330 – HGL 330

330

Clack, clack, the sharp axe blade scraped against the floor, making a chilling sound. Ga-young twisted her lips.

“Tch, disgusting, what is it, a spider or something…!”

She rummaged through her waist and threw a glass bottle towards the floor. Clang—purple liquid spilled out, and something rose from the bubbling liquid. It was the shape of a monster with a distorted body.

Cheee… The marble and walls of the floor began to melt. Ga-young took out a Gas mask and shouted.

“Block it! It doesn’t matter if you kill it!”

Ga-young ran. Not much left! She hurriedly grabbed the doorknob and turned it. It wasn’t even locked. She flung open the door to the laboratory.

There was nothing in the laboratory. Neither the Mutants being held captive, nor the researchers. They must have all gone to respond to the situation outside. Ga-young quickly scanned the surroundings.

‘They sprayed the chemicals in gas form here too….’

Then they must have connected the chemicals to the pipes. Ga-young opened the steel door labeled ‘Machine Room’. Inside the machine room, with complex pipes connected to the machines, there was a transparently shining white liquid in an ampoule fixed on a stand-like thing.

This is it!

She smiled brightly and reached out her hand.

Human salvation? I don’t care about that crap.

“Do you hate Hunters?”

Ga-young nodded. The man’s smile deepened.

“Then we can work together.”

“Who are you?”

“Someone who hates Awakened.”

A large hand offered a handshake. Ga-young looked up. The man was…

Tall. Very, very tall.

The man’s face was not visible because of the backlight….

I just need to achieve my goal!

She snatched the bottle.

At that moment.

Whack.

A large hand covered hers as if engulfing it. Ga-young widened her eyes and moved her gaze from her hand to her arm, from her arm to her shoulder, and from her shoulder to her face. A surprised face was reflected in the black sunglasses. Shadows crept up from under her feet. Black shadows wrapped around her limbs. Even the hand holding the ampoule. No matter how much she strained, it wouldn’t move.

“Keuk…!”

A nonchalant voice said.

“Surely you didn’t think we’d really leave such an important place empty. We’ve taken at least minimal measures.”

The man in sunglasses, Very Small Miracle Mingi Seo, slipped the ampoule out of her hand.

“For example… contacting a specialist in infiltration and stealth, and asking them to watch over it.”

Ga-young twisted her body, gritted her teeth, and glared.

“You, you son of a bitch…!”

Min-gi Seo put the ampoule in his jacket pocket and raised both hands as if surrendering.

“Didn’t you think it was too easy coming in? I would have suspected it even a little. You must have been in a hurry. Well, Doctor’s assistant is a bit scary. I’ve experienced it myself, but when she chases you with an axe, your heart trembles. Did you see the spider show? Did you know they can run on walls too?”

The man in sunglasses, Very Small Miracle Mingi Seo, snapped his fingers. The shadow began to devour Ga-young from her toes.

“Then…. Let’s go together, Ms. Caught-in-the-Act.”

Ga-young struggled with all her might.

“Let go…! Where are we going?!”

“Where else, the room of time and spirit.”

The eyes behind the black lenses winked.

“By the way, I’m not a police officer, so I don’t know the Miranda rights. In other words….”

Ga-young’s wide eyes were swallowed by the shadow. Min-gi Seo waved goodbye and added.

“Don’t even dream of hiring a lawyer.”

Awakened Management Bureau, Director’s office.

In the Director’s office, Matthew and Honeybee, Bae Won-woo, Yoon Ga-eul, Jung-bin, Gyu-Gyu, and Director Ham were gathered. It seemed they had only called S-class and Rankers they could reach in a hurry. Yoon Ga-eul was still wearing the cloak Kang Ji-soo had given her. Eui-jae sat in the empty seat, holding Cluck in his arms. Ham Seok-jeong asked Jung-bin.

“Where’s Doctor?”

“I can’t reach him.”

“What about his assistant?”

“Yes. I don’t know if they’re dealing with the situation….”

“Then let’s proceed first.”

Ham Seok-jeong gestured towards Eui-jae. All eyes were on him. Eui-jae took a small deep breath and slowly began to tell the story.

In the past, when Doomsday first came to this world. J faced Doomsday alone, but failed to defeat it and turned back time to escape.

Whitehole is the ‘eye’ of Doomsday. Black Hole is the state with the eyes closed.

It had been watching this world since the Day of Change. Hong Ye-seong of the first world sacrificed himself to turn the eye away and buy time, but that seems to have ended as well.

The ‘eye’ has gained self-awareness and begun to act. The final stage is coming.

With each word, the color of people’s faces changed from moment to moment. Honeybee interrupted as if dumbfounded.

“Wait, how do you know so much? You know more than we do?”

“…I just happened to remember.”

“What? How? What memories?”

“Wait, that story can wait.”

Director Ham raised her hand to stop her. Her hawk-like eyes scanned Eui-jae.

“We’ll hear about the source of the information later. Instead, I’ll ask you just one thing.”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.”

Ham Seok-jeong seemed to read the face behind the mask at times. Her gaze was that sharp. Eventually, she nodded and turned her head to the other Hunters.

“So it seems. Everyone, prepare to face Doomsday.”

“Um, but….”

Bae Won-woo raised his hand. He coughed awkwardly as if the attention was burdensome, and then spoke cautiously.

“Can we… win if we fight?”

“Besides, it’s up in the sky.”

Gyu-Gyu shrugged and chimed in.

“How are we supposed to fight something in the sky~? Even the all-purpose problem solver The Artisan is dead….”

“His death has not been confirmed yet. He is in a missing state.”

Jung-bin cut in with a gentle smile. The gazes of the two people collided sharply in the air. Gyu-Gyu shrugged as if he had lost and crossed his arms.

“Yeah, miss, ing, state, right. Well, if The Artisan was okay, we would have asked him to make a ladder to that eye or whatever. We can’t do that now, can we? What, are we going by helicopter~?”

It was sarcastic, but it was true. Eui-jae rummaged through his memories.

‘…That’s right. How did I fight Doomsday?’

Clearly, Cha Eui-jae faced the two eyes alone. On the ground. That’s for sure. What conditions need to be met for the eye to come down to the ground? Or was there another reason….

Eui-jae poked Cluck, who was nestled quietly in his arms, with his finger. Cluck, who had been dozing off, glanced up with its eyes. It was a rebellious look asking why he was waking it up. There was no sign that it would show him anything like before. Eui-jae clicked his tongue.

‘Not helpful.’

Ham Seok-jeong gestured to Jung-bin.

“Visit the Seowon Guild and check the situation. Also check the progress of the vaccine development.”

“Understood.”

“I hope the other Guilds will cooperate in capturing Mutants and evacuating civilians. We will send the official documents immediately. And you, Gyu-Gyu. Don’t run away alone.”

“I’m not affiliated with any Guild~”

“You’re a Ranker in Korea, shouldn’t you do that much? Why, should I take you to church this Sunday?”

“Hey, that’s not fair~”

Gyu-Gyu quickly left the Director’s office. The other Hunters also got up one by one and exchanged greetings. Matthew, who was getting up with Honeybee, noticed Yoon Ga-eul, who was pressing down on her hood.

“Come to think of it…, I don’t think I’ve seen this Hunter before. Wasn’t this a gathering of Rankers only? Director.”

“Ah, that person is….”

“She’s, she’s our Guild’s newbie! No, she’s a new recruit!”

Bae Won-woo shouted, putting his arm around Ga-eul’s shoulders. Jung-bin also nodded with a smiling face.

“That’s right. Kang Ji-soo couldn’t come, so she brought her instead. Isn’t that right? Mr. Bae Won-woo.”

“Yes, that’s right, Captain, no, Team Leader Jung! New recruits need to gain experience. Right? Newbie?”

Ga-eul, who was pressing down on her hood, nodded hastily.

“Is that so. It’s hard to find good Hunters these days, congratulations.”

Matthew bowed and left the Director’s office. Honeybee, who was following behind, glared at Bae Won-woo with suspicious eyes. She leaned out and looked outside the door, then whispered to him.

“Hey, hey, what are you up to? That’s Ga-eul. Why is Ga-eul your new recruit? Was this agreed upon? It’s not kidnapping, is it?”

“Shh! Shhh!”

Bae Won-woo made a snake sound, raising his index finger to his lips. Jung-bin, who sighed softly, swept back his hair and answered instead.

“Yoon Ga-eul needs to be in Hong Ye-seong’s Shield for her safety…. However, the Shield has collapsed. We decided that it would be better for her to stay in the Wave Guild for a while.”

“What? Don’t you trust our Guild? I can take good care of her too!”

“This is the result of respecting Yoon Ga-eul’s wishes, so I ask for Honeybee’s understanding.”

Honeybee glared at Bae Won-woo and Ga-eul with suspicious eyes. Ga-eul took off her hood slightly and smiled shyly.

“Ehehe…. It’s as Team Leader Jung-bin said. Thank you for your concern.”

“…If you say so, I can’t help it.”

Honeybee made a fist at Bae Won-woo one last time and left the Director’s office. Peace was barely restored to the Director’s office after a storm had passed. Eui-jae quietly got up from his seat.

At that moment, Jung-bin, who was receiving something through the in-ear he was wearing, stopped him.

“J.”

“Yes?”

“Would you like to go to the Seowon Guild with me?”

“Seowon Guild? Why?”

“Very Small Miracle Mingi Seo says he caught an intruder.”

“…….”

“Ga-young.”