Chapter 119
Ouroboros (1)
***
Until now, Yoo Dahee had never used her special ability during combat.
This is because Yoo Dahee’s special ability is not suitable for combat.
To be more precise, it’s not that it’s unsuitable for combat, but rather it’s not the kind of ability that can be used leisurely in urgent situations.
Then what is her special ability?
It’s Evil Creation.
Yoo Dahee’s special ability can be described as gathering people’s negative emotions, thoughts, and feelings into a single marble-like form.
A lump of evil created by condensing human malice.
The darker and deeper people’s emotions are, the darker the color of this evil lump becomes, and the more the effect of the marble increases.
The marble created by Yoo Dahee’s special ability has quite a troublesome effect.
It means it possesses the kind of power that people fear and guard against the most in current society.
That is monster summoning.
According to the game settings, the marble can forcibly open rifts, and as the marble shatters, it spreads intense malice that can summon monsters.
It’s a special ability that can artificially summon monsters to the present world.
It’s truly close to a strategic weapon.
It’s not like some black bag from a maple leaf story.
Anyway, it’s more dangerous because you don’t know exactly what kind of monster will come out of the rift.
An unexpectedly powerful monster beyond imagination could pop out.
Just like during that Busan Infection Outbreak in the past.
“Actually, I was saving this for later.”
“You.”
“I thought it would be troublesome if it was discovered too early, but oh well. You seemed to already know about it, right?”
Yoo Dahee was looking at Lee Jinhyuk with a subtle gaze while giggling.
It seemed she was suspecting Lee Jinhyuk might be a future prediction ability user, perhaps because he spoke as if he knew what the marble was.
“I’d like to kill you here, but given the situation, it seems a bit difficult, so I’ll have to aim for the next opportunity.”
Soon, the shattered marble fragments tore through the air, creating a kind of rift.
Cracks were forming in the air.
Gaps were opening here and there, like summer asphalt or glass hit by a baseball.
“What have you done, this rift… Don’t tell me you did this?”
Jin Soyeon, startled by the sudden rift phenomenon, shouted with her brows deeply furrowed.
Typically, rift phenomena are like disasters that humanity cannot control.
However, since a rift-like phenomenon occurred right after Yoo Dahee broke something like a marble, it’s natural to suspect her.
She glared with an expression that seemed to ask, “Did Yoo Dahee artificially cause a rift phenomenon?” But Yoo Dahee just shrugged.
“Kik kik. Who knows? What do you think?”
Just then.
-Wheeeeeeee.
An ear-piercing alarm sounded.
It was a loud noise that filled the entire Busan city.
-Large-scale spatial vibrations have been detected in the nearby area. Citizens in the affected area are advised to evacuate to safe zones until the situation is resolved.
“W-What’s going on?”
“Spatial vibrations?”
“N-No way, monsters? Of all days, today?”
A warning alert was issued.
People were hesitating.
The fear was palpable even from here.
“A rift phenomenon, how could this…”
“By the way, Hong Daye, doesn’t this remind you of the old days?”
Yoo Dahee casually threw out words towards Hong Daye, who was frowning while looking at the rift.
Of course, from Hong Daye’s perspective, it wouldn’t be casual at all.
That’s because what Yoo Dahee was about to say would be quite unpleasant for Hong Daye.
“Didn’t you have a hard time during the Busan Infection Outbreak? You even ended up retiring because of it.”
“Don’t tell me, back then too, you…?”
At Yoo Dahee’s meaningful words, Hong Daye slightly bit her lower lip and tried to use her telekinesis.
But at that moment.
Thud!
Far away, a monster’s foot stretched out.
Ominous monsters began to reveal themselves from beyond the rift.
It wasn’t just one or two.
Multiple monsters were licking their tongues while tearing through the rift.
Numerous monsters fell from the sky. They licked their lips, showing their sharp fangs towards the surrounding people.
“M-M-Monsters!”
“Kyaaaaaah!”
“Ugh, aah, aaak!”
The sudden appearance of monsters.
People were in utter panic.
While one or two might have been manageable, monsters kept popping out of the rift as if there was a hole.
It was no ordinary occurrence for this many monsters to appear at once.
That’s why people couldn’t hide their fear even more.
“Is it about time to run away?”
“Don’t move!”
Hong Daye used her telekinesis towards Yoo Dahee, who was trying to sneak away, but Yoo Dahee just nodded towards a certain direction with an nonchalant expression.
“Will it be okay? Those people over there look in danger.”
“Kyaaaaaaaaah!”
A little girl being attacked by a monster in a slightly distant place.
Seeing that, Hong Daye had no choice but to release the telekinetic force binding Yoo Dahee and immediately exerted her telekinesis towards the monster.
Tremendous telekinetic force crushed the monster’s body.
It was as if it was being pressed by a hydraulic press.
“It’ll be quite busy if you try to save people one by one. Well then, I’m off. Mister, that should be enough, let’s go!”
“Alright.”
Ryan, who had been confronting the Gaon Nuri Clan members, suddenly joined Yoo Dahee.
“Wait, Yoo Dahee! What about Alex and So Yuyeong?”
“Ah, um.”
Yoo Dahee hesitated at John’s words.
So Yuyeong had collapsed from anesthetics, and Alex was already tied up.
It seems they somehow managed to subdue Alex at least. Phew. That’s a relief. Somehow they caught Alex again.
The injuries inflicted by Aisha must have been quite severe.
“If we delay any longer, we could be in danger too.”
“But.”
“It’s a bit regrettable, but let’s save them next time, next time.”
It seems they have no intention of trying to rescue Alex and So Yuyeong, who were caught up in this chaos.
“I’m a bit worried about Isabelle being alone. Well, Isabelle will probably manage to escape well on her own.”
Yoo Dahee suddenly left with John and Ryan.
Lee Jinhyuk wanted to chase after Yoo Dahee’s group, but there was no time for that.
The lives of the people around were in danger due to the monsters.
Lee Jinhyuk thought as he watched Yoo Dahee’s retreating figure.
‘Still, we managed to capture So Yuyeong and Alex. We also seized the space pouch containing the auction items, so the outcome isn’t bad.’
With this, more than half of the Rebellion members have been taken down.
Moreover, they were able to get their hands on all the auction items, so it could be considered quite an achievement.
But it’s a headache figuring out how to clean up this mess.
Well, judging by the absence of truly threatening monsters, it seems the professional heroes will take care of it if we just wait a bit.
Ah, wait a minute.
Isn’t this a flag?
“Keeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”
No sooner had Lee Jinhyuk thought it might be a flag than something long and huge descended from beyond the rift with a thunderous roar.
People and heroes covered their ears and grimaced at the noise that was deafening enough to make their ears go numb.
Looking up at the sky, a snake-like head was peering down at people from beyond the rift.
A monster that looked like a pure white snake.
Could that monster be…
“That’s… an Ouroboros.”
A snake covered in pure white scales, boasting a size comparable to a building.
It was one of the raid-type monsters that would appear later, nicknamed the snake that connects the beginning and the end.
That’s quite a formidable monster that appeared at a considerably high level even in the game.
Even in the settings, it can regenerate endlessly, making it very difficult to deal with.
“Keeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”
The Ouroboros roared again.
People turned pale at the chilling cry.
The Ouroboros was slowly, very slowly pulling its body out from the narrow gap of the rift.
“Lee Jinhyuk, Jin Soyeon.”
Hong Daye speaks while looking up at the Ouroboros.
“You are aspiring heroes. That means you can be mobilized in emergencies.”
She glances at them from the corner of her eye.
“Don’t worry too much, I don’t intend to push you too hard. You focus on preparing the people.”
“What about you, teacher?”
“I think I’ll have to keep that thing restrained until other heroes arrive.”
“Teacher…”
“And Jin Soyeon, I told you to call me instructor, didn’t I?”
Regardless of other monsters, that Ouroboros is difficult to take down without knowing the strategy.
And currently, only Lee Jinhyuk knows the strategy for that monster.
Without knowing the strategy, even Hong Daye won’t be able to hold out for long.
Moreover, Hong Daye can’t fight for long due to the aftereffects from her past.
“Lee Jinhyuk, can you hear me?”
“Ah, Yoo Seolhyun.”
A radio transmission came from Yoo Seolhyun.
She had been waiting in a safe place from the beginning since she didn’t need to fight directly.
“It seems like chaos with monsters suddenly appearing, are our clan members safe?”
“Don’t worry, they’re all fine.”
“Really?”
Yoo Seolhyun let out a sigh of relief.
“I’m glad to hear everyone is safe.”
“The situation is a bit chaotic due to the monsters, should we start pulling back the clan members?”
“No, we can’t do that.”
“Huh?”
Lee Jinhyuk tilted his head.
Given Yoo Seolhyun’s personality, she wouldn’t unnecessarily expend clan members on something like this.
After all, fighting monsters wasn’t part of the contract, and it would only be dangerous without any particular benefit.
“We’ve already been exposed to many people, it’s been captured on CCTV, black boxes, and phones. If the Gaon Nuri Clan members flee in a situation where monsters have appeared, there will be a lot of backlash.”
“Ah, well…”
Although they belong to a clan, there would be a lot of criticism if heroes ran away in front of monsters.
Especially in a situation where people are losing their lives to monsters.
If heroes flee in such a situation, public opinion would be very negative.
It was clear that when the situation calms down and responsibility is assessed later, the Gaon Nuri Clan members would certainly be mentioned.
That was the position of heroes, after all.
End of Chapter