Chapter 39: Fallen Ones (2)
Chapter 39: Fallen Ones (2)
Shin Soojin and Kang Juhyuk were bewildered by the messages appearing in rapid succession before their eyes.
Fallen Ones? What on earth…?
Suddenly, black smoke began to billow from the man’s corpse.
“Get back!”
Kang Juhyuk, who had been standing close by, urgently scrambled away.
Crack, snap—
The man’s skin turned a deathly pale, and a single horn sprouted from his forehead. The transformation was instantaneous.
Guaaaa—
As the man pulled himself up while letting out a long, drawn-out groan, his eyes were entirely black, the whites having vanished completely. Aside from having intact limbs, he could no longer be called a Human.
“A-A monster…!”
“Kyaaaak!”
The onlookers scattered, screaming in terror. The man, twitching his head like an insect as he scanned his surroundings, suddenly lunged toward the crowd.
Thud!
Shin Soojin grabbed the man’s arm. The strength he used to struggle was far beyond that of an ordinary person. Pinning him to the ground by twisting his arm, Shin Soojin shouted.
“Hey! Pull yourself together!”
“Kyaaaaaak…!”
The man only shrieked and struggled violently. Communication seemed impossible. Grimacing while keeping him restrained, Shin Soojin called out.
“Get the restraints for Climbers over here!”
“Yes, but will they hold…?”
“He’s weaker than Level 10. It’ll be fine.”
She tried to make sense of the situation. The message clearly stated that those who died would be resurrected as Fallen Ones. Does this mean over 40,000 people have all turned into these monsters…?
While Kang Juhyuk was making an urgent call, a transmission crackled over the radio.
— Terrorist attack reported inside the Seoul Arts Center, Seocho-gu. Multiple casualties suspected. Requesting urgent support from nearby Climbing Surveillance Department personnel…
The expressions of the two hardened further. A terrorist attack—it was impossible to say it wasn’t connected to the current situation. Something had gone wrong over there as well.
The Arts Center happened to be right nearby. Shin Soojin grit her teeth in agony before slamming her fist down.
Crunch!
The man’s head was crushed. Killed instantly, he no longer moved.
“Clean up the situation here. I’m heading over there.”
“Yes…! Please be careful!”
Without even taking the car, Shin Soojin began running toward the Arts Center at an incredible speed. Upon arriving at the building, she approached the police officers who were aiming their guns at the entrance.
“Don’t come any closer! It’s dangerous!”
“I’m Manager Shin Soojin from the Climbing Surveillance Department. What’s the situation inside?”
Once she showed her ID, the police stopped blocking her. Just then, a person stumbled out of the entrance bleeding, their face pale with terror.
“A m-monster… there’s a monster inside…”
“Officer Park! Get this person to safety, now!”
An officer moved the injured person away. The police were also in a state of extreme tension. A superior explained the situation to Shin Soojin.
“Well… we haven’t fully grasped it ourselves yet. A monster appeared inside during a performance, and it seems many people are still trapped. We were ordered to stand by and not enter, but…”
Shin Soojin nodded.
“I’ll go in. You all should move further back from the entrance and wait.”
“What? It’s dangerous! You should wait until backup arrives…!”
Shin Soojin passed the officers and entered the building.
—
The location for receiving Magic Stones changed every time. I wondered if such a mundane trade really required such secrecy, but it didn’t hurt to be careful.
“Thank you.”
Today, we met near the exit of Seoul National University of Education Station. The foreign man handed over a bag full of Magic Stones as usual, took the bag containing the Top-Grade Magic Stone from me, and departed.
I slung the bag over my shoulder and started walking. I’ll sell these at the Magic Stone Exchange and take a stroll through the city today before heading back.
Ah… come to think of it, is it almost time? I checked the Nightmare time limit.
“One minute left.”
When the time hit exactly one year, the 1st Climbers who hadn’t entered the Tower would die. There wasn’t anything I could do about it, but I stood still and watched until the timer hit the one-year mark.
The message appeared. Over 40,000 people are dying. On a global scale, it might seem like a small number, but it’s in the tens of thousands. Tens of thousands of people just died in an instant.
“You piece of shit Tower.”
What do you even gain from doing this? I muttered a curse, feeling a bitter taste in my mouth, when—
More messages popped up. …What? What is this?
“Fallen Ones?”
I couldn’t understand what it meant, but I knew immediately that something ominous was happening. I checked the communication channel.
The channel was in total chaos. Scanning through the posts, I pieced together the situation. It seemed the dead Climbers had… turned into monsters? Does resurrecting as a Fallen One mean becoming a monster?
What the hell.
It was clear the Tower was pulling some absolute bullshit. Looking around the peaceful street, which stood in stark contrast to the chaotic channel, I thought I should head home for now. I went down to the station and waited for the subway.
This time, my phone in my pocket vibrated like crazy.
A stream of disaster alerts. What is all this…? I called my family. Fortunately, my father was off work today and my sister had no classes, so everyone was at home.
“Hello? Yeah, you’re all at home, right? The alert… yeah, yeah. I’m in a safe place too, so don’t worry.”
Even after hanging up, the alerts kept flooding in. I froze when I saw one of them.
The Arts Center was right nearby. Should I go?
The hesitation was brief. I went back out of the station and hailed a taxi.
“Please take me to the Arts Center.”
Ignoring it when it was so close weighed on my conscience. I felt the need to see for myself what these “Fallen Ones” were.
I arrived at the destination quickly. As I approached the Arts Center building, I saw police cars and officers stationed at the entrance.
Wee-woo, wee-woo—
An ambulance sped past me and screeched to a halt next to the police cars. It didn’t look like the situation was over. The police were aiming their guns at the entrance.
After looking around, I called Diul.
Diul.
In a state of Stealth, I passed the police and entered the building. My expression hardened. The pungent stench of blood was wafting from inside.
—
Walking past the entrance and down the hallway, Shin Soojin nervously scanned her surroundings. The interior was silent, and the metallic scent of blood stung her nose.
Sob, sob, sob…
And a faint sound of crying had been audible for a while now. Soon, entering the Opera House, Shin Soojin flinched at the sight that filled her vision. Under a few flickering lights, the dark theater was littered with bright red blood and corpses.
Guaaa—
Shin Soojin spotted a monster staggering between the audience seats. It looked similar to the man who had turned into a monster earlier. The difference was that this one had three horns on its forehead.
Sob… sob, sob, sob…
The crying sound came again. This time, Shin Soojin looked toward the stage. Among the corpses of the performers, another monster was huddled, crying with its head buried in its knees. This one had five horns.
Just looking at it gave her a skin-crawling sensation. Shin Soojin prepared for battle. However, neither monster showed any reaction to her. After observing them for a moment, she chose a different course of action instead of fighting.
Killing her footsteps, she approached a presence she felt among the seats.
“Ugh, uuu…”
Beneath the seats near the entrance, a man and a woman were hiding, huddled with their heads covered. Shin Soojin whispered to them, paralyzed by fear.
“I’m here to save you. It’s okay.”
The man, his face a mess of tears and snot, shook his head. “They… they all died while trying to run… that monster…”
Shin Soojin checked the two monsters again and calmed them. “It’s okay. You have to leave now while the monsters are staying still.”
She couldn’t just leave them there, so she led the two and moved quietly. The monsters still didn’t react, so they successfully made it out of the theater.
“Follow this path quietly out of the building. There are police outside.”
“Yes, yes… uuuuh…”
The couple, still gripped by terror, walked out arm-in-arm. Shin Soojin went back into the theater. There were still other people hiding among the seats besides those two.
“Quietly, come this way.”
She evacuated people one by one. The escape was proceeding relatively smoothly.
“Argh…!”
A person climbing the stairs tripped and fell with a loud crash. Shin Soojin helped them up and hurriedly looked back at the monster. The three-horned monster that had been wandering among the seats turned its head this way.
Kyaaaak—!
“…Run!”
With a shriek, the monster made a Leap. Shin Soojin guarded the monster’s attack with both arms and was blown back against the wall. The remaining people who had been hiding screamed and ran out.
She pulled herself up. Her arms throbbed as if they were broken. Without a moment to collect herself, she had to dodge the monster lunging at her again.
Boom!
The power and speed were incredible. Its Physical Ability was stronger than at least Level 30. Shin Soojin activated her Ganggi skill. Dodging the monster’s attacks by a hair, she looked for an opening and landed a clean blow aimed at its heart.
Pop!
The monster’s chest burst open. It was a strike that should have caused instant death. Yet, the monster counterattacked immediately as if nothing had happened. Unable to prepare for the counter, Shin Soojin was hit in the ribs by the monster’s fist and sent flying.
“Cough…!”
Shin Soojin spat out blood. She felt a dizzying, sharp pain as if her ribs had shattered. Just as the monster lunged toward her again without giving her a moment—
“…!”
Something else lunged from the side and snatched the monster out of mid-air. A massive, pitch-black four-legged beast. Another monster had suddenly appeared out of nowhere and was chewing on the three-horned monster in its mouth.
Shin Soojin watched the scene in a daze.
Crunch! Snap! Ptooey!
The monster, which looked like a black tiger, chewed the three-horned monster thoroughly before spitting it out. The three-horned monster, now a mangled lump of flesh, appeared dead.
Shin Soojin endured the pain and hurriedly stood up. However, the black tiger simply sat still on the floor after killing the three-horned monster in an instant.
Is it not attacking?
Confused, Shin Soojin first checked her surroundings. Fortunately, it seemed everyone had escaped and no one was left in the theater. But…
Sob, sob, sob…
A sorrowful crying sound. Shin Soojin felt a chill and looked toward the stage. The three-horned monster was dead, but one monster remained. The one that was still huddled and crying despite this chaos. Goosebumps wouldn’t stop rising on her skin.
She just knew. That thing was far stronger than the three-horned monster. What should she do? Everyone had escaped, but she couldn’t just leave these monsters be.
Suddenly, a voice reached her.
“I’ll handle this, so please leave.”
Startled, Shin Soojin looked around. But there was still no one around except the monsters. Moreover, the voice was somehow familiar. She realized the identity of the voice.
“Person123…?”
Then, is this monster also…? Shin Soojin looked at the black tiger sitting quietly. Only then did she understand the situation—who the owner of the black tiger was, the one that had killed the three-horned monster without attacking her.
Once again, she had received help from him.
Is it a Summon… type skill?
How could anyone handle a monster like this? Shin Soojin was still confused, but she decided to follow his words for now. Because she understood at least these facts: Person123 had come here, and she would be no help in a fight against that monster.
Fallen Ones from Rank 1 to 5. And the horns on the forehead. She speculated that the number of horns represented the rank. If so, that crying monster was a Rank 5 Fallen One, the highest rank.
“…Please be careful.”
Muttering softly to the air around her, Shin Soojin hurried out of the theater.