Min-Jae walked forward with a smirk on his face after punching the Ant, as it was back on its feet already.
Once again, with its immense speed, the Ant closed the distance between itself and Min-Jae, going for a devastating punch targeting his face—a blow that could shatter a boulder like paper in the blink of an eye.
But the force stopped right before Min-Jae, without getting any closer to him. No matter how much pressure or strength the Ant put in, it couldn't get any closer. Its claw couldn't break through.
---
The Ant pulled back and struck again.
*Thud.*
The invisible barrier held.
Another strike. Then another. Each one faster and more desperate than the last.
*Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud.*
Min-Jae stood completely still, his hands in his pockets, watching with mild amusement as the Ant unleashed a barrage of devastating blows. Each strike carried enough force to level buildings, yet none of them came within inches of touching him.
"Is that all?" Min-Jae asked, stifling a yawn.
The Ant's attacks grew more frenzied. It switched angles—high, low, sweeping strikes, uppercuts—combining speed and power in combinations that would have overwhelmed any S-Rank Hunter.
Min-Jae didn't even bother moving from his spot.
"You know, this is getting kind of repetitive," he commented, tilting his head as another punch stopped dead against Infinity. "At least *try* something different."
The Ant seemed to understand. It leaped backward, creating distance, and its posture shifted.
Its mandibles opened wide, and something glowed inside its mouth—a concentrated, dark purple energy that pulsed with sinister intent.
*Fwip!*
A single needle-like projectile shot out from the Ant's mouth—the Paralysis Poison. It looked like a concentrated, spit-out needle of dark purple energy, streaking through the air with lethal precision. The magical projectile was capable of causing complete paralysis within seconds, shutting down even an S-Rank Hunter's nervous system instantly.
It stopped mid-air, hovering harmlessly inches from Min-Jae's face.
The poisonous needle trembled as if trying to push forward, but Infinity kept it suspended in place. After a moment, it simply fell to the ground, dissolving into harmless wisps of dark energy.
"Poison?" Min-Jae raised an eyebrow, genuinely curious for the first time. "So it can also use poison, though it's a different type." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Interesting. That's at least *slightly* more creative than just punching."
The Ant, realizing its signature ability had failed completely, took a defensive stance.
Min-Jae sighed. "Well, I tried to give you a chance."
He threw another lazy punch—barely any effort behind it at all.
*BOOM!*
The Ant managed to raise both of its blade-like arms in an X-formation to block this time. The impact still sent it skidding backward across the cavern floor, its feet carving deep trenches in the stone as it struggled to maintain balance.
When it finally stopped, smoke rose from its arms where they'd blocked the strike. Cracks had appeared in its exoskeleton.
Min-Jae looked at his fist, then at the Ant, then back at his fist.
"Boring," he muttered, his voice flat with disappointment. He dropped his hand back to his side. "I should have chosen the Rent-A-Girlfriend universe. I at least would have had fun there." His expression grew more disinterested. "Here it's just... boring."
Behind him, Cha Hae-In was still frozen in shock, unable to process what she was witnessing.
Min-Jae glanced back at the Ant one more time, his smirk now completely gone, replaced by genuine disinterest.
"You're not even worth the effort."
---
As from the sideline, Baek Yoon-Ho sat back against the cavern wall, clutching his bleeding chest. "What's... what's going on?"
Choi Jong-In, propped up on one elbow with a grimace of pain, replied, "Hunter Min-Jae is fighting the Ant." He coughed, wincing. "And it seems the Ant can't land its attack no matter what."
"It's unbelievable," Lim Tae-Gyu added, struggling to sit upright. "The speed the Ant is attacking at is ridiculous, yet he's not getting hit and is so casually standing in front of its attacks like it's nothing."
Choi Jong-In watched Min-Jae for a moment longer, his analytical mind trying to process what he was seeing. "It seems our country is producing monster-level Hunters nowadays."
Baek Yoon-Ho looked around, taking stock of everyone's condition. His eyes landed on Min Byung-Gu, who was sitting up from his position at a distance, one hand pressed against his ribs where the Ant's initial blow had connected.
Despite his own injuries, Baek Yoon-Ho forced himself to stand. His transformation had faded, leaving him in his human form, blood seeping through his torn clothes. He made his way over to the others, each step labored.
"Is everyone alright?" he asked, though he was clearly in worse shape than most of them.
Only because he was an S-Rank Hunter with exceptional endurance—even as a transformation-type—was he even conscious at the moment. That devastating first blow from the Ant should have ended anyone's life, possibly even his own. But S-Rank Hunters were built different.
Min Byung-Gu joined them, pulling out his book despite his own pain. "Hold still," he said, his voice strained. "I'll start with the worst injuries first."
He opened the book, and as he began to chant, a faint light began to glow around Ma Dong-Wook's body. The bleeding from his severed arm slowed, then stopped entirely.
The stump began to shimmer with healing energy as flesh, bone, and muscle started to regenerate. Slowly but surely, Ma Dong-Wook's arm began to regrow, and in a moment, the hand grew back.
Once Ma Dong-Wook's arm was fully restored, Min Byung-Gu turned his attention to the others, the faint healing light shifting to envelope each injured Hunter in turn.
---
Back at the fight, the Ant extended its arm ahead and swiped upward in a swift motion.
*CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!*
Massive ice structures erupted from the ground like crystalline spears, shooting upward with deadly precision. They moved fast—far faster than normal ice magic—each one aimed directly at where Min-Jae stood.
Min-Jae's eyes widened slightly as he jumped out of the way, the ice spears missing him by inches though it would have stopped by infinity anyway. But , More Ice continued to burst from the ground, creating a forest of frozen death.
He teleported away, reappearing several meters to the side, clear of the ice field.
"So it can use ice magic too," Min-Jae observed, landing lightly on his feet. He looked at the glittering ice structures with renewed interest. "So it has more in its arsenal still."
The Ant turned toward him. Dark purple energy began to gather around its body again, mixing with a cold, red aura.
Min-Jae's smirk returned. "Now we're getting somewhere."