233 – HGL 233

233

My legs are shaking. The hand holding the gun is shaking. Ever since I saw the black wave melt humans without a trace, it hasn’t stopped. I swallow. Cold sweat trickled down from the gap in the black mask that covered my neck and mouth. Countless gun barrels were pointed at a single man.

Lee Sa-young.

He wasn’t wearing a common bulletproof vest, nor did he have any cumbersome weapons or accessories. He was just standing tall in a black coat. There was no sign of shrinking back. As if guns were no threat at all. With his left hand in his coat pocket, he even looked bored. His expressionless, pale face was terribly beautiful, but he had melted four or five people in an instant without a trace. So that not even a bone fragment could be found. Horrifically.

‘…As expected, he’s not human.’

The man gritted his teeth. As expected, all Awakened are disgusting. No different from Monsters wearing human skin, and regarding human lives as mere flies….

“……”

Lee Sa-young looked at his hand as if examining his fingernails, then blew on it. At the same time, the gun barrels clicked and rose. He widened his eyes for a moment, then narrowed them like a snake. His thick lips moved.

“The report?”

“……”

“I’m asking. Did you report to the higher-ups?”

No one answered. Lee Sa-young sighed as if for them to hear.

“Why… did you get orders to shut your mouths?”

“……”

“I have no choice…”

From his black fingertips, the sound of bones cracking rang out. Lee Sa-young stretched out his black hand. A chill ran down my spine. My breath quickened involuntarily. Because I had seen with my own eyes what would happen the moment that hand moved. The finger on the trigger trembled. The face beyond the spread fingers was expressionless.

“I guess I didn’t kill enough.”

There was a bitter smell. The moment Lee Sa-young tried to clench his fist, the man squeezed his eyes shut. Damn it! Courage welled up as death approached. Yes, that guy in front of me is a Monster wearing human skin. The man, without hesitation,

Bang—

Pulled the trigger.

They say the first shot is always the hardest. Starting with the first gunshot, shots rang out from everywhere. Damn it, damn it, damn it! The man kept pulling the trigger. Bang, bang, bang…. My whole body was shaking. I couldn’t tell if it was because of the recoil or because of fear. Click, click, soon came the moment when I couldn’t feel the recoil no matter how much I pulled the trigger. The surroundings had become quiet. My rapid breathing gradually subsided. Only then did the man carefully open his eyes.

Lee Sa-young was still standing there. On top of the black puddle. With his fist ambiguously clenched, just before it became a fist. His pale face tilted. He flicked something shiny with his thumb and forefinger.

It was a bullet with a crushed end.

“I don’t know if you lack common sense, or if it’s your last struggle…”

“……”

“Well… either way, it doesn’t matter.”

Lee Sa-young slightly opened his mouth. A black tongue was visible inside. He put the bullet on his black tongue, as if eating candy. The crushed bullet slowly melted from the part that touched his tongue. It didn’t seem like a scene from this world. Everyone was blankly watching the spectacle. Soon, the bullet had completely melted away, and Lee Sa-young wiped his mouth with his thumb.

“…You have to pay the price, right?”

Thud. A terrible pressure weighed down on my whole body. The man coughed, gasping for air, and bent over. His legs were shaking. I couldn’t dare to look ahead. The gun fell with a thud. Small screams erupted here and there. A stream of black liquid was flowing under my feet. Like a snake. The moment that touched my body, I would end up like my comrades. I wanted to run away, but my feet wouldn’t move….

It was then.

“Hey, what are you doing here!”

A distorted voice pierced my ears sharply. The moment I heard that voice, my head turned on its own. A black-haired man in a white coat was running out from inside the building. With a black mask with no decorations on his face. His attire was different from usual, but I could recognize him right away. It’s J.

In an instant, the pressure that had been weighing down on my whole body disappeared. The man gasped and slumped to the ground. And he raised his head and blankly stared at Lee Sa-young. A smile was slowly spreading across his face, which had been as expressionless as porcelain. A red tinge appeared on his pale skin.

Lee Sa-young hid his hands behind his back. A small sigh pierced my ears. As if relieved.

…Relieved? That Monster?

Unfortunately, my thoughts couldn’t continue. The man rolled his eyes back and fainted. Thud, a cloud of dust rose. The last thing I saw in my vision was,

A stream of black liquid left behind as a warning.

What, what’s going on?

Eui-jae checked his surroundings with a slightly dazed face. Sand and gravel were laid out, and a cargo truck was parked in the distance, so this was probably the place where he had been dragged and thrown. Here and there, thud, thud, the sound of people collapsing could be heard. Lee Sa-young was standing in the middle of the collapsing soldiers. Sa-young, with his hands behind his back, smiled brightly.

“You’re late.”

“Hey, you’re… is that all you have to say?”

Eui-jae barely swallowed the rising emotions. All the collapsed soldiers had guns. Considering the gunshots he had heard several times while coming here.

‘Was he hurt?’

Eui-jae quickly scanned Sa-young up and down. Fortunately, there seemed to be no noticeable external injuries. His face was still clean, obnoxious, and gorgeously pretty. Sa-young swept his hair back as if to show off.

“Eung, your gaze is hot….”

Eui-jae glanced at the people standing next to him. Min-gi Seo had a nonchalant face as if he expected it, and Ivan seemed too out of it to catch his breath. It was understandable. They had run all the way from the laboratory deep inside. It was inevitable for an ordinary person to be out of breath.

Eui-jae strode towards Sa-young.

“How the hell did you get here?”

“Do you know how good location tracking is these days?”

“Did you track my location too?”

“Eung? No. I told you, that’s an overestimation of your self-awareness….”

Sa-young pointed his chin at Min-gi Seo. Min-gi Seo lifted the hair near his ear as if to show off, revealing an in-ear device. A small light flickered on the in-ear.

“We are wearing a location tracking device for safety. I forgot to mention that.”

You didn’t mention such an important fact until now? Eui-jae glared. Min-gi Seo pretended not to notice and turned his head away. Sa-young crossed his arms as if telling him to look at him. A terribly sweet smell wafted.

“So…. J, what were you doing here?”

The word “you” felt strangely awkward. Eui-jae tried to ignore it, but he kept looking at Sa-young’s face and body. His complexion was a little pale, but there didn’t seem to be anything seriously wrong.

“Student Ga-eul was kidnapped, so I came with her. I thought we needed to find out the base.”

“Student Ga-eul seems to get kidnapped every day…. So, the student. Where is she?”

“I was trying to find out where she was when I heard you were causing a ruckus, you punk!”

“Is that my fault…. Isn’t it J’s fault for coming to a place like this without saying anything?”

“Wait, wait. If we argue here, it’ll never end, so I’ll sacrifice myself.”

Min-gi Seo squeezed in between Sa-young and Eui-jae. And he glanced at Ivan, who was still bending over and catching his breath.

“Guild Leader, the user over there seems to be the decision-maker of Prometheus…. He made a proposal.”

“A proposal?”

“He said let’s cooperate. To stop Doomsday. He told J to tell the Director.”

“Cooperate?”

“Yes. Actually, he doesn’t seem to be worth cooperating with. We could just deal with him here without telling the Director….”

“No, do it.”

“Yes?”

“What?”

“Didn’t they propose it first?”

“…Guild Leader, are you out of your mind—”

“Wait, wait!”

Eui-jae nimbly blocked Min-gi Seo’s mouth. He struggled like a loyal subject trying to offer advice at the risk of his life, but he was no match for Eui-jae’s strong hand. Eui-jae blocked his nose as well. He was saving his life right now!

A slightly pathetic look was visible in the purple eyes. Sa-young stared at Eui-jae with slightly narrowed eyes.

“You two seem close?.”

“Close my ass, I’m saving someone.”

“It looks like Hyung is killing him with his own hands. And.”

Sa-young said casually, with both hands in his coat pockets.

“I don’t really have many memories of being experimented on….”

“……”

“Did I ever mention that? I don’t know. Anyway, all that’s left is bad feelings. Even though I don’t have any memories.”

It was the first time he had brought up the story of being experimented on in the first place. Eui-jae didn’t bother to say anything and waited. He was afraid that if he said something wrong, he would never talk about it again. Sa-young twisted his hair with his black fingers.

“It wasn’t a good memory, so I thought I’d just leave it at that…. Jung-bin and Bae Won-woo also said there was no need to force myself to remember.”

Eui-jae was the same. Eui-jae spat out gruffly for no reason.

“What are you going to do by remembering that? Isn’t it better to just forget and live?”

“Eung….”

Sa-young covered his mouth with his hand and smiled. His eyes narrowed like a snake.

“The taste of revenge is better when you know what you’re doing, right?”