Chapter 596 — Look at the back of the person standing in the front (1)
14 min read ·
Translator: miraclerifle
Editor: Borderline Masochist
< The names of places and businesses showing up in this novel are fictional. >
Lee Seung Won started to use his ‘Recording’ ability.
“It is currently 12pm on November 6th.”
Time had flown by since they left the shelter yesterday.
The words coming out of Lee Seung Won's mouth were being recorded.
"We are currently stationed on the third floor of Moonlight Hotel located directly across from Gwangalli beach.
There were many hotels built on the street facing Gwangalli beach.
Lee Seung Won was currently standing inside Moonlight Hotel, one of those many hotels.
This hotel was originally over 10-stories high but only about four stories of it now remained.
Shaaaaaaaaaaa-
They could feel the ocean breeze.
“The area around Gwangalli beach is covered in a thick fog, making it difficult to see anything.”
The fog made it impossible to tell where that breeze was coming from.
"Forget the Gwangan Bridge, we are unable to even see the sand on the beach.”
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Lee Seung Won’s heart was beating wildly from nervousness.
The fog had suddenly pushed in from the horizon at midnight.
That fog covered a part of Gwangalli and the entire Busan area according to their reports.
It was as if it was announcing the arrival of the enemy king.
That was why Lee Seung Won was anxious as he stood here without being able to see much.
He felt his lips drying out as he started to speak again.
"We are currently waiting for the first unranked monster, the Electric Eel.”
He was scared.
His ability would not let him defeat a Grade 3 monster let alone a Grade 1 monster.
But he was in the vanguard in the fight against this unranked monster.
‘...It’ll be fine.’
Lee Seung Won consoled himself.
In this hotel room with the windows all broken... There was someone leaning on a pillar by the window sill with his arms crossed.
“Are you done recording?”
“Yeah, I'm done, hyung.”
Kim Rok Soo was here with him.
Lee Seung Won's finger started to move.
Click.
Lee Seung Won’s first recording ended with that quiet click.
“My heart is beating so quickly.”
Lee Seung Won's gaze started to move.
Kim Kang Hoon, the Changwon Seongsan-gu shelter’s leader and current Gyeongnam representative, was sitting on an old couch he found from who knows where.
Cale, Lee Seung Won, and Kim Kang Hoon.
Only these three people were here right now.
They were the only ones in all of Gwangalli.
‘...I didn’t really think that only the three of us would come here.’
Kim Kang Hoon was getting a bad feeling as time passed on.
The fog had slowly started to cover Busan starting on November 6th as Commander Kim Rok Soo had mentioned.
He could feel the foresight becoming a reality with his own body.
“There’s no need to be nervous.”
He turned his head after hearing a voice.
Kim Rok Soo was looking at him.
“There’s no need to be worried either.”
Kim Kang Hoon became even more worried after hearing his calm voice.
Why?
"We are not attacking the monster from here. We are just here to watch.”
‘Exactly! That’s why I'm even more scared! That’s the reason only three of us are here!’
Kim Kang Hoon was wondering if he should not have stepped up.
This combination seemed more unreliable the more he thought about it.
“...Lee Seung Won is not an attack-type ability user. He isn’t a defense-type either. He has zero fighting ability.”
And...
‘I heard that Kim Rok Soo is strong, but I have not seen it with my own eyes.’
That was why he could only trust himself.
Kim Kang Hoon bit down on his lips with nervousness.
“Uhh, uhh-!”
He then heard Lee Seung Won's voice and...
“It's here.”
He also heard Kim Rok Soo's calm voice.
Chhhhhhhhh!
Cale pulled on the string of the blinds they had installed yesterday.
About two-thirds of the window was covered starting from the top.
“Put the light out.”
Lee Seung Won, who had been stuttering, quickly put out the candle after hearing Cale’s stern voice.
“Huuuuuuuu-”
The room instantly turned dark.
But that darkness was not what Lee Seung Won and Kim Kang Hoon were focused on right now.
Chhhhhhhhhhhh-
This noise was different from the sound of the wind.
It was definitely the sound of something moving through the water.
It was the sound of the monster getting closer.
They could then see it.
Kim Kang Hoon moved over to Cale who was crouching and looked out the open third of the blinds.
“...M, my goodness.”
He could see it.
Out in the distance where the water should be but he could only see white fog right now...
“...M, monster-!”
It was large. Something much larger than the buildings located in Gwangalli was slowly cutting through the water and headed toward them.
He couldn't see its shape properly, but he could tell that it had two heads.
“Commander, that-”
“Your mouth.”
Kim Kang Hoon subconsciously covered his mouth after hearing Cale’s comment.
Cale didn’t even look at Kim Kang Hoon as he put his index finger up to his mouth.
“Shh.”
Lee Seung Won, who had been about to speak as well, quickly shut his mouth.
Silence filled the room.
All they could hear was the monster approaching from the distance.
Closer...
Slowly getting faster...
The monster was getting closer.
Kim Kang Hoon tried not to say anything, but he couldn't hold back.
"Commander-nim, how can such a large monster go through the subway?”
The large monster that was covered by the fog would not be able to fit inside the subway tunnels even if it was split in half.
‘Even if it gets smaller when it splits into two...! There should still be a limit to it!’
Kim Kang Hoon subconsciously continued to speak.
“Even if it splits its body into two and shrinks- mmph!”
Cale covered his mouth.
“It’ll hear you.”
Kim Kang Hoon recalled what Cale had explained about the ‘Electric Eel.’
‘As this monster has two heads, each head has different abilities.’
‘This stays the same even when the body is split into two.’
That meant that the abilities of the Electric Eel would be split following the abilities of each head when split into two bodies.
‘That is why it is possible to take it down.’
Kim Kang Hoon covered his own mouth after Cale removed his hand.
‘The yellow head specializes in sounds and electricity.’
He then heard Cale's quiet whisper.
“Please get started.”
Cale then shut up as well.
But that was enough. Kim Kang Hoon quickly formed a hand seal.
Oooooo-
It felt as if the quiet cry of an animal could be heard.
Paat!
A half-transparent blue light surrounded Kim Kang Hoon, Cale, and Lee Seung Won.
Cale had an odd expression while looking at the light surrounding his body.
He peeked toward Kim Kang Hoon.
‘Kim Kang Hoon, the Shadow of the Moon.’
That was the nickname that would be given to Kim Kang Hoon, the Gyeongnam representative, in the future.
He had a special ability related to stealth and movement.
‘...I remember that enemies would not be able to see him nor sense him when he uses his abilities as long as the sun is not out.’
They wouldn’t be able to sense a certain level of noise and presence that came with moving around. Furthermore, the enemies would not be able to see them moving.
However, people surrounded by the blue light could sense each other.
Of course, if the enemy caught them once because they made too much noise or failed an attack, it could not be used on the same enemy ever again.
In addition, it could not be used underneath the sun.
That might seem like quite the restriction, but the night was scarier than the day in this world.
‘The sun is not visible because of the thick fog right now.’
Although it was the middle of the day, the sun was not visible and the thick fog made it feel quite gloomy.
Tap.
Kim Kang Hoon gently tapped on Cale’s arm.
He then nodded his head.
‘Commander-nim, you don’t need to worry about our presence anymore.’
He could tell that that was the message being conveyed through Kim Kang Hoon's eyes.
That was why Cale brazenly lifted the blinds a little more.
It was at that moment.
Shaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-
They heard a different noise than the sound of something moving through the water.
Finally, the faintly visible large monster was now clearly visible.
“Mmph!”
Lee Seung Won held back a gasp and covered his mouth with both hands.
‘...This, what the-!’
The monster with two different looking heads, one yellow and one blue, cut through the sand and landed on Busan.
‘That’s an eel?’
Lee Seung Won's pupils were shaking.
Kim Kang Hoon was having the same thought as well.
‘That’s a snake, no, an imugi-’
His hands were sweating.
‘No, should I call it a dragon?’
This indescribable monster with quite the presence was leisurely moving.
Silently.
Majestically.
The Electric Eel was moving its two heads in different directions as it slowly looked through the fog.
It was as if it could see everything even with the fog covering the city.
Kim Kang Hoon had this thought in his mind.
‘It looks like a monster from mythology!’
Its scales were inside the fog but the mixture of blue and yellow was sparkling.
It was beautiful.
That was why he was scared.
It looked like a monster at the level of the gods.
He started to get the chills.
‘Kim Rok Soo was right!’
The unranked monsters...
These were completely different than the monsters they had fought against until now.
The presence they gave off was completely incomparable to the Grade 1 monsters.
‘If we had to face this kind of monster without knowing anything......!’
Kim Kang Hoon was starting to sweat.
Lee Seung Won was curling up in fear.
The large monster started to move at that moment.
Gwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-
The buildings were being destroyed as it moved past them.
‘Mmph!’
‘Gasp!’
Shhhhh-
That large body moved past right in front of the Moonlight Hotel.
Kim Kang Hoon and Lee Seung Won froze where they were standing.
Tap. Tap.
The two of them felt a warm hand on their shoulders at that moment.
It was Cale.
Cale nodded his head with his usual expression on his face.
Let’s move.
That was what he was saying with this motion.
Cale cautiously started to walk toward the roof even though their presence was hidden.
‘Ah. That’s a relief.’
Kim Kang Hoon subconsciously had that thought for a moment.
His frozen body started to melt as he felt relief while looking at the person walking in front of him and his unwavering back.
He offered his back to Lee Seung Won.
Lee Seung Won got on and the three of them soon reached the hotel's roof.
The large monster had its body in a straight line and was looking at a single spot with both of its heads when they got up there.
‘As expected.’
Cale started to smile.
The Electric Eel was looking directly at the Gwangan station entrances heading underground.
“Ssssssssss-”
The yellow head opened its mouth and let out an odd noise.
“Chhhhhhhhhh!”
The blue head started to make a noise as well and then something shocking happened.
Kim Kang Hoon and Lee Seung Won's eyes opened wide.
‘It’s shrinking!’
‘It’s splitting!’
The large monster’s legend-like beautiful body was slowly starting to shrink.
The body then split in half.
“Mm.”
Kim Kang Hoon held back a groan.
The monster’s size had shrunk quite a bit.
‘It’s similar to a Grade 1 snake monster now!’
The fact that it was the same size as a Grade 1 monster was not the issue.
It was now small enough to go through the subway.
“Ssssssssss!”
“Chhhhhhhhhh!”
The monster that had split into two made noises at each other before they went down the seventh exit and third exit.
Crackle!
Bang!
They broke through the narrow entrance to get underground.
Kim Kang Hoon had a thought as he watched the monsters move.
‘I guess the entrance to get down is smaller compared to the subway tunnels.’
It was at that moment.
Bang!
As the yellow head made a loud noise and half of its body was inside the tunnel...
“The yellow head should not be able to hear us anymore.”
The two of them heard Cale's voice.
Kim Kang Hoon and Lee Seung Won turned their heads.
“Let’s move.”
Swoooooooosh-
A gust of wind surrounded the three people.
Cale kicked off the ground and jumped across buildings to head toward Gwangan station.
Kim Kang Hoon followed behind him with Lee Seung Won on his back.
“They’re fast.”
Kim Kang Hoon could see the yellow head and blue head moving underground quickly.
It had been loud when they were destroying the entrances into the subway, but their movements were extremely stealthy after that.
The Seomyeon shelter would never see them coming.
"Are we following them down?”
The three of them stopped at a building near Gwangan station and Cale checked the time before nodding his head at Kim Kang Hoon’s question.
“Carefully.”
“Yes, sir.”
The three of them were extremely careful on their way down even though their presences were hidden.
‘It’s a mess.’
Lee Seung Won looked at the subway station that had turned into a mess.
Honestly speaking, the three of them couldn't see anything other than the area around them lit up by the blue light surrounding them, but they could see some damages from the monster moving through.
Flick.
Cale motioned for them to follow him.
Kim Kang Hoon headed farther down following behind Cale.
“Stop.”
Cale then stopped walking.
The two eels were already gone.
They should have moved in different directions.
Cale crouched down.
He reached his hand out and touched some water.
Cale looked at the paths with traces of water.
He then raised his other hand.
“Squad 1, Squad 2, can you hear me?”
There was a walkie-talkie in his hand.
-
Yes, sir, we can hear you.
-
We can hear you, Commander-nim!
Kim Kang Hoon, who had been watching him, gulped after hearing the others’ voices.
‘It’s starting!’
The plan to hunt this monster that gave off quite a lot of pressure when he saw it in person was starting.
Cale’s calm voice echoed through the area.
“The two Electric Eels have started to move.”
There were two paths to get from Gwangan station to Seomyeon using the subway.
The first path was using Line 2 that went directly to Seomyeon.
The other path was going through Gwangan-Suyeong-Yeonsan-Seomyeon.
“The yellow head is moving toward Suyeong.”
Gwangan-Suyeong-Yeonsan-Seomyeon
The one headed down that route was the yellow head that specializes in electricity and sounds.
“I am giving an order as the Commander.”
Cale gave his first order.
“Destroy Suyeong station once the yellow head passes through.”
“Yes, Commander-nim!
“At the same time...”
He was not done giving his order.
“Also destroy Yeonsan station.”
- Yes, sir.
Beeeeeep-
A different walkie-talkie in Cale’s inner pocket started to go off at that moment.
Cale took the walkie-talkie and heard a familiar voice.
- Commander-nim.
It was Choi Han who was hiding elsewhere.
- It is moving past Suyeong station.
Suyeong station was right after Gwangan station.
The yellow head was going through the tunnels extremely quickly.
It wanted to get to the Seomyeon station as quickly as possible and start killing people.
Cale opened his mouth to speak.
He channeled the Sound of the Wind once more at the same time.
Swoooooooosh-
Including Lee Seung Won and Kim Kang Hoon... All three of them were surrounded by the wind.
Line 3 that connects Suyeong station and Yeonsan station.
While the first head was stuck in between the two stations...
‘We will kill the second head first.’
Cale kicked off the ground.
His body quickly started to move while following the traces of water left behind.
The second head. He was chasing after the blue head.
- It has passed Suyeong station.
Cale heard Choi Han’s voice and raised his walkie-talkie.
“5. 4. 3. 2.”
Kim Kang Hoon gulped while following behind him.
“1.”
Cale calmly gave the order.
"Detonate.”
-
Detonate!
-
Detonate!
He heard the voices of the people in charge of Squad 1 and Squad 2.
And...
Boooooooom-!
Cale felt a strong rumbling coming from the opposite direction.
It was caused by the explosion down the tunnel without any traces of water, the tunnel that the yellow head traveled through.
“Is it here?”
Cale stopped in front of a subway tunnel.
Line 2, the train that would go straight from Gwangan to Seomyeon.
Smile.
Cale started to smile.
He looked toward Kim Kang Hoon.
“Let’s maintain our stealth.”
“Yes, sir.”
It didn't matter if the blue head found them now, but Cale was hiding his presence in order to increase their chances of success.
Blue lights appeared once again in the path the blue head passed through.
Cale continued to speak with a smile on his face.
“Alright then, shall we go step on its tail?”
They were now the predators instead of the prey running away.
Kim Kang Hoon and Lee Seung Won's eyes opened wide.
Swoooooooosh-
Cale was still surrounded by wind.
Crack. Crackle.
Rose gold colored thunderbolts started to appear around him.
The blue head...
The second head’s attribute was water and it had strong poisonous fangs.
A red current on top of Cale's hand was shining through the darkness.