Chapter 71

EP 12 - Those Who Bear the Burden (9)

On a screen that covered one entire wall, chaos unfolded,

and the politicians gathered in front of it were in a panic,

but only one limping man spoke calmly.

“No, why the fuck are the monsters swarming from all sides.”

“...What?”

“Shouldn’t they be spreading out in all directions?”

* * *

- Squeak!

A bat-like monster split in half and crashed to the ground. We looked at Seoul spread out between the grotesque corpses.

Hong Seon-a muttered lightly.

“I thought clouds would be fluffy...”

“Clouds are made of water vapor, you idiot!”

While Hong Seon-a and Gan Ji-yoon, who was in her arms, bickered, I held Gan Ji-yoon’s hand and fiddled with the communicator hanging from my ear.

We were hiding in the clouds of the night sky. Literally, in the clouds.

“Commander Kim Doo-sik, can you hear me?”

[Yes. What’s the situation?]

“It’s as expected.”

I looked down at the scenery of Seoul with a dry gaze. The gate’s eerie blue light illuminated the world, making it easy to assess the situation.

“The monsters are strategically surrounding the hunters. Even the tough ones are at the front, and the ones at the back are shooting from a distance...”

[We didn’t expect the existence of a command entity, did we?]

“Well, it’s fortunate for now...”

The idea that monsters could use their heads was heartbreaking, but at least the good news was that the monsters in this area were not spreading out but gathering in one place.

Our main goal was to push the monsters north.

In other words, we needed to prevent them from coming south.

- Rumble!

A sound like an earthquake came from far away.

“Auntie!”

“Yeah, Ji-yoon. Are you done with the construction?”

“Perfectly sealed!”

A massive wall surrounded Yeouido.

To be precise, a huge concrete wall made by laying high-rise buildings on their sides surrounded Yeouido along Olympic Avenue. The scene looked more like a cheap disaster movie CGI, but now wasn’t the time for such thoughts.

Now that the barricade was in place, it was time to push them north.

“Seon-a.”

“Yes.”

Pfft - ! Pfft - !

Small lights floated in the air like will-o'-the-wisps, forming a straight line at wide intervals. They were flames created by magic.

In other words,

flames fueled by magic.

“Ji-yoon.”

“Yeah...!”

As Gan Ji-yoon extended her hand, a strong wind blew, pushing the hair of the three of us forward.

This wind was also a massive clump of magic,

and it was a southeast wind.

*

I didn’t believe in fate.

I didn’t think about what I was born to be, and I believed that everyone’s efforts determined their path.

Still,

“Damn it...!”

- Crack!

“Fate...!”

When things went to shit, you started blaming your fate.

Yeo Do-yeon smashed the skull of a monster that had poked its head into a building’s rooftop. The monster, which was several meters tall, tumbled from the rooftop to the ground.

Yeo Do-yeon plunged her hand into the eye of a bat-like creature, crushing its brain, and with a light kick, she smashed the head of an alligator-like monster.

A monster approaching from behind her split in two and fell to the ground.

A blue flash appeared, and Seol Jin-woon was behind Yeo Do-yeon.

They stood back-to-back, naturally guarding their surroundings.

“Be more careful, sis.”

“What the hell are you doing, kid?”

“I almost fell in love.”

Yeo Do-yeon chuckled at the indifferent voice. Even if there was no such thing as fate, there was such a thing as destiny. There was a certain thrill in fighting alongside comrades with the same heart and purpose.

Of course, the situation was too fucked up to call it thrilling,

and she didn’t know if she was losing her mind from the fight or if adrenaline was surging as she was about to die,

but at least she was smiling.

“What’s the situation now?”

“The concentrated bombardment on the queen has started. We expected it, but our firepower is lacking. Just hold on a bit longer until the mana stone is exposed.”

Seol Jin-woon spoke as if he was buying a triangle rice cake from a convenience store.

“Team Leader Yu, please take care of that thing over there. And Director Park, shoot something flashy at the queen... It seems everyone is too busy fighting to draw attention. The boss has appeared, so we can’t waste time on minions...”

Though his voice sounded lazy, it was actually the voice of a survivor who was thoroughly exhausted and disillusioned. Yeo Do-yeon often gave a bitter smile when talking to Seol Jin-woon.

“? Why are you laughing? It’s annoying.”

“Your attitude is just like your brother’s.”

“That damn brother talk never stops-”

That’s when it happened.

A sound like a whale’s cry echoed, and horrific flesh masses burst out from the queen’s thorny tentacles.

They fell like raindrops, but suddenly sprouted wings and flew into the sky.

The smallest was larger than a container, and there were at least six of them.

“...We won’t be able to finish this until we take down the queen.”

The magic gathering around the iron pipe Seol Jin-woon held was not ordinary. A sharp, refined blue aura was gradually intensifying.

“...The monsters are circling around us.”

“I know.”

“Do you know and still do this? To tire us out?”

“Probably.”

Seol Jin-woon stared at the queen silently. His gaze was dry, but his sword qi was fierce.

The boy lightly spun and swung a flash of light.

Five monsters were cut in half and fell, but the flesh masses that emerged from the queen’s body filled their places.

“The Hyun-ju team has retreated!”

“Please go that way, Team Leader.”

“Are you okay!?”

“I have to be.”

They were pouring blood into a bottomless pot.

Far away, a person fell from a building, screaming. Though not close, it was someone she knew by face and name.

Yeo Do-yeon turned her head indifferently but suddenly felt a lump in her throat and looked up at the sky.

She could now turn her head to death. The momentary unconsciousness made her even more ashamed.

She clenched her teeth to hold back tears and looked up at the sky, but the sky was cruelly spewing out monsters from the blue gate.

Just as she was about to complain about her fate, a light flickered on the horizon. Yeo Do-yeon chuckled.

“Hey, the sun is rising.”

“...No, it’s not.”

Seol Jin-woon’s voice was slightly trembling. Yeo Do-yeon swallowed her tears in confusion and looked at the horizon.

“What...!?”

A tidal wave of fire was surging from the sky.

It was a storm of flames.

A wave of scorching heat engulfed them.

“Is it a bombing...!?”

“Everyone, get down!”

The flames swept over the ground, turning the blue night sky red. The queen’s scream echoed through the world. Her thorny tentacles and red blood vessels were engulfed in flames.

The world shook with the monsters’ screams and the scorching heat.

Everything flying in the sky flapped burning wings and eventually burned to ashes, and the things that finally fell had no wings.

And,

in the midst of that fierce storm of fire,

the queen’s mana stone finally revealed itself.

A black mana stone covered in tentacles emitted a red mist.

“Sis...!”

If the first phase of the operation was for Seol Jin-woon’s squad to disrupt the gate’s axis,

the second phase was to draw out the queen and expose the mana stone with concentrated attacks,

and the third phase was to launch Yeo Do-yeon like a bullet to absorb the mana stone.

Thus, the urgency in Seol Jin-woon’s eyes meant:

Can you enter that fire and eliminate the monster?

Are you finally ready to risk your life?

Do you have the confidence to end this fight?

Yeo Do-yeon nodded without hesitation,

and she succeeded,

and she did it.

*

No one was born a hero, but the times made heroes.

Division Commander Yu Hyun-jong successfully retreated hundreds of thousands of national army troops to Gangwon Province by burning the Taebaek Mountains,

Commander Kim Doo-sik took advantage of the lull in the offensive to evacuate 270,000 citizens from the southern part of the capital region behind the Chungcheong defense line.

Special forces led by Won Ok-bun quietly advanced toward Pyongyang from under the sea,

and Han Seung-moon finally arrived in Seoul.

Thus,

“...!”

Yeo Do-yeon didn’t believe in fate, but the scene before her eyes was undoubtedly fateful.

The sky was filled with flames, and things that deserved judgment were falling, while the overwhelming army of monsters was fleeing north.

And.

Three people, holding hands, cautiously landed on the rooftop of a building. Yeo Do-yeon watched the scene in a daze.

“Hey.”

A limping man in a rumpled suit tapped Yeo Do-yeon’s shin with his cane.

“Have you been eating well?”

“...!”

“Ah, damn, don’t hug me, I’m covered in blood.”

Just as Yeo Do-yeon lunged at Han Seung-moon and hugged him, wiping away her tears, a series of hunters approached, leaping from rooftop to rooftop.

“Seon-a! Hey, you bitch!”

“Oh, my sister!”

“Bitch!”

“Kiyang!”

A short-haired hunter ran full speed and knocked Hong Seon-a down,

“Fucking long time, Dear!”

“Old man, it’s been a while!”

Kim Chun-sik, who was standing next to her, helped the fallen Hong Seon-a up.

He approached Han Seung-moon, who was being suffocated by Yeo Do-yeon’s hug, from behind and gave him a bear hug.

“The honorable representative Han!”

“Suffocating...!”

“What a cute thing to do, you little cutie!”

Han Seung-moon was sandwiched between Yeo Do-yeon and Kim Chun-sik, and Kim Chun-sik whispered in his ear with a cheerful smile.

“I forgive you for splitting the guild in half.”

Han Seung-moon shuddered.

“...Ah, you knew-”

“Hunters have good ears. Seon-a’s complaints... tsk. It’s a bit much to hold a grudge over past events.”

No one was born a hero,

“...Well. It’s a sight to see.”

but somehow, things turned out this way,

“I’m Han Seung-moon.”

“I’m Seol Jin-woon. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

The times brought heroes together.

*

The boy who had led many people for half a year dealt with the congressman confidently. In fact, Yeo Do-yeon’s antics significantly diluted the tension of the character named Han Seung-moon.

“Are you from the government?”

“Yes. Thank you for your hard work, Seol Jin-woon. We are the vanguard, and the air force will arrive soon.”

His gray hair, deep dark circles, thin build, and a face that seemed sensitive and irritable didn’t evoke much tension, especially knowing that this person would call his sister first if a bug appeared in the room.

“May I report the situation first if it’s not too much trouble?”

Han Seung-moon nodded, and Seol Jin-woon calmly and succinctly explained everything. The Seoul gate’s rampage, the impending end, the reason for the fight, Lee Cheol-jin’s betrayal,

and the gate.

“Are you going to close the gate?”

“Yes. The details are with the gambler-”

Suddenly, there was a monster with a mouth on its face behind Han Seung-moon.

“Eh-heh-heh-!”

Han Seung-moon, who was sensitive to disgusting things, screamed as the monster opened its mouth wide enough to swallow a human head.

And it shouted.

“Kyaah-!”

“Aah-!”

“It’s Han Seung-moon-! It’s Han Seung-moon! Why the fuck is Han Seung-moon here! Seol Jin-woon! Did you, did you just report me? Is this a fucking betrayal? Huh!?”

The monster moved its large mouth dynamically and spoke perfect Korean.

If it hadn’t, Gan Ji-yoon would have twisted its neck, but she awkwardly crossed her arms and looked around.

“Is it... a person...?”

“I may be human trash, but I am somewhat human!”

“You’re a person...”

“Rounded to the second decimal place, I’m 59.2% human!”

The gambler was someone who had participated in biological experiments and was a representative of the political circle that had sent Cha Jae-gyun away. He knew Han Seung-moon.

As someone who had fled from the stern judgment of the law and the guns of the National Intelligence Service, Han Seung-moon was truly a source of fear,

“But, even if you’re caught by a tiger, if you give it a rice cake, it won’t eat you, right?”

He began to flatter Han Seung-moon as respectfully as possible.

“Yes, as you know, I conducted research by killing people. Of course, I’ve never heard of or done anything involving civilian mobilization, but there are some rumors, you know. Yes, I’m a spectator. And I fled from the judgment of the law.

Still, the country and the nation, no, cancel that, what, isn’t Seoul a harsher place than prison? No, that’s a slip of the tongue. Damn this mouth!

Even though I’m a criminal, yes, to repay the debt to the world a little, I’ve been researching the method to close the gate for half a year, risking my life!”

Han Seung-moon, who was sensitive to disgusting things, tried to hide his distorted face with a calm response,

“Yes, please continue.”

“...!”

The gambler, hearing this as if it were a “That’s interesting, go on,” bowed deeply and continued.

“Um! Let me explain it simply! The gate is maintained by a core, and that core is the queen’s mana stone. If you remove the queen’s mana stone, the core inside the gate will regenerate, but if you place my invention at the regeneration position, the coordinate axis will be disrupted, and the gate will close!”

“Is that so?”

“Yes! That’s right! It’s like sinking the core! The gate should start crackling and gradually collapse, and eventually close...

Why isn’t it closing?”

Silence fell over the room.

The gambler stared blankly at the gate. Thanks to Gan Ji-yoon’s protective barrier, he could make a relatively calm judgment.

“Ah, ah! I must have made a calculation error. The axis is a.216.968.451. b198.465.167. c198.265.185. impurities type C. C. C...... Damn it?”

“What the hell is that! Mr. Gambler!”

“Jin-woon, we definitely placed it there, right?”

“We lost six people to do it!”

“But the gate should be distorting by now, why the fuck is it still intact!”

Han Seung-moon said.

“Instead of that, think about what to do now.”

“What, what can we do! The core is probably regenerating right now, and that’s the queen monster! If it regenerates, everything we’ve done so far is-”

He calmly guided the gambler’s panicked thoughts.

“Can you prevent the core from regenerating?”

“Ah, maybe the impurities aren’t working, or the axis calculation is wrong, or a passing monster did something...! Ah, damn. It’s probably the last one. They can smell magic so well-”

“So what should we do?”

“Ah, that, that, damn, what. It’s possible to interfere during regeneration. We went in first to pull out the queen, but this is actually the proper way. So-”

“You mean we have to go inside the gate?”

“Yes. Damn.”

“Damn.”

*

Kim Chun-sik raised his hand quietly.

“I’m going first.”

It was a familiar and dog-like tone he had heard 12 times,

and Hong Seon-a grinned.