Chapter 8
Inside the completely collapsed subway tunnel.
After walking through a narrow gap that could barely fit one person, a small space about the size of one pyeong appeared. Whether it was a place accidentally created when the road collapsed, the floor was full of dirt and dust.
Seo Won carefully entered while examining the surroundings. When the man who followed behind blocked the entrance with a massive iron door that had been leaning against the wall, even the sky that still held traces of red energy was no longer visible.
“I can’t see well.”
Seo Won fumbled along the wall searching for a place to sit, then turned around to look at the man. The blue light flowing from him was at least illuminating the darkness, but it wasn’t enough to fill the space.
“Sit there.”
“Here? Is this place relatively clean?”
Seo Won crouched down awkwardly and swept the floor with his hand. But contrary to his expectations, dirt and sand got all over his hand. This was supposed to be a decent place to sit?
The doubt was easily resolved.
“Everywhere’s the same. If you find it unpleasant, then stand.”
“……”
Even when he spoke, he was so…
The man sat down on the floor without being particularly bothered by the filth, just as he had said.
‘Well, it is this kind of world.’
Seo Won sat down on the floor, grateful that it wasn’t at least damp. Only after completely relaxing could he lean his back against the wall.
Come to think of it, the journey here had been quite eventful. Although only a few hours had actually passed, it felt like he’d been tormented for days.
‘And yet there are still so many things I don’t know.’
Seo Won looked at the blue glowing eyes that revealed their presence in the dark space and pondered for a moment.
There were many things to ask, but first this.
“What’s your name, by the way?”
He had only revealed his own name, but hadn’t heard the man’s name. He couldn’t keep calling him “hey” or “you.”
“Baek Rak.”
The man, Baek Rak, fortunately told him his name readily. Thinking it was a somewhat unique name that would be hard to forget, Seo Won asked again.
“Is your surname Baek?”
“Is that important?”
However, this time a rather mocking question came back. Seo Won fell silent at Baek Rak’s reaction, then opened his mouth again.
“Is this kind of thing perhaps a rude question?”
“No, I’d say it’s a useless and stupid question.”
“What?”
He could see Baek Rak’s face approaching him. He leaned his body this way to meet his gaze and looked at him as if he were looking at a strange person.
“Is that a question necessary for your survival?”
“…Well, it’s not.”
“Then don’t ask those kinds of questions from now on.”
“Why?”
Baek Rak stared at Seo Won for a while, then pulled back his body and spat out curtly.
“I don’t know how peaceful the place you lived was, but this isn’t a place where such luxuries work.”
“……”
“If you want to look like an idiot, I won’t stop you.”
It was advice that he couldn’t tell whether it was counsel or criticism. Although it didn’t feel particularly good, there was something about his words that hit the core.
The fact that his common sense didn’t work in this place, and the fact that he would have to adapt to such a place from now on.
Seo Won rubbed his brow at the sense of distance with Baek Rak that felt newly apparent. Somehow it seemed like communication wouldn’t be easy in the future either.
What good was it that they spoke the same Korean, when even if they had the same roots, the world was different and the culture was different too.
‘Is that why he’s so cold?’
He would have to meet other people to know whether Baek Rak was typical or not.
Seo Won shook his head and let out a deep sigh.
“Catch.”
At that moment, Baek Rak threw something. He barely managed to catch the dimly visible object and looked at what was in his hand. The small stick about the length of his palm was somewhat hard and had a dark brown color.
“What is this?”
“Eat it.”
This was food? He brought it to his nose to smell it, but it only smelled like dried grass and didn’t seem particularly strange. It didn’t seem like jerky. When he carefully took a bite, it had the characteristic bitter taste of vegetables.
The act of chewing something itself reminded him of the hunger he had forgotten about. Since there wasn’t much of it, eating it was over in an instant. Still, it was something that he was given something to eat.
He was rubbing his stomach with a feeling of having only ambiguously satisfied his hunger and feeling regretful, when suddenly darkness descended.
“Huh? What’s that.”
When he hurriedly looked at Baek Rak, the light had disappeared from his eyes and the surroundings had turned completely black.
“Baek Rak? You, your eyes…”
“Resting for a moment.”
Was the light coming from his eyes also an ability? Come to think of it, Baek Rak had said he called people like himself Hunters. People with transcendent power. Beings different from civilians.
Hunters who could easily kill Creatures were unknown entities to Seo Won.
“You said Hunters, right? Are there many people like you here?”
“No.”
Baek Rak’s low voice came through the dark air. According to him, Hunters with combat abilities seemed to be rare. The very fact that he was discovered and saved by him might have been tremendous luck.
Both opening his eyes during the day and Baek Rak passing by that place. If things had gone even slightly wrong, he would have been inside a Creature’s belly.
He roughly brushed his arms as goosebumps rose at the horrible imagination that came naturally.
“Ah.”
Then he felt a sting as if he had touched something wrong. When he felt around, he could feel that his skin was scratched. It seemed like a wound from rolling on the ground while avoiding Creatures during the day. At least he was fortunate that it wasn’t bleeding.
Seo Won, who was gently rubbing the wound, fell into thought. What could he possibly do when he was so busy running away like this? Would it be okay to leave everything to Baek Rak and just do as he was told?
‘But… what does Baek Rak want from me?’
Come to think of it, he hadn’t heard the detailed story. What Baek Rak was trying to make him do in exchange for helping him.
When he thought about it, other concerns were premature. There was a conversation he needed to have with Baek Rak first. This time he really wanted to talk properly, so he was raising his head when.
“Yoon Seo Won.”
Baek Rak beat him to it.
He turned his head toward where he was in the darkness where nothing could be seen. It was the place where Baek Rak had been sitting until just before, where his voice had come from. But suddenly, blue glowing eyes appeared right in front of his nose with a flash. His heart sank for a moment.
“Wh-, shi-, mmph!”
“Quiet.”
Before he could raise his voice, his mouth was blocked. Baek Rak, who had somehow approached close, was looking up at the ceiling with his eyes glowing.
Seo Won held his breath and turned his head in the direction he was looking.
Then he felt small vibrations from the ceiling.
Those minute vibrations gradually grew larger as time passed. What had been faint grew in size at some point and began to shake the surroundings greatly. It was like an earthquake had occurred. It was an ominous sign.
Unable to withstand the vibrations, sand fell rustling from the ceiling. Seo Won hurriedly lowered his head. Covered in sand and dirt, he listened to the sound echoing from the ceiling.
Thud thud thud thud.
It was the sound of a massive group moving. The sound continued endlessly, showing how many there were. It seemed like the ceiling would collapse at any moment.
Seo Won unconsciously searched for Baek Rak. He grabbed the arm that was blocking his mouth and looked at Baek Rak with eyes mixed with fear.
“……”
“……”
Between the somewhat irritably raised eyebrows, cold and sharp eyes could be seen. In those chilly eyes, there was silent pressure to stay quiet, but no worry or anxiety could be seen.
Seo Won slowly breathed in the breath he had been holding. His chest repeatedly expanded and contracted greatly. His body, which had been tensely stiff, gradually relaxed.
The vibrations disappeared as quickly as they had approached. Until the ground no longer rumbled, Seo Won focused on Baek Rak’s eyes.
Finally, silence came. Baek Rak removed his hand from Seo Won’s mouth that he had been blocking.
Realizing that this place wasn’t safe either, he naturally became cautious. Seo Won asked Baek Rak while keeping his voice as low as possible.
“…What was that just now?”
“You should know what it was.”
Outside was currently the Creatures’ world. What had just passed overhead must have been an enormous group of Creatures. It wasn’t that he didn’t know that.
“I know it was those things. But where are they going? Is it like this every night?”
Baek Rak looked at Seo Won, who was leaning weakly against the wall, and chuckled.
“Not often, occasionally.”
“Occasionally?”
“They’re going hunting.”
Seo Won suddenly felt a chill.
“Hunting…?”
“Human hunting.”
At Baek Rak’s blunt words, Seo Won recalled the Creatures that had rushed at him. Those things that had opened their mouths wide while drooling black saliva as if savoring the taste.
Humans were nothing but prey. Just chunks of meat to fill their bellies. However, that was humanity’s position from the Creatures’ perspective.
Strangely, Baek Rak accepted being hunted by them as natural. It felt strange.
“Why do you say it like that? Aren’t you fighting the Creatures?”
“Fight? With those things?”
Baek Rak’s reaction was cynical.
“Isn’t the expression ‘fight’ used when you’re in an equal position or have at least some possibility of winning?”
Baek Rak’s blue eyes flickered roughly.
“We’re just struggling desperately not to be eaten.”
“…Struggling?”
“Even if we kill them, it’s only for that moment. How long can we keep fighting against those things that endlessly pour out of the meteorite?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
