Chapter 157

「Big Cat」 charged in.

「Crow」, caught in its mouth, swung limply according to 「Big Cat」’s movements.

Could it be dead?

The moment I imagined that thing’s death, my heart sank.

An incomprehensible sense of loss.

Had I believed that thing was on my side too, like Manager Kwon Mu-seop?

I stared at 「Crow」, then came to my senses.

Then I focused on 「Big Cat」.

It had the appearance of a living creature peeled open and turned inside out.

Had it remade and put on the body it had discarded before?

Its size and shape were almost the same as before.

Only, its movements were strange.

Its gait was somehow waddling.

“「Big Cat」 has 「Crow」 in its mouth! 「Big Cat」 also seems injured!”

I shouted to Cha Si-eon and Baek Sa-ra, who were running while looking ahead.

At that moment, 「Big Cat」 suddenly stopped in place.

The area near the nape of its neck, with its head lifted high, began to glow brightly.

“「Fire Spitting」……!”

“To the river!”

The instant I shouted, Cha Si-eon turned to the side.

Then he leaped over the rather high railing in one breath.

Kicking off the railing and turning his body, Cha Si-eon aimed his muzzle at 「Big Cat」.

RATATATATA—!

Cha Si-eon fired wildly as we fell.

Fortunately, 「Big Cat」 was a very large target, and its nape was glowing clearly enough to be visible even through the thick fog.

RATATATA—! BOOM—!

An explosion followed the gunfire.

A roar that seemed to tear my ears.

Perhaps flames had surged up, because the entire surface of the water brightened.

In the meantime, I broke through the orange-stained surface of the water and fell into the cold water below.

GURGLE—!

I nearly lost consciousness from the impact of hitting the surface.

No, I think I did lose it briefly.

The river water, colder than a blade, woke my mind again, and that was the start of another pain.

River water rushed into the tender bronchi of a child.

I helplessly swallowed it, then inhaled without realizing it.

The moment water entered my airway, a spasm erupted inside my ribs.

Just as my lungs, desperate for oxygen, were senselessly about to draw in water.

SPLAAAASH—!

“Puhah! Hah, haah……! Cough!”

Together with Cha Si-eon, I emerged from the water again.

Gasping for breath, I looked around.

The surface of the water still flashed orange.

When I looked up, the bridge was burning.

It seemed 「Big Cat」 had exploded before it could spit fire.

“Ms. Baek Sa-ra…….”

“Over there.”

When I looked for Baek Sa-ra, Cha Si-eon pointed across the river.

Fortunately, Baek Sa-ra also seemed safe.

But as I turned my eyes toward Baek Sa-ra, something entered my view.

A black object floating on the glittering crimson water.

It was 「Crow」.

“Team Leader, over there, 「Crow」 is there!”

Cha Si-eon was about to swim toward Baek Sa-ra, but at my words, he changed direction.

Then he went toward the floating 「Crow」 and snatched it up.

Whether it was dead or unconscious, it did not move at all even when a person grabbed it.

Cha Si-eon entrusted it to me.

In the meantime, Baek Sa-ra swam over to us and asked,

“What do we do now?”

Cha Si-eon looked up at the bridge.

Going up blindly without knowing the situation up there would be suicide.

“We swim like this and rendezvous with Nos. 9, 10, and 11.”

At that moment, Baek Sa-ra pointed beyond the bridge.

“Team Leader, over there.”

What Baek Sa-ra pointed at was the point where the river water dropped sharply.

Something dark red was flowing down from the bridge above it.

“That looks like 「Sticky Blood」.”

「Sticky Blood」.

A toxic substance that dissolved everything except the structures of Special Zones.

One of the attack patterns 「Big Cat」 vomited up.

Apparently, 「Big Cat」 was still alive and well.

But why that? To block our approach?

At that moment, 「Sticky Blood」 dripped into the river water.

Blood that neither mixed with the river water nor sank.

It floated on the water like oil and began forming a thin film on the surface.

“We have to cross now.”

Seeing that, Baek Sa-ra spoke seriously.

“It is trying to stop us from crossing to the other side.”

“That blood will not stay fixed in that position.”

“That is exactly my point. It is buying time with a measure that will not last long. It has hidden something on the other side.”

“…….”

“It could have come to defeat us one by one while we were scattered. But the fact that it has continued guarding this place means there is something that important beyond there.”

There was reason to Baek Sa-ra’s argument.

But if we crossed like this, the agents left behind would have to face 「Big Cat」 without any information.

As the person in charge, Cha Si-eon could not help but think deeply.

Cha Si-eon looked at 「Crow」, which I was holding.

Then he soon swallowed a breath and nodded.

“Understood.”

Cha Si-eon and Baek Sa-ra did not delay any longer and swam toward the place where the surface of the water bent at a right angle.

「Sticky Blood」 was already floating there.

Still, there was not much of it yet, so we were able to push it away with the waves our swimming made.

Soon, we reached the point where the surface of the water bent inward, but crossing that section was not difficult.

Gravity naturally bent as well, so we entered inside naturally.

However, that place was extremely dark.

Because above our heads, instead of the sky, another river lay.

In this area, the upper surfaces of bridge and bridge were pressed together, and river and river faced each other.

So it felt suffocating, as if we had entered a tunnel.

It was a sight that would have made someone with claustrophobia collapse long ago.

But Cha Si-eon and Baek Sa-ra did not care and kicked off the bridge pillars as they cut through the current.

How long did we swim like that?

The surroundings brightened again.

Then a right-angled surface of water appeared.

Once we crossed it, a foggy bridge identical to the place where we had originally been appeared.

It seemed we had reached the opposite side without much trouble.

The problem, however, was that there was no path up onto the bridge.

While I looked at that hopeless scene, Baek Sa-ra approached one of the bridge pillars.

Then she began climbing, gripping the gaps between the pillar’s bricks with her fingertips.

THUD—!

In an instant, she reached the bridge railing and climbed over lightly.

WHOOSH— SPLASH—!

Baek Sa-ra threw a wire toward us.

Cha Si-eon grabbed that wire, then began climbing while stepping on the pillar.

Right…… It is not particularly surprising anymore.

Hanging onto Cha Si-eon, I safely climbed up onto the bridge.

After coming out of the water and setting my feet on the ground again, I felt a little more alive.

SPLAT—!

As I caught my breath, the sound of water came from beside me.

I turned back without thinking, then hurriedly turned my head away.

“……!”

Baek Sa-ra was taking off her outerwear, followed by even the combat shirt she had been wearing underneath.

After seeing Baek Sa-ra’s bare back, I turned my head, only for a troubling scene in another sense to unfold on the opposite side.

“…….”

Cha Si-eon had already stripped off his top and was wringing the water out of his long hair.

Either way, it was a sight difficult to look at comfortably, so I crouched facing the railing and wrung the water out of my own clothes.

A little later, after roughly putting ourselves back in order, we gathered again.

At the center lay 「Crow」, which I had been holding tightly.

“Is it dead?”

“It has not stiffened yet.”

“Is it even a living creature to begin with……?”

Cha Si-eon held 「Crow」 in one hand and turned its beak or bent its legs.

Baek Sa-ra filmed the sight beside him.

“I think its heart is beating.”

“The fact that it has a heart is more surprising.”

“Um, if it is alive, is it not in critical condition right now……?”

Is it all right to fiddle with it like that?

Even if it is a special entity marked with 「 」.

At my words, Cha Si-eon folded back the wing of 「Crow」, which he had been spreading open.

Then he carefully placed it on a handkerchief.

“How did this get caught by 「Big Cat」?”

“Maybe it was trying to show us the way.”

At Baek Sa-ra’s question, I answered.

“It was attacked by 「Big Cat」 while trying to show us the point where space was distorted?”

“That is what I think. They are also entities that clashed once on 「Island」.”

“In any case, it means there is something on this side.”

At my answer, Baek Sa-ra muttered while looking around.

I also turned my head after Baek Sa-ra.

This place was similar to where we had originally been, yet different.

The spatial characteristic of being a foggy bridge was the same, but here, the road did not continue straight in one direction.

The road here curved enough for us to see.

It kept turning like that, forming a spiral.

Like a coiled snake.

Or like an apple peel shaved cleanly enough not to break.

The place where we stood was inside the spiral.

So beside the bridge we were on, another bridge lay.

If we circled once along the road, we would probably be standing there.

“They have stretched the space tremendously.”

The road rose upward in a spiral, and because of the thick fog, I could not see what lay at the end.

It seemed we would have to go up there ourselves to understand the situation, but if we followed the road like this, we would have to keep circling endlessly.

Perhaps having no intention of wasting time like that, Cha Si-eon stared hard at the bridge beside us.

The distance to the bridge beside us was about 7 or 8m.

It was quite far, but surely he was not thinking of going there by wire.

Just as I began doubting Cha Si-eon’s intention.

BANG—!

Cha Si-eon suddenly fired his gun.

Not a long burst, but a couple of short shots at the railing of the bridge we were on.

BANG— BANG— BANG—!

Cha Si-eon moved position while firing his rifle in bursts, then grabbed the railing, now ragged from gunfire, and pulled.

SCREEECH—!

The railing was torn off as it was, and in an instant, became an 8m or so ladder.

Cha Si-eon stood it vertically, then pushed it toward the bridge on the other side.

CRASH—!

Yes, it truly is not surprising anymore.

After creating a temporary bridge to cross over to the other bridge, Cha Si-eon jerked his chin at me and Baek Sa-ra.

We began cutting across the spiral with this kind of workaround.

Thanks to that, we certainly saved time and stamina, but there was one problem.

“What happens if we reach the exit without meeting the 「Monks」?”

“You would be cute.”

“I am serious right now…….”

At Baek Sa-ra’s joking answer, I groaned.

Then Cha Si-eon, who had been walking behind us, answered.

“After confirming the exit’s condition, we have to go back anyway.”

Right, because this was not something that could end with only us getting out.

Accepting that, I continued hopping across the bridges.

When we had repeated that 5 or 6 times.

Something appeared beyond the thick fog.

Something like the outer wall of a building blocking the end of the spiral.

Could it be 「Railway Station」?

Having discovered something, we hurried even more as we crossed the bridges.

And finally, we were able to confirm the true nature of that wall.

It was not a wall, but doors.

Dozens, no, hundreds of doors packed together like tiles.

But about four-fifths of them were wide open.

The remaining one-fifth were repeatedly opening and closing by themselves.

The doors that kept opening and closing changed the color inside each time they opened again.

By contrast, the doors that were already open all showed the same scenery inside.

The single scenery beyond them was none other than the sky.

What is that?

Was 「Big Cat」 buying time to hide this?

At that moment, one of the doors that had been repeatedly opening and closing stopped moving.

Beyond the newly opened door now reflected the sky too.

Could it be that those doors are continuing to move until the same sky appears?

As if fitting together a huge puzzle…….

At that moment, a thought flashed through my mind.

My blood running cold, I shouted almost like a scream.

“We have to close those doors!”

That was when it happened.

Black things loomed over the sky beyond the lattice of doorframes.

Was it because it had been discovered by us?

Had it judged that there was no need to finish matching the entire puzzle?

CRUNCH— CRRRUNCH—!

Black chunks of metal broke through the doorframes and intruded into the space where we were.

What had just been summoned before us were the bombs that had fallen on Yongsan Station in the past.