Chapter 37
“Yoon Seo Won, that thing…… it’s not human, so just drive. Got it?”
“Huh? What do you mean? A person…… isn’t?”
“That’s a Creature! It’s not human!”
Despite Haru’s urgent words, Seo Won couldn’t understand at all. No matter how you looked at it, he was human. There was nothing of a Creature’s appearance to be found—he was a person living in this world itself.
“Look carefully! There’s no way a person would be standing alone there in the darkness!”
“……!”
Seo Won caught his breath. Come to think of it, the man in front didn’t fear the darkness at all. He was just standing still, facing the approaching truck.
At that moment, their eyes met.
As the distance closed moment by moment, the man looked him up and down and suddenly grinned.
Goosebumps spread throughout his body and he trembled. He hadn’t been able to feel anything until just now, but as soon as the man smiled, tremendous pressure was felt from all directions.
He wanted to look away, but his body wouldn’t listen. The man tilted his head to one side and smiled once more.
“Ugh!”
“That crazy bastard!”
Haru, who was beside him, raised his bow and drew the string. A turquoise arrow was formed. When he shot the bow, the arrow flew toward the man.
However, the man stepped aside and easily dodged the arrow. Then he shook his head lightly as if it was nothing.
“Baek Rak! What do we do about that thing? It’ll be stronger than usual in the darkness!”
“……If it charges at us, we’ll have to fight.”
“Why the hell is that thing here? This is driving me crazy, really.”
Seo Won, who had been unable to say anything while captivated by the man’s gaze, suddenly came to his senses at the sight of the goblin face that appeared. Baek Rak had blocked between the man and himself.
Seo Won belatedly realized that his hands were trembling and damp with sweat.
An aura of death he had never felt before was flowing from the man. A terrible darkness that even ordinary people who weren’t Hunters could sufficiently feel.
The Creature in human form was completely different from the others.
Even without Haru and Baek Rak’s explanation, he could tell just by facing it. Seo Won gritted his teeth.
The truck had somehow gotten close to it.
500m, 400m, 300m, 200m, 100m.
And.
When they approached right in front of it.
The man showed an unexpected action. He casually stepped aside so the truck could pass.
Baek Rak, who had been ready to jump out at any moment, and the man’s gazes met for a long time. The man, who waved his hand gently in greeting, looked once at the driver’s seat and then casually put his hands behind his back. The truck passed the man and gradually moved away.
Seo Won couldn’t understand how the situation was unfolding and asked Baek Rak.
“What’s with that guy? Why did he step aside?”
“…….”
However, Baek Rak only glared at the receding man while hanging onto the tattered passenger door. Seo Won also stuck his head out the window to look back.
The man was standing still in that spot. Even the Creatures that had gathered behind him in black masses were just watching quietly with glowing eyes.
It was actually more unsettling that creatures who would always charge at humans on sight were being so docile. Because you could see at a glance that a command structure existed among Creatures that seemed to move only on instinct.
Moreover, the guy in human form who possessed both an extraordinary presence and intelligence was clearly the most dangerous being.
Seo Won saw the creature smiling brightly through the dusty haze that was dispersing. No matter how he looked at it, it still didn’t look like a Creature. Its eyes weren’t black, no tentacles were visible, and there wasn’t a single bizarre aspect.
A Creature that controlled its own kind while having the most ordinary human appearance.
He turned his head to look forward again. Fortunately, no other Creature groups were visible ahead. It seemed like the guy behind had cleared the path ahead. Why? For what reason? The strength didn’t leave his hands that gripped the steering wheel tightly. His pale hands trembled slightly.
Perhaps Creatures were more complex beings than he had thought.
Feeling fear, anxiety, and unease creeping up, Seo Won moistened his parched lips. Baek Rak was still glaring behind them, and Haru was also keeping guard with his bowstring drawn.
The truck ran noisily and quickly toward Yeongdeungpo Station Shelter.
“It’s an Alpha.”
Seo Won slowly opened his eyes that he had been keeping closed while half-sprawled on the sofa.
He was resting on the office sofa after procuring water when Han Seong Hyeon and Baek Rak opened the door and entered. It seemed they had come together after Baek Rak gave his report.
Seo Won raised his tired body to sit up.
“……Alpha?”
Han Seong Hyeon sat on the opposite sofa and rubbed his brow.
“The guy you just saw is the highest-ranking individual among Creatures.”
“The final boss…… something like that?”
“Unfortunately, that’s not it. There isn’t just one Alpha.”
There are several of those things, not just one…… Seo Won rubbed his face and leaned his body deep into the sofa back. He felt like all his strength was draining away.
“But do all those Alphas go around looking like people?”
“…….”
“…….”
What came back to his question was silence. Seo Won lowered the hand that had been covering his face at the strange atmosphere. Both Han Seong Hyeon and Baek Rak’s expressions were rigidly hardened.
“……What, why are you like that?”
“Alphas.”
It was Baek Rak who spoke.
“Copy the people they eat exactly. Not just their appearance, but everything they remember.”
Seo Won was shocked by Baek Rak’s explanation. They don’t just mimic human appearance but copy the appearance and memories of the people they devour. Then could it be that the appearance he just saw was also……
“Unless the creature deliberately reveals itself like today, we can’t tell. Not even the family members of the person who was eaten.”
“…….”
“At least it’s fortunate they can’t enter the shelter.”
“Then why did it let us go just now?”
When Seo Won asked, Baek Rak chuckled and said.
“Either a whim, or amusement.”
All the stories were equally shocking, so Seo Won laughed hollowly. To think there were still things left to be surprised about. Now even if someone said they could bring the dead back to life, he probably wouldn’t be surprised.
“Do you encounter them often?”
“This is the third time I’ve seen one.”
“…….”
Some people see something three times in their lifetime while others see it after just a week of being here. Well, that could happen too……
The area under Seo Won’s eyes darkened even more.
“Was it like this then too? Deliberately letting you go and looking at you meaningfully?”
This time Han Seong Hyeon answered.
“No. We fought. Once the Creature ran away, and once we ran away. During the day we can somehow handle them, but at night…… even Baek Rak struggles.”
“I see…….”
“Are you okay? It must be confusing coming to an unfamiliar place, but you keep experiencing only bad things.”
Even at Han Seong Hyeon’s concern, Seo Won only let out a hollow laugh.
‘Come to think of it, I haven’t had a moment’s peaceful rest until now.’
From when he opened his eyes in this strange world until now, he felt physically and mentally torn and tattered. He had to accept a reality completely different from the common sense he knew, and before the wounds on his body could heal, he had to add new wounds on top of them.
He hadn’t harbored the absurd expectation that everything would be fine once he reached the shelter, but he had believed he could at least live a stable life. Even when he was introduced to the shelter by Yu Sol and obtained various information.
But for incidents to keep happening without rest like this.
He had already exceeded the limits his brain could accept. As his mental strength wore out, his body felt several times heavier. Creatures, Alphas—right now he could only think about wanting to rest.
“Can I…… rest a bit?”
He knew they needed every hand they could get, but he also needed time to rest.
“Uh…… you look tired. Is it because you were chased twice?”
What does the number matter at this point? No, does it matter? When he silently stared at Han Seong Hyeon, he smiled awkwardly.
“I’ll open the bathroom for you, so wash up and rest a bit.”
Opening the bathroom in a situation where they had barely managed to procure water with the truck was a big consideration. Of course, to some extent it also had the meaning of compensation.
Seo Won thought of the words “hazard pay” and smiled slightly to himself.
“Alright.”
“Baek Rak, you rest too. Haru seems to already be snoring and sleeping.”
At Han Seong Hyeon’s words, Baek Rak stood up as if he had expected it. Then he spoke to Seo Won, who was looking up at him weakly.
“Get up.”
“……I should.”
Seo Won placed his hands on his knees and struggled to stand up with a grunt. At least the thought that he could wash and sleep seemed to give him a little strength.
Despite his tired appearance, Seo Won followed Baek Rak with light steps. Han Seong Hyeon, who watched this, shook his head and chuckled.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
