halfway upward in shock.
“My arrow didn’t even leave a scratch? I’ve never encountered anything like this before!”
This is supposed to be a mere Grade 1 monster?
Don’t be ridiculous.
This is like buying an S-size outfit only to realize it’s actually an XL and freaking out!
Of course, I’m talking about clothes.
Anyway, unlike bullets, which could ricochet, arrows had overwhelming penetration power.
Since their attack pattern was linear, Kang Jang-hoon could now easily track down Yoon Ha-eun’s new sniping position.
“Oh no… I got caught?!”
At this point, it was all or nothing.
Might as well go all the way!
Thinking this, Yoon Ha-eun realized that even if she kept running, she’d get caught eventually.
Like a noble paladin on the verge of corruption!
If she was going to get caught anyway, she might as well give it everything she had.
She drew the bowstring even harder than before.
“Don’t make me laugh, even if you…”
“Grrr.”
“…You’ve only been hit once!”
Thwack!
If you think an S-rank hero’s bow is only as strong as an Olympic archer’s, you’re sorely mistaken.
While athletes train in safe environments to refine their skills, heroes like her reached this level purely through “real combat.”
No matter how dangerous or dire the situation, they never stop drawing their bowstrings.
A true archer.
A true hero.
That was her role.
But then.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
“He’s deflecting… all my arrows?”
As if slapping the face of a rebellious woman.
Every time the arrowhead imbued with red magic flew toward him, the horned-masked monster casually swatted it aside with his palm.
No matter how many arrows she fired, it was meaningless.
If anything, each shot only exposed her position further.
Then, before she knew it, the monster had reached the floor directly below the building she was standing on.
Drip…
“H-He really came all the way up here…!”
A puddle of sweat had formed at Yoon Ha-eun’s feet.
At the same time, using the building’s outer walls as footholds, the horned-masked monster, Kang Jang-hoon, finally leaped onto the rooftop where she stood.
“You mean… he took all my attacks and is still fine…?”
“Grrrrr.”
“H-However, I’m still fine too! Weapon transformation!”
Now facing the monster at a mere ten-meter distance, Yoon Ha-eun refused to admit it was over.
She quickly transformed her large bow once more, this time into two small, sharp daggers, one in each hand.
As she did, her bulletproof vest also reverted to its original form.
Huff. Huff. Huff.
For the record, that was her breathing.
Like a pervert witnessing their long-awaited fantasy come true… no, like an obsessed otaku, she was breathing heavily.
Her usually bright, glossy heart-shaped pupils trembled violently, almost as if they were about to turn bloodshot.
“For your information, I’ve slaughtered over 1,000 monsters so far!”
“Grrk…?”
“So if you want to replace all the ones I’ve killed, you’re going to have a really hard time!”
Huff. Huff. Huff. Huff.
“But as an S-rank hero, I will never submit to a monster!”
“…”
“Even if I’m forcibly impregnated by a monster! Even if my limbs are cut off and I’m dragged around like a pet! Even if I have to carve tally marks on my swollen belly for every child I give birth to!”
“…”
“Even if they pierce my nose like a cow! Even if I end up violated by my own offspring and they turn into my ‘husband-sons’!”
Huff! Huff! Huff! Huff! Huff!
“I will never surrender to you, you filthy mon—?!”
Smack!
…Thud.
Just like in those explicit doujinshi she had read!
Her delusions were on the verge of turning into reality, even warping her expression into something indecent.
But thankfully, those twisted fantasies were shattered.
With a single, powerful flick to the forehead from Kang Jang-hoon, the monster seemingly possessed by the spirit of an Eastern gentleman.
“Grrrk. Grrrk.”
‘A young maiden shouldn’t be saying things like that.’
The next day.
The news of the S-rank hunter’s failed attempt to subdue the horned-masked monster in City C was plastered all over national television.
Of course, the person receiving the most attention was none other than Yoon Ha-eun, who had failed to take me down.
“Yoon Ha-eun, how do you feel about failing a monster subjugation for the first time since becoming an S-rank hero?”
“It’s been reported that you wet yourself when you encountered the monster—was it really that terrifying?”
“There are rumors that this monster is the same one that gave Hero Makoto trouble in City E in the past. What are your thoughts on that?”
“If you face it again, do you think you’ll be able to win next time?”
Waking up on a rooftop in the middle of the day, Yoon Ha-eun found herself surrounded by reporters.
Even watching from the TV, I felt drained just seeing it.
But as expected of a hero—no, as expected of that ridiculous pervert—she still held her head high.
“I will personally defeat that horned-masked monster.”
Watching her boldly declare her determination toward me, I couldn’t help but chuckle wryly.
She hadn’t changed at all in the past ten years.
Well…
“What’s so funny?”
“Nothing…”
Though, to be honest, I was in no position to laugh.
“Why haven’t you been answering my calls, Jang-hoon?”
“…I’m sorry.”
“Do you want to die?”
“No…”
Now, in the almost fully repaired Okami family estate, I found myself kneeling before Miss Hoshino, who radiated a murderous aura.
Of course, the reason was obvious.
Early this morning, I had tried to sneak back onto the estate—only to run into the lady, who hadn’t slept at all.
“So? Why were you late?”
“Well… it was my first time visiting the school, so I wandered around for a bit… and before I knew it, time had gotten away from me…”
“…So what you’re saying is, school was more interesting than answering my calls?”
“…Uhh.”
I couldn’t come up with an answer.
I scrambled to make up any excuse, but instead of making things better, I felt like I was sinking deeper into a pit.
As I nervously avoided her gaze, the lady let out a low murmur.
“So… there were little rats at school too, huh…”
Muttering to herself, she suddenly looked down at me.
“Is school really that fun?”
“…Huh?”
With her slit pupils narrowing, she lifted my chin and stared me down.
“Then I’ll go too.”
“…What?”
“To that school.”
I should have been happy.
But for some reason, I had a very bad feeling about this so-called “admission notice” she just gave me.