Hide and Seek (2)
I figured there were no real clues to track the ninth remnant—that massive flesh orb the size of a three-story building. It used something like blink or teleportation, with no warning signs other than a brief flash when it appeared.
But.
At the central playground in Mirae Apartments, I crouched down in front of it and let out a sigh.
'Won't wash away...'
Starting from the entrance of Mirae Apartments, long streaks of black blood trailed off somewhere. I clicked my tongue at the sight.
The relentless patter of rain—pouring down—and yet these substances stood out starkly.
...Not quite oil, not quite blood either. Either way, I had zero desire to touch it.
Squelch.
Staring at the black blood clinging stickily to my shoe, I thought,
'So, I just need to track this.'
The problem was that all my plans from the apartment had gone up in smoke. The upside? Just follow this trail.
But... was this really the remnant's doing? No other choice, though.
'Fucking annoying.'
I followed the black blood. Splattered everywhere.
'I get what ability it is now.'
Apparently, the flesh orb's blink wasn't true teleportation—it was the same as mine, just hyper-fast movement. A vague unease gnawed at me as I kept going, blinking past dancing faceless ones and staggering zombies.
Mirae Apartments' final building, 210, came into view. I climbed atop it and overlooked the urban sprawl.
Traces lingered everywhere. Black blood splattered across rooftops in the ruined city.
I cut through the fog-shrouded heart of Saseol-dong, pursuing the trail past Mirae Department Store and O Street, then straight along Cheonggyecheon Stream.
'...Here...'
Soon enough, I reached the end of the black blood trail. Off to the right of Saseol-dong, tucked in a corner. A massive building. And a familiar sign.
[Mirae Children's Hospital.]
'Hoo...'
Sighing at the trail leading inside, I steeled myself.
Hospital. Hospital. That damn hospital.
Honestly, what happened at Northhyang General Hospital was the kind of nightmare that would send ordinary people screaming. No wonder I had zero good memories of hospitals.
What stuck with me: twisted, malformed blood-clump zombies. Corpses skinned alive and hung up. And that incomprehensible giant fetus, along with slimy, writhing dark-red flesh masses.
But.
'What can I do?'
Haa.
No choices left. I sighed and stepped into the children's hospital, the black blood squelching under my shoes.
===
Patter.
I folded my umbrella and stepped inside.
Creeeak.
The first floor reception area was surprisingly intact. Wide lounge, consultation rooms. And... baby shoes. No, children's shoes.
I picked up a dusty baby shoe and narrowed my eyes. Yeah, patients were admitted here. And as a children's hospital, it probably closed at night.
'They said they extended hours to midnight recently.'
Something about pediatric shortages, so they ran late and admitted overnight patients. On March 3rd, when the apocalypse hit, this place wouldn't have stayed unscathed.
'But.'
I narrowed my eyes. The black blood clearly led here. But there was nowhere for that massive flesh orb to go.
'No, it couldn't even enter in the first place.'
So what? I'd checked earlier—the trail cut off right here.
Not many possibilities. One: its body regenerated so fast the traces vanished, and it healed here before leaving. Two: it could shrink somehow.
I sighed. Endless possibilities were the problem.
What if that giant flesh orb could disguise itself as a human? Mimic speech and behavior perfectly?
Only option: spear everything in sight with Ice Spear.
Creeeak.
I headed up to the second floor.
===
Ting-a-ling.
Ting-a-ling.
The second floor was whimsically decorated. Normally, you'd hear kids whining about shots, parents soothing them, nurses bustling... in the wards.
No more of that. Unlike the pristine first floor, the second was a mess.
Thud.
Thud.
I stared down at a woman's corpse, mid-40s maybe. Half her body cleaved off, face twisted in agony.
'Hasn't decomposed. Meaning...'
Not that old. Crouching for a closer look, I spotted human nail marks all over her body.
'Cause of death: small bite on the neck. Plus baby and kid nail marks.'
Tiny nails. Like from infants or toddlers...
'......'
...What fresh bullshit happened here?
That's when it hit.
Waaah!
A baby's cry echoed from the end of the second-floor hallway. Not like the second remnant's fetus wail, though.
'Why do these things love babies so much?'
A baby's cry in a ruined hospital. Nail marks from babies on the corpse. I had a rough idea what lurked here.
And then.
"Kyaaah!"
"Kyruk."
From afar, babies crawled out.
Wriggling. Squirming.
They'd have been cute once. But.
Faceless.
These weren't cute babies. Despite no eyes, nose, or mouth, they Kyruk-ed and skittered toward me along the walls at terrifying speed.
"Kyaaah!"
Wall painted with sun and moon motifs. But in this apocalypse, the whimsy turned poisonous.
"Ice Spear."
I summoned it calmly.
Boom!
Splash!
Monsters bursting. I stopped calling them babies.
Pure malice and hostility incarnate. Mockeries of real humans born into this world.
The little monsters exploded.
Splat.
Flesh hitting my face.
Scrape.
I wiped it off and crowbarred open room after room.
'Not surprised they're here.'
Nothing worse than what I'd seen before. Faceless mimics of dead babies? No big emotional hit.
Just.
'First possibility? It already healed and left?'
Too few clues for the trail's end. I headed to the third floor.
Or tried to.
'Wait.'
I stopped dead. Something felt off.
'City of the dead.'
In this fog-veiled city of the dead, I'd seen no corpses. Only zombies, faceless ones. And the flesh orb crafting humans from them.
But.
'What was that body earlier?'
It was so natural, the dissonance hit me late. No human corpses here. None that perfect.
Clack clack.
I backtracked to the 40s woman's body.
But.
'Ha...'
Only black blood stains remained. The trail led downward. Staring at it, incredulity washed over me.
'Goddamn it.'
Squelch.
Now it wanted to play hide-and-seek? I sighed and stomped through the blood.
'Not even joking.'
I bolted downstairs. Fresh black blood appeared.
Drip.
Drip.
Rain easing up, I sighed.
'...Ninth.'
I'd thought it was just a giant blob eating humans and spawning faceless ones.
'Teleportation and human corpse disguise.'
It could probably walk up as a person now. I'd buy it.
And.
'Bet it played a big role in fucking up the world.'
Smart enough, from the looks. Disguise as human, infiltrate camps, sow chaos. Meanwhile, devour zombies and people, mass-produce faceless to accelerate doom.
'Haa.'
Threatening. Direct threat.
But.
'No dodging.'
Had to smash it head-on. I followed the trail.
"Ice Spear."
Bang!
Clearing faceless and zombies blocking the way, I pushed south.
The trail led to... below Saseol-dong. Next to Saseol-dong Market, Central Apartments.
'.......'
Blinking to the roof of 101, I clamped my mouth shut.
Because from the first to third floors of the apartment ahead, lights blazed. People inside.
'Trail continues, but...'
Not toward there. Blood led elsewhere.
Still, I had to pause.
'What the...?'
Was I seeing wrong?
'I've been tracking the remnant.'
In this black-fogged city with the ninth fragment, especially ruined... survivors?
Natural suspicion.
'...Not human.'
But.
'...Barrier?'
A thin something enveloped the building. Faceless and zombies outside couldn't enter.
'Tch.'
Not ideal to contact now. Hell, were they friendly? I'd pegged everything in this fog as hostile.
Even if a goddamn Savior lurked there, irrelevant. Saviors meant nothing to me.
But.
'Good to note.'
Contact later? Not a bad idea. Living humans... in the city of the dead.
Thud.
I memorized Central Apartments while tracking the blood.
Whooo.
Finally: Hana Mart, a mid-sized mart. The one where I'd grabbed essentials... with Bae Sungkwan stuffed in a cart.
Different branch, though. That was in Northdong; this in Saseol-dong.
I eyed the three-story mid-mart. Blood led inside.
But unlike the intact exterior, the glass interior was obscured. Dank humidity. Shadowy figures shifting above.
'This...'
I'd seen this before. Long ago. About a month back. With Jeong Suhyun, at the Rocket Mart we torched.
'...Seventh?'
Another remnant at a remnant site? That thought crossed my mind.
Creak.
From Hana Mart's third-floor window, something met my eyes. Red eyes, mouth split to the ears.
A massive, grotesque something.