Chapter 21
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Game Board (4)
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"Ugh... ah..."
"Hurry, run."
Kang Do-yeon grabbed her frozen friend's wrist and pulled.
She still held the fire extinguisher in her hand.
"Die!"
The first time is the hardest; the second is easy.
Already worked up, she hurled the fire extinguisher at another goblin that appeared at the bottom of the stairs.
The extinguisher flew with ferocious momentum and crushed the goblin's face. She then stomped madly on the fallen creature.
"Shit..."
She wiped the blood that had splattered on her clothes.
But there was no time to dwell on the aftermath.
She picked up the fire extinguisher again, grabbed Oh Yoon-ah's hand, and ran.
Goblins were here, there, everywhere.
They barely managed to escape the building, a scene of utter pandemonium.
Hearing the screams from behind, running was clearly the wise choice.
"Ah..."
"What do we do! What do we do!"
Oh Yoon-ah shrieked, terrified, and clung to her.
They were surrounded.
A dozen or so goblins had appeared out of nowhere, baring their teeth as they approached.
There was no one nearby to help.
'...Hah.'
Kang Do-yeon gasped for breath and raised the fire extinguisher.
A few of the creatures were openly brandishing coarse ropes they had brought with them.
"Hey!"
But just then.
With a horn blast loud enough to burst eardrums, a car came tearing across the school field.
"This is insane."
I slammed on the brakes, gritting my teeth at the horrible sound.
Desecrating the dead by tossing out a guy who died from an arrow to the driver's seat, stealing someone else's car, and now speeding and roadkill?
Of course, that wasn't what was important right now.
"Get in, quick!"
After running over a few goblins, I yelled at the dazed girls.
As if finally snapping out of it, Kang Do-yeon smashed a staggering goblin's head with the fire extinguisher, then all but tucked her short friend under her arm and dashed for the car.
*So that's Oh Yoon-ah. Should've just left her.*
"H-How did you get here? What's with this car?!"
"Is that really important right now?"
I stomped on the accelerator again.
The priority was to get out of here.
But my complacent thought was dead wrong.
The moment I tried to reverse, something came flying.
"No way."
"Is this..."
A sigh of disbelief escaped my lips.
That thing that just flew and burst the tire... was that a bullet?
"Aaaah!"
More shots followed.
The goblin standing up ahead, leading the others, his beard flowing.
That one, aiming a pistol stolen from the police at us, was the commander of these goblins and someone's Unit.
"Oppa..."
"You, stay here."
The creature tossed the pistol aside and aimed a large staff in its hand.
Flames instantly ignited, coalescing into a fireball.
It was going to shoot that at us.
I looked down at my gloved hand.
Even if I used the Execution Ticket to kill that thing now, what about the others?
According to the inquiry, 'Units and Players' cannot be dealt with using the app's basic functions. That's the 'rule'.
So taking a picture was impossible.
"That's."
But there was always hope.
With a blinding flash of lightning, someone appeared behind them.
"Cha Ji-yeon!"
"That 'Step-Up Hunter'?"
Oh Yoon-ah and Kang Do-yeon recognized her.
A woman in a black suit with lightning crackling around her, her pale blue hair fluttering in the wind.
A thunderous roar erupted with successive flashes of light.
I watched in silence as she slaughtered the goblins.
From the noise, it sounded like hunters or police were already handling the situation further back.
"She's so strong..."
The girls marveled, dazed.
That's right. She was strong.
Dozens of goblins were being instantly killed by the chain lightning striking down and spreading out.
The goblins had clearly become unnaturally strong, but her power was overwhelming.
The one that looked like the leader threw a fireball at her, who was wreathed in lightning.
Cha Ji-yeon, however, simply split the massive fireball with a hand crackling with blue lightning, then extended her arm and unleashed a powerful electric shock that roasted the creature to a crisp.
She strode toward us through the barbecued corpses.
"Excuse me..."
"Is anyone hurt?"
Her eyes met mine.
I knew it instinctively.
Her eyes, and something dwelling within them.
Could it be that she, a presumed Unit, had recognized me?
"There are still people in the back, in the back!"
"...In the back?"
Just then, Oh Yoon-ah shouted, pointing at the school building.
But Cha Ji-yeon just stared blankly at her, not moving.
In that moment, my eyes met Kang Do-yeon's.
There were two Players here, after all.
"Don't worry. Armed police and hunters have been urgently dispatched, so... Still, you escaped well. If you had stayed in the shelter, it would have surely been breached."
"...Do you have some business with me?"
The atmosphere was strange.
The gazes of Oh Yoon-ah and Cha Ji-yeon, two people each with their own secrets, met in mid-air.
"Casamandis."
"...?"
"Say it. Casamandis."
Oh Yoon-ah was the first to speak.
I realized she was carrying out some kind of verification process.
"Casamandis."
"You're fine? I was told it was a curse that would befall anyone who received power from a person of this world."
Cha Ji-yeon, having noticed something as well, obediently repeated the word.
At the same time, she took something out.
It was a small, pebble-like stone that was glowing brightly.
"Unit."
"Player."
Oh Yoon-ah and Cha Ji-yeon spoke at the same time.
As expected, Cha Ji-yeon was someone's Unit.
And from a different world than Oh Yoon-ah's.
*Casamandis...* I committed the spell to memory.
"So. What's your Player's stance?"
"They said the goal is to find Players from other affiliations and form an alliance."
"Aha. Just as I thought."
I don't know where she got the confidence from, but the girl who was on the verge of tears just moments ago now stood tall, her shoulders squared and head held high.
Well, she might seem a bit naive, but she was cunning enough to brand her own friend, so she must have had a plan.
"Actually, I'm in the same boat. I can certainly provide help."
"Then there's no reason to hesitate."
Cha Ji-yeon smirked, effectively sealing the alliance.
My sister and I could only be bystanders.
For now, that was probably for the best.
"First, let's get to a safe place... Hold on."
Just as she was about to lead us away, Cha Ji-yeon suddenly froze.
Her face turned pale.
"Wh-What's wrong? Is it your Player..."
The ever-confident Oh Yoon-ah instantly deflated and hid behind Kang Do-yeon.
Cha Ji-yeon squeezed her eyes shut and trembled.
Then she staggered.
As if... she were enduring pain.
"I can't. These are innocent people...!"
"Don't tell me."
Staggering, she began to generate lightning again.
The problem was, this red lightning didn't seem to be manifested by her own will.
"The secrets of the game... must be kept... Gck..."
"W-Wait!"
While we were frozen stiff, Oh Yoon-ah, contrary to expectations, stepped forward.
"These people are my people. They already know everything. There's no need to silence them!"
"...That's a relief."
At Oh Yoon-ah's explanation, the lightning around her gradually subsided.
Cha Ji-yeon, sweating coldly, looked genuinely relieved.
"Let's get to safety now."
We ran after her.
There wasn't much else after that.
The hunters and armed police who had swarmed in drove off all the goblins.
The ones that survived fled into the Gate.
Taking with them numerous victims and abducted prisoners.
It was a disaster that would go down in the history of the Republic of Korea, the first in ten years, and the beginning of a catastrophe.
*
"So, what did she say?"
"She said to explain it to you and smooth things over."
"That's it?"
Amidst the chaotic and confusing atmosphere, Kang Do-yeon and I sat blankly on the curb.
"She seems like a bit of an airhead."
"She's good at studying, but she's a bit clumsy."
My sister chuckled.
Just as she said, there was something clumsy about Oh Yoon-ah.
Her attitude toward me was proof enough.
According to Kang Do-yeon, she was letting me off the hook because she couldn't place another brand.
And her idea of silencing me wasn't killing me, but simply having my sister give me a stern warning.
Of course, from her perspective, my sister was effectively a hostage, so it wasn't entirely without effect.
In any case, we had saved each other's lives once.
I, from the goblins, and she, from Cha Ji-yeon.
"Still, neither Yoon-ah nor that Cha Ji-yeon person knows about you, Oppa. That's a good thing."
"Yeah. We managed to get through it somehow."
"Do you know where... the world your Units are from is?"
"No."
I let out a sigh.
Forget the world, they hadn't even managed to get out from underground yet.
"Let's just go home. I... I can't stay here anymore."
"Okay."
I didn't want to hear any more crying and shouting either.
Oh Yoon-ah had disappeared with Cha Ji-yeon, so there was no reason to stick around.
We went straight home.
"I'm really not hurt... Gah."
"Ah, Mom, stop... Ugh."
As soon as we got home, our mother, whom we'd called ahead, ran over and hugged us so tight it felt like we'd be crushed, sobbing all the while.
After finally calming her down, I hurried to my room.
I'd realized it today, firsthand.
Time was running out, and this was truly dangerous.
"Is it confirmed?"
[Affirmative. The Legion is now conducting a complete dissection and analysis of the new specimen. This will be recorded in history. Perhaps this specimen will bring about a great leap in our evolution.]
On my phone screen.
The corpses of the dead goblins were being digested by the nest.
Before leaving the scene, I had taken pictures of a few of the ones that had been hit by the car.
Surprisingly, even if they were Units, their corpses could be transmitted.