112. Crazy
A military belt linked Gangwon-do, North Hwanghae-do, and South Hwanghae-do. About 400,000 soldiers were holding the line of defense. It had already been three weeks since they started the vigil, and now dark fatigue made a home on their camouflaged faces. The sight of thousands of heavy weapons being inspected looked quite severe, and tanks and armored vehicles moved about day and night.
Sergeant Jung Young-woon should’ve been discharged three days ago. However, due to the sudden outbreak, he returned during his vacation. It was unfair, but it was an indefinite postponement until he was discharged.
“In position.”
There were so many people stationed here. Just looking at his colleagues and other company men, it was a pity.
“Don’t hold back. If anything moves, shoot it. Got it?”
“I need a cigarette.”
“What’s your business?”
“We’re on duty, Corporal.”
Jung Young-woon replied jokingly. Corporal Choi Gyu-cheol, who worked at the beginning of the day, relaxed and said, “Sergeant Jung Young-woon, why are you so late?”
“What do you mean late? I’ve been here since ten minutes ago.”
“Hey, isn’t it polite to be here 15 minutes before your shift?”
“That’s ridiculous. By the way, why are you asking for a cigarette while fighting monsters? I don’t understand.”
“Why not?”
“Then, let’s have a smoke and take turns.”
“Alright.”
Choi Gyu-cheol agreed and then turned to the deputy chief.
“Tell me as soon as something happens.”
“Yes, sir!”
Choi Gyu-cheol left the post. Private Lee Joon-kyu, who was on duty with Jung Young-woon, passed him and entered the guard post. He glanced at Lee Joon-kyu, who was a recruit who had moved in less than three weeks ago. It must’ve been the reason why his body was shaking.
“The recruit is shaking so much. What if he gets in trouble like that?”
“Don’t worry about the kid; worry about me. I think I’ll get into an accident.”
“Heheh, if you got into an accident, your military pension would increase. What do you think?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Shit, I want to go home… is there anything special about this?”
“Yes, it’s quiet for now. But I’ve been near the crack, and I felt like I’d be pulled into my death.”
“Phew, what could the army even do about this?”
The two talked about this and that while smoking in front of the guard post. In general, when Jung Young-woon complained, Choi Gyu-cheol comforted him.
“Oh, by the way, Sergeant Jung Young-woon. Did you see this woman Isori earlier in the day?”
“Isori? Who is she?”
“Hunter Isori. Don’t you know? She came to our base during the day.”
“I don’t know. Is she famous?”
“She’s S-class!”
“Really? I didn’t see her…”
“Wow! You’re so unlucky.”
Jung Young-woon’s reaction was harsh. Suddenly, Choi Gyu-cheol made a fuss and raised his thumb.
“She’s so beautiful. I’ve never seen such a pretty woman in my life.”
“Hey, don’t overdo it.”
“Also, her body was amazing. I was going to confess right away, but I held it in. Honestly, my luck with the ladies is average.”
“Heheh.”
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“Come on; it’s real. Didn’t I tell you? If I found someone like her in the army, I’d go through another round of training—”
Bang!
The two giggling people froze for a moment. They turned their heads in the direction of the sound. The next moment…
Tadang! Tadang!
“Hey, you crazy bastard!”
Jung Young-woon and Choi Gyu-cheol threw their cigarettes and ran. They felt like their eyes were growing dark.
‘The new kid got himself in trouble!’
Surprisingly, however, both of the deputies were fine when they got to the post. Their guns were pointed in the boundary’s direction. There was a crack about 450 meters ahead, which had been around for a long time. That was where hunters were deployed this afternoon for the subjugation.
Monsters poured out of the crack like a leak from a faucet. Choi Gyu-cheol’s mouth was wide open. A scream tore through his open lips.
“We’re… we’re done for.”
“What?”
“The crack…”
Jung Young-woon didn’t immediately understand what his words meant. Still, he realized one thing instinctively.
They were screwed.
***
A Hunter Recruitment announcement was issued. It was for seeking free hunters like Ko Byeong-gap to head to the front lines. The phrase ‘Voluntary Participation’ was written, but the nuance of the official letter was almost forced. Even if they ignored it, reminder texts kept coming, telling them to hurry up, go to the association, and write a volunteer application.
Most guild hunters had already gone north, so one guild proudly occupied the entire city center. It was Illumination, the guild with a hexagonal amethyst as its symbol. Their mission, known externally, was to protect the people’s livelihoods, maintain security, and protect urban areas in case of emergency. The guild distributed relief supplies and did good deeds. If one didn’t know about it, one might think it was a good thing to do. However, it wasn’t as nice in Ko Byeong-gap’s eyes.
He knew that Illumination was a guild derived from the Six-rays Bridge. Most of the hunters in Illumination were followers of the Six-rays Bridge. They would act according to their code of conduct when disaster struck so that they couldn’t be trusted.
‘However, it’s weird, right? I’m not from Six-rays Bridge, but I was encouraged to join.’
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They might intend to discard him along the way or made him do missionary work. A sane person wouldn’t agree to crazy plans like that. Well, there were quite a few hunters who were unhappy with the current society and its system. If he told them the world of Awakeners would soon come to an end and they could rule it, he would receive quite the positive response.
It was crazy…
Ko Byeong-gap smoked in an area set up on the side of the road. The hunters that walked through the streets wearing hexagonal symbols like armbands were a common sight. Sometimes when they made eye contact with him, they would stare at him down.
Ko Byeong-gap could see a strange sense of pride in their eyes. He felt a mysterious confidence in them like they thought they were the chosen ones.
“Keh!”
He spat violently and left the smoking area. After seeing all the work outside that day, he thought of going home. He stood in front of the crosswalk and waited for the signal. He spent his time tapping his cell phone and watching news articles. It was then the old woman that stood next to him collapsed.
“Ugh… ugh.”
“Grandma! Huh?!”
He lifted his head and felt chills down his spine. It was the sky. A space about five meters from the ground was distorted and cracked.
It was a crack. There was a crack right there!
“Kyaaa!”
“Argh!”
“He… Help…”
People ran away in a hurry. Some of the vulnerable couldn’t withstand the force field it suddenly projected and stumbled. Cracks often occurred in the middle of the city center. However, the story was different if monsters came out of it.
“Kegigigi! Kegigigi!”
“Keruk! Keruk!”
‘A Monster Wave!’
Monsters poured out of the crack. Ko Byeong-gap habitually put his hand on his waist. However, he didn’t have a sword since he hadn’t come out for battle.
“Aaaah! Save me! Ah!”
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“Argh! Argh!”
“Help!”
The streets quickly became a mess. There were about 60 monsters that came out. Fortunately, the monsters were F-class Squids. The low-level monsters hopped around with a beast’s leg attached to the body of a fish.
“Kegigigi!”
Ko Byeong-gap swung his hand around and crushed a monster’s head. A middle-aged man in his 40s, who was lying under it, was bathed with its blood and had fainted.
“Oh my god!”
It was ridiculous; the real problem was the civilians. For them, even an F-class monster was a disaster. The Squids ran in all directions and bit at those fleeing. Passers-by desperately ran away from the monsters, but it was meaningless.
‘I can’t save everyone!’
He quickly made up his mind. It was too much to save everyone in the first place. However, he could destroy all the enemies as quickly as possible. He released his aura with violent momentum and moved like a lightning bolt. His fists and legs stretched out. He didn’t have to use a sword to defeat them; he could use his body as the weapon.
He used his fists to bash apart five Squids at a time. His kicks blew them apart like bullet fire. He glanced to the side during the battle. Hunters belonging to Illumination joined in and were fighting the Squids.
Ko Byeong-gap felt surprised because he didn’t expect them to help.
“Geeek!”
“Cough!”
Five hunters, including Ko Byeong-gap, moved enthusiastically. Thanks to them, the immediate commotion quickly calmed.
“…Darn it.”
The Squid corpses cluttered the streets alongside many people. His anger soared while looking at the sprawled bodies.
“There!”
“Move the wounded!”
The soldiers and hunters stationed in the city center arrived. He decided to leave the clean-up to them. Ko Byeong-gap walked away after dealing with the monsters he missed. Like the pieces of bread that Hansel dropped, the bloodstains showed the path of the monsters. Pale-faced people fled in the opposite direction to Ko Byeong-gap.
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‘It’ll be faster to go up.’
Ko Byeong-gap leaped to the roof. How long had they been running? He was forced to look down a remote alley. There was a runaway Squid, and in front of it was a civilian who fell on his butt.
“Ah… ah… save… me…”
Just as he was about to jump in, someone appeared one step ahead. Judging by his movements, he seemed to be a hunter.
‘Illumination?’
The sign on the armband on his forearm indicated that he belonged to Illumination. He confronted the Squid with his back to the civilian. Ko Byeong-gap thought, ‘This person will take care of it.’ So, he tried to turn around, but something felt strange.
“Creee…”
The Squid didn’t take any action. It was a monsters’ habit to rush people upon sight. Yet, the hunter confronting the Squid looked around. Ko Byeong-gap instinctively hid.
“Tha… thank you…”
“What are you thankful for?”
“What?”
The hunter slipped out of the way, withdrawing his weapons. Suddenly, the Squid attacked the civilian without touching the hunter.
“Ahhh!”
“Kegigigi!”
Before the Squid could even reach the civilian, Ko Byeong-gap landed between them. All that happened in half a second.
“Wait, when…?!”
The hunter looked at Ko Byeong-gap in surprise. Ko Byeong-gap glared fiercely at him.
“Are you on the monster’s side?”
“Pfft! Damn it!
He suddenly pulled out his sword and swung it.
“You bastard!”
It was too weak to take on Ko Byeong-gap. He was probably B-class at best. Ko Byeong-gap avoided his sword, moving like the wind. After closing the distance, he punched the hunter five times.
“Kuh!”
The hunter threw up blood. Ko Byeong-gap didn’t stop, however, and proceeded to break his arms and legs. The sound of his bones breaking was chilling.
“Argh! Argh! Argh!”
“Shut up, man.”
“Agh!”
Ko Byeong-gap covered the hunter’s mouth, and he looked back. The civilian had long since fainted and wasn’t moving.
“Ugh! Ugh!”
“Look at me.”
He took the hunter across to Ashvilam. The surrounding landscape changed in an instant. The hunter’s eyes widened after witnessing something he had never experienced before.
“Lord?”
“Oh, Turka.”
“Uh! Uh! Uh! Uh! Uh!”
“Who is this man?”
Turka wore a naive expression that didn’t fit his size. Ko Byeong-gap swung his arms wide and threw the man down.
“Ugh…”
“Take him and tie him up with a chain.”
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“Is he an enemy?”
“It’s kind of like that. Anyway, tie him up and watch him. You can kill him if you think he’s dangerous.”
“Yes, sir!”
Turka strode closer. The man struggled in fright.
“Argh! Go away! Hey! Giant Goblin! Giant Goblin!”
He struggled desperately, but his limbs were broken. Blood vessels rose on Turka’s forehead.
“You punk!”
Turka suddenly punched the man in the stomach with his big fist.
“Augh…”
The man drooped after only one blow. Turka scratched his head with an awkward look.
“What a weak human being.”
“Your fist is just too big.”
“He’s not dead…”
“Alright, good job. I’ll be back later, so take care of him.”
“Yep!”
With that, Ko Byeong-gap left Ashvilam.
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