Chapter 25: Calamity: Hellhounds

Kim Ji-woo clenched his hands. His bad premonition had become more substantial.

Suddenly, Ji-woo saw his sister standing in front of him, blocking the view of the television from the convenience store.

Because of the concern he had for his mother’s safety, Ji-woo wanted to return quickly. And let his sister there, away from the calamity.

But, Kim Ji-won’s voice stopped him from turning around. She stuttered and trembled while pointing at the television.

“O-Oppa! …, E-Eomma! …, w-what s-should I do??”

Sob, Sobs–

Ji-won finally couldn’t hold back the tears anymore and burst into cries after hearing such an incident. It happened near her mother’s house and food stall.

Ji-woo’s forehead creased and showed a dejected expression instead of saying any words to his sister.

Both of them were worried too much about their mother that they couldn’t think calmly.

Even Ji-won forgot her quarrel with her brother from a moment ago.

Ji-woo only hoped that everything was fine and that nothing happened, all the while thinking about his mother’s current state.

Ji-woo steeled his heart and tried to assure his little sister with a solemn face. “Mother will be fine. No, Mother is fine! I’ll make sure everything’s all right! You. Just stay here. I will go back to bring Mother out of there.”

Hiks, Sobs–

Ji-won got hiccups trying to hold back her tears.

“B-But… It is dangerous… “

Ji-woo held his sister’s shoulder.

“Just this time… This time…, trust me! Leave everything to me.”

Ji-won nodded her head. Her face, while trying to hold back the tears, made Ji-woo feel grief.

Ji-woo couldn’t bear seeing his sister cry silently like that. He then hurriedly turned over and ran toward the road, taking a taxi.

But in just 5 minutes the taxi moved, the car was stuck in a traffic jam.

“Sir, is there no other way around here?” Asked Ji-woo impatiently. From the first time he got into the taxi, he didn’t stop shaking his legs in the back seat.

“Of course, there is none! Why would you want to go to Mapo-gu? There is an outbreak, young man. It’s risky!”

The taxi driver didn’t understand why Ji-woo wanted to go to that deadly place. Even for him, he didn’t dare to get close and only promised to drop Ji-woo near Mapo District.

“The road is getting cleared by the police to make it easier for the hunter. That’s why there is traffic jam everywhere in the direction to Mapo-gu.”

At the same time, the taxi driver finished his words. He heard the car door get slammed at the back.

Jleg, Blam–

The taxi driver was shocked and looking at the rear. There was no one, only a few papers of money at the back seat.

“Ah, all is good as long as you pay. Thanks, kid!”

Meanwhile, Ji-woo was already away from the taxi. He then took out his phone to use the GPS function to direct him toward Mapo-gu.

“Damn! My phone is off. How should I go there?”

Currently, Ji-woo was on a tiny road, where there were no people to be seen to be asked about the route.

Ji-woo stopped his movement. He couldn’t be running carelessly without knowing the way. He looked right and left, moved one step, then stopped, moved, and stopped. He kept continuing to do that for almost 1 minute.

‘Wait, wait! I need to calm down. I’m getting impatient right now.’

Ji-woo closed his eyes for a moment and tried to control his breathing rhythm.

Huu, Fuu–

Ji-woo planned to use his advantage to track down the Mana. If the Portal Gate and hunters gather there, then there must be a Mana influx in the area. As long as he could trace that Mana, he would find a way back.

Ji-woo held his chest with one hand. “Be nice to me, Nullifier. Help me this once.”

Then Ji-woo folded his hands.

Zasp–

Ji-woo’s color of eyes changed to dark blue. Everything he saw turned into white and black threads.

‘Not enough! I need to expand the Null Eyes range!’

Hmmph–

Blood oozes from Ji-woo’s nose and mouth, but he didn’t care about it. He kept forcing the eyes’ ability to trace the Mana. He knew using the technique when he still had not recovered his true strength yet was a wrong move.

Ji-woo’s expression changed, and he clenched his teeth fiercely, trying harder.

‘Gotcha!’

Ji-woo found the blue threads between the black and white fibers. The distance was 2 miles away from where Ji-woo was standing.

Hosh, Hosh–

Ji-woo’s eyes color was back to normal. But, his breathing was heavy now. He wiped the blood on his nose and mouth with the long sleeves of his black suit.

Hehehe–

“Troublesome. And…, it’s been a long time since I’ve felt this excited… “

Ji-woo stopped his words and closed his mouth. ‘What the hell did I’m talking about?’ He then shook his head.

“This is not the time for that. I need to come as early as possible.”

Huu, Fuu–

Bush, Swossh–

Ji-woo was running at full speed and jumped in between after managing his breath and the little fatigue he had because of the Null Eyes. He avoided the crowd’s place while moving around.

Ji-woo didn’t care at all in case if someone saw him, even if he got caught in someone else’s phone or satellite or so whatever.

When a family was in danger, no one would have time to do something irrelevant.

‘Please be safe!’

—- —-

—- —-

The temporary garrison created by the army was finally destroyed and swarmed by the beasts of the Red Gate.

Hosh, Hosh–

“It’s impossible to fight against this thing!”

“This is the end!”

“They are too strong!”

All of the soldiers were hopeless after seeing the beast’s strength. Some of them even shed tears because of fears.

But, few soldiers mustered their courage and spoke loudly to their other comrades.

The few brave soldiers took their rifles with the last ammunition.

“We are the last defense here before it reaches the city.

“If the beast wreaks havoc while the evacuation isn’t over yet. Many people will become their prey.

“And after this city falls, our family might be the next prey it will hunt.”

The soldiers that fear the beasts grit their teeth and clench their fists with the mention of family.

Then the remaining soldiers picked up all of their available weapons as their last resort.

“Fire!”

Drut, Drudrut–

Tar, Tarataratar–

The sound of guns and rifles’ non-stop firing could make others think this was a one-sided battle. But instead, the soldiers were the ones that got massacred.

The beast’s movements were faster than their bullet. Even if the bullet hits the beast, it didn’t hurt the beast too much.

Tump, Grsek–

Sreet–

One of the soldiers lost his arm after getting bitten by the beast.

Arrgghh–

“Die b*st*rd!” The soldier that lost his arm held his pain and kept firing the gun in one hand.

Der, Drer–

“S*n*v*b*tch!”

Many other soldiers had a similar situation. Some soldiers lost their limbs. But, some other soldiers only receive a bit of wound from the beast claw.

The beast’s bite was really lethal for the soldiers.

Half of the soldiers at the temporary garrison were already dead. The condition of their bodies was worse compared to the corpses of hunters capable of fighting such beasts.

Rrggh, Rrrr–

The beast’s size and shape were almost the same as an adult lion. Its mangled black fur and glowing red eyes. Its agility and strength were 2x times better than a lion’s. Its body durability was even better with the Mana.

The soldiers that lost half of their original number couldn’t defend the garrison anymore. Some of the beasts shifted over their way and went to the city.

Tump, Grsek–

Rrggh, Rrrr–

“For f*ck sake!”

The soldiers felt despair when they saw a few beasts go through their garrison and ignore them.

“I’m proud to fight alongside you, comrades!”

“We already did our jobs.”

Wosh, Woush–

Tump, Grsek–

The soldiers were ready to die and wanted to fight to the bitter end.

But, suddenly, there was the sound of several footsteps coming toward the garrison.

“Blizzard seals, Magic of Ice!”

Zug, Zrug–

A wall of ice formed along the road blocked the entrance to the city. But, it wouldn’t last long enough to hold back the beast.

“Some of you that are still breathing, retreat! We take it from here! Go back, now!”

The remaining soldiers left began relaxing their tension after knowing it was the hunters that were coming.

The two hunters that came for the reinforcement were C-rank hunters. And their artifact weapons were Wizardry Staff and Battle Axe.

The soldiers that had wound over their bodies now began to feel the pain. When they battled with the beast before, the adrenaline was high, and they couldn’t grasp the pain at that time.

Ughh–

Some of the soldiers howled their pain while retreating.

The hunter that heard the groan couldn’t help shaking his head. “I thought, I want to help you guys relieve the pain by freezing the wound. But… “

The other hunter interjected, “We don’t have the luxury time for that.”

“Yeah, because it’s fu*king Hellhounds.”