A dark night.
Moonlight illuminated the procession of a group.
Their appearance was anything but ordinary.
Some of the group were armed with rotting skin and dented armor.
They were ghouls.
Cold death dwelled in their eyes, and unidentified bugs crawled between their decaying teeth.
Letting out unpleasant groans, they slowly advanced.
Whenever they passed, the flowers and plants along the roadside began to wither at a rapid pace.
But the group was not made up of ghouls alone.
There were also beings alongside the ghouls who made up the horde.
They radiated beauty like butterflies fluttering through the darkness.
If one approached fooled only by their outer appearance, they would be seized by death.
A sweet yet dangerous charm—incubi.
The horde was largely composed of ghouls and incubi.
But was that all?
Among the group were knights armed in dark plate armor and holding shields—Death Knights.
Beside them was even an Arch Lich, dressed in luxurious robes and holding a thick tome.
Their appearance was like an army of death that had sprung forth from hell itself.
Someone might call it thus:
The Legion of Death.
And the being leading them from the very front was Azmo.
"Heh…."
Azmo, who led the army of death, looked at the Hunters who had appeared before him and let out a genuine exclamation of admiration.
"Hunters truly are a quick lot."
Ever since Azmo had emerged from the Dungeon, Hunters had continuously appeared before him.
And those Hunters kept blocking Azmo's path.
He hadn't known when he was inside the Dungeon, but their response speed was faster than expected.
Of course, that was not a problem.
The Hunters he had met so far had been the same, and the ones standing before him now were merely chaff as well.
Azmo only needed to spread his Master's will.
"Blocking my path is no different from blocking the plan of a great being. I shall bestow mercy upon you all. Please step back now."
Azmo spoke to the Hunters before him in the gentlest voice possible.
In truth, ever since leaving the Dungeon, Azmo had been avoiding ruthless slaughter.
He had even gone so far as to coax and placate the Hunters who blocked his path, sending them back.
Except, that is, for the occasional foolhardy ones who charged in without fear.
Those ones usually charged directly at the Death Knights, so it was not a situation where Azmo needed to interfere.
They were swept away like scraps of paper by the swords the Death Knights wielded, and in the end transformed into ghouls, joining the army.
Except for such cases, he bestowed mercy upon everyone.
Now, too, the Hunters began to waver upon hearing Azmo's words.
"……."
Had Azmo's words gotten through?
After a brief moment, the Hunters in front began to lower their weapons.
It was a gesture showing that they had absolutely no intention to fight.
The Hunters knew full well.
No matter how much they claimed to protect the world, they could not stop the army of death before their eyes.
Because charging in would literally be a dog's death.
Just looking at the ghouls, weren't they armed with familiar equipment?
Seeing that alone, they could tell that Hunters who had charged in before them had been transformed into ghouls.
And that they had turned into ghouls meant…
'There's even a Death Knight…!'
This Monster Wave would not be easy.
No, it was clear that this would become the worst incident imaginable.
"As expected, you are quick to understand. You shall all become precious workers who labor for a great being someday. For that glorious moment, you must preserve yourselves."
Once Azmo showed he had no intention to attack, the Hunters discarded their weapons and quickly vanished from the spot.
The weapons the Hunters left behind went to the ghouls or incubi.
In this manner, Azmo continued forward, bestowing mercy upon all.
It was absolutely not because Azmo felt sympathy for humans that he acted this way.
All of this was for the Master's plan moving forward.
'Mercy….'
Azmo fell into contemplation for a moment.
He recalled what Lady Celia had once told him.
That the Master was a merciful person.
And that was why she had said he must show the Master's mercy to others.
Of course, the mercy Azmo thought of differed from Celia's notion.
If the mercy Celia spoke of meant suppressing them and drawing them into the Master's embrace, Azmo argued that they should be left alone rather than suppressed.
Leaving them be itself would make them into workers who labored for the Master.
Relationships forged through suppression were too artificial.
Artificial methods were not beautiful.
A posture that naturally praised the great one, making them spontaneously revere the noble one—that was the truly beautiful form.
For the sake of that beautiful form, Azmo avoided ruthless slaughter.
That did not mean, however, that he was acting without a plan.
He intended to keep advancing like this and meet the king who ruled the nation.
After meeting the king, he planned to convey the great Master's will and seek cooperation.
'Of course, that process will not be easy.'
If Lady Celia were to directly involve herself in the current matter, it would have been easy.
But the problem was that he did not possess power like Lady Celia's.
And though perhaps not immediately, increasingly powerful Hunters would likely gather.
Having felt the Hunters' strength while inside the Dungeon all this time, he knew this well.
'Still, if it is for the great one….'
He only needed to prove that he himself was loyal to the Master.
Azmo glanced back.
Fortunately, the apostles who followed the great one—the Death Knight and the Arch Lich—were with him.
Even so, they were not his own strength.
Still, their mere presence here was of great help.
Because everyone's attention would be drawn to the Death Knight and Arch Lich.
Just as Azmo was organizing his thoughts.
"Hoo."
Another group of Hunters appeared.
"They are different from the chaff I've met until now."
They exuded a completely different momentum from those he had faced before.
Hunters possessing powerful strength.
And around them were several humans.
They all held something that Azmo knew well.
Cameras.
Back when he had pursued extreme beauty.
He had once stolen cameras from intruders who entered the Dungeon.
Azmo learned that they were objects that recorded appearances, and that he could record the beauty of himself and his subordinates with them.
He still kept that camera safely stored in his Dungeon.
This thing called 'recording' was a symbol possessed only by those with power.
In Azmo's mind, cameras were not used by just any random humans.
In short, the Hunters before him were strong.
If not, would there be humans holding cameras around them when death could come at any moment?
And there was not just one or two such humans.
Surely, this meant they were not picturing a scenario where they would lose.
And several people had gathered to record the moment of their victory.
Recording strength….
And with multiple people at that.
This soon meant the Hunters before him were likely beings close to those in power.
Or perhaps they were the power holders themselves.
If they were national power holders, they would be close to the ruling king.
At least, that was what Azmo thought.
Therefore, unlike before, he politely introduced himself.
"I am Azmo, a servant who follows the great one."
To spread the Master's will widely, finding the king first was the priority.
"I wish to negotiate with you. Could you take me to your king?"
But nothing pleasant came from the other party's mouth.
"Hah, talking nonsense."
Instead, they drew their weapons toward Azmo.
Even so, Azmo continued speaking calmly.
"I believe this is a good option for you as well? I am giving you an opportunity. A glorious opportunity for you to follow the great one."
"Where does a mere monster get off running its mouth? You will all die here today!"
The man who appeared to be the leader of the Hunter group erupted in fiery rage.
That leader was A-Rank Hunter Han Jeongcheol.
He was the team leader of the Emergency Response Team under the Hunter Association.
* * *
"T-Team Leader!"
Hunter I Mirae of the Emergency Response Team shouted as she looked at Han Jeongcheol.
"Still, wouldn't it be better to at least hear out the negotiation…? In a direction that minimizes damage, even a little—"
"No!"
Han Jeongcheol drew a firm line in response to I Mirae's pleading.
Of course, her words were also valid.
Negotiation.
A sweet word.
There were indeed monsters with high intelligence among them.
There were Hunters who used that fact to negotiate with Dungeon masters.
Of course, while it was called negotiation, in most cases it was merely the weak side begging the strong side to spare them.
And in the current situation, they must absolutely not agree to negotiate.
Because.
"Why has the Emergency Response Team, which hasn't revealed itself until now, been deployed this time?!"
"Are those the monsters causing the Monster Wave?"
"What does the Association think about this situation! Could it not have been prevented in advance?"
The reporters couldn't stay still upon seeing the Emergency Response Team reveal itself for the first time in a long while.
Thanks to that, Han Jeongcheol started with a sigh.
There were even some individuals doing personal broadcasts.
No matter how much they were all Awakeners, the current situation was dangerous.
It wouldn't have been strange if something happened at any moment.
Yet they had followed all the way here.
'Sigh….'
It wasn't that he couldn't understand.
The more dangerous the scene, the more the public's attention was focused, making it more valuable to cover, and they probably thought they were safe since the Emergency Response Team had come.
"First, get all the reporters back!"
Han Jeongcheol shouted to his team members.
The more watching eyes around them, the more constraints on their activities.
For example, if they responded to the negotiation the monster mentioned earlier, they would be criticized for it; if they didn't and suffered damage, they would be criticized for that too.
"By the way, negotiation…."
He chewed over the word negotiation.
The negotiation those ones were talking about now was of a different nature.
The one at the front had said a moment ago.
'Follow the great one…?'
Their demand was just one.
To follow their master.
Of course, regardless of whether reporters were present or not, it was such utter nonsense that Han Jeongcheol had no intention whatsoever of agreeing to negotiate.
Han Jeongcheol's gaze turned to the knight in black armor in the back.
Its aura was tremendously ominous.
That one was probably the main culprit leading this incident.
Perhaps it was even the Dungeon master.
Ghouls and incubi filled the surroundings.
Especially, the ghouls were equipped with Hunter gear.
'It seems they've already turned Hunters into ghouls.'
Han Jeongcheol shouted to his team members.
"Everyone, be careful. The enemy is the A-Rank monster, Death Knight! But don't focus only on him!"
In fact, the incubus that had been speaking of negotiation until a moment ago also possessed an extraordinary aura.
And that wasn't all.
There was even a Lich beside the Death Knight.
"Team Leader, surely it's not an Arch Lich?"
He shook his head firmly at I Mirae's question.
"We already have an A-Rank monster, the Death Knight. So how could another A-Rank appear here?"
For now, Han Jeongcheol wanted to believe it was a Death Knight and a Lich.
'Arch Lich….'
The countermeasures for a Lich and an Arch Lich differed as much as heaven and earth.
If a Lich simply caused undead to explode, an Arch Lich was said to possess the ability to resurrect the dead as skeletons.
But to have not only a Death Knight but also an Arch Lich here?
Absolutely.
Absolutely not.
Han Jeongcheol took a deep breath.
"All personnel, combat ready!"
It was time to fight in earnest.
"Most of them are undead! I Mirae! Initiate the holy attack first!"
At the team leader's command, I Mirae drew out holy power.
Light began to burst forth from her body.
"Buff Mirae! We have to finish this in one blow!"
There was no second time.
They had to deal maximum damage with this attack.
Of course, he didn't think they could eliminate the Death Knight.
The target of this attack had been the ghouls and the Lich from the start.
If they took care of the rest, they might somehow be able to handle the Death Knight.
I Mirae's body glowed increasingly brighter.
And.
Light was fired at the monster horde.
Boom—
Light exploded instantly, driving away the darkness. At the same time, it created thick smoke.
"We got them!!"
Even to Han Jeongcheol, this attack was a great success.
He immediately ordered his team members to prepare to attack.
"Once the smoke clears, everyone prepare to att—"
But the situation did not unfold as he had thought.
"…!"
It wasn't just Han Jeongcheol.
His team members were also staring blankly at the scene.
The reporters who had been chattering until moments ago, and even those doing personal broadcasts, fell silent.
"Huh?"
Someone broke the quiet silence.
"T-this doesn't make sense."
It was I Mirae.
As she said, the current scene made absolutely no sense.
An attack fired with the full might of everyone buffing her was blocked by the Death Knight's shield.
Flutter—
Something was fluttering in front of the Death Knight's shield.
"A-a maid outfit…?"
It was a maid outfit.
A maid outfit was fluttering in front of the shield the Death Knight held.
Everyone's mouths fell open at the sight.
What was going on right now?
It was utterly bizarre.
It was frightening.
"……."
They couldn't say a word.
The scene was being crudely captured and broadcast by the cameras of the reporters and those doing personal broadcasts.
Naturally, the reactions were going wild.