Chapter 158

Some things simply happen.

Like the hands of a clock moving from 12 to 1.

Things that are to occur as part of a set procedure simply occur.

A dozen or so cold lumps of scrap metal fell, smashing through the doors.

The things that had already begun falling were too enormous, and full of malice.

With the strength of mere humans, they could neither be stopped nor scooped back up.

So we merely watched them pass over our heads.

The black masses of metal were sucked into the hole of the spiral.

The thick fog soon swallowed them.

But just because we could not see them did not mean they had disappeared.

What followed a moment later was an orange flash.

And vibration.

THOOM—

A heavy vibration shook beneath our feet.

THOOM— THUD— THUD—

There came a sound like a giant stomping its feet.

It was a sound that made humans feel as insignificant and powerless as dust.

Wind blew in.

That hot wind carried the smell of iron and fire.

As the air shook with the lingering traces of war, the fog too began to be pushed away.

Beyond the fog that cleared in an instant, the place swept up in the bombing came into view.

The narrow passage we had crossed was completely shattered and gaping open.

The water around it also poured down like a waterfall.

And beyond that was ruin.

“…….”

The bridge on the other side was entirely broken.

Only debris remained, drifting through the air like a destroyed planet.

I could not imagine that there had been people up there.

Even less could I think that the people who had been up there were alive.

We realized that fact through our skin.

So we could not even make the sound of breathing.

Some things simply happen.

Regardless of human plans, convictions, or desperation.

And so people go mad within that indifference.

“……We can save them.”

Amid the shock that felt as if my mind would collapse, I forced my voice out.

“If we cross the doors, we should be able to save them. In this place.”

This insane situation had happened because this was that insane a space.

If this was a nascent-phase Special Zone where time was tangled together in disorder, we could use that advantage too.

Director Go Hong-sang had been saved several times that way as well.

At my words, Cha Si-eon and Baek Sa-ra turned to look at me.

Their gazes rested for a moment on 「Crow」 in my hands.

But they did not put that doubt or objection into words.

Instead, they began to move.

As the fog cleared, the doors above became clearer.

Hundreds of doorframes had been shattered and had formed a huge hole.

What showed beyond that hole was, cruelly enough, a clear sky.

Perhaps because their objective had already been accomplished, the doors that had been opening and closing madly were now closed and still.

Let us choose one of those doors and enter.

Then the agents from 13 seconds before their deaths would be waiting for us.

But to do that, damn it.

「Crow」.

If you are not dead, wake up.

Wake up and do what you have to do.

Do not drag me into this and then lie there limp……!

CRASH—!

The railing Cha Si-eon roughly pushed out was placed across to the bridge on the other side again.

This would be the last time we crossed bridges like this.

We had reached the top of the spiral.

Now we had to follow the road and reach the doors.

Baek Sa-ra and I stepped on the railing first and crossed to the other side.

Then, when Cha Si-eon was crossing over it.

CLANK— CLANK— CLANK—

The railing shook under Cha Si-eon’s steps, making the sound of metal striking metal.

But when he had almost reached us.

TAK—!

The sound changed.

A stable sound made as the shaking stopped.

The moment we noticed the change.

A hand stretching up from below the railing snatched Cha Si-eon’s ankle.

Cha Si-eon immediately aimed his muzzle beneath his feet.

RATATATATA—!

But the force pulling his ankle was stronger than expected, and Cha Si-eon ultimately lost his balance.

“Kgh……!”

Baek Sa-ra and I were too close.

In the end, Cha Si-eon let go of his gun.

Cha Si-eon fell as he was, and as if filling the place he left behind, something surged up from below.

“……!”

I retreated, recoiling with something close to disgust.

The thing that had newly climbed up had the same face as the one that had just fallen.

The monster from that side that would replace Cha Si-eon.

「Alpha」.

「Alpha」 lunged toward us.

RATATATATA—!

Cha Si-eon, who had fallen into the river, fired from below, but it was too late.

Leaping over the railing in only two steps, 「Alpha」 arrived right in front of us in an instant.

Baek Sa-ra pushed me back with her back and kept 「Alpha」 in check with her longsword.

Even 「Alpha」 could not face a longsword with a knife.

As Baek Sa-ra pressed the attack, 「Alpha」 focused on dodging.

SWISH— CLANG—!

The sound of cutting through air and metal clashing stormed without pause.

In the meantime, I went to the railing and threw the wire.

WHOOSH— SPLASH—!

Cha Si-eon must have immediately found the wire, because I heard the sound of swimming down below.

I waited for Cha Si-eon to climb up and alternately checked beneath the bridge and Baek Sa-ra’s side.

There was too much noise.

The sound of Cha Si-eon climbing the wire.

The sound of Baek Sa-ra swinging her longsword.

「Alpha」’s heavy footsteps.

So I did not hear the sound from atop the arch of the bridge on the other side.

I failed to notice that something with sharp claws had climbed onto it.

But I noticed the sudden brightness right away.

The space above my head had grown bright as if someone had turned on a lightbulb, so I could not fail to notice.

I turned that way and froze with a jolt.

「Big Cat」 had chased us here before we knew it.

It was preparing 「Fire Spitting」.

“Jump down!”

Baek Sa-ra shook off 「Alpha」 and shouted.

That demand drove me into a corner.

Jump down?

The railing was too high.

To the current me, this railing was no different from prison bars.

Perhaps Baek Sa-ra realized that fact too, because instead of jumping into the river, she ran toward me.

Baek Sa-ra pulled me into her arms.

But there was no time to jump into the river.

KRAKAKAKAKAKA—!

Held in Baek Sa-ra’s arms, I fully experienced the vibration of heaven and earth.

Roar, roar, roar.

Light, darkness, light.

Floating, falling, impact.

It felt as if someone was playing a recorder right beside my ear.

The world beyond my blurred vision had several layers.

My entire body ached dully.

I wondered why it was hard to breathe, and realized Baek Sa-ra was lying over me.

I looked past Baek Sa-ra’s shoulder.

RATATATA— RATATATA—

The sound of the rifle came as softly as the sound of someone tapping a book cover.

And 「Big Cat」.

That bastard is a complete mess again.

Its limbs are dangling as if they will be torn off at any moment.

Team Leader Cha must be working hard.

Is the one in front of it Cha Si-eon, or 「Alpha」?

It was both.

Then which side is holding Baek Sa-ra’s longsword?

If it is Cha Si-eon, then the body being cut is 「Alpha」.

If it is 「Alpha」, then it is the opposite.

The scene before my eyes felt like a movie.

Like footage being projected through a screen, like something that did not have much to do with me.

So I was watching blankly when my head suddenly began to hurt as if it would split.

“Urgh……!”

At the same time, my sense of reality rushed in.

Startled, I came to my senses.

I immediately stopped watching the fight and shook Baek Sa-ra, who was lying over me.

“Ms. Baek Sa-ra, Ms. Baek Sa-ra……!”

Baek Sa-ra did not move.

I flinched at that lack of response, then placed my hand near Baek Sa-ra’s mouth.

“…….”

I could not feel her breathing.

Thinking, surely not, I reached toward the nape of Baek Sa-ra’s neck.

She was still warm.

But I could not feel a pulse.

There was only silence.

While searching for Baek Sa-ra’s pulse, I brushed up her fallen hair.

The face I knew appeared exactly as it was.

She looks this fine, so why is she not breathing?

A question came before confusion.

Confusion is an indiscriminate reaction to an incomprehensible situation.

A question is a refined inquiry toward a situation that cannot be accepted.

What this situation gave me was a question.

How could this strong person die this instantly?

A question close to a protest against a situation without plausibility or rationality.

But what happens simply happens.

Even if I cannot believe it, even if I cannot accept it.

As I checked Baek Sa-ra’s condition, a huge claw entered my vision.

「Big Cat」’s sharp claw.

It was deeply embedded in Baek Sa-ra’s back.

BOOM—!

A roar rang out again.

The tattered 「Big Cat」 was finally split in half.

SCREE— SCREEEECH—!

Had 「Big Cat」, now missing its lower body, asked for help?

「Alpha」 threw away the blade and rushed toward 「Big Cat」.

「Alpha」 embraced it and jumped from the bridge.

KIKIKIKIKIKI—!

The fleeing 「Big Cat」 made a strange sound.

It seemed to be laughing.

Cha Si-eon, who had repelled 「Big Cat」 and 「Alpha」 by himself, approached me.

Cha Si-eon was covered in blood.

But his posture and gait were still straight.

“Ms. Baek Sa-ra is dead.”

I said it, but Cha Si-eon did not answer.

He looked at Baek Sa-ra for a moment, then grabbed my arm and pulled me up.

When I stood, Baek Sa-ra, whose body had been draped over me, fell to the ground.

But Cha Si-eon paid no mind and said shortly,

“To the door.”

To the door.

The only thing we had to do.

Because if we crossed the door, we could save them.

Ms. Baek Sa-ra, and the other agents too.

But would that really be true?

「Crow」 was still in my hand.

Doubt and pessimism began wandering through my mind.

I forcefully pressed them down and erased them as I stood upright.

Cha Si-eon no longer carried me and let me walk on my own.

His steps were not very fast.

So I could follow him well enough.

But the real problem was not our stride or walking speed.

“Team Leader.”

As I followed Cha Si-eon, unable to ignore it any longer, I spoke.

“You are bleeding too much.”

I could not tell where the blood was flowing from.

The path Cha Si-eon had passed through had a long trail of blood, as if someone had made a brushstroke.