Chapter 34

Would you like to come with me?

Seo Woon managed to suppress his regret with an incredible amount of patience. He couldn't tell her that there were countless mutants inside the tunnel; if he did, she would inevitably ask, "How do you know that?" After much thought, Seo Woon decided to give Kim Han Sol a ten-day grace period.

According to the Messenger, a Level 6 mutant will appear in a week. Seo Woon planned to ambush near the tunnel on the day it appears, using all the guild members. He intended to take advantage of DK's confusion when the Level 6 mutant appears, and then take Kim Han Sol and other useful guild members into the tunnel.

<Good, it's going according to plan.>

Messenger, shut up.

The rustling newspaper enveloped his face, so Seo Woon waved his hand. Blocking the window with old newspapers and tape was not enough. Just as he was about to crumple and throw away the newspaper that had fallen on him, he noticed the headline.

[Terrible Mutant Beast Appears.]

Seo Woon focused on the headline in the newspaper.

[A mutant creature resembling a Soso bird has appeared in Area A-32. Soso birds live in flocks and, despite their cute appearance, they kill prey by stabbing them with their beaks and eating their insides first. The Soso bird mutants in Area A-32 are nearly 7 meters tall each and have indiscriminately slaughtered citizens in flocks. They have expanded their territory to Area A-35, and the S-class stellar ability user, ……, has eliminated them.]

As Seo Woon read the newspaper, his eyes blinked rapidly.

Suddenly, the words in the newspaper began to move like living organisms, mixing up in a jumble. The consonants and vowels separated, scattering like a puzzle that couldn't be put together. Even after rubbing his eyes, the situation remained the same, so he hurried to Cha Haya's two-room apartment.

“Hey!”

The door seemed to be broken, as Cha Haya's front door opened without any resistance.

“Cha Haya!”

He searched the small two-room apartment but found no sign of him.

If you're going somewhere, at least say something. Seo Woon, who was scolding Cha Haya, suddenly came to his senses. There's no obligation for Cha Haya to report to him wherever he goes. Disappointed, Seo Woon rushed to the fourth floor to find Han Don Hee.

Han Don Hee's front door was closed, so he had to bang on the metal door.

“Hey, Han Don Hee!”

The place was eerily quiet, with no sign of anyone. Just as he was about to call Yoo Chan, the door opened slightly. Seo Woon knocked on the door as a formality and entered Yoo Chan's house.

The floor was covered with a soft mat, and the basket was full of robot toys. On the TV stand, there was a photo of a child riding a tricycle, smiling widely. Ridiculously, there was a rooster in the front basket that hadn't fully grown. It was surprising to see a chicken being raised instead of a dog or a cat. Moreover, the child's appearance was not ordinary.

“Yoo Chan, Yoo Chan? Are you not here either?”

He searched the room, which had the same structure as his own, but found no one. Seo Woon then visited the empty house of Kang San on the fifth floor and went down to the second floor to find Abdulraziz. It seemed everyone had gone out, leaving him alone in the building. Moreover, the door of the house where Yeongil lived was firmly locked.

Seo Woon stepped outside the building and looked around the alley. Although he thought it would be dangerous to leave the hideout, his legs moved on their own.

Even after walking through the narrow alley, only the wind passed through, and not even a low-level homeless person was in sight. After making a large circle and returning to the hideout, Seo Woon forced himself to remain silent. He felt like shouting Cha Haya's name, feeling like a lost child without a place to lean on.

Where did everyone go?

Seo Woon shivered slightly, feeling uneasy.

Could it be that he was the only one left in the Narakga, and everyone else had returned to Korea?

A chill of fear crept over him. He decided to wait for half a day and, if no one returned, go to the intersection. He didn't feel confident enough to go to the intersection alone today. The old hideout felt like a safe haven.

After visiting Cha Haya's house and confirming it was empty again, his steps back to his own house were heavy. Opening the door listlessly, a dog barked, "Wang! Wang!" at the intruder.

Seo Woon was briefly happy to see another living being besides himself. The dog must have entered through the broken window, as it couldn't have appeared out of nowhere. Seo Woon quickly looked for Matahari.

However, someone was standing where Matahari should have been. The woman holding the dog had hair that reached her waist. The chilling back view made his mouth stick together, and he couldn't even ask who she was. He instinctively felt that this woman was the owner of the house.

The woman, still holding the dog, turned her body.

The half-rotten dog opened its mouth, oozing pus, and the woman, with her head bowed, approached. Through the curtain-like hair, her face was shockingly hollow. The black hole opened wide like a mutant's mouth and swallowed her motionless body.

“Ah!”

Seo Woon shuddered violently. The eerie sensation of being swallowed by the hole made him frantically rub his face and body. Fortunately, nothing was missing.

The wind that entered through the broken window cooled the sweat on his forehead. Seo Woon finally regained his composure and looked at Matahari, which was still leaning against the wall.

He sighed, feeling as if he had just experienced a terrible nightmare. The dream had perfectly recreated the hideout and Yoo Chan's house, making it easy to mistake it for reality.

Could the owner of this house be a ghost? However, he didn't even know if the people in Narakga were alive or dead. They might have been quarantined somewhere like him.

Seo Woon staggered to the bathroom. The entrance was littered with newspaper and tape, evidence of his failed attempt to block the window.

He washed the cold sweat from his face at the sink and looked at his reflection in the mirror.

Should I have just stayed with Cha Haya…?

After the DK guild left, Cha Haya and Han Don Hee had the same concern. They said not to use this house because mutants could enter through the living room.

Cha Haya suggested living together at his house, and Han Don Hee also agreed. When Seo Woon asked if they could take turns staying with each other, Han Don Hee frowned.

‘My house is for one person only.’

Han Don Hee was just talking about his concerns.

Seo Woon rubbed the mirror with his wet hands, feeling frustrated. Since he couldn't sleep, he thought about going to the rooftop to look at the moon.

“Ah!”

Seo Woon screamed as he went to the living room to get Matahari. He kept muttering, "Crazy, crazy." A toad was perched on the living room window, half of its body inside.

“Kuk, kuk.”

The toad croaked threateningly as soon as their eyes met. The creature, with its bulging eyes, blinked. Even a small toad was disgusting, but a toad the size of an adult's upper body made his stomach turn. Its skin was like mud, with bumpy protrusions.

“Kuk, kuk!”

The intruder croaked as if telling him to go away.

Seo Woon, wary of the toad, reached for Matahari. It was a Level 1 mutant, similar in size to a toad. If it wasn't a carnivorous animal like a tiger or a lion, a Level 1 mutant could be hunted by a regular person. With a legendary sword like Matahari, it should have been even easier.

Seo Woon didn't plan to use his ultimate skill on such a creature. Why is it called an ultimate skill? It should be saved for the last moment.

“Kuk, kuk!”

The thick skin under the toad's chin vibrated as it croaked. Seo Woon, not to be outdone, glared and gripped the sword handle tightly. Expecting the toad to retreat, it instead leaped. Each of its four legs was as long as Seo Woon's height.

Seo Woon swung his sword wildly while stepping back. The toad, avoiding the sword, leaped again, hitting its head on the ceiling and croaking even louder. This time, it leaped a bit lower than the ceiling. As the giant shadow loomed over him, he wanted to use his ultimate skill.

“Shit! Cry in my sword! Violet Rain!!!!!”

<Pitiful. Just stab it to death.>

What a crazy Messenger.

Since he had reached the end of the living room, there was no more room to retreat. Seo Woon leaped again, piercing the toad's chest with Matahari as it lunged at him. “Kuk!” The toad screamed, spewing mucus from its mouth. Matahari, thrust upward, trembled.

Thud! Unable to bear the toad's weight, Seo Woon fell backward. As the mutant's damp skin covered his body, he shuddered with goosebumps. He remembered learning that toads had poison.

<Poison glands are on the back.>

The part touching him now was the belly, but he couldn't relax, given it was a mutant. Seo Woon bent his legs and placed his feet on the toad's belly, pushing with all his strength. However, the toad, which had become flaccid, didn't budge. The suffocating weight made him feel like he was about to pass out from lack of oxygen.

“Seo Woon?”

Cha Haya's voice came from right above him. Since meeting him, he had never felt as relieved as he did now. His hair was more tousled than usual, as if he had just woken up from Seo Woon's shout.