Episode 114

The ape looked shocked.

There were very few creatures of that size that didnt die after he attacked them. Furthermore, this creature was even standing upright and provoking him. It thoroughly annoyed him.

Kraah-!

The ape roared angrily. It was loud enough to shake the entire ground. However, his opponent seemed unfazed.

Lets see Yoo-seongs mind was somewhere else.

His senses were slowly roaming every corner of his body. His heart, which had previously been beating with anxiety and exhaustion, was now calmed.

It was now completely under Auto-Hunts influence.

What changed?

He checked his bones and muscles, his arms and legs. Of course, they were now energized by new fuel, but it seemed that nothing much had changed.

His core.

Thats what changed, he decided.

The heat that constantly boiled in his lower abdomen felt different. Something beyond his understanding had been created in his core.

Then again, what was Yoo-seongs limited knowledge compared to the vast field of nature?

For humankind, CE was practically a new discovery with a very short history. Researchers had judged the Jade Pill as full of impurities because it was filled with unidentifiable energy.

However, Auto-Hunt knew what to do with it. Now Yoo-seongs core had changed.

And here. Yoo-seong looked at the top right part of the Auto-Hunt view.

There was another change there: a rectangular-shaped object lying horizontally, with what seemed like vertical bars filling it. It was a very familiar shape to Yoo-seong and everyone in modern times.

Battery? he muttered. Suddenly

Dooung-!

The Thunder Ape moved. The six humps on its back were raging violently.

Jeeee-!

Like a lightning rod, the apes ivory horn glowed after it had been struck by lightning.

Electrical sparks enveloped its dark brown body. It was as if electricity had the same effect as steroids, as the apes muscles appeared to have grown more massive.

As it prepared to launch forward, the asphalt it was standing on collapsed due to pressure. Then

Quazzik-!!

The Thunder Ape leaped. It had a transcendental level of acceleration that made it look like it had disappeared from its spot.

In less than a second, it was already upon Yoo-seong, its fists filled with electricity. Meanwhile, Yoo-seong did not move.

Swoo-

Aura blossomed around him. It was the same thing that had happened hours ago when Chika Sukune threw a blood spear at him.

However, this time, the fist that was upon him was several times stronger than that.

Bang-!

There was a flash of lightning.

The Thunder Ape felt the recoil climb up its arm until it reached its shoulder. It gave the sensation of a solid punch.

With its primal intelligence, it was sure that blow had finished off its enemy.

However

When the glare of lightning subsided, Yoo-seong was still standing before the Thunder Ape.

Of course, it seemed that Yoo-seong had taken damage. His head had been pushed slightly sideways due to the impact. His cheek had also turned slightly reddish. However

Is that it? Yoo-seong asked the ape.

The Thunder Ape, feeling bewildered, stepped backward as it groaned.

It was now Yoo-seongs turn. With a fist filled with blue Aura

Pagak-!

The head of the beast was thrown back by the impact. It was a blow so great that the beast staggered despite its size. It was by no means a deadly blow to the ape, but it didnt move for a few seconds after taking the punch.

Its brain was developed enough to feel embarrassment. How could this tiny creature survive both its blow and counter-attack?

Huh! Yoo-seong exhaled as he quickly stepped back and put some distance between them.

So, this is what it is

He now fully understood the changes that had happened to him. The battery shape at the top-right of his view was now completely empty, and so was his core.

To block the impact of the apes punch, hed covered himself with a mist of Aura that turned to steel.

It was the same principle as when he made footholds with Steel Steps.

However, the difference was that the amount hed used as a shield was huge, without reservation.

Yoo-seong did not have a huge supply of CE. That was why Auto-Hunt always used the most efficient way to deal with any situation.

However, a few moments ago, hed gone all out.

Without thoughts of preservation, Auto-Hunt had scattered CE around him as a shield. Then it had used the remaining amount to deal a counter-punch.

Now Yoo-seongs core was completely empty. Something strange seemed to be happening as well.

Beep-!

A bar was added to the completely empty battery. At the same time, Yoo-seong felt a new energy in his core. Exactly one-quarter of CE was refilled.

Beep-!

Another bar appeared, and Yoo-seong felt that his core was already half-full once again.

Beep-

Just as another bar had been added

Quaang-!

The Thunder Ape was upon him once more. As before, it was a solid blow, sure to devastate whatever it came into contact with.

And indeed, Yoo-seongs body was thrown into the air.

Three-quarters of his total CE evaporated in his attempt to protect himself. But now

Beep-

By the time Yoo-seong landed, his core was already half-full again. Then Auto-Hunt made a beckoning gesture at the Thunder Ape.

This is not to my taste, Yoo-seong thought as he watched himself provoke the beast.

Why would Auto-Hunt make him do so? He assumed that it probably had an important reason. In addition to this, since he could now use his mouth under Auto-Hunt, why shouldnt he help their cause?

It was his creed always to do as much as he could.

Hey, you idiot! he yelled out.

Then he stuck out his tongue, like a child wanting to be chased.

Kraaaaaa-!

The beast roared furiously. Even if it didnt understand human words, Yoo-seongs gestures were clear.

Kaahahahah-!

The ape charged forward with its massive arms raised. Then, when it reached Yoo-seong, the ape brought its arms down like hammers.

Kwakwakwang-!

The impact was so powerful that the entire building seemed on the verge of collapse. However, the Thunder Ape did not stop.

Kaak-!

Kwakwang-!

Kaahak-!

Blinded with fury, the Thunder Ape smashed Yoo-seong continuously. Each blow from its fists was as heavy as a vehicle weighing more than ten tons. They were powerful enough to break the foundations of an earthquake-proofed building.

Finally

When the apes energy ran out, it stepped away. Dust and rubble filled the entire place.

When it cleared, Yoo-seong was still in his spot.

Damn it. He spat on the ground.

There was a limit to his charging speed, and it had consumed a lot of energy to defend himself. The Queens Hug was broken in several places.

Yoo-seongs face was also damaged.

One of his eyes was swollen, and he couldnt open it. His nose was also broken.

But fortunately

Beep-

Everything else seemed fine.

Beep-

Now his CE was again half-charged. From a prone position, Yoo-seong rose to his knees.

Beep-!

As he did, Auto-Hunt retrieved Aura from around him and stored it in his core.

Beep-

Then

Kwagang-! With his knee, Yoo-seong kicked the Thunder Apes groin. It was such a powerful blow that the beast couldnt even make a sound. The Thunder Ape began jumping up and down, then it rolled to the ground, groaning with pain.

Meanwhile, Yoo-seong kept provoking it.

Honestly, I thought you were a female. Its too small

He was starting to enjoy talking trash to his enemy.

Ka-a-a-a-a-ah-!

Tears and hatred built up in the beasts eyes. Suddenly

Kurreung-!

Thunder rumbled above them. Yoo-seong raised his head.

The skies were clear, but there were dark clouds above their heads.

Thud-!

From those clouds, a thunderbolt struck the ape.

What?! The shockwave was enough to push Yoo-seong backward.

It reminded him of something he had seen inside the crack earlier. There had been multiple streaks of lightning from afar.

It was the beast in front of him that had summoned them. And now the Thunder Ape seemed to be fully charged once more.

Dooung-!

Dooung-!

The six humps on its back were resonating with the sound of drums. At the same time

Thud-!

Thud-!

Two more lightning bolts struck the Thunder Apes ivory horn. This was the beasts true strength: the power to summon and control thunderclouds and store their energy within him.

It was an ability worthy of a god.

Kuung-!

There came the fourth thunderbolt.

Yoo-seong had also seen four lightning strikes inside the crack. With those four lightning charges, the Thunder Ape had annihilated the entire rush team.

However, now, it seemed that it was not satisfied with four bolts.

Kuung-!

The ape had already decided.

It would take as much energy as its body could endure in order to burn this creature in front of it to ashes.

After getting hit by several lightning strikes, the Thunder Ape was regaining its composure. No one, not even Yoo-seong, could be invincible against it.

Yoo-seong had no means to defeat it.

Getting hit in the groin was painful, but it was impossible for this creature to penetrate its skin and inflict internal injury. Most of all, he might not even be able to approach it once it had filled itself with the maximum amount of electricity.

Kuung-!

Lightning continued to gather in the apes ivory horn. It had no way of knowing that, six months ago, another entity of its level had committed the same mistake.

The Turtle Dragon and its pillar of flame.

Yoo-seong stood his ground, unmoving.

The monsters instinct sensed that something strange was happening. However, before the ape could understand what it was

Clink-!

A sword appeared on Yoo-seongs left wrist.

From it, red flames erupted. It had the energy of the dragons fire, comparable to that of the apes electricity.

Kuung-!

The last lightning bolt made its way into the Thunder Apes horn. But this time

Taang-!

The flaming sword on Yoo-seongs wrist shot out a pillar of fire in the apes trajectory.

Beep-

Yoo-seongs CE was being replenished almost as quickly as he consumed it, and the fire raged continuously.

Despite colliding with a lightning bolt, Yoo-seong was not damaged at all due to the strength of the dragons fire.

Kaa-!

The Thunder Ape quickly stepped back.

Although it hadnt been able to capture the last lightning bolt, it still had a lot of power stored in its horn.

One blow would finish this creature off.

However, its opponent was already upon it. It only took a moments delay. In a battle between two monsters, a moment was all it took.

Goo-oh-!

As the Thunder Ape stepped back, Yoo-seong used the opportunity to approach it, covered by the glare of lightning and fire. Then, with all his Aura focused on his wrist blade

Fuwoouk-!

A single blow without reservation struck the Thunder Ape in the middle of its eyebrows. This time, Yoo-seongs sword penetrated the beasts tough skin.

Thousands of degrees of heat cooked the monsters brain in an instant.

This marked the end of the battle.

***

The sound of a helicopter approaching.

Yoo-seong barely lifted his eyes at the sound as he sat on the corpse of the Thunder Ape. He was deep in thought.

It wont be easy, he decided.

He had quite a few things to go through. After his incident with Chairman Leto and Kodama, it would be a tough battle to get proper recognition of his achievements for this hunt.

Dudududu-!

Yoo-seong was expecting a Japanese official to get off the helicopter.

Whatever they say, he thought, I will not give this up.

Soon, he saw shiny black shoes stepping out of the helicopter. Those shoes are

Yoo-seong! the owner of those shoes yelled cheerfully.

Huh? Yoo-seong stared blankly at the man who ran to him and hugged him.

We did it! We did it! The middle-aged man was ecstatic.

Why is this person here? Yoo-seong remained puzzled.

Yang Chang-guk stood before him with a wide smile.