The massive hole Sungshik had created in the wall led to a vast open space. The cavity was as wide as a school field.

“W-What is this place?”

Those who followed him in were astonished. They had never imagined that such a hidden chamber existed within the mine. But when their eyes turned to the center of the space, they were utterly shocked.

“Grrrr—”

Yes. There was indeed a monster. A creature, nearly ten meters in length, was crouched in the middle.

Its appearance was an eerie blend of various beasts. The body of an ogre. The snout of an orc. A single cyclopean eye. The tail of a medusa.

Its entire body was covered in needle-like fur, sharp as spikes. At a glance, it looked like a porcupine with iron quills.

‘This isn’t the Bulgasari I know.’

It was different from the Heaven-Splitter Sungshik remembered.

‘Is this really a Bulgasari ?’

Insight.

[?] Bulgasari ? Chimera
Grade: 6-Star (★★★★★★)
Combat Power: S
Species: @!#@$%^&*$
Traits: A hybrid infused with the genes of legendary monsters.

Even Insight failed to provide a clear assessment. One thing was certain—it was a Bulgasari, yet at the same time, it wasn’t.

‘Even the species section is corrupted.’

It was like an error message. Based on the information from Insight, it was clear that the Bulgasari had been fused with multiple other creatures. That realization gave Sungshik a strange sense of dissonance.

The Bulgasari he knew had a bear’s body, an elephant’s trunk, a rhinoceros’s eye, and a tiger’s tail. Though he had never seen it in person before his regression, the video footage he had watched showed it just as the legends described.

But the creature before him was different—a chimera assembled from multiple monsters.

‘Someone tampered with it.’

Just by looking at it, Sungshik knew. Revolution Knights had meddled with it. Since they had stolen the Bulgasari’s scales, this was undoubtedly their doing.

‘At least it hasn’t grown as much as before.’

The one before him was only at the 6-Star grade. Even its size was different. The one that appeared in Japan before his regression had been over thirty meters tall. Given its ability to absorb metal and grow larger, there was no telling how much iron that one had consumed.

Back then, it was estimated to have reached 8-Star grade.

‘But if it’s only 6-Star…’

Yes. He had arrived just in time, before it could grow further. A 6-Star monster was no longer something he needed to fear.

But for the others, it was a different story.

“Ugh… The pressure from it…”

“It’s… too monstrous.”

Tremble.

The blacksmiths, who had no real combat experience, shivered like trembling aspen leaves. Even the mere presence of the 6-Star Bulgasari Chimera was overwhelming for them.

“W-What is that thing?”

“A boss monster!”

“No… That’s not just any boss monster.”

The combat-class superhumans were no different. If anything, they seemed even more shaken. They realized that this monster was on a completely different level from an ordinary high-grade boss.

‘They’re all frozen in fear.’

He had told them not to follow him. Sungshik let out a chuckle and was about to step forward when—

“Everyone, hold your positions! Form Type-C formation!”

It was Kim Jaeil. He stepped forward, giving orders to the combatants.

Shff. Shff.

The superhumans moved accordingly, forming a crane-wing formation. Kim Jaeil had stepped up for a reason.

‘We have to handle this.’

Even Kim Jaeil was afraid of the monster before him. He had never faced a boss with such an overwhelming presence before. Was this what a 6-Star boss from an A-rank Gate was like?

But he quickly dismissed that thought.

‘Calm down. This isn’t even an A-rank Gate. It can’t be 6-Star.’

Instead, he recalled the reason he had taken on this task. Lee Jinwoong had made a quiet request before they left for the mine. If a monster did appear, he wanted the superhumans from the workshop to take care of it.

Lee Jinwoong was a blacksmith considered a potential successor to Master Jin Yongchan. Given his talent, being in his good graces wouldn’t be a bad thing. So Kim Jaeil had readily accepted the request.

‘That man is strong. If he steps in, we won’t get a chance.’

Kim Jaeil instinctively thought so. That man could probably take the monster down alone. That was why they had to defeat it first. No matter how powerful it was, they believed they could handle it.

“Maintain formation and advance with suppression tactics.”

Keeping their formation tight, the superhumans cautiously approached the Bulgasari Chimera. Sungshik watched them and considered stopping them—then decided against it.

‘Well, it’s only a 6-Star, so no one should die from the first attack.’

He had already assessed their combat potential. In his eyes, they had no chance of defeating the Bulgasari Chimera.

But he let them be. They were the ones who wanted to take the lead. There was no reason for him to stop them. Letting them experience the difference firsthand would be the fastest way for them to understand.

“Kieeeeek!”

The creature let out a piercing roar. Perhaps angered by the intruders in its domain, it looked visibly agitated. Slowly, it began to rise from its crouched position.

Gulp.

Someone swallowed hard. The creature was nearly ten meters long. When it stood up, it was as if an entire building had started to move.

Moreover, numerous tentacle-like appendages extended from its body, attaching themselves to the surrounding walls. The scene was grotesque, like a structure covered in dangling electrical cables.

“Expand formation.”

Suppressing his fear, Kim Jaeil gave the command. The superhumans charged forward in formation, their various weapons aiming for the beast.

‘It’s not going to work.’

Sungshik shook his head. If this creature had the same properties as the Heaven-Splitter he knew…

“Ugh, m-my sword…!”

Their weapons touched the monster’s quill-like fur—and immediately stuck to it, as if drawn by a powerful magnet.

Then, from the creature’s body, its tentacles extended outward. At their tips, grotesque mouths formed, and they began to devour the weapons whole.

Crunch—

“Ah…”

The superhumans who had lost their weapons in an instant could only stare blankly at the scene.

“W-What is this…?”

Indeed, ordinary bladed weapons had no effect on it. It was no exaggeration to say that it was completely immune to arms.

“F-Fall back!”

Kim Jaeil was just as shaken, but he still shouted for them to retreat. The superhumans hurriedly backed away, but most of them reacted too late.

Thud!

A long tentacle extending from its body lashed sideways. Almost everyone within its range, except for a few, was struck and sent flying.

“Kugh!”

With screams, they were thrown into the air, crashing into the ground near the blacksmiths.

“Aaaah!”

“Kyaaah!”

The blacksmiths, who had been anxiously watching, shrieked in horror at the sight. Perhaps due to their screams, the Bulgasari’s gaze shifted toward them.

“KIEEEEEK—!”

The creature let out a chilling roar as it glared at them. Fear was mixed into that roar.

“Ahh…”

The blacksmiths who took a direct hit from the Fear had their legs give out beneath them, collapsing on the spot. Their faces turned deathly pale, as if they had fallen into shock.

But they were not the only ones panicked by the sight. Even Kim Jaeil had fallen into despair.

“T-This… This isn’t… a 5-star beast.”

“I-It’s… 6-star. This is insane. Why is a beast like this here…?”

“No way! Why would a 6-star beast appear in a place like this?!”

Hearing Kim Jaeil mutter those words, Lee Jinwoong cried out in despair. If it was a 6-star beast, their chances of survival were slim to none.

For a brief moment, Lee Jinwoong glanced at the hole behind them, contemplating whether he should flee alone. However, the overwhelming tension and the effects of Fear had turned his legs to jelly, making it difficult even to stand properly.

“H-Hey. D-Do something. You know something about that monster, don’t you?”

Grasping at straws, Lee Jinwoong turned to Sungshik, his voice desperate, almost pitiful.

“I don’t know anything.”

It wasn’t a lie. The Bulgasari—this was the first time Sungshik had seen such a creature.

“What…?”

Lee Jinwoong suddenly felt an odd sense of distance as he looked at Sungshik. He was far too calm. In this place, where screams and terror filled the air, he alone seemed to exist in a completely different world.

“T-Take me with you. Get me out of here.”

Realizing this, Lee Jinwoong begged him. Seeing that, the other blacksmiths also pleaded with Sungshik to save them.

“M-Me too, please.”

“O-Oppa, me too.”

Even Park Jiyeon suddenly started calling him “oppa” as she begged.

“Shut up, you bitches! Me first!”

Lee Jinwoong’s eyes turned bloodshot as he screamed at them, his desperation to survive overwhelming all else. Crawling toward Sungshik, he continued pleading.

“I-I… No, I… I have a lot. If I can just make it out of here alive…”

“How pathetic.”

Clicking his tongue, Sungshik shook his head at Lee Jinwoong’s pitiful display and stepped forward.

Lee Jinwoong could only stare in shock, forgetting to even speak. In Sungshik’s eyes, he saw nothing but pure contempt.

Step. Step.

Ignoring Lee Jinwoong, Sungshik walked toward the Bulgasari. He passed Kim Jaeil and the other stunned superhumans, standing before the beast.

“KIEEEEK—!”

The creature let out a wary roar as it focused on Sungshik. It was clearly cautious of him. Despite having just swept aside the superhumans, it hesitated to attack, as if wary of Sungshik’s presence.

“Hmm.”

Sharp instincts. If it could read his aura, then its senses were highly developed.

“But what a bizarre thing you are.”

Its form looked like a mixture of various beasts. Could this even be called the Bulgasari? Its appearance was far too different from the one he had seen before his regression.

The Bulgasari he knew had been a quadruped, yet this one stood on two legs. That alone was a significant difference.

‘But it still retains the Bulgasari’s traits…’

It had absorbed the superhumans’ weapons just as the Bulgasari would have. That meant its core characteristics remained unchanged.

How strange. Sungshik couldn’t begin to fathom how such a hybrid was created.

Whoosh.

Shaking off his thoughts, he infused the Heaven-Splitting Divine Sword with the power of fire.

“If it truly is the Bulgasari, then fire should be its fatal weakness.”

Flinch.

Indeed, as flames ignited from Sungshik’s sword, the beast visibly flinched.

The Bulgasari could not be killed through ordinary means. Fire was its only weakness. Only fire could end its life.

However, it couldn’t be just any fire. Only fire attacks above a certain level could harm it.

‘That’s why Japan fell.’

Japan, unaware of this fact, had only continued to offer weapons to the beast. As a result, they had only strengthened it.

By the time they finally discovered its weakness, it had already grown into a colossal monster on the verge of reaching 8-star rank. The beast had devastated Japan.

‘If not for the Flame King, Japan would have been annihilated.’

The Flame King Tsarden, one of the 11 Thrones. If he hadn’t been urgently dispatched to Japan, the country would have been completely wiped out by a single monster.

—Since you’re using fire anyway, take this opportunity to practice manifestation.

Just as Sungshik was about to unleash his power, Heaven-Splitter made a suggestion.

‘I was planning to do that anyway.’

Smirking at Heaven-Splitter’s words, Sungshik closed his eyes and focused on constructing his internal imagery.

Whoooosh.

Instantly, the temperature around him surged. At the same time, small orbs of fire began to form around him.

And within his internal world, Sungshik visualized swords.

The orbs of fire slowly started to take shape.

“Ahh…”

Everyone watching was mesmerized by the surreal sight, their mouths agape in awe.

Indeed, what Sungshik had manifested was Seges Gladii—a field of countless swords. Every single one of them was a blade forged from fire.