CHAPTER FOURTY-SIX!
────the monarchs' arrival.

❝NO MATTER WHAT, YOU ARE DYING TODAY.❞

THE FEMALE PLAYER DIPS her hand into a nearby pond, drinking the clear and clean water from it, refreshing her dry throat.

"sunshine," jin-woo calls, approaching her. "i know a nearby hotel nearby that serves an amazing breakfast. how about we go there to wash up and have a meal."

[y/n] nods with a smile, standing up from her crouching position. "yeah, that's sounds good!"

the dark haired hunter suddenly summons kaisel, for them to ride which makes the [h/c] haired hunter raise a brow.

"i thought you said it was nearby?" she questions, crossing her arms.

"well, it takes about five minutes if i run at full speed." he explains, stuffing his hands in his coat pockets.

'what five minutes? i bet i can run faster than that...'

"where did you say the hotel was?" [y/n] asks casually, as she starts to stretch her legs.

jin-woo scoffs at her confidence gestures behind him with his hand. "about north of here."

then, the two looked at each other silently with knowing gazes. as if they we were waiting for something.

"RACE YA THERE WOO!"

"NO I AM NOT GIVING YOU A HEAD
START [N/N]!"

───── ⋆⋅ ☽ ⋅⋆ ─────

MEANWHILE IN KOREA...

association president jin-chul receives a report of the beast monarch who appeared in the middle of the city without prior warning.

"damnit... how many casualties?" jin-chul questions interlocking his hands.

"we aren't unable to confirm the exact number as of now." the employee states.

"there should be a couple of hours before the dungeon breaks..!" the president exclaims as he begins to panic.

his mind was swirling. 'i've already got my hands full with the gate, and some monster decides to show up?!'

"what about hunter sung jin-woo and hunter [l/n] [y/n]?" 

"we could not get ahold of them."

jin-chul curses silently, 'if this continues. i might have to go there myself...'

before he could take action another association employee approaches him, "chairman! a hunter who is able to face the monster has appeared!"

"what?! who is it?!" he asks, hoping it would be hunters he so desperately needed.

"ITS A WORLD CLASS HUNTER WHO HAPPENED TO STAY NEARBY! LENNART NIERMANN, CHAIRMAN!"

───── ⋆⋅ ☽ ⋅⋆ ─────

LENNART NIERMANN COULD only watched as the monstered reeked havoc on the streets.

nobody would dare to get close to it.

his glowing eyes narrow in doubt. 'can i really do this? i won't be dying here will i?'

even with such thoughts, he couldn't ignore the screams of terror from innocent hunters and citizens alike. and just as he was about to approach the monster, a heavy voice came from behind him.

"BACK OFF. YOU'LL GET IN MY WAY."

───── ⋆⋅ ☽ ⋅⋆ ─────

TAKING A BITE from her chopsticks, [y/n] moans in delight at the flavor of her food.

"this is so good!~" she hums, her words muffled as her mouth was full of food, taking another bite.

jin-woo could only chuckle under his breath at her reaction, happy to know she's enjoying the food.

he had rented out an a empty balcony just for them. so they could eat together undisturbed. which was was good choice in the long run as his lover always attracted attention wherever she walked.

which wasn't a bad thing per say. but, his jealously does get the best of him, sometimes.

then, the dark haired player takes a bit of his own food, it's flavor satisfying his tastebuds.

he feels a slight breeze in the air as his gaze turns to his left, the view was beautiful where he sat.

but nothing lives up to who sits in front of him. his steel grey eyes softening at someone who could not be compared to a single priceless thing in the world.

'how can she be so perfect?' jin-woo wonders, somehow utterly obsessed with [y/n] as she is simply eating.

was it the fact she embodies the sun? a high contrast to his shadowy demeanor and persona?

or was it that she was someone who knew him inside and out? able to understand to him, his tidbits, his habits and down to simplest change in his moods.

as he takes a sip of water, his eyes still trained on the woman in front of him. he gazes down to her pretty hands that were decorated in delicate gold rings that looked like they cost a fortune.

the ones that he bought for her.

'i need to know her ring size.' he thinks, taking another bite of food. 'then maybe, i can—'

"woo, are you alright?" [y/n] soft voice calls out to him, taking him out of his thoughts.

jin-woo meets her jewel like eyes. she was resting her cheek agains the palm of her hand, smiling warmly. she had his heart beating faster with a just a simple action. then, his free hand grabs her's, interlocking fingers across the table.

"i'm alright, my love." he chimes, softly caressing her palm with his thumb. "i was just admiring how beautiful you are."

his words get her embarrassed, she feels like she should be used to them by now. but every word he said had her lingering for more.

she puffs up her cheeks in a pout, ignoring the heat rising to them.

"you're so cheesy, you know that?"

"but you love it don't you?"

"um, i beg to differ."

the couple burst into giggles at their own responses, almost carefree like. as nothing else in the world matter but themselves.

"this has been a nice breather from being a hunter." [y/n] mentions, taking a bite of food. "i love it when we do normal couple things."

jin-woo raises a brow at her statement, chuckling. "normal couple things?"

the [h/c] haired woman gives her lover a playful 'are you serious?' expression making the dark haired man laugh.

"don't laugh! you know what i'm talking about." she argues with a smile. "i'm just saying, it's nice for us to be a normal couple, ya know. just forgetting the whole world is going into chaos."

her words get jin-woo thinking if that's what she really wanted in the end. to live a peaceful life with his family, just like he wished for.

he already had plan for when this was all over, of course. and he doesn't doubt she'll slip away from him when it does.

then, there was a surprising and desperate need to ask her now. now, in this moment, when it's just the two of them. it had jin-woo's throat dry, pleading to satisfy his need for water.

why was he so nervous all of the sudden? it's a simple question, isn't it?

but calling it simple would be the understatement of the year. it was three word sentence that carried so much weight that even he found it unbearable to hold.

he gulps anxiously, licking his dry lips. then, he opens his mouth to speak.

this was as a perfect times as any, wasn't it?

"[y/n], i wanted to ask you." he calls out to her, gaining her attention.

she looks at him with curious [e/c] eyes, full of warmth and love. a look that's only reserved for him and only him.

she lightly squeezes their interlocked hands in a comforting matter before she smiles at him.

"yes, what is it jin-woo?" she asks, her voice alluring that it had him weak in the knees.

it takes him a moment to collect his thoughts and courage. she didn't have a reason to say no, did she?

it was now or never.

"let's get—"

"BRRR!"

the sound of phone ringing in startles the couple, making them blink.

jin-woo could only let out a defeated sigh after a prolonged second making [y/n] laugh as he grabs his phone from his pocket. looking to see who called him, his annoyed mood turned serious picking up the call.

"yes, this is sung jin-woo, did something happen?" he asks jin-chul through the phone, hoping it wouldn't be something useless.

"hunter sung! why weren't we able
to get a hold of you and hunter [l/n]?!"

he sighs, taking a sip of his water while [y/n] continues eating to her heart's content. "i was outside the service zone until now."

"THERES A MONSTERS RUNNING RAMPANT IN THE MIDDLE OF SEOUL!"

hearing this, jin-woo feels his heart drop to his stomach, eyes widening. noticing this, [y/n] stops eating and looks at him, extremely worried.

'the last time he made a face like that...' the female player recalls. 'is when jin-ah's school had a dungeon break.'

"what's the approximate number of enemies?" the male player immediately questions.

"it's not even an approximate number. there's only one."

"only one?" jin-woo repeats as his eyes illuminate purple.

'what, just one?' [y/n] comments, puzzled. 'almost every hunter is gathered in seoul and [your city] right now. but you mean to tell me they're having trouble with just one?'

then, a sudden horrifying chill runs down her spine. it was like all the air was sucked out of her, leaving her almost out of breath.

the female player eyes glow gold in panic as she becomes hyper aware of herself and surroundings.

'no, something is here. i can feel it in the very pit of my stomach.' she deduces, feeling sick to her core

[y/n] tries to calm herself, she puts a hand over her rapid beating heart. the feeling she had wasn't just scary, it felt fear inducing.

as if someone was putting pressure her to
get on her knees to bow to someone else or something.

"an entire guild who came across him was annihilated in an instant." jin-chul informs the male hunter. "i don't think it's an ordinary beast. i've just received a report that thomas andre is currently standing off against that beast."

'that's impossible, i put my shadow soldiers on thomas and the hunters,' jin-woo remembers clearly, furrowing his brows. '[n/n] did the same with her knights. there's a monster strong enough to wipe out an entire guild in an instance and we haven't gotten a single report yet?'

he pauses his thinking, narrowing his glowing eyes. 'hold on... my signal with my shadows in seoul is strangely faint.'

his eyes glance up at [y/n], who looked confused as well. judging by the way she was fiddling with her pretty fingers, it seems the signal with her sun knights was also weak.

AS IF SOMETHING WAS INTERFERING
WITH THE SIGNAL.

the two players tried to use their use their travel skills but they were blocked by the system, the same message replaying.

[UNABLE TO FIND SPECIFIED SHADOW SOLDIER.]
[UNABLE TO FIND SPECIFIED SUN KNIGHT.]

"jin-woo, this isn't natural." [y/n] mentions, her face full of worry. "something is here."

his hand squeezes her's as he trying to think of what this could be. 'an enemy with overwhelming power that even [y/n] can feel it, a world class hunter fighting it off and a weakened signal."

then it clicks for jin-woo. he didn't want to even think this would be the case. but considering the circumstances, he might be right.

"chairman, does that monster have a shadow?" he asks through the phone. "you must confirm whether that monster has a shadow or not."

his question had the [h/c] haired player confused until she quickly connects the dots. then, a cold shiver racks her body as she remembers the ominous words of the familiar otherworldly being.

"ATLUS IS LOOKING FOR YOU, AURORA."

'no, it can't be...' she panics, her free hand tightened in her lap. 'are they really here?'

her gold glowing eyes meet jin-woo's purple ones, they held a bit of worry and anxiousness.

"WE NEED TO GET TO KOREA, NOW."

───── ⋆⋅ ☽ ⋅⋆ ─────

THOMAS ANDRE WAS a mere human who only obtained the power of fragment.

so, why was the the king of animals, the beast monarch letting him thrown him around this easily?

why did he feel this incoming pressure of dread and uneasiness within him as thomas kept throwing powerful punches.

was he gonna lose? him lose?

he couldn't let a human get away with such a mere feat, he wouldn't let it happen.

just as thomas was about to deliver his final punch, the beast monarch had easily caught both his fists.

it was then, the beast monarch's hair began to change. his
grew longer as his color changed to pure white. his fangs grew sharper, and fur covered his entire body.

he became a true beast.

"to think that a mere puppet of a fragment could be this powerful." the beast monarch comments. "but i've seen
enough of your petty tricks."

thomas's eyes widened as the beast monarch grew larger and larger in size and crush his left fist, easily.

"are you afraid?" the monarch taunts, towering over thomas as if he was just a child.

then, the beast attacks the hunter, relentlessly. clawing at his reinforcement armor as onlookers could only watch helplessly.

just then, the monarch noticed something within the thomas' shadow. "looks like there was little rat here."

the beast stabbed his hand deep into the shadow and grabbed something within it. when he pulled his hand out, his grip held onto a ant shadow soldier.

the shadow soldier wriggled against its grip, screeching as it tried to free itself.

"what we're you doing, hiding in the shadows?" the monarch teases before killing it instantly with a squeeze.

"you're in the way. be gone."

the ant soldier spat out a short death cry and turned into dust, returning to the void. while he did notice the lurking shadow soldier, the beast monarch did notice the thin sliver band that was wrapped around thomas' wrist.

"now, shall we continue?" he continues, walking closer to the hunter. "since you seem confident in your strength, why don't we have a little battle of strength?"

the monarch grabbed thomas by his neck. with that, it crushed the armour's head, hoping to have crushed the hunter's head as well.

but to his surprise he felt a strong arm
wrapping itself around his neck.

it seems in the quick moment that the beast monarch was distracted. thomas left his armor empty for this one sneak attack.

the world class hunter positioned himself behind the beast monarch and secured his head with with his other arm.

"who do you think are, blabbering on so arrogantly?!" thomas yells as he continues to gasp out breathlessly and
concentrate on this final attack.

with one battle cry, using all his strength, thomas twists the monarch's head. the loud disgusting crack of bones being crushed to dust was heard like an echo.

the american hunter let a little sigh of relief, wondering if he actually killed this beast.

unfortunately, for thomas, he barely
scratched the surface to cross that line.

the beast monarch puts his head back it place, as if nothing nothing even happened to him. he then grabbed the hunter's head with one hand before proceeding to slam him down on the ground.

he gets close to his face, bearing his dangerous fangs at thomas."i'm sorry to tell you this, but i'm starting to feel hungry again."

he was so focused on his victory over thomas that the monarch didn't notice the incoming attack from his left.

he was promptly flung away by the unexpected attack before turning to look at his attacker.

it was none other than lennert niermann who now stood in front of the wounded goliath, protecting him.

"I WON'T LET YOU DO AS YOU PLEASE."

lennart stated as his magic was coated in his pretty green magic, a glare unwavering.

"run away... " thomas mumbles weakly. "you'll... die."

"i'm well aware," he responds confidently. "but i'm still a hunter afterall."

the german hunter powered up his magic as he told himself that he made the right choice.

'a proud death, rather than a
meaningless life!'

the beast monarch wasted no time to charge right at the hunter, smiling maniacally.

lennart's  glowing eyes locked onto the chill-inducing animal opened up wide as if to eat him whole. the distance closing in an instant.

and the hunter wonders if he
made the wrong choice...

just before the beast could swallow his head, something else had enter the fight.

KA-BOOM!

an explosion goes off in front of lennart, his eyes were met with something unexpected.

a black dragon had appeared out of nowhere as it dragged the monarch away in its jaw. it's sharp teeth piercing his arms.

without a moment's notice, the monarch uses his strength to forcibly open the dragon's jaw. turning the reptile into wisps of black and purple shadows.

as it disappears two figures emerged from within, falling down from the air as they kick the beast monarch to the concrete with loud boom.

the figures of black and white, quickly land on ground gracefully. lennart could only watch with wide glowing eyes, seeing two people he didn't expect.

SUNG JIN-WOO AND [Y/N] [L/N].

"sorry to interrupt but could you take thomas to a safe place?" [y/n] kindly asks, as her gaze was locked on the beast.

lenmart could only nod his head, he quickly hurried over to the wounded hunter and cautiously lifted him up. then distancing himself from the fight.

meanwhile, the two s-rank hunters gaze over to the beast monarch who was getting up from the ground.

"so it was true," the beast rasped, almost in anger. "i can smell the shadow guy and the sun woman from those humans."

the couple didn't say anything, only narrowing their illuminated eyes at the monarch getting a feel for his aura

'his killing intent is quite intense.' jin-woo thinks. 'on top of that....'

[y/n] grits her teeth, feeling the powerful aura hidden in plain sight. 'he's not the only.'

"how were you able to use this much power from the superior beings despite being in a human's body?" the
monarch questioned as he fully turned into an animal.

next to the beast monarch, a fog-like smoke morphed into a humanoid figure.

"the administrator probably found a way." a familiar frosty voice spoke. 'it's been a long time since the shadow monarch and sun monarch made a deal with him."

the frost monarch appeared right beside the beast, his eye glowing with bloodlust.

"so i'm guessing that means i can eat the corpse of these humans?" a new voice spoke from behind the couple.

jin-woo and [y/n] looked back as they spotted a woman behind them, she crawled up from the ground like bug. she covered in spiders and insects alike.

"i was always curious about what a fellow monarch taste like." she muses seductively with a wicked smile.

the couple's expression hardened as they found themselves surrounded by their enemies. instantly, they summon their newest in their hands, kamish's wrath and kamish's mercy.

"OH AURORA!~"

a new voice suddenly sings from the distance, having [y/n] jolt in shock hearing the name of her predecessor.

then, her glowing eyes stare into straight into the glowing eyes of a ruby red sprinkled with white dots looking like stars, making her jump back.

she was faced with unfamiliar handsome and tall man. his messy white hair shined like moonlight and his skin a delicate pale.

his cool hands reached for her face, holding it and inspecting. the female player was too much in shock to even say anything about the matter.

jin-woo on the other hand was practically fuming in anger at their close proximity. something about this specific monarch at him seething, almost seeing red.

"oh, just look at you..." the monarch hums, looking at every inch of her face. "aurora choose a very beautiful vessel. i might take you as my own."

'so he's atlus...' [y/n] recalls, feeling a disgusting shiver down her spine. 'just why kind of connection did he have with aurora?'

"who said anything about that?" she spats, a glare forming on her face and shoving away his hands. "i'm not an object and neither was aurora."

'aurora, i take it back. maybe you and i
are more similar than i realized.'

"enough of the chitchat, moon monarch. you know what we're here to do." the frost monarch interrupts with a disappointed sigh.

the moon monarch backs off as he wisps away and appears again next to the beast monarch, frowning.

"you're quite unfair, frost monarch." he groans almost dramatically. "i've been wanting to see my darling aurora for centuries."

'so he must be atlus, the monarch the the frost monarch mentioned from before.' jin-woo concludes as the celestial beings closed in on the couple.

it's seems they've fallen right in their trap, boxing them in seoul with no way out but to fight.

───── ⋆⋅ ☽ ⋅⋆ ─────

[THE KING OF SNOW FOLK, THE FROST MONARCH, HAS RECOGNISED YOU AS AN ENEMY.]

[THE KING OF BEASTS, THE BEAST MONARCH,
HAS RECOGNIZED YOU AS AN ENEMY.]

[THE QUEEN OF INSECTS, THE PLAGUE
MONARCH, HAS RECOGNIZED YOU AS AN
ENEMY.]

[THE KING OF STARS, THE MOON MONARCH, HAS RECOGNIZED YOU AS AN ENEMY.]

───── ⋆⋅ ☽ ⋅⋆ ─────

"we take on two each, right darling?" [y/n] mumbles to her partner.

jin-woo nods, confirm. "yes, love. lets make this quick."

their hearts pounded in anxiousness as they stood before the monarchs. the hearts the gained in the temple could only do the same.

"COME FORTH."

"REVEAL YOURSELVES."

masses of black and white, grow beneath their feet as they summoned their shadows and rays of sunlight. they surrounded the four monarchs in a circle.

igris and iron headed towards the frost monarch, their bodies forming instantly.

icarus' figure was already behind atlus, his sword in the air along with scar who was charging in front. their giants and ant charged at the beast monarch and the plague monarch with no hesitation.

"is this the new shadow army and sun army?" the beats monarch mocks, laughing at them.

the frost monarch sucked its breath in before spewing out a frigid cold air that spread out everywhere in an instant. the couple protected themselves as the ice breathe headed their way.

everything standing on the ground became trapped in hard cold ice, including the the shadows and rays of sunlight.

"there might be many of them, but they're still nothing but small fries." the frost monarch mentions. "but your soldiers cannot move a single step within this prison.

"you should have left my children alone at least," the insect monarch spoke as she looked at beru, tapping the ice. "it's been a while since i've seen them after all."

atlus gives a deadly glare at the trapped icarus. "i never missed his face. he always got in the way when i wanted to meet aurora."

"hmph. to think that he was trying to use these kinds of soldiers to get in our way. how ridiculous." the frost
monarch comments. "this is an act of belittling the other monarchs."

he rolls his eyes, waving off their arrogance, "on top of that, i didn't think that humans were able to fully absorb the power of the shadow monarch and the sun monarch."

"although the shadow monarch and the sun monarch were the greatest monarchs..." his eyes glance at the couple, their hands covered in stinging freezing ice. "they must not look down on the other monarchs' strength."

the two didn't even respond to their talking. [y/n] quickly freed herself the ice that cover her hand, her kamish's mercy tinting red.

it melted the ice an instant, as her golden glowing eyes bored into the frost monarch's.

"see, i made a promise to someone, a dear friend of mine..." she starts, twirling her daggers before activating one of her skills.

[SKILL: 'DANCE OF THE SUN GODDESS' ACTIVATED.]

she swipes the dagger in her dominant hand as the blade ignited in blazing hot fire.

"and i intended to keep that promise." she says, before pointing her dagger at the frost monarch.

"SO, NO MATTER WHAT, YOU ARE DYING TODAY."

CHAPTER FOURTY-SIX! END!
────the monarchs' arrival.