MLCAI 03

MLCAI

Posted by Elsa, Released on September 3, 2025

Chapter 3

Kang Suho pulled his younger brother behind him and took a metal pipe out of his backpack.

He had brought it along just in case, never expecting he would actually need it.

“Kyaaaah!”

He swung the pipe at the lizard monster that lunged at him with its grotesque, gaping mouth.

Bang!

The force of the strike vibrated through his hands, making Suho’s face contort in pain. The shock was so intense it shook his entire body, yet it wasn’t enough to fell the lizard. It only paused its movement briefly.

“Kyaaaah!”

The attack only provoked the monster further.

The lizard monster struck back with its massive tail, hitting Suho.

“Ugh!”

He tried to block it with the pipe, but it was futile. His body was sent flying backward and slammed against a pillar.

“Ugh…”

Even a hunter would struggle with such an impact; for a normal person, it was excruciating. Pain like bones breaking shot through his entire body.

“Hyung…! Are you okay?”

Next to him, his six-year-old brother trembled in fear.

The child’s frightened voice, fortunately, helped Suho stay conscious.

Supporting himself with the metal pipe, he got back on his feet, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the monsters.

Attracted by the commotion, more lizards gathered, and now over a dozen of them were focused solely on the two of them. Their long tongues flicked and licked their lips in a nauseating display.

“Kang Sihoo, come behind me.”

“B-but…”

His body felt like it was breaking, yet he resisted. He had to protect his brother.

“Kyaaaah!”

“Grrr!”

Suho swung the pipe with all his strength at the rushing lizards.

He forgot about his broken ribs and the blood clogging his airway. Only the thought of protecting Sihoo dominated his entire body.

Bang! Whack! Clang!

As he swung the pipe wildly, the lizard monster’s gaping mouth suddenly revealed its tongue.

Suho instinctively assumed a defensive stance, but the tongue wasn’t aimed at him.

“Ahhh! Hyung!!”

It went for the weakest target in the area.

“Sihoo!”

Suho desperately reached for his brother—but it was already too late.

His little brother’s body was being sucked into the gaping mouth of the lizard monster, moving in slow motion.

But there was nothing he could do.

“No!! Kang Sihoo!!”

Just as he screamed in helplessness…

Shraaak! Bang!

A metal stake flew in from the side, piercing the lizard’s head and embedding it in the ground.

The monsters, seemingly indifferent to the death of one of their own, rushed at the small Sihoo lying on the ground.

But none of the lizards could touch the child.

Even if several attacked at once.

Crack!

Even if one ambushed from behind.

Thunk! Bang!

Even a particularly large one charged forward.

“Kyaaaah!”

Bang!

All of them were reduced to a handful of ash.

The monsters’ bodies piled up with the sounds of tearing flesh and breaking bones.

At the center stood a woman.

Every swing of the crude pipe in her hands sparked flames, a beautiful mixture of the orange-red of sunset and the soft pink of spring.

She performed near-artistic maneuvers, effortlessly eliminating the dozen or so lizards rushing at Sihoo.

“Kid, grab onto me!”

She swiftly scooped Sihoo into her arms.

“Hold on tight!”

Seeing more lizards drawn by the smell of blood, she raised the pipe to the sky.

Ka-kwang!

When she slammed it down, the ground cracked outward from her, shattering the surrounding area.

That moment when the approaching lizards lost their footing was when Suho and Sihoo could escape.

“Follow me!”

She ran past Kang Suho, shouting.

Without hesitation, Suho chased after her, ignoring the pain that screamed through his broken body.

The woman easily cleared monsters blocking the way with a few swings of the pipe.

They finally arrived at a plaza the Hunter Association had established as a safe zone.

“Casualties here! Need a healer!”

“Huff! Over here!”

Staff created a path for them.

While checking Suho’s condition and quickly finding a healer, Saebyeok placed Sihoo safely in front of him.

“Haaan, I’m sorry, hyung! It’s my fault!”

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

Sihoo, who had been calmly in her arms, ran straight to his brother the moment she set him down.

Suho, utterly battered, checked his brother first.

“I’m not hurt. But because of me… you’re…”

“I’m fine.”

Suppressing a burst of coughs, he gently stroked his brother’s head.

Then he slowly looked up.

“This debt….”

He wanted to thank the woman who had saved him and his brother.

But she had vanished without a trace.

“…?”

He looked around, but she was nowhere to be seen.

“This way! This patient!”

A healing-type hunter arrived just in time. Suho grabbed a staff member and asked,

“Was that woman with the association too?”

“Who?”

“The woman who came with us.”

“Who else was there? I didn’t see anyone.”

The staff hadn’t noticed anyone else in the chaos and Suho’s disheveled state.

“Was she injured too… huh!”

The staff member couldn’t finish speaking and turned, startled.

“Wh-what happened all of a sudden?”

It wasn’t just the staff. Hunters and civilians alike tensed.

The monsters’ movements had become unusual.

“Kyaaaah—!”

The lizards suddenly shrieked to the sky and all ran in the same direction.

Humans they had been hunting, or humans they passed by, no longer mattered. They all charged toward a single point.

After securing Suho and his brother in the safe zone, Saebyeok ran to a nearby ruin not far from the station.

Due to poor gate management in the early days of the upheaval, Seoul had quite a few such ruins.

Standing atop a collapsed building, she scanned the area with piercing eyes.

“Found them.”

The leader of the lizards came into view.

“<Blow>.”

She activated her skill, and a soft wind wrapped around her ankles, lifting her into the air.

Saebyeok floated freely as if wearing invisible Hermes’ sandals.

<Skill: Blow (A→C)>
Morning winds are refreshing. Spring breezes, summer typhoons, autumn westerlies, winter gales—all carry the dawn and sweep freely across the world.

This skill wasn’t originally for movement. It was an attack skill that could manipulate the wind’s form at will.

But Saebyeok had found a way to use it like a movement item after several attempts.

‘You’re probably the only person in the world who would use such a skill like this. Really persistent.’

Recalling what Park Woojun had said about her modification, she chuckled to herself.

“<Ignite>.”

<Skill: Ignite (S→B)>
The sunrise fills the world with warmth, igniting the passion for new beginnings. Even a small spark ensures that the dawn never loses its light.

Blue flames shot from the pipe like a flamethrower, engulfing the lizard leader instantly.

Fwoosh!

The flames reached the ground below where Saebyeok floated.

“Basically, everything’s two levels lower now.”

With her magic halved, the skill’s power was weaker, not enough to completely melt the reptilian monster’s shell.

But Saebyeok hadn’t aimed to kill it in the first place.

“Kyaaaah—!”

The leader’s sharp scream echoed in all directions, and the lizards responded immediately.

Lizards scattered across the area started shrieking in unison and gathered.

Inside or outside the gate, the leader’s safety came first.

“Kyaaah—!”

Saebyeok roughly counted the lizards gathering in the ruins.

“Taking out about half should make Suho and his brother safe.”

Once she thought enough monsters had gathered, she extended the pipe forward.

“<Droplet>.”

Thousands of water droplets sprayed from the pipe instantly.

<Skill: Droplet (A→C)>
Morning dew is naturally cold. Water droplets can blanket the world as fog or fall as persistent rain, soaking the dawn into the world.

The droplets scattered, falling onto the lizards.

With her magic halved, she could only summon a light rain instead of a downpour.

But it was enough.

The air became moist, and the lizards—swamp monsters—grew excited.

“Yes, enjoy yourselves.”

Seeing more monsters drawn, Saebyeok slowly raised her metal pipe.

Spinning it at her fingertips, she prepared her most confident skill.

“<Lightning>.”

<Skill: Lightning (S→B)>
Lightning tearing the night sky to call forth the dawn is beautiful. From tiny static sparks to full-blown lightning storms, it all begins with a small spark.

Zzzzt!

Electricity poured from both ends of the pipe, a strange mix of crimson and violet—a wondrous sight.

Lightning was her most used and most mastered skill.

Nicknamed the “Goddess of Lightning,” it was her signature.

Properly used, she could devastate Yongsan District, but now it was just for killing lizards, so the power was heavily reduced.

Even so, the electricity gathering in the air was threatening.

“Watch out for shocks on rainy days!”

The result was overwhelming.

Ka-kwang!

Lightning shot from the pipe she slammed toward the ground, instantly dominating the area through the water.

The lizards were obliterated.

Even the toughest skin couldn’t stop electricity targeting weak points.