Chapter 79

There are times when I feel, Was it for this moment?

When, after merely enduring without knowing the meaning of existence, I discover a sentence.

When cold, old hatred melts for no reason beneath the light of dawn.

When I see people newly stepping into the despair I had barely escaped.

I thought.

Ah, it was for this moment.

They were all foreshadowing for this narrative.

SQUELCH—!

The sensation of stepping on empty air came up from beneath my feet.

It was an absurd expression, but there was no other way to describe it.

The moment I crossed the rift, a world of indescribable texture greeted me.

A strangely awkward gravity.

Air with a peculiar quality that was neither fragrance nor stench.

Roads and passages that did not properly reflect light, so suspicious I could not even tell whether they truly existed.

Conscious of these unfamiliar sensations, I followed Cha Si-eon.

As Cha Si-eon had said, the inside of the rift was tangled like a maze.

But Cha Si-eon, who had already come this way once, found the direction without hesitation.

Had we walked for about 5 minutes like that?

Cha Si-eon turned off the searchlight.

Then light seeped in from beyond the passage that bent around the corner.

-Here, target.

Cha Si-eon said through hand signals.

I nodded once to mean that I understood.

Our operation was simple.

If Cha Si-eon drew 「Big Cat」’s attention, I would pick up a fragment and run away.

There was no need to fight the bastard to tear off a piece of 「Big Cat」.

It would be enough to pick up one that had fallen on the floor.

The reason this was possible was because 「Big Cat」’s condition was already a mess.

I did not know why 「Big Cat」 had ended up like this, or why it was trapped in a place like this rather than its own base.

I had no idea of the circumstances, but it was clear that this was an opportunity that would not come again.

An opportunity we could neither wait on nor give up.

So I could only think.

Perhaps the reason I had suddenly gotten caught up in all this was for this moment.

Yes, it was an overly romantic delusion.

I thought so myself, but even so, for some reason, I felt everything would go well.

If we could take the fragment and return safely.

If we could stop the functioning of the Special Zones with it.

If we could end this prolonged fight.

Then I would not mind submitting a letter of apology to the god I had cursed all this time.

-Test.

Cha Si-eon sent another hand signal.

It meant I should first adapt to seeing the real 「Big Cat」.

This was a step that agents seeing 「Big Cat」 for the first time were required to go through before being deployed into an operation.

I nodded and searched with my eyes for 「Big Cat」 outside the passage.

The instant I did, my swelling hope became despair.

It was.

War given substance.

The bastard child of domination and death.

A dictator holding the authority of its father.

An executioner borrowing the breath of its mother.

The living shall worship only through death.

Sing praises through death.

Obey through death.

Atone through death.

Die.

Die.

Die, die die die die.

SMACK—!

“…….”

I came to my senses with a start after being slapped on the cheek.

At some point, I had been dragged back inside the passage.

And in front of me was Cha Si-eon, who had just struck my cheek.

-Breathe.

Only then did I realize that I had stopped breathing.

I forced my lungs to pull in air and inhaled.

After taking several deep breaths like that, my mind finally returned.

-Are you all right?

I nodded and dragged a hand down my face.

I had only looked at it, but it felt as if my mind had been dug apart.

The pressure could not even be compared to when I first saw dangerous entities in the 「Railway Station」 or the 「Hospital」.

I had heard plenty about one’s first face-to-face meeting with 「Big Cat」, but I had not imagined it would be this much.

After calming myself, I sent Cha Si-eon a hand signal.

-I am all right. Again, test.

This time, Cha Si-eon nodded, and I stuck my head back out of the passage.

“…….”

Was it because the initial shock had faded?

This time, I could look at it with a clear mind.

Beyond the passage, there was a space about the size of a middle or high school auditorium.

Unlike the dark passages we had come through, that space was moderately bright.

So I could see it fully.

「Big Cat」, collapsed and injured.

Its curled-up body was slightly larger than a one-ton truck.

The dense bones piercing out through its skin looked like iron armor, so at a glance, its bulk seemed imposing.

But if one observed carefully, one could see the unpleasantly gaunt body beneath those bones.

Its body was smooth in a way that made it impossible to tell whether one layer of skin had been stripped off, or whether inside and outside had been turned over.

On the glossy, hairless outer shell, wire-like blood vessels were tangled haphazardly.

Its appearance was like a science lab specimen with its belly cut open and turned inside out.

If that were all, its naked state would simply have been repulsive.

But bones that had pierced out from within were twisting its entire body into chaos.

Those bones, if laid flat in one direction, looked like a snake’s scales, and if each one was raised upright, they looked like a hedgehog’s spines.

But because each was of a different size and length, neither comparison was harmonious.

Of course, the most disharmonious thing of all was its face, which made it impossible to tell whether it was wearing a mask or its skull was exposed.

Why had they named it 「Big Cat」?

The skull protruding sharply like ears.

The thickly folded thighs.

And the sharp claws sprouting from the tips of its feet.

Those aspects did resemble those of a cat.

But only those.

It did not possess a single one of a cat’s charming aspects.

To begin with, its original name had been 「Beast with Its Skin Flayed」.

However, that intuitive name had not lasted long before it was changed.

Even if citizens were told that name, the survival rate would be 0 anyway the moment they encountered it.

On top of that, even Bureau agents feared 「Beast with Its Skin Flayed」.

So they changed the name.

To make agents look down on it and face it.

The cute name 「Big Cat」 was a kind of insult meant to diminish it.

“…….”

Looking at 「Big Cat」 somehow made me want to sob.

This was not a joke. If I stayed like this, I felt I might truly burst into tears.

So I went back inside the passage and caught my breath.

-You are doing well.

Cha Si-eon encouraged me.

But it was so painful that gaining courage was not easy.

-Give me time.

-3 minutes.

Cha Si-eon answered my hand signal.

Grateful for the 3 minutes, I took deep breaths.

To think it scraped away my mental strength just by looking at it. What kind of monster is that thing?

I now understood why Cha Si-eon had tried to separate from me before 「Big Cat」 appeared.

Cha Si-eon had known.

That a person who saw that thing for the first time would receive enough shock to lose consciousness.

I too wanted to lose consciousness like this, but that could not happen.

If we missed the current opportunity, the situation would return to a fog.

If 「Island Where Blood Falls」 disappeared, 「Big Cat」 would also disappear.

Of course, if this was an extremely special entity, it might appear again in some form.

But that was only an inference.

Even if it appeared, tracking it again and testing the effect of its fragment would be something too distant and complicated.

So right now, I had no choice but to keep my mind sharp and do it.

I suppressed my churning stomach and opened my eyes.

Then I faced 「Big Cat」 for the third time.

Had I developed some kind of immunity in the meantime?

My breathing no longer trembled.

My eyes no longer grew hot either.

But then…….

Gulp—

“……?”

While looking at 「Big Cat」, I swallowed hard.

For some reason, saliva had pooled in my mouth.

It was a reaction I could not understand myself.

In any case, the fear was completely gone.

After confirming that I had adapted, I returned and sent a hand signal.

-I am ready.

Cha Si-eon nodded.

-I will go in first. When the third gunshot rings, you enter too.

Cha Si-eon gave brief instructions.

I was about to nod, then stopped.

Cha Si-eon looked at me as if asking what was wrong, and after thinking for a moment, I held out my hand to him.

Then I sent a hand signal with my other hand.

-Good luck.

Unlike me, who only had to grab a fragment and run away, Cha Si-eon had to lure 「Big Cat」 and buy time too.

It was a situation where he might die.

In my own way, I wanted to show courtesy to Cha Si-eon, who was taking this risk.

But this guy.

Why was he only staring at me?

Cha Si-eon simply looked at me until I felt awkward, then snorted arrogantly.

Then he smacked my palm and passed by.

As if asking who I thought was worrying about whom.

What is truly wrong with this bastard?

Fine, I know well enough that you are great.

So keep living and keep acting great.

Cha Si-eon entered the space where 「Big Cat」 was, his body low.

Almost at the same time, there came the sound of bones clattering.

It seemed 「Big Cat」 had sensed his presence and reacted.

BANG—!

The first gunshot.

KREEE-DIDIDIDI—!

Then came a grotesque cry.

But was it just my imagination?

Why did that sound feel familiar for some reason?

BANG—!

At that moment, the second gunshot rang out.

I caught my breath and checked the situation outside.

Cha Si-eon had been driven all the way to the corner of the space.

No, rather than being driven there, he had probably lured it there.

「Big Cat」, chasing Cha Si-eon, had moved quite far from where it had originally been.

And the place it had left behind was like the site of a traffic accident, with fragments shaped like broken bumpers scattered everywhere.

KREEEE—!

「Big Cat」 swung its foreleg at Cha Si-eon, who was cornered.

Cha Si-eon rolled to avoid it.

Then he slipped straight between 「Big Cat」’s legs and stabbed his knife between the bastard’s armor-like ribs.

Caught off guard, 「Big Cat」 jumped back.

Then it nervously whipped around its lash-like tail and raised its head.

KRRK— KIKIKIK—!

There was the sound of a spring being wound, and 「Big Cat」’s gaunt body suddenly swelled.

The bastard grew huge like a balloon and shone brightly, as if it had swallowed a lightbulb.

Anticipating the impact, I ducked back inside the passage.

KABOOM—! BOOM—! BOOM—! KABOBOBOOM—!

Roars and explosions burst out one after another.

It was one of 「Big Cat」’s attack patterns, 「Fire Spitting」.

Even though I had hidden behind the wall, the impact was considerable.

At the sensation of a strong vibration passing through my body, my stomach lurched.

Feeling nausea surge up, I clapped a hand over my mouth.

I forced it down and looked outside again, only to be greeted by a despairing sight.

The flames spat by 「Big Cat」 were scattered everywhere and burning.

Dense black smoke rose over them.

Beyond that acrid smoke, the only thing I could see was 「Big Cat」’s hideous silhouette.

I could not find Cha Si-eon.

What happened to Cha Si-eon?

Is he alive?

He must be alive.

Don’t die, damn it!

Feeling my heart pound, I searched for traces of Cha Si-eon.

It was then.

BANG—!

The third gunshot rang out.

That bastard, he really was alive!

Relieved by Cha Si-eon’s survival, I ran out of the passage.

The visible range was endlessly narrow because of the smoke, but it did not matter.

I had already confirmed the direction and distance earlier.

I sprinted straight ahead.

Then I snatched up a fragment of 「Big Cat」 that had fallen on the floor in one go.