Chapter 145
I rubbed my chin quietly.
“Black creatures want to eat us,” I said. “We’re their favorite prey. And it had you in its sights earlier on.”
"Wait… You’re not saying that we should drag the black creature all the way to Sogang Bridge, are you?”
I nodded and continued.
“We don’t have to deal with the black creature ourselves. We’ll go all the way to Sogang Bridge and let the ones there mess with it.”
“Do you think it’ll be possible, at the speed that we can move? It’s so fast…”
“That’s why we have to go together. We have to get over there while distracting it.”
“Let’s bring Mood-Swinger along, just in case anything happens. You’ll be okay with that, right?”
I nodded, then turned to address Park Shin-Jeong.
“Mr. Park Shin-Jeong.”
"Yes."
“Don’t let your guard down until Hyeong-Jun and I return.”
"Pardon?"
“If we aren’t back by tomorrow morning, discuss with Mr. Lee Jeong-Uk about what to do next.”
"What in the… How could you talk so irresponsibly?”
Park Shin-Jeong seemed terribly restless, like a dog that was just about to poop. I smacked him on the back and continued to speak.
“Keep yourself together. Besides, if we deal with the black creature here, the chances of us all surviving are slim.”
“No, but still…”
“If we manage to attract its attention, take the survivors that are in the Vista Hotel and bring them to the Grand Walkerhill Hotel. Join forces with the guards there, either as additional lookouts, or just to bolster the defensive forces.”
“Will Lee Jeong-Uk be on board with this plan?”
“He’ll most certainly be against it. But I'd rather endure some of his hatred than letting everyone here die.”
When I said what I’d wanted to say, I looked over at Kim Hyeong-Jun.
“Where’s Mood-Swinger?”
“In front of the barricade.”
"When we take off, we’ll go at full speed and keep going. I’ll go to Gangbyeonbuk-ro. You should head through the city and keep a distance from me.”
“What if it doesn’t follow us?”
“Well then, we’ll have to make it follow us.”
My blue eyes flashed and I leaped over the barricade. As soon as I landed, I sprung off the ground again and made my way to the outskirts of the hotel complex.
Through the howling wind, I could sense the black creature’s murderous intent. I tensed up from nervousness. I stopped in my tracks and roared in the direction from which I was sensing the killing intent.
“GRRR!!!”
My senses were more heightened than usual. My senses were extremely sensitive to the subtle sounds within the forest. Unseen death was lurking in the darkness.
Whoosh–
I heard it.
The moment I felt a glimmer of a strange presence, I immediately twisted my upper body. As I did so, a long shadow brushed past me. The black creature’s hand had just barely missed me.
Having missed its prey, the creature turned around and glared at me. I wondered if it was surprised that it hadn’t been able to catch me in one move, or if it was angry.
In that fleeting moment, I saw the entirety of the black creature with my naked eye. It had a well-proportioned body, with strong-looking muscles. Its skin was shiny, as though covered in oil, and the veins on its forehead were bulging out, clearly visible under its skin.
Unlike the other black creatures I’d seen before, its mouth was firmly shut. It also had black eyes that seemed hollow, causing me to tremble in fear. It stood completely still, its black, empty gaze boring into me. Its eyes were fully black, without the slightest hint of white.
Just looking at it gave me the chills. I could tell right away that it wasn’t afraid of anything. That it stood on top of the food chain. In fact, it probably existed outside of the food chain.
"Ahjussi!"
I heard Kim Hyeong-Jun’s voice from my right. Before I had the time to even look, Mood-Swinger came charging toward the black creature, steam rising from his body. Since I knew that Mood-Swinger was able to cover the distance of a hundred meters in three seconds, I was hoping for something to happen. However, the black creature easily avoided Mood-Swinger’s head-on attack.
Kim Hyeong-Jun flashed past me.
“Run!” he shouted.
As I saw him go, I forced strength back into my stiff limbs and accelerated the circulation of my blood. Mood-Swinger seemed momentarily surprised. but he quickly ran away as well, following Kim Hyeong-Jun.
I strengthened my leg muscles, and ran desperately toward Gangbyeonbuk-ro, which was on my left. I glanced behind me and saw the black creature staring at me. I was about a hundred meters away from it. I knew I had to maintain a certain distance from it so that it would chase us.
After a moment, the black creature smirked. With a chuckle, it sprung off the ground.
Bang!
I wondered if it was enjoying this situation.
It was acting like a predator, licking its lips as it watched its prey fleeing for dear life. The expression it wore confirmed my supposition that it was enjoying what it was seeing.
I was a monster that could run one hundred meters in three to four seconds. But this black creature… It caught up to me before I knew it and took a swipe at my neck. Eyes wide, I tried to duck. I lost my balance and rolled across the cold asphalt floor over and over again.
'Shit!'
I picked myself up quickly and looked around, but the black creature that was just behind me was no longer in sight.
Whoosh—
The murderous intent creeping toward me made my hairs stand on end. I instinctively twisted my upper body, trying to get into a defensive stance. Sure enough, its arm was arcing toward my face. Even though I held my arms up to protect my face, I was sent flying a couple of meters back, and landed hard on the ground. The heat in my body quickly dissipated, and I felt like I was losing energy.
I could only think of one thing at the moment.
‘I’m going to die.'
I felt something beyond fear and despair. My mind went blank, and the word ‘death’ began to echo in my mind. A high-pitched whine began to ring inside my head, forcing my senses into focus once again.
My arm bones had been shattered by a single blow. I knew it was fast, but I wasn’t expecting it to be this strong. Its strength was immense. This black creature was truly a powerful, almighty being.
The black creature didn’t give me a second to rest. It closed the distance between us in a flash and lashed a foot out.
“Arnold!!!!”
At the same time, Mood-Swinger threw his body forward, crashing into the black creature’s upper body. The two tumbled along the ground, and in an instant, they were back on their feet and squaring off against each other.
“Can you move, ahjussi?”
Kim Hyeong-Jun appeared in an instant and helped me up. I spat on the ground as I tried to channel as much strength as I could into my wobbly legs.
“I had the wrong idea.”
"Why."
"It’s not that easy to run away from it.”
“Then what should we do?”
"Let's think while we fight."
My arms trembled as I spoke, like a boxer on the ropes. Kim Hyeong-Jun’s blue eyes flashed, and steam rose from his entire body. He raised his eyebrows.
“Alright,” he said. “Let’s give it a try.”
The ground cracked as Kim Hyeong-Jun sprang forward, sending bits of asphalt flying. I accelerated the circulation of my blood as well, my blue eyes flashing. Hot steam rose from my body as I restored my broken arms.
“Grrr… Phaw…!”
I strengthened every muscle in my body and got down into a crouch, placing my hands on the ground.
I had one target. The black creature in front of me.
Bang!!
I raced toward the black creature, tearing up the ground under my feet with every step.
The black creature was enjoying itself, dancing its way between the attacks that Mood-Swinger and Kim Hyeong-Jun were raining down on it. I knew that it wasn’t prepared to deal with me, and I knew better than to let this chance go to waste. I latched onto its waist and kicked out at its hamstrings.
‘There we go!’
Now, if I could just roll it over and get on top of it…
Thud!!
The moment I tried to raise my upper body, all the air inside of my lungs disappeared, and I went flying several meters into the air. The black creature had tucked its legs in as it fell backward and kicked me in the chest. I kept my eye on the black creature, struggling to stay conscious.
The moment the black creature tried to get into a crouch, Kim Hyeong-Jun rushed in from behind and caught it in a chokehold. As it began to fall backward again, Mood-Swinger grabbed its lower body from behind. I gritted my teeth and used my height advantage to smash my elbow into its face.
Crack!!!
I got it right on its jaw. Kim Hyeong-Jun kept at it, pulling on its neck as if he was trying to pull out its spine. Mood-Swinger smashed its knees as hard as he could, breaking both of its legs.
KRRR!!!
Only then did the black creature cry out. I wondered if it had given up, and was letting out a death cry.
KRRR!!! KWAAA!!!
For some reason, though, its wails sounded strange. It wasn’t the same noise that the other black creatures had made when facing death. It almost sounded like it was mocking us. Hoping I was wrong, I glanced down at the black creature as I put my hand on my shattered chest. Instead of fear… It was smirking. Even though it was being strangled, even though its legs were broken… It was smirking.
In an instant, its jaw—which was hanging half-off—returned to its original position, and a small red dot appeared inside its jet-black eyes. The red dot fixed upon Kim Hyeong-Jun, who was straining against its neck, and its mouth opened wide. Drool began to flow from its open mouth.
I tried to imagine what it was thinking, what it was going to do next.
"Look out!!!" I yelled at the top of my lungs as I realized what it was about to do.
The moment I cried out, the black creature’s head spun all the way around, and the creature sank its teeth into Kim Hyeong-Jun’s shoulder. Kim Hyeong-Jun leaped backward as his shoulder blade was torn off. However, the black creature didn't stop there. It twisted its back and kicked Mood-Swinger in the neck.
Mood-Swinger was unable to defend himself in time. He took the full force of the unexpected attack and crumpled to the ground.
Crack, crack, snap!
The flesh and bones of its mutilated legs were slowly knitting themselves back together. It… It wasn't afraid of suffering physical damage to its body. Perhaps it believed that it could defeat the three of us even without the use of a couple of its body parts.
Kim Hyeong-Jun pressed a hand against his ruined shoulder blade.
“Ahjussi, we’re no match for it.”
“We have to run before its legs fully regenerate. Now that we’ve definitely got its attention, I’m sure it’ll keep following us.”
“So, back to the original plan?”
I nodded and accelerated the circulation of my blood. The damage to my chest was not completely repaired yet, but I channeled strength into my legs and sprinted toward Gangbyeongbuk-ro again. Kim Hyeong-Jun and Mood-Swinger were right behind me. The black creature still had its eyes fixed on us.
I glanced behind me and saw that its legs were almost fully regenerated. When its crooked legs finally snapped back into place, the black creature crouched down, emitting hot steam from its entire body. It flew forward, breaking the sound barrier with a sonic boom, its murderous intent fully focused on the three of us.
No matter how hard I tried to open up the distance between us, the black creature was quickly closed in. It seemed amused by my miserable attempt to flee.
I… I wasn’t sure anymore if I could make it to Sogang Bridge alive. I gritted my teeth and looked ahead, running as hard as I could.
* * *
The sun had already set. The head of the Family and the other officers were speaking on the observatory of Building 63.
“Where’d they escape to?”
“They went over Sogang Bridge, sir.”
"Ha! Those bastards! How dare they use our roads without permission?”
The boss and the second officer were sitting on a couch in front of a transparent glass wall.
“Are you sure we’re tracking them down? I don’t want those bastards messing up things anymore.”
“The surviving dong leaders are going after them right now. We’ve gotten reports that they’re fighting them on Sogang Bridge,” the second officer answered calmly.
The boss sighed and leaned back against the couch.
"Can’t I get a more definitive answer?” he asked, sounding disappointed. “I don't want a half-assed answer.”
“Should I go and take care of them myself?”
"Oh really? You want to give it a shot?”
“There wasn’t anyone reliable to begin with, sir.”
“Hahaha! You’re absolutely right. You’re the only officer here now. Who else would I give orders to? Hahaha! Dong leaders? Baits? Not in a million years.”
The boss let out a boisterous laugh as he looked out through the transparent glass wall. A little later, the boss sneered.
“What’s going on with them?” he asked.
“The dong leaders are still in the process of recovering, since you and I were the first ones to let our underlings recover.”
“How many dong leaders are there left?”
“After taking over Gangnam, we had eight… But the guy from Gimpo Airport killed two of them.”
“He killed two of them by himself?”
“Yes, sir,” the second officer replied immediately.
The boss gently rubbed his chin.
“Is he… Is he the leader of the bastards? Taking care of two dong leaders by himself… He should receive a round of applause. So, the rest of the dong leaders are chasing him down?”
"Yes, sir."
“How many mutants are there left?”
“There are fifteen stage-one mutants, three stage-two mutants, and two stage-three mutants left.”
“Hmm…”
The boss pouted his lips for a moment, lost in thought. After a moment, he smacked his lips and began to speak.
“Hurry up and go take care of them. I bet whoever is following that bastard will give up when the bastard dies.”
“When you say give up… What are you talking about, sir?”
“What do you mean? Of course I’m talking about the will to survive.”
The boss smirked, beginning to grow excited.
"Hah… This is going to make everything so interesting… I can’t wait to see what happens when humans give up on survival. Do you think they’ll try to fight back, or come to me and beg?”
“But no matter what they do, it won’t change anything. Isn’t that right, sir?”
“Hahaha! That's the answer, officer! Food doesn’t deserve to have a say in anything!”
"Then… I will hurry up and take care of the bastards for your entertainment, sir.”
"Okay. Run along already.”
The second officer bowed deeply from the waist and headed straight for the emergency exit. The boss smiled to himself in satisfaction.
“Fufu… Now, how will I have a good time fucking you up?” he murmured in a low voice.
He was looking into the future, not knowing the imminent danger that was approaching.
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