The Hero Returns

* * *

Crunch, chew, crunch—

A distinctive noise could be heard. It was a sound that one would hear when a bone was being chewed. It was unmistakable, too; when prey was hunted down and consumed in its entirety, bones and all, such a noise would often be produced.

"What kind of noise is…?" he thought.

He forced his eyelids to open. His vision was blurry and hazy. Crimson liquid blocked his view.

It was blood.

"Blood…?"

Why am I bleeding in the first place?

However, before he could answer his own questions, he managed to recall his and everyone's current situation first.

"My…my subordinates…"

He tried to say something, but no sound came out.

The loyal retainers that followed him to this place, the brave and powerful therianthrope warriors, what happened to all of them?

It was right at that moment that his blood-soaked vision finally identified the source of the disturbing noise.

Crunch, crunch—

He saw a massive maw.

Then, he saw rounded teeth that seemingly lacked all semblance of sharpness, horns that pointed upward like a bull's, a jaw that jutted out to the front, and, finally, eyes that were dyed in the colors of blood.

And, currently, inside the mouth of the creature possessing such features was one of the therianthrope warriors being devoured whole, someone who used to be his loyal subordinate.

Aaaaahk—!

Plop—

Talkun tried to get up and rush toward the monster immediately, but his body simply crumpled to the ground. Only then did he notice the state of his lower torso.

"My, my legs…"

They were gone—devoured away.

Talkun's wide-open eyes landed on the monster next. The monster, still continuously chewing and devouring the now-dead subordinate, had its eyes locked firmly on Talkun.

"You…are…"

A deathly chill ran down on Talkun's back.

The monster's voice leaked from its mouth. Unlike how it looked, the voice was high-pitched, which resonated clearly, and carried a languid tone.

"The…tastiest…"

This creature was thinking of Talkun as nothing more than food.

Talkun quickly scanned his surroundings. Other than him with his lower torso gone, it seemed that the other warriors had already been devoured by now, as he could only see their traces remaining.

Meaning, he was the only one still alive.

"This monster, it left me until last."

Talkun realized the reason why he was still alive.

"Because it thinks I'm the tastiest one."

Gulp—

The monster finished chewing the dead subordinate and devoured it whole.

The one that got devoured just now was a warrior second only to Talkun within the ranks of the therianthropes. The monster seemed to have decided on the order of tastiness of its prey based on their strength.

And to enjoy the tastiest food to the fullest, the monster had chosen to let Talkun live until now.

"Huh, huhuh…"

Talkun could only chuckle hollowly.

Along with him, the king of the therianthropes, 100 warriors had set out together. They really believed that they could defeat the monster this time. That was why Talkun temporarily halted his lengthy training regime to step outside the village.

He called upon the powerful beings from his race spread throughout the land and intended to kill this monster even if it cost his life.

But even then…

"Just for a mere…"

Talkun stared at the flesh wound on the monster's neck, the one that his claws managed to inflict.

"Just for a mere wound like that…"

Split—

The monster opened its maw wide.

Talkun stared at the maw of the giant "bull" and muttered in resigned acceptance of his defeat, "The future of our races has been—"

Crunch—!

The monster threw Talkun inside its mouth and began chewing away.

As befitting the title of the therianthrope race's king, he didn't give up fighting even until the end. The moment he entered the creature's mouth, Talkun clawed and bit to try to tear into the creature's inner flesh.

However, they were all for naught.

The monster savored all his bitter struggling as if it was savoring a delicious slab of fresh meat. It then bit down on Talkun, issuing a loud crunch, and devoured the king. However, it suddenly stood around in a daze before opening its mouth again.

"Something…even… tastier…"

The monster began moving again.

It still hadn't had its fill yet.

And to be fully satisfied, the monster would have to go on to devour this world itself.

**

"The battle should have finished by now," said one of the therianthropes in the village when Su-hyeun asked where the king and the 100 warriors had headed off to.

It seemed that they hadn't returned yet.

"But why do you ask that? Could it be that you wish to lend them your aid?"

"Yes, I was thinking of doing so."

"Just as Raboonta said, you are indeed a nice creature. My advice may sound funny or nonsensical to you, but listen, you cannot become an excellent warrior when you're too nice."

The therianthrope before Su-hyeun's eyes was named Kariburn, a former warrior who had to retire due to his advanced age.

Kariburn had instinctively realized that Su-hyeun was an incredibly powerful being. For one thing, it was not Raboonta but Su-hyeun who had dragged the carcass of such a massive monster to the village.

"Thank you for your concern, but I can't just sit by and let others die."

"You only say that because you don't know anything about our king."

"That may be true, but—"

"Our king is strong enough to handle a hundred warriors of our race. No matter how powerful that monster is, there's simply no way that it can deal with our king and 100 of our finest warriors at once."

Kariburn's words spoken with much confidence only elicited a soft sigh from Su-hyeun's lips.

This guy said that he didn't know anything about their king. He wanted to return those words right back at the therianthrope, though.

What did they really know about the monster, anyway?

"There's nothing I can do if it's already too late," Su-hyeun thought.

He had already changed his mindset.

What if the king of all therianthropes and his warriors managed to kill the monster without Su-hyeun doing anything?

"That isn't such a bad outcome, I guess."

Basically, he would have blown his nose without using his hands.

Nothing would be more priceless and valuable than achieving victory without fighting, and honestly speaking, being able to move to the next floor and get his hands on the rewards without lifting a finger would be a good thing for Su-hyeun in the end, too.

However…

"The odds of that happening are pretty slim."

Considering the reason why he had been sent to this world, he figured that things wouldn't be that easy for him, so he had no choice but to assume the possibility of the king and the warriors being defeated.

"If everywhere else has been devoured except this forest…"

The creature was a monster that couldn't be satisfied and continued to devour the world.

A monster created in such a manner was called the "predator."

"That thing's next destination should be here."

Meaning, there was no need to wander around anymore.

Rather than wasting time combing through the wide-open world, it would be far simpler to wait for that monster to get here instead.

Su-hyeun entered a house with a tall ceiling under the therianthrope's suggestion. The place boasted a fireplace and a large bed made of tree branches that looked pretty comfortable.

"Why don't you join us outside for dinner?"

"Ah, of course," said Su-hyeun.

Dinner time indeed happened to be right around the corner. Su-hyeun had been feeling a bit hungry after walking for a few hours, so he expectantly strode outside the house. However, what greeted him was slabs of meat only lightly singed on the surface strewn about in the middle of the village.

Su-hyeun immediately knew what happened here; the villagers had skinned the monster that Raboonta hunted and Su-hyeun brought in and then lightly cooked its meat over some fire just now.

"Are we going to eat it just like that?" Su-hyeun hesitated.

He had been wondering how these people would prepare the meat, but to think they would only lightly singe its surface and nothing else. Besides…

"But that thing's poisonous…"

"Ah, that. It's alright. Most regular toxins do not have an effect on us, and even if some of us get ill, one good night's rest will cure it."

What an amazing level of self-confidence that was.

Su-hyeun stared at the massive mountain of meat in the middle of the therianthropes that gathered around for their share of dinner.

Driiip—

Hissss—

Droplets of blood fell and caused a hissing and melting noise to come from the ground.

Now that was a pretty powerful toxin, alright.

"They saw that, yet they'll still eat that thing?"

Su-hyeun slowly shook his head.

If he wanted to, then he could've also eaten that meat. His body wasn't so weak that such a level of poison would end up wreaking havoc in him.

But the thing was, meat basically pickled in poison would definitely not be something he would sit down for and consciously enjoy.

"Well, uh, I wasn't feeling hungry, so…"

"Is that so? Then again, I heard that some monsters only need to eat once in an entire month. Still, if you do feel hungry later, let us know."

"Alright, will do."

Su-hyeun returned to his assigned room.

The sounds of the therianthropes smacking their lips and savoring the meat could be heard coming from outside the walls. He wondered if it was really alright for them to consume that, but seeing how none of them were screaming in pain right now, it looked like his worries were for nothing.

"I guess that means more jerky for me, then," Su-hyeun groaned under his breath and pulled out a strip of jerky from his pocket.

He had spent the last three years in the company of beef jerky and dried raisins, and it seemed that he would have to "enjoy" that lifestyle for a little bit longer.

"I better finish this trial quickly and return or something."

While filling himself up with a mouthful of jerky, raisins, and water, he could only groan softly once more.

He was already missing the warm bowl of rice he had the night before.

**

A big commotion happened in the village for a while there. It was all thanks to Su-hyeun letting Miru out.

He made a promise earlier that he would let the red dragon out in the middle of the trial. However, when the therianthropes witnessed Miru, they almost went on a rampage, saying that potential prey had walked into their village on its own.

Su-hyeun had to work hard for a while to calm everyone down.

Thankfully, none of them tried to be stubborn. Other than the difference in cultures, the therianthropes certainly were not any worse than humans in terms of their intelligence.

When mealtime was over, Su-hyeun exited the house once more.

He watched the therianthropes one by one return to their dwellings with full bellies. Three or four individuals lived under one roof, and from that revelation, he got a feeling that even with such tall ceilings, so many living together would make it seem rather cramped inside.

He took his time surveying this village.

The therianthropes who were out and about must have heard about him because no one bared their fangs at him. No, most of them were more like scared. And just like before, their fear wasn't directed in Su-hyeun's way.

"Things remain the same wherever it is."

Su-hyeun had seen that sight many times before as Kim Sung-in in his previous lifetime.

The sight of the survivors barely clinging onto their lives while sharing what little scraps of food were left in villages they cobbled together after the monsters took over the world—their silhouettes seemed to overlap with the figures of the therianthropes right now.

"I'm sure it's not just this place, though."

Su-hyeun abruptly recalled the trial from the 10th floor. He remembered a particular village.

The village populated by the weak and helpless humans—the place where he met the child named Mellie, where the village chief sacrificed his own fellow villagers as food to use the monster called the "Predatory Snake"—and this one, which was filled with therianthropes capable of slaughtering such humans in the thousands, didn't differ much.

"People are the same everywhere, it seems."

Ku, ku-gugu—

BOOM—

Kiii-aaaahk—!

Loud roars resounded from the distant forest surrounding the village.

Therianthropes hurriedly emerged from their dwellings one after another, having heard those monstrous roars. While they started baring their fangs and growled menacingly, Su-hyeun shifted his gaze over to the forest.

"So, it's on its way."

Most monsters living inside the forest boasted highly developed primal instincts for the sake of their own survival.

Those roars were not meant to threaten their prey during a hunt and were not screams of suffering and agony either. No, they sounded more like an attempt to shake away fear gripping their hearts.

"The predators of this forest are terrified by the appearance of the real predator, it seems."

Some of those roars definitely belonged to monsters far larger than the one that ended up as the therianthropes' dinner. Besides those, there must be other monsters in the upper ruling class of this forest, plus a creature that could claim to be the top dog in the food chain.

Even then, they were all roaring away because of their fear of the even bigger and even more powerful predatory presence.

To make matters worse, this monster didn't even know the meaning of "enough" either.

"Something's coming," loudly said Raboonta, who had finished his meal not too long ago, when he stepped into the streets.

He was closest to an actual warrior among the therianthropes remaining in the village. The only reason he hadn't been officially recognized as one was due to his young age.

As such, Raboonta understood the threat that has invaded the forest faster and more instinctively than the others of his race.

"It seems that…" Su-hyeun began in response to Raboonta's observation. "Your king has failed in his mission."

Unlike the young therianthrope, Su-hyeun already had his grip on the hilt of his sword.