Chapter 13: To Survive, We Must Ascend to the Surface.
*
The monster howled, shaking its body violently, as if trying to shake off some bugs clinging to its back.
However, Reina stood firm as if her feet were glued to the ground, undeterred as she sprinted along the creature’s back.
Tap tap.
With her sword still embedded, she ran, splitting the tough surface and sending dark green blood spraying everywhere.
Whoosh!
Despite suffering such a severe injury, the beast thrashed about in agony.
“Graaaarrr!”
A tail resembling a scorpion shot up menacingly.
At the end of the tail was a sharp stinger dripping with a dark, poisonous liquid that aimed straight for Reina.
Shhhhwaaa!
No one, not even Reina herself, was aware of the monster’s tail.
“Ah.”
In that fleeting moment, there was no time for Reina to evade.
“Look out!”
Simultaneously, someone screamed in shock as the poisonous stinger pierced Reina’s body.
Thwuck.
For a brief moment, time seemed to freeze.
Though it was short, Reina showcased such perfect synergy with Gang-ho that it felt like they had been a team forever.
She was stronger than anyone he had ever seen.
And yet, such a powerful Reina… would she really fall so lamely?
“Eeeeeek!”
Lisa, unable to keep up with the rapid pace of the battle that was almost like lightning, screamed.
Satoshi and even Wolf were no different, caught off guard.
“Aaaah!”
Crash!
It was hard to believe that the once formidable Reina could fall so quickly in battle.
But the shout from Gang-ho snapped them back to reality.
“Get a grip! What are you all doing? Move as instructed!”
It was the first time Han Gang-ho raised his voice.
That alone indicated how critical the situation was.
And yet—
Shlurp.
Reina, who should have been impaled by the monster’s stinger, was nowhere to be seen.
“……?!”
“Wha— Where is she?”
The realization struck them too late, and yet again, the beast let out another mighty roar.
“Graaaar!”
At that moment, dark green blood and innards spilled to the ground.
Splash! Splash!
“Wow!”
“Aaaah! Reina!”
It felt like they were witnessing a teleportation spell.
They had clearly seen her get stabbed by the tail, but somehow she had moved below the creature and sliced its belly open like before.
Whooooosh!
Before the gasps and sighs of astonishment could die down, Reina slid along the direction she had been running, escaping the creature’s grasp.
And at that precise moment, Gang-ho’s fist made contact with the creature’s face.
Thunk!
Unlike before, there was no flashy display of lightning this time.
Instead, it was a punch powered by extremely high-pressure electrical currents that barely made a sound upon impact.
Of course, his primary attribute was plasma, so there was still a heavy shock delivered.
Crack! Crack!
It was a blow strong enough to sever the last breath of the gaping monster’s body.
Gwaaaaah!
Boom!
Satoshi stared blankly at the sight of the monster falling apart.
That motion seemed like an orchestrated slow-motion scene.
He found himself swallowing nervously.
Gulp.
An overwhelming sensation welled up in his chest.
‘With a body length of at least 6 meters, they single-handedly took down that ridiculous monster!’
Han Gang-ho alone was a figure who left him in awe, and now another captivating woman had appeared.
Haaah.
The indescribable gladness boiling up from within ignited the timid heart of Satoshi.
“Oooh!”
He crossed his arms at his chest and then reached down with force.
Swish.
Bam!
Suddenly, two black scythes appeared in his empty hands…
Swish!
“Yahh!”
He twirled his body and launched the scythes toward the beast that had devoured Henry.
Whoosh!
Swish! Swish!
After flicking his hands two or three times, he suddenly took a few quick steps and jumped into the air.
Tap tap tap!
He aimed to create holes in the monster’s neck, chest, and belly.
“Die!”
Bam!
But just then, Lisa’s voice rang out from behind.
“Wait! Be careful!”
“Huh? Ah!”
Satoshi’s sharp eyes widened in shock.
Why was the monster down?
No, more importantly, why was there lava bubbling on the ground?!
‘Lisa… when did this happen?’
Then he spotted the wolf’s mouth clamped around one of the monster’s arms while his own body floated above it.
‘Ah, it’s already over.’
This belated realization hit him hard.
It seemed that after Gang-ho’s shout, Lisa and Wolf had engaged the monster in battle.
With his grasp of the situation and his short flight, the moment came to an abrupt end.
Crash!
Splash!
“Ugh! Hot! Burning!”
*
Ultimately, the shelter they’d taken refuge in was destroyed.
The combined might of Gang-ho’s group and Reina’s formidable strikes proved too much for it to withstand.
“What are you all? Who exactly are you?”
Reina asked, genuinely surprised.
While she had seen Han Gang-ho’s powers and understood his strength, it was hard to believe that the rest of the team were also superhumans.
Even more unbelievable was that their abilities didn’t seem to lag behind hers.
Lisa countered with a question instead of answering.
“And what about you, Reina?”
They had first met in the shelter during a dire situation with the sirens blaring, just exchanging names before being attacked by the horrific creature.
The initial fear they felt, paired with the concern, was completely eclipsed after they eliminated two powerful creatures without encountering any particularly dangerous situations.
There simply hadn’t been time to get to know each other, which led to the current predicament.
Amidst all this, one person who seemed to know everything quietly organized the situation.
…
Reina, with a mixture of surprise, joy, and curiosity, was having a lively chat with Lisa.
Gang-ho couldn’t help but notice her and thought,
‘A half-elf, huh.’
Lisa and Satoshi had been exposed to a magnetic field due to an explosion in the electrical facility on the 10th floor.
That exposure awakened their abilities.
Han Gang-ho and Wolf were already mutants, but they had also experienced changes in their abilities after exposure.
To be precise, their powers had been enhanced.
Then, considering this woman was now Level 6, what about the situation of her powers without any exposure or energy core absorption?
It was something he couldn’t ascertain unless directly asked.
Still, he didn’t want to pester her right now.
‘I’m sure she wouldn’t appreciate that.’
Nevertheless, a subtle smile crept onto Gang-ho’s lips.
Unknowingly, he reflected the joy of having gained a powerful ally.
Why wouldn’t he be happy?
‘In the face of this absurd disaster, strong companions raise the chances of survival.’
His military experience confirmed this.
*
Gang-ho’s group soon moved to the hub gate and manually sealed the connecting passage.
Shiiing.
The hydraulic shielding device closed, dropping the second iron door to block the entrance.
Boom.
Next, high-pressure steam escaped as the third barrier rotated in place, locking into position.
Clank!
With that, the link between the hub gate and the destroyed shelter was completely sealed off.
‘This should have been automatic. Why isn’t the function working?’
Gang-ho pondered as he confirmed the shelter’s closure, turning back to face them.
“Reina, most of the operational systems are concentrated on the upper levels. Why did you come down here?”
It was a question asked as they began to move again.
Reina sighed softly as she matched her steps with him.
Hoo.
Just as expected, Han Gang-ho had pierced right to the heart of the matter.
She felt there was no need to hide anything from him.
“You could say it’s an inspection. I’m a bit late, though.”
She explained that a year ago, a report had indicated prohibited research was occurring at the Biological Research Institute.
Reina had been assigned to investigate and was on a kind of infiltration mission.
And not long ago, she had discovered a clue.
“Today was the day I planned to secure evidence. And as you can see, the results unfolded.”
Despite that, her explanation remained relatively concise without missing the crucial points.
“It doesn’t seem like such inhumane experiments would have been unilaterally decided by the researchers. Do you know anything about it?”
“To be honest, no one knows how extensive the involvement in this matter goes. Even I can’t trust my own colleagues right now.”
Everyone, including Gang-ho, fell silent at Reina’s explanation.
It was serious.
– Living beings cultivated and created using improved human DNA in laboratories on each floor.
Additionally, Reina anticipated various unknown monsters beyond just mutants and creatures.
The conclusion was clear: merely ascending one floor wouldn’t guarantee safety.
They would have to climb up eight or seven more floors to reach the surface.
But with each ascent, the fear of facing increasingly terrifying unknown entities loomed over them like a dark cloud.
‘So that was why Gang-ho was in such a hurry.’
Everyone, including Lisa, shared the same thought.
Coming up from the 10th to the 9th floor, they had thought, “We’re safe now,” but that illusion had shattered.
To survive, they had to ascend to the surface.
“There’s no time to hesitate. We’ll move straight to the west platform.”
As quickly as possible.
*
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