Wait, What? (Part 2)

"Oppa, what on earth just happened?"

"Well, right when the Wave started, I saw a beam of light dropping from the sky toward the ground. I figured something had to be up there... and even if there wasn't, chucking a spear didn't really cost me anything."

"No fair! I didn't even get to see it! I wanted to see!"

"For now, it says the achievement's under evaluation..."

Saebyeok plunked down onto the rooftop deck with a dazed look, trying to explain the sequence of events to the crowd gathering around him, when frantic shouting drifted up from the lower floor.

"Saebyeok! Jae-hoon! Eunha! Where's Eunha?! We've got wounded! Hurry!"

Leaning over the railing, Saebyeok saw Lee Jinho slumped over Doyoung's back.

"Jae-hoon! Go wake Eunha! Bring her up here, fast!"

"On it!"

Saebyeok hurled a thick braided rope over the edge. The moment Doyoung caught hold, Saebyeok hauled upward with terrifying strength, dragging both men up to the roof in seconds.

"Hyung, what the hell happened?"

"This fucking pubescent punk tried to play hero on the front line and got himself shredded."

"We hit him with a low-grade potion on-site, but the tear is too deep..."

Rapid footsteps slapped the concrete. Jae-hoon sprinted up the stairs with a half-asleep Eunha clutched in his arms.

"Eunha, sweetie, I'm so sorry to wake you, but we need your help. Can you save him? You can do it, right?"

"Mm... okay..."

Dazed with sleep, the little girl blinked at the grim, tense ring of adults hovering around her. Only then did she notice the older boy from the cathedral—the one who always gave her casual nods in passing—sprawled out in a pool of blood.

The wounds looked as though a grizzly bear had raked him. A clean, devastating diagonal slash stretched from his left collarbone, tore across his ribcage, and gouged into his right external oblique.

Some foul, lingering malice clung to the laceration, repelling the potion's restorative effects.

Yet the moment warm, pearlescent light bloomed from Eunha's tiny hands, the agonizing tension in Jinho's pale face began to ease.

"Hyung, what about the summoning stone?" Saebyeok asked.

"Handled, obviously," Doyoung replied, flashing a brief, cocky V-sign. "Anyway, what was that goddamn explosion just now?"

"Ah... well, you see..."

Saebyeok launched into his explanation once more. Just as he wrapped up the brief retelling, the rest of the scouting contingent climbed onto the roof. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Seoyeon was among them. She immediately marched over, demanding to know what had happened, but Saebyeok promptly shoved Doyoung into her path and bolted toward the ledge where he had hurled the rebar.

"Huh? Guaranteed? What does that even mean?"

"Fuck! Combat stations!"

"What is it?! What's happening?!"

"Hyung! The rest of the summoning stones are dumping into one single spot! Move, move, move!"

"Goddamn it!"

Curses erupted across the roof as everyone scrambled into an all-out sprint. Another desperate, full-scale battle had landed on their doorstep.

"Anyone with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠free hands, start prepping Molotovs! Give me everything we've got in reserve right now! Jian! Heejin! Get ready! Heejin, stick close, but don't expect me to babysit you out there. Sister Agnes! Scholars! Hurry up!"

In the distance, the commercial complex where the anteater-like monstrosity had previously appeared began to distort. As if seized by an invisible titan's fist wringing out an aluminum can, the entire multi-story concrete structure corkscrewed in on itself, disintegrating into gray powdered dust. The neighboring storefronts collapsed in the exact same violent spiral.

A massive crater was gouged into the earth, looking as though a micro-black hole had winked into existence and detonated. At the pit's epicenter hovered an abyss-black sphere, encircled by a blinding halo of white radiance that spun like the rings of Saturn.

Then, the nightmare vomited outward.

An abhorrent avalanche of monsters crashed into the ruins: flora, fauna, humanoid horrors, predatory beasts, colossal centipedes, multi-jointed spiders, mutated cockroaches, venom-dripping scorpions, massive serpents—grotesque, composite chimeras cobbled together from biological nightmares. Mingled among them were the familiar scourges: goblins, orcs, ghouls, and towering mountain trolls. It was an apocalyptic carnival of slaughter.

The only ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠silver lining was that none of them considered each other allies.

The moment they materialized, their violent instincts took over, and they tore into one another with primal ferocity. Gigantic predatory plants drove thick root-tendrils into the asphalt, spewing noxious clouds of spores in every direction.

It was a literal vision of hell.

And then, hovering above the blood-soaked abattoir, an immense geometric magic circle blazed to life.

Whirrrr—

The horde, which had been cannibalizing itself a heartbeat prior, snapped its collective attention away from the bloodbath.

Thousands of unblinking, bloodshot eyes turned toward the Mart.

"Jian... looks like we don't have a choice," Saebyeok muttered.

"Yeah... they're staring right at us," she answered quietly.

"Damn it all... there have to be at least fifty-three distinct species crawling around down there, right?"

"At least."

"Any idea how to seal that rift?"

"Won't know until we get close. But one thing's certain—we're not closing it from up here."

"The system's not even trying to be subtle. It wants us to wade into that pit and kill our way through. It's rolling out the red carpet."

"..."

"Uncle Suho! Doyoung-hyung! We're heading out!" Saebyeok shouted over his shoulder. "Once they finish picking each other off, that whole horde is going to roll straight over this base. We need to go meet them halfway."

"Wouldn't it be safer to hold the perimeter and observe a bit longer?" Doyoung called back, brow furrowed.

"I'd love nothing more, Hyung, but this shit-ass system isn't going to give us the leisure. I can't say for sure, but that rift looks like it's swelling by the second..."

"Hah... fair point. We'll hold the perimeter and slaughter anything that slips past you toward the Mart."

"That's all I need. Hyung, breakfast is on you tomorrow morning!"

"You just make sure you come back in one piece to eat it!"

"Will do! Haha!"

Cutting through the cool midnight breeze, Saebyeok sprinted toward the raging madness.

He pushed his body to its absolute mechanical limit.

Grip tightening around his twin-bladed spear, Saebyeok circulated the dense pool of mana humming in his core. Footsteps pounded behind him—Jian and Heejin were hot on his heels. He had wanted to leave Heejin behind in the fortified bunker, but there was no swaying her once she dug her heels in. Besides, they had no time to argue. The moment that arcane circle ignited, the vanguard of the horde had begun lurching toward the Mart in an unbroken tidal wave.

So much for not doing an attack-move command, you bastards...

Yet strangely enough, sprinting headlong into what should have been a hopeless meat-grinder filled Saebyeok's chest with a wild, intoxicating thrill. A sudden, visceral hunger for combat flared through his veins. Was it an aftereffect of his intimacy with Heejin? Looking at the churning spatial void puking forth abominations, his mind flashed unbidden to the mysterious void he had glimpsed within her dreamscape, sending a sudden heat surging through his lower abdomen.

He took a sharp breath to suppress the erratic physical reaction, but the euphoric battle high was already seizing his nervous system.

"Phew... what a fine day to die."

Jian caught his eye as she matched his stride, a wry smirk tugging at her lips.

"Let's make sure we both live to see morning instead."

"Deal."

Saebyeok drove mana into the soles of his boots, his acceleration snapping the air.

"I'm breaking through the front! Cover my rear!"

"Understood!"

"Got it!"

Crack! BOOM!

The asphalt cratered beneath his launch, and a manic thought crossed his mind as the wind whipped past his ears.

Is this what a cheetah feels when it hits top gear? Ah, right—what was the name of that comic book hero in the red spandex suit? Did that guy feel this kind of rush too? Well, he's probably way faster than me anyway... hah.

The distance vanished in an eyeblink.

Cephalopod Spearmanship: Black Spiral.

Channeling his forward velocity without shedding an ounce of momentum, Saebyeok leveled his spear, dumped an ocean ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of mana through the shaft, and aligned every fiber of his being toward a single coordinate.

Like an armor-piercing artillery shell, he launched forward.

Fwoosh———!

Heejin watched Saebyeok's back vanish into a pinprick in the distance, her breath catching in her throat.

He was actually holding back his pace earlier just so I could keep up...

The second Saebyeok disappeared from view, Jian kicked off the ground, her speed nearly doubling.

Holy crap, these two are completely insane! Unreal!

By the time Heejin's eyes caught up with Saebyeok again, he had already bored clean tunnels through the vanguard of hulking chimeric beasts lumbering down the boulevard. A single, immaculate straight line. Everywhere Saebyeok had passed looked as though reality had been scrubbed clean with an eraser, leaving behind punctured, motionless carcasses that collapsed into the street like felled timber.

That's my man! Tossing Molotovs at the plant monsters while spearing everything else in sight!

Heejin watched in awe as Saebyeok twirled his spear with rabid precision, flicking incendiary bottles into squirming clumps of carnivorous vines the instant they attempted to root. Beside him, Jian danced through the carnage with lethal, acrobatic grace, severing vital arteries with surgical efficiency.

I definitely need to stay on Unni's good side... if she ever gets mad at me, I'm dead meat...

While Saebyeok and Jian butchered the colossal heavyweights at the center of the breach, smaller, bottom-tier vermin like goblins spilled out along the flanks. As wide as Saebyeok and Jian's sweeping arcs were, the sheer physical surface area of the horde made it impossible for two people to catch every stray.

Mana Bullet!

Heejin condensed shimmering spheres of raw magic in her palms and launched them into the pack rushing her.

Thump-thump-thump!

Against light-framed trash mobs, the blunt magical concussions tore limbs and crushed skulls with satisfying ease.

Weapon Modeling!

Summoning the vivid mental image of Sister Agnes's sacred daggers, Heejin forged a sleek, obsidian blade from concentrated mana.

Squelch!

She drove the blade through an approaching beast's throat.

Hell yeah!

Ugh, what a grotesque face... and the name's just as nasty.

Despite the random thoughts flitting through her head, Heejin maintained surprising composure, methodically picking off stragglers one by one. A moment later, a familiar figure drew up to her flank.

"Unni!"

"Sister Agnes and the seminarians are right behind us!" Seoyeon yelled over the din.

"Awesome!"

"Front! Watch your front!"

Seoyeon screamed a warning, parrying a lunging claw and securing Heejin's blind spot. Between strikes, she glanced ahead at the apocalyptic display being staged by Saebyeok and Jian, shaking her head in stunned disbelief.

"Heejin... you better treat him like a king from now on... and whatever you do, don't ever cross Jian..."

"I already know that, thank you very much!"

Thwack! Crack!

Rumble-shudder-crack!

Spurred on by the sight of Saebyeok and Jian carving an unyielding trench through the horde, several combatants surged out from the Mart's defensive perimeter to reinforce the line. Designating fire zones and maintaining tight visual contact, they formed rotating skirmish lines, gradually chipping away at the encroaching flood.

The fact that most Mart survivors had transitioned to cold-steel melee weapons—combined with the shockwave that had leveled the surrounding buildings prior to the summoning—gave everyone clear sightlines and ample room to coordinate.

Though they routinely lost their train of thought watching the godlike violence unfolding at Saebyeok and Jian's hands, the survivors dutifully watched each other's backs, refusing to let the perimeter buckle.

"Good heavens... that brother is truly on another plane..."

"I pray to God I never find myself on his bad side."

"Do you think the folks back at the Mart are seeing this?"

"Sister Jian is just as terrifying."

"Scholars! Stop staring in awe and swing your blades! Every strike counts!"

Heejin did her best to study Saebyeok and Jian's martial rhythm, but the sheer gulf in raw physical stats—coupled with their frighteningly complex yet fluid mana circulation—made it impossible to emulate. The other survivors, however, were perfect training material.

Watch, copy, execute. Watch another angle, refine, strike again.

It felt like she was finally finishing the homework assignment Seoyeon had interrupted the other night.

Hehe, this is actually fun. Oh, so that's how you pivot! Sister Agnes's style really does fit me best! Wait, that move over there looks pretty slick too!