Chapter 51 – Gw.a.n.gmyeong City (2)
3.
Gw.a.n.gmyeong Technical High School.
Located next to Dodeoksan Mountain, it was now home to Messiah’s headquarters.
So naturally, the conversations that took place there were disgusting and horrific. They were bragging about their raids on other survivors and were comparing the number of kills they made with each other.
It was like a lair of demons wearing human skin. That same lair was now full of tension.
“You said he was holding a gun?”
“Yes, he was definitely holding a pistol.”
“It wasn’t a revolver?”
“Tell me exactly what happened. Are you sure it was a real gun? Are you sure you didn’t see it incorrectly?”
Things had started to become tense the moment Choi Gisun returned.
After escaping from Kim Tae Hoon, he had immediately escaped to the hideout and spit out everything that had happened to the person in charge.
But it was because he was able to return to Messiah so swiftly and explain what had happened that the upper echelons of Messiah were able to convene quickly at 6 o’clock in the evening.
“I’m sure. It was definitely a pistol.”
“Looks like it’ll be a real pain in the a.s.s.”
First off, their opponent wielded a pistol, not a revolver.
“Just where did that b.a.s.t.a.r.d even find a pistol? Wouldn’t police a.r.s.enals usually have rifles but not pistols?”
Police officers were outfitted with revolvers by default.
There were many things to have to take into account. For one, the revolvers were always outfitted with blanks, forcing the officer to have to remove the blanks and then reload with live rounds in any case where the officer deemed it necessary to pull out their gun. The Korean Police very rarely resorted to using their guns after all.
There were really only two organizations that used non-revolver pistols.
“Did he get them from the military?”
Either special forces in the police or special forces in the military.
Any pistols such like that is telling of a connection with special forces.
“But he didn’t fire his gun? Hey, Choi Gisun. Try explaining one more time. How did the other kids die?”
“That…… he put his gun on the floor, but all of a sudden there was a gust of wind and the others all collapsed with holes in their heads."
“A gust of wind, why don’t you try giving me an explanation that isn’t so d.a.m.n r.e.t.a.r.ded.”
“I, it’s the truth, there was a gust of wind. Swik sook! That’s the sound it made.”
Moreover, he was able to instantly kill three people without a gun.
“d.a.m.n it, he’s probably a superhuman.”
That fact alone was more concerning than the fact that he had a gun.
There was no reason for them not to know. The existence of those with tattoos on their right hand who possessed incredible powers.
“Does he use Telekinesis like leader?”
Of those who had gathered, one was of course the leader of Messiah, Lee Jiseob.
“But could leader, with Telekinesis, in just one blow……”
“Ha Ilhyeon, do you want to see whether or not I have the ability to do so? Hm?”
“A, apologies.”
Lee Jiseob.
He was a young man, and was sitting in the fluffy princ.i.p.al’s chair in the office.
Even if you were to guess high, he didn’t look to be older than twenty-five. He could easily pa.s.s as a freshman in college.
On top of that, his appearance was that of a friendly sort.
“Has my silence in recent days given you the confidence to look down on me? Huh?”
“D, do you think I have a reason to?”
But he wasn’t a friendly human at all.
If he was, would he be the leader of the group Messiah, the one whose members indulged themselves in various atrocious activities?
Lee Jiseob was an incredibly brutal and merciless person.
It was basically the end of the world, so it was basically like a playground for those who harbored s.a.d.i.s.tic tendencies.
In Gw.a.n.gmyeong Technical High School’s bas.e.m.e.nt were dozens of corpses simply waiting to decay in the springs and summers to come.
But his rise to power wasn’t simply because of his sinister mind.
“Hey, Ha Ilhyeon. Do you want a hole in your head too?”
Lee Jiseob used his Telekinesis to direct a revolver in his pocket to fly into the air and point itself at Ha Ilhyeon.
It was impossible to tell what Ha Ilhyeon’s expression was like. The office was lit by two flashlights instead of conventional lights.
The only way to tell how he was feeling was by observing the trembling flashlight in his hand.
“S, sorry.”
“All of you pay attention. How long do you plan to keep telling me the same thing? Is that why we all gathered here? What I want to know is how to find and kill this b.a.s.t.a.r.d!”
Saying that, Lee Jiseob grabbed the revolver that he was levitating with his Telekinesis.
His face looked as though he had chewed a pile of c.r.a.p.
‘d.a.m.n it.’
It wasn’t an expression reserved for this specific situation.
‘A bunch of crazy things have started to happen since a few days ago.’
Strange things had started to happen in Gw.a.n.gmyeong City since the last full moon.
The monsters hiding within the city had begun to crazily flee elsewhere.
So as a result, the survivors had become more active. That was why regular humans like Choi Gisun were able to hunt and raid other survivors.
But Lee Jiseob knew that this was not a good sign.
‘Ever since those special forces looking guys went into Gw.a.n.gmyeong Sageori Station two weeks ago, things have started to become really weird.’
But above all, Lee Jiseob had seen it with his own eyes.
He had seen a special forces outfit appear around Sageori Station two weeks ago.
They didn’t look like they were a rescue team.
A rescue team would try to find survivors, but this squad had appeared in the dead of night when survivors would most likely be in hiding.
They had promptly entered the Gw.a.n.gmyeong Sageori Station.
‘What were those guys up to?’
Afterwards, the monsters in the surrounding area had begun to behave in a crazed manner.
‘Should I have escaped then?’
Of course he wouldn"t have actually dared to do so. Considering the sheer amount of crimes he had committed, Lee Jiseob would be the first to be executed should he come into contact with any sort of law enforcement, whether it be the police or the military.
However, the number of monsters had decreased and had remained low since then.
Without the presence of strong monsters, the unspoken leader of Gw.a.n.gmyeong naturally became him.
But then an unusual person had appeared.
‘d.a.m.n it.’
Lee Jis...o...b..was nervous and had no intention to partic.i.p.ate in the conversation that was going on at the moment.
Deureureuk!
All of a sudden, the door to the office opened.
“Hm?”
“What’s that?”
Everyone in the room looked towards the door that had suddenly burst open.
But there was nothing there.
Instead.
Hwing!
A gust of wind blew through the open window. Surprised by the sudden gust of wind, they turned their heads.
Only two.
Only two of the six men who had gathered in the office were able to turn their heads towards the window where the gust of wind had blown in from.
Thump!
The other four fell onto the floor. There were holes in their heads with rivulets of blood streaming down their heads.
“Ahhh, ahhhh!”
Of the two survivors, Choi Gisun screamed, staring at the man floating outside of the second floor window.
“He he, that guy he… … "
On the other hand, Lee Jiseob, instead of screaming, pointed the revolver that he held in his hand towards the dark figure outside the window.
“Keuk!”
Except, he couldn’t. His arm pointed towards the ceiling instead of the window. It was as though an invisible string had tied itself around his wrist and pulled his entire arm upwards.
‘It’s him.’
Lee Jiseob was well aware that it was Telekinesis, and so thanks to that, he knew who it was that had come.
Kim Tae Hoon.
He had come.
4.
Kim Tae Hoon was well acquainted with the mindset of criminals like these guys.
They were like c.o.c.kroaches.
When an individual is threatened, he will run back to his hideout and prompt the others to band together in order to fight against the threat.
Because of that, it wasn’t very effective to immediately clear out the criminals that you see.
Kim Tae Hoon knew exactly what would work.
“Answer my questions.”
He knew exactly what to do in order to get what he wanted from the criminals.
“What bull s.h.i.+t are you spewing. Just die you r.e.t.a.r.ded piece of s.h.i.+t!”
Tweh!
With one arm pointed towards the sky, Lee Jiseob cursed the arrogant Kim Tae Hoon, spitting at him.
The spit landed on Kim Tae Hoon’s cheek.
Kim Tae Hoon gently wiped the spit off of his face. Kim Tae Hoon clenched his teeth. Then he spit on Lee Jiseob.
Tweh!
However, Kim Tae Hoon’s spit was different from Lee Jiseob’s spit.
The color was different. It wasn’t saliva, but rather, a small fireball.
Kim Tae Hoon’s ‘spit’ quickly latched onto Lee Jiseob’s cheeks.
“Ggaaaahk!”
It was a loud scream of sheer pain, the excruciating feeling of his skin melting off his face was unbearable to withstand.
The flames refused to die down. The fire slowly expanded, melting away more and more of his skin.
“Ggaaaah, Ggaaaah! Ggaaah!”
Lee Jiseob’s b.l.o.o.d.y eyes glowed in pain in response to the otherworldly level of pain.
Pushyushyu!
It was the fire extinguisher that Kim Tae Hoon had retrieved from some corner of the office.
The fire r.e.t.a.r.dant chemicals showered Lee Jiseob’s face.
“Cough， cough， cough……”
Lee Jiseob coughed out the fire r.e.t.a.r.ded powder that had entered his mouth.
Holding onto the fire extinguisher, Kim Tae Hoon simply stared at Lee Jis...o...b..
“Forty seven. That’s the number of men here. It’s also the number of men that I’ve taken care of."
Hearing that, Lee Jiseob broke out in laughter.
“Cut the bulls.h.i.+t and just kill me. Unless you want me to spit on you again.”
Tweh!
Kim Tae Hoon once again spit on Lee Jiseob. The saliva landed on the chemical covering Lee Jiseob’s eyelids.
“Ggaaaah!”
Lee Jiseob who had been suffering already was suddenly forced to deal with the prospect of his own eyes burning up in flames.
But there was no pain. Kim Tae Hoon had spit normal saliva.
“Unless you want to be set on fire again, pay attention to what I’m saying. If I ask a question and don’t receive an answer in three seconds, or you roll your eyes, or if the answer you give me is wrong, I’ll spit on your eyeb.a.l.l.s.”
Hearing his conviction, Lee Jiseob didn’t dare to express his spite any longer.
He was fairly bright and was clear on what was going to happen.
He knew that the man in front of him, Kim Tae Hoon, had no intention of letting him live.
Then he remembered.
Why did Kim Tae Hoon mention forty-seven men?
There were also men guarding the bas.e.m.e.nt. They were the ones who kept the secret of the bas.e.m.e.nt full of corpses.
It was certain that he would have seen the bodies.
“What happened in Gw.a.n.gmyeong three days ago?”
“Nothing… …
It was because of that that Lee Jiseob complied.
“Something definitely happened in Gw.a.n.gmyeong three days ago.”
“There was seriously nothing of import that happened. It’s been quiet, that’s it. I’m telling you, I haven’t even seen monsters!"
“Then what happened about two weeks ago?”
“That……”
Lee Jiseob had a surprised expression on his face.
Kim Tae Hoon calmly started to count.
“One, two……”
“Special forces. S, special forces troops entered Gw.a.n.gmyeong Sageori Station. That’s all I know.”
"When did they go in? Was it in the afternoon or in the evening?”
“It was at night, late night…..”
“How many?”
“I don’t know for sure, but at least ten…… .”
“What happened afterwards?”
“Monsters began to run away, and as a result, the monster population began to decrease like crazy……”
At that moment, the revolvers that belonged to the members of Messiah, whose heads were punctured began to float in the air.
Lee Jiseob used his Telekinesis to use the guns.
‘You’re dead."
This was why he had been so cooperative until now.
Since Kim Tae Hoon wasn’t going to let him live, he needed to kill him.
With the gun pointed towards Kim Tae Hoon, there was no hesitation as Lee Jiseob went to pull the trigger.
Tweh!
Unfortunately, Kim Tae Hoon’s spit was able to hit Lee Jiseob’s eyes before he could pull the trigger.
Hwareureu!
And this time, Kim Tae Hoon’s saliva was full of color.
Flamespitter.
The Flame Spitting Crocodile’s flames devoured Lee Jiseob’s left eye.
“Gggaaah!"
Lee Jiseob screamed as though he was experiencing the worst pain in the world. The gun he was trying to fire with his Telekinesis fell lifelessly to the floor.
Kim Tae Hoon glared at Lee Jiseob, and spoke in a cold voice.
“I’m sure you noticed, but I had no intention of letting you live. Of course, I didn’t plan to let you die a painless death either. So as long as you answer my questions and cooperate, I’ll grant you a swift death. You’re a clever guy, I’m sure you don’t need me to explain what I mean."
“Ggaaaaah!”
“Now then, let’s continue.”
As stated before, Kim Tae Hoon was very, very well acquainted with the criminal psyche.
5.
It was late night.
Kim Tae Hoon was observing Exit 4 of the Gw.a.n.gmyeong Sageori Station.
‘The Special Forces entered the Gw.a.n.gmyeong Sageori Station.’
The information he got from Lee Jiseob was pretty good.
‘So that was the reason. So this is why the green ranked monster suddenly left the area around Cheolsan Station and entered Gw.a.n.gmyeong Sageori station.’
The information was very good.
‘When going to Gw.a.n.gmyeong Sageori Station from Cheolsan Station, you’ll inevitably end up closer to Bucheon. In other words, monsters of rank yellow or lower had no choice but to flee to Bucheon.’
However, the information he had didn’t resolve all loose ends.
‘But I still don’t know what the special forces were here for. They weren’t here as a rescue team. If they were a rescue team, they wouldn’t have acted the way they did.’
Kim Tae Hoon could only guess.
‘They were here to hunt down a monster. Knowing that there was a green ranked monster, they went in without hesitation. It’s almost certain that they probably had a weapon capable of damaging the monster.’
A special forces group entered Gw.a.n.gmyeong City and then immediately entered Gw.a.n.gmyeong Sageori Station in order to catch a green ranked monster.
Furthermore, the green grade monster had disappeared from Daedongyeojido three days ago.
‘It took them more than ten days.’
It was unlikely that a battle would go on for ten days within the subway system.
Common sense would dictate that they would have failed. However, the monster was alive until three days ago.
And seeing how it was a green ranked monster, they must have used more than one artifact.
There should have been around four or five members comparable to Kim Tae Hoon in strength. Even if they had a powerful weapon, it would be useless without a powerful user. A weapon could only be considered a threat if the user knew how to use it.
‘This is a hunt.’
This wasn’t just a battle anymore. This was the perfect opportunity for Kim Tae Hoon to focus on the hunt.
‘Even if the green ranked monster was able to wipe out the special forces squad, it would have sustained fatal, if not heavy, injuries.’
A battle is often times separated into the winning side and the losing side, but in some rare cases, the differences between the two could be negligible.
‘If it’s already in fatal condition and gets worse……’
In this case, the hunters could have perished with the prey succ.u.mbing to its wounds soon afterwards.
Without a trace of hesitation, Kim Tae Hoon stepped into Gw.a.n.gmyeong Sageori Station.