C-rank hunter, Bauer.

As the leader of the Lower Manhattan Tech District Hall Shelter, he took pride in the relatively stable life he’d been living lately.

The world may have frozen over and monsters may have roamed the streets, but he had comrades he could trust to watch his back and a warm place to call home.

Above all, the seafood pouring out of Blue Hole meant he never had to worry about going hungry, and the freshwater from Mirror Lake had solved their drinking water shortage.

They say prosperity breeds generosity.

As the shelter grew more prosperous, Bauer took in every refugee who’d fled from the White Dome.

But the peace didn’t last.

"What? Vampire bats showed up?"

"Y-yes! They attacked out of nowhere, and Jensen and everyone else... Ugh!"

A swarm of vampire bats, appearing without warning.

The uninvited guests had made the Lower Manhattan Tech Precinct their nest.

Unaware of this, the unawakened people who’d gone to Mirror Lake for drinking water were attacked by the swarm of vampire bats and drained to husks.

Out of twenty people, there was only one survivor.

Bauer, fueled by rage, summoned every hunter in the shelter. At the time, the Lower Manhattan Tech District Hall Shelter had a total of six hunters, himself included.

With himself, a C-rank, at the head, two D-ranks and three E-ranks.

He thought that would be more than enough to handle E-rank monsters like vampire bats.

’But...’

That assessment was dead wrong.

When night fell, the swarm of vampire bats that poured out of the precinct building was beyond anything he’d imagined.

Even so, they could’ve managed that much.

The real nightmare came after.

"Kihyaaaaak!"

A massive shadow emerged from the darkness.

E-rank Elite Monster, Blood Wing.

The truck-sized creature appeared out of nowhere, from a direction nobody had anticipated, and in an instant snatched up one of the D-rank hunters and soared into the sky.

"Aaaaaah! S-save me... Gakh!"

What followed was a horrific scene.

Blood Wing snapped the hunter’s neck and greedily drained his blood.

In a mere five seconds, Blood Wing had sucked every last drop and tossed the D-rank hunter’s corpse, nothing but skin and bones, like a piece of garbage.

"You son of a bitch!"

Bauer flew into a rage and unleashed a relentless assault.

But the creature was too fast, too cunning.

It exploited the building’s blind spots, darting in and out of the fallen darkness with hit-and-run tactics, and another E-rank hunter became its prey.

"Kihihihihi!"

Blood Wing, having devoured two of them in the blink of an eye.

The more hunter blood it drank, the larger it grew. The moment Bauer realized this, he swallowed his bitter fury and ordered the retreat.

"Fall back! Everyone, pull out!"

He’d determined that staying would mean total annihilation.

The one silver lining was that Blood Wing didn’t pursue them as they fled.

Several days passed after that.

When the shelter’s drinking water supply was nearly gone, Bauer set out on a search. And during that search, he happened to meet two hunters.

Walfred. And Lauren.

The moment Bauer saw the look in Walfred’s eyes, he knew. This guy was no stranger to combat. He’d be an asset in the fight against Blood Wing.

So he brought them back to the shelter.

Then he set out for another extermination. But he deliberately didn’t mention Blood Wing’s existence.

’I know it’s a cowardly move, but...’

He had no choice.

If Walfred knew there was an Elite Monster, he’d obviously run. But that worry turned out to be unfounded.

"Aaagh!"

"Ferd!"

Ferd went down under Blood Wing’s onslaught, and Rosa’s attacks proved useless.

Even in the worst possible situation, Walfred didn’t so much as flinch or show a hint of panic.

On the contrary, he hurled an ice spear with tremendous force and tore through the hide of that impossibly fast creature. Bauer was genuinely astonished by the sight.

’He’s standing up to an Elite Monster like that?’

Had he fought an Elite-class before?

That was how little ground Walfred conceded in the battle against Blood Wing.

But Blood Wing was no pushover either.

Having apparently decided that Walfred was the biggest nuisance, the creature focused its attacks on him. And Walfred took a direct hit from Blood Wing’s assault.

WHAM!

Caught by the ambush, Walfred was driven straight into the ground.

Bauer shouted urgently at the sight.

"...!? Walfred!"

He’d taken a hit powerful enough to crater the ground. An impact like that should have shattered bones or knocked him unconscious.

Sure enough.

There was no response from Walfred.

Meanwhile, Blood Wing descended with its jaws wide open, moving in for the kill.

"Get out of there!"

Bauer sprinted to save him, but Blood Wing was far faster. In the end, all he could do was scream.

Just when it seemed like it was over.

Something unbelievable happened.

Grab!

Walfred, whom everyone had assumed was unconscious, sprang to his feet and seized the creature by the neck. Blood Wing, stunned, rocketed skyward.

But Walfred clung on with everything he had.

Then, suspended in midair, he formed an ice axe and began hacking at the creature’s neck like a man possessed.

Thwack! Thwack-thwack! Crack!

Flesh tore and blood rained down.

Covered head to toe in blood, swinging his axe, Walfred looked like something straight out of a nightmare.

Unable to endure the assault any longer, Blood Wing screamed and plummeted, and Walfred finished it off with one final blow that shattered its skull.

"..."

Silence fell.

He’d actually taken down an Elite Monster by himself.

And in mid-air combat, the worst possible conditions.

Bauer stood frozen like a statue, staring blankly at the scene, unable to believe his eyes.

"...That’s beyond anything I expected."

"No kidding. I figured he’d be around my level at best, or weaker than you, chief..."

Rosa, standing beside him, was just as speechless.

That was not the physical ability of a D-rank.

C-rank upper tier at minimum, possibly even higher. Bauer and Rosa couldn’t take their eyes off Walfred for a long time.