Tarnak stood far from Minho, his cracked face contorted in rage. 'How did he get out of the dungeon? He did not enter mine. But the Monarch of Frost said he had that place well prepared,' he thought.
Though he was angry, there was something else under it. Fear? No, it can't be.
"Good to meet you, Monarch of Iron Body," Minho said, his emotionless crimson eyes locked on Tarnak. "Don't we have a lot of catching up to do?"
Tarnak gritted his teeth and lunged at Minho with a burst of speed.
Minho twisted his body, making Tarnak go past him, but not completely. As Tarnak went past, Minho grasped his hand in the last moment and raised him back, slamming him into the ground and tossing him into a billboard.
Tarnak hit the billboard and fell to the ground.
Minho walked to him, rolling his shoulder. "Now now, get up. You're more than that. Show me the ugly golem behind the mask."
Tarnak got up and let out a furious roar. The cracks on his face spread and a faint green glow came from them.
"That's it, you're almost there," Minho muttered, flexing his fingers.
But then a gate suddenly appeared behind him.
Minho turned and he could instantly tell that it was another Monarch that was going to come out.
Yogumunt stepped out of the gate and stood there, staring Minho down.
Minho's Predator's Instinct yelled at him to duck but he didn't move. A chunk of concrete, thrown by Tarnak, hit him on the head.
Tarnak grinned, but it was short lived when the dust revealed a pair of crimson dots staring him down.
Minho looked even more terrifying. "Is that it?"
"Why do you go against, the will of the Monarchs?" Yogumunt's voice came from behind. "Do not run away from your purpose, Monarch of Destruction."
"Hah?" Minho glanced over his shoulder. "I guess that meat bag didn't deliver my complete message, did he?"
"Ah, you said you are no Monarch of Destruction. I remember now," Yogumunt let out. "What Monarch are you then?"
"I don't really fancy the title, but you all keep wanting it." Minho frowned. "The Monarch of Tyranny."
There was a brief silence, then Yogumunt burst into laughter. "The Monarch of what? Tyranny? And who are you tyrannizing?"
Minho's annoyance grew even more as he fully turned to Yogumunt.
"Ah well, my business here is over," Yogumunt sighed.
Minho could hear the sealing of a gate behind him. He didn't have to turn to know what was happening. Tarnak had escaped.
That was the main reason why Yogumunt was here in the first place. To help the Monarch of Iron Body escape.
"Do not be full of yourself, Monarch of 'Tyranny.' Whether or not you despise us, you should be true to yourself and accept your purpose. Do you wish to see the Rulers victorious," Yogumunt said as he turned to his gate.
Minho tilted his head. "I'll just kill you all."
Yogumunt's chuckle was barely audible as he walked into the gate. "Then it seems you and the Shadow Monarch are still in bad terms. A relief indeed."
The gate sealed shut and Minho stood there with several bodies in the area, including the chairman's.
He was walking back to Go Gun-Hee when he spotted someone familiar under the rubble. It was Ah-Ra.
She was bloodied and there was little to guarantee if she was still alive or not.
Minho took off the rubbles and dragged her out. He planned on using Monarch's Vitality on her and to his surprise, it worked.
She wasn't dead yet.
But it suddenly stopped, a new message popping up.
[Monarch's Vitality can not be used on target!]
[Make Host New Hatchery Maiden?]
[Yes] | [No]
"I should've known this would come up again," Minho muttered to himself.
[Host's heart will stop beating in 10 seconds!]
This was clearly a threat. The system was now forcing him to do it.
If he did, then he would drag her into his business. But not doing it meant she would die, so what was there in it anyway?
[Host's heart will stop beating in 4 seconds!]
[Host's heart will stop beating in 3 seconds!]
"Yes"
[Host's heart will stop beating in 10 seconds!]
[Making Host New Hatchery Maiden...]
The wind grew colder and red circle formed beneath her body. Minho stood up and walked out of the circle as the the color deepened, exuding a strong heat that scorched her skin.
Eventually, the area turned to lava and Ah-Ra's scorched body slowly sank into it.
After a few seconds, dark clouds started to form in the sky, particularly revolving atop the circle.
A red line from the middle of the circle shot up into the sky, entering the clouds and it soon turned into a beam of fire.
The other bodies within a 10 meter range disintegrated, but Minho stood there, unaffected. A matter of fact, he even believed Rathalos's flames to be hotter.
… …
At the second S-rank dungeon.
The gate returned to its normal color and Jinwoo was the first to step out. He left the other hunters who were still deep inside and hurried out, predicting something was happening.
And the first thing that visited him was a beam of flame. "Of course, it had to be him." Jinwoo gritted his teeth. "Kaisel!"
The shadow dragon formed and he got on it, heading to the source of the fire.
… …
Meanwhile, Minho stood there unblinking as a silhouette formed inside the beam. It extended a hand as if waiting to be pulled out
Minho raised his hand and the put it into the flames, sleeve of his shirt burning off in contact.
He didn't feel a thing as he held onto the hand and drew the silhouette out.
Ah-Ra walked out, completely different.
Her irises were red vertical slits, her eyes half-lided, two horns by the side of her head. Her body was covered in a dress of dark shaded red scales.
She had a dragon marking on her neck and a few lines on her hands that glowed.
As Minho fully brought her out, she took back her arm and knelt down, bowing her head. "My Liege,"