Cha Hyun-seung stared straight ahead, his expression filled with confusion.
‘I can’t move.’
There was indeed an invisible force holding his body in place, but that wasn’t the real reason he couldn’t move.
The overwhelming presence of the man before him.
The quiet rage in his eyes.
The charisma that emanated from his entire being.
These things alone were enough to shackle Cha Hyun-seung in place.
By all rights, the man before him was an intruder—a bastard who had trespassed into his domain. And yet, rather than anger, the emotion that surged to the forefront was fear.
Even so, he couldn’t run away.
This was his territory. He was the leader of the pack.
However—
“W-Who the hell are you?!”
The words that escaped his lips were the kind of pitiful line only a third-rate villain in a cheap drama or novel would utter.
Fear seeped deeply into his voice, making it sound even more disgraceful.
By contrast—
“My name is Kim Jae-hyun. You’re Cha Hyun-seung, correct? Can we talk for a moment?”
The man’s response was astonishingly calm.
As if Cha Hyun-seung posed no threat whatsoever.
The sheer indifference in his tone made Cha Hyun-seung’s rage explode.
‘That bastard is an intruder in our domain.’
He was different from the humans who crawled in begging for food.
He was different from the ones who wished to become part of the pack.
The man who introduced himself as Kim Jae-hyun was a predator—one who had come to steal their land.
If he turned tail and ran, he might survive.
But to escape the grasp of this overwhelming force, the cost of survival would be too great.
That wasn’t an option.
If it came to that, he’d rather—
“Grrrr...”
A beastly growl rumbled from Cha Hyun-seung’s throat.
He was preparing to fight.
Tearing away whatever unseen force was holding him down, he would lunge at the man and sink his fangs into his throat in one swift motion.
Crack—
Cha Hyun-seung’s body began to transform.
Muscles swelled, claws extended from his fingers and toes, and his entire body was covered in thick, ash-gray fur.
Just as the beast Cha Hyun-seung was about to charge at Kim Jae-hyun—
“!?”
Boom!
The invisible force that had been pressing against his chest suddenly expanded, slamming him to the ground.
Kwaaaang!
“Uaargh—!”
He struggled desperately, but it was no use.
All he could do was realize the truth—
That his full power didn’t even amount to the dirt under Kim Jae-hyun’s fingernail.
‘But still...!’
Behind him, the beasts under his command sensed his intent and prepared to fight.
They were warriors—loyal comrades ready to lay down their lives for their leader without hesitation.
If they all joined forces, maybe, just maybe, they could drive out the invaders.
It was an absurd thought, but—
The enemy was just one man.
As a leader who had always commanded a pack, Cha Hyun-seung understood the power of numbers better than anyone.
It wasn’t the first time he had encountered a foe stronger than himself.
And each time, he had survived, grown stronger, and overcome the challenge.
‘I can do it this time too.’
The instinct was there.
It felt like it was possible.
And most of the time, his instincts were right.
He was just about to give the order to charge.
At that critical moment—
Bzzzt— Bzzzt—
Right before his eyes,
“!!!!!”
Bzzzt—
A dozen or so figures appeared.
And the moment he laid eyes on them, his assessment was complete.
Each one of them possessed an absurd amount of power.
The shocking part was that more than half of them were stronger than he was.
If they started a fight now, it wouldn’t be a battle—it would be a massacre.
Had the enemy been alone, he might have found an opening.
But if it became a war between packs, it would be absolute defeat.
“...Everyone, stand down.”
In the end, he had no choice but to tuck his tail between his legs.
It was humiliating, but if ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) survival meant swallowing his pride, he would do so without hesitation.
Forcing himself to suppress the fear that threatened to erupt from within, Cha Hyun-seung pretended to remain composed as he spoke.
“So? What is it you want to say after trespassing into my land? Are you asking me to leave?”
Then—
“I sincerely apologize for intruding upon your domain.”
The man who had introduced himself as Kim Jae-hyun lowered his head toward him.
“...What?”
Cha Hyun-seung was stunned.
For him, refusing to bow was the ultimate act of resistance.
But here was a man—stronger than him, stronger than his entire pack—lowering his head first.
Cha Hyun-seung had never bowed before.
Not to those weaker than him.
Not even to those stronger than him.
That was why Kim Jae-hyun’s action was such a shocking sight.
And at some point, he realized—the invisible force that had been weighing down on him had disappeared.
Even so, Cha Hyun-seung’s choice was not to launch a surprise attack.
“Uh... I apologize as well. For attacking first.”
Like Kim Jae-hyun, he lowered his head in return.
Kim Jae-hyun took a step forward and spoke.
“I intend to save Seoul.”
At first, Cha Hyun-seung thought the man was spouting nonsense.
But when he lifted his gaze and met the man’s eyes, he knew.
‘He’s serious.’
And then he looked at the people gathered behind him.
Their eyes, filled with unwavering trust and respect.
It was the same look his own pack gave him.
The weight of their belief could be felt.
When he said he would save Seoul, he meant it.
And if he said he would do it—
He would.
"I have the power to build barriers that can block the invasion of monsters. Using that power, I plan to reclaim Seoul and restore it to the city it once was."
How powerful was the strength Kim Jae-hyun spoke of? Was it truly enough to save all of Seoul?
Cha Hyun-seung had no way of knowing.
But honestly, whether Seoul was saved or not wasn’t of particular importance to him.
Because the "Seoul" Kim Jae-hyun spoke of referred to the city where humans lived.
To be frank, Cha Hyun-seung preferred things as they were now.
‘What happens to humans isn’t my concern.’
Cha Hyun-seung had always loved animals.
And he loathed his fellow humans.
The way they built zoos to imprison and restrict the freedom of animals, the way they adopted pets on a whim only to abandon them on the streets when they grew bored, the way they bred livestock solely to slaughter them for food, the way they destroyed forests to satisfy their greed—
Every single one of those things made him sick.
So when the apocalypse arrived and humans started dying by the millions, Cha Hyun-seung had actually felt relieved.
With the emergence of monsters that threatened humanity’s position as the apex predator, people had finally become the weak ones, as if paying for the sins they had accumulated.
At first, watching it happen was exhilarating.
While humans were perishing, he had been too busy freeing the caged animals in zoos and creating a place where they could all live together.
He hadn't cared in the slightest about how many people were dying around him.
‘But...’
No matter how much he tried to turn a blind eye, the world was filled with nothing but death and grief.
In the end, he had been forced to confront the tragedy.
And through it, he had realized something.
Even the ugliness, cruelty, and sins of humanity were simply a part of nature.
And that he, too, was human.
After that, he had allowed people to linger near his territory for survival.
He never actively helped them, but he didn’t drive them away either.
‘Even with all my strength, I could barely sustain a few tens of thousands.’
But the man standing before him now—
He wasn’t just talking about Seoul.
He was planning to save the entire country.
Was it even possible to reclaim Seoul?
And if it was, how did he plan to feed that many people?
Such minor concerns weren’t the real issue.
"I would like you to join us, Mr. Cha Hyun-seung. Will you lend me your strength?"
What mattered was that, for the first time—
Cha Hyun-seung wanted to believe in the man before him.
"...What do you need me to do?"
After successfully granting Cha Hyun-seung citizenship, Kim Jae-hyun checked his status window.
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『Name: Cha Hyun-seung (Lv. 53)
Trust Level: 21
Awakening Ability: Beast Lord
EXP Distribution: 0% (+200%)
Compensation Distribution: 0% (+200%)
★ Assign Quest Expel』
Even after their direct conversation, the trust level was still on the low side, but it was good enough.
Because Cha Hyun-seung wasn’t alone.
He was an entire legion.
「White Tiger (Lv. 46)」 「Great Raven (Lv. 37)」 「Moon Bear (Lv. 41)」 「Eagle Owl (Lv. 39)」 「Gray Wolf (Lv. 35)」 「Spotted Deer (Lv. 29)」 「Fennec Fox (Lv. 33)」 ......
Dozens of high-level animals stood by his side.
And just by their sheer size, it was clear that these creatures were far larger than their normal counterparts.
There were hundreds of them.
Among them, those above level 30 seemed to be leaders within their respective groups, while even the weaker ones averaged around level 20—by no means weak.
A full-fledged army had fallen into their hands.
Watching them gather around and interact with Cha Hyun-seung, Kim Jae-hyun let out a quiet sigh of relief.
‘That was close.’
If Cha Hyun-seung had chosen to fight him to the death, things could have turned ugly.
The transparent barrier surrounding them wasn’t perfect.
If Cha Hyun-seung and his entire pack had attacked at once, the barrier would have sustained damage, and that burden would have fallen entirely on Oh Eon-ju.
If she lost consciousness from the strain, not only would the three days of effort put into building the territory have gone to waste, but the barrier would have collapsed entirely.
Which meant Kim Jae-hyun would have been forced out of the safe zone.
And in that case—
‘What would’ve happened to me?’
Fundamentally, he couldn’t leave his home base.
Even in exceptional cases where he descended in person, he could only move within a temporary home base formed around a retainer with a trust level of 100 or higher.
‘It probably wouldn’t have been too bad...’
It was only speculation, but it would likely have been similar to when his descent ability expired.
‘Most likely, I’d just return home.’
But by that point, his relationship with Cha Hyun-seung would have been utterly ruined.
To protect the barrier, they would have been forced into a fight with his pack.
And in the aftermath, most of his beasts would be dead or injured.
Kim Jae-hyun turned to Cha Hyun-seung and asked,
"Where have you been until now?"
"There was a monster that invaded my territory, killed my kin, and escaped. We just returned after tracking it down."
Judging by Cha Hyun-seung’s bond with his animals, the situation must have reached a breaking point.
He wouldn’t have stopped until the monster was eliminated.
If a battle had broken out, Kim Jae-hyun would have suffered immense losses.
Thirty percent of the resources spent on the territory’s construction would have gone to waste, three whole days of effort would have been erased, and most importantly, they would have lost an invaluable asset—Cha Hyun-seung.
That was why he had put everything into persuading him.
Fortunately, his sincerity had reached the other man.
‘This is the best outcome.’
Not a single drop of blood had been spilled, and he had successfully brought Cha Hyun-seung into the fold.
‘Trust can be built over time.’
At that moment, Cha Hyun-seung turned to him and asked,
"So, what’s your plan from here?"
"First, we’ll prioritize rescuing the survivors in the area."
Once the territory was fully functional, there would be no need to relocate to Busan. They could rebuild Seoul from here.
"And after that—"
Once enough people had been saved—
"I plan to wipe out every last monster in Seoul."