An A-rank Elite Monster, the Bone Drake.

At the appearance of an entity they’d never imagined, the hunters, Walfred included, froze in place.

"A-an Elite Monster?!"

"And A-rank, no less...?"

Bewildered eyes. Horrified faces.

The atmosphere on the scene was chaos itself. Just then, the enormous shadow cast over the ground grew larger and larger.

And a moment later.

Booooom!

A monster of colossal size landed at the Prospect Park Station intersection. It was different from every monster they’d seen so far, starting with its very appearance.

True to the name Bone Drake, its entire body, from its head to its wings, was made of bone.

Then the Bone Drake slowly swept its empty eyes over the hunters on the ground.

"...!?"

The instant his eyes met its gaze.

Walfred felt the air in his lungs freeze. It was the same for the other hunters. They held even their breath and trembled all over.

"Wh-what on earth is that...?"

"...A Bone Drake."

The one who answered the question was Jonah.

Saying that he had encountered a Bone Drake in the past, he added an explanation.

"It’s a death-attribute Elite Monster, the worst kind of beast, with over eighty percent resistance to every attribute except light and life."

"Over eighty percent to every attribute...?"

"Yes, and worst of all, taking down an A-rank Elite Monster requires at least five hunters of equal rank."

"...!?"

The hunters’ eyes went wide.

If that was the case, it was safe to say they had practically no chance of winning. Just as everyone’s faces were rapidly darkening, Jonah spoke again.

"I’ll draw its attention."

"...What?"

"In that gap, all of you get down underground."

Jonah wore a grim expression.

At the sight of it, the hunters who had trusted and followed him shook their heads as if it were absurd.

"You can’t! How could we...?"

"We can’t leave you behind, Chief."

And then, in that instant. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"I told you to go, now! Do you all want to die?!"

"...!?"

Jonah bellowed.

When the man who always spoke gently with a kind face hardened his expression and shouted, the hunters finally seemed to grasp the gravity of the situation and got moving.

"Inferno Aura! Flame Body!"

Meanwhile, Jonah used his fire-attribute skills one after another to draw the Bone Drake’s attention.

A B-rank hunter’s desperate resistance.

Seizing that opening, the hunters dove underground one by one. Walfred too gritted his teeth and started toward the underground.

But just then.

Crrrk.

The Drake’s neck cracked grotesquely.

A moment later, it ignored Jonah and whipped its head around. The place those empty eye sockets were staring at was none other than where Walfred stood.

And then.

Krrrk! Krrrshhh!

With a sound like the air being torn apart, it charged. Straight at Walfred, who had just reached Exit 3 and was about to head underground.

"Crazy...!"

Walfred instinctively yanked his body backward.

At the same instant, the Bone Drake’s massive jaws swallowed up the very spot where he’d been standing.

Crrrunch! Chomp!

The sight of the concrete floor being ripped away like butter. Had he stayed there, he’d have been swallowed whole on the spot.

Just as cold sweat trickled down on its own.

Jonah rushed at the Bone Drake.

Flying through the air at it, he swung a flame-wreathed fist and shouted urgently.

"Walfred! Run!"

It sounded like he was saying he’d buy time, so run in the meantime. But Walfred had neither the room to answer nor any way to run.

Thud! Booom!

Because the Bone Drake ignored Jonah and relentlessly chased Walfred and only Walfred.

Spreading its enormous wings to block Walfred’s path, the beast swung its long tail like a whip.

Whoosh! Krrrashhh!

The tail came flying in, tearing through the air.

The impact ripped up the concrete floor, and every building struck by the tail collapsed.

Truly terrifying power. Walfred swallowed dryly. Just then, Jonah shouted with a puzzled expression.

"Why is it only after you?!"

"I don’t know either!"

Walfred, who had narrowly dodged the follow-up attack, answered hastily.

’No, why are you flipping out at me?!’

If anything, he wanted to ask the question. Why it was only after him. But the Bone Drake didn’t answer, only kept raining down its fierce assault.

Walfred, continuously dodging the attacks, was quickly driven into a corner, and the Bone Drake didn’t miss it, thrusting in its sharp talons.

"Burst!"

An instant before the talons could seize Walfred.

Walfred used [Snow Walker]’s [Instant Burst] to barely dodge the attack. Just as he was repeating the precarious exchange.

Crrrk! Kabooom!

The little building behind him collapsed with a thunderous noise. Then, stepping over the fallen debris, enormous chunks of ice came bursting out.

They were Ice Golems.

"Oh, shit..."

The Bone Drake in front.

And the Ice Golems behind.

In a perfectly surrounded situation, all he could manage now was a hollow laugh. But in that instant, a scene he’d never imagined unfolded.

Thud! Thud-thud-thud!

The Ice Golems that had suddenly appeared ignored Walfred and abruptly charged at the Drake.

And not only that, they swung their fists too.

Whaaam!

A heavy impact sound followed.

The Drake’s head turned slightly. At the sight, Walfred couldn’t hide his bewilderment.

’What? Why are they fighting each other?’

He couldn’t tell the reason.

But one thing was certain.

’This is my chance!’

Right now was the time to run.

Seizing the moment while the Bone Drake was tied up, Walfred quickly kicked off the ground.

"Over here! Hurry!"

Jonah waved from in front of Exit 3.

Walfred used [Instant Burst], whose charge had finished at just the right time, and closed the distance in a single instant.

Now all he had to do was get underground.

But in that instant.

[Kyiiieeeeeek!]

The Bone Drake let out a shriek.

It wasn’t a mere shriek. It was a shockwave so powerful that the snow piled on the ground heaved up and cracks ran through the bodies of the Ice Golems.

And it wasn’t just the golems caught up in it.

"Kak! Hack, hack!"

"Urgh! Bleeegh!"

Jonah and Walfred up on the surface were also struck head-on by the Bone Drake’s shockwave.

A feeling of his head ringing and his stomach turning over.

Soon after, dark red blood came gushing out of every opening, eyes, nose, mouth, and ears included. The pain was so immense that even his vision blurred.

"Kugh!"

In the meantime, Jonah lost his balance and tumbled down the stairs as if pitched headlong. The hunters below rushed over to him.

"Ch-chief!"

"Get the chief! Hurry!"

Thanks to the hunters’ quick response, Jonah was spared from slamming into the floor.