Chapter 18 (1/2)
Baek Seoin was at the veterans’ hospital when it happened. Due to the sudden a.s.sembly announcement, crowds of people were gathering in the hospital parking lot. Though the a.s.sembly announcement Baek Seoin received indicated the hospital as well, the reason why he was there was a bit different.
He was in his father’s ward. His father lay there suffering in pain without the ability to speak. The doctors said he couldn’t last for much longer. His father who wasn’t in his right mind. For the first time, Baek Seoin realized how painful the illness known as cancer was.
“Uh… ueh….”
He had leukemia. The common illness that hit his parent’s generation who worked since young to support their children and their parents- and for the revival of their nation, cancer.
Baek Seoin never liked his father. Because the values of his paternalistic and worldly father and the more free-spirited Baek Seoin were too different, they would always fight at home.
At that time, to Baek Seoin, his father could have been somewhat of an enemy.
An enemy who would never break under his youthful follies. An existence who would last forever strong.
However, his father was currently so thin that he had a hard time speaking.
The insults at the previous president and the partic.i.p.ation in rallies that would always become topics of dispute… even if those things happened, his father couldn’t say one word.
He never knew that that would be so painful.
‘Forgetting that my dad was human as well… I acted all c.o.c.ky in front of him…’
A year after his father was hospitalized. Baek Seoin was in a state of deep depression.
His mother came to subst.i.tute for him.
“Oh. Seoin. Go home and rest.”
“No. I want to stay a bit longer.”
“You must be tired, you should rest.”
“No, it’s okay.”
“Okay… but did you also see strange things too?”
“Yes. Hah… whoever they are, aliens or G.o.ds, couldn’t they have helped father if they had that much power?”
“Yeah… It did seem a bit scary. A surprise attack and an a.s.sembly area… It’s not like it’s the 6/25 incident[1].”
“Our a.s.sembly area is here anyways so it’ll be fine.”
“Yeah… Still, go rest a little.”
“Okay. Then I’ll come back after a drink. Father. I’ll be right back.”
That was how Baek Seoin left the room holding a drink.
Late at night. There were much more people waiting in the parking lot than before. There were even some who wanted to enter the hospital by pa.s.sing through the security guards. There were even people who were speaking nonsense, something about seeing monsters. Perhaps he would have thought about it more seriously if he had seen the weapons inside the hospital. However, due to the fact they quickly hid them to prevent disorder amongst the doctors, Baek Seoin didn’t think much of it. Instead, he was busy worrying about his father.
Just when he had taken a sip of his drink, Baek Seoin suddenly had an ominous feeling. Cold sweat ran down his back and his heart raced.
‘Leave!’
It was as if he heard a scream coming from within him. He felt like he would suffocate.
[You have awakened the unique skill ‘Intuition’!]
A message suddenly appeared but due to the fact his heart felt like it was being squeezed, he couldn’t pay it any heed. Baek Seoin was in a panic as he hurriedly left the hospital. His heart was pounding and his vision narrowed. He hid in a building nearby. Immediately, as if it was all a lie, his heart relaxed.
“What was that…?”
Just then. He heard the sound of a large explosion. Flames erupted in various places around the city and he started to hear desperate cries.
Craas.h.!.+
A monster the size of an apartment that spewed flames from its eyes and mouth suddenly appeared as if it had dropped down from the sky. The tyrannosaurus-like monster kicked the building right next to the one Baek Seoin was hiding in.
Cras.h.!.+
Baek Seoin’s body stood up.
The scenes afterwards pa.s.sed by as if in slow motion. The monster stomped towards the hospital and people dispersed like a swarm of ants. The monster blew flames and those flames spread out in a circle, completely burning people in its path. The advancing monster swung its tail and bashed its head on the hospital and meticulously burned the people under the wreckage. Behind it was a swarm of monsters that hunted and killed the escapees. People were popped like tomatoes and boiled in flames.
“Nnn… nnn!”
Baek Seoin cried.
Unable to do anything, he stifled his cries and could only let tears drop from his eyes. The monster that smashed the hospital suddenly disappeared. Just then, Baek Seoin received another message.
[You have survived a close call with the Wyvern of Destruction. Additional rule revealed.]
——————–
[Additional Rule Revealed]
The Wyvern of Destruction will appear again on the final day. The Wyvern of Destruction will protect the escape code.
——————–
That was Baek Seoin’s story.
“My Intuition… It only cared about my safety… It didn’t matter if my parents lived or died as long as I ran for my life.”
Baek Seoin’s eyes were bloodshot to the point as if they would drip blood.
However, he settled his emotions with deep breaths before calmly continuing.
“Currently, most people don’t know that the number of monsters will slowly increase and that the Wyvern of Destruction will appear on the final day. At this rate, everyone will die. The Wyvern of Destruction is already unstoppable, if a million monster underlings charge as well, no one will be able to escape. We need to form a suicide squad that will destroy the monster-sp.a.w.ning portals ahead of time and kill the Wyvern of Destruction. And to do that, I need your help.”
That moment, Choi Hyuk was deep in thought.
‘The Wyvern of Destruction… How can I kill it?’
Was it possible to kill an apartment-sized monster with a sword? Perhaps it was not meant to be a monster to kill. Maybe they were supposed to lure it away and escape.
However, his fighting instincts knew no limits and he had a reason to fight.
‘If I kill that thing, I will definitely catch their attention.’
Choi Hyuk resolved himself to kill the monster. It was fine if he looked for the method starting now.
“First, okay… Then show me the way to the portal. Let’s see if your Intuition is real or not.”
Choi Hyuk suggested. Baek Seoin revealed a slightly hopeless expression.
“Right now?”
“Yes.”
“… My Intuition tells me that the monsters over there are going to be stronger than the ones here. Wouldn’t it be better to look for more people before then?”
“It’s fine.”
“… What if I told you that, even if you don’t, I get the feeling I will die there?”
However, Choi Hyuk just shrugged his shoulders.
“Let’s just think of it as a test. If you want to stay with me, it’s a bit troublesome if you die facing monsters at that level.”