#092
As Eunseok was deliberating for a moment…
“Help me, please!”
A trembling cry leaked out from inside the convenience store.
Damn it.
Eunseok inwardly cursed. It seemed someone hiding somewhere in the store had cried out in terror upon seeing the monster.
Naturally, the monster’s movements became more violent.
Crash-! Thud-!
The creature pushed its body deeper into the convenience store, ransacking the interior.
“Ahh! Ah!”
The person inside screamed in sheer terror, seemingly having lost all composure.
“Stay here, sit quietly,” Eunseok said softly to the woman, then moved behind the monster while keeping his distance.
Switching his automatic rifle from the usual burst mode to full auto, Eunseok took a deep breath and opened fire on the creature’s back.
Kruk-! Kieek-!!
Flesh and green blood sprayed everywhere as the barrage of bullets hit the monster. Screaming, it pulled its body out of the convenience store and turned around. Eunseok unleashed a torrent of bullets at its head without restraint.
The acrid smell of gunpowder diluted the fishy stench of the monster’s blood. Its head was completely shattered.
Thud-!
The massive body collapsed sideways.
“Anyone inside the convenience store, come out now!” Eunseok called out calmly, his voice loud enough to be heard inside but not too loud.
After a brief wait, a part-timer who looked to be about high school age cautiously poked his head out from under the counter where he had been hiding. Only after confirming the fallen monster and Eunseok with his gun did he come running out, his legs shaking.
And so their group of three grew to four.
Fortunately, they didn’t encounter any more monsters until they reached the barricade.
The soldiers beyond the barricade quickly made way when they saw Eunseok and his group.
“Thank you!”
“Thank you, mister.”
The three people bowed repeatedly in gratitude.
“Excuse me, are you Guide Lee Eunseok from the Baekho Guild?”
One of the soldiers asked as Eunseok was about to turn back after guiding the three to safety.
“Yes, that’s right.”
At Eunseok’s response, the soldiers murmured among themselves. Then someone shouted from beyond them.
“Guide Lee Eunseok?!”
The loud voice sounded somewhat familiar. Soon, someone emerged from among the soldiers.
“Wow, it really is Guide Lee Eunseok!”
A young man who still had traces of boyishness, Park Sunwoo, shouted with a bright smile. He rushed over and stood right in front of Eunseok.
“Guide Lee Eunseok! We must really have a special connection!”
Park Sunwoo, the S-rank esper from the Ability Management Bureau, was overjoyed to see Eunseok, not knowing what to do with himself.
“…Mr. Park Sunwoo. Where are you coming from?”
Eunseok asked, noticing his appearance covered in green blood and flesh.
“Oh, yes. I was called here right after clearing an A-rank gate. I was really annoyed about being sent without any rest, but I guess it was fate for me to meet you, Guide Lee Eunseok.”
Sunwoo’s eyes sparkled with envy as they focused on Eunseok’s hand holding the gun. Eunseok abandoned his thoughts of continuing activities upon seeing Sunwoo. With an S-rank esper deployed, dealing with the monsters that escaped from the gate would be quick work. To continue rampaging out of personal desire would go against his promise with Choi Hanseo. Eunseok thought it would be better to rejoin his team now.
“Well then, good luck with your work.”
Instead of turning back, Eunseok moved beyond the barricade.
“Uh… weren’t you in the middle of hunting monsters?”
Sunwoo asked, grabbing Eunseok’s shoulder.
“Now that you’re here, Mr. Park, I think things will be wrapped up quickly, so I’m going to rejoin my team.”
“Ah…”
Sunwoo’s face showed obvious disappointment. Eunseok could see intense desire in Sunwoo’s eyes as he stared at him. He didn’t even try to hide it.
Choi Hanseo was right. He’s a young esper still inexperienced in controlling himself. It would be best for Eunseok, an S-rank guide, to keep his distance from espers like Sunwoo.
“Well then, goodbye.”
Eunseok gave a brief farewell and turned away. Fortunately, Sunwoo loosened his grip on Eunseok’s shoulder without resistance. Eunseok felt inwardly relieved. Ever since his recent kidnapping, he couldn’t help but view all S-ranks as potential threats.
***
The gate’s location, which Eunseok found after asking around, was an abandoned factory right at the foot of Donghak Mountain. It seemed that because it had formed inside a large abandoned factory, it had gone unnoticed by everyone as time passed. No. Eunseok’s instinct told him that at least the Apostles of the Apocalypse must have known about it.
In any case, approaching the abandoned factory itself was easy. The creatures that had already escaped from the gate were all scattered in different directions.
On the way to the abandoned factory, there were wrecked cars, trucks, and motorcycles strewn about here and there. Uncollected bodies were still left in some vehicles, and pieces of horrifically torn bodies could be seen along the roadside. Eunseok deliberately averted his gaze from the bodies and hurried his steps towards the abandoned factory.
Although there were several huge factory buildings connected, it was easy to find the one where the gate had formed. There was one building with signs of something tearing through its metal walls in various places.
Eunseok cautiously approached the abandoned factory with his finger on the trigger of his automatic rifle, just in case, and peered inside through the torn wall. Just that was enough for a pungent smell to assault his nose. The high and wide interior of the factory he looked into was literally carpeted with monster corpses. And in the center, a gate of mysterious color gaped open.
Two people were standing at a distance in front of the gate.
“Taeuk hyung?”
When Eunseok called out, Ji Taeuk, who was standing a bit far from the gate, flinched in surprise and then turned his head.
“Oh, Eunseok!”
“Guide Lee?”
Ji Taeuk and Shin Jeongho called out to Eunseok simultaneously.
Eunseok took his finger off the trigger and approached Ji Taeuk.
“Why are you here? Where are the others?”
Eunseok asked, looking around the factory interior.
“Well. We all dealt with the creatures coming out of the gate together, and now they’ve gone in to handle the boss that hasn’t come out yet. Hunter Shin Jeongho is standing guard in case any more creatures come out of the gate in the meantime. I… was told it would be better if I didn’t go in, so I’m waiting here.”
Indeed… this time, dealing with the boss as quickly as possible was crucial. If the boss isn’t dealt with, monsters will continue to regenerate endlessly. That’s probably why they left Ji Taeuk, a healing-type, behind.
“What about you?”
Ji Taeuk asked.
“Ah, hunters who can handle things started arriving. Even S-rank Park Sunwoo arrived. It seemed like my job was done, so I came to rejoin the team.”
“Ah… even Sunwoo came?”
“Yes.”
“I see. That’s good.”
Ji Taeuk nodded.
Shin Jeongho fixed his gaze back on the gate. It was a situation where monsters could burst out at any moment. Eunseok also stood beside Ji Taeuk, staring at the gate. They couldn’t follow into the gate. Not knowing the situation inside or their team’s position, waiting was the best option. The one fortunate thing was that S-rank Choi Hanseo was inside. With his combat ability, it shouldn’t take too long to deal with even the boss.
Perhaps bored with waiting, Ji Taeuk squatted down and rummaged through his backpack. He then took out a blue ion drink, opened the cap, and held it out.
It was just when Eunseok was feeling thirsty. Putting down his duffel bag and automatic rifle, Eunseok took the ion drink and gulped it down. Though the temperature was lukewarm, it felt refreshing as it moistened his dry throat.
Almost half the bottle was quickly emptied.
As Eunseok wiped his mouth while catching his breath, Ji Taeuk quietly moved closer. His gaze was fixed on the holster strapped to Eunseok’s thigh.
“What is it? Are you thinking about learning to shoot too, hyung?”
“Yeah. I was wondering if I could contribute more to our combat power if I trained a bit like you.”
Ji Taeuk said, looking at the pistol in the thigh holster.
It was a good idea. In fact, Eunseok had wanted to teach Ji Taeuk how to shoot for a while. He knew that Ji Taeuk was inwardly upset about not being able to contribute to combat. It didn’t matter if he didn’t have much talent. Even being able to protect himself would be a great achievement, apart from combat power.
“Can I hold it for a moment?”
Ji Taeuk asked cautiously. Eunseok took the pistol out of his thigh holster and handed it to Ji Taeuk.
“Don’t worry, the safety is on.”
“Okay. Got it.”
Ji Taeuk awkwardly held the pistol in his hand. Then, in a pose that was quite decent for a first-timer, he aimed at the air.
