The giant creature stretched its wings and the cave shook with each step it took. Stones fell on all corners and its eyes glowed as it stared at the one who awakened it.
The phoenix that the Blue Dragon hunters were fighting suddenly trembled. The giant creature narrowed its eyes and quickly flew in the phoenix's direction.
Park Hanwoo saw this and swiftly ordered everyone to stay back.
"Everyone, get back!"
"Y, yes, sir!"
The hunters followed without hesitation.
"Kyaaaaar!"
The giant creature howled at the phoenix.
Its size was so big, it made the beautiful phoenix look like a hatchling compared to it. The phoenix, still shivering from the presence of the giant, landed on the ground and bowed its head.
The giant creature stared at the phoenix with its glowing purple eyes until it slowly opened its beak and bit it.
"Kyar! Kugh–!"
The phoenix tried to stretch its wings and get away from its mouth but it was futile. The giant creature was way bigger and stronger than it could have ever been.
The dark cave that was silent was now filled with the sounds of the phoenix's cries.
Ding!
[System:
{Warning! Dungeon Boss had appeared!}]
[Monster identified.
Name: Neo Phoenix (SS)
Attribute: Fire]
No way… SS-Rank?! Wasn't the smaller one the boss monster?!
Baek Haemin, who was still in Ryu Jinmu's arms, couldn't help but cover his mouth. His body trembled as he watched the scene unfold and his breathing became unstable.
The beautiful phoenix he had once admired was now being devoured right in front of him.
Ryu Jinmu gritted his teeth and grabbed Baek Haemin's collar.
"Ow! W, what?"
Haemin squinted.
"Why did you do that? Why? Why?"
Jinmu's voice was so low yet so firm.
It was purely an accident. Totally not on purpose!
Should he say that? He didn't know how to respond to the man's cold voice. He doubted he would even listen to him.
Ryu Jinmu's eyes narrowed as he glared at him.
"That shouldn't have happened. This shouldn't have happened. That thing shouldn't be here now. I knew you were acting strange from the start. Was it you then? Are you gonna be the one this time?"
"No, wait. I don't know what you're talking about. If it's about that monster, then I–ack!"
Ryu Jinmu threw him on the ground before he could finish his sentence. Thanks to his protective gear, he didn't feel any pain, but Jinmu walked toward him again.
"What…"
Why? Why did that monster come out? Did the sanctuary wake it up? It's my fault, then?
From the start of the raid until now, he just kept on messing things up for everyone. Even the unresponsive Ryu Jinmu got heated by the sudden appearance of the Neo Phoenix. Baek Haemin's face scrunched.
I haven't contributed anything and I keep on making trouble… Dammit, I just can't do anything right, huh?
The cave rumbled as the dungeon boss stretched its wings wide enough to make the huge space feel small. Ryu Jinmu clenched his fist and swiftly grabbed Haemin by his collar.
"Agh–! Hey!"
He tried to loosen up the man's grip but it was in vain.
Ryu Jinmu couldn't hear anything anymore, but screamed at his team.
"Park Hanwoo! Retreat! We need to get out of here!"
After the appearance of the Neo Phoenix and its devouring the smaller phoenix, they were all left standing in a daze, but thanks to their guildmaster, Park Hanwoo finally snapped out of it.
"Everybody, retreat! Out of the cave! We have to go outside!"
He realized what their guildmaster meant. The longer they stayed inside the cave, the more dangerous it was. The cave was too small to fight the large creature. Not to mention, it uses fire. One breath of fire from the Neo Phoenix and they might all die from suffocation. There wouldn't be enough oxygen for everyone in there.
The hunters quickly ran back to the same track they used without looking back. They were in a hurry in case the dungeon boss decided to move and chase them inside the narrow cave.
"Haemin-nim–!"
Han Jiwon ran to her young master only to see Ryu Jinmu tighten his grip on Baek Haemin and proceeded to drag him by force.
She wanted to say something, but ended up holding back. In front of the monstrous SS-Rank boss, it was safer for the SS-Rank hunter Ryu Jinmu to carry her young master more than her.
When the giant phoenix saw the hunters running, its purple eyes lit up and deeply inhaled all the air it could gather. Its beak opened wide, making Jinmu flinch.
Flames formed from its elongated beak, circling around until they reached the desired size, and it threw them in the hunters' direction.
"That guy…!"
Jinmu put Baek Haemin behind him, unsheathed his sword. His hands glowed and the air around him chilled. Ice crystals came out of his palms, ran along his sword, and overflowed until they formed a barrier. Thankfully, Han Jiwon caught up to them just in time before he made the wall out of ice.
This is…!
Baek Haemin's eyes sparkled. As someone who had read the novel, he naturally already knew about Ryu Jinmu's abilities. They were together in the dungeon for a week, but because Jinmu let team 2 do all the work, this is his first time seeing his ice abilities up close.
The phoenix's breath clashed with the ice and Ryu Jinmu clenched his sword as he continued making ice in order to keep the flames from reaching his team.
The stronger the flames grew, the more ice Jinmu produced, but he had no intention of fighting the monster inside the cave. He breathed in deep and exhaled, narrowing his eyes as he raised his left hand in the air.
Ice arrows formed on top of it and he threw all of them at once at the monster's eye. The phoenix flinched and closed its beak out of surprise. IIt used its wings to defend against the arrows, but the narrow cave made it hard to react as fast.
Team 2 ahead of them had already gotten out of the cave, but because of the phoenix, they were left behind. Ryu Jinmu took this as a chance to grab Haemin's collar again and ran away together with Han Jiwon.
He clenched his chest and covered his mouth, eyes shut.
This position… is the worst.