NOVEL WEB Chapter 67
When I arrived at Olympic Bridge— I realized there were already no people around. With such a ruckus, they must have moved to the designated evacuation center long ago. It was only natural.
‘So.’
It was easy to find. In the darkness under Olympic Bridge, there was a single boat nearby. Six people were hiding inside. With a motor attached, they probably wouldn’t go out to sea but might head to Ganghwa Island or so.
‘No thoughts of letting you go.’
I sensed five presences. Thinking it would be the end if I missed them here, I drew their attention. The vegetation in the park was rustling, and the ones who noticed were drawing their weapons.
Five— I sighed.
‘They can’t have caught up yet. Baek So-yul isn’t visible.’
While their attention was focused, the shadow of the vegetation stretched, piercing a hole under the deck of the boat. Water would gradually fill in, and before long, it would sink.
“What the heck is this?”
“Shut your mouth and start chanting.”
Two of them murmured with stern expressions. Two warriors. One archer. Two mages— and I swung my tentacle behind me. I carelessly tossed aside the body impaled through the neck.
“……!”
I sighed at their foolish and absurd behavior. If they didn’t sense me, their stealth must’ve been pretty high, yet here we are.
‘You should’ve faced the wind.’
I had silenced my footsteps, but I couldn’t hide the smell. Stealth was about eliminating presence and obstructing perception, not about becoming invisible and hiding odors.
‘…….’
I was wasting my skills. I exhaled at their lack of basic competence. For a moment, I wondered if I was an idiot, but who would park a boat under a bridge in the middle of this chaos?
‘The tail isn’t visible.’
Why? Instead of pondering the reason, I bit down. The warrior in front didn’t realize a thing until his wrist was severed, and the shield fell uselessly. The startled archer shot an arrow, but it was swatted aside like nothing.
“Zidul pământului!”
Seeing the wall rise from the ground made me chuckle. It’s not like this was a dead end; what’s the difference in erecting walls in this open space? Instead, the shadow created by the wall pierced straight through his heart.
‘Even for a lowly guy, this is ridiculous.’
The mage perished, and the wall created by magic collapsed horrifically. A gust of wind sent the debris flying. The mage, who was just about to finish his chant, couldn’t utter his last words as dirt filled his mouth, choking the wristless warrior’s breath out.
I incinerated the pitiful remnants of the fallen with transformation. As they were consumed by black flames, the remaining three were stunned. They were now turning to flee, but I intimidated them into staying.
‘Magic Bomb.’
The Earth Serpent was unaffected, and Agail was already swallowed by black magic, rendering it useless, but the Magic Bomb worked pretty well. The last remaining warrior had his shield pierced by it, becoming a horrific shambles. With their front lines gone, only the rear guard remained. The archer tossed away his bow and started to run, but the tentacle chased even faster.
“I-I’m alive…”
At the edge of the tentacle’s range, the one with a distorted smile was pierced in the abdomen by the shadow and perished. The last remaining mage kept mumbling something, but his frozen jaw wouldn’t let him chant. After dealing with him too, I turned to look at the boat that was starting to sink.
‘Looks like the tail has left the scene.’
Since they had waited, it seemed like they would come after me. Thus, there was no need for me to leave. I could just wait for them to arrive. In the distance, a body began to rise. I recalled the earlier words of the fools about using incomplete products in Seongdong-gu and Gwangjin-gu.
As I waited, I felt an approaching presence.
‘…Found you.’
A burly man was carrying someone on his shoulder. And that was…
‘Baek So-yul.’
No doubt about it, it had to be Baek So-yul.
***
The shadow took the form of a wolf, no two ways about it. Yoo Chang-baek gazed blankly at his surroundings. His subordinates lay in tatters. Not to mention, the boat had sunk and was of no use.
He let out a hollow laugh and shook his head.
“…What a joke.”
So that’s why he hadn’t been able to communicate with other teams. Just what was this wolf? Rubbing his aching temples, Yoo Chang-baek thought.
“Just because of a single monster.”
Its eyes glowed red even in the shadows. Facing those eyes filled with deep madness, Yoo Chang-baek felt an unexplainable chill. Just one monster? No, this was…
‘This is dangerous.’
Yoo Chang-baek swallowed. His mind was calm, and soon enough, he made a rational decision.
‘…Fighting isn’t a good option.’
As he intended to flee, he felt something off. Strangely, Baek So-yul, who he’d been carrying, was gone. His eyes widened, and he surveyed his surroundings, catching sight of a winged serpent far away.
‘When did that happen?’
He hadn’t noticed. Meanwhile, the wolf bared its teeth as if it had been waiting. As it took a step forward, he instinctively retreated.
And in the next moment, a sudden wind blew, causing him to lose sight of the wolf. Reacting instinctively to the crisis, he rolled away, hearing a sound as though the air was being bitten. —It was definitely faster than him.
‘So fast!’
He had to run. But how could he escape someone quicker than him? Gritting his teeth, Yoo Chang-baek launched a Magic Bomb. Not at the wolf, but at Baek So-yul. His prediction hit, and as the wolf’s eyes fixated on the Magic Bomb, he ran away without a second thought. Fighting it would lead to nothing good.
‘That monster…!
It must have killed the other teams that had lost contact. Surely, the tail was part of that as well, and yet it showed no signs of fatigue. Meaning, it was strong enough to take down several tails and still be fine.
‘……?!’
Yoo Chang-baek’s eyes widened. He was running straight ahead, yet a wall had risen up.
He soon realized that the wall hadn’t risen; he had collapsed without knowing it. His Achilles tendon had been sliced. Among the foliage, dozens of shadows writhed as if they were snakes. They approached, and a startled Yoo Chang-baek stomped his feet.
‘What is this…?’
For just a moment, the shadows hesitated. Remembering a thought, he poured magic into the ground, and the shadows that neared his retinas disappeared. His heart raced at the approaching footsteps. He exhaled roughly, pulling out a lighter from his pocket.
Tick, tick, he hastily tossed the lighter into the foliage, and soon, flames engulfed the whole park he had just created. It wouldn’t be so easy to use shadows like before. Even if he couldn’t escape, maybe he could fight back. Perhaps it wouldn’t be as strong as he thought… Thinking that, an unexpected twist began.
“……?”
At first, he thought it was the foliage burning and the smoke rising, but— it wasn’t anything gentle like that.
“This is…!”
Black flames were engulfing the fire. —It spread as if ink were dropped in water, and soon, the surroundings were enveloped in black flames. In the pitch-black fire, he felt searing pain. The moisture in his eyes evaporated, and all he could think about was escaping.
“……!”
But soon, the spreading black flames surrounded him. He tried to leap with his magic, but— it was impossible.
“Ah…”
His previously severed Achilles tendon couldn’t carry him over the sprawling black wall.
“Aaaaaaargh!”
The black fire drew closer. It started to seep into the tips of his fingers like pus. Instinctively backing away, his back ignited. The flames crept closer, devouring the remaining space. As the certainty of death slowly approached, feeling the agony of each charred piece of flesh, Yoo Chang-baek faced his last moments— and was consumed by despair.
***
“Ah…”
With a gasp, Baek So-yul looked up blankly. Seeing her in a state of confusion, I sighed deeply.
‘This is the end.’
I had thwarted the scoundrels’ plan and saved Baek So-yul… but I knew very well it wouldn’t be so simple. Just as I had anticipated, there was an ‘awkward clapping’ sound.
‘I figured it would be like this.’
Including the fool I had just killed, there were many tails. Therefore, it was only natural that there was someone orchestrating those tails.
“……”
A figure peered down from the railing of the bridge, adorned with ‘leftover’ dismembered body parts hanging from his waist.
‘An Officer.’
The officer of the scoundrels. It leaped from the bridge. Maintaining a suitable distance, it wore an eerie smile. It looked like a starving person with skin barely hanging onto its bones. Above all, its grotesquely deformed large hands and greenish nails were striking.
‘Broken Finger.’
The officer of the scoundrels— the Broken Finger. It suddenly made a wide circle around. Seeing the boat sink, it tilted its head before turning its back on the corpse of the dead low-ranking member and squatted down.
‘……!’
I barely held back the urge to vomit in disgust. Because I knew ahead of time, if I hadn’t, I might have spewed my innards at its horrific behavior. Corpse Eating. With those strangely deformed hands, it separated the neck from the body of the lowly member. It smiled at the cervical spine still attached to the severed head.
“Kkeheh.”
With its jaw agape like a snake, it chewed as if it were an apple. Without bothering to wipe the blood and brain matter smeared across its lips, it swallowed with delight. Clearly, it was devouring human flesh. Flesh that belonged to its own subordinates.
Crack, crack.
The unbelievable sight of cannibalism sent me into a daze. It didn’t even mind my presence and gluttonously devoured the corpses, savoring its meal.
As if thanking me for serving a feast.
‘…….’
Bright red blood smeared its lips. It wiped its mouth with its wrist, and then it grinned widely. Removing the hair and dirt that stuck to its teeth.
Seeing that, my chest felt tight.
I wasn’t just standing there in a daze. I was gauging its threat through insight.
‘…Can I win.’
I calmly reflected on myself. Having gone through various experiences, I had grown enough that I no longer felt threatened by the scoundrels’ tails, which were once nothing but slimes. Then, could I defeat this thing now?
‘It’s tough.’
The gap in status is just that significant. At best, I could have an edge in firepower and battle through my skills. No, if it were other A-class hunters, it might be worth a try. But to predict victory against it, only Gu Jin-ha could possibly manage that.
‘Because.’
[Broken Finger (ㅡ)]
[Height 177.9cm] [Weight 42.6kg]
[Strength 515] [Agility 574] [Stamina 367] [Magic Power 545]
[Owned Skills]
[False Immortality(B)] [Confusion’s Magical Eyes(C)] [Poisoned Feather(D)] [Weak Vision(E)] [Weak Regeneration(F)]
—That’s because it wasn’t human from the start.