TTOA Chapter 60
by VolareBefore even understanding the situation, Jae-jin’s body moved with utmost speed.
There was no time to freeze up.
He immediately rushed to the dressing room, grabbed Seo Eui-woo’s gun from the shelf, and expertly loaded it. Focusing to avoid any fumbling, he quickly and accurately prepared the rifle. It wasn’t like he hadn’t watched Seo Eui-woo handle his guns once or twice.
Just in case, he kept an eye on the doorway while putting on the harness and챙겼다 a pistol with extra bullets.
‘It’s okay. The security system would have notified Seo Eui-woo. He’ll be back soon.’
Jae-jin shouldered the rifle butt and scanned outside the dressing room door for any movement. A chilling growl gradually grew closer from the hallway.
The wolf Beta Creature, dripping black blood from its mouth, looked around hesitantly before, thankfully, passing the dressing room and heading toward the bedroom. A trail of pitch-black blood droplets marked the path where the wolf had passed.
Jae-jin, careful not to even breathe loudly, waited for Seo Eui-woo to appear. Each second felt like an hour.
But suddenly, he sharply sensed something odd.
‘Wait, that’s strange.’
Why isn’t the emergency alarm ringing?
If the security system is working correctly, shouldn’t there be an announcement, an escape route opening, or some kind of response?
Is it different because this house isn’t the beach mansion…?
Jae-jin anxiously surveyed the surroundings. In the corner of the dressing room, on the upper part of an inconspicuous pillar, he spotted a crack. The same was true near the window frame.
Deep fissures, like ivy vines, climbed all the way to the ceiling.
There were cracks in the living room and bathroom, and now here too.
The interior was terribly damaged.
‘Could it be… is the mansion’s system broken?’
Seo Eui-woo had been releasing his power for weeks; perhaps the sheer magnitude of his power had short-circuited something. This was a disaster.
Of course, Kwon Jae-jin wanted to believe that wasn’t the case. He wanted to expect that Seo Eui-woo would arrive soon and deal with that Creature in an instant.
But what if the system really was malfunctioning?
What if Seo Eui-woo hadn’t received any notification?
What if he had no idea what was happening to Kwon Jae-jin?
‘Shit…’
Right now, there was no way to contact Seo Eui-woo.
Unlike ordinary residential districts, the communication system within the Special Residential District required a personal line registered with an Esper Registration Code. General communications like calls and texts were all cut off the moment you entered the Gate.
That’s why Seo Eui-woo wore Goggles and used them to communicate.
As a Mutant fugitive, Kwon Jae-jin wouldn’t have a personal line, and he couldn’t think of any other way to call Seo Eui-woo. It wasn’t like Kwon Jae-jin could fix the security system right away either.
‘I have no choice. I’ll have to handle it myself.’
Jae-jin firmly gripped the rifle handle.
Fortunately, he had a weapon.
If he aimed well and hit, that would be the end of it.
‘Two shots to the head. One to the chest.’
Taking a deep breath, Jae-jin lowered his stance. His plan was to stay hidden as much as possible and unload bullets as soon as the Creature appeared.
It was dangerous for a civilian to foolishly go hunting for it, and running away recklessly would make him a moving target. For now, it was best to stay quiet and hidden.
Thump, thump, he could hear the wolf pacing in the hallway. It was getting closer and closer. It seemed to be returning without entering the bedroom. Jae-jin put his index finger on the trigger.
Crash!
Bang! Bang!
The entire wall of the dressing room was torn away.
The wolf had bitten and torn at the concrete, sending cement dust billowing. Kwon Jae-jin fired toward the dark shadow visible in the hazy dust as he moved toward the door.
A gun is a ranged weapon. He needed to create distance.
As he quickly escaped from the dressing room, Jae-jin continued to fire warning shots at the Creature.
He hoped that even one shot would hit its head, but luck wasn’t on his side.
The wolf, crouching on its hind legs, leaped, closing the distance in an instant. Its bright yellow eyes gleamed wickedly like will-o’-the-wisps.
“Kuh!”
Was he really going to die like this?
He felt like he had hit it at least five times, but he couldn’t bring it down. The dark creature was bleeding profusely but charged at Jae-jin as if it felt no pain.
It certainly wasn’t a living thing. This was a demon.
Seo Eui-woo always goes out to fight things like this with a nonchalant expression? Just a moment ago, he left so casually. How can he do that?
Jae-jin, having fled to the living room, steadied himself and aimed the gun straight ahead. He aligned the front sight with the rear sight and pulled the trigger repeatedly. The wolf was close enough to touch.
The monster’s jaws were wide open, and from among the hundreds of teeth that had grown like a monster’s, a tentacle-like tongue stretched out.
The tongue, extending like a rope, grabbed the rifle Jae-jin was holding and pulled. If he held on, Kwon Jae-jin would be dragged into its mouth.
Making a quick decision, Jae-jin let go of the rifle and grabbed the pistol from his harness. While the wolf Creature crunched and swallowed the rifle, he loaded the pistol and shot it in the eye.
Thwack!
It hit perfectly.
The wolf, which had been right in front of him, knelt and collapsed. He thought he had caught it, but Kwon Jae-jin wasn’t relieved until the end.
To make sure, he continued to fire the remaining bullets into its head and chest as he backed away. The Creature, after spitting out black blood, didn’t move anymore.
Jae-jin stood panting at the edge of the living room.
Looking down, his feet were covered in blood. He had stepped on all the broken glass shards, and the soles of his feet were completely cut up.
“Haa.”
He didn’t even feel the pain. Jae-jin frowned deeply.
He bent down to examine the injuries a little more closely,
and was struck by the forepaw of another wolf-type Beta Creature that jumped out of the window, sending him flying.
“Kkeueuk…!”
His floating body fell through the broken window. He tumbled miserably down the steep mountainside. He scraped and bumped against thorny bushes and rocks, leaving countless small wounds all over his body.
Rolling, rolling, and rolling again.
Finally, he crashed into a large boulder, stopping his body. He barely managed to avoid falling over the valley, but a broken branch pierced his side. Moreover, he couldn’t move because his leg bone was broken.
Still, even in this battered condition, he held onto the pistol in his hand tightly, refusing to let go.
“Euhuk, ahh! Shit, aheuheuk…”
His vision blurred.
Shaking violently from pain that exceeded his limits, Jae-jin lifted his eyes. If a Creature appeared in this state, he would be unable to avoid death.
From behind him, he heard a rustling sound in the green bushes.
Sasasak.
Something was moving quickly.
Barely resisting passing out, Jae-jin raised the pistol. His arm wouldn’t move as he wanted.
With a trembling hand, he reloaded the bullets he had챙긴 in the harness and barely managed to aim at the bushes.
Could he kill a Creature that wouldn’t die even after being shot dozens of times with a rifle, with just a pistol?
The rustling in the bushes grew louder.
The presence was approaching. Approaching. A lot.
*
Black figures appeared in perfect order.
He couldn’t see the enemy properly with his blurred eyes.
Just before Kwon Jae-jin pulled the fingertip on the trigger, he heard a man’s thick voice.
If it had been Seo Eui-woo’s voice, he would have been overjoyed to the point of tears, but unfortunately, it wasn’t.
“Injured. Bring the Healing Factor.”
“Yes, Lieutenant Kim.”
“Looks like he unfortunately encountered a Creature on his day off. Wandering around in these mountains alone.”
Feet wearing black military boots moved swiftly. A group of people wearing black combat uniforms and holding loaded guns.
Kwon Jae-jin felt even more despair than when he faced the Creature.
An Esper he didn’t recognize injected a Healing Factor into Kwon Jae-jin’s neck. With professional skill, they removed the wooden splinter stuck in his side and set the broken bone.
“Is he conscious? State your affiliation, unit, and code.”
“……”
“Which type was it? How many? Location?”
“……”
Jae-jin, unable to answer anything, listlessly lowered his black eyes.
Someone’s hand touched his neck again. They rummaged around his neck as if looking for something.
“Lieutenant Kim. He does not possess an Identification Tag.”
“It’s a disciplinary matter. Scan him and contact the Center. The rest of you continue searching up to the Gate entrance point.”
“Understood.”
Following the order, the special task force members left. One remaining Esper took care of Kwon Jae-jin.
He took out an unidentified device and shined it at Jae-jin, then turned on the transceiver attached to his Goggles and tried to contact the Center.
At that time,
“…Wait.”
The commander, called Lieutenant Kim, sent the team members away first and returned alone.
Then, out of the blue, he roughly grabbed Kwon Jae-jin’s left chest.
Inside his heart. The proof to replace the Identification Tag was located there.
A small, imperfect Core.
“This is a Mutant.”