The Devouring Genius of a Destroyed World-Chapter 43

It swung its arms once again, resuming its hunt.

"AAAH!"

Another one, who had been slashed across the thigh by the invisible blades, collapsed to the ground.

The wound was so deep that the bone was visible, and pain and tears surged up together.

The Scratcher, noticing the awakened individual crawling on the ground, swiftly approached.

With a sickening sound, the long claws were stabbed into the man’s body.

It was like skewering meat on a stick.

"Ah! Aagh!"

The man, whose abdomen was pierced, screamed in agony before being dragged into the Scratcher’s mouth.

With the death of one of their own, the remaining awakened individuals began to panic.

"R- Retreat!"

"But Uncle Dongsoo…!"

"Get back! Go back and ambush him!"

Though they seemed to try to move in unison, chaos ensued.

"Ugh!"

"Move, get out of the way!"

"Dammit, if you're there, I can't use my abilities!"

Their movements became tangled, and some collided, falling over.

Others, whose ranged attacks were blocked by teammates, accidentally hit their own.

It was natural since none of them had ever worked together to hunt.

At this rate, total annihilation seemed inevitable.

"Focus, people!"

In the midst of the chaos, Jang Hyungsu quickly shouted.

"Ranged! Don’t shoot straight, aim for above! Hit its upper body! The frontliners, turn your bodies into steel and hold steady!"

Thanks to his leadership, even the awakened individuals, who had been scrambling to save themselves, regained their composure and resumed the hunt.

Soon, yellow liquid began to spray toward the Scratcher.

Ssshh, ssshh!

As soon as the liquid touched the Scratcher’s skin, it began to burn.

It was the ability of an awakened individual who could create acidic liquid.

While the Scratcher writhed in pain, two transformation-type awakened individuals rushed in from the rear.

Thud, crack!

They succeeded in stabbing their weapons into the Scratcher’s body.

The successful hits sparked a glimmer of hope on the faces of the awakened individuals.

‘If we keep this up, slowly draining its health and increasing the bleeding…’

‘We can kill that monster!’

‘We can do this!’

Just as everyone’s spirits began to rise, the skin that had been burned by the acidic liquid started to bubble and swell.

Read 𝓁atest chapters at fгeewёbnoѵel.cσm Only.

Then, as if it had never melted, the Scratcher’s body healed completely.

The knives lodged in its back were flung out by the bubbling skin, and the wounds vanished without a trace.

"Th- This is insane!"

"What the hell?!"

Those who witnessed this shocking scene were horrified.

Meanwhile, an awakened individual, who had approached to attack at close range, was so stunned that his legs gave way.

Thud.

Immediately, thunk, the Scratcher’s claws pierced his chest.

The agonizing screams of the person being torn apart filled the area.

It was a death cry so terrible and brutal that it couldn’t even be expressed in human language.

Some of the awakened individuals retched and collapsed to the ground.

Jang Hyungsu wasn’t free from the shock either.

"H- How...?"

The wounds had regenerated in an instant!

No matter how different each evolutionary zombie's abilities were, this was too much!

While Jang Hyungsu was stunned into silence, the awakened individuals at the frontlines had no choice but to force themselves to focus.

The transformation-type individuals rushed in, roaring, to deal damage.

The materialization-type individuals used their strength to land long-range hits.

In the tense atmosphere, the voices of the awakened grew louder.

"Why?! Why the hell is it still fine?!"

As their anguished cries indicated, the Scratcher was still alive and well.

Just like when it first broke free from its shell, all their efforts up until now had been meaningless.

If this continued, they would face complete annihilation. Jang Hyungsu gritted his teeth.

Grabbing his arm, which had been sliced at some point, he activated his ability.

He hurried to blind the evolutionary zombie, trying to disrupt its attacks, but...

"Hyungsu, do something! Even if you’re a support-type, are you just going to stand there and watch?!"

"Yeah! Show it some real welcome!"

Jang Hyungsu's pupils began to tremble uncontrollably.

‘Why... why isn’t it working?’

He had been using his ability to create hallucinations.

The Scratcher should be suffering from hallucinations, seeing the ground beneath it collapse and falling off a cliff.

But…

Grrr!

Why was it still swinging its arms and claws around in a frenzy?

Realizing that his ability had no effect on the Scratcher, Jang Hyungsu’s complexion turned pale.

"R- Retreat! My ability isn’t working! Stay as far back as possible!"

Despite his urgent cry, the situation was rapidly worsening.

"My arm! My aaarm!"

The screams of a man holding onto his severed arm echoed.

"What, what are we supposed to do…?"

A person trembling, having lost the will to fight, sat down in despair.

"Fucking hell, do we really have to keep this up? Why not just run away?!"

Two of the six had already died, and the remaining four had lost their fighting spirit.

At that moment, the Scratcher approached the awakened individual who had lost his arm and thunk stabbed its claws into him.

Once again, the area was filled with horrific screams as three individuals were reduced to two.

While the Scratcher devoured its prey, Jang Hyungsu clenched his teeth.

If things got worse, he would have to use his ability to blind the Scratcher and create an opening.

He had been a little too confident.

He hadn't anticipated that his complacency would lead to such a tragic outcome.

Now, only two individuals had the ability to deal any meaningful damage to the Scratcher.

The awakened individuals with acceleration and acid abilities.

Could they defeat the monster with just the two of them?

Before he could even question it, the answer came quickly.

Jang Hyungsu immediately shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Kang Yoo! Han Seongho! Help us!"

Although it was embarrassing to be begging for help now, he didn’t care.

Pride wouldn’t save his life.

"I’ll give up the items! Just help us kill it!"

Three were already dead.

If it was Kang Yoo, who always cared about the camp’s survival and interests, he wouldn’t ignore a call for help.

Jang Hyungsu had thought so, but now…

‘Why?’

He quickly turned his gaze, clenching his teeth.

Seongho was gripping Kang Yoo’s shoulder and saying something to him.

Kang Yoo responded with a stern expression.

It seemed like they were having a heated argument.

As Jang Hyungsu recalled Seongho's strangely hostile attitude before the hunt, cold sweat began to form.

‘No... he won’t let us die, will he?’

At that chilling thought, his mouth dried up.

Suddenly, Seongho let out a deep sigh and shook his head.

Then, with a stern expression, Kang Yoo stepped forward, leaving Seongho behind.

‘As expected!’

Jang Hyungsu's face brightened.

"Induce injury with fire from the rear! During that time, Yeonghye will…"

But before he could finish his sentence, he gasped.

Something shiny protruded from Kang Yoo's chest.

***

Kang Yoo turned his head and glared at Seongho with wide eyes.

"Y-You...! Cough!"

He barely managed a few words before spitting blood from his mouth.

His eyes, filled with shock, shook uncontrollably.

The resentment and betrayal Kang Yoo felt poured out, but Seongho remained indifferent as he pulled the knife from Kang Yoo’s body.

The sensation of cutting through flesh and bone still made him recoil, but it was too late to be swayed by any false guilt.

The situation was urgent, and he had to stay true to his own instincts.

As Kang Yoo’s body began to fall, the Scratcher turned its gaze toward Seongho.

As it raised its arm, an awakened individual who had realized Kang Yoo’s death lifted his axe.

Without hesitation, Seongho kicked him away.

The axe the man had been holding fell to the ground, and the Scratcher’s claws, deflected by Seongho's kick, chased after the man who had been sent flying.

"Haah!"

Before the man even had a chance to react, his lower body was severed, and he screamed in agony.

The next moment, another awakened individual, who had frozen in shock at the horrific sight, drew his greatsword from his waist.

"W-What the hell is this...?!"

"That evolutionary zombie won't stop unless we make a move," Seongho said coldly.

The man froze, taken aback by Seongho's words.

The Scratcher continued to approach the struggling awakened individual with each painful step.

The voices of those who had been shaken by the brutal hunt were now filled with panic.

"W-Why is that person suddenly acting like that?!"

"Why? You idiot! That bastard doesn’t care about helping us! He wants to monopolize the items if we die!"

The awakened individual with acceleration abilities raised his voice and suddenly declared,

"I’m out! You all figure it out!"

In the blink of an eye, he disappeared.

Just as the Scratcher had impaled the recently caught prey on its claws, it swung its opposite arm.

Countless blades ripped through the ground.

An awakened individual, dodging just barely, tried to escape but soon had his legs severed.

"AAH!"

The Scratcher succeeded in downing its new prey, and as it turned its body, the acceleration-type awakened tried again to escape.

But each time, more of his body was cut off, and he failed to get away.

Seongho, watching the Scratcher leave them behind, spoke to the others.

"I told you, didn’t I?"

If you don’t want to die uselessly, don’t move recklessly.

Leaving behind a brief warning, Seongho observed the familiar yet strange monster.

The evolutionary zombie, the Scratcher, known for its regenerative powers.

It had the highest-tier 3-level regeneration.

‘The Neck Guard was only Level 1.’

The Neck Guard had to spend time recovering its shattered shell.

The more severe the damage, the longer it would take to heal, sometimes even days.

However, if it suffered fatal wounds like a severed head or heart, recovery was impossible.

The balloon-like creature seen in the hospital had Level 2 regeneration.

Minor wounds healed within minutes, and even serious injuries, like bursting body parts, could return to normal given enough time.

But it had the flaw that it couldn’t move if it took fatal damage.

And then, there was the final 3rd level.

‘Minor wounds heal in seconds, and even when taking fatal damage, it can still function. These are the ones that are truly terrifying.’

With such overwhelming regenerative power, they were difficult to hunt.

Moreover, the Scratcher’s long-range attacks were also dangerous, capable of cutting through steel.

But even powerful creatures have weaknesses.

Its attack accuracy was less than half.

This was due to its poor vision.

While most zombies regain some of their senses through evolution…

The few evolutionary zombies with Level 3 regeneration still have one flaw.

For the Scratcher, that flaw was its sight.

Because of this, what it saw were only blurry shadows.

It could never find prey that remained still.

A monstrous creature with long-range attacks but a fatal weakness.

No matter how strong its attacks were, they were useless if they didn’t hit.

If you could exploit that flaw, you could finish the hunt without any casualties.

‘Of course, that’s assuming you have the overwhelming firepower to kill it.’

But that was irrelevant to Seongho, who was more interested in extracting the virus.