By Zephyria 
72
“Young master, stick close and follow me.”
Gil-sang, speaking to Ho-eun, shouted, “Hyah!” and galloped off powerfully.
“Ah, yes!”
Ho-eun quickly followed him. Dozens of soldiers who had remained behind them followed.
The rapid speed made his buttocks bounce roughly, unable to stay seated on the saddle, but Ho-eun gritted his teeth and clung to the horse. He knew that falling off here would be a great nuisance, not to mention dangerous.
As they raced down the road, a building with a sign that read [Imperial Daily] appeared. They had to turn right in front of this building to reach their destination, the hospital.
At that moment, Ho-eun involuntarily looked back, worried about Dong-ja. There were fewer than a hundred soldiers left with her. Of course, a hundred soldiers, especially a hundred Crimson Rain Brigade soldiers, was a formidable force, but if the Devouring Ghouls kept swarming, it might be dangerous.
She mustn’t get hurt.
Nothing bad should happen.
It absolutely must not.
Ho-eun craned his neck and looked back. Dong-ja was barely visible amidst the entangled soldiers and Devouring Ghouls. He narrowed his eyes, wanting to confirm Dong-ja’s safety at any cost.
“Young master, look ahead. Only ahead.”
Gil-sang said in a firm voice. Startled, Ho-eun quickly turned his head back. But his mind was still on Dong-ja far away. He chewed on his lower lip, and perhaps Gil-sang knew what Ho-eun was feeling.
“Everyone will meet again soon.”
Gil-sang said resolutely. But for some reason, Ho-eun wasn’t reassured. Gil-sang’s conviction didn’t feel like conviction. It felt like he was just wishing for it.
But he didn’t say anything else. There was no way Gil-sang wasn’t worried about Dong-ja. His worry and guilt about those left behind must be many times heavier than his own.
“…Yes. Of course, we will.”
Ho-eun nodded slightly. Then, he took a deep breath and tried to focus on looking ahead.
The Devouring Ghouls kept appearing. Avoiding and fighting off those creatures that charged without regard for anything was by no means easy. Riding a horse was both convenient and inconvenient. Gil-sang repeatedly swung his sword up and down, depending on the size of each Devouring Ghoul.
Every time the sword cut through a Devouring Ghoul, hot blood splattered all over Gil-sang’s body. Sometimes, when he sliced through the neck of a Devouring Ghoul, the blood even reached Ho-eun. Ho-eun, still unskilled at riding, couldn’t let go of the reins to wipe it off.
They rode and rode until they reached a certain alleyway. For some reason, there wasn’t a single Devouring Ghoul on the wide-open road. There was hardly any trace of blood either.
“……”
Ho-eun frowned slightly. Just a few more alleys and they would reach the hospital. Above it was the shelter. That meant it was a road where many people had passed, so why were there no corpses or Devouring Ghouls? Had the people evacuated before being eaten? Were there no Devouring Ghouls because there were no humans to eat?
Ho-eun glanced back. Devouring Ghouls were running like four-legged beasts, striking the ground with their arms and legs. Beyond their cackling cries, he could hear their panting breaths. Then, as they reached the alleyway, they suddenly split off into the alleys and disappeared. Like cockroaches facing light, all at once.
“……”
Ho-eun tucked his chin in at the strange situation. Why were they doing that? Had they found another prey besides them, another person? Just as he was thinking that.
“Save… me…”
A thin voice was heard. It was a small, young voice, so faint that it was almost drowned out by the sound of the horses’ hooves.
“Please… save me…”
But Ho-eun heard the voice. He turned his head in the direction of the voice.
In the middle of the road where tile-roofed houses faced each other, a child was lying collapsed. It was the first ‘living person’ he had encountered since entering the town.
The child, lying on his side, was only wriggling, as if he couldn’t support his legs. There was blood everywhere nearby, and one leg was particularly soaked in blood. The area below the knee was strangely sunken, as if his calf had been bitten off. Tears streamed down his small, grimy face.
“Please…, save me…”
The child was too exhausted to cry loudly and vigorously. He was just lying there, muttering to himself.
“Ah…”
Ho-eun sighed. For some reason, the sight of the collapsed child was familiar. It was because he had already encountered a similar situation once before. Someone’s voice flowed faintly from beyond the back of his head.
‘Save… me…’
‘Save me… Please save me…’
‘Save me… Save me, save me…’
It was the voice of the nobleman who had been sprawled on the dirt floor with both ankles bitten off. He also remembered the eerily quiet surroundings and the unseen Devouring Ghouls.
Ho-eun looked around. The buildings were clean without a single trace of blood, the silence was eerie, and the space was empty without a single Devouring Ghoul. It was definitely the same as before.
It’s a bait.
That child was a bait for the Devouring Ghouls.
“Wait.”
At that moment, Gil-sang, who had also spotted the child, raised one hand and gradually slowed down. Ho-eun, who had stopped as well, looked at the child in the distance.
“……”
The image of the nobleman overlapped with the fallen child. They seemed similar at first glance, but they were clearly different.
The child was not a nobleman. His attire was very shabby. And he didn’t seem like he would have done anything terrible like that nobleman. No, he couldn’t have. He looked to be only about six years old. The worst he could have done was fight with other children while playing tag.
That meant he was just a pitiful, pitiful child. If he had been a bad nobleman, he could have ignored him and left, but he couldn’t leave an innocent child behind.
“……”
But what if he didn’t leave him behind? Try to save him? How many Devouring Ghouls could be hiding nearby? What if Gil-sang or a Crimson Rain Brigade soldier got hurt? Or even died?
Then should he leave the child behind? Even if he didn’t leave him behind, even if he tried to save him, would he be able to? Was that possible without Tae-muk?
No, but he should at least try to save the child… Ho-eun closed his eyes tightly and then opened them.
What was he even worrying about? There was nothing he could do anyway. All he could do here was beg Gil-sang to save the poor child.
“……”
Ho-eun couldn’t bring himself to look at Gil-sang. Whatever decision he made, he had to follow it. Even if it meant abandoning the child, he couldn’t help it. His judgment would be based on his numerous battle experiences.
But… if they left him behind, he would die. That small body would be torn apart by the teeth of those ferocious Devouring Ghouls.
“Haa…”
Ho-eun bit his lip and stared at the child. Gil-sang, who had been thinking deeply about something, took a deep breath. Then, he leaned his upper body slightly towards Ho-eun and said in a whisper.
“We’re going to run fast from now on.”
“Yes?”
Ho-eun looked at Gil-sang at the incomprehensible words. Then, Gil-sang stared straight at Ho-eun without blinking and said again, clearly.
“As fast as possible. With all your strength. You have to run.”
“……”
Ho-eun stopped breathing for a moment. It was a puzzling statement, but he didn’t ask again. He believed that Gil-sang’s judgment was correct. And somehow, he felt like he would save that child. If it was the Gil-sang he had seen so far, he would definitely do it.
“Yes. I will.”
Ho-eun gripped the reins so tightly that his hands turned white.
Gil-sang gestured to the soldiers this way and that. The soldiers who saw the gesture put away their weapons. It was strange to put away their weapons when the Devouring Ghouls were bound to attack.
Gil-sang didn’t stop there and gestured to one of the soldiers standing in the back. The soldier nodded and turned his horse around and rode off somewhere. It was strange that a soldier was going to another place alone at this dangerous moment.
Ho-eun tilted his head at the incomprehensible situation.
“Hyah!”
Gil-sang kicked his horse and ran forward as if leaping out. Ho-eun belatedly followed him. He awkwardly kicked the horse’s side, but the smart horse ran in step with Gil-sang without him doing anything special.
“Ugh…”
The strong wind crashed into his whole body. When the wind scratched his ears, it made a hissing sound. Every strand of his hair was swept back. It was hard to breathe because of the wind rushing into his nostrils, and it was hard to open his eyes.
Still, Ho-eun glared and stared at the child lying on the ground. The child was quickly approaching. He must have lost consciousness in the meantime, as he no longer even said to save him.
Ho-eun glanced at Gil-sang. He was anxious. Gil-sang hadn’t clearly said that he would save the child. He wondered if he would just pass by the child.
“……”
Gil-sang stared straight ahead. Just as Ho-eun was about to open his mouth to ask him, Gil-sang suddenly fell off his horse.
“Sergeant!”
Ho-eun called out to him in horror.