All the hunters fixed their wary eyes on the chimera.

Given the unique nature of this double dungeon, the massive creature couldn’t simply be considered an A-rank monster.  
Dungeons were unpredictable places where anything could happen, and there was even the possibility that this chimera was the true boss of the double dungeon.  

With that in mind, none of the hunters let their guard down.  

The chimera’s full body emerged from the gate, including its tail.  
Its grotesque form featured a massive lion’s torso, a strange goat head perched on its back, and a tail shaped like a serpent.  

But the most unsettling part was—  

“There are two heads in the front?”  
“And one of them looks disturbingly human.”  

One of the heads resembled a lion, but next to it, attached to an unnaturally elongated neck, was a human-like head.  
Its enormous mouth stretched to its ears, exposing razor-sharp teeth that exuded a chilling presence.  

Even hunters who were accustomed to facing all sorts of monsters found themselves grimacing instinctively at the chimera’s grotesque visage.  

“Doesn’t that human face look familiar somehow?”  
“Don’t spout nonsense! Like we’ve seen that thing before.”  
“Y-you’re right. Haha… must’ve been my imagination.”  

Some of the hunters exchanged tense remarks as they tried to process the unsettling sight.  

Meanwhile, the goat head’s eyes began to glow a deep violet, radiating an ominous energy as it prepared a large-scale spell.  
Simultaneously, the serpent tail sprayed a poisonous mist into the air around the chimera.  

“Is the defensive magic ready?”  
“Yes, we can deploy it immediately!”  
“We’re ready!”  

At Yeo Dohyung’s command, the rear-guard hunters responded with resolve.  

At that moment—  

**“Meeeeeh—!”**  

The goat head tilted upward and let out a resounding bleat.  
In the next instant, blinding lightning bolts surged down, aimed directly at the hunters.  

**Boom! Boom! Crash!**  

The hunters, however, weren’t so easily defeated.  
At the perfect moment, defensive magic shields were deployed.  
A blue barrier formed, dampening the power of the lightning and dispersing it into the air.  

However, the defense wasn’t flawless.  

**Sizzle—! Crack—!**  

As the final bolt dissipated, the shields shattered.  
The attack had been blocked, but only barely.  

Yeo Dohyung frowned deeply.  

While he wasn’t a specialist in defensive spells and had been conserving mana, the shields’ precarious performance worried him.  
And as Ji-ah’s warning had indicated, the chimera’s attack patterns weren’t limited to lightning.  

**Hiss—**  

“Cough, cough!”  

The serpent tail continued spewing toxic mist, causing nearby melee hunters to show signs of poisoning.  

If the battle dragged on, every hunter would eventually succumb to the venom.  
The mist spread aggressively, threatening to engulf them all.  

*“At least…”*  

The lion and human heads were relatively simple threats, relying solely on biting attacks with their razor-sharp teeth.  

While getting bitten would be dangerous, the goat and serpent heads were clearly the more pressing dangers.  

After assessing the situation, Yeo Dohyung quickly made a decision.  

“We’ll take out the serpent head first, then move on to the goat head!”  
“Understood!”  
“Ga-eul! Focus on purifying the poison!”  
“Y-yes, got it!”  

He issued clear priorities to the hunters and directed the Dawn Guild’s support hunter to focus on purification.  
Then, Yeo Dohyung turned his gaze back to the monster.  

It was a formidable opponent, but he was confident they could handle it.  

Years of experience as a hunter had honed his judgment, and he knew this fight was manageable.  

The problem, however, lay elsewhere.  

*“We haven’t even entered the double dungeon yet.”*  

If this wasn’t the final boss, something even more powerful might be waiting for them beyond the gate.  
They couldn’t afford to expend too much energy here.  

Focusing his mind, Yeo Dohyung hoped the rear party would arrive soon.  

---

Ji-ah, holding her ground firmly at the front of the rear guard, surveyed the battlefield with a calm gaze.  

As expected from an elite vanguard, everyone was maintaining their composure and focusing on the battle.  

However, despite their efforts, the serpent tail still hadn’t been severed.  

Realizing this, Ji-ah approached Yeo Dohyung and spoke.  

“Dohyung.”  
“Yes?”  
“I don’t think I should just stand around here. I’ll engage the tail.”  
“Hmm…”  

Dohyung glanced at the trembling support hunter nearby.  
Though her fear was evident, she didn’t try to stop Ji-ah’s decision.  

Despite her tendency to whine and act immaturely at times, she was a skilled elite of the Dawn Guild.  
She had likely concluded that now wasn’t the time to hold back resources for protection.  

“Please do. But if anything unexpected happens, return immediately.”  
“Understood.”  

Ji-ah nodded firmly.  

**Thud!**  

She kicked off the ground and dashed forward.  

Behind her, the cold energy emanating from her spear left a frosty blue trail in the air.  
It was her new weapon, crafted from the mana stone of a drake she and Si-hyun had defeated together.  

The human-like head of the chimera turned, focusing on Ji-ah as she charged.  
Its long tongue flicked out menacingly before its enormous mouth opened wide.  

**“Kaaaah!”**  

**Snap!**  

Ji-ah twisted her body lightly, dodging the snapping jaws.  
The sound of the chimera’s teeth clamping down on empty air reverberated loudly.  

Without slowing, Ji-ah crouched low and propelled herself forward, gaining speed as her spear’s icy aura grew more intense.  

She zipped past the chimera’s massive frame with agile movements, quickly reaching the tail.  

Leaping high into the air, Ji-ah positioned herself directly above the serpent head.  

*“Here!”*  

As she rotated her spear overhead, its frosty tip gleamed brilliantly.  

**“Kyaaah—!”**  

A deep wound split open as blood gushed forth, and the serpent head let out a pained screech.  

Ice crystals scattered around Ji-ah as she landed gracefully, her spear’s chilling aura now slowing the serpent’s movements.  

**Thud!**  

Landing smoothly, Ji-ah readjusted her stance.  

“Well done, young lady!”  
“Thank you!”  

The Knight Guild’s master praised her with a warm smile before leaping forward himself.  
He delivered another set of precise slashes to the serpent head, adding to its injuries.  

With Ji-ah’s assistance, the hunters made rapid progress against the serpent head.  

The lion and human heads were held at bay by the Dawn Guild’s S-rank tank, while most of the group focused on the tail.  
The rear guard provided timely support, ensuring the assault continued smoothly.  

Eventually—  

**“Grrrrk!”**  
**“Kyaaaah!”**  
**“Screeeeech—!”**  

The chimera’s remaining heads let out agonized cries as the Knight Guild’s master severed the serpent tail.  

At that moment, the hunters cheered in unison.  

“Nice—!”  
“Haha! Serves you right!”  
“Well done, elder!”  

As the poisonous mist dissipated, the hunters regrouped, coughing but relieved.  

With the most troublesome head taken care of, they felt a collective sense of relief.  

But then—  

The chimera, which had focused solely on its immediate attackers, suddenly changed its behavior.  

**“Meeeeeh—!”**  

The goat head’s eyes glowed violet once again as the chimera braced itself, claws scraping the ground in preparation for a charge.  

“Defensive magic! Quickly!”  

Melee hunters rushed back to the main group, scrambling into position.  

Sensing something was amiss, Yeo Dohyung prepared his defensive spell alongside them.  

“Can we stop this charge?”  
“Leave it to me!”  

The Dawn Guild’s S-rank tank stepped forward, planting his massive shield at the edge of the protective barrier.  

*“We need to mitigate as much of the impact as possible.”*  

As the hunters barely finished their preparations—  

**BOOM———!**  

A deafening noise ripped through the air.  

**Crash! Boom! Boom!**  

Columns of lightning struck the shield with unparalleled intensity.  

Even with Yeo Dohyung reinforcing the barrier, it was barely holding.  

The relentless lightning continued to shatter the barrier piece by piece, threatening to break through entirely.  

“We can’t hold much longer!”  
“I’m running out of mana!”  
“This thing is going to break through!”  

Amid the mounting panic, Ji-ah tightened her grip on her spear and steadied herself.  

She prepared to leap into action the moment the barrier failed, ready to intercept the lightning directly.  

*“If I use my skills, I should be able to deflect some of it.”*  

She steeled herself.  

But just then, a hand rested firmly on her shoulder.  

“…?”  

Ji-ah turned to see the Knight Guild’s master standing behind her.  

“I’ll handle this.”  
“…Alright.”  

Although she hesitated momentarily, she nodded, trusting his judgment.  

Before either could act, however—  

**Rumble———!**  

The ground began to tremble violently.  

As everyone’s attention shifted downward, the earth outside the barrier surged upward in a massive wave.  

**Crash!**  

A colossal earthen wall rose, enveloping the barrier and shielding it from the lightning.  
Each strike left marks on the wall, but it held firm.  

“W-what is this…?”  
“Is that… a skill?”  

The hunters stared in disbelief at the sudden appearance of the wall.  

When the lightning storm ended, the chimera charged forward, slamming its massive body against the wall.  

**BOOM!**  

The ground shook, but the earthen wall absorbed the impact effortlessly.  
The Dawn Guild’s S-rank tank didn’t even need to intervene.  

*“Could it be…?”*  

Ji-ah turned, her heart racing, and looked toward the rear of the room.  

There was only one person she knew capable of such a feat.  

“Ha-ha-ha! Don’t worry, everyone! Kang Cheol-min is here!”  

The burly man bellowed as he entered the room, signaling the arrival of the rear party.  

Hunters flooded into the boss room, and among them, Ji-ah recognized a familiar figure.  

The figure in the black nun’s habit met Ji-ah’s gaze through the veil.  

Ji-ah smiled brightly, like the sun breaking through the clouds.  

---

With the rear party’s help, the chimera was swiftly defeated.  

Some members of the rear party remained behind to monitor the gate to the double dungeon, while the others distributed supplies and potions provided by the administrative bureau.  

“Take these supplies!”  
“Grab some potions!”  

Meanwhile, the S-rank hunters gathered to share information.  

“So the original boss wasn’t that thing? It came out of the portal?”  
“Yes, the original boss was the lich.”  

In response to Kang Cheol-min’s question, the Knight Guild’s master nodded.  

The Dawn Guild’s tank let out a long sigh.  

“Phew… I was hoping that was the final boss, but it seems there’s more to come.”  
“Well, no matter what’s ahead, the four of us can handle it! I’ll lead the charge! Hahaha!”  

Kang Cheol-min laughed loudly, hands on his hips.  

The other hunters, including Yeo Dohyung, chuckled wryly. Those familiar with Kang Cheol-min were used to his bravado.  

“By the way, whose skill created that earthen wall?”  
“Hm? No one in the rear party specializes in that. Isn’t it someone from the vanguard?”  
“…I see. Hmm.”  

When Yeo Dohyung asked, Kang Cheol-min shrugged indifferently.  

What mattered to him was that he had arrived, stolen the spotlight, and helped defeat the monster. The wall didn’t concern him.  

Recognizing Kang Cheol-min’s attitude, Yeo Dohyung sighed softly and turned his attention to the rest of the rear party.  

At that moment, he felt a killing intent directed at him.  

Instinctively, he looked toward its source—a figure in a black nun’s habit and veil.  

Though their face was hidden, there was no mistaking the intense gaze aimed at him.  

*“Why are they staring at me like that?”*  

Yeo Dohyung tilted his head in confusion but quickly returned his focus as Kang Cheol-min’s loud voice boomed again.  

“From now on, I’ll be taking charge! Hahaha!”