Chapter 145: Hellfire Peninsula (2)
At that time, on Dongbaek Island in Busan.
“Damn it, tell them to hurry up with the backup!”
Police Officer Kim Soon-kyung was hiding behind the police car, hurriedly sending a radio message. Although the person he was calling was of a much higher rank than himself, a mere police officer, he raised his voice since the listener was of the same rank.
“Damn it, people are dying here!”
Correction. Regardless of who the other party was, Kim Soon-kyung desperately needed backup.
A monster about 3 meters in size, resembling a giant dog or a demon, was devouring something whole on Dongbaek Island.
It was a person. Already lifeless, lying there quietly, dead. Blood was flowing profusely from the body, the eyes lifeless, pupils devoid of light, like a dead fish.
Kim Soon-kyung thought to himself. Death was a common sight in police work. Especially after the Great Change, when ability users went on a rampage, it was common for many to die.
But this time was different. Because the person being chewed up by the monster, only the upper body visible as it was being devoured, was an ‘ability user.’
“Damn it, hurry up! An Academy student is being eaten by a demon right now!”
Demons eating humans wasn’t considered unusual in this world.
But an ability user being devoured meant the situation was more serious than it seemed.
[We’ll be there soon! What would you estimate the demon’s rank to be?!]
“How should I know? Aaah!”
Kim Soon-kyung quickly ducked behind the police car.
Screech! The police car was sliced in half. If he had ducked any later, Kim Soon-kyung’s head would have been severed along with the car.
Hiss.
The demon’s blade-like tail stretched out long, reaching the police car. Even though they were about 50 meters apart, the demon’s attack reached the car.
Was it because the demon could extend its tail?
No.
“Aaagh!”
The demon was already near Kim Soon-kyung. Having chewed the ability user up to the chest, it looked at Kim Soon-kyung indifferently, with eyes like those of puppies.
“Whiiiirrrr….”
The sound started to escape from beside the ability user being chewed. It was unmistakably a word referring to Kim Soon-kyung, who reached toward his waist.
“Uh, Ah…!”
No gun. Even if there were a gun, it would be useless against an ability user.
“Please, save me…! What did I do to deserve…!”
Grinning, the demon approached Kim Soon-kyung. After swallowing the student in one bite, the demon, with a tail equipped with a blade, sauntered on all fours towards the police officer.
Its tail wagged eerily, similar to how dogs wag when they meet someone they like, chilling Kim Soon-kyung to the bone.
The basis of this apparent ‘happiness’ was undoubtedly killing people-
“Aaah! Mom!!”
At the moment the tail shot up high, Kim Soon-kyung screamed involuntarily.
Thump!
A loud impact sound echoed. Something seemed to be flying towards him, and Kim Soon-kyung thought it was death.
Thought it was death? Why continue thinking? Shouldn’t there be pain if one was cut or died?
Puzzled, Kim Soon-kyung opened his eyes just in case.
Thump.
The demon lay on the ground, head plunged into the earth.
A giant spike, black in color, was embedded in the back of the neck of the massive demon.
“What, what is this…?”
What should it be called? A black, hideous, thick, and long pillar, perhaps?
It was too thick to be a spear.
Yes. A bat. A bat specially made to fight demons.
It wasn’t that the bat fell from the sky and struck the demon; it had pierced through the demon’s body.
“What is this…?”
[It’s too late here.]
A man’s voice came from the sky. A man on a bike, covered in various attachments, was slowly descending from the sky.
“You are…?”
[You’re lucky to be alive. Report this. The demon is dead. …But it looks like four others were completely annihilated here.]
“D-D-Dodjirider?!”
[Not Dodododjirider, just Dodjirider.]
The man, Dodjirider, dismounted his bike, his cloak fluttering.
[It’s too late to save anyone. A demon that has killed humans cannot be left alive.]
Dodjirider raised a hand, and the spike embedded in the demon’s body shimmered and was pulled out.
Thud.
The spike shrank rapidly and flew into Dodjirider’s hand. He strapped a different form of his usual bat to his back and mounted the bike again.
[Perhaps elsewhere…]
“Aaaah!”
Near Dongbaek Island, a woman’s scream echoed on the coast. Another demon, different from the one killed on the island, was rampaging there.
[That was quick.]
“I-I’ll report…this!”
Kim Soon-kyung, trembling, grabbed his radio. Whether Dodjirider was a villain or not, he had a duty to report the situation.
[Report it. I’m here to punish villains. There’s no need to execute the people’s shield.]
Vroom!
Dodjirider swiftly changed direction and headed towards the coast. Riding, he gripped the middle of the elongated staff on his back and hurled it like a harpoon at the demon on the coast.
Whish!
“Wow.”
The staff thrown by Dodjirider pierced the demon’s head. The demon collapsed on the beach, and Dodjirider collected his staff and left the scene.
“What, what is that…?”
Just as he wondered why Dodjirider left,
“The king’s arrival! Ack, what’s this?!”
Armored Taejo, standing on a supercar, was surprised to see the fallen demon.
“Did someone already handle this…? Ho, could my powers have such a wide range…?”
“Report! …Dodjirider dealt with the demon on Dongbaek Island!”
Kim Soon-kyung reported exactly what he saw to the headquarters.
“Dodjirider has appeared in Busan!! Currently executing demons!!”
Dodjirider was dealing with demons that appeared along the coast of Busan.
Almost every 20 km, one or two demons appeared, and the situations where demons were found could be classified into three types.
Either already subdued or dead.
Already subdued and restrained.
Or, inversely, having caught and eaten the ability users trying to subdue them, further rampaging.
[Ah, ah. Secret Society communication. Can you hear me?]
[I can hear you.]
Despite being Dodjirider, or rather because I was Dodjirider, the voice of the person I uniquely respected was heard through the communication device on the bike.
[Reception is good here. Phew, luckily. Now we can finally have a satisfying conversation.]
[Thank you for making this. …Chief.]
[It’s been so long since I’ve heard ‘Chief’ instead of ‘Chairman.’ Ah, really.]
The communication method exclusive to the Secret Society, undetectable by clairvoyant eyes. With this special bike, one could freely communicate directly with the Secret Society’s headquarters.’
[Demons are appearing nationwide. It started from the islands and is gradually spreading inland along the coast. What do you think?]
[It’s like a time bomb.]
[Time bomb?]
[They planted the seeds of demons and delayed the time just enough for the seeds to germinate and turn ability users into demons.]
[So, it’s the same case you reported last time, Director Do?]
[Yes. Pandemonium seems to have succeeded in mass-producing the seeds of demons. Not just any production… seeds that they can transform into demons at will.]
If we had to give it a name, we’d call it the ‘DemonSphere.’
[This is serious. Normally, the chaos would have been suppressed more quickly.]
[Even ability users find it difficult to kill demons immediately. Now that they know there’s a way to resolve this without killing.]
A problem that arose from growing up too kindly.
[Previously, demons were immediately killed upon appearance, but now they will hesitate. They are the same demons, but now there’s a possibility they could turn back into humans.]
[Solar Platina’s demon purification.]
If there was a way to subdue the opponent without killing, they were taught and raised to try that method first. Knowing there’s such a method, ability users would hesitate to kill demons.
First, let’s subdue them. If that didn’t work, we’d have no choice but to revert to the original plan.
Probably, only a very few ability users would suggest just killing them off.
[Whether 100 ability users or 50,000 civilians die, her performance matters to them.]
Pandemonium must have spread the DemonSphere for one reason.
[To make Solar Platina a hero.]
To purify the demons nationwide, Pandemonium scattered the seeds of demons all over the country.
[Chief, how many demons have appeared nationwide right now?]
[Including the demons that have been dealt with, exactly 70. Just the number of ability users who turned into demons.]
[Then it’s going to increase by exactly two more. Or…]
[Reach 666.]
The 666 demons.
Or.
72.
[The Lesser Key of Solomon.]
[Solomon’s 72 demons.]
Currently, 70 demons have been born nationwide. They were originally not meant to become demons but were forcibly turned into demons by the seeds.
And.
[Chief, where have demons not appeared yet?]
[There’s one place left.]
The place where the remaining two demons would be born.
[Ulleungdo.]
That was where Yumir was.
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