Chapter 60 : Wolf
Chapter 60: Wolf
“It won’t be any different. At least not for us.”
Kim Hana answered with a shrug.
Her reply clearly showed that she fully trusted not only her own strength but Baek Woohyun’s as well.
Since she had personally crossed swords with him in a spar, her confidence had more than enough basis—and honestly, Baek Woohyun felt the same way.
He had questioned her overly casual declaration that it “wouldn’t be different,” but still.
‘Anything below danger assessment grade B is all roughly the same level anyway.’
Over ‘there’, Baek Woohyun had once solo-cleared Reverse Worlds up to grade S.
No matter how weakened he was now, a lowest-tier or just-above-lowest-tier Reverse World couldn’t possibly pose a threat.
Whether the invading entities were insect-type, beast-type, or even special-type, to him they were all just small fry.
“Anyway, I think that’s enough explanation—shall we head out?”
“Yes, let’s go.”
Baek Woohyun and Kim Hana left the Otherworld Management Bureau headquarters and headed straight for the mountain where the Reverse World had opened, arriving without much delay.
The area around the mountain was cordoned off with the familiar ‘No Entry Except Authorized Personnel’ tape stretched out long, seemingly encircling the entire mountain.
Unlike before, however, the people beyond the tape were not fully armed military units. Naturally, there were no tanks ready to fire at a moment’s notice either.
It wasn’t hard to understand why. With no signs of the Reverse World going berserk, it would be difficult to station troops around a mountain right in the middle of the city.
Thus, guarding the entrance in place of the military were three security guards who appeared to be from a private security company.
“…Are you from the Otherworld Management Bureau?”
The lead security guard asked in a low voice.
They must have recognized the combat uniforms Baek Woohyun and Kim Hana were wearing.
Of course—they were tasked with guarding Reverse Worlds, so it would be strange if they didn’t know what Bureau agents wore.
“That’s right. I’m Kim Hana, Team 2 agent of the Otherworld Management Bureau. This is Baek Woohyun, also from the same affiliation.”
“What is the purpose of your visit?”
“Reverse World clearing.”
Kim Hana handed over the documents she had brought from the car. The guard cautiously accepted them and quickly scanned the contents.
The contents were obvious: Bureau agents, here to clear the Reverse World, full cooperation requested, etc.
The guard soon returned the documents and asked,
“Is there anything we can assist with?”
“No, we’re fine.”
“Understood.”
After exchanging glances, the security guards stepped aside.
From now on, they would simply prevent civilians from entering the restricted zone and handle cleanup depending on the clearing result.
Success meant removing the tape and preparing to withdraw; failure meant reporting to the Bureau and requesting support.
Given that the agents who came were Baek Woohyun and Kim Hana, the probability of the former was roughly 99%.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
Baek Woohyun and Kim Hana passed the guards and moved deeper inside. The Reverse World entrance was around the middle of the mountain, so they had to go further in.
Fortunately, it wasn’t far off the hiking trail, so finding the entrance wasn’t difficult.
Even if it had been farther, the Bureau would have already scouted the area, making it easier to reach anyway.
‘Alright—’
Standing in front of the Reverse World entrance, Baek Woohyun first pulled ‘Soul Eater’ out of <Shadow Storage>.
The moment the unique heavy weight of the over-2-meter greatsword transmitted through his grip, a faint smile appeared on his lips.
He was looking forward to swinging his cherished weapon to his heart’s content after so long—an event that, by his original plan, should have happened much later.
“……”
“……”
Having finished all preparations, Baek Woohyun and Kim Hana exchanged silent glances before stepping up to the entrance.
As with previous Reverse Worlds, the entrance reacted to their presence. It rippled violently before fully opening.
Once again, nothing could be seen beyond—just the usual murky gray.
The two crossed the gray veil and faced a roughly 10-meter passage, which they traversed without issue.
Naturally, there was no sudden explosion or heavy tremor that collapsed the tunnel.
Last time had been a special case; Hunting Dogs sabotaging the passage from the outside was extremely rare.
“Since we’re only here to test the weapon, I’ll just watch from behind.”
Kim Hana said the moment they finished entering the Reverse World.
“Of course, if it looks dangerous I’ll step in. Though—with your skill, Woohyun-ssi, that won’t happen.”
“Understood.”
Baek Woohyun calmly nodded.
And at that exact moment, as if it had been waiting, a long, sharp howl echoed from afar—Awooooo—!
It carried obvious killing intent that anyone could sense. The reason was clear.
The wolf monsters inside this Reverse World had detected the intruders, Baek Woohyun and Kim Hana—whether by instinct or some other means.
“…They’ll swarm us soon.”
Wolves were pack animals with extremely strong territorial instincts.
The same applied to wolf-based invading entities. As Kim Hana said, the moment an intruder appeared, they would all charge in to kill.
It was the result of combining the original creature’s instincts with the murderous impulse toward humans that all dimensional invaders were granted.
“At least we don’t have to go looking for them.”
“That’s one advantage.”
While Baek Woohyun rested ‘Soul Eater’ on his shoulder and chatted idly with Kim Hana, low growling began to echo around them.
Before they knew it, the wolf monsters had completely surrounded them. Their stealth and speed were befitting four-legged beasts.
One by one, the wolf monsters began to reveal themselves from the bushes.
At a glance, they were the size of tigers, with blazing crimson eyes, bared razor-sharp fangs, and muzzles dripping thick saliva.
They looked like wolves grotesquely twisted and enlarged—utterly horrific.
An ordinary person would have panicked and fled at the sight of even one.
“Good luck~”
Kim Hana called out as she casually sat on a nearby rock.
That became the signal.
The revealed wolves charged at Baek Woohyun all at once—completely ignoring Kim Hana, focusing solely on him.
Probably because he was standing slightly ahead and openly displaying combat intent while holding ‘Soul Eater’.
-Grraaaargh!
-Grrraaah!
A ferocious pack of wolves lunging from front, back, left, and right, aiming to tear him apart.
What might seem a life-or-death crisis to someone else was met with perfect calm by Baek Woohyun. His inverted eyes, black and white reversed, remained heavily sunken.
But that didn’t mean he was doing nothing. His concentration facing danger was, at this very moment, sharpened to a razor’s edge.
“——!”
And when that heightened focus surpassed its limit, the world before him slowed infinitely.
The wolves leaping with bared fangs froze in mid-air; even the saliva flying from their muzzles was visible as suspended droplets.
The limited time-acceleration phenomenon created by soaring assimilation rate and runaway senses—commonly known as the ‘slowed world’—had arrived.
‘First strike.’
Baek Woohyun gritted his teeth and poured strength into the hand gripping ‘Soul Eater’. Superhuman grip strength clenched the hilt as if to crush it.
In that state, he twisted his body greatly—opening his chest and swinging ‘Soul Eater’ from his shoulder all the way behind his back.
A preparatory stance like drawing an arrow on a bowstring, ready to unleash explosive power at any moment—
‘Full force!’
The next instant.
A vivid trajectory was carved through the air.
thud-thud—!
Two chunks of meat that had once been wolf monsters and a shower of blood hit the ground with a gruesome sound.
A perfectly clean ‘line’ drawn from Baek Woohyun had sliced everything within a 2-meter radius.
The five wolf monsters had undoubtedly been bisected and killed before they could even register what happened, let alone dodge.
“fwooo…”
With a single slash, Baek Woohyun had killed five wolf monsters and turned the surroundings into a sea of blood. He let out a long breath.
The uniquely heavy yet intense sensation of a greatsword—something he couldn’t feel with any other weapon—made his hands tingle.
The cherished sword he thought he would only obtain much later was, just like ‘over there’, utterly satisfying.
No wonder it had been his absolute favorite among countless weapons.
“…Thousand Moon Slash…?”
Kim Hana’s voice came from behind at that moment.
She muttered with a puzzled expression, “Thousand Moon Slash? No, it’s a bit different. But—”
Baek Woohyun didn’t bother turning around.
He understood why she was confused. While his swordsmanship overall carried strong traces of hers, that slash just now had been on another level.
It was something he had created in his own way after witnessing the technique called ‘Thousand Moon Slash’ that she had used against him ‘over there’—so of course she would find it strange.
How could someone she met for the first time today use a technique similar to one she had never shown him?
-Grrrr…
“……”
Fortunately, plenty of wolf monsters still remained despite five being killed, so Baek Woohyun was spared an immediate barrage of questions.
Even if she asked, his answer was already decided—he would simply say it was his self-taught style and leave it at that.
In any case, right now he had to deal with the living wolf monsters first.
-Grraaaargh!
The wolves had momentarily cowered at the sight of their kin being instantly butchered, but they soon overcame instinct and charged again.
Dimensional invaders were granted murderous intent toward the original species—humans—on an instinctual level.
One of them let out a tiger-like roar despite being a wolf and tried to crush Baek Woohyun under its weight, clearly planning to pin him down and rip out his throat.
“ssss—”
slaaash!
Baek Woohyun stepped forward to meet it, simultaneously swinging ‘Soul Eater’, which he had raised overhead, straight down.
A chilling downward slash! Though not as powerful as the first strike, it carried more than enough force to split one wolf in half.
And that is exactly what happened. The wolf that had tried to crush him was cleaved in two and fell past him on both sides.
A perfectly natural result when the full weight of a greatsword over 2 meters long was behind the blow.
-Grraaaagh!
-Grr, grraaah!
Yet even after another met a gruesome death, the wolves’ assault did not stop.
This time two charged simultaneously from left and right—even timing their attacks with a slight delay to prevent being cut down together!