Chapter 29
“But you know they’re fundamentally different. That’s why they don’t travel in groups together. You haven’t seen creatures and traitors moving together outside either, have you?”
Come to think of it, Baek Rak was right. When he discovered them outside, he was too busy avoiding them to notice, but thinking about it, creatures stuck with creatures, and traitors stuck with traitors.
“There’s only one time when they move together.”
Seo Won quietly muttered what came to mind.
“……When they discover humans.”
“Right.”
Baek Rak set Seo Won down on the ground. As soon as his feet touched the ground, Rang, who had been obediently held, jumped down lightly and shook her body. Baek Rak handed the unconscious and limp Yu Sol over to Seo Won.
Seo Won, who hurriedly lifted Yu Sol up, sent a puzzled look to Baek Rak.
But Baek Rak drew the two swords from his waist. Then he glanced at the bent corridor and behind them, and spoke quietly.
“There’s an iron door that comes up to your waist at the end of the corridor. We’re going to run straight there. Got it?”
“What? No, why all of a sudden……”
Baek Rak chuckled at Seo Won, who was vaguely aware of the situation but didn’t want to believe it.
“Why, you think? Should I spell it out for you?”
“……”
“Don’t think about anything and just run.”
Seo Won took a deep breath and looked at Poong and Yu Sol in his arms.
Come to think of it, wasn’t this more possible than before? Back then, it was just him and Poong, but now Baek Rak was here. Baek Rak would protect them while they ran to the end of the corridor, so he wouldn’t have to worry about anything else.
At that moment, clattering sounds came from behind. When he looked back, creatures had discovered them and were rushing over frighteningly.
Traitors in front, creatures behind. Seo Won once again adjusted his hold on Poong and Yu Sol and looked at Baek Rak.
“When?”
“Now.”
Not even giving him time to steel his heart.
Seo Won gritted his teeth and as soon as he received Baek Rak’s starting signal, he kicked off from the bent corridor and ran out. Rang and Baek Rak also began running, sticking to his left and right respectively.
The first thing they encountered were the traitors in front. The guys in human form came running on two legs. With torn mouths open, and tentacles and grotesque wings on their backs.
Then Baek Rak ran forward first. Wrapping his sword in blue energy, he cut down all the incoming attacks. Not a single attack made it past him.
However, creatures that had approached from behind soon joined the attack.
Seo Won firmly held Poong and Yu Sol together and began running with all the strength he had, even that from when he was nursing. Baek Rak, who had been dealing with traitors in front, came alongside him again.
Baek Rak cut the tentacles coming from behind with the heavy sword in his left hand, and blocked the claws scratching from the front with the long sword in his right hand. He trampled or kicked away attacks coming toward his legs, and used the sword’s surface to return projectiles flying from unknown directions.
It all happened in the blink of an eye, so Seo Won could only see the blue traces left around him.
Though his mind was overwhelmed by the murderous intent and attacks pouring from all directions, Seo Won trusted Baek Rak and continued running. Rang was also following without falling behind while avoiding attacks.
While blocking attacks, Baek Rak focused as much as possible on striking the guys’ necks. Since the range he could move was limited, he had to deal with at least the traitors blocking the front to secure a path.
“Baek Rak!”
“Keep running.”
When he called for Baek Rak while looking at a tentacle flying straight at them, one traitor was cut in half along with the tentacle. As black blood spread to both walls, they passed by the guy falling to the left and right.
‘Rotting smell.’
The harsh smell of the traitors that made his insides unpleasant seemed to numb his nose. But since running was the priority, he just swallowed his breath while grimacing.
After running frantically, they finally reached the end of the corridor.
Seo Won, who had collapsed in front of the iron door, set down Yu Sol and Poong and grabbed the door handle. While Baek Rak held them off, he had to open the door and get inside.
“Ugh, this, why……”
But for some reason, the door wouldn’t budge at all. Thinking it might slide sideways, he tried pushing left and right, but it didn’t move at all. There wasn’t even a rattling response, as if he was facing a solid wall.
He tried knocking with his hands and grabbing the handle and shaking it wildly, but it was the same. Seo Won urgently shouted to Baek Rak.
“Baek Rak! This door won’t open!”
“Put your hand on that door and inject energy into it!”
“What? Do what?”
Seo Won wondered if he had heard wrong and turned his head. Baek Rak was blocking creatures and traitors right behind him.
“Put your hand on the door and inject your energy into it!”
“What are you talking about? Where would I have something like that?”
“You’re also, though incomplete, …… a hunter.”
Baek Rak’s breath came in short bursts as he blocked the guys’ fierce attacks. He could be seen being pushed back little by little as they pressed forward brutally from behind.
Seo Won couldn’t hide his bewilderment. He couldn’t accept Baek Rak’s words.
Though he had become a half-baked hunter, even that hadn’t been a full day yet. How could he use something he had never learned or tried? He didn’t even know if he had energy inside him or not.
Of course, when he first awakened, along with his body changing, he had briefly felt a foreign energy. But that was too minute and very fleeting. How was he supposed to feel that again? Right now, it felt like he had to find something that had no substance.
The door in front of him was probably the same type as the door leading to the department store basement bunker.
The person who had opened the door then was Yu Sol. Yu Sol, a hunter who could use energy freely.
But now she was unconscious and collapsed. It was uncertain if she would wake up even if roused, and even if she did wake up, she wouldn’t have the strength to open the door.
Baek Rak couldn’t leave his position because he was blocking the guys, and Yu Sol was impossible, so in the end, only he remained. Seo Won frantically grabbed his head and then suddenly raised it.
“How do you do that?”
When he asked for at least the method, Baek Rak, who had been pushed back another step, narrowed his brow and said:
“Feel the energy in your body and draw it up. Then, inject it…… into the door!”
Draw up the energy in his body and inject it into the door? He had seen Yu Sol do it and understood Baek Rak’s words, but he didn’t know if he would actually succeed. It was uncharted territory for him.
But he couldn’t just sit there doing nothing.
Seo Won let out a long breath and closed his eyes. Energy in his body. First, he had to feel that energy.
Breathing slowly and deeply, he began to examine slowly from his toes, feeling as if he was looking over his entire body. Calves, knees, thighs, stomach, chest, neck, head, arms, to his fingertips.
As Seo Won examined each part, he couldn’t help but tilt his head. He had no idea where that energy was supposed to be.
As time passed, his mouth became increasingly dry. He stuck out his tongue to moisten his lips and this time began examining from his fingertips in reverse.
‘Ah, this is really driving me crazy.’
Though it wasn’t perfect, he was still a hunter, wasn’t he? Then he should be able to feel it, so why couldn’t he feel anything?
Listening to the sounds of battle getting closer, Seo Won rubbed his face. Cold sweat seeped out on his fingertips.
‘Calm down, let’s try once more.’
This time, instead of examining piece by piece, he looked at his entire body with an objective gaze. Then he felt as if his soul was becoming distant.
‘Huh?’
At that moment, he could see something unknown flowing quietly throughout his entire body. Rather than feeling it, it was more accurate to say he saw it. When he tried to gently move them with his will, there was a slight response.
Seo Won took another long breath and consciously tried to move it to his fingertips. Though not much, the energy began to move little by little to where he wanted.
‘It worked!’
But the task of moving what was distributed throughout his entire body piece by piece was more difficult than expected. Just scraping and moving it consumed considerable strength. He could feel sweat droplets forming on his forehead dripping down his chin.
Seo Won felt the energy gathered densely at his fingertips and opened his eyes. Then he could see energy sparkling with blue light condensed in his hand.
As he raised his head in joy, he saw a goblin face fluttering and swaying right in front of him.
“……”
Baek Rak, who had been blocking creatures in front, had been pushed back and back until he was now swinging his sword just one step ahead. Baek Rak’s jumper was torn here and there, and blood droplets splattered from his arms and legs.
As Seo Won stared at him blankly, as soon as Baek Rak’s blood got on his cheek, he suddenly came to his senses.
He hurriedly put his hand on the iron door and pushed power into it. Then he could see strength draining out from his fingertips. The iron door only began to glow blue after completely absorbing everything at his fingertips.
Finally, the iron door that hadn’t even budged opened with a sound.
Seo Won gasped as if all his energy had been drained. How weak must his energy be that opening this small door would exhaust him so much? Yu Sol had been fine even after opening that huge door.
Still, he had managed to accomplish what he thought would be impossible.
Seo Won hurriedly dragged Yu Sol and Poong inside through the opened door. Rang also followed inside.
“Baek Rak! Come in!”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
