By Zephyria 
Beep-beep-beep-beep!
“Eueueum…….”
The child, looking disheveled, rubbed his eyes habitually as he woke up. Haaam! Forcing himself to shake off the sleep that he hadn’t fully shaken off, he turned his head, but sensed something strange.
‘Huh?’
His gaze turned to the alarm clock placed on his desk.
The second hand was pointing to exactly six o’clock.
‘It’s right?’
The child tilted his head.
That’s because, no matter how gloomy the dawn sky is, it always has a bluish hue somewhere, but today the outside was just darkness poured out in chunks.
Is the alarm broken? With a plausible suspicion, the child opened the door and went out into the hallway. A yawn stretched out long with the sound of slippers dragging. As he moved his feet towards the bathroom, his friend opened the door from the opposite side and showed the same sleepy face.
“Hi, haaam-.”
“Oh, good morn……. No, never mind. Did you set your alarm wrong too?”
“Huh?”
The two turned their heads to the hallway window at the same time.
The outside was still, black.
“It’s dark.”
“Yeah, it is.”
“Is it going to rain?”
Well, if there are dark clouds, the dawn can be darker. The friend nodded in agreement with the child’s words. But there was no rain in yesterday’s weather forecast. This darkness was of a kind not in the forecast.
“The weather changes quickly.”
“……Eueum.”
“Why?”
“It’s just, it doesn’t feel like a very good sky.”
“A good sky, what the hell.”
“Ah, why.”
“Don’t be so sensitive, it’s just a shower.”
“Well…….”
It was at that moment, as they were talking.
The moment he realized that the floor seemed to be tilting very slightly, a huge roar echoed through the building. Boom! The entire building shook. Uaaaaa! His body, unable to maintain its balance, finally crashed roughly against the hallway wall.
“What is it, what is it!”
The children who had been sleeping also rushed out in a hurry at the sudden earthquake and screamed. In the blink of an eye, it became a scene of chaos.
“Ugh! What is this smell!”
A foul smell began to spread through the murmurs.
“Ugh, the smell!”
“Ew!”
“Chwiak……. It’s Chwiak!”
“What?”
At the cry of the child who had discovered something, everyone ran to the window. Then they saw a specter [Chwiak] with bulging eyes, ears stretched out as if melting, and fur like human hair standing on end. Spreading its large wings that didn’t match its grotesque body, it clung to the outer wall of the building and shook it wildly. Every time they flapped their wings, the building shook with them and the windows rattled.
In particular, the Chwiak was a tricky specter that was difficult to approach because it had a very foul smell.
An odor that was like finely chopping rotten fish and mixing it with stinky tofu.
The pain of the nasal mucosa burning was clear.
But the problem was how the not-so-strong ‘Chwiak’ had broken through the Barrier of the main office and was shaking the dormitory.
“Chwiak shouldn’t be able to break through the Barrier……!”
The child who had been questioning things finally couldn’t hold on any longer and vomited. The stench, like sewage, filled the building, turning stomachs inside out. Some of the more sensitive children turned pale and began dry-heaving in unison. Tears welled up in their eyes, and their noses turned red.
“Get out, now!”
“Anyone faint? Is everyone okay?”
“Uwaaaack!”
“Just hold on a little longer!”
“My nose is burning so bad… sniffle.”
“Goddamn, this smell is really foul!”
“Everyone, cover your noses and mouths… urp!”
The children, feeling they couldn’t endure any longer, hurriedly ran towards the dormitory door. But before they could even take a step, they were forced to scream once more.
A dark red mass kicking up a cloud of dust as it rampaged across the main office’s dirt ground.
A carapace emitting a bizarre light.
Ssssh-sssh-sssh- A nauseating sound that scraped at the ears.
Long, extended antennae.
It was the centipede specter [Myeokchung], which inspired natural revulsion just by looking at it.
The children turned ashen once again.
“Don’t come out!”
“Ew, it’s disgusting!”
“Why is Myeok, Myeokchung here…!”
Myeokchung devoured anything, be it human or beast. It was a vicious creature that wrapped its massive body around its prey, crushing them until they burst, then gnawing at them from the inside out. Even among Exorcists, it was known as a difficult one to get rid of.
Perhaps it was fortunate that, at least, Chwiak was timid and didn’t attack people first?
No, that was no consolation.
“Why suddenly Chwiak and even Myeokchung…”
“This isn’t the time to be wondering about that. We have to catch it before it gets to the village!”
“Did you contact the Teachers?”
“They’re not answering their phones.”
“Bring the electric fly swatter.”
“Do you want to joke at this situation? Gyeong-hak.”
“Guys, first grab your Mystical Instruments! And…”
Thud!
“Aaaagh!”
“What now!”
“It’s a Saduchung…”
“There’s one over there too!”
The children, utterly terrified, trembled as they looked at the insects that filled the main office.
The sight of all sorts of specters, from centipedes to spiders to ants, swarming around, attacking each other, devouring each other, tearing each other apart, was truly a living hell.
“Hah, one would be manageable, but so many…”
“We can’t even go inside…”
“I, I can’t go, no way!”
Even just counting with their eyes, there were too many.
Moreover, it was clear that even a slight graze would cause the skin to become poisoned and necrotic.
Usually, specters with ‘Chung’ in their name had potent poison as a basic attribute.
“I feel like I’m going to throw up.”
The same words leaked out from everywhere. Children biting their lips, children covering their noses and mouths with the backs of their hands. Everyone was cautiously hesitating, watching each other.
But someone had to go.
If those many specters left the main office and went down to the village, that would be a truly irreversible event.
So everyone knew that this was the moment to summon their courage.
Yes, they knew, but…
‘I can’t go!’
Even if it was the destiny of an Exorcist, to voluntarily enter that horrific scene!
“Ugh, ugh…”
It was when everyone was hesitating.
Just before the specters became even more rampant, a sudden gust of wind blew.
Its texture was too straight to be called a natural wind. It was so fast and fierce that the word ‘swiftness’ came to mind first.
Whoosh-!
The sound tore through the air.
And soon, an arrow struck the largest Myeokchung’s torso with precision. Thwack! Before long, blue blood shot into the air. Kieeeek-! The specter’s scream shook the sky. The child stared blankly at the arrow.
“…Huh?”
The surprise spread slowly.
“…Wow, haha…”
“…Amazing.”
The other children also wore dazed expressions.
No one could immediately find their next words.
It was only natural.
The arrow had passed through the gaps between the people.
What did that mean?
It meant that it had passed through the densely packed crowd of people, on an accurate trajectory, without a single error, without even touching a single strand of hair.
‘You can’t do that without considerable courage…!’
Such clean skill.
‘Amazing… truly amazing!’
The child clicked his tongue and swallowed hard.
Who could it be? So bold and confident!
‘…Ah, could it be.’
Suddenly, someone came to mind.
The child quickly turned his head in the direction the arrow had come from.
And at that moment, his breath caught.
‘As expected…!’
The child’s eyes welled up without him realizing it. It was because the feeling of relief was welling up in his heart.
“Ah, this sucks.”
Wearing an old t-shirt with the print all peeled off, probably because he didn’t have time to change.
“These crazy bastards, really.”
Always overshadowed by the one called Genius, unable to show his presence.
“Do you know how much it costs to repair the building?”
But that face that always tried and never gave up.
“Goddamn, our building is brand new!”
Kim Ju-won of the main office was standing there.
Holding an old horn bow – Mystical Item, Thousand-League Flash – tied with the Taegeukgi.